Nerd Lacquer Nebula

So I'm sure that most of you know that Nerd Lacquer is back on the scene again after a bit of a hiatus. I was so glad to be able to grab my two major lemmings from Amanda's first restock: Nebula and Event Horizon. Now as I've mentioned before, I don't love all of the finishes that Nerd Lacquer specializes in (the really shimmer heavy, glitter filled bases just aren't for me) but the polishes with jelly bases are magical.

Nebula is a deep berry colored jelly with silver holographic and burgundy glitter as well as so blue shifting glitter. It is very dense and two coats was all that was required for full coverage. This polish has so much amazing depth which is hard to capture in photographs, but I gave it my best shot. Instant love from me...even better than I imagined!

Nerd Lacquer now has its own website to order from instead of Etsy, so follow Amanda's feed on Google+ for info on future restocks (everything sold out lightning fast the first restock). She says she will be shipping orders to Ninja Polish and Harlow & Co. soon as well so that is awesome news for those of you out there wanting to get the exclusive polishes that they carry. As always...thanks for looking!

Oopsie Daisies Spam

Hi everyone! Today I have a treat for you in the form of some Oopsie Daisies mega spam!! I have picked up several of these along the way (if you recall, Apple Picking from her fall release is one of my favorites), so some of these I purchased myself and some of them were sent to me for review. Creator Cathryn uses a lot of matte glitter in her polishes which I adore, and as you will see she has a very versatile line now including glitter topcoats, glitters in creamy and jelly bases, and even a shimmer, so there is something for everyone!

First up is a new release for St. Patrick's Day called Four Leaf Fortune. You guys may not know this about me, but I adore all things shamrock or St. Patrick's Day related (likely due to me being a March baby), so I was stoked when this polish was released. It has a mixture of matte and metallic green glitter with gold (coins!) glitter. So fun and festive for March! The glitter when on smoothly, with some dabbing of the second coat to get the glitter placement how I wanted. I've found that circle glitters in general like to stick together more than other glitters (but they are awesome...so I forgive them.)

This is 2 coats of Four Leaf Fortune over Illamasqua Rampage

This is 2 coats of Four Leaf Fortune over Illamasqua Milf

Next is a polish from the Wintertime Wonders Collection. Glacier has a creamy minty blue base with aqua and white matte glitters as well as some iridescent tiny bar glitters and hexes. The iridescent bits were hard to catch on camera, but they are a lovely addition to the polish. I almost wish there were more in there. This polish I found a tad on the thick side, but a touch of thinner fixed it right up. It would easily build up to opacity on its own, but I chose to layer over Illamasqua Nudge. 

2 coats over Illamasqua Nudge

Next is a selection from her Mt Olympus Collection. First up is Dionysus, which has a lovely raspberry base with copper shimmer. The shimmer is very pronounced and lovely in this polish. Formula is great too. Perfect for you nail polish lovers out there looking for an indie glitter alternative. 

This is 2 coats of Dionysus.

Up next is Poseidon, which contains aqua and blue matte glitter in a blue jelly base. There is also a slight, glowy shimmer in the base. This polish reminds me slightly of the coveted HARE Star Tropics, so it would be a great one to pick up if that is a lemming of yours. The formula was also great on this polish as well and would have easily reached opacity with 3 coats, but you know me...I layered it. I chose China Glaze Ride the Waves which was very similar to the jelly base color. 

2 coats of Poseidon over China Glaze Ride the Waves

Finally I have a selection from the Earthbound collection, which was inspired by a video game that Cathryn loves. Each polish represents either a character or a place from the game. 

First up is Moonside. This is a black jelly base with blue, yellow, and red matte glitters. This polish is really cool and unique and even though I have never seen the video game, it definitely looks like something that would come from a video game screen. Formula is very good on this and do be liberal with topcoat with this one as it can dry gritty with a single coat of topcoat (as small matte glitters tend to do). I found that a coat of Gelous plus a coat of NYC Grand Central Station worked perfectly to get it smooth. 

This is 2 coats of Moonside over black

Next is Winters, a creamy white base with blue, green, and purple matte glitters. This reminds me of a dinosaur egg (or at least a video game type dinosaur egg!). This polish is so fun and fits right in with my latest "creamy glitter" obsession. Formula is smooth and flows easily. It would be easy to build up to opacity on its own.

2 coats over OPI Don't Touch My Tutu

Unlikely Hero is next and it is inspired by the main character from the game. The mix of periwinkle, red, and yellow matte glitters are perfect together. I love the combo so much! This glitter topcoat goes on smoothly but also requires some dabbing to get the glitter how you want it on the nail. 

2 coats of Unlikely Hero over Illamasqua Cameo 

Finally we have Psykick, a girly mix of light and dark pink, yellow, and white matte glitter. This would look great over a light pink or yellow, but I decided to layer it over a darker pink creme for this swatch. This polish would be very fun for spring! Like the other glitter topcoats, a little dabbing is required for glitter placement on your nails. 

2 coats of Psykick over American Apparel Angeline

Oopsie Daisies polishes are available from creator Cathryn's Etsy Shop. You can follow Oopsie Daisies on Facebook for updates on new collections and restocks and she shows previews on her blog as well. Thanks for looking everyone!

