Tag Archives: indie

Swatch Sunday: Octopus Party Nail Lacquer’s Universal Loner

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Happy Sunday! It’s Valentine’s Day, so it’s a great day to wear red! This beauty is Octopus Party Nail Lacquer‘s Universal Loner. The name is kind of appropriate, too, isn’t it? I can’t tell. I’m wearing three coats of Universal Loner with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Universal Loner is a true red creme polish; it’s meant to be equally balanced between warm and cool. Like a lot of red cremes, the tone changes in lighting; my outdoor photos leaned more warm, and my indoor photos were cooler. The product consistency is very nice; the polish is a bit sheer on the first coat, but works up to full opacity on the second. It dries quickly and with a glossy finish; I used top coat for extra shine and protection.

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This polish was one of the four indie creme offerings in the inaugural Creme a la Mode box. I love this box because some awesome makers — some of my favorites, even — realized that cremes are an overlooked but necessary part of a great indie manicure. Cremes are common in any polish addict’s kit, but it weirds me out sometimes when I’m still using polishes that might not be five-free or cruelty free or what have you. I know these brands and I know their reputations for quality products, and it puts my mind at ease knowing there’s nothing in this polish that’s going to harm me or be ethically questionable. I have a dozen red cremes, but I trust this one.

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Here’s the outdoor shots, where it looks way more tomato than cherry. I still love it. The shine kills me. It’s my favorite thing.

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And because it’s Valentine’s Day, I used it as a base for a quick-and-dirty Valentine’s mani. The glitter here is Lynnderella‘s Love the Nail Mail. Nail polish is totally my valentine this year.

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Universal Loner is out of stock; other Octopus Party Nail Lacquers are available in their etsy shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s You Just Want to Mate?!

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Happy Saturday! Here comes this week’s swatch; it’s Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s You Just Want to Mate?!; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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You Just Want to Mate?! is a red polish with red and gold shimmers. Application was easy; it was nearly opaque on the first coat, achieving full opacity in two coats. Product consistency is just right; it’s not too thick or thin, it just goes on. The shimmer is strong, and strongest where the light touches it. It dries quickly and with a semi-glossy finish. I added top coat for extra shine.

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I’ve talked at length before about how BEGL shimmer polishes are the best ones they do. This is an aboslutely great example of that. Shimmer is already a beautiful addition to a creme, but BEGL takes a step further and adds it in such a way that it adds complexity and and depth. This is a pretty simple combo; the red shimmers add monochromatic sparkle, but the gold adds warmth and a little something extra. I’ve also talked at length about how much I love red polish, so it’s safe to say this is a winner in my book.

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Outdoors, the shimmer is incredible, but the sunlight overwhelmed it while I was trying to photograph it.

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Manicure Monday: Neon Satisfaction

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Manicure Monday is here again! I kind of can’t believe how fun my manicure is today. It’s adorable and obnoxious, but I think it’s a great combo, if I may say so. For this look, I used American Apparel’s Neon Violet with Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Self-Satisfied, along with Seche Vite top coat and Ciaté’s Mattenificent matte top coat.

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So I’ve swatched a bunch of American Apparel neon polishes, and I have to say, they’re some of the best I’ve ever used. They have great coverage and they don’t require a white base for their neon-ness. The only downside is that they’re not always 3-free; this one contains formaldehyde. It’s a great polish, though. I love the color, brightness, and product formula. When I picked this for Manicure Monday, I knew I needed something equally as fun and bright to balance it out.

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Self-Satisfied is one of my most-used glitter toppers. I’ve used it in three different manicures now and it’s about half-empty. It looks fantastic over everything, though I love it best over bright colors, especially orange. I love to pair complementary colors, so I knew this would be best for the Neon Violet. Not all of the colors in the glitter work well over the base; it’s hard to see the red hearts and dark pink hexes, but I still like the match. I really love the way this turned out.

