*Nothing to Disclose*

    It's once again time for the Untried A-Z Challenge. If you're unfamiliar with this challenge let me give you a quick breakdown. This is a challenge where you the alphabet dictates what polish or polishes you use. We go in order from A to Z and either the name of the polish or the brand needs to match up with the corresponding letter. It's a laid-back bi-weekly challenge and people are welcome to participate whenever they choose. If you'd like to know more just check out the event on my facebook page. 

     For my letter P polish, I went with an indie brand that is no longer in business and sadly caused quite a stir on the way out.  Now I don't want to get into all of that in my blog post, and I don't really like how things were handled I do love the polish that I purchased and wanted to wear it. With that said, let's take a look at Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice from Frenzy Polish.

     Pumpkin Spice & Everything nice is a gorgeous polish that I'm glad I picked up when I could. It's a great fall color that appears to have a strong scattered holographic look to it but then you get it in the right lighting and you get a little glimpse of that coveted linear holographic arch.  I'd say it has the best of both worlds when it comes to holographic nail polish. 

     What type of holo do you prefer, linear or scattered? Are you a fan of fall colors like I am? Let me know in the comments and be sure to check out the other polishes for letter P week of the Untried A-Z Challenge. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing! 

*Nothing to Disclose*

     Hey Everyone, it's time once again for the Untried A-Z Challenge and this week we are at the halfway point with the letter M! I can't believe we are at the halfway point already, this challenge seems to be flying by. Don't worry there is still time to join in whenever you want. Even if you didn't plan on joining the challenge but happened to blog about a polish with the corresponding letter, add it to the link up. It's the more the merrier for this challenge and all are welcome. 😊

     This week I am not only sharing an untried polish with all of you but it's also an untried brand for me as well. It's a double whammy! I'd only heard of Love, Angeline a few times and sadly the name never really stuck in my head long enough for me to make a purchase and in 2017 the shop closed. I recently pick up a few bottles to try from a destash. One of those bottles was Metamorphosis.


     Metamorphosis was released in 2013 as part of the Smoke & Mirrors collection. It's an elephant grey crelly with various sized hex glitters in purple, grey, orange, and gold that dries to a glossy finish. I am so late to the crelly party, I recently discovered my love for them within the last year. I have no idea if they are still a trend or not but that's the story of my life, I decide I like something a year or two too late.



     The first coat went on surprisingly sheer considering how dark of a grey this polish is, and the glitters were a bit sparse and wanted to slide to the tips of my nails. After the first coat, I added 3 drops of thinner to my bottle in order to get the glitters out easier.  Like I mentioned above I purchased this bottle in a destash and have no idea how old it is but the 3 drops of thinner seemed to do the trick.
 
     The second coat built up to a nice opacity with a decent clustering of glitters. I probably could have stopped there but I wanted more of the glitter to be visible since it seemed to be getting lost in the base color. I sponged on a third coat and that really helped get better glitter coverage as well as help them stand out against the grey.


     I would definitely wear this polish again but would try the sponging technique on the second coat and hope that the opacity is there as well as a nice glitter coverage.

     While I like this polish and have a new found love for crellies I never know what kind of nail art to do over them. Stamping seems like the obvious choice but I don't want to cover up all the glitters so it would have to be a subtle design and then that seems almost pointless. What kind of nail art do you add to your crelly polishes?

     I'm currently driving home from vacation and will be stuck in my vehicle for 8 long hours which means I'll need something to do to pass the time. (Don't worry I'm not the one driving)  I'd love to spend it reading your thoughts on this fun crelly and see posts from people participating in the challenge. It's ok if you haven't joined in yet, there is room for everyone at any time! You can find all the details in the event on my Facebook page. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!

*Nothing to Disclose*

     I'm back today with another swatch post from the vault. I actually wore this polish last summer but because my nails were so short at that time I didn't want to share it on the blog. I feel very self-conscious when my nails are super short but I've realized that I need to get over that. My poor nails can't be long all the time, especially with the abuse I put them through between all the polish I wear, the sports I play and all the camping I go on. So here is Chocolate Obsession in all its beautiful holographic glory on my super short nubbin nails. 

