Pretty & Polished : The Color Purple collection

Dude. (I typed this word as a placeholder but I'm going to leave it since it's so accurate.)

Chels always comes out with great collections but I think she outdid herself with this one. (Although I've seen pics of the fall crèmes and those really excite me as well!) The Color Purple collection consists of five pieces that are all unique but make a cohesive collection. The formula on every single one was amazing. Seriously, I can't say enough good things about it.

The Grape Flake is a magenta purple crelly with multicolored flakes and is stunning! I love this color so much and the flakes make it perfect. Shown here are two medium coats and top coat.

I'll Be Your Huckleberry is a dark purple (reads navy on me) scattered holo with wee berry colored flakes. Check out the macro - is that not incredible?! Shown here is two medium coats with top coat.

My Favorite Blurple is a thermal (color changing) polish that is bright blue when warm and blurple when cold. It also has scattered holo and a smattering of flakes. The color transition is great and if you have longer nails, it's very noticeable. Shown here is two medium coats and top coat.

This Is My Jam is a blackened purple jelly with blue, purple and pink glitter and gorgeous shimmer. My top coat did something wonky with this one so I apologize for the streaks in the swatch. Shown here is two medium coats with top coat.

Violet Femmes is a gorgeous medium purple full-coverage microglitter. This polish is SPECTACULAR! It really shines in the sun but is gorgeous in any light. Shown here is two medium coats with top coat.

Seriously great collection, right? All five are currently available in the Pretty & Polished shop.

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#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.

Press Release : Pretty & Polished Happy Hour collection

Introducing the Pretty & Polished "Happy Hour" Collection! This Cocktail inspired collection comes with 6 stunning Holographic infused shades named after some of your favorite Cocktail Hour refreshments. This Collection will be available for sale on July 10th 2015 at shopprettyandpolished.com. In addition to the 6 new Polishes we will be releasing an assortment of new Cocktail inspired Bath & Body Products, including Mani Melt Shooters scented and named after popular shots.

Sangria: This sexy red jelly is packed with scattered holographic red glitters. Easy going formula with amazing pigmentation, get full coverage in ONE layer!

Appletini: This polish is spectacularly bright with a strong slightly scattered holographic presence. This polish is creamy and has an incredibly easy to work with formula. 2 layers for full coverage.

Purple Nurpl: Don't be fooled by the funny name, this is one HOT polish. Probably the most intriguing polish of the collection, this deep purple jelly has an insane amount of holographic sparkle coming from different shades of tiny holographic glitters. Full coverage in 2 layers.

Tequila Sunrise: This cocktail is served with the bottom half being red and the top half being orange. Dip your bottle into some ice water and get the full effect! This interesting orange jelly changes to a red jelly when exposed to cold. It's also packed with gorgeous golden scattered holographic glitters. May take 3 coats for full coverage.

Long Island Iced Tea: Tea with no tea?! This interesting shade of copper is a must have brown in your collection. It has a very strong scattered holographic sparkle and is opaque in 1-2 layers!

Cosmopolitan: A true Cosmo should be a bright pink frothy cocktail. And that is what you will get with this neon polish. This intensely pink polish is packed with pink and purple holographic glitters .

Also included in this release are our new Bath & Body products.

Our new Bubble Bombs are a wondrous mix between Bath Bombs and Bubble Bars. Add them to your bath while the water is still running and watch them fizz and foam while creating a blanket of delightful bubbles!

Cosmopolitan: A cranberry infused bomb with hints of orange and lime.

Piña Colada: A sweet tropical medley of Coconut, Pineapple, and Rum.

Sangria: Deep red Wine scent topped off with a little chopped fruit. The top of this bomb has a crisp layer scented of sweet Orange.

Strawberry Daiquiri: A dreamy Strawberry treat topped with notes of whipped cream and rum.

Pink Bubbly: Experience the sweet scent of Pink Champagne that's so bubbly it tickles your nose! 

Another addition to our lineup is our new Mani Melt Shooters!

Jello Shots: Grape, Lime, Orange, and Cherry.

Tomahawk: A Cinnamon and Almond mash up.

Melon Ball: A Melon and Pineapple infusion.

