Swatch Sunday: Del Sol’s Spike

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Hello, reader! Do you guys like solar polishes? I’m a ’90s kid, and I’m an easy sell for anything that changes color. I bought a few Del Sol polishes when I was on vacation a few years ago because I could not resist. I blame mood rings. This is Spike; I’m wearing three coats of Spike with one coat of Seche Vive top coat.

Spike is a frosty mint green polish that turns a cool mauve when exposed to direct sunlight. Application was good; the product consistency was on the thin side, but was still easy to apply. The first coat was sheer and I needed all three to achieve full opacity. Because it’s so frosty, brush-strokes are pretty apparent. It takes a while to effect the color change, probably a good five minutes or so. The polish dries with a glossy finish; I used top coat for extra shine and protection.

How fun is this polish! Honestly, I’d hoped the purple it changed to in the sun would have been a bit brighter; it’s a little too on the SFW side for me. The green it starts out as is very pretty; sometimes it seems more silver than green, but it’s always icy and shimmery and cool (pun?) to look at.

One thing you’ll notice is that this post has a ton of photos, and I apologize. I wanted to show the polish in both states, and to treat both states as two different polishes. They really could be; if I didn’t know it was a solar polish, I’d assume they were. The following set of photos were taken in direct sunlight.

Like I said, I wish the purple was brighter and/or darker. It’s a pretty unique shade as-is, but I just wanted more from it, especially when you see its actual color compared to the label.

One thing I wish I’d been able to capture was the polish in transition. As I mentioned, the change took some time to occur, and my camera takes such high-quality video that my computer can’t handle editing it. Also my phone camera doesn’t work. I think I got a decent shot of the bottle hovering between colors.

I don’t see Spike listed on Del Sol’s site, but other polishes are available there as well as in their stores.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Siren’s Lucky Shamrock

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Happy Saturday, reader! Remember last week‘s Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer swatch, and how I said it was part of a duo? This is its other half, Siren’s Lucky Shamrock. It is the St. Paddy’s Day-themed glitter topper you need. I’m wearing one brushed coat of Siren’s Lucky Shamrock over Zoya’s Chantal (nude) and Neely (green) and LA Colors’s Hottie (coral) with one coat of Seche Vive top coat.

Siren’s Lucky Shamrock is a clear-based glitter topper featuring a mix of green, orange, gold, and black glitters, iridescent glitters, and orange flakies. The official description also lists shamrock glitters, but I didn’t get any, and I don’t see them in the bottle, either. Application was good; the glitters brushed on easily and the product consistency performed well. The polish dries quickly and with some glitter texture, so top coat is necessary for smoothness.

Of the two polishes, this one is the obvious holiday polish. Personally, I don’t care much for polishes that are only useful one day a year, but if you’re big into holiday looks, this is one you want. It’s basically Ireland in a bottle. It makes for a very easy St. Paddy’s manicure.

The following photos were taken in direct sunlight. The flakies get a little washed out out here, but the glitters come alive.

As of this writing, Siren’s Lucky Shamrock is still available, and even better, on sale in the BEGL shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Guest Post for Secretary’s Nail Art

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Hello reader! I hope you like guest posts, because I’ve got another one to share. Dina from Secretary’s Nail Art recently had a baby, and I got to step in and help her out. It’s look that’s a little of everything, but mostly it’s pink.

Follow the link to see more!

Manicure Monday: All Heart

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Happy Monday! Today’s post is actually early because, as you’re reading this, I’m on a work trip and it would be a very late post if I didn’t get it done ahead of time. I’m not a blogger who has a ton of mani posts backlogged because I like to write about things as I wear them. This post is all about Literary Lacquers‘s Jack Rose, some striping tape, and a lot of heart glitter. All photos were taken outdoors in direct sunlight.

Do you ever notice that every indie maker has their own kind of holo polish? That’s something I enjoy about indie polish; holos are a staple, but each brand has their own blend of Spectraflair sizes and strengths and makes the linear holo their own. Literary Lacquers’s holos are done in such a way that the holo is strong but fine at the same time, and I think that’s really cool. Jack Rose in particular is a polish that starts off sheer and builds up to full strength before you notice it, and the bronze shimmers in it make it metallic and sparkly. I love it.

Obligatory shade photo

I didn’t want to do another look with hand-placed glitter so long after my last one, but this was quick and easy. I’ve mentioned before that I never do holiday manis unless they’re convenient; I don’t like Valentine’s Day, but I like heart glitter, so I got it out. When I did my first hand-placed glitter look, I got so many reader comments about how long it must have taken. In all seriousness, it took longer to get my striping tape straight. I used a smaller size glitter this time, but the application time was about the same. It helps when you’re only doing a couple of nails, probably; if I’d done them all, I’d still be working.

Literary Lacquers can be found in their etsy shop. I got the striping tape on Amazon, and the heart glitters are from Glitter Unique.

I bought these products myself.

Swatch Sunday: Deborah Lippmann’s She Bop

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It’s Swatch Sunday! My polish today is a sweet candy pink creme, She Bop from Deborah Lippmann. It’s adorable! I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vive top coat.

She Bop is, like I mentioned eariler, a pink creme polish. Application was good; the product consistency was easy to work with, and though the first couple coats seemed a bit thin, the third evened it out. The polish dries very glossy; I used top coat for extra shine and protection.

I have to say, this is the cutest pink polish I’ve worn in a while. I’ve had it on for a couple days now, and I keep looking at it and being pleased with it. It’s a very ladylike shade, very classic. It’s also one hundred percent appropriate for Valentine’s Day, if you’re into that. I’m a little sad about taking it off.

