Serum No. 5--Swatches & Review

Press Sample

Hey lacqueristas! Today I have some Serum No. 5 swatch spam to show you today. Serum No. 5 is an indie brand that is 3-free and all of the polish is hand-mixed in small batches. Every month, Victoria donates 20% of her profits to charity. She specializes in glow-in-the-dark polishes. Today I have her 2013 Holiday Collection and then 2 additional polishes from her core line. I'll show you the 2 non-holiday polishes first and then the 8 from her Holiday Collection.

Day Glow--3 coats. Wow check out the glow on this baby! 

Sky Lights--1 coat over black. 

And now for the holiday polishes:

Friendly Tiffs--3 coats. Slightly gritty formula. 

Snow in Love--3 coats. Such a cute holiday polish and it has a nice, strong glow. 

Luxe So Good--2 coats. Strong linear holo effect. Smooth formula and it could be a one coater if you're careful. 

Gild Free--3 coats. I really love this one!

Girl's BFF--2 coats over OPI Can't Find My Czechbook.

Girl's Gotta Eat--2 over OPI All I Want for Christmas is OPI

Final Countdown--2 coats over black. The glow on this one was the weakest of the bunch.

Holly Dazed--1 coat over white. Easy application, no fishing required.

My favorites are Luxe So Good, Snow in Love, and Gild Free. You can purchase these polishes here from Serum No. 5's online shop. 

Nail Shields & 3D Charms

Press Sample

Happy Friday! I apologize for the lack of posts this week. It's finals week and time just slipped away from me. Today I have some nail shields and 3D charms to show you that Polished by KPT now offers on her online shop. I haven't used nail shields before, but I have always wanted to try them because I love eye-catching nails and these definitely do that. You can use whatever adhesive you decide to apply these. When I use studs, I typically use base coat as my glue and topcoat to go over them, but since these are larger I would use nail glue for adhesive and not topcoat these.

3D oval bezel with colored rhinestones over Polished by KPT Plumeria

Rose Nail Shield (Silver) over Polished by KPT Plumeria

Rose Nail Shield (gold) over Polished by KPT Plumeria

 

Elegant nail shield with purple, topaz, and red stones over Polished by KPT Permanganate

And last but not least, crown and cross 3D charm over Polished by KPT Permanganate. The gold nail has Polished by KPT Liquid Gold.

How'd you like that nail shield spam? I know these are not for everyone and not for everyday use, but if you ever wanted to do a manicure that gets people's attention, these are perfect. You can also reuse these. I really like all of them except the last one. It has the concept of the pierced nail thing which I'm not crazy about. I added links for each item underneath the pics if you're interested in purchasing. What are your thoughts on nail shields and 3D charms?

Picture Polish Believe--Swatch & Review

Press Sample

What's up weekenders? What do you all have planned for this lovely weekend? Tomorrow I'm going to my very first football game--Niners vs Seahawks. I'm really excited and of course I will be working on red and gold 49er nails tonight! Today I have one last Picture Polish to show you that I got for review--Believe. At first, I wasn't very excited to try this one because I'm picky with dark colors, but I was pleasantly surprised with it! It has a dark purple jelly base and teal shimmer.

Here it is at 3 coats plus topcoat. Smooth formula, easy application. 

I've been dying to do some stamping (it's been a whole week), so I decided this was the perfect opportunity. Here it is stamped with Nailz Craze NC 02 in Essie Blue Rhapsody. 

This color actually looked good on my skin tone which I liked, but once I stamped it, I loved it. One thing I didn't mention in my other Picture Polish reviews was that the brush is awesome. It is a little shorter and the bristles are just a tad firm and this led to me having little to no clean up. Well, that's the last of the Picture Polish pretties I have to show you. Next Saturday will be lonely without them =P. You can purchase this polish here for AU$10 which is around $9.11 in USD. Shipping is a bit pricey depending on what country you're from, so if you're in the US like me, you can also check out Llarowe, Overall Beauty, or find a seller in your country on Picture Polish's Network page.

Laquerlicious New Year's Collection--Swatch & Review

Press Sample

Happy Friday! Wow it has been so cold these past couple of days. I'm having a hard time typing this post because my fingers feel like icicles! Yesterday I reviewed Laquerlicious's Christmas collection and today I will be showing you Laquerlicious's New Year's Collection. It consists of 4 glitter toppers. 

Bottle of Bubbly--1 coat over black. 

Out With the Old--1 coat over silver.

Confetti Aftermath--1 coat over white.

