Polish Post: Marbles for Polish "Mermaid Summer" and "The Operative" Swatches and Review

Fridays are so darn wonderful, aren't they?  Unless you are someone whose Friday is a Tuesday, then I guess Fridays aren't so darn great - but hey!  Tuesday is only 4 days away! :D

How about a quick polish post?  Today I'm featuring polish from the indie company Marbles for Polish.  She is not only a blogger, but a polish maker, too!  And she has some wonderful colors!  Check out "Mermaid Summer" (middle, ring, and thumb) and "The Operative" (pointer and pinky):

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She held a nail art contest a few weeks ago that I won and part of my prize packet was my choice of a full-size polish from her shop.  I chose Mermaid Summer because I just loved the color and the subtle holo.  I am very glad I got this polish, because it is even prettier in person!  It is a light teal/aqua color with a very light holo shimmer in the sunlight.  Two coats brought it to complete opacity that dried with a semi-matte finish (I have a topcoat on each of the Mermaid Summer nails to bring out the holo shimmer).  Application was smooth, though I found I needed to apply the polish in smaller amounts because if I had too much on the brush, it flooded my cuticles.  It dried very quickly - I didn't even need a quick-dry topcoat!  It was completely dry to the touch after a mere 10 minutes, which is fantastic for a busy mom like me :D  Great polish!

The second color I received as another part of my prize (she included several minis of other colors in her collection).  The Operative is a neat black jelly with red, gold, and blue glitter.  I layered two thin coats on my pointer and pinky nails over Mermaid Summer, and I think it looks pretty good with it!  I'm not a huge fan of jelly glitter polishes, but for those that are, this is a great color to add to your collection.  Same smooth application as Mermaid Summer, and this polish dried just as quickly to a shiny finish - no topcoat necessary!

I am very pleased with these two colors from Marbles for Polish!  If you want to snag a few of her lovely polishes for yourself, here are some links for you to do so!

Facebook: Here

Shop: Here

Instagram: Here

She recently released a beautiful Rainbow Flakie collection you should check out.  She also has a 20% off code available on her Facebook page that is good through today, so take advantage!!! 

Have a great Friday, and don't forget to vote on this Friday's You-Pick-My-Art on my Facebook Page - it is Minion themed this week :D 

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

Polish Post: LynBDesigns "In Charge of Fun," "However, Whatever, Whenever," "Fangirl," and "Teal the Cows Come Home" Swatches and Review

I think that is the longest post title I have written yet!  Phew!

Today I have 4 beautiful polishes to share with you by the indie brand LynBDesigns.  Let's start with "In Charge of Fun:"

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In Charge of Fun is part of her "Meet Me at the Abbey" Downton Abbey collection.  It is a pretty light green with a pink/orange shimmer that really stands out in the sunlight.  The polish has a bit of a thicker formula, and seems to have a very slight texture as well that, at some angles, looks like it could be tiny bubbles.  Because the formula is a little thicker, you also need to make sure you wait for each coat to dry before adding another or it will drag the polish underneath.  I used 3 coats in the photos above, and a clear topcoat to bring out the shimmer.  Wear time is pretty great!  This polish lasted about 2 days before I started to see a slight wear at the fingertips, but no chipping the full 3 days I had it on.  Despite its thick formula, this is a good polish!  I would recommend even trying it as a topper, since it is thin enough - may look pretty awesome as a topcoat over a dark green :)

Next up is "However, Whatever, Whenever," another polish from her Downton Abbey collection:

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However, Whatever, Whenever is my second favorite of this bunch.  It is a gunmetal color that is a beautiful linear holographic color in the sunlight.  The formula wasn't as thick as In Charge of Fun, so it was a bit easier to work with.  Two coats brought it to complete opacity, with a clear topcoat to add a nice shine to it.  Wear time is the same as In Charge of Fun.  If you dig dark silvery holographic polishes, this one is right up your Alley (see what I did there?).

Moving on, we have "Fangirl" from her "The Doctor Is In" collection:

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Fangirl is such a lovely light pink color with a pearlescent-blue/teal shimmer.  The description on her site makes the polish to be something a bit more colorful than what the polish looks like to me in person.  I don't mind because I really like the color I got, but if you are buying based on the store description, I feel it is a lot less colorful than it is made out to be.  Regarding formula, this polish seems to have the same type as In Charge of Fun - a bit on the thick side, needs to be completely dry in between coats, and slightly textured.  I used 3 coats in the pictures above with a top coat for added shine.  Wear time was great - I went 3 days without noticing any damage.  Overall, it is a very cute color and a nice polish!

