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Wednesdays We Wear Pink – Featuring Digital Nails!

Nothing to Disclose

Hello my dearest readers!  I hope that today finds you moving closer and closer to Spring.  Are you waiting with bated breath for the cold to end like I am?  I feel more certain than ever that it’s just around the corner.  Already temps are rising here in the South.  There are some interesting things a-brewing here at Boom Shaka Lacquer, including a unique blog collaboration with some of the other amazing bloggers out there.  I can’t wait to share!

Today I’m bringing you a gorgeous polish for our Wednesdays We Wear Pink post.  You ready for pretty polish?  Ok great, this should definitely fit the bill!

I’m telling you right now this is a must have polish!  This is Double Helix:

Digital Nails - Double Helix

Digital Nails – Double Helix

Isn’t it gorgeous?  I’m in love with this one.  I’ll be honest I’ve had this one awhile, but, the holidays and the move got in the way of me posting about it!  Double Helix is a deep rose color linear holographic polish with rose microflakies.  It’s deep and complex and absolutely beautiful.  I don’t often wear “just” a single color, but I wore this one alone for a week and I got so many compliments!  This is part of her Scientist Pun collection and is based on Rosalind Franklin whose work was hijacked by other scientists who are credited with discovering the double helix shape of DNA.  Definitely not cool!  But this polish recognizes her accomplishments and honors her for her instrumental discoveries!

Digital Nails - Double Helix

Digital Nails – Double Helix

The formula for this polish was absolutely fantastic.  It went on like butter as they say.  Streaks, drags, balding?  Not here I say!  I did use two coats, but honestly I probably could have gotten away with one.  The only thing I will caution against is that as with ALL highly-pigmented polishes (particularly deep pinks, reds, and blues) careful application paired with well-moisturized cuticles will help you with clean up.  These kinds of polishes do like to glom onto cuticles and can be a little trying to clean up if you have any dryness at all.   Pictures show two coats plus my tried and true Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That quick drying topcoat (I love this stuff!).

This polish is not only gorgeous but it’s available in the Digital Nails shop right now!  If you don’t have this one yet, you definitely need it!  Pertinent links below!  So did ya miss me, wonderful readers?  Because I have missed you.  Stay tuned for more Boom Shaka Lacquer and that blogger collaboration series that I teased about earlier!

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Alchemy Lacquers Lab Report – St. Patrick’s Day!

Provided for Honest Review

Hello my lovely readers!  I have the Alchemy Lacquers’ St. Patrick’s Day-themed polishes for you today!  These are just awesome.  There is a new Moonshard which will become part of the Moonshard collection and a Potion which will not be available after March.  The potion comes with a stinking adorable set of vinyl nail decals…wait until you see!  I don’t want to keep you in suspense too long so here we go!

If you haven’t ordered from Alchemy Lacquers before, let me show you something that I find adorable!  Whenever these polishes go out they are wrapped up in tissue that matches the polish with a little name sticker on the outside.  It’s like a hint of the magnificence that you’ll see once you rip into that tissue paper!  Although, I don’t rip mine I can’t stand to, I always peel the label carefully to reveal the polish inside.  This month the name sticker on the outside for the Potion is shamrock shaped…how stinking cute!

Alchemy Lacquers - Adorable Packaging

Alchemy Lacquers – Adorable Packaging

First I’m going to show you the new Moonshard, Tethys:

Alchemy Lacquers - Tethys

Alchemy Lacquers – Tethys

Now I used one of the nail vinyls on this swatch but I’ll talk more about them later, they actually come with the Potion.  But this polish…it’s no secret I’m a fan of the Moonshard collection, beautiful shifty bases with shifty multichrome flakies…sign me up!  Tethys is a shifty gold based polish packed with green to gold shifting multichrome flakies.  Oh and did I mention it’s holo too?  SO much happening here, it’s complex and beautiful!

Alchemy Lacquers - Tethys

Alchemy Lacquers – Tethys

All the flakies give the gold a greenish cast but it is most assuredly gold.  I feel like I might have found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow with this one.  The formula on this is what I have come to expect.  Honestly, sometimes I feel like I repeat myself over and over but Rebecca is such a perfectionist when it comes to her polishes that I’ve really come to expect that.  This is a relatively sheer polish, you could layer it or build it to opacity (as I did) but it’s still not excessive, I have really long nails right now so I had to do an extra half coat at the tips to cover nail line, but folks with shorter nails or less prominent nail lines won’t need more than two.

Alchemy Lacquers - Tethys - Sunlight

Alchemy Lacquers – Tethys – Sunlight

Bonus sun shot!  I was still wearing this when I ran out to check the mail so I snagged a picture for ya’ll.  All pictures show two and a half coats plus topcoat.

Next up is the March Limited Edition Potion – Liquid Luck:

Now, Liquid Luck comes with an adorable little sheet of glitter vinyl nail decals.  And they are stinking cute.

