Twinsie Tuesday: Pinterest Inspiration

Hi everyone! I am finally back to posting with the Twinsies after a two-week mini hiatus. This week, the Twinsies are looking to Pintrest for our weekly inspiration. I don't know about you, but I loooooove Pintrest for just about everything - cooking, crochet/knitting project, make up and nail art. It's awesome. It took me no time to find an inspiration pic, this one from the awesome Marta of Chit Chat Nails. 

Twinsie Tuesday: Teal Nails For Ovarian Cancer Awareness

Oh hai friends! Didn't mean to drop off like that last week.With school starting up again, my schedule has been thrown for a loop, and I was not really mentally prepared. But I am back this week with the Twinsie Tuesday theme - Teal nails for Ovarian cancer awareness.

Pipedream Polish Memory Loss

Hey everyone! After a whirlwind of a weekend, including a last minute trip to San Antonio, I am back with some awesome Indie polish today! Pipedream Polish is among one of my favorites and the newest collection, "A Night In Vegas," is beyond amazing. Eleven new polishes, four glitters and seven neons, make up this fun summer collection. April did a pre-sale a few weeks ago, and naturally I grabbed a bottle. It has taken me for ever to get it watched and photographed, but this is one seriously stunning polish!

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

Pipe Dream Polish Memory Loss

Memory Loss is a bright almost neon teal crelly with green and teal hex glitters. I loooove this polish so damn much. The color is perfect, as well as the slight transparency of the crelly base that makes the glitter look like it is floating. The formula was a little thick but not problematic. This is two medium thick coats topped off with two coats of KB Shimmer Clearly On Top. It is top coat hungry, so that extra coat is needed to help smooth it out.

(Macro)

This is the only one I picked up from the Night In Vegas collection, but after seeing all the ahhhhmazing swatches, I am determined to grab a few more!! I definitely see a neon rainbow gradient in my future!

As of right now, the entire collection is in stock on the Pipedream Polish website and April is really great about keeping things in stock as well. On occasion, a popular polish will sell out very fast, tho! So If Memory Loss or any of the other fantastic polishes from this collection strike your fancy, get it quick!

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

Pipedream Polish is available on line. Products retail for $8.00 a piece.

Hare Polish Zoltar Speaks

Hey guys and gals! Hope all is well in your corners of the world! I am such a homebody, so I have no exciting stories to share - except ones that involve new polish acquisitions! And writing posts late at night, apparently!

 I am slowly making my way through purchasing the Hare Polish fall collection, The Coin Operation, and I had to get this next baby after Read My Biorhythms. Cause it's teal, and flakies. And FREAKIN AWESOME.

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

Hare Polish Zoltar Speaks

Zoltar Speaks is a deep teal jelly with tiny gold and silver flakies. Hello gorgeous! I seriously just swoon over this every time I look at my nails! Yes, I am still wearing it...three days after I originally swatched it. The formula was a tiny bit more difficult than RMB, not sure why. This is two coats, and even though my camera picked up some VNL (visible nail line), it isn't noticeable in person. I had a little drag issue from the flakies on the first coat, and had to apply a thicker second coat to smooth out any streaks. And of course, I finished it off with a glossy smooth topcoat! I am still hooked on Glossy Glam!

This really is a beautiful polish. If you are a teal lover, this is definitely worth checking out. I don't know about you, but I have such a hard time choosing which Indie brands to try out. There are a few favorites I have, but I am really trying to break out of my shell and look for new and different makers. Which, ultimately, is why I went on a Hare Polish spree!

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

Hare Polish is available on line via Etsy. Products retail for $10 a piece.

Pipe Dream Polish Time In A Tapestry

 Hey guys! Look another post! I am slowly getting back on track and hopefully soon will be able to post almost daily! Today, I have a swatch from one of my favorite Indie polish brands, Pipedream Polish. I did a review a few months back on three of April's first creations. Since then, she has grown her inventory and offers some of the most unique, and insanely gorgeous polishes you will find in the indie market. I'm serious when I say that I have an enormous wish list, and need a money tree because I want to BUY ALL THE POLISHES!!!!! This is from her fall collection, Like The Weather. And it is one hell of a collection. You will be needing a money tree as well.

