Secret Santa Sack Indie Collab Swatches and Review

Hello Lovelies!  Today, I have swatches of four lovely polishes for you.  Back in the beginning of November I found an advertisement via Instagram for a Indie Secret Santa Sack, for an extremely reasonable price.  I love these kind of indie surprise collaboration sets, because it gives me an opportunity to try new polishes without any expectations.  The hard part is not knowing what you're getting and waiting to receive them.  This set came all wrapped up, ready for Christmas, and along with the polishes came a few extra goodies.  In fact, I felt kind of guilty opening these before Christmas but it's polish so I had to give in.

All the swatches you are about to see are applied over a DIY Elmer's glue peal off base, I use to make swatching go quicker, and are topped with Glisten & Glow HK Girl who were not contributors of this indie collaboration.  All photographs are taken indoors under daylight lamps.

 

This collaboration set was a pre-order and is no longer available for order as a collaborative set.  However, each polish is available through the independent indie polish makers.  I will list details for purchasing as well as links to each makers site along with the swatches, so that you too can enjoy these lovely lacquers too.

SuperChic Lacquer - Notions of Ariel

 

I was first introduced to SuperChic Lacquer over this past summer when I was lucky enough to win a significant giveaway through Instagram.  So, I was pretty excited to see this little lovely arrive in my set.

Notions of Ariel is a beautiful medium/dark teal jelly that is packed full silver glitter, violet iridescent pieces, tons of holographic shimmer, oh and did I mention 1/2 carat weight of genuine crushed diamond crystals.  That's right actual diamond crystals! 

This polish is so lovely, and has so many interesting facets that its hard not to just stare at it all day long.  In addition to the polish being absolutely gorgeous, it also has a very interesting texture because of all the little lovelies bits and sparkles.

I swatched this in two coats but because it is a jelly polish you can adjust the desired opacity by using more or less coats.

Notions of Ariel is available to purchase at www.superchiclacquer.com both for individual sale or as part of the Once Upon a Diamond Collection.  Individual full size 15ml bottles are $12 or you can purchase the full 7 piece Once Upon a Diamond Collection for $84 (prices do not include shipping and handling or applicable taxes). 

Sweet Heart Polish - All That Glitters

 

Next up is another brand that I have past experience with through other indie collaboration sets.  Sweet Heart Polish has not disappointed me yet, and I was just wowed by this stunner when I opened the wrapping. 

All That Glitters is a stunning pinkish beige shimmer polish full of tiny silver flakies.  Under some lighting I caught a glimpse of a slight coppery shine too, which gave it a sort of rose gold appearance.

This polish is perfectly elegant, and because it leans towards neutral tones it is perfect for any environment or occasion.  Even though this polish is soft it is still very sultry.

Swatched here with three very thin coats, though you can probably get away with two coats if you prefer slightly thicker layer applications.  The application was wonderfully smooth too.

All That Glitters is available for purchase through Sweet Heart Polish's Etsy store, and is part of the Black Friday Trio.  As far as I can tell this is not available for individual sale.  The three piece set are full size 15ml bottles and can be purchased for $28 (prices do not include shipping and handling or applicable taxes). 

Colores de Carol - Vintage Lights

 

This next indie brand is one that I have been oogling for a while now but have never had the pleasure of experiencing first hand, that is before now.

Vintage Lights is a clear base micro glitter polish.  The smaller pieces appear to be primarily silver and gold but is a holographic rainbow, sprinkled with slightly bigger hex glitter pieces in a variety of colors.

This polish is perfectly named, and looks exactly like Christmas lights.  The holographic shimmer makes this such an eye-catcher perfect for both accent nails and full manicures.

This swatch is one brushed on coat, topped with one sponged coat.  When working with clear base glitter polishes it's best to apply with a sponge so that you can maximize the glitter opacity without make the finish application too thick.

Vintage Lights can be purchased through Colores de Carol's bigcartel shop.  This is available for purchase as an individual full size bottle for $10 or as part of the 8 piece Winter/Holiday Collection which can be purchased for $72 (prices do not include shipping and handling or applicable taxes). 

Sea Lore Polish - Divinity Isle

I am sad to say that before the arrival this collab set I had never even heard of this indie brand, but I am so happy to be introduced to it.  I am amazed that I haven't been introduced to this polish brand sooner.

Divinity Isle is a phenomenal white crelly polish full of iridescent shimmer and a variety of glitter gold pieces.

I have been swooning over this polish since I've first laid eyes on it.  I consider this a perfectly balanced polish, the creamy white base is just the right opacity and the quantity and quality of the glitter are perfect.  I really can't express how perfect this polish is, I have tried other crellies in the past that were too chunky or too goopy and this one just blew my mind.

I swatched this in three thin coats to achieve this opacity.  The application was so incredibly smooth, that if I was blind I would not believe that it contains glitter pieces.  The glitter pieces are perfectly suspended in the base as well.  I have had this polish for about a week, and I have not had to shake it, mix it, or set it upside down.  I also love the shape of the bottle, its unique but not so different that it won't fit my polish shelving.  I honestly, can't say enough good things about this polish.

Divinity Isle is available for purchase (along with their other pretty polishes) at Sea Lore Polish's bigcartel shop.  This is sold in full size 15ml bottles for $10 or in 7.5ml bottles for $5.50 (prices do not include shipping and handling or applicable taxes). 

 

I am so incredibly happy that I purchased this indie collaboration set.  It was a great way to try some new polishes and to discover some new brands.  I was not disappointed with a single polish and know I will be using them all again in the future.  I hope you enjoyed these lovely swatches and found the review insightful.  Thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

 

 

 

Your Fellow Plebe,

 

 

Color Club Oil Slick Swatches and Review

Hello Lovelies! Today, I have swatches of the awesomely gorgeous Oil Slick Collection from Color Club. It has been a while since I've purchased a mainstream collection. I vowed to dedicate most of my purchase power to indie brands, which I'm glad I did. However, I've always loved Color Club and I've been drooling over this collection ever since I first saw it. When HB Beauty Bar had a Columbus Day sale I could hold back any longer and finally made the purchase. 

This collection is a multi chrome collection. This means each polish shifts in color under different lighting. It was very difficult to catch this in the photographs but I did my best. I would recommend you try to see these polishes up close and personally to enjoy their full beauty. 

All swatches below are photographed indoors under daylight lamps. There is no topcoat on these swatches and I used a peel off basecoat to speed up the swatching process. If you have heavily ridges nails I would recommend using a ridge filler basecoat for a cleaner appearance. 

Burnt Out 

This little lovely shifts from a reddish to coppery orange. This shade is firery and very inviting. This is fully opaque in only one coat. 

Ice Breakers 

Unlike Burnt Out this shade is a cool silvery blue with a slight purple tone to it. This is mostly opaque with one coat but fully opaque with two.

Don't Kale My Vibe 

This is a gorgeous green that shift to a golden green. This color is so rich and the gold tones makes it nice and warm. Fully opaque in two coats.

Cash Only 

This ended up being my favorite polish of the entire collection. This is an awesome silver almost blue-ish shade that shifts to a bronze. It is phenomenally gorgeous in real life. It was also fully opaque with one coat.

We'll Never Be Royals 

This polish is very appropriately named. It is a very pretty royal purple that has a reddish burgundy shift to it. This was very interesting because under some lighting it is very cool and in others it's very warm. Fully opaque with two coats, however one coat would have worked too if you apply it generously.

Sorry, Not Sorry 

This is the softest and most feminine shade of the entire collection. In the bottle it appears very pink. Once it's applied you can see it is an almost dusty pink with a golden orange shift that is very inviting. Fully opaque in only one coat.

It's Raining Men 

This is another rich and royal shade that shifts from a gorgeous blue to a slight purple shade. Amazingly opaque with one coat. 

I am so pleased with this purchase. I have yet to be disappointed by Color Club. The colors and opacities of this entire collection are absolutely wonderful. I highly recommend you try to see these polishes in real life so that you may truly appreciate their real beauty. 

For those of you who are curious I created the look on my accent finger by spot sponging all the shades of the collection. I did this because I wanted to see how well the colors would blend, which you can see that they blend very well. 

I hope you enjoyed these swatches and found the review insightful. Thanks for stopping by, see you next time. 

Your Fellow Plebe,

Neon Love

Hello Lovelies!  Today, I have a mini review and reverse stamping design for you.  For one of the recent giveaway winnings I won, I was allowed to pick a polish of my choice from Baroness X Nail Lacquer.  I have never tried Baroness X and was having a really hard time choosing just one of their polishes because they are all very pretty.  I finally settled on 'Santa Monica Mint' because I own nothing like it, and thought it would be a nice addition to my overall collection.  When I received this polish I immediately fell in love, so I ended up creating this design using it as a base.

