ILNP Juliette

Hi friends! My first post of 2016! What a crazy thought. I have been doing this whole blog thing for quite a number of years (to do a blog about nail polish that is). Although it is evolving, I still love this little space, and I love sharing beautiful polish just as much - I'm just too busy to commit to super frequent posts.

I still plan to share swatches and nail art, so never fear! Like today I have a seriously drool worthy polish that I wore for NYE - ILNP Juliette.

Please Note: Products shown were purchased for my personal use.

ILNP Juliette

2014 Top Ten and Year In Review

 Happy frickin' New Year!!! I am tired, grumpy and a wee bit hung over, but I couldn't start 2015 properly without doing my annual recap post! This is my third year to do it, and it is still one of my favorite things to post. I have been  working on it off and on through out December in order to have it done on time. It was a lot of fun going back through all the polish from this past year, and seeing what posts were the most read!

ILNP Super Nova

Hey guys and gals! Happy Christmas Eve! I am in the middle of a cookie bake-a-thon at the moment, so today's post is a short and sweet one!

As I mentioned earlier this week, I will be showing the three ILNP multichrome flakies individually to maximized the viewing pleasure! If you missed the epic ILNP Brilliance, you can see that post, here. Today, I have the beautiful peacock shade, Super Nova!

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use.

ILNP Super Nova

ILNP Brilliance

Hi friends! A very happy Monday to you all! I cannot get over how close we are until the big day, and the end of the year. It has definitely been a roller coaster for me and I am hoping to have a nice quiet finish, lol! Not sure if that is going to happen, but one can always hope, right?

As promised, albeit a week late, I have swatches of the three ILNP multichrome flakies that I snagged from the pre order a few weeks ago. I decided to split them up into three separate posts, because it is just too much awesome to fit into one, lol!! So today I am starting with my favorite, ILNP Brilliance.

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use.

ILNP Brilliance

Saturday Snapshot: Multichrome Flakie Gradient

Hi friends! So I am currently in East Texas visiting my family for the holidays, but I didn't want the blog to be inactive while I was gone, so I am sharing a quick post of my nails for the trip. Well at least what was on them before I left. I brought a few polishes to play with while I am here, so no guarantee what they look like now!

If you are active in the nail community on IG, then I am sure you have seen the amazing new multichrome flakies that have been making their way into many Indie polishes. In fact, I just swatched some lovelies from Takko Lacquer a few days ago! 

One of the big release was a full line of thirteen multichrome flakies from ILNP, and I couldn't help but to get a few during the pre-sale! This is just a quick little gradient I did with one of them, but next week I will have full glorious swatches of the three I did pick up!

Born Pretty 3D Metallic Nail Stickers

Hey y'all, hope your week is going well! It has been pretty uneventful here, but I am not complaining, lol!

Today I have another Born Pretty review for you guys! Along with the rhinestones and the neon loose glitter, I also received a sheet of 3D metallic stickers.

Please Note: Products shown were provided by the company/creator for review purposes.

3D Metallic Nail Stickers

I Love Nail Polish Sirène

Hey friends! Happy Friday! Today starts our spring break, and I am really looking forward to a nice relaxing time and maybe a few adventures in the (hopefully) nice weather!

Unless you are new to the polish world, I'm sure you all know about ILNP Ultra Chromes and the riiiiidiculous color shifts that dance across your nails. The spring collection has three new ultra chromes, and out of all of them, Sirène called my name. After the epic Nostalgia, I wasn't sure if I could be blown away again. But Barbra and her magic potions did not disappoint.

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use.

I Love Nail Polish - Sirène

Sirène is a purple/turquoise ultra chrome. It has such an incredible color shift, from a reddish bronze at extreme angles, to violet, blue, teal and emerald green. Needless to say, it was so hard to capture all the colors, but I tried! This is truly a stunning polish! Formula was good, a little on the thick side, similar to Nostalgia, but nothing problematic. I did have more visible brush strokes this time around, so be sure not to overwork the polish when painting.

I can't even begin to wrap my head around all that goodness. Just like Nostalgia, I was mesmerized the entire time I wore it. They go on sale today! So be sure to grab a bottle before they are all gone!

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use. All opinions are my own. For more info, please read my disclaimer.

