The Women Of Harry Potter collection is Live!

The collection is live in my Etsy shop. Link over there in the left column, or here for mobile users!

A Little Bit Different

Slightly Unstable

Glittery Heels

His Chosen One

Brains & Bravery

Mama Lion

Thinning the herd...

I went through my polish stash in an effort to get a bit of Christmas spending money! I've created a board on Pinterest with what I'm letting go, prices, etc. There are indie polishes, main stream polishes, and a few hard to find polishes. Poke around here and let me know if there's anything you'd like!

Coming Black Friday! Paint Box Polish Winter Collection!

I'm excited for today's post, readers!! I've got swatches of my new late fall/winter collection which is inspired by the women of Harry Potter! I've been working on this set for a long time and I'm glad to finally bring them to you.

More photos after the jump!

Zoya Kimber and Zuza - a last nod to summer!

I am cleaning out my drafts folder and I found this mani that I wore at the beginning of the summer. Zoya Kimber with a Zuza accent. I love both of these, shades, they just scream summer and warm weather to me! 

Both shades are shown with two coats and are available at zoya.com.

Digital Nails Expelliarmus!

Even though Expelliarmus is a spell from Harry Potter, this polish is from Digital Nails' Doctor Who Companion Collection. It's basically fangirl Pam in a bottle. Inspired by Martha Jones in one of my favorite Doctor Who episodes (Shakespeare quoting Harry Potter? Yes, please), it's one of my favorite spells, in my favorite color, and one of my very favorite bloggers ever named it. (If you haven't checked out Accio Lacquer, please do do! Fabulous indie polishes and super entertaining style!)

So, Expelliarmus is a squishy purple jelly with a prominent blue shimmer and circle glitter - small, medium, large, purple, silver, purple holographic. Ahh... LOVE it!

Digital Nails Obliviate!

I can't believe I haven't posted this one! Obliviate is from Digital Nails' Harry Potter Spells collection and is all sorts of fabulous. In the first two photos I layered one coat over a black creme (gotta conserve this beautiful polish!) and you can see the green/gold duochrome effect. Oh.  And the holo. Holy smokes that linear holo goodness.

The formula was great. I used CND Stickey as a base coat and Digital Nails Ain't Nobody Got Time For That quick dry top coat and the holo wasn't dulled at all. In fact, I think it looked even better after the top coat.

Blurred to show the holo.

Here I've shown two thin coats on its own. I prefer the look layered, but I think a third coat would brighten this one up a lot.

Did you pick up any of the Spells polishes? They can be found at the Digital Nails Etsy store here.

Illamasqua Baptiste

I have drooled over Illamasqua Baptiste for ages. I've even had it in my hand twice, but for some reason I never bought it. Then I found her in a blog sale and couldn't resist!

Baptiste is a dark royal purple polish (could it be a more Pam polish? No!) with a dark pink-ish purple shimmer that glows beautifully! It went on in two easy coats. I do wish it was a bit more obviously purple as it looks black in low light. Hence, the flash photo. Still, a great classic Illamasqua.

Urban Outfitters Sea Dust

I was digging through my "To Be Blogged" folder and saw that I still hadn't posted this mani from over the summer! My co-worker and keeper-of-my-8-5-sanity went to a conference in Las Vegas this summer and spent a lot of time shopping. You know, to avoid the heat. Anyway, I wanted to check out Urban Outfitter's polish selection, and was glad to find this Deborah Lippmann Mermaid's Dream dupe on sale!

I don't have a comparison because I've never been compelled enough by her polishes to drop that much money on a bottle. If you search the interwebs, you'll find comparison shots a plenty! 

Sea Dust has a great formula, and I really love the bottles and brushes of Urban Outfitters polish. They're squat and square and feel substantial. The brush was nice and full. This mani was just two coats, and I remember that this polish wore for days without a chip. Definitely a winner!

Sonia Kashuk Tauped

Sometimes you need a good, clean creme polish. DH had training to do at work (an hour away) and I tagged along to squeeze a nice dinner out of him. While he was training, I killed time at Target. The one in my town closed more than ten years ago and I miss it dearly. So, yes dear. I CAN kill two hours in Target!

I cruised through the beauty section and decided to get a Sonia Kashuk polish as I can't pick them up at home. While poking through, I realized I don't have a mushroom creme, and there was Tauped staring me in the face.

Application was absolutely wonderful. In fact, I don't think I had to do any clean up on this mani. The brush was great and the formula buttery. I finished with Digital Nails Ain't Nobody Got Time For That and got 3-4 days wear out of this one. 

