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Friday, March 30, 2018

Ellagee Polish: Five Years Of Sparkle

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Happy Friday, dear readers! Spring Break officially starts for my kids this weekend, and we're taking a little family trip starting later today! I'm looking forward to spending some quality family time together and hopefully getting a little bit of rest and relaxation in at some point. I hope you all have something fun to look forward to this weekend as well! Now on to today's blog post!

One of my favorite indie nail polish brands, Ellagee, is celebrating FIVE years being in business today! It is an impressive milestone, and all I have to say is CONGRATULATIONS! To celebrate, Laura, the creative mastermind behind the brand, has decided to launch a new polish, named Five Years of Sparkle. I have this polish to share with you today, and oh baby, is it pretty! Let's check it out!


Five Years of Sparkle is a coral-kissed pink scattered holographic polish. It is loaded up with a blue to green shimmer for a subtle additional flash of colour on your nails.


With the weather really warming up around here this week, I've been craving a great springy shade. Needless to say, Five Years of Sparkle fits the bill just perfectly!


One of the features about Ellagee that I enjoy is just how well the polishes apply to my nails. Nicely pigmented, Five Years of Sparkle has a formula on the slightly thicker side that is characteristic of the brand, but the polish still applies flawlessly to the nails. I used two easy coats to reach opacity for these photos. In theory, you might be able to get away with a single coat if you tend to paint your nails with a heavier hand and really wanted to.


Five Years of Sparkle is available NOW on the Ellagee website! Each bottle retails for $12.50, BUT if you place an order today, you can save 15% with the code HECKIN5YEARS. This code will save you 15% on anything any everything you order, but it is only good for today.


Also, if you are not already a member, be sure to join the Gee I Love Ellagee Facebook group. There is currently a giveaway underway to celebrate Ellagee's Indie-versary.

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


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Thursday, March 29, 2018

LynB Designs April Polish of the Month: Forever

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Greetings, dear readers! I hope this post finds you well! It has been a stressful couple of weeks as I've been dealing with some issues, and while I wish I could say it's all been taken care of, sadly I'm still not in the greatest of head spaces at the moment. I'm pretty desperate for some sense of normalcy at the moment, so I'm going to continue to push through with blogging in the hopes that I'll feel more and more like myself in the coming weeks. I also haven't forgotten that I've promised a giveaway, so I'll have that posted here soon, likely after I return from a family vacation. Until then, how about a pretty polish to enjoy!


LynB Designs has been releasing polishes of the month, and this year's inspiration are the birthstones for each of the months. With April starting up here in just a few more days, LynB Designs will be offering her diamond-inspired shade, named Forever, for those of you that celebrate your birthdays next month or if you just want to have diamonds on your nails.


Forever is a sheer white-based nail polish loaded up with linear holographic particles and a rainbow of iridescent flakes. A diamond may mean forever, but I clearly had commitment issues with deciding how to wear and showcase this polish for today's blog post! Ha! In the end, I opted to show it with three coats on my ring and pinky fingers and layered on the other two. My base colour is I Just Can't Cope-Acabana by OPI on my middle finger and OPI's Alpine Snow was my selected base for my index finger. I figure diamonds are most often seen in jewelry in either the white or yellow varieties so I ran with it.


Forever is definitely on the sheer side, and I still had visible nail line after three coats on the nails where I opted to wear it solo. You can likely build it up to opacity, but it will take several coats. Instead, you can layer it over your preferred nude to cover any visible nail line or just embrace your line. Alternately, you can layer it over any other colour of your choosing and add a coat of Forever to add a beautiful sparkle.


The formula of Forever is phenomenal! Not too thick or thin, it applies so easily to the nails for a smooth a flawless finish. I also added a layer of top coat for these photos.

Forever will be launching on the LynBDesigns website this Friday, March 30th at 12 noon EST. This polish will retail for $10 per bottle.

Will you be picking up Forever and adding some "diamonds" to your nails? Would you prefer to wear it on its own and have a little visible nail line, or would you rather layer it over a base shade? I'd love to hear what you think!

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

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Tuesday, March 27, 2018

LynB Designs for April Polish Pickup: Simply Crabulous and Universal Calm Personal Essential Oil Diffuser

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Greetings, dear readers! We're continuing this week with reveals and swatches for items I have to share for the upcoming April Polish Pickup. The theme for April is Planets & Galaxies, and indie brand LynB Designs has two offerings in store for your shopping lists. Let's get a closer look at both of them, starting with the nail polish; it is the POLISH Pickup, after all!

