This will obviously be image-heavy, so click the jump to see it all!
Showing posts with label Pretty & Polished. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pretty & Polished. Show all posts
Thursday, June 5, 2014
2014 Blogger Challenge #11: My polish stash...photographed!
Good morning! I'm finally returning to the 2014 Blogger Challenge. You might have noticed that I haven't done it for a couple months--there were some prompts I didn't have much to say about, then I kinda got distracted. But I thought today's topic would be a perfect place to get back on the horse. The prompt is collections. What do I have a giant collection of? Nail polish, of course! If you like to see pictures of organized stuff, you will like this post!
This will obviously be image-heavy, so click the jump to see it all!
This will obviously be image-heavy, so click the jump to see it all!
Friday, May 30, 2014
The Neverending Pile Challenge: A thermal nail fail (plus a special announcement)
The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.
Hi everyone! Before I get to the Neverending Pile Challenge, I want to tell you about a special event that is starting today.
Last month, four-year-old Lily Quintus was killed in a tragic accident in Florida. Over fifty indie polish makers have teamed up to raise money for Lily's family and the other children affected.
Each of us has created a one-of-a-kind polish in Lily's memory, and they will be auctioned off in lots. All proceeds will be donated to the families. Here's my contribution:
The auction will take place on Facebook; it starts TODAY at noon and runs until Monday. Please join this group to participate. Thanks!
OK, on to the nail fail! The Neverending Pile Challenge prompt for today is solar/thermal. I have never actually bought a thermal polish before, because, first, the thermal pigment degrades after about a year, so your polish essentially has a shelf life; second, it just seems kind of gimmicky to me. Plus you need long nails for the effect to really work! Or not, as we shall see...
In one of the Pretty & Polished subscription boxes I got Good Vibrations, which is a thermal that changes from a dark magenta when cool to a brighter purple-pink when warm. It also has a scattered holo shimmer. I made sure to let my nails grow nice and long before I swatched this in order to get that French tip effect. But, as you can see, I was sorely disappointed.
You can see my free edges through the polish--look how long they are! Yet I only got the "warm" shade. Very weird. I decided to resort to some trickery to show off the cool color. This is the best I could do:
You see the slight darkening at the tips? That's from holding my nails against an ice pack. (Cold water had no effect.)
OK, so maybe the polish itself is a dud? Nope, check it out on the swatch wheel:
It's quite happy to show off its cool shade here (I squeezed the tip with my fingers to show the warm color too). I have seen swatches of this on other people where the thermal effect works quite well. So I can only conclude that I'm just too hot for thermals (awww yeah!!).
In all other respects the formula was fine. If other thermals have worked for you, I imagine Good Vibrations will too. It can be purchased here ($9 for 15 ml).
Total untrieds tried: 49 + chevron decals + 1 stamping plate
The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.
Hi everyone! Before I get to the Neverending Pile Challenge, I want to tell you about a special event that is starting today.
Last month, four-year-old Lily Quintus was killed in a tragic accident in Florida. Over fifty indie polish makers have teamed up to raise money for Lily's family and the other children affected.
Each of us has created a one-of-a-kind polish in Lily's memory, and they will be auctioned off in lots. All proceeds will be donated to the families. Here's my contribution:
The auction will take place on Facebook; it starts TODAY at noon and runs until Monday. Please join this group to participate. Thanks!
OK, on to the nail fail! The Neverending Pile Challenge prompt for today is solar/thermal. I have never actually bought a thermal polish before, because, first, the thermal pigment degrades after about a year, so your polish essentially has a shelf life; second, it just seems kind of gimmicky to me. Plus you need long nails for the effect to really work! Or not, as we shall see...
In one of the Pretty & Polished subscription boxes I got Good Vibrations, which is a thermal that changes from a dark magenta when cool to a brighter purple-pink when warm. It also has a scattered holo shimmer. I made sure to let my nails grow nice and long before I swatched this in order to get that French tip effect. But, as you can see, I was sorely disappointed.
 |
| Pretty & Polished Good Vibrations. Two(?) coats with Out the Door topcoat. |
You can see my free edges through the polish--look how long they are! Yet I only got the "warm" shade. Very weird. I decided to resort to some trickery to show off the cool color. This is the best I could do:
You see the slight darkening at the tips? That's from holding my nails against an ice pack. (Cold water had no effect.)
OK, so maybe the polish itself is a dud? Nope, check it out on the swatch wheel:
It's quite happy to show off its cool shade here (I squeezed the tip with my fingers to show the warm color too). I have seen swatches of this on other people where the thermal effect works quite well. So I can only conclude that I'm just too hot for thermals (awww yeah!!).
In all other respects the formula was fine. If other thermals have worked for you, I imagine Good Vibrations will too. It can be purchased here ($9 for 15 ml).
Total untrieds tried: 49 + chevron decals + 1 stamping plate
The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Swatch: Pretty & Polished Life is a Bowl of Cranberries
The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.
