Amy's Nail Boutique Happy Holly-days

Pressing on with the Christmas theme, I have another indie polish for you today! Let's take a look at this gorgeous glitter topper...

Base coat: 1 coat of China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat
Polish: 2 coats of Revlon Black Lingerie, 2 coats of Happy Holly-days
Top Coat: 1 coat of Gelous, 1 coat of Seche Vite

Happy Holly-days is a combination of red and green hexagonal matte glitter. Since this was a polish clearly meant for layering, I figured that black would contrast the most against the seasonal mix. The glitter kind of "glowed" against the black, it was an interesting effect.

The glitter in this polish did require some "placement" and because I didn't do such a good job of that, there was a lot of bubbling. Which is kind of obvious in my pictures. This made me a little sad. It would have been a perfect manicure otherwise!

You can check out Amy's Nail Boutique on Etsy here.

Are you getting in the holiday mood with your manicures yet?

Thanks for stopping by!

365 Days of Color Trimming the Tree

Hi everyone! Happy December :)

For the remainder of the month my nails will be donning seasonally-appropriate shades. And almost all the ones I have are from indie brands. I feel like indie brands have been KILLING it all year but really did an awesome job with the Christmas collections. I have spent far too much money on Christmas polishes! And I probably have more than I can wear for the rest of the month (this coming from someone who changes their polish three times a week).

Anyway. Today I have Trimming the Tree from 365 Days of Color. Let's take a look...

Base coat: 1 coat of Nail Tek Foundation II
Polish: 2 coats of OPI Jade is the New Black, 2 coats of Trimming the Tree
Top coat: 1 coat of Seche Vite

Trimming the Tree is a wintergreen jelly filled with emerald, brown, and gold glitter. This polish seemed like it would be too sheer for my liking, so I decided to layer it over the OPI color.

It's a very pretty glitter but more on the subtle side. I didn't get much glitter, nor did it spread over my nails nicely. But it doesn't bother me too much because I'm content with the end result.

You know what's cool about this polish though? It's SCENTED! Normally, that doesn't do much for me but I loved that aspect of this polish. It smells like a pine-y soap or cologne or something. Definitely not straight pine. Typically, I hate pine scents...like can't stand them! But I really enjoyed this scent. And when I was actually painting my nails with this polish, that's all I could smell. Which I guess is better than the normal chemical smell.

I'm not sure how long the scent lasts cause I'm still wearing it and it still smells nice and strong.

You can find this polish on the 365 days of Color website here. I got the mini which was $4.50. I would like her Facebook page or follow her on Twitter because she often has promotions and deals!

Thanks for stopping by!

Zoya FeiFei

Hey, everyone! And for my fellow Americans, I hope you had a nice holiday :)

We've got a ridiculously pretty polish today! Meet FeiFei...

Base coat: 1 coat of China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat
Polish: 3 coats of FeiFei, 2 coats of China Glaze First Mate
Top Coat: 1 coat of Seche Vite

I feel that Zoya is the best at polish descriptions, so I'm taking a page from their book on this one...
" A medium steel blue base with heavy gold, blue and pink iridescent metallic sparkle."

And the accent nail is my go-to navy blue, First Mate. Both are equally awesome and easy to work with. FeiFei is a bit sheer but at 3 coats, she's good to go! She sparkles so beautifully in the sun. The pink shimmer that runs throughout the polish is more noticeable than what shows in my pictures. 

Zoya continues to prove why they are one of my favorite brands. You can purchase this polish on their website here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Recent Haulage or Bottle Spam Porn!

Hey everyone, I thought I'd spam you guys with some pretty bottle shots. Feast your eyes on these babies...

Clusterfrak, Dirtball, Planetary Romance, Attack Ships on Fire

Takko Lacquer To Infinity and Beyond, Kiss the Sky, Jimi's Jacket

Kiss the Sky, Jimi's Jacket
Just look at that shimmer and sparkle! 

Jacob's Protection, Alice Had a Vision Again, Modern Romance, Chic Reloaded and OPI Goldeneye

MyTenFriends and Takko Lacquer are both new indie brands to me. Their polishes are stunningly beautiful. Like what you see in my pictures is nothing compared to how gorgeous they are in person. They are almost too pretty to use! I kind of just want to stare at them in the bottle forever. But seriously. When I unearthed Jimi's Jacket from my package, my heart almost stopped. The golden shimmer and flakes in this is just too pretty for words!!!! And the multi-chromatic shimmer of Kiss the Sky is hypnotizing.

The Essence and OPI I got from Ulta. I had a $5 off $10 coupon so I got all those polishes for $12 and change. Pretty good deal, if I do say so myself!!

You can visit MyTenFriends on Etsy here. The seller is really nice and friendly and ships quickly! I totally recommend checking her shop out.

Takko Lacquer is on Etsy here. Sheryl is a complete sweetheart as well! She restocks on Fridays. So sign up for email notifications if you want to get in on this!

That's all I have for you guys today. Thanks for stopping by!

