U-Neek Polish Part III: Northwest

U-Neek Polish Part Three brings us in a slightly different direction: to a glitter topcoat. 

Meet Northwest. Janet from U-Neek Polish says " Its named after my high school because these are their colors. Its a clear base with jet black and golden orange flakes." As with Autumn, I'd say these are more hex-y than flake-y. This may be named for her high school, but it is a perfect autumn polish! The black and orange are great for Halloween, too!

First, I layered this over U-Neek's Penny, because they seemed great for each other! Three coats of Penny, two coats of Northwest, topped with Seche Vite. Photos taken in sunlight (through a window, so pardon the screen shadow!)

The glitter is more noticeable in the closeup. This made a great pair- the orange-y copper base in Penny made a great backdrop for the black glitter, but the orange shades were a bit too close together. You can still see the orange glitter, but it didn't pop enough for me!

Then I went with a completely contrasting color- Sinful Colors Nirvana! Win! I've said before that you'll probably see this color pretty often this fall. It's a great mushroom-y taupe that's the perfect shade. Not too dark, not too light, great for every color. This is two coats of Nirvana, two coats of Northwest, one coat of Seche Vite. 

Northwest was no exception. The orange glitters popped out so much better on this neutral base color. The glitter, just as in Autumn, is not super densely packed. This gives you complete control over how much glitter  you end up with on your fingers, which I love. It would take way too many coats to become opaque, but it does built up nicely, and doesn't dry gritty at all. I probably could have gotten away with Out the Door or another thinner topcoat (rather than SV). Overall, another great shade. Janet shows us that she can do glitter topcoats just as well as Color + Glitter polishes!

Have you checked out U-Neek Polish yet? It's available on Etsy- minis start at $4 and full size is $8. Check out U-Neek on Facebook, too! And check back tomorrow for the last installment of the U-Neek spotlight- I definitely saved the best for last!

Support your indies, ladies!

Cheers,

-Liz-

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

U-Neek Polish Part II: Penny

U-Neek: Part Deux! Another beautiful shade from U-Neek's Autumn Collection: Penny. 

Janet describes this one as "a copper base with copper sparks." Can't go wrong with that! Of all the possible metallic shades out there, copper is my absolute favorite. I'm not a big fan of orange (the closest "regular" color to copper), but copper it up a bit, and I'm all over it. 

Three coats of Penny, one coat of Out the Door, natural sunlight. 

VNL was not noticeable in person. 

Penny was a bit odd in a way that is difficult to describe. The mica (I'm assuming it is a mica) that was used to make the polish is not as fine as usual. When I applied the first coat, it was very sheer, and the color particles were quite larger than normal. It almost looked like a glitter polish with super-super fine glitter in a clear base. This is obviously not the case, as the color built to be smooth and opaque. This is in no way a criticism, and it's not a bad thing, but I've never seen it before, so I thought it worth mentioning. Of course, it could be as simple as: the base is sheer, so all I was seeing on that first coat were the "sparks". 

No issues to report. Application was perfect. Easy-peasy. Like Autumn, Penny is sheer, so if you don't like doing multiple coats or risking VNL, this would be best layered over a similar color. I think it would also do some gorgeous things over a red! 

Check out U-Neek Polish on Etsy and Facebook, and be sure to stop back tomorrow and Saturday for a different type of U-Neek Polish- glitter topcoats!

Support your indies, ladies!

Cheers,

-Liz-

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

U-Neek Polish Part I: Autumn

I am such a sucker for fall colors. From dark muted greyed out colors to deep jewel tones to the pile of leaves color family. Over the next four days, I have four fabulous fall colors to show you from U-Neek Polish, a new to me Indie.

The first polish up is, appropriately, Autumn!

Janet from U-Neek describes Autumn as "a gold base with Fire Red, Emerald Green, and Golden Orange flakes." The glitters look more like hexes than standard flakes.

This is three coats of Autumn alone, topped with a coat of Seche Vite. Photos taken in full sunlight.

This photo is probably the least color accurate of the bunch, but it shows the golden shimmer the best!

This polish was fairly sheer- I used three coats, and you can still see some VNL in the closeup photo above, but it wasn't nearly as visible in person. I absolutely love sheer polishes, but this would also be great for layering. Your best bet would be a gold, but I think it would bring a gorgeous golden shimmer over the right red as well. I think I see a revisit in the future :)

Autumn applies well. The glitter is very small and a bit on the sparse side, making it very nice and delicate. The golden base plus the leaf-toned glitter very much reminds me of late afternoon sun shining on the pile of leaves in my backyard! 

U-Neek Polish is available on Etsy. Minis run $4-$4.25, while full sized bottles are $8. Be sure to stop by Facebook and Like U-Neek! Stop by over the next few days to see the other lovlies from the Fall Collection! 

Support your indies, ladies!

