I've teamed up with a group of six other wonderful polish bloggers so that we could bring you this giveaway. There are six prize packs in total, five of which are US only and one which is Canada only.

Prizes:

China Glaze Strike A Rose, China Glaze Spring In My Step, China Glaze Shine-Nanigans, China Glaze Create A Spark, China Glaze Coin Purse, Cupcake Nail File, & Five Wood Cuticle Sticks

• You must be 18 or older to enter. We have the right to request proof of age if it seems appropriate.


• Entrants must live in the US or Canada. Winners will be matched with an appropriate prize pack.


• All entries will be verified


• No following and unfollowing once the giveaway ends. Unfollowers will be banned from future giveaways. We all worked hard to supply these prizes.


• Winners will have 48 hours to claim their prize from the moment the email is sent. If the prizes go unclaimed a new winner will be chosen.


• The giveaway will end on April 28th at 11:59 pm pst

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'm back with another Game of Thrones mani! I'm sorry if you aren't a fan, I will return to my typical posts next week. After talking up Daenerys, I felt like I couldn't skip over the Starks. They are still alive... for now.





I'm seriously blown away by the detail in the direwolf stamp. The fur is crisp, and you can even see teeth. This is my best attempt to warn you that winter is coming.

For this look I started with Wet & Wild in Never Been Kissed, and stamped over it with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri- Gone Grey. I used plate jr-2 from MyOnline. After the stamping had dried I did a light glitter gradient using Sinful Colors- Ice Dream. I topped the whole look off with Poshe- Top Coat. If I were to go back and re-do this mani today, I would have done the glitter gradient before the stamping. I don't love the gradient, but I think it turned out ok overall.

Do you have a favorite house? I would love to hear your reasoning! Lannisters are not welcome.

There's some pretty awesome Game of Thrones gear out there, but one thing that seems to be lacking are good, heavy-duty coasters. Here's a simple tutorial that will let you make your own.





Materials needed:

• 4"x4" stone tiles
• GoT images in 4"x4" format (if you print them, do it on regular paper and with a laserjet printer)
• Mod Podge Matte
• Mod Podge Matte Spray Adhesive
• foam brushes (you will need several)
• adhesive cork
• newspaper or magazines to protect your work surface
• cardboard

Wipe down all of your tiles with a rag and water. Let them dry completely before doing anything else.



Next, cut all of your images down to size. At this point you can distress your images with scissors if you like. I chose not to.



Cover the tile with a generous layer of Mod Podge. Using too little will cause wrinkles and bubbles, too much and it will ooze out everywhere. The oozing part isn't as big of a deal, just wipe it up with a wet paper towel. As soon as your Mod Podge has been applied, align your image over the top. Smooth it out starting from the center and work your way out. Let this dry for 40 min-1 hour. It should be dry to the touch before you move on the the next step.



Once your previous coat has dried you can apply another coat of Mod Podge. Make sure to seal the edges to keep the image from peeling off later down the road. This is how it should look when you are done with your first sealing layer. Continue to add 3-4 more layers after each previous layer is dry to the touch.

Let your coasters dry for at least 12 hours after your last coat of Mod Podge. I recommend letting them dry a full 24 hours if you can.

I don't have photos of this next part, because I didn't expect to turn this into a tutorial. Take your coasters outside and lay them face up on a piece of cardboard. Read the instructions on the back of the Mod Podge Spray Adhesive can and follow them exactly. I believe you mist them for the first layer, and any layer after that can be sealed with a sweeping motion. I used three layers to seal these.



Once your spray adhesive has dried, cut out 4"x4" squares of adhesive cork for the backing. They should stick with no issue as long as you cleaned all of the dirt off in the first step of this tutorial. Once the cork is on they are good to go!



I was inspired by this coaster tutorial by Swords and Stitches and used Mod Podge Rocks for all of my product related questions.

Are you ready? Only 4 more days until the Game of Thrones season premiere! I am beyond excited for my favorite tv show to be back on the air. I spend the last three months reading A Clash of Kings, with the hopes of catching up to the current story line. Alas, I seem to be a terribly slow reader. To commemorate the premeire, Kirby of The Mercurial Magpie and I have created twin manis of our favorite house.





