The King of All Metal: The Nome King by A Rhyming Dictionary

Today is my favorite of the four A Rhyming Dictionary polishes: The Nome King. I was aware of this character from the 80's Return to Oz movie with Fairuza Balk as Dorothy. In the movie, Dorothy returns to Oz with her pet chicken Billina to find that the citizens of Oz, including the Tinman and the Cowardly Lion, have been turned to stone, while the Scarecrow has been taken prisoner by the Nome King. The Nome King turns the Scarecrow into an ornament in a room full of little ornamental knick-knacks, and each of Dorothy's friends are given three guesses as to which he is. If they guess incorrectly, they will be turned into knick-knacks as well. All of Dorothy's companions guess incorrectly and are transformed. On Dorothy's last guess, she finds the Scarecrow, and together they manage to find the rest of Dorothy's party. They escape the Nome King, with the help of the chicken Billina, and all is well. Not the best movie ever, certainly, but for an Oz fan, it was a fun one.

Meet the Nome King! And excuse both my right hand, which doesn't know how to model, and my left, which doesn't know how to take pictures- there was a paint mishap that kind of ruined the polish on my left hand :(

Morgan puts a little character bio for each polish in her shop listings, which I love. One of my favorite things is seeing the inspiration behind a polish and its name. Her story gives more background on the Nome King, and she describes the polish as "plainly put, a glitter bomb. There are probably 50 kinds of glitter in here, so many that it would be pointless to try to name them all." This is definitely a kitchen sink glitter, but it's appropriate for the King of All Metal and his rooms full of knick-knacks. The glitter is pretty much all metallic, but there is every shape, size and color in there that you can imagine. Just take a look at that closeup- the only glitter I see more than one of are the silver holo diamonds :)

This is one coat of the Nome King over creme black (what else) followed by a coat of Seche Vite. All photos were taken in outdoor lighting, sun and shade. This glitter went on smoothly. There was absolutely no fishing require, because really, what would you fish for? Every nail is a different, riotous combination of glitter, making this polish super fun, and I can't imagine a color that this wouldn't work with. 

A Rhyming Dictionary polishes are available on Etsy for $3.50 (mini) and $7.50 (full size). There is a huge variety of colors to choose from: glitter toppers, colored-base glitters, flakies, shimmers and about everything else you can think of. And they all come with a story! Be sure to stop by Facebook and pay a like to ARD for updates, swatches, and occasionally giveaways!

Support your indies, ladies!

Cheers,

-Liz-

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

Violet Flakie Jelly: Ozga the Rose Princess by A Rhyming Dictionary

Today we showcase the last of my A Rhyming Dictionary polishes, and probably my least favorite. It's a beautiful color, but I was a bit underwhelmed. I should say that I'm not a huge flakie fan in general, so my opinion may be colored by that. 

This is Ozga the Rose Princess. Morgan calls this one "a deep shade of lavender with blue, purple and rainbow flakies in it." It is a beautiful jelly violet color, but the flakies pulled a bit of a no show. This is four coats of Ozga on its own, topped with Out The Door. Photos taken in natural light.

Surprisingly, for a purple, the nail color is pretty accurate- the bottle color is obviously not. Ozga is not at all blue toned. You CAN see the flakies in the bottle though!

You can see a bit of flakie here as well. 

No show really isn't the right term- the flakies were visible, they just weren't very flashy. They would show up a lot better over black, but then you lose the pretty purple coloring. 

Overall, I did like this polish, I just liked the others better. You kind of have to choose between the color or the flakies, and I went with the color, because violet is one of my favorites :) It was almost imperceptible on the first coat, but it built to this beautiful squishy-jelly in four coats. The flakies were there, but you had to look to notice them. I will try this over black, and possible a dark purple, and report back. It would also make for a yummy jelly sandwich, so you may see this one a few more times. 

A Rhyming Dictionary polishes are available on Etsy. $3.50 minis and $7.50 full size. Make sure to like ARD on Facebook for updates and swatches :)

Support your indies, ladies!

Cheers,

-Liz

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

We're Not in Oklahoma?: Betsy Bobbin by A Rhyming Dictionary

I've been a Wizard of Oz fan since I was a little girl, and there is still a china hutch at my parents' house full of dolls and handmade ruby slippers and assorted other Oz memorabilia. I was always more of a movie fan, and I never read the complete book series (which is odd, because I love to read), but after discovering A Rhyming Dictionary, and Morgan's complete love of the entire world of Oz, I think I may have to!

Today's polish is Betsy Bobbin, which Morgan describes as "matte glitter with tiny pink, red, and salmon, medium green and blue, and large black circles." The polish is named after an Oz character, who is a bit older than Dorothy, and from Oklahoma.

This is one coat of Betsy Bobbin over creme black, topped with Seche Vite. Photos taken in artifical light, no flash. I feel like I use black as a crutch sometimes, as I use it as a base for soo many glitter toppers! But I really do feel that it pops the color out the best. Some colors look amazing over various colored bases, but black is classic.