Please Note: Products were provided at a discount by the company/creator for review purposes

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Pipedream Polish - Time In A Tapestry

 

Time Is a Tapestry is a teal crelly (cream/jelly) hybrid filled with gold and brown hex glitters as well as iridescent shimmer. It is stunning, folks! Definitely worthy of my top ten list for the year. The gold glitters are incredibly shiny, and the addition of the brown glitters just put me over the top. Unique, lovely and my kind of fall color! As with all Pipedream Polish, this is perfect consistency and application. Despite being loaded with glitter, it applies smoothly with no dragging or clumping. No need to dab, as the glitter covers with perfection. 2 coats for full opacity, and the base is just sheer enough to give the glitter a floating effect. As my dear friend Casey said, "Jelly sandwich in a bottle!"

 

 

 

Bottle Macro

Not only are the polishes amazing, but so is April, the creator. She is very active in the IG nail community, and has quite the fan base, myself included. I think it makes all the difference when a creator shows a little bit of their self to the world. It gives us, as customers and fans, a unique perspective.

Please Note: Products were provided at a discount by the company/creator for review purposes. All opinions are my own. For more info, please read my disclaimer.

Pipedream Polish is available online via Etsy. Products retail $8.25 a piece.

Trianlge Accents

Hey y'all!

 

Used:

 

Zoya - Wednesday

 

(Accent nails)

 

O.P.I. - My Vampire Is Buff

Zoya - Wednesday

Essie - Naughty Nautical

Essie - Good As Gold

 

Nail Art Brush

 

I am really loving geometric designs lately. Triangles have been something I've wanted to try for a while now and I may be addicted now!

What do you think of the geometric craze? Love it or hate it?

Bondi NY Swatch Spam

Hey guys and gals! Super late post up today, sorry about that! Apparently, I didn't schedule this one when I wrote it up. Oops!

Anyway, I have some lovely swatches of several polishes from Bondi NY. These are all from their new subscription box service (which is awesome, you should totally sign up!) and I just never got around to posting them until now.

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

 

Bondi NY - Uptown Girl

Uptown Girl is a lovely lavender cream. These types of purple are always a favorite of mine, and this one did not disappoint. Super creamy formula, and buttery smooth application. This is one easy coat. 

 

Bondi NY - Teal Magnolia

Teal Magnolia is a bright green leaning teal cream. Again, gorgeous color and perfect formula. Bondi NY really does know how to make an amazing cream polish! One easy smooth coat. This one is a stainer, so go with a good base coat.

 

Bondi NY - Horny Mistress

Horny Mistress is a cool toned red cream. For a red, this is actually really pretty! You know my relationship with red polishes. But I am glad to have a good solid red in my stash now! Hate the name, tho, sounds like something out of a bad porno flick! Dreadful name aside, it has the same creamy smooth formula. This is also a one coater!

 

Bondi NY - Botanical Beauty

Botanical Beauty is a petal pink cream with purple undertones. Another color that I wouldn't normally get for myself, but if you like these types of pinks, it is a good one to have. Again, same smooth formula and flawless application. Also a one coater, which I was pleasantly surprised since it is a lighter shade. 

 

Bondi NY - The Limelight

The Limelight is a bright lime green cream with a touch of jelly squishiness. This is the only one that needed a second coat, and that is pretty impressive! Normally, I can't wear these types of greens due to the dreaded lobster hands, but this one isn't so bad. Same smooth formula and application, just a tad sheer on the first coat and needs a thin second one to cover any VNL. 

 

Bondi NY - Starry Night

 

Starry Night is a deep blue with a silvery shimmer in a blackened base. Not my favorite in terms of color, but the shimmer is super pretty! Another one coater with a great formula. 

 

 

For all the swatches, I used the Bondi NY base/top coat I'm Vers. I love it as a base, it blocks stains and helps keep polish from chipping. As a top coat, not so much. It is super shiny, but takes a long time to dry. On a side note, I have found that Glossy Glam does not play well with Bondi NY. I have had pretty crazy shrinkage when I use them together. Boo.

