NOTD: Love, Angeline - Carry On

I wasn't planning on blogging about this mani, but as soon as I started taking pictures of it, I realized I would have to just for the opportunity to share more than one! As you may know, many indie makers have begun collaborating to produce monthly boxes that allow polish addicts to sample multiple lines in one order. One such collab is the "Pipe Down This Love is Bliss" box that includes polishes from Pipedream, Love, Angeline, and Bliss. The offerings are ALWAYS tempting, but this month I couldn't resist, largely because of the polish I'm wearing today. Obviously, it had to be the first one once my box came!

Love, Angeline - Carry On is a cool-toned gray crelly polish with gold hued iridescent shimmer and flakies. Photos show two thin coats topped with HK Girl Topcoat. This polish immediately caught my eye when I first saw swatches, and I'm happy to report it's just as stunning in person. The gold shimmer is so pretty and subtle, I know these photos don't even really come close to capturing it adequately. But I tried!

Part of why I was so excited to order this box was because I have never tried polishes from any of the indie makers, including Polish My Life, who had a guest spot in this box. I'm really excited to try the others and share them with you all!

Polish TBH - Thestral

I have another untried to share tonight! If you missed my first post about this, Rei of Reinovate Nails and I are working our way through our untried polishes this month. I picked this one up in a blog sale, and it's my first from Polish TBH. I absolutely adore black jelly polishes, and this one was no exception!

Thestral is a black jelly polish with medium sized purple iridescent and small holo hex glitters, and scatted silvery microglitters, and dries to a semi-matte finish. Photos show three thin coats topped with HK Girl Topcoat. 

This angle highlights some of the holo glitters on my middle and ring fingers better. In real life, you could see a lot more of the glitters, but those and the squishiness kept disappearing in photos. The base was on the thick side, but it applied evenly and was easy to work with.

Here it is with matte top coat. LOVE! Matte all the black jellies. I wore it this way for two days. I love how it's almost basic black--but with a twist.

And of course, a macro. This one shows the squish between the layers a bit better. So glad to have added this one to my collection, and even more so that I finally used it! Have you been joining Rei and I in our attack on untrieds? Remember to post them on Instagram with the tag #hiveminduntrieds for a chance to win a prize at the end of the month, and check out her blog to see her untried for the day!

Glam Polish - Maleficent

I swatched Maleficent by Glam Polish a few weeks ago, but never got around to posting the pictures. This polish is absolutely breathtaking, and finding the unused photos of this made me want to slap it right back onto my nails! It also really made me miss my long pretty nails :(

Maleficent is a stunning purple glitter polish with lots of holo sparkle with scattered splashes of red. Written description really doesn't do this polish justice, so just oogle the photos below!

RIP long nails. This line is no longer available on Color4Nails (which is good, I probably would have bought the rest of them if they were!) but be sure to sign up for their email updates so you can be prepared for restocks!

NOTD: Polished by kpt - Plumeria

To lessen the blow of my full on nub-ification I decided to wear one of the new polishes I ordered from Polished by kpt's end of the year sale. It totally worked--throughout the day I found myself staring at my nails, especially anytime I put them under water. Plumeria is my very first thermal polish ever, and now I've got the bug and want them all! All photos show two coats topped with HK Girl Topcoat. Be kind about my sad little nubs!

In it's warm state, Plumeria is a silvery linear holo.

In it's cool state, it's a stunning muted rose holo with cool, purple undertones.

This photo (somewhat) shows the transition. Watching this happen is so entertaining! It's really amazing, and I'm impressed with how beautiful both shades are, and how well they complement each other.

And of course, a macro! I'm really getting the hang of this new camera, I think.

I was planning on putting some nail art over this, but it was so lovely and delicate on its own I couldn't do it.

The Polished by kpt online shop is currently closed, but be sure to follow her on Instagram for updates about future releases!

NOTD: Color Club - Holiday Splendor

Like any other red blooded, vaguely Christian American lady, I absolutely LOVE Christmas. The time with family, the food, the crafting (!!!)...it just takes me to my happy place. However, as much as I love Christmas, I have absolutely NO tolerance for pre-emptive Christmas spirit. If I hear Christmas music anytime before the day after Thanksgiving, someone is going to get it. When I was a counselor at a boarding school, I gave students who sang Christmas songs too early extra chores. (They called me a Grinch, obviously. But whatever)

Today, I am breaking my own rule, because I've had a revelation in the form of a polish from a past holiday themed collection. What kind of epicness is required for me to break this long standing personal rule? See below:

Color Club - Holiday Splendor

This polish is from their 2011 Beyond the Mistletoe collection, and I found it just sitting on a polish rack filled with other more recent releases. I had no idea it was a holiday polish, (obviously didn't read the name before throwing it into my basket) or that it was from so long ago. All I knew was that it was green, sparkly, and holo-y. I've had it for a few weeks now, and just got around to trying it...I have NO idea why I waited so long!

Holiday Splendor is an emerald green jelly polish filled with green and holo glitters. All of these photos show three thin coats over one coat of black polish, all topped with Seche Vite. Formula was easy to apply, and the glitter spread evenly, making it easy to achieve full coverage. 

