Archives

Fall is Almost Here! Review of Pretty & Polished Dusty Fall Cremes!

Provided for Honest Review

Fall is almost upon us my dear readers!  Hot drinks, cool days, sweaters, and gorgeous muted colors will be taking over before you know it!  Ok, so where I live hot drinks, cool days, and sweaters don’t generally come out until Christmas (if we’re lucky).  However, I still love good seasonal polish.  I fully admit that there’s something in my brain that makes me crave muted earthy polishes for Autumn, glitzy jewel tones for winter, delicate and shimmery pastels for Spring, and OMG could they be any more Neon neons for Summer (For the record, I’m not over neons yet, I could really do those all year).

Another thing that I’ve been craving is CREME polishes.  Now I know you’re saying to yourself, “But, Relly, I thought you were all about glitter and flakies?”  You would definitely be right, I am.  However, lately I’ve also been wanting that smooth gorgeous color that you can only get from good creme polishes.  Plus, glitters need bases, and cremes are fantastic for nail art!  Luckily for me Pretty & Polished came out with a stunning collection of Fall-colored Dusty Cremes.  I had the pleasure of trying out five of them, which I am going to share with you!

Up first is Reflect and Ponder:

Pretty & Polished - Reflect and Ponder

Pretty & Polished – Reflect and Ponder

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a weakness for dark blue polish.  Dark blues and all shades of gray are probably among my very most favorite polish colors.  I can’t tell you how many various shades of dark or navy blue I have and I’m always delighted to add another shade to my collection (because they’re similar not the same…)  This one is ever so slightly teal-leaning so it’s not a straight navy, which is just fine with me.  Also, this polish is the one that conceals the “dusty” effect that each of these polishes have.  Still love everything about this color and I will definitely be using it again!

Pretty & Polished - Reflect and Ponder

Pretty & Polished – Reflect and Ponder

I’m going to hold off discussing individual formulas because in all honesty they were all so very very close in application.

 

Pretty & Polished - Reflect and Ponder (Macro)

Pretty & Polished – Reflect and Ponder (Macro)

Perfectly smooth and fantastic!

Next up is Saucy Marsala:

Pretty & Polished - Saucy Marsala

Pretty & Polished – Saucy Marsala

Such a pretty color for Fall.  I love pink almost as much as I love blue.  This is a rich dusty mauve pink and despite being a major Doctor Who fan I’m not alarmed at the color (It’s Mauve…the intergalactic color for danger).  You can see the dusty effect in this polish and it’s like a light layer of dust throughout the polish.

Pretty & Polished - Saucy Marsala

Pretty & Polished – Saucy Marsala

I don’t have a macro shot of this one because apparently the photography spirits were not with me and everything I shot came out blurry.  This happened with another of the colors as well – I’m tempted to say it’s the camera but honestly I’m no pro *grins*.

Now for what must be the most perfect green:

Pretty & Polished - Thyme and Time Again

Pretty & Polished – Thyme and Time Again

I love this color so much.  This is such a perfect green for nail art, to go with a lot of my glitter, and just on its own.  This color is almost neutral as well.  I say there’s a case to be made for muted earth toned greens to be neutral and I can imagine this in so many different manis.

Pretty & Polished - Thyme and Time Again

Pretty & Polished – Thyme and Time Again

You can really see the “dust” effect here.  It’s not quite speckles but kind of like speckles.

Pretty & Polished - Thyme and Time Again (Macro)

Pretty & Polished – Thyme and Time Again (Macro)

 

I’m saving my very favorite for last (and it’s not this one!), and it’s going to be a surprise I promise because you already know my preferred colors are blues, greens, teals/turquoises…

Here is Docked at Biscay Bay:

Pretty & Polished Docked in Biscay Bay

Pretty & Polished Docked in Biscay Bay

I’ll admit this one fought hard to be my favorite.  It’s right there in the color family that I am always immediately drawn to.  Gorgeous muted turquoise and it’s just smooth and creamy and everything I ever want in a creme polish.

