Category: Brands

piCture pOlish – Kryptonite

4

So here we are, first post of 2014. Let’s get this party started with one of my biggest lemmings of 2013, piCture pOlish Kryptonite. I was drooling over this for most of the year and for some reason I ended up waiting till the end of the year to get it. But it’s mine now and I couldn’t be happier!! This is one of the most awesome greens ever. Could even be the best green ever made! Perfection in a bottle!!

This is a deep green jelly with a subtle scattered holo effect, a lot of shimmer and tiny flakies. The formula on this is just perfect. I applied three smooth and easy coats, with shorter nails you can get away with two coats. Dry time was also quick. I love this shade to death! It is so beautiful!

On this manicure I used three coats of Kryptonite with HK Girl top coat.

In Europe piCture pOlish is also available at Norway Nails. Use the code POLISHAHOLIC for -10% off.

 

***Kryptonite was purchased by me. HK Girl was gifted to me. I don’t benefit from clicking any of the links on this post or use of the discount code.

 

New Year’s Eve Jindiefest!

4

Hello everyone!! I want to celebrate New Year’s Eve by showing you some nail polish swatches of my favorite indie brand, Jindie Nails. These are all older polishes and I believe most, if not all are still available.

Application and formula on all of these was good. Swatching these reminded me once again why I love Jindies so much. All of these are different and still there is this Jindie look and feeling to them :) Jindie Nails polishes are available at jindienails.com and international customers can find the stockists by clicking here.

Usual indie glitter application instructions apply.

– Make sure polish is well mixed before the application
– To help getting the bigger glitter pieces out of the bottle it’s recommended to turn the bottle upside down for a bit
– Let each coat dry for a bit before applying the next to avoid dragging the bigger glitter pieces from the previous coat.
– You can use a dotting tool or an orangewood stick to place/separate the glitter if necessary.
– You might want to use a product like Glitter Food or two coats of top coat for a smoother result.

And remember that the application on these glitter bomb indies is not always as easy as your regular nail polish. To get smooth and beautiful result might sometimes take some practice. I know I didn’t always get it right for the first times I tried applying chunky glitter bombs :)

Top coat on all these manicures is of course HK Girl. So here we go!

 

Candy Land Remix (three coats and two coats of top coat)
Zomboy (two coats and  top coat)
Swoon (three thin coats and top coat)
Pretty Penny (three coats, no undies and top coat)
Moon Walk LE (two coats and two coats of top coat)
Live Out Loud (three coats and top coat)
Water 4 Elephants (two coats with two coats of top coat)
Femme Fire (two coats with two coats of top coat)
I have now swatched all but one Jindie Nails polishes I own. I love all my Jindies and can’t wait to see what Jen has up her sleeve for 2014!
***Zomboy and Candy Land Remix were sent for review. Femme Fire and Water 4 Elephants were gifted to me. Live Out Loud, Pretty Penny, Swoon and Moon Walk LE were purchased by me. HK Girl top coat was gifted to me.

Year 2013 – The beginning of my indie polish addiction

4

Year 2013 has really been mostly about indie polish for me and my blog. Last year around this time I placed my first orders for indies and received the bottles early Jan 2013. At that point I had no idea of how many indie polishes I’d end up swatching as the year went on. It’s been such exciting and fun nail polish year for me. I have met some awesome people online and tried many different brands. I started my year being an indie polish newbie and now I have about 170 bottles of indies and the count keeps going up.

So now as we are almost at the end of the year I think it’s a good time to look back on how my indie polish addiction started, what were my first bottles and the memories they bring to mind.

 

It all started with this, Different Dimension Soft Kitty, Warm Kitty.

 

Different Dimension Soft Kitty, Warm Kitty

 

This was the very first indie polish order for me ever. I got this polish along with Social Suicide from Different Dimension’s store. This was also the first indie polish I ever tried on my nails. I love Big Bang Theory so I mostly got this one for the name and I also ended up really liking the soft and smooth look of this polish. Trying it on now after so many other indies I have tried, it brings back nice memories and I actually like it just as much as I did the first time I tried it. It was a great pick for my first indie. Awesome name, good and easy application and great quality.

Another nice memory I have is from the New Year’s Eve night. I was just staying at home and relaxing. Got the kiddos to bed and opened a bottle of strawberry sparkling wine. I was babbling in Twitter with some other nail polish enthusiasts when The PolishAholic Jen posted a photo of an amazing combo of a creme and a glitter topper. The polishes were Elevation Polish Pic de Sotllo and Stay Behind, Catch a Wave. I was drooling at the photo and then quickly clicked myself to the Elevation Polish store (along with some other people) to buy those two polishes. I used both of the polishes but never actually did the combo I bought them for so I thought this would also be a good time to do that too.