I think this photo comes the closest to capturing the true emerald of this shade in real life. No filter, but I realize the lighting makes my skin look pretty lobster-y. 

Check out the holoooo! Even though the polish is described as having "scattered" holo, I find the holo effect to be quite strong and visible on the nail (and in the bottle). I see way more holo than I've seen in swatches of the China Glaze or Color Show "holos."

One more, just because. I took so many photos of this polish, because it look different (and beautiful!) in every possible light. I love the shade of green, and though it could easily be incorporated into a Chirstmas-themed mani, it doesn't immediately scream "holiday" to me (which is good--means I didn't break my rule too badly!)

As this polish is from 2011, I have no idea how available it is. I found it on a Color Club rack in a local nail supply shop. Happy searching, polish addicts!

Paint Job Nail Lacquer Swatches & Art

Today I have some polishes to share with you that I recently picked up from Paint Job Nail Lacquer. When I first began my trip down the rabbit hole of polish addiction, Paint Job was one of the first indies I found on Instagram. Their polishes were unique, cleverly named, (they entire line follows a car theme) and had a ton of variety and options. I don't know why it took me so long to add some Paint Job polishes to my collection, but I must say they were certainly worth the wait!

Junk in the Trunk

A neon pink jelly packed with multicolored square and hex glitters, show here with three thin coats with no top coat.

When I first received this polish, I instinctively tried it (on one finger) over a white base, which I usually love, especially for neons, but it really didn't work with this particular shade of pink. Pairing with white, in my opinion, hid some of the complexity of the glitters (there really are SO many in here!) and just made the whole look kind of juvenile. I think it would be adorable over white on someone younger, but for me, I'll stick with the squishy, jelly look for this one. 

The amount of pigment in the jelly base made this polish easily buildable, and with the amount of glitter, you could definitely get way with one even coat for a more subtle, sheer look.

Overdrive

A bright royal blue jelly with blue and iridescent glitters in varying sizes. Shown with two coats over Sally Hansen - Blue Me Over on every nail except the index, which is three coats on its own. My camera really dropped the ball on capturing this one; you can see the complexity of the polish much better in the bottle here, but in real life it transfers to the nail beautifully. As with Junk in the Trunk, I was surprised to find that I preferred this one without undies as well, though the blue base really does make the color pop!

Camber

A deep charcoal crelly packed with silver and holo microglitters. It might actually be more of a jelly, but it's so pigmented that I achieved full coverage in two easy coats without a base. This one is definitely my favorite--a perfect fall shade, but it's a lot more interesting to look at than basic black. 

Being a neutral, but still complex, Camber is perfect for incorporating into nail art without being too flashy or over the top.

Here, I added some gold studs and accents of Lacquerlicious - Glittery Glam. The multicolored shards in Glittery Glam were the perfect complement to the rainbow of holo the Camber reveals in the sun.

This one is a somewhat abstract interpretation of turquoise, inspired by these lovely studs from the Born Pretty Store. I applied the studs using Seche Vite over a base of Milani - Almond Bliss, and did triangle accents of using Camber over OPI - Fly. One of my instabuddies was clever enough to coin the phrase "macroise" to describe this (like macro turquoise? get it?!) but I also like meta-quoise, (as in meta-turquoise) because there's actual turquoise, and also the abstract version, and....I'm a nerd. Hope you like it :)

All of these polishes are currently available from Paint Job Nail Lacquer, and you can follow them Instagram for promotions and new releases!

Nail Honey - Summer 2013

These polishes hold a very special place in my heart, as they were my very first indies. I was lucky to have had such a positive experience--customer service was fantastic, shipping was quick, and the products are amazing. These colors are vibrant and unique, and applied like a dream. Plus I just love the pretty bottles!

Crazy Daisy - a gorgeous, soft, buttery yellow creme. This is two coats over white without top coat.

Barre Bee - a vibrant, rosey pink with subtle shimmer. This is two coats over white without top coat.

Jaded - a gorgeous creamy jade with subtle silvery shimmer. This two coats without top coat.

Plummed Out - a deep, vampy purple packed with silver shimmer. This is two coats without top coat.

Follow @nailhoney on Instagram to learn about upcoming releases, promotions, and for ordering custom polishes!

Covergirl Glosstinis

I recently received a rainbow army of mini Glosstini nail polishes in a swap, so I thought it would be fun to swatch them all. I had never used any Covergirl nail polishes before these, so I'm not sure how they compare to other lines from the brand, but these polishes really impressed me! I also thought the tiny brushes made it easy to be precise with application (more precise = less clean up!)

All of these images show two thin coats of polish with no top coat. 

Sangria - a pinkish toned red with very subtle shimmer

Orange Oasis - a creamy, vibrant mandarin orange

Lemon Drop - this bright yellow is a true testament to the opacity of these colors. I almost always wear a coat of white under yellow polishes, but this is sans undies!

Appletini - my favorite! Though it's not quite as neon-y in person.

Blue Hawaiian - super pretty turquoisey shade of blue

Purple Freeze - my second favorite! For some reason this seems really different from every purple I have, can't really put my finger on why.

These polishes come in a bunch of other colors, too. They're all minis so would be ideal for getting a color you don't use often or something new and funky you want to try!

Epic rainbow collage: