Essie Summer 2014

Super fast post for the evening. I just spotted these bottle shots so I put them together with their color names and thought I'd share!



Any favorites?

Aly's Dream Polish: Salmon

Gift

I won a giveaway from Alisha at IG quite a while ago and she sent two beautiful polishes to me!
One of them was an Aly's Dream Polish which I've never tried before! The color is called Salmon and it's the perfect name for it. I was super impressed with the formula, it goes on like butter and was easy to control the brush so I had very minimal clean up. I wore two coats with topcoat in the photos below.





Thanks so much Alisha, I love it!

Simples: Nail Art from Muggle to Mastery

Nothing to disclose

I have joined a new group on Facebook lead by Debbie from The Crumpet blog, its called SIMPLES: Nail Art from Muggle to Mastery. Debbie's aim is to teach various nail art techniques and help us master them. I've been dabbling in nail art but it is quite intimidating so I thought this group would be perfect! She shows one technique per week, and right now we just began week two.

For the first week, the tutorial was for the Accent Nail. I've used Smitten Radiant Orchid for three nails, and then Colors by Llarowe Young Turks topped with Elevation Pata Puffer II as the accent nail. I had a lot of fun choosing the colors and experimenting on a nail wheel for the accent nail. I really like how it turned out!






For the second week, which just began Saturday, the tutuoral is skittle nails! Fun!
For mine, I chose a Memorial Day theme to honor the men and women who've died while serving in our country's armed forces. And while choosing my polishes, I took a look back and 'remembered' some of my older polishes. Index to Pinky: Orly Star Spangled, Lynnderella Snow Angel (an original franken from before she sold polish), China Glaze Dorothy Who, and China Glaze OMG.




I've had a lot fun with this group and would love it if you joined us! You do not need to be a blogger or have a social media presence. Just bring yourself and your polish! :)

Serum No.5: Pink Peonies

Press Sample

Serum No. 5 makes such a variety of polishes from feminine to dark and everything in between! This next polish is on the more feminine side but has a touch of sparkle. Perfect for a mom and daughter day at the local tea house and shopping afterward!



The base color is a beautiful pastel slightly purpley pink sprinkled with fairy dust and pink and red glitters. It totally reminds me of a sweet treat!



I wore two coats with top coat for a smooth shiny finish. I think this would also look great as a funky french tip with perhaps some dainty nail art!



Not only do I love the packaging but also the brush, its a flat one which gives me really good control of where the polish lands! The formula was smooth and easy as with other polishes I've tried from Serum No. 5. And did you now that she makes a donation every single month to charity?

You can find this and many other beautiful polishes at the Serum No.5 shop! Be sure to keep up on the latest creations at the brand's https://www.facebook.com/serumno5 - she's been making some really awesome looking polishes lately!

Dazzled: April Holo Grail Box

Nothing to Disclose

I had not ordered any of the indie boxes yet but when I saw the preorder announcement for the April Holo Grail box, I gave in. It consists of four limited edition holo polishes made by four different indie companies. The Dazzled shop is the only place to purchase this particular box. For April it contained polishes from Emily De Molly, Literary Lacquers, NailNation 3000, and Philly Loves Lacquer. The boxes are only available via preorder a month in advance. I ordered the box March 7 and it arrived in late April. The polishes are each very pretty - take a look!



Imperfect Harmony is a periwinkle blue with a subtle linear holo. For holo polish, I prefer darker or more vibrant base colors because the holo pops more than on lighter shades, but I do love periwinkle! The formula was smooth and almost buttery to apply and was opaque in two coats.




Literary Lacquers' Rare Book Room is amazing and my favorite from the box. It's reminiscent of rare leather bound books with gilded edges. Amy has captured it so beautifully with the red leaning brown base color and tiny golden glitters. The holo in this one is very strong and linear, even indoors. It's opaque in two coats and is a dream to apply.




I Love You A Lime is the first Philly Loves Lacquer polish I've tried I am really liking the complexity of this color. There's golden flecks in there that sometimes look darkened along with a subtle holo shimmer and a barely there touch of green. The formula was on the thick side and opaque in two coats.



Lastly is NailNation 3000's Once Bitten, a very juicy berry almost burgundy base color. The holo in this one is medium strength, I'd say; and the purple and pink hues in the holo are quite strong and give the polish a really magical glowy look!
I found the formula a little on the thick side but easy to use. This was opaque in one coat but I used two because I couldn't stop painting with it!



I'm glad you joined me on my first indie box journey and hope you've enjoyed the photos!

Indie Polish Shops!

The indie polish shop links list has been updated with more than 50 shops just now!
Click the banner below to see the full list of 590 shops!

Serum No. 5: April Showers

Press Sample

Serum No. 5's April Showers has a beautiful off white shimmery base complimented by sprinklings of iridescent glitter. Its very easy to apply and goes great over dark colors or over white as I've worn it in the photos.





I had intended to post this review in April and missed it; however, we're getting our April showers in May this year! If you'd like your own bottle of April Showers, visit the Serum No. 5 shop. There were only 5 bottles left when I checked!

Nire's Desire: Yoga Trio

Press Sample

I tried yoga once and well, the polish is much more fun and pretty! :) The Yoga trio from Nire's Desire is a beautifully done shifting set in colors that everyone could love.



Pranayama's most prominent color is a very vibrant kelly green that shifts to golden green, a sort of an army green/brown and in some lights, a dark blue. It was really difficult to capture this one since it is a bit more subtle than the other two. Formula was smooth and opaque in two coats. It has a fine brushed metallic finish but with how this shifts it's not that noticeable in person.






I thought for sure that Namaste would be my favorite of the three just by the looks of it in the bottle. I'm a purple and blue junkie and this one feeds the need with its shifty ways! So mysteriously beautiful! I wore two easy coats for opacity and this one also has the brushed metallic finish with a strong shift.





Prana was saved for last because for me, it was a total surprise and I wanted to surprise you too! I can't recall the last time I reached for a red polish... It seems like at least a year, if not more. But this one. This red to purple shift has totally won me over. I'd reach for this a hundred times and still love it just as much if not more! Its super squishy looking, the shimmer gives it a depth that I don't think I've ever seen in a polish and the shift is, quite simply, amazing.





The Yoga Trio and other Nire's Desire polishes can be found at the Etsy shop and you can follow updates on her facebook page.

Zoya Payton - a gift from Anni

Gift

My online bestie, Anni, sent a huge box to me for Christmas that was packed full of wonderful surprises and Zoya Payton was among them! See, Anni was determined to find the perfect Zoya polish that I'd love, so let's see how she did, shall we!?



Soooo Purple and deeeeeeep! Can you believe this is only two coats!?



Just look at those holographic sparkles! Like fire! And the formula? Like butter!



I took a fun shot of a pose I've never done before and I was surprised with how much I like it! Label porn, yes!?



So, how do you think Anni did?
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Anni was so right and knows me quite well - I love this polish! Its perfect in every way!
Thanks so much Anni, for being such a wonderful and very thoughtful friend. You make every holiday special!

You all can get your very own Zoya Payton at the Zoya website!