Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Spring In Your Step Collection part 2 of 2

Provided for Honest Review

I am no less excited today than I was when I posted part one of this collection! Seriously I love the mixing and matching capabilities. This one is going to be heavy on the pictures even though I only have two polishes left to show you today. Don’t forget this collection releases NEXT SATURDAY. Set your clocks, set an alarm, send yourself an email, tell your friends…ok ok ok so maybe that’s just slightly overboard (but do tell your friends!). Let’s get on with the show and tell portion of this post and not waste anymore time on my ramblings!

First up is Eat Me:

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Eat Me

First…I LOVE the name of this polish I literally cannot wait to tell people the name of it next time I wear it. I love names that are a bit off-color or a little risque because I have the sense of humor of a teenaged boy and I can’t help but giggle like crazy. Now this beauty is a gorgeous milk chocolate crelly packed with matte pastel pink, peach, and blue glitters. The inspiration for this one was chocolate bunnies for Easter and I think that the inspiration is very clear here!

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Eat Me

This is a great formula glitter crelly polish. Took two coats and I didn’t have to manipulate glitter at all. There is a nice spread and a good density to the glitter part of this polish and because it’s all smaller gauged glitter it’s not topcoat hungry or overwhelming! Oh and did I mention it smells like chocolate? Through TOPCOAT? Oh yeah.

Polishes used: Tip Top – Toughen Up Basecoat; Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Eat Me; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat

Next up is She Works Hard for the Honey:

Ok – I’m going to break my pattern a little here because this is a glitter topper. Not only that it’s a topper that works perfectly with three of the other polishes in the collection so naturally I swatched it over all three of those colors. She Works Hard for the Honey is a honey scented matte black and satin gold glitter topper. There is a variety of sizes of glitter and it’s a super fun topper over a multitude of colors. I swatched over Quite Contrary, Peachy Keen, and Lilac Festival and loved it with all three. The formula is perfect I just lightly dabbed it over the polish, it wasn’t overly topcoat hungry, and I didn’t have to manipulate the glitter. So you wanna see it? Ok!

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – She Works Hard for the Honey over Quite Contrary

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – She Works Hard for the Honey over Lilac Festival

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – She Works Hard for the Honey over Peachy Keen

Well that’s it for this collection. Be sure to check out the stalker links below so that you can get your own Spring in Your Step collection polishes next weekend when they are released!

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New to Me Brand – Finger Lickin’ Lacquer “Spring In Your Step” Collection – Part 1 of 2

Provided for Honest Review

I am seriously having a case of excitement so large I can hardly stand it! I have a new to me indie to share with you today and for me the coolest thing? The brand is based out of South Carolina which is where *I* am from! So stinking awesome!

So…Finger Lickin’ Lacquer has been on my radar for awhile but I hadn’t yet had the opportunity to try them (so many polishes so little time!) but when I got chosen to be one of the bloggers to receive this line I was over the moon excited. Then I got the box and oh my goodness ya’ll…just wait. This is a solidly cohesive line that mixes and matches beautifully!

I guess I’ve teased ya’ll enough what with the press release and all…Let’s get down to the swatches and on to the review.

First up let’s start with Quite Contrary:

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Quite Contrary

Love.love.love. I’m sorry but I’m *always* on the lookout for nudes that look good on me and so few do. This is a beautiful cream colored polish with the vaguest hint of green (barely there, I’m thinking that it’s just enough to make this color work for me) and tiny pink microflakies. It has a subtle holographic effect (I’m guessing that it would have probably been more prominent if we weren’t having rain here in South Carolina). I will reach for this one over and over. It’s a perfect base for nail art and glitter toppers!

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Quite Contrary

Oh yeah baby! Ok so this one has a lovely formula as well. Self-levels beautifully (big huge deal for me). It is a touch sheer but my nails are super long right now so it’s a bit more difficult to cover my VNL, people with shorter nails will not find it as sheer as I did. Picture shows three coats, sans topcoat. That’s right it was just that shiny!!!! This one is unscented.

Polishes used: Tip Top – Toughen Up Base Coat; Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Quite Contrary

Next up is Birthday Suit:

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Birthday Suit

Again what is not to love about this. Another slightly different nude crelly with a mix of satin pastel glitters mixed throughout! I’m not usually all about the nudes but this one really hits it out of the park. I love it.