 

Elevation Polish Pic de Sotllo with Elevation Polish Stay Behind, Catch a Wave

This is not the greatest photo. The amazing sparkle and glow this glitter has was quite hard to capture. Either way I’m still very happy I bought them and they also looked just as beautiful as I remembered. These two definitely hold a special place on my collection.

The straw that broke the camel’s back when it comes to indies and a point of no turning back was Jindie Nails Barney Blew Up. I saw the first photos of this cutie and I just had to have it. Such a cute polish with an adorable name. Irresistible!

So it was time to attend my first indie restock. I was sitting in front of my laptop at least 15 mins before the restock time staring at Jindie Nails Etsy store front page. As I said this was my first restock and I was a little uncertain of how it was going to happen. All I knew was that some Jindies can sell out and sell out FAST. So I was updating the page (bad me, I know) and anxiously waiting for Barney Blew Up to appear. It finally showed up and I clicked it to the cart and paid it superfast cos on Etsy you can get cartjacked. This was the first restock for Barney Blew Up and it sold out fast! I was so very proud that I was able to score such an awesome Jindie from my first restock. The stress and excitement was breath taking :D The memory of that still makes me smile :)

 

Jindie Nails Barney Blew Up

 

Jennifer saw my swatches of Barney Blew Up and we went on from there. I have now swatched countless (well 58 bottles to be exact) Jindies and I have loved each and every one of them ♥

Barney Blew Up will always be one of my favorite indie polishes  :)

I also bought some other indie polishes along with the ones mentioned here but when I look back to where it all started from, these are the first ones that come to mind. The ones that started this awesome adventure in indie polish land!

Cult Nails – I Got Distracted

2

Here’s a perfect polish for New Year’s Eve celebration for those of you who love dark nail polish. Cult Nails I Got Distracted is black jelly with green glitter and holographic shimmer/microglitter. Very beautiful and sparkly!

Formula was good and application was easy. Tiny bit of balding on the first coat but everything evened out perfectly with the second coat. Dry time was also quick. Very good quality polish. This dries a little rough so you’ll definitely need to use a top coat with this one though.

For this manicure I used two coats of I Got Distracted and HK Girl top coat (This is also now available on Norway Nails).

Cult Nails polishes are available for European customers at Norway Nails. You can use the code “POLISHAHOLIC” to get -10% off of any purchase. Norway Nails offers a wide range of gorgeous indies and other polish brands. You can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

 

***I Got Distracted was sent for review, HK Girl was gifted to me me. I don’t benefit from clicking any of the links on this post or use of the discount code in any way.

My favorite nail product of the year – Glisten & Glow HK Girl

6

For me one product is clearly above the others and that is Glisten & Glow’s HK Girl Fast Drying + Super Shiny top coat. I tried it for the first time in March and I’ve been hooked since then. I use it with most of my manicures. It makes my nail polish life so much easier and I totally love it!

 

 

SO WHY DO I LOVE HK GIRL SO MUCH?

– It’s thin and easy to apply.
– Shine is superior to the other fast drying top coats I have tried.
– Dries at least as fast if not faster than other fast drying top coats I have tried.
– Does not shrink the polish.
– I have never experienced bubbling using this top coat.
– Applies so smoothly that I use it with stamping and nail art too.
– Works great for refreshing a few days old manicure. Brings the shine right back on!
– Doesn’t dull the holo effect like some top coats can do.
– Intense colors, sparkling glitters and glowing shimmer just look better with this top coat.
– Does NOT thicken in the bottle!! I have used several bottles to the last drop without using thinner once!

…and is there anything I don’t like about this top coat?

– Nope, not a thing! (Unless I count the fact that I only have one unopened bottle left!)

So if you haven’t tried this top coat yet I suggest you do so soon! It truly is an excellent top coat and to me it’s the best top coat out there!

You can buy HK Girl straight from Glisten & Glow or stockists like Mei Mei’s Signatures, Norway Nails, Overall Beauty and few others.

 

 

***Some of the HK Girl bottles I have used I bought and some were gifted to me. I don’t benefit from clicking any of the links on this post.

Glitter Gal Australia – Tart Yourself Up and Big Smoke

0

Today I have two new Glitter Gal Australia polishes for you. They are Tart Yourself Up from the Celebrate Sydney Style collection and Big Smoke from the Holiday in OZ collection. These two are not your typical holiday colors here up north but never the less they are gorgeous.