OMG Nail Strips Review

*Press Sample*

Today I've reviewed OMG Nail Strips in Crow. In this kit, you get the standard 16 polish strips in the standard varied sizes. These strips are thicker than Sally Hansen's polish strips, but not quite as thick as China Glaze's. They claim up to ten days wear, but I took them off after just a couple of days. I get bored too easily.

Application was pretty standard. Pick the proper size, and off you go. The instructions did recommend trimming the strips with scissors if you needed to make them more narrow, but I used an orange stick like I do with other strips. They also recommended swiping with polish remover after placing the strip to allow the strip to "melt to your nails" and promote longer wear, and finish with top coat.

I was a bit worried that using remover would blur the image on the strip, but it didn't at all. Again, I can't attest to the wear time as I had them off in two days. You can choose from fifty designs available for $6.89/set on the OMG Nail Strips website.

6 Harts Polish Blow Me... A Raspberry!

Readers, today I've got a beauty for you! This is my first (And not last... Lookin' at you, Bat Crap Crazy!) 6 Harts Polish, and it is a bright berry stunner packed with mildly linear holo particles. It is fairly reminiscent of Orly Miss Conduct, but I absolutely love the formula on this one, so I may have to let Miss Conduct go. Blow me (heh, heh) is shown here with two easy coats and a splash of top coat. 

Indoors with flash

Direct sunlight

Ninja Polish Hydra

Today I've got a polish that I swatched ages ago, but have left in the "to be blogged" box since Ninja Polish hasn't restocked it. Today, I decided I didn't want to leave it hidden anymore!

When Ninja Polish released their Dragon Collection, I snatched up several and gifted all but this one. Kinda accidentally, but hey. I've got lots of polish. The Dragon Collection is made up of fabulous duochrome glitter polishes that can be built up on their own, or used as a topper. Here, I've layered two coats over one coat of black creme. The second coat of Hydra didn't make a huge difference.

Hydra is made up of small hex glitters that shift between blue, green, purple, and pink suspended in a clear base.

Outdoors, indirect lighting

Outdoors, indirect lighting, different angle. :)

Indoors, artificial direct lighting

Hydra is made by Ninja Polish, which is a great site for hard-to-find or international polishes. I don't know if/when she'll be restocking the Dragon collection, but you can find it here.

Digital Nails Spells! Pt 1 - Stupify, Colovaria, Nox

Pic heavy post... Not sorry! 

I saw teases of Digital Nails' HP Spells collection on her Facebook page a few days before the release and set an alarm on my phone so that I'd remember to be ON ETSY when they released. :) It was one of those furious, get-it-in-the-cart-and-get-out-and-oh-please-don't-let-me-get-cart-jacked moments. I managed to get everything I wanted. Yes!!

First up is Stupify! Wow. Stupify. Super beautiful blurple stunner with linear holo particles and blue/pink duochrome flakies. Yes, I know. It really is as awesome as it sounds. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

2 coats plus top coat in direct sun

direct sun, blurred to appreciate the rainbows!

2 coats in indirect sun. Better to see the flakies, my dear.

And the thermals... Oh, the thermals. I haven't been quick to jump on the thermal bandwagon because I wasn't sure if it would be one of those blink-and-you-miss-it trends. It also seemed a bit gimmick-y. But man, Raph's swatches drew me in! I love the thermals from this collection because they are bright, bold, and obvious. No pale pink to pale lavender shifting here! Both also have the color shifting flakies that are found in Stupify.

First, we have Colovaria. It changes from pale pink when warm to bright magenta when cold. The flakies in it have a yellow-green-blue shift.

hot on top, transitioning, and cold on bottom

(Imagine an awesome video of the color shift here. Grrr....)

Nox is a navy blue/purple to pale blue thermal with blue-pink shifting flakies. This polish is still very noticeable even when it is cold. The shift is so dramatic with this one!

warm to cold transition

Nox in it's cold state

I picked up three more from Digital Nails' last restock, so look for that post in a few days. If you're interested in any of Raph's awesome creations, visit her Etsy store here. She is on vacation until next week, but favorite the shop and visit later!

Scofflaw Nail Varnish David Bowie's Bulge

Today I have my latest purchase from the awesome Scofflaw Nail Varnish... David Bowie's Bulge. Ha ha ha!! The color is inspired by David Bowie's Aladdin Sane album. The name? Have you seen Labyrinth? If so, you know what I'm talking about.

