Monday, April 29, 2019

ellagee polish for May Polish Pickup: Couples Skate

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Who can forget those Friday nights at the skating rink? For teenagers in the 80s it was the place to be, to see and be seen. And the best part? When the DJ announced the couples skate. The lights went down and the mirror ball reflected the colored spotlights in shards all around. You did a quick check that your feathered hair was in place as you waited with your friends, hoping that certain person would ask you to skate. Or if you felt brave enough, you asked them. Holding hands and skating in circles as your heart pounded felt like magic. After, you both went back to goofing around with your friends, but stole little glances for the rest of the evening. Maybe next weekend you’ll actually talk to each other?


April is just about over, and Friday is the May opening of the Polish Pickup! This month's theme is the 1980's, and brands have really come up with some fun inspirations based on the theme! One of the contributors for the upcoming month is ellagee polish. Can I say just how much I adore the name of this polish! I was too young in the 80's to be skating, especially for the couple's skating time, but this does remind me of fun times with friends in the 90's!


Couples' Skate by ellagee is a silvery royal purple holographic polish filled with chameleon shimmer that flashes blue, pink, and violet plus sparks of tiny silver holographic microglitter. As magical as your 80s memories.


Couples Skate has a nice formula that is easy to apply to the nails. Not too thick or thin, I was able to cover all visible nail line with two smooth coats. ellagee polishes can get a little thick if you overwork the formula as it dries, so your best bet is to work with thinner coats and not fuss around with the polish too much.


Couples Skate will be available for purchase from the Polish Pickup website this Friday, May 3rd through Monday, May 6th. Each bottle will retail for $12; there is no limit to the number of bottles that will be made available.

As always, please keep in mind that orders submitted to the Polish Pickup are submitted as a preorder. Once the shopping window closes, makers fulfill their specific orders and ship to Polish Pickup headquarters. Final orders are then put together and shipped out to customers. Please allow three weeks for shipping of your orders.

Did you ever spend time at the skating rink? Have you had the chance to skate around with a special someone? Will you be picking up Couples Skate this weekend? I'd love to hear from you!

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

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Friday, April 26, 2019

KBShimmer for May 2019 Polish and Indie Pickup: The Brite Stuff and Popping Bath Powder

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Happy Friday, dear readers! I don't know about you, but I am SO GLAD today is Friday! It's not that I have anything special planned for tonight or this weekend; yesterday was just such a bad day. No one major negative thing happened, for that I am grateful; rather, it was a series of bad little things: my youngest causing trouble at school, disappointing my older one due to miscommunication about an event at his school, my youngest in even more trouble at his school, my oldest having signs of an ear infection..... and let's not even get into just how crappy it is to be stabbed by a security tag that fell off while trying on a bra. I may not have the power to have a total do over for the day, but I have today to hopefully look forward to. I'm totally down for a boring and uneventful day! Now on to today's blog post!

This month has flown by at an incredible speed, and May is upon us already! Next week sees the opening of the Indie and Polish Pickups. I have the goodies being offered by KBShimmer to share with you! May's theme is the 1980's and I had no doubt Christy would come up with something fun for us. As a fellow child of the 80's, she often reminds me of things I had forgotten about; her offerings for the Pickups were no exception to the rule. Let's check them out!

The Brite Stuff

As a kid, I loved colorful toys. I wanted the pony with rainbow hair, Cheer Bear with his colorful tummy, and of course, Rainbow Brite! Rainbow Brite helped the Color Kids spread color throughout the world with color crystals and star sprinkles. The Brite Stuff was inspired by the colorful Rainbow Brite. A bright blue thermal base sets off a rainbow of small glitters which really pop when the base turns a lighter blue, and then white, with heat. Each bottle will come with a bag of star sprinkles so that you, too, can help bring color to the world!

Warm state

Cold State

I'm sure I've mentioned before in blog posts featuring thermal nail polishes that I throw out a lot of heat, so it's pretty unusual for me to see cooler states other than occasionally my tips. The Brite Stuff actually goes into a deeper blue hue, but I could not keep the temperature on my nails low enough while I tried to snap a photo. I'm sure I'm not the only one that experiences this so this light blue may be the most blue others like me get to experience most of the time.

I had so much fun wearing this polish; it certainly reminds me of Rainbow Brite! I love how the glitters are subdued while in the blue state but then really pop when in the warm white state. I also like that the glitter combination is limited to smaller hexagon shapes in the polish itself, but I can still add in as few or as many star glitters on top. The Brite Stuff applied easily with three coats to opacity. Once I placed the star glitters, I topped my nails off with two coats of KBShimmer's Clearly On Top top coat.

