Horse Feathers by Sinister Benediction

WARNING: This post is extremely picture heavy! I don't know about you, but I get so excited discovering new indie polish makers! I'm (obviously!) a huge supported of the indie scene, and the creativity that each and every creator displays is just astounding. Today's polish was an insane discovery for me. You'll see why in just a tick.

Meet Horse Feathers by Sinister Benediction. The Etsy listing describes it as: "a high shimmer multichrome polish with a peacock teal base color that shifts to blue and violet. You can wear it alone, but it packs more of a punch layered over a dark base." All photos are taken in natural sunlight. 

Nail wheel swatches, L-R: three coats alone, two coats over Sinful Colors Black on Black, China Glaze Near Dark, Pure Ice Party Hard, Sinful Colors Inkwell and NYC Midtown Mink. Did you catch on yet? It's a MULTICHROME that DOESN'T NEED undies!! Granted, the color shift is much more apparent over dark colors, but it's still gorgeous on its own. 

Closeup of nail wheel. On the far left is three coats alone. The actual base color is rather brownish, with intense teal sparkle when worn alone. The next two nails are over black and Near Dark, a blackened green,

Over Party Hard, a dark navy, Inkwell, a blackened plum and Midtown Mink, a dark chocolate brown. I layered Horse Feathers over some of my darker colors to see if a not-quite-black base color would change the overall appearance of the polish, and for the most part, it didn't. Over Midtown Mink, the look is obviously brown, but the other colors all read mostly the same. At least, they were similar enough that I wouldn't rush out to buy a different base color if you have a black creme handy.

And now we get to the meat! These remaining photos show one coat of Horse Feathers over Sinful Colors Black on Black, topped with Out the Door. Photos are taken in natural sunlight. 

There is an awesome purple-ish color shift visible on the edges of the bottle that was a bit elusive in real life. It was occasionally visible on the edge of the nail, but I was not able to capture is on film :( The main colors I saw were royal blue, teal, and occasionally almost-emerald green.

You can almost see the purple on the tips!

Some of that almost-emerald on the lower edge of my middle finger. 

Aside from the fact that Horse Feathers can be worn alone- which is something I've never seen before, and I love-, I was very impressed with the polish. It applied without a hitch, smooth and perfect in one coat. The color shift from teal-blue-occasional green way gorgeous. I only with the violet came out to play a bit more. Perhaps next I'll try a full mani over Inkwell to see if that plum base will force the violet out a bit more. I do have two more Sinister Benediction multichromes this week, so be on the lookout!

Sinister Benediction polishes can be purchased on Etsy. In addition to the multichromes, there is a collection of color shifting glitter topcoats, and Metal Earth, a metallic collection inspired by the metals of Middle Earth, which I obviously need!

*This polish was provided to me for an honest review. 

Witches Brew by BNVS Nail Polish

Hello, dahlings! I have one last polish to show you today from BNVS Nail Polish, and that is Witches Brew.

Witches Brew is a murky-ish green shimmer. This is two coats, topped with Out the Door.

This polish is- by FAR- my favorite polish from the BNVS Fall 2012 color collection! It's no secret that I love green, but wow. This color reminds me very much of one of the first nail polishes that I owned, waay back in middle school (circa 1997ish). I'm pretty sure it was called Toad, but I have no idea what brand it was :( It was something urban and edgy, and I remember it being advertised in Seventeen Magazine a lot though. 

Despite being named for witches, and being part of a fall color line, I will be rocking this color all summer long. Know why? Because Witches Brew is the EXACT color of a fresh, juicy grass stain on white pants or shoes :) Not a happy thing as an adult, but as a kid? Grass stains just happened, and it meant you were playing right. 

Last photo is taken in full sunlight. While this is by far my favorite of the bunch, I loved all 5 polishes, and can see me wearing all of them repeatedly. The cremes (Bootiful, Candy Craze) went on smooth, opaque in three coats, and dried super shiny. The shimmers (Bobbing for Apples, Alien Invasion, Witches Brew) went on just as smoothly, needing only two coats. I mentioned in several other posts that the smell of these polishes is different. It's no stronger or worse smelling than any other polish, but it is different. I also mentioned the labels on my bottles, which didn't quite square up on the edges, and creator Lana has taken that under advisement. 

BNVS Nail Polish can be purchased on Etsy and liked on Facebook. 

*This polish was provided to me for an honest review. 

Dragon Scales by Bubbles N Balms

Today brings us to the last of my Bubbles N Balms polishes, and I've saved the best for last! Quick recap: you can see the other two polishes, Cupid's Kisses and Jubilee, by clicking those links. 

Meet Dragonscales, a polish with "loads of gold, red, orange and yellow glitter with iridescence, all in a sparkly light Tangerine jelly base." This polish can be worn alone in three coats, but I chose to layer it. Twice, actually. First two photos show one coat over Sinful Colors Cloud 9, topped with Seche Vite. All photos are taken under Ott Lite. 

