A quickie post- Shades of Phoenix Thank You Mam, my newest bestest red glitterbomb :D

Hi all, I know I only did a review the other day but I just had to post about this polish because... well, you'll see why in a minute.
Like most of the polishes I feature here, Shades of Phoenix is an Aussie indie polish maker who makes some great lacquers, and I have reviewed a couple of their polishes here in the past, with Poseidon being one of my all time faves (just check the tags for Shades of Phoenix if you're interested).
Well, I can say without hesitation that these new ones have also really impressed me with both their quality and beauty. I think SoP are definitely stretching their creative wings, so to speak, and it's wonderful to see such great results- I feel like they are really coming into their own, which is just awesome.
The first photo here shows my recent purchase, and they are (from left to right) Spinach, Wham Bam and Thank You Mam. They're all amazingly blingy glitter polishes, but I simply couldn't resist Thank You Mam, so that's what I'm going to showcase today...

Thank You Mam is part of a special release duo, the other one being Wham Bam, which is a aqua glitterbomb whose sparkliness is beyond my ability to describe adequately... I can't wait to swatch it for you to see!
Thank You Mam is also amazingly glittery, but it appears to be in a slightly tinted jelly base which makes it more opaque than Wham Bam, which is in a clear base. I am wearing Thank You Mam over an undie (Ulta3's Chili) in these pics, but there is no doubt that this polish would be opaque in one or two coats by itself.
I love how this has flashes of gold and hot pink amongst the red glitter, it adds a little something extra to your average red glitterbomb in my oh so humble opinion (and, while there's a lot going on, it's not in the slightest bit too much). Mind you, there's really nothing average about this polish at all... it's freaking fabulous, seriously!

I mean, this polish grabs you by the lapels and shakes you until you give in and surrender to the awesomeness that is glitter. Honestly, it's so ridiculously sparkly in any and all light... Dorothy and The Wizard of Oz could have used it as a stand in for those famous ruby slippers.

O.K, down to the nuts and bolts of the review- Thank You Mam is an easy polish to use, there were absolutely no issues with application and dry time was good too. Just make sure you have a nice top coat on hand as it is very glitter dense (obviously) so it does dry somewhat gritty, but it's easily fixed with some Poshe or Seche or similar.
Because it is soooo intensely glittery you may find that you have to dab here and there, but I found using a red undie meant that I was able to apply is just as you would a creme. It also leveled really well and coverage was spot on- as I said earlier, I don't think undies are even necessary with this one and I'll probably try it without next time I wear it.

Pretty bloomin' gorgeous hey? I just keep staring at my nails, it's honestly that awesome.
To be frank, I think this might be the best red glitter bomb I own thus far, and that's saying a lot, especially considering just how many full coverage red glitter polishes I own. So Teneil, I tip my hat to you, you've really done a fantastic job.

Anyway, that's it for now. I'm going to go and watch The Princess Bride with my daughter then hop into bed- it's freezing and pouring with rain, so what a great night for movies and snuggles with the kid and cats :)

Shades of Phoenix  is available through their website and is also trialing overseas shipping, so you fans from somewhere else are in luck and can get your paws on this polish and its mate, Wham Bam, right now if you're up for it... and why wouldn't you be? Look at it and try to resist, I dare ya! hehe

I'll be back with Wham Bam next, and I hope you've got your sunnies ready because goddamn is it sparkly! Woohoo!

Until then ~love and polish for all~

Em xox

Sorry I've been MIA but I'm making up for my absence with 3 AMAZING polishes by Glam Polish, so you've gotta forgive me ;)

Hey there, I'm really sorry for being so sporadic in my blog posting recently- I am struggling a bit with feeling down, which always leads to crazy levels of apathy and 16 hour sleeps.
But I'm still around, still buying, and playing with, nail polish and the odd bit of nail art. I just haven't really been taking many photos, and those that I have just haven't interested me enough to warrant uploading and colour adjusting and blah blah blah.
But I have to say that I am absolutely falling in love with two particular indie polishes at the moment- Two Birds Lacquer (which you may have surmised from the last couple of posts) and Glam Polish.
Glam Polish is another Aussie company that makes exceptionally beautiful polishes, and their formulas are consistently fantastic too. Oh man, the colours! The depth, the intensity, the sparkle and, well, glamorous-ness of their products... seriously, you need to try these babies out to experience the glory first hand.

