Introducing an exciting new Aussie indie, Lyz Cosmetics (lots of pics)

Hi everyone, hope you're all doing well.
Today is an exciting day for me, as I have been asked to swatch and review a brand new indie cosmetics company called Lyz Cosmetics made right here in Melbourne by the very sweet Elizabeth.
She asked if anyone would be interested in swatching some of her polishes and, after having a quick peak at what she had on offer, I put my hand up and was very fortunate to be given the opportunity to help showcase her wares, along with another couple of awesome gals. Also, have a squizz at that adorable presentation :)

The polishes I have to share with you today have been provided to me for my honest appraisal, and you know me and know that's what you're going to get. The first three are all currently available on the Liz Cosmetics etsy store, and the final two polishes are due to be released soon.
Elizabeth also enclosed some "nail rings" and some nail studs, which you can see in the swatches of Gilding Twilight, and they will also be available in her store soon.
Warning, this is picture heavy.
So, lets get to it shall we?

First up is an astonishing polish, called Swashbuckling.
Elizabeth describes it as "a fluorescent orange nail lacquer infused with fine, tiny gold glitters with a fast, two coat application".
I describe it as the brightest, most intense, most cheerful and just plain outrageous polish I have ever worn. Seriously. My camera phone could hardly deal with the colour of this polish, so I've had to take a variety of shots, including in shadow, which for some reason allowed me to best capture the fluorescent nature of this particular lacquer.

Swashbuckling

While this is a really intense polish I think it's very wearable as it has a pink shimmer that softens the orange somewhat, making almost a fluorescent coral under certain light. It really is quite complex and shows a lot of different aspects depending on the light source. I also think this polish would be amazing for accent nails and nail art.
Application wise it was extremely easy to work with, with two coats providing ample coverage. It does dry to a slightly satin/semi matte finish (which I really like) but you can add top coat for a glossy finish (most of my pics are shown with a top coat).

The second polish I have to share with you is Captivating Coral, described as "a radiant, pearly bronze nail lacquer infused with rainbow shimmer."

Captivating Coral

 Again, two coats was more than enough for great coverage, although I found that this polish dried very quickly, so if you tend to rework your polish you'll need to be quick.
The colour is a really feminine dusky rose with a coppery/bronze finish. It's very pigmented and almost a one coater, application was easy and it dried to a semi matte finish.

The third polish given to me to review is called Gliding Twilight, and oh boy is this pretty. I adore this purple, it is soft yet vibrant, almost luminous with a soft pink, rainbow shimmer.

Captivating Twilight and some of the lovely rings on offer

Again application was so easy and again, I only required two thin coats.
Captivating Twilight did dry to a satin/semi matte finish like the other two polishes, but when I popped a coat of seche vite over it it became so reflective it almost glowed on my nails.
This will definitely be a polish I am going to miss when I run out.

The fourth polish is an unreleased is Nirvana, a "murky purple base containing many reflective silver butterflies, yellow and silver glitter hexes and tiny pink holographic glitter."

Nirvana

While this isn't listed as a glitter topper I think that it would probably work best as one, as the formula is quite sheer. There's plenty of glitter to keep you happy, although like most glitter polishes some fishing is required for the larger pieces and it applies fairly easily, although it is thinner than the other polishes.
Personally I felt that the colour was more of a dusty mauve, which is a colour that my skin tone really struggles with. I also found that I needed 4 good coats to achieve opacity with this one, but it did look fantastic over Captivating Coral- I think they really compliment each other. For these swatches I used the polish alone on my index and middle fingers and layered it over Captivating Coral on my ring and little fingers.

And finally there's the as yet unreleased Cerulean Dusk "a glitter infused lacquer packed with lots of tiny teal and silver glitter."I also suspect there's some holographic glitter in there too, as it has a strong scattered holo effect (it reminds me a bit of Dance Legend wow prisms if they were a topper). Bonus!
Elizabeth states that this is meant as a glitter topper but I think it could easily be worn as is in three coats. For these swatches I have layered it over a teal creme, except for my ring finger, which I kept undie free (and as you can see, coverage is pretty good). I only needed two dabbed coats for these pics. It's very, very pretty and would suit anyone who loves teal and glitter ;)

Cerulean Dusk

All in all I have to say I am very impressed with with what Elizabeth has managed to create as a new polish maker. I am also really pleased to be able to show off her wares and be involved so early on in the life of Lyz Cosmetics and if this is what she's coming up with now, I can only assume the future's looking as bright as Swashbuckling is on my nails ;)

I hope you enjoyed my first ever full on, multi polish review and, as it says on my disclosure page, all my opinions are my honest appraisal of the products at hand, so you know I won't talk up something just for the sake of it.

