Girly Bits Grandma Got Run Over by a John Deere

Technically this is a polish from Christmas (as you can probably tell by the name) and is the other half of the December COTM duo. From the Girly Bits website, Grandma Got Run Over by a John Deere is described as an "interesting shade of green that sits somewhere between dill pickle and pine. I know, strange description. It's an interesting colour. It has a squishy depth to it, with a strong copper shift, and is swimming with the tiniest holographic sparkles." This is spot-on. There's a lot happening in this polish, and all of it is amazing and awesome! The copper shift compliments the other half of this duo and it's a fun twist on a traditional Christmas color (deep green).

Grandma Got Run Over by a John Deere had a good formula; a little thick but in a good way. The first coat was a little sheer due it's jelly-like consistency, but the second coat was almost opaque. I added a third coat for good measure because you know me-- I'm like that! 

My indoor photos didn't capture the green as well, so I snapped some outside shots with my phone:

See.how.pretty!! One of my kids' swim teachers actually complimented me on this! I love that. And she's not wrong, as this polish is really unique and beautiful. Even though green has never been my favorite polish color, I have really fallen in love with shifty green duochromes and this polish definitely falls into that category. It's complicated and gorgeous and I would seriously buy a whole range of polishes like this. 

Happy St Patrick's Day! Any fun plans for the weekend? A friend of mine is visiting from California and we are going to shop and see the Beauty and the Beast remake. I hope it's good! 

Enchanted Polish January 2016

Next up, I have January 2016, so this poor polish is already over a year old! Ack. I think this happens to all of us nail polish bloggers, though! Only so many polishes you can wear at one time!  January 2016 is a pinky beige nude creme with a strong yellow green shimmer.

I was expecting this to be a little bit tricky to work with, but I really didn't have any problems! The polish is on the thinner side,but is pigmented and flows easily on to the nail. I did use a light touch to avoid streaking, but that honestly wasn't too much of an issue! I used three coats here to make sure I didn't have any thin spots!

This color is a lovely nude, though I think it's maybe a touch too pink for my skin tone and gives me slight lobster hands. The contrasting green shimmer, though, is a lot of fun and makes it feel different from most nudes. It certainly makes it fun and unique and I love how much the shimmer stands out. Even though it doesn't quite suit my skin tone, I like this a lot! 

Girly Bits Every Day I'm Truffling

Today I have the other half of Girly Bits November COTM duo: Every Day I'm Truffling! Figured I better break this one before it got too late and it felt appropriate for the grey weather we're currently stuck in. Every Day I'm Truffling is described as a "medium mushroom grey crelly with gold and pink shifting shimmer and purple shimmer." To my eyes, the pink shimmer is what stands out most strongly, though you maybe be able to catch the gold at other angles.

The formula was good; I certainly don't have any complaints. It went on smoothly and easily-- I used three coats but probably could have gotten away with two. Because it's a crelly a light touch helps avoid any streaks, though as far as I can remember this was fairly well pigmented.

I love how prominent the pink shimmer is! Grey can be a hard color to wear and the shimmer definitely gives this a little something extra. I'm glad it doesn't disappear into the base! I'm not sure this color really worked with my skin tone, but the pink shimmer makes it unique to my collection.

Valentine's Day mani with Love Angeline and Different Dimension

Hey all!! I was out of town this past weekend so I unfortunately didn't get any posts written up for this week (poor planning) but I had to paint my nails for Valentine's Day so I'm throwing up a quick post. I wanted to do something fun and I had some nice pink and red untrieds so I thought I'd try some easy nail art. And fortunately, it worked out!

I used Love Angeline Love as my base. Love is a pinky red raspberry holographic. It's very nicely pigmented and had a great formula-- it flowed easily onto the nail and was a dream to apply. I probably could have gotten away with two coats but used three because of my giant nail beds. Then I used a dotting tool to make a freehand heart on my ring finger using Different Dimension Whatchu Talkin' 'Bout Willis, is a dark cherry red holographic. 

I'm really happy with how this turned out, especially considering I've never done any sort of freehand nail art before! Luckily, a heart is a pretty easy shape to do, whew! It's not a lot but it's a nice little themed mani for the day, which is fun! And hopefully this can make me more confident to try some more nail art in the future. Happy Valentine's Day!

Girly Bits The Fuchsia Is Ours

Two weeks ago was the Women's March, which is the first overly political thing I have ever done in my life up to this point. I participated in with a group of friends and it was a great experience. I needed to wake up and shake off my apathy and privilege and this was the perfect way to to do it. Whatever your political beliefs, I think it's crucial to realize that yes, your voice does matter you can make a difference. Being involved and knowing what's going on is better for all of us!