*Nothing to Disclose*

    I know we still have a month of summer left and believe me I'm one who is holding on to these days as hard as I can, except when it comes to my nails. Lately, I've been drawn to shades that have that fall feeling to them. You know the ones that remind you of the turning leaves or your favorite cozy sweater. Today I have one of those shade to share with you, Falling Leaves 2 from Frenzy Polish.

     Falling Leaves 2 is a pale grey almost cream colored crelly based polish with gold and bronze flakes that totally reminds me of a warm cozy sweater. Sadly Frenzy polish has decided to close up shop this year and this polish is no longer available. But not to fear I know I've seen a few options out there for polishes that are similar if not almost dupes. 

     Falling Leaves 2 has a nice even formula with a ton of flakie coverage with each coat. It is a bit on the sheer side and I ended up needing 3 coats for full coverage. I might have been able to get away with 2 coats if I'd used a thicker second coat but I opted for 3 thin one to help the flakes stand out. Shown here is 3 thin coats plus top coat. 

*Provided for Review*

      Today I have for you 3 polishes released this fall from Philly Loves Lacquer's West Philly Collection. Sadly just after this collection was released the announcement was made that she was closing up shop. I'd already swatched these polishes and hemmed and hawed about actually featuring them on the blog. In the end, I decided they were too pretty not to share and I was able to purchase them with a blogger discount with the intent that I blogged them and needed to keep my word. Because they are no longer available for purchase and I have a lot of pictures I'm going to keep things short and sweet. Enjoy!

     *I've opted to show all 3 polishes as 2 coats plus top coat and photographed in my lightbox and outside in full sun.*

Baltimore Ave Burgundy

     Color: Copper colored linear holographic nail polish. While in Direct lighting this polish leans a slightly more pink and pulls more orange in indirect lighting. 

     Finish: Dries to a glossy finish with just a hint of texture.

     Application: Smooth even coverage with a slight VNL after 1 coat. Builds up nicely after 2 coats.

      Overall this polishes has a nice sparkle to it, but only a subtle holo flare. And I have to say I really like it.

The Green Line

     Color: Bright grass green scattered holographic nail polish.

     Finish: Dries to a smooth glossy finish.

     Application: Smooth even coverage but a little sheer. Still shows slight VNL after 2 coats.

     Overall I expected this polish to be more opaque base off how it looks in the bottle. I do like that it has a stronger holographic flash than Baltimore Ave Burgundy, but it's still not as sparkly or as flashy as other nail polishes in my collection. I'd say it's a  suitably understated holo. Also, I'm not really a big fan of green nail polish but I do like the color of this one, and just might wear it again.

Activist Amethyst

     Color: Deep purple scattered holographic nail polish with a sprinkling of golden shimmer.

     Finish: Dries to a smooth glossy finish.

     Application: A tad streaky and sheer on the first coat. Built up nice and evenly after 2 coats.

     Application issues aside I like the deep vampy feel to this color and feel it transitions nicely from fall to winter. When looking at my nails I saw more of the golden shimmer than the holo. And it does have the least amount of holographic flash of the 3 polishes shown here today but it's still a gorgeous color. I hope you enjoyed today's post. If you picked up any nail polishes from this collection let me know which ones in the comments. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!

*Nothing to Disclose*

    Today I have a quick post to share with you. The reason I'm keeping it short is because this polish is no longer available. In fact, you can no longer get any polish from this company and I know a lot of people are still really bummed about that. Cult Nails was huge and had a lot of people lusting after their pretty creations. Disciplined was no exception, and you'll see why when you look at my pictures. 

    Released in 2013 as part of the Behind Closed Doors collection this neutral grey polish packs a big punch with its intense micro shimmer. 

*Nothing to Disclose*

     It's Friday! I really want to be excited about that but I'm too tired, it's been a long week. Anyone else feel the same? Today's I'm continuing my posts on those indies who have closed up shop with In A Trance by Cult Nails. 

