Today I have the luscious "Liquid Lawn" by Celestial Cosmetics to share with you all

Hello to anyone who might be reading this. I hope your week is progressing nicely.
For those of us living in the Southern Hemisphere it certainly looks as though we are well and truly into winter now, every day is cold and overcast, with rolling showers and strong winds that manage to find their way past any defense you might make with scarves and wooly jumpers and what not.
So it probably looks extremely strange with me crouching in the back yard in my pj's and a knitted hat, holding one hand out and contorting it whilst feverishly taking photos with my iphone in between rain showers.
But such is the price you pay when you want to blog about nail polish *sighs dramatically*

Anyway, enough about the trials and tribulations of nail polish blogging; today I have the glorious Liquid Lawn by the ever lovely Celestial Cosmetics- this is a pretty amazing looking polish and I have had a lot of positive responses to the couple of pictures I posted earlier on facebook, which is hardly surprising when you look at how well it's come up in the photo's;

Celestial Cosmetics "Liquid Lawn"

 Now, I know it's called Liquid Lawn, but this polish makes me think of slowly shifting, deep sea kelp beds, with the sunlight filtering down through the green water. I can imagine this is what a sailor would see just before a mermaid steals him down into the deep forever.
I really, really love this polish... it's truly dreamy.

 As for application, the jelly base is on the thinner side, and because the circle glitter is large I found I did have to fish for it (and as I always like to point out- this is not a flaw, this is just physics). However, I have an older bottle and Nicki has tweaked the formula to resolve those very minor points (I won't call them issues because all glitters settle and larger glitters, especially circle glitter, tend to require a little bit of fishing).

With this manicure I did use an undie, but I don't think it's necessary, so play around with what works for you. Personally, I wouldn't use this over too dark a base because I think you're likely to lose a lot of the little nuances that make this nail polish so beautiful, but again, see what you like and go with that.
That's one of the cool things about jellies- you can change the whole character of a polish simply by layering the polish over different undies or leaving it as is.... there's so much flexibility, so many ways to work with it.
For these photos I applied three thin coats of Liquid Lawn over Rimmel's 60 Seconds "Camouflage" and after that I threw on two coats of Seche Vite to seal the deal and make everything smooth and glassy and that was it. Not much work to have something that looks like it's from a Sea God's photo album sitting on the ends of my fingers...

Honestly, I don't know what else to say about this polish that isn't already obvious in the photos- it is absolutely beautiful, it is deep and dark and mysterious and I love it.
And luckily this polish is still available to buy either through Celestial Cosmetics' shop on bigcartel, or through one of the nail polish stockists for those of you living outside Australia (they are listed on her site).

I can't recommend Celestial Cosmetics enough- Nicki is a lovely woman with a fantastic eye for what looks good and I haven't encountered a polish of hers that didn't hit the mark yet, nor do I think I'm likely to. She really does work hard to provide a beautiful product, with great customer service too, so if you're in the market for a new polish and you haven't tried Celestial they are well worth a look.
 And Nicki, like many indie polish makers, is also happy to work with you if you're looking for something specific, which is just another reason to love indie nail polish. Can you imagine hitting Revlon up for a polish to match your bridesmaid's dresses?

I really don't want to take this manicure off, so I might leave it a few days before I post again, but I am also terrible at leaving well enough alone, so who knows, I could be back tonight with something new ;)

I hope you like the photos as much as I do, I'm definitely getting the hang of it all, even if my light box fails completely to do any of the things light boxes are supposed to. I guess that just means more running around out in the back yard, for now at least :)

Em xox

Let me introduce you to Arcane Lacquer's aptly named "Funhouse"

I say "aptly named" because this polish is bright, pink and a lot of fun to wear.

Now, as I'm sure you know, the indie polish market is pretty saturated (terrible pun, I know) and it can be hard for polish makers to stand out from the crowd.
I'm lucky because Australia has some of the best indie polish makers around, so we're kinda spoilt for choice over here. But even with all the competition and all the great indie brands there are a couple that stand head and shoulders above the rest. Arcane Lacquer is one such brand.

