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!

Shleee Polish Jakku

The next stop on our galactic tour is a newer planet we've been introduced to: Jakku, home of heroine Rey and a mysterious Imperial project (though I still need to read Aftermath: Empire's End to get all the details). It's also another desert planet, similar to Tatooine of the original and prequel trilogies, and offers some foreboding but intriguing visuals as we see endless sand dunes and the graveyard of Imperial and Republic starships.

From starwarsscreencaps.com

Jakku is a mix of bronze glitter and gold mica in a clear (maybe slightly tinted?) base. This mix is definitely more opaque going on than Hoth was, and was pretty much opaque in two coats. I did use my usual three, but I think two would have been fine. I can't remember if I needed to use two layers of top coat with this-- I think just one? I should have taken better notes, as per usual. I didn't have any issues with this at all!

Well, I love these golden bronze polishes so it probably comes as no shock that I absolutely love this. Jakku definitely seemed to be denser than Hoth and covered a lot more easily. The color is just so freaking fantastic and I love it! This was shiny and beautiful and it was really hard for me to take this off because I liked it so much. Definitely a winner in my book!

Enchanted Polish Congratulations

Let's kick off the week with a bang, as it were! Today I have an older Enchanted Polish, Congratulations, which is actually happens to be available right now-- it was re-released this year and has been in stock for awhile. I believe it was originally released in 2013. Congratulations is a beautiful bronze holographic with a slight gold/green duochrome shift. I've had this sitting around for some months, but the color seemed appropriate for the fall season so I decided to wait until fall and then grabbed it to use!

The formula on this was a little thin, compared to some other Enchanteds, but not difficult to work with. The first coat was a bit sheer, but built up nicely. I ended up using three coats, but that's pretty standard for me, as I have probably mentioned a few thousand times. You might be able to get away with two coats but I felt three was what I needed to get the opaque coverage I wanted! But other than being on the thinner side, I had absolutely no issues and it applied easily.

The rainbow on this is just stunning, isn't it?! So freaking beautiful. I love how strong it is, it's just entrancing. I didn't find the duochrome to be very strong in this polish, compared to others from the same collection (like The Youth or Future Reflections) but it was still hard to tear my eyes off it. So beautiful! 

Girly Bits Sun Dog

For the life of me, I am just feeling so uninspired to write lately! It's a bummer because I really loved the polish that I am sharing with you today, but finding the words right now is so freaking hard! If you blog, do you ever go through periods like that? I guess I'm in a rut and need to find a way out of it! Not sure exactly what I'm going to do, but hopefully I can come up with something! Today's polish is one of the Girly Bits COTM polishes from August, Sun Dog. I really loved this duo (I'll have the other half to share with you later) but Sun Dog is the one I wanted to wear first. Not only is the color right up my alley, but the name, though totally unrelated, makes me think of my alma mater (UW), the mascot of which was originally the Sundodgers (get it, because it rains a lot in Seattle?!) and our current mascot, the Huskies, or as we also say, Dawgs. The strange things we think of when looking at a polish, am I right? 

Sun Dog is described as a "light golden copper shimmolo, with bronze micro flakes and copper shimmer." Think this is pretty straight forward and accurate, don't you? This is truly a color for all seasons, but I think the colors definitely capture the sun drenched, heat soaked days of summer and the golden, changing days of fall, so it's perfect as a summer to fall transition shade. But really, a metallic is always in season! The formula on this was good, which is generally what I expect for a Girly Bits polish. The first coat was a little sheer, but built up nicely and I used three coats for the coverage I wanted.

I'm a sucker for colors like this and so it's no surprise that I love this, a lot. The holo is gorgeous, I love the flakies... it's a flattering and wearable shade. I love everything about it! I think it will definitely be going on my "best of 2016" list!

On a programming note: I will probably be taking some time off blogging at the end of October due to some traveling. My grandma was recently diagnosed with cancer and while we're still getting details/information/a timeline, my sister and I have decided we need to spend some time with her so we'll be traveling to the Midwest this month to visit! I'm really looking forward to it and we'll see if I can get some content up and running before I leave, but I make no promises (except that I will definitely make sure I have a Purple Friday post planned)! Just wanted to let you guys know in case I vanish and you actually think "what the heck is going on?"