If you are interested in a subscription box, this is a good option. Three full size polishes for $20, plus a beauty extra. Mine included a lip balm and some skin care samples. Nothing amazing, but it was the first box and I'm sure things will improve overtime. 

 

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

 

Bondi NY is available on line. Products retail for $12.50 a piece and ship International!

Hare Polish Neon Palm

Hey lovelies, happy Wednesday! Hope you guys are having a fabulous week! This week is turning out to be a bit of a roller coaster. I have gotten some really great news, and good thing to come for the blog, but then, this is the last week before my baby starts school and I am kind of an emotional wreck. But there will be more free time for me to do blog stuff and nail art stuff! Find the positives, right?

 

Today I have an awesome Indie polish for you guys. Hare Polish is one of those iconic indies (at least for me) that I have always lusted after, especially Bisbee and Bisbee 2.0, which I still need to add to my collection....along with Rad Cloud and quite a few others. With the release of a summer collection, I had a momentary lapse of judgment, broke my no-buy (again) and grabbed a bottle of Neon Palm.

 

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

 

Hare Polish - Neon Palm over Zoya - Wednesday

 

 

Hare Polish - Neon Palm over Zoya - Wednesday

 

Neon Palm is a smokey teal crelly (cream/jelly) base with gold, copper and neon pink glitters in various shapes and sizes. Including square, cause I love square glitter second only to circle. Seriously gorgeous and super unique. This is definitely one combo I haven't seen before. Love love love. So hard!!! This is one coat layered over Zoya Wednesday. It is buildable on it's own, however, there is soooo much glitter jammed into that bottle that it looked so thick, with multiple coats, by itself. You can see how much glitter there is from just one. Wednesday is a good base, just a shade lighter than the polish. Other than that, it applied perfectly, despite the amount of glitter. Honestly, I would rather have a polish with too much glitter, than one with not enough, that I have to fish it out or layer on so much just to get a good mix.

 

 

 

I think it is safe to say, that I am on the Indie Polish wagon with no sign of falling off. I honestly don't know why I had reservations about indies in the first place.

 

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

 

Hare Polish is available on line via Etsy. Products retail for $10 a piece. For restock and more info, check out the Hare Polish blog. 

Gradient With Lattice Overlay

Hey guys! Today's post actually didn't go as planned, but sometimes that's a good thing. Yesterday, I tried twice to get a finished design, but screwed up both times. After feeling frustrated, and headachy from the polish fumes, I took a break and hoped today would be better.

 

This is my third (different) attempt, and I am in love. Lately, I am finding myself drawn to the more complicated looks and intricate designs. I feel a sense of deep satisfaction when I have completed something more challenging. Even if it takes a few hours!

 

Source

Used:

Julep - Lexie

Bondi NYC - Teal Magnolia

O.P.I. - MBSW

Make up sponge

Nail art brush

I love the way a gradient looks with something done on top, whether it is a glitter topper or stamping or like this, a lattice pattern. It really emphasizes the color change and creates so much depth. Also, I am pretty impressed with my gradient skills. I think I have found a good technique and it blends colors so smoothly! Maybe I should do a tutorial?

Not to brag, but I think this is one of the best things I have done! It took quite a while, and now I have a finger cramp from holding a tiny brush. So worth it though, cause I love it so hard.

So what do you guys prefer? Easy and quick, or long and complicated?

 

Essie Naughty Nauticle Collection Pt. 1

Hey guys and gals! I'm a little late with this post, sorry about that! I have had a bad case of laziness lately and really didn't want to mess with taking pictures, editing, blah blah blah. But I knew I had to share this collection with you, because it is just that awesome! I don't want to overload you all with a ton of pics in one post, so I decided to break the collection up into 3 parts.

