Emerald & Ash That's What She Said

Hello!  Sorry for no post yesterday.  I was busy watermarking all the pictures I had and relaxing a little bit.  Actually I am relaxing again while I work on some pretty large posts I've got going up.  One will be later tonight so keep your eyeballs peeled for it.  In the meantime I figured I could spare a few minutes to squeeze out a quickly 1-polish post to share with you!  What I've got for you is Emerald & Ash That's What She Said.  My understanding is that this was another Las Vegas exclusive, but due to a lack of pigment, they won't be reproducing this one to list on their site.  While that is bad news I do have good news!  Emerald & Ash recently re-opened their shop with new cuticle oil scents and all their lovely polish!  So head over and browse around, there's definitely something you will fall in love with.  And I have to throw this out there - E&A have some of the most fabulously scented oil and the formula is top notch!  So here's the quickie post now that I've talked your ear off.

*press sample*

 Emerald & Ash: Shop, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

Emerald & Ash Your Face

Good evening!  Making the most of my "sittingin the car at the field waiting for my son to finish soccer practice" time.  Thank goodness for DVD players in cars (my other littles are watching a movie while I blog!).  I HAD to share this with you NOW (sorry for yelling) because in a couple hours you too can own this fabulous shimmery-shifty matte topper!  Ok, ok so here's the details about this polish.  Your Face was an exclusive polish for the Las Vegas Cocktail & Colors event but Ashely and Nate decided to let everyone else get in on the fun too!  And tonight is their grand re-opening with lots of new cuticle oil scents (YAS), Period Poops is making a full time comeback and Your Face will be released.  The shop opens at 7pm MST so get your wallet ready!  Your Face will be available in 2 sizes; 10ml for $7.00 and 15ml for $9.00.  So let's jump in and check this beauty out!

*press sample*

Emerald & Ash: Shop, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

Here is Your Face!  First off I love that this is one of Ashley & Nate's inside jokes and they turned it into a polish.  If you've met them in person you know how adorable they are together and I can totally picture them saying this to each other.  Your Face is a "versatile topcoat filled with color shifting shimmer and flakes that can be applied over another polish to create a beautiful shimmering matte look."  This is so lovely and it's matte!  I'm super into matte right now so huge bonus points!  The formula and application were both fabulous.  1 easy coat over the base colors I chose and I have full coverage.  Your Face dries quickly too!  The first pictures are of Your Face over a deep emerald green creme.  

Here's what Your Face looks like with a shiny topcoat.  The green and purple flakes really pop and the shifting colors are more noticeable this way.   

Finally, I grabbed a few macros of Your Face over different base colors.  I tried Your Face over a red creme, a purple jelly and a blue creme.  Different elements of Your Face are more prominent over different base colors so if you pick up a bottle make sure you try it over a few bases to find the one you love the most!  In my opinion they are all equally gorgeous!  

Emerald & Ash Desert Tears

Good evening!  I had full intention of getting this post up yesterday morning but sometimes things just don't go to plan so I'm getting the post up now.  Sorry for the delay!  Emerald & Ash have created a gorgeous custom charity polish for their friend Mark, who is going on an amazing adventure in support of wounded veterans.  Desert Tears will be available on Friday March 6th at 5pm MST. Before we jump into the review and pictures I'd love to share the back story on Desert Tears.  

"Desert Tears came about when we asked Mark if we could help him fundraise by creating a polish for his adventure. When offered to pick a color he joked that it should be sand colored for all of the sand he’ll be looking at. He went on to joke that, no, maybe it should be water colored because that’s all he’ll be thinking about wanting. Thus a polish idea was born. Mark humorously and aptly named the polish Desert Tears."

And here is some information about Mark and the Woodruff Foundation...

“Nate and Ashley of Emerald & Ash have long been friends of a participant in the upcoming Marathon des Sables (MdS).  This race is a challenging 150 mile foot race across parts of the Sahara completed in 5 days of running.   Participants carry all of their own equipment and food with the exception of water being provided every 5-10 miles.

Their friend, Mark Wise, is taking on this challenge as a representative of the US military wounded veteran community.  Mark was wounded in Afghanistan in October 2009 by an IED, while losing his soldier and friend Pfc. Devin Michel.  Mark has made it his mission to continue to support other veterans through advocacy, public speaking, and completing various challenges to demonstrate the capabilities of wounded veterans and disabled persons following their life changing events.

This year Mark will complete the MdS with a team of British wounded service members, all running independently, but united as a team in supporting charitable causes for veterans.  We at Emerald & Ash are supporting Mark’s fundraising effort by donating 50% of all Desert Tears polish sales to the Bob Woodruff Foundation.

The Woodruff Foundation’s mission is to ensure injured veterans and their families are thriving long after they return home by funding innovative programs in communities where veterans, their families and caregivers live and work.

If interesting in donating directly to Mark’s MdS race efforts, please visit the link below and make sure to include a note (per Mark’s request) stating you found his efforts through our page.

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/MarkWise

Throughout my journey of injury, recovery, and advocacy I have been blessed to have Nate and Ashley as close personal friends.  They have always been giving in their time, thoughts, and energy.  Veterans returning from conflict today are all in need of similar friends and family to care for them and help them continue to grow as an individual and friend.  Thank you both again for your friendship.”

If you just want to donate to the Bob Woodruf Foundation, Emerald & Ash have a special offer for you...