While the poor Starks have a special place in my heart, I am rooting for Daenerys all the way. You can't beat a strong female lead with dragons!

Shown above is one coat of Sally Hansen Insta Dri in Rapid Red. From there I created a gradient with Rapid Red and Sinful Colors - Black on Black. Once that was dry, I stamped over it using the JR-2 plate from MyOnline in conjunction with Black on Black.

Kirby was the mastermind behind the whole composition. She located the stamping plates and was sweet enough to send me one. Let's be honest, none of us would be here if we had tried to free-hand this.





Isn't Kirby's dragon egg awesome?! I am really pleased with how both of our manis turned out. Be sure to head over to The Mercurial Magpie to check out her mani and give her a follow on Facebook and Instagram while you are at it.

Are you doing anything fun for the premiere?

Of all the wonderful color formulas out there, holos will always be my favorite. While glitter may be fun, holos are equally pretty and much easier to remove.





Totes Magotes is a light green scattered holo.  Shown above is three coats with Poshe top coat. The formula on this was fairly runny. I had to take extra care to make sure I didn't flood my cuticles while applying it. That being said, I was able to achieve full coverage with three coats. The holographic pigment is fairly subtle and isn't much brighter in direct sunlight. Despite the thin formula, I love the color.

Polishes used: Dollish Polish- Totes Magotes, Orly- Bonder, Poshe- Top Coat

If you are unfamiliar with #HePicksMyPolish, here are a few graphics made by The Sparkle Queen to explain it:





This is my first time participating in such a large hashtag. When I learned of #HePicksMyPolish I knew I had to let Brian give it a try. It was kind of an interesting to watch his process. He carefully pulled out bottles one at a time, compared it to the color he already picked and either kept the color or exchanged it for a new one.

Here's what I ended up with:





I was SHOCKED that Brian picked such nice colors! Shown above is one coat of OPI- Suzi Skis In The Pyrenees Suede topped with Model City Polish- Bobbing For Apples. I did not use a topcoat to keep the suede effect of the OPI.

What do you guys think?

***Disclaimer: Over the next month you will see a variation in the lighting used in my photos. While all polish colors are true to life, my skin tone is not. My lighting was a little wonky, so I replaced it. What you are currently seeing is from my new lighting set-up. I would love to hear your feedback on the new lighting if you have a moment.

 

Hey guys! I'm slowly becoming aware that I keep reviewing colors released last Autumn. I hope you all don't mind. I feel like it would be silly to keep them in hiding for any longer.





Essie's On a Silver Platter is from the Encrusted Treasures Collection released Autumn 2013. On a Silver Platter is a gold glitter base with holographic violet glitter mixed in. Shown above is two coats with no base color. The application was relatively smooth, but I felt like I had too many violet glitters on the brush at one time. They weren't very easy to push around. If I ended up with one on the end of my nail it was difficult to remove. That being said, I feel like the extra work was worth it.

If this looks kind of familiar, Sephora- Law of Attraction is a close dupe. I prefer Essie's version because the price tag isn't outrageous. Right now, On a Silver Platter is going for about half the price of Law of Attraction.

Polishes used: Essie- On a Silver Platter, Revlon- Quick Dry Top Coat

What are your best dupe finds?

Hey guys! I wanted to share a new-to-me indie brand with you today, but was surprised to find that they had closed up shop. I'm not sure if any of you have heard of Nailgasm, but I got this color second-hand. I went searching around for a website or Facebook page and discovered that the shop had closed sometime last year. Regardless, I felt like I couldn't keep this one to myself.





Star Dust is a blue jelly with holographic dots, blue hexagons and the occasional holographic star. Shown above is three coats with no base color. The application was smooth for a jelly, but I had to aggressively fish for stars. It honestly took me 20 minutes to get one star out. I also feel like this should be a bit darker considering that I applied three reasonable coats of polish. If you find the opportunity to pick up this discontinued color & brand, know that you should not buy this color for the stars. I didn't love this or hate it. I will probably wear it again, but I don't recommend hunting it down.

