*Nothing to Disclose*

    I'm back this week with another installment of the Untried A-Z Challenge. This is a laid back challenge where every other week a new letter is chosen and you swatch a polish that starts with that letter. You can go by brand name or polish name, do one polish or a few, share a plain swatch or add nail it. It really is up to you with what you share and how often you join in. 

     This week bring us to the 18th week of the challenge and as you may have already guessed, the letter R. For the letter F I shared with you 2 polishes from KBShimmer and will be revisiting the brand again. This week I've gone with a not completely untried polish, but one that I have yet to actually wear, Run! It's the Coppers!

   

*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*

     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*

     Today I'm sharing with you a polish that I actually wore back in January. I know I know I'm way behind but I think we can all relate to the statement "So many pretties, so little time." For me, that time I referenced is the time to sit down and actually write a blog post. I was doing really well at the beginning of the year with writing posts in advance but not so much right now. I'm hoping to change that soon but in the meantime why don't we all check out Lagniappe from Tonic Polish.

     My first real experience with Tonix was last fall when I attended Polishcon in Chicago. I had seen the beautiful polishes online but that was nothing compared to seeing them in person. From that moment on I was hooked on Tonic and have ordered a few but this is my first time sharing one on my blog. 

     Lagniappe was released in the fall of 2017 as part of the Secrets and Soulmates Collection. To be completely honest I'm wasn't sure what the name meant or how it fit into this collection theme but I knew that I loved it and had to have it. I have since found out the Lagniappe means something given as a bonus or extra gift.

    This polish is a purple linear holo with green to magenta shifting flakes. The flakes are very subtle and seem to be more visible to the naked eye than on camera. The formula was sensational with a smooth and even application. I've shown it here as two coats plus top coat. 

*Press Sample*

     Today I have the Alice in Lacquerland Collection from Literary Lacquers and I am so excited to share it with you! This long-awaited collection is filled with fun and sparkle just like the story that inspired it. Get ready to set your alarms because this collection releases today Dec 26th at noon mt and I'm sure it's one you won't want to miss. 

   

     This will be a long post with a ton of pictures! I have 6 collection polishes and 1 gift with purchase to share so let's get some particulars out of the way right now. Each polish is shown as 2 coats plus topcoat and I photographed them all in my lightbox using daylight LED bulbs. Let's jump right in shall we.

Tulgey Wood

     Color: A rich caramel brown linear holographic nail polish with copper and gold glass flecks.

     Application: Tulgey Wood has a smooth formula with even coverage. I was surprised at how opaque this is. I only had a slight VNL after 1 coat. This polish builds up nicely to a perfect opacity after 2 coats. 

     

Six Impossible Things

     Color: A scattered holographic glitter nail polish in a burnt orange base with gold and copper micro glitters. This color reminds me of the bittersweet plant that used to grow in my yard as a child. 

     Application: The formula for this one is a bit thin on the first coat and can be patchy if applied thinly. Six Impossible Things builds up nicely after 2 coats but still shows a slight VNL that's more evident in my photos than when looking with the naked eye. 

Grin Without a Cat

     Color: Purple multi-chrome polish that shifts from purple to gold to pink with magenta shimmer and microglitter. This one doesn't have an obvious color shift to it which makes it unique for multi-chrome polishes. At first glance, I actually thought it was a shimmer finish because I was only getting a light to dark purple shift until I moved my hand around. Then I was able to get the hints of gold to appear. 

     Application: This polish went on a bit uneven for me on the first coat and wanted to pull away at my tips. I'm not entirely sure if this was because of the polish itself or the new sticky base coat that I'm trying out. As you can see I was left with a smooth even finish after 2 coats but there is still some shrinkage at the tips. 

The Golden Afternoon

*Affiliate Link*

     Hello and welcome back to another blog post. I don't know about you but I am excited to share today's look with everyone. For the last year or so I have been watching youtube videos and seeing pictures posted online of all these gorgeous manicures using the holographic pigment powders. But 99% of them were done using gel polish. I have only worn gel polish once in my life and the removal process was the stuff of nightmares. Granted I attempted it myself and probably did it wrong but it was enough to scare me away from using it again. Well, I no longer have to look longingly at these manicures with envy because I was finally able to get the powders to work for me using regular polish! 

     I know there are a ton of tips out there on how to do this and you're probably wondering what took me so long to join the holo powder party. Trust me I was eager to get there long before this, I just struggled with it and took a step back for a bit. I tried using Orly Bonder on my nails with so-so results. I think I let it dry too long before applying the powder so I will be attempting it again. I also tried using my Sally Hansen miracle gel top coat to see if that would work and it failed miserably. However, it did work great with the multi-chrome flakes I received from Beauty Big Bang.  

