Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Sindie POP! Lacquer: Mrs. Mouse

I bring you another beauty from Sindie POP! Lacquer permanent line:
Mrs. Mouse by Sindie POP! Lacquer

Mrs. Mouse is a creamy dusty pink based polish that contains various sizes of periwinkle blue and pink glitters throughout. Formula wise, this beauty was just like it's other Disney counterpart, Mr. Duck. This can be used alone in about 3 thin coats (as swatched below), and it can also be used over a similarly colored base.
The following swatch was taken under a shaded setting to better illustrate the blue glitters throughout this polish:
Here's a close up to better show the pink micro glitters this polish has:
I used:
Sephora by OPI Base Coat
3 thin coats Sindie POP! Lacquer Mrs. Mouse
Essie Good to Go Top Coat

Mrs. Mouse can be purchased at the Sindie POP! Lacquer shop here. Like the Sindie POP! Lacquer Facebook page and follow the official Instagram page for previews of new collections and other swatches!

NOTE: These polishes were sent to me for review. All thoughts and opinions are that of my own.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Sindie POP Lacquer: Mr. Duck

I have a series of swatches to present to you over the next week or so. I'm honored to have been chosen to swatch and review a few of the permanent polishes from an up and coming indie brand: Sindie POP Lacquer brought to you by Jessica D. This first polish was actually on my wish list for quite some time, and Jessica was sweet enough to send it over:
Mr. Duck by Sindie POP! Lacquer

Mr. Duck, inspired by the ever so lovable Disney character, Donald Duck, contains medium red hexes and small gold and white hex glitters in a beautiful blue to turquoise shimmer (almost metallic looking) base. The formula of this polish was great, and I was definitely very impressed. 

Keep in mind that indies are hand made with each batch and glitter settling can occur, a factor that can sometimes make or break it with me (but that's just my personal preference). I had a couple of instances where the polish arrived with all of the glitters settled at the bottom of the bottle. My previous experience with other glitter containing polishes with colored bases (and even plain glitter toppers) have disappointed me in how difficult it is to resuspend the glitters in their bases prior to use, but this polish was definitely NOT one of them. Not only were the contents of this (and that of the others I received) still evenly distributed, but each brush stroke was packed full of the glittery contents that this polish contained. 
This photo was taken under a low light setting to better illustrate the gold glitters present in this polish:
 Here's a close up shot of the glitter goodness that this polish has:
I used:
Sephora by OPI Base Coat
3 thin coats of Sindie POP! Lacquer Mr. Duck
Essie Good to Go Top Coat

Mr. Duck is part of the Sindie POP! Lacquer permanent collection and is currently on pre-order from the Sindie POP! shop. Check out the Sindie POP! Facebook page and Instagram for updates, previews of new collections, and swatches of the other polishes available.

NOTE: These polishes were sent to me for review. All thoughts and opinions are that of my own.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Frankenstine Polish
Forrest Gump Collection, Part 2

I give you Part 2 of swatches from the Forrest Gump collection by Frankenstine Polish. Let's start with:
Bubba Gump Shrimp by Frankenstine Polish

Bubba Gump Shrimp, inspired by the seafood restaurant in the film, is a glitter combo of medium blue hexes, small red hexes, blue and red microglitter, and white bar glitter in a light pink base that has a subtle gold shimmer. To illustrate the versatility of this polish, I've swatched it both alone and over a coral base (OPI I Eat Maine-ly Lobster):
 
I used:
Sephora by OPI Base Coat
2 coats OPI I Eat Maine-ly Lobster
     + 2 coats Frankenstine Polish Bubba Gump Shrimp (index/pinky)
4 coats Frankenstine Polish Bubba Gump Shrimp (middle/ring)
Essie Good to Go Top Coat

Here are a couple of close up shots to show you the difference between the polish alone and over the OPI base:
Here, you can see the subtle golden shimmer this polish has:
Next up from this collection is:
Jen-nay by Frankenstine Polish

Jen-nay, named after Forrest's childhood friend, is a glitter topper containing small pink holo glitter, yellow flower glitters, and blue-green/teal-ish holo bar glitters in a clear base. I love the girly-ness that is this polish, and I decided to layer this over Essie Play Date:
I used:
Sephora by OPI Base Coat
2 coats Essie Play Date
2 coats Frankenstine Polish Jen-nay
Seche Vite Top Coat

There was some curling with the flower glitters, but the usual fix (a good coat of Seche Vite) worked fine.
Check out the holo goodness in this glitter topper!
Last but not least in this collection, I bring you:
Forrest Gump by Frankenstine Polish