Polishes used: Nailgasm- Star Dust, Revlon- Quick Dry Top Coat

How do you feel about seeing discontinued colors on the blog?

Hey guys! I am seriously starting to develop a KB Shimmer addiction. I only have a few colors from her, but they are all beautiful and have fantastic formulas. Today I have Teal Another Tail is from the Fall 2013 release. While this was released with Fall in mind, I think it is perfect for Spring.





Teal Another Tail is a teal duo chrome that shifts to pink in the right lighting. Shown above is two coats with no base color. The consistency is relatively thin, but I had no issues with getting full coverage in two coats. This dried much quicker than a typical cream, which was nice. I was pleasantly surprised at how prevalent the duo chrome effect appears on the nail. I can't tell you how many times I have purchased a color that looked like a duo chrome in the bottle and then turned out to be a single color on the nail. I like this color way more than I thought I would because it is true to its swatches.

Polishes used: KB Shimmer- Teal Another Tail, Revlon- Quick Dry Top Coat

Do you have any KB Shimmer polishes?

| Shop | Facebook | Instagram |

Hey guys! I have some wonderful colors from Model City Polish to share with you today. I have two out of four colors from the Resident Evil collection being released this Saturday 3/22 at 12:00 pm CST. I am a HUGE Model City Polish fan so I was overwhelmed with joy (and panic) when she asked if I wanted to swatch for her. You might be thinking, why panic? Well, Model City was my very first indie. I fell so in love with her products that I would hate to disappoint. 

On that note, I decided to make an event of my MCP review by re-watching Resident Evil 1 & 2. I seriously forgot how bad-ass Alice was. 

T-Virus

T-Virus is is a blue crelly with square, hexagon blue holographic glitter with a few micro bar glitters mixed in. Shown above is three thin coats with Poshe Top Coat. The consistency was just right for a crelly. It wasn't too thick and allowed you to decide how thick (or thin) of a coat you wanted to put on. I prefer to wear thin coats of jellies and crellies because they tend to have a longer wear time.

I didn't fish for glitter at all, I actually put a few clusters back into the bottle. I think the consistency of the crelly helps distribute glitter in a nice, organic way. I did not manipulate any glitter placement aside from removing glitter from the edge of my nail. The icy blue paired with holographic glitter is a serious stunner. 

Polishes used: Model City Polish- T-Virus, Poshe- Top Coat

Anti-Virus

Anti-Virus is a bright green jelly with two different sizes of green holographic hexagon glitter. Shown above is three thin coats topped with Poshe Top Coat. The consistency is just slightly thicker than T-Virus, but it was easy to manipulate. I want to clarify again that I did not manipulate the glitter placement. It applies smoothly and the glitter seems to distribute itself nicely. I can't get over the depth of this jelly. You can even see that holographic goodness shining through the previous layer. 

Polishes used: Model City Polish- Anti-Virus, Poshe- Top Coat

Conclusion

I was really pleased with T-Virus and Anti-Virus. I feel like both colors make a statement and support the Resident Evil theme. I think the new colors from the Resident Evil collection are a good fit with her other colors and collections. The Resident Evil collection as well as her Spring Collection will be available this Saturday 3/22 at 12pm CST.

 

| Shop | Facebook | Instagram | Blog |

 

*** All colors were generously provided for review

Today I have one new color from Superfine Collection and two older shades to share with you. The Superfine Collection is not just inspired by the micro glitter used to make these stunners. While these do contain super fine glitter, they are also themed after some superfine men we all like to drool over. The other two colors are from Cassandra's previously released Fall collection.

David

David is made up of navy micro glitter with some holographic micro glitter mixed in. This dark, mysterious shade was inspired by Mr. Beckham and Mr. Tennant. Shown above is one coat over one coat of Zoya- Sailor. David can be used both as a dense glitter topper, or as a standalone color. The application was smooth and contained a nice amount of glitter. 

I had to delete and rewrite several sentences of my description because I referred to the polish by name, and it was starting to sound really inappropriate. Thanks for the laugh, Cassandra! 