I chose to layer Dragon Scales over an orange, as it has an orange tinted base. Seems logical, no? I was slightly underwhelmed. I think I would have liked the orange base better if I had built the color up on its own. 

But then I decided to punch up the dragon-y-ness of it, and layered it over a murky green, Sinful Colors In the Mist. Just . . . wow! This is one coat over In the Mist, topped with Seche Vite. 

This combo really screams Dragon to me. The orangey-gold shimmer really popped off of the murky green, adn the iridescence of the glitters became much more apparent on a darker background. The glitter in Dragon Scales is a bit sparse, as it is meant to be built up in layers, but I love the scattered impact of it in just one coat. It allowed the orangey shimmer to shine all the more. I has no issues with application, and I'm quite excited to try this polish over other seemingly odd colors.

Bubbles N Balms polishes, plus body butters, soaps and bath bombs, can be purchased on Etsy. Be sure to pay them a like on Facebook as well!

*This polish was provided to me for an honest review. 

Freida Love by Flash Your Tips

Before we get into the meat of this review, a quick recap: I've already posted about the other three colors in Flash Your Tip's All My Sisters line, and they can be seen here: Cupid Stunt, Daisy Chain and Hellena Handbasket. 

The final polish in the line up is Fredia Love, twin sister to Daisy Chain, but with hot pink and green glitters replacing the yellow and white. This is three coats over Sally Hansen Insta Dri Lightening, topped with Seche Vite. Photos taken under Ott Lite. 

I had a bit of trouble finding a layering combo I liked with this polish. I tried several different pairings before I came up with this combo, that I loved! This polish was a little trick on application, as the glitter applied sparser than any of the others. My pinkie nail is only sporting two coats, and you can see the difference in coverage. I also dabbed this one on, more than painted it, to achieve more even coverage. Otherwise, no issues! I love the fun color combo and the squares, and the full sized bottles (mine is a mini) are just too cute! 

Flash Your Tips polishes are available on Etsy in both full and mini sizes. Be sure to stop by and like on Facebook as well!

*This polish was provided to me for an honest review. 

Jubilee by Bubbles N Balms

I don't know about you, but I've been ready for Spring pretty much since Christmas was over. I'm not a fan of cold or snow or anything winter related. So I've been crushing hardcore on all the spring-y colors that are popping up, and today's polish is a perfect example!

Meet Jubilee, by Bubbles N Balms. Creator Renee has much the same feeling about spring as I do, and describe Jubilee as "more crelly than jelly, loaded with small hexes and squares in just about every color of the rainbow." This is three coats alone, topped with Seche Vite. Photos taken under Ott Lite. 

This photo is rather overexposed, but it really shows off the speckled-egg effect of the matte glitters. If there were a bird that laid purple eggs, those eggs would look exactly like this polish :)

Jubilee does have excellent coverage, and three coats gave it that wonderful jelly squishyness and glitter depth, while leaving absolutely no visible nail line. You could layer this polish over a similar color to conserve, but I think you would be taking away from the lovely jelly depth of it. There were no application issues with this polish. It went on smoothly, the glitter applied evenly, and it dried quickly and smoothly. This one will definitely be coming back out to play closer to Easter.

Bubbles N Balms polishes, along with soaps, bath bombs and other beauty goodies, can be purchased on Etsy, and can be liked on Facebook. 

*This polish was provided to me for an honest review. 

Alien Invasion by BNVS Nail Color

Today's lovely is my second-to-last BNVS color, and the one I THOUGHT would be my favorite. As you'll see tomorrow, I was very, very wrong :)

Meet Alien Invasion, a pale spring green with silver shimmer. This is two coats, topped with Out the Door, photographed under Ott Lite. 

Alien Invasion is a part of the Fall 2012 color line. Check out the shimmer! 

As with the other BNVS polishes I've used, I had no issues with this one. It was smooth applying, and quick drying. It smells different, but no stronger or worse than any other polish in the world. I can see myself pulling this puppy out as a base for nail art throughout the spring! 

BNVS Nail Colors can be purchased on Etsy, and liked on Facebook. Please, please go show Lana some love- I'm so impressed with this brand, and I can't wait for new colors!

*This polish was provided to me for an honest review. 

Bobbing for Apples by BNVS Nail Color

Ladies, I really hate to do this to you, but I have to show you a color today that is, sadly, not currently available :( But it's such a lovely, shimmery red, perfect for Valentine's Day.

Meet Bobbing for Apples by BNVS Nail Color. Shown is two coats, topped with Out the Door, under Ott Lite. 

Bobbing for Apples is a rich, bright, true red with red and pink shimmer. 

I rarely enlarge photos when I read blog reviews, and I don't recommend it very often, but the shimmer in this polish is quite stunning. Enlarge away!

Bobbing for Apples was a part of BNVS' Fall 2012 color line, and I'm told it will be making a comeback in fall of 2013, so keep and eye out for it!

