31 December 2014

New Year's Eve Swatch Spam

I thought I'd leave you with a bit of swatch spam on the last day of the year. Thank you so much for your support in 2014! Here's to an amazing and prosperous 2014!
 
* All macro swatches (except Partners in Lime) have one coat of Julep's matte top coat in order to better show the complexity of the polish.
 
Indigo Bananas Galactic Halo (holo) - 3 coats
Indigo Bananas Galactic Halo (holo)
Indigo Bananas Galactic Halo (holo) macro

Indigo Bananas Viridescens - 2 coats
Indigo Bananas Viridescens
Indigo Bananas Viridescens macro

KBShimmer Partners in Lime - 2 coats
KBShimmer Partners in Lime
KBShimmer Partners in Lime macro

picture polish dragonfly - 2 coats
picture polish dragonfly
picture polish dragonfly macro

picture polish shy violet - 3 coats
picture polish shy violet
picture polish shy violet macro

Reverie Nail Lacquer Bayberry - 2 coats
Reverie Nail Lacquer Bayberry
Reverie Nail Lacquer Bayberry macro

03 December 2014

WingDust Wednesday : Perfect Little Satellite

When I was going through my WingDust drawer trying to decide what to wear this week, Perfect Little Satellite jumped in my hand and screamed, "ME! ME! ME!" Ok, not really, but I did feel the urge for SPAAARKLE! (sing with jazz hands)

Perfect Little Satellite is jam-packed with platinum flakes, purple shimmer and I don't know what else. Magic? Under direct light/sunlight it's crazy sparkly and holo-y. I posted a video on Instagram yesterday so you can check that out.

NB: Did Instagram get rid of the "embed" function? Or am I just blind/tech-challenged?

Now, we know that flakies can sometimes be difficult to handle as they can be on the thicker side. That was not the case with Perfect Little Satellite at all! I used three thin coats and easily got to the desired opacity and everything lies nice and smooth. I added a coat of top coat for extra shine.

swatcher, polish-ranger | WingDust Collections Perfect Little Satellite swatch
swatcher, polish-ranger | WingDust Collections Perfect Little Satellite swatch
swatcher, polish-ranger | WingDust Collections Perfect Little Satellite swatch
swatcher, polish-ranger | WingDust Collections Perfect Little Satellite macro
swatcher, polish-ranger | WingDust Collections Perfect Little Satellite macro
swatcher, polish-ranger | WingDust Collections Perfect Little Satellite macro

WingDust Collections
| Shop | Facebook |

02 December 2014

Daily Hues Nail Lacquer : Fiona, Selina & Tatum

* these items were provided to me at a reduced cost in exchange for an honest review
 
 
So, there's a bit of a story behind these swatches. I took them quite awhile ago - June to be exact - and have been sitting on them since then. First off, I want to say that I was BLOWN AWAY with the pigmentation of this polish - it is freaking incredible! The colours are insanely vibrant, gorgeous, and show-stopping. However, when swatching, I noticed that there was a bit of undissolved pigment in the bottles - Tatum and Fiona being the worst. I contacted Jenn (who was awesome to deal with!) and she apologized, saying she thought she had pulled all of the bottles as it was a known issue. She offered to resend the package. Some time passed and I emailed her again to say I hadn't received the replacements. She was super apologetic and said she sent them over a month ago. Ack! Apparently they were lost in the mail. By that time, Tatum was retired and she offered to send something else instead. I told her that we'd give it a bit more time (this was in August) because sometimes packages to Canada can take FOR-EV-ER. And then I promptly forgot. Durr. :/

So, here we are in December and I'm finally getting around to posting these. The little bumps you see in Fiona and Tatum are undissolved pigment but, in no way does it affect my enjoyment of these stunners and the issue was corrected long ago so future batches should not have any problems. Plus, the customer service I received was top notch which goes a long way in creating a repeat customer. In fact, I just ordered three more colours from her Black Friday sale!
 
On to the swatches!
 
Fiona is a brilliant green with scattered holo. The formula was great and shown here is two coats plus top coat.
 
swatcher, polish-ranger | Daily Hues Nail Lacquer Fiona swatch
swatcher, polish-ranger | Daily Hues Nail Lacquer Fiona swatch
swatcher, polish-ranger | Daily Hues Nail Lacquer Fiona swatch

Selina is an insanely bright blue with scattered holo. Shown here is two coats with top coat.

swatcher, polish-ranger | Daily Hues Nail Lacquer Selina swatch
swatcher, polish-ranger | Daily Hues Nail Lacquer Selina swatch
swatcher, polish-ranger | Daily Hues Nail Lacquer Selina swatch

Tatum is a gorgeous magenta with scattered holo. Shown here is two coats with top coat.

swatcher, polish-ranger | Daily Hues Nail Lacquer Tatum swatch
swatcher, polish-ranger | Daily Hues Nail Lacquer Tatum swatch
swatcher, polish-ranger | Daily Hues Nail Lacquer Tatum swatch
 
Daily Hues Nail Lacquer
| Shop | Facebook |
 
 


01 December 2014

Splendor Nail Lacquer : Holiday Traditions collection


Happy Cyber Monday! I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. We put our tree up yesterday - a little early but the kid was demanding it. :)

Today I have the Holiday Traditions collection from Splendor Nail Lacquer to share with you. Good timing too because you can still take advantage of their Cyber Monday sale!

