Alter Ego; Holy Shift May 2019 Group Custom - Roasted Eggplant

Hey there dears!  Happy Monday.  Who has kids in school?  I'm legit on the countdown because I am tired.  So damn tired of being the morning alarm clock for 3 kids, rushing them to get up, get ready, eat breakfast, make lunches, get them out the door on time.  Tired tired tired.  Been living off 3+ cups of coffee a day and I normally don't drink that much.  Mama needs a break!  Mama needs to sit poolside with a lava flow. Ha!  Anyways, I'm here today, without my poolside view or lava flow, to share a new and fabulous polish with you.  Alter Ego has been cranking out new polishes and months customs for private groups like it's no ones business and Roasted Eggplant is a two thumbs up winner!  Roasted Eggplant will be available this month in the Holy Shift group.  It is available for $10, plus you can save 20% using my code My Nail Polish Obsession.  Don't forget to join the group so you can buy it!

*press sample*

Alter Ego: Shop, Facebook, Fan Group, Instagram 

Holy Shift FB Group: HERE *link currently down - will update once it's available again*

Dreamland Lacquer; Star Crossed Lovers, Valentine's 2019

Good evening!  How was your weekend?  Mine was pretty nice, no rushing around, no real "things" going on.  I went for a long walk with my mom and then to brunch for her birthday.  It was nice.  Now I'm chillaxing at home.  So I figured I'd get a post going on while I'm all relaxed and zen - sending you those vibes while you read.  

Let's jump in to the post featuring the brand spanking new Dreamland Lacquer collection, Star-Crossed Lovers/Valentines 2019 collection.  4 of Noelie's favorite pairs of star-crossed lovers are honored in this collection.  Star-Crossed Lovers will be available 1/18 at 2pm  for a 48 hour pre-order window.  They'll be $10 each or $40 for the full set.  After the pre-order they will be $11 each.  You'll also be able to purchase the St. Nick trio and Tornado Skies II at this time.  So let's check out the polish!

*press sample*

Dreamland Lacquer: Shop, Facebook, Fan Group, Instagram

Alter Ego November Polish Pickup Exclusive: Go To Hel, Hope For Heaven

Good morning!  Did y'all survive Halloween?  I had some seriously tired kids this morning who were super slow to get themselves together.  But we all made it off to school on time and all is well.  I'm resting on the couch - got in a nice 2 mile walk last night hitting up houses from the potluck on the way home.  But seems every little walk is just exhausting to me these days.  So while I detox from the candy intake, I am going to share the last of the November PPU shades I have for you.  This one is from Alter Ego and it's called Go To Hel, Hope For Heaven.  It was inspired by Hel, the Norse Goddess of the Dead.  You'll be able to pick up Go To Hel, Hope for Heaven from 11/2 - 11/5 for $8.50, no cap.  Let's jump in so I can tell you more about this polish!  

*press sample*

Polish Pickup: Shop, Facebook

Alter Ego: Shop, Facebook, Instagram 

KBShimmer October Polish Pickup Exclusive: Resting Witch Face

Evening!  Hopefully you had a great day!  I've been running around all night getting kids to games, practices and pick ups.  I actually jumped on the freeway headed home, on autopilot, and realized I completely forgot to pick someone up!  Oops!  Then I was late to pick up from the last practice and it was literally pitch black when I rolled up, sigh.  It's been a really busy day so I'm not being too hard on myself.  Ok so I am sneaking in with a quickie post for another fantastic Polish pickup shade that will be available tomorrow morning.  If this isn't on your wish list get it on there because it's one of the more unique thermals I have come across!  This is KBShimmer Resting Witch Face (the name alone would be good enough reason to buy it).  It was inspired by The Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz. This is such a classic movie and she is such a classic villain!  Christy nailed it with the color changes in this polish too! You can get Resting Witch Face from 10/5 - 10/8 for $11, no cap.  So let's check it out!

