Here's the first of many, many posts featuring Glam Polish's Cast a Spell II collection. Today's polish? Pentacle.

OMG omg omg
You guys, I can't... I am just bowled over by what I received in the mail today. Yes, I got my much anticipated Glam Polish mail nail this arvo and holy crap, it is even better than I had hoped for (and my expctations were pretty damn high).
So, I'm going to show you just one of the polishes from the collection today, and it's one I didn't think I was going to like that much. Of course, I adore it now that I've tried it. And I think you'll see why in a moment :)

Glam Polish nail mail

So, as you can see, I bought the whole Cast a Spell II collection from Glam Polish, plus a bottle of Frankenslime 2.0 and another bottle of Maleficent because I love it and never want to run out. Yes, a little excessive, but keep in mind I haven't really gone on a nail polish mega buy for quite a while and I had been on a no-buy for a while in anticipation of buying this collection. So I'm gonna justify it, ok? Ok ;)

Anyway, this is Pentacle, a charcoal coloured polish that I'd describe as a holo lacquer filled with holo microglitter and tiny iridescent hexagon shaped glitter. The application is smooth and easy (as always) and required only two coats, although it does dry gritty so I also added two coats of seche vite to smooth it all out.

Pentacle

There's really nothing more I can say  about Pentacle except you really need this polish ;) I have a couple of dark grey glitter polishes, but none of them are quite like this and the sparkle you get in sunlight is jaw droppingly amazing. Plus those little hexagon glitters add a beautiful touch that makes this truly unique, it is a definite must have if you like darker colours.

Pentacle

The other cool thing about this polish is that it can look subdued too, so if you're allowed to wear polish at work, just not "bling bling" polish, you could probably sneak this one past the powers that be. See? Totally subdued, just don't let your hands be seen under down-lights or in direct sunlight and you'll be fine ;)

Pentacle

So, that's the first of nine Cast a Spell II polishes that I have here, ready to swatch. Plus I also scored Frankenslime 2.0, which is equally spellbinding (see what I did there? I'm a comedic genius I tells ya, genius!) so that's ten polishes I need to try *phew!* It's a burden being a polish-aholic, make no mistake ;)
As for you, dear reader, well you'd best prepare for a lot of posts and a lot of pics over the next few weeks.
In the meantime, get yourself over to the Glam Polish site and have a squizz at their polishes, there's so many beautiful products with a level of quality that makes them one of Australia's best indie polish makers. Definitely worth a look-see.

Until next time, ~love and polish for all~

Em xox

Today is Two Birds Lacquer day :)

'ello peeps, how is everything going in your world? I hope things are running along beautifully and that stress is down and happiness is up.
It's school holidays where I am so I have the kid at home (she's out jumping on the trampoline and enjoying the sunshine at the moment) which is actually really nice. Of course, my little seaside town is also overrun with tourists, which is not so nice.

I still haven't heard back about that job I applied for working at a local veterinary practice, so I am fairly doubtful that I was successful, but it was still good to get out there and experience a job interview after so long. Mind you, I need to drop some weight because the only interview appropriate pants I own are too small- I guess that's what happens when you spend two years sitting on your bum having multiple surgeries haha

Anyway, I have been taking a lot of pics of my manis recently, which means I have far too many photos to wade through and I've just kinda avoided blogging because that means trying to organise a bazillion images and I just can't... But I really should.
Especially as I am about to receive a fairly substantial package from Glam Polish... after all, it's a given that I'm going to end up taking far too many photos of those babies, and if I don't do some culling now I'll end up drowning in nail polish pics and probably overload my computer in the process.
So here's some swatches for you all ;)
Today is a polish from one of my favourite Aussie indies, Two Birds Lacquer, from their aptly named Floral State-Ments Collection, which consists of nine lacquers based around our State and Territory flowers. This beauty is is Red and Green Kangaroo Paw, the official flower emblem of Western Australia.

Red and Green Kangaroo Paw

Now, as you know, I love a good green, and an interesting green is even better, and this polish fits both criteria beautifully.
Kangaroo Paw is a fabulous pea-soup green creme with teeny tiny sparks of red, white and green glitter throughout- not too much, just enough to give things a little twist. As usual the application was easy, dry time was good and it wore very well too. But what I really love about it is the colour... it's really different from any other green I own, and I own a lot of greens (seriously).

Red and Green Kangaroo Paw

And just because I can, here's a couple of pics of Kangaroo Paw teamed up with another Floral State-ments polish, Golden Wattle.
Golden Wattle is a stunning golden glitterbomb full of all types of gold glitter- tiny microglitter, iridescent glitter, delicate gold flakies... very, very pretty. I used it here as a topper but it can be used on its own also, although you'll need a couple of good coats to achieve full opacity. 

Red and Green Kangaroo Paw with Golden Wattle

So, to sum up- if you're like me and like a good green then I really recommend getting Kangaroo Paw, it is definitely unique enough to warrant buying. Golden Wattle is another delightful polish, and if you like sparkle with a twist then you'll like this one too.
If you haven't experienced Two Birds Lacquer then I reckon you should take a peek at their polishes and give them a try- they make consistently good quality, interesting, flattering polishes and I really think they're an Aussie indie polish maker worth supporting.

