Blog Archives
Pretty Serious: Seasonal Sunset and Nail Pattern Boldness: Bitches Brew – Layering
Pretty Serious polishes recently had a sale, and I managed to snap two of their polishes up – finally! (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to the website and drooled over their polishes and makeup, then sheepishly left). But, yay! And this is the first one I tried, Seasonal Sunset.
I wore this to Danny Bhoy! He is always funny, and this show was no exception, laughed my way through the whole lot. Brilliant night out with my family – and plus, now I’ll always associate this polish with that night. Win!
Anyway, back to the polish. Two coats of Seasonal Sunset, it was opaque in one but the colour was richer in two. Lovely brush, gorgeous formula, the polish almost put itself where it wanted to be. Dry time was on the quick side of average, and it lasted a decent amount of time before chipping.
The colour was stranger than I thought, and definitely unique to me. In the shade it looked quite an old fashioned rusty sort of warm brown, the shimmer was still there but didn’t glow in the shade; it added depth. It was very flattering.
And in the light it all caught fire and became a gorgeous multi-hued copper orange and gold, whooo boy.
Plus, it has to be said, I LOVE the boxes. They’ll live, on their shelves, in their boxes. So cute 
And for extra glitter, I added accents of Nail Pattern Boldness Bitches Brew, and topped it all off with fast dry top coat (Misa BREAKneck)
Tips on some fingers, and one layer all over my ring finger nail. This was a gorgeous combination, and I’m itching to wear it again.
Have a great day
Ami 
Handmade Nail Polishes: Glitters in Jelly
The final section of our handmade polishes, these are all jelly based polishes with loads of glitter. One is a franken (mixed from other polishes) and the other four are completely handmade, using the Joss suspension base from Beautyworld Australia.
*Testimo Franken – this was a sheer peach/pink with iridescent micro glitter: I added silver and gold mixed shape and size holographic glitter, copper hex glitter, and blue circle glitters.
Photos show three coats, no top coat.
This is insanely glittery, and looks sort of like fish scales, but prettier. I really, really like it!
*Misa Pink – just using the empty Misa topcoat bottle, this is another handmade pink and glittery polish. Deeper pink, this time! Again, multi sized holographic gold and silver glitters, as well as quite a few silver holographic butterflies.
Photos show two coats, no top coat.
I’ve had a few nice comments on this polish, which gives me much happy.
*Orbit – deep berry pink jelly with small red, medium fuchsia and huge light pink circle glitters. There’s a touch of pink/red shimmer in this too, to add some depth.
Three coats here, no top coat
I found the large pink glitters sank to the bottom really fast, I had to shake it up between each nail, which was a bit annoying. Still, in the end there were plenty per nail, and that was good. I may throw a few extra glitter bits in, the advantages of making it myself!
*Blue Moon – silly name, perhaps! Royal Blue jelly with small blue circles and large blue circles with a few pink circles thrown in for interest.
Oh I love this. Though I kinda wish I’d named it Whale Farts. It may have a name change in it’s future… doesn’t it look like giant bubbles in the sea?
Three coats here, and there is still visible nail line, but all of these can be layered over anything, really. I like the really deep, almost resin, look, so I’m happy with this. Never thought I’d be ok with VNL!
And another photo because I just couldn’t narrow these photos down too much. The glitters lay flat, so they were pretty smooth to the touch just with normal top coat (though I don’t have top coat on here).
Macro
*I Heart Hades – Black shimmer/jelly base with red holo hexes, red squares and large red holo hearts.
Three coats here, I did have to do some fishing to get a heart out, again, may just add more.
This could be layered over black, but I do like the half hidden, layered look of this at three coats.
If I may indulge in a self-congratulatory moment, I’m really happy with these polishes! I’m super impressed with the polishes my mother has been making, she’s really branching out and playing with glitter, even – and when her current busy period is over hopefully she’ll be making more of the pretties again; meantime I am treasuring the ones she is making, because, well, they’re awesome.
Thanks for reading, have a great day!
Ami
Handmade Nail Polishes – Shimmer & Glitter Edition.
It has been quite some time since I showed some of our polishes, and they’ve been steadily mounting up during that time. Here is the lot I have to swatch!
That’s a lot of fun right there. I’ll break it down into separate parts though, as no one wants to spend a million years looking through all that, including me! These ones are the shimmer polishes with glitter No base or top coat on any of these, and the bases and most of the dyes and pigments came from Beautyworld Australia.
Winter When Autumn Leaves - burnished orange shimmer with gold, red and copper hexes.
2 coats, nice formula. I’d love a few more glitters in it, so they distribute a bit more evenly, but I’ll remedy that in the weekend.
Red Shirt – plummish-red shimmer with red and gold circle glitter, and silver and gold multi-sized holographic glitter.
2 coats, nice formula, easy to get a good coverage of glitters.
Brown Trousers – auburn brown, slight holographic shimmer which adds a grey tone as well – red and gold circle glitters and gold flakes.
2 coats shown here…
I enjoy the addition of the sprinkling of holographic powder.
Fog People – smokey grey with gold and silver holographic glitters of different sizes.
Slightly sheer, but means that the glitters aren’t buried in this one. 3 coats
I love this polish!
Sunny Day Rain – sheer pale blue with blue circle glitter, gold, silver and copper glitter (including holographic) and large holographic gold rectangles.
Very thick, but if I thin it, the glitter will probably all sink to the bottom in a slow and terrible way. 2 coats above, then layered 1 coat over 1 coat of Kleancolor Sea Ice.
I did have to fish for the large golds, but could get them out without deep sea dredging.
Blue in a China Glaze bottle – Mid blue shimmer, with blue circles and turquoise shreds.
2 coats, very easy to apply, fast drying.
Pretty Pickle – sheer green base, large matte green hexes, small holo lime hexes, teeeny tiny emerald flakes.
3 coats, was pretty much opaque in three. Would also be nice to layer over a base colour.
Rime of the Ancient Mariner – this is my Sister V’s polish, based on these lines from the poem: I won’t say what’s in it, or she’ll have to kill me. 
L.A.Girl Glitter Addict: Flash
Just a quick one today!
This is L.A Girl Glitter Addict in Flash, a coppery glitter in two different sizes med-small hexes and tiny dots – in a clear base. It’s great for layering, here it is over a blue franken of mine – one coat, except on my index fingernail, where I have two layers.
I do like the L.A Girl Glitter Addict range of glitters, they are simple, easy to use and add sparkle to anything you layer them over, plus, of course, you can layer them over themselves (which is one reason I have so many of their colours). Dry time is reasonable, and they wear well.
Have a great day
Ami
Pretty & Polished: It Gets Better swatches
I have had my eye on this gorgeous little polish for awhile, and finally caved in when I bought my colour changing Pretty & Polished polishes (article here), because it was FINALLY back in stock, and I love it. I do.
Primarily it’s a minty green with a very fine green shimmer, and a rainbow of holographic hexes floating throughout. The formula was really good, it applied really easily and was opaque in two coats, shown in the photos at 2 coats with Misa BREAKneck top coat.
The glitter hexes applied a little sporadically, but it didn’t really matter, they are still pretty! The shimmer, however, was pretty shy, and I don’t think I managed to get any photos of it. Chronically shy. Like, you probably wouldn’t know it was there unless you’d looked closely at the bottle first, shy.
The colour, for me, was perfect. The best light green for my skin tone I have found – no lobster hands at all!
I had to wear this to celebrate New Zealand voting to legalise marriage between two consenting adults, regardless of gender. Yeah, you could say ‘gay marriage’, but I don’t think that’s the point really. The point is us growing up as a nation, and saying gender really DOESN’T matter here, love does. And that’s HUGE. I am seldom proud of my country, but I had some very proud and happy feelings the morning I found the bill had passed. Way to go, those 77 politicians that ‘aye-d’ it, and all the people out there supporting and promoting and picketing and signing and emailing. And to those of you who are immediately affected by this change, congrats – sorry it’s so long overdue, and IT DOES GET BETTER!
I can’t find It Gets Better on Pretty & Polished website (here) or Etsy shop (here), but she may bring it back – and check out the other amazing polishes, too. One thing I loved about this polish was that she donated some of the proceeds to the It Gets Better foundation, and I always try to support that kind of ethics in business.
Have a great day! And, YAY NEW ZEALAND! GO EQUALITY! *happy dance*
Ami
Darling Diva Polish: Ms. Monster Esq and MUA 13
Here is my base polish, MUA (Make-Up Academy) 13. Ooh I know. A number. But it’s quite a pretty green shimmer polish, see?
This is two coats, no top coat, and it definitely needs a third. So, sheer, weird little puffy brush, but it still functions just fine.
And then I added a coat of Darling Diva Polish Ms. Monster Esq.
This was probably the densest glitter I have EVER found, at least that first brush. It got a bit more manageable after that!
This has so many glitters in it, a clear base, purple, green, red and white glitters in different sizes and levels of shine. And then I added another coat, plus Misa BREAKneck top coat.
Woah, holy glitter overload, Batman! Gotta love it
This dried really fast, and a bit gritty. I’d recommend a thick top coat, eg Nail Pattern Boldness Glitter Food, if you wanted to wear it for more than a day or so.
Darling Diva Polish can be found at her Etsy store here, or on Llarowes site. I think Ms Monster Esq was last years Halloween polish; I bought this off Lani, but even if you can’t find this polish, check out the DDP range! She makes some amazing polishes. MUA polishes and makeup can be found at their website here.
Have a great day
Ami
Really Quick Photos of Pretty & Polished Day Trippin’ and May Flowers.
