CrowsToes Indian Summer

Hi everyone! I'm excited to share an amazing polish with you from CrowsToes Better Late Than Never collection for Fall 2013. Indian Summer has been getting tons of buzz, and you will certainly see why. It is an amazing multichromatic polish that shifts from purple to fuchsia to red and despite my best efforts in combing my collection of multichromes, I cannot find a single polish that I have that is a dupe. The closest one is Hits Unconventional, but it still isn't very close. I used 2 coats over black for my photos, but you can wear it on its own if you want because it will easily build up to opacity (I just like to layer over a dark base because the colors pop more).

For anyone who is interested, here is a comparison with the other purple multichromes I own and Indian Summer. Excuse my shoddy bathroom iPhone shots...they show the best multichrome in my house and it was nighttime. LOL! Hopefully these pics will show you that none of these are dupes (and yes it is necessary to have them all if you are a multichrome lover like me)! Really the only two that exhibit the red flash are CrowsToes Indian Summer and Hits Unconventional, but Unconventional is a lot more of a vampy purple as you can see in the second picture and doesn't have the fuchsia elements to it that Indian Summer has. I much prefer Indian Summer as the colors are so much more vibrant (not to mention it doesn't have the tiny bottle and mop brush that the Hits has, which always causes bubbling on me). 

Left-Right: Hits Unconventional, CrowsToes Indian Summer, Hits Artsy, Ozotic 504, Ozotic 521

CrowsToes polishes are available at Llarowe (US), Overall Beauty (US), Atouts Charme (France), Maria Gastadeira (Brazil), Norway Nails (Norway), Femme Fatale Cosmetics (Australia), and Rainbow Connnection (UK). Be sure to follow CrowsToes on Facebook and Instagram as well as on creator Lauri's Blog for all updates and details about new collections. Thanks for looking everyone!

*Product sent to me for my honest review*

Darling Diva Polish Opal Collection

Hi everyone! Today I have swatches of the Darling Diva Polish Opal Collection to share with you. These polishes are all jelly bases with flakies, color shifting glitters, and tiny holo sparks throughout. The formula was pretty similar for all of the polishes. The abundance of flakies and glitters in the bases make the formula on the thicker side (pretty much on par with other jelly flakies I have tried...and I have A LOT!) so be aware of that when applying. The payoff is totally worth it with multiple coats because you get wonderful, sparkling depth. I used 3 coats alone for all of the polishes except for two. Blue Opal is a pale, milky jelly so I chose to layer 2 coats over a light blue creme and of course for Opal which a clear based topper, I layered it over a mint green creme and a vampy berry to show how it looks over light and dark bases. 

Black Opal (3 coats)

 

Blue Opal (2 coats over Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream)

 

Rose Opal (3 coats)

Sea Moss Opal (3 coats)

 

Teal Opal (3 coats)

 

Violet Opal (3 coats)

 

Opal (2 coats over American Apparel Office) - This polish is the only one with a different formula. the formula is much thinner and will spread easily over the base color of your choice. It doesn't pop a lot in the picture, but I absolutely adore this over the mint green. It looks fresh and ethereal.

 

And here is Opal over a darker color so you can see how it pops in comparison to when it is over the lighter color. Actually, looking back at it, it was really nice at one coat over the darker color.

2 coats of Opal over American Apparel Office (pointer, pinkie),
2 coats Opal over American Apparel Berry (middle, ring)

 

I think this collection is a winner! If you love jelly flakies, I think you should definitely pick up a few of them. The flakies are a little different from other flakies that I own and I love the addition of the glitters as they add extra depth. My favorites would have to be Sea Moss Opal, Rose Opal, and Teal Opal. Also...of course...if you just want to OPAL ALL THE THINGS...be sure to pick up Opal and you can layer it over whatever color you choose!

Darling Diva Polish is available from creator Carrie's Big Cartel Shop as well as from Llarowe. The Opal Collection is now available, so be sure to check them out. Follow Darling Diva Polish on Facebook  for updates on new collections and restock news. Thanks for looking everyone!

*Polishes provided for my honest review*

Falling for Nail Art: Jewel Tones

Hi everyone! I do have a mani that fits this category in the Falling for Nail Art Challenge! What better for a "Jewel Tones" mani than a rich garnet red holo with golden accents? Pahlish Blood of the Mountain isn't just a straight holo, but instead has tiny gold and pink flakes scattered throughout. It is a truly stunning polish that is perfect for fall (and is part of Pahlish's Fall Collection). For the nail art, I chose to use Color Club Cosmic Fate and the leaves pattern from Bundle Monster H11. The pattern was subtle in pictures, but very clear in real life.

Just look at Blood of the Mountain on its own. So gorgeous!

As I said, Blood of the Mountain is part of Pahlish's Fall 2013 collection and is available from Pahlish's Big Cartel Shop. Be sure to follow Pahlish on Facebook and on their blog for details about restocks and new polishes.  Pahlish is also available from Llarowe, Overall Beauty, Rainbow Connection, and Edgy Polish. Thanks for looking everyone!

Falling for Nail Art: First Frost

Ok...I'm SO behind on the Falling For Nail Art Challenge and I'm sure that I will not complete it, but I have been out of town a lot this month so doing challenge nail art hasn't always been possible. PLUS...I've had all of this OTHER nail art I've been wanting to do that really has nothing to do with fall. This mani was inspired by "First Frost". I will start off with a disclaimer that I realize this isn't actually nail art. It was supposed to be the base of some frosty nail art that unfortunately went south. I thought I would share this with you anyway because it was so pretty! I was really sad that I ruined it with a nail art fail.

This mani was inspired by a mani that Mirma Natalia posted on her Instagram. I used a base of OPI Don't Touch My Tutu and then layered on a coat of China Glaze Fairy Dust. I then layered on a thin coat of OPI DS Shimmer. It's hard to tell in photographs, but the glitters from Fairy Dust peek through a bit a give the mani extra sparkle. I thought this was perfect for those of you who are trying to find a white holo. You just have to make sure to use a THIN coat of holo topcoat so that the overall color doesn't get greyed out.

So what do you think? It is a very simple mani that you could create using any white jelly, holographic microglitter, and holographic topcoat that you own. It may not be nail art, but it still looks like a good representation of "First Frost" to me! Thanks for looking everyone!

piCture pOlish Lagoon

Hi everyone! I have another gorgeous piCture pOlish to share with you today. I wanted Lagoon from the time it was released, but I kept missing it when it was restocked at Llarowe. I even started trying to reason with myself that I didn't need it, but I was WRONG! It far exceeded my expectations when it arrived. The color is absolutely stunning and I love the addition of the glitters in base that is filled with the famous holo shards that piCture pOlish does so well. Here is 2 easy coats of piCture pOlish Lagoon.

Then I decided to do a little holographic stamping over Lagoon. I used Color Club Angel Kiss and Nailz Craze plate 02. This mani was so pretty in real life...I didn't want to take it off!

piCture pOlish products are available from their website based out of Australia. They do ship internationally and details about their shipping policies are available on their shipping page. piCture pOlish also has international stockists located all over the world. I have personally ordered from Llarowe, Overall Beauty, and Harlow & Co., but a complete list of stockists is located on piCture pOlish's network page. Also, be sure to check out their Everyday Deals section to score awesome deals on polishes! 

To keep up with all of the new happenings at piCture pOlish, be sure to follow them on Facebook,Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Google+, and You Tube.

Stamping with Darling Diva Polish's Diamond Holo Collection

Hi everyone! Today I have a special treat for you! I received Darling Diva Polish's Diamond Collection in the mail this week and as soon as I got them out, I knew I wanted to try and stamp with them. I will have proper swatches of the collection soon, but I HAD to show this stamping to you guys first!

For this mani, I started with a base of American Apparel Mouse. I used the butterfly design from Bundle Monster plate 205 for the stamping. The colors I used from the Diamond Collection included Blue Diamond, Green Diamond, Pink Diamond, Rose Diamond, and just a little of Chocolate Diamond. These polishes are super opaque, so they stamp flawlessly. Do note that you have to work fast when stamping because holos tend to dry quickly. Maybe this mani looks a little springy, but I don't care! I love it!

Darling Diva Polish is available from creator Carrie's Big Cartel Shop as well as from Llarowe. The Diamond and Opal Collections are now available, so be sure to check those out! I will have swatches of both collections for you soon! Follow Darling Diva Polish on Facebook  for updates on new collections and restock news. Thanks for looking everyone!

Cupcake Frosting Nails. Just Because.

Ever get in the mood to do something super girly...and perhaps fit for a birthday party...for absolutely no reason? Happened to me. I rarely ever do stuff like this, but I was like...ooh...pastel pink and rainbow glitter...YES! I think I was longing for that OPI Breast Cancer Awareness polish from this year that I never found anywhere, so this idea was born. I used a base of American Apparel Coney Island (which is pretty, but the formula was streaky) and then I used Sephora by OPI Spark-tacular Topcoat on top. I will have to say...of the plethora of rainbow glitters that I have seen, Spark-tacular Topcoat is my absolute favorite. I think that the glitters are all perfectly sized (I like that a lot are smaller glitters) and there is also just enough silver glitter mixed in which I think tones it down enough that it looks lovely with pastels.

And then...I had to matte it...

Really though, if you are still looking for that perfect rainbow glitter, I highly suggest snapping up Sephora by OPI Spark-tacular Topcoat before it disappears forever. My second favorite is Confetti Tasmanian Devil so if you see that one at Rite Aid, it is also a good choice. I think the extra silver in those polishes is what makes me like them more than others. Do you have a favorite rainbow glitter? 

Thanks for looking everyone!