I wanted to paint my nails pink for the march, and I knew I had a pink Girly Bits that was unused that would probably fit the bill. When I pulled it out and say the name was The Fuchsia Is Ours it was just perfect. The Fuchsia is Ours is described as a "bright pink holo with gold and orange shimmer." Being that Girly Bits is such a tried and true indie brand, I didn't expect to have any problems with this and indeed, I did not! This had a nice formula and went on smoothly. This was nicely pigmented, though I did use three coats to cover my giant nail beds (probably could have gotten away with two otherwise).

I love this pink! It's such a great color! It was super easy to use and it's such a beautiful color-- I fell in love! Sometimes you just need a good pink and fit perfectly. I was really happy with how this looked and it was just what I wanted for the march!

Happy Monday! Hope everything is off to a good start!

Enchanted Polish November 2016

Today I have another monthly mystery from Enchanted Polish to share with you-- November 2016. Actually, I wore this before I wore the October mystery polish, but didn't manage to get up on the blog as soon as I wanted. (The best laid plans, yaddda yadda.) Really, this was to my advantage because now I actually have material to blog about. First things first... how do I even describe this polish? I have trouble pinning it down to one thing, because it's kind of a chameleon! November 2016 is a purple toned grey taupe neutral with a delightful pink shimmer!

I expected the formula on this to be on the thinner side; to my delight, it was not! The polish was decently pigmented, though my brush had a few wonky strands that made the actual polishing interesting. But this applied very smoothly and I had to be careful not to get too much on my brush so it didn't pool on my nails. I probably could have used two coats but decided to do a third, like I usually do. No issues, though, and even the wonky bristles didn't impact me too much!

Overall, this color is kind of funky but I like it a lot. Some people might find the color difficult to wear, but it's very pretty. Frankly, I'm not even sure if I can really pull it off, but I'm game to try it at least once! And like I said, despite the funky color, I actually do like this quite a bit! What do you think of oddball colors like this?

Daily Hues Alexandra

I can't remember what week it was now, but back in November I skipped a Purple Friday post because I was feeling pretty sick and didn't have the energy to paint my nails or blog about it. Thankfully, the polish I had applied before I got sick managed to hold up and was close enough to being purple that I just rolled with it for the football game (which the Huskies won, so I guess it worked, hah). Now I'll finally get around to showing you the polish, Daily Hues Alexandra. This was actually a group custom for the Facebook fan group. And now it looks like Daily Hues is going on a hiatus, if not closing, due to life/work. Another sad day for PNW polish fanatics; I feel like a lot of local makers are closing up shop, which sucks! Daily Hues did have some growing pains in the beginning which also didn't help, but I have enjoyed a good relationship with the maker Jenn and never experienced any issues myself.

ANYWAY... Alexandra was a group custom based on this photo:

The result is a really pretty polish! Alexandra is a rich pink toned purple orchid creme with golden shimmer with a dash of holo as well! The formula was good; a titch thick but easy to apply and I didn't struggle with it at all. I used three coats because of course I did, but I feel like two would have been sufficient for most people!

So pretty! I really like this! This is one of those shades that seems to be universally flattering and is really beautiful. I am bummed that Daily Hues is most likely going out of business but at least this gorgeous polish is mine!

Colors by Llarow Fall Is Coming

Hey, two CbL polishes back to back! Today I have the October POTM to share with you: Fall Is Coming! Fall is already here (and almost over!) but that's no reason not to share this gorgeous polish with you! And I actually wore it in November anyway, so there you go!

Fall is Coming is described as a "reddened berry plum linear holo with a pink to gold shift." Yes! Jewel tone colors like this are perfect for fall (and winter) and so this is a great choice for a color in the latter months of the year! Like most CbL's, this had a good formula-- a touch on the thick side but easy to apply and went on smoothly. I honestly don't remember how many coats I wore-- pretty sure it was three but probably could have gotten away with two!

I love colors like this. Rich but also feminine and so very flattering! It not be totally unique but it's still beautiful! I certainly do love this one and it's probably one of my favorite POTM from CbL this year!

Colors by Llarowe Summer Always

Hah, it's a little late to be posting this but time has been getting away from me (not a good feeling heading into the holidays)! Another week and I'm totally unprepared with posts and pictures etc etc! Ugh. Football season is almost over and then the holidays are upon us-- can you believe Thanksgiving is next week?! I'm starting to panic just a little. Today I have the Colors by Llarowe POTM from September(?), which is called Summer Always. Seems pretty appropriate for that month, when we are generally clinging to last of the warm weather. I have to say we had a pretty nice fall out here in Seattle, with lots of sunny, crisp days. Hard to beat that, especially when the rain comes! Summer Always is a very pretty mint green holographic with a strong pink shimmer. 

