Native War Paints Brokelyn 2017 Polish Con Exclusive Swatch & Review

Hi friends, today I have a special polish to share with you, a limited edition shade from Native War Paints created as an exclusive for the nail polish event Polish Con. They are selling it on the convention website starting tomorrow with a limited amount of stock, with a pre-order to follow.

Press Sample

Brokelyn 2017 is a smokey indigo blue filled with glowy copper shimmer. Applies like butter, seriously effortless to polish with. If you use a normal-to-thick coat (like I usually do), it's opaque in one layer. If you're a stickler for thinner coats, you'll probably need two. I used two here because I always do.

It dries a tad dull so you'll want top coat to bring out that copper fire. The polish in the horizontal photo below looks a little lighter because the NWP stark white label seen in the vertical shot above messes with my white balance a little, even though I try to fix the color/exposure the best I can. I think the second photo shows the polish most accurately in full sun lighting.

Brokelyn 2017 will be available on the Polish Convention website tomorrow, Sunday Dec. 3 at 9am EST and will sell for $10. There are only 50 available at this time, then it will go up for pre-order. I wouldn't hesitate to grab this one, especially if you're not able to attend Polish Con in person, which is going to be in New York City for the next round in April 2017. Let me know what you think about this sultry shimmer!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Native War Paints Denim Collection Swatches & Review

Hey party people! Today I have the latest collection from indie brand Native War Paints, and they are shimmmaaahhss! This is by far my favorite finish from NWP, they do shimmers incredibly well. Instead of the gold shimmer we saw in their Sweater collections, this new collection, called Denim, has blue shimmer!

Press Sample

Jeans and a T-shirt is a pale grey with blue shimmer. This one seemed a bit sheer at first but it builds up nicely. Lovely formula, not thin like I expected, easy to polish with. This is three coats. These all dry dull so you'll want a top coat for maximum shine.

Skinny Jeans is a dusty yet vibrant medium purple with blue shimmer. This one was a tad thick. Nice and opaque at two coats.

Boots and Jeans is a beigey nude polish with blue shimmer. This one is very similar to Jeans and a T-shirt, sheerish but with a nice, easy to use formula. This is three coats.

Denim on Denim is a dark blue with blue shimmer. I found this to be similar to Skinny Jeans, a little on the thicker side, with full coverage in two coats.

Distressed Denim is a deep aubergine purple with blue shimmer. This dries darker than it looks in the bottle, a little more wine than berry. Same thicker formula, two coats.

My Favorite Sweater and Jeans is a teal polish with blue shimmer. This is still just as shimmery as the others but the colors don't contrast as much, so it might not appear very glisteny in the photo, but it definitely is in real life. Good formula, also a tad bit thick, two coats.

It hit me that the formula on the darker shades are all very similar to how matte polishes behave for me. They dry very quickly, and I seemed to get the smoothest finish when I had a generous amount of polish on my brush and worked very quickly and deliberately. If you play with your strokes too much (heh heh) you might get uneven-ness and visible streaks.

These are all available for pre-order on the Native War Paints website now. They are $8 individually and $40 for the full collection. After the pre-order ends on 9/17, they will sell for $9 individually and $50 for the collection. What do you think of these shimmery gals? I'm honestly gaga for them all, but Distressed Denim and Boots and Jeans have me swooning!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Native War Paints Labyrinth Collection Swatches & Review

Hey friends! I hope your week is going well! I've been a little under the weather, boo. Summer sickness might be the worst, because it's so damn hot! Today I have the Native War Paints Labyrinth collection to show you. Labyrinth is totally childhood nostalgia for me, I can remember watching it over and over with my siblings as a kid. So naturally I was excited to see colors inspired by the movie! And David Bowie is in it, so it's of course a win. Also, this year marks the 30th anniversary of the film, so it's as old as I am, yay!

Press Sample

You Have No Power Over Me has a silver holographic base with silver flakie shards, holo bits, and a purpley-red duochrome flash. This is pretty gorgeous, it has a very strong color flash in real life, harder to capture in a photo. Applied easily, seemed sheer on the first coat but I only needed two for full coverage.

I Will Be There For You has a scattered holographic teal base with a pinky orangey purple duochrome flash and tiny baby microglitter. This was on the thinner side and a bit sheer, but not difficult to apply. I used three coats here but you might get away with two.

Dance Magic has a scattered holographic metallic purple base with large silver flakie shards, purple flakies, and micro holo shreds. This applied nicely, it was a little thicker than the previous shades. Two coats.

Chilly Down With The Fire Gang is a vibrant fuchsia pink metallic with pink flakies and a slight red to gold duochrome. This one felt a teeny bit gummy, but applied pretty well overall. I used two coats here. Fun fact, the song the Fire Gang sings is my favorite in the movie, and I actually knew a girl in school who looked exactly like one of them. O_O

Bog Of Eternal Stench has a murky green gold metallic base, microglitters in various colors, and a gold-green duochrome flash. This one is the sparkliest in the collection and I love it! Easy application and opaque in two coats.

Sir Didymus has a vibrant blue metallic base with red, blue, and gold multichrome flakies and a slight red to blue duochrome flash. This seemed a bit runny to me, I had to make sure not to overload my brush. This is two coats.

Hoggle and Ludo, Friends has a glassy red base filled with multichrome flakies as well as red and bronze flakies. I found this one a little runny as well, but not terribly so. Two coats.

