Tag Archives: swatch

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.

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.

Swatch: Essie’s Penny Talk

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What’s this? A swatch? Yes! I feel so bad that I can’t post as consistently as I used to. I have so beautiful swatches to share, especially after The Indie Shop, so I’ve got to get through the ones I did months ago. Today’s treat is Essie’s Penny Talk; I’m wearing three coats alone.

Penny Talk is a copper metallic polish. The product consistency was pretty typical of an Essie polish; it was a little on the thin side, but still delivered good coverage. I had full coverage in two coats. You can see there are some brush-strokes, but this is pretty typical of metallic polishes. It dried pretty quickly and with the metallic, shiny finish you see here.

This was the first Essie polish I ever bought that wasn’t a glitter topper, and it’s a pretty special polish to me. It’s also something that’s pretty unique to my collection. I know makers have been doing metallic polishes on and off for decades now, but these are the mainstays in my collections. I am such a huge fan of them.

Essie polishes are sold in drugstores. I got this one at Walgreens.

I bought this polish 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.

Swatch: Baroness X’s Meowky Way

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Hi! It’s been a while since I got a swatch posted, so I’m posting one today. It’s been a lazy couple of weeks. Remember the Cats in Space box Baroness X was selling for Black Friday? That was such a good box! I was more excited by the extras in it, but the polishes weren’t bad either. I swatched the polishes months ago and am just getting around to posting about it. The first one up is Meowky Way; I’m wearing three coats alone on some nails, and two coats over Marc Jacobs Beauty’s Shocking on others.

I took these photos on a shady day, so they’re not as defined as they could have been.

Meowky Way is a clear-based flakie topper with silver and pink-to-green shifting iridescent flakies, as well as a smattering of holo pigment. The consistency of this polish is perfect; it’s easy to apply and use, and the flakies go on evenly and smoothly. It works excellently as a topper, but looks amazing alone with multiple coats; it’s sheer, but the coverage is still pretty good.

As I mentioned, every polish in this box was amazing. I tend to forget about Baroness X as a brand, which is an absolute shame since they make some truly unforgettable polishes. They’re a brand I really need to shop with more often, especially if they keep making boxes as good as Cats in Space.

As of this writing, Meowky Way is still for sale in the Baroness X shop, as are other polishes, bath goodies, and wax scents.

I bought this polish myself.

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.

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.

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.