*press sample*

Polish Pickup: Shop, Facebook

KBShimmer: Shop, Harlow & Co, Live Love Polish, Color4Nails, Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest

KBShimmer September Polish Pickup Exclusive: The One Soul

PPU overload past number 2 today!  But it's the last one, I promise.  I just ended up way overwhelmed with life yesterday and never had the chance to share the posts.  Regardless, PPU opened up this morning, and so far I've only seen 1 item sell out.  Luckily for you this awesome thermal from KBShimmer is still going strong and steady and you can get yours NOW!  AS I've mentioned countless times, the September PPU theme is Horror Movies.  You'll be able to purchase until 9/10.  This fabulous KBShimmer is called The One Soul, inspired by Constantine.  It will be $11 and there is no cap.  So let's delve in and see that we've got here!!

*press sample*

Polish Pickup: Shop, Facebook

KBShimmer: Shop, Harlow & Co, Live Love Polish, Color4Nails, Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest

Dreamland Lacquer; Woleebaph Ronder Wily Collection

Evening friends!  Even though there was no school/work on Monday this week has seemed extra long.  And 2 more days dangit!  I'm currently just trying to keep my middle little appeased and happy because he had a wire put inside of his mouth (bottom teeth are super crooked) and his mouth is sore. Soft foods galore...took him some soup for lunch, ice cream for dinner and the like.  Hopefully he's feeling better tomorrow.  Other than that not much is going on.  Right now I have this fan-freaking-tastic collection to share with you!  Dreamland Lacquer has created the gorgeous Woleebaph Ronder Wily Collection.  It's inspired by the neural networks run by Janelle Shane  that comes up with colors and names them.  Nail polish via technology has the colors down but the names leave much to be desired (or they're great to laugh at).  Just check out THIS article!  So this was the inspiration for the Woleebaph Ronder Wily Collection, or in English, "What Your Computer Might Name Your Polish." This 6-piece collection will be available on 1/20 at 2pm CDT.  It will be a 48 hour pre-order window and then available on the site again a time after that.  Pre-order prices are $10.50 each, $11 after the 48 hour window.  The full set is $60 and free shipping on all orders over $50 with the code FREESHIP50.  $6 international shipping and free shipping over $50 with code INTL50.  I think that's  all the info I have for you so let's check out some polish!  

*press sample*

Dreamland Lacquer: Shop, Facebook, Fan Group, Instagram

Dreamland Lacquer Inaugural Collection - Valentines Day Trio; Great Romances, 2016

Good afternoon dolls!  I have very exciting news for you today - one of my favorite brands, Smitten Polish, has done an entire re-branding and is now Dreamland Lacquer!  You know how much I love Smitten and Noelie and I know I'll love Dreamland Lacquer just as much.  It's going to be the same polish that we are all familiar with and love, just a different name.   I am really thrilled to help show off the inaugural collection for Dreamland!  This is the Valentine's Day Trio, Great Romances, inspired by famous loves.  We can delve more into each inspiration as I get to the polish.  For now you just need to know that the Dreamland Lacquer Inaugural Collection - Valentine's Day Trio; Great Romances is available for pre-order RIGHT NOW.  Pre-order stays open for 24 hours and shipping will take place in 2-3 weeks.  Individual polishes are $11.50, the trio is $31.50.  If you want these for Valentine's Day don't wait!  Now let's jump on in to the post!

*press sample*

Dreamland Lacquer:  Shop, Facebook, Instagram

A Box Indied Reloaded, December 2015

Good afternoon beauties!  It's a rainy and windy day here, so the kids and I stayed in the house in our pj's ALL DAY LONG!  So nice, so relaxing.  Also, I'm ramping up to share a zillion posts with you in the next couple days.  Today is the first of those many posts and it's the A Box Indied Reloaded, December Box!  This box is full of glittery goodness with a thermal thrown in for good measure.  This indie brand collaboration has 5 exclusive polishes in the box.  The A Box Indied Reloaded will be available for pe-order on December 1st and 2nd. When the pre-order closes all boxes will be shipped by the 15th of the month.  The box will be $50 and free shipping with the US.  So let's delve in and check out the goodies!