*20% OFF with code: BFCM2014
**Free shipping on orders $50+ with code: FREESHIP50
***Free Finishing Touch top coat, full size, with all orders $25+. No code needed.
****Other mystery gifts at $10, $15, $20. No code needed.

While this collection may seem simple, it is based on Leslee's holiday memories and family traditions.

* Descriptions from Splendor Nail Lacquer 
** A note on the formula: they are all on the thin side so you will need to take care to avoid pooling at the cuticle.

Balsam "A dark forest green with a flash of shamrock shimmer. Every year my parents and I would take a day trek out to the family cabin in search of the perfect tree. It always had to be a balsam, we would carefully haul it out of the bush on a toboggan and make our way back to the city to decorate it."

I love this one so much. It's bright and glowy and just perfect and I wore it for over a week! Shown here is two coats of Balsam with top coat.

swatcher, polish-ranger | Splendor Nail Lacquer Balsam swatch
swatcher, polish-ranger | Splendor Nail Lacquer Balsam swatch
 
Bing "A cheery cherry red with fuchsia shimmer and gold holographic dust. Growing up my parents insisted on watching White Christmas every year. While I didn’t and still don’t have much of an appreciation for the movie hearing Bing Crosby singing Christmas Carols will also bring back fond memories for me."

This is another lovely polish - the perfect Christmas red! Shown here is two coats of Bing with top coat.


swatcher, polish-ranger | Splendor Nail Lacquer Bing swatch
swatcher, polish-ranger | Splendor Nail Lacquer Bing swatch
 
Popcorn Garland "A clear glitter topper with white squares and dots and pearl hexes. A great way to entertain the kids and decorate the tree. I recall several years of carefully stringing popcorn onto a thread, hardest part was not eating all of it."

I love red and white together (the Canadian in me?) so this combo was a no-brainer. Shown here is one dabbed coat of Popcorn Garland over Bing, with top coat.


swatcher, polish-ranger | Splendor Nail Lacquer Popcorn Garland swatch (over Bing)
swatcher, polish-ranger | Splendor Nail Lacquer Popcorn Garland swatch (over Bing)
 
Pudding Sauce "A soft shimmering pale caramel nude. Every family has some recipes that get handed down through the generations. In ours it is a steamed Carrot Pudding that is served with a delicious buttery caramel sauce. My Grandma was always the one who made the sauce and sadly after she passed we discovered that was a recipe know one knew and it wasn’t written down anywhere. Nearly 20 years later the Pudding Sauce still hasn’t been quite perfected but every year we tweak it until hopefully one day it is just right."

This is a tough one. Due to the metallic nature of the polish it is fairly streaky. That said, there is something about the tone of this one (a bit more brown leaning?) that I think would enable it to play well with most skin tones. Shown here is three coats of Pudding Sauce with top coat.
swatcher, polish-ranger | Splendor Nail Lacquer Pudding Sauce swatch
swatcher, polish-ranger | Splendor Nail Lacquer Pudding Sauce swatch
 
Tinsel "A linear holographic medium silver metallic. My Mother has an unnatural love and obsession with Tinsel. Not the kind neatly tied into garland but the stuff that comes in individual statically charged strings. Every year she would painstakingly hang those shimmering silver threads one by one until the tree glistened."

This is such a pretty silver. It's deeper than your typical silver holo - almost burnished - but still has that lovely holo shine. The holo isn't super strong but it perfectly mimics tinsel on a Christmas tree. Shown here is two coats of Tinsel with top coat.

swatcher, polish-ranger | Splendor Nail Lacquer Tinsel swatch
swatcher, polish-ranger | Splendor Nail Lacquer Tinsel swatch

Do you have a favourite holiday memory or tradition? For me, I LOVE opening stockings first thing Christmas morning. The kids were always allowed to open ours as soon as we got up, as long as we left the adults alone. :)

Splendor Nail Lacquer
| Shop | Facebook |


19 November 2014

Wingdust Wednesday : Aurora Sky

Happy humpday, y'all! (Aside: does anyone else think "humpday" is the most ridiculous thing ever?) It's my favourite day of the week, Wingdust Wednesday, and this time I'm actually participating! Wahoo!

Oh! Steph also posted a wee giveaway on her Facebook page. Post your #wingdustwednesday mani on Facebook or Instagram and you will be entered for a chance to win a 4-pack of Wingies. Giveaway ends Saturday, November 22nd so get painting!

Today I am sharing Aurora Sky. This is an older polish that is a part of the Season of Change trio, three colour shifting top coats, along with Autumn Fire and April Showers. Aurora Sky presents mainly as teal but shifts to dark blue and purple in the right light. It also has small holo glitter which gives it more interest than the standard topper. The formula was good. It's on the thicker side but not goopy and was the perfect consistency for one good coat.