Pretty & Polished Docked in Biscay Bay

Pretty & Polished Docked in Biscay Bay

Now onto my favorite of the ones I received:

Pretty & Polished - Amethyst or Am I That?

Pretty & Polished – Amethyst or Am I That?

Now I know there are a lot of purple fans out there.  I’ll be honest, I’ve not always been a purple fan.  However how can you resist a color like this???  This gorgeous true purple is just stunning.  I love everything about it!

Pretty & Polished - Amethyst or Am I That?

Pretty & Polished – Amethyst or Am I That?

Quick Macro to see the perfection:

Pretty & Polished - Amethyst or Am I That? (Macro)

Pretty & Polished – Amethyst or Am I That? (Macro)

 

Let’s talk about creme polishes for a minute.  I really debated with myself as to whether I should show you these with topcoat (maximum shine!!!) or without.  I finally decided that I would show you these without topcoat so if there were any formulaic issues they couldn’t be hidden by a glossy layer of topcoat.  One of the wonders of topcoat is that it does cover a multitude of flaws.  Without topcoat you would be able to see any drags, balding, streaks, or other formula issues for yourself.  I felt that this would be the most honest representation of the polishes.  And as you can see I had NONE of those troubles.  They all applied beautifully and leveled out so nicely.

All of these pictures are two coats of the respective color without topcoat.  Almost all of them could have probably been one coat.  Only the green HAD to have two coats because it’s such a light color.  These all dried to a demi-matte rubbery finish.  I think this is great because it gives you two options, high shine with topcoat or the natural finish which could be very cool in nail art.

Speaking of nail art….BOOM:

Reverse Stamping with Pretty & Polished Dusty Cremes (stamp is MoYou London - Explorer 07)

Reverse Stamping with Pretty & Polished Dusty Cremes (stamp is MoYou London – Explorer 07)

 

The buzz over these cremes is tremendous.  It seems that the Indie Nail Polish community is just craving cremes like I was.  This is five of the TEN piece collection.  They work fabulously together and are perfect colors for fall.  This collection will be available for purchase on September 9, 2015.  You can pick up yours at the Pretty & Polished Shop (but don’t wait to visit the shop until then…Chels is running a Labor Day Sale from right now until September 7 at midnight.  Time to pick up some of those other pretty polishes you’ve been eyeing.  Use LaborDay25 to get 25% off of all polish!!  That’s a killer deal right there!).  For all the news and to see other pictures of this and other upcoming collections go check out Pretty & Polished on Facebook and Instagram!

 

 

Christmas Nail Art Roundup!

Some polishes may have been provided for previous review

I decided that this year I would save all my holiday manis of the year to share with you in one post.  I know that I do quite a lot of swatch posts but I do actual nail art as well and while I’m no genius at it I do like to have fun with different combinations and I’ve been practicing some freehand stuff as well!

I hope you enjoy and also be sure to check out the inlinkz at the bottom to see a lot of other awesome bloggers and their holiday manicures!

Digital Nails - Supernova with Gothic Gala Lacquers - Holiday Berries

Digital Nails – Supernova with Gothic Gala Lacquers – Holiday Berries

Gothic Gala Lacquers - Holiday Leaves with Alchemy Lacquers - Gilded Holly and Jindie Nails - Through the Eyes of a Child

Gothic Gala Lacquers – Holiday Leaves with Alchemy Lacquers – Gilded Holly and Jindie Nails – Through the Eyes of a Child

Literary Lacquers - One Thousand Christmas Trees with Zoya - Liberty, Chyna and Solange

Literary Lacquers – One Thousand Christmas Trees with Zoya – Liberty, Chyna and Solange

Alchemy Lacquers - Gilded Dreidel with Elevation Polish - Darkest Storm stamped with Cici & Sisi Christmas 2014

Alchemy Lacquers – Gilded Dreidel with Elevation Polish – Darkest Storm stamped with Cici & Sisi Christmas 2014

There you have the looks I’ve done for this holiday season!  I had hoped to do more and I think next year I’m going to increase my goal!  But I’m pretty happy with this group of nail art looks.

I want to wish everyone a very Happy Holidays and all the best in the New Year!

