Purple Friday: Fairytale Finish Purpsicle

Look here, it's Purple Friday AND our game is actually tonight! Tonight we play Stanford and both teams are currently undefeated so it's a bit of a big match-up. Stanford has a Heisman candidate running back and quite honestly, the Huskies are going to have an uphill battle, especially when we struggled last week on the road (though ultimately came away with the win, whew!). We do tend to bring our A-game against Stanford so hopefully tomorrow proves to be an excellent game, at the very least. In any case, we're taking the day off and doing some tailgating, so I'm looking forward to some beautiful fall weather and some pumpkin cider!

Well heck, you're getting two Fairytale Finish polishes in the same week! Whoops! Today's Purple Friday polish is Purpsicle, which was from the July sub box! Purpsicle is a gorgeous grape holographic polish. It has a slight jellyish feel to it, but goes on smoothly. The first was a little sheer, but two coats was pretty good! I used three coats to make sure there weren't any thin spots. It was very easy to use and I love it!

This is gorgeous! All around this is winner-- formula, color, everything! I definitely made the right choice saving it for a Purple Friday post. Makes me even more sad that Fairytale Finish is closing their doors, wahhhh! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Go Dawgs! Beat the Tree!

HPB Presents Glitter Topper: Girly Bits Black Eyed Susan

Today is a fun one! I haven't participated in a Hobby Polish Bloggers monthly nail art challenge in awhile, but when I saw that glitter toppers had been picked as the theme I knew exactly which polish I wanted to use. This is a bit surprising, because if you've read this blog for any length of time, you know I am not a glitter topper person. Rarely do I blog about them. I tend not to buy them and I rarely wear the few that I do own. However, the polish I'm sharing with you today, Girly Bits Black Eyed Susan, is one of THE very first indie polishes I ever bought-- and I've never worn it! So I felt like it was high time to use it. I actually had to search for this, because I had pulled it out to wear last fall (and never did) so it wasn't where it should have been and I had a few moments of panic! Luckily I was able to find it, so let's go!

Black Eyed Susan is clear base packed with different sizes of yellow glitter, as well as green and brown/rust colored glitter, to mimic the look of the flower it's named after. Even years later, this polish still flows pretty well and was maybe a touch thick but not terrible. The glitter came out of the bottle easily, though I did use the dabbing technique to spread it out over my nail. Here I layered it over one of the monthly mystery shimmers from Enchanted Polish, August 2016, which is a beige neutral with pink shimmer. I wanted to make sure all the glitters would stand out.

While I'm not totally in love with the finished product because I mistakenly grabbed an old bottle of top coat and got bubbles(!!) Black Eyed Susan stands the test of time and I think the polish itself looks great! I'm glad I used a neutral base because it helps the glitter stand out and gives it an autumnal feel. I got a lot of compliments on this! I'm really happy I finally pulled it out and wore it! I'm glad this theme came around when it did!

An InLinkz Link-up

Fairytale Finish Enchanted F

A little while ago Amanda of Fairytale Finish announced she was selling mystery polishes on her site called "Enchanted Polishes" (not be confused with the brand) and so I decided to buy one because, hey, why not?! The polish I got is called Enchanted F so I'm guessing they are lettered? Now that she has announced she is closing up shop I suspect this was a way to clean out prototypes etc, but regardless, mystery polishes are always a fun surprise!

Enchanted F is a denim blue polish silver and holographic glitter of various sizes throughout. The base does have a touch of purple to it, but I would say overall is still pretty blue. The formula is good, as far as I recall-- sometimes polishes like this can be thick and while maybe it tended to lean that way, was still easy to work with. I can't remember exactly, but I am pretty sure I only used two coats here! I don't like to build up glitter polishes too much unless they a) have a white base or b) are super sheer because they tend to get gloopy (due to the thicker formula) so I'm pretty sure two is what I went for here.

While I tend not to be a glitter person, I really liked this polish! It helps that it's blue, for one, because I pretty much love all things blue. The base color is gorgeous and I think the silver/holographic glitter really works with the base. All around this was a winner for me and I'm very happy I picked it up!

