Can't go wrong with this!

Ugh, I've been feeling like garbage the past few weeks and it stinks! But I think I'm starting to feel a bit better *touch wood*. Today I have a UV polish for you guys from The Born Pretty Store. I have actually done home gel polish before, but I have no clue if I reviewed it and I'm far too lazy to check.

I decided to try this out specifically because it was matte and I have never seen a matte UV polish and I'm a sucker for matte polish. Now on Born Pretty's site they don't have instruction on how to apply it for those who may not know so I'll explain.

1) Clean your nails of residue with remover. 2) Add your gel base coat(I skipped this because...I forgot tbh), then cure under UV lamp 3) Polish nails, making sure not to get any on skin as it will cure there and be hard to take off. Then cure after each coat 4) Add UV top coat and cure. Skip this step if you want to keep the polish matte. 5) Wipe down nails with rubbing alcohol to get rid of excess residue.

Application of the polish was really easy, and it worked like all the other gel polishes I have used in the past. I was a little worried about wiping them down after they were matte, but in the end it was totally fine. Honestly the one big downside for me was the wear time. I started to peel after a few days and had tip wear early on. That being said I have tried a few at home UV polishes and they have all acted the exact same way even with a base coat.

The polish itself is BEAUTIFUL. It's a deep purple with copper flecks. It kind of reminds me of Dutch 'Ya Just Love OPI?. They feel like cousins. It applied easily with 2 coats.

Honestly I would recommend this polish as well as the others from the line. They are on par with polishes like Sally Hansen, but only cost anywhere from $3.82 - $7 on the BP site. Which is half the price if of most brands. Also they come in an awesome assortment of colours. Honestly when it comes to polish overall, Born Pretty is a fantastic place to go.

Have you tried gel polish?

*Polish sent for honest review

China Glaze: We've Got The Beet

I'll be honest, for over the past year or so I haven't been into buying new polish. It's rare I find anything that stands out. I find most new polishes I see unoriginal, so I was really please to see this polish. For the first time in a long time I was excited. It's a shame that feeling didn't last long.

I'm honestly not sure how I feel about this polish. We've Got The Beet is a beautiful magenta shade from China's Glaze's 2016 Summer Lite Brites collection(*I KNOW* I'm reviewing something that's current!). It leans purple (but photographs more purple then it actually is irl) with mostly gold/copper-ish flecks. The formula is like wet lime plaster, and it takes 3 careful coats for total opacity, and the dry time is tedious. On the plus side like lime plaster it does seem to last eons on the nail. In the photos the manicure is 5 days old.

I'm glad I got the teeny tiny bottle for now. Pretty colour, tragic formula. Maybe I will get the full size bottle one day when it inevitably goes on sale somewhere.

Ninja Polish - Passion Shift: *swoon*

Big day today so here is a quick review of an AMAZING polish.

Today I have Ninja Polish's Passion Shift. It is a gorgeous polish that shifts from purple to blue(although my photos only show off the pretty purple a bit more) filled with holo glitter. Application was an easy 2 coats, although one coat was almost enough. Went on like room temperature butter(that's a good thing ;) ) The polish is currently sold out, but you can get it over here.

Literary Lacquers Thermodynamics - The only thing I understand about Thermodynamics is you should wear this over black. DO IT!

This polish is Thermodynamics from Literary Lacquers Community Collection.  It was created by Alex of Sparkly Vernis.

Now normally I like starting off Literary Lacquers posts with a bit of info on the book the polish was based on.  Amy reads science books, and one thing she said she could read about all day is Energy and Work.  Yesterday I couldn't tell you what that meant, today I still can't.  I honestly tried to understand it.  I even used Wikipedia, trusted encyclopedia of Universities throughout the world.  It was if I was reading the words and they immediately fell out my ears.  So I gave up and accepted the fact that science wasn't my thing...minus genetics when I was in school...and pig dissections.

Anyways, less about piggies and more about polish!  Thermodynamics is described as a sheer cherry red jelly polish with a blue glass fleck and a touch of blue iridescent glitter.  Although I would say it was more of a pinkish red.  I used 4 coats due to bumping my hand and covering it up with an extra coat.  But you really only need 3 if you want it pretty much opaque(there may be some visible nail line).  Then I layered 2 coats over one coat of black.  I'll be honest, this isn't really my type of polish, but over black ASDFGHJKL!!!!!  All the particles stand out a bit more and it kind of has this duochrome-y feel to it.

With no undies

 FLASH *AH-HA*

 Over black

When I was done I decided to add some nail art.  This is equatsion, it's where k_B is the Boltzmann constant, and Ω denotes the volume of macrostate in the phase space or otherwise called thermodynamic probability...you know...that. *blinks*

If you would like a bottle of this, head on over to Literary Lacquers page.  A bottle of this .5oz polish is only $10 USD.

*Product sent for honest review

Revlon Plum Attraction + 12pcs Gold 3D Nail Sticker Heart Crown Bowknot Butterfly Flower Patterns Easy and Fast Stickers = Quite the mouthful. Also I have an addiction...A YUMMY ONE!