Cheers,

-Liz-

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

It's Apple Season!: Autumn Explosion by Glitz in a Bottle

I went into this mani with a purely "fall" mindset. You know, swirling leaves, dusty colors, yada yada. But as I sit here typing this up, drinking a Caramel Apple (equal parts Buttershots and Washington Apple licquors, brands irrelevant), it occurs to me that this mani looks very Caramel- Apple-licious! Of course, it could be the alcohol talking :)

This is two coats of Autumn Explosion, dabbed on over Sinful Colors Nirvana (which is an amazing fall color, and I'm sure you'll see tons of it as undies!) and Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby. Topped with a coat of Gelous and a coat of Seche Vite. Photos taken in full sunlight. 

Carolina from Glitz in a Bottle calls Autumn Explosion "all the polish you need to add that Fall Flare to your nails. With a mix of fine black glitters, bright orange hex, and pale yellow matte glitter, it'll be like watching the leaves change colors right on your own hands."  As much as I loved Scandle Shimmer, this was the winner out of the two- hands down! I am definitely a fall loving kind of girl: cold enough at night to snuggle up with my kitty and a fuzzy blanket, cool enough for long sleeves- but not cold- during the day, the beautiful colors, the food! Apples and pumpkins and stews, oh my! I appear to have gone off on a tangent, but I really and truly LOVE anything fall related, and this glitter topper is just perfect!

I wish I'd seen that hair on my nails in all the pictures before I changed my polish :( 

As for the polish itself, aside from being the perfect topper to EVERY fall color you own, is wonderful. I recommend dabbing it on to achieve even coverage. I did two coats (dabbed, of course) for the coverage you see on the photos above. Nice and simple, without being boring. Pretty sure I'll revisit this one. Especially if I can find that perfect dark leaf green creme that my brain insists must exist somewhere! Also, if I can make it through some of my untried stash :)

Have you checked out Glitz in a Bottle yet? If not: do it! They're on Etsy, where a full sized polish will set you back $7.50. Carolina's specialty is definitely glitter topcoats, but there are some gorgeous shimmer colors as well! Stop by the GiaB Facebook page and click the like button, and news and swatches and other goodies will magically show up in your newsfeed :)

Support your indies, ladies!

Cheers, 

-Liz

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

I'm on a Boat!: Sunset Boat Ride by Trelly Polish

As I mentioned in this post, this was my very first experience using PVA glue as a basecoat. I've learned a bit since then (like, don't use a base coat under the glue!), and I've become a convert. I love super glittery polishes, so I've been using the PVA pretty much daily, and I have a few more tips. First of all: thin your glue a bit. The first week I was using it, it would start to peel in the shower after about a day. I thinned the glue out with a bit of water, and it's staying just fine since then. I typically change my mani everyday anyway, so it wasn't a huge problem for me, but for those that want to keep their paint on longer, thinner is better.

Some have speculated about damage to the nail bed from pushing the polish up with an orange stick: I don't use an orange stick. I just push/pick at it gently with a nail, and as soon as you get one little bit unstuck, the whole thing will come right off. I've been using PVA almost exclusively for the last two weeks, and have noticed absolutely zero damage to my nail bed. Now: on to the pretty!

This is Sunset Boat Ride by Trelly's MISC Polish. Cassie describes this polish as "a glitter topcoat in a clear base, with all the reds, oranges, yellows of a sunset." I guess the white is the boats? :) Either way, the polish contains tons of satin hexes in red, yellow, orange and white, blue some white bars.

My plan was to layer this over the ONLY gold polish I own: Sinful Colors This Is It. I didn't realize until too late that I grabbed the wrong bottle! And I was too lazy to take off the fingers I already painted, plus get up and search for the color I wanted! Luckily, it turned out better than I think the gold would have. This is one and a half coats of Sunset Boat Ride over Sinful Colors Let's Meet (a shimmery, gold-toned yellow). Topped with a coat of Gelous and a coat of Seche Vite. Photos taken in full, direct sunlight..

The yellow turned out way better than I thought it would! This polish really is the perfect sunset color combination. Maybe the white are clouds, not boats :)

Obligatory shade photo.

Cassie recommends the dabbing method to apply all of her polishes, and this is the first one that I've done so with. It was a bit thicker than either Love Always Shines or Clown Car Exhaust. I dabbed on one coat, and then went back to fill in a few bare-ish spots. The Etsy listing for Sunset Boat Ride shows swatches on a nail wheel over a light peachy color, and a pale coral and both are stunning! I think I know what I'm wearing this with next! I dark purple would be lovely as well. 

Trelly's MISC Polish can be purchased on Etsy. Full sized bottles are $9, and any color can be made into a mini as well. Be sure to check out the Trelly Polish blog- there are ongoing previews of the Halloween Collection, which comes out mid-September- and Facebook page- more color previews, plus news, updates and other polish related things that catch Cassie's eye!

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!