You can see that there are large circles in the bottle (there are two on the far left of the photo, and one just by the tip of my middle finger) but I didn't get any in this mani. This is probably due to the mini bottle, as mini brushes are usually horrible at picking up large/shaped glitters. In my experience, large dots need a little bit of fishing, and I'm sure if I tried I could have gotten them out. Otherwise, the polish applied wonderfully- the rest of the glitters came out with ease, and there was no clumping together. Matte glitters are sweeping through the indie world, but I haven't seen a combo like this yet. 

A Rhyming Dictionary polishes are available on Etsy- full sized bottles are $7.50, minis are $3.50. Make sure you stop by and Like ARD on Facebook as well- previews, updates, and contests! 

Support your indies, ladies!

Cheers,

-Liz-

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

Out of Oz: The Shaggy Man by A Rhyming Dictionary

Just a quickie for now, though I'm sure I'll showcase this one again in the fall, because it is absolutely beautiful, and brings to mind nothing so much as fall harvest colors!

This is The Shaggy Man by new-ish Indie A Rhyming Dictionary. I love coming across brand new indies, and the beautiful colors that they create! Big, established indie brands come up with some gorgeous colors, no doubt, but you kind of get used to the colors that they come up with. A new brand has brand new ideas, and brand new supplies, and it's so much fun to discover them all! 

This is two coats of The Shaggy Man over NYC Midtown Mink, topped with Seche Vite. Photo taken in indoor "natural" light, no flash. Tell me that doesn't look like a blanket of fallen leaves! Morgan from A Rhyming Dictionary calls the Shaggy Man "a clear base with micro-fine emerald glitter, small, medium, and large hex glitter of emerald, gold, copper, red, spring green, red squares, gold squares, and green squares."

The fine emerald glitter really sets this whole look off: there are tons of chunky glitter toppers floating around, but the fine glitter really fills in the gaps and gives the polish a whole other dimension.

The Shaggy Man applied very well, no glitter fishing, no curling, no clumping. A thick topcoat made everything nice and smooth. I can't wait until the leaves start turning so I can play with this over other colors: I have a lovely Harvest Gold color in mind. Now I just have to find a color that matches my imagination! (Or make one silly :) )

A Rhyming Dictionary polishes can be purchased on Etsy: full size bottles are $7.50, minis are $3.50.  Morgan says that she really loved the Oz books as a kid (of which there are 40! I only knew of maybe 6!), and her favorite is the Leopard with the Changing Spots from the Hidden Valley of Oz. Both her name and all of her colors are inspired by this book. Each color has a little backstory on the character it is named for in its Etsy listing. I love it when indies include a bit of their inspiration in the polish description. I'm pretty sure I've said that before, but it really is one of the easiest things a polish maker (there has to be a better word for that!) can do to earn my interest in their products. 

Like A Rhyming Dictionary on Facebook for news and swatches, and come back to see more of my reviews! I've got The Nome King, Betsy Bobbin and Ozga the Rose Queen scheduled :)

I've also been sent another Leibster nomination, from Globe & Nail! I won't redo the whole thing, but I will answer the questions I was sent, because that's the funnest part!

1. Why did you decide to start blogging, and how long ago did you start?
I originally started this blog as another means of promoting my own polish line, but I had so many gorgeous indie polishes from other makers that deserved to be shown off as well! Out of 34 posts so far, a total of one has featured my own polish :) I love being able to show off the hard work and wonderful imagination of my fellow polish makers. I've been at this about 2 months.

2. Favorite polish finish? (Creme, glitter, holo, shimmer, etc.?)

My classic, all time favorite is definitely creme, but holos and duochromes are trying very hard to overtake that!

3. Ever had an embarrassing manicure failure?

Any time I try to do nail art! I just ordered some dotting tools, and I want to get into stamping, but that's about as arty as I think I'll ever get! 

An example of the horror that comes of me attempting nail art!

4. What is your nail art/nail care pet peeve?

I can't say that I really have one. I'm pretty laid back in general, so to each her own!

5. Biggest polish lemming?

Indies: Darling Diva Polish Mean Mr. Mustard (brand new!) or Whimsical Ideas by Pam Kismet's Pajamas. Brand name: I don't think I have one. I really like China Glaze Elephant Walk, but I have about 8 other greys that are probably close enough to be dupes.

6. What brand of polish do you own the most of?

I usually keep a bottle of each of my own colors for myself, but I don't think I should be able to count that :) Probably Sinful Colors.

7. What is your favourite movie?

I'm going to cheat and say the LOTR trilogy. It's all one story, so I say it counts!

8. Favourite book?

Same as above. I'm a big nerd, and everything LOTR related is on my radar!

9. Any hobbies besides nail art and blogging?

I'm a knitter and crocheter, but I tend to let it slide during the summer. It's just about time to break out the needles to get started on some holiday gifts, though!

10. Three material possessions you couldn't live a day without?

I'll be kind, and not count my kitty as a possession :) My laptop (with internet access, of course), some good lip balm, and this giant, fuzzy tiger blanket that is just comfort defined.

11. Do you ever leave the house with naked nails?

I may run to the convenience store to get some milk or something, but I can't recall the last time I went "out" out, or to work or anything like that without pretty nails.

I have so much fun both answering these, and reading everyone else's responses, so thanks again Globe & Nail!