PinkDipsyBulle Franken Polish - Queen Conch, Golden Apple, Nebula and Lady of the Lake Swatches & Reviews

GUYS HEY!

I'm 23 weeks pregnant yesterday and I can no longer bend over without grunting. So, anyway...

I actually have some swatches for you today! That is your reward for still subscribing to my junk... you get to see some stuff sometimes. Quality blogging, right there!

*Hallelujah Chorus interlude*

It's no secret that I'm a total PinkDipsyBulle fangirl, and I could not have been more excited to review some polish at the request of The Shimmer Wizard herself (which I'm going to call her from now on... sorry). If you'll recall, my first favorite indie polish ever was Indian Ocean and it continues to reign as champion of my heart; it's also the only polish in my entire (kind of pathetic, comparatively) 300-ish bottle collection that I have a backup of. That being said, my fanatic raving is completely genuine and honest.

First up is Queen Conch, a cool-toned bubblegum pink with electric blue flash. Good formula on this guy; the brushstrokes are much less apparent in person than the OttLite picture would have you believe, so don't let that deter you. The blue flash is also more flash-tastic in real life, of course.

Shown below is three thin coats with topcoat.

Sunlight

Sunlight

OttLite

Sunlight

Next stop: Golden Apple, a soft mint green with bright golden flash that seriously glows on the nail. The way this dude looks in the bottle makes me want to eat it... it looks as though maybe it would taste like the best, like, magic taffy in the universe. Can we just pretend there's any amount of sense in that? Thanks. So, uh, yeah... I've always wanted a shade like this but none that I've found that were similar (mint base/golden flash) had enough oomph, you know? Another good formula, also less brushstroke-y in reality.

Shown below is three coats with topcoat.

Sunlight

Sunlight

OttLite

Sunlight

OttLite

Now we're at Nebula, one of three recently released multichrome toppers. This guy shifts between violet to blue to teal, and has gold to green shifting glitters. Pretty much bottled divinity, if you wanted to know how I really felt.
A bit on the thicker side but not in an unreasonable way, which made for an easier application as I only needed one steady coat to achieve righteousness. If this polish doesn't make your extremities tingle even a tiny bit then I don't even know if we can be friends anymore.

Shown below is one coat with topcoat over black.

Sunlight... kinda

OttLite

OttLite

Shade

Shade

OttLite

And lastly, we have Lady of the Lake, a grape-violet jelly base with bright blue shimmer. Reminds me of Rescue Beauty Lounge - Scrangie, except with a cooler, jelly-er base. A bit less opaque than the first two, I was still able to build to opacity in three coats. Lady of the Lake is a limited edition polish (read: she's only going to make a handful so I suggest jumping all over that noise if you want it). The blue shimmer in this is effing glorious -- it almost reads as a duochrome in some lights, and it has this sparkle that is just so yes.

Shown below is three coats with topcoat.

Sunlight

Sunlight

OttLite

Shade

Sunlight

Sunlight

So, right? And she has a whole shop full of polishes like these -- here! Each goes for $6 for 10 mL and they're 3-free. She's also releasing two other limited edition polishes along with Lady of the Lake and they're also gorgeous, and that's all you get to know.

On a side note: my pinky nail snapped in half the day after I was asked to swatch these, so I kept the nail in order to glue it back on for swatch purposes, but then I lost the damned nail. So I'm wearing a false nail for the photos which is why it looks kind of bizarre compared to the rest of my nails, in case you noticed that. Poor little freak-nail. 

Well maybe I'll see you around soon, you know? I'm still buying crap-tons of polish, just not swatching them so much these days. I've been workin' from home, with two endlessly energized children and the third in my belly, making not taking naps pretty much not an option if I get the opportunity. 

Oh, by the way, he's a boy. A little boy without a name yet and he's currently kicking me just to the right of my belly button. THERE IS A SMALL HUMAN BEING LIVING INSIDE OF MY BODY. It seriously doesn't get any less freaky the second time around. Pregnancy is SO WEIRRRRDD.

I used to seriously get gaggy thinking about just having organs. A HUMAN. Anyway. Hope you're all well. I miss you. XOXOX

Polishnv - Fire In The Sky, Tilt A-Whirl, Route 66 and Mermaid Tears Swatches & Reviews

Hi guys! HEY!! Do you see that little picture up there? The one that says "Press Sample"??!! THIS IS MY VERY FIRST PRESS SAMPLE AND I AM SO PUMPED. Alsooo I changed my watermark finally. Now people won't be left wondering what the F an "lbol" is. I kind of finally feel like a real blogger!!

Today I have four (very soon to be released) colors from Polishnv. Purchasing info can be found at the bottom... after all the pictures and reviews and stuff. So let's dig right in, shall we?