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Birthday Suit

Oh did I mention it smells like birthday cake? Yeah it makes me want to nibble on my fingers which I would like to take a moment and discourage you from doing. Nail polish may smell good but it does not taste good and I’m pretty sure that it’s not so healthy for you to ingest either. This one is definitely on the sheer side…but good news Quite Contrary makes PERFECT undies for this beauty. So this is one lightly dabbed coat over one coat of Quite Contrary plus topcoat.

Polishes used: Tip Top – Toughen Up Basecoat; Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Quite Contrary and Birthday Suit; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat.

Now we have Lilac Festival:

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Lilac Festival

Here we have the third beautiful polish to show you. Lilac Festival is a lovely lilac colored cream with subtle holographic effect and a strong golden yellow microflakie shimmer. All efforts to accurately depict this color were for naught. This picture shows it leaning more blurple but it is a definite lilac color in person.

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Lilac Festival

This one is closer to the color…definite lilac less with the blurple. Anyway formula was very nice on this. I was worried after the first coat though I thought it was going to be tough to build due to the sheerness of the first coat but I need not have worried because THIS is two coats! Yes! Self-leveled like a dream.

Polishes used: Tip Top – Toughen Up Basecoat; Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Lilac Festival; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat

Last (for today) but not least we have Peachy Keen:

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Peachy Keen

Hubba hubba! That’s what I have to say about this color! Peachy Keen is a pastel coral/peach crelly with tons of beautiful golden microflakies. Depending on light it’s more peachy, sometimes more corally, sometimes even a bit coral pink. In all lights its GORGEOUS.

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Peachy Keen

Oh and this? This smells like peaches yo! Now, here we have my frightfully long (for me) nails and lighting set up tricking you into thinking that you can’t reach opacity on this but trust me in person I could see nary a VNL. This is however one of the sheerer polishes and it did take me three coats to reach opacity. It leveled beautifully and the flakies just sparkle and twinkle in the light and it makes me happy happy!

Polishes used: Tip Top – Toughen Up Basecoat; Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Peachy Keen; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat.

So ya’ll wanna know how to get your hands on this collection??? It will be available on March 20, 2015. That is next Saturday! I cannot recommend them enough so you best get yourself down to the Finger Lickin’ Lacquer Website. To hold you over be sure to check out Instagram and Facebook as I’m sure you’re going to be seeing a lot of pictures of this collection coming in over there as well!

Carpe Noctem Cosmetics Review!

Press Sample

So I know that you’re all probably thinking…who is this wacky chick that suddenly just showed back up out of nowhere. As I’ve said before I’m finishing up my Bachelor’s degree and this is my last semester. This means that I really have to spend some time actually focusing on school work and not just nails nails nails all the time. I have been trying to keep up with posting my nail art on Instagram so if you want to just see what I’m wearing that week…go check it out!

So to the polishes at hand. So when I made an order with Carpe Noctem last week the amazing maker included some samples for me to review. They are from her “Always Greener” collection and they are so perfect for St. Patrick’s Day of course! If you are following me on the aforementioned Instagram then you’ll get to see the St. Patty’s Day nail art that I do…I’m sure that you’ll be seeing some of these polishes again! Let’s get right into the review because I know you’re tired of me rambling on and on and just want to see pretty polish. Sorrynotsorry.

So I’m going to go from light to dark today…because it’s my blog and I want to! So without further ado let’s start with Sweet Escapemint:

Carpe Noctem Cosmetics – Sweet Escapemint

I love this sweet soft mint green. This is a squishy, gorgeous, and creamy pastel mint green crelly but does it stop there? Oh no it does not! Then there is a dash of sparkly flakies and subtle holographic to top the whole thing off. This is one sweet polish alright!

Carpe Noctem Cosmetics – Sweet Escapemint

Oh yes just lovely. Now this one is a crelly so it has a sheer quality to it. When I was looking at my nails in person they were opaque so don’t let my photo throw you into thinking that there is very visible VNL – I’m pretty sure it’s my lighting setup. These photos show three thin coats plus topcoat. Application was perfection, no dragging or leveling issues.