She Bop and other Deborah Lippmann polishes are sold in high-end stores; this one is from Sephora.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Luck o’ the Siren

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Happy Saturday, reader! I have a Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Siren to show you today! This was a special holiday Siren made for St. Patrick’s Day 2015. This polish actually came in a duo; we’ll be seeing the companion polish to this one next week. This is Luck o’ the Siren; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vive top coat.

Luck o’ the Siren is a frosty emerald green polish with a blue shift. Application is good; since the polish is so shimmery, I got some brush-strokes in the final look, but I don’t consider that a huge issue. The product consistency was easy to work with; I had full coverage in two coats. The shift in this polish is easy to see but difficult to photograph; it turns a very bright and icy turquoise when facing the light. The product dried quickly and with a glossy finish.

I didn’t think much of this polish when I first got it. It looks like a standard mainstream green polish in the bottle. Once I had it on my nails, though, it stopped being boring. The shift in this polish is unexpected and unadulterated; there’s no holo or glitter to get in its way. It’s gorgeous.

It looks great in the sunlight, too! The emerald is warmer and richer out here than in the studio, and the blue shift is pretty vivid. I love this polish.

Luck o’ the Siren was a limited edition that has since sold out; her duo counterpart, Siren’s Lucky Shamrock, is still available in the BEGL shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Hors d’Oeuvres

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Hi hi! It’s Manicure Monday! Today’s look is one I kept simple, but it’s still over the top. I used Essie’s Hors d’Oeuvres and a diamond charm from Daily Charme. It’s kind of insane.

Hors d’Oeuvres is a challenge to photograph. There’s so much shiny; the strong gold shimmer and embedded silver hex mix means a lot of light bounces off it and makes it hard for the camera to focus or get a good white balance. (I shoot on auto, sue me.) It’s also very reflective, which is a cool finish. I’m really enjoying it.

I ran out of super glue, so I decided to see if Seche Vive was enough to hold the diamonds on. It did, for a while, until one mysteriously disappeared. I still have yet to find it. I pulled the other one off to risk losing it and put on a second coat of Vive. Speaking of which, have you guys tried Seche Vive? I was skeptical, since I’ve never used any of these gel-effect polishes or top coats before, but I really like how this one feels. I used multiple coats and haven’t noticed any of the bad effects from multiple coats of Seche Vite, so yeah. It’s too early to tell yet, but I might be a convert.

The sunlight is probably where Hors d’Oeuvres looks its best. You can definitely see how reflective it is in these photos; that glare is out of control. This set of photos were taken in direct sunlight outdoors.

This one is actually in the shade.

Hors d’Oeuvres and other Essie polishes are sold in stores. The diamond charm is from Daily Charme.

I bought these products myself.

Swatch Sunday: Crayola’s Orange

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Hello! Tonight’s swatch was delayed due to Super Bowl shenanigans. This week I’m bringing you a scented polish from a fruit rainbow themed Crayola collection. I picked this up a few years ago from a Rite-Aid while I was travelling in Philadelphia. This is Orange; I’m wearing three coats without top coat.

Orange is an orange polish with gold shimmer that is also scented with orange. It smells like orange soda. The scent didn’t last long, of course, not past a few hand washes. Application was good; the product consistency was good and was easy to use. However, it took a pretty long time to dry. I nicked one and brushed over it, and nicked it again about five minutes later. A few hours after application, when these photos were taken, they were still soft enough to be imprinted with fabric textures.

Even though I wish I’d not cared about the scent and used top coat, I rather like this polish. This particular orange reminds me of one I wore as a teen. The color is bright, the shimmer is strong, and the scent is just a fun bonus. I’m really disappointed that it got imprinted, but that’ll teach me to skip the quick-dry top coat again.

In the sun, the shimmer is crazy. I love how strong it is! It’s an unexpected treat for a polish that isn’t intended to do more than smell. These photos were taken in direct sunlight outdoors.

I bought this scented Crayola set at Rite-Aid, but you can probably find them anywhere; for instance, a quick search indicates they’re available on walmart.com.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Cuts in My Heart

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Hello, reader! I’m excited about today’s swatch. We have Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Crooked Hearts behind us, and in the next few weeks, we’ll see some special edition polishes, some prototypes, and some Sirens from 2015. I’m so late to the party on these, but I can’t wait to get there. This polish, Cuts in My Heart, is the first of these; it was an Addicted to Holos box-exclusive. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Dream Polish‘s Gem Glam top coat in the Melon Baller scent. All photos were taken in direct sunlight outdoors.

There’s a wee bit of color settling on the bottom. This didn’t affect the color quality at all.

Cuts in My Heart is a deep red holo with red shimmers. Application is good; would you believe this polish is a one coater? Depending on your application style, it totally could be. I actually did have an opaque first coat, but I added more just because I like the thickness. The product consistency is very good; it’s thick but doesn’t need thinning, because it’s still easy to use. The polish dries quicky and with a satiny finish; top coat is necessary for shine.

So, I love this. Red holos are already amazing, so of course I like it. One thing I notice about this one is that I can actually see the shimmers in it. With a lot of the BEGL holos I’ve worn, the shimmers either get covered up by the color, or they blend into the color so well they’re undetectable. In this polish, I can really see them. They’re the same color as the polish, but they also stand out. I quite like it.

Cuts in My Heart, as I mentioned, was a box-exclusive and is since sold out. Other Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer polishes are available in their online shop.

I bought this polish myself.