Friday, March 24, 2017

So Long, and Thanks For All The Fish!

It's with a heavy heart that I type this to you.

I've decided to step down from keeping up these blog posts.  Since my husband has had to work in another state for months at a time, and I've had to stay here and take care of my three children on my own, I have not had the time or motivation to keep up with writing on this blog anymore.

I WILL still be swatching and doing nail art, it will just exclusively be shared on Instagram, my Facebook page, Tumblr, Twitter, and Pinterest.  So, I'm not leaving the indie polish/nail blogger world for good!  Just stepping away from this particular platform.

I thank each and every one of you that has subscribed and read and taken the time to comment on my posts!  Your support and encouragement has meant the world to me, and I appreciate each and every one of you!!  I hope you'll continue to follow me on my other social media pages <3

Thank you, again, for your readership!!  It's been a swell 3 years ^_^

Friday, February 17, 2017

Smokey Mountain Lacquer's St. Patrick's Day Duo

***Press Sample***

Valentine's Day is over - thus begins the time leading up to my favorite holiday of the year:  St. Patrick's Day!!!  I'm super excited, and even more so than usual because my best friend of 10+ years is coming to visit and will be here to celebrate with me!!  Squee!!!

Speaking of St. Pat's, I have a freakin' AMAZING duo to show you by Smokey Mountain Lacquers!!  Let me pre-empt the swatch porn by saying that SML recently reformulated and changed an ingredient in her polish, and now it is even more smooth than before, and not as thick.  It's a noticeable improvement from the old formula, even though I was one of the people that didn't run into any problems with it in the past.

Huzzah for new formula!!  Let's check it out in action!

First up: 2 Sheets To The Wind - first two photos are with regular topcoat, the second two are with a matte topcoat.





2 Sheets to the Wind is a fantastically bright green crelly with a green/lime shimmer, shown in the photos above in 2 easy breasy coats.  I *love* this one, but I especially love it mattified!!!!  The best part about 2 Sheets is that I can wear it year-round, and it's definitely suitable for summer flip flop months :D

And the second polish is: Fool's Gold (again, first 3 are regular topcoat, last 2 are matte)






Fool's Gold is a STUNNING multichrome shifting from a brown to gold to green with hints of blue.  Again, ridiculously smooth application, opaque in 2 coats.  I love me a good shifty chrome, and this one does so in every kind of lighting.  And I kinda dig the matte look - gives it a nice earthy tone :)

But wait, there's more!!

If you are not a member of the Smokey Mountain Lacquers Fan Group yet, you really should join.  Why?  Well besides the fact we are a fun bunch with a weekly contest for a gift code prize, you could win a dragon egg made by yours truly using the St. Patrick's Day Duo!!


One of the reasons I've been a bit radio silent lately is that I've started my own business selling Dragon Eggs, and it's been very successful so far!!  So I thought I'd donate one to get some more interaction and good people into a group that supports such a great polish brand!!

The long and short of how you can win this can all be found in the fan group!  :D

Getting back to the Duo, it goes live TODAY at 7pm CST!!!  The first 10 orders will receive a bonus gold and rhinestone nail charm <3  Here's all the links to the most important places:


What do you all think of the duo?  Let me know in the comments!!

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Polish was provided by the maker in exchange for photos and an honest review.

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Nail Hoot's "Owl Be Yours"

***Press Sample***

Hey you lovely people!  I've been spending my last month cleaning my house top to bottom - my church is having a rummage sale and it's the best excuse for me to finally have gone through the mountains of boxes in each room.  I've also been re-arranging furniture so I can move all my nail art/blogging equipment etc. to a proper office and it will all be in one place!  Woo hoo!!

So, apologies for the absence, but it feels *so good* to have made some progress on my house :D  And I'm still having to do all this on my own around 3 small children, since the hubs is still working out of state.  It's a miracle I've made any progress at all :P

Let's get to some pretty polish!!

Nail Hoot sent me an absolutely lovely Valentine's polish called Owl Be Yours, and I've got some swatches for you!!