Polishes used: Glisten & Glow – Stuck on Blu; Carpe Noctem Cosmetics – Sweet Escapemint; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat.

Next up is a bright to offset the pastel! Losing Lime:

Carpe Noctem Cosmetics – Losing Lime

This is a perfect gorgeous lime holographic polish! This has a bit of a unique finish, it’s not really satin, it’s not frost, it’s not metallic. I guess I’ll describe it as a sort of frosty metallic lime green base with a very noticeable linear holographic effect. It’s really quite lovely because it has the classic beauty of a frost without the brush strokes and the fun modernity of a holographic polish. I really like it because it adds tons of dimension to a polish that could have ended up very one note.

Carpe Noctem Cosmetics – Losing Lime

Just like Sweet Escapemint when viewed under average conditions I didn’t see any VNL. However the combination of lights and my super prominent nail line just did me in with these two! As with all holographic polishes you might have to move a little bit quick because I’ve noticed they tend to set/dry pretty quickly and that can cause some dragging if you’re not aware of the dry time. I don’t find it to be a huge problem because I’m pretty used to working with a wide variety of finishes on polish and I had none of those issues with this polish.

Polishes used: Glisten & Glow – Stuck on Blu; Carpe Noctem Cosmetics – Losing Lime; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat.

Next up we have my favorite of the bunch though it was a pretty close call between this one and the next one. This is Teal the Deal:

Carpe Noctem Cosmetics – Teal the Deal

Oh.My.Heck. This polish is STUNNING. Ya’ll know me, y a’ll know that I’m crazy about all things teal, blue, turquoise and otherwise ocean colored polishes. Seriously if I could dye my hair any color it would be mermaid colors and this exact shade would be one of that myriad of ocean colors that I would choose! This is a beautiful green leaning teal (more on the green than blue side of the spectrum) with a strong holographic effect. There also appears to be some kind of shimmer or shiftiness going on that again just adds dimension to the polish!

Carpe Noctem Cosmetics – Teal the Deal

Ya’ll just look…so amazing. I’m already planning on getting this in a full size and maybe a back-up because it is so so so much perfection. I used two coats for this picture but honestly I wore it earlier in the week in a nail art look and one coat was perfectly sufficient. Oh did I mention it also stamps beautifully! No issues at all with application and it was so shiny that unless you use topcoat for other reasons besides adding shine you could do without it.

Polishes used: Glisten & Glow – Stuck on Blu; Carpe Noctem Cosmetics – Teal the Deal; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat.

Last but certainly not least is [Insert Emerald Pun Here]:

Carpe Noctem Cosmetics – [Insert Emerald Pun Here]

Again talk about a gorgeous polish. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t been the hugest proponent of holographic polishes in the past however now with the advent of all the latex (and non latex) masking fluids that have hit the market lately I want to do ALL. THE. GRADIENTS. Guess what holographic polishes are great for? GRADIENTS. Anyway that’s all the hint you get about future St. Patty’s nail art looks kthxbai. Anyway, I’m off track again aren’t I…well next time poke me or something so I get back on track. [Insert Emerald Pun Here] is a beautiful dark emerald green jelly holographic polish and has a lovely strong holographic arc.

Carpe Noctem Cosmetics – [Insert Emerald Pun Here]

Now then this one had no problems at all with application but it does dry pretty quick because it’s a jelly base and holographic. Because it is a jelly base the first coat is sheer but these photos show two coats plus topcoat! Gorgeous.

Polishes used: Glisten & Glow – Stuck on Blu; Carpe Noctem Cosmetics – [Insert Emerald Pun Here]; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat.

Now I’m sure that you’re saying to yourself…”But Relly, how can I get my OWN Always Greener polishes??!!!” Never fear I’m going to help you with that. If you visit Carpe Noctem Cosmetics’ Etsy Shop you can purchase directly from her. If you want to keep up on all the CNC news and see pretty polishes all the time then make sure that you follow Carpe Noctem Costmetics on Instagram and Facebook.

