Standing Here Waiting for my Dancing Queen

I hate making titles.  Seriously, my least favourite part of blogging.  Anywho, today's post features two indies I haven't worn in a while: Aphrodite Lacquers Standing Here Waiting and WingDustCollections Dancing Queen. 

I started off with a base of OPI Eurso Euro, before layering on two thin coats of Aphrodite Lacquers Standing Here Waiting.  This one is so packed with glitter!  On top of that I added one very sparse coat of WingDustCollections Dancing Queen, for a bit of holographic sparkle.  I purposely did just a very thin coat of this polish here - to see its full sparkle power, check this out! 

One coat of Seche Vite to smooth it all out, of course.  What do you think of this look?  Recently I've really been enjoying pulling out my older polishes that haven't seen much but the inside of my helmer since swatching, and I love finding old favourites like these two!  :) 

Purple Skittlette & Another Year Older

I'm 18 today!  It's weird, it really doesn't feel like it should be this time of year already, and yet somehow it is...  I've still got to go to ballet class and rehearsals this morning and then go to work for six hours in the afternoon, but I'm going out for dinner with two friends later, so that'll give me something to look forward to!  Well, that and eating an entire tub of Ben & Jerry's all by myself... Because everything is calorie-free on your birthday.

This isn't actually what's on my nails today, but it's a cute skittlette that I wore earlier this week.  I really loved this, mainly because it's all purple which is my favourite colour!  :)

The gorgeous glitter on my index finger is two coats of Aphrodite Lacquers Star Crossed Lovers over OPI You're Such A Budapest.   My middle and ring fingers are each one coat of LaCC 1973 stamped with Nailz Craze Plate NC02 and Essie No Place Like Chrome.  I finished off the look with my favourite textured polish on my pinky: Zoya Stevie.  All nails (except the Pixie Dust) are topped with LaCC 2013 top coat.  

Do you love this look as much as I do?  :)

Aphrodite Lacquers: True Love & Broken Hearts Collections

Hi all!  Today I've got two Aphrodite Lacquers to show you; one from the True Love collection (glitter toppers) and one from the Broken Hearts collection (jelly glitters).  I'm no stranger to Rebecca's brand (you can see all my previous posts here) so you know it's a big deal when I say that this post contains what is probably my favourite Aphrodite Lacquer to date!  

Because of that, this post is pretty picture-heavy; continue reading after the jump!  ;)

Aphrodite Lacquers: Romes & Jules Collection

Today's post is a long-overdue review of four polishes from Aphrodite Lacquers' Romes & Jules Collection for spring!  All of the formulas were the same, so I'll address that at the end of the post. You can see my swatches of previous Aphrodite Lacquers collections by following these links, but make sure you come back and take a look at these!  Romance Novel, Outta This World, Friday Night Glitter Bomb, Printemps A Paris, and Birthday collections. 

Now, on to the stars of today's post!  First up is my favourite of the four, Montagues.  This stunner is a "black jelly polish filled with pink, green, blue, and purple hex and circle glitters."

Although it can be built up to opacity alone, I chose to layer two coats of Montagues over A England Jane Eyre for a more opaque look and faster drying time.  You're seeing one coat of Seche Vite, but I added another later for a completely smooth finish.  

Circle glitters are kind of my new favourite thing and I always love me a good vampy colour, so when Rebecca asked me if there were any specific polishes I wanted to swatch, I, of course, chose this one.  It doesn't disappoint!  

Violent Delights is a "milky white jelly polish, packed with white glitters of various sizes and all the different pink and purple glitters from this collection, and holo microglitters scattered throughout."  

As with all four of the polishes in this post, Violent Delights can be built up to near-opacity alone, but I layered this one in two coats over OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls.  This glitter was a little lumpy, so I topped it with two coats of LaCC 2013 top coat for a nice smooth shine.  

I really like the milky white base with white glitters and other colours peeking through.  The scattered red glitters make me think this one was very appropriately named!  

Next up is my second favourite of the polishes here; Two Star Crossed Lovers is a "milky light purple polish, lots of different purple and holo glitters, with a hidden purplish-pinkish shimmer." 

"From forth the fatal loins of these two foes

A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;

Whose misadventured piteous overthrows

Do with their death bury their parents' strife."

Yea, just felt like throwing that excerpt from the prologue in there.  I layered two coats of Two Star Crossed Lovers (which I keep thinking should be 'Two Star-Cross'd Lovers', because I'm weird) over LaCC 1972, a lilac creme which made the perfect base.  One coat of LaCC 2013 top coat here. 

I really love the mix of glitters in this one, it's such a delicate and pretty polish!  This polish makes me want spring to come, it snowed here the other day!  Grrr...

Last for today is Inauspicious Stars, a "milky white jelly polish, with white glitters of various sizes, and pastel pink/purple/blue glitters, and holo microglitters scattered throughout."  

