Shimmer Polish - Linna & Cassandra

Here are 2 more Shimmer Polishes from Cindy. Check out her Etsy shop, her website, or her facebook for more information on purchasing. Or you can always email her directly with your paypal address and the colors you would like to purchase: 

shimmer484(at)gmail(dot)com

Here is Linna

This is my favorite of the whole bunch! I am a sucker for anything in the teal family and this is just wonderful. :) The primary color is teal, but there are hints of red, blue, and silver. For these pics I used just 2 coats. The glitter coverage is really good and doesn't require specific placement. The glitter goes where it should. 

 I think it would be cool to stamp a fish scale stamp over this.... mermaid nails all the way!

Then there is Cassandra

Does it remind you of China Glaze Snow Globe? It did for me... but in a comparison, the glitter particles in Cassandra are noticeably larger. Here is 2 thin coats of Cassandra layered over a variety of colors. Pinky Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Bubblegum Pink, Ring Sally Hansen Insta Dri Lightening, Middle Revlon Royal, Index China Glaze For Audrey. It's best to use it as a layering polish because it just has a clear base.

So magical and pretty!

 Here is 3 coats of Cassandra on it's own so you can see how it builds up.

 I had the worst sinkage with Cassandra. Just minutes after I finished shaking the bottle, the glitter had already separated and sunk to the bottom. But again, Cindy is working on these issues and has tweaked her formula since these were made.

More about → Shimmer Polish - Linna & Cassandra

Glitter Gal - Hidden Violets

Hey guys! I hope you're all having a lovely Saturday.

Today I'mma be showing you another stunning polish from Glitter Gal.
If you liked my post about Wild Violets, I'm sure you'll like today's polish too!

Behold the beautiful Hidden Violets from Glitter Gal!

As I said yesterday, GG has recently released some new polish lines, and this one is from the Shade Shifters collection of duochromes!
This is from the "Soft" half of the collection, which are smooth duochrome shimmers. The other half of the collection, "Brilliant", has the same colors with a more textured, sparkly finish (like yesterday's Wild Violets.)

Pretty much everything great that I said about Wild Violets can be said about Hidden Violets!
I adore how this polish is opaque on its own - shown here at 3 coats - and the purple color is just fantastic.
It flashes pink and purple and blue.

Can you believe these pictures are without topcoat? Check out that shine!

Just like yesterday's polish, this one can also be layered over black for a great look! But again, I prefer it on it's own.
Here's the swatch over black and please forgive the tiny bubbles in the second photo... My black didn't cooperate with me.

Just stunning. Love it!
Glitter Gal really knocked these colors out of the park, for me!

This polish comes in the new larger 15mL bottles from GG and is available on Ninja Polish for $17.95!

Product sent for honest review.

More about → Glitter Gal - Hidden Violets

Shimmer Polish - Cindy & Vanessa

I have some fun indie glitters to show you! Indie nail polish makers have been popping up a lot lately, and they all manage to deliver something unique and eye catching. "Shimmer Polish" is no exception. Cindy really knows how to serve up a good glitter bomb! Check out her Etsy shop, her website, or her facebook for more information on purchasing. Or you can always email her directly with your paypal address and the colors you would like to purchase: shimmer484(at)gmail(dot)com

She graciously sent me 10 polishes for review. I chose to break it up into several posts so as to not overwhelm you with pictures. :)

She has named all of the polishes after herself and her closest friends. (Maybe one day she'll have a Leslie!)

First up is Cindy 

I am in no way going to be able to describe all of the many different glitters.... Cindy is primarily red with some gold and holographic thrown in the mix. It applied very easily. Glitter polishes can often times be very thick and difficult to apply. Shimmer Polish Cindy went on evenly and this swatch photo is 3 thin coats.

Next up is Vanessa

 Vanessa comes off primarily charcoal with hints of red. 

Composed of black, silver, red, holographic bits, etc.