Alchemy Lacquers Lab Report Part 2 – Arctic Alchemy

Provided for Honest Review

Hello my lovely readers. I’m so sorry that this post has been delayed! I’m still trying to get into the groove of this semester and it’s got my schedule all out of whack. Seriously considering actually using my calendar function in my phone to start planning out my week which just hurts my spontaneous soul because I usually like to just fly by the seat of my pants most of the time. Anywho enough about all of that you’re here to see the GORGEOUS polishes that I have right here in my hot little hands. This is the rest of the Arctic Alchemy collection that I promised you!

First up is Thundersnow!

Alchemy Lacquers – Thundersnow

Thundersnow is a very slightly blue-leaning medium grey crelly base filled with blue microglitter, blue shimmer, and teensie tiny iridescent flakies. This is another one that goes right to the top of the list for me. It’s in my preferred color family and it’s just lovely!

Alchemy Lacquers – Thundersnow

Absolutely nothing bad to say about this polish at all. The formula on it is perfection. These pictures show two perfect self-leveling coats to perfection.

Polishes used: Glisten & Glow – Stuck on Blu; Alchemy Lacquers – Thundersnow; Digital Nails Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That

Next up I have one of my favorites of the whole collection – Moraine:

Alchemy Lacquers – Moraine

Now this one was a surprise to me! I have used this polish two more times in nail art since I swatched it and ya’ll know that this nail polish addict has a crapload of nail polish and multiple uses out of one polish just doesn’t happen all that often. This is a silver subtle linear holographic polish with flakies and a touch of that gold-silver shifty pigment that is used in the gilded polishes. The result is a rich dimensional silver holographic polish that is anything but boring!

Alchemy Lacquers – Moraine

I tried unsuccessfully to capture the holographic arc in this one because it was kind of dreary when I swatched it. It is definitely there however and looks amazing in the sunlight! The formula on this was very easy to work with. Pictures show two coats plus topcoat and despite the fact that it has a metallic finish it doesn’t show brushstrokes which are the bane of my existence! I was utterly delighted with this one.

Polishes used: Glisten & Glow – Stuck on Blu; Alchemy Lacquers – Moraine; Digital Nails Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That

Now for my second favorite of the collection – Firn:

Alchemy Lacquers – Firn

Oh…Em…GEE! Everything about this polish makes me happy. It is stunning in every single way imaginable. We have an icy aqua blue linear holo with blue microflakies. It’s a jelly base so it has a certain translucence that is just so lovely. I will reach for this one over and over.

Alchemy Lacquers – Firn

The holographic arc in this one is pretty strong as you can see some of it did come out to play in artificial light. It has a jelly translucent base so it is sheer but the pictures show three coats. It’s VERY nearly opaque here and on shorter nails or someone with a less prominent nail line it would be completely opaque. For me personally because of the inspiration of the policy and the loveliness of it I didn’t mind the slightly sheer translucent quality at all in fact I rather enjoyed it!

Polishes used: Glisten & Glow – Stuck on Blu; Alchemy Lacquers – Firn; Digital Nails Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That

Last but not least is the Arctic Gilded offering for this collection. Gilded Icicles!

Alchemy Lacquers – Gilded Icicles

How.gorgeous.is.that?! Seriously stunning! Gilded Icicles is a gilded white jelly polish. It is just the perfect wintery white polish ever. It has that characteristic gold/silver shift that just gives it so much depth.

Alchemy Lacquers – Gilded Icicles

So this polish has a lot of shimmer and shine going on for it so it is a touch thicker in formula than the others. That does not make it unworkable or unmanageable at all it’s just the way it is. I’ve come to expect it from the Gilded polishes just because that seems to be the nature of the pigment that is in them. I have never had any trouble with them the thickness that they come. This shows two decent coats plust topcoat.

Polishes used: Glisten & Glow – Stuck on Blu; Alchemy Lacquers – Gilded Icicles; Digital Nails Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That

Now these and some Valentine’s and Mardi Gras polishes are available RIGHT NOW in the Alchemy Lacquers’ Etsy Shoppe. You should definitely go pick up these and some of those too! You can also follow Alchemy Lacquers on Facebook and Instagram to get pretty pictures, teaser photos, and all the restock news you could ever want!