I layered two coats of Inauspicious Stars over OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, and topped with two coats of LaCC 2013 top coat for a smooth finish. 

Whites don't usually look good on my skin tone (especially in pictures) but I'll make an exception for this one because it's so pretty!!  Another lovely delicate polish perfect for spring! 

Formulas on all these polishes were alright to work with; no major problems but they did require a little extra manipulating with the brush to get an even spread of glitter.  A couple of them were slightly lumpy, but nothing a good layer or two of top coat can't fix!!  

You can find Aphrodite Lacquers on Etsy, and keep up to date on Facebook.  All of these polishes are currently in stock except for Montagues, but you can still pick up it's white-based counterpart Capulets!  

How are you liking the look of this spring collection?  I really like Montagues and Two Star Crossed Lovers, but which polishes are your favourites?  :)

Disclaimer: Products in this post were provided for review and my honest opinion.  

Aphrodite Lacquers: Birthday Collection

Yet again, Aphrodite Lacquers has put out a collection that stands out from the crowd.  We had spring colours in the fall, and now we've got a collection of gorgeous jellies and glitters to celebrate her winter birthday!  I'm constantly impressed by Rebecca, the creative mind behind Aphrodite Lacquers, (Exhibits A, B, C, and D) and this collection is certainly no exception!

It's My Party is a hot pink jelly with silver micro shimmer.  I thought the end of photographing neons came with the turn of the season, apparently not!  I used this polish as undies in a post last week, see it topped with a black & white glitter here!

I'm honestly not really one for bright pinks (or bright colours at all), though I did enjoy wearing this topped with the black & white glitter.  It was certainly an attention-grabber in December!  

The formula on this was easy to work with, though I still had a little bit of VNL with 4 thin coats.  It dried to a slightly satiny finish, so swatches are 4 thin coats with one coat of Seche Vite.  Photo below is the most colour-accurate. 

Never Too Old  is described as a black matte polish with silver and fuschia shimmer, though the gorgeous shimmer looks more silver/blue/purple to me. 

I think that this is a very versatile polish, the shimmer is so pretty and makes it much more interesting than a plain black creme!  Wouldn't this be lovely as a base for galaxy nails? 

I love the satin finish of this polish, the matte black with a hint of shimmer looks so classy!  Photos are without top coat to show the natural finish of the polish, though the shimmer comes out even more with a glossy top coat.

I used three coats on all fingers except the index, for which I used two.  It appeared fully opaque in two coats, though I'd recommend a third to add depth to the finish.  The photo below shows the difference in direct lighting between two and three coats.  (L-R: 3 coats, 3 coats, 2 coats.)

Saving the best for last, this is Wrapping, Ribbons, Bows. It is a purple jelly polish packed with tiny glowing purple glitters.  When I tell people my favourite colour is purple, THIS is what I'm talking about!  

So much depth and richness to this polish!!  It became one of my all-time favourite purple polishes before I had even painted on a second coat.  Simply stunning!

If memory serves, this is three thin coats (I did so much swatching over the weekend, I really should start taking notes!)  Formula was easy like the others, but one coat of Seche Vite left it a little grainy (as in the photos).  Just barely. Probably wouldn't bother most people, but I'd use two coats of top coat for a perfect glass-smooth finish. 

You can find Aphrodite Lacquers always fully-stocked on Etsy, and keep up to date on Facebook.  To see my previous posts on Aphrodite Lacquers, click here. 

Overall, another absolutely amazing collection from Aphrodite Lacquers!  Which polish is your favourite?   Will you be picking up any of the polishes from the Birthday Collection?  

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

Aphrodite Lacquers: Printemps a Paris Collection

Of course I'm mid-photo-crisis when I receive two Aphrodite Lacquers from Rebecca's delightfully seasonally-inappropriate Printemps a Paris collection.  I managed to perfectly capture the lovely colour and depth of these polishes, but you'll have to excuse my oompa-loompa fingers for the time being. 

First I have Terre (translated to Earth,) a pastel-green base (which my friends affectionately described as "frog" when they saw it) with emerald-green and yellow small hex glitters, and hidden green shimmer that comes out to play when the light hits it just right.  I'm not normally a fan of shimmer and glitter in the same polish, but Rebecca nailed it (no pun intended) with the barely-there shimmer that just adds another dimension to the polishes. 

I've used four coats for the pictures, with one coat of Seche Vite; I was very pleased with how smooth this was!  You know when you put top coat over a glitter after doing your mani at night, and then you wake up in the morning and it's all sunk and the glitter is super gritty again?  No problem with that here; these pictures were taken the morning after, with only one coat of top coat! 

The first coat required careful applicaiton, but the next three were super easy.  Great glitter suspension, and no dabbing required.  The jelly base is quite sheer, but if you don't have much free edge or a very visible nail line, you could easily get away with three coats like Stephanie did here. 

