3 Little Indies

Hi folks! Whoa, January has flown by huh! I can't believe it's almost February. Craziness! Today I'm bringing you three mini indie polishes that I bought this past summer and haven't shown you yet.

First is Pretty and Polished Bubble Tea. It's a very interesting polish, a milky jelly in a yellow slime-ish green color with teeny whitish clear glitter, that reminds me of salt, and black hexes. I layered two coats over OPI Don't Talk Bach To Me from the Germany collection. If you've ever had the real bubble tea, you know this is a spot on interpretation in polish form.

Next is Hit Polish Precious Metal. Bronze, copper, gold, silver and gunmetal colored metallic hex glitters in all sizes with a handful of holo microglitter makes this a stunner! I actually didn't even realize there was holo in it until I stepped into the sun to take this picture and it nearly blinded me! I layered two coats over OPI Nein! Nein! Nein! Ok Fine!. I love this and should actually get around to wearing it again soon!

And last is Hit Polish Halloween. It's a glitter polish with hexes, squares, and bar glitter in purple, green, and orange. I layered two coats over OPI Deutsch You Want Me Baby?. I didn't love this as much as I expected but it's fun enough.

Pretty and Polished nail lacquers can be purchased on their Etsy store and their website. You can get Hit Polish nail lacquers from their Etsy store or their website. How do you like these guys? Have you tried anything from these brands? I love indie polishes! Well, the good ones ;)

China Glaze - United

I picked up one polish from China Glaze's United in Purpose collection, promoting breast cancer awareness, from last fall. It's called United and it is spectacular! It's a collection of deep rose, warm pale gold, and holo glitter bits that shine and twinkle and amaze. It is the same formula as the two glitters in China Glaze's On Safari collection, really dense but very easy to apply. This is two coats.

You can still find this online at multiple e-tailers if you look. How do you like this? I'm still swooning over it :)

Delirious Sugar Skulls

I love turquoise and gold and this polish is a combination of the two. L.A. Girl Delirious from their Color Addict line is gorgeous and so bright and fun! One of my favorites. This is two coats.

I was finally able to snag indie polish Candy Lacquer Sugar Skulls, as it had previously sold out before I could grab it every time it was put up for sale. Owner Sandra had said she wasn't making these anymore, but recently decided to put out more batches, yay! The glitter mix is made up of light pink, teal, white, yellow, and iridescent glitters with large white and pink hearts and yellow flower shaped pieces. J'adore! This is two coats over Delirious.

You can buy LA Girl lacquer on Cherry Culture for $2 and Candy Lacquer on their website for $8.50 each. Sugar Skulls is sold out at the moment but you can keep up with the stock release dates on their Facebook page. What do you think of this glitter shimmer layering combo? I'm in love!

My Picks from China Glaze Wicked Collection 2012

I usually am all over Halloween collections, but last year I have to admit, I wasn't super stoked on any of them really. I did pick up a few from China Glaze's Wicked collection though, and here they are!

Cast a Spell is a hot blackened olive green with crazy green and gold shimmer flecks. It's reminiscent of one of my favorite ChG's ever, Wagon Trail. This is beautiful and excellent in shimmer payoff, meaning it's not hidden! This is two buttery coats.

Immortal is a dark horse in the collection, a secret standout. This is concrete gray with microshimmer in silver, blue, and fuchsia. Beautiful and subtle. Two coats.

And this baby is Glitter Goblin! Another polish that reminds me of one of ChG's previous hits, Spellbound. This has a clear base with small holo, silver and rusty orange glitter. This thing SPARKLES like whoa! I expected this to be harder to apply than it was, which was nice. It took three generous coats to cover the whole nail. I'm guessing this was made more for layering but IDGAF, it's awesome as a stand-alone shade!

I'm sure you can still find these online somewheres. Did you pick up any Halloween polishes in 2012?

Revlon - Girly

I picked up Revlon Girly the other day when I was shopping at Walmart as a total impulse purchase. I had heard some good things about it and at first glance I was into it. For all intents and purposes, it's a lovely fun, glittery polish. But I kinda hate it. I think the color of pink just isn't doing it for me. It's almost a lavender type of pink. I dig all the glitter though, way to step out of the box Revlon! This is two coats.

You can buy Revlon nail polish at most drugstores and superstores like Walmart and K-Mart for around $5. Have you picked up Girly? What do you think of it?

Elixir Lacquers - Roller Derby Ruckus & Elixirversary

Elixir Lacquers has a new collection out called Roller Derby Ruckus. My sister plays roller derby and I know how badass those ladies are! What a fun idea for a polish collection huh! I was asked to try a few from the bunch to review so here they are!

Kandy Krusher is a crazy collection of matte glitters and some micro iridescent glitz. The big pieces are bright blue hexes and purple squares, there are little hexes in hot orangey red and some medium shiny blue hexes. I can't lie, when I first saw this I was like wtf?! But on the nail it really works! I layered/dabbed two coats over my go-to black Cult Nails Nevermore.