Smitten Polish Pink Goes Good With Green

Today I have for you another Smitten Polish from the Wickedly Smitten collection. When I first ordered this collection this certainly wasn't the polish I expected to be my favorite of the collection, but it absolutely knocked my socks off when I put it on. I am a sucker for minty greens and this one is just fabulous. And the glitter mix just works so well. with it. I used 2 coats of Smitten Polish Pink Goes Good With Green over American Apparel Office for this mani, but it would have built up well without a base if you like to go sans undies.

You can order these pretties from creator Noelie's Etsy Shop and they are launching at Llarowe today as well. Thanks for looking everyone!

PSA: Awesome Blog Giveaway!

Hey guys! One of my good pals Moxie is doing a fabulous giveaway to celebrate her blog's 1 year anniversary. She is the queen of dustying so she has some great oldies to giveaway. She is responsible for fulfilling many of my crazy lemmings due to her dustying efforts.

Blog Link: http://piedpolishpiper.blogspot.com/2013/02/1-year-blogaversary-giveaway.html

She has 2 prizes, a holo prize and a random prize.

Prize 1: Holo Prize

Prize 2: Random Prize

Everyone be sure to visit her blog and enter for a chance to win these beauties!!

Femme Fatale Winter Hyacinth

Hi everyone! Today I have another beauty from Femme Fatale, Winter Hyacinth. This was the polish that really got me interested in Femme Fatale polishes. It is a blue jelly base with various sizes and shapes of pink metallic glitter (some holographic) as well as some large white diamonds and hexes. The base is pretty sheer, but I think it would build up nicely if used alone. In my usual fashion, I decided to layer instead of using it alone so I did 2 coats over RBL Aqua Lily. It matched the base of this polish perfectly! I had to fish and dab a bit to get the glitters the way I wanted, but I think it was well worth it.

Femme Fatale polishes are available from their website (which ships within Australia only) and from Llarowe and Harlow & Co. (which ship worldwide). I believe that Llarowe is expecting her next shipment of Femme Fatales in March. Thanks for looking everyone!

Chemistry 260 + Max Factor Fantasy Fire

Today I have a lovely vampy mani for you that I did a week or so back. It has a base of Ozotic 260, a gorgeous berry color with chunky golden shimmer. Then to make it even better, I added 1 coat of Max Factor Fantasy Fire. I wish I had taken a picture of the Ozotic before I added Fantasy Fire, but I forgot. (Oops!) It really is gorgeous on its lonesome though. The final mani reminded me a lot of Sally Hansen Ruby Emerald or OPI La Boheme.

My motto is: color shifting topcoats make everything better! Thanks for looking everyone!!!

Elevation Polish Stay Behind, Catch a Wave and El Cap

I recently placed my first Elevation Polish order and showing much restraint on my part I only ordered 5. I decided to do my first Elevation manis with the polishes I had been lusting after the longest, Catch a Wave and El Cap.

Stay Behind, Catch a Wave (or Catch a Wave for short) is a circle glitter bomb with blue, aqua, and white circle glitters in a clear base. This is Elevation Polish I have been lemming the longest and it didn't disappoint. It really looks like bubbles in the water in this mani (it is layered over New York Summer Hot Sky Blue).

El Cap has an electric blue base with violet microshimmer. It is such a lovely and delicate polish. I used 3 thin coats for this mani. The formula is a little thick but it flows welll. I did a bit of a rush job on my mani so I got a few bubbles.

Elevation Polish is available from creator Lulu's Big Cartel Store. She has a lot of info on restock dates and availability on the Big Cartel site as well as on her blog. Her shop is restocked on the 7th and 22nd each month unless otherwise noted. Lulu has a wonderful range of finishes for an indie maker including cremes, shimmers, jellies, duochromes, and glitters (especially circle glitter!). I hear her cremes are fabulous and I can't wait to try one out! Thanks for looking everyone!

Valentine's Week Manis

I haven't been really festive this February so far, but I decided to do a few manis this week that were somewhat in theme.

Here is the actual mani I did on Valentine's Day. It was inspired by my favorite Valentine's candy, conversation hearts. And what better to pose with but a yummy heart cookie! For this mani I did pastel skittles with (thumb-pinky) OPI What's With the Cattitude, OPI Sparrow Me the Drama, Revlon Buttercup, OPI Planks a Lot, and Americal Apparel Office. Then I stamped with Bundle Monster plate 317 and Americal Apparel Angeline. Finally I topped it off with Essie Matte About You to mimic the chalky texture of the candy.

Next up is Smitten Polish Candy Kisses. This polish has a mixture of pink and purple glitters (some satin, some metallic) in a milky white jelly base. I did 3 coats for this mani. Smitten has gotten me obsessed with milky glitters...

Finally I had to have a glowy, red mani stuck in there somewhere so I opted for one of my favorites: HARE Polish Dog Day Dream. This polish is IMPOSSIBLE to photograph, but it is one of my favorite HAREs. It is a red jelly base with purple, pink, and orange metallic glitter. This is 2 coats over Chanel Pirate. These photos were better than my previous attempts at capturing it but they do not do it justice.  

HARE Polish and Smitten Polish can both be found at Llarowe as well as from their Etsy Stores (HARE Polish, Smitten Polish). Thanks for looking everyone!