Goblin King has a black base filled with shifting purple flakies, multichrome flakies and a purple to blue to red duochrome flash. This obviously has the strongest duochrome effect in the collection, as they show up best against black. Easy application, two coats!

These are all available for pre-order on the Native War Paints website now for $9.50 each until July 2nd, then the price will increase a bit to $10 each when they go up as regular stock. Let me know what you think about this collection! I liked that these didn't dry as matte as most of the shades I've tried from NWP, but I'd still say you'd need top coat for them. Are you a Labyrinth fan? How about a shimmer/duochrome fan? Talk to you again soon!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Native War Paints Dirty Neons Collection Swatches & Review

And so it begins, neon-season! The Dirty Neons by indie brand Native War Paints was created with instagram nail artist Mrs. White and features six shimmery, slightly muted neon colors. These not only have great formulas but they were created to be excellent for watermarbling! I didn't try that nail art technique with them though, I'm not ambitious enough yet, but I did put them on my nails the regular way!

Press Sample

Plutonium is a muted neon teal with pink shimmer. Great consistency, not too thick or thin. Covers completely in two coats. This is such a great color combo, I love it!

Nuclear is a muted neon orange with green shimmer. This one was a tad thicker, but that made application effortless. Two coats here.

Fallout is a muted neon yellow with blue shimmer. This went on pretty well, still a tiny bit streaky on two coats so I did three. This might be the first neon yellow with a really nice to apply formula that I've tried though, which is great.

Atomic is a muted neon pink with turquoise shimmer. Same formula as Nuclear, opaque in two coats. This one dried the most dull out of all of them, and even though I always recommend top coat, you'll definitely need it for shine on this one.

Uranium is a muted neon green with orange shimmer. This one had a similar formula to the yellow, but covered perfectly in just two coats. This reminds me of Slimer from the Ghostbusters and I'm not mad about it!

Radioactive is a muted neon orange toned red with orange/gold shimmer. Another excellent formula, a little thicker like the orange and pink, opaque in two coats.

As a sidenote, neons are quite hard to photograph completely accurately. I ask that you always take your monitor and device settings, etc. into consideration regarding color accuracy with any swatch, but with neons especially because the pigment does crazy things in the light that simple photography just can't handle sometimes. And it does crazy things to my skin tone.

The collection will be available on the Native War Paints website for pre-order at midnight EST on Friday 4/22, ending at 11:59pm EST on Saturday 4/30. They are all $8 each or $40 for the set during the pre-order. After the pre-order ends, they will be $8.50 each and $45 for the set. Mini sizes will also be available. Be sure to check out their mix & match option, where you can pick your favorite six polishes from all the NWP neons (25 colors!), same pricing. So what do you think? Are you ready for dem neons?? This collection is amazing and there is not one that I wouldn't recommend to you!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Native War Paints Valentine's Day 2016 Goodbye, Good Riddance, Good Night Collection Swatches & Review

Another Valentine's collection! This one is more themed to my sensibilities though, Native War Paints' six piece V-Day offering is called Goodbye, Good Riddance, Good Night and it's inspired by breakup songs! I've never been a romantic-type so I can dig these babies more than if they were named after love songs haha.

Press Sample

Native War Paints Love Hurts is a vibrant orchid purple filled with red shimmer. This formula was on the thin side but not difficult to work with at all. I've been impressed with all of the NWP shimmers I've tried because of their easy of application! Complete coverage in two coats.

Native War Paints You Oughta Know is a robust blue-toned red with gold and red shimmer. Another thin but easy formula, no issues. Two coats. Dries a little dull so you'll want a top coat for shine. This is my favorite song out of the bunch, love Alanis Morissette!

Native War Paints Go Your Own Way is a pinky lavender polish with gold and red shimmer. The shimmer in this was very sunken so I had to shake it really well and leave it upside down for a while before I applied it to get the true color. This one also seemed to have a heavier smell than the other polishes, not sure why. Covered well in two coats, dries matte.

Native War Paints Falling in Love (is Hard on the Knees) is a vibrant pink with a coral tone paired with red shimmer. This applied like a dream and was opaque in two coats. This might be my favorite in the collection! Also dries on the matte side.

Native War Paints Since U Been Gone is a medium rosy pink with red and gold shimmer. Another excellent formula, applied smooth and easy and covered in two coats.

Native War Paints Love Stinks is a dark polish that is a red but leans towards brown, a mahogany type of shade. The red shimmer in this is subtle, but it's there giving the vampy color a hint of sparkle. Great to apply, almost a one coater but I used two here. Dries with a dull finish, but not quite as matte as the others.

These shades are all available now on the Native War Paints website for $8.50 each or $45 for the full collection. There also mini bottles available for $5 each. (Side note: the bottle pictured is not permanent, the shape/cap will still be the normal one on the polishes purchased on their website.) Do you like this type of collection? I think it's great to have a cohesive element to each shade! Which is your favorite? What are you planning on wearing on your nails for Valentine's Day?

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

NWP Classic Essentials Mrs. White's Winter Essentials Collection Swatches & Review

Hi there! Today's blog post is featuring a product line by indie brand Native War Paints called the NWP Classic Essentials, "work appropriate essential colors in classic cream and shimmer finishes". This collection, called Mrs. White's Winter Essentials, came out in December 2015 and is a collaboration with Instagrammer @mrswhite8907. Tiffany named each polish in the collection after one of her nail besties, which is adorable. On to the pretties!

Press Sample

Alