Crèmè à la Mode Box: Spring 2016

Press Sample

Happy Friday, dear readers! It appears as though my weekend is going to be off to a fabulous start: my toddler was so sweet to share his cold with me and I'm in the early stages of sick. YAY! I should be glad he knows how to share, right? I've tried to avoid it, but when you're home with a coughing snot machine all day long, it's pretty much guaranteed to infect me at some point. My baby seems to be in the worst stage of it right now, and I am crossing my fingers I don't get hit as hard as both my boys have. For now I'm just going to try to push through it and get swathes done and posts up as planned.

Earlier this week, we celebrated the Spring Equinox here in the Northern Hemisphere, and hopefully it starts warming up for everyone soon while we send our cold weather on to the southern half. The sun is shining, the flowers are blooming, and new life is sprouting everywhere. Today is the perfect day to share the new Crèmè à la Mode box for spring! If you are not familiar with this box, let me fill you in! Digital Nails, Indigo Bananas, Literary Lacquers and Octopus Party Nail Lacquer have joined forces to create a fabulous quarterly box of creme-finished polishes to decorate your digits. The shades in the spring box are gorgeous for the season, and they coordinate so well together if you prefer to wear more than one shade on your nails. A note on photos: 

I always do my best to take colour accurate photos, but this box includes shades that make my camera freak out and change my skin colouring or the polish shade. Please read my comments for details on colour! Let's check them out!

Digital Nails

Water You Wading For?

Two coats plus top coat

This shade is so pretty, and these photos aren't entirely accurate. Water You Wading For? is somewhere between a blue and blurple; in some lighting it looks more blue and in others there is just a touch of purple to the shade. It is a gorgeous colour, and I just love the name! My bottle did have some undissolved pigment that transferred onto my nails (but the second coat covered them quite nicely with careful application), and Raph, the maker of this brand, has pinpointed the cause so it will not be an issue in purchased boxes. I am so glad to hear that because other than the little bit of pigment here and there, the formula was perfection!

Indigo Bananas

Smoke on the Otter

Three coats plus top coat

I tend to be weary of grey polishes since they usually look odd on me, but Smoke on the Otter won me over. It has just enough warmth to it that it works better on yellow and green based skin tones that the average grey shade. Naturally it freaked out my camera so it looks a little bluer here in these photos than it does in real life. The formula is a little on the thinner side that what I am used to, but it applied beautifully with no trouble.

Literary Lacquers

Salmon Chanted Evening

Two coats plus top coat

If I were more self-absorbed, I would think this box was created to specifically test my photo-taking skills. Ha! Salmon Chanted Evening is such a pretty colour, and once again, these photos are off. It is a bright slightly pink-leaning coral shade, and it is so perfect for spring and summer nails! It is closer in shade to the top photo although the top photo is adding a touch more pinkness to the shade. The formula was fantastic and the polish applied beautifully for me.

Octopus Party Nail Lacquer

The Algae-atic Sea

Three coats plus top coat

The Algae-atic Sea is a bright mint green shade. While it is certainly bright, it isn't quite as fluorescent as my camera insisted on making it. It is a couple notches less than neon so if you want something bright but not quite neon, this is the perfect green for you. The formula was sublime, and I have no issues to report.

I really love the assortment of shades in this box, and they coordinate so well together. I decided to run with the water and spring theme to create a cute nail art look with these shades. As we all know, April showers bring May flowers!

I initially stamped a white polish over the green to help the coral pop, but as I was hovering over the lines with my see through stamper, I loved the complexity of the slightly off the lined look with the Literary Lacquers on top so I ran with it. All the images were from stamping plate 8-03 by UberChic Beauty.

The Crèmè à la Mode box will be available for pre-order from March 27th at 9am through April 3rd on BigCartel here. The box will retail for $26 plus shipping and handling, and it will ship in the following two weeks. After the boxes have shipped, the individual polishes will be available for purchase at the regular retail price from their respective shops. All four of these shades are beautiful for the spring and into the summer, so you're going to want these!

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

XO!

Ellagee Mug and the Nail Art It Inspired

Press Sample

Good morning, dear readers! I am still trying to catch up on blog posts and swatching since returning to town a few days ago, and it feels like everything is going against me right now. I've got two sick littles at home, but I am determined to get some posts written and shared! Let's jump right in on today's post while I can!

I have shared several shades by Ellagee on my blog, but did you know that you can also get other products? Laura, the owner of the brand, has also created several cute designs that are printed on phone cases, mugs, totes, and clothing. I was sent to cutest coffee mug to share with you! Check it out!

This mug is so perfect for me! I love the complex swirled design of the polish bottles and the overall simplicity of the same design repeated but in a different colour. It's also a great mug because it easily holds 14 fluid ounces of coffee! It certainly puts my smaller coffee mugs to shame, but it still doesn't feel overly huge and uncomfortable to handle. If you are a coffee, tea, hot chocolate or whatever you darn well what drinker, you're going to want this! After all, if you visit this blog, you must be a fan of polish too, right?

This mug and other products can be purchased from the Ellagee website here.

You didn't think I would stop there, right? I was inspired to create a nail art look to match my fabulous mug. Check it out!

My nails are all about Ellagee! I used the following shades to create this look.

Glimmering Diamond (base colour)

When Everyone's Super (orange holo, freehand)

Crushed Pink Tourmaline (pink glitter)

Crushed Aquamarine (blue glitter)

Crushed Peridot (green glitter)

Shake a Poor Sinner's Hand (purple stamped butterflies)

I had originally planned to stamp a swirl design on my nails in addition to the butterflies, but it was really difficult to see the orange on the white background. I wanted it to pop a little more so I went freehand. Mad props to those that do freehand work! It gives my nails character. ;)

All these products are available for purchase from Ellagee here.

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

XO!

Ah-Ha! Nail Lacquer: Purple to Blue Thermal Shimmer

Happy hump day, dear readers! For today's blog post, I have a new-to-me brand I was introduced to at the UberChic Beauty launch party. I picked up a beautiful thermal shade by Ah Ha! Nail Lacquer, and rather than wait until I got home, I swatched it while I was in Colorado. This is Purple to Blue Thermal Shimmer.

Because I was surrounded by snow, I naturally had to include snowflakes on my accent nail! The warm state is a beautiful light blue and the cold state is purple.

You guys know I hate the cold, right? I am so dedicated to this blog that I shoved my hands in the snow to get cold temperature state and for photos.

This is a gorgeous polish, but it is on the sheer side. I had to use four coats for opacity, and if my nails were longer, I probably would have needed another one. As pretty as this thermal is, I doubt I'll wear it again with it needing so many coats. I just don't have the time or patience for polish that takes several coats, and three is my limit. The formula was really nice, so if you don't mind using several coats or starting off with a base, this shade is available for purchase here.

Until next time, have a wonderful day!
XO!