Two-fer Tuesday: Fairytale Finish Neverending Fairytales October Box

I initially meant to get this posted last week, but discovered that I had somehow deleted pictures of one of the polishes and so I had to go back and reswatch it this weekend! How annoying! But it was easily remedied, at least. So this week I can show you the October box, which was inspired by fall!

This first polish I have to share with you is Leaf Jumping, which is a salmon pink crelly with a variety of different colored glitters in there, including turquoise, blue, red and yellow. I needed to give this a good roll to get the glitters mixed up again because it had been sitting for awhile, but it applied very well. I probably could have gotten away with two coats, but used three coats here to make sure I had the glitter and opacity I wanted. I didn't really have to dab, though the first coat was a bit sparse in terms of glitter, so I made sure that I had more glitter on my following coats.

This next polish from the box, and the one that I think is the true standout is Autumn Twilight. This is a difficult polish to describe, but I'll give it a try! Autumn Twilight has a deep, blackened purple base with mix of shimmer, purple and bronze glitter. I honestly can't quite remember how many coats I used here-- I think maybe two, but I might have used three, as that tends to my MO these days. This was packed with glitter and went on very easily; no issues at all! Perfection!

Another great sub box from Amanda! I kind of wish Leaf Jumping had of a more autumnal base color, but I like the unique color combination of the glitters. Autumn Twilight is definitely the winner here, but again, I like them both!

KB Shimmer Big Tan on Campus

Summertime means sunshine and sunshine means... holo polish!! Today I have KB Shimmer Big Tan on Campus, which is from last year's Early Summer collection. I snagged this one while it was on sale and took these photos awhile ago (since February, yikes), but predictably the pictures have been sitting around, forgotten until recently. Which is not a terrible problem to have, but it does sometimes mean that things don't get on the blog in a timely fashion! Anyway... Big Tan on Campus is a bronze/tan base with a nice linear holographic finish.

This isn't the first KB Shimmer polish I have used, but every polish I have used so far has been wonderful and Big Tan on Campus was no exception. This was exceptionally easy to use and went on smoothly in two coats. The holographic finish is strong but not overwhelming. At first I wasn't quite sure if I was going to like this, but I really liked it on my nails! I think this could make a good pedicure for the summer.

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Unfortunately, Big Tan on Campus is discontinued, but KB Shimmer has a ton of other really awesome polishes available and I would highly encourage you to try some of her polishes if you haven't already!

Enchanted Polish Good Life

Oooohhhh, look at this-- my first Enchanted Polish on the blog! I have recently become an EP convert, though there is still some lingering resentment (not from me, just in general) about the low availability of her polishes. Mainly, I do the preorders and have managed to catch a few restocks, but since I have no vested interest, it's just kind of fun. The polish I have for you tonight, is Good Life, which I managed to catch on a random restock-- it was the one polish I wanted so I'm glad I was able to snag it! Good Life is a pretty unique polish, at least to me. It is a gold-bronze duochrome with a holographic finish and the gold has a strong green tone to it. (Spoiler alert: you won't really see it in my photos, sorry!)

The formula on Good Life was perfection-- while not quite opaque in one coat, it went on smoothly and easily and two coats was perfect! No complaints, it was great, which considering the price point, is a must. So I was definitely please with the opacity and how easy this was to apply.

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This is the first Enchanted Polish I've ever used and I was very impressed! The formula was great and I think this is a really unique color. Winner winner chicken dinner! I am definitely looking to collect more EPs and look forward to trying the ones I already have!

Julep Amber

Tonight I have Julep Amber for you, one of the polishes I got with my last Maven box. This is a polish from Julep's new suede formula, so these dry down to a matte finish but the shimmer in the polish gives it the look of texture. Julep describes Amber as a "golden bronze suede." This is a pretty spot on description-- this shade has golden tones in it, but definitely isn't just gold.

