#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.

Emerald & Ash : Life in Color collection, part 2

Okie dokie, artichokie, it's Friday (woo!) and as promised, here is part two of my Life in Color collection review. Like part one, this post features three gorgeous shades (and a bonus link to a 7th!) from Emerald & Ash.

Let's get down to business. As per usual, the descriptions come directly from the maker.

Snozzberries
The snozzberries taste like...blurpurple jelly. Wait no, that can’t be right. Anywho, our version of Snozzberries is a purple jelly that is filled with color shifting square glitter and some purple and red holo micro glitters. Goes on in two to three coats depending on your application. Can also be put over a base color if that tickles your fancy. A top coat is recommended to give the polish a smooth look.

Charlie & The Chocolate Factory is one of my favourite movies EVER and I tend to use the phrase this polish is inspired by quite often, so how could I help but love it? Plus, it's blurple which I'm fairly certain is the best colour name ever (grellow, you don't hold a candle!). The formula on this was fantastic and the perfect amount of glitter applied to the nail with every stroke (how amazing is the tiny red glitter?). Shown here is two coats and one coat of Gelous.

 

Sunshower

Based in the idea of rainstorms when it’s still sunny out. Crazy little storms. A cloudy grey crelly that shows off a beautiful blue shimmer when in the sun. An added touch of rainbow flakies mimics the rain as the sun is hitting it. Perfect for a rainy mood that needs a little pick me up! Full coverage in two to three coats depending on application.

I love sunshowers. The sun glittering off the rain drops just makes it seem so much more magical. The flakies in this polish are so pretty - they glint and glimmer when they hit the sun and the grey base is so delicate and elegant. Shown here is two coats and one coat of top coat.

 

 

Confusion with a K

Once upon a time we found an ottoman that had beautiful bright colors and it needed to come home with us. It also needed to be made into a polish. After many trials and errors it decided to be a fun, festive glitter topper. Because it said so. And so, Confusion with a K was born. A glitter topper full of neon pink, neon green, metallic navy blue, grey and white glitters of all sizes. It wants to go on top of ALL of your polishes and maybe even be sandwiched between them as well. You’re good to go with one to two coats, depending on how glitter-hungry you are!

This glitter topper is where Emerald & Ash's thicker base really comes in handy. I did not have to fish for a single piece of glitter! See those large pink hexes? Yep, they just willingly came out on the brush. Glitter application like this makes my life so much easier and less frustrating. Plus, these colours are amazing and perfect and I love them. :) Shown here is one coat over China Glaze Def Defying and one coat of Gelous.

Bonus link: Ashley and I were chatting one day and she mentioned that she thought my custom, Stubble Jumper, would be the perfect addition to a new collection she was planning. Of course, I was flattered and said yes right away. The thought that people like something I had a hand in creating just tickles me. Spread the prairie love, people!

I was also sent a 3ml bottle of the July oil of the month, Fresh Cut Grass, which is a scent I already love. I had kind of... badgered? nicely? Ashley about a grass scent. :) And you already know how I feel about their cuticle oils.

All Emerald & Ash lacquers are 5-Free and are not tested on animals.

Emerald & Ash

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Emerald & Ash: Life in Color collection, part 1

* I swear that one day soon I will have another WingDust Wednesday post; I just need to get caught up on my swatching. *

Today I have part one of my review on the Life in Color collection from Emerald & Ash. They sent me six of these beauties to swatch so I decided to break it up into two posts so as not to bombard you with pics. Wouldn't want you to injure your scrolling finger. ;)

The people who make the polish are always better at describing it than I am so, as usual, polish descriptions are taken directly from Emerald & Ash.

Magic Bananas
Who doesn’t like magic bananas!? We sure love them around here, especially when used as an exclamation! It’s a phrase used so much around here that we had to make this yellow and green all flakie polish that has a hint of gun metal flakies - you know...for those bruises that pop up on your bananas, no matter how magical they are. This can easily be a full coverage flakie in 2-3 coats, but you can always uses it as a topper if that tickles your fancy.

