ellagee visits the San Antonio Ghost Tracks for the October Polish Pickup

Now that fall has come around, the weather here has taken a turn towards grey, cloudy skies and a fair bit of rain. While it is a little unusual for us, I have have been enjoying watching the storms blow in, and now I have the most perfect nail polish to match!

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I'm not saying Laura from ellagee Polish is in control of the weather, but her timing with her latest Polish Pickup shade is impeccable! The October theme for Polish Pickup is Urban Legends, and ellagee has introduced me to a pretty cool one I had never heard before. In San Antonio, Texas, where ellagee Polish is based, legend says ghost children will push your car to safety if it is left on the San Antonio Railroad Tracks. The story is based on a historical collision between a bus and a train where the children on the bus died. The story itself never actually took place in San Antonio, but the incident did, in fact, occur in Salt Lake City, Utah. Nevertheless, the optical illusion of the San Antonio Railroad Tracks was real, as the tracks were on a slight slope, cause your car to roll forward when left in neutral. Upon dusting the back of the car with baby powder, handprints of the "children" would appear, although the baby powder would just pick up on prints that were already present. The crossing has since been regraded, so vehicles no longer roll forward, but it is a legend that lives on in San Antonio lore. To honor the legend, Laura has selected this legend for her specific inspiration for her nail lacquer shade, Ghost Tracks.

Ghost Tracks is described as a stormy grey sparkling nail polish, filled with holographic and iridescent shifting flakes, shimmers, and microglitters.

In spite of all the sparkling goodness, the application was smooth and easy to my nails. Two quick coats later and I had no signs of visible nail line. I'm currently sporting some short nails, and I might have gotten away with a single carefully placed slightly thicker coat. I prefer thinner coats in general, so I stuck with my usual two, but those that do like thicker coats might be able to get away with one. I think two coats would have been enough at my usual slightly longer nail length. I did add a final layer of shiny top coat to seal in the nail polish.

Ghost Tracks is such a pretty shade! I'm particularly fond of the flashes of lavender from the flakes!

Ghost Tracks was created exclusively for the October Polish Pickup and will be found here. The October Polish Pickup will be open from Friday, October 4th through Monday, October 7th ONLY, so be sure to mark down your calendars so you don't miss out! Also, please keep in mind orders to the Polish Pickup are submitted as a pre-order; allow three weeks for items to be shipped to you.

Retail: $12
No cap on bottles made available for purchase

Have you been to San Antonio? Did you have the opportunity to experience the ghost children when you had the chance? What are your local urban legends? I'd love to hear from you!

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

XO!

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Store: www.the-pickups.com

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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!

Helpful Links

Store: www.the-pickups.com

Facebook Group (Polish Pickup Pack): www.facebook.com/groups/polishpickuppack
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ellagee polish Autochrome 1914 for April 2019 Polish Pickup

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Greetings, dear readers! March is almost over, and that means the opening of the April installment of the Polish Pickup is almost here! Indie brands have been hard at work creating beautiful nail polishes inspired by famous works of art, and the resulting polishes are in and of themselves works of art.

One of the inspirations is this photo of the Moulin Rouge in Paris, commissioned by banker Albert Kahn. In 1909, he was tired of all the greyscale photos and hired four photographers to travel the world and capture the colour utilizing the Autochrome Lumière photography process. This famous photograph was taken in 1914 and was the inspiration used by ellagee polish.

Autochrome 1914 is described as a smokey pale blue scattered holo with denim blue shimmer and a variety of red to copper and tiny grey flakes. Let's get a closer look at this polish on my nails!

After having such a bad experience with the last polish I used (completed unrelated to today's post!), I was ecstatic to be using such a fantastic formula on my nails again! Ultra smooth and not too thick or thin, Autochrome 1914 applies effortlessly the nails.

I really love how this polish captures the feel of the inspiration photo! I used two coats for full opacity and then added a layer of top coat for these photos.

Autochrome 1914 will be available for purchase from the Polish Pickup ONLY starting next Friday, April 5th through Monday, April 8th. Each bottle will retail for $12, and there is no cap to the number of bottles that will be available for purchase.

Please keep in mind that all orders made to the Polish Pickup are submitted as a preorder, and shipping takes approximately three weeks.

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

XO!

Helpful Links

Store: www.the-pickups.com

Facebook Group (Polish Pickup Pack): www.facebook.com/groups/polishpickuppack
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Ellagee returning to the March 2019 Polish Pickup with Funhouse!

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Happy Monday, dear readers! Do I have some great news to share with you today! I am thrilled to share that ellagee polish will be returning to the Polish Pickup for this weekend's opening! 

For those not familiar with Polish Pickup, let me fill you in! Each month, theme suggestions are submitted by polish fans, narrowed down by the Pickup, and then voted on. The winning theme is then used as the inspiration by indie brands to create stunning polishes. These polishes (and other fantastic goods) are then available for purchase during the first weekend only of each month. It is a great way to pick up items that fit your favorite themes without having to subscribe to a box or end up with polishes you don't want. With Polish Pickup, you can choose as many or as few polishes or items that you want, and there is no obligation to make a purchase each month. The concept is genius, and it has taken the indie world by storm since it was created!