Alchemy Lacquers - St. Patrick's Day Glitter Vinyl Decals

Alchemy Lacquers – St. Patrick’s Day Glitter Vinyl Decals

Just look at how adorable.  These are also perfectly sized for nail decals, despite the length of my nails I actually have fairly small nail beds so I love to find little vinyls that work perfectly for me.

You said polish?  Ok here we go for real this time!

Alchemy Lacquers - Liquid Luck

Alchemy Lacquers – Liquid Luck

Alchemy Lacquers - Liquid Luck - Matte

Alchemy Lacquers – Liquid Luck – Matte

Liquid Luck is a bright delightly Spring grass green crelly.  There is a pinch of linear holo, and a whole bunch of gold iridescent flakies.  The crelly is closer to jelly than creme so it’s a bit squishy looking as well.  I could not resist matting it which just made the flakies pop even more though I lost that tiny bit of holo because of the matte topcoat.

Alchemy Lacquers - Liquid Luck

Alchemy Lacquers – Liquid Luck

Alchemy Lacquers - Liquid Luck - Matte

Alchemy Lacquers – Liquid Luck – Matte

Formula was excellent on this.  The flakies spread nicely and don’t clump up.  It is a tiny bit sheer (moreso than I thought it would be because of the way it looks in the bottle) but I didn’t find this to be an issue as it built up nicely to opacity in about 2.5 coats (for my long nails).  Application was smooth and easy.  Pictures show 2.5 coats with a shiny and a matte topcoat.

Now don’t forget Liquid Luck is only available for the month of March.  You’ll want to snag that beauty before it’s gone!   These are going to release on Friday March 4.  I’ll post the store and social media for Alchemy Lacquers below, per usual!    I have some exciting new series planned for all of you soon so keep watching out here!

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Alchemy Lacquers Lab Report: Valentine’s Day

Provided for Honest Review

Hello my lovelies!  I’m so sorry for my absence  yet again!  I have been extremely busy settling into my new place (all my nail polish isn’t even organized yet!!!) and getting used to my new schedule and things of that nature.   That said, I have missed you all so terribly and I’m delighted to be back to sharing some gorgeous polishes with you.  I’m super excited about these so without further ado, let’s get to it!

Today I have three Valentine-themed polishes from Alchemy Lacquers to show you!  A Gilded, a Moon Shard, and  a Potion polish!  These all refer to various collections of similar type of finishes.  I’m a HUGE fan of the Gilded and Moon Shard collections especially, though if we’re being honest I love them all.

Let’s start with the Potion!  Alchemy Lacquers’ Potion collection is a series of quasi-limited run polishes and are very special!  It’s usually best to grab these as soon as you see them, this particular one is only available for February!!  First up today is Love Potion No. 9:

Alchemy Lacquers - Love Potion No. 9

Alchemy Lacquers – Love Potion No. 9

Do ya’ll remember the Infinity Collection?  This is basically a special dark pink version of those!  This is a dark magenta base with Magenta to Red to Gold multichrome shifting flakies.  I love these flakies and the gorgeous things that happens to them in Alchemy Lacquers polishes.

Alchemy Lacquers - Love Potion No. 9

Alchemy Lacquers – Love Potion No. 9

Hello, gorgeous!  The formula on this one is what I have come to expect from Alchemy Lacquers.  It’s workable, the flakies don’t clump up or leave a grit to the finish.  Even though there are a ton of flakies I didn’t find it difficult to work with.  Pictures show two coats plus topcoat.

Next up is a new Moonshard Collection polish, Cupid:

Alchemy Lacquers - Cupid

Alchemy Lacquers – Cupid

Hubba hubba.  This one makes me so happy.  In fact when I got done swatching these I did a whole manicure with this polish and stamped it with a fun Valentine-themed design.  I’ll be sure to share that on Instagram and I am planning a round-up of any Valentine nail art I do before the day!  This is a white/gray color-shifting holographic base filled with Purple to Magenta to Pink to Gold multichrome shifting flakies.  Not only that, this is a versatile polish, while I love it on its own it could also be layered over another color to add some amazing to your manicure!

Alchemy Lacquers - Cupid

Alchemy Lacquers – Cupid

The color shift in the base of the polish goes from a pink to gold and is just stunning!  Now, because this polish could be used as a topcoat it is a little bit sheer, however, it builds to opacity easily in three coats.  The application was very good and the flakies spread out evenly.  As you can see there are a LOT of flakies!  Pictures show three thin coats with topcoat.

Alchemy Lacquers - Cupid

Alchemy Lacquers – Cupid

I did mention the pink to gold shift right?  Oh yeah, my lovely readers.  Shift happens!

Last but certainly not least is a new Gilded for us all to crave.  Gilded Orchid:

Alchemy Lacquers - Gilded Orchid

Alchemy Lacquers – Gilded Orchid

Yes!  I feel like this one was needed in the Gilded collection for awhile now.  I love this one!  This Gilded has a magenta-leaning purple base with red and purple holographic glitter and that oh so special gold to silver shiftiness that the Gilded collection is known for.  I cannot get enough Gilded polishes.  I feel like every single one that has been released has been fantastic!