Different Dimension Periwinkle Posies

Ahahahahaha... when I decided to change my posting schedule, I apparently also decided to just forget that I actually needed to write posts! Whoops! It happens, right?! This post was supposed to go up last week but I completely forgot to write so.... you're getting it now! Better late than never! Today I have Different Dimension Perwinkle Posies to share with you; this was a group custom for the Different Dimension FB group and after dithering for awhile, I was able to snag it. Periwinkle Posies is an icy blue periwinkle (to me it seems more blue than periwinkle, honestly) with silver holographic and blue flakies scattered through out.

This started out on the sheer side but built up nicely. I think you get away with just two coats but I used three to make sure I didn't have any thin spots, especially because my nails were longer. The formula, though, was great and I had absolutely no issues. It went on smoothly and easily!

This is super pretty; how can you not love it? This is a color that works at any time of year and it's so pretty. I'm really pleased with this! Different Dimension polishes are always gorgeous and this was no exception!

Purple Friday: Colors by Llarowe Giant Giraffes In My Yard

It's Purple Friday again, yay!! This week had has some ups and downs but it's ending on a high note as my husband and I are going out to celebrate our ninth anniversary tonight! Crazy how much time has already passed! We had initally thought we might celebrate by going down to Arizona for the Husky game but it ended up not working out. While it would have been fun, I'm not totally bummed out because there's always stuff to do around the house! This week's game kicks off conference play and I'm a bit anxious about it. This is our first real test of the season and we haven't won in the desert for 10 years. But given our uneven play over our first three games isn't giving me a lot of hope for a win. I mean, on paper we should be able to do so, but paper means jack when it comes to game time! So we'll see! Hopefully the Huskies can get it together and bring home the W! 

This week I picked CbL Giant Giraffes In My Yard for my purple polish, which is described as a "bright, deep grape purple scattered holo with intense pink shimmer. This polish glows!" They're not kidding when they say this glows. It has that "lit-from-within" quality that makes it sing. This started off a bit sheer, and while two coats looked pretty good, I ended up using three to give it a nice depth and to make sure I had completely opaque coverage. The formula has a jellyish feel to it but was fairly easy to apply and built up nicely. 

Truly, the photos don't do this justice at all! The red glow is very prominent in real life, and it's stunning. Run out and get this immediately! I mean, if purple polish is your thing. The holo in this did not really stand out under my lighting conditions but we'll see if I get some sun on Saturday so maybe I can catch it. I'm really happy with Giant Giraffes In My Yard! 

Go Dawgs! Beat the Wildcats! 

Essie Aim to Misbehave

Essie Aim to Misbehave has been making the rounds for awhile now, but it finally showed up in Seattle area drug stores in last couple of months so I snagged my bottle back in August (even though I believe this came out in the spring). Aim to Misbehave is kind of a big deal because it's Essie's 1000th shade! That seems like a pretty big deal, and so they made a special polish to celebrate! (OPI's 1000th shade had to be a red, amiright?! At least, I'm assuming OPI has hit 1000, right?) And not only that, but they made it a yellow! That seems so unusual for Essie but I freaking love it! Not everyone is a yellow fan, but I love yellow so I think it's awesome. Aim to Misbehave is a bright egg yolk yellow with a glass fleck type shimmer.

Aim to Misbehave had a pretty decent formula, I'm pleased to report! It went on smoothly and the first was a little sheer, but it builds up nicely. I probably could have gotten away with two coats if I had wanted to; I ended up using a thicker third coat to eliminate any potential streaks (and I would recommend using a light touch to avoid streaks). I did get some bubbles but I think it might be due to my crappy top coat and not the polish, though possible my last coat was too thick and I should have waited longer... hard to say.

Sadly while I love this color in the bottle, I'm not really sure it does anything for me...? Ugh, I don't know! I love how bright and cheerful this is, and I love the shimmer but something just isn't clicking with this. I don't think it works with my skin tone very well; I might need to try this in January when my fingers are pasty pale again. I'm not ready to give up on this, but I don't know how often I'll be reaching for it. Frustrating, but not unheard of, sadly!

Enchanted Polish The Youth

I'm going to try a slight change in my post schedule-- I've been aiming for five posts a week but am now going to hit four instead because I've been falling behind! I'm hoping giving myself a break day (Wednesday in this case) will help me stay on top of things! Today I have another polish that I actually wore awhile ago: Enchanted Polish The Youth. This was a re-release, just like Future Reflections.

