Purple Moon by Sinister Benediction

WARNING: This post is EXTREMELY picture heavy. I went a bit overboard with layering :)

Purple Moon by Sinister Benediction, L-R: Three coats alone, two coats over Sinful Colors Black on Black,  China Glaze Near Dark, Pure Ice Party Hard, Sinful Colors Inkwell, NYC Midtown Mink. 

Closeup: alone, over black, over green. 

Closeup: over navy, deep plum and chocolate brown. All nail wheel swatches taken in full natural sunlight. 

One coat of Purple Moon over Sinful Colors Inkwell, a deep, blackened plum. Topped with Out the Door, all remaining photos taken under Ott Lite. 

Sinister Benediction creator C. Benoit describes Purple Moon as "a high shimmer multichrome polish with a fuchsia base color that shifts to pale yellow to gold. You can wear it alone, but it packs more of a punch layered over a dark base. It's also great for layering over lighter polishes."

Unlike the previous Sinister Benediction polishes I've shown you (Horse Feathers and Aqua Illusion), I don't see myself ever wearing this one on its own. It is definitely better suited as a topper, but it does add something fun to pretty much any color you layer it over!

As you can see, over dark colors, the color shifts most readily from silvery lilac to/lavender to rose to a coppery color. 

Then I chose to layer over some fun, bright citrus-y colors: Thumb to pinky: LA Colors Color Craze Shock, Physician's Formula California Goddess Trio light orange, dark orange, hot pink, and Sinful Colors Dream On.

Over these mostly hot-toned colors, the color shift went from silvery lilac to violet to hot pink.

And finally, since it's right there in the name, I decided to layer Purple Moon over a purple ombre mani. Thumb to pinky: Sinful Colors Mauve, Sally Hansen Hard As Nails No Hard Feelings, Sinful Colors Amethyst, LA Colors Color Craze Edgy, and NYC Plaza Plumberry. 

Over the purples, the color shift was more of a lilac to lavender to rose. 

I've never really played with duochromes over colors other than black, or almost blacks, so I can't compare. But I was super impressed with the way that the shift in this polish changed with each base color! There was always a purple tone, and always a pinkish tone, but the visible spectrum was altered pretty dramatically depending on the undies worn! Purple Moon applied smoothly and easily in one coat, and adds a pretty punch to any base color. 

Sinister Benediction polishes are available on Etsy. Be sure to grab them while you can, as the shop is going into vacation mode at the end of March! Be sure to stop by and Like Sinister Benediction on Facebook as well- there's a coupon code to be had for your trouble :)

*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. 

Candied Pillow by BG Cosmetics: Swatch and Review

Indie alert! Today's polish is from brand new indie, BG Cosmetics. BG, if you're not in the know, stands for Bitch Glitz. Love it! 

The first Bitch Glitz polish in the lineup is Candied Pillow. Ketlyn describes it as: "an opaque metallic lavender, speckled with silver, blue, pink and purple holographic glitter that sparkles and radiates color and vibrancy in the sunlight. All polishes are 3 Free and 15 ml bottles. They are all made with diamond dust for added chip resistance and longevity."

The first two photos show two coats of Candied Pillow alone, topped with Seche Vite. All photos are taken under Ott Lite. 

To be honest, this was not my favorite way to wear this polish. It reached opacity with no problem at all, but it was a bit frosty for my taste.

  

The next two photos show one coat of Candied Pillow layered over Sinful Colors Cool Grey, also topped with Seche Vite. 

Now this combo, I LOVE. The glitter was so much more captivating in one coat! Plus, it finished more "foil-y" than "frosty" over the grey. You'll want to enlarge that last photo- it's a stunner!

Candied Pillow applied very easily, and was surprisingly free of brush strokes. I noticed some slight, reflective-only curling in ONE of the medium blue glitters. As it was only one, it may have been a fluke, and it did lay completely flat on the nail. This polish did become completely opaque in two coats, but can be layered at one. I've never heard of an indie line adding diamond dust to their polish, which I think is a very neat addition! I can't comment as to wear time, as I only wore it one day. 