"In conjunction with us donating a portion of proceeds from sales from Desert Tears to the Bob Woodruff Foundation, we are offering a free Emerald & Ash nail polish of your choice (excluding Desert Tears) to anyone who chooses to make a $5+ donation directly to Mark’s MdS race efforts via:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/MarkWise
To redeem this additional offer, we simply ask that you take a screenshot of your donation confirmation to send to info@emeraldandash.com, after which time we will send a coupon code for you to use at your convenience."

*press sample*

Emerald & Ash: Shop, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

This beauty is Desert Tears. It's described as a "sandy taupe crelly-ish base with scattered holo. It’s filled with flecks of bright blue micro flakes and a touch of blue shimmer. Depending on the light the color can pull a true sand color, a taupe and even a greige. Perfect in 2-3 coats depending on your application." It definitely falls between taupe and greige so it's a bit difficult to explain to color exactly, but it's absolutely a color that is very wearable. I adore the holo shimmer and blue flakies - they are the perfect touch to make this an exciting neutral shade. It's also a perfect representation of sand and water. I found the formula and application both perfect. Desert Tears was creamy and opaque and very easy to work with. I had full coverage in 3 coats. I finished with 1 layer of topcoat.

*artificial light*

Emerald & Ash Snozzberries

Good morning friends!  As you know I have recently become a fan of the brand Emerald & Ash, not only because they have some fantastic polish and cuticle oil, but also because the duo behind the brand are both really awesome in person.  Ashley and Nate are so full of life and in sync with each other - it's no surprise to me that together they have created such a fabulous brand from top to bottom (by that I mean bottle choice, colors, labels, scents, etc...).  Well I have a gorgeous polish to share with you today so let's jump in and take a look!  And stay tuned because I hope to have a post up featuring 4 Emerald & Ash cuticle oil scents on my blog in the next week.  Full sized Emerald & Ash polish retails for $8.50 - $9.50 a bottle.  

*PRESS SAMPLE*

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First off YES I can completely picture Snozzberries looking like this polish does!  Ashley and Nate  describe this polish as a"purple jelly that is filled with color shifting square glitter and some purple and red holo micro glitters."  Since this is a jelly base I decided to start with a ridge filling base coat, which gave my nails a bit of a matte/nude/opaque color to start with.  I was then able to reach full coverage with 2 coats of Snozzberries.  The formula was great and the application was fantastic.  No issues to bring up.  I was very happy with the glitter payoff.  And anything that makes a nod to one of my favorite movies ever is all right in my book.  

*shade*

"The snozzberries taste like snozzberries!"  Wasn't Gene Wilder pure genius as Willy Wonka? 

Summer of Untrieds Day 31: Foil/Chrome

WOW - I made it through the 31 day Summer of Untrieds challenge!  I am shocked!  But I feel like it was a pretty big accomplishment.  This July has been my highest number of posts in a month to date, so that's pretty awesome too.  This was definitely a fun challenge and I would absolutely do it again to help slash through my untried pile.  The final post in the untried challenge was for a foil/chrome polish and I had the perfect one up my sleeve!  Let's jump on in and check out this beauty from Emerald & Ash!

*PRESS SAMPLE*

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This foily beauty is Hubble.  It's a pretty darn awesome silver foil, but it's got a little something extra to give some interest!  Hubble was created to "mimic the outer shell of the Hubble Space Telescope.  The polish is also filled with gold and black flakies, which represent the solar arrays and various sensors that cover the telescope."  The addition of the flakies really set Hubble apart from other silver foils and help give it a very space age look.  Hubble had a great formula that was a breeze to work with.  I got full coverage in 2 coats and I used a layer of topcoat to finish.  

Emerald & Ash Review: Magic Bananas, Titty Sprinkles & Elevendy Seven

Good afternoon!  I've got a post for a great brand that I haven't had the pleasure of trying out yet.  But now that I have I can happily say that I think Emerald & Ash is pretty darn fantastic!  The 3 lovely polishes I have to share with you today are from the brand new Life In Color collection which will release tomorrow for pre-sale (7/10) at 9am MDT.  The 10 ml bottles are between $8.50 - $9.50 each.  There is also a plethora of cuticle oil in the shop so if you are an addict like I am you should check that out!  I highly suggest you give Emerald & Ash a try, you will love them!

*PRESS SAMPLE*

Emerald & Ash: Shop, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

I started off with Magic Bananas.  Why?  Because I loved the name and the color of course!  Magic Bananas is a lime green base that is literally packed full of gold shimmer.  There are also darker flecks in there but I can't determine if they are dark green or black.  Maybe gunmetal?  Whatever color they are they add a ton of interest to the polish.  I am also a fan of the foily finish.  Formula and application were both great.  I used 3 coats of Magic Bananas and 1 layer of topcoat.  

Up next is Titty Sprinkles.  This name made me laugh out loud.  Again, I don't know the story behind the name but it's a gorgeous polish!  This shimmery purple base is loaded with blue, pink, purple and gold shimmer.  Titty Sprinkles was pretty sheer on the first 2 coats and I ended up using 4 coats to build it up to complete coverage.  Aside from being sheer, the formula and application were both great.  Titty Sprinkles has the same foily finish as Magic Bananas but I didn't use topcoat this time.  

I have to say I saved the best for last here.  I thought Elevendy Seven was just another grassy green shade but with the heavy hand of gold shimmer it really is a stunning green polish. It's really a fresh shade of green.  Elevendy Seven also has a nice helping of blue micro flakies.  Formula and application were both fantastic on Elevendy Seven.  I used 3 coats and 1 layer of topcoat.