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The only real downer to this manicure is the matte top coat. I’ve used Ciaté’s Mattenificent matte coat a couple times now, and I don’t know if it’s user error or not, but it kind of sucks. I mean, it does a great job being matte; look at how velvety the color is. What’s not cool, though, is how it splits. It makes these lines like crackle polish. Also, for some unknown reason, it created these white marks on my nails. Look at my pinky nail. Where did those come from? There was no white polish used in this manicure, so why there are there white spots? I actually had white brush strokes on my thumb. Here’s the kicker: the super glue I used to secure the studs left a bit of shine, so I put down another coat of Mattenificent; the white spots and lines went away. Seriously? They didn’t all go away, obviously, but the unsightly white brush strokes on my thumb are gone, as well as some other marks on other fingers. I am just so confused. At least the mani looks fine, that’s what counts! Here are some outdoor photos, taken in direct sunlight:

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American Apparel doesn’t seem to sell nail polish anymore, at least not on their website, because I couldn’t find it there. Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer has discontinued Self-Satisfied; other BEGL polishes are available in their shop. Ciaté is available at Sephora. My bow charm is from Claire’s, and I forget where my studs are from. Sorry.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s I’m Doctor Martha Jones, Who the Hell Are You?

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Happy Saturday, reader! This week’s Swatch Saturday finds us beginning a new (new for me at least) Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer collection called It Got Away From Me, Yeah…, which is all about Doctor Who. What was once planned as a small collection ultimately grew into a huge collection that was released in three phases throughout 2014; one based on the lady companions, one on the male companions, and one based on the Doctors themselves, which was also a collaboration with Monster Polish. (If you remember the Monster Polish swatch I did a couple of weeks ago, that polish is part of this collection as well.) To call it collection might be too light. It’s very aptly named.

Anyway, the first polish from this first phase is I’m Doctor Martha Jones, Who the Hell Are You?; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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I’m Doctor Martha Jones, Who the Hell Are You? is a magenta jelly polish with flakies that shift from gold to green to blue. Application was very easy; though the polish is loaded with these flakies, they’re very fine and don’t impact the polish consistency at all. The consistency is pretty middle-of-the-road; it has a bit of stuff in it, but it is, after all, a jelly. Because it’s a jelly, the flakies from previous coats shine through the final coat, and because it’s a jelly, a slight bit of visible nail line does come through. The polish dries with a matte finish; I used top coat for shine and protection.

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So on this blog, especially when reviewing a polish, I try not to get hyperbolic or silly in my writing; I’m very much a fan of the just-the-facts-ma’am review. I’m going to throw that completely out the window for this review, because HOLY CRAP LOOK AT IT. I have never enjoyed photographing a polish this much, because it just could not take a bad photo. In every position, from every angle, in every lighting condition, it just looks flawlessly gorgeous and gorgeously flawless.And the flakie shift, HOLY CRAP. This is easily the best part. It goes from gold to green pretty easily; the blue is harder to get but is the prettiest. There is nothing I don’t like about this. I hate that I have to take it off so I can swatch other stuff. I did not expect to like this so much.

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In direct sunlight, it’s a bit brighter and pinker, but is still freakin’ beautiful.

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I’m Doctor Martha Jones, Who the Hell Are You? has been discontinued by Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer. Other BEGL polishes are sold in their online shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Pink Spring Mystery

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Welcome back, reader! Happy Monday! Today’s manicure was done with a chunky springtime glitter and a mystery polish. Spring is springing in Florida, and I get closer with every pastel polish I wear. For this look, I used Model City Polish‘s Breath of Spring and a Sally Hansen mystery pink, as well as a coat of Seche vite top coat.

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Next to knowing that the mystery polish is from Sally Hansen, I know absolutely nothing about it. This is one of my older polishes, a leftover from when I had a terrible habit of peeling the labels off of things. I really did a number on this one; I’ve stripped it of anything identifiable. I also remember buying this polish to match a pair of glasses I was wearing at the time. Despite everything, I actually really like this polish, and it’s a shame I can’t tell you anything about it, because I almost want to recommend it. The product consistency is on the thin side, and it took three coats to reach full opacity, and it took ages to dry… Maybe I don’t want to recommend it after all. It had the most gorgeous shine after it dried, though. I feel like that’s not very common. Though it was fiddly to apply, it didn’t need top coat at all, and I was really impressed. It’s kind of a shame I covered so much of it up.

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Breath of Spring kind of took over this mani. I wanted just a small but concentrated bit of glitter at the base of each nail, but because of the variety of shapes and colors of glitter, it looked uneven, and by the time I got the look I wanted, it took up half the nail. I think it’s still a cool look; the glitter comes in bright but seasonal colors, and there’s just a hint of holographic goodness in the base. It’s a beautiful topper that would look fantastic over anything. I really enjoy this combination.

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Breath of Spring has been discontinued by Model City; other Model City Polishes can be found in theiretsy shop. Sally Hansen, and maybe even this polish, can be found in stores nationwide.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s ‘Murica

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Welcome back to Swatch Saturday, reader! My swatch today is a real oldie, but a fun polish nevertheless. This polish, ‘Murica, was a patriotic polish released alongside another polish called Glory. Unfortunately, I missed out on Glory, but here’s Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s ‘Murica. This is three coats of ‘Murica with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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‘Murica is a clear-based deep blue microglitter polish with red and blue star glitters and red shimmers. Application was easy, though while the base was clear, it took me many coats to achieve full opacity. The first coat went on almost like a glitter topper; the coverage was very thin and lots of bare nail was still visible. Of course, coverage built with each additional coat, so it ended up not being a huge problem. It was actually kind of interesting to find out, since I learned it could be worn as a fine glitter topper pretty easily. The polish took some time to dry since I put it on a bit thick, and it dried with a fine gritty texture. I added top coat for shine and smoothness.

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The glitter is super shiny, so there’s a lot of issues with focus and glare in these photos. I don’t think I did it a whole lot of justice. You’ll just have to take my word for it that this polish is beautiful. Even though it looks like it’s all one color, there’s so much going on in it; there’s enough variety in the glitter for the polish to have lots of dimension and depth. It’s not just blue, there’s cobalt blue, ocean blue, and navy blue, as well as the red glitters adding contrast. It’s a really cool look. I did mention that there are star glitters, but none of them made it into any of my photos; there were some, but they were covered by the final coat of polish. I like this polish because its inspiration are only obvious if one knows it. Otherwise, it’s a barely patriotic but totally wearable glitter. It’s beautifully done.

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‘Murica has been discontinued by Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer. Other BEGLs are available from their online shop.

I bought this polish myself.

HPB Presents Elevated Gradient!

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Hello, reader! This is a special post for the Hobby Polish Bloggers group on Facebook! Every month, we do themed manis, and January’s theme is the gradient. It doesn’t matter what kind of gradient we do, as long as it’s a gradient; we can make it as complex or as simple as we want. I decided to make mine a challenge and use four previously unused polishes. For this look, I used Sittin’ Pretty and Topless and Barefoot, both from Essie, as the base; I used Kilimanjaro and Salautay, both from Elevation Polish, as the glitter topper. All nails are topped with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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It’s been a while since I’ve done a two-color gradient, so long, in fact, that I started to wonder whether or not I’d lost my touch. This is probably one of the hardest gradients I’ve ever done. I could not get light purples and nudes — not just these Essie two, I tried OPI as well — and I could just never get them to come together. Either a color would go bald from oversponging, or a color just wouldn’t turn opaque, no matter how much of it I used. It did finally come together, and it was amazing.

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I had to use purple and nude, though, because I had to use Kilimajaro and Salautay. I knew that as soon as I got these polishes that I had to put them together, because they have so many similarities: they both employ the use of round glitters and the color silver. After I finished the base gradient, I made a gradient with the glitters, flipping the colors so that the purple was over the nude and vice versa. Of course, after I sponged it on, they kind of bled into each other, which is actually pretty cool. My index fingernail got a little too much glitter, but aside from that, I totally got the result I wanted and I’m so happy.

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This is the most intensive nail art work I’ve done in a while, so I’m really proud of it! Also, because this is a group effort, there’s an InLinkz widget here with everyone else’s gradient manis, so be sure to have a look at them! They’re just as proud of their work as I am with mine.

Sittin’ Pretty, Topless and Barefoot, and other Essie polishes are sold in most stores; I got mine from Walgreens. Kilimanjaro and Salautay are discontinued by Elevation Polishes, other Elevations are sold in their online shop.

I bought these polishes myself.