The second polish Rebecca sent me definitely does double-duty in terms of being seasonally-appropriate, this is Nuages, (translated to Clouds).  It's a white jelly base (love!) with silver, blue, and gunmetal glitters and a blue hidden shimmer.  

This polish fits in with the springtime collection because of the soft colours, but it's also reminiscent of a snowy winter scene, and I think this also makes a great winter polish for someone who doesn't like the normal dark colours that make up winter collections. 

This one is also four coats, but there is no top coat in the pictures; you can see that it's still very shiny by itself but I'd recommend a quick-drying top coat to help speed up the drying.  In terms of application, everything that I said about Terre applies here.  This one was a tad more sheer so I still had minimal VNL at 4 coats, but I didn't mind it very much with the white base. 

The only negative thing I have to say about this collection is that being a French speaker, in the names of the polishes there are some grammar and spelling issues, along with a lack of accents.  However, this has absolutely nothing to do with Rebecca's polish-making abilities, and I've been smitten with this collection from the get-go.  Anything with French, France, or Paris in the name, and I can't help but be biased towards it.  ;) 

You can find Aphrodite Lacquers always fully-stocked on Etsy, and keep up to date on Facebook. 

Will you be picking up any of the polishes from the Printemps a Paris collection?  Do you let the seasons influence your polish colour choices?

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

Aphrodite Lacquers: Friday Night Glitter Bomb Collection

Tonight I've got some serious eye candy for all you glitter-bomb lovers!  You may have seen my previous reviews of Aphrodite Lacquers Romance Novel and Outta This World collections, and now I've got Rebecca's newest collection, the Friday Night Glitter Bombs!

This collection consists of ten glitter topper polishes with super fun names; I have five to show you!  I'll mention that for all of the polishes I used one coat of the glitter topper over a base, and photos have no top coat.  I've shown each of the polishes over two different base colours to show just how versatile they are!

First is probably my favourite from the collection, Peacock Earrings. Rebecca describes this polish as a "clear polish base, with a very fine holo shimmer, multiple different black and white glitters, with small holo glitters of 3 colors (purple holo, blue holo, and teal holo)."  Over one coat each of Sally Hansen Lacey Lilac and Pacific Blue. 

Gossip is described as a "sheer pinkish polish, with pink and light purple flakes, small purple microglitters, and a color changing shimmer that goes from aqua to purple to pink."  This one was impossibly difficult to capture in pictures.  It is so incredibly stunning!  I love the fact that it's so versatile; layer it over a pastel colour for a touch of fairy dust, or layer it over a dark colour for a party-ready look!   Over Sally Hansen Black Out and Lacey Lilac. 

Next up is Pre Party, a "sheer pink polish base, with a color changing shimmer that goes from pink to coppery gold, and multiple different pink, black, and white glitters."  The description calls it a sheer pink base but it doesn't change your base colour at all.  The shimmer is very obvious and gorgeous in this one, though overall this isn't my cup of tea.  I've shown it over Revlon Raspberry Scone and Essie French Affair. 

 

VIP Room is described as a "sheer aqua base, with an aqua shimmer, aqua micro glitter, and iridescent squares that are kind of bluish and purpley and teal."  First off, yes, bluish is a word, and therefore purpley should be also. This one, like Gossip, is one that changes completely depending on the base colour.  The irridescent squares are very eye-catching!  Shown over Sally Hansen Black Out and Pacific Blue. 

Last is Velvet Rope, a "sheer purple polish base, with a color changing shimmer that goes from blue to purple to pink, and multiple different purple, black, and white glitters."  This one had some slight issues with glitters that appeared to curl.  It isn't too bad, but might be a problem for some people.  I can tell you that it does smooth out with two thick coats of top coat, though I have no top coat on in the pictures

I've spoken to Rebecca about this and she is aware of it; she says that if you would like one of these polishes and the slight curling is an issue for you, to just shoot her a message and you can figure something out! :)

I've included a few pictures of the curling culprit. Feel free to click to enlarge. (No top coat pictured.)

In terms of application, VIP Room and Gossip were very easy to apply.  Peacock Earrings, Pre Party, and Velvet Rope were a bit more difficult; the glitter liked to clump together and required some minor dabbing to get an even coat.  I think that the end result is worth it, though! :)

Aphrodite Lacquers can be found on Etsy here and on Facebook here.  Her polishes are consistently beautiful and stunning for only $8USD per full sized bottle!  She has such a diverse collection of polishes, her store is always stocked, she's always coming out with new polishes, and her customer service is excellent!  Rebecca is so sweet and I highly recommend Aphrodite Lacquers to everyone and anyone! :)

Disclaimer: These products were sent to me for review and my honest opinion.  The views represented are completely my own and have not been influenced in any way.  Promise. 

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.