 

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

 

Essie - Naughty Nautical

 

Naughty Nautical is a bright teal/turquoise with a subtle silvery shimmer. It is a touch more green than my swatches, so keep that in mind. The shimmer is subtle, but you can still see it twinkling faintly in most lighting (my camera didn't want to capture it, boo!). It also shows different colors, almost like an iridescent shimmer, super pretty. Formula was fantastic! Almost a one coater, tho I used two for swatching. If you are careful, you could easily get away with one. Application was great, no streaking, dragging, pooling, or any other problems. Nice dry time, and super shiny. I did use a top coat for all the pics, however.

 

 

 

 

Essie - Sunday Funday

 

Not to be confused with China Glaze Sunday Funday, Essie's version is a red toned coral with a silvery shimmer. The shimmer is a bit more noticeable in this, but I think it's because the pigmentation is a bit thinner than Naughty Nautical. This was 2 coats for full coverage, the first showing a bit of VNL (visible nail line). Still a really great formula, no problems at all. Average dry time.

 

Okay, so it is no secret I am all about coral polishes right now, so naturally I love this one. I'm wearing it on my toes and I have this and The Girls Are out in a gradient on my fingers, which is so full of win. I posted a pic on IG yesterday, if you are curious.

 

 

I am so in love with these two, plus the rest of the collection. I have felt a little disappointed by the last few Essie collections, but this particular one has really won me over. It's just so fun and bright!

 

Don't forget, my next challenge post will be up a day late, and it's gonna be a fun one!

 

Essie is available at many retail locations. Polishes are about $8 a piece.

 

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use. Please see my disclaimer for more info.

Bondi New York Tavern On The

Hey gals & guys! Today I have a polish from a new boutique brand based out of NYC to share!

 

Bondi New York is a 5-free non toxic nail polish launching with 20 versatile and modern shades. Profits from each sale are donated to charitable organizations helping those in need. Non toxic & charitable, gotta love that!

 

Please Note: Products were provided to me by Bondi New York for my honest review.

 

 

Bondi New York - Tavern On The

 

Tavern On The is a deep, almost dusty, green leaning teal cream. You all know how much I love teal, so it should be no surprise that this is the color I chose to review. This particular color is a great shade, and very wearable for me, but in all honesty, as much as I love teal, all the other colors Bondi released are really nice and I had a hard time choosing! Formula was stellar! For a new brand to have such a fantastic formula base shows real attention to quality. It applied like butter, smooth and perfectly flowy. Nearly a one coater, and if I would have paid a bit more attention to my application, it would have been! 2 easy coats, very quick dry time, and a nice glossy finish! No top coat for this lovely!

My one complaint, and it is a nit-picky one, is the bottle cap. The bottles are nice modern square bottles, and I love the look. However, the cap is also square, and a bit clunky to handle which can make for a troublesome application. If it were removable, like the butter London caps, it would be perfect. Like I said, nit-picky.

 

I am rather impressed and very pleased with the product Bondi has released. Nice color selection, fantastic formula, and to top it off, 5-free and a company with a conscience. All  around win! There are other boutique brands in the $15-$20 price range (Bondi NY runs $15) that offer an inferior product and isn't 5-free.

 

Bondi New York is available online. Bottles are $15 a piece, international shipping available.

Products shown were provided by Bondi NY for my honest review. All opinions are my own. For more information please read my disclaimer.

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.

KbShimmer No Whine Left & Don't Teal Anyone

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a fun and exciting New Year's Eve. I spent mine with my little family and some of our friends hanging out, having some drinks, laughing and being loud. Good times for sure.

 

I have finally made the leap into the Indie polish scene with my first two (definitely not last) polishes from KBShimmer. I mentioned one in my 2012 Wrap Up post under the "Honorable Mentions" section because I was really impressed with it. More on that later. On to the pictures!

 

 

KBShimmer - Don't Teal Anyone

 

Don't Teal Anyone is a teal crelly with multi sized hex fuchsia glitters, med and large hex blue and gold glitters and micro fine bar fuchsia glitter. Hello gorgeous! I love everything about this polish; the base color, the perfect mix of glitter, the way it looks like the glitter is floating in the polish, just perfect. Formula was wonderful as well! I have always been leery about Indie glitters because I hate clumpy polish with a passion. This applied so smoothly, no clumping or dragging. I didn't have to fish for glitter either. 2 easy coats. It does need a good thick top coat to smooth out all that texture though.