The Brite Stuff will retail for $10 and there is no cap to the number of bottles made available for purchase.

Wacky Watermelon Popping Bath Powder

When I first had Pop Rocks as a kid, I was blown away. That sweet yet tart flavor and fun popping experience in your mouth made for one amazing treat! Our Popping Bath Powder is inspired by Pop Rocks. We started with pure luxurious cocoa butter and then added moisturizing coconut milk powder for a silky, skin-softening soak. Using the provided scoop, add to water and listen to the magic popping sound while the cocoa butter melts into the warm water. The sweet and tart watermelon fragrance scents the inviting foam just waiting to moisturize your skin! Use 1-2 scoops as a hand or foot soak, or add 3-4 scoops from the 9.5 oz bag for a decadent bath. Does not contain Pop Rocks candy.


I loved Pop Rocks when I was younger, and I even had a cat that was obsessed with them. I discovered one day that if I left my Pop Rocks pouch open or if a piece fell on the floor and I didn't pick it up quickly, he would swoop in and steal it away. It was the only thing I even saw him have such a response to, and he just seemed to really enjoy picking up a piece, letting it pop in his mouth, and spitting it out before repeating all over again. I don't think Pop Rocks are the best thing for our feline friends so I tried to be careful to hide them from him although he was a sneaky cat and still found a way. Now on to the bath powder!


This popping bath powder is so much fun! Once it hits the water, it starts to fizz up and make popping sounds right away. The smell is so good as well! I love watermelon scents, but often find many to be too sweet for my liking. Wacky Watermelon, on the other hand, is a delightful balance of tart plus sweet. It definitely captures the essence of Pop Rocks, all without containing Pop Rocks themselves. I'm also glad about that fact for two reasons: adding actual Pop Rocks would likely end up having to increase the price and I really don't want sugary large POPPING candy pieces doing its thing next to my, ahem, girly parts in the tub. This bath powder is rather fine, and while there is some popping, it is much more subtle and not likely to cause an issue on sensitive bits. That being said, a quick rinse of fwith clean water after any bath product like this is often a good idea and it may still be too much for those with ultra sensitive skin.


I also appreciate that this product comes with its own scoop enclosed in the pouch. I'm less likely to use a bath or shower product that requires me to go back downstairs to get a measuring device out of the kitchen. I'm just not too keen on taking the "dump it out" approach as I don't like to waste product and I want to be sure to use enough to get the proper experience.

The Popping Bath Powder will retail for $10 per 9.5oz bag. There is currently no limit to the number of units made available for purchase.


The Brite Stuff and Popping Bath Powder will be available for purchase on The Pickups website on Friday, May 3rd through Monday, May 6th. They will only be available during this limited time so be sure to mark your calendars so you don't miss out!

Please keep in mind that all orders place through the Pickups are placed as a preorder. Orders can take up to three weeks to shipping out to customers.

Are you excited about the 1980's theme next month? Are you more interested in the nail polish, the popping bath powder, or are you interested in them both equally? I'd love to hear from you!

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


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Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Literary Lacquers returns with A Court of Feels and Sparkle

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Greetings, dear readers, and happy hump day! Do I have some good news for you! My dear friend Amy of Literary Lacquers has just launch a new collection! Go ahead, take a moment to whoop and cheer; I know I certainly did when I heard the news myself.

Are you a little calmer now? I have the full seven piece collection to share with you today plus the bonus limited edition gift with purchase. Inspired by the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas, this collection, aptly names A Court of Feels and Sparkle (ACOFAS) will take you on a journey through the seven courts of the High Fae of Prythian. I have admittedly not read this series, but Amy has me convinced I need to give it a read! Let's jump in and check out all the gorgeous new shades to join the Literary Lacquers brand lineup!

Veiled in Roses

Rosy pink packed with holographic and opalescent microglitter

Inspired by the Spring Court’s beautiful manor house, an alabaster estate covered in roses and ivy, surrounded by meadows and forests in a perpetual springtime.

I generally don't consider myself a pink fan overall, but Amy has a way of creating pink nail lacquers that I simply adore. Veiled in Roses is certainly no exception to this rule, and I love how bright and cheery it is for spring and the upcoming summer months! The formula was overall easy to work with although the first coat had an uneven application. A thicker second coat went on perfectly and evened my nails out beautifully I also added top coat for these photos.

Retail: $10

Adriata

Aqua opal, this polish is loaded with blue, green, and white opalescent flakies and microglitter

The Summer Court is home to the beautiful city of Adriata nestled in its half moon bay.

I don't know if it is the water sign in me (Pisces represent!), but I have a particular affinity to these types of colours. Adriata won me over the moment my eyes spied the bottle, and it was love at second sight when it went on my nails. Like Veiled in Roses, I found the best application method is to use a thicker second coat as the first coat can be a little uneven if applied too thinly. Photos are shown with two coats plus top coat.