Simply Crabulous


As a longtime fan of space, particularly on the Crab Nebula, it should come as no surprise that brand creator Jenna selected it as her inspiration for this theme. Simply Crabulous is composed of a rich purple crelly base filled with red to gold to green to violet shifting flakies and ultrafine holographic shimmers.





The formula of Simply Crabulous was fantastic! Not too thick or thin, it applies nicely to the nails in smooth coats. I used two coats to opacity and added a layer of glossy top coat for these photos.

Purple polishes are arguably my favorite to contain flakes because I LOVE how it all comes together under a matte top coat. Check it out below!





Simply Crabulous is really pretty either way, although I do think I like it most with a matte top coat. What do you think?


In addition to Simply Crabulous, LynB Designs will also be offering a personal essential oil diffuser.

Universal Calm

Because the universe can be so calming, Jenna used this sensation to inspire LynB Designs' first non-polish item for the Polish Pickup. Universal Calm is a blend of Jenna's favorite citrus oils: lime, orange, lemon and grapefruit, resulting in a scent that is both calming and uplifting. It is loaded into an oil diffuser that is approximately the same size as a pinky finger, making it the perfect size for easy portability. You can keep it in your pocket or handbag, open it up, and breathe in the aroma.


I have never really given any though to diffusing essential oils before, which in hindsight, seems a little odd to me as I am acutely aware of the effect that scents have on me. I enjoy citrus scents overall, and I do like the scent of Universal Calm. The grapefruit comes across the strongest to me although I can note that it is mixed with other citrus varieties to break it up. I personally find citrus scents to be more invigorating than calming although taking in deep breathes while smelling the scent from the diffuser does have a calming effect for me. I really like the idea of this particular product, and I hope to see more in the future from LynB Designs!


Simply Crabulous and Universal Calm will be available from the Polish Pickup shop from Friday, April 6th through Monday, April 9th. There is no cap on either item. Simply Crabulous will retail for $12 and Universal Calm will retail for $5.50.

What do you think about the offerings by LynB Designs? Do you think Simply Crabulous is better with a glossy or a matte finish? Are you excited to see a new non-polish item join the Polish Pickup lineup? I'd love to hear from you!

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


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Facebook Group (Polish Pickup Pack): www.facebook.com/groups/polishpickuppack
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Monday, March 26, 2018

KBShimmer for April Polish Pickup: Hubble'd Together

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Greetings, dear readers! We are already in the last week of March, and that means a new Polish Pickup opening will be upon us soon! I have a few of the offerings to share with you, and for today's blog post, let's get a closer look at Hubble'd Together, the offering provided by KBShimmer!

The theme for the April Polish Pickup is Planets & Galaxies, and KBShimmer selected to pay homage to the Hubble, the world's first space-base optical telescope. Hubble'd Together was inspired by a photograph taken by the Hubble of Jupiter, its three moons and their shadows.





Hubble'd Together starts off with a teal leaning mint jelly base before then being loaded up wit holographic micro flakes. It is also filled with unicorn flakes to emulate the pastel shades of the inspiration photo. It also contains glow powder so that is glows a lovely green in the dark.

The previous photos were taken after application of three easy coats plus a coat of KBShimmer's Clearly On Top top coat.

Flake-filled polishes always look so pretty and shimmery when they have a glosser top coat, but I really love the soft muted look they impart when you add matte top coat. Check it out!





I love the way this polish looks with both a shiny and matte finish!

I was also able to capture a few glow-in-the-dark shots as well! Check it out!



Hubble'd Together will be launching on the Polish Pickup website Friday, April 6th. As always, the Polish Pickup will only be open for a very limited time, and this polish will be available for purchase as a preorder only through April 9th. Hubble'd Together will retail for $10 per bottle.


At this time, no caps have been placed on this polish so everyone has the opportunity to enjoy this beauty! I know I certainly need a backup bottle!


Is Hubble'd Together on your wishlist? Do you prefer it with a shiny or matte top coat? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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


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Facebook Group (Polish Pickup Pack): www.facebook.com/groups/polishpickuppack
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Saturday, March 17, 2018

St. Patrick's Day Nail Art with Ellagee Polish

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Happy Saturday, dear readers, and Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Today is the day that everyone gets to be a little bit Irish, and if you don't want to risk being pinched, you want to be sporting at least a little bit of green! The green in wardrobe is a little limited right now to either warm weather or really cold weather; alas, since it is neither, I opted to go with a green nail art design for the day. Let's check it out!




