Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Literary Lacquers Green Gables Collection Swatches and Review

Press Sample
Good evening dear readers! I have Literary Lacquers' upcoming collection to share with you tonight, and I think you will be just as impressed as I was when I first saw these colours!  Amy follows up her provocative spring collection "The Good Parts", based on popular erotic fiction, with her summer collection inspired by the wholesome novel Anne of Green Gables, written by Lucy Maud Montgomery. I have to admit that in spite of being an avid reader growing up, I never actually read this book. Thankfully the package containing these polishes happened to arrive when my sister-in-law was visiting, and she filled me in on some of the details so I could better appreciate the names of the polishes. There are six stunning polishes in this collection and quite a few pictures in this blog post to show them off. Rather than repeating myself, I should just tell you now the formula was amazing on all of these. They applied easily, and I was very happy with the entire collection. I'll add extra comments on some of the colours as we get to them. Now let's see some polish!

Raspberry Cordial?
Raspberry Cordial? is a raspberry pink linear holo with added holographic glitters

Oh. My. Goodness!!! Is this colour absolutely amazing or what?!? My jaw dropped as soon as I unwrapped this polish, and I knew it was going to be a stunner on the nails. The linear holo is impressive enough, but the additional glitters make it absolutely dazzling!  This is THE must have polish from the collection, although you may not want to wear any other polish ever again. I used two coats of this polish and followed up with a single coat of HK Girl top coat for these photos.

Green Gables
Green Gables is a mid-toned grass green linear holo

I was so excited when Amy told me she had come up with a grass green holo! It's just not a colour I've really seem much of on the market, and I was very happy with this one. It's vibrant and a colour you need if you're trying to complete the holo rainbow. Not too light and not too dark, it's the perfect shade of green! I used three thin coats of polish plus one coat of top coat for these photos.

Carrots Carrots
Carrots Carrots is a peachy-orange crelly with tons of orange glitter

Be still my beating heart for we have another orange! Woohoo! Carrots Carrots was the only polish I had any issues with when it came to application, but I think that is more due to my own issues. The glitters dispersed nicely on their own, but I wanted "this size" here and "that size" there so each nail would have a nice assortment of the different glitters. As a result, some areas on my nails ended up a little thinner than others, as you can probably tell with these photos. I still loved this polish, and even the Jedi husband commented about how much he loved this one. I used two coats of polish and a coat of top coat for these photos.

Anne With an E
Anne With an E is an opalescent glitter topcoat

Let me start off with application notes on this one since I opted to showcase this one two different ways. On all but my ring finger, I applied three coats of Zoya Kate from the Birchbox blogger trio, and then I dabbed on Anne With an E. On my ring finger, I created a jelly sandwich by dabbing a coat of Anne With an E between two coats of Kate on bottom and a single layer of Kate on top. I then added a layer of HK Girl top coat for these photos. This glitter top coat is simply exquisite. At first glace of the bottle, I wasn't sure how I would feel about this one, but I loved it as I was applying it to my nails. My favorite thing about the opalescence is that this polish would look lavish over any colour, although I do love the muted look in the jelly sandwich.

Marilla's Amethyst Brooch
Marilla's Amethyst Brooch is an amethyst shimmer with a pink to prange colour shifting flash

I must start out by saying that these photos do not do this polish justice. No matter how much I tried, I just could not get my camera to pick up the colour very accurately. To make matters worse, my attempts to colour correct only made it worse, so I opted to use my slightly-off but original photos instead. I used two thin coats of polish for these photos plus a layer of top coat. I only just barely needed the second coat of colour, and this could be a one-coater if you use a slightly thicker coat.

Lake of Shining Waters
Lake of Shining Waters is a murky teal linear holo

Drool-worthy, isn't it? I love teal almost as much as I love orange, but often teal polishes are just a touch too bright for my liking. Lake of Shining Waters has the dusty murkiness that I adore while still being pleasantly colourful. This is another one of my favorites from the collection! I used two coats of polish and a coat of top coat for these photos.

Final Thoughts
Amy has created another winning collection on her hands. With the variety of colours and finishes, there is bound to be at least one colour that everyone loves in the Green Gables collection. 