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Sunburned Siren

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It’s Saturday, and you know what that means: it’s time for a BEGL swatch! I’m excited about today’s swatch, because it’s an installment in Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Siren series. These limited edition polishes are some of the most-sought after BEGLs because they’re as scarce as they are gorgeous. This was also supposed to be swatched when my camera broke over the summer, so I’m happy to finally be wearing it! This is the second-ever Siren, Sunburned Siren. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

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Sunburned Siren is a creamy orange polish with gold shimmers. Application was really easy; the first coat was sheer, but even, without patches or streaks. I had full opacity in two coats. The golden shimmers appear in every lighting condition, though some do appear orange, given the sheer nature of the base. The polish dries quickly and with a glossy finish; I used top coat for extra shine and protection.

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Sunburned Siren made her debut in September 2014, but she’s still very summery. The color itself is beautiful; I love orange and I think it doesn’t get enough play. The gold shimmer breathes life into it. The pigmentation is sheer enough that the shimmers from previous coats shine through, adding dimension. This polish is amazing. I’m always impressed when I remember the little details like this were planned, not created by accident.

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I took some photos in the sunlight, just to see how to shimmers play in direct sunlight. The shimmer is pretty versatile in this regard; there are a few more shimmers than usual visible, but it’s not that big of a change. Also, I got an okay macro there. Sorry my pool is green.

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Sunburned Siren is, unfortunately, no longer available, as it was a numbered limited edition. Other BEGL polishes are available from their online shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Virgo Supercluster

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Happy Monday again, reader! This week’s Manicure Monday is also a Wacie Nail Company release! One of the first polishes I ever made found itself in my polish queue, and it felt appropriate to do a mani with it and a release at the same time. This polish is called Virgo Supercluster, and I’m wearing it at three coats without top coat. Photos were taken both indoors and outdoors in direct sunlight.

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So if you’re a longtime reader of wacie.com, you’ll might remember a Wacie Wednesday feature, when I wore a new prototype I made every week. Virgo Supercluster was one of the first Wacies to make their debut there, so check out that post as well. In that post, you can see what this polish looks like with top coat; this week I decided not to use top coat to capture its gritty textured finish. Whether you choose to wear top coat or not, this polish is still insanely sparkly, and even without top coat, it does still have some gloss.

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Every time I write a post like this, I’m just so excited. I’m not only writing a blog post about a nail polish, but I’m bringing a new polish into the world. I’m putting a part of myself out there. And, should it ever make its way into someone else’s hands, I hope they love it as much as I do.

 

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Though most of the photos I took were indoors, I did get out for a bit this afternoon to take some in the sun. This polish absolutely looks best in the sunshine, because you can see every bit of the holo glitter shine. Indoors, it’s still pretty, but it’s muted. In the sun, the colors are brighter and richer, and just make the polish. I think the texture pops more out there, too.

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Virgo Supercluster is available from the Wacie Nail Company etsy shop. My bow is from Daily Charme.

I made this polish.

 

Swatch Sunday: My True Love Creations’s Apple Crush

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Swatch Sunday, at last! The polish I’m wearing this week is something new and interesting to me; I actually got this little mini as a gift-with-purchase from another blogger’s destash sale. After a little bit of homework, I found out that it’s from a new-to-me brand called My True Love Creations. I’m excited to learn about them! The polish I’m sharing today is called Apple Crush; I’m wearing three coats of Apple Crush with one coat of Seche Vite. All photos are taken outdoors in direct sunlight.

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You may also notice my nails took a trip to Chopsville this weekend. Yep. So sad.

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Apple Crush is a orange-leaning red polish with holographic shimmer. Application was easy: the product consistency is good; it’s a little on the thin side, but doesn’t have any thin-polish problems like flooding or streaking. It is on the sheer side; it took me all three coats to achieve this opacity. It dries quickly and with a semi-glossy finish. I added top coat for extra shine and protection.

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I’m pretty impressed with this little polish. I have to confess, I didn’t expect much since I didn’t know too much about it, but I’m really pleasantly surprised. The polish is gorgeous in its sparkly simplicity; while holos these days are these intense sparklers, this one takes a step back and offers just enough. It’s kind of refreshing actually.

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Apple Crush and other My True Love Creations polishes are available from their etsy shop.

I did not buy this polish, but it was not sent by the maker for review.