*Nothing to Disclose*

    Polishcon Minneapolis was last Saturday and I am so grateful that I got the chance to go. I opened up a bit and talked with a few people that I didn't know and overall had a great time. My daughter was my plus one and ended up coming home with more than a few polishes of her own. In today's post, I will be sharing with you a Polishcon VIP bag polish but not one I got this weekend. I decided to reach into the VIP bag from the New York Polishcon last summer and ended up pulling out Rogue Lacquer VIP2.

    For those of you who were wondering, no I wasn't able to attend the event in New York, but I was lucky enough to be able to purchase one of the leftover VIP bags. I'm not sure if there are any bags left from last weekends event but I'd suggest checking out the Polishcon Facebook group to find out. 

     VIP 2 is a medium silver grey polish with scattered holographic glitter in various sizes ranging from micro to shards. 

    The formula is very easy to work with. The polish covers evenly but is a bit sheer on the first coat. Normally I don't think a sheer first coat is a good thing but in this case, it allowed the holo glitters to really come through the polish and add visual interest. My pet peeve with polish is when the base color is so thick or opaque that it covers up the glitter from the previous coat. 

     VIP 2 builds up nicely reaching full opacity after two coats along with a balanced amount of holo glitter on each nail. There is a slightly gritty texture when the polish dries but it's nothing that a layer of top coat can't smooth out. Shown here is two coats plus glossy top coat.

    So confession time, I actually wore this polish back in August but am just getting around to blogging it now. The reason I  mention this is because I liked this polish so much as was impressed that I was able to get a full week's worth of wear with only a teeny tiny bit of tip wear on my pointer fingers.  This is my first Rogue Lacquer polish but I had to buy three polishes from the new Wilds of Arizona collection while at the convention based on this experience. 

    Are you familiar with Rogue Lacquer? Do you have a favorite polish from them or one on your wishlist? Let me know in the comments and as always Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing! 

*Press Sample*

     Polishcon Minneapolis is just 2 days away and the excitement in this house is building. Not only will I be attending but my daughter gets to be my plus one. As some of you know I attended the event last fall in Chicago and had a pretty good time. My daughter begged and pleaded to go along but sadly it wasn't in the cards for her. As a bonus for her, her birthday is 4 days away so Polishcon is sort of her early birthday present, plus she will be buying her very own bottle of indie polish. I have no idea what she will get for her first indie but I'm pretty sure it will have lots of sparkles and possibly the word unicorn in the name if that's an option. Another fun item for this event is the Minnesota Nice collab box from 4 local makers which I will be sharing with you today! 

     There is a saying I hear all the time called Minnesota Nice, I honestly have no idea what that really means, I've just heard it all my life and thought hey that's a nice thing to be known for. I do however know each and every reference made in this collab because they are all 100% Minnesotan. So let's get to it. 

SKOL!

We know it as the Vikings war chant, the rally cry, the word that brings the fans together – skol! “Skol has been in our lexicon since the very beginning of the franchise in 1961,” says Erin Swartz, Director of Brand and Creative for the Minnesota Vikings. “It was really like a Cheers! Vikings! We’ve scored, we’re celebrating, we’re winning.”

     Skol! is the contribution from Darling Dive and is described as a purple tinted base with purple micro glitter, scattered holo glitter and, tiny iridescent shards. 

    The formula has a nice smooth consistency which made application a breeze. There was a bit of VNL left after the first coat but full opacity can be achieved with a second coat. Shown here is two coats plus glossy top coat.

     While I am not a Vikings fan myself (Go Packers) the Mr. is a die-hard fan so I get to watch the team quite frequently during the season. I have to say this polish is spot on for the inspiration and I will be wearing it again, probably on game day. (Just not when the Vikings play the Packers 😉)

Hotdish

A hotdish is a casserole which typically contains a starch, a meat, and a canned or frozen vegetable mixed with canned soup. The dish originates in the Upper Midwest region of the United States, where it remains popular, particularly in Minnesota, South Dakota, and North Dakota. Hotdish is cooked in a single baking dish and served hot (per its name). It commonly appears at communal gatherings such as family reunions, potlucks, and church suppers.

     Hotdish is the contribution from Fair Maiden as is described as a mix of all that we love about polish - a blue/violet multi-chrome that shifts magenta-gold-green, holo sparkle and iridescent chameleon flakes in pink-blue-gold-green-violet.

    The formula for Hotdish is wonderful. The polish applies smoothly and evenly but is semi-sheer leaving a slight VNL after the first coat. Full opacity was reached after two and I've shown it here as two coats plus glossy top coat. 

   Small known fact, I have lived in Minnesota for 40 years and have never had hotdish. My mom never made it growing up and it's not something that shows up at get-togethers with my friends. The school I work at serves it monthly for lunch but I've never tried it. I do however love this polish as a transition color from summer to fall and think it would be great to wear in the winter time too. My only thing is I wish the flakes were a bit more visible. They seemed to get a bit lost but that may have been due to my application. I tend to apply my polish in a slightly thicker layer than most. I will be wearing this again and will use thinner coats to see if that changes things for me. 

Land of 10,000

 Minnesota is known on its license plates as the “Land of 10,000 Lakes,” but Minnesota actually has almost12,000 lakes.

*Nothing to Disclose*

     For today's post, I've reached back into my VIP bag from Polishcon Chicago and emerged with V.I.Polish from Girly Bits. I've already shared one polish from the VIP bag with you which was Con Artist and I figured it was about time I shared another. Afterall it has been almost 8 months since the convention and 5 months since I actually wore this polish. 

     

*Gift*

     Hello, fellow Nailistas. I've got a quick post to share with you today featuring Con Artist from Nvr Enuff. I received Con Artist in my V.I.P bag from Polishcon Chicago last fall. I'm a bit ashamed to say that I wore this back at the beginning of October and am just getting around to blogging it now.  In my defense, it's a great polish for fall or winter so I'm still seasonally appropriate right?

     Con Artist is a dusty mauve nail polish with iridescent glass flecks and a smattering of gold micro glitter. I get a warm cozy feeling just looking at it. 

       The application was smooth and even with tons of glitter in each coat. Two easy coats are all you need to reach full opacity. Shown here is two coats plus a glossy top coat.

      After wearing this for a few days I decided to add an accent nail. I reached for some nail vinyls and my bottle of Lumina Lacquers Soliel to create this. 

     What do you think of the finished look? I know this post was short, sweet and to the point but I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!

*Nothing to Disclose*

    Well, Polishcon Chicago was a little over a month ago and I am just getting around to blogging about my nails now. I had a good and only ok time at Polishcon. I was so excited to go and see everyone, meet some makers that I have been supporting over the years and try to make some new connections. Sadly my optimistic attitude disappeared as soon as I walked in the door. I've never thought of myself as socially awkward but boy was I ever. I found myself unable to make random chitchat with people, I just didn't know what to say and have a feeling I came off as stuck-up instead of nervous. And I just couldn't find the right way to work in handing out my business cards. So if I saw you at the con and our exchange was painful please don't take it personally. It was all me feeling awkward and shy. I promise to work on it for the next convention. But you're not here to hear about my insecurities, you're here for the nails right. So let's get to it.

      I went with a manicure inspired by Yagala that I fell in love with the very first time I saw them. She makes everything look so easy, doesn't she? I should know better than to try and recreate one of her looks though. Especially since I wanted to get them just right and my skill level is nowhere near hers. Well, 3 attempts and about 5 hours later this is what I ended up with.