Swatch: Smitten Polish Figgy Pudding

The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Hey gang! My nails finally got long enough that I could reshape them into squares again, which makes me very happy! I tried out one of the new polishes I bought myself as a reward for getting into grad school. I am absolutely in LOVE with this shade...check it out!

Smitten Polish Figgy Pudding is a bold indigo jelly with shifty gold-copper-orange flakies and shimmer. I honestly can't keep my eyes off my nails...they are so sparkly and the base color is gorgeous--dark, vibrant and sexy! (It looks a little brighter here than IRL due to my lighting.)

Smitten Polish Figgy Pudding. Three coats with Out the Door topcoat.

Amazing, right? Sort of like fireflies or sparks from a bonfire!

The formula was on the thin and runny side for a jelly, and I still had some visible nail line after three coats (it looks worse in the photo than it actually is). It went on very smoothly and evenly.

Seriously, guys, if you're a purple/indigo lover, you have to go buy this one ASAP! It's available here for $11.50! This was definitely a good introduction to Smitten Polish for me!

The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Quick swatch: Emily de Molly Absent Minded

The product in this post was given to me as a gift. All opinions are my own.

Hey guys! I'm posting on vacation! I'm having a great time so far. I just wanted to show you what I'm wearing on my nails right now (and please ignore my mediocre paint job!).

This is Emily de Molly Absent Minded. It's a purple jelly with copper, red, blue and iridescent hexes. I absolutely love it, so deep and sparkly! Unfortunately there was no sun today, so I only have shade photos for you.

The formula was terrific, really nice for a glitter jelly.

See you guys soon! Safe travels if you're going somewhere for the holidays!

Swatch: Scofflaw Wraith Pinned to the Mist

The product in this post was given to me as a gift. All opinions are my own.

Happy weekend!! Is it cold where you are? This week it finally started feeling wintery here in Boston, and I had to break out my big puffy coat for the first time. It always makes me a little sad, because I really hate cold weather.

Anyway! I decided to swatch one of the polishes I used in my stamping decal mani from this week. It's my only Scofflaw polish, and I got it in a Secret Santa swap. Wraith Pinned to the Mist is a pale mint/seafoam with gold, copper and blue flecks. It is so beautiful and delicate!

And yes, my nails are short again...I ripped one while rummaging through my laundry basket. Go figure.

Scofflaw Wraith Pinned to the Mist. Two coats with Out the Door topcoat.

It's fairly sheer, so I probably could have used one more coat. The formula was great, on the thicker side but very easy to use. I loooove polishes with subtle flecks like this, and I think this particular shade is perfect for the upcoming season!

Scofflaw only restocks rarely, but you might be able to get this one through one of their stockists.

The product in this post was given to me as a gift. All opinions are my own.

Painted Sabotage The Mermaid's Song and more vacation pics!

Hi everyone! Long time no talk! We finally got back home on Friday and I've been working on a variety of projects since then, so I'm just now getting back to the blog. I've got a swatch for you, plus some photos from my trip to Michigan!

First of all, here's Painted Sabotage The Mermaid's Song, which was made to celebrate The Mercurial Magpie's first bloggiversary! This is a teal crelly with purple, blue, copper and silver holo glitter.

Painted Sabotage The Mermaid's Song. Two coats with Out the Door topcoat.

I liked the formula on this one. I had to dab a little to place the largest glitters, but I had no trouble getting them on the brush. If I had to change one thing, I'd make the base slightly more translucent so the glitter showed through more. But that's a very minor thing! This polish is available here for $10.

I'm going to put the rest of the post behind a jump because it's very photo-heavy!

Two swatches and vacation update!

(Today is the last day to enter my Petoskey Stone giveaway!! The link is in the sidebar!)

Hi everyone! Hope you've had a great week since I talked to you last! We've had a great time on vacation so far! First, though, I of course want to show you what I wore on my nails this week...

I'm happy I cut my nails short, because my manis have lasted a lot longer than usual! I've only worn two polishes since my last post. The first is Literary Lacquers As the Waltz Was Ending, a lovely warm lavender with a soft linear holo effect:

Literary Lacquers As the Waltz Was Ending. Two coats with Out the Door topcoat.

I think I would put this shade in the Radiant Orchid family (it's a little warmer than it looks here). I found the formula a little patchy, even on the second coat, so if you have longer nails you might need three coats.


Right now I'm wearing Maya Cosmetics Beach Baby. Sadly, Maya Cosmetics is no longer around (I bought this polish in their going-out-of-business sale) but you might be able to snag a second-hand bottle somewhere! This is a full-coverage microglitter in shades of copper, bronze, brown, orange and pink--it really makes me think of people lying around on the beach getting tan!

Maya Cosmetics Beach Baby. One coat with Out the Door topcoat.

This polish covered in one perfect coat! I would actually classify this as a textured polish; even with topcoat it feels gritty. It would look great without topcoat too.


OK, on to my exciting personal life! Mr. ALIQUID and I started our vacation at his parents' place, where we got to see my absolute favorite band of all time, Barenaked Ladies!! (Yes, they are still around!) It was a concert in a park, and we got there early enough to grab a spot in the second row! I was basically going nuts, and my husband was nice enough to humor me...

Next we visited my sister-in-law in New York City. Highlights included walking across the Brooklyn Bridge...

...and having some amazing fried chicken at Root and Bone in Manhattan. Highly recommended!