The formulas with Fire In The Sky and Mermaid Tears were similar; three thin coats for opacity. I also used three coats with Tilt A-Whirl but you could likely get away with two. Route 66 only required two coats for opacity. They all applied smoothly and were neither too thin or thick. All of the swatches are shown with topcoat, with the first two pictures of each polish being taken in the sun while the last one shows it in the shade. Did you get all that?


Up first is Fire In The Sky, a purple/pink/red to rusty orange metallic duochrome with linear holo. Not a color I would ordinarily have chosen to wear, I quite like what it looks like on. It is a bit of a chameleon, shifting to varying shades of red/orange at different angles and lighting. The righteousness of the duochrome, however, is also most apparent out of direct light.

Tilt A-Whirl is a summery bright light purple that has the most subtle linear holo of the bunch. I love this kind of purple -- I swatched it last so I could wear it around for a bit! It takes on a softer berry tone in the shade but really pops in the sun.

Route 66 looks, in the bottle, like a vampy burgundy red with subtle linear holo but applies lighter and takes on a raspberry quality in the sun. I thought this color was going to be a bit too dark for Summer but it's totes nots. I'm looking at the bottle indoors, right now, and it seriously looks brick red. What a little trickster.

Finally we have Mermaid Tears, my (unsurprising) favorite of the bunch. Heavenly shade of blue? Check. Aqua flash? Check. Having to do with crying? Check! I would punch a mermaid in her throat if I knew her eye juice was this pretty. To, you know, make her cry so I could collect her tears... not just because I had the knowledge... anyway, it's real pretty is what I'm saying. It's also got kind of a scattered linear holo, if that makes any kind of sense. The arch is loose, but it's there.

These little darlings will be available on the Polishnv Etsy Site (which can be found here!) soon and will be sold for $9 bucks a pop, full size style.

Too Fancy Lacquer - Set Fire To The Rain Swatch & Review

Hi there.

Remember that tear I was telling you about in my middle finger nail? That I thought was holding tight with the teabag repair? Welp the other day I was at the grocery store, and I don't know exactly when it happened but my nail peaced right on out. Traitor. So it's back to nubs we go.

Fortunately, Set Fire To The Rain by Too Fancy Lacquer looks pretty great on nubs. In fact, this polish would look stellar even on, like, tree bark if that's what started growing out of my fingers. It's insanely pigmented and I had zero problems with staining (but I was also very careful not too flood my cuticles just in case), and the color is the most perfect shade of blue you've ever seen --cerulean-- which is MY FAVORITE COLOR!!! Cerulean blue for everybody!!!

Sir-oo-lee-in.

It's got that imbedded linear holo that doesn't just look like a rainbow is sitting on top of the base color. Blue rainbows. Not to mention that the formula was fantastic to boot.

I give everything such glowing reviews (except those Essies... shudder and weep), don't I? I need to be more critical. I dunno, I think I just luck out with my polish purchases. I just really like this polish, okay guys? Ceruuuuleaaan.

Shown below is two coats with topcoat in direct sunlight (which I'll be using more now that it's warming up FINALLY. I love my OttLite and all, but nothing beats the blang-inducing power of the sun).

I feel like there's kind of a richness I'm lacking with my pictures. Plus the color is like, the tiniest bit warmer and more saturated in real life. In real life, as opposed to in the fake life of the internet.

Anyway, whatever to my glowing reviews. This polish rules.

I really suck at closing statements. I wish I could skip this part sometimes. Like, weeeell... those are my pictures. Okay, bye!

Daphine Polish - Lullaby & Purple Gradient

Hay.

What in the HELL. We're all sick with another cold. I just can't even.
My child does not sleep if he can't breathe through his nose (which he cannot). Also every time he sneezes mass amounts of snot comes flying out. So much. So many. His head is so tiny... where is it all coming from?

Summer. Summer. Summer.

Oh hey, it's our three yeah anniversary today, my boyfriend and mine. We're celebrating by being sick. We're gonna do something fancy over the weekend doe.

Oh hey again, I won nail the Mother's Day Duo from Daphine Polish in a giveaway at Colorsutraa! I don't win things, like, ever. It was all Rafflecoptery and things!

From Daphine Polish's Etsy Site:

"Lullaby is a glitter topper with light pink, light blue, lavender, violet, and mint matte glitters, iridescent glitters, light pink matte butterflies, and light blue matte hearts, all packed into a multi-colored shimmer base.

...and Goodnight is a darkened royal purple polish with dark grey micro flake and gold shimmer."

I decided to layer Lullaby over a gradient consisting of ...and Goodnight, Essence - Oh My Glitter! & Enchanted Polish - April 2014 because I don't do glitter toppers often so I wanted to make this'n special. I won a thing!!!!! Ayeeyeeyeeyee!!!! and so on.