Links and Additional Information
The Anne of Green Gables collection is going to be released on June 5th on the Literary Lacquers Etsy shop. Full size bottles retail for $10 each, or you can buy the entire collection for $55.

Keep an eye out on the Literary Lacquers Facebook page for shop announcements as well as news on other collections.


Disclaimer:  The product reviewed above was provided to me for my honest and unbiased opinion.  All thoughts stated are entirely my own and are based on my use of said products.  I love receiving feedback from my readers, and any comments left here are the express opinions and/or property of the individual authors.  Therefore, I, the author of this site, cannot be held responsible for the opinions held by others.  I reserve the right to remove any comments that I find to be harmful, unnecessary, or not constructive for other readers.

Saturday, May 25, 2013

You Polish Ice Cream Polishes Swatches and Review

Press Sample

Good afternoon, dear readers!  I have the remaining polishes from You Polish's scented ice cream collection to share with you today.  To see the other polishes from the collection, check out my previous post here.  I used three coats of polish for all of the following swatches and followed up with a coat of HK Girl top coat.  Even with the top coat, these polishes all smelled absolutely divine!  The formula was a little on the thinner side, so you do need to beware of flooding your cuticles.  That being said, the thinner formula made the application, and more importantly the glitter dispersion, a dream to work with, and I was very happy with these!  Let's move on to the swatches!

Strawberry Jubilee
Strawberry Jubilee is definitely one of my favorites from the collection.  I love the smooth creaminess of the base and the red shards and square glitters interspersed throughout this polish!  I love fruity smells, and strawberry is one of my favorite scents.  

Cookies & Creaminess
I think I'm one of the few people that never really jumped on the white-based polish bandwagon, but the simplicity of the black glitters against the white base appeals to me.  The diamond glitters makes Cookies and Creaminess awesome!

Choco-Mint Chip
This is another one of my favorites from the collection!  I generally shy away from mint coloured polishes as they tend to look ghastly with my skin tone, but I love that the monotony of the shade is broken up with loads of black glitters!  Choco-mint chip is also one of my favorite flavors of ice cream, and this polish brought back many fond memories of going to an ice cream shop with friends in high school.

Peach Sundae
Out of all the polishes from this collection, Peach Sundae was my least favorite.  It applied perfectly, and I love the smell of peaches, but the colour combination didn't win me over.  I'm not sure if the peach base was too peach for my liking or if the yellow shards were too yellow.  Whatever the case may be, I can chalk it up to personal preference and still say I was happy with the formula.

Links and Additional Information
These and other polishes can be purchased by visiting the You Polish Etsy shop.  If you love the polishes but don't like scented polishes, leave a note during checkout and request that Lauren leave them unscented for you.   

Also, keep an eye on the You Polish Facebook page for shop announcements as well as checking out previews on other collections.




Disclaimer:  The product reviewed above was provided to me for my honest and unbiased opinion.  All thoughts stated are entirely my own and are based on my use of said products.  I love receiving feedback from my readers, and any comments left here are the express opinions and/or property of the individual authors.  Therefore, I, the author of this site, cannot be held responsible for the opinions held by others.  I reserve the right to remove any comments that I find to be harmful, unnecessary, or not constructive for other readers.

Friday, May 24, 2013

TreasuresByTan Mystical Mermaid Swatches and Review

Press Sample

Good morning, dear readers, and TGIF!  It has been a crazy week for me, and I am really looking forward to this weekend!  I'm  planning to get a little rest and relaxation by the pool with my sister-in-law and her husband who will be visiting from California.  This will also be my baby's first pool experience; it's going to be an exciting weekend in the Jedi household!

For today's post, I have a beautiful indie polish made by TreasuresByTan to share with you, and I hope you love it.  Mystical Mermaid is sheer and shimmery, and while I'm normally not a big fan of purple polishes, I fell in love with this pretty polish.  For the swatch pictures below, I layered one coat of this polish over two coats Zoya Nimue on all fingers but my ring finger.  On my ring finger, I am wearing three coats of Mystical Mermaid. All nails have a single layer of HK Girl top coat added on top.
This polish is lovely, and I'm really glad I chose to add it over a purple!  It's pretty on its own, but I found the turquoise glitters that are mixed in this creation really popped against the purple background.