Last, but certainly not least, is a Limited Edition polish called, "Teal the Cows Come Home:"

Oh. My. GOSH!!!  Teal the Cows Come Home is gorgeous!!!  This polish was my absolute favorite of the bunch - and it was a freebie!  I received it as a bonus for purchasing 3 full-size polishes.  This polish is a beautiful metallic teal color with a scattered holographic effect in direct sunlight.  The formula is a little thin.  I used 3 coats in the photos with one clear topcoat, since the polish dries semi-matte and I wanted that holo to really stand out.  Application is smooth as pudding, and I noticed worn tips at the end of day 2, so wear time is decent (keep in mine, I am a mom of two toddlers, so I'm using my hands a lot during the day, affecting the wear of my polish).  Teal the Cows Come Home is a must-have!!!  And the best part?  It's a mere $6 on her site right now!  I suggest you snag one up before this limited edition is no-more.

Overall I'd say these polishes are pretty good.  The brand is not one of the best I've had, but it is far from the worst.  Her prices are very reasonable, making it worth picking up a few polishes from her (make sure one of those is Teal the Cows Come Home - seriously, beautiful color!).  Here are some linkages for you:

Facebook: Here

Website: Here

Instagram: Here

That's about it for today - tomorrow is another You-Pick-My-Art, so stay tuned to my Facebook Page to see what's up for voting!  Have a great Thursday!

*Note: Links I provide in my posts are not affiliate (i.e. I do not get any sort of "kickback" when you click on them from my post).  I simply have them here for your convenience and ease of finding the product I am featuring :)

Polish Post: Picture Polish "Gravity" Swatches and Review

In the interest of time, and since I have a ton of errands to run today, I'm gonna cut right to the chase and get down to the polish!  I have a short post for you today about a beautiful color from the brand piCture pOlish (yes, I did the upper and lower case letters that way on purpose, because that is how the brand labels their name).  Behold - "Gravity:"

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Gravity is the very first polish I have purchased from this brand.  I don't usually browse piCture pOlish colors because they are on the very high end price of indies - about $14 to $15 a bottle.  However, Llarowe recently added a ton of polishes to their sale section, and Gravity was one of those colors!  I am so glad I picked this one up, because it is lovely!  

It is REALLY thin, and took 4 coats to get it to be mostly opaque (you can still see the whites of my nails underneath at certain angles).  Gravity has a nice, smooth application, and wears for a good amount of time.  I put it on Sunday morning and it is still going strong today!  It dries quickly on the first 2 coats, but after that it took a little longer, since it was getting thicker.  

The color is really beautiful!  The polish shifts from blue to purple, then a coppery orange.  Along with the color shifts are flecks of holographic glitter.  It is a really fun and eye-catching color!  While Gravity is a great polish, I'm still not so sure I could personally stomach spending close to $15 on it.

I cannot seem to find Gravity on either Llarowe's site or the brand's own site, so I'm thinking it is no longer being sold - or it is out of stock on both sites.   It may come back, so here are some social links for you to help you keep an eye out:

Facebook: Here

Website: Here 

Instagram: Here

piCture pOlish is located in Australia, but you can order their polishes from US based suppliers, such as Llarowe.  A quick google search should pop up several options for you :)

Gravity is the color I used for the "galaxy" background on my Wall-E nails.  Here's a pic of it again:

Hope you all have a great Tuesday!!  See you soon <3

*Note: links I supply are not affiliate (i.e. I do not get a kickback if you click on them through my blog post).  I have them here purely for your convenience.

It Only Takes a Moment

I would have loved to put more detail into these nails, but truth be told, I simply ran out of time this weekend :(  Saturday I felt like I was barely home because I was out and about running errands all day, and Sunday was the husband's birthday.  By the time I sat down last night to get started, it was already 7pm.  So, that being said, here is how my You-Pick-My-Art Wall-E themed nails turned out:

I had grand plans to put Mo on my pinky nail and the Axiom on my thumb, but after spending 4 hours on Wall-E, Eve, and the Directive, I decided to call it and head to bed.  The design turned out decently well, though it is definitely not one of my best. I found it very challenging to translate a beautifully done computer-animated character to my nails using acrylic paint.  Wall-E was particularly tough because of all his machinery and the different tones and textures.  I'm still not too thrilled with how he turned out.

