The Polish Bar: Oceanside & Shirley

 Today I've got two more polishes from The Polish Bar to show you! If you missed the first part, go check it out.


 Oceanside is my favourite of the bunch.  It's a mix of matte glitter in different shapes and sizes and shades of blue and green.  I layered one coat of Oceanside over a subtle gradient of SH Xtreme Wear Mint Sorbet and NYX Matte Teal.  The gradient was more noticeable in person, and this combination was absolutely gorgeous.  Application on this one was pretty good, but I did go back and place a few of the larger pieces afterwards to fill in the spaces.  Two coats of Seche Vite, voila!

Last is Shirley, which is a mix of pink and black glitter in a clear base.  I layered one coat of Shirley over two coats of Zoya Dove.  The application on this one was super easy just like Neon Lights and Dreams which I showed the other day.  One coat of Seche Vite.  

Bottle shots for some matte glittery goodness: 

As I mentioned in the last post, I've been told by Janice that the bottles I have were still "prototypes" and that the versions she is selling in her shop are more densely packed with glitter so you'll get more coverage.  

Both of these polishes are from her Color Play collection which is fully composed of matte glitters, so obviously I love them all!  You can get polishes from The Polish Bar on Etsy here.  I expect this brand to grow pretty quickly, so be sure to go grab yourself some of these pretties during her next restock!

Disclaimer: The products in this post were sent to me for review.

The Polish Bar: Neon Lights & Dreams

 Hello! I've got four amazing indie polishes from The Polish Bar, so I'm splitting it into two posts.  I haven't seen much of this brand around yet, but the polishes are gorgeous and unique, and Janice is so lovely and talented!  Take a look!


First is Neon Lights, a mix of hot pink, white, light pink, and purple mini matte hex glitters in a clear base.  Of course I just had to layer it over a neon, but I nearly smacked myself when it came to taking pictures.  We all love taking pictures of neons, right?  Anywho, this is one coat of SH Xtreme Wear White On, followed by one coat of Orly Glowstick, and topped with one coat of Neon Lights and one coat of Seche Vite.

 Next is Dreams, a beautiful mix of light purple, white, dark purple, pink, and light grey mini matte hex glitters in a clear base.  I wanted to layer it over something that would complement all of the glitter without blending in, so I chose Orly Snowcone.  Because I chose to wear this one for a few days, I used two coats of Seche Vite to smooth it all out.  Isn't this pretty?

 And a couple bottle shots to see all the different glitters:

Neon Lights

Dreams

The application was great, absolutely no problems with the glitter spreading evenly.  I've been told by Janice that the bottles I have were still "prototypes", and that the versions she is selling in her shop are more densely packed with glitter so you'll get more coverage.

Both of these polishes are from her Color Play collection which is fully composed of matte glitters, so obviously I love them all!  You can get polishes from The Polish Bar on Etsy here.  I expect to be seeing this relatively-new indie brand around a lot more going forward, she's doing it right! :)

Keep an eye out for part two of this post, which will include my favourite polish from The Polish Bar!


Disclaimer: The products in this post were sent to me for review

Black & White Polka-Dot (& Update!)

 Next to stripes, polka-dots are probably my favourite pattern.  Especially when it comes to nail art, they're so quick and easy, but have such an impressive visual effect!

I've used my trusty one-coat black, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out, and made the dots with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On using my uber-professional dotting tool: a pin stuck in the eraser-end of a pencil.  


This is what I wore when we went camping over the weekend, because it matched my bathing suit! :) I also knew that I had to have something that I wouldn't mind wearing for 3 days straight without a change.  Luckily I avoided any breakages while setting up tents and such; but unfortunately my cuticles are nasty, and in the swatch pictures I took today they look less-than-satisfactory.  Boo.  Oh well, pretty pictures for today! 

