Tears of Dionysus Swatches and GIVEAWAY

It's my very first giveaway! I purchased this polish to sell on my future site "Indie Polish Connection" (formerly Indie Polish Network) because I thought it was so pretty. I decided to get swatches up of some of the polishes I purchased for said sight and I decided I really wanted to give this polish away. You can find the giveaway here! Let's see some photos, shall we?

This is a jelly polish with a purple/blue glitter. The first coat is sheer, like all jellies, but it builds very well! These photos use three coats of polish, followed by a semi-thick coat of Seche Vite. I rarely go for glitter polishes but recently I have been warming up to them. The color of the glitter is so stunning and it really shows when you see it in the sunlight. I also like the size of the glitter particles; they're not too big but they aren't tiny either. I have received half of my Pretty and Polished order; I'm just waiting on my customs. I will update my blog as soon as more polishes come in (I'm also talking with about 3 other girls right now who want me to help distribute their polish, which also includes more exclusives). 

I want to stress that this giveaway is not endorsed by Pretty and Polished and is open only to US residents. Stay tuned for additional giveaways!

4 Pretty and Polished lacquers. Which do you like best?

Before I begin this post I want to remind you to become a fan of Indie Polish Network on facebook if you aren't already. I have four new sample colors from Pretty and Polished, one of which I will have to sell once my site is open, and I want to know which one you would want the most! I have two yellows, a peach, and a shimmery nude to share with you. Pardon the hasty paint job and dry cuticles; I wish I had more time to invest in making my posts look as good as I'd like. Here are a few crude swatches for you all:

Going from left to right: A slightly holo yellow polish with a very subtle green undertone (most likely from the holo agent), a creamy yellow with a soft shimmer, a sort of nude color with shimmer, and a peachy color with a subtle blue duochrome pigment. Here are a few pictures of each nail (in the order described above):

Yellow holographic polish

Yellow polish with less holographic pigment

Nude with some shimmer. It's very sheer.

Peach with blue duochrome.

All of these, except the nude, used three coats. You could probably get away with two but I wanted it to show up better. I used four or five on the nude. So I didn't like the duochrome at first but now I love it. I wish I could show you all a better picture. I also love how creamy it is. It was my favorite formual of the four and was the easiest to apply, followed by the yellows and then the nude. Let me know what you all think!

Robin's Egg Inspired Custom by Pretty and Polished

I have received half my order from Pretty and Polished (Liberty Bell Ruby, I Want Candy, and Tears of Dionysus)! Along with this order I received a bunch of options for customs for my future store, one of which I already decided I must have. I asked for a polish that was "speckled" like a robin's egg. I received two options. Here is the one I like best:

I used three/four layers here to build up an opaque finish. It's very pretty, even on my dry and uneven nails! I am definitely going to order it. I have yet to discuss if we will be restocking custom polishes after the store runs out. If you would like more details on the future of my store (which is NOT open yet) like "Indie Polish Network" on facebook. Let me know what you think about this polish!

Let's Talk Indie Polish

So recently I'v been getting into indie polishes and have been dedicating my time and money to creating an online store for selling popular and exclusive indie polish colors. So far I am working with Pretty and Polished, Shimmer Polish, Ruby White Tips, and Pahlish to get a good stock going. So far the website is not up and running, but you can visit my facebook page to get updates and see some photos as I post them. Today I have some pictures of a really simple manicure I did using Zoya's "Trixie" and Ruby White Tips' "BOO2".

For this manicure I used one thin coat of Trixie, a silver foil, and topped it with two coats of BOO2. I did the dotting with a bobby pin. I used Trixie for the dots. Here are a few pictures!

I can't tell if BOO2 would look this same way or not if I hadn't layered it over Trixie. The first coat is very sheer, so I thought layering would work well with this polish. It seems to me that it built up its opaqueness quite quickly. The effect you get with this polish reminds me a little of butter LONDON's "Knackered" but at nearly half the cost. I bought BOO2 for $8.75 USD and half of the proceeds went to helping wayward bats, hence the name. I really like this polish. 

I also want to note that I used a top coat (Seche). BOO2 dries with a slight amount of texture to it. It's so very minimal though. I don't mind textured polishes but I know some of you aren't too keen. I would recommend it. Laura (shop owner) is so nice. She sent me a hand written note thanking me for purchasing her polish. If you haven't already you should try some indie polishes!

Cosmic

Hey all,

I made a new polish last night. I'm kind of upset at the state of my skin/cuticles but I will share it with you nonetheless. I call it "Cosmic". It's a medium blue jelly with gold, blue, and some white glitter. Here it is:

A sunny, daylight picture

A much darker, sad night picture.

I'm kind of sad that my camera doesn't quite capture the color of the polish in real life. I see a much darker blue on my hand. I guess that's what happens sometimes. Normally I would put this polish on my etsy store, but I am launching a new website soon that will sell multiple lines of indie polishes!! It's like Ninja Polish or Llarowe, except run by me! I have created a facebook page for this new business venture of mine. It's called Indie Polish Network. I will post a lot more as it gets further along. Thanks for reading!

I'm back! And I hope it stays that way :)

Oh my goodness, I can't believe how long it's been since I've last posted. I have been so busy settling into my new place. On top of that we've been a little short handed at work. Oh also, I have a new baby in the house! It's a boy!!

We've had Dante for almost two months now and he is just precious. Raising him to grow up to be a good boy has taken up all of my free time, and all his teething (he likes to use my hand for this) has made my nails/cuticles go to shit. But I love him anyway. Now that he is starting to calm down a little and is becoming a little less dependent on me I can start getting back into my nail polish! I plan on making some more bottles as well as posting more pictures of my nail art. Until then, I hope you find my baby as cute as I do!

Slight Delay in Finishing the Untried Polish Challenge

Hey all! I know I missed yesterday's challenge entry (in season) but I probably won't be back at it until early or midweek next week. I just got handed the keys to my new place so I have tons of moving to do. I will also be trading painting nails for painting walls (I did look to my collection for inspiration though!) As soon as I am not so busy I'll try and crank them out to finish on time. :)