The base is a squishy-yet-opaque coral (not quite as bright as it appears here) filled with different sized teal glitter and smaller red and bronze glitters. There is also a smattering of holographic shimmer.

This is a lovely polish that applies like butter and needed no fishing to get that awesome glitter coverage. Wear time was great, and it is a classic color kicked up a bit by the glitter. I see myself reaching for this one often! 

Orly Miss Conduct

Today's beauty is one of my luckiest polish finds yet! Miss Conduct is a highly coveted and hard to find part of Orly's Naughty and Nice Holiday 2012 collection. I'd seen it on a few blogs and looked everywhere... to no avail.

Fast forward nine months and I was in my local TJ Maxx. I always swing through the beauty section because there are occasionally awesome deals (Hello, liter bottles of Dermorganic shampoo and conditioner for $10 each - $60 savings!!). I saw several Orly two-packs and snagged the last one with Miss Conduct and Angel Eyes for $6.99!

Miss Conduct is a squishy but highly pigmented berry with fairly tightly scattered holo particles. It's a bit thin, but there's no need for more than two coats of polish. The rainbow effect isn't super evident in this photo, but trust me. If you see this in the wild, you HAVE to pick it up!!

OPI DS Indulgence

Add this one to the "My Bestie is flipping awesome" file. She gifted me with this beauty from OPI's Fall 2012 DS Collection for my birthday. Look at it!  

DS Indulgence has a cool, sparkly, vivid red base and is packed to the gills with gold flecks. It was perfectly opaque after two easy coats, but adding a thin third coat really gives it depth. I haven't gotten so many compliments on a polish from patients and co-workers in a long time. 

Bestie, you're the best!

Maybelline Color Show Navy Narcissist

I picked this one up at a CVS 75% off clearance. I just can't pass up a polish for less than $1. I love the color. It's metallic, not brush-strokey, and my favorite shade of blue. Sadly, the formula is shit. Completely awful. I thought it may be a one-coater, but the balding was so bad I had to use three coats. Wear time wasn't that great either.

This is the only Maybelline Color Show polish I've tried. Anybody have better luck with them?

Alter Ego Beachcomber Too!

Readers, I've got a beauty (and a wound, obviously. Apologies!) to show you today. This is Beachcomber Too! by the lovely Cynthia from Alter Ego Nail Enamel. Cynthia has recently revamped all of her polishes, and let me tell you... This one is beautiful!!

This mani was two (three? Yikes. I can't remember) coats of Beachcomber Too! topped with Digital Nails Ain't Nobody Got Time For That! top coat. Cynthia was inspired by turquoise ocean waters, and I think she did a beautiful job! I love the scattered holo, but am bummed that there wasn't enough sun to properly showcase it.

Alter Ego Nail Enamels dry to a satiny, matte finish. I used the top coat to showcase the holo shine. I didn't think to get matte shot, but will show it later!

Scofflaw Nail Varnish Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Koi Pondering, and Owls of Outrage

Scofflaw Nail Varnish is one of those indie brands I'd been hearing all sorts of awesome things about and finally happened upon her store when she restocked. I managed to pick up the two polishes I'd been lusting after and another one that caught my eye when I was getting all grabby-handed. :)

First up is Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. In real life, I've got a bit of a potty mouth. And my entire family have our ham radio licenses. And my husband honestly tried to get us all to learn Morse Code. How could I not get WTF??  Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is a teal jelly base with a mixture of white, red, and gold glitters. Excellent application. Above is shown at two coats.

Koi Pondering is one I've wanted ever since I saw Rie's review. Deep blue base with white, orange, and yellow hexes as well as a silver shimmer. You may be amazed to know that this one is inspired by... a Koi pond! Geez. Don't quit my day job.

The last is Owls of Outrage. This one came out more brown/dark mauve than I'd hoped. There's a ton of glitter going on in this one, and it applied beautifully, but I just wasn't feeling it. This is three coats in the waning sun on my in-laws' farm.

Overall, Scofflaw Nail Varnishes are definitely ones I'd recommend. They sell for $10.50 for a full sized bottle and a restock is scheduled for Sept. 15th. The Etsy store can be found here.

Fandom Cosmetics Still Betting on You

Today I have a polish from Fandom Cosmetics, a super awesome indie brand that pulls inspiration from all sorts of nerdy fandoms. Be still my heart! :)

Still Betting on You is from the Hunger Games collection and is inspired by one of my very favorite characters, Cinna. It is described as, "... our ode to everyone's favorite Capitol resident, and the mastermind behind the girl on fire. It is comprised of a gold holographic dust base, and scattered with soft pinkish orange and red hex."

