Please Don't Hate Me - Ninja Polish Divinity

Seriously, I contemplated not posting this one yet because it is so completely awesome and so completely sold out. :( Divinity is part of Ninja Polish's Enigma Collection and can be found here. Ninja Polish has an awesome feature which allows you to sign up for email notifications when the polish is back in stock. This is how I snagged it up at the initial launch.

I will briefly say that Divinity is like Clarins 230 on steroids. I came into the polish game after Clarins 230 was out. It has a royal purple base and turns almost every color of the rainbow. I used three very thin, very easy coats plus top coat for these photos (it dries matte-ish). There are a ton. You're welcome.

Indirect Lighting

Fluorescent lighting in my garage. (Really!)

In-the-light-box Macro

Lightbox

Lightbox

In the light box, with flash

Under the lamp in my living room

Under the lamp in my living room

With flash to better show the base

Lamplight in the living room

I urge you all to sign up for email notification. Divinity has a coat of $11.00 and is totally worth it.

Custom Polishes Available - Deets!

Paint Box Polish is branching out!

Bestie is an author (and a fabulous one, if I may say so!), and she asked if I could make a custom, Bestie-inspired polish for her to give out as swag at conferences, signings, etc. Another author friend wanted to mix up her own polishes for a similar purpose, but didn't have the time nor tolerance for chemicals that are required for such a venture.

I decided to offer my polish-mixing services, and had an excellent time working with her! So, I've decided to offer my services to other authors, or to anyone else desiring custom polishes. 

Pricing varies based on full size or mini bottles, number of polishes ordered, and if there are any unusually expensive ingredients to be used (like holo pigment). 

If you are interested in such a venture, drop me a line at Pam@paintboxpolish.com. 

If you want to see an example of my work, Hailey Edwards posted the polishes I made for her on her blog. Check it out!

Tough As Nails Lacquer The Dregs, part 1 - The Redundant Woman and Magdelene's Laundry Service

Today I have two of the four polishes from Tough As Nails Lacquer's Spring Collection, The Dregs. This collection came together as a result of the creator's "recent obsession with drinking tea, the underbelly of Victorian culture, and a desire for a more calming collection." The Tough As Nails line is filled with brights and glitter bombs, so this collection is a bit of a departure from that.

First up is The Redundant Woman. It is a periwinkle purple/blue shade with fine pink shimmer. The shimmer is fairly evident in the bottle, but has to be coaxed out on the nail. The photo below is as sunny as I could manage, so I've also included a shot taken with flash. 

I used three medium coats of The Redundant Woman for this mani. There is a tad bit of nail line in these shots, but it really wasn't visible at all. I purchased shorty bottles, and they have a fairly short, stiff brush. I had to be careful with application because I got a few bald spots. 

3 coats of The Redundant Woman with top coat and flash.

Magdalene's Laundry Service has a milky, pink jelly base with pink dots and hexes and a pearly finish. A very beautiful polish! The above shot is three coats with top coat. No undies - because I'm usually too lazy for that. I normally don't go for polishes that are this sheer, but I really love this one. Application was great. I used two coats of top coat, but it really wasn't necessary. 

I was unaware of what the name referred to, but there is a nice explanation on the Tough As Nails blog. I've included it here:

"During the 18th-20th centuries, if you were a prostitute, unmarried, too flirtatious, or even too pretty, you may have been sent to a Magdalene Asylum. Magdalene Asylums, or Magdalene Laundries, were institutions for the fallen women of society, located throughout Europe, Canada, and the US. The asylums were originally intended to rehabilitate prostitutes and other women back into society, sustaining themselves by offering laundry services, but became prison-like, where women experienced hard labor, forced periods of silence, and abuse."

A sad thing, to be sure. There have been a few news stories recently about Magdalene Laundries after the Irish Prime Minister issued a formal apology for them. The last one wasn't closed in Ireland until 1996. 

Sorry to end on a sour note, but you have the rest of this collection to look forward to in my next post.

LOFT Eggplant and Nightwatch

Here are the last two of my polishes from my awesome Secret Santa. The first is Eggplant, which is a beautiful, deep purple shimmer polish that applied wonderfully and was nice and even at 2 coats. This photo was taken on day two, so pardon the tip wear on my pinky. And the sheet marks on my ring finger.

Lastly, we have Nightwatch. Oh, Nightwatch. You looked so pretty in the bottle. So pretty. And you look nothing like that on the nail.

The bottle color looked like a deep turquoise version of Eggplant, but it came out much flatter and grey-er. This picture is after four thin coats. I think those four coats is what contributed to the horrid wear. I shot this about four hours into the mani, and we already have tip wear. My right index finger chipped shortly after I got to work. Very disappointing.

So, If you're out at a LOFT and see their polishes, give a couple a go. All were absolutely fabulous but for Nightwatch.

A Study In Polish 221B

Today I've got another great one from indie polish maker A Study In Polish. I reviewed four polishes from her initial launch in this post. There were two additional polishes released recently, and since I'm trying to keep some money in my bank account, I only chose one. Take your pick from the full collection here.

221B is a glitter topper with varying sizes of gold and black hex glitter in a clear base. It is inspired by the black door with gold numbers that leads to Sherlock's flat. Here you see one coat of 221B over 2 coats of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls from their Spiderman collection.

221B was simple to apply. The base is thick enough to keep the glitter suspended, but not too thick to be easily workable. There was no need for dabbing or fishing at all, and the glitter dried smooth. I used two coats of Essie Good to Go, but I think that was overkill.

LOFT Methyl Blue and Fuchsia

Happy Sunday! Today I have two of the five polishes my Secret Santa from work gave me. I lucked out. She picked really well! I had no idea LOFT sold polishes. They're not branded at all, so I don't know if they are made another brand and bottled for them. 

Both applied like butter, had excellent wear time (4+ days!), and were super pretty and vibrant. 

Methyl Blue is a perfect cobalt blue foil/metallic shade. The brush on this one was really nice and I only had minimal clean up.

Fuchsia is the, well... fuchsia sister of Methyl Blue. Bright, pink, foil-y goodness. I put this on quickly before heading to the office one morning (hence unevenness near the cuticle) and it wore beautifully. I believe this photo was taken on day three. Fuchsia got a lot of attention from my female patients. Definitely a winner!

I have three others to show you - Teal, Eggplant, and Nightwatch.

Picks from OPI's Fall 2012 Germany Collection

I tried to resist this collection. I really did. Then my favorite and most guilty polish enabler, Christy, texted and said, "I've found a bunch of the OPI Germany collection. Which ones do you want?" How could I deny her?

Every Month is Oktoberfest is a beautiful, vampy burgundy shimmer in a vivid purple base. This is two perfect coats. Look at it glow!

Gratuitous shot of Every Month is Oktoberfest. Please enbiggen, and promise to buy it if you find this one in the wild.

I've been searching for a good mannequin hands shade, and couldn't turn down Don't Pretzel My Buttons. I asked her to grab this one, but picked up H&M Nerd before Christy dropped these in my lap. The color is great, but it was streaky and had a hard time self-leveling. I like Nerd's formula much better. This one will be a great base for glitters and such.

This is three coats of Germanicure by OPI. Such an odd bird. I seriously think I got an off bottle, but will try reswatching it. It's hard for me to believe the photos above and below are the same polish. Germanicure has a similar finish to Oktoberfest, but has a red-brown base and red and gold fine shimmers.

I was so disappointed in this polish. I want to give it another chance before I write it off for good.

So tell me, which polishes from this collection made it into your stash?