Manicure Monday: Orange and Ginger

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Happy Monday, reader! Today’s look is simple but colorful. I used Sally Hansen’s Sun Kissed and Digital Nails‘s Ultimate Ginger. Let’s get started!

Sun Kissed is a polish I’ve had for a long time; you can’t tell in this photo, but the fill line is somewhere around the French words on the bottle. It may be one of my oldest. I kept it simple here, just because I wasn’t sure how the consistency of the polish would be after so many years. It was actually still pretty easy to work with, but it was thickening and stretching like mozzarella around the neck of the bottle. This is the first time in a while I’ve had the hope that I can finish a bottle of polish.

I used Ultimate Ginger here for the orange glitters, as well as the complementary colors. I knew the orange and blue together would make a stunning combination, but I didn’t realize how colorful Ultimate Ginger really is. It’s not just orange and blue glitters in there; it’s yellow, white, and green, too. I know this is a polish based on a painting of flowers (or rather, a Doctor Who episode centered around it? Confession: I’ve never seen Doctor Who) so it should come as no surprise, but still. There’s much more to this polish than I expected.

Sally Hansen polishes are sold in stores. The original formula of Ultimate Ginger was discontinued, with a changed-up version called Penultimate Ginger taking its place. Either way, Digital Nails is unfortunately still on hiatus.

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Whenever: Double Purple

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Welcome back, reader! I have an old Manicure Monday that I never got around to posting. This must have been done around Christmas, when I was hellishly busy at work. For this look, I used Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s 2014 and Siren’s Quarter Life Crisis.

Remember 2014? I barely do. I remember buying this polish, though! This is a sheer purple with a strong shift, as well as some iridescent glitters throughout. The shift doesn’t come out so well in bright sunlight, but it’s definitely there. I love the glitters in there the most, it’s what sets the polish apart from other shifters.

Siren’s Quarter Life Crisis was a holiday gift-with-purchase polish from I don’t even know how long ago. Clearly, I’ve been buying BEGL a long time. This was the first GWP, I think, and it was a pretty small batch, being capped at 15 bottles. I picked this to go with 2014 because the primary colors are pretty close; one adds color than sparkle to the look, while the other does the opposite. I think it turned out pretty well.

Neither of these polishes are still available from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer, but other BEGL polishes are available in the online shop (which is currently on hiatus).

I bought 2014. The Siren was a gift with purchase.

Swatch: Emerald & Ash’s Construction Season

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Welcome back, reader! It’s another swatch! This is Emerald & Ash’s Construction Season, a throwback from their 2013 Road Trip textured polish collection. I’m wearing three coats without top coat.

Construction Season is a bright orange polish with a fine texture. Application was good; due to the textured effect, the polish is quite thick, and goes on in thick coats. I find this kind of consistency easy to work with, but I realize some people don’t. The texture is pretty smooth, and smoothness increases with additional coats. It mostly serves as a visual effect than a palpable one, so even the people who dislike textured polish may like this one.

So, when I was getting this post together, I noticed that Emerald & Ash’s website is down and the domain is expired. I know they were on hiatus for a while, but I thought they came back, and it’s sad to lose another maker. So many of them are closing up this year. It’s a terrible shame. I hope everything is going well for them.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Cotton Candy Clouds

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Welcome back to another swatch! I have to admit, I miss my regular posting schedule, but now that I work weekends almost exclusively, I just get them done when I can. Swatch Tuesday doesn’t have the same ring as Swatch Saturday, I have to admit. Anyway, this is Cotton Candy Clouds from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer, an Addicted to Holos box exclusive. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

Cotton Candy Clouds is a pale lavender holo with green shimmers. Application was pretty typical for a BEGL holo; the formula is designed to be opaque in as few coats as possible, and this one definitely does; I got an almost-opaque first coat and the second was enough to even it out. The holo isn’t too strong because the base is so well-pigmented, but it’s definitely there, as is the green shimmer. The polish dries to a smooth and somewhat glossy finish; I used top coat for shine.

I miss the Addicted to Holos box. So many amazing polishes came from that box, and since they haven’t posted since 2016, I’m guessing it’s been shelved. There are so many boxes now, as well as the Polish Pickup, that a lot of these smaller ones got squeezed out, which is sad. I’m especially sad because it was one I bought routinely.

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer polishes are available from their online shop; the shop is on hiatus while the maker is on maternity leave.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Glitter Crack

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Happy Monday, reader! Remember crackle polishes? Today I dug out an old polish, one of my first-ever China Glazes and one that crackles, no less. Sometimes I forget how long I’ve been doing this nail polish thing, and this polish comes as a stark reminder. This is China Glaze’s Gleam Me Up with Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Lighthouse on the Lake.

Lighthouse on the Lake, this beautiful deep blue creme, has been a big player in my collection recently. I’ve used it as undies for glitter swatches and nail art, and it always looks great with whatever I pair it with. That’s really true for every BEGL creme, but this is the one I’ve used most often.

I can never get good macros on cloudy days.

