Saturday, November 29, 2014

Literary Lacquers: Gloss48 Exclusive Duo Catherine and Heathcliff

Happy Saturday, dear readers! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and got some great deals with yesterday's Black Friday sales! It's so hard to believe that Monday marks the beginning of December and that it will soon be Christmas. I have something pretty awesome coming up on Monday, so don't go too far!

Earlier this week, I reviewed the new Literary Lacquers 2014 Community Collection that launched yesterday. Amy certainly has been busy; not only does she have this new collection, she has a new duo that was created for Gloss48! Gloss48 held a Show Us Your Indies contest, and the winner, Amanda, had the opportunity to work with Amy to create this new duo. Inspired by one of the most tempestuous couples in literature, Amanda and Amy collaborated to create Catherine and Heathcliff, characters from the novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.
These polishes are gorgeous! Let's check them out! Ladies first, of course....

Catherine
AHHHH! I'm totally in love with this polish! It is a raisin purple holographic shade with subtle flashes of shimmery flakes and additional darker microflakes. It has so much depth, and it is arguably my favorite Literary Lacquers purple-type shade to date. The formula was really nice, and I used three flawless coats for these photos.

Heathcliff
*Swoon* Heathcliff might be the most perfect holographic blue polish ever made. The medium blue base boasts flashes of blue from flakes and also contains the darker microflakes as found in Catherine. The formula was perfect, and I used three easy coats for these photos.

These two polishes complement each other perfectly! I was excited to hear that these were made, but I was not prepared for the breathtaking beauty of these two polishes. If you haven't purchased from Gloss48 in the past, I suspect this duo will make you start! They're simply beautiful!

The Literary Lacquers Catherine and Heathcliff duo launches December 3rd on the Gloss48 website here. This particular duo is exclusive to the site and will not be available elsewhere for purchase. They will also have other Literary Lacquers shades available for purchase as duos with a 20% off discount on all duos, including the Catherine and Heathcliff exclusive, from December 3rd through December 10th. It's a great time to pick up some of your favorite Literary Lacquers polishes for yourself or for gifts for your favorite lacqueristas!

Until next time, dear readers, have a wonderful weekend!
XO!








Thursday, November 27, 2014

More Nail Art Using the "I Survived Black Friday 2014" Indie Collaboration Box Launching Just After Midnight!

Happy Thanksgiving, dear readers! There are several things for me to be thankful for, and you are one of them! I love my little blog, and I truly appreciate the support you have given me over the years! 

It is still pretty early here on the west coast, and we decided to have our Turkey dinner at our normal dinner time rather than earlier. That means I've got extra time so I could get this post up now! Yay! In a previous post, I reviewed the I Survived Black Friday 2014 collaboration box. This box consists of three beautiful holographic polishes made by Cupcake Polish, DIFFERENT dimension, and Glisten & Glow, and two sheets of holographic vinyl decals from NailVinylsTM. I had already created a nail art look using the contents of the box, but I have one more up my sleeve! Check it out!

Polishes only....
and with the holo decals!

I used all three polishes in the box plus Zoya Willa to create this look. I also added three coats of Glisten & Glow HK Girl topcoat to smooth my nails down after adding the decals.

I love how these polishes play together, and I LOVE this look!

Just a reminder that the box is a Limited Edition release for Black Friday, November 28, 2014. It will be available at 12:01am EST and again at 1pm EST on the 28th on the following websites:


Until next time, dear readers, have a wonderful day!
XO!

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Literary Lacquers: 2014 Community Collection Swatches and Reviews plus BONUS LE I Heard the Bells

Good morning, dear readers! I hope this post finds you well! I can't believe it is Thanksgiving tomorrow, and the year is quickly coming to a close. I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with the family- there just never seems to be enough! I think that is why the subject of today's blog post, the Literary Lacquers 2014 Community Collection, is so heartwarming to me. For me, it isn't just nail polish and pretty nails, but the tight-knit network that has become a second family to me. I know it seems unfathomable to people outside our world, but I have built some very close friendships with others that share my love of nail lacquer and other beauty products, and I wouldn't have it any other way! Seeing several women come together to create a collection so beautiful is something to be commended, and I hope you enjoy the swatches in today's post.
The Literary Lacquers 2014 Community Collection is an 8-piece collection that will be launching on Friday. While Amy, the endearing mastermind behind the indie brand, usually creates her own collections based on her literature inspirations, this time she has joined up with 8 women to create polishes based on their individual inspirational works of literature. This isn't the first time that Amy worked with others from the community to create a collection. For those of you not as familiar with the brand, she has a Community Collection from 2013 in which I had the opportunity to work with her to create a polish of my own. You can check out swatches of the previous Community Collection here, here, and here. I'm obviously feeling rather verbose and nostalgic this morning, so I better cut myself off and jump right over to sharing photos of the new collection! Let's do this!

