Hello Again!

Testing...testing if this thing is still on?

I know it been a hot minute, ok year, since I've even drafted a post. I would love to get back to writing again and tinkering in the blogiverse again. 

Not sure if you noticed but it appears that gold flakes are back again and I am SO here for it. There are so many beautiful options by Pahlish right now. In the meantime, I'm sharing a pretty spring look using Sally Hansen Water Lily and an oldie but goodie Sephora gold flake topper. 

Shade

What are your thoughts about gold flakies coming back? Thanks for taking the time to read this, if you're out there I'd love to know it! 

If you drop a comment so I know you're there, that would be wonderful. Have a great week, sweet friends!

~ Hayley 

KBShimmer One Night Sand

*Polish provided for an honest review*

Hello again!  I am back with a KBShimmer from the current Summer collection and it is metallic and pop of holo all in one pretty polish!  Meet my One Night Sand ;) 

So, this one will be sticking around for more than one night because it's pretty fabulous!  The full KBShimmer Summer collection is an array of bright and summery creams, shimmer, crellies, and another metallic flakie like this.

The swatches directly above and below are indoors. The holo isn't noticeable so the polish is more subtle but such a lovely shade of rose copper (my camera makes look a bit more gold indoors than it actually is).  Expect a beautiful shiny, sparkly copper foil finish. It catches shimmers the same way as a diamond. It's really pretty!

This is 2 coats of One Night Sand and a coat of KBShimmer Clearly on Top. You can see it's more copper.
The formula was effortless on One Night Sand, and because of the microflakies is very smooth and not gritty at all.  The topcoat glossed it up, and I always recommend it, but dry time was great even without.

I have been loving how unique rose gold and copper polishes look on the nail.  Unfortunately, photos don't truly do them justice since they tend to get a bit washed out.  One Night Sand is a great addition to any collection and I know I'll be grabbing for this one in the fall and even throughout winter with a cozy cream sweater and boots. I'd love to hear what you think!

To keep up with all new things from KBShimmer, check their social media sites below. 

KBShimmer Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Have a great weekend!
~ Hayley ~

Summer shades with Pahlish and SpaRitual

* Polishes purchased by me *

Hello, hello!  I haven't been wearing anything super interesting lately and mostly just posting them over on Instagram.  These are 2 shades I have been loving for summer so I wanted to share!
This first shade by Pahlish was a limited edition mystery shade, so unfortunately is not available.  This beauty is Test Batch: Wild Roses and gives you an idea about the spectacular polishes you can find on her site though!  This was a test batch, so they get named and sometimes they are prototypes for later releases. Fingers crossed!

If memory serves this was just 2 coats and of course I'm in love with the flakies in this one!  It reminds me of an older Pahlish, Sarey's Berry, and I wish I had that one to compare the two. 

Next is a mainstream that is still available.  Now that textures are making a comeback for summer, I had to pull this one out because I adore the color.  This is Wilderness by SpaRitual - a pinky melon texture with a microfine gold shimmer.  This was 2 coats of Wilderness and is a go to polish because it dries so quickly without a topcoat.  My perfect summer pinky coral! (It looks orange on their site, but mine definitely has pink in it).

Shades like these are what I have been loving lately.  What are your go-to summer shades or colors you tend to reach for time and time again lately?  Thanks for stopping by!

~ Hayley ~ 

Friday Frenzy - Dauntless

*Purchased by me*

Hello and Happy Friday! I have recently had the opportunity to try a new-to-me indie - Frenzy Polish. So far from my small collection of 5, I love it! I thought it might be fun to post a new Frenzy every Friday for the next month or so, just so I can share my new pretties with you! 

First up, I have Dauntless, inspired by the Divergent book series (which if you haven't read and you like YA dystopia-type books, you should give it a read! I really enjoyed it.) Dauntless is a gray crelly filled with yummy multichrome flakes. I also see some pastel/iridescent glitters in there, which really make it amazing. 

 I saw swatches of this around Christmastime and knew right then I HAD to have this polish. I then commenced stalking Frenzy on every channel possible. And the rest, they say, is history. 

I used three coats in these pictures as the gray is a little sheer. I have to admit, this polish is everything I was hoping it would be. I swoon every time I look at it. For me it was just that good. It totally fulfilled my need for a shifty neutral. Lemming squashed!

Dauntless appears to be sold out in the Frenzy store, but a bit of stalking never hurts. You can do that on Facebook or Instagram. 

Any new indies you've tried and loved lately? Please share in the comments below or tell me what you think of Frenzy Polish Dauntless. Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo,

Jackie

Spring has Sprung!

If you live in the desert southwest like me, than Spring sprung awhile ago!  I'm embracing it, so this is a bright and fun take on the speckle manicures so popular at Easter and Spring time.   These are two polishes that you may have something very similar lying around. In fact, this look was inspired by a fellow Instagrammer, Grapefizznails, because I adored the color combination she chose and knew I had something that could replicate it!