Then we had a very boring drive to Michigan to see my family. Right now we're getting ready for our trip up north! So keep an eye on my Instagram for some more pics!


Here's Max, one of my parents' dogs, looking cute!

FingerFood's Theme Buffet / Neverending Pile Challenge: Snakeskin stamp from MoYou

Happy Memorial Day! Let's all take a minute today to wish for an end to all violence!

Today I combined two challenges again: FingerFood's Theme Buffet prompt nature and The Neverending Pile Challenge theme untried stamping plate. I bought MoYou's Pro Collection 03 plate a long time ago and somehow never used it! It's full of animal prints, seashells and other outdoorsy things.

I decided to use the snakeskin stamp alongside two untried polishes: Nails Inc. Bruton Mews (a very dark green creme) and Essie Penny Talk, a copper chrome. Penny Talk works great for stamping, as you can see!

I couldn't quite get the stamp to cover the length of my nails (partly due to my stamper--I don't have one of the super squishy ones) but I guess it looks a little grunge that way! I do think this stamp is totally badass. :-D

Total untrieds tried: 48 + chevron decals + 1 stamping plate

Swatch: Glitter Daze Poised

The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Happy Monday! Recently I placed an order at Glitter Daze, since they're celebrating their two-year anniversary (yay!). I got two polishes plus a free chocolate sucker and fizzy hand soak (which I'll review sometime in future). One of the polishes I grabbed is Poised, which I've had on my wishlist for a long time.

Poised is a dusty pale orchid with coppery, gold and some green flecks. It's shimmery and beautiful...check it out!

Glitter Daze Poised. Three coats with Out the Door topcoat.

I love this polish...it's so soft and romantic! Work-appropriate but still interesting to look at. As you can see, it's quite sheer--even at three coats there's still some visible nail line, although on shorter nails it would look opaque. I had no complaints about the formula or dry time.

Poised is available at Glitter Daze's shop ($11 for 15 ml), although it's currently out of stock. It looks like their special anniversary freebies are still going on, so you should definitely go grab some gorgeous polishes!

The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

FingerFood's Theme Buffet #4: Sparkle!

It's time once again for FingerFood's Theme Buffet! This weeks' theme is sparkle, and of course I had a million options to choose from, but I decided on some polishes I just recently got my hands on. I participated in a nail polish Secret Santa alongside Andrea of Indigo Bananas, and I wound up with nine new bottles of IB! Three of them are these awesome color-shifting microglitters in tinted bases, and I used them all for this mani.

My inspiration was this sparkly chevron mani from Nail Addicted Sisters.

I feel so glam right now!! The polishes are, top to bottom: Indigo Bananas 2% Butterscotch Ripple, We Are the Music Makers, and Pure Imagination. I didn't really show off the color shifts here, but I plan to wear each of these alone later on and show you the magic!

I'm also really glad the stained parts of my nails have grown out long enough to be able to do this mani. :-P

Check out the other lovely ladies' sparkly nails below and on our Pinterest board!

Swatch: Ellagee Fame

The product in this post was purchased with a blogger discount. All opinions are my own.

Today I have for you the second of three Ellagee polishes that I bought recently. Fame is a metallic multichrome that shifts from purple to copper to gold and even a little green. It also has lots of silver and copper sparks. You know I love my multichrome polishes, so let's jump in!

I started with two coats of Ellagee's Grip basecoat, since, as we discovered yesterday, one coat wasn't quite enough to fill all my ridges. This time I think my nails came out really smooth!

Now here's a shot of the "base" color of Fame, a silvery purple with hints of copper.

Ellagee Fame. Two coats with two coats Ellagee Grip basecoat. Out the Door topcoat.

Instead of fiddling with angles and lighting to capture the color shift, I decided to try the hand-in-water trick. It took me several shots to get it right, but I think I captured the shift pretty well! (And look how pale I am, geez...)

"Fame" is definitely a perfect name for this polish. It has a very high-fashion, rich look with a bit of a sinister side!

The formula was just about the right thickness for me, although it didn't want to self-level, so I had to manipulate it a bit. I did get slightly visible brushstrokes on some nails. Two coats was just barely opaque. (I wonder how this would look layered over black?) Dry time was good. [Update 1/30: We discovered that the polish I received came from a bad batch that was thickening up in the cold weather. The new batch is much easier to apply!]

Fame is available at ellagee.com ($11 for 15 ml). Grip basecoat is $6.50 for 15 ml. Check out the company's Facebook page too! Ellagee polishes are 5-free!

 The product in this post was purchased with a blogger discount. All opinions are my own.

31-Day Challenge #17: glitter

For today's prompt I barely had to think at all before I knew what I wanted to do. I love the look of full-coverage glitter with solid-color accents; I've seen the idea on several blogs (I think on Accio Lacquer most recently).

This is two coats of Deborah Lippmann Superstar with Revlon Stiletto on the tips. I mattified the accent nail, then I decided to make the whole mani matte:

I think both versions are pretty classy! Which do you like better?


Don't forget to admire all of today's sparkly nails!

31-Day Challenge #8: metallic

I couldn't come up with a cute name for today's mani, but I like it! I was playing around with my newfound ability to use striper brushes. (Please forgive the dog hair stuck to my finger; somehow I always miss those...)

The designs are kind of like abstract flowers, or at least that's what they remind me of. I used Maybelline Bold Gold for the base and Zoya Logan and OPI Sprung for the designs. (Sprung is really pretty--I wore it on my other hand!)


Look at all the other amazing metallic manis!