Bec, the creator of Arcane Lacquer, also runs a nail blog called Nail Gun xs,and does some of the best nail swatches I've ever come across. She really is gifted. And it's clear she takes as much care with her polishes as she does with her swatches, because every single one I have tried or read about is sublime.
The formulas are so easy to work with, the colours are true and beautiful, regardless if its a work-safe grey or bold and bright purple... what can I say? Everything just seems to work together perfectly.
Now, me being the sort of person I am and also being stuck at home, well, I can get away with wearing any colour I choose, so I decided when ordering my polishes that I would get something bright and cheerful and, of course, blingy...The Power, The Passion and Funhouse filled all of those qualifications and then some;

Funhouse and The Power, The Passion

It wasn't easy choosing which polish to try first, but I decided to think pink and went with Funhouse.
 

And oh boy am I glad I did :D
This is a scrumptious polish, full of bright, vivid pink microglitter that sparkles and shines and shifts as the light hits it. And what makes this really stand out from the crowd is the scattering of vivid blue microglitter throughout, a combination that gives the polish an orchid purple look in some lights.

The formula of this polish was a breeze to use, smooth and easy, with the dense microglitter dispersing evenly across the nail. It dried quickly between coats and I was able to achieve a glassy smooth finish with one topcoat of Poshe. It really doesn't get any better than that.

I used three coats here and, while you could get away with two, I think three takes it to the next level in terms of colour depth and richness.

All in all I really like Funhouse and I can see myself wearing it a lot- I think it would also work really well with nail art and I'm already thinking of things I can do, most likely involving accent nails and neon stars (that really seems to be my go-to mani, it's so much fun and doesn't take away from the beauty of the main polish).

 

 

 There's nothing left to say except go and check out Arcane Lacquer, you won't be disappointed. I'll definitely be reviewing The Power, The Passion sooner rather than later, but until then enjoy the glory that is Funhouse :)

Em x

Pretty Serious Cosmetics have managed to knock my socks off with this one

Hey all, hope your week is progressing nicely, or at least that you don't feel the urge to throttle anyone (you gotta take your wins where you can).
Today I am sharing a polish that has honestly blown me away with its loveliness. It's "Seasonal Sunset" by Pretty Serious Cosmetics.

I know I gush about most of my polishes, but that's because most of the ones I buy are me to a T, so of course I'm going to think they're awesome ;)
But this one really surprised me. I knew I'd like it, but I had no idea just how much. And it's not just me, I've had several people compliment me on my nails since I've been wearing it, which is a lot considering I'm almost a recluse!

So lets have a look at what's got me all a flutter... Pretty Serious Cosmetics' "Seasonal Sunset";

 

This is a gorgeous, lush polish simply chock full of microglitter of various colours- there's copper, bronze, gold and more in a jelly base that is almost a dark, burnt orange.
It applies beautifully, and I found it was opaque at two coats but, as I always do, I added a third for good measure.
Dry time was pretty fast and, as with all 3 and 5 free polishes that I've used, the formula can get a little thick quite quickly, so this is a polish that benefits from a reasonably fast application.  A generous coat of Poshe and I was done- all up this was a very quick manicure and the polish applied so evenly and smoothly that I had hardly any clean up, even on my non dominant hand.

What I love about this polish is just how complex the colour play is- every movement of my hands causes the polish to reveal a slightly different side of itself, and when it's hit by direct sunlight it simply blazes with colour- I describe it as having a sunset on my fingertips.

sunlight glittery gorgeousness

You can see just how complex the colours are in this polish just by looking at my swatches- no two show the exact same shade.

I know a lot of people are leery of bronze-like colours so I've decided to overwhelm you with pictures so I can convert you to the bronze side. One of us! One of us!
Seriously though, this would suit so many skin tones, it really is a versatile polish- I can only imagine how it would glow against a darker skin tone <3

Alright, enough polish pic spam... well, 2 more and then I'll call it a day, o.k?

Unfortunately this colour is being discontinued, so you better hurry on over to the Pretty Serious site and snag yourself a bottle- plus it's on sale for only $5.95, so even better!

And I'll see you all very soon with even more Australian indie polish goodness.
Sure, I might be in need of a polish intervention... my bank balance is scary low, but I need all the pretties.
You guys understand, right? Guys?