Same story..... Applied evenly with 2 coats of this polish. Glitter disperses well across the nail without having to be "placed." The formula was not too thick or too thin. Wonderful!

Cindy of Shimmer Polish has told me that she's made some changes to her formula lately. We all know that the indie polish makers are learning and get better each day, so she's improved her mix to suspend the glitters better. Of the 10 polishes she sent me, 7 of them had sinking glitter. Some worse than others. Not that it makes the polish un-usable or anything though! Just give it a shake and you're good to go. But so you know, she is aware of this issue, and is changing things accordingly.

More about → Shimmer Polish - Cindy & Vanessa

Coral-Reefined with Striping Tape

I wanted to play more with the striping tape I received from Born Pretty. This time I used the silver tape and did accent nails with horizontal stripes down the entire length of the nail. It was very tedious, but totally worth it!

The polish I used is Coral Reef-ined from the Balm's line of "Hot Ticket" nail polish.
I picked it up on Hautelook last month for $5.

I switched up what nails were the accents on each hand.

This was my first Balm nail polish to try and I was really impressed. The formula was great! 2 easy coats and the coverage is perfect and self levels to this. :)

The striping tape did start to lift at the edges after 8 hours or so. I lost a few pieces of tape, they just curled up and came off. (Despite the fact that I had put a layer of Seche Vite over the accent nails) Every couple of hours a new piece of tape would come off, but I just keep going about my business. After 24 hours of wear-time, all of my tape was gone. Either it had curled up and off, or I picked at it and peeled it off. I can't seem to get striping tape to last too long. Does anyone else have similar issues?

More about → Coral-Reefined with Striping Tape

Glitter Gal - Wild Violets

Aloha!
Today I'm gonna be showing you guys a really great polish from Glitter Gal!

Glitter Gal recently introduced some new polish lines to go along with their ever-popular holographic shades.
I've got one polish from three of the new lines to show you, and I'm starting with my favorite!

Glitter Gal - Wild Violets
This beauty is from their new Shade Shifters collection. There are two types of polishes in the Shade Shifters line - Brilliant finishes, like this one, which means the polish is more sparkly and glass-flecked; and Soft finishes, which are smooth.

This is three coats of the polish on its own. No base color. That's what I love so much about this polish! Usually you have to layer duochrome polishes over black to get the best effect - but this one is so killer on its own.
There are so many colors and it's just so darn pretty.

Sooooooo pretty. And so shiny, without topcoat! It dried really quickly too. It was pretty much perfectly dry once I had stopped snappin' pictures.

Yum. Usually when I try out duochromes, I'm like "well okay, this is cool," but I never really wear them again. This one will be worn again!! It's just stunning. Pink and purple? Yes please.

I also tried it out over black to see what magic would happen! But I don't think it was as cool as it is on its own.

The blue tones in the polish become more visible over black, but I don't think it is as unique this way. A lot of duochromes can look like this. The purple base and opacity are what makes this one a stand out, for me.

Glitter Gal are now offering their polishes in large 15mL bottles! The bottle is really sturdy and I dig the shape. The brush was a pleasure to work with. No complaints there!

Verdict? Hell yes! This polish is a major winner and we're in love. 
Check back tomorrow for the next swatch!

Wild Violets is available on Ninja Polish for $17.95!

Product provided for honest review.

More about → Glitter Gal - Wild Violets

China Glaze - Ride the Waves

Another China Glaze neon to show. This is the royal blue color. Not sure if it's a true neon, but it is definitely bright. Applies slightly thick like a jelly polish.

This is 3 moderate coats. I was trying for thin even coats, but the formula is a little off.

Still quite a delicious color though! And soooo shiny with topcoat.

After a day of wear I tried adding a flakie topcoat. Essie Shine of the Times. Why haven't I tried this combo before? A flakie over a vibrant royal blue?! This is a must if you haven't done it yet.



More about → China Glaze - Ride the Waves