Just Because Nails - Picture Polish Aurora

This has to be one of my favorite polishes, despite being nearly impossible to capture all of it's faces. I pulled out the big camera recently and tried to catch this beauty on my nails.

Isn't it just gorgeous?!

Battle of the Topcoats - Part 1!! HK Girl Vs Seche Vite

Immediately after finishing the mani.

Shortly after finishing the mani - you can see some shrinkage already occuring on the index finger.

Shortly after finishing the mani - all good!

Both my HK Girl and my Seche Vite are quite low, as you can tell. They've both been thinned to be workable and both apply similarly to the nail. Each one had a tiny bit of smudging on the stamping if I wiped the brush over it too many times, so in that regard the performance was the same.

However within hours of finishing, a clear winner began to emerge. The nails with Seche Vite were already showing some serious tip wear/shrinkage.

Shrinkage/tip wear on the SV nail.

Within about 48 hours, I had some chipping on the SV nails. You may notice that I had to file my nails a bit before this photo was taken - some rough edges were catching and I didn't want any breaks, so the index finger looks less severe than reality. As you can see, the HK Girl nails are still looking quite good!

Winner: HK Girl!!

BinChic's Boutique - WTF (Wine Time Finally) - Swatches & Review

Two coats, flash.

Today I have for you a polish from BinChic's Boutique called WTF (Wine Time Finally) inspired by the pantone color of the year, Marsala. This is a gorgeous burgundy-wine holo that I'm really enjoying!

I've shown one coat here because this polish could have easily been a one coater if I knew what I was working with before applying it. 

It's self-leveling in the same was as A Englands, where you need to work quickly and in a thicker coat to avoid the polish drying too fast and making lumps where you drag your brush. You can get full coverage in one shot if you work fast. These are a bit streaky/patchy because I wasn't yet aware of the type of polish, but still totally wearable!

I really enjoyed the forumla, though there was a little bit of streaking that can happen sometimes with more metallic type finishes like this. It went on smooth and could have been a one coater with proper application. I plan on trying some stamping with this polish eventually.

I wore it for about 48 hours - went swimming, did dishes, showers, etc. and had only a little bit of shrinkage on two fingers from my top coat, not from the polish. I would say it wears quite well! Check it out over at BinChic's Boutique on Etsy!!

One coat, natural light.

One coat, natural light.

After a second coat the streakiness was much less apparent and the finish was quite glossy, but these shots are taken with top coat. (Seche Vite)

Unfortunately the sun was not shining today but I took photos with the natural light from outside and with flash to show the holographic finish.

Two Coats, natural light.

Two coats, flash.

*Press Sample*

A Busy Few Days of Swatching!

While writing out full length posts for my blog has been a bit difficult for me lately, I have been keeping up with my nails. The last couple of days I've started working on swatching my polishes for my pinterest collection. I thought I would share them with you all here and remind you that if you like my swatches, you can find them regularly on my Instagram. Once I've completed the projects I owe for Christmas (crochet requests from my Etsy shop - details in the future) I will get back into my normal programming for blogging.

So without further adieu, some of my swatches this week.

Eat Sleep Polish - You Can't Sit With Us

Eat Sleep Polish - Great Sexpectations

Eat Sleep Polish - The Turtle and the Hare

Aly's Dream Polish - Hottest Pink

It has been a month.

You know one of those ones where life intervenes and everything you want to do is sidelined for the important and super un-fun stuff? Yeah, one of those.

I miss blogging. I miss writing. I miss having time to do my nails every day. But I have been working on some fun stuff.

A scarf for a friend, nicely tied in a bow here:

A few pairs of slippers, some fingerless gloves and several bathroom oragnizers have also been keeping me quite busy.

I know this isn't my usual nail related post, but here are a couple of mani's I have done recently to tide you over:

Carpe Noctem Cosmetics - South Haven Sunset

I know I've shown this one before but it's just so gorgeous! I needed to wear it again. Look at that gold shimmer come through, it really does look like a sunset doesn't it?

I have high hopes that in the coming week I will be finishing up many of my near-complete projects which should open up some free time to get back to my nails and my blog. I hope you're all doing well, tell me in the comments how has the past month been going for you?

Nails of the Week! Girly Bits #islandtime!

A brand I very recently discovered a love for but which has quickly found a place in my heart is Girly Bits. Today I've got #islandtime to show you which I fell in love with as soon as I saw the bottle. It looks even better on somehow, if that's even possible. It is a teal holographic with some hints of green and some hints of blue depending on the lighting. I think I've covered the faces pretty well.

I hope you enjoy! This polish is absolutely gorgeous! I couldn't bear to take it off for three whole days, almost unheard of for me!

This is three thin coats with HK Girl top coat. This polish dried lightning fast on my nails and application was amazingly smooth. Can't wait to try some more of my Girly Bits!

Indoors, bright sunlight.

Indoors with flash.

September Stamping Update!

I don't think my stamping is wonderful yet and I haven't been taking a significant number of pictures of it, just enough for one each day on Instagram. I'll try to post every so often with a quick update of pictures.

Day 2 was Lace

Day 3 was Cat/Dog/Pet

Day 4 was Food

Day 5 was Birds, but since I don't have any bird plates I went with a Fashion theme.

Day 6 is Travel

August is Indie Month Day 31!

The final day of August is Indie Month! One of my favorite indie brands make a come back (since I'm out of new ones again). A England's Sleeping Palace is a gorgeous purpley burgundy color. It's a one coater just like the rest of my A Englands. You can really see the rainbow come out in this polish since I finally got a little bit of sunshine to take photos.

A Englands are great quality polish and they last on the nail for several days with just tip wear. If you don't have any, I definitely recommend it! Great quality for the price, they work well for stamping too!

*I could not recover an image of this polish, but I will 

August is Indie Month Day 30!

Only one more day of daily manis after this. Can you believe it? I think for September I'm going to do a color challenge (not daily, just whenever I do my nails) and try to do the September Stamping challenge once or twice a week.

On to the main event! This is an absolutely gorgeous polish from Eat Sleep Polish. This is Elvis Is My Homeboy, which is a gold sort of color with lots of holo packed in. Not quite your typical gold, but this is really pretty, sort of a silvered gold if that makes sense. Check it out!

This is three coats of Elvis Is My Homeboy for full coverage, two was just a little bit sheer still, but you could easily get away with it if you don't mind a little VNL. No top coat here. Absolutely gorgeous! I can't wait to wear it again.

August is Indie Month Day 29!

Day 29! What I really am wearing today.

This is three coats (one relatively thick) of Hare Polish Electric Flame, a neon coral polish filled with small circular blue flakies. It was *extremely* difficult to capture the true nature of this polish and I know other bloggers out there have done a much better job, but this polish is absolutely gorgeous!

There is no top coat in these photos and I have included several to try to show the differet parts of this polish.

Next time I wear this polish I want to try it with a pinky coral creme for undies and see how that affects the application. I'll be sure to post again when I do.

Despite being packed full of flakies the application was quite good, a bit thick but it works since the polish is quite sheer.

Summer brights aren't finished yet! Enjoy!

August is Indie Month Day 28!

For Day 28 I'd like to present Cadillaquer's Crystal, a polish I've been after for quite some time now! I finally decided to order it and I'm quite glad that I did. This blue shimmery-glittery polish really does remind me of 'that blue stuff' from Breaking Bad.

Two coats here created great coverage, very easy application and there is no topcoat making it shiny. I can't wait to wear this for more than a swatch, it's gorgeous!

My only qualm is the lid. I don't like those textured lids, they're a bit uncomfortable to hold.

August is Indie Month Day 27!

Once again I have to play a little bit of catch up. The last week has been a crazy one, travelling sure does take the wind out of me. However, as a result of being a little late, I have some more new brands for you! While I was away I recieved a few packages.

For Day 26 I have Carpe Noctem Cosmetics South Haven Sunset, which is a blue polish with a bright gold shimmer. It really does remind me of a sunset when the light hits it.

This polish is gorgeous and has a great application. Two thin coats was all it took, though I found in direct light it was a little sheer so a third coat would have made it opaque. On my ring finger you can see Deborah Lippman's Happy Birthday done for a travelling birthday box group I am a member of.

This is two coats of South Haven Sunset with Duri 2 as top coat. Gorgeous polish, unfortunately this mani didn't last long because so many glitters just don't dry nicely. I look forward to using South Haven Sunset on it's own.

August is Indie Month Day 26!

Another amazing ILNP (I Love Nail Polish) linear holographic for you today!

This is two coats of Summer Stargazing with no top coat. These are great quality polishes that last several days on the nail. The vibrancy is what drew me to this color, it's such a very pretty blue.

Pictures taken in a few different lights, on this day I actually had sunlight with which to get some good shots!

Enjoy!

August is Indie Month Day 25!

 I've finally reached the end of my stash of different brands and will have to start repeating a few.

Cult Nails Charming is a gorgeous princess purple creme with light shimmer in a pink/cooper sort of tone.

This is two coats with no top coat. I didn't get to take a photo of this one under halogen lights but it is relatively the same, all you're missing out on is the blue tinge that my halogen pictures tend to get.