Alchemy Lacquers - Gilded Orchid

Alchemy Lacquers – Gilded Orchid

This super sparkly masterpiece is a joy to apply.  Also, because there are smaller gauge glitters in this polish it’s very easy to remove.  Takes just two coats to reach opacity.  The sparkle is almost blinding…prepare for distractions when driving on a sunny day!  Pictures show two coats plus topcoat.

Because I couldn’t resist a close up shot:

Alchemy Lacquers - Gilded Orchid

Alchemy Lacquers – Gilded Orchid

I was very definitely doing a happy dance when these arrived in the mail!  To answer your question my dearest readers, yes, it was probably very awkward and disturbing, and no, I won’t video my Alchemy Lacquers happy dance now or in the future!  I’ll leave that to your vivid imaginations!

These lovelies will be available on Tuesday February 2, 2016.  You definitely should come and join us at the Alchemy Lacquers Facebook Fan Group for sneaky peeks and announcements of upcoming releases!  I’ll leave all the pertinent links below.  Until next time dear readers may your days be filled with Glitter and Flakies!

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Gorgeous Fall Holos from Indigo Bananas

Nothing to Disclose

I know, I know it’s Winter!  But I have some of the gorgeous fall holos from Indigo Bananas to show you and they will transition beautifully into the Holiday and Winter season so if you haven’t snagged them yet – you’ll want to get on that!

Ok, ok, ok!  I’m moving onto the holo’est holos I own right now.  Now, we all know that holo polishes are not my “go-to” but sometimes even I can’t resist a mega-holo of epic proportions which is why I *had* to pick up a couple of the Indigo Bananas fall holos (in actuality I ordered one and the amazingly awesome Indigo Bananas’ maker included two others as a special treat, and boy, am I glad she did.  My polish collection wouldn’t have been the same without them!)

First up is the amazing Rhythm and Booze:

Indigo Bananas - Rhythm and Booze

Indigo Bananas – Rhythm and Booze

Rhythm and Blues is a royal purple linear holographic polish.  It’s got a rich fantastic color and the holographic flame even if artificial lighting is spectacular!

Indigo Bananas - Rhythm and Booze

Indigo Bananas – Rhythm and Booze

This polish was really good formula wise.  I used two thin coats and they didn’t drag or pull.  I could have gone for another coat and it would have deepened the color even further but I was really happy at this level of awesome.  This is shown with topcoat.

Indigo Bananas - Rhythm and Booze

Indigo Bananas – Rhythm and Booze

Next up is Polish of Unusual Quality (or POUQ for short):

Indigo Bananas - Polish of Unusual Quality

Indigo Bananas – Polish of Unusual Quality

Ok I admit I drooled a little when I saw this one.  This deep dark magenta is truly breathtaking.  By far and away the strongest holographic flame in my entire collection.

Indigo Bananas - Polish of Unusual Quality

Indigo Bananas – Polish of Unusual Quality

Seriously, I love this color so much and I can’t wait to use it in a nail art look.  The application was perfection.  None of the issues that I typically find with holographic polishes.   Indigo Bananas does have a possible stain warning on this polish however I did not have a problem with staining.  Pictures show two coats plus topcoat.

Indigo Bananas - Polish of Unusual Quality

Indigo Bananas – Polish of Unusual Quality

Last up is my favorite.  Synonym Bun!

Indigo Bananas - Synonym Bun (no topcoat)

Indigo Bananas – Synonym Bun (no topcoat)

Indigo Bananas - Synonym Bun (with topcoat)

Indigo Bananas – Synonym Bun (with topcoat)

Synonym Bun is a gorgeous rich cinnamon holographic polish.  The cool thing about this one though is that it has two different looks depending on whether you use topcoat or not.  If you want a traditional holographic flame then the no-topcoat look is for you.  If you like those deep velvety-looking holographic polishes then definitely add topcoat!  I like both looks and can see using both in the future.

Indigo Bananas - Synonym Bun (no topcoat)

Indigo Bananas – Synonym Bun (no topcoat)

Indigo Bananas - Synonym Bun (with topcoat)

Indigo Bananas – Synonym Bun (with topcoat)

This polish applied perfectly as the other two.  I didn’t have streaks or drags or anything like that.  Also, just like POUQ Indigo Bananas does have a stain warning on this listing but I did not experience any staining for the time that I wore it.  I would recommend a good basecoat, however, if you are prone to staining.  Because it is a rich deep color with a lot of red in it clean up around the cuticle is a bit of a challenge, but moisturizing ahead of time and/or using a barrier may assist.

Indigo Bananas - Synonym Bun (no topcoat)

Indigo Bananas – Synonym Bun (no topcoat)

Indigo Bananas - Synonym Bun (with topcoat)

Indigo Bananas – Synonym Bun (with topcoat)

I highly recommend picking up these and a bunch more Indigo Bananas polishes.  I have been completely happy with everyone that I have ever received.  I’ll include all the pertinent links below!

 

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