Tag Archives: indie

Swatch: Creative Cuticles Nail Polish’s Purity

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Welcome back, reader! I have another Indie Shop Atlanta swatch for you today. This is my first-ever Creative Cuticles Nail Polish! I’ve been admiring CCNP from afar since I found out they were local to me, and I’m super excited about trying them out! This is Purity; this polish is part of a collaboration between CCNP and Ribbits Stickits. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

I love handwritten labels!

Purity is a deep frosty green polish with some fine golden glitter. Application was easy; I had no issues at all with the product consistency or drying time. The polish is pretty well-pigmented, which is great for coverage, but is unfortunate for the glitters; they get lost in the base a little bit. Also, there still seems to be a bit of visible nail line, despite the coverage. The polish dries quickly and with a satin finish; I used top coat for shine.

This is a pretty nice polish, and I definitely want to try more CCNPs. The base color is very rich, and the set it comes in is a pretty good deal; you get the polish, a small bottle of Ribbits Stickits’s acetone additive, and a full-size of their liquid latex skin barrier. If you’re an avid nail polisher like I am, both of these things will come in very handy for you.

The In Death CCNP x Ribbits Stickits collaboration set is still available from the Ribbits Stickits site. Other Creative Cuticles Nail Polishes are available on their website.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch: Bee’s Knees Lacquer’s #ForClementine

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Hey, reader! I decided to try something new: blogging from Starbucks before work! I come here to drink coffee and kill time before work, so I might as well do something with the time I waste. Hopefully this means I’ll be able to deliver more actual blog posts, because I’m so behind. I miss you guys. This is my first Bee’s Knees Lacquer, and it’s the one from The Indie Shop Atlanta VIP bag. It’s #ForClementine; I used three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

#ForClementine is an intensely shimmery cobalt blue polish with shifting shimmers in flakies in pink, purple, green, and gold. Application was great; even though there’s a lot of pigment and sparkles in this polish, the consistency was very good and easy to work with. It was very easy to achieve full opacity with this one for the same reason; it was nearly opaque on the first coat. It dries with a satin finish, again, because of the pigment; I used top coat for extra shine and protection. One thing I also want to note is the smell; it’s quite a bit different from other polish, or perhaps it’s just a bit stronger than usual. It does carry across the brand.

I do want to mention that I failed to do this polish any justice, because it’s much more beautiful in real life than I show it here. The shimmers are much more luminous and intense than in these photos. It’s so shimmery, so colorful, and the natural sunlight really washed it out. I managed to capture the shift, at least; the shift is very strong and it’s absolutely gorgeous.

I do apologize for the photo quality here. The color is what matters!

#ForClementine was a VIP bag exclusive. Other Bee’s Knees Lacquers are sold on their website.

I got this polish in a VIP bag, which I bought myself.

Manicure Tuesday: Fine-Apple

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Happy Tuesday, reader! Yesterday was a busy day, so I’m only getting to posting Manicure Monday today. It turned out to be a good thing, since yesterday was rainy. For this look, I used Revlon’s Parfumerie scented polish in Beachy over Chaotic Glitz‘s Gold Rush. The scaled design was done with Ribbits Stickits‘s Mermaid’s Tale vinyls.

Originally, I’d planned to wear Beachy alone. Since it is a scented polish, I didn’t want to interrupt the scent with top coat or anything else. The more I thought about it, though, the more I knew I had to get at least one more polish in here. I have too many to just use one at a time. It’s just as well; the scent always leaves my nails as soon as I wash my hands, anyway.

Gold Rush is stunning. It’s such a bright, dazzling golden glitter, and I wish I hadn’t covered so much of it up. At first, I worried there might not be enough contrast between Beachy and Gold Rush, and that the design wouldn’t be immediately visible, but I kind of like it. Beachy is a frosty polish and reflects differently than Gold Rush, so in different lighting conditions it does show up differently. I didn’t occur to me until I was finished that it was halfway to pineapple. I’m still thinking about going in with some green glitter to finish it up.

Revlon polishes are sold in stores. Gold Rush and other Chaotic Glitz polishes are sold in their etsy shop. Ribbits Stickits vinyls are sold on their website.

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Tuesday: Frosty Blue Glitter

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Happy Tuesday, reader! I meant to post this yesterday, but I had the day off and went swimming with friends. That’s also the reason this mani looks a little chewed-up, I forgot to take the pictures before I got in the pool. In any case, here’s a gradient I did with First Frost and The Years Have Been Short, both from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer.

First Frost is still one of my favorite BEGLs, and I was super excited about using it. It was one of the first BEGLs ever made, and one of the first indies I ever bought. I adore this polish, and I loved using it this week.

The Years Have Been Short is like a grown-up version of First Frost, if you’re into that. The glitters aren’t as chunky, but the white crelly base and the glitter colors are pretty similar. This was why I paired them up; I wanted a look that was only slightly different, but still very cohesive.

First Frost and The Years Have Been Short were both discontinued by Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer; other BEGLs are available from their online store.

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Vintage Flakes

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Happy Monday! I adore today’s mani. I am so pleased with this combination that I almost can’t even put it into words. Almost. I’m wearing two coats of Digital Nails‘s Crush Leaves Not Dreams over OPI’s Don’t Talk Bach to Me.

So let me start with my base color. Don’t Talk Bach to Me is a chartreuse creme with a very fine silver shimmer throughout. Several years ago, I was on a quest to find a vintage green color, not unlike the avocado green kitchens of midcentury modern houses. After trying a few and being disappointed, I spotted this one on an endcap at the supermarket and never looked back. I cherish this shade.