But, as I have always said about my art so far - not bad for a first attempt, especially considering I have only recently discovered the art of painting on my nails with acrylic paint.  :)

Thanks for participating in last Friday's You-Pick-My-Art!  What do you want to see for this Friday's theme?

Polish Post: Starrily's "Eclipse" and "Milky Way" Swatches and Review

TGIF!  I hope you all have some exciting plans this weekend, whether it be going out and doing something new, or just chillaxin' at home (that's pretty darn exciting, too, especially if you are a stay at home parent like me).

I have a short and sweet polish post for you today reviewing two polishes from the brand Starrily.  The first of these polishes is called Eclipse:

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Eclipse is *technically* a holo topper, and I knew that when buying it.  I wanted to see it on its own, however, topping my natural nails :D  It's really beautiful!  It is definitely thin enough that it could be a holo topper without smothering the color of the polish underneath.  It looks great on its own, too, as seen in my photos above.  I am wearing 4 coats with no top coat.  Application was smooth, as is expected with toppers, and did not goop or drag the polish underneath with each added layer.

The other color is called Milky Way.  Take a look:

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Milky Way is a lot more dark purple than its picture looks online, which is not a bad thing in this case!  Outdoors, the colors is just stunning and really pops - definitely reminiscent of the Milky Way at night.  Indoors is it a nice sparkly purple.  This polish is a little thicker and only took 2 coats to achieve opacity.  Dried fairly quickly, too!  I did not have this polish on too long, so I cannot give you a good estimate of wear time.

So far, the polishes I have ordered from Starrily are really nice!  I have a few others I will be featuring later on that are glitters.  For the first time in my indie polish experience, I did, however, come across a few issues.  Recently, I know they have been going through some site changes, new boxes and such, and as most indie companies, new colors!  Big changes can always put a company a little behind.  However I was a bit disappointed in the customer service department.

The very first order I placed with Starrily, a little box at checkout popped up on the screen saying, "Add (insert item here) to your cart for only (x amount of money) more!" I added the item recommended, and proceeded to checkout and pay.  The next day, I received an email from paypal letting me know I was refunded for that add-on item.  I never received an email from the company explaining that it was taken out of my order and why it was removed.  I thought that was a bit odd, and I did not appreciate that I didn't at least get some sort of explanation.  I did not let it stop me from placing future orders, but I did keep in the back of my mind that perhaps I should not order any add-ons anymore.

The second issue I had was with shipping confirmation.  I had placed two separate orders, and had received an email alerting me one of those orders had shipped.  As soon as it arrived, it turned out to be the other order that was shipped.  I contacted Starrily to see if the other order was still processing, or if it had been marked "shipped" and then lost.  The next day I got a very curt, unfeeling response that the polishes that were not sent were pre-orders, and that is why they were not shipped yet.  I received no explanation or apology for the mix-up, or any sort of friendly tone in the email.

To play devil's advocate, it is very hard to convey tone virtually.  However, there are ways you can phrase things to sound less cold and unfeeling and more "I-care-about-you-customer!"  Then again, all the jobs I've had in the past were customer-service based, so I am of the frame of mind that you should always be overly nice and never curt.  If anything, OVER explain something.  You don't usually lose business because you are too nice to your customers.  That is just my experience, though.

Customer service aside, if you are looking for some amazing glittery polishes, Starrily is the place to go!  Here are some links for you of their social media and their website:

Facebook: Here

Instagram: Here

Website: Here

That's all for today!  Sorry to get the post to you so late - my munchkins have been dragging me all over the house today to read, play with trains, race cars, and keep them from hurting each other :P  Can be frustrating sometimes, but really, it's great to spend time with them while they still want to play with their Mommy :)

Don't forget that today is another You-Pick-My-Art!  The theme for this weekend is Pixar, so head on over to my Facebook Page and "like" the photo you want to see me create a design around!  Have a great Friday!!