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!

Darling Diva Andromeda

I was feeling the need for something different and so reached for a red, because I feel like it's been awhile since I a wore a good red polish. I love a good red polish but find I tend not to wear it during the fall because I'm more fixated on purple and football season. But even I need a break everyonce and awhile! Today's polish, Darling Diva Andromeda, was a custom polish from Fantasmic Flakies FB group. Andromeda is described as a "red berry polish flashes from brick red through purple berry with a soft linear holo and blue to red multichrome flakies."

The first coat went on pretty sheer, but it did build up nicely despite give me some initial worry. Two coats wasn't quite enough for me due my wide nail beds, so I used three-- which I probably would have anyway. The larger flakies did want to drag to the edge of my nail,  but it wasn't a huge issue and otherwise (aside from the sheerness on the first coat) there weren't any issues with Andromeda because application was fine aside from those two minor things! As you can see in my photos, the final product is well worth it!

Andromeda is so so gorgeous! While I was worried because the first coat was a little sheer, I was really happy with the finished product. The color is deep and beautiful, and the holographic finish and flakies give it depth. It's definitely a unique polish to  my collection!

Hope everyone's week is off to a good start! 

Review: Born Pretty Store Black Cat Water Decals

**product sent for honest review**

Hey all!! I had a different post planned for today but this weekend while I cleaned some things out and finally found some Born Pretty Store water decals I had been looking for-- they were sent to me in January, my laptop stopped working, and then I misplaced them and couldn't find them for ages! But here they are! I got these black cat water decals -- they are nicely detailed and can work over a multitude of colors, provided of course that it's not too dark!

These were easy to use, though with a few caveats. The designs are pretty small, so a smaller pair of scissors might be helpful to cut them out. I also had a little bit of a difficult time removing them from the backing, but in the end it wasn't a big deal and they went easily on to my nail. For my manicure, I used a base of Darling Diva Rey, and then added two decals to my index and ring fingers. But I wanted to make a manicure that was a play on my name, so here you go!

Here's a look at my manicure:

And a close-up of my index nail:

And my ring nail:

I think these are pretty cute! You can see that the details transfer pretty well, especially on the index nail, though I did end up losing some on my ring nail. Still cute though! I'm really with how this turned out!

Check out Born Pretty Store for tons of nail art products and use my code CRK31 for 10% off your order!

**product sent for honest review**

Darling Diva BB-8

Today I have another polish from Darling Diva, BB-8, which is her tribute polish to the newest droid in the Star Wars universe. BB-8 has definitely made a splash and quickly won fans over. Heck, even I kind of want one of those Sphero BB-8 toys for myself! He's cute and round and has tons of sass and attitude, so really, how can you not love him?

BB-8 is described as a "scattered orange holo." It had a good formula; a touch thick but in a good way-- it was really easy to apply and went on very smoothly. I used three coats to make sure I had he coverage I wanted, though two properly would have been fine! The scattered holo finish gives the polish a beautifully, glowy, lit-from-within quality which I absolutely love. Honestly, this is pretty much my favorite type of finish and I think it makes a polish look incredibly rich and gives it a lot of depth!

All in all, I was very pleased with BB-8, as I have been with all the polishes I have purchased from Darling Diva-- I definitely look forward to checking out other collections from her in the future! (Finger crossed she does another collection for Rogue One or future trilogy movies!)

Darling Diva These Aren't The Droids You're Looking For

Ok, this technically could have gone in my famous Star Wars quotes section, buutttt it also makes the transition into my next little section: droids!! There are certain droids that have developed their own little personalities within the Star Wars universe and have become steadfast favorites of the fandom. In fact, R2-D2 and C-3PO in the original trilogy are pretty much our entry point into the universe until we meet up with Luke and they play critical roles throughout the series. To start off this week of droid inspired polishes, today I have Darling Diva There Aren't The Droids You're For, based off of R2-D2 and C-3PO and using Obi Wan Kenobi's memorable line from A New Hope.

I would describe These Aren’t The Droids You’re Looking For as a white crelly with blue, red, and gold glitter to represent our favorite droids. I probably should have turned this polish upside down before using it— it had been sitting for awhile and so some of the glitter was sticking the sides of the bottle. So it was a bit difficult to get some of the larger blue glitters out, but that probably would have been remedied if I had prepared better. Being a white crelly, the first coat was a bit sheer, but built up nicely. I did try to place a few glitters, but otherwise didn’t have any problems applying it. I used three coats to get the opacity I wanted.