I love Cult Nails! Check out their website and join the Cult! These polishes are great quality and long lasting, I have quite a few and always look forward to finding more colors I will want from new collections.

August is Indie Month Day 24!

The very last day that I have a new brand for you (well, I might get a few in before the end of the month,but so far as I can tell right now). Day 24, I can't believe it's almost over already.

Today I have a brand of polish I can't believe I completely forgot that I had.

This is one coat of piCture pOlish Aurora - a limited edition shade that I absolutely love - over black undies, with no top coat.

Aurora is a multichrome polish that shifts from teal-green to blue to purple to pink and even sometimes a little hint of burgundy. It is lightly scattered with holo pieces and glitters that reflect the same teal-purple shift that is most commonly seen in Aurora.

I have included a handful of pictures that I found best represented the different faces of this polish, rather than showing it in specific types of lighting.

piCture pOlish is one of my favorite indie brands, I have some more on the way and can't wait to try out their cremes (something sort of new for me if you couldn't tell from this month of indies - the majority of my polish is holo). They have amazing coverage, go on smooth and last a long time on the nail.

They come from Australia and can be purchased directly from the company as well as several stockists including Nail Polish Canada, Llarowe and Harlow & Co.

August is Indie Month Day 23!

Day 23 of Indie Month, I can't believe it's almost over! Don't worry though, we have another monthly challenge on the way.

For today I'd like to present you with the absolutely *gorgeous* Lilypad Lacquer Vixens Wear Violet. I absolutely love this polish. It's one of those *_* holos that is entirely distracting and keeps you staring at your nails and flashing a light on them for the entire time you're wearing it.

I've worn this one a couple of times before and got good wear out of it. I change my nails every 3 or 4 days so it lasted about that long with no major chipping or other issues. The application is perfect every time. 

This is two coats, no top coat. If you don't have this polish, you should!

August is Indie Month Day 22!

Indie Month Day 22 already. And somehow I've managed to keep up for the most part (a couple of double post days). I'm looking forward to doing this again next month as well as a few cosmetic reviews and swatches that should be coming closer to the end of this month.

As for the main event...

This is Barry M Princess, a textured effect nail polish. Here I have two coats with no top coat because that would ruin the texture. This polish is sort of like liquid sand, but pink and sparkly. Exactly what I would expect for a polish named Princess.

I didn't wear this for long, but I'll tell you it was a pain in the you-know-what to remove, so I get the feeling that it would last a while and stick fairly well on the nail. Since the coverage isn't quite perfect (you can see some nail line on my index finger for example) you could probably get away with a fair bit of tip wear without even noticing. I look forward to wearing it again for a longer period of time.

August is Indie Month Day 21!

Day 21, F.U.N Lacquer's TGIF.

This is a gorgeous gold linear holo with lots of extra sparkle because of it's color. In some lights it can lean a little bit pink and become a sort of rose gold (my favorite way to see it). 

I didn't get to wear this one very long so I can't really talk about lasting power but WOW! It's sooo sparkly. One of those polishes you put on and then don't stop looking at your fingers until you take it off.

I can't wait to wear this one again. I have a feeling it's going to be a great accent for the several Tiffany blues I have coming my way!

August Is Indie Month Day -- It's My Birthday, I'll Wear What I Want To!

Only a sort of half indie today! It's my damn birthday and I'm gonna wear the colors I want! Lol!!

China Glaze For Audrey with Colors by Llarowe Leather & Lace as an accent for the thumb and ring finger.

This is two coats of For Audrey, one coat of Leather & Lace on the nails applicable and Duri 2 as top coat (I smell another Duri review coming).

For Audrey was unfortunately a little thick and goopy - I discussed with the company I purchased from and they believe I may have gotten a bad bottle and are sending me a new one. Leather and Lace was gorgeous as always, though it did alter the color just a little bit.

For Audrey is a perfect Tiffany blue, it is exactly that shade and I absolutely love it!

August is Indie Month Day 19!

And day 19 to catch up! Glisten & Glow You've been HAZED! Two coats with HK Girl top coat.

This polish is GORGEOUS. Now that may just be because I have a love for blue holo polish, but I absolutely love this beauty. The formula was perfect, smooth and so easy to work with and that holo! Damn! Just look at that holo! I included two separate flash photos for better shots of the rainbow and the blue color itself with the rainbow.

I wore this polish for a couple of days with minimal tip wear, that's the first time I've ever worn it though. Glisten & Glow is also the brand of top coat I use and I absolutely love it, so if I had to guess, their polish should be just as good. Two thumbs (or ten fingers) up!

*I was unable to recover photos of this polish from the December 2014 issue, but will post new swatches in the near future.