Lumina Lacquer Malificent Swatch And Review

Purchased

I forgot to mention yesterday that during numerous flight transfers, I inevitably had some nail casualties.  So be forewarned, I had to nubbinize!  I haven't had short nails in a long while, and although my dexterity has improved, my nails look awkwardly short.  I'll get use to it!  The only problem with squares/squovals is the frequent corner chips.  Hopefully I can get some length before that happens.

While on vacay, I managed to squeeze a little bit of time to scroll through my Instagram feed, and came upon some swatches from Lumina Lacquer.  I instantly fell in love with Malificent, a blurple holographic glitter sister to Digital Nails Supernova.  I love the uniqueness of these holographic glitters because they're so fascinating to watch when exposed to light - it's like a million little sparks of rainbow exploding in all directions.  The glitters are suspended in a clear base that I found highly viscous during application, making it difficult for me to maintain a small cuticle gap.  I used two thin coats followed by a thicker third coat to achieve opacity.  It dries to a gritty finish, so I recommend a topcoat followed by another quick dry topcoat for a smooth and shiny finish.

The first two pics are in the light tent to show the color, and the following are under direct light so you can see Malificent in its glory.

Lumina Lacquer Malificent

Lumina Lacquer Malificent

Lumina Lacquer Malificent

Lumina Lacquer Malificent

Lumina Lacquer Malificent

Lumina Lacquer Malificent

Lumina Lacquer Malificent

Me likey those pretty sparkles!!  A-hem, sorry, I must have slipped back to LO talk.  I love the shade of this beauty, and I'm becoming a fast fan of those large holographic glitters.  I think I may have to stalk those polishes if they come in other colors.  A green would be fabulous!  Overall, I'm really happy that I found Lumina Lacquers, it seems that this line has a lot of different finishes that are worth exploring.  Make sure you stop by the storefront to see what she has to offer.

Purchased

I Love Nail Polish Music Box Swatch And Review

Purchased

Ack!  I'm such a procastinator.  I'm just realizing now that I have to keep LO entertained on the plane for at least 3 1/2 hours straight for two legs of our trip. Oy.  How do you keep an energetic toddler entertained on a plane for that long??  I am not looking forward to a crying and bored toddler trapped on a plane!  I'm downloading some cartoons, and I'll bring some books and coloring supplies, but what else? 

I have my last straggler from the I Love Nail Polish Spring 2014 collection, and that's a breathtaking cyan blue holo called Music Box.  I think I saved the best for last with this little gem because the color is gorgeous and commands attention.  I was planning on only swatching this but instead did a full mani so I could wear it to work.  The formula was typical ILNP, which is buttery thick, but sheer upon application.  Two coats may have worked but I went for three to ensure full coverage.  Make sure to allow the coats to fully dry in between because I experience a bit of balding which may explain my need for a third coat.  Call me impatient I guess!  I used no topcoat in these pics.

These are in the light tent so you can see the actual color of the lovely light blue.

I Love Nail Polish Music Box

I Love Nail Polish Music Box

 These are under direct light so you can see the holo flare in full effect.

I Love Nail Polish Music Box

I Love Nail Polish Music Box

I Love Nail Polish Music Box

I Love Nail Polish Music Box

I Love Nail Polish Music Box

I Love Nail Polish Music Box

The holo isn't as super strong as say the Color Clubs, but it's still impressive and actually fitting of this vibrant light blue. It's an eye catching shade and I'm sure I'll be too busy looking at my hands instead of where I'm walking during the day in the sunlight, but isn't that the delicious reason of wearing of holo?  I can't wait!    Have you been wearing a lot of holos now that summer is just around the corner?

Purchased

Zoya Muse Swatch And Review With Bonus Wet 'n' Wild Matte Topcoat

Press Sample

I'm glad that I'm going back to the gym, even though the gym is not my favorite way to work out.  I like to keep in shape, whether it be dancing, swimming, or plain old running, but it's been hard to do it with LO needing so much attention.  The gym has been convenient, and she's been adjusting well to their daycare.  I managed to increase my ten minute initial workout to a whole forty minutes.  Yay!  Now I work on losing those last few post pregnancy pounds.  How do you like to keep in shape?

I have a new summer 2014 release from Zoya's Bubbly collection called Muse that I couldn't wait to show you.  It's the only blue from this collection, and like the others, it features gold microglitter and holo hex glitters in a "blue raspberry" jelly base.  The formula wasn't sticky like most jellies and it applied incredibly easily without any streaking or stacking of the hex glitters.   I finished this with a layer of topcoat for added shine.

Zoya Muse

Zoya Muse

Zoya Muse

Zoya Muse

Zoya Muse

Zoya Muse

How bubbly is that?  The holo hex glitters sandwiched inside the jelly base look exactly like bubbles suspended in blue ocean water.  The gold shimmer is reminiscent of sunshine rippling through the water waves.  I can't wait to show the rest of the collection, with all that jelly holo hex glitters sammich goodness!

Of course, what's the obvious next step when confronted with a jelly glitter sammich?  Matte all the glittah!

Zoya Muse Matted

Zoya Muse Matted

Zoya Muse Matted

Zoya Muse Matted

Le sigh.

Press Sample

I Love Nail Polish Princeton Swatch And Review

Happy Thursday!  I'm excited for this week to end, starting with having Friday off and then celebrating my birthday on Saturday.  I'm at the point in my life where I don't like aging another year, but it's always nice to be showered with special attention.  I'm hoping to get some much needed time alone to take care of some errands and some good ole shopping.  Hooray!