Happy Sunday! Last week I got my second Pretty & Polished subscription box! This box contained two exclusive polishes, a mini thermal polish, a mini nail file, samples of handmade soap and cuticle butter, and some little nail studs! I decided to try on one of the exclusive polishes, just to give you an idea of what you might receive if you buy a subscription box.
Life is a Bowl of Cranberries is a metallic polish that shifts from purple to burgundy to red and orange. It looks different in every light--love it!
The formula on this polish was pretty typical for a metallic. I had to be careful not to use too many strokes for each coat to prevent dragging. I got some brushstrokes, but not too bad. Three coats were needed for opacity.
This last photo is in indirect sunlight, where you can see the polish looks way different than under my lamp! Reminds me of a sunset!
Since Life is a Bowl of Cranberries was exclusive to this month's beauty box, it's not available for sale, but you can sign up for the next beauty box and see what surprises you get!
The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.
Happy Sunday! Last week I got my second Pretty & Polished subscription box! This box contained two exclusive polishes, a mini thermal polish, a mini nail file, samples of handmade soap and cuticle butter, and some little nail studs! I decided to try on one of the exclusive polishes, just to give you an idea of what you might receive if you buy a subscription box.
Life is a Bowl of Cranberries is a metallic polish that shifts from purple to burgundy to red and orange. It looks different in every light--love it!
 |
| Pretty & Polished Life is a Bowl of Cranberries. Three coats with Out the Door topcoat. |
The formula on this polish was pretty typical for a metallic. I had to be careful not to use too many strokes for each coat to prevent dragging. I got some brushstrokes, but not too bad. Three coats were needed for opacity.
This last photo is in indirect sunlight, where you can see the polish looks way different than under my lamp! Reminds me of a sunset!
Since Life is a Bowl of Cranberries was exclusive to this month's beauty box, it's not available for sale, but you can sign up for the next beauty box and see what surprises you get!
The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Swatch: Pretty & Polished Day in the Park with Swift Sparkle Top Coat
The products in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own.
As you may know, the indie polish company Pretty & Polished recently started selling beauty box subscriptions. I had never tried any P&P products before, but I had heard a lot of good things, so I sprang for a three-month subscription! In these boxes you get two full-sized exclusive polishes, a mini of an existing P&P polish, one or more bath and body and nail art products, plus a coupon code for the shop.
In March's box I got the two exclusives Day in the Park and Liquid Gold, plus a mini of Jawbreaker, a bottle of Swift Sparkle quick-dry top coat, a cuticle balm, a nail file, and a fimo stick. Pretty nice haul! Today I tried out Day in the Park with Swift Sparkle on top.
I'm showing you my right hand because the cuticles on my left hand are getting a little shaggy...too much polish testing I guess! I'll have to pamper them for a while. I kind of forgot how to pose with my right hand...
This polish is definitely making me look forward to summer! It's 50 degrees here today, so we're slowly getting there! Day in the Park is a sky blue crelly with various hexes and dots in green, blue, pink and yellow. The base wasn't too thick; I did have to dab a little to get the glitter in place, and I got a few glitter stacks as you can see. I used Gelous to smooth everything out, then added Swift Sparkle on top.
Swift Sparkle seems pretty comparable to Out the Door. It dries to the touch very quickly, but it can still be dented for maybe a half hour or so. I haven't noticed any shrinkage so far.
If you're interested in a Pretty & Polished box, next month's should be going up for sale in two days! Click here for more information. I can't wait to see what I get next month!
The products in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own.
As you may know, the indie polish company Pretty & Polished recently started selling beauty box subscriptions. I had never tried any P&P products before, but I had heard a lot of good things, so I sprang for a three-month subscription! In these boxes you get two full-sized exclusive polishes, a mini of an existing P&P polish, one or more bath and body and nail art products, plus a coupon code for the shop.
In March's box I got the two exclusives Day in the Park and Liquid Gold, plus a mini of Jawbreaker, a bottle of Swift Sparkle quick-dry top coat, a cuticle balm, a nail file, and a fimo stick. Pretty nice haul! Today I tried out Day in the Park with Swift Sparkle on top.
I'm showing you my right hand because the cuticles on my left hand are getting a little shaggy...too much polish testing I guess! I'll have to pamper them for a while. I kind of forgot how to pose with my right hand...
 |
| Pretty & Polished Day in the Park. Two coats with Gelous and P&P Swift Sparkle topcoats. |
This polish is definitely making me look forward to summer! It's 50 degrees here today, so we're slowly getting there! Day in the Park is a sky blue crelly with various hexes and dots in green, blue, pink and yellow. The base wasn't too thick; I did have to dab a little to get the glitter in place, and I got a few glitter stacks as you can see. I used Gelous to smooth everything out, then added Swift Sparkle on top.
Swift Sparkle seems pretty comparable to Out the Door. It dries to the touch very quickly, but it can still be dented for maybe a half hour or so. I haven't noticed any shrinkage so far.
If you're interested in a Pretty & Polished box, next month's should be going up for sale in two days! Click here for more information. I can't wait to see what I get next month!
The products in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own.
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