#itrustindiepolish

Hey guys. So, before we get back to our regularly scheduled swatch posts (I have a gooder from Pretty & Polished!), let's switch gears a bit and talk about why I love (and trust) indie polish.

Source: http://www.the-crumpet.com/2015/08/indies-i-trust-crumpets-top-10.html

You may be aware of the recent, incredibly scary issues that people are having with Mentality Polish - sensitivity, tingling, what looks like chemical burns, nails lifting from the nail beds, NECROSIS! It's a legit (and legal) shit-storm. I'm not going to get into the specifics and timelines because there are many awesome blog posts out there that contain lots of information - see Ashley Is Polish Addicted, Imperfectly Painted, Lab Muffin, and Betty's Beauty Bombs for a start. There is even a Facebook group dedicated to keeping people up-to-date.

Now, while bloggers have been doing their best to share information while still stressing that this is an ISOLATED INCIDENT, a few more mainstream outlets (Jezebel and Seventeen Magazine) have also picked up the story which, in my opinion, may be doing more harm to the indie community as a whole than good. Do I think that informing the masses is a bad idea? Never! I am a huge advocate of the freedom of information and I'm positive there are people who own some of the affected polish that aren't on Facebook or Instagram and are perhaps wondering what the hell is going on with their nails.

The problem I have is that several of the articles are using minimal sources and haven't spoken to other makers in the community. They aren't letting their readers know that this is a crazy one-off and that MOST makers do in-depth testing (and, uh, have liability insurance) to ensure the safety of their product. To the average, mainstream consumer these articles are painting the indie polish community with a "I mess around in my basement and have no idea what I'm doing" brush. Not a great perception for a community that we love and hold dear. A few outlets, like Refinery 29 and Nail It!, do have a more balanced approach rather than alarmist.

UPDATE: Consumerist also has a well-written article posted.

So, when I saw posts on The Crumpet and Phyrra listing indie brands they trust, I thought I'd follow suit with my own list. I am going to go with Debbie's criteria so these have to be brands that I have used (and worn, not just swatched) and have spoken with and have some sort of relationship with the maker.

#itrustindiepolish

KBShimmer

Wingdust Collections (on vacation)

Emerald & Ash (on vacation)

Elevation Polish

Literary Lacquers

Eat. Sleep. Polish.

Pretty & Polished

Octopus Party Nail Lacquer

Firecracker Lacquer

Glisten & Glow

There are TONS of other amazing brands, many of the makers I've met and spoken to in person, but I wanted to keep the list to ten that I use regularly, otherwise this list would be a mile long. ;)

Which indie brands do you trust? List them in the comments! Let's show our favourite makers some love.

Eat. Sleep. Polish : Fantastica

Ack! It's not even officially summer yet and already the evenings and weekends are quickly filling up. The kid starts kindergarten in September and we have the parent orientation this week. How did five years pass so quickly?! I swear it was yesterday that I was rocking her (Wait. I still try to do that but she won't let me) and looking at my perfect baby in wonder.

*Side note* She had the most perfect baby cry - it was always individual "wahs," like you could see a speech bubble beside her that said "wah, wah, wah." *sigh* I love newborns. *End side note*

Ok, I'm done being maudlin. ;)

Today I have a gorgeous polish to show you. Eat. Sleep. Polish. Fantastica is from the Fizzle & Pop collection which is comprised of six foil/metallic polishes that are inspired by pop (soda for you folks in different regions). I love the inspiration for this collection and all the colours are amazing! I ordered three of them and will be sharing the other two (It's So Fresca and Blowing Ginger Bubbles) with you at a later date.

Fantastica is an orange foil/metallic polish and shown here is two coats and one coat of HK Girl top coat. The formula was fantastic and I really love the finished look. Perfect for summer!

It's actually been nice out so I was able to take these photos in the SUN!

I never thought I was a fan of foil polish but then I tried these. If you are the same, I highly suggest giving these a shot - they are amazing!!

Eat. Sleep. Polish.

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Emerald & Ash Stubble Jumper and a giveaway!!

Today is a very special post. When I started this blog I decided that when I reached 100 Facebook followers I would hold a giveaway. Well, the "share the love" campaign happened and that number sky-rocketed. I also knew that I really wanted to include a custom polish in my giveaway so I started working with Ashley of Emerald & Ash to bring my vision to life. I wanted the polish to represent something that was special to me and, being a life-long prairie girl, I knew that would be my inspiration. I sent Ashley a picture and she got to work. As she tweaked things she sent me prototype pictures and to say I was excited was an understatement.