Cover Band Lacquer Sticks 'n Stones

Hi everyone! Today I have a glitter combination that took the nail polish world by storm when it first came out. Something so simple as the contrast of black and white and everyone just went crazy! Well, most people...me included :)

Base coat: 1 coat of Julep Nail Therapy

Polish: 2 coats of China Glaze For Audrey, 2 coats of Sticks 'n Stones

Top Coat: 1 coat of Gelous, 1 coat of Seche Vite

I think the combination of aqua blue and black and white glitter just looks AWESOME. It's such a classic and eye-catching pairing. 

Sticks n' Stones is one of many, many black and white glitter combinations in the indie world. And this one is supposed to be a pretty close dupe of the ever popular Lynderella Connect the Dots, the one that started it all.

I don't have that to compare it to. But I can say I loved this rendition by Cover Band Lacquer. It was very easy to work with and jam packed with glitter! It was kind of bumpy but I feel that's inevitable with chunky glitters like this. Just do your best to coat it with thick top coat!

Can I also just take a moment to dote on how wonderful For Audrey is? This is one of my first China Glaze polishes, and one that I bought when I was still a "muggle". That is...not a crazy person obsessed with nail polish! And after sitting in my nail polish rack for a few years, it still worked perfectly. No thickness, or ugliness. Just applied like butter, like they say....and the color is still utterly gorgeous as well!

You can find Sticks 'n Stones on Ninja Polish, although it is currently out of stock. You can sign up for an email notification when it comes back though!

Anyway, that's all I have for you folks today. Thanks for stopping by!

Pretty and Polished Candy Corn

Hi everyone! Time for a manicure that's just a few weeks late ;)
This is what I had on my nails for Halloween!

The orange side of Candy Corn

Here you can see both colors

Looks like a sunset, no?

Base coat: 1 coat of China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat
Polish: 4 coats of Candy Corn
Top Coat: 1 coat of Seche Vite

Candy Corn clearly resembles its namesake. It's a temperature changing polish that shifts from yellow to tangerine!

It was really fun to wear because it's my first experience with a color-changing polish. I have to admit though that I wasn't a fan of the yellow shade. And since I guess my hands are really warm or something, that's what I typically saw on my nails. I didn't see much of the pretty color shift or just the orange unless my hands were in cold water. Maybe my nails weren't long enough, who knows.

This polish was also super sheer! I realize that it's a jelly but I thought I'd be able to cover my nail lines with 4 coats but to no avail. Next time, I'd definitely layer it over white.

Despite what might seem like a lot of complaints, I still enjoyed wearing this baby!

This polish is actually still for sale in Chelsea's shop.
You can visit her Etsy shop here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Orly Emberstone

Good afternoon, everyone! Today I have a much older manicure...from when I had just chopped my nails to nubs. I still have to keep them really short, which is a shame, but it will never stop me from enjoying pretty polish...like this one!

Base coat: 1 coat of Julep Nail Therapy

Polish: 2 coats of Emberstone

Top coat: 1 coat of Seche Vite

So this is a complex polish, I think. There's a ton of multicolored shimmer in a fiery orange-red base with a glassfleck-like finish. This baby really shined in outdoor lighting but still pretty all the time! Formula was no issue either, maybe a little thicker. 

This was from the Mineral FX collection, I believe I bought it from Sally's Beauty Supply because it was on clearance! You can still find it everywhere Orly is sold. I really loved this collection, I think it was pretty interesting and unique in the nail polish world.

Thanks for stopping by!

Back from the dead...(also Halloween Indie Polish spam)

Hi everyone! It's been ages since I've blogged but I really want to get back into it. I won't make a huge list of excuses, so I'll quickly say I've been busy with work and school.

Now onto some polish spam! For the entire month of October, I wore nothing but Halloween-themed/related polishes. Most of them were from indie sellers too. I didn't get a chance to take pictures of all of my manicures but I'll include here some of the ones I did get to photograph.

Base coat: 1 coat of China Glaze Strong Adhesion base coat
Polish: 2 coats of Sinful Colors Happy Ending, 1 coat of All that Glitters Horror Business
Top coat: 1 coat of Gelous, 1 coat of Seche Vite

Oh em gee. This was one of my favorite manicures of the month and I got a lot of compliments on it too! Formula was a breeze.

Pardon the cat hair!

Base coat: 1 coat of China Glaze Strong Adhesion base coat
Polish: 1 coat of Zoya Mira, 1 coat of All that Glitters Night Fright
Top coat: 1 coat of Gelous, 1 coat of Seche Vite

This was pretty too but Night Fright is crazy thick and stinky!

Sadly the best picture I could get...

Base coat: 1 coat of China Glaze Strong Adhesion base coat
Polish: 2 coats of China Glaze Recycle, 1 coat of Jindie Nails Frankenstein Spit
Top coat: 1 coat of Gelous, 1 coat of Seche Vite

Matte glitter heaven! Frankenstein Spit is one of the more unique polishes out there and it was easy to apply. Another favorite <3

Base coat: 1 coat of China Glaze Strong Adhesion base coat
Polish: 2 coats of Zoya Shawn, 1 coat of Lush Lacquer Halloweenie
Top coat: 1 coat of Gelous, 1 coat of Seche Vite

I can't say enough good things about Lush Lacquer. This polish is no exception! Such a festive glitter mix.