Anyway, that's it from me today.
Until next time, as always, ~love and polish for all~

Em xox

Glam Polish have the Cast a Spell II collection coming out, so here's some from the original Cast a Spell to whet your appetite

Hi everyone, how are you all? I'm super excited because one of my favourite polish makers, Glam Polish, have a new collection coming out very soon- the Cast a Spell II collection.
OMG you guys, I am just soooo stoked about this one, it looks amazing.
And so, in anticipation of this new lot of lacquers being released, I thought I'd show you some from the original Cast a Spell collection, although I'm going to divide this post into two lots as I have a lot of pics and need to whittle them down to a more manageable number (one of the joys of being incredibly indecisive is ending up with 100+ pics of each polish because they all look so nice, you just can't decide which ones to keep).

Anyway, first up is this stunner- High Priestess.
This is a bright, almost icy blue polish with lots of sparkle and holo goodness. There's also these divine little iridescent, mini circle glitters, which are a running theme in the polishes of this collection (I think Tempestarii is the only one with out them, but trust me, it's still a complete knockout).

High Priestess

The second polish I want to show you today is Book of Shadows, a gorgeous dark blue lacquer with the same qualities as High Priestess- lots of fine glitter, holo and teeny-tiny circle glitter. I am definitely starting to warm to dark blues and this is one of the reasons why... I love it.

Book of Shadows

What a stunner, hey? And sunlight makes it sparkle like nobody's business, and in the shade it looks deep and glossy and mysterious. Love it!

And finally today, last but most definitely not least is the absolutely beautiful Tempestarii. This is a lush, deep, eggplant purple, filled with shimmer and holo and... well, what seems like magic. I seriously could not stop taking photos of this; inside, outside, in the shade, in the sun... I was just so excited by how amazing it looked in any, and every, light.

Tempestarii

Each and every polish in this collection applied beautifully, with two coats providing more than enough coverage, although I did use three thin coats with some, just to get more depth (and because I'm greedy for glitter). Because they are so full of sparkly goodness they do need a coat of top coat, but unlike a lot of glitter polishes one was enough to provide a nice, smooth, glossy finish.
With Glam Polish the formulas are so consistently good that I sometimes forget to even mention them, but trust me- viscosity is always spot on, never too thick or thin. The polish is always strongly pigmented so you don't have to go over and over to get good coverage, the colours are true and rich... I guess that's why I'm so excited, because I know that this next release is going to be just as magical, if not more so, than this last one.

Pre orders for Cast a Spell II are starting on the 17th of September, with standard orders starting on the 24th.
Glam Polish also have a Halloween duo ready for pre order on the same date, so check that out too. And unlike Cast a Spell I, which contained 5 polishes, Cast a Spell II contains a whopping 9 gorgeous lacquers to keep you happy.
I am over the moon with the shades Rachel and co have come up with for this release, there's a little something for everyone imho (or, if you're like me, every single one is exactly what you want haha).

 Anyway, that's it for today, but I will do my best to finish this tomorrow and show you Coven, a scintillating red, and Conjuring, an amazing emerald green which rounds out the original collection.

In the meantime, go check out the gorgeous wares over at Glam Polish, there's a heap of fab polishes there to keep you busy until the 17th- Maleficent is a personal favourite, which I really should double up on, because I will cry if I ever run out.

I hope everyone is doing well, spring is in the air for those of us in the Southern hemisphere, whilst Autumn is turning the leaves up in the Northern part of the globe. But where ever you may reside, as always, ~love and polish for all~

Em xox

The one that started it all; Emily De Molly's "Cosmic Forces"

Hullo hullo, how is everyone today? It is absolutely full on where I am at the moment, the weather is just wild! Gale force winds, torrential rain and hail... my beautiful poppies that I planted have really taken a beating and I'm worried they won't make it after the last couple of days ;_;
I'm no green thumb, but I planted those tiny seeds and watched them germinate (it took for freaking ever!) and I was so excited to have my own pain management centre growing in my back yard, but this bloody weather may have put paid to all of that. Luckily I have more seeds, but I can't even get out there to plant anything as things stand.
And I certainly can't get outside to take pretty pictures of nail polish, so all of my photos are currently taken in my kitchen under the delightful glow of our ~el crappo~ fluorescent light... it adds that special something, managing to both reduce exposure and leech out any colour at the same time, which is quite a feat really. I do my best to adjust the exposure without bleaching or over saturating the colour of the polish, but you'll have to excuse me if the pictures aren't as uniform as they normally are.

Anyhoo, today I decided to break out Emily De Molly's "Cosmic Forces", the polish that started it all in terms of my current nail polish obsession. I had never even heard of "indie nail polish" until that fateful day, and the images my googling produced had my lusting after that polish like nobody's business. So I went and had a look at Hayley's online store and that was that- I was lost, absolutely smitten and ran headfirst into becoming a polish hoarder post haste.
So, onto the pictures...