And how could I resist making it matte?

Love this polish! It’s really cute and I love how the colors represent the droids. It does need a bit of a shake-up prior to use, but was generally easy to apply. I continue to impressed with Darling Diva polishes, and These Aren't The Droids You're Looking For is no exception!

Darling Diva Sith Lady

To wrap up my villains week (though you may see a few more polishes related to this theme if I can get my sith together, hah) I have Darling Diva Sith Lady! I'm honestly not quite sure who this polish refers to-- the first person who comes to mind for me is Asajj Ventress, who was a prominent villain in The Clone Wars series and while she wasn't technically a Sith, was a Dark Force user... so maybe there's another EU person I've missed, but so I'm going with Asajj.

Sith Lady is described as a "gorgeous multichrome that shifts from red through to gold. Add to this a healthy dose of holographic flakes and you have a polish fit for a Sith Lady." The first coat of Sith Lady was a bit sheer, but the second coat made it almost 100% opaque, which tend to be the nature of polishes like this. I added a third coat for good measure, though I probably could have gotten away with two. Not too thick or thin, and it applied easily.

Isn't this stunnning?! I don't think I ever get tired of these holographic duochromes because there is so much going on. It helps that Seattle is having a lot of partly cloudy/sunny weather too, so I can enjoy both finishes throughout the day. In any case, I love how rich this looks!

Here's a quick shot to try and catch the shift (still hard to see, it's more apparent in real life... I wish my photos were better!):

So there you have it! Hope you enjoyed this shifty duochrome beauty! 

Darling Diva I'd Just As Soon Kiss A Wookiee

Ok, last but not least, today I have Darling Diva I'd Just As Soon Kiss A Wookiee. This is my last Darling Diva polish for a little bit, but you can obviously tell which collection most of the quotes came from. This is another line from ESB, when Han is trying to get Leia to admit she has feelings for him, and Leia isn't quite ready to take that step yet, hah.

I'd Just As Soon Kiss A Wookiee is a grape purple jelly that is packed with holographic shimmer and glitter. The formula is definitely a touch thick, which makes it a little difficult to work with because it wants to drag a little bit-- not helped by the fact that I had a very busy week and swatched this quickly instead of wearing it as a full manicure and taking a bit more time. Despite that, it dries fairly quickly and was easy to build up. I used three coats here.

I'm a bit bummed I only got to swatch this-- I'll definitely be returning to it in the future because it's so pretty. The formula was not my favorite, but I probably need some more time to play with it instead of trying to swatch it in a hurry. The color is gorgeous, and definitely deserves a full manicure. I'm so glad I picked this one up, plus the name will always make me laugh!

With that, I'm wrapping up the quote section of my Star Wars polishes... join me next week for villains!

Darling Diva Scruffy Looking Nerf Herder

Today's polish, Darling Diva Scruffy Looking Nerf Herder is technically only part of a quote, but it counts (or I'm counting it, anyway). It's the last part of a quote from Leia, who is describing Han as a "stuck-up... half-witted... scruffy looking nerf herder!" to which Han woundedly replies: "who's scruffy looking?" Classic. (This is another quote from ESB, which truly yielded some of the best lines in the original trilogy and series in general.)

Scruffy Looking Nerf Herder is described as a "complex brick red holo is full of sparkle and depth." As a brick red, there are definitely brown tones to this polish, and I think the balance is pretty even between the red and the brown (I feel like my photos lean slightly brown, but in real life I think the red is the more dominant tone). The formula was a breeze. Not too thick or too thin, and it applied easily without any issue.

I fell in love with this polish, even though I did not expect to. Yes, it's pretty, but I didn't think I would full on love it. Scruffy Looking Nerf Herder is bold, sexy, and vampy-- without being too much of any of those. It's very wearable and I wore it upwards of 3 days, which is pretty unusual for me (though it also had to do with not being able to change my polish at all during that period). In any case, I think this color is perfect for a polish describing Han Solo (even if it is sarcastic) and it's another one of my (surprise) favorites from this collection.

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!

Darling Diva Do or Do Not, There Is No Try

Today's famous quote also comes from The Empire Strikes Back! (Actually, lot of my quote inspired polishes are based off ESB... But given that it's the best movie in the series, perhaps it's not a surprise.) Darling Diva Do Or Do Not, There Is No Try is spoken by Yoda to Luke, during his brief training on Dagobah. Luke still doesn't believe in The Force and anticipates failure. It's a great moment. And a classic line you can still hear repeated to this day. Believe, I plan on using this on my boys when they are older.

DODNTINT (yes, another abbreviation) is described as a "dirty green apple base full of holo, metallic flakies of assorted colors and sizes and rose gold shimmer." Check! This polish has sooooo much going on, it's a joy to look at! Someone call CoverGirl; this is real Star Wars inspired polish. I love that the flakies, holo and shimmer add a ton of depth to this polish; it's unique and interesting. Formula was great; maybe a tad thick but easy to apply. The first coat was a touch sheer, but not too bad, and it built up nicely. I used three coats to achieve the look I wanted, though I probably could have gotten away with two.

I wanted to matte this, but either my Zoya Matte Velvet topcoat is not good or I don't know how to apply matte topcoat (is there a trick I don't know?!) because I am having issues with it actually matting anything. Soooooo sorry, missed opportunity there. I'm sure this would look awesome matteified.

While I am not a fan of greens, I love the complexity of this polish. Plus, the murky green of the base works so well for Yoda and the Dagobah swamp where he resides. Verdict: love it, why aren't all polishes this cool?!

Darling Diva Help Me Obi Wan Kenobi, You're My Only Hope

To kick off this week of Star Wars polishes, I'm focusing on famous quotes from the series. Today's polish (and quote) is Darling Diva Help Me Obi Wan Kenobi, You're My Only Hope. I don't know if this is the most famous line from the series (wait for tomorrow's quote) but I would argue that this is the line of dialogue that eventually propels Luke on his hero's journey and sets up the plot for the first movie.

HMOWKYMOH (yes, I'm abbreviating it because that is a mouthful [handful?] to type repeatedly) is described as a "soft white polish full of blue shimmer and holo sparkle." It is also described as being sheer, and I would say this is a spot-on description all the way around. The formula is good, though-- a touch on the thick side but easy to apply. And it is indeed sheer, but builds up nicely. I used three coats and while it isn't completely opaque, has a nice delicate look to it without being too thick. Personally, I think this polish benefits from not being 100% opaque and so I don't mind that there is some visible nail line. You could layer this over a light color if you wanted it to be opaque.

This polish is so gorgeous; I fell completely in love with it. It has a very ethereal feel to it, just like Princess Leia's hologram in the movie (and also a bit translucent). It's soft and delicate and looked very elegant and ladylike. I felt like a hand model while I was wearing it, hah! I think this is one of my favorite polishes so far! 

Darling Diva My M'Effen Lighsaber is Purple

And rounding up our lightsaber inspired polishes, I have a special one to share with you today: Darling Diva My M'Effen Lightsaber is Purple! This, of course, is based on the one and only Samual L. Jackson, or rather, Mace Windu, the Jedi character he played in the prequel trilogy. Because he's Samual L. Jackson, he requested a purple lightsaber and Lucas gave it to him. The perks of the job, huh? I'd love to have a purple lightsaber! Honestly, I found Mace Windu to be kind of an asshole (and just having watched The Clone Wars series has pretty much cemented my opinion) but I can't argue with a purple lightsaber being pretty damn badass.

My M'Effen Lightsaber is Purple is, of course, purple. All the purple. Darling Diva describes it as "Linear holo, purple shimmer, loaded with metallic purple and silver flakies." Yes! The base is a purple-pink shifty duochrome, almost a touch metallic, and it's packed with flakies, giving it an almost foil-like finish, combined with the linear holo and pops of darker purple flakies. This is one unique polish with lots going on! The formula was pretty good. It is a touch thick, but generally I didn't have problems applying it. The flakies may want to get a little jagged towards the free edge of the nail, but it wasn't too bad. I used three coats here, though possibly could have gotten away with two.

I decided to grab some pictures in natural light to try and capture the duochrome nature of this polish. I don't know if I really succeeded, though you can see a bit of the shift on my index finger in the vertical photo.

Well, just like having a purple light saber means you're a badass, I think this purple polish is pretty badass too (though we all know I have a purple bias). Gorgeous, complex, stunning-- call it what you will, but I love it! The only thing missing is some glow in the dark action, am I right? =)

 The only color I'm missing is a red saber color but we'll definitely be seeing some reds as we move into looking some Star Wars villains later!