The first picture was taken in direct sunlight while the second was taken under OttLite, showing two coats of Lullaby.

Spring-y and adorable, right? I had to do quite a bit of fishing for the larger shaped glitter but I'm not complaining! I'm completely happy with my winningsss. This was my first frolic in the meadow that is Daphine Polish aaand I'm certain it won't be my last with how lovely this duo is.

WingDust Collection - Steel Town Girl Swatch & Review

How was your holiday, if you celebrate Easter? Otherwise, how was your Sunday?

I drank a bunch of wine at my boyfriend's grandma's house with his mom's side of the family for brunch. Not only wine for brunch -- Andy's grandma happens to be one heck of a chef. Then we went to my dad and stepmom's house for more delicious food, and then we came home and unsuccessfully tried harvesting Blaze Rods in the effing Nether. I swear that's not innuendo.

I've heard nothing but great things about WingDust Collections, and I've had on my eye on Steel Town Girl for quite a while now so when I saw it restocked at Llarowe I had to get it. Duh.

Steel Town Girl combines pretty much everything I love in a nail polish: the color blue, holographic whatnot, gold leaf, and THE WOW FACTOR. No but seriously, this polish is like the big bang happened inside of my hands and little flat strips of the result are squeezing out through the tips of my fingers.

Like little galaxies, y'all.

Steel Town Girl is a linear holographic deep steel blue base filled with metallic light blue, iridescent and holographic shards and 23k gold leaf flakes. The description sounds kind of over-compensatingly complicated but the actual product is baaaaaaaaaallin'. Plus the formula was super easy to work with, and even though WingDust disclaims that the flakes and shreds might be a little stubborn, I had no problems getting a nice amount on my nails.

Shown below is three coats with topcoat.

There's a lot of depth to this polish that usually takes multiple polishes to achieve. I also had zero issues with the shards or flakes trying to do sticky-up stuff anywhere, so that was a nice added bonus. I hate when shards are all pointy and think they can just do whatever they want.

Polish Addict Nail Color - Jellyfish I Swatch & Review

It's Jellyfish I, right? Like, Roman numeral-style? Not 1? (Personally I think the second version should have been called Jellyfish II but I suppose that is neither here nor there, as said in my nose-up tea-drinkingest-with-the-pinkie-out voice).

Jellyfish I is a white base with a deeee-lightful golden flash and tiny purple, light blue and gold glitters interspersed all up ins.

Shown below is three thin layers with Essie G2G topcoat.

It's kind of like warm sunshine on my nails, you know? I haven't looked at a jellyfish in a long time, but yeah, I'm sure they'd probably like having this polish named after them. They'd probably even wear it on their nails, if they had nails... on the ends of their tentacles... which would be horrible.

Truth time: real-life jellyfish kind of freak me out. I like the cartoon kind, though. And those moon jelly guys are pretty all right too.

Colors by Llarowe - Young Turks and The Mighty Red Baron Stripe Nail Art

I bought Young Turks and The Mighty Red Baron a few weeks ago and somehow haven't done anything with either of them despite their awesomeness. I also bought Sally Hansen - Lick-O-Rich (bluuuughhh) for $.90 at Big Lots to use pretty much for this exact reason. I love texture stripes over regular polish. I heart it!

I used two coats each of Young Turks and The Mighty Red Baron, applied the tape, then carefully painted on one coat of Lick-O-Rich (the formula for the Colors by Llarowe polishes is freaking spectacular, by the way).

I wish my nails were, you know, the same length and all. I have no idea for what occasion I could possibly wear these (oh, you know, a funeral maybe... job interview...) but I like them. And I like feeling them. Since stopping biting my nails I've become a nail-messer-with. I fidget around with them constantly. Texture polish is like tactile crack to me.

The mooore you knooow!

Serum No. 5 - Shrinking Violet Swatch & Review

My pinkie nail finally broke. ENDLESS WEEPING. At least the break isn't as deep as my nails usually break, but freaking STILL. The teabag fix worked like a charm for four whole days.

Today I have a Spring-y little polish from Serum No. 5 Love Lacquer (whom I haven't tried before) called Shrinking Violet. It's a very pale pearly pink-lilac base with purple and sky blue hex glitter and gold micro glitter. The formula was pleasant but the polish is quite sheer and the glitter a bit sparse so if you're not into the semi-opaque look it would best be suited over another light color. It does build to opacity but it takes a while though since the formula was so workable it wasn't an endless process.

Shown below is four coats with a layer of Essie G2G.

I had Nicole by OPI - On What Grounds from my March Ipsy bag laying around so I decided to add some textures tips just cuz.

That photo kind of shows the base color a little more accurately. It's pretty but I think it's maybe too dainty for me, especially with the NOPI added. Man, that little pinkie nail is so sad. It's even blurry, to add to its sadness.