Bitch Glitz polishes, as well as a few eyeshadows, can be purchased on Etsy. Full sized polishes run $10, while four piece collections can be purchased for $35- great deal if you want the whole set! Be sure to like Bitch Glitz on Facebook as well!

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

NEW 31 Day Challenge: Inspired by Nature

Hello, loves! Today is a very big day for me- our challenge prompt is Inspired by Nature. I wanted to do something to really challenge myself, and I fell in love with this photo. So I set about recreating it, and actually took step by step photos. So, without further ado, I give you my very first tutorial!

In addition to your polishes (which I will list with each step), you will need a cosmetic sponge. I cut mine up into about 9 pieces- on the left is the chunk that I used, versus the full sponge on the right.

I started with a base of Sally Hansen Hard As Nails No Hard Feelings, a lilac creme. Using a corner of my tiny sponge bit, I dabbed down the center of my nail using Sinful Colors Amethyst (a medium purple creme), making sure to let the lighter purple shown down the center. 

All sponging was done with a small corner of my tiny sponge pieces. I used about three bits throughout this design. Your mileage may vary, based on how many colors you use.

Around the outside of the Amethyst sponging, I dabbed on NYC In A Minute Battery Park Purple (dark plum creme). To lighten up the middle even more, I sponged on Sinful Colors Mauve (pale grey-lavender), covering most of the No Hard Feelings that I left open in the first step.

Around the outside of the Battery Park Purple, almost to the edges of my nails, I sponged on Sinful Colors Inkwell (blackened plum). 

On the very edges of my nails, I dabbed on Pure Ice Party Hard (dark navy creme). Then I randomly sponged on some Orly Fowl Play (dark purple flakie glitter) over the whole nail, to deepen the color and add some sparkle. 

The sponging part is done! Yay! At this point, I cleaned up a little bit, then painted over the whole nail with Revlon Glimmer Gloss Pina Colada Pop (gold iridescent micro glitter), to give the whole thing a night sky feeling. 

And the Grand Finale! Using the thinnest brush I had and a white creme polish, I zigzagged across the nail, through the lightest center part, branching out near the tips to create the lightening forks. I found that shaking my hands slightly made for a very nice, jagged electricity bolt effect. I topcoated (Seche Vite) while the white  polish was still tacky, which softened the lines a bit more.

What are your thoughts? Have you ever tried lightening bolt nails? What awesome power of nature inspires you? Be sure to check out the rest of the amazing manis in the links below!

NEW 31 Day Challenge: Your Oldest Untried

Today's prompt is Your Oldest Untried, and I have a tie! Kind of. I cheated a little bit, as I didn't have any old polishes that were truly untried (my oldest is a few months, maybe?). But I have had both of these polishes for years, and I haven't used either of them since I actually got really into polish last year!

First up is Petites Bubblegum. It is a super sheer, shimmery ballerina pink with silvery opal shimmer. This is not the sort of pink I normally go for, and I obviously didn't love it back then either- the bottle is still pretty much full! Maybe that's because it took me 5 (!) coats to make this opaque!

Upon checking, Walmart still carries Petites polish! This one was not available at my store, however.

My second untried is also by Petites, Black Amethyst. I suppose I bought them because they were cheap :) This one, however, was obviously rather well liked- the bottle is about half empty! The bottles are only a quarter ounce (rather than a standard half ounce), but I remember this being my go-to pedi color several years back!

Black Amethyst is a black creme polish just packed with violet micro glitters!

You'll want to click to enlarge this photo- isn't she a stunner?! Sadly, this one was not available at my local Walmart either :( Black Amethyst went on in two easy coats, and dried super smooth. I could have gotten by without topcoat, but I added a coat of Seche Vite, just because. 

