*Press Sample*

     Today I have a very special treat for all of you! Literary Lacquers is back! *insert round of applause* Not only is she back with a stunning new collection she is also having a sale on all of the older collections. Let's get some of the details out of the way before we get to the polish, shall we? 

     Literary Lacquers is back with a collection of 7 new polishes (Plus a special limited edition gift with purchase polish) inspired by the Sarah J. Maas series A Court of Thorns and Roses. This collection will take you on a journey through the 7 courts of the High Fae of Prythian. The full collection will be available at a slight discount for $70. The Launch Date is 4/22/19, noon Mountain time. And I can't forget about the Sale: 4/22/19 – 5/1/19, 25% off all older collections, Plus you can receive Starfall, a Limited Edition polish as a free gift with $50 pre-shipping purchase

     Veiled in Roses – Rosy pink packed with holographic and opalescent microglitter - $10
Inspired by the Spring Court’s beautiful manor house, an alabaster estate covered in roses and ivy, surrounded by meadows and forests in perpetual springtime.

     The formula on this is simply wonderful with a smooth application and even coverage. You get a ton of sparkle in each layer. There was a slight VNL after the first coat but as you can see it builds up nicely. Full opacity was achieved with the application of a second coat. Shown here as two coats plus glossy topcoat. 

     Adriata – Aqua opal, this polish is loaded with blue, green, and white opalescent flakies and microglitter $10. 
The Summer Court is home to the beautiful city of Adriata nestled in its half moon bay.

     The formula on this one gave me just a little trouble. The first few strokes were a tad splotchy. Almost like the flakes were all clumped together and needed to be separated on the nail. Which is exactly what happened after a few strokes of the brush. Once again I had a slight VNL after the first coat with full opacity after the second coat. Shown here as two coats plus glossy topcoat.

     Autumn Fire – Deep coppery red holo with microglitter - $12
Fire is the power of the High Fae that reside in the Autumn Court.

     High Lady of Winter – Soft grey holo with white, silver, and blue flakies - $12
This polish inspired by the frozen Winter Court is a little shout out to the fandom and my girl Vivianne, may her voice be heard

     This polish has a formula that has a smooth consistency and even coverage. While it was more opaque on the first coat than I was expecting, I still had a slight VNL. The addition of a second coat will give you full opacity. Shown here as two coats plus glossy topcoat.

     Sunstone Palace – Delicate metallic that shifts from copper to rose - $10
The books’ action only visits the Dawn court for a short period of time, but the description of the breathtaking palace inspired this lacquer

     The application is smooth and even with a nice dispersion of flakes on the nail. Again this was slightly more opaque than I was expecting but you're still left with a small amount of VNL after the first coat. Full opacity can be reached after two coats. Shown here as two coats plus glossy topcoat.

     Cursebreaker – Bright white gold metallic with a subtle green iridescence - $10
The mysterious Day Court is home to Helion Spell-Cleaver, his power of Cursebreaking is vital to something I can’t tell you about because it’s a spoiler. 

     The formula on this was surprising. I was honestly expecting it to be more of a topper than a regular nail polish. With its smooth consistency and even coverage, this polish is easy to work with and leaves only a slight VNL on the first coat. Curse Breaker builds up quite nicely to achieve full opacity after to easy coats. Shown here as two coats plus glossy topcoat.

     Court of Dreams – Black base with holo microflakes, silver flakes, and shimmer that shifts from blue through indigo to violet - $12
The Night Court is home to the mysterious and dark Rhysand and his hot muscular Illyrian warriors (ahem). No spoilers but fans self anyway.

     With a smooth consistency and even coverage, this polish is a winner in my book. I did have a slight VNL after the first coat but, it builds up nicely to reach full opacity after two effortless coats. Shown here as two coats plus glossy topcoat. 

     Starfall - Deep navy holo with microglitter and opalescent green flakes
Amy really wanted to call this polish My Other Ride is an Illyrian Warrior but decided to go with the more sedate Starfall. Starfall is a holiday celebrated in the Winter Court on a night where star spirits migrate across the sky.

*Nothing to Disclose*

     Welcome back for another installment of the Untried A-Z Challenge. We are up to week 20 which brings us to the letter T. This challenge will run all week long and everyone is welcome to join. Just add your post to the linkup located at the end of my post, the only requirement is that either the Brand Name or polish name begins with the letter T. 

     For my letter T polish, I wanted to use a brand that I haven't featured in this challenge yet. That narrowed down my options for the week which I found very helpful. I don't know about you but with the size of my collection, it's hard to pick a polish sometimes. And mine could be considered a small collection compared to some of you out there. 

    I decided to share with you today Tiara On Top from LynBDesings. This polish was released in 2014 as a limited edition topper from the Princess Personality Collection. Because this is a topper I've decided to show it two way. On its own and layered over Sinful Colors Black on Black.