Owl Be Yours is a lovely pink polish with yellow iridescent glitters and a holographic effect throughout (it is more subtle indoors, but outdoors it's pretty stunning!!).  Opaque in 2-3 coats depending on how thick you apply it, and dries to a nice shine.

I would have had outdoor shots for you if the weather didn't decide to be uncharacteristically overcast for nearly a week straight.  I gotta work on getting some LED lights so I can show you all the holo a lot better indoors.

This lovely polish is available now!!  Here's the shop link and such:


What do you think??  Are you getting any special polish for Valentine's Day?  Let me know in the comments!! <3

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Polish was sent to me in exchange for an honest review and photographs.



Sunday, January 15, 2017

Bad Bitch Polish "Night Out" Valentine's Duo

***Press Sample***

Happy Sunday, y'all!!  So far my weekend has been just as busy as this January so far.  I dunno about you, but this "new year" for me is turning out to be more of my last year >.<  I'm working hard to turn the tables around though!  In the next few weeks, I'll be breaking out something pretty nifty that I'm super excited about :D  Sorry (not sorry) for the Vagueblogging :P

So let's get to some polish already, sheesh!

Bad Bitch Polish created an absolutely fantastic "Night Out" duo consisting of two to-die-for cremes that not only look amazing on their own, but also stamp!!!  Check them out!

Here is "The Lover"




The Lover is a sexy, sophisticated red that is a one-coater.  It's gorgeous, and a must-have for red fans!!  Shown here in one coat with topcoat under Ottlite.  In the interest of full disclosure, this polish is highly pigmented and can stain.  I didn't personally experience any staining, but I also wear a base coat (OPI's Nail Envy) and I put cuticle oil around my cuticles beforehand (I've noticed I tend to have an easier time cleaning up that area of stray polish if there's an oil base).  Just wanted to make sure it was known that staining *is* a possibility, and the listing on the website states this as well.

And here is "The Spouse"




The Spouse is a lovely sweet bubblegum pink, also a one-coat-wonder!  I'm wearing one coat in the photos above with topcoat under an Ottlite.

And here are photos of each stamped over one another:









As stamping polishes, these were really, really easy to work with.  They spread out nicely, and also picked up nicely on my stamper (I use a sticky squishy stamper from Jolie Polish).  The images transferred very well, too - I didn't have to re-do any of my nails or try more than once to get the image to transfer from the plate to the stamper.  Two polished thumbs wayyyy up for these!

The Night Out duo is available now!!  Here's where you can get your hands on them and follow the brand:


So whatcha think??  Do these tickle your fancy?  Let me know in the comments below! <3

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Polish sent to me by maker in exchange for photos and an honest review.

Sunday, January 1, 2017

Bad Bitch Polish January Birthstone Duo

***Press Sample***

Happiest of New Years to you all!!!  I hope you had a lovely night, whether you celebrated out with friends, or stayed in :)  To kick off the New Year, let's take a look at the gorgeous January Birthstone Duo by Bad Bitch Polish!

First up: Gosh Garnet




Gosh Garnet is a gorgeous jelly-like flakie with hints of gold holo glitters throughout, which give it fantastic depth!  This is on the thicker side of "jellies" and was opaque in 2 coats for me.

And secondly: Garnet Galaxy



Sun Shot - Whoaaaaaaaa nelly!!

Garnet Galaxy is a beautiful red holooooooo!!  It has a brilliant blue holo flash in direct sunlight - an absolute stunner all-around, and opaque in 2-3 coats, depending on how thick you apply.  I'm wearing 3 thin coats - but admittedly, with holos like this, I can't help adding just *one* more layer each time :P

This January Birthstone Duo is available now!!  You can purchase them individually at $9.50, or a discounted $18 for them both.  Here's where you can pick them up and follow the brand:


So what do you think of these two?  Can you pick a favorite between them?  Let me know in the comments! <3

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Polish provided by the maker for photography purposes and an honest review.