Today is the day that I am finally able to share Stubble Jumper with you and I really hope you love it as much as I do. Today is also the perfect day to share this with you because two years ago today my dad passed away and he is the one who taught me the word stubble jumper. I thought everyone from Saskatchewan would get it but maybe not. :)

Stubble jumper refers to a person or farmer who has to jump over the wheat "stubble" as they walk across the fields. That stuff is stiff and sharp and I spent many a childhood summer hopping over it. The colour was inspired by wide open prairie sky, trees, and wheat fields and I think Ashley nailed it.

Stubble Jumper is a teal crelly that sparkles with blue shimmer and yellow and green/gold micro-flakies. Shown here is three coats along with one coat of CND Stickey base coat and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri.

Ashley made five bottles of this polish and three of them are part of the giveaway!

There will be three prizes... three winners... open internationally (unless your country prohibits the import of nail polish)... closes Tuesday, April 1st, 2014.

* Unless otherwise indicated, prizes were purchased by me.

 Prize #1 includes:

- Red Shift & Boot Season from Emerald & Ash
- Stubble Jumper from Emerald & Ash
- *Raspberry Mud Pie from Eat. Sleep. Polish (* provided by Caterina of Eat. Sleep. Polish.)
- lavender nail oil from Emerald & Ash
- HK Girl Quick Dry top coat from Glisten & Glow
- 4-sided nail tool

 Prize #2 includes:

- Strawberry Jam & Dipping Chocolate from Model City Polish
- Stubble Jumper from Emerald & Ash
- *Raspberry Mud Pie from Eat. Sleep. Polish. (* provided by Caterina from Eat. Sleep. Polish.)
- *chocolate nail oil from Model City Polish and *glass nail file (*provided by Nina from Model City Polish)
- Poshé quick dry topcoat

Prize #3 includes:

- Bewitched and Love Spell from Two Gypsies Lacquer
- Stubble Jumper from Emerald & Ash
- *Raspberry Mud Pie from Eat. Sleep. Polish. (* provided by Caterina from Eat. Sleep. Polish.)
- basil sage mint nail oil from Emerald & Ash
- Poshé quick dry topcoat
- *nail file (* provided by Michelle of Two Gypsies Lacquer)


  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Eat. Sleep. Polish. April Showers, Bring May Flowers collection

WARNING: This post is pic heavy. Enjoy!

Soooo.... spring is coming soon, yes? Because I am DONE with winter (as are most North Americans I would imagine). This winter has been miserable - cold and snowy and windy and blech. As a Canadian (and proud prairie girl) you'd think I'd be used to winter. But, nope, I'm a spring and autumn fan which is why I'm excited to see all the new spring collections being released. Today I'm extra excited to be able to share the April Showers, Bring May Flowers collection from Eat. Sleep. Polish. which will be released on Saturday, March 15th!

This collection consists of five different polishes and what makes this collection unique is that it really represents the typical Canadian spring. We don't get the bright skies and tulips and pastel colours (well, the West Coast does) that are usually associated with spring. We get dirt and gravel and mud and more snow, but there's always the promise of new life and flower buds poking up through the soil.

I also must admit that I have a soft spot for this collection because I helped to name one of the colours. Caterina sent me a sample to test out and I loved it so much she asked if I wanted to name it. Ummm, yes, please! I had a couple of ideas swirling around so, once I found out the name and inspiration for the collection, I polled some of my best polish friends and submitted the winner to Cat. Thankfully she liked it and Raspberry Mud Pie was born. :) Let's start with that one, shall we?

**All polish descriptions come directly from Caterina.**

I used one coat of CND Stickey base coat, two coats of polish (thicker coats in the case of Grasshoppa), and one coat of Glisten & Glow HK Girl for all five. All five flowed well and I had no trouble working with them. The glitter distribution for Grasshoppa and Sidewalk Strider was even and consistent with no pooling or pulling. This was an all around great collection!

Raspberry Mud Pie

A cocoa coloured polish filled within beautiful raspberry shimmer, that truly glows from within. 2-3 coats recommended. This polish was actually named by the wonderful blogger Courtney over at http://www.swatcherpolishranger.com/ . The name is perfect as this is exactly how I envision this polish! Lets face it spring is muddy. However with soil and dirt come plants & flowers. There is always good to be found if you look hard enough ;)

 

 

Perfect Storm

A shimmery olive toned polish with a splash of scattered holo as well. 2-3 coats recommended. Spring is not spring without storms, and as the saying goes April Showers, Bring May Flowers ;) This polish represents the calmness and serenity that even a storm can bring.