The Youth is a green to bronze shifting duochrome holographic. Like most Enchanteds and from what I recall, the formula was good. I used at least two coats, but probably three coats because I'm like that.

I know you are looking at the photos above and saying "green?! Cat, you are full of it!" But truly, I am not lying! Here I've got a slightly different lighting situation so you can see the green tone of the polish (and really, it was green in most lights-- the flash brought out the bronze tones).

Look at that!! Pretty stunning, right? I love this, maybe more than Future Reflections! There's something about a green duochrome that I just freaking love! Pretty much one of my favorite ways to wear green! I love this one so much! Hope everyone is having a good Monday!

Purple Friday: Rescue Beauty Lounge Pause

For today's Purple Friday post I am reaching back a few years and pulling out a Rescue Beauty Lounge polish that has been lanquishing in my untrieds because I have waaay too much polish. No real reason for this particular polish except I had pulled it out recently as a potential manicure option for an out of town friend. And since it was still sitting around in (relatively) close reach, I figured-- why not use it? This week the Huskies take on Portland State, an FCS school from Oregon, and while this should be another "easy" win for the Huskies, last year Portland State shocked a lot of people and beat our cross state rival, WSU, in their opening weekend. So anything could happen! Theoretically we should be able to score enough points early that it's not really a contest, but we'll see, as the Huskies had a slow start last week against Idaho (though ultimately prevailed without a whole lot of trouble). Hopefully we can do a little better this week! 

Rescue Beauty Lounge Pause is a gorgeous medium dark purple with pink shimmer. The formula was good, though the first coat was a touch streaky. Pause built up nicely but I did use three coats to make sure I had the coverage I wanted. Two coats probably would have been fine if my nails had been shorter, but the thinner RBL formula + the small brush + wide nail beds means I needed three coats. But I didn't have any issues with it! 

Again, not thrilled with my photos (whyyyy is it soooo hard to photograph purples?!) but I just need to keep working at it! The color actually looks pretty good, at last on my screen. Pause is certainly a very pretty color; I don't know if I'm totally in love with it. I'm not really sure why, because I have been looking forward to using this color, and while it's lovely it's not resonating with me this week. Hopefully the game is a bit more exciting! 

Go Dawgs! Beat the Vikings!

















I feel like my photos greyed this out just a titch (or at least looked like it on my camera screen...)

Fairytale Finish Dibs on Your Lips

Today's polish, Dibs on Your Lips by Fairytale Finish is another polish I wore a long time ago (this polish was released for Valentine's Day as part of an LE trio and my photos say I wore it in late February) and just got lost in the shuffle when my laptop died. But I have it for you now, in what will be a short and sweet little post! Dibs on Your Lips was part of a Valentine's Trio, as I mentioned earlier, and is a bubblegum pink with a strong blue/violet shimmer.

As far as I remember, the formula of Dibs on Your Lips was good. Sorry, failing at being a good blogger. Seriously, though, I don't recall having any issues with this when I painted my nails. I can't remember how many coats I used-- it was probably three because that's how I tend to role!

So pretty! I love how strong the shimmer is! Sadly, Fairytale Finish is closing up shop at some point in the near future. The announcement was made at the end of August and September is the last month of subscriptions. I'm sad to see Amanda close up shop; I have always loved her polishes and I like that she is a local maker! It's a bummer for all of us polish lovers but I'm sure Amanda has some exciting things planned in the future! Dibs on Your Lips is a very pretty polish and I enjoyed wearing it; I have other unworn Fairytale Finish polishes that I will still be showing you even after Amanda closes up shop, so stay tuned!

Enchanted Polish Future Reflections

Today I have I an older polish to share with you-- Enchanted Polish Future Reflections was originally released waaaay back in 2013, but I was pretty new to the indie polish scene back then and did not get my hands on this until late 2015/early 2016 when it was re-released (and now seems to be permanently stocked?). At least, these polishes certainly don't sell out as fast as they used to, due to the influx of other indie nail polish brands on the market!

Future Reflections is uselessly described as an ultra holo duochrome on the Enchanted Polish site, and I was say that it's blue to purple duochrome with a linear holographic finish. There's maybe a faint touch of green in there too. Because I wore this back in February and it is now *coughcough* September, my notes are sparse (truthfully, nonexistant) so I don't remember much about the formula except that it didn't give me any particular troubles. EP's tend have pretty good formulas, so I'm sure it was on par with her usual standards. I used either two or three coats, but I can't remember. Maybe two because my nails are shorter here, haha!