I did go to Sally's on the weekend, and ended up with quite the haul.  I even got asked if my nails were stickers (by the lady with the large leopard-print and rhinestone stick-on talons on her fingers, lol.)  They had this great deal on where if you bought two bottles of Orly, you'd get a free full-size bottle of any of the new Orly Electronica polishes!  The lady working there was really nice, and even counted my two clearance-price Orlys and allowed me to get MORE free polish!  I ended up with Orly Snowcone, Nite Owl, Glowstick (clearance), After Party (clearance), Shockwave (free), and Decoded (free), as well as my first Finger Paints, Motley (clearance).  Hooray!! :D  

As you may already know, I'm leaving this Saturday to go away to train for a month at a full-time ballet school where they don't allow us to wear nail polish.  I'll have my computer with me when I go away so I've got a couple of my own posts lined up, as well as a few great guest posts!  I've still got room for a few more, so I know this if fairly last-minute but if you'd like to do a guest post for my blog send me an e-mail at ecm.dancer@gmail.com.  As long as you can get it to me by August 4th, then it's not too late! 

This week is very busy with packing and such, so this could very well be my only post this week.  In fact, I probably shouldn't be doing this right now... If my mom knew she'd probably tell me to get off here and work on my packing list... She'll probably read this in the morning... Oops. Too late.  Anywho, shoot me an email if you'd like to guest post!  :)

Mesmerised & Whimsical

I have no idea what I did differently this time, but I just LOVE these photos; they turned out perfectly!!  

*Le drool*

Anywho, shameless self-pride aside, this is a combination I've been meaning to try for a while.  This is one coat of Essie Mesmerised followed by two coats of Revlon Whimsical and one coat of Seche Vite.  I love how the light blue jelly base of Whimsical turned Mesmerised into a color closer to Essie Coat Azure (which I own but haven't shown here before).  

Can all my pictures be this perfectly lit and drool-worthy?  Pretty please?

Seriously... just... GAH.  O_O

Quick post today because I'm leaving today to go camping for the weekend.  Luckily our family's version of camping involves sleeping in a tent at a campground that is 5 minutes away from civilization.  We spend most of our time in town though, where there just happens to be a Sally's!  I'm still looking to grab a gigantic bottle of Seche Vite.

Do you like this combination?  Is it just me or is this not one of the most beautiful things ever?? :)

Aphrodite Lacquers: Outta This World Collection

Today I've got a few more Aphrodite Lacquers to show you.  If you missed yesterday's post on the Romance Novel Collection, be sure to go check that right now; you're missing out on some stunning polishes!

The formula on these three polishes were all very similar.  They were perfectly opaque in three coats, and any nail line that may be visible in the photos wasn't visible at all in real life.  The glitter spread evenly, and it dried quickly enough so there was no worry of dragging previous coats.  All pictures are with one coat of Seche Vite.

First we've got Nebula,  a mix of silver and sky-blue glitter and microglitter in a black jelly base.  This is probably my favourite out of the three; I love the depth of all the glitter.

 Next is Asteroid, which is small silver glitter and sparse shimmer, as well as large white hexes in a black jelly base.  The white hexes weren't too hard to get, sometimes one would just come out on the brush though I'd have to place it where I wanted.  Just as a note, all of these hexes were placed on during the third coat, otherwise they'd get buried underneath the jelly and not look as nice.  One coat of Seche Vite evened out all of the glitter except for the large hexes, so if things like that bug you I'd recommend at least one coat from an old thick bottle to even it out.

Last is Galaxy,  a beautiful polish with a mix of small cobalt blue hex glitters and shimmer that shifts from blue to purple, though that was near impossible to catch in the pictures.  This was three easy coats topped with one coat of Seche Vite, which evened it all out.

Aphrodite Lacquers can be purchased on Etsy here, and like their Facebook page for updates, sneak peeks, and swatches.  

These are all very unique and interesting polishes; which one is your favourite? :)

Disclaimer: The products in this post were sent to me for review and my honest opinion. 

Aphrodite Lacquers: Romance Novel Collection

Today I've got three absolutely gorgeous polishes to show you from indie polish maker Rebecca of Aphrodite Lacquers.  She was kind enough to send me polishes from the Outta This World Collection which I'll show you soon, and the Romance Novel Collection which you'll be drooling over today. 