Materials I used:
Superchick Lacquer 'Bring it On' basecoat
Baroness X 'Santa Monica Mint'
Pueen image plate 01
Mundo de Unas 'Pastel Pink' stamping polish
Fabur Nails XL squish stamper and scraper
Pretty & Polished 'Cosmopolitan'
Small dotting tool or brush
Superchick Lacquer 'Marvel' topcoat

The base coat of Baroness X 'Santa Monica Mint' applied so smoothly and was easily opaque in two coats.  Can you believe, that there are no white undies under this pastel neon green?!  Hard to believe, I know, but it's true!

There are a couple of features the Baroness X bottle had too that I thought were worth mentioning.  One is this nice little button swatch on the top of the handle.  I know many people keep their polishes in helmers or drawers, this feature makes it easier to see the colors without having to pick it out of a drawer.  I also appreciated the nice wide applicator brush, this brush was wide enough that I could paint an entire nail in just two strokes.  I love anything that speeds up the polishing process.


Because I was so in love with this neon, I thought it might be fun to stamp a heart image over top of it.  I found a heart image that I liked on Pueen Image plate 01, and decided to practice some reverse stamping.  I believe this is only my second time reverse stamping and the first time with my newer stamping supplies.

Reverse stamping, for those who are unfamiliar, is the process of creating a decal using a stamped image.  This technique is great for those who are having trouble mastering stamping, or if you want to create a more intricate image with more colors.  I decided to keep this a little simple, I did fill in some of the hearts but I have seen artist create some really phenomenal art with this technique.

The process is not tremendously difficult and with some practice can be mastered.  Start by picking up an image on a stamper.  Instead of transferring the image onto a nail, leave it on the stamper.  Using a secondary polish, and a small dotting tool or brush fill in areas of the image that are voided.  For my image I filled in the open hearts.  Then apply a quick drying topcoat over the complete image.  When the topcoat is dry, use a pair of tweezers to peal the image off the stamper.  With wet polish on the nail (either a second coat of base color, or a clear coat), place the stamped decal.  Very gently tap the decal down, do not put to much pressure because you may tear the decal.

Use cuticle scissors or nail clippers to trim the excess decal away.  Then finish up using acetone and a brush to carefully remove whatever excess decal remains.  After cleanup is complete, apply a final layer of quick drying topcoat.  I went ahead and added an individual heart on the corner of my pointer to complete this look.

I had a few minor issues with this but all in all I love the way this turned out, the pink and green really complement one another.  This is also one of those rare times when my cindy hand turned out better than my swatch hand.

After, I completed this nail art design I decided even thought this green is beautiful that it was a bit distracting.  To tone it down just a little bit, I changed the pinky and thumb to the secondary dark pink that I used in the stamped image, Pretty & Polished 'Cosmopolitan.'

 
I feel by changing a couple fingers to a darker but still bright color and a different texture, helped to balance the neon crème.

Pretty & Polished 'Cosmopolitan,' is a very deep berry pink that has a slight texture to it.  It was almost completely opaque in one coat, but I used two coats to be certain.  It has a beautiful purple pink holo glitter in it that makes it very pretty and unique.

I love neon cremes, I love reverse stamping (now that I've figured out stamping), and I love this nail art design.  It was also really interesting to see how changing a couple of fingers to a different color and/or texture changes the entire look of the design too.  I'm curious which combination do you like the best, neon green alone or the neon green/pink combo?  Whichever, is your favorite I hope you enjoyed this nail art design, and tutorial.  Thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,

 



Gothic Gala Lacquers Victorian Era Collection

Hello Lovelies!  Today, I will be sharing with you one of the most gorgeous collections I've seen in a while, Gothic Gala Lacquer's Victorian Era Collection.  If you have been reading this blog for a while you know that I made a nail goal to explore the indie polish world more thoroughly this year.  Through this adventure, I discovered Gothic Gala Lacquers in an indie collaboration box earlier this year, and I have quickly fallen in love with their lacquers.  However, I am also trying to be more frugal and trying to purchase only polishes that I am absolutely head over heels about.  When Samantha offered an another amazing sale on Fourth of July, I just had to purchase this collection, and I'm so glad I did!