Polishes used: Sweet Heart Polish- David, Zoya- Sailor, Revlon- Quick Dry Top Coat

Attack of the Crunchy Leaves

Attack of the Crunchy Leaves is a glitter topper made up of brown, gold and bronze circle glitter (my favorite!). This color is part of the Fall release and can be purchased separately or as a package with Wheat Penny. Shown above is one coat of Attack of the Crunchy Leaves over one coat of Zoya- Salior. During the application I had no issue getting all of those circle glitters out. The color is so densely packed with glitter that it was a breeze to get a decent coverage. I did not manipulate any of the glitter around with the exception of making sure all glitter was placed completely on the nail (vs hanging half way off). 

Polishes used: Sweet Heart Polish- Attack of the Crunchy Leaves, Zoya- Sailor, Revlon- Quick Dry Top Coat

Wheat Penny

 

Wheat Penny is a rich copper brown shimmer polish. This color is part of the Fall release and can be purchased separately or as a package with Attack of the Crunchy Leaves. Shown above is two coats of Wheat Penny. I had no issues applying Wheat Penny. The consistency was exactly what I expected it to be. Due to the nature of shimmer polishes, you can see a few brush strokes from the application, but they are hardly noticeable in person.

Polishes used: Sweet Heart Polish- Wheat Penny, Revlon- Quick Dry Top Coat

 

Conclusion

David (in all forms) definitely earned its "Superfine" title! I also loved Wheat Penny and Attack of the Crunchy Leaves. After trying seven colors (and different formulas) from Sweet Heart Polish I think it's safe to say that you can't go wrong with any color you choose. Be sure to like Sweet Heart Polish on Facebook and keep an eye out for upcoming collections.

| Etsy | Facebook | Instagram |

Good morning everyone! I have a few new colors to share with you from a brand new indie. Conjured polish was created by a fellow redditor. Each color is mixed to order, and $1 from every bottle sold will be donated to the Wounded Warrior Project. Her two lines are inspired by Back to the Future and Magic: The Gathering. 

John Wayne

John Wayne is a light pink metallic. Shown above is three coats with no base color. The application was smooth, but did require a few extra swipes to eliminate odd shaped streaks. While it appears fairly light under incandescent lighting, John Wayne is a bit darker in natural lighting conditions.

Polishes used: Conjured by Amanda Wampler- John Wayne, Revlon- Quick Dry Top Coat

Ancient Forest

Ancient Forest is a dark green metallic. Shown above is two coats with no base color. The application was smooth, and could almost have one coat coverage if you manipulated it a bit. This was my favorite in the whole collection because of its rich pigmentation. 

Polishes used: Conjured by Amanda Wampler- Ancient Forest, Revlon- Quick Dry Top Coat

Life Preserver

Life Preserver is a sheer grey jelly topper with red square glitter, irregularly shaped gold glitter, and holographic micro glitter. Shown above is one coat over Sally Hansen- Timeless White. The application was smooth, but like many glitter toppers with larger glitter, I did manipulate a few of the red squares around. I did not have to fish for glitter at all. 

Polishes used: Conjured by Amanda Wampler- Life Preserver, Sally Hansen- Timeless White, Revlon- Quick Dry Top Coat

Conclusion

I was really pleased with Amanda's choice of colors. Ancient Forest was my favorite of the three. I heard rumors that the next line will be World of Warcraft inspired, and may contain holos! 

 

| Etsy | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter |

I wanted to do some festive St. Patty's themed stamping, but discovered that my Bundle Monster plate wasn't etched deep enough. Instead, I have a super sparkly green mani for you!

Sinful Colors- Innocent



Innocent is a medium green cream. It really reminds me of Shrek! Shown above is two coats with no top coat. It really is that shiny on its own. The application was smooth with no streaking.

Orly- Sparkling Garbage





Sparkling Garbage is a green/blue holographic glitter topper. Shown above is one coat over Sinful Colors- Innocent. The application was smooth and covered the nail evenly. While this is similar to China Glaze- Fairy Dust, Sparkling Garbage has more of a blue/green tint to the base as well as the glitter. When multiple coats are applied it appears more sea green. If you like holographic polish, I recommend picking up a bottle of Sparkling Garbage.