The theme for the March Pickups (the Polish and Indie Pickups have been combined and is now "The Pickups") is Album Covers. I have bee enjoying the reveals as they have been coming, and this particular polish is going to be a favorite for the upcoming spring and summer months. After taking a break the past few months, Laura's latest creation, Funhouse, is bound to be a found on many fingertips as the weather warms up. This polish is a thermal so you can really appreciate it in its full glory this spring. Let's check it out!

Cold State

Funhouse is described as a coral red to clear thermal polish with hot pink to gold shifting shimmer and gold flakes. This shade was inspired by the P!nk's album of the same name. This is what Laura of ellagee had to say about this beauty:

I love P!nk for her bold individuality, her amazing music, and her incredible performances. I hope you'll find this polish as eye-catching and fun as she herself is!

I can only speak for myself, but I know I love it!

Warm State

With the cold front that has come through Arizona, I actually got to enjoy both states covering the majority of my nails. When it comes to thermal polishes, it is common for me never to see the cold state, other than maybe on my nail tips when my nails are on the longer side, so this has been a fun wear for me. I've not made it a secret that I'm rarely drawn towards thermals as I tend to strongly prefer the colour of the cold state, and thus not get to see it much on me, but there have been a few that I've come across that I enjoy immensely. Funhouse is one such polish. While I do have a preference for the cold coral state, both versions are lovely! I'll be sad when it inevitably stops transitioning, but I love the coral shade so I won't mind when it comes to pass.

For these swatch photos, I applied two coats of Funhouse and followed up with top coat for an extra glossy finish. Because the warm state is clear, you may want to consider layering this over a nude polish if you wish to avoid visible nail line. With two coats, I could still see some nail line, but the gold flakes do offer quite a bit of coverage. A third carefully placed coat would likely cover the little bit that remained for me. I had no issues with application and found that Funhouse applies beautifully to the nails.

Funhouse will be available for purchase from The Pickups this Friday, March 1st through Monday, March 4th. It will retail for $12 per bottle, and there is no cap on the number of bottles available. Please note all orders submitted through The Pickup is submitted as a pre-order. Because indie brands have to ship to Pickup headquarters for final shipment to customers, orders take approximately three weeks to ship out to consumers.

Will you be adding Funhouse to your Pickup order? Do you have a preference between the cold and warm states? Do you think ellagee capture's P!nk's energy with this polish? I'd love to hear what you think!

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

XO!

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Store: www.the-pickups.com

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Strange Magic Collection by ellagee polish

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Magnetic nail polishes are definitely not a new thing. In fact, I remember about 7 years ago picking up a couple by China Glaze and having some fun with them. The trend had died down, but with the magical workings by indie nail polish brands, we have certainly seen them come back with a vengeance! This weekend, ellagee polish will be launching their own line of multichrome magnetic nail lacquers. Aptly named the Strange Magic Collection, these shifty beauties are sure to be a favorite to decorate your digits this fall season! Let's get a closer look at each of the three shades!

Dream Weaver

Two coats plus Glass top coat by ellagee

A deep purple shimmering base with flashes of pink and blurple and a violet to teal shifting magnetic effect.

The two centered nails show Dream Weaver with the magnetic effect while the outer nails show it swatched on its own.

Fortune Teller

Two coats plus Glass top coat by ellagee

Please pardon my little ding on my index finger. I hit my finger against the camera just as I was about to photograph, and while I could barely see it with my eyes, my camera really made it jump out in these photos.

A deep burgundy base with flashes of magenta and a copper to violet shifting magnetic effect.

The two centered nails show Fortune Teller with the magnetic effect while the outer nails show it swatched on its own.

Star Gazer

Two coats plus Glass top coat by ellagee

A deep blue grey shimmering base with flashes of silver and an olive to rose to copper shifting magnetic effect.

The two centered nails show Star Gazer with the magnetic effect while the outer nails show it swatched on its own.

All three of these shades applied really nicely to the nails. The formula is thicker than what you see from mainstream nail polish brands, but I still find it easy to work with. They are densely pigmented, and if you tend to paint with a heavier hand, you likely will find you only need a single coat for opacity. When it comes to using magnetic polishes, I personally prefer to use at least two coats- the base to cover any visible nail line, and a thicker second coat to get a nice magnetic effect.

To create a magnetic effect, it is best to use a thicker second coat and hold a magnet as close as possible to the nail for about a minute. This will give it time for the tiny metal pieces to slide across the polish base matrix and then keeps them in place while the surrounding polish dries. If you do not keep a magnet in place for an extended time, the magnetic particles will start to shift back, leaving a softer, more subtle design, depending on how much is included in the specific polish, how thick of a coat you applied, and how dry the surrounding polish might be.

The Strange magic Collection will be launching this Saturday, October 13th both at The Indie Shop event in San Antonio and on ellagee's website. Each shade will retail individually for $13.50 or you can purchase the trio for $35. With the money saved from buying the set, why not put that towards a bottle of ellagee's Glass top coat? It's quickly become a favorite of mine when I'm doing nail art!

How do you feel about the Strange Magic Collection? Do you prefer these with or without the magnetic effect? What are your favorite magnet patterns? I'd love to hear from you!

Until next time, dear readers, have a wonderful day and enjoy the weekend!

XO!

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Store: ellagee.com

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