*Nothing to Disclose*

     Hello Everyone, I hope your week has gotten off to a good start. Things have finally settled down a bit here, for a few days at least and then I'll be off and running again. I'm actually doing another paranormal investigation next week and this one will be a two-day investigation of an old school. It's a place I've investigated before but because of its size, there was a lot that we missed. I can't wait to get back in there and see else we can experience. But before that adventure, there are blog posts to write like this one featuring Coco Bae from Sinful Colors. 

     Coco Bae is a new addition to the core line of Sinful Colors for 2018, although it's not one of the Walgreens exclusive colors. Which means if you want to add it to your collection you can probably find it anywhere Sinful Colors are sold. 

     Coco Bae is a pale tan polish with subtle iridescent shimmer. The moment I saw it in the store it reminded me of the paper you see old treasure maps or love letters on in the movies. Which is why it was the perfect choice for a base color to my parchment manicure from a few months ago. 

     The formula on this is a bit thin and streaky, but the polish does self-level. Despite the thin formula, this polish surprised me with its opacity. I had only a slight VNL after one coat and full opacity after two. Shown here is two coats plus a glossy top coat. 

     Overall I think the shade of this polish is a bit on the boring side, and the sandy tan color is not one that's overly friendly with my skintone. However, the shimmer that seems to float in the polish saves it from being a complete snooze fest. I do think it makes a great base for nail art when paired with the right colors. 

     What are your thoughts on yellow leaning neutrals, are they colors you can wear easily? Let me know in the comments and be sure to stop back on to the blog on Thursday to see a different kind of post from me. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing! 

*Nothing to Disclose*

    Today I have for you a very special polish that was created for a fellow nail blogger and classmate of mine Janna from The Girlie Tomboy. (Girlie Tomboy Nails) Colors By Llarow created this charity polish to help pay for medical bills during her fight against inflammatory breast cancer called One Headlight. Sadly she lost her battle in November and while we were no longer close she was the one who inspired me to get into nail art and the loss was greatly felt. That's why this post is a little bittersweet for me. I hate that this polish has been sitting here untried for so long, but happy to share such a beautiful, bright polish for the untried A-Z Challenge with all of you. 

     One Headlight is a neon pink leaning coral crelly polish with intense aqua blue micro-shimmer and aqua blue glass flecks. You know me, anything with glass flecks in it I have to see with a matte top coat.

     The formula on this is wonderful with even coverage on the first coat, even though it's a bit sheer. The polish builds up nicely after two coats but I still had a slight VNL. ONe Headlight dries to a matte finish.  I've shown this polish as two coats plus a glossy and matte top coat.

    I really like this polish in both the matte and glossy versions. Each option has a certain beauty to it, although I am leaning more toward the glossy version. 

    Which one do you like better? While you decide make sure to check out the other polishes for this weeks prompt.  Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!

*Nothing to Disclose*

     Today I'm bringing you all sorts of shifty, flakie goodness with Sparrow from the Limited Edition Johnny collection by Poetry Cowgirl. This collection consists of 4 polishes based off of characters played by the man himself Mr. Johnny Depp. As I write this post the collection is still available for purchase but for the last time. It will not be restocked again so get it while you can!

     Sparrow is described as a blackened Green-Yellow-Gold Multichrome polish with iridescent chameleon glitters, matte hot orange glitters, silver holo micro glitters, Purple-Red UCC Flakies, and Red-Orange-Gold UCC Flakies.

     What I saw in the bottle is an army green micro glitter base with duo-chrome glitters and multichrome flakes. I like the maker's description better, don't you? 

     The application process was easy with the polish flowing easily onto the nail. Although sheer on the first thin coat, Sparrow builds up nicely to a full opacity after a second mediumly applied coat. 

     There are a ton of glitters and flakies no matter the thickness of your application which adds a liveliness to this polish that I absolutely adore. The polish does dry with a slight texture but that is easily smoothed out with the addition of top coat. My photos are shown as two coats plus glossy top coat. 

*Nothing to Disclose*

     Ever since their debut in December of 2017 1850 Artisan polish has been taking the indie world by storm. While there have been several memorable releases including a stunning topper collection packed with flakies, today I'll be showing you one of the original polishes, Dichotomy.

     Dichotomy is scattered holographic thermal polish that shifts from a deep purple when cold to a pale lilac when warm. 

     The application is absolutely luxurious with a super smooth formula and a much higher opacity than expected. When applied the color is in the cold state and appeared to have full opacity after the first coat. I used two coats to make sure of full opacity no matter what stage this polish was in. Shown here is two coats plus top coat. 

    I absolutely loved wearing this manicure and got a kick out of people noticing that it changed colors. I wore this for a full week wild I was camping and came home with only minimal chipping and tip wear. For the conditions I put my hands through that week, I'm very impressed with this polish.  