Shown here is one coat of Aurora Sky over two coats of Orly Liquid Vinyl along with top coat.

swatcher, polish-ranger | Wingdust Collections Aurora Sky swatch
swatcher, polish-ranger | Wingdust Collections Aurora Sky swatch
swatcher, polish-ranger | Wingdust Collections Aurora Sky swatch
swatcher, polish-ranger | Wingdust Collections Aurora Sky macro
swatcher, polish-ranger | Wingdust Collections Aurora Sky macro

Also, Wingdust is currently holding a sale to clear out some stock. Use code BLUETUES for 30% off your order before shipping!
 
Wingdust Collections
| Shop | Facebook |

06 November 2014

Finger Lickin Lacquer Fall for FLL : Part 2

press sample badge

Hooooo boy... Do you ever have a time in your life when things are just crazy and surreal and a wrench is thrown in to all of your plans? Yeah. That. Now. Yeesh.

Now that I have two seconds to sit down and I write, I belatedly present part 2 of the Fall for FLL collection from Finger Lickin Lacquer.

*descriptions from Finger Lickin Lacquer

Bonfire Night is a navy blue intensely holographic polish with a mulled cider fragrance. This polish was intended to mimic a clear night sky with all the stars twinkling – a perfect night to have a bonfire and spend time with friends and family, drinking from mugs of cider and keeping warm by the fire.

This leans black on me instead of navy blue but it's still lovely and is definitely reminiscent of the night sky. The scent is subtle and, like Tia mentioned, totally reminds me of Juicy Fruit gum. I found the formula to be great - sheer on the first coat but easily buildable. Shown here is three coats plus top coat.

swatcher, polish-ranger | Finger Lickin Lacquer Bonfire Night swatch
swatcher, polish-ranger | Finger Lickin Lacquer Bonfire Night swatch
swatcher, polish-ranger | Finger Lickin Lacquer Bonfire Night swatch

Fair Enchantress is a plum crelly with copper and gold hex glitters that started off as a custom for a dear friend. She and I fell so in love with this polish that we agreed to release it with the fall collection. Fair Enchantress is one of three unscented polishes in the fall collection.

Ungh. This one is sooo pretty. Forget fall, this is one of those year-round polishes - perfect for every season! Again, the formula was good, a little sheer at first but easily buildable. Shown here is two coats plus top coat.

swatcher, polish-ranger | Finger Lickin Lacquer Fair Enchantress swatch
swatcher, polish-ranger | Finger Lickin Lacquer Fair Enchantress swatch
swatcher, polish-ranger | Finger Lickin Lacquer Fair Enchantress swatch

Harvest Moon is a brilliant mustard yellow scattered holographic polish. Its color is perfect for fall – it’s a match for the changing leaves and it’s perfect for going to hay rides and corn mazes. Harvest Moon is the second of three unscented polishes in the fall collection.

This yellow, while very sheer, is lovely. The deeper mustard tones make it perfect for a wide variety of skin tones and it's just subtle and perfect. Shown here is three coats plus top coat and you can still see the nail line. On my ring finger I layered two coats of Harvest Moon over white which really makes it pop. You could also find a similarly toned yellow and add this for a kick of holo.

swatcher, polish-ranger | Finger Lickin Lacquer Harvest Moon swatch
swatcher, polish-ranger | Finger Lickin Lacquer Harvest Moon swatch
swatcher, polish-ranger | Finger Lickin Lacquer Harvest Moon swatch

Poison Apple is a granny smith green polish with red-to-gold flakes and a spooky surprise – skull and crossbone glitters lurking just beneath the surface. Poison Apple has a tart green apple fragrance.

As far as I'm concerned, even though it's not orange or black, this is the PERFECT Halloween polish. It totally reminds me of a poison apple or toxic sludge or something bubbling in a witch's cauldron. I did have some issues with the skull glitter. It took major fishing and when I tried to place them I got too much base colour (that's likely operator error though). I layered two coats of Poison Apple over white on my ring finger and it..... doesn't really work - I prefer this one built up on its own. Shown here is three coats plus top coat.

swatcher, polish-ranger | Finger Lickin Lacquer Poison Apple swatch
swatcher, polish-ranger | Finger Lickin Lacquer Poison Apple swatch
swatcher, polish-ranger | Finger Lickin Lacquer Poison Apple swatch

Spoopy is a fun black crelly with hex glitters in orange, purple, yellow, and green. Spoopy is so named because of a fun post on Tumblr featuring misspelled Halloween decorations. It was silly and took on a life of its own, and this polish is very much the same – Spoopy’s the perfect fun Halloween polish, especially with its sweet candy corn fragrance.

This guy is so much fun and I think it's amazing for Christmas as well. You know those bokeh photos of Christmas lights? This reminds me of that. The scent is light and not overwhelming and the formula, again, was good. Shown here is three coats plus top coat.

swatcher, polish-ranger | Finger Lickin Lacquer Spoopy swatch
swatcher, polish-ranger | Finger Lickin Lacquer Spoopy swatch
swatcher, polish-ranger | Finger Lickin Lacquer Spoopy swatch

Finger Lickin Lacquer
| Shop | Facebook |
 
xo, courtney signature badge
BLOG DESIGN BY DESIGNER BLOGS