     So what was the miracle product that helped me finally find success? G-Force X from Super Chic Lacquer.  I was able to get such great result so easily with this product and would recommend it to anyone who wants to use the holo powders with regular polish. Sadly there was no sun the day I did this manicure and I had to take photos in my light box. This resulted in a duller holo flash than what I actually saw on my nails. Thankfully while I was editing photos at my desk I noticed enough natural light coming in the window to get one shot that worked. So I've added it as a bonus shot at the end of the post. 

    Now on to how I created this look. I started out by painting my nails with Hit the Bottle As Black as Night. I know it's a stamping polish but I wanted to make sure that the color I stamped with completely matched my base color.

     Once that dried I added a layer of G-Force X to one nail and let it dry for about  30 seconds. And stamped my design using UR Beautiful plate 11. After this step, you want to make sure you wait long enough for the stamped image to dry before burnishing in your powder. I got a little excited and didn't allow enough time between steps and the faded image on my middle and pinky fingers are the end results.

      The holo powder I used is from Born Pretty Store item #33256. Use code LAUNX31 to get 10% off your order if decide to pick some up. The macro shot above it before adding a top coat. And the next photo is after adding a layer of the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel top coat.

     I still have the holo flash but the power no longer looks smooth. So any recommendations you have for a better top coat to use are greatly appreciated. And now for that bonus shot I mentioned earlier.

     Some of you might be wondering why I did the manicure the way I did. Why didn't I apply the holo powder before stamping? I'm sure that would have been an easier process. But I wanted to see if the powder would stick to my entire nail or only the places without my stamped image. I have an idea in mind that involves stamping and a few colored powders, almost like the lead-light technique. My hope is to test it out this weekend and if it works I'll have it up on the blog soon. Make sure to come back and check it out! Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!

*Nothing to Disclose*

    I've got a very quick post to share with you today as I've got holiday plans to get back to. But I really wanted to share a few nail art looks I did for the 4th. I realized recently that it's been 2 years since I've shared a 4th of July manicure and that just wouldn't do.

     The first look I did is super easy and can be done by pretty much anyone who has access to nail polish and some sort of dotting tool, whether it's an actual dotting tool or a toothpick.

     For this look, I used the American Bundle from Different Dimensions. The bundle contains a cuticle oil that smells amazing and 3 polishes in Red, White, and Blue.  

     The white is called One Heart, One Hand which I used for my base color. Once that dried I went in with my dotting tool and placed random dots along the tips with One Flag, One Land (Red) and One Nation Evermore (blue) and One Heart, One Hand.  All 3 colors are holographic and really sparkle in the sun! 

     I need to work on my random dot placement a bit but overall I liked the way this turned out. It a patriotic take on the French manicure, and as I mentioned above super simple to do. 

     Now for the look that I'm actually wearing for the 4th. This one was a bit more complicated and took quite a bit of time but I absolutely love it. I wanted to do something a little outside of the box instead of the typical fireworks or flags but still, have that 4th of July feeling. And I'm pretty excited about how it turned out. 

    Once again I used Different Dimensions One Heart, One Hand as my base color and let it dry. 

      I just received the mandala plate (Cjslc-18) from Clear Jelly Stamper and thought the designs looked a little like exploding fireworks but with a twist and was anxious to use it. Honestly, I'm a little obsessed with this plate right now so you'll probably see it quite a few times on the blog. There are just so many looks you can create its mind blowing.

*Gift*

     Back in October, my wonderful Fiance bought me my very 1st Cupcake Polish, in fact, he bought me 6. Am I a lucky girl or what! Today I'm sharing one with you that he picked out for both of us. Lilac you Mean It. You see his favorite color is purple and my absolutely favorite scent is Lilac. I get so happy in the spring time when they bloom and a bit sad a week later when they are done.  Now thanks to his generosity I get to have a beautiful lilac shade on my nails anytime I want.

   

     Lilac You Mean It is a medium purple linear holographic polish with a blue undertone. Sadly my camera picked up more on the blue than it did the purple. My macro shot is the most color accurate shot I could get. And believe me, I tried! I used 3 different cameras and as many lighting options as I could find. 

     Lilac You Mean It has a smooth flawless application and as you can see a strong holographic flash. Shown here is 2 coats plus top coat. I have to say I don't own a single polish quite like this one. Sure I have a few lilac colors and a lot of holos but not both together. 

     Sadly Lilac You Mean It is no longer available for purchase, but there are a ton of other beautiful holographic polishes to satisfy you. What are your favorites from this brand? Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!