The formula on Amber is a little bit on the thick side, but fairly easy to work with. I did notice that my bottle is becoming a little gunky around the neck where I wipe off the brush, so that's something to watch out  for. Because it dries quickly, you definitely need to watch how many brushstrokes you use so you don't drag the polish away from your cuticle if you go over it again. I'm writing this review after the second time I applied this polish (now as a full manicure) and I did notice that I got a few bald patches when I went over areas I had already painted-- so that's something to be careful of. However, two coats was still good enough to get nice opaque coverage. The finish on the nail is smooth, but I did notice my edges were a little rough. You also need to be careful about getting too much polish on your brush, because you can get streaks of pigment when you apply it (you can see this on my middle nail).

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In real life Amber has a sort of antique feel to it, which I love. I also love the suede finish and how it looks, even if it's not a new thing.

Lacquistry Leaf Piles Make Me Smile

This past weekend I was attending my sister in law's wedding-- hence the rest it's been pretty quiet around here. Tonight I'm back with another fall polish from Lacquistry, Leaf Piles Make Me Smile. This is the third polish in my Fall Y'all trio. Leaf Piles Make Me Smile is described as "a mainly mica-based polish, copper and gold are the stars here with supporting accents of charcoal, brown, and tiny flecks of red. Leaf Piles Make Me Smile is in a clear base and has more of a foil finish than just straight up glitter." There's a lot going on, but I can definitely see all the glitter that she describes.

Leaf Piles Make Me Smile is a gorgeous fall polish. I initially thought that the glitter would pop against a darker base color, I layered on a coat of Julep Brandt (you can see it on the edges around the glitter) and then two coats of Leaf Piles Make Me Smile. The formula of this polish was a little on the thick side, but not unmanageable. I used a combination of 'regular' application and a little bit of dabbing-- this polish has the tendency to want to drag, so you have to let it dry in between coats. The foil finish is absolutely spot-on-- this dries down to a smooth finish, despite the larger hex glitter throughout the polish.

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I am a little unhappy with the layering here. Mainly because I didn't realize how opaque Leaf Piles Make Me Smile was and I think it was totally unnecessary to layer it over Brandt and I wish I hadn't. The mica that makes up the base of this glitter covers really well and I think you don't need to layer it. I want to try this again on its own, because I think it would look much better.

Julep Rachel

I feel like I'm forever behind! Today's polish is Julep Rachel, from Julep's Oscar Collection, which was released in February to celebrate the Oscars. To the best of my of my knowledge, all the polishes are named after Oscar winners and/or nominees. I can only assume that Rachel is named after Rachel Weisz, who won a Supporting Actress award for her work in The Constant Gardener. At least, I hope this polish is named after her, because she's beautiful (and talented) and so is this polish and I can definitely see it being inspired by her.

Julep describes Rachel as a "warm, rich copper shimmer." And who can argue with that? Rachel is truly gorgeous-- lots of multicolor shimmer in warm copper base color. Like other shimmer polishes from Julep, this one does have some streaking issues, especially if you get too much polish on the brush. Using thin coats work best. It is very pigmented and almost a one coater, even with thin coats.

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Rachel is currently for sale on Julep's website for $14. I have also read that Julep polishes are also for sale at Sephora now, though I do not currently see them listed on Sephora's website and I'm not sure if they will be, or if they will only be available in stores.

OPI Warm & Fozzie

Tonight's polish is another one from OPI's Muppets collection - Warm & Fozzie. This is named after Fozzie Bear, the Muppet's residence (terrible) comedian. Similarly to Designer... De Better, Warm & Fozzie is a unique polish. It's a foil polish that has a bronze base with very fine gold and red glitter in it. Additionally, Warm & Fozzie seems to have some duochrome action to it-- at certain angles it flashes almost green, but I wasn't really able to capture that in my photos.

The formula was pretty good on this-- I used three coats to achieve opacity. Two coats was almost opaque, but not quite. But there were no issues and it went on smoothly and dried fairly quickly. This polish is so pretty! It seems very unusual to me, which is why it was one of the few polishes from this collection that I decided to pick up in the end. I love the combination of colors-- I know it will sound corny, but this does feel a little "warm and fuzzy" for a polish-- I want to wear it wrapped up in a blanket by a fire with a mug of tea and a book. It seems like a darker, more sultry version of OPI Pros & Bronze, which was released this summer.

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I love this polish! It's so beautiful-- even though this was released as part of OPI's Holiday Collection, I think it would be perfect for fall!