I was originally thinking of going with a shamrock design, but in the end, I opted to go with a nice Celtic pattern. I naturally still needed to add some gold into the mix!

To create this look, I used Ellagee Polish Valad, a gorgeous shimmery green. On my celtic-patterned nail, I started off with Zoya Envy as my base and used the celtic knot nail vinyls I had picked us from Sweet Lacquer before they went out of business. For my golden nail, I sponged on Ellagee's Crushed Yellow Topaz. I then sealed everything in with Ellagee's Glass 5-free Fast Dry Top Coat. 



I love this design, and I am so glad I opted to go this route! As much as I like shamrocks, I prefer celtic knotwork more so this is a little more my style.


Are you wearing green today? Did you paint your nails green for the day? I'd love to hear from you!

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


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Thursday, March 15, 2018

Revisiting older KBShimmer Nail Polish Shades with Swatches and Nail Art

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Greetings, dear readers! It has been an intensively busy week, and I'm sneaking away for a few minutes to myself to get this post together. I had hoped to get a giveaway today for my birthday today, but alas, time really ran away with me as I've been putting a lot of hours in at work. I'm hoping to get it up soon though once I can finish collecting item and get a photo. Hopefully it won't end up turning into a hello summer giveaway! Now on to today's blog post!

I recently shared the new KBShimmer Launch Party Collection; the collection released today, and it you haven't picked them up yet, I encourage you to check them out and do so! It's such a great magnetic multichrome/duochrome collection! With the new release also comes a new, updated look for KBShimmer. With silver writing on the bottles in a new edgy font, the new branding will now been seen across all the older KBShimmer products available for purchase. I have four of the older nail polish releases to share with you. I'm a big fan of the KBShimmer creme formula, and I am happy to share these (and an older holographic shade) with you. Let's check them out!

Pansy-Monium
Pansy-Monium is such a great colour to transition from winter to spring and then carry on further into the season! It's also making me feel better about at the rain we've been having around here lately! While I'm not crazy about the rain, this reminds me of the colourful flowers we'll be seeing even more of as a result of it! Pansy-Monium is shown here with two coats.

Honeydew List
While I am not a big fan of honeydew, Honeydew List is a fabulous oldie but goodie from the KBShimmer brand lineup! I like this shade in particular because it is a lighter shade for the spring season but not too pastel for my taste. I have it shown here with two easy coats.

Sky Jinks
If I can't have nice blue skies beyond the occasional patch here and there, you best believe I have no qualms with bringing it out on my nails! Sky Jinks is just such a fun and vibrant hue, and it has the added bonus of being densely pigmented. These photos are shown with only one coat!

In Bare Form
I am thankfully allowed to wear pretty much whatever colours of nail polish I want at work, but some days, I just really want a nice clean nude polish. I especially love In Bare Form for its subtle linear holographic effect. As much as I enjoy holos with extra "stuff" for interest, In Bare Form is the perfect clean and pure nude shade on its own without any of the frills. I have it shown here with three easy coats.

I used all of these shades to create a simple water-marbled nail art look. Check it out below!


It had been a while since I've done a water marble, and while I never really considered myself an expert, I felt a little out of practice while creating this look. I managed to unintentionally dip a portion of my ring finger into polish rings and ruin my already created design on the nail. Oops! I'm just calling it my abstract twist on the design and sticking to it, m'kay? Haha!


In spite of my user issues, I really like how this manicure turned out! In Bare Form is such a great base shade to use while the colourful cremes add a great pop of colour!


To create this look, I started off with a base on In Bare Form. Because this particular polish is pretty sheer and holographic, I wasn't sure how it would hold up to a water marble technique. Instead, I used Top Shelf Lacquer's Bar Mix as my clear polish between the rings of KBShimmer's Pansy-Monium, Honeydew List, and Sky Jinks. After dipping my nails, I topped everything off with KBShimmer's Clearly On Top topcoat.


I hope you've enjoyed this evening's post revisiting older KBShimmer shades and the nail art I created with them!

What are your favorite oldie but goodie shades? I'd love to hear from you!

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

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