Before I get into my swatches and review, please be aware that the information and opinions expressed are my own and are not solicited in anyway.  All swatches are photographed indoors under daylight lamps, and are edited only to show the colors as true as my eyes can make them out to be.  Also, for all swatches I used Yellow Stopper base coat and a generic glossy topcoat.

Without further adieu, I give you Gothic Gala's Victorian Era Collection...

Cupid's Kettle Drums

If you follow my IG account at all you know that I was wearing this earlier this week.  I have always claimed that pinks were my least favorite color, however, I have to amend that statement because pink really compliments my skin tone.  So, even if I don't like pink, it seems to like me.

This soft pink is really pretty with red undertones, and a gold holo shimmer.  This color is just so elegant and classy.  It is soft and subtle but still very eye-catching.  Swatched here in two coats.

Gas Pipes

Okay, to be honest I was a little put off by this color before I applied it.  In the bottle it appears to be this weird greenish-grey, greyish-green color.  Once, I applied it though I was pleasantly surprised to see it is more of a sea glass yellowy green shade that has little reflective flakies along with a little bit of rainbow holo glitters in it.  It is really quite pretty!  This was the thinnest polish of the set, and was the only one I swatched with three thin coats.  I probably could have gotten away with two coats if I had applied it slightly thicker.

Gigglemug

I have no idea what a Gigglemug is, or might have been during the Victorian Era.  But I do know I love, love, love this color!  Of course, its my favorite color, blue!  Even if you are not a fan of blue, how can you not love this lacquer.  It is a soft light to medium blue with deeper blue/purple tones and a beautiful silver holo shimmer.  Excuse me for a moment while I wipe the drool from my chin (I should probably wear a bib when I'm swatching gorgeous polishes, such as these).  This was perfectly opaque in two thin coats.

Bit o' Jam

This shade is so nice!  It is a soft purple that leans toward the burple family.  It too has a beautiful silvery blue holo shimmer.  Let's face it, who doesn't love holo (if your a holo hater, I suggest staying quiet, unless you want to get virtually stoned to death by all the holo lovers out there, just a bit of friendly advice).  This is shown in two thin coats.

Tight as a Boiled Owl

First off, I think the name of this polish is absolutely hilarious, thank you for the laugh, Samantha.  Secondly, I couldn't do this polish true justice in the pictures.  This is one of the most unique polishes I think I've ever seen.  It is a brown coppery golden metallic polish with rainbow holo micro glitter.  Some might not think of this as a "pretty" polish, but it really is quit gorgeous because of the unique combination of facets.

I am a Steampunk cosplayer, whenever I get the opportunity, and this will go great with many of my costumes.  I have been having a very difficult time finding just the right polish that will work with my outfits and accessories.  This polish has everything I need and in just the right color, so I am very excited about this shade.

This was easily opaque in just two thin coats.  The only recommendation I would make, is that if you have heavily ridged nails like myself use a ridge filler base coat.  The metallic nature of this polish shows nail bed imperfections.  This is not a problem with the polish, in fact this is very common for metallic polishes.  Hence, the reason ridge filler base coats exists.  Though I didn't use it for this swatch, I am currently using (on a regular basis)  INM Ridge Free for my ridge filler base coat.

Dash My Wig

This polish is perfectly named, because it is a light-medium silver grey pepper with black micro pieces, finished off with a lovely holo shimmer.  The title is entertaining, and the polish is beautiful.  This is another that will be accompanying Tight as a Boiled Owl into my Steampunk wardrobe because of its metal-esque appearance.  Swatched here in only two coats of perfection, I would also recommend a ridge filler base coat under this.

Final Thoughts

I am so happy I purchased this collection!  This is truly a unique collection, that is diverse, interesting, soft and feminine but still so unique.  With the polish industry so focused on neons right now, it is really nice to see something else for a change.  This collection is great for someone look for something different.  I also feel that the softer colors are good for a work environment or for those environments that don't allow overpowering polishes. 

All in all, this collection is a great addition to my vast polish stash.  The application of each was smooth and clean, the finishes are gorgeous, and the colors are unique and interesting.  I hope you enjoyed these beautiful swatches and found the reviews useful.  Thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

  Your Fellow Plebe,