Now is where I admit to being an incompetent nail blogger. I need practice applying flakie polish. Polish with flakies in it? Sure, I've worn those. Pure flakies? A polish literally packed to the brim with flakies? Nope. I think I rushed my coats which resulted in some dragging and bunching at the tips (you can particularly see this on my index finger). All you need is some patience and you will be handsomely rewarded. The flakies in this are so pretty and the final result is simple yet complex. Shown here is two coats and one coat of top coat.

Tomato, Tomato
You say tomato and I say...this tomato based polish looks amazing with flakies that throw off a red and gold shimmer while trapped in a sheer red jelly base. Can be worn to full coverage in 2-3 coats, depending on your application or it can be placed over your favorite reds to add a quick punch of fun!

Another polish that highlights how poorly I applied it. :/ As with Magic Bananas, this flakie packed polish just requires an extra bit of patience with the application.

You know, if asked, I will always say that red is never my go to colour and yet, it plays so nicely with my skin tone. This one in particular is gorgeous! The gold with the red not only plays perfectly off the tomato theme, but it's a great fall transition colour. Again, I used two coats and one coat of top coat.

You Sun of a Beach
An eye-searing bright neon leaning coral crelly that hits you with a dose of scattered holo, just in case you already haven’t been blinded. Due to the nature of neon pigments this will dry to a semi-matte look. Leave it as is or gloss it up with a top coat, your choice! You can always layer it over a base coat of white polish to make the color pop even more! Without a base color you can get full coverage in 2-3 coats.

Good lord, I love this polish. Neon coral with scattered holo?! Be still my heart. The formula on this one was amazing! With careful application I only needed two coats and one coat of top coat for this stunner. This is one of my favourites from the entire collection! 

So, there are the first three. What do you think so far? Definitely full of colour, right? Stay tuned - I will have the final three up later this week.

Emerald & Ash

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Emerald & Ash Nail Oil, Hourglass Nebula, Dark Matter, and a FLASH GIVEAWAY!!!

Longest post title ever? Mayhaps but it's for a good reason. You see, Emerald & Ash is launching a new collection tomorrow and, in addition to the new pretties, there are a few being discontinued. Alllllso, I will be reviewing the E&A nail oils in this post and Ashley and Nate offered up some gift cards so that people could try out their stuff. So, do you see where I am going with this now? What better time to have a flash giveaway then right before the launch of a new collection?! My blogger pack hasn't arrived yet (pesky border) so I will include some links to other reviews of the new stuff and I'm going to show you two of the beauties being discontinued. Hopefully this will give you a pretty good idea of what you want to snag tomorrow.

First, the nail oil review. I'm going to put out a disclaimer right now and say that if you are looking for a balanced review of this stuff, you'll have to look elsewhere. I literally do not have a bad word to say about the Emerald & Ash nail oil. Not only is the blend unique and fast absorbing, the scents are plentiful and there are very, very few that I don't like. I've tried so many of them, in blends and alone, that I've created a spreadsheet to keep track of them all. Hopefully my notes will be helpful in deciding which scents to try.

* I was sent three 4ml bottles to try - Kulu Bay, Cinnamon/Blueberry, and Caramel/Apple Orchard. All three are great but Cinnamon/Blueberry is FREAKING AMAZING!!! *

Here's a note about the nail oils directly from Emerald & Ash:

Our nail oils are hand blended and mixed to order. None of our oils sit with scents premixed into them. We use a unique blend of oils that include Fractionated coconut oil, grapeseed oil, jojoba oil, meadowfoam seed oil, tea tree oil, vitamin A oil and vitamin E oil.

 

We created a nail oil that we love and want to use. We wanted something that was fast absorbing, moisturizing and that didn't leave a greasy feeling behind. It's a cuticle oil that can be used as often as needed, while also using it frequently to help get your nails and cuticles into better shape.