Countdown to Midnight--1 coat over hot pink. This one is my favorite of the bunch. 

The polishes had a strong smell to them that gave me a headache when I used them. The big circle and star shaped glitter required fishing, but other than that, these are all perfectly suited for New Year's and I liked the variety of shapes, sizes, and colors of the glitter. You can purchase these from Laquerlicious's online shop here. Her shop is currently closed, but will re-open in a few days on Monday, December 9th. You can also check out Laquerlicious's Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Laquerlicious Christmas Collection--Swatches & Review

Press Sample

Hi my polished pretties! Michelle of Laquerlicious sent me her Christmas and New Year's collections to swatch and I have a ton of glitter to show you today! I think I'll go ahead and show you the Christmas collection today and show you the New Year's collection tomorrow. Laquerlicious--without a c--is an indie brand that specializes in glitter bombs. The Christmas collection consists of 6 glittery polishes: 3 with colored bases that build up to opacity on their own and 3 glitter toppers.

Naughty List--3 coats. Thick formula, but no application issues. 

Lead the Way Rudolph!--2 coats. Smooth formula. 

Mistletoe Kisses--3 coats. Applied easily. 

Twinkling Lights--1 coat over a black base. Got a little carried away on my ring finger, but I think next time I'll use this over a silver base since it's pretty dense. 

Crazy Christmas--1 coat over a white base. This one required fishing for the big glitters. 

A Letter From Santa--1 coat over a pink base. This one also required some fishing for the big glitters. I love how this combination turned out.

I thought these glitters were really cute and fit the Christmas theme perfectly. I didn't mind fishing for glitter because that's expected with big glitters like these, but the smell was very strong and gave me a headache. You can purchase these from Laquerlicious's online shop here. You can also check out Laquerlicious's Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  

Polished by KPT New Releases & Re-stock

Press Sample

Happy December! I have so much to announce that I have a second post for you today. Today Katherine of Polished by KPT is having a re-stock at 12pm PST. She's releasing 2 new shades and re-stocking popular shades as well. First I'll show you the 2 new shades and then some swatches of other shades that will also be available today in the re-stock. All swatches are shown with topcoat.

Liquid Gold--3 coats. Light gold with darker gold flakes that create a foil effect. I used topcoat here, but no topcoat is needed as it dries smooth. This is one of my favorite Polished by KPT polishes if not my favorite. I felt so fancy wearing this one!

Dark Angels--4 coats. Black jelly base with a linear holographic effect and red shimmer. 

Let's take a look at the already released thermals!

Blue is Beautiful--UL is when warm, BR is when cold. 

Dichromate--UL is when warm, BR is when cold. 

Nostalgia--UL is when warm, BR is when cold.

Molybdenum--UL is when warm, BR is when cold. 

Country Road--UL is when warm, BR is when cold. 

La Katrina--UL is when warm, BR is when cold.

Blood as Thick as Gold--UL is when warm, BR is when cold.

...and last, but not least, here's Corrupted Soul. A multi-color, multi-size glitter topper. 

Wow, that was pic heavy. I even went back and deleted some because usually I show each thermal with several photos. Which shades are your favorite? Again, these will be available today here in Polished by KPT's re-stock today at 12pm PST. Happy shopping!

Limited Edition Holiday Trio by Lacquer Lust, Polished by KPT, & Serum No. 5

Press Sample

Good morning beauties! Today I have swatches of a special indie polish holiday trio to show you. Lacquer Lust who is known for holos, Polished by KPT who is known for thermals, and Serum No. 5 who is known for glow in the dark polish have all teamed up to create a beautiful limited edition holiday trio. All swatches are shown with topcoat.

Lacquer Lust Ho Ho Holidays--3 coats. Green linear holo with red micro shimmer. 

Polished by KPT Naughty & Nice--3 coats. Rose pink (warm) to red wine (warm) thermal with red, gold, and blue micro shimmer.

Here's Naughty & Nice in full transition. Upper left is when warm, bottom right is when cold. 

Serum No. 5 Yule Light Up My Life--1 light coat over a white base. Yes, I said light coat, this baby is packed with glitter!

Here's a glow in the dark shot of Yule Light Up My Life. This one glows white.

This holiday trio will be available today at 12pm PST from Lacquer Lust's online shop, Polished by KPT's online shop, and Serum No. 5's online shop. This is an awesome "indie sampler" because you get to try one polish from what Jo, Katherine, and Victoria are all known for. Set your alarms, you've got just over 3 hours before their shops go live!