*press sample*

A Box Indied Reloaded: Llarowe, Facebook, Instagram 

(this picture shows the Contrary in both states)

Girly Bits Bass Ackwards, September A Box Indied

Good evening lovelies!  I am back today with another post to share!  I really wanted to get this one out quickly because it's release date is coming very soon!  What I have on my nails is something special and flipping HAWT!  The September A Box, Indied has the theme "opposites" for the 5 indies included to work with.  That means they all created a polish very different from their usual style!  Well Pam from Girly Bits went with a thermal.  She's never done a thermal before and it's totally awesome!  Before we get into the post I have to give you the details on how to get the sub-box.  The September A Box, Indied goes on sale on 8/26 and is $50 with free US shipping.  There are 5 full size indie polishes in there.  So now let's all enjoy a look at Bass Ackwards and have a good giggle at the name!

*press sample*

A Box, Indied: Shop, Facebook, Instagram

Girly Bits: Shop, Harlow & Co., Mei Mei's Signatures, Femme Fatale, Foxy Fingertips, Rainbow Connection, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

Bass Ackwards is a neon orange polish with some golden shimmer and what looks like white flakies.  It's bright!  It's in your face!  It's the prefect end of summer polish color!  The formula and application were both wonderful.  I only needed 2 coats for full coverage and it went on evenly and smoothly.  This is the shade while Bass Ackwards is in it's cold state.  

*artificial light*

This beautiful pink is Bass Ackwards when it's in the hot state.  I love that the bright shade of pink rivals the orange - both are vibrant and loud!  Neither will be ignored! 

*artificial light*

I also wanted to show you Bass Ackwards in direct sunlight (because that's just my thing).  Look how bright this polish is!  I adore it.  

Here's Bass Ackwards warmed up to show off the pink color in the sunlight!  SO BRIGHT!  Seriously, both the hot and cold states really made my camera do some work.  The pink is even more vibrant in person!

How fun is this picture showing the colors together!  Aren't the they perfect pair?  The complement each other very well.  

Pahlish & Elevation Polish Collaboration: The Venetian Duo

Good afternoon (or evening to those of you on the West & East coasts).  It's only 4pm here.  I'm definitely enjoying this laid back island lifestyle.  But my love for polish is too strong and I just had to swatch - but this collaboration duo is a real stunna so I'm glad I brought it along!  Phalish and Elevation Polish have done a few collaboration duos before (Shannon and Lulu are very tight IRL friends so it's only natural that they'd want to do these fantastic duos) and we are all the more lucky for it because both brands are really amazing.  The August collaboration is The Venetian Duo, and  both polishes are gorgeous.  I have had the pleasure of going to Venice and this duo captures both the classy and historical qualities of the architecture and overall feel of that beautiful city on the water.  The Venetian Duo will be available in the Pahlish shop on 8/2 at 7pm CST and in the Elevation shop on 8/7 at 9pm CST.  The duo will be $22, not including shipping.  Alright, I know you're not here for my banter so let's look at pictures (apologies for no macros - I don't have my lens with me)!

*press sample*

Elevation Polish: Shop, Facebook, Blog, Instagram

Pahlish: Shop, Facebook, Instagram

Here's a pic of both bottles together; Elevation Polish The Merchant's Son and Pahlish The Wayfarer.  Even just looking at the bottles you can tell how perfectly they compliment each other!

Elevation Polish came up with The Merchant's Son, a light turquoise creme base polish with a very subtle teal shimmer.  It reminds me of the pretty, brightly painted houses along the canals in Venice.  This polish is also a thermal!  The shift is very slight, it basically turns to a darker turquoise shade when cold.  But since I am in Hawaii there is no cold.  I even attempted to capture it with bowls of water but it wasn't working so well - you can see a very little color change at my nail tips in most of the pictures though.  You can check out the thermal change over on Ehmkay Nails post HERE!  The Merchant's Son was a bit sheer with the first coat but it built up to perfect coverage in 3 coats.  And the color - AH-MAY-ZING!  I truly adore the color and the shimmer.  Lulu really does subtle so well!  I have on 1 layer of topcoat to finish.  

And now the Pahlish contribution to the duo.  I fell hard for The Wayfarer.  You'll see why shortly.  The Wayfarer is a beautiful blend of silver chrome flakies, possibly some ultra chrome flakies and  some iridescent shimmer and glitter.  Simple (thought not really) and stunning!  The Wayfarer is very pretty with a very old world vibe.  It's kind of burnished gold and silver and all things renaissance.  Anyways, the formula was top notch!  I had perfect coverage with 1 coat.  Of course this is layered over The Merchant's Son.  I finished up with 1 layer of topcoat.   Perfect Summer duo, period.

