Smokey Mountain Lacquers inaugural Smokey Box!

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Smokey Mountain Lacquers has decided to come out with her very own monthly Smokey Box containing two exclusive polishes!

This is NOT a subscription box, so there is no monthly obligation.  This is just a box that will be limited in quantity with two exclusive polishes (and maybe some more fun goodies down the road!).  Here's a look at the two polishes in this month's box!

The first polish is "Silver Linings:"

Silver Linings is a gorgeous silver metallic polish, opaque in two coats (or three thin, as seen in the photos above) and dry in under 5 minutes.

The second polish in this exclusive duo is "Pink Elephants:"

Pink Elephants is a light frosty pink with a subtle blue shimmer that is also opaque in two coats and dry in under five minutes.

The Smokey Box will be launching at 1pm EST on July 1st on the Smokey Mountain Lacquers website.  The cost is $14.99 for U.S. customers and that includes shipping!  For customers in Canada, the price is $19.99 including shipping, and for all other countries, it is $24.99 including shipping.  There will only be 15 of these boxes available - once they're gone, that's it!  So if you like what you see, set your alarms!!

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Smokey Box was sent to me by the maker for photography purposes and a review.  All opinions are my own and 100% honest.

Parrot Polish Neons

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Warning you now - it's gonna be a neon-filled week on this blog!  They just happened to all fall in this week :P  We'll start with three blindingly awesome neons by Parrot Polish.  I'll preclude these swatches in saying these polishes are all a little on the thicker side, so you probably won't need to do too many layers before the polish is opaque - all but Limon were two coats for me.  Also want to point out that the colors of these polishes vary depending on lighting.

First up- Limon:

Limon is a highlighter yellow/chartreuse neon.  It is thinner and required a base coat of white in order to make that yellow really pop.  Dried to a satin finish in about 5 minutes.  Takes a little longer for these because they are on the thick side.

Next is Orange Surprise:

Orange Surprise is a light orange neon.  Also dried to a satin finish in about 5 minutes.  No undies with this one!

Last is Burst:

Burst is a magenta pink neon.  The pictures on their site look lighter than mine due to different lighting - mine are all in natural light, making them look a little darker than under artificial lighting.  The color may also have looked lighter with a white base, but the polish was thick as it was, I really didn't want another added layer of polish.  Burst is opaque in two coats, as shown in the photos above.  Dried to a satin finish in about 5 minutes.

Overall these are very colorful!  I love a good neon, though I would have been a little happier if these were a bit thinner.  There are 12 neons available on their website currently - I've got my eye on Mini Mint!!  You can follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates on new polishes and collections.

Are you a neon fan?  Any of the neons above tickle your fancy?

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Polish sent by maker for photography purposes.  Opinions are 100% honest.

Princesses and Villains: Aurora & Maleficent

I've come to the conclusion that my Princesses are always gonna look like poop.  For some reason, I just can't seem to paint them well.  Oh well - you win some, you lose some!

This week's Princess/Villain set is Aurora and Maleficent from Ice Polish :)  Here you go!

Aurora is a gorgeous baby pink with a light scattered holographic effect, and Maleficent is a beautiful duochrome with a nice sparkle in the sunlight.  Maleficent was a limited edition polish and is no longer available, but Aurora is still up for grabs in the Etsy shop!

Tomorrow is the next round of You-Pick-My-Art!!  Be sure to check my Facebook Page and vote for your favorite!  See you soon <3

*NOTE:  One of these two polishes was a prize for winning a giveaway.  While it was not purchased, it was NOT supplied for the purposes of a review.  Links are NOT affiliate (i.e. I do not get any sort of kickback when you click on them through my blog),  I simply provide them for your convenience :)

Polish Post: Literary Lacquers Limited Edition Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennett Duo

Happy Tuesday, folks!  I hope Monday was alright to you - you're less than 4 days away from the weekend now!  Hooray!!

A few months back, I participated in an awesome Blogiversary giveaway by the equally awesome fellow blogger The Glitzy Geek.  I won one of the prize packs, and in that prize back was the limited edition "Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennett" Duo (inspired by Pride and Prejudice) by Literary Lacquers that is exclusive to Gloss 48 (website).  After trying them out last week, I had to show them off you to all, because dang, they're pretty fantastic!

Ladies first - let's start with Miss Bennett:

Outdoors

Indoors

Miss Bennett is a rosy pink with a subtle holographic effect in the sunlight.  Application is very smooth, the polish leveled out nicely and took only 2 coats for it to be opaque.  The polish dried in under 5 minutes to nice shine.  It's a very lovely color and a perfect vintage pink!

Then there's my favorite - Mr. Darcy!

Outdoors

Indoors

Wowza!!!  Is he a stunner or what?!  Mr. Darcy is a gorgeous gold polish with flecks of gold glitter and a brilliantly strong holographic effect in the sunlight.  Application was just as smooth with this polish, as well, also taking 2 coats for opacity, and drying in record timing.  You cannot go wrong at all with this polish - it's amazing!  I didn't expect it to be that incredibly intense in the sunlight - it's still intense indoors, too!  Really great color!

It's funny, though.  If you look at this from a literary sense, the polishes don't exactly seem to match their characters - to me, that is.  Mr. Darcy isn't a loud and proud person who shines and stands out in a crowd.  And Miss Bennett is anything but subtle and reserved.  I feel like the polishes oppose their characters a bit.  Do I care?  Heck no, this duo is freakin' amazing!!  I just find it ironic, from a Pride and Prejudice comparison ;)

I have a few links for you of the brand and the site that still offers this duo.