 Here's more of a look at the shift:

And you can maybe see some green here:

Overall I thought this polish was really fantastic. Holographic duochromes are some of my favorites for wearing in the fall/winter months because the shift comes out in the grey weather and the holo stands out if we get some sun! Either way, you win! This was lovely and easy to work with and I'm definitely going to be pull these types of polishes out more this year!

Pipedream Polish VIP Pass

And look, another new to me brand! Pipedream Polish became super popular awhile ago because they created a gorgeous set of neon cremes that watermarbled perfectly (according to those in the know, anyway) and it set off a real flurry within the nail polish community. The collection, A Night in Vegas, pretty much sold out like hot cakes every time it was restocked... and then it was discontinued. I managed to snag a set before it disappeared forever, but of course never really got around to playing with them until now! VIP Pass is a neon purple that has a super subtle (so subtle I didn't actually notice it until I photographed it) blue shimmer to it.

I used three coats here. I probably could have gotten away with two, but with my large nail beds I need a third coat to make sure I didn't have any thin spots. The formula was a dream; super smooth and buttery. It practically painted itself on my nails! It dries quickly but not so much so as to impact the application and has a matte finish.

Photographing this was a bitch because my camera and lighting made it appear pink! And definitely not neon, ugh.

Phone shot:

Slightly more color accurate but doesn't capture the deepness (or purpleness or brightness) of this shade, which is a damn shame. 

I freaking love VIP Pass! The color is gorgeous and bright (maybe not a true neon but still sizzling hot) and the formula was just utter perfection. As with many polishes, I'm wondering why I waited so long to wear it, but glad I finally did because it did not disappoint! My major was frustration was not being able to capture the true color of this polish, but that's more to do with me than with the actual polish, which was amazing.

Chaos & Crocodiles Cheshire Rose

Programming note: my posts will be a little out of sync this week because I didn't take my laptop home over the weekend; I may try to play catch up during the week or this may just be an off week depending how work/life goes.

Today I have another new to me brand, Chaos & Crocodiles! They aren't really new to the indie polish scene, but this is the first time I've tried one of their polishes! This is another Hella Holo custom from June, so sadly not available anymore. I grouse about having to join having to join various FB fan groups, and it's true, I find it annoying, but the customs created can be pretty rad. Cheshire Rose was, like I said, one of the June customs and is described as a "red-purple based blue to red multichrome holo." There was actually another straight up purple as a custom but I decided to pass on that in favor of the duochrome.

Listen up everyone: I only used two coats here!! Say what?! Ok, admittedly it was because it was getting late and I was tired and just wanted to get my polish on and go to bed, but this also applied beautifully and I didn't have any issues at all.

Phone pic so you can marvel at the duochrome... gorgeous!

I fell in love with this polish; it's just so damn pretty that it's hard not to. Honestly, I feel like I could stare at this for days and not get tired. The duochrome is just stunning and the holo is great too. This was my first experience with Chaos & Crocodiles but I am really impressed and am looking forward to trying more of their polishes in the future!

Purple Friday: Polish 'M The 4th Year

It's that time again: Purple Friday!! Last week's game against Rutgers was pretty perfect except for our weird weather, which was incredibly rainy in the morning followed by intense sun. Oh fall, never boring! (Though it sure does make it hard to plan, hah!) The weather forecast for this Saturday says sun, so hopefully it will stay that way and we can enjoy the game without getting rained on. This week we play Idaho, which, realistically, should not present much of a college. Most "power conference" teams (aka any of the big conferences: Pac-12, Big Ten, SEC, etc) have an A-B-C non-conference schedule (or some variation thereof) where A is another power conference team, B is another FBS school from a lower conference and C is usually an FCS school. Rutgers was our "A" game, so now we move to our "B" game. In the past several meetings between UW and Idaho, it really hasn't been much of a game; most recently in 2009 we beat them 42-23, which looks close on paper but was probably not as close as the numbers would suggest. Of course, with football, there's always a chance for an upset but I'm rooting for the Huskies to roll to an easy victory and our second/third string can get some more practice. For this week I chose Polish 'M The 4th Year as my purple polish, which was made to celebrate the fourth anniversary of Polish 'M! 