Forrest Gump, whose inspiration is self-explanatory, is a combination of medium periwinkle and navy blue hexes, medium and small white squares, and blue microglitters in a color shift base (to blue). The following swatches shows Forrest Gump over OPI Black Onyx and alone:
I used:
Sephora by OPI Base Coat
2 coats OPI Black Onyx/2 coats Frankenstine Polish Forrest Gump (index/pinky)
4 coats Frankenstine Polish Forrest Gump (middle/ring)
Essie Good to Go Top Coat

These polishes can be purchased (as a set) directly from Christine. Send her an email at frankenstinepolishes@earthlink.net or kik her at FrankenstinePolish, and she'll set you up with an invoice. Check out the Frankenstine Polish Facebook page and Christine's IG (@christineambrosia) for other swatches and announcements.

Enjoy the collection!

NOTE: These polishes were sent to me for review. All thoughts and opinions are that of my own.

Frankenstine Polish:
Forrest Gump Collection, Part 1

So.. I basically failed my 31 Day Challenge. To make up for it at this point, I'm bringing you a sneak peek at the latest collection by Frankenstine Polish: 
Forrest Gump Collection

First off, I have Life Is Like... Based on the memorable Forrest Gump quote "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." 
Life is Like... by Frankenstine Polish

This polish, like the quote describes, contains black microglitter and brown holo microglitter in a chocolate brown to copper-y base.
Like the quote says, you never know what you're gonna get. Bam! This baby also has a subtle holo shimmer to it as shown below:
I used:
Sephora by OPI Base Coat
2 coats Frankenstine Polish Life Is Like
Essie Good to Go Top Coat

Next up from the Forrest Gump collection, I have Lt. Dan:
Lt. Dan by Frankenstine Polish

Lt. Dan is a glitter topper inspired by the character of the same name: Lt. Dan Taylor. This topper contains large gold hexes and red stars, medium green hexes and blue microglitters in a clear base. I did experience glitter curling with the larger glitters (i.e., the gold hexes and red stars), but this was fixable with a good coat of Seche Vite. Considering the color scheme of the glitters involved, I thought this topper would be perfect over Life Is Like:
Don't you think Life Is Like accentuates each aspect of this topper amazingly?!
I used:
Sephora by OPI Base Coat
2 coats Frankenstine Polish Life Is Like
2 coats Frankenstine Polish Lt. Dan
Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

These polishes can be purchased (as a set) directly from Christine. Send her an email at frankenstinepolishes@earthlink.net or kik her at FrankenstinePolish, and she'll set you up with an invoice. Check out the Frankenstine Polish Facebook page and Christine's IG (@christineambrosia) for other swatches and announcements.

Keep a look out for swatches of the other polishes from this collection in Part 2!

NOTE: These polishes were sent to me for review. All thoughts and opinions are that of my own.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Day 16 of 31 Day Challenge:
Dollish Polish "Hip Hop Hippity Hop"

I apologize in advance for my falling behind on this 31 Day Challenge. I'm back to school as of Monday, so I haven't had the time to swatch every day. I hope you'll forgive my attempt to at least do 1+ indies every couple of days as opposed to once a day. I do admit that this works out for me because most of the time, I love the indie I swatched that it makes me sad to remove it for the next swatch. Anyway... today I have an awesome polish, perfect for spring. I know. It's still winter here in the US, but who says you can't look forward to the next season, right?
Hip Hop Hippity Hop by Dollish Polish

Hip Hop Hippity Hop is the perfect combination of spring colors wrapped in a pink toned, lavender base. It's loaded with small green, light blue, and pink glitters throughout as shown below:
Here are a couple of close up shots:
I used:
Sephora by OPI Base Coat
2 coats Dollish Polish Hip Hop Hippity Hop
Essie Good to Go Top Coat

You can purchase Hip Hop Hippity Hop along with other awesome Dollish Polish creations at the Dollish Polish shop. Check out the Dollish Polish Facebook page for restock announcements and previews of up and coming polishes/collections.

NOTE: The polishes discussed in this post were purchased by me. All thoughts and opinions are that of my own.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Day 14 of 31 Day Challenge:
Frankenstine Polish
"Welcome to Bon Temps"

As I have previously reviewed, I have another True Blood themed polish by the lovely Christine of Frankenstine Polish:
Welcome to Bon Temps by Frankenstine Polish

Welcome to Bon Temps, named for the city in which True Blood takes place is a pretty, pretty red jelly polish with various types and sizes of red glitter throughout. This would be great to top over a red creme, and it's buildable on its own. I swatched both alone and over a red polish below:
I used:
Sephora by OPI Base Coat
3 coats Frankenstine Polish Welcome to Bon Temps (index/pinky)
2 coats OPI Color So Hot It Berns/2 coats Frankenstine Polish Welcome to Bon Temps (middle)
Essie Good to Go Top Coat

Accent nail:
Sephora by OPI Base Coat
China Glaze: Pelican Gray
OPI: Color So Hot It Berns
Essie Good to Go Top coat

There was a difference in results between the 2. I did notice slight curling of a couple of hexes when I used this polish over the red base, but when used alone, this wasn't an issue. As always, the glitter curling can typically be resolved with a good top coat. Here are a couple of comparison shots of Welcome to Bon Temps alone (3 coats) and over Color So Hot It Berns (2 coats/2 coats):
In the following swatch, you can better see the jelly consistency compared to over the red base:
This close up is a better view of the holo nature of some of the red bars present in this red jelly:
Welcome to Bon Temps and other Frankenstine Polishes can be purchased through Christine directly by emailing her at FrankenstinePolishes@earthlink.net. Just shoot her an email, and she'll set you up with an invoice! Check out the Frankenstine Polish Facebook page and follow Christine on Instagram for updates, previews, and other swatches of other polishes from her line.

NOTE: This polish was sent to me for review. All thoughts and opinions are that of my own.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Day 13 of 31 Day Challenge:
PolishTBH "Midnight"

Another late post but still in time! The last two weeks have been difficult to keep up with! I've been trying to make each day dedicated to a polish from different indies, and today it comes from PolishTBH:
Midnight by PolishTBH

Midnight is a dark blue jelly containing blue holo and aqua hexes and silver micro glitter throughout. There was a lot of "fishing" involved with the larger hexes, and the glitters did settle prior to use. It is greatly advised that you shake the bottle thoroughly prior to use:
As described, I did use a black base in the previous swatch. To compare the black base to the polish alone, here's another swatch:
I used:
Sephora by OPI Base Coat
2 coats OPI Black Onyx (index/middle)
2 coats PolishTBH Midnight (index/middle)
3 coats PolishTBH Midnight alone (ring/pinky)
Essie Good to Go Top Coat
Here's a close up shot of Midnight over Black Onyx

You can purchase Midnight at the PolishTBH Etsy shop. Check out the PolishTBH Facebook page and follow them on Instagram for updates and swatches!

NOTE: The polishes discussed in this post were purchased by me. All thoughts and opinions are that of my own.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Day 12 of 31 Day Challenge:
Frankenstine Polish
"Shift Change at Merlotte's

So depending on how you look at it, this post is either really late or really early. Either way, I just decided to call this Day 12. I had this idea since I received this polish from Christine, and I finally had a chance to try it using:
Shift Change at Merlotte's by Frankenstine Polish

Christine did it again with this True Blood inspired glitter topper. Shift Change at Merlotte's, inspired by the restaurant uniforms that Sookie wore in the ever so popular TV series, contains a combination of green and white micro glitters, white hexes, and mini holo green bar glitters! When deciding what base colors to use this over, I figured what better way to let these colors stand out than dark shades; thus:
I used:
Sephora by OPI Base Coat
2 coats OPI Black Onyx (index/pinky) - BO
2 coats theBalm/Hot Ticket The Grass Is(n't) Always Greener (middle) - GIAG
2 coats Frankenstine Polish Shift Change at Merlotte's 
Essie Good to Go Top Coat

While I was photographing different aspects of this polish, I thought I'd try out some close ups:
                   Over Black Onyx              Over The Grass Is(n't Always Greener)

Here's a comparison of Shift Change at Merlotte's over the 2 colors 
(L: GIAG, R: BO)

Like the other Frankensine Polishes that I have, this one did not disappoint. One coat of this glitter topper was enough to cover the whole nail, but I added an additional coat for evenness. I didn't experience curling with the large, white hexes like I would typically expect with larger glitters so that's definitely a plus. 

You can purchase this polish from Christine directly. Just email her at frankenstinepolishes@earthlink.net, and she'll set you up with an invoice. Check out the Frankenstine Polish Facebook page and follow Christine on Instagram for other swatches of this polish and others that this line has to offer.

NOTE: This polish was sent to me for review. All thoughts and opinions are that of my own.