Superficially Colorful Lacquer LE Happy Hour Collection

Good morning!  I really want to play catch up since I was computer-disabled for the last week so I hope you don't mind if you see more than a post a day from me for a bit.  Today also happens to be my birthday so what better way to celebrate that with a post featuring some amazing thermal texture polishes, inspired by adult beverages?!  These 4 limited edition beauties are from Superficially Colorful Lacquer.  Jin was one of the first indie makers to come out with thermals...actually she was making them before she even had a shop going and had gifted them to friends to get opinions.  Obviously we all loved them because she now has many uber popular and successful collections in a wide variety of finishes.  But I just know that she has a soft spot for thermals, which makes me happy because she makes them so very well.  I am over the moon excited to share this limited edition thermal texture collection with you.   I'll be sharing pictures and recipes for each drink so you can try and make them at home if you so desire.  Happy Hour will be available 4/26 at 12pm EST/5pm UTC.  Alrighty, I don't want to waste your time talking so lets get to the pictures!

*press sample*

Superficially Colorful Lacquer:  Shop, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest

When I opened the package to check these babies out Steamy Affair was the first polish that screamed to me - HELLO LOVER!  So I slapped it on for a #runmani (if you follow me on instagram you know what this is).  The funny thing is I knew these were thermals but I forgot and kept wondering why my nails looked like different colors through my run.  Steamy Affair is inspired by the drink of the same name and is a "metallic dark brown that changes to silver with a little bit of holographic glitter."  The holo glitters make this one unique in the bunch and one of my favorites.  The formula and application were spot on.  Perfect coverage in 2 coats.  

Steamy Affair:

1 oz Irish Cream

1 oz Coffee Liqueur

Sugar to taste

Hot coffee

Light cream

whipped cream if desired

Add Kahlua and Irish Cream to a coffee glass and stir.  Fill with hot coffee and sugar to taste.  Float light cream pr half and half on top. 

 COLD

 HOT

Great Raspberry Flute (funny name) is inspired by a lemon-y cocktail.  I've never heard of it but it sounds refreshing for a hot summer night.  It "changes from medium blue to light green."  I really liked the colors in this one.  The texture is a bit different, there are no glitter particles so its more of a standard texture.  Formula and application were both lovely.  Great Raspberry Flute was a touch sheer so I did use 3 coats for full coverage. 

Great Raspberry Flute:

2 oz Raspberry vodka (UV blue)

1/2 oz Triple Sec

1 oz lime juice

Shake all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker.  Strain into a chilled martini glass.  Garnish with a lime wedge.

 COLD

 HOT

Cupid's Cup, inspired by the juicy pink cocktail, is a texture that changes form dark to light pink.  This one is more of a subtle change but it's so pretty.  All the pink/purple lovers out there will enjoy this one.  I really love that it has the softest touch of gold sparkle to make it even more sweet.  Cupid's Cup had fabulous formula and applies so easily.  I used 2 coats for full coverage.  And isn't it a cute drink?

Cupid's Cup:

2 oz Hypnotic Harmonie

1 oz Vodka

1/2 oz Cointreau

1/2 oz lime juice

Shake all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker.  Strain into a chilled martini glass.  Garnish with candy lips.  

 COLD

 HOT

You know me, always saving my favorite for last. Tequila Sunrise is flat out amazing.  The colors have me swooning - both for hot summer days and the tasty drink.  Of course this one changes from a deep terra cotta red color to a soft apricot/orange shade.  It also has that light touch of golden sparkle that is so lovely.  Absolutely amazing.  The formula and application of Tequila Sunrise were both spectacular.  I used 2 coats for full coverage.  

Tequila Sunrise:

1 - 1 1/2 oz Grand Marnier

3/4 oz Tequila - silver

4 oz orange juice

2 tsp grenadine

Shake Grand Marnier, tequila and orange juice with ice in a cocktail shaker.  Stain into a chilled collins or highball glass.  Top with grenadine and sever without stirring.  

COLD

HOT