     Tiara on Top is a clear based polish with iridescent flakes and holographic micro glitter. Obviously, this polish is sheer since it's a topper but it covers evenly and each flake lays completely flat against the nail.  I've shown it here as 3 coats alone plus a glossy top coat and two coats over black plus a glossy top coat. 

     I like the depth that you get from the flakes and glitter. My nails had a different look depending on what angle they were at and the sparkle was amazing. I have a feeling this would look great over lighter colors also. 

     I'm a little sad that I let this polish sit in my untrieds for so long. I mean just look at that macro shot, it's so pretty with the pastel colors popping through. You can be sure that I will be using this one again. I want to test it out over some lighter shades, maybe even some pastels. 

     That's all I have for you today, I hope you enjoyed this look at Tiara on Top from LynBDesigns. Make sure to check out the other posts in the linkup. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!

*Press Sample*

    Hello everyone, it's time to start making your wishlists for Polish Pickup! The theme for October is villans and today I will be sharing with you a polish that in my opinion needs to be on that list. Shards of the Heart from Northern Star Polish. Read on to see why I am so pleased with this polish. 

      For those of you who are unfamiliar with Polish Pickup here's a quick rundown of how it works. Polish Pickup offers a fun, interactive experience that allows you to submit theme ideas, vote for your favorite theme, and selectively purchase your favorite polishes every month. The shop opens at 11 AM ET on the first Friday - Monday of every month. In this case, that's Oct. 5th -8th at www.polishpickup.com. You can pick which polishes you would like to purchase from the previously chosen theme. There is no box commitment. Purchase one or purchase them all! Shipping in the US is $3, $5 in Canada, and does ship internationally. Allow 3+ weeks for delivery. So, in other words, this is a pre-order event. 

    Shards of the Heart is inspired by Miss Havisham from Great Expectations and the Victorian Decaying bride aesthetic. "Miss Havisham is a character in the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations. She is a wealthy spinster, once jilted at the altar, who insists on wearing her wedding dress for the rest of her life. She lives in a ruined mansion with her adopted daughter, Estella." Quote from Wikipedia

    Shards of the Heart is a dark grey with lavender tint that looks like a creme indoors but contains two type of holographic pigments that sparkle in the sun. Subtle indigo micro flakes complete the polish.  My lighting really accentuated the hint of purple but under regular lighting, you will see more grey coming through.

     You guys the formula on this is phenomenal! The polish has a great consistency and is very smooth but the awesome part is the opacity. I've been showing you one coat of polish plus top coat. that's right, this is one coat coverage. If you are in the habit of applying thin layers of polish you will probably need two but a regular layer will only require one. Shards of the Heart dries to a smooth, glossy finish that is slightly darker than what you see in the bottle.

    I  have been drawn to grey polishes lately, the last three polishes I've worn have been grey and I purchased 5 more at Polishcon earlier this month. I think that the purple hint and subtle holo make this unique from the others and I am more than impressed with the opacity and coverage. The color is also great for the colder months that are soon to be upon us. 

     Shards of the Heart will be $11.75 USD and is capped at 75 bottles. 

    Make sure to check out Polish Pickup on Facebook and don't forget to make your purchases starting October 5th. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!

*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! 

*Nothing to Disclose*

I'm reaching back into my bag of past Polish Pickup polishes today to bring you Going, Going, Already Gone from Great Lakes Lacquer. This blue-grey colored jelly polish with iridescent flakes and a sprinkling of scattered holo was released in April for the Across the Universe theme. 

     This polish hit the "Pillars of Creation" theme on the head with its subtle flashes of gold.  With a smooth formula and beautiful consistency, this polish has that lit within look that I go gaga for. While this polish is a bit sheer on the first coat there is no shortage of flakes and full opacity is reached after the addition of a second coat. 

     This is one of those polishes that I have zero regrets about buying. I am typically not a fan of wearing blue polish on its own but this shade has just the right amount of grey for me, and what can I say about those flakes, they make this polish go from pretty to stunning.  Here's a video I made of this polish in direct sunlight. 

     While this polish is no longer available, you never know when the Polish Pickup will do another flashback theme and you just might get the chance to purchase this. Or it may pop up in a destash sale sometime. 

     If you're not familiar with Polish Pickup I highly recommend you check them out on Facebook. I have gotten so many beautiful polishes and been able to try out several new to me brands thanks to this monthly themed shop. JReine, Bluebird Lacquer, LynBDesigns, Contrary Polish, Supermoon Lacquer and Northern Star Polish are just a few of the brands I've purchased from through the Polish Pickup. And in case you were wondering the theme for September is Horror Movies and the polishes go on sale tomorrow Sept. 7th until Monday, Sept. 10th. 

     That's all I've got for you today. I hope you enjoyed Going, Going, Already Gone as much as I did. If you've purchased from the Pickup before, what was your favorite polish? Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!

*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!