Tag Archives: shifter

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: Baroness X’s In a Galaxy Purr, Purr Away

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Hello, reader! Today’s swatch is one I’m excited about. As you know, I bought the Cats in Space box from Baroness X, and I was a huge fan of everything in it. This is my third of four swatches from the box, and I hope you love this one as much as I do. This is In a Galaxy Purr, Purr Away; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

In a Galaxy Purr, Purr Away is a deep blue polish with a purple to gold shifting shimmer and iridescent flakies. Application was great with this polish; the product consistency was super easy to work with. The shimmer and flakies both distribute very well. The polish dries quickly; I used top coat for extra shine.

I love this polish. I mean, it’s hard not to love every polish in this box, and though they’re all complex and dimensional, this one stands on its own. The base color is very rich and opaque while still letting through the shimmer and flakie goodness. There’s so much going on!

As of this writing, In a Galaxy Purr, Purr Away is still available in the Baroness X shop, as are other polishes, wax scents, and bath and body goodies.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Radiant Gradient (What’s Green is Gold is Green Again)

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Happy Monday, reader! I have to preface this post by stating that I’m aware this isn’t my best work. I’m new to using nail vinyls and I’m still learning how to use them. I thought I’d given my polish enough to time to dry, but the vinyl still pulled a lot of it up, and I tried to paint it back on, and that’s why it’s a little messy. If any of you are seasoned nail vinylists, give me your tips! Anyway, for this look, I used a base of China Glaze’s Rare and Radiant, and the gradient is Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Too Many Misters and We’re Vincible. The vinyl is the Zig Zag Zip design from Ribbits Stickits.

I started with the base of Rare and Radiant. I love this polish because it has such a dramatic shift, but I always have a hard time using them as a base for nail art because of it. It’s always easier to throw some glitter on top, which was what I almost did, but I decided to challenge myself. I almost feel a little bad for covering it up.

Working my way through my Indie Shop haul has been fantastic. I’m trying so many new things! I’m trying not to use my vinyls up right away, but I’m really excited about having them. I’m just going to need to get better at using them. I was sure an hour between applying the base and sticking the vinyl on would be enough; that’s how long I wait when I use Scotch tape and I rarely have my polish come up with that. I’ll do better next time for sure. My gradient turned out well, at least. BEGL cremes are becoming my new favorites!

China Glaze is sold in stores; this bottle is from Sally Beauty Supply. BEGL polishes are sold in their online shop, which is currently on hiatus. Ribbits Stickits vinyls are available on their website.

I bought these products myself.

Swatch: Baroness X’s Space Cat

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It’s swatch day! Here’s another polish from Baroness X‘s Cats in Space box. This is Space Cat, and it’s dreamy. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

Space Cat is a magenta polish with sterling silver flakies and a shifting pink-to-green shimmer. Application was good; the first coat applies sheer and coverage builds with additional coats. The consistency is good; I had no issues with it. The polish dries with a glossy finish.

So, there’s a lot happening in this polish, and I love it. The base shade itself is a stunning berry. The silver flakies add a reflective quality to the polish. The shift, which is in green mode most of the time, just makes it glow. It’s so ethereal and I love it.

Space Cat and other Baroness X polishes and products are available on their website.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch: Enchanted Polish’s Ice Castle

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Hey! It’s another swatch this week! Let me preface this one by saying that this is not my best work, and I’m aware that these photos are not up to my personal standards. The day I took these, it was cloudy outside, and I’m not great at getting a good holo shot indoors except for under certain lights, and well, this is what happened. This is Enchanted Polish‘s Ice Castle; I’m wearing three coats alone and two coats over Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Lighthouse on the Lake.

Ice Castle is a sheer holo topper with blue-to-purple shifting pigment. Application was good; the polish is super easy to use, has a great consistency, and the holo effect is actually pretty strong in the right lighting. It gets good coverage at three coats, though it is still quite sheer. I used top coat for shine.

This isn’t a swatch as much as it is a reminder that this polish exists. I feel like it’s a pretty ubiquitous polish, a common one to find in any indie polish collection, but I never see anyone using it. If you have it in your own collection, consider this a challenge to get it out and use it. If you don’t, use something you’ve had for a few years. I want to see your oldies!

Ice Castle and other Enchanted Polishes are available in their online shop.

I bought this polish 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: 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.