CbL Summer Always falls right in line with other polishes from this line-- no complaints. I wore this a month ago so I can't remember all the details but I probably used three coats here as that's what I usually do! There certainly aren't any issues that standout to me as I think back to it. 

Because I'm blogging this so late, the color is a little off for the season but it's still a gorgeous color! I love that the pink shimmer doesn't get lost in the base. I also like that it's a slightly deeper mint base too. I feel like this color may not be totally unique these days, but I love the combo of holo and shimmer and am always happy to have more of those in my collection! 

Hope your week is off to a good start! 

Lucky 13 Lacquer Valkyrie

I can't lie, I am feeling pretty devastated after the election results on Tuesday and have not been motivated to do a lot. I'm mostly staying off social media because I'm tired of people arguing and/or gloating. I don't want to turn this into a political blog, but I'm tired, sad, and worried. And maybe you're happy about the results, and that's fine too-- we live in a big country and we don't have to agree on everything. I do hope we can come together and things will get better but I still feel very raw emotionally. And with that said... let's move on to the polish. I have a nice subtle palette cleanser today.

At some point recently, I was having a hard time picking a polish and was being very wishy-washy and then I saw this bottle and decided to go with it! I wanted a brand I hadn't used recently and was leaning toward a nude polish, so Lucky 13 Lacquer Valkyrie fit the bill! I've actually been wanting to wear this polish for awhile, but kept pushing it aside for other things so now here we are! Valkyrie is a neutral beige holographic and a subtle pink shimmer. I used three coats here, but I probably could have gotten away with two. I was expecting this to be a little sheer, and while the formula was a little thin, it covered very well. I didn't have any issues! I wasn't really able to capture the pink shimmer in any photos, but it was visible in person.

This is a really lovely polish. First of all, it's a gorgeous neutral-- very sophisticated and elegant. Secondly it has a gorgeous subtle pink shimmer and holographic finish to help elevate it and give it more depth. Thirdly, the formula is good! So winner winner chicken dinner! I love these elevated neutrals (as opposed to say, a plain creme) because they have just enough of a twist to keep things interesting-- though of course I love a good creme as well!

I hope everyone is having a relatively okay week (it's been hard for me, I can't lie) and I'm looking forward to the weekend because we're going wedding dress shopping for my little sister, who just got engaged last month!! Eeeee! Very excited to have a brother-in-law and see them get married! That will be a nice distraction! 

Enchanted Polish August 2016

Happy Thursday! My posting schedule is shifting a little again, like I mentioned in Tuesday's post I will either have a reduced number or no posts the last couple of weeks in October due to some traveling, but also I realized I need to wear some more polishes! I'm running out of previously worn/photographed polishes to talk about and so my posting schedule will also probably be a bit lighter. Currently I'm only changing my polish about three times a week just due to scheduling, and I don't have much in reserve right now! I honestly need to go back into my old hard drive because I'm pretty sure I have unworn polishes there that I need to share with you, so maybe I'll have time for that one weekend soon. Today I have one of the Enchanted Polish monthly mystery polishes to share with you-- this year the monthly mystery polishes are shimmers (instead of holographics) and the one I'm going to share with you now is August 2016.

August 2016 is a neutral toned beige with pink shimmer. I only used two coats here!! That's pretty impressive for a nude polish. Honestly, though, I only used two because I knew I would be layering a glitter topper over it-- if I had been wearing it alone I would have put on a third coat just to be thorough. But really, it almost doesn't need and I'm really happy with the formula. I did use a lighter touch, anticipating possible dragging/streaks which may have helped, but it does look really good!

Sometimes a clean, elegant nude manicure is what you need and August 2016 fits the bill. I think the pink shimmer gives it a nice depth and keeps it from being just another neutral polish. I think this would be flattering across a wide range of skin tones as it walks the line between being too pink or too yellow. The formula was great, which is plus because the base is so light. Even at two coats this is mostly even and there is maybe one minimal thin spot. I'm impressed!

Top Shelf Lacquer Sarasota Lemonade

Today I have beautiful polish, Top Shelf Sarasota Lemonade to share with you! This is another polish from the Hella Holo Custom FB group, but from earlier this year before I had joined the group. Sometimes when makers have extra polishes from previous months, they offer them for sale to the group. Sarasota Lemonade was one of those polishes, and it intrigued me. Plus, I had never tried a Top Shelf polish before, so it was a win-win for me!