Gleam Me Up is blue glitter crackle madness. I don’t even hate this polish. The glitter is dense enough that the crackle effect is crisp, but lets enough of the base color through so that everything is uniform. Honestly, it’s a fun combo. I kind of want to get some other crackles out to see what I’ve been missing.

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers are available from their online shop; BEGL is currently on hiatus while the maker is on maternity leave (!!!). China Glaze polishes are sold in stores.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch: ellagee’s Elva

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Hey, reader! I’ve got another swatch for you. This is ellagee‘s Elva; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

Elva is a sheer blush pink holo with iridescent flakies. Application was easy; the product consistency is easy to work with, and the flakies spread out well over the nail. The first coat goes on very sheer, and though coverage does build with additional coats, nail lines are still visible even after three coats. You can’t see it so well in these photos because my nails are short, but it’s there. The polish dries to a smooth and glossy finish.

Elva is such a delicate polish. The sheer polish gives way to a powerful holo effect, and in the shade, you can see the flakies come out. It’s versatile, too; you can wear it alone as I have here, one coat alone for a small bit of sparkle, or use it as a topper. So many options!

Elva was discontinued by ellagee. As of this writing, ellagee is on hiatus.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Red and Gold, Again

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Happy Monday! For this week’s look, I have yet another red and gold look. I couldn’t help it, the combination was just so perfect. This is LA Colors’s Animated with Formula X for Sephora’s Voltage.

Animated might be one of my favorite polishes. Every time I wear a red polish on the blog, I always talk about how I love red polish, and this one’s no exception. I bought it to be yet another red creme in my collection, but the tiny shimmer in it makes me smile whenever I see it. This is one of the best dollars I ever spent.

Voltage is a souvenir polish; I bought it from the Sephora in Times Square. It’s a gold glitter polish in a thin red jelly base, which made it the perfect companion to Animated. I used two coats of Voltage here, not only for the extra glitter, but to made sure it got some of that jelly effect. I’m not sure it worked, but I like the look.

LA Colors is sold in stores. Formula X can be found on their website.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Prototype SO 1.0

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Happy Wednesday, reader! I’ve been slacking on getting my swatches posted. This is yet another Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer prototype called SO 1.0; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

SO 1.0 is a cool candy pink polish with shifting blue-to-purple shimmers. Application was pretty typical of a BEGL polish; the product consistency is pretty much perfect. The polish goes on a little sheer on the first coat, but coverage evens out. It dries with a bit of a satin finish; I used top coat for shine.

I love this polish a lot. This shade of pink is one of my favorites; it reminds me of fruit, of candy, of a color my hair used to be. There are lots of feelings wrapped up in this pink. The shimmer and shift add a bit of sparkle and dimension that pushes it just a bit farther. I felt a little bad taking it off.

BEGL polishes are sold on their online shop. I actually got this bottle from a destash, but I can’t remember who. If you’re reading this, let me know if this was previously yours!

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Golden Surprise

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Welcome back, reader! It’s Monday, and I have some nail art for you. At least, if you can see it. I’ve had a string of these tone-on-tone manis that were all fails; the most recent before today was this silver-on-silver look I wore over the weekend, a look that worked in my head but looked completely different on my nails. This is Enchanted Polish‘s Good Life with Literary Lacquers‘s I Heard the Bells.

Good Life is an excellent polish. It’s such a strong gold polish, it’s got a strong holo, and it has this gold-to-green shift that completely changes the tone of the polish. It’s this cool-toned shift that makes the nail art visible. I did a few criss-crosses with striping tape, hoping the difference between glitter and holo would create some distinctive lines. There’s not enough contrast without the shift.

The art got a little messed up on the ring finger. I’m a little grateful you can’t see it.

In the shade.

I Heard the Bells is a pretty wonderful polish too. It’s full of fine glitters, but doesn’t dry with a texture, and it’s actually pretty easy to take off. I always get this polish out around the holidays — it is a holiday exclusive, after all — and incorporate it into a Christmas mani, but since I had it sitting out, I couldn’t resist using it. It’s a shame you can’t really see it here.

Enchanted Polishes are sold in their online shop. Literary Lacquers are sold on etsy.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch: Elevation Polish’s Hitsujiyama Park

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Welcome to another swatch! Today’s swatch is Hitsujiyama Park from Elevation Polish; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

Hitsujiyama Park is a baby pink polish with a faint holo effect and fine pink shimmer. This polish has a Goldilocks consistency, one that applies smoothly but doesn’t flood cuticles. It’s also fairly opaque; I got full opacity on the second coat, but even one generous coat might be enough. The polish dries with a satin finish; I used top coat for shine.

So one thing I want to note is that I used my camera flash in indoor lighting for these photos. Do you ever find yourself delving into a holo-heavy nail art look, only to find that it’s going to be cloudy all week? If I remember correctly, it stormed on the day I took these, and ambient lighting in my house wasn’t adequate, so the camera flash was the best way to get the holo. The holo in this polish is so barely-there, which I love. It’s an afterthought to the delicate pink base. It’s super dainty.

Hitsujiyama Park and other Elevation Polishes are sold in their online shop.

I bought this polish myself.