So over the past few months I have really been getting into hot apple cider.  I never really liked the cold stuff, it was like weird apple juice.  But the hot stuff...nnggghhhhh....*drools*.  My warm, cozy drink of choice had always been a hot chocolate, but suddenly I can't get enough cider!  I just finished a mug full and I'm going to make another soon.  Yesterday I decided I wanted a break from cider so I had tea.  Tea that had apples in it, and I was back on the cider today.  I say screw pumpkin spice, and your candy cane latte.

Today I have for you...you know what hold on...................................

I just made another mug of hot apple cider.

Anyways, today I have for you 2 things.  The first is Revlon Plum attraction.  A rich purple shimmer with fine bits of pink shimmer.  I only needed 2 coats and it applied smoothly.  Normally this blog isn't a huge fan of Revlon, especially this line, but this is beautiful.  Well played Revlon.

Next I have these gold nail stickers I got from the Born Pretty Store.  As you know this blog is a huge fan of easy nail to do nail art.  And these stickers fit the bill.  First of all they were easy to use.  Second the borders and clear, and if you lay them down flat you don't have that problem of having noticeable sticker outlines.  And correct me if I'm wrong(I'm not) but does this not go perfectly with the purple???  And there are so many to choose from.  The entire package comes with 12 sets!

If you would like to get your hands on a set of these stickers you can head on over to the Born Pretty Store where they retail for $3.99 USD.  And shipping is free!  AND to top all that off you can use our discount code EAL91 and get 10% off!

If you would like some of my hot apple cider, I will fight you.  You are not getting any of my apple elixir.

*Some products in this post were sent for honest review.

LynBDesigns - Deadly Nightshade: VHS??????

This polish is from LynBDesigns The Nightmare Begins collection (It's inspired by The Nightmare Before Christmas for those of you who have yet to catch on).   If you don't know about her brand most of the polishes are fandom related.  I'm 97% sure she has the largest collection of Doctor Who polishes :)

Now back to this polish.  I'm going to be honest with you guys.  I do love this film, but I haven't seen it in YEARS.  I'm going to blame it on the fact that I own a copy of this film on VHS*.  I have a VHS player but it's annoying.  Woe is me.  But I really want to watch it again in the next few days.

Hail Yeezus and bless the interwebs.

So Deadly Nightshade is what Sally put into Doctor Finkelstein soup in order for him to fall asleep and her to escape(He made her, she a rag doll).  The polish is a purple pink, with super fine green shimmer.  In the bottle it reads more purple than pink but when you put it on your nails you for sure get purple pink.  It was also more sheer than what I expected looking at it in the bottle, but at the same time it surprised me by only needed 3 coats for opacity.  I also layered one coat over a dark purple(China Glaze Urban Nights).  When you layer it over a darker colour the green for sure takes center stage.

If you would like a bottle of this you can head over to LynBDesigns Etsy shop.  Polishes retail from between $8-$10USD.  And if you order now through Sunday, and use the code CHICAGO you can get 50% of your purchase of $16 or more.

Onto the photos!  I actually found the green to be the hardest to capture.  You can see it in the photos but it's a bit more green in real life.  And the last photo is over the purple.  Not only that but I used flash to show you exactly what the shade of green looks like.  Know that the flash makes all those streaks pop out. It does not look streaky in real life.

 

*VHS™

abbreviation for

(Electronics) video home system: a video cassette recording system using ½″ magnetic tape

 *Product sent for honest review

A England - Lady of the Lake: Birthday Nails!

So as you know my birthday was last week.  I posted Doctor Who, Dalek Rave nails.  But those weren't the nails I was actually wearing on my birthday.  I just thought it would be a really neat thing to get to post on my birthday.

A England Lady of the Lake was the polish I was wearing on my actual birthday.  I really didn't feel like doing anything special like cupcakes, or just in general birthday related nail art.  I just wanted simple.  Lady of the Lake is a rich, dark purple with scattered holo.  This is another brand of polish that get's it right when it comes to holos.  But then again my favourite types of holos are the more subtle ones that stand alone as a colour as well.  I used 2 coats on most fingers and 3 on a few because they were patchy.

Overall I LOVE this colour(and all of their polishes).  NEED MORE!

If you would like a bottle(or multiple) you can get this on their website if you are in the UK or from online retailers such as Ninja Polish.  They retail for around $10USD.

FOUND IT! Now you can see Kleancolor Chunky Purple!

So I the post after the skull nails was actually going to be another really cool Born Pretty post, BUT I lost my camera :(.  I looked everywhere for it and at first thought I might have lost it in the real world.  Thankfully I found it 3 days later in my room!  It had fallen behind my bed!

So for the past almost four days I have been wearing H&M Plum and Kleancolor Purple Chunky Holo over it.  I've already reviewed Plum, but Purple Chunky Holo is a multichrome glitter and not a holo.  The glitter is in a light purple base.  In all honesty over dark colours the base wouldn't really make that much of a difference.  Let me just say it is beautiful over plum and the glitter is noticable from a distance.  And I don't know what it was but this wore like iron.  At the end of 4 days it still looked perfect!