Facebook: Here

Etsy: Here

Instagram: Here

Gloss48 Link to Duo: Here

I hope you enjoyed this post!!  Should have one for you tomorrow, though that is the day I come home from my mini vacation, so I may be a bit busy :P  Until next time! <3

Polish Post: Finger Lickin' Lacquer "Love You," "Octopus," and "Here I Go" Swatches and Review

As Rebecca Black would say - It's Friiiiiiday!!!  TGIF!!  And for those of you celebrating Labor Day, happy 3-day weekend!!  Gotta love those :)

On this lovely Friday I have a fruity post for you!  I'll be showing you three polishes from Finger Lickin' Lacquer's Washed Out Neons collection.  I received a special discount code from this maker for purchasing her product, and wanted some of her new neons to be the first purchase, because I just love their color!!

So without further ado, here is "Love You:"

Because these faded neons look the same in and outdoors, I only took indoor photos for you :)

Love You is a creamy pink that smells like a strawberry daiquiri.  These neons have a very thin formula, and therefore require a few more layers to get it to its best color.  I wore 3 coats of Love You over a solid white base.  If you try to wear these without any sort of solid base coat, you will not achieve opacity - or you will after about 20 or so coats, not too sure :P  But you can do other artsy things with it, like "jelly sandwiches" and "watercolor" nail art.

Considering how many layers I had on, the polish dried fairly quickly.  I was able to put on cuticle oil and rub it in without doing damage to the polish about 15 minutes after applying it.  It was dry to the touch in less than five, but still affected by pressure.  It dried to a nice shiny finish, requiring no top coat.  I did want to note that if you choose to use a topcoat, from my experience, you won't lose the scent of the polish.  I know - crazy!  But I have used 3 different types of topcoats in the past over scented polishes, and the smell always comes through.  Sweet deal, if you ask me ^_^

Next up is "Octopus:"

Octopus has a wonderful grape smell to it, and took 4 coats to achieve the proper color (again, over a white base).  Everything else was the same as Love You - even the dry time despite an extra coat!

The final color I have for you is called "Here I Go:"

Here I Go is my favorite of the three - I just love the baby blue color!!  This polish has a sweet fruit punch scent (sorry I had no fruit punch, but I'm sure green grapes are in it, right? :P ) and also took 4 coats to match the color in the bottle.  Everything is the same as the others, too :)  

There are six washed out neons in total.  I wanted to mention that if you wish to have these, but don't want the scent, you can order them unscented!  She offers that option with all polishes that have a scent, it's pretty great!  

Here are some links for you:

Website: Here

Shop: Here

Facebook: Here

Instagram: Here

Twitter: Here

Hope you enjoyed this post, and have a wonderful Friday and weekend!  Don't forget today is You-Pick-My-Art on my Facebook Page!  I will be posting the options for vote around 10am PST.  See you all very soon <3

*Note: While I did receive a special discount code for purchasing product from this maker, links I provide are NOT affiliate - i.e., I get no kickback when you click on them through my post.  I have simply provided them for your convenience :)

Polish Post: Squishy Face Polish "Dusty Rose" and "Plumeria" Swatches and Review

How is everyone's week going so far?  It's almost over now, and then comes a 3-day weekend (thank you, Labor Day)!  I will be swatching the crap out of it :P  Lots to show you coming up!!

Today I've got two polishes from the brand Squishy Face Polish.  At the end of July, this brand was having a clearance sale - she got a new job and was clearing out her stock in order to close her shop for a bit.  I was a little disappointed, because I had just learned about this brand and really liked the colors she had available.  Fortunately I was able to snag two really pretty polishes before they were all gone.  The first of those colors I have to show you is called "Dusty Rose."

Outdoors

Indoors

Dusty Rose is a gorgeous rosy pink (as its title states), with a lovely holographic effect in the sunlight.  Application was nice and smooth, and the polish was opaque in 2 coats.  It dried very quickly to a flatter finish, as you can see in the photos (no topcoat added).  There was a slight amount of staining around my cuticles, but it came off rather easily with a few rounds of cleanup using a strong acetone remover.  Overall, it's a really nice polish.

The other color is "Plumeria."

Outdoors

Indoors

Plumeria is a light plummy purple color with a beautiful linear holographic effect in the sunlight.  The formula on this polish was a little thinner than Dusty Rose and took 3 coats to make it completely opaque.  Dried in the same amount of time, though, which is always a plus, and required no topcoat because it had such a nice shiny finish.  This color is definitely my favorite of the two :)

While the Squishy Face Polish shop says it is down for maintenance currently, I would still keep your eye on it.  She may very well re-open in the near future.  Here are some links for you:

Facebook: Here

Shop (currently down for maintenance): Here

Instagram: Here

I'm certainly hoping to see her back soon, maybe with some new colors!  One can only hope ^_^

I hope you all make it through your Thursday - Friday is right around the corner!  That also means another round of You-Pick-My-Art tomorrow :D  Stay tuned to my Facebook page to see what the choices will be this time!

*Note: Links I provide are NOT affiliate (i.e. I do not get any sort of kickback if you click on it through my post).  I simply provide them for your convenience :)