The bottle and smell on this polish were the same as the others I've reviewed from BNVS (Bootiful and Candy Craze), but the formula really hits it out of the park. The creme formulas were great, for what they were (a yellow creme is a pain, no matter what!), but the shimmers- glide on like buttah, and full coverage in two coats. No pooling in the cuticles, which can be a nightmare when it comes to red. And this particular red actually cleaned up quite easily. 

If you haven't checked out BNVS Nail Colors yet, I highly recommend it. Check out BNVS on Etsy.

*This polish was provided to me for an honest review. 

Cupid & Kisses by Bubbles N Balms

Good morning, starshine . . . today brings us another Valentine's Day themed polish that is not limited to this week!

 Creator Renee says that "Cupid's Kisses is full of matte & holo pink, violet & red glitter. A little bit of gold and silver, with white slices topped off with fuchsia dots. This is two coat of Cupid's Kisses over Wet N Wild Wild Shine Lavender Creme, topped with Seche Vite. Photos taken under Ott Lite.

Look how delicate that tiny holo glitter is!

Application on this one was average. The clear base is a bit thin, so I had to dig a little bit to get anything other than the tiny silver hexes. This was quickly solved by resting the bottle upside down for a few minutes. The glitter is very buildable, and so sweet and delicate and feminine- I hate bar glitters, but I ended up loving this one. Polishes made primarily of micro glitters tend to be glitter bombs, but I love that this one wasn't. It really gives it something unique. I have three Bubbles N Balms polishes to show off this coming week, and I have to say- I think this is my favorite of the three! I try to show my favorites last, but with it being VDay on Thursday, I thought this one should get bumped to the front of the line :)

Bubbles N Balms polishes, along with bath bombs, lip butter and tons of other pamper-me goodies, can be purchased on Etsy. Full sized bottles run $8.25.

Hellena Handbasket by Flash Your Tips

Today's installment of NTP's Adventures in Polishland brings us to another Flash Your Tips polish: Hellena Handbasket! Hellena Handbasket (how cute is that name?) is from the All My Sisters line, and contains baby and hot pink satin hexes and black and white small hexes in a clear base. 

This is two coats of Hellena Handbasket over China Glaze Immortal, topped with Seche Vite. Photos are taken outdoors in natural sunlight. 

Hellena Handbasket is an adorable glitter combo- very simple, yet very unique. It applies smoothly and evenly, with no glitter fishing or placing require. The glitter is not so packed that it completely obliterates your base color, which is something that I love. I usually prefer a lighter coverage with glitter topcoats, so that I can fully customize the amount of glitter that I show on each nail. This does not disappoint in that regard. I decided to layer Hellena Handbasket over a grey shimmer, but I think that it would work well over pretty much any color in your stash- after all, what doesn't go with pink?

Flash Your Tips polishes are available on Etsy- $3 mini and $7 full- and the bottles are too adorable for words! Be sure to like Flash Your Tips on Facebook as well. 

*This polish was provided to me for an honest review. 

Cupid Stunt by Flash Your Tips: Swatch and Review

Good morning my lovelies! Do I have a busy weekend for you, or what? I've got quite a few posts planned each day, as I have several Valentine's inspired polishes I want to show off with enough time to order, I still owe you two days from Crumpet's 31 Day Challenge, and I want to give you a good look at my new polishes! We'll get right down into the first post:

Today's polish is Cupid Stunt by Flash Your Tips. Cupid Stunt is from the brand new All My Sisters Collection, and while the name implies VDay, it is really not holiday specific. This is two coats over Sinful Colors Black on Black, topped with Seche Vite. Photos taken under Ott Lite.

Rachel from Flash Your Tips calls Cupid Stunt "a fabulous Glitter topcoat", and she couldn't be more right! This polish is soo blingy, my camera just spazzed out. It's a clear based topcoat just packed full of silver holo micro bars and hexes, accented with red satin hexes. I went with black undies to show the bling to its fullest, but the possibilities are endless: over pink or violet to play up the Valentine's angle, over blue for Independance/Memorial/other American patriotic holiday, over golds and oranges for fall, over green for Christmas . . . don't let the name fool you into thinking this polish is a one trick pony. 

Blurred out photo to show all the holo-y goodness. This is definitely a distracting polish in the sun!

Yay, my camera finally caught a good one! This polish is super packed with glitter, and thus required a bit of patience in application. The glitters had a tendency to clump a bit, and needed to be spread out. For the glitter payoff, I don't think that's unreasonable, or even unusual. This polish could probably be opaque (though quite blinding!) on it's own at 4-ish coats. 

I have all four of the All My Sisters polishes (you can see Daisy Chain here, the rest will be up later this weekend), and picking a favorite is just . . . not possible :) Cupid Stunt was definitely the most eye-catching right out of the package, but the color combinations that Rachel has created are truly unique, and quite stunning. Check out Flash Your Tips on Etsy and Facebook. There is a giveaway on the Facebook page if you act fast! 

*This polish was provided to me for an honest review.