Addicted to Holos: April box

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The Addicted to Holos box for April is here! I'm excited to share these shades with you, they're all very pretty and I love their names too!

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer - Cotton Candy Clouds
Pinky-lilac creamy holo with strong green shimmer
Two Coats with topcoat, formula was a little on the thick side and may be opaque in one coat with careful application.





Literary Lacquers - Little Sleep Song
Creamy light grey linear holo with silver glass fleck and white flakies, inspired by the poem April Rain Song by Langston Hughes
Two Coats with topcoat, formula was a little on the thick side and may be opaque in one coat with careful application.





Sweet Heart Polish - April Showers
Juicy deep blue jelly linear holographic with tons of shifty flakes
Two Coats with topcoat, formula was smooth and very fluid.





Philly Loves Lacquer - Rain Boots and Puddles
Blueish teal linear holo with blue flecks and shimmer.
Two Coats with topcoat, formula was on the thick side.





The Polish Bar - End of the Rainbow
Light periwinkle blue holo with silver glass flecks
Four Coats with topcoat, formula was smooth and very fluid.





The preorders for the April box are $60 + shipping and will be open from 4/1/2015 through 4/8/2015 at addictedtoholos.bigcartel.com which is a shared shop between the five polish artisans.

All polishes in the box are limited edition and only available for the month they are offered. Be sure to get yours the week they launch!

Candy Color stampers and JQ Plates

I saw these Candy Head stampers in a stamping group that I was in and the group order for them fell through. I decided to order direct because I still wanted them.
I bought the stamper heads at AliExpress. For around $10 shipped.

Each of the stamper heads varies in squish factor. None of them are as soft and sticky as my original marshmallow from Ninja Polish though. I've not found any stamper heads that even come close in comparison to it.
I would say that the softest candy head is about the same as the older round XL FUN Lacquer stamper head which has been called a marshmallow head, but it's really not.
In the batch of candy color heads that I received, the red one, the pastel pink and the dark grey one I used are the squishiest and are slightly sticky. The others are a few degrees more firm but still easily squished and slightly sticky.

The JQ plates set, I just stumbled on over at Ebay while looking for a particular image I had seen on some lovely nails! The set included 21 different plates for about $12 so I took a chance and ordered.

I tested out a JQ plate with one of the candy color heads and a Color Club holo. I stamped with the dark grey head that I just stuck into an acetone cap. The plate seems to be etched well and stamps beautifully with the Candy heads and holo polish. It picked up nicely on the first try for each nail. I didn't prime the head at all, just used it right out of the package. I'm impressed with it, what do you think?




Thanks for visiting, I hope you enjoyed the review!

Literary Lacquers: Magic and Mysteries Collection

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The Magic and Mysteries Collection from Literary Lacquers is appropriately named by way of Amy's inspirations and well, take a look. Magical and Mysterious, yes?



Each time Amy sends a collection to me to review, I think, "Ok, this this is the one she won't be able to top!" but then she proves me wrong. Each and every time.
The descriptions are provided by Amy and I will add my notes after each. I wore two coats with topcoat unless otherwise noted, and the formula on all of these is top notch as always.

Mirror of Galadriel - Silver linear mega glitter holo inspired by Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

This one is so sparkly and wonderful that I think even my camera was starstruck! One coat of this would also make a great topper for your favorite base.





Octarine - lilac linear holo with glass flecks and flakies inspired by Terry Pratchett's Discworld

My eyes see a beautiful rosy mauve with a brilliantly lit holo rainbow and heaps and heaps of purple shimmery goodness inside. Magical!





Menolly Rosabelle D'Artigo - Silver-blue strong scattered holo inspired by Yasmine Galenorn's Otherworld series

An iced slate blue that sometimes looks darker and sometimes looks almost silver. The holo is subtle in most lighting but jumps off the nail in sun.





Flickum Bicus - Red-orange shimmer with blue flakies/glass flecks inspired by Jim Butcher's Dresden Files

I adore the base color in this, it reminds me of my first dress suit that my mom tailor made for me.
I chose fabric in this shade for the jacket lining and skirt. I wore that suit every chance I had until it just didn't fit any more. And oh how I wish I'd had this polish to go with it!