I decided to use this one solo. Shown is three coats with CND Stickey base coat and Digital Nails Ain't Nobody Got Time For That quick-dry top coat.

Blurred to show off the holo! Fandom Cosmetics polishes are available for $8.50. They also sell eye shadow, scrubs, t-shirts, and candles. Check out the wares here!

Zoya Tomoko and Maria Luisa

And my string of Zoya polishes continues! This mani is the super awesome Zoya Tomoko from the Fall 2013 PixieDust collection. Tomoko is a champagne colored textured polish packed to the brim with silver/gold glitter. I used three thin coats without any base or top coat and got excellent wear, as I have with all of the PixieDust polishes.

I also got a blurred shot to show the glitter in Tomoko. Definitely another winner from Zoya.

The only other polish I picked up from Zoya's fall collection was Maria Luisa (look at me showing restraint!). I remember seeing it in shots from NYFW, but  it wasn't available in the Zoya Fashion Sets. I was so happy to see it available to purchase!

Maria Luisa is a gold flake polish in a clear base. I'm sure you can build it to opacity, but I chose to layer it (one coat) over my Tomoko mani and to use it as an accent nail with Carter. What do you think?

Zoya Carter

I'm back with a pretty kick-ass polish. I've got Zoya Carter from their Fall 2013 PixieDust collection. I am a purple lover and this purple is all sorts of awesome! I used three thin coats with this mani and didn't use and base or top coats. There was no staining at all, and it wore for almost a week before it chipped. I never got the urge to remove it, either, which is very rare for me! I definitely recommend snatching this one up if you are lacking a purple textured polish in your stash.

Please forgive my sad little pinkie. I suffered a bad break, but it's since grown out!

Zoya Charisma

I decided to continue the Zoya trend with Charisma. Charisma is a searing neon fuchsia cream. Super shiny, super neon, perfect for summer. 

This is two coats in indirect outdoor lighting.

Two coats in direct sun. The formula is very squishy. The first coat is a streaky mess, and if you're a little bit careful, a second coat is all that's needed. This color is much, much brighter in person. It's definitely one of my favorites for summer!

Zoya Destiny

Destiny is the other Zoya Summer PixieDust polish I picked up. The bottle shots looked great, but man oh man! I saw swatches and I knew it had to be mine! 

This mani is the blingiest one I've worn in ages. I swear if the sun hit it right, you could see the sparkle across a parking lot. I've got two coats of matte coral and gold glitter summer on my nails here. Love it!

Zoya Liberty

As soon as I saw promo pics of Zoya's summer PixieDusts, I knew I had to have Liberty. I'm a sucker for all polishes blue and purple, and the brighter the better!  Zoya's PixieDusts are the only ones of the 40 million textured polishes out there that have appealed to me, so I grabbed it and Destiny (which is my next post).

I think I love these so much because there are both matte texture and glitter. It makes it look sparkly and blingy, not like the ceiling in my grandma's living room. Perfectly opaque in 2 coats. It isn't recommended to use a base coat, but I'd heard this one stained horribly. I used CND Stickey and let it dry really well. It wore wonderfully with two thin coats.

A blurred shot to show the sparkle. Seriously. These are crazy glittery! Have you grabbed any?

Summer Heat! Paint Box Polish's summer collection

Today is the launch date for my newest collection, Summer Heat! Hot neon colors with circle glitters and shimmery micro flakes. I took my inspiration from my Zumba classes. The bright colors of the clothing, thumping music, having a good time while sweating like a crazy person! I tried to embody all of that in polish bottles. And, a TARDIS blue one snuck in there. Sorry, kids. I'm a Whovian. :)

I've been in Las Vegas for a week and the desert air trashed my cuticles. Rie and Ashley reviewed the polishes and they are kind enough to let me snag their photos. :) Check out Rie's review on nailsandnoms.com here. Ashley's review can be found here at ashleyispolishaddicted.com.

Behold!

Everybody's Doing It - 3 coats

Sweat It Off - 3 coats

Booty Pop - 3 coats

In The Groove - 3 coats. 2 coats over white on ring finger

Did I mention they are UV light reactive? Hey! They are!

Two Right Feet - TARDIS blue awesomeness!!

What do you think? I'm so excited about them. If you want to grab any, head over to my Etsy store. These will be limited edition. Once my supplies for them are gone, they are as well.