 Sirène and therest of the Spring 2014 Collection is available on line. Products retail from $10 to $12.50 a piece.

2013 Top Ten and Year In Review

Hey friends! Can you believe it is 2014?! I hope this year takes it's time and gives everyone moments to enjoy life. This past year has been quite the roller coaster, personally, as well as for my blog. I cannot even fathom what the next year will bring, but that's part of the fun!

My favorite polishes from last year consist mostly of Indie brands. I fell head over heels for Indie polish and was fortunate enough to swatch for a few! So here are my top ten polishes from 2013 (in alphabetical order):

 

Color club - Cosmic Fate, Essie - Naughty Nautical, Elevation Polish - Marmolada

ILNP - Nostalgia, KBShimmer - The Dancing Green

 

Lacquer Lust - Morning Sunshine, Pipedream Polish - Color Portrait World, Rescue Beauty Lounge - Nails & Noms

Takko lacquer - Pucker Up, Zoya - Carter

Best collection - Zoya Summer Pixie Dust
 

 

Solange, Beatrix, Destiny, Liberty, Stevie, & Miranda

 

 

Fav indie/small brand - Pipedream Polish

 

 

Candy On The Beach (dc), Deep In My Daydreams (dc), Pink Elephants and Lemonade, Time In A Tapestry, Color Portrait World, Green Light, Feed The Monster & She's A Thriller (dc)

Honorable mentions - Hare Polish - Zoltar Speaks, Julep - Jane, Pipedream Polish - Time In A Tapestry

Biggest disappointment - China Glaze Hologlam collection

Top three most popular posts in 2013 - Revlon Chroma Chameleon Amethyst, Different Dimensions Ditz and Whatever, Picture Polish Majesty

 

Happy 2014 you guys!! Much love in the new year!

ILNP Nostalgia

Hey everyone! How is your weekend? We are going to check out the most awesome Trail of Lights at Zilker Park tonight! It is a wonderful holiday light display that the city of Austin puts on every year, and it is my most favorite tradition! I will probably spam my IG feed with pics tonight!

 

Today, I have an incredible polish to share! The fantastic Indie brand, ILNP (I Love Nail Polish), has recently released a line of Ultra Chrome polishes that boast insane color shifts. As part of a LE holiday trio, Barbra created the Ultra Chrome, Nostalgia - a multi chrome that shifts mainly from green to red, but let me tell you, there is sooooooooo much more! On to the pics!

 

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use.

 

 

 

 

 

ILNP - Nostalgia

 

Nostalgia is a multi chrome polish that shifts from deep emerald green to bronze to yellow gold to red to fuchsia. I have even caught glimpses of teal and purple flashes. Let me preface by saying, my camera loathes multi chromes. It is always reluctant to capture color shifts. Nostalgia is so dramatic that it took amazing pictures! In person, it is even more stunning! I was constantly looks at my nails for the three days I wore it. Nostalgia has some serious hypnotic powers, folks! Formula was quite good as well. This is two coats, by itself. No layering over black to get this effect! Minimal brush strokes, and it applied smoothly. It did seem to dry a tad bit longer than regular polish. Nothing a good quick dry top coat can't solve!

 

 

I ordered this during the pre sale, and I am not sorry one bit! This is truly an amazing polish, and you will be seeing it again when I post my top ten polishes for the year. I will probably be ordering a back up of this in fact! So if you are on a no-buy, break it, cause Nostalgia is sooooo worth it! You will thank me!

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use.

ILNP polish is available on line. Products retail from $10 - $12.50 a piece.

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Delicate

Hey guys and gals! Happy dance for getting the post up on time! I am honestly not sure how people do it daily. Talk about nerve wracking. Anyway, the prompt for today's post is "delicate." I'll be straight with you guys for a minute. I am anything but delicate. Inspiration-wise, this was the hardest day yet. Much harder than the horrid animal print post a few days back. Luckily, it turned out much better than that.

 

Used:

 

O.P.I. - Don't Touch My Tutu

I Love Nail Polish - Forever And A Day

 

I love a good jelly sandwich, but I've never done a glitter gradient and a jelly sandwich. I love the look, and I think it turned out to be a good representation of delicate. Of course it is all thanks to a super pretty glitter!