Crush Leaves Not Dreams is the perfect topper for this base shade. The gold-to-orange shifting flakies complement the warm green, and the fine blue shimmer adds a bit of contrast and sparkle. It would look great over any creme, honestly, but I’m completely impressed with how it works over this one.

OPI polishes are sold in stores. Digital Nails is still on hiatus.

Swatch: Alter Ego’s Sherbet vs. Shebert, It’s All the Same to Me

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Hello, reader! I’m swatching one of my recent acquisitions for you today. This peach creme was in my VIP bag at Indie Shop Atlanta, and it’s the first thing from the show that I’ve swatched. This is Sherbet vs. Shebert, It’s All the Same to Me from Alter Ego Body Care. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

Sherbet vs. Shebert, It’s All the Same to Me is a peachy orange creme. Application was great; the product consistency is very easy to work with. Colors like these tend to be a little streaky, and though that was definitely true for the first coat, the second coat built it up to a good opacity. The polish dries with a glossy finish; I used extra top coat for shine and protection.

I love this shade. It’s such a great springtime color, and it reminds me of a lip color I wore when I was younger. This was definitely an appropriate shade to find in my VIP bag in Atlanta, too, when Georgia peaches were the theme. I don’t know if everyone got the same one or not, but I hope so.

Sherbet vs. Shebert, It’s All the Same to Me is available in Alter Ego’s online shop.

This polish came in my VIP bag, which I bought myself.

Manicure Monday: The Thing About Mermaids

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Happy Monday! Today’s look is all about Lynnderella‘s The Thing About Mermaids. It’s my first time using this limited edition polish, and I feel like I don’t give my Lynns enough love, so I’ve dedicated this week’s nails to this one. I’m wearing one coat of The Thing About Mermaids over two coats of Orly’s Teal Unreal.

The Thing About Mermaids is incredible. It’s a monochromatic teal glitter mix, save for the silver starfish-shaped glitters that are a stark holo silver. It has every great glitter shape: the starfish in both silver and teal, hearts, triangles, lighting bolts (which were new at the time, I remember), flowers, and then some good old squares in hexes in varying sizes. This polish is just so shiny, and looks incredible over Teal Unreal. I’m kind of in love with this mani.

Teal Unreal helps make this look a success. I wanted a creme that was exactly the same shade as the glitter, and I think I got pretty close. Because it’s so close, I got the cohesive and sparkly look I wanted.

All the other photos were taken in cloudy conditions outdoors. The sun came out so I could get this one!

The Thing About Mermaids was a limited edition polish; other Lynnderellas are sold on lynnderella.com, Amazon, and eBay. Orly polish are sold in stores.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch: Baroness X’s Live Long and Pawsper

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Hi readers! Today I have the final Cats in Space swatch for you, and it’s a doozy. Live Long and Pawsper from Baroness X is a stunning polish and I’m excited about showing it to you. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

I feel like Pawspurr should be the spelling they went with.

Live Long and Pawsper is a purple jelly polish with the notorious pegasus pee shimmer and a dash of holo. Application was easy with this one; the consistency is perfect, and the polish is loaded down with the shimmer. It’s supposed to be a jelly, but I had great coverage with it. At three coats, there is just the slightest bit of visible nail line. The polish dries with a satin finish; I used top coat for shine.

This polish, reader. It’s amazing. After hearing about unicorn and pegasus pee for years, I finally have a polish that’s made with it, and it’s astonishing. I love the base color; that, alone, is a pretty unique shade. Adding the shimmer to it makes it really special.

THAT SHIFT.

Of all the Cats in Space polishes, this is the only one that’s not still available on the Baroness X site.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch: Envy Lacquer’s The Indie Shop #4

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Hello again! I have more swatches, and this time, it’s an Indie Shop Atlanta exclusive 2017 VIP exclusive! I know we just had the Indie Shop again, but I have so many polishes from last year’s show that I haven’t even used yet, like this one. This is my first-ever Envy Lacquer, The Indie Shop #4. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

The Indie Shop #4 is a deep cool green polish with green shimmers, both iridescent and colored flakies, as well as some holo. Application was easy; the polish consistency is great, and the flakies and shimmers get distributed easily on the nail. The polish dries quickly and with a satin finish; I used top coat for extra shine.

I love this polish. It’s a bold jewel tone, and the flakies look like confetti. This is a pretty unique addition to my collection! Polishes like this is why I keep going VIP at the Indie Shop. I can’t afford to miss out!

Envy Lacquers can be found on their website.

This polish came in the VIP bag for The Indie Shop Atlanta 2017.

Manicure Monday: Bless This Glitter Mess

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Happy Monday, reader! I’ve got another messy glitter mani to share, because I can never say no to glitter. This is Lynnderella‘s Unicornament over a Maybelline vintage mystery polish.

I’ll start with Unicornament, since it’s clearly front and center in this look. This is probably my favorite-ever Lynn, because there’s so much happening in it. All that color, glitter, shapes, and bling in an iridescent base, it’s irresistible.

I felt a little bad covering the base polish up, because it really is a nice polish. It’s a warm pink — or cool red, I can’t tell — with silver flecks. I’ve had this polish for at least ten years, and believe it or not, it still applies really well. It could have done with some thinner, but it wasn’t thick enough that I thought it was necessary. I’ll have to do another look with it soon so that it gets its due.

Maybelline polishes are sold in stores. Lynnderella polishes are available on their website, Amazon, and eBay.

I bought these polishes myself.