Endless Sky

A shimmery blue with a delicate violet undertone and a splash of scattered holo, 2-3 coats recommended. What would an ending winter be without a beautiful blue cloud free sky? This polish helps us to embrace the days to come where the sky is pure and endless.

 

 

 

Grasshoppa

 

A light and airy green jelly filled with micro flakes, shimmer, pink & white glitter of various shapes and sizes. This is semi-sheer but can be layered, or worn over a base in a similar colour. Topcoat recommended to achieve a smooth finish. The inspiration behind this polish is itty bitty baby grasshoppers that start showing up in the fresh baby grass.

 

 

 

Sidewalk Strider

 

A funky cement looking polish. 2-3 coats recommended. This grey based polish is jam packed with black, white, pink & glitter and scattered with tiny blue sparkles. A delicate amount of holographic particles make this a unique and fun polish to wear. The inspiration behind this polish is going for walks in the early days of spring, where bits and pieces of winter 'junk' can be seen hiding in the melting snow.

 

** Wear time note: I have had Sidewalk Strider on for 4 days now, and aside from a bit of tip wear, there are no chips. I only used one coat of HK Girl and it's fairly smooth but if you want a glassy finish, 2 coats would serve you well.

 

 

So, are you looking forward to spring? Is there one polish from this collection that you HAVE TO HAVE? How about all of them? ;) I love Raspberry Mud Pie, of course, and Endless Sky is a stunning blue. A surprise favourite for me was Sidewalk Strider - it's just so unique and has the perfect putty base colour. The April Showers, Bring May Flowers collection will be available on March 15th at Eat. Sleep. Polish.

 

Eat. Sleep. Polish.

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Eat Sleep Polish Alice in Polishland collection

**Warning: This post is picture heavy. Prepare a refreshment and a snack and be ready to be amazed.**

Happy Hump Day! My internal clock is all messed up because of the long weekend. Sometimes I feel like today is Thursday and other times Tuesday, but rarely Wednesday. (That made perfect sense in my head...) ;)

Today I have an AMAZING collection to share with you. The wonderful Caterina of Eat. Sleep. Polish. recently released her newest collection and I was very excited to get my hands on these. Inspired by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Alice in Polishland consists of five polishes - three holographic, one crelly and one glitter topper. (NB: Off With Her Head is only available through the end of February.)

The first one I have to show you is Bruised Her Soul, which is a blackened plum colour and has a scattered holographic effect. The holo isn't super strong but pretty nonetheless. The pigmentation on this was good and it flowed well on the nail. Shown here is one coat of CND Stickey base coat and two coats of Bruised Her Soul.

Next up we have Don't Pet the Cheshire Cat, which is a light purple crelly and has purple and pink square and hex glitters. This is not a glitter bomb by any means and the lower concentration of glitter makes this polish more understated and elegant. This one is quite sheer so it will take three to four coats to build up the opacity or you could layer it over a similarly coloured undie. Shown here is one coat of CND Stickey base coat, three coats of Don't Pet the Cheshire Cat and one coat of Glisten & Glow HK Girl.

 

 

Next in line is The Queen's Croquet, a bright pink polish with micro flakes and a super subtle holo sparkle. I don't know why, but my camera freaked when taking pictures of this one so I apologize for the quality. I used three coats for this one but it you used a heavier hand you could likely get away with two. This polish dries to a satin finish which is quite nice on it's own. I added one coat of Glisten & Glow HK Girl for the final picture.

 

 

Off With Her Head is a limited edition glitter topper and will only be available until the end of February. I really like the combination of black, silver and white glitter and the addition of the red hearts is perfect for a Queen of Hearts inspired polish. I did have quite a bit of trouble fishing the hearts out but it could be because I purchased this collection in the mini size. As you can see though, I was able to get several to place on each nail. Shown here is one coat of Off With Her Head over The Queen's Croquet and one coat of Glisten & Glow HK Girl.

 

Last, but certainly not least, we have Painting the Roses Red, a burgundy polish with the same scattered holographic effect as Bruised Her Soul. The formula on this was exactly the same as Bruised Her Soul and I was able to use two easy coats over one coat of CND Stickey.

 

 

I am a big fan of this whole collection but, for me, I think the stand-out is Bruised Her Soul. I love the dark, vampy plum colour and the scattered holo gives it the perfect amount of sparkle. Fans of Alice in Wonderland, you are going to want to snap up the whole collection before Off With Her Head is gone.

 

Eat. Sleep. Polish

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