It's absolutely stunning - up close to the light the flakies look a greenish tint and further away they take on a purpley hue. I found the polish to be a bit sheer so I wore three coats for the photos.





Cast from Stormhold - Red-purple with gold flakies and silver glass fleck inspired by Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Where did this polish come from? I mean ... it's out of this world! I wasn't expecting that from the bottle but when the brush hit my nail I was wowed! This is my favorite from the collection. It looks as if it is lit from within. So glowy and mysterious.





Virgin Huntress - Bright blue glass fleck/flakie polish inspired by Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Blooooooooooooooooo! Bright, vivid, beautiful blue that sparkles and shimmers. I just love glass fleck polishes. It's been such a long while since we've seen this finish in the nail world. Perhaps they will start trending again? That'd be awesome wouldn't it?
What better way to make a comeback than with a beautiful blue from Literary Lacquers! The perfect polish for summer pool parties and picnics.





Felix Felicis - Nude with gold flakies and glass flecks inspired by the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling

Thousands of tiny golden mirrors snitches reflecting the light as it dances across the nail. Your nails will not go unnoticed while wearing such a dazzling polish!





Avada Kedavra - Black matte base packed with gold and green glitter also inspired by Harry Potter

I like the versatility of matte polishes but, in my haste, I topcoated it before I thought to take a photo. I like it that way best though; it looks so squishy and jelly like!
While I was doing swatches, I tried this as a topper for Felix Felicis and with just one coat it took on a really dark greenish cast and the golden microglitter underneath added a certain depth! If you get them both, you should try it!





The Magic and Mysteries Collection Launches on Monday March 16 at 1pm Central time at the Literary Lacquers shop.

Octopus Party Nail Lacquer: Le Bon Marché

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Le Bon Marché means "the good market", or "the good deal" in French and is a well-known department store in Paris, France. The building is quite beautiful outside as well as inside.

The polish that Dave, of Octopus Party Nail Lacquer, created is creamy and delicious looking. It is described as a pastel violet cream with purple and gold flakies. I would say that the shade has a touch of grey to it because it is not the typical purple you see in a pastel color range.

I am not sure where he drew his inspiration so I'm going to guess that it's name has something to do with the store in France. Going with that assumption, the polish seems to represent the subtly colored walls inside the store and the flakies represent the soft lights on them.

Whether the store was his inspiration or not, I love the polish. It's unique in my stash and I've enjoyed wearing it!
I used two coats with topcoat but may have been able to use just one coat had I been more careful applying it - the polish is quite opaque!





This polish is part of a duo that is currently out of stock but will be relaunched on at the Octopus Party Nail Lacquer Etsy shop on Saturday March 14 at noon central time. This color will not be restocked on 3/14, but has changed and will be stocked at a later date.

Painted Sabotage: Flower inspired Holos

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I've begun a new polish crush with Painted Sabotage polishes. The more of them I try, the more I fall for them. Her formulas are unchanging with every polish from glitter crellies to holos. Two thick or three thin effortless coats to reach opacity every time with every polish I have tried so far. These two holo polishes have a nice strong linear holographic effect and I feel they are the perfect shades to wear for spring and summer!

Amnesia is a beautiful mauve shade polish, named after Amnesia Roses. Depending on the individual some may say it's pink while others may say its purple when you look at this polish... is it pink or purple ... what was I saying... I forgot or do I have amnesia!
~Painted Sabotage

The flower, Amnesia Rose, is such a lovely vintage looking rose. My sister used these for her wedding and it was a beautiful ceremony. The polish is as beautiful and definitely looks different depending on lighting and skintone - it's one of those that morphs and is such a fun color to wear and share with your friends or family to see what color it leans on them!

Foliage and flowers which was my inspiration for Simbu Sunset and Amnesia. This is a beautiful coral holo polish, named after the Simbu Sunset flower. A light delicate coral shade perfect for summer!
~Painted Sabotage

What a beautiful flower! I had not seen these before so I googled them! I bet hummingbirds would love these with their bright coloring and trumpet style flower. When I wore this polish I kept thinking about these flowers and would imagine it being spring or summer instead of the bitter winter.





And with nailart!



You can find these and more available at the Painted Sabotage shop!