Both of these are creme polishes. Formula is excellent and application is absolutely perfect. Both took two coats for an opaque result and dried very quickly and shiny. Top coat used on these manicures is Glitter Gal’s own Gloss Boss.

Tart Yourself Up which apparently in OZ means “Get dressed, were going out for dinner”! (I just love this name :D ).

 

Big Smoke
The application and dry time on this are really right next to all the best cremes out there. Just flawless!
And then to the top coat, Gloss Boss. I will review this properly on its own later on. But here’s my first impression of it.

Thick-ish formula but still good application. Evens itself out perfectly leaving insanely shiny gel like finish. This is not mentioned to be a fast drying top coat but still dried very very quickly when I used it on both of these manicures. So I had quite a positive first experience with this top coat. Next I’ll try it with a holo polish since it is supposed to enhance the holo effect. I’ll also try this with some chunky glitter since it is quite thick and might even out some of the glitter polishes nicely too.

You should also know that “All Glitter Gal Australia’s polishes are 5 free and do not contain Formaldehyde, DPB, Toluene, Formaldehyde Resin or Camphor”

Glitter Gal polishes and more info is available at their website. You can also find Glitter Gal from Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

 

***All the products used for these manicure were sent for review. I don’t benefit from clicking any of the links on this post.

Essie – Toggle To The Top

6

Looking for a great shade for Holidays but feel like the usual bright red isn’t really for you? Essie Toggle To The Top might be an answer for that polish problem. This deep dark red jelly with a lot of red glitter and shimmer is absolutely stunning. It just glows!

Application was a little weird and I had to keep moving the polish on my nail for a bit to get the glitter to apply evenly. BUT one(!!) coat was enough for the result you see on the photos. One very generous coat also dried very quickly. This one is a bit of a top coat eater so I used two coats of HK Girl top coat. Base coat was IsaDora Peel Off Base.

I absolutely loved this vampy red shade!

 

 

 

***Toggle To The Top and Peel Off Base were sent for review, HK Girl was gifted to me. I don’t benefit from clicking the links on this post in any way.

IsaDora – Peel Off Base (on gel nails)

8

I got to test new IsaDora Peel Off Base coat and it worked excellently on my nails with UV-gel layover. Application was very easy and I allowed the base to dry about 5 mins before applying the nail polishes and fast drying top coat. I wore this manicure for three days and it stayed on perfectly. I washed my hands, showered and did everything I usually do and I had no issues with my polish chipping or starting to lift from the edges. Removal was easy and there was no need to use force or scratch the polish off.

I have nothing negative to say about this product. Unlike some other peel off base coats this works perfectly with gel nails. I’m very happy and now I just need to go find several back up bottles so I never run out of this!

 

 

 

 

 

 

*** Peel Off Base was sent for review.

Glitter Gal Australia – Marine Blue

8

Today I have a new to me brand Glitter Gal Australia and their holographic polish Marine Blue. This is a great quality blue linear holo. Application was flawless and two coats was enough for an opaque result. Unfortunately at this time of the year we don’t have enough sunlight to photograph holos here in Finland. So all the photos are taken with daylight bulbs.

Glitter Gal recommends not using a top coat with their holos (except for their own Gloss Boss), but I love the glossy shine a top coat brings so I did add HK Girl top coat. I only applied it to two nails at first and waited for a bit. I then compared the holo effect with and without top coat and didn’t really see a difference so I applied the top coat to the rest of the nails too before taking the photos. In the future I hope to do a comparison with this polish using Glitter Gal’s Gloss Boss and no top coat at all.

So on the photos I used no base coat, two coats of Marine Blue and HK Girl top coat.

Glitter Gal polishes and more info is available at their website. You can also find Glitter Gal from Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

.

 

***Marine Blue was sent for review. HK Girl was purchased by me. I don’t benefit from clicking any of the links on this post.

Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat – Fuzz-Sea

4

It’s December and it’s time for all the Holiday manicures and posts but first let me get this Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat manicure out of the way. This is two coat of Fuzz-Sea dabbed on to Color Club Poetic Hues finished with a coat of HK Girl top coat. This would’ve looked a lot better if I used a tape to help make a crisp line instead of freehanding it. I love the colors though and I’ll most certainly dig Fuzz-Sea out of my polish drawer when spring gets here again.

 

 

***Fuzz-Sea and Poetic Hues were sent for review. HK Girl was purchased by me.