Swatch: Bluebird Lacquer’s Shine Bright Like a Rhinestone

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Welcome back, reader! My swatch today is yet another Indie Shop Atlanta buy. It’s funny; in case you missed it, Indie Shop 2018 locations were announced today, and they’re returning to Atlanta in March, so I’ll have the chance to go and buy more polish that I won’t even get to swatch until next year. I do hope I’ll see my favorite makers again though! Anyway, this is Bluebird Lacquer‘s Shine Bright Like a Rhinestone, and it’s one of the best polishes I bought last year. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

Shine Bright Like a rhinestone is a clear-based microglitter polish with silver flakies, silver glitter, a little bit of holo, and a blue-to-purple shifting shimmer. Application was easy; the product consistency is easy to work with despite everything in it. As with most microglitters, coverage builds up to full opacity; I got full opacity on the second coat. The polish dries to a smooth finish; I used top coat for extra smoothness and shine.

Shift!

I’m afraid I didn’t really do this polish justice. There’s so much going on in it, and it was so much better in person. For example, the blue shimmer, which gives the polish an icy glow, isn’t easily seen in these photos. Aside from that, I love this polish. I love any polish that turns my nails into disco balls, but this one has been a nice change of pace with the extra shifting shimmer. It was a ton of fun to wear.

As of this writing, Bluebird Lacquer is closed for the holidays, but will reopen.

I bought this polish myself.

Throwback Swatch: Bluebird Lacquer’s It’s Fall Over Me

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Right, so during the month of November, I was insanely busy with starting a new job, starting a volunteer job leading writing groups for National Novel Writing Month, actually writing a novel for National Novel Writing Month, and cooking a Thanksgiving dinner for nine people. Now that novels are finished and Thanksgiving is over, I’ve finally got the time to share the swatches I’ve been collecting.

This first one is It’s Fall Over Me from Bluebird Lacquer; I’m wearing two coats over e.l.f.’s Smoking Hot (red), Butter London’s Tea and Toast (tan), Sally Hansen’s Black Out (black), China Glaze’s White on White (white), and Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Lighthouse on the Lake (blue), topped with Seche Vite and Essie’s Matte About You matte top coat.

It’s Fall Over Me is a clear-based glitter topper with iridescent shifting glitters of various sizes. The shift is definitely reminiscent of the flakies in Essie’s famous Shine of the Times. Application was easy; the product consistency is wonderful in that it’s not thick enough to be goopy and difficult to use, but it’s not thin enough that it drips off the brush. The glitter delivers very easily, but I definitely wanted more than I got on my first coat, so I used two. In the future, I might try sponging it on to get that heavy glitter coverage without the thickness of multiple coats of lacquer. I used two coats of top coat as well, just to smooth down any glitter texture that was left.

I bought this at the Indie Shop Atlanta, and it had my heart as soon as I saw the bottle. I am such a sucker for these opalescent kinds of glitters, because there’s always something going on with it; it’s the easiest way to give a look dimension and style without getting knee-deep in nail art. It also looks interesting over any color, even white, which is obviously not the ideal undies for this polish, has a unique effect on it.

When I was talking to maker Lou at her booth, she told me I had to try it with a matte finish, so I did, and here are the photos of that. I definitely prefer the glossy finish, but I have to admit that the glitter looks pretty cool mattefied. I feel like the matte finish makes the shift a little less dramatic, but it still does happen, and still looks pretty cool.

Unlike everything else I’ve shown you from my Indie Shop Atlanta haul, this is a polish you can actually still buy! As of this writing, It’s Fall Over Me is for sale on the Bluebird Lacquer website.

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Dark Water

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Welcome back to Manicure Monday! You find me today with the shortest nails I’ve had all year. My last break was already devastating (curse you, fitted sheets), and now something else has happened to completely finish them off. This is China Glaze’s Black Diamond and Digital Nails‘s Leviathan.

I’ve had these Digital Nails starship glitters forever, and I’m just getting around to being able to appreciate them. They’re beautiful! The shift is just too impressive not to rave about. I realize I am so late to this party, but shifters, man, they’re amazing.

I feel a little bad for Black Diamond, because it’s a lovely polish on its own. It’s got this subtle gunmetal shimmer to it that the glitter completely obscured. I did plan a glitter gradient to get the best of both words, but there just wasn’t room for it on these tiny nails. Glitter wins every time.

China Glaze is sold in stores; I got this particular bottle at Sally Beauty Supply. Leviathan and other Digital Nails polishes are available on etsy, though they’re currently closed.

I bought these polishes myself.