Sarasota Lemonade is another unique color. It seems like just another pink holographic, but I feel like it's got more. I would call this color a "tawny pink"-- there's just a hint of brown (or copper) to this polish that gives it a rose gold (but not quite) feel and it's very sophisticate and lovely.  I used three coats here but probably could have gotten away with two. The formula was good; went on smoothly and easily-- no issues at all!

 

This was my first experience with Top Shelf Lacquer and I'm pretty pleased! It was easy to use and I liked that there was more to this color than meets the eye. Sarasota Lemonade was a color I could have easily worn for days; it's a beautiful color that works as a neutral with a twist of sparkle and a lot of sophistication. I'm looking forward to exploring Top Shelf as a brand; this was an exciting first purchase!

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!

Girly Bits Suns Out Buns Out

Today I have one of the two July COTM polishes from Girly Bits. Both of these polishes sport cheeky names and based on how we generally love to frolic in the sun and enjoy the warm weather and water. Sadly it looks like Seattle is currently in the downhill slide into fall (which I also love, but I'm always sad to see summer leave) so I'm going to have to live vicariously through my polishes. The first half of the July duo is Suns Out Buns Out (lol) which is described as a "bright Barbie fluorescent pink low density holo, with an array of gold shimmer and glass fleck." 

Like pretty much every Girly Bits polish I have used, I didn't have any problems with Suns Out Buns Out. I would say that formula was titch on the sheer side, but it was easy to apply, and built up smoothly. I used three coats here and that was perfect. No complaints! Well, ok, a minor one: I felt the shimmer was pretty prominent in the bottle but got a little lost on the nail.

I'm not sure how I feel about this polish. I think it's pretty, don't get me wrong, but I feel like it loses a little depth or dimension on the nail and looks a little "thin." I don't know. I love how it looks in bottle but I feel like it didn't totally transfer on the nail. I mean, I still like and think it's pretty, I just wish it retained some of the depth it had it bottle. So this ended up feeling a little flat to me, but hey, not every polish is going to work for every person, right? I think love the color and think it's a cute polish, it just didn't translate on the nail quite like I was hoping. Oh well!

Hope everyone's week is getting off to a good start! Is summer still going strong where you are?

Wet N Wild Beat of a Generation

Sorry I've been AWOL the last few weeks! I just haven't had the time I needed to really sit down and blog; the summer has been busier than expected and blogging took a bit of a back seat. Hoping to get several posts up this week and get back in the groove. I have also been enjoying the Olympics. So to get started, here's a sweet little polish to get the week started! Today I have Wet n Wild Beat of a Generation. This was from a collection that appeared last summer (I think) but of course, it hasn't received until love until recently. I would call Beat of a Generation a bright fuchsia pink creme.

 The formula of Beat of a Generation was pretty good in terms of formula; I felt it could have been a bit better because it didn't level out as much as I would have expected for a color like this. Otherwise, though, it was easy to apply and I didn't have any issues (aside from the minor leveling issue).

It's a pretty, cheerful pink. The formula could have been a titch better, but really, for the price tag, it's not bad at all! Sometimes it's nice to just have a cute, simple creme and this definitely fits the bill. Happy Monday!

Native Wars Paints No Tricks Here

Today I have a real treat for you! I have Native War Paints No Tricks Here. This was a mystery polish released for April Fool's Day. I actually passed on buying it the first time around but then a few extras were offered in the clearance area of the NWP shop and it was so pretty I decided I had to have it! And I think that was a really good choice. No Tricks Here is described as a "medium blue polish with a shifty red/gold shimmer." 

No Tricks Here had a good formula and I didn't have any issues. It went on smoothly; the first coat covered fairly well but I probably ended up using three because that's typically what I do. (Of course, it's also been awhile since I wore it and I also don't remember!) I was worried that this would stain, given how vivid the blue is, but no staining to report here, even after a few days of wear!

I think this very well may be one of my favorite polishes of 2016! Vivid color, blue, gorgeous, strong shimmer. I feel like the shimmer isn't quite as prominent in my photos as it is in real life, but trust me, it's very visible to the eye. I loved this polish so much and didn't want to stop staring at my nails. I can't really stop babbling about how lovely this is... sorry not sorry! I'm all about the shimmer right  now!

Throwback Thursday: KB Shimmer Teal Another Tail

Today I have another Throwback Thursday for you! In keeping with the teal theme for the week, today's polish is KB Shimmer Teal Anothe Tail, which was originally released back in the fall of 2013 and I bought it on sale when it was sadly discontinued. This polish is a gorgeous teal with a strong pink shimmer. This poor baby has been sitting around unloved for awhile, but I saw some photos of a summer collection with a similar looking polish (teal with pink shimmer) and I knew I had this lurking in a drawer and so I dug it out immediately to wear it! And I am so glad I did because it's beautiful!

Teal Another Tail was great to work with and went on smoothly and easily. The first coat was a little sheer, but it built up nicely. I probably could have gotten away with two coats but used three, but that's pretty typical of my polishing style! There's maybe a titch of visible nail line but it was not noticeable in real life.

Teal Another Tail is just fantastic, but really, that's to be expected from a brand like KB Shimmer. It's polishes like this that make indie brands so fantastic-- and KB Shimmer is one of the best! I really need to get some more of her polishes because I feel like she always has great collections; definitely check KB Shimmer out if you haven't yet.

Love Angeline 06/16

Today I have another pretty (and pretty unique) polish to share with you: 06/16 is the June monthly LE Polish from Love Angeline. I feel like this is the first monthly from Love, Angeline that I am showing you, though I have others to show you! I am just behind, as per usual. This is a good place to start, though, because I absolutely love this color! 

06/16 is described as an "orangey-copper with hints of red and flashes of pink. Along with gold holo microglitters and gold micro flakies!" To me, this polish read as a coppery rose pink but I think both descriptions fit! The formula on this was good; thick but not too thick and it applied easily. I think I used three coats but probably could have gotten away with two coats. I think I've discovered one thing that is kind of annoying about my Love, Angeline polishes. I find the brush to be a bit floppy, which then makes the polish feel a little thicker. It's not that big of a deal, just something I've noticed. 

So pretty, right? I love the color and this is pretty unique to my polish collection. It was hard to stop staring at my nails while I was wearing it because it's super sparkly. One of my favorites for this year, for sure! 

Sinful Colors Glazy Sunday

Switching gears a little, today I have Glazy Sunday from a recent Sinful Colors collection (an Alice in Wonderland themed collection featuring a "porcelain matte" finishes). Recent being a relative term-- this is a spring collection that was released back in March, and I probably grabbed this about that time and used it as a base in my Hobby Polish Bloggers monthly nail art challenge back in April! (You can see that manicure here!)

Glazy Sunday is described as a "delicate dusty rose" and I think that's a fairly accurate description. As I mentioned earlier, this polish has a porcelain matte finish, which in practice means it dries to a satin-like matte finish; it does have a slight sheen to it and is not completely flat. Glazy Sunday definitely has a thicker formula; not unworkable and it seems pretty standard for polishes like these, but I did have to work a bit carefully to make sure I didn't drag it or make it too thick in places. Honestly, it wasn't all that bad and I love how it looks.

I'm a huge sucker for mattes, so with words like "limited edition" and "matte" on the bottle, there was no way I was going to pass these up. While not it's not a perfect formula, it's still decent and the price point goes a long way in terms of making up for a few formula flaws. Glazy Sunday is such a pretty, soft color and I love the matte (er, really satin) finish, so I'm calling this a winner!

Darling Diva I Know

Oh this one... Of course I had to include Darling Diva I Know in my famous quotes section (and of course, also from ESB). The line "I know" came about as an ad lib-- rumor has it that Lucas had written a more cliched response for Han when Leia announces she loves him just prior to Han being frozen in carbonite but when they went to film the scene, Harrison Ford either forgot his line or decided spur of the moment that Han Solo would say something sassy, and "I know" became a part of film history. (The story also goes that Lucas wasn't very happy about it, but was overruled... and sorry Lucas, but it's honestly a lot better than some sappy response.)

I Know is a deep metallic magenta holo with blue microglitter in it. Because it is more metallic in nature, it does want to leave streaks when you have excess polish on your brush/nail, but they are pretty easy to take care of. The formula was a little bit on the thick side, but not bad. It was pretty easy to apply in general, though I think it did thicken up a bit as I was using it. Still, it went on easily enough. My only quibble is that it dried a little bumpy looking, either because of the microglitter or maybe my coats were too thick (I think it's the microglitter but maybe someone has a better explanation). It's a small quibble. I used three coats in all, though I feel like you could probably get away with two. 

I think I Know is just gorgeous. For some reason, to me, this color just works for the quote. I'm not quite sure why that is, because this isn't a color that's prevalent in the movie at all. Maybe it's because it's a romantic color, but not totally traditional? We'll go with that. I love how deep and rich it is, and the blue microglitter gives it some added depth and interest. It feels right!