 
The 4th Year is described as a "eggplant base with 3 different colors of UCC mega flakies, electric blue micro flakies, neon purple micro flakies, a teal/pink flash shimmer, silver galaxy holo glitter and magic holo micro flakies." So this polish has a lot going on! I didn't have any issues applying this and it went on smoothly even though it's packed with flakies, though I think I used threee coats here. (I say I think because I swatch these polishes for the post and then wear a full manicure for the game and I swatched this a couple of weeks ago and don't remember. Bad blogger!) A lot of other people have said they used two coats, so I probably just used three because I'm crazy like that! 

 

Again, I'm not in love with these photos because it felt very difficult to get anything in focus or color accurate, but it is what it is! I think you can tell how sparkly this is! And that I absolutely love! Hopefully with some sun (fingers crossed) I can add some sparkly pictures later. I love this; the color, the sparkle, everything! It's awesome! 

Go Dawgs! Beat the Vandals!

Different Dimension Totally 2.0

I actually saw Totally 2.0 recently over on Imperfectly Painted and knowing that it was lurking somewhere in my stash, I knew I had to pull this out and wear it before the summer was over. Totally 2.0 was a polish from last summer's 80's Baby -- All Grown Up collection, which was a revamp of neon shades that had been previously released. Totally 2.0 is supposed to be the yellow of the group, but I would describe it was a "lime-green lemon" (taken from one of my kids' books) because it's a yellow with a strong green tone... or a green with a strong yellow tone? Either way, it's neon yellow/green with a golden shimmer to it.

Totally 2.0 had a formula similar to Psyche, but slightly better-- it's a touch thick but easy enough to control and apply. I used three coats and was happy; you might be able to get away with two careful coats. Totally 2.0 dries down to a matte finish, so you need a top coat to really bring out the shimmer.

Totally 2.0 does not disappoint! Yes, the formula is not perfect, but I love the color so much (gimme all the shimmer!) that it makes up for the slight formula issues. I also really like the funky yellow green color going on here; it's just awesome! This might be my favorite neon of the year, even though this was released in 2015, hah!

Sinful Colors King Size

CI should probably be saving this polish for a week when I am too tired or sick to come up with something new for Purple Friday, but... I didn't want to wait! Sinful Colors King Size is from one of the Kylie (I think, I can't keep them all straight) collaborations. I saw a display and was seriosuly tempted to buy all of them, but resisted. A few weeks later I saw the display again, and this time it was a bit more picked over so I grabbed the three shades I liked best. King Size is one of those! 

King Size is described as a "royal purple and gold pearl shade" and that's pretty accurate! It dries to a matte finish, but I've added a top coat in all of my photos. The formula was good! It was a little on the thick side but applied easily. I used three coats here but I think you could get away with two if you are so inclined. It dries quickly but not so fast that it caused any problems with application. 

This was a huge hit with me! I absolutely love how strong the shimmer is and frankly, it's quite beautiful. I got a lot of compliments on this color. Purple and gold is one of my favorite combinations so it shouldn't come as a surprise that this is going on my list of favorite polishes this year. Gorgeous color, good formula, and great price tag! I call that a win win win! Happy hump day everyone! 

Pahlish Melon Baller

Tuesday after Labor Day is always a bit of let down, especially because I took Friday. But both my kids are sick now so I'm secretly looking forward to word so I can get a little down time from mom duty. I guess I'm taking this whole "it's still summer" thing seriously because I've got an eye searing polish to share with you today-- Pahlish Melon Baller! I actually picked this up during Pahlish's Black Friday sale last year (same old song, too many polishes not enough time) but given the brightness of the color I decided to save it for the summer. Melon Baller was actually released last summer, but proved to be so popular that she released it again! I picked it up because neons and flakies?! Sign me up! 

Melon Baller is described as a "neon melon jelly with a mix of silver and violet flakes." Perfect! I wore this awhile ago and don't quite remember every single little detail but I don't recall having issues. This went on smoothly and built up nicely; there's a hint of visible nail line but I don't think it was a big deal in real life. The only minor issue was the flakies did want to migrate toward the free edge but it wasn't too terrible. I am pretty sure I used three coats here! 