I'm going to post a couple of different polishes of theirs, and hopefully you'll see what I'm on about.
First up is Coven, from their "Cast a Spell" collection (of which I have now ordered the rest, because reasons!), a bright red beauty with holo, glass fleck, shimmer... there's so much in there, yet it's all done so well that nothing outshines the other, and it all balances perfectly. I also say that about every polish of theirs that I currently own (and yes, I"m about to own a lot more haha).
I don't know quite how to describe their bases tbqh; they're sheer enough that you get to see the glitter and shimmer, but they're also very pigmented, so opacity is achievable in only a couple of coats and they are thin enough that they're super easy to work with. I suppose a tinted, jelly-like base is the best description, but they don't have that syrupy feel to them that a lot of jellies tend to have, which makes them super easy to apply. But that's my best description, so that's what I'm going to go with. If you have a better descriptive term please let me know ;)

I mean, this polish is simply stunning- it glows from within and is so sparkly and rich... ahh, heaven!

And that's no exaggeration either. Just look at that inner fire!

And for a little bit of fun I also did a gradient using Glam's "Maleficent", which is a rich, red leaning purple polish with glassfleck, holo and shimmer and also red glitter running throughout, which helped to tie it together with the red of "Coven".

Isn't is gorgeous?

And now onto the third Glam Polish beauty that I want to show you tonight- the amazingly vibrant "Evanora". This was soooo hard to photograph as it's so shimmery and glowy that my iphone kinda freaked out over it.

Evonara in direct sunlight- my iphone couldn't handle the amazingness

I can't fangirl enough over this polish. It was like I had some supernatural force glowing on the tips of my fingers. And there's these awesome little iridescent diamond pieces in the polish that added such an interesting twist to the depth and dimension already on show. And of course, it's green, and a fabulous green at that. It's neither too blue or too yellow, so I think it would look great on any skin tone (and hey, who cares anyway? you wear it, you rock it!).

Formula wise this was slightly thinner than Meleficent and Coven, but it was in no way difficult to apply. This was three thin coats and one coat of Poshe (I'm trying Poshe to see if I get less tip wear- I think Seche might be shrinking back from the tips a bit- alas and alack as it's a brilliant top coat).

Dry time between coats was minimal and it was really easy to achieve opacity. I did try to place the little diamond shaped glitters as I really wanted them to pop, but the rest was easy, standard application, no dabbing required.

I'm sure you can see what I mean by magical- it's so luminous, it's amazing. And I love that regardless of whether you're out in direct sunlight on indoors at night under dim lighting the polish still looks fabulous, picking up whatever light is available and twinkling away. It's definitely a "keep your eyes on the road" polish hazard!

 

Glam Polish is available through their website for Australian buyers and also sells to the States. There's also a list of other stockists on its website.
I would wholeheartedly recommend Glam Polish as I think their wares are stunning and of excellent quality.
What more can I say- I think the photos, even coming from such a humble source as my iphone, speak for themselves.

And needless to say, I will have plenty more of their polishes to review in the coming month or so... I kinda went a little overboard on their site, but it was all so sparkly and pretty! It hypnotized me, I had ~no choice~ Hmmm, would that stand up in court I wonder? JK ;)

Anyway, I promise not to take so long between posts again- I'm trying to get on top of the shitty mood I've been in for the last couple of months, but unfortunately it's not always as easy as just "snapping out of it". I'm sure any of you who have dealt with long term depression can understand that one :\

Until next time, as always, love and polish for all!
Em xox

ooohhhh pretty, my first Dollish Polish

Hello constant reader, I hope you're having a great week and that your coming weekend is just as enjoyable.
As you may have noticed, I tend to focus a lot on Australian indie polishes, and that's because we have amazing polish makers that deserve a hell of a lot of praise and I'm more than happy to task myself with trying out so many lovely lacquers- all in the name of research, of course ;)
However, ever since I stumbled onto the secret world of polish-aholics I have discovered what are called "de-stash sales", which are basically sales of polishes that people don't want for whatever reason- not the right colour, not their cuppa tea or they just don't get worn enough to justify the space that could be used for hoarding different bottles of polish.
And de-stash sales have given me an opportunity to try a lot of international indie brands that just haven't been on my radar or that I haven't had the money to try. Today's polish is one of the latter ones- I've heard of Dollish Polish but I have so many on my "needs" list I simply haven't gotten around to trying any of their wares until now.
So, drum roll please... Introducing Dollish Polish "Vampire's Coven";

This is such a gorgeous, squishy, vampy jelly- I love it. It's definitely a layering polish though, as the base is too sheer to achieve opacity in only a couple of coats, but it looks ah-mazing over a nice red (in this case Essence "do you speak love" which is a dark, one-coater red). I reckon it would also look fantastic over black too.