Retail: $10

Autumn Fire

Deep coppery red holo with microglitter

Fire is the power of the High Fae that reside in the Autumn Court.

Autumn's Fire is the most perfect fall-appropriate shade if I ever saw one! I'm generally not drawn to this type of colour this time of year, but once I had it on my nails, I was loving it immensely. It may not be a springy shade, but I'm going to have to break all rules and enjoy this during the warmer months. It applied flawlessly with two easy coats to opacity on my shorter nails. I also used a layer of top coat for these photos.

Retail: $12

High Lady of Winter

Soft grey holo with white, silver, and blue flakies

This polish inspired by the frozen Winter Court is a little shout out to the fandom and my girl Vivianne, may her voice be heard.

I love a good grey polish, even if greys don't suit my skintone the best. I don't know if I was blinded by love for this particular shade or if this one actually suits me better than many others, but High Lady of Winter is going to be getting a lot of wear time from me! Application was a dream, even with all the flakies in this polish. I used two coats to reach opacity although those with longer nails may find they need to use three coats. I also added a coat of top coat for these photos.

Retail: $12

Sunstone Palace

Delicate metallic that shifts from copper to rose

The books’ action only visits the Dawn court for a short period of time, but the description of the breathtaking palace inspired this lacquer.

I'm convinced everyone needs a good rose gold nail polish in their collection, and Sunstone Palace is definitely a gorgeous option! I'm still undecided how I feel about it on me when worn as a solid manicure, but I am looking forward to using this in nail art designs. I have it swatched here with two coats plus top coat.

Retail: $10


Cursebreaker

Bright white gold metallic with a subtle green iridescence

The mysterious Day Court is home to Helion Spell-Cleaver, his power of Cursebreaking is vital to something I can’t tell you about because it’s a spoiler. These are hard to write, y’all, just read the books, they’re good.

Oh. Em. Gee. These photos don't even come close to doing Cursebreaker justice. This polish glows and dazzles, and for a name that breaks curses, it certainly found a way of bewitching me! It has the perfect amount of warmth for my skintone and I could not stop starring at me nails once I had it on. It applied beautifully with three coats to opacity, and I added a layer of top coat for these photos.

Retail: $10

Court of Dreams

Black base with holo microflakes, silver flakes, and shimmer that shifts from blue through indigo to violet

The Night Court is home to the mysterious and dark Rhysand and his hot muscular Illyrian warriors (ahem). No spoilers but fans self anyway.

Please pardon my reddish colouring in the last few photos. My light setup is bright and can emulate sunlight, which is great for overcast days or nighttime swatching, but it doesn't permit the colour shifts when my nails are directly under them. Once I moved my nails slightly out of the setup, I could see the beautiful colour shifts as I moved my nails around. While it is loaded with flakes, the application was a breeze! I used two coats plus top coat for these photos.

Retail: $12


Limited Edition Gift with $50 Purchase
Starfall

Deep navy holo with microglitter and opalescent green flakes

I really wanted to call this polish My Other Ride is an Illyrian Warrior, but I decided to go with the more sedate Starfall. Starfall is a holiday celebrated in the Winter Court on a night where star spirits migrate across the sky.

If you want a My Other Ride is an Illyrian Warrior name label, let me know in your order notes and I’ll hook you up!

Not gonna lie, dear readers, with the optional other name, I'm even more intrigued with this book series! It sounds like a yummy addition to Literary Lacquers The Good Parts Collection from back in 2013. Maybe it's because the days are getting warmer around here, but I would love to see an encore to the previous collection! Whether or not that happens, Starfall or My Other Ride is an Illyrian Warrior is the perfect excuse to buy all your desired Literary Lacquers shades now rather than waiting! This limited edition gift with purchase will be added to all orders over $50 (pre-shipping) placed through May 1st. You've got a week to get those orders in, and you will not want to miss out!

Swatch photos are shown with two coats plus top coat.


The A Court of Feels and Sparkle Collection (ACOFAS) is available for purchase now. Each polish can be purchased individually or you can pick up the entire collection for the discounted price of $70.

In addition to the gift with purchase for $50 pre-shipped purchases, all Literary Lacquers shades are currently on sale with a 25% discount. This sale goes through May 1st as well, and I definitely recommend taking advantage of it! Amy has created some of my favorite polishes, and I know you'll find many to love yourself!

Have you read the series that inspired this collection? If so, are these nail polishes fitting the courts as well as you envision? Which court and nail polish is your favorite? I'd love to hear from you!

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


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