Melon Baller was way more neon than I remember, haha! But definitely a great color for summer. The flakies add some nice dimension; you don't see many flakie neons out there! This is my third Pahlish polish and I'm still impressed with brand! 

Hope everyone's week has started off well! 

Girly Bits No Tan Lines

Today is Labor Day which traditionally is considered the "last day of summer" in the United States as school often starts immediately afterwards (though quite honestly I think there are a lot of schools that start before), but I'm not quite ready to let summer go. Our weather has been feeling differently, but I don't care! On that vein, the polish I have for you today is the other half of the July COTM from Girly Bits-- sporting an equally cheeky name, this is No Tan Lines!

No Tan Lines is descibed as a "medium orange coral low-medium density holo with red shimmer and gold glass fleck." I would say that's pretty accurate! I was actually surprised because I thought this would be orange, but it definitely looks more coral on me! Similarly to Suns Out Buns Out, this has a good formula and was easy to apply. It builds up nicely and I used three coats.

Of the July COTM duo, No Tan Lines was definitely my favorite! Whatever I felt was lacking in Suns Out Guns Out was definitely present in No Tan Lans and I loved wearing it. This is such a great summer color and I very well might pull it out during the upcoming winter months as well! I think I am going to be adding this polish to my 2016 favorites list!

Purple Friday: Colors by Llarowe A Galaxy Far, Far Away August POTM 2016

Ok, that title is a mouthful but the important part is... Purple Fridays are back!! This week is the start of college football, which I've basically been waiting for since it ended in January (the Olympics helped get me over the hump of sports drought). So here we are, back again! To open the season, the Huskies are playing Rutgers, currently a member of the Big Ten-- a little random given that they are in New Jersey but I guess if you've got Penn in there already, why not stretch a little further east?-- and these teams have never played before previously, so that's pretty cool! I like it when there are interesting match-ups instead of the same old same old. So-called experts are touting UW as poised to have a great year, but I am trying to keep my expectations low because I know what it's like to be utterly disappointed! We're doing a "big" tailgate to kick off the season, but the game is at 11am (sooooo early) so we're doing breakfast burritos! Should be fun!

If you thought I was going to pass up a purple polish called A Galaxy Far, Far Away, well, you gotta be your damned mind! =P And because it was the August POTM from CbL, I decided it should be my first Purple Friday post, though technically we're in September now. A Galaxy Far, Far Away is described as a "purple jelly base with shimmering holographic flakes." This is definitely a jelly, so the first coat was a bit sheer and I used a light hand so as not to drag the polishes and create streaks. But it built up nicely and I used three coats here. Pretty easy to use all around, though I would suggest waiting for the layers to dry so you don't risk dragging any of the polish!

It seems to be a common theme this week, but this polish caused me a lot of frustration while I was photographing it! Actually, in the end I don't think my photos look terrible but while I was taking them I thought I might tear my hair out! I love how AGFFA sparkles; the coarse holographic flakies really bring out a rainbow on your fingers and it's actually one of my preferred finishes (over a linear holo). In any case, this is a truly gorgeous polish; I'll try to add some pictures of it out in the wild if I get a chance (and hopefully there's some sun to capture the awesome sparkle)!

Go Dawgs! Beat the Scarlet Knights!

Emily de Molly Iridescent Skies

Today I have a new to me brand, Emily de Molly! The polish I got, Iridescent Skies, was a custom for the Hella Holo Customs FB group, where each month two different makers create three polishes based off pictures voted on by the members. I only recently joined; Iridescent Skies was one of the polishes offered back in June. They were all really lovely and it was hard to narrow down my choices, but I eventually decided on this polish! Now looking back through photos I wish I had ordered them all, haha! 

Iridescent Skies is a purple toned silvery nude holographic. That's a little simplistic, as there is also a flash of pink in this polish as well! The formula was very easy to work with; despite the light color it was nicely pigmented. I probably could have gotten away with two coats but used three as I usually do! This built up nicely and I didn't have any issues. 

Here's a shot from my phone where you can see the purple tone a bit more:

I have to say I'm pretty pleased with Iridescent Skies and my first Emily de Molly experience.
I was really happy with this polish! It's beautiful and while it seems simple on the service, there's more going on which I love! It's delicate but has an edge to it. I can't wait to check out some more Emily de Molly polishes and to see what else pops up in the Hella Holo group!