The polish itself is a sheer black jelly filled with various red and black squares, hexes and dots. There might even be the some hot pink glitter in there, but the base makes it a bit hard to tell. Either way, it all adds up to a delightfully deep, alluring polish.
For these pictures I ended up using three good coats of Vampire's Coven over the Essence red and sealed it all in with two coats of Seche Vite, just to add to that glossy depth that makes this polish so lovely, and I am beyond happy with the results.

It's just so squishy! I love it- I really want to sink my teeth into it's deep berry goodness, so they've definitely succeeded in the vampire stakes too (lol, so many bad puns, I'm so sorry haha).

I am definitely a fan of vampy reds, and it's polishes like this that remind me why (and make me think I really should wear them more often). I don't know when I'll be in a position to acquire more Dollish Polish, but it's definitely a matter of when, not if, because I am really taken with this one and I'm keen to try more.
You can find them over at Dollish Polish on Big Cartel and they ship internationally too, which is awesome for us Aussies.

Welp, that's it from me for now anyway, I'm still recovering from a terrible migraine and should probably keep my exposure to the computer screen down to a measly couple of hours while I still feel it lurking in the background.

Em xox

Say hello to Kevin! by Powder Perfect, I just know you're gonna get along

Well I'm finally home and oh my gawd did I come home to a lot of nail mail! So of course I had to share some of them with you.

Twenty eight bottles, the vast majority of which are Australian indie polishes... to be honest I have no idea where to start, it's a little overwhelming.
And then this morning my postie brought a package I have been very keen to get my grubby little hands on, my first ever Powder Perfect polishes. I now have Decorate a Palm Tree, Elation and Kevin! and immediately had to try on Kevin! because it's absolutely, jaw-droppingly stunning.

Powder Perfect's Kevin!

Kevin! is a Xmas release based on the Home Alone movies, hence the name. I also have Decorate a Palm Tree from the same collection which I will swatch over the next week, and I promise that is well worth waiting for... it was really hard to chose between the two, but at the end of the day red won out.

What a great way to beat the winter blues

Kevin! is a bright, true red jelly that is absolutely packed with red microglitter and, from what I could tell in the dim, overcast light, some holographic microglitter also.
But, as full of glitter as it is, this polish applied like a dream. All I needed to achieve full opacity was two thin coats and there were absolutely no issues with the polish at all. Again, like with all glitter dense polishes Kevin! dried a tad gritty, but I just added a couple of coats of Seche Vite and my nails were on point- beautiful, sparkly, red and glossy. Perfect really.

Unfortunately, being winter in Melbourne, it was hard to find enough light to bring out the sparkle in Kevin! And the light dimmed a little further with each moment, hence why some of my photos look as if I am standing in shadow... and I was, the vast, cold and dreary shadow of winter (dramatic, no?).
Here's some more pictures because, really, it's just so pretty I can't help myself.

And here's a couple I took trying to get that glitter to light up (not too successful, I'm sorry to say).

As with so many of the polishes I get a chance to get my hands on, this one isn't available anymore, but Powder Perfect do make custom orders if you've got a case of the lemmings ;)
They also have a range of absolutely stunning polishes that are still well worth a look regardless, with several polishes in the same style as Kevin! including Elation, a gorgeous deep teal microglitter that is to die for (I'll be swatching that any day now).

I hope everyone is doing well and I'm really excited to have so many beautiful polishes to show you over the coming weeks. I've even been asked to review a cuticle oil by the lovely Two Birds lacquer creator, Stacey Meldrum. It's my first ever review where I have been contacted by a polish maker and I'm thrilled that Stacey has asked me to do this- I am definitely hoping to acquire some of her polishes soon.
It's kinda cool that my blog is nice enough to warrant someone approaching me in this way, so I'm feeling pretty chuffed.

Anyway, time to get the kid into bed before Supernatural ;)
Em xox