 

 

 

KBShimmer - No Whine Left

 

No Whine Left is a rich burgundy crelly with multi sized hex blue and fuchsia glitters, large light blue glitter and a small amount of scattered holo glitter. This is the one that did me in (& made my "Honorable Mention" list). It is amazing. I love how the larger light blue glitter looks like it glows in the polish. I literally stared at my nails the whole time I wore it. Formula was a tiny bit thinner than DTA, but still very smooth and easily applied. Again, 2 coats, no issues, polish bliss. Nice thick, shiny top coat for the finish.

 

If all Indie glitters were of this quality, I would be broke. Even more than I am now! I simply cannot get over how amazing and lovely these are. I already have 9 more on my "to-buy" list!

For reference, I used 2 coats of Cult Nails Wicked Fast top coat for these swatches. Still trying it out, & plan to review it soon!

Polishes available on line at KBShimmer, Etsy, & internationally at Harlow & Co.

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!

Cult Nails Let Me FLy

Hey everyone! Happy day after Christmas! I had a nice quiet day, at home, with my husband & small person. Sometimes it's nice to have a relaxing holiday, rather than a crazy, loud one.

I have another Cult Nails polish, today. I really wanted to give the brand another shot, since I wasn't blown away from my first purchase, a few weeks ago. I chose an older color, since none of the newer shades really grabbed my attention.

 

Cult Nails - Let Me Fly

 

Let Me Fly is a dusty teal with a chunky pink, silver and blue shimmer. I love this color, it is a very pretty shade of teal, and the shimmer makes it a little more special. Even though I like it, I'm not blown away. I keep feeling a little let down. Formula was nice, still a little thin for my taste, but quite a bit more managealbe than Flushed. Dry time was a bit better too, average on all accounts.

 

 

I still can't say that I have been won over. As much as I hate to say it, I personally feel the brand has been hyped quite a bit. I doubt I will be making too many purchases in the future, especially since the polishes are getting a price increase from $10 to $12. While I understand the cost of running a business (I have my own that I run), I just can't see any reason to pay more for a polish that doesn't wow me in the first place.

China Glaze Cirque du Soliel Collection

Hey all! Hope all you American readers had a great Thanksgiving & everyone else had a great Thursday! Today I have three polishes from the new China Glaze collection inspired by the Cirque du Soliel movie "Worlds Away. "

 

China Glaze - It's a Trap-eaze

 

It's a Trap-eaze is a fabulous milky white polish loaded with multi sized rainbow glitter. I am such a sucker for milky glitters, and this one is my absolute fav, hands down. Looking at the swatch pictures actually makes want to go put it on again! Formula was a little tricky mainly because of the amount of glitter packed in the bottle. 2 coats and a nice thick top coat evened everything out perfectly though.

 

 

 

 

 

China Glaze - Surreal Appeal

 

 Surreal Appeal is a "nearly" neon pink coral cream. I say "nearly" because it doesn't dry matte, but very glossy. It was much more bright and pigmented than the bottle. I have been looking for a good coral, and at first I was let down because this is very pink, but ended up really liking it after I wore it for a little while. Formula was a bit on the thin side, so make sure you go easy with your application to avoid pooling. Despite the thin formula, it only took 2 coats for full coverage.

 

 

 

 

China Glaze - Water You Waiting For over Julep Hoch

 

 Water You Waiting For is a sheer blue base with blue, green and purple multi sized glitters. It is a pretty dense polish and could be built up on it's own with out undies, but I was already wearing Hoch & was too lazy to take it off! >_<  I think they look really well together! Yay teal! Since WYWF is a total glitter bomb, I expected to have a much more difficult time applying, but it wasn't as bad. It does tend to get a tiny bit clumpy, if you are slower with it, but nothing too major.

 

 

I really dig the glitters from this collection & some of the other brights are definitely on my to buy list!