 

[inlinkz_linkup id=470486 mode=1]

Wednesdays We Wear Pink – Featuring Alchemy Lacquers

Nothing to Disclose

This is going to be a quickie Wednesdays We Wear Pink post!  I didn’t want to leave ya’ll wishing for a manicure revolving around one of the most awesome colors on the planet!  I also have some exciting stuff coming up in the next few days so keep your eyes peeled for that!

Today I’m showing you a manicure I did using some Alchemy Lacquers, stamping, and jelly polishes!  How much fun is that?  Oh yes and some polymer clay slices because I clearly don’t know how to leave things alone!

Alchemy Lacquers with China Glaze You Drive me Coconuts (Stamped with MoYou London Pro - 13)

Alchemy Lacquers – Sea Sparkle with China Glaze – You Drive me Coconuts

So here’s what I started with – a little mani with a jelly stampwich with China Glaze – You Drive me Coconuts and a double accent nail of the gorgeous Alchemy Lacquers – Sea Sparkle.   I used MoYou London Pro – 13 for the stamp.  So I looked at this and I though “Oh Yay!  I love this…let me add MORE!”

Alchemy Lacquers – Sea Sparkle with China Glaze – You Drive Me Coconuts

 

Alchemy Lacquers - Sea Sparkle with China Glaze - You Drive Me Coconuts

Alchemy Lacquers – Sea Sparkle with China Glaze – You Drive Me Coconuts

So here I added another stamp on the top of the jelly stampwich off of the Pro – 13 plate and a cute little polymer clay heart!  I loved everything about this mani – it’s over the top, it’s girly, and it’s PINK!

Alchemy Lacquers - Sea Sparkle with China Glaze - You Drive Me Coconuts

Alchemy Lacquers – Sea Sparkle with China Glaze – You Drive Me Coconuts

Here’s another shot of the finished mani!  I really liked the China Glaze for the jelly stampwich though I wish I had a more opaque white so that it showed through a bit better!

Products used:  Sally Hansen – Complete Care 4-in-1 Treatment; Alchemy Lacquers – Sea Sparkle; China Glaze – You Drive Me Coconuts; Sally Hansen – White On; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat; Polymer Clay Heart

 

 

Wednesdays We Wear Pink! Featuring some Nail Stamping!

Nothing to Disclose

This will be a kind of quick post for today’s pink post!  I decided that I wanted to use an amazing polish that I had languishing in my collection for today’s post.  It’s a stunner really!

So let’s get on with it!  For today’s manicure I paired up Dior – Princess with some lime green stamping!

Dior - Princess (stamped with Sally Hansen - Just in Lime)

Dior – Princess (stamped with Sally Hansen – Just in Lime)

Now…as you can see by the bottle, this is a pink polish.  However it is a slightly coral leaning pink and when I layered the Sally Hansen – Just in Lime over it it was far more coral looking than pink!  Dior – Princess is a beautiful coral leaning princess pink polish packed with a silvery shimmer.

Dior - Princess (stamped with Sally Hansen - Just in Lime)

Dior – Princess (stamped with Sally Hansen – Just in Lime)

First I started with two thin coats of Dior – Princess.  There is a reason that these high-end polishes are high-end too.  Easily one of the best formulas I have ever worked with on a nail polish.  Plus the brush is really awesome, kind of squatty but wide and it’s very easy to work with!  I then used stamps from Cheeky and MoYou London to create the stamped design.  I got so many compliments on this mani as I was out and about running errands!

Products used:  Sally Hansen – Complete Care 4-in-1 Treatment; Dior – Princess; Sally Hansen – Just in Lime; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That; Cheeky Plate – CH44; MoYou London Plate – Pro 01.

You can find out information about the products at the following sites.  Dior polishes are available in department stores and various online retailers.  Sally Hansen Insta-Dri polishes are available at all kinds of drugstores, big box stores, and grocery stores across the country and are great for stamping!

Dior

Website

Sally Hansen

Website Facebook Instagram

MoYou London

Website Facebook Instagram

Cheeky

Website Facebook

Digital Nails

Store Facebook Instagram