Trixie Treacherous has a clear base with tons of micro red glitter and shiny metallic hexes in red, rose, and pink. I think less coats of this would've looked nicer; this is three over Cult Nails Disciplined, a grey shimmer. Not my favorite, but maybe I can try it over a pink or something and it would make a better impression on me.

And for the special edition polish Nicole created for her anniversary, Elixiversary. This is a fab collection of matte and shiny glitters in all shapes and sizes in a soft color scheme of blues and purples. I layered three coats over Rescue Beauty Lounge Insouciant. The glitters were harder to get to stay on the nail because the base was pretty viscous, but it gave a nice payoff.

The Roller Derby Ruckus collection will be released on Elixir Lacquers' website on February 1st for $10 each. Elixirversary is being released in very limited quantities, only 75 bottles total. Nicole is releasing them on the 16th of each month, the next restock dates are February 16th and March 16th for $12. What are your thoughts on these three polishes?

Products provided for review.

Caged Bird Lacquers

Hi friends! I am reviewing some polishes today from a new-to-me indie brand called Caged Bird Nail Lacquer. The owner describes her polish as "a variety of both handmade from scratch nail lacquers and custom blended nail lacquers using craft and cosmetic grade glitters with existing polishes". 

This is Delicata, a pretty girly pink jelly with lots of matte white glitter in all different sizes. This is an adorable polish but the glitter sinks in the base a lot. I had to tip and roll the bottle every time I went to dip my brush so I could pick up some pieces. I do really like the overall look though. Maybe it just needs a bit of tweaking formula wise. This is three coats. If I wear it again I might layer it over a solid base color.

Faerie Carnival is an array of satin pastel colored hex glitters in a clear base with a sprinkle of holo microglitter. I love this because it's really unique to my collection. This is three coats over LVX Ecru, a nude crème. I wish I was better at picking layering colors, I think it would've looked better on another base color.

You can buy Caged Bird nail lacquers on their Etsy store for $10 for a full size. Keep up with them on their Facebook page. What do you think of these?

Products provided for review.

Emily de Molly - The Fifth Element

Emily de Molly is an Australian indie polish brand that used to only be sold in Australia. But lucky for us US polish lovers, stockist Llarowe began selling them in her online shop, yay! Good thing because I've been lemming some of her goodies for a while now.

This is one of her newer creations, called The Fifth Element, geek-tastic! It's a light blue turquoise jelly crème with large orangey red hexes, small and micro turquoise and holo hexes. This is lovely, although I find myself wishing it was a little more jellyish to let the glitter colors shine through a bit more. But I seriously love it!

You can find Emily de Molly polishes on her Etsy store if you're in Australia and if you're not, you can get them at US stockist Llarowe for $13 and from Singapore stockist Shoppe Eclecticco for $18. You can keep up to date on her releases via her Facebook page. Have you tried this brand out yet? What do you think of this polish?

Lippmann Collection - Lady Marmalade

Deborah Lippmann's Lady Marmalade was a giant lemming for me. It is long discontinued and I figured I would only find it if someone was selling it on a blog sale. I found a gal on MakeupAlley while talking about a potential swap that was willing to part with it. Score! This polish is a warm strawberry pink with smooth glass fleck that has a slight violet tinge. This is three coats.

I love slaying lemmings! What your most wanted discontinued polish these days? I still have a long list of them, but it's always awesome to cross one off.

Breathing Under Teal Blue Water

A few posts ago I showed you some new Glitter Gal holographic polishes, but I forgot one. Ironic since this one is my favorite of the bunch. It's called Teal Blue. It's a pretty color for a holo and one I didn't have in my collection. Awesome formula, opaque with a strong linear holo. Three coats.

I recently picked up a few polishes from a new-to-me indie brand called Wing Dust Collections that is based in Canada. She threw in a mini with my order and I loved it. It's called Breathing Underwater, a navy blue jelly with different types of glitter in blue, periwinkle, and brown. Love this combo! I might pick up a full size bottle of this.

You can buy Glitter Gal polish from Llarowe for $11 and Wing Dust Collections can be bought from their Etsy store for $8.50 each.

Products provided for review.

Link Love

• diamonds with my polish? don't mind if I do. / cult nails


• emerald and gold deco / dressed up nails


• mondrian and mariah carey / manicurator


• pollock and polish / work play polish


• spun sugar skittles / accio lacquer


• love that wing dust / xoxo alexis leigh


• scrangie does nailpro / scrangie

HARE polish - Ancient Affairs

HARE polish might just be my favorite indie brand ever. I have not seen a polish Nikole has made that I haven't wanted, needed, craved to own. This one is called Ancient Affairs from her Antiquities duo. It's a dusty gray jelly with subtle blue shimmer and turquoise microglitter. Freaking gorgeous! This is three coats on my nails when they were way long, from a while ago. I think this might be the longest they've ever been!

So what do you think? And just for curiosity's sake, do you like my nails long or short? I actually am really liking them a bit longer now. I used to not be able to stand them being longer than a little "white" showing, but since I've started using Duri Rejuvacote, they've been so strong I don't even notice the length. I like the slight c-curve they get when they have some length, otherwise they're kind of flat. I think maybe they photograph best when they're a medium length, but I'm not married to a certain size these days.