      

*Nothing to Disclose*

     Happy Hump Day! While going through my review notes I discovered that I had swatched a few polishes from Indies that are no longer making polish. A few have closed up shop completely and others are taking an extended leave. So I decided to dedicate this week to those indies who are no longer with us. 

     Fickle Fairy Potions is one of those indies who seems to have disappeared into the night. I had no idea they were no longer in business until I went looking to see if Hopeless Devoted was still available. I feel bad when I do a blog post on a polish that is no longer for sale sometimes. Like I've dangled this beautiful thing in front of you and then snatched it away. I hope you will forgive me for this and understand that I need to get through the polishes in my collection. With that in mind I'll try to make this post short and sweet. 

     

*Nothing to disclose*

     Does anyone have a case of the Mondays? I had a very uneventful weekend but I'm still not ready to start the work week. I thought Id start out this week of posts with a polish I gave a sneak peek at on my page last week. Absecon was released by Philly Loves Lacquer as part of the Summer Down the Shore collection. Each polish in this collection held a special memory for Esther. Absecon is based off the Absecon Lighthouse in New Jersey.  Here's a little bit about this collection in her own words. 

     Absecon is a light icy blue with a hint of grey crelly polish with subtle linear holo that reaches full opacity in 3 coats.

    Application is easy and smooth with the first coat applying quite sheer. When I say smooth application I mean smooth application. I had absolutely no streaking which is impressive for such a sheer polish. 

  

     The holo effect in Absecon is not as strong as most holos but you can get a quick glimpse of the  flame effect in the right lighting. Unfortunately it decided to hide during the photo session and I wasn't able to capture it on film.

     And of course because I can't seem to wear just plain polish anymore I had to add an accent nail. If you've followed me for any amount of time you know I love floral manicures and I had the perfect item here to complete my look. 

     

      I picked these water decals up at Claire's a few years ago and they worked out perfectly. They add a little something to the manicure but still allow you to see all the sparkle. What do you think? 

     Absecon is still available for purchase if you'd like to add this beauty to your collection. You can pick up a bottle for $12 here. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!

*Nothing to Disclose*

     Today I have for you a polish that has been in my collection for quite some time but only found it's way to my nails over the holiday season when I needed a great base for my glitter/chevron manicure. Cult Nails Blaze was released as part of their Second Anniversary collection back in 2013. For those of you who haven't heard at the end of last year, Cult Nails made the hard decision to close up shop once all inventory was sold. At the moment the shop is set to maintenance mode with a message saying they will open on January 25th. That date has come and gone and I'm not sure if they will reopen.  I actually own quite a few polishes that never made it to the blog and I will be showcasing them from time to time because they are just too pretty not to be shared.

     Blaze is described as a  "Glowing gold and copper glitter"  mixed together in a clear base. This sparkly mixture seemed to dance on my fingertips.


     Shown here is 2 coats of Blaze layered over a thin coat of Orly Luxe plus top coat. Blaze is a little on the sheer side due to the clear base but builds up nicely. Full coverage can be achieved in 3 or 4 coats depending on how thickly you apply it.

     Thankfully the sheerness didn't affect the glitter coverage. I was able to get a lot of glitter on the brush each time I pulled it out of the bottle. The glitters are so fine that getting them to cover the nail was my biggest issue, which is why up to 4 coats could be needed for full opacity. I did end up doing a little glitter dabbing on the second coat to ensure full coverage.


     I really like the way Blaze looks layered over Luxe and would recommend using it on top of another color instead of on its own, just because it's easier. However, you choose to wear it it will look amazing. Don't believe me? Check out this macro shot.

 
    Or how about this glittery chevron manicure I did for the Christmas nail art challenge? Which is still one of my top 5 favorite nail art looks from last year.


     I'm sad to see Cult Nails say goodbye but I'm thankful that I got to try a few of their polishes. I have yet to use one that gave me issues. I  look forward to trying out the remaining untrieds that I own and would love to hear which polishes are your favorites. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!