The formula for all of them was the same.  They were great, no problems spreading any glitter.  When I was playing around with them before I decided what to do, I found that they all can reach near-opaque with three thick coats, barely any visible nail line.  I've shown this on my pinky in the first picture, but all of the rest are layered over underwear to conserve my mini bottles.  The glitter is a little gritty, so I'd put two coats of a thick topcoat. 

First I've got Enchant, a striking emerald-green jelly polish full of white and green small hex glitter, and dense green micro-glitter.  On my pinky I have three thick coats of Enchant by itself, and on the other fingers I have two coats of Enchant layered over one coat of Orly Lucky Duck, followed by one coat of Seche Vite. 

Next up is Kisses, a beautiful fuchsia jelly polish full of white and fuchsia small hex glitter, and dense fuchsia micro-glitter.  For the pictures I've layered two coats of Kisses over one coat of Orly Plum Noir, topped with one coat of Seche Vite.  I think the darker base really lets the micro-glitter stand out!  

This last one is my favourite, but only by a hair.  Smolder is a stunning red jelly polish full of white and red small hex glitter, and dense red micro-glitter.  This one must have at least a little neon pigment in it, because without a top coat it dried with a satiny finish, and it seriously glows.  It's such a perfect red!  I've layered two coats of Smolder over one coat of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Cherry Red.  I topped it with one super-thick coat of Seche Vite from an old bottle, followed by one normal coat of SV.  

Since it naturally dried to a satiny finish, I wanted to see what it looked like matte.  It certainly looks cool, but I prefer this one shiny.

I'm absolutely smitten with these polishes, and will definitely be wearing them often!    You can get Aphrodite Lacquers on Etsy here ($8USD/full-sized bottle) and 'like' the Facebook page for updates, sneak peeks, and swatch pictures! :)

I'm very impressed with this indie polish brand, and am super excited to swatch the Outta This World polishes.  Of the ones I've shown you today, which is your favourite?  Let me know, leave a comment! They make me happy :) 




Disclaimer: The polishes in this post were sent to me for review and my honest opinion. 

Birthday Cake Jelly Sandwich

Let's just get this out of the way: it's not anyone's birthday today, that I know of anyway.  If it does happen to be your birthday, then happy birthday to you! 

I didn't intend for this jelly sandwich to look like birthday cake, but when I was done that seemed the most appropriate name.  This actually reminds me of the polishes in the Nails Inc. Sprinkles collection, but a whiter version.  The polishes I used were OPI Don't Touch My Tutu! and Savina Sparkles.  My layering process went like so: jelly, jelly, glitter, jelly, glitter, jelly, Seche Vite.  It was a bit bumpy with just one coat of SV but it was already too thick to add another coat. 

Anyone else hungry for cake?  Is it acceptable to eat cake before noon...?  Have a good day :)

And The Winner Is...

It's time to announce the winner of my first giveaway!  I felt like having some fun this morning, so instead of a random number generator (boring) I wrote down all the entries, put them in a hat, shook 'em up, and had my sister close her eyes and pick one....

And the winner is....

Congratulations!! I'll be emailing the winner in a few minutes, and she'll have 48 hours to get back to me before I pick another winner.  

I'd say my first giveaway was a success and a lot of fun, and I hope to do more in the future!! :)

Orly Fowl Play

Mooorning. (Thumbs up to you if you read that in George Weasley's voice.)  

My 100 Follower Giveaway is supposed to end today, but since I've got a post for you I'll be accepting any last-minute entries before 12am PST tonight.  If you haven't entered yet, hurry over there and leave a comment! 

Today I'm wearing one of my favourite polishes of all time, Orly Fowl Play.  When I first saw pictures of this  (before I started blogging) I instantly fell in love, and it was actually the first polish I ever wanted so badly that I ordered it online because I couldn't find it where I live. 

Seriously, everyone needs this polish.  Dark purple, jelly, colour-shifting flakies, and a billion other things make this one of my favourite colours.  Two coats of Fowl Play, two coats of Seche Vite.  Take a look:

At this point you should all take a moment to wipe the drool off your chin. 

How amazing is that?  Is it a must-have for you? :)