You can purchase HARE Polish from their Etsy store or from Llarowe for $11. I believe they're sold out at both sites right now but Llarowe restocks frequently. Check out HARE's blog and facebook page to get up to date information about their latest goodies.

Lynnderella - Salad Days

I love almost everything Lynnderella has put out. I don't know why, but I'm obsessed with her creations. This polish is called Salad Days, from her Sweet Somethings for a Summer Solstice collection from Summer 2012. This is the perfect representation of a fresh garden salad, with carrots, radishes, red cabbage, and tomatoes. Freaking LOVE! I dabbed one coat over OPI Jade is the New Black.

I love the little orange strings! You can buy Lynnderella polishes from her ebay store for $22.50 and up. This is one of her "Buy It Now" lacquers, but she also releases limited editions for auction. How do you like my veggie-inspired mani?

Pretty & Polished Mathematical! Collection

I have a confession to make. I still watch cartoons. My nephew is 10 and I watch him a lot, so it's really his fault. But to be honest he watches some pretty badass ones. Adventure Time is probably my favorite animated tv series, and if you haven't heard of it, you're missing out! It's about a post-apocalyptic world called The Land of Ooo with one 14 year old human boy and lots of magical creatures. It's even been nominated for an Emmy! Indie polish seller Pretty & Polished is also a fan and came out with a new collection based on the series. Needless to say, I was stoked to be able to try them out.

The Young Hero is named for the main character, Finn the Human. He's the only human left in the Land of Ooo and is the main protagonist for the series. He was abandoned in the woods as a baby and adopted into Jake the Dog's family. He is heroic and is always helping the creatures of Ooo. This polish is wonderful and one of my favorites in the collection. It has a white cream base with large pale green satin hexes, pale blue satin squares, small blue hexes, and micro blue and yellow matte speckles. This is two coats.

I'm Not a Banana! represents Jake the Dog. He might be my favorite from the series. He's a magical yellow dog that is Jake the Human's best friend and adoptive brother. He has magical stretchy powers that allows him to change his shape and size. He's my spirit animal, I love him! The polish is a bright yellow jelly with large black and white matte hex glitters, and small matte white glitters. This is three coats.

Peebles is the nickname of Finn the Human's former love interest Princess Bubblegum. She is super smart and the noble and beloved ruler of the Candy Kingdom. Her inspired polish is excellent and really fun. It's got a candy pink jelly base that's filled with large yellow and pink matte hex glitters, small yellow glitters, and micro flecks of magenta that pop with a violet sheen at certain angles. Three coats.

BMO Me Up! is inspired by BMO, the adorable, gender-neutral asian handheld video gaming system that lives with Finn & Jake. The polish is a smokey silver/grey flakey metallic speckled with neon blue micro flakes. I wasn't sure I was in love with this when I first saw it but I really adore it after seeing how complex it is. Covers in three coats.

King of C-C-Cool is inspired by the Ice King, the antagonist aging wizard who is always trying to kidnap the kingdom's princesses only to be foiled by Finn & Jake again and again. He lives with lots of adorable penguins and is kind of nuts. The polish is a lovely creamy light blue with darker blue glitters, micro red bits, medium matte yellow hexes, and matte white diamonds. Excellent coverage and very unique! Two coats.

My Lumps represents my second favorite character, Lumpy Space Princess. She's a cloud shaped (lumpy) purple floating creature with a masculine valley-girl voice, actually voiced by creator of the series Pendleton Ward. She's kind of a dummy and very self-absorbed, but hilarious. This polish is a perfect embodiment of LSP, a bright purple jelly with shard glitters in purple and yellow. This was a tad hard to apply, it actually is lumpy ;) Three coats.

Rainy Day Lady represents Lady Raincorn from the show, Jake the Dog's girlfriend and Princess Bubblegum's best friend. She's a species called rainicorns, a sort of cross of a unicorn with a rainbow. She only speaks Korean and she has color-changing powers and can fly. The polish is a multicolored glitter with a clear base. The most prominent color is purple, but there's everything in this mix, from large matte red hexes to blue matte diamonds to matte pale pink squares. This is two coats over a white cream.

And last is Vampire Sing-a-Long, which is inspired by vampire queen Marceline. She was originally an enemy to Finn & Jake but is now one of their close friends. She's a millennium old and is a wild rocker chick. She plays the bass guitar, shaped like a battleax, and frequently breaks into song. This polish is a super unique combination of glitters in a clear base. It contains small round red glitters, small black bars, medium/small white hexes, medium/large purple hexes, and large round black circles. This wasn't easy to apply, you have to fish for the larger pieces, but the end result is awesome. This is three coats layered over BMO Me Up!

I can't believe how excellent and awesomely representative these polishes are of the characters in Adventure Time. Chels has done a spectacular job on them and deserves props! You can get the collection from http://www.shopprettyandpolished.com/ and the Pretty & Polished Etsy store for $9 for a full size and $5 for minis.

Products provided for review.