 

We offer 85 scents in both essential oils and fragrance oils. Those 85 scents can also be blended into an even larger selection of scents. Along with that we offer unscented, sellers choice where we choose the scent and a scent of the month that is offered at a discounted price.

Safe to say, I love these oils. I have bottles spread everywhere - in the car, my purse, bedside table, at work, etc. - and use them several times a day because I am a serial cuticle picker. My cuticles aren't just dry, they are damaged. Pretty horrible for a nail blogger, right? You would think that swatching multiple polishes in one sitting would make my cuticles worse but, because I apply some E&A oil after removing each polish, my cuticles generally look BETTER after a swatch-a-thon. Do your hands a favour and grab some now!! My favourite way to purchase is the 4ml three-pack because then I can try three different scents for minimal cost. You can't beat $6.50 for 12ml of oil!!

Now, on to the two polishes being discontinued. Both are from the Hubble collection and both are unique and lovely. I used two coats of polish for both Hourglass Nebula and Dark Matter. I love all of the polishes in the Hubble collection and these two are no exception.

Finally, the giveaway. This is truly a FLASH giveaway. The new collection launches at 9am Mountain time, tomorrow, Thursday, July 10th, 2014 and I am leaving the Rafflecopter open until 8am Mountain time, which gives me one hour to verify entries and get the winners' information to Ashley & Nate. Good luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Links to the Life in Color collection reviews:

Land of Ten Thousand Polishes | Part 1 | Part 2 |
Polished Pathology | Part 1 | Part 2 |
Boom Shaka Lacquer

 

Emerald & Ash

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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

Emerald & Ash Happy Primary Circumgyration

 

Last week I showed you the Photometry collection from Emerald & Ash and today I'm back to show you three polishes that were created for Emerald & Ash's first anniversary (or, as they are calling it, their Primary Circumgyration).

Happy Primary Circumgyration and Deconstructed Daisy holo are both limited edition and will be available until the end of March. Deconstructed Daisy holo is also available in a duo with the original Deconstructed Daisy and a bottle of their Daisy nail oil which closely resembles Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume (and is lovely!).

* Descriptions are provided by Emerald & Ash.

Happy Primary Circumgyration
A green leaning white crelly stunner that was created especially for our Primary Circumgyration (one year anniversary). It is a pastel beauty that shifts between an aqua and green shimmer depending on the light. With beautiful micro flakes that shift from aqua to green and a helping of holo to make it come alive. Full coverage at 3 coats depending on your application, but can also be worn over a white base color.

Shown here is three coats along with one coat of CND Stickey base coat & Sally Hansen Insta-Dri. This white is so pretty. The green shimmer adds a touch of uniqueness and really makes the polish glow. The formula was good and coverage was good for a white!

Ash & Emerald
A fun play on our name and the colors we use in our packaging. This ash colored crelly comes alive with a flash of emerald green shimmer and a spattering of green micro flakes. Full coverage at 2-3 coats depending on your application.

Shown here is three coats along with one coat of CND Stickey base coat and one coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri. I am legit in love with this colour! It is so unique and gorgeous and the green shimmer and flakies make this polish come alive. The formula on this one was also great!

Deconstructed Daisy holo
The polish that started it all. It’s still the same polish that everyone has grown to love. Full of various sizes of green and white glitter with a speckling of yellow micro glitter. The added bonus is a spattering of holo. Not too much, so that you can see the polish you wear as a base coat, but enough to make it sparkle in the sun.

Shown here is one coat over Happy Primary Circumgyration and Ash & Emerald. This is PACKED with glitter and I didn't need to do much dabbing - coverage was effortless. The holo is pretty subtle but adds the perfect amount of sparkle in the sun. I added one coat of Gelous to smooth out the glitter.

Remember, Happy Primary Circumgyration & Deconstructed Daisy holo are only available until the end of March. Head over to Facebook and wish Ashley & Nate a Happy Primary Circumgyation!

 

Emerald & Ash

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