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!