Ps. Don't forget about our GIVEAWAY!

Day 1 Sunlight

 Day 3 Indoors

 Day 3 indoors (2 coats of chunky holo)

 Bottle shot

Alchemy On Alchemy

So September is here, and that means fall is just around the corner!  Fall is sort of my favourite season!  And I say sort of because I love the first half of fall, it's perfect sweater weather!  I also love the second half of spring!  It's like the first half of fall but in reverse.  I love the season of sweater :)

Now the polish.  This is Sally Hansen Salon Alchemy.  It is a beautiful deep plum purple filled with pink and copper shimmer.  Although the copper isn't all that visible it's still super pretty!  It only took two coats to reach full opacity.  It's super vampy and sexy.  Which is perfect for fall, for those who like to stay on trend.  I have no idea how much these retail for as I bought this on sale for $2.

Natural light(cloudy)

 Light box

The minute I bought this polish I knew I needed to do alchemical symbol symbol nails.  There was a bunch of symbols I wanted to use but i had a hard time cutting it down.  So then I just decided to go with five of the seven planetary metals(Seven metals are associated with the seven classical planets, and seven deities, all figuring heavily in alchemical symbolism).  I used gold microbeads from the craft store, and the bled which made me sad. Do you know what the symbols I used represent?  And do you know of microbeads that don't bleed?

Do you ever get inspired by the name of your polish?  What is your favourite season?

Sweet Color Nail Polish - More adventures with me putting stuff that isn't meant for nails, on my nails, and a dash of Anderson Cooper. (NOTE: I did not put Anderson Cooper on my nails).

I hope you are all having a fantastic weekend!    This week for the first time EVER I  forgot I had to go lead a workshop for children.  Well not really forgot so much as I thought it was a different day!  I felt horrible!  I've never done anything like this before.  I'm lucky that by chance someone extra was there and took my spot. *facepalm* Never again!

Anyways on to polish!  Today I have my first Sweet Color Polish from the Born Pretty Store.  This polish does not have a name.  It is simply listed as S037.  It also says it's eco friendly, but does not say any more than that.  So I can't say if it's 3 or 5-free.   The polish is a grape coloured, cream polish and I had it completely opaque in 3 coats.  Application was tricky though because of the brush.  It was super duper floppy and a bit hard to control.  Now I don't like them too stiff *giggle*,  but floppy is also a no no *giggle*.  There's that happy inbetween.  But keep in mind this may also be a personal preference.  I'm sure some people out there like them floppy... *giggle*.

Sunlight

 Light box

Note:  That's not tip wear on my ring finger.  It's shrinkage from not wrapping properly.

I wore it on it's own for a day, then I added some of that temporary hair colour.  You know the one that you spray on and then you just wash out at the end of the day.  I originally bought this because I was dressing up as Anderson Cooper to go to an Anime convention.  Yes, you read that correctly.  I decided to use it for a bit of nail art and see if I could get a simple gradient effect.   I think it turned out pretty neat.  But I thought it still needed something.  So I added this silver, no name glitter I had.  Pretty pleased with how it turned out!!!

If you would like to try some sweet polishes they retail for $6.14 USD.  But you can use out 10% discount code EAL91 and get a discount!

Have you tried Sweet Color polishes?  Do you put weird things on your nails?  Or is that just me?

*Product sent for honest review

Femme Fatale Tricky Treats: So THIS is glitter.

Of course I know what glitter is.  But up until now glitter to me was lots of circular shiny stuff, or hexagons.  Or sometimes it got really crazy and it was bar glitter, hexagons AND it was black and white.  INTENSE!  That was until I encountered Femme Fatale.  It is clear that up until now I had no idea what glitter really was.

Femme Fatale is an indie brand bases in Brisbane, Australia.  Not only do they make and sell their own cosmetics they also sell other international brands as well as well as national brands!

The first polish I have for you guys is Tricky Treats!  It's a glitter in an orange tinted base.  It contains bar glitter both in orange and holographic gold,  medium orange hex glitter, tiny orange glitter, small purple and red square glitter, tiny pink glitter and finally I don't know how many are in here but I found a single orange heart.   It's a true mélange of shapes and sizes.  And for something that is so jammed packed with glitter I was super pleased with the formula.  I only used one coat over NYC 120A, a purple shimmer(It's old so it has a number rather than a name).  And it applied easier than a lot of more tame glitters I own.  Also a bonus is that it is 3-free!

All in all I really like this and can't wait to wear it around Halloween.  I want to layer it over a squishy purple.  In general I'm not a huge glitter person, but I've slowly found myself liking them more and more!  I'm excited to show you the others I have!

Full size bottles are 12ml and you can find them online at Llarowe (USA), Harlow & Co (Canada),Shoppe Eclecticco & Beauty so Fly (Singapore), Ledouxnuage (France) and Norway Nails (Norway).  They are $13 USD but of course that price will vary slightly depending where you get them. And if you are in Australia you can order straight through them!

Do you guys have any Femme Fatale polish?

*Product sent for honest review