Alchemy Lacquers Lab Report Part 1 – Arctic Alchemy

Provided for Honest Review

I’m alive! My postings may be slightly more sporadic as I am entering my final semester before graduating with my Bachelor’s Degree! I’m very excited but there is a lot of work to go into this semester so I may have to sacrifice some of the time I would have spent on my blog on that. Never fear though I will always try to get posts out as much as possible. I would miss this blog terribly so I won’t cut it out even for a semester. If ya’ll have something special you’d like to see or some kind of feature idea feel free to contact me via the site and I will see what I can do. Come summer ya’ll will be sick of me again as I will be back to my 2-3 time a week postings!

Today though I have an amazing collection to show you. I have all but one of the collection but I think that you will get a great idea of what this collection is all about. It’s no secret that Alchemy Lacquers is one of my all time favorite brands. Rebecca consistently improves on every single collection she puts out. She just keeps getting better and better and this current collection is so so beautiful and perfectly represents the theme! These polishes are all currently available and I will include all the necessary links at the bottom!

Let’s start with Blizzard, fun fact Blizzard has actually been part of Rebecca’s core collection for a long time but it goes so naturally with this collection that it’s being included:

Alchemy Lacquers – Blizzard

Blizzard is a perfect pale pale pale blue with a light shimmer and teensie tiny blue speckles. It makes a great base for nail art and could even provide undies for some of the collection polishes if you didn’t want to build to opacity.

Alchemy Lacquers – Blizzard

Application is lovely. You can see there aren’t any streaks or drags and it applies very smoothly. Two coats to opacity without any trouble. Sometimes cremes are a bit difficult to work with in these lighter colors but the consistency is perfect.

Polishes used: Glisten & Glow – Stuck on Blu; Alchemy Lacquers – Blizzard; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat

Next up let’s take a look at Dawn of the North:

Alchemy Lacquers – Dawn of the North

Just look at that! I’ll give you a moment….

Awesome right? I love love this polish so much. This is a light blue jelly multichrome polish. It’s so shifty! It shifts from a sort of golden to pinkish purple and some slight green here and there in corners. The shifty is so strong that you can see it here without a lot of contortion or heroic acts. Love!

Alchemy Lacquers – Dawn of the North

Isn’t it lovely? It does go on sheer but it builds to opacity, I have a very defined nail line but me and VNL are copacetic so I don’t mind a little VNL now and then. The sheerness in this and a couple others do not bother me in the least because to me it fits the theme quite well. These pictures show three thin coats plus topcoat. You could use undies but to me it would detract a little from the loveliness.

Polishes used: Glisten & Glow – Stuck on Blu; Alchemy Lacquers – Dawn of the North; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat.

Next up is one of my favorites from the collection, Permafrost:

Alchemy Lacquers – Permafrost

Oh.Em.GEE! It’s like Rebecca asked me what I wanted for Christmas and then made this. Seriously everything about this polish makes me happy. It’s a creamy grey crelly with a subtle linear holo and rainbow microflakies!!! LOVE!

Alchemy Lacquers – Permafrost

Application for Permafrost is the height of perfection. Self-leveling smooth application. The pictures show two coats plus topcoat!

Polishes used: Glisten & Glow – Stuck on Blu; Alchemy Lacquers – Permafrost; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat.

Next up is a glitter topper that happens to look awesome over Permafrost:

Alchemy Lacquer – Graupel

Graupel is a perfect mix of white and ice blue satin glitters and white matte glitter in a clear base. It would look amazing over a variety of undies and I chose to pair it with Permafrost because well they just seemed to go together naturally!

Alchemy Lacquers – Graupel

This glitter topper went on great without any issues at all. This is one unmanipulated coat over undies and topped with topcoat. Because the glitters are smaller gauged they don’t need a lot of help to smooth out.

Polishes used: Glisten & Glow – Stuck on Blu; Alchemy Lacquers – Graupel; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat.

This post is to be continued with the remaining four polishes that I have in my possession. Trust me you will not be disappointed the gilded offering is coming up! In the meantime, you should totally go check out the Alchemy Lacquers’ shop and snag up your own bottles of these amazing polishes. You can also follow AL on Facebook and Instagram to see more amazing swatches and pictures!