Breedlove Hoops

Hey guys! I am back with a new-to-me indie called Spell Polish. I hadn't heard anything about the brand beyond seeing it once on Instagram. After talking with Heather a bit, I thought it would be nice to get to know more about her and her brand. Here's a little Q & A:

What was the inspiration behind Spell Polish? 

I actually used to bite my nails for years, but I loved nail polish so much that it inspired me to stop. My collection grew very large and I wanted to be able to create custom colors. I chose the name Spell because I wanted something connoting magic and class... and I wanted to remind women that they have the power to change their lives (Spell yourself well...).

If you could recommend just one color in your line up, which one would you pick and why?

The most fun part of making nail polish is seeing which colors people choose- I'm often so surprised. I have a hard time recommending a particular color but I would definitely try a glow in the dark polish because they're just so much fun! Plus you can see your nails around the clock... even if you wake up in the middle of the night =)

Do you have any non-polish hobbies?

I love to draw, sew, swim and spend hours in my garden. I'm really trying to read more this year. I also spend a lot of time with my 3 dogs and 2 cats, and my awesome boyfriend Eric who tried to make anything possible.

True Love's Divine

True Love's Divine is a glitter topper made up of holographic glitter dots, and various sizes and shapes of red glitter. Pictured above is one coat applied in a gradient. The formula was nice and kept the glitter well suspended, but it had a really strong smell that gave me a headache. I love the color, but was not a fan of the suspension base used.

Polishes used: Spell Polish- True Love's Divine, Essie- Chinchilly, Revlon- Top Coat

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

It Was Written In The Stars

Today's prompt for the Never Ending Pile Challenge is "blue." I usually try to use colors that have been in my drawer for a long time, but Geminids was so pretty that I had to wear it. I feel bad for the other lonely polish bottles, but Geminids had that certain twinkle I was looking for that day.

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer is excited to announce the addition of the “Totally Rad” collection to their 5-free line of polishes. This collection includes one glittery topper, one thermal, two holos, and six glitter-filled crelly polishes. “I’m a child of the 90s and I felt really inspired by all of these Buzzfeed lists of 90s nostalgia, as well as the resurgence of 90s fashion trends,” Finger Lickin’ Lacquer owner Jennifer Diringer says.

Electric Daisy

Electric Daisy - A creamy white polish with golden shimmer and dandelion yellow flower-shaped glitter inspired by 90s floral fashion.

Press Start

Press Start - A grey polish with black slices, rectangles, and a mix of red and black dots inspired by the NES.

Dunka-Crelly

Dunka-Crelly - A white cream filled with a variety of rainbow-hued glitters and the sweet scent of vanilla frosting inspired by Dunkaroos.

Slimed

Slimed - A neon lime green holographic polish inspired by Nickelodeon slime.

You've Got Mail

You’ve Got Mail - A beige shimmery polish with blue and white triangles and hex glitters inspired by the familiar sight of the AOL Welcome screen.

Jellyfeet

Jellyfeet - A blue jelly polish with holographic blue glitter inspired by jelly sandals.

Moody

Moody - A blue-to-green thermal inspired by the ever-popular mood rings.

Mixtape

Mixtape - A glitter topper with yellow circle and pink and blue square glitters inspired by the colorful Memorex mix tapes.

Away Message

Away Message (Limited Edition) - A yellow crelly with blue and white glitters inspired by the colors of AOL Instant Messenger.

Blue Jean Baby

Blue Jean Baby (Limited Edition) - A denim-blue holographic polish inspired by everything from jean jackets to JNCO Jeans.

The collection will be available on June 27th, and can be found at Finger Lickin' Lacquer's Etsy store.

I love the idea of a 90's collection. I can't tell you how many times I've watched the "I Love the 90's" marathons on MTV. Of all the colors to be released, Dunka-Crelly and Electric Daisy look like they would be my favorites. What color are you most excited about?

*All photos are the property of Finger Lickin' Lacquer

Today's prompt for The Never Ending Pile Challenge asked for something purple. This lovely purple has only been in the pile for a short period of time, but it was calling my name.


Fuchsure Drive Me Insane is a fuchsia cream with blue to green shimmer. The application was smooth and just barely required two coats. The consistency was nice to work with and did not gum up despite the large amount of shimmer in the formula. I was incredibly drawn to the blue shimmer in this polish when I first saw it reviewed on Model City Polish. The subtle shimmer really adds that extra oomph to make it shine.

I couldn't let this gorgeous color slip by without some stamping. I decided to stamp over it using the rose image from MoYou London Mother Nature 06.

Products used: SuperChic Lacquer- Fuchsure Drive Me Insane, Sinful Colors- Black on Black, Orly- Bonder, Poshe- Top Coat

Today's prompt for the Never Ending Pile Challenge was "red." I didn't actually have a red in my untried pile this time, but I did have a photo set sitting around from a few months ago that I never got around to posting.

Ulta- Sunset Bronze sat in my folder for a long time despite being ready to post. For some reason, I just didn't love the color as much as I thought I would.

I'm back with a simple swatch of Pretty & Polished Pretty Chameleon. I almost bought it during their spring sale, but I decided to be good and only buy a few colors. I was talking with a friend shortly after and she said that she had Pretty Chameleon, and would love to pass it along.