Base coat: 1 coat of China Glaze Strong Adhesion base coat
Polish: 4 coats of Circque Kabocha, 1 coat of Circque Neko
Top coat: 1 coat of Gelous, 1 coat of Seche Vite

This orange glows in the dark! Very cool glitter mix too, although some of the pieces can be sharp!

Holy lobster hands!

Base coat: 1 coat of China Glaze Strong Adhesion base coat
Polish: 4 coats of Pirate Polish Zombies!
Top coat: 1 coat of Gelous, 1 coat of Seche Vite

Love, love, love this polish to death! Really easy to apply and looked so good in person!

Base coat: 1 coat of China Glaze Strong Adhesion base coat
Polish: 2 coats of China Glaze Street Chic, 1 coat of Ninja Polish Spooky Floam
Top coat: 1 coat of Gelous, 1 coat of Seche Vite

Spooky Floam is another glow in the dark polish. This was pretty awesome too!

Links:
All That Glitters
Jindie Nails
Lush Lacquer
Circque
Pirate Polish
Ninja Polish

I hope you guys enjoyed this polish spam and I hope everyone is well.

Thanks for stopping by!

Revlon Royal

Hi everyone! I was debating on whether to make this post or not, only because the photos I managed to take at the time weren't the best. But we're pushing forward anyway!

See how ghostly my skin looks here? Totally not representative of real life!

Base coat: 1 coat of China Glaze Strong Adhesion
Polish: 2 coats of Royal
Top coat: 1 coat of Seche Vite

Royal is a squishy royal blue jelly. I have to say, I really loved this one. I got so many compliments on it too (usually my nails go unnoticed so even one compliment is worth mentioning). One lady even asked if it was Shellac. This polish is crazy shiny in person. And it's very pigmented too. I was expecting a sheer mess but two coats were enough for opaqueness.

The formula was lovely to worth with too! This polish is definitely a win in my book.

You can find this anywhere Revlon is sold and I purchased mine on the Walgreens website.

Thanks for stopping by!

A England Lady of the Lake

Hey guys, I've got a nice purple holo for you today.

Here it is out in the sunlight

Base coat: 1 coat of China Glaze Strong Adhesion
Polish: 2 coats of Lady of the Lake
Top coat: 1 coat of Seche Vite

Lady of the Lake is a royal purple scattered holographic polish. It's totally gorgeous and very pigmented. The formula was a breeze to work with!

In a fit of agitation, I chopped my nails ultra short right before this manicure. I was having issues with my manicures peeling off and my brilliant mind thought if I cut off the little bit of free edge I had left, that would fix the problem. So that's why they look really short here! Thankfully they've grown a bit more since then...

I purchased this polish from the A England website a few months ago. It's the only polish I have from this brand but I desperately want more! The bottles are so classy and it's truly quality polish.

Thanks for stopping by!

This Week in Nail Polish

Hey everyone! Since I was unable to post last week, you're getting a special double edition this time ;)

I've racked up a decent amount of polish in the past two weeks. Let's see what has been added to my stash...

Look at that pretty purple duo-chrome!

Left to right: Alyson, Vanessa and Optical Illusion
I actually ordered one of those Julep mystery boxes. Needless to say, I was really disappointed. I got 4 polishes (2 that I already have, so they aren't pictured) and a sample of hand scrub, which is something I have the full size of and rarely use. I had been seeing blog posts about girls getting these mystery boxes with $120 worth of Julep gift certificates. I was hoping for that but meh...lesson learned.
Optical Illusion comes from a head2toe order.

Green holo goodness!

Left to right: Reclaim, Wildlife and Cop an Attitude
I bought the Nubars from two different sellers on Ebay. The Color Club magnetic comes from the same head2toe order as the China Glaze from above.

Left to right:
Daisy Does It, Sparkle and Soar and Electro-midnight
Once again, these were from the same head2toe order!

Glitter close-up!

 Left to right: Sand Art, Hearts and Daggers and Orchid

I bought the two Pretty and Polished polishes from her Etsy shop last week. I got Orchid from a swap.

Left to right: Belle, Kate and Coraline

This is the blogger collection from Zoya that is being sold on Birchbox. It's limited edition and they are JELLIES made by ZOYA. I had to get them.

And I'm so glad I did. The swatches of these are amazing! I can't wait to wear them...especially Kate :)

 How about an older manicure?

Kitty kisses!

 This is China Glaze Fashionista with Kleancolor Chunky Holo Black layered over it. In the second picture, Lillith was doing what she does best and that's getting in the mix of things. She wanted a piece of the action...or attention. Whatever, she's licking my finger in the picture and I thought it was cute. That and I like how her eyes match the color of my nails :)

To end this post, here's a picture of Penelope in the dryer. She loves going in there even though she knows she shouldn't!

Well, that's it. Thanks for sticking by me and stopping by!