I used a (now retired) bottle of Sally Hansen Triple Shine polish in Water Lily.  This was my first time using that line by Sally Hansen, and the formula on this was impeccable. I used two coats of Water Lily.  The 'speckle' topper is actually 18k gold flake polish from Sephora (the old round bottles).
Yep! I brought back the gold flakes and I will be using them more!

I would love to know if you think this is a hit or miss look.  Let me know and I hope Spring has finally arrived wherever you are!  Till next time...

~ Hayley ~

Ever After polish: Let's Eat Cake!

* I won this! *

Hello!  I wanted to share my first impressions of an indie brand that was new to me.  Ever After Polish has been around for awhile now, but it was just in the last few months that I found out about them.  Today I have Let's Eat Cake that I wore as a birthday mani this month.

Let's Eat Cake is a light purple polish with ucc blue/green flakies, shimmer and holo.  The two above photos were indoors...once you get her out in the sun, the holo pops! All photos are three coats and topcoat.

Let's Eat Cake is half of a birthday duo called Rachel's Birthday Duo.  Rachel and Miranda are the creators behind Ever After, so Miranda has a birthday duo as well.  Let's Eat Cake is currently in stock in their shop along with its companion polish.

The other polish in this duo, Mermaid Princess, is also still available in their shop.  It's a pretty coordinating lapis blue holo with turquoise flakies and shimmer. I have that one too so I will share swatches in a future post.

This is a perfect time to get to know Ever After better, if you don't!  They have so many polishes and bath and body products to pick from and some of the things I have seen coming for Spring are just gorgeous!  I am officially hooked!
I have since ordered twice after getting this duo.  If you have any Ever After favorites I'd love to know.

You can find Ever After Polish here:

Ever After Polish Shop

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~ Hayley ~

Sweet Heart Polish - Off With Her Head

 **Purchased by me**

Today I wanted to share some swatches of a new-to-me Indie: Sweet Heart Polish. I fell in love on Etsy when I saw her Alice in Wonderland themed polishes and knew I needed to get my hands on some! This collection, appropriately called the Wonderous Collection, has six polishes in various shades and finishes. I think there is something for just about everyone.

The first one I decided to try was Off With Her Head. To me, this pink falls somewhere on the spectrum of a coral-raspberry, meaning it is not quite berry but also not quite plain pink. I'm not the best at my color descriptions, so I'll let the swatches speak for themselves.

This is three coats of OWHH. I think it could be opaque in two, depending on how you like to polish. Everybody has their own style. The microglitters and microflakies in this polish make it a stunner and I didn't notice that it was too gritty without a top coat but I used Rica's Glossy Glam just because I love how fast it dries. With a young and energetic son, I don't have time to not use a quick dry topper!

I have a few more Sweet Hearts that I plan on sharing with you at a later time, but I just couldn't wait to show you this one. Alice in Wonderland has always fascinated me both as a child and an adult, so when I see a collection with names like Who R U? and One Lump or Two? I am instantly drawn in. I just can't help myself! Are there any themes that you just can't resist?

I'll leave you with one of my favorite Lewis Carroll quotes. "If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there." Something to ponder, eh?

You can find Sweet Heart Polish here:

Etsy

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xoxo

Jackie

KBShimmer Winter - Yule Worthy and Owl Miss You

* Contains PR samples for review *

Hello sweet friends!  I have 2 stunning polishes from the current KBShimmer Winter/Holiday collection today.  There are some serious beauties in this collection and a few others made it on my wish list, but these two are going to be great to wear all throughout fall and winter.

First up is Yule Worthy and all its sparkly goodness!  KBShimmer describes it as: a warm burgundy leaning, chocolate brown polish with micro metallic flakes.  The description is spot on to the polish because I couldn't decide if this was a brown polish or a burgundy polish. 

I also see some very, very sparse scattered holo in Yule Worthy too.  Coverage-wise Yule Worth is fantastic!  I used 2 coats but was opaque in one careful coat.  The formula is thick, but not too thick, it just lends to good opacity.  I also used 1 coat of KBShimmer's Clearly On Top topcoat.  Love!

Next is Owl Miss You and it's another neutral but with something special to make it unique.  Owl Miss You is a beige/taupe filled with golden and copper flakes and shimmer. I see a few sage green flakes every so often too which I LOVE (you can see in the bottle shot).  Reminds me of a cozy cable knit sweater.  2 easy coats + topcoat and it's perfection.

In all the KBShimmer polishes I've tried, I have nothing but good things to say!  They really are a wonderful polish and I hear their Mani Shots and water decals are amazing too!  If you're interested in any of the other colors from KBShimmer's winter collection both present and past, you can find them on Amazon and on www.kbshimmer.com 

To keep up with all the new collections from KBShimmer, check their social media sites below. 

KBShimmer Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Let me know if you picked up any KBshimmers from this collection and what you love from it!  Thanks for stopping by this little corner!