I was very pleased with the formula of Mystical Mermaid.  The glitters were very easily dispersed over my nails, and I had no clumping problems whatsoever.  The dry time was reasonable- I waited about 7 minutes between coats, and it removed quickly using the foil method.  I was very happy with this polish, and I think you will be happy with it too!

Links and Additional Information
Mystical Mermaid and other TreasuresByTan polishes can be purchased at the TreasuresByTan Etsy shop.

Keep an eye out on the TreasuresByTan Facebook page for shop announcements including news on new colours being released this Sunday!

Until next time, dear readers, have a wonderful Friday and weekend! <3


Disclaimer:  The product reviewed above was provided to me for my honest and unbiased opinion.  All thoughts stated are entirely my own and are based on my use of said products.  I love receiving feedback from my readers, and any comments left here are the express opinions and/or property of the individual authors.  Therefore, I, the author of this site, cannot be held responsible for the opinions held by others.  I reserve the right to remove any comments that I find to be harmful, unnecessary, or not constructive for other readers.



 

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Fun in the Sun Multi-Blogger and Shop Giveaway!



Greetings, dear readers!  I have partnered up with some of my favorite bloggers and shops, and I am really excited to be sharing this giveaway with you today!  There are prizes for both US and international participants, so scroll down to see everything we have in store for you.  Some of us decided to send out a mystery package, and who doesn't love a good surprise?!?  Check these out!


US ONLY
Girly bits Boo-berry, Colorama Gota and Sombra, Jindie Nails Mini Swoon





Prize 2 from Pointless Cafe
ButterLONDON Champers and Poole







Prize 3 from BeautyPopShop
Shop exclusive Maya H2pOp polish and a Do-Mo Panda Coin Purse





Prize 4 from Cosmetish
Coastal Scents Reach Mascara, NYX Butter Gloss in Strawberry Parfait, NYX Lip Cream in Strawberry Parfait, NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Strawberry Milk, Revlon Scented polishes Strawberry and Cherry



Prize 5 from BeautyGnome
$15 Llarowe Gift Certificate





Prize 6 from Princess Polish
China Glaze Bump and Grind and In the Rough



Prize 7 from College Polished
Zoya Yana and Bobbi



Prize 8 from Galactic Lacquer
KBShimmer Vegas Bomb, Pretty & Polished Phoenix, and 
Nicole by OPI Strike a Pose and Ladies in the Limelight







Prize 9 from Polished10
Orly Space Cadet, Essie Leading Lady & OPI Meet Me On The Star Ferry





Prize 10 from Beyond Beauty Lounge
THE NEW BLACK NEONS SET



Prize 11 from Manicurator
Dior Vernis Riviera



Prize 12 from Rain Down On Me Beauty
$20 Gift Certificate to Sephora



Your choice of ATC colour from bigcartel site





Prize 14 from SoFlaJo
Two full size polishes from upcoming collection





Prize 15 from Jindie Nails
Jindie Nails polish from jindienails.com





Prize 16 from 6 Harts Craft Company
Full size bottle of 6 Harts Bat Crap Crazy and 6 Harts Sea Glass




Prize 17 from Girly bits
Franken Starter Kit




Prize 18 from Lacquistry
Polish from Lacquistry



Prize 19 from Literary Lacquers
Polish from Literary Lacquers


Mystery Prize


Prize 21 from Polished Cousins

Prize 22 from Pretty In Paint

Prize 23 from The Nail Files

Prize 24 from Colorsutraa

Prize 25 from Jilltastic Nail Design

Prize 26 from Mandie's Manicures

Prize 27 from You Had Me At Makeup



US and International

Prize A from The Lacquerologist
$15 Gift Card to Llarowe



Prize B from Glisten & Glow
$25 Gift Certificate to Glisten & Glow



Prize C from Puzzled & Polished
Two custom polish pieces



Prize D from My Life In Polish
$20 Gift Certificate to Llarowe



Illamasqua Raindrops



Prize F from Girly bits
Polish from new upcoming collection



Prize G from Cosmetic Sanctuary

Prize H from Love For Lacquer



Enter Here:

US Only Rafflecopter
a Rafflecopter giveaway


US and International Rafflecopter
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Phew!  Good luck!

On Instagram

© Laugh, Love, Contour. Made with love by The Dutch Lady Designs.