I've been lax in swatching the remainder of my I Love Nail Polish from the Spring 2014 collection, and with the summer collection available for pre-order, I realized I'd better get to work!  I was enthralled with Princeton when I first saw that it was a mint colored holo, a color that's been elusive to me within the holographic family.  It's a true mint too, and doesn't lean too blue or green.  Formula was a touch sticky, but possibly that's due to the fact that it was sitting in my drawer for a while.  I used three thin coats here for full opacity, and topped with a layer of topcoat.

I Love Nail Polish Princeton

I Love Nail Polish Princeton

I Love Nail Polish Princeton

I Love Nail Polish Princeton

I Love Nail Polish Princeton

I Love Nail Polish Princeton

I Love Nail Polish Princeton

The holo effect on this isn't overwhelming, but it's a gentle rainbow that gives a flare of color whenever in the right lighting.  Indoors, the mint shade is soothing to the eye and is flattering to my skintone.  I don't think I could ever tire of mint, an ever popular color, possibly due to its versatility amongst all skintones.  This fills the mint holo void in my collection nicely.  Which mint holo do you have in your collection?

Enchanted Polish April 2014 Swatch And Review

Howdy all!  Are you enjoying your week so far?  I'm hoping this week will blow by fast.  To pass the time, I'm in the need of retail therapy, although I'm a day late for the Friends and Family sales that finished on Monday via Saks and Tory Burch.  Go figure I'd want a pair of TB shoes once the sale is already over.  A good hint to savvy shoppers - make friends with a Nordstrom sales associate so that you can get inside scoops on sale inventory and special deals.  I'm hoping my Nordys SA will come through for me and be able to pricematch the FnF sale despite being a day late!

April is coming to an end(already!) and I haven't had a chance to wear Enchanted Polish's monthly namesake polish.  This particular month's shade is a gorgeous dusty periwinkle blue holo that is completely fitting of the season.  I thought it was going to be really sheer after the first coat, but the characteristic buttery smooth Enchanted formula kicked in during the second coat and I was able to get complete coverage.  No issues with streaking or balding of course, and I used no topcoat in these pics.

Enchanted Polish April 2014

Enchanted Polish April 2014

Enchanted Polish April 2014

Enchanted Polish April 2014

Enchanted Polish April 2014

Enchanted Polish April 2014

Enchanted Polish April 2014

I always have a difficult time capturing light colored holo flares when taking pics indoors, but hopefully you can see how prominent they are.  I'm sure they'll glow in sunlight and I'll be staring at them while driving.  I think the shade is very unique as well, it's not often I see a periwinkle blue holo, versus the standard aqua, teal blue, or sky blue holo.  I'm glad that Enchanted is finally moving towards presaling these darlings and making it much more accessible to polish enthusiasts.  For now, I'm content to adding a new Enchanted once a month - it seems more budget friendly to me in that I don't have to feel the need to buy up a collection from another line.  Instead I only have to buy a new Enchanted once a month and be confident that it won't already be a dupe in my collection.  Is there a line of holos that you obsessively collect?

Digital Nails Supernova Swatch And Review

Wow, this week went by fast!  My mom arrived from PA on Tuesday, and I've been enjoying the time spent with her.  She's been cooking us homemade meals and spending lots of time with LO.  I'm looking forward to a fun weekend at the Discovery Science center and then taking LO for her first haircut.  Do you have any fun plans for this upcoming spring weekend?

You know how sometimes there's a polish that the camera refuses to focus on, because it's just too blingy, or has too much depth for it to capture?  Well, have you've ever had a polish do that to your own two eyes?  I keep looking at today's polish, and my eyes cannot focus on all the holo glitter gloriousness!  This is Digital Nails Supernova, a pure holo glitter polish that is shockingly dense enough to wear opaque in two coats.  The formula wasn't thick or goopy either, and glided on without any hint of clumping or stacking of the glitter.  I didn't need to do clean up either, that's how easy it was to control.  You best bet that I laid down some Yellow Stopper and basecoat before applying Supernova, and finished with a layer of topcoat to hasten drying.

The first set of pics is done in the light tent, look how dense that glitter is!

Digital Nails Supernova

Digital Nails Supernova

Digital Nails Supernova

Digital Nails Supernova

 Now, under direct light so you can behold holo in its full glory!

Digital Nails Supernova

Digital Nails Supernova

Digital Nails Supernova

Digital Nails Supernova

Look at all that dimension!  Didn't I tell you it's hard to get your eyes to focus on that endless glitter?  DH saw this polish on my nails and was blown away.  He could not comprehend that it was regular polish out of a bottle, and not nail stickers or rhinestones.  There's only a handful of groundbreaking polishes out there that stand out amongst the endless colors and finishes, and I would certainly consider this one of them.  It's innovative polishes like this that keep me coming back for more from Digital Nails.  Have you ever found a polish that your eyes cannot fathom?

Elevation Polish Echinops Swatch And Review

Purchased

Happy Tuesday!  Did anyone see the season finale of Lost Girl last night?  I'm still trying to process it all!  It definitely leaves the viewers at a cliff hanger, and I can't believe I have to wait until next January to find out what happens.  Ugh, I hate(love) when that happens!

Flowers are blooming and I thought it was a perfect opportunity to pull out Elevation Polish Echinops, a gorgeous lavender holo named after the globe thistle.  The formula on this was buttery smooth and I used an easy two coats here with no topcoat.

As you can see, the holo effect here isn't too strong, and has more of a subtle holo flare.  The light holo gives the overall polish a soft multidimensional effect, making it a perfect representation of the globe thistle and it's delicate flowers.  It seems with the beautiful spring weather , everyone has a bounce in their step.  It's a pleasure to see all the flowers blooming after the bleakness of winter, and this polish is no different with it's beautiful lavender coloring.  Strong holos aren't always the best, and this is a fine example of understated beauty.  Do you have a delicate holo that you're in love with?

Purchased