~ Hayley ~

Pahlish Drops of Fire (Bespoke Batch)

*Purchased*

Hello!  I hope that everyone's week is off to a good start.  The weather here finally feels like fall, and so happy I can wear my boots, scarves and not sweat while drinking a hot PSL or Chestnut Praline latte! 
Today I have gorgeous indie brand, Pahlish, to share with you!  I've been wearing this type of color on my nails a lot lately,   but this one is probably my favorite of that deep red family.  Drops of Fire is a deep brick red/sometimes raspberry jelly with flakes and shimmer.  It also has an occasional flash of blue that makes it really unique when you catch it.  This was released in March 2015 and I totally passed it by, but so happy I ended up with it months later (I'll explain how).

Drops of Fire is almost a one coater....yes a jelly one coater!  The formula was impeccable and my swatches show 2 coats which deepened the color and was opaque.

When Pahlish releases new collections, colors, and bespoke batches (small limited 1-2 release batches) - they also offer mystery polishes.  Seasonally, they will also do clearance mystery sales where you could end up with prototypes, sample batches, a normal released Pahlish, or a Bespoke.  During the summer clearance mystery sale I grabbed 2 bottles (they were only $5 each!)  Drops of Fire was one of the 2 I received and the other was equally as gorgeous (Sample batch: Tiptoe Through the Tulips).

Pahlish releases and restocks happen on Sundays, if you are new to this brand.  If you don't own any yet, I highly recommend taking the plunge! The quality is fantastic and her polishes are a work of art!

If you do own some, I would LOVE to know your favorite Pahlish or top few in the comments!  Thanks for stopping by!

Simple Halloween NOTD: OPI It's a Piazza Cake

I really tried, you guys!  I tried to do an adorable placement glitter spider mani, I saw here on Instagram.  "I can totally do glitter placement," she says.  "I finally have a use for bar glitter and it will be adorable," she says.  

Um no, it won't.  Your spiders will turn into circles with hair, and you'll have bar glitter everywhere but on your nails.  Sigh....

I will keep trying, because in theory it can't be that difficult, right? Practice makes perfect...or at least acceptable!  I'll meet you back here next year!

In the meantime, I decided to use the only polish I picked up from the OPI Venice collection, It's a Piazza Cake.  I am not the biggest fan of orange, but this burnt orange color just spoke to me.  I love it and I'm still wearing it! It's very subdued and flattering with the brown undertone it has.

Shown is 2 perfect, creamy coats of It's a Piazza Cake that dried quickly but I added topcoat for extra shine.  I also really wanted to try the gold leaf topper from NYC I picked up at Target, Top of the Gold.  The flakies seemed a bit more 'gold' and vibrant than some of my other flakie topcoats.  This was just 1 coat and it's really lovely, especially for under $2.00!!

Both polishes are still available and will be easy to find.  I'd love to know what's on your nails this Halloween!  Let me know and link your Instagram posts for me to see!  

Happy Halloween! :)

~ Hayley ~

Jesslacquer Fairy Dust - Oh My Flakie Goodness!

 *Prize*

 *Provided for review*

 

Happy Saturday!  I am so honored and excited to share a polish from new indie on the scene, Jesslacquer.  Jess is releasing her new fall polish collection, OMFG - Oh My Flakie Goodness! and it looks to be a stunner based on the polish I'm wearing now.  She had a contest on social media to help names the shades, and I am so flattered that she picked one my names! 
As a thank you to those whose names were selected, she sent us one of the new polishes! And because she's already a sweetheart, she sent one more so I could post my reviews and (little did I know at the time) swatches that you will drool over because of how amazing this collection is!  Thanks so much, Jess!

So, first the package came and the bottles were wrapped so adorably that I had to share with you! Talk about immediately getting me excited...shiny magenta wrapping will do it every time! :)

Then I unwrapped one, and woah......

Then I put is on, and squee!!

Indoors

Fairy Dust is the name of this polish, and I am smitten with it!  This was 3 easy coats, and a topcoat. The first coat was sheer, so you could easily layer it over something.  But 2-3 coats will definitely make Fairy Dust opaque and each coat adds more magic! I have such a weakness for grey polishes.

Fairy Dust is described as "a light grey with holographic glitter, pink/purple/gold multichrome flakies, and teal/green multichrome flakies."  But I think my "OMFG!!" was just as accurate.  I mean, this macro:

I've included a picture she posted that shows all 7 shades in the Oh My Flakie Goodness collection available as of tonight on her Etsy shop. The full collection has crellies, jellies, toppers - something for everyone!  This is her second collection to date, and I am definitely excited to see what's next for Jesslacquer.   You can also keep up with Jesslacquer on her Instagram

 

Thanks for stopping by and please let me know if you picked up any from the OMFG collection!  I have another to show you soon, so until then...

xoxo

~ Hayley ~