Lou It Yourself Some Like It Hutt

Today I have the punnily titled Some Like It Hutt by Lou It Yourself (now Bluebird Lacquer). This was another polish from the Light and Dark Side duos that were released as a collaboration between Lou It Yourself and Native Wars Paints in the lead up to Rogue One! The name, Some Like It Hutt, is a play off the species of the same name. In the Star Wars universe, Hutts are giant slug-like creatures with a penchant for gambling, slavery, and various other criminal activities.

The formula of Some Like It Hutt was great, no issues! It flowed on the nail really well and was very nicely pigmented. The first coat had a few thin spots, but two coats looked good! I think I did a third coat, which was overkill, but it still looks really nice. I think two coats would have been fine. I didn't have any issues with this; it was easy!

I ended up loving this one. It looked very chic on the nail. Even though it's May, the dark grey base was lovely and the shimmer really livened it up! I also appreciate that even with the dark base, the shimmer didn't get lost. I loved wearing this-- I wore it for only a short time so I'll definitely be picking this up again when the weather gets cooler!

Sassy Pants Polish Saber the Moment

Oh man, running late again! I had a very busy weekend solo parenting and it appears summer has finally arrived in Seattle, so I've been exhausted (and hot)! Today I have the last polish from the Nouveau Geek Star Wars themed box (from *last* May)-- Sassy Pants Polish Saber the Moment. The name gives me a give chuckle-- great pun. Saber the Moment is a shimmery sky metal that almost leans a bit metallic, and is based off the color of Anakin and Luke and now Rey's lightsaber.

Sadly, though the color of the polish is pretty, the formula on this was a real bummer. It was a bit on the sheer side (you can see some visible nail line) and dried to matte/satin finish. Because of the shimmer it had a bit of a metallic feel to it and was a titch streaky. And unfortunately, perhaps due to some thicker coats in attempt to make it more opaque, I got a ton of bubbles. UGH. I was really disappointed with how this looked.

While I don't mind the color, the formula was a huge let down here and I really wasn't happy with how the final product ended up looking, especially with the bubbles. It's possibly I didn't fully mix the polish before applying it, as it had definitely separated a bit while it had been sitting in a drawer, so maybe it would be better on a second wear. I don't know. The bubbles really killed it for me, though perhaps mixing it better and applying thinner coats would have helped the opacity and bubbles. So this was kind of let down, though I will try to revisit it in the future in hopes that I can redeem it!

Native Wars Paints Midiclorian Count

Whoops, I'm running a little late with this today! Rounding out the week, today I have Native War Paints Midiclorian Count to share with you! In the Star Wars universe, midiclorians are what allows a person to sense and use the Force. When this concept was introduced back in The Phantom Menace it ticked a lot of fans off. Personally, I don't have any issue with this at all. As a biologist, it makes sense that there might be some biological reason why some people might be more Force-sensitive than others and also explains why the Force is in all living things. But on to our polish! Midiclorian Count is a silvery nude with a strong blue shimmer and holographic sparkle.

It probably doesn't come as a surprise that this starts out a little bit sheer, given the light base color. At first I was a bit worried, but Midiclorian Count builds up nicely. I used three coats here to get the opacity I wanted. But aside from being a bit sheer, I didn't have many issues with this. It is a bit on thick side, but definitely not unworkable.

This is another great one! I love the shimmer and the holo here! This has a lovely ethereal quality to it. The color is deceiving-- I love thought it was more white at first, but definitely has a strong grey tone to it. In any case, I think it's lovely and unusual-- I don't think I have anything quite like this in my extensive collection!

Happy Friday and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Glam Polish The Power of the Dark Side

Today I have the other, villainous half of the April Glam Polish duo. Inspired by Darth Vader, one of the most famous (infamous?) villains to grace our screens, Darth Vader. Tall and imposing, you definitely don't want to run afoul of him, especially as he goes around Force-choking people who displease him.

The Power of the Dark Side is described as a "black jelly with a mix of iridescent flakies, rainbow holographic microglitter, shifting iridescent glitter and fine holo microglitter." With the jelly formula, this was a little sheer but built up very nicely. I used three coats for the look I wanted but you might be able to get away with two! The flakies and glitters are packed in there so you don't have to worry about any distribution issues. This was easy to work with! 

I am generally not a fan of very vampy "goth" polishes-- it just isn't my natural aesthetic! That said, I do like how colorful the flakies are in the dark base. While this is definitely dark, it's also fun and has a lot of character, which I like. I don't tend to reach for darker polishes a lot, but I really appreciate how the color doesn't get lost here. Definitely one of my favorite dark side based polishes! 

Glam Polish I'd Just As Soon Kiss A WOOKIEE!

Today I have the first of a set that was just released in April. Every month Glam Polish chooses a hero/villain inspiration and makes a duo of polishes based on the pairing. The pair for April was Princess Leia and Darth Vader. Today I have the polish inspired by Leia, I'd Just As Soon Kiss A WOOKIEE, which is described as a "white scattered holo with strong crimson shimmer, ultra holo glitter and fine holo microglitter." Given that Leia's signature color is white, it's certainly no surprise to see it used here.

The formula of I'd Just As Soon Kiss A WOOKIEE was good-- I was a little nervous because you can never be quite sure which way it will go with a white polish! But this was nicely pigmented, if maybe a touch thick. It does want to be a little streaky, but using a light touch really helps. I used three coats but honestly could have gotten away with two because this was so easy to work with! I am really pleased that I didn't have any issues because I feel like a polish like this could be troublesome!

I loved this! Personally, I feel like this is a polish I could wear all the time. There something soft and elegant about this and it just looked really great on my nails! I just wanted to look at my nails all the time. This was a real winner. I think this is the first Glam Polish I've featured on the blog and I'm hoping we see more Star Wars related polishes from this brand in the future!

Alter Ego Rebel Princess

Today's polish, Alter Ego Rebel Princess was another polish from last May's Nouveau Geek box, inspired by our favorite royal rebel, Princess Leia. When I was initially thinking of this polish, I though it was more of a neutral along the lines of yesterday's Darling Diva Rey, but in reality, Rebel Princess is a "a gold-toned tan polish with holographic shimmer and flashes of pink flecks." This is more colorful than a standard beige neutral, the beautiful bronze-like color of this polish works as an elegant neutral with just the right amount of sparkle-- definitely suitable for a proud, elegant, stubborn rebel princess we know and love.

This had a pretty good formula-- a little sheer but flowed on the nail nicely and wasn't too thick or too thin. It also dried super quickly to a semi-matte finish, so I was able to get my whole manicure done in about 20 minutes! Love that! I did use three coats to make sure it had the opacity I wanted, but application was a breeze!

I know I've said it several times before, but sparkly bronze gold polishes are a favorite of mine, so it shouldn't be a surprise that I like this one a lot! It's a nice twist on a neutral with just a little more pizzazz than you would expect. This is probably the standout polish from the Nouveau Geek box in terms of color and application!

Darling Diva Rey

Technically you have seen this polish before, but I want to showcase it all by itself! This will be a bit of a quickie post because I was traveling for Mother's Day and am under the gun! Today I have Darling Diva Rey, which is of course based on the newest Star Wars heroine, Rey (parentage currently and hotly debated within the Star Wars fandom). Like the planet she hails from and the nondescript clothing she wears, Rey is a beige neutral holographic. I think the holographic finish here is a nice touch-- some may see the color as boring or plain, but the sparkle shows her undaunted spark.

The formula on this was smooth and perfect. It is a lighter color, but nicely pigmented and went on smoothly and easily. No issues to report at all! I believe I used three coats here, just to make sure I had the complete coverage I wanted, though it might be possible to use just two.

This is a lovely neutral! I love a neutral with a bit of flair and this delivers! The formula is a great. I love this, just like I love Rey the character.

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Pahlish Star Wars Trio

Ok, strap yourselves in for a long, picture heavy post! Today I have a trio of Star Wars themed polishes from Pahlish that were released around Thanksgiving back in 2015, right before The Force Awakens was released. These are all jelly based polishes with a combination of glitters and flakies in them! They are based on various locations from the original trilogy!

First up is Two Moon Sunset. I find the name a little confusing because I think the maker actually means the binary sunset we see on Tatooine. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! Two Moon Sunset has a red base with red and platinum flakes, microglitters and shimmer. I used three coats here but I think two would have been fine. The jelly base is a little thick but this goes on very easily and dries quickly.

Next up is Winds of the Cloud City, based on Bespin from The Empire Strikes Back. This one has a blue jelly base with blue and platinum flakes, microglitter, and shimmer. I used three coats here but probably could have gotten away with two.

And lastly we have The Forest Moon, based on the planet Endor from Return of the Jedi. As the name probably suggests, The Forest Moon is a green based polish with platinum and green flakies and green microglitters. I found that this to be a little thicker and I needed three coats to make sure it was even and opaque.

These are just simply gorgeous and even a year and a half later they still have good formula and are easy to use. I love all of them; it's hard to pick a favorite! If I have to choose, The Forest Moon wins by just the smallest of margins because I love the mix of flakies and glitter-- it has the most depth to it! But these are all great and lovely!

Lou It Yourself Bye, Felucia

I was scrambling to find another polish based off a Star Wars planet and remembered I had Lou It Yourself (now Bluebird Lacquer) Bye, Felucia sitting my stash. This was released towards the end of last year in the lead up to the release of Rogue One. The polishes were all Star Wars themed, of course, but not specifically related to Rogue One.

Bye, Felucia is named after a jungle planet we only see briefly in Revenge of the Sith, when Jedi Master Aalya Secura is gunned down by her clone troopers, but we do see the planet Felucia several times through out the Clone Wars series as it was involved in several conflicts through the war. Bye, Felucia is a deep blue with a strong red copper shimmer running through it. This is nicely pigmented and not too thin or too thick-- the first coat went on a little sheer but two coats covered very nice. In fact, I went to apply my typical third coat and decided that it would be overkill. So only two here!

Welp, this ticks all my buttons. Blue? Check. Shimmer? Check! Holographic? Check! So all around we have a winner. The red shimmer lends a slight purple tone to this polish, but overall it still looks blue. The holo sparkle is subtle, but doesn't disappear. So I love this, full stop. Definitely one of my favorite that I've shown you so far!

Darling Diva Cloud City

In line with The Lando System from yesterday, I have another polish inspired by Bespin: Darling Diva Cloud City. Rather than the colors we see in the movie, this polish captures the feeling of a soaring, wide open sky. Cloud City is a medium sky blue holographic that includes pink shimmer and multicolored iridescent flakies.

Cloud City has a jellyish consistency and was a little thick while also being a little on the sheer side. That said, it goes on pretty easily and is pretty forgiving. I did need to use three coats to make it mostly opaque, though there was still some visible nail line even after three coats. If you really dislike anything sheer, you could definitely layer this, but I think it looks very pretty and delicate alone. 

And for good measure, here's an iPhone photo so you can see the flakies, though the lighting is not great:

This is really pretty! I like how the same inspiration can result in two very different looking polishes. This color is so soft and pretty and I love the combination of finishes-- I think they work pretty well together without competing too much. I would say that the flakies kind of disappear in the shimmer and holographic finishes most of the time, but do come out with the right conditions and give this some added dimension. Lovely!