Preamble: My apologies, these are quick, and not good photos. Of two VERY nice polishes. I will revisit, but right now I need to clear my desk and photo album, so here they are!
First off: Pretty & Polished May Flowers
This is a lovely polish, mid green when cold, very light green when warm.
Two coats here, and Misa BREAKneck top coat. Dry time was average, wear time was good!
My favourite part is probably the pink flowers, because they are hard to see when the polish is green, but very visible when it’s light
And here is Day Trippin’ – here is three thin coats no top coat, see it sort of looks matte?
And here with Misa BREAKneck top coat, lovely and glossy. This is another colour changing polish – from purple with pink shimmer when cool to REALLY bright pink when warm.
this is in it’s COLD state!
I like the fact that I usually had the purple tips, even though my nails are always short.
Although, when I showed my family they were all neon pink (hot day!) and my folks were ‘meh’ (because, apart from my mother none of us are really pink people, and even she thought it was strange I was wearing hot pink with no glitter heh), but when I ran them under cold water and they changed INSTANTLY – then I got the WOOOO’s!
Mostly warm – when it gets very warm the tips go pink, too
So, yeah. Sorry about the poor quality of the photos, but I hope it gives some idea of the supreme coolness of these polishes. I love them. SO much. I’ll definitely take better photos at a later stage, they deserve it! Meantime, probably just go and buy them if you can
Have a great day
Ami the Enabler.
China Glaze: Lorelei’s Tiara – swatches and layering
This is China Glaze’s Lorelei’s Tiara, the most intensely sparkly silver with blue polish I have ever seen.
These photos are are three layers with Misa BREAKneck topcoat. I couldn’t take my eyes off this polish!
It did need the three coats for opacity, and was still a tiny bit rough with the thin topcoat, so maybe a thicker topcoat like Nail Pattern Boldness Glitter Food might be in order for the smooooth people out there
Or… you can add two coats of China Glaze Make a Spectacle, and another Misa BREAKneck layer, like I did.
Because this was glassy smooth, plus in the shade all the little colour changing iridescent hexes in Make A Spectacle came out to play in a subtle but very cool way.
And in the sun… kapow, glitter!
My favourite combinations, or polishes, offer something in all lights. And this sure did. And even though I had it over a PVA base, it lasted 2 days with no chipping whatsoever, which is BRILLIANT for my nails.
Have a sparkly, shimmery day
Ami
Wing Dust Collections: Hope – swatches
Introducing Hope, the first polish I’ve tried from my Wing Dust haul so many moons ago – and it’s a beauty. But before we get to the swatches – here is the picture of how my haul from Wing Dust arrived. I just want to say, it was magnificently packed, beautifully presented, and I really want more
Ok, Hope.
Wing Dust explains: “HOPE: This is inspired by so many amazing people we met while in Mongu, by Hope Church, by the Hope Art program that employs and empowers women of the community. There were so many reasons to Hope, even in the midst of countless heart-breaking circumstances that we saw in our too short time there.” – and that proceeds from the sale of this polish go back to the Zambia project. Which just sounds lovely, and this polish is VERY pretty.
It is moderately sheer, these photos show three thin coats plus China Glaze Fast Forward top coat, but it dries very quickly in spite of those layers.
You could also layer this over white, but personally I adored the look just like this; soft, delicate, pretty and yet – those iridescent and satin squares gave real interest.In the sunlight you can see the teeny sparkles – I think it’s holographic glitter, I am not sure. It looks beautiful, and adds a magic sort of quality to it.
I’m not a ‘fairies dancing’ kinda person, but to my shame that’s sort of where my brain went with this polish, and I didn’t even mind. I couldn’t stop staring at my nails, and that NEVER happens with pale coloured polishes. Well, I can’t say that again, obviously.
Bottle Macro
I think this polish has made its way into my top ten.
You can buy it from her shop on Etsy here, as soon as I can I’ll be back for more.
Orly: Lift the Veil and Daily Lacquer: Jovi
Another quick combo! First up, Orly Lift the Veil.
Pretty pink, not as sheer as I was afraid of, this is two coats. Nice tone for my colouring!
Pretty quick drying, too, and very easy to apply. I LOVE the bottle caps and brushes that Orly use. Yes.
Then I added one coat of Daily Lacquer Jovi – Maggie, the creator of Daily Lacquer, sent me a mini a looong time ago with my order, as I was one of her first customers. Sooo cute! And a lovely polish, I knew I wanted to layer it to not use too much.
Jovi has a pink base (a more lilac pink than Lift the Veil, but it works anyway because Jovi is thick enough to be opaque very quickly), with red hexes, silver holo hexes and red tiny glitters with a handful of holo glitter too. Very pretty, and nice formula, easy to use and the glitters lay flat. Smooth to the touch with Misa BREAKneck top coat!
Have a wonderful day
Ami