O.K, if you're at all familiar with Aussie indie polishes then chances are you've come across this polish before, and for good reason. Emily De Molly was one of the first to use large, holographic circle glitter in a polish like this and it really made people sit up and take notice. And you can see why- it has the most remarkable effect, as if there was something magical going on- a doorway into another dimension perhaps or the reflection of distant stars somehow trapped and held in a bottle of bright purple jelly... whatever the case, it was a significant development and you can now find large circle glitter in many polishes as people appreciated just how amazing it can look.

Cosmic Forces is part of a trio which includes "Oceanic Forces" (which I have reviewed here) and "Dark Forces", which is a blackened jelly containing the same striking combination of glitters. I am currently waiting on a bottle of Dark Forces that I have bought through a destash sale and will definitely be reviewing it as soon as I am able.

 

Formula wise this is a bright purple jelly that is filled with glitter of various types, the aforementioned holographic circle glitter clearly being the star of the show. The larger glitters do require fishing, but I find standing the bottle on its lid for 5 minutes or so before applying definitely helps in getting a hold of those pieces.
I did find this polish to be tricky to apply when I first used it, but that was primarily down to my inexperience with polishes of this kind. Now that I use glitter jellies all the time I find Cosmic Forces a lot easier to handle.
It has thickened up somewhat since I first bought it, but I just add some Seche Restore and it's all good to go. Please note that Seche Restore isn't 3-Free, but I'm sure you could find a 3-Free thinner if that's important to you, just don't use nail polish remover to thin things up as you will end up destroying the polish and then you'll be sad face and I'll be sad face and it's just not a good idea.
I also don't bother with undies as Cosmic Forces achieves opacity easily in three coats, plus you get that fabulous depth and complexity that comes with layering several coats of jelly if you skip the undies, and it's the depth and squishiness that I find so appealing about this polish.

Cosmic Forces is, without a doubt, one of my all time favourites. It holds a special place in my heart as being my first ever "must have" indie, as well as being part of my first ever online polish order.
And it's just so freaking beautiful, I love it. I feel as if there's some sort of sorcery going on here, as if someone's managed to capture something rare and wonderful and trapped it in this bottle, ready for me to re-expolore whenever I get the urge to wear the universe on the tips of my fingers.

Emily De Molly is currently taking some time off after the birth of her first child, a healthy bouncing baby boy (congratulations Hayley!) but you can still purchase her nail stamping plates and nail gems, and as for the polish just keep checking back.
Also, if you belong to any indie nail appreciation groups chances are you'll hear about any store re-openings as Emily De Molly is a much coveted polish, and I know a lot of people are waiting for her return.

For product info, shipping and so on there's Hayley's Big Cartel store as well as her Etsy store. My advice is to just keep checking in periodically and get in there if you get the chance- I already have my list of "must haves" that I will be ordering the minute her store goes live again ;)

Anyway, that's it from me today. I hope you enjoyed my review and the photos- as I said, they weren't taken under the best of conditions, but while the weather remains this revolting I will be taking all my pics inside until further notice.

Until next time, love and polish for all,

Em xox

Pretty basic, and basically very pretty (yeah, it's hard coming up with post titles)

Hullo from miserable cold, "gale force winds knocked down trees all over the joint" Melbourne, where you get to experience four seasons in one day on the regular.

Today I just have a super basic mani to share- another "dotticure" as they're known. I used a gorgeous polish called "Seas the Day" by Australian polish maker Sea Siren Cosmetics as the base and then used a Skin Foods gold polish for the dots.
I love how this turned out. In fact, I still have it on 4 days later. It reminds me very much of shot silk- I used to have a sarong that had very similar colours and this really captures that sense of opulence.

Isn't this pretty? I really love the vibrancy of the colours. Application-wise Seas The Day was great, with beautiful coverage after two thin coats (I probably could have used one coat but I was using a sample sized bottle so there wasn't much on the brush).
Then I popped on a coat of Seche Vite, waited for everything to dry and then used my el-cheapo dotting tools and the Skin Food "Nail Vita" gold polish for the dots, and voila! Instant mani that looks far more complex than it really is ;)

And there you have it, my pretty basic, and basically quite pretty, dotticure.
I'm waiting on several nail mail parcels to arrive over the next week or so, so there's going to be a heap of new polishes to swatch... woohoo! Not to mention all the untrieds I currently have sitting here, making me feel guilty for neglecting them... O.K guys, I promise, you'll all get a turn eventually, swear to god. Would I lie to you?  *shifty eyes*
Haha, seriously, I have so much polish at the moment, I'm actually feeling overwhelmed when it comes to choosing what to try next but I can't stop wanting more. It's a terrible affliction, to be sure.

Anyway, lots of happy thoughts to you all and I hope you're enjoying life and all that jazz. It's school holidays as of tomorrow, so I might even be allowed to give my daughter a mani! If she lets me- she's not nail polish mad, yet, but I'm working on it.

Until next time, love and polish for all
Em xox