Next up is Tribal! I am super excited and nervous for that one. Lots of free hand!

I Love NP - Forever and a Day + my Valentine's Day mani!

Happy Valentine's Day lovelies! I hope you all are spending time with someone special. Today's post is a very beautiful glitter from one of my new favorite Indie brands, I Love NP. Barbra created a six piece Valentine's day collection with some traditional and some rather nontraditional color combinations. I am definitely one for breaking the rules and following your creative spirit, so I knew I would love this collection. As soon as I could, I ordered a bottle of Forever and a Day, and within a few days, I was happily ripping the package open to ogle my new beauty.

 

 

I Love NP - Forever and a Day over Urban Decay - Naked

 

Forever and a Day is a gold and sheer teal glitter mix in a clear base. It is so delicate and gorgeous all at once. The mixture of different gold glitters and the softness of the teal really play well together. The look is inspired by a luxurious gift box usually associated with Valentine's Day (or a lovely brunette with a complicated heart and a furry pal named "Cat"). Formula was really nice, very smooth with no dragging. I did have to dab a bit to get the glitter evenly distributed, but other than that, it was an easy application.

 

I really am falling in polish love for this great little brand. Everything is put together so well, and the glitter combinations are unique and interesting. And I definitely need a few more from the Valentine's Day collex!

I Love NP is available on line via Etsy. The bottles retail for $10 a piece.

I Love NP Up To Snow Good

Hey guys! I am still technically taking a little break to let my nails recover from their break, but I totally forgot to post this swatch/review before all the nail drama happened. So, today, I have a polish that I teased you all with before the new year, a seriously gorgeous indie glitter. I Love NP!

 

I Love NP - Up To Snow Good over Zoya - Wednesday

 

Up To Snow Good is a great wintry mix of white hex and shard glitters, teal and sheer white square glitters, and a light sprinkling of tiny holo glitter, all in a clear base. It is really a fabulous glitter top coat, and will work with a good number of polishes. I layered one coat over Zoya Wednesday, because the two complimented each other so well without taking away  from how awesome the glitter mix is. The formula was really good for a glitter bomb. If you are familiar with Indie Glitter polish, then you should be used to the thicker suspension base. In this case, it was a perfect consistency for my taste, thick and smooth. If you prefer a thin polish, then you may want to add a drop or two of thinner. Up To Snow Good does have a bit of a chemical smell to it, nothing really strong or offensive like Klean Color, but I did notice it. Dry time was great, as well. I finished with a couple of coats of Gelous and a coat of Cult Nails Wicked Fast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also want to point out how great the packaging is, very eye catching! I am a total sucker for stuff like this.

 

Overall, I am really impressed with everything about this brand and how well it is put together. The other polishes are really pretty, as well. I have quite a few more on my "to-buy" list!

 

Break down:

 

- interesting mix of glitter

- nice, thick formula

- 3 free

- smaller bottles, 4 oz.

- slight chemical smell

- $10 retail

- great packaging

 

 

I Love NP is available on line via Etsy.

Nail of the Day: Starfish and Snowflakes

Hey everyone! Just a quick little nail of the day post for you guys, today. When I originally ordered Rescue Beauty Lounge Starfish Patrick, I came across this post from Victoria (a.k.a. Manicurator), I fell instantly in love the Indie glitter brand "I Love Nail Polish." Needless to say, I promptly ordered a bottle of Up To Snow Good to go along with Starfish Patrick.

 

Rescue Beauty Lounge Starfish Patrick & I Love Nail Polish Up To Snow Good Jelly Sandwich

 

I decided to one up the copycat look & do a jelly sandwich, my first successful one at that. I started with a coat of SFP and applied a thin coat of UTSG. Next I added a coat of Gelous (which is awesome, btw), another thin coat of SFP, one more UTSG, mainly applying where there were bald spots, another coat of Gelous and two coats of Wicked Fast, allowing for dry time between each coat. Whew! This may be my fav mani to date. It is all around perfect.

Now this is just a little teaser and I plan on a full glorious write up of Up To Snow Good in a few days. I honestly couldn't wait to show you all the awesomeness of this glitter before I had proper time to sit down and review it. But here's a spoiler, it's pretty amazing!