-30-

Due to the overwhelming interest in this collection, Chelsea has decided to have a pre-sale!!

Pre-sale Information: July 1st at 1 pm EST we will put all the products up on the website at a 5% discounted rate and they will remain available until 7 pm EST. We will then not make them available again until July 10th at their regular rate of $9. 

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Pretty & Polished : Summer 2015 collection (partial)

 

Today I have four pretties from the Pretty & Polished Summer 2015 collection. This is a 13 piece collection and is available now in the shop.

Frankly, I think all four of these are perfect for summer. They feel light and bright and happy - exactly how I want to feel all summer long. (As long as the weather is nice. Grrrr....)

Let's get on with it, shall we?


* Descriptions taken from Pretty & Polished.

On The Beach With a Pink in Hand is a bright pink crelly packed with white and light blue glitters.

I think this is one of my favourites. You can never go wrong with white glitter and crelly. The formula on this was good. I didn't have to fish for any of the larger hexes and the glitter distributed evenly over the nail. Shown here is three coats & top coat.

Strawberry Lemon Ice is a soft pink creme base with yellow and pink glitters.

I reallllllly wanted to love this one. Look at that milky base and pretty, soft glitter combo! The swatch on the shop from honeybee nails is much smoother than I was able to get it so it may be user error. As noted on the shop, this one is quite sheer and since I'm not a VNL fan, I used three coats to get it opaque which also resulted in the thickness you notice.

The Sea Glass is Half Full is a sand colored crelly base packed with crystal glitter that resembles sea glass and micro blue/green metallic glitter.

I find this polish to be so interesting. I wasn't sure I was going to be a fan and I thought the base would be too yellow for my skin tone. And then I put it on. Dude, I can't even. It's magic. The base is PERFECT for my skin tone and it ended up being a surprise favourite! The formula was good with an even distribution of glitter. Shown here is three coats and top coat. (PS. Pardon the blurry swatch photo - I need steadier hands.)

You Say Goodbye, I Say Yellow is a thermal color changing nail polish that changes from a yellow to a white in heat. This polish also has neon yellow glitters throughout so your white may look a little yellow still.

This is another one that I had some difficulty with application but the polish itself is still super pretty. DAT YELLOW GLITTER! As you can see on my nail tips, I'm not sure if I ever got a color shift with this one or if it's just so subtle that I didn't notice. Shown here is three coats and top coat.


Update: I spoke with Chels and she said that the shift is super subtle so you may not notice it. Also, the yellow glitter makes the base seem yellow anyway which doesn't help with noticing the color change. Still, YELLLLLOW!!

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Pretty & Polished : Pretty Little Lady and Girl Next Door

A post on a Sunday?! Crazy, I know, but Pretty & Polished released several new colours today and these two are part of that release. Can you believe that something arrived from the US to Canada in time for me to swatch and post about? I was pretty excited. :)

 

Pretty Little Lady and Girl Next Door are two new offerings in the Country Girl Swag collection (the Dark Arts collection also launched today along with four new holographic shades).

 

First up is Pretty Little Lady - a lovely white crelly that is JAMMED full of blue and white glitter as well as a smattering of pink bows. Due to the amount of glitter the formula is on the thick side but, if you use thin coats and wait a few minutes between coats, you should be fine. I noticed that if I applied a new coat too soon it resulted in some dragging and bald spots. Also, I did have to fish for the bows but they came out easy enough with a few dips of the brush. I love me a good white crelly and this one definitely fits the bills. It's soft and feminine and just all around lovely. Shown here is 3 coats with one coat of Nail Pattern Boldness glitter food to smooth things and one coat of Gelous for shine.

 

 

I have a confession to make; lately I've been having glitter fatigue. I've been lazy and the difficulty of glitter removal was too much for me. But then, the perfect glitter combo comes along that screams to be used and Girl Next Door is one of those combos. I tested this over many different undies and it worked with all of them - cream, taupe, teal, mint, purple, even pink. I ended up choosing to layer it over Dior Waterlily because the light mint green perfectly highlighted the aqua, turquoise and gold glitters. Shown here is one dabbed coat and one coat of Gelous.

 

 

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