      How do you feel about thermal manicures with "disappearing" designs? Have you tried this brand yet? I also picked up Duplicity which is another thermal polish and can't wait to try it. Be sure to stop back on Thursday for my review on Sparrow from Poetry Cowgirl, until then, Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing! 

*Nothing to Disclose*

    I think it's about time I show a little nail art around here, how about you? I know we all like to see swatches of pretty colors but nail art is what really drives me. For today I've gone for a look inspired by my recent camping trip and all the green trees that surrounded us. And will be surrounding us again this weekend as I head out for another adventure. I've gotten my camper all cleaned out since my last post and now I've moved on to packing it up.

      I started with a base of Color Club Super Natural from the newly released Halo Hues collection found at Walmart. For my gradient, I used Lemming Lacquer You're Standing on My Neck which was released in the Polish Pick Up 1990's theme from May of this year and Color Club Super Natural.

    The original look had Super Natural going all the way to my tips, which looked nice. At the last minute, I sponged a bit of You're Standing on My Neck to the tip of my ring finger as an accent. AS soon as I did that I knew I wanted the rest of my nails that way.

    

*Nothing to Disclose*

     Welcome back to my blog, I hope your week started off on a good note. Mine started out with cleaning and straightening our camper from our last trip so I can get it ready for our next one. I will be off and running for the next two weekends with friends out camping and attending a music festival of sorts. I'm currently thinking up mani ideas for each event but in the meantime, I thought I'd share with you my letter N polishes for the Untried A-Z Challenge. 

     

     Yes, you read that right I said polishes, this week I'm sharing two polishes with you from China Glaze.  I'll also be sharing my thoughts on a new to be base and top coat. This post is chocked full of untried products! I'll get to the top and base coat at the end of this post but for now, let's get to the polish. 

     New Birth is a white creme nail polish with just a whisper of a blue tint. While you can easily see the hint of blue in the bottle, I found it looks mainly white on the nail until you get it next to something truly white.   Released in 2014 as part of The Giver Collection this pale beauty has been sitting around unloved in my helmer for almost 4 years. It was way past time to get it on my nails. 

   
     I wish the blue was a bit more evident in this, I'm not sure I would wear this on its own again. Even though the formula is thin it still applied easily and I'd be willing to use it again. I'd like to try it in a watermarble or as a base for some floral leadlighting.


      Naked is a Begonia pink polish with silver micro-shimmer. This polish was released as part of a Breast Cancer Awareness set in 2012 that included this color and a bottle of Seche Vite top coat. It took me hour and hours of scouring the internet to find out that little tidbit of information. Why would I put so much effort into it? Well, I wanted my China Glaze Collection list to be complete!


     Instead of using Pure Ice Girl on the Run, which is my typical go-to quick dry top coat, I reached for one called Show Stopper from 77 Nail Lacquer. I honestly have no idea when I picked this up, or how long it's been in my helmer. Show Stopper was dry enough to lightly touch after 4 minutes, still dentable after 10 and, fully dry after 30 minutes. Once dry I was left with a super glossy finish and is UV reactive. I didn't test the UV part because after moving, I have no idea where my black light has ended up!

     That all I've got for you today, time to get back to my preparations. I hope you enjoyed this post, I'd love to hear your thoughts on any of the products I mentioned. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!

*Press Release*

*Nothing to Disclose*

     We are smack dab in the middle of summer, the days are long, the temps are high and the nail polish is getting brighter. What a perfect time to share with you the new Wild at Heart Collection from Sinful Colors for summer 2018. This 8  piece collection contains an illuminating base coat, a top coat, and 6 bright neon colors.  This collection was announced on 6/26 and has been spotted in a few Walgreens stores throughout the US.

   "Let your heart run WILD this summer with luscious neon colors that sizzle with exotic jungle heat!" - Sinful colors IG acct

     Before I get into the swatches I should tell you that I used one coat of the illuminating base coat (White on Time LE) in these photos. I would strongly suggest picking it up if you're interested in the collection. Trust me, on this one. 

     I've chosen to show each polish as 2 coats with both a matte and glossy top coat. 90% of the photos were taken outside in direct sunlight with the exception of when color accuracy prevented it. I will make a note on the photos that were taken indoors for full transparency. 

     I should also mention that I swatched these polishes outside when the humidity was high. (My kids wanted to swim in our pool and I needed to be where I could see them and I wanted to get this post up right away) This caused a few bubbles in my top coat that look like lumps in the polish. I assure you that these lumps are purely due to my swatching condition and that the polish will lay smooth on your nail. 

Safari Not Sorry

     Color: Bright bubblegum pink with a hint of blue shimmer. 

     Application: The formula has a nice consistency but like most neons, the first coat applies with some streaks and was a bit sheer. I found that the more I played around with the polish the more issues I had with streaking and the polish began to pull away at the cuticles. The second coat built up to full opacity and a smooth finish. Safari dries very quickly to a matte finish.