These polishes have been hanging around so long, I didn't think they would still be usable! But, as a testament to either the Petites formula (these are most likely from before the big Big 3 Free push) or my bottle tightening skills, they both went on like they were brand new!

Petites is a brand that I had just about forgotten about, but will not ignore anymore! Do you own any Petites? What is your oldest untried?

Don't forget to check out the rest of the ancient polish in the links below!

Goddess of Wisdom: Nayru by Starlight Polish

Can I tell you a secret? I've never played a Zelda game. Ever. Is that sad? I grew up with an NES (and later Sega Genesis and PS2), but I was never a big gaming system kind of girl. The reference behind this polish (and it's sisters, Din and Farore) went right over my head! Luckily, Issa from Starlight Polish gives you a little backstory in each listing (which you know I love!).

Nayru is the Goddess of Wisdom, associated with the color blue. The polish is a turquoise-blue-violet color shifting topcoat. of course, the colors pop best over a dark base color.

I layered one coat of Nayru over NYC Battery Park Purple. Topped with Out the Door, photos taken in natural sunlight. 

Aqua and royal blues were the most prevalent, and easiest to capture, colors in this polish!

I really think I'm going to have to redo this color over black, as I couldn't capture any of the violet shift on camera. It was there, and I could see it a bit, but I think my purple base color threw it off some. Black is the absolute perfect base color, for damn near everything, but I hate showing everything over black, so I try to branch out! Sometimes, it fails :( This combination was very stunning in person, but I don't think it truly captures all of Nayru's potential. Expect a revisit!

Like all Starlight Polishes, Nayru applied like a dream. One quick, easy coat to instantly spice up your dark mani! Starlight can be purchased on Etsy. The Companion Fairy set, featuring this and three other polishes, is available in full size for $30 or minis for $12.50. Check out my archives for a gorgeous array of other Starlight polishes as well: Phoenix & Sunlight, Unicorn , Starlight, and Dragon and Din. 

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

Sugar Plum Fairies: Berry Shimmer by The Polish Bar

Bit of a late post today, as I had to batch several bottles of polish to ship out! But here I am, and with a post that is rather more picture heavy than usual. I'm sure you don't mind :)

Today's polish is Berry Shimmer by The Polish Bar, and it is from the brand new Holiday 2012 Collection, just released today! It is a clear based polish with "holographic purple shreds and hexes, purple shreds, small lavender hexes and a splash of berry shreds in a clear base." This polish screamed "Sugar Plums" to me, so I wanted to pair it with something to fit that theme. On nail wheel, L-R: Two coats over Sinful Colors Amethyst, NYC Battery Park Purple, Sinful Colors Pink Forever, Cream Pink and Dream On, then three coats alone. 

I chose to layer it over Sinful Colors Amethyst, but I'm not really sure why. Looking back at that nail wheel now, I really should have gone with Battery Park Purple. Maybe I'll look for a fun plummy-pinky base color just to try this one out again!

Two coats of Berry Shimmer over Sinful Colors Amethyst, topped with Seche Vite. Photos taken in natural sunlight.

This has got to be the first time anyone has ever said: There is just too much glitter in this polish! The sun was giving me such a hard time trying to take photos!

Here we go in the shade.

And another shade shot- the glitter shows up much better without the sun glinting off of it!

And my favorite shot of all! Other than issues with photography, this polish went on perfectly. No dragging or clumping or fishing. The shreds lay completely flat without extra manipulation. Berry Shimmer is such a gorgeous and unique polish, and I don't think I'm really showing it here to its full potential. This on definitely rates a revisit, but I wanted to make sure you got to see this beauty on release day!

The Polish Bar (available on Etsy) returned from vacation mode today, with all of the Holiday 2012 polishes! Yay! BUT: if you see a polish you really must have, make sure to snap it up quick, as Janice goes back on vacation Thursday, 11.8 at midnight. Be sure to like The Polish Bar on Facebook for shop announcements (like a return date! which is expected in late November) and tons of gorgeous swatches. 

(What do you think of the new signature? I love it!)

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