I figured this would be the perfect color to used to jump into the Never Ending Pile Challenge (NPC). I was extremely late getting started, but I figured it was better late than never. The challenge was started by the lovely ladies of The Glittah Pirates Facebook group. Here's the photo for each challenge.



Pretty Chameleon is a dark to light pink thermal with pink and purple micro glitter. It appears dark pink when cold and light pink when it warms up. Shown above is two coats with no base color. The formula was a nice consistency and applied evenly with little effort. I did have a little trouble getting this to transition from dark pink to light pink, but it had nothing to do with the polish. I am almost always cold from mid September through most of May, so capturing that warm phase was rather tricky. Of all the Pretty and Polished thermals I own, I think this one is my favorite because of the subtle glitter flecks.

This lovely color was a gift from Shelby at Shelby Lou Nails. Please check out her blog and leave a comment or two!

Remember how I selected Shore Fire as one of my favorite colors of May? Dave and I love Shore Fire so much that we wanted to give one lucky reader a bottle. If you missed my review of Shore Fire you can view that here.


To enter the giveaway just fill out the Rafflecopter widget below with as many (or few) entries as you wish. I will contact the winner by email and forward that information to Dave. The giveaway will end at 12am on June 24th.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hey guys! I was recently contacted to try out and review some Emerald & Ash cuticle oils. I've actually been using Emerald & Ash cuticle oils for quite a few months now, but I definitely didn't want to turn down the opportunity to try a few new scents.


Emerald & Ash cuticle oils come in a variety of sizes and flavors. They offer a 10ml, 7ml, and a 4ml 3-pack. There are 85 scent options, and even more options if you ask for a custom blend. Each bottle has a roller ball top for easy application. I'm a big fan of the roller ball because it distributes a nice amount of oil without making a mess. They also hand mix their oils to order so that the scents are fresh when they ship. I am super picky when it comes to lotions, oils, ect because I can't stand that greasy feeling. Their oils absorb quickly and do a great job of moisturizing.

Emerald & Ash recommends applying the oil at least twice a day, but more frequent use will render better results. When I am preparing to swatch multiple colors for a review I use their oil 3-6 times a day depending on how much my cuticles need.


The scents I picked out were Rootbeer, Monkey Farts and Creamy Coconut. Both Rootbeer and Creamy Coconut smell exactly like what you would expect. I was intrigued by Monkey Farts, so I knew I had to try it out. Monkey Farts is described as top notes of fresh bananas and juicy grapefruit, middle notes of kiwi, juicy bubblegum and strawberries; and a hint of vanilla as a base note. In the bottle it smells sharp and tropical, but on the skin it has more of a fruity bubblegum scent to it. It's incredibly difficult to put the scent into words, but it's light and pleasant without being too sweet.

In addition to the scents I was sent to try and review, I personally own Toasted Marshmallow, Blood Orange, Crackling Firewood, and a custom Smores blend. Out of all the scents I've tried (all 7 of them) the only one I didn't care for was Crackling Firewood. If you like patchouli, you will probably like the scent, but it wasn't for me.

In addition to sending me a 3-pack to review, Emerald & Ash has generously offered to give three of you a $10 gift card toward new cuticle oils! The giveaway will run until 6/23 at 12 am.

Please take a moment to follow Emerald & Ash, and check out this amazing giveaway they sponsored!

I thought I would try something new this month and do a round up of my five favorite colors from last month's reviews.


From L-R and top to bottom: Model City Polish- Ghost Stories, Model City Polish- MCP Thanks You, Octopus Party Nail Lacquer- Shore Fire, Baroness X- Blushing Bellini, Finger Lickin' Lacquer- Hunter's Helper.

There were a ton of really great colors out there, but these colors really stood out from the pack this month.

Did you have a favorite not pictured? I would love to hear what caught your eye!

Hey guys! I am back with three brand new colors from Pretty and Polished. These are part of The Summer Fun Collection which consists of six holographic colors.

Summer Love

Living In Flip Flops

Lakefront

Hey guys! I just wanted to share a simple stamped mani I did a few weeks ago. My love of stamping has practically grown into an obsession, so I will be sharing a lot more of these in the future.



If you were to recreate my mani, what color would you use in place of the blue?

I am guilty of playing favorites from time to time. I've had these photos since before Easter. Between reviewing colors and sharing some of my favorites, I've severely neglected some perfectly good colors.




Make A Spectacle is an iridescent glitter topper composed of iridescent hexagons and micro dots. Pictured above is one coat of Make A Spectacle over Ulta Mint Condition. The formula is a little thinner than the average glitter topper, and was incredibly easy to work with. I found that the consistency made it easier to spread out the glitter evenly without applying too much in one area.  I didn't expect the color combo to look quite the way it did, but I like it. It reminds me of fish scales.

Polishes used: China Glaze- Make A Spectacle, Ulta- Mint Condition, Poshe- Top Coat, Orly- Bonder

I haven't seen very many iridescent glitter based colors. Do you have a favorite?

I recently picked up a few MoYou plates during their last restock, and couldn't wait to do a mani when they arrived. Instead of doing a simple mani I decided to go crazy with things and try my first gradient.