Also, as an added bonus LYZ Cosmetics are offering 10% off on orders over $30 until 31/08/14 Use the code LYZ10 when checking out :)

If you want to see more of their polishes head on over to Bab's Nails for a great review.

Anyway, until next time, as always ~love and polish for all~

Em xox

My best ever gradient (that I am so proud of)

Hey all, how are we today? Hope everything is fine and dandy.
Today is something a little different, I'm going to share with you one of my best ever gradients.
I love gradients, they're my go-to nail art favourite. I also love dotticures, but for some reason gradients are my favourite and I can't seem to help myself from whacking on more polish if I get the chance. And this one is by far the prettiest I have ever done, it's like a tropical sunset or a deep space supernova. Something bright and gorgeous anyway ;)
So, without any further ado here it is;

The polishes I used were Mud's Pink a Lot and Dark Room, Pretty Serious Cosmetics' My Darling Clementine, Arcane Lacquer's Funhouse and The Power, The Passion and finally Miss Ashleigh's Too Hot to be Blue. All but Mud are Australian indie polishes and they're fabulous too.

I can't begin to express just how stoked I was with how this turned out, it really is my best gradient to date and I think I'll be hard pressed to top it.

What do you think? Do you like gradients? What's your favourite go-to nail polish trick (if you have any) that you use to jazz up your mani with?
I'm going to be doing another gradient today as I'm going to a family do tomorrow and want my nails to be really bright, so if it looks as good as I'm hoping it will I'll post some pics of that soon.

Until next time ~love and polish for all~
Em xox

The case of the vanishing blog posts... and a few more swatches

Hello all, how are we on this (hopefully) lovely day? I seem to have a bit of a mystery on my hands, because my last post has vanished *poof* from my blog. How strange is that? I am really confuzzled and am wondering if I hallucinated writing my last entry, but I'm pretty certain I really did write it, so it's all very strange.
I guess this means I need to upload all those photos again, grrrr.

Well, there's no helping it, so here, yet again, is my review of "Wham Bam" the partner to "Thank you Mam" by Shades of Phoenix a great little Aussie indie polish maker.

Unlike "Thank You Mam", "Wham Bam" is a glitter bomb in a clear base, so it's best layered over an undie if you want to wear it as a full mani, or it can also be used in a glitter gradient or as a feature nail. Application wise this is a dabber as the glitter pay off is very heavy, but it is in no way difficult to apply, just dab instead of using strokes and you'll be fine. I would advise that you wait a couple of minutes between coats to avoid dragging or accidentally lifting polish that you have already laid down, and you'll also want a couple of coats of top coat to smooth it all out and seal the deal.

This is such a bright and gorgeous glitter bomb and the colour is to die for, a rich and vibrant turquoise that flashes with green and blue as the light hits it and the formula's great too.
To be honest there's really nothing much to add, I think it's really pretty and I love glitter gradients, so this is a definite "yes" polish for me.
Wham Bam and Thank You Mam are a limited addition pair over at Shades of Phoenix however I'm not sure if they're still available (I can't see them on their site). If they're no longer available I can tell you that Spinach/Mint Leaf is another amazing glitter bomb, this time a deep emerald green in a tinted base, and it's definitely worth acquiring if you like greens and/or glitter. Their more subtle shades, such as Earl Grey/Sardine are also very lovely, so there really is something for everyone.

I know this is a short entry, but I think the photos speak for themselves, so there's really not much for me to say except I like it and Shades of Phoenix are well worth checking out if you like indie polishes.

Until next time (which should be tomorrow as I have an obscene amount of polish to swatch and share) take care, I hope you're all well and I'll see you soon.

And as always, ~love and glitter 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