The Ruby Thief
Designed by Jenne of Polished Pathology – Inspired by Dinosaurs in the Attic , a ruby pink glass fleck shimmer

GLASS FLECKS!!! I was really excited when I first heard about The Ruby Thief because I love glass flecks and wish they were used more often. This is one of my favorites from this collection for this very reason, and it is beautiful! It applied very easily in three coats, as shown in these photos.

Fallen Tributes
Designed by Jennifer of 4Boys1Mom Lacquer – Inspired by The Hunger Games, a deep blue linear holo with gold flakes and copper shimmer

Fallen Tributes is another favorite from this collection. I've been really wanting a denim blue holo with gold flakes recently, and I am THRILLED to see one in this collection! I used two flawless coats for these swatch photos.

Porco Rosso
Designed by Schette of Schette EssaisBeaut̩ РInspired by Porco Rosso, a deep red linear holo with taupe and gold flakies

Porco Rosso is an interesting shade and not quite what I expected based on the description. It's more sienna red to me: rich and earthy, but perhaps it's because of the flakies. It is still a lovely colour, and it applied easily with two coats. The flakes did leave more of a textured appearance than Fallen Tributes, and I did add topcoat to my nails for these photos to get a smoother appearance.

Grasshopper with Cotton Candy Hair
Designed by Cate Cropp – Inspired by The Dresden Files , a bright grasshopper green linear holo with pink and blue flecks

I have to apologize for the first photo here; apparently my camera thought I was an ogre and made me a little green. My Photoshop skills suck so rather than attempt to colour correct my skin and making it worse, I'm afraid I'm an ogre for today. I am digging this bright lime green shade! While I don't really follow the "rules" of colours based on seasons, I am generally still drawn to shades based on the time of year. I'm definitely going to be grabbing this one a lot this spring and summer! I used two easy coats for these photos.

Always Winter Never Christmas
Designed by Kirby of The Mercurial Magpie – Inspired by The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, a silvery blue mega glitter linear holo

Love the polish, hate the inspiration (sorry Kirby!). The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is the only book out off all these that I have read, and I just couldn't get into it. That being said, there were some great inspirational cues for polishes, and this icy blue shade fits perfectly! Amy has been doing several holo plus glitter shades recently, and I love this blue version! It's so perfectly winter! I used three easy coats for these photos.

Lurid Fog
Designed by Jen of XOXOJen – Inspired by The New Grub Street, A slate grey linear holo with a strong purple shimmer

This is one of those shades that feels so much more complex than the description. There is so much purple shimmer in this polish that it ended up being a purplish bluish taupe-ish grey shade. That certainly doesn't sound as fancy, but it does touch all the aspects of it! I used three flawless coats for these swatch photos.

Effie's Trinket
Effie’s Trinket – Designed by Heather Tharp – Inspired by The Hunger Games, a bright pinky-purple linear holo with pink shimmer

I was really surprised with how much I liked this one! I generally don't wear pink-purple polishes, but I loved it at first stroke. Effie's Trinket pulled a little more on the pink side against my skin tone, but you can still see the bit of purple to this shade. I used two smooth coats for these swatch photos.

Attic Mice
Designed by Jess Moore – Inspired by Flowers in the Attic, a medium grey creamy linear holo

I am loving this grey polish! I've been needing a good clean-looking grey holo in my polish collection, and I am so happy to see one in the 2014 Community Collection! Even my husband commented on how nice it is! The formula was smooth and creamy, and it applied easily in three coats for these photos.

WOW! How gorgeous is this collection?!? These ladies did a fabulous job creating these amazing nail polishes! In case you didn't notice, three of the polishes from this collection were created by a Jen/Jenne/Jennifer. Apparently she likes to collect us in addition to polish! LOL! I also really like that two polishes from this collection were inspired by The Hunger Games; it really shows how one piece of literature can trigger us differently and draw us in to disparate visual cues. It serves as a reminder that we're all different people!


The 2014 Community Collection launches here November 28th (that's this Friday!) at noon Mountain time. If you're unsure of the time zones, here is a handy link to help you!

And now to the BONUS Limited Edition Polish: I Heard the Bells! This polish is not going to be available for individual purchase. Instead, it is a Limited Edition Gift with Purchase shade for purchases made between November 28th and December 7th. If you spent $24 you will receive a mini sized bottle of this polish. For purchases of $48, you will receive a full sized bottle. If you've been thinking of picking up a few bottles for gifts or need colours from the new collection, this is a great time to pick them up!

I Heard the Bells
Inspired by the poem Christmas Day by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, a bronzy-copper mega glitter holo

This is beautiful! I think the best way to describe this is antique gold. It isn't as yellow as a true gold, and I've never seen anything quite like it. It is so sparkly, and I love it! I used two easy coats for these swatch photos.

You can purchase the new 2014 Community Collection (and other beautiful Literary Lacquers shades, of course!) from the Literary Lacquers etsy shop here. You can also follow Literary Lacquers on Facebook here and Instagram here for photos and shop announcements.

What colours do you have your eye on from the new collection? Will you be getting this year's gift with purchase LE? I'd love to hear from you!

Until next time, dear readers, have a wonderful day, and for those of you that will be celebrating, have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving holiday!
XO!

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Cupcake Polish Holiday 2014 Collection: Preview and Nail Art

Good morning, dear readers! I hope this post finds you well and you have been having a wonderful week thus far. It's been one of "those" weeks so far here. You know what I mean: the days where you are so busy and yet don't seem to have much to show for it. At least I have this post and cute (and simple!) nail art to share, so I can convince myself I've been at least a little productive. Hahaha! If only I can stop rambling, right? Ha! Let's do this!
I am delighted to share the new Holiday 2014 Collection by Cupcake Polish with you today! Even though Halloween is my favorite holiday, Christmas is a very close second. I love all the festive lights and putting up a tree and baking cookies with the family. It makes me all warm and cosy inside, and Sara, the mastermind behind Cupcake Polish, captured all those snug and homey feelings perfectly with this collection! This collection consists of 6 gorgeous holographic shades:

Deck the Malls: pine green holographic filled with green and black glitters

Menorah-ty Opinion: medium blue holographic with blue glitters and golden iridescent flakes

Ornamentary My Dear: soft gold holographic with holographic glitters and gold flakes

Just Sleighing Around: the perfect holiday red with a touch of shimmer

Yule Be Missing Me: vibrant purple holographic with added shimmer

Look Who's Stocking Now: light teal holographic with blue and green microflakes

This is such a pretty collection! If the colours and the names can't get you into the holiday spirit, nothing can! Because it's a holiday collection, I was inspired to do some simple nail art using some of these polishes. I wanted to give elves a little love; afterall, they're the ones who work so hard all year long making us presents, right?
I used chevron nail vinyls from NailVinylsTM and a dotting tool for the bells. 

I love this look and the polishes!

The Holiday 2014 Collection launches on December 1st at 6pm CST on the Cupcake Polish website. You can also follow Cupcake Polish on Facebook and Instagram for shop news and updates. I'll have official swatches of the six colours from the collection on my blog soon!
Until next time, dear readers, have a wonderful day!
XO!








Monday, November 24, 2014

Sweet Addictions Box: December Edition

Happy Monday, dear readers! Yep, that was painful to say; where did the weekend go?!? It seemed to fly by so quickly for me! At least this week has the Thanksgiving holiday for those of us in the US, so it shouldn't be too crazy. My little family is staying put as we're not fans of holiday travel, and it also means lots of turkey leftovers. Muahaha! I'll probably be sick of turkey by day 3. This is completely irrelevant to this blog post, so let's get to it!
For this morning's post, I am delighted to share with you the soon-to-be-released December Sweet Addictions box! For those of you not familiar with it, the Sweet Addictions Box is a monthly box released by the charming Sara of Cupcake Polish. Each month has a specific theme and features an exclusive Cupcake Polish shade in addition to polishes from two other indie brands, also exclusive to the box. The theme for the month of December is Frosty the Snowman (go ahead, you can sing the song to yourself, I'll wait.....), and the participating brands are Cupcake Polish (of course!), Chaos & Crocodiles, and Elevation Polish. This box is legend with such illustrious brands partnered together! I might have died, in a good way of course, when I heard who all was contributing to this box! I'm obviously really excited about the box, so let's get to the details!
AHHHH! I'm totally digging these colours! The polishes arrived securely wrapped and on a bed of festive green shredded paper.

Merry and Bright
Cupcake Polish
Indoor Lighting
Sunlight
Warm toned red linear holo with a touch of holo red glitter and bright red glitters

I've been drawn towards red polishes lately, and this stunning red holo took my breath away! There is so much sparkle in this bottle, and I keep picking it up to swirl it around. It's a gorgeous red, and so perfect for this time of year! The formula was really nice, and I used two flawless coats plus topcoat for these photos.

There's Magic in the Air
Chaos & Crocodiles
Indoor Lighting
Sunlight
Creamy periwinkle linear holo

I'm really digging this shade of blue! It makes me think of quiet snowy days when the snow is still falling to the ground. The formula was very smooth and creamy; I used two easy coats plus topcoat for these swatch photos. It is quite opaque so one coat may be enough for you if you tend to paint with thicker coats.

Eye's Made of Glimmering Coal
Elevation Polish
Indoor Lighting
Sunlight
Metallic gunmetal grey linear holo with grey and silver micro flakies

I don't think I would have thought to use Frosty's eyes as inspiration for polish, but I am sure glad Lu of Elevation Polish did! The base colour is beautiful, but it is the additional microflakies that make me swoon. This really does look like glimmering coal! The formula was impeccable for this polish as well, and I used two easy coats plus topcoat for these photos.

I am loving the polishes in next month's Sweet Addictions box! Don't worry, there is still time to grab one for yourself! The December box launches November 30th (that's this Sunday!) at 11am CST at Cupcake Polish here. You can also follow Cupcake Polish on Facebook here and Instagram here for shop announcements about the box as well as the new winter collection!

Are you excited about the December Sweet Addictions box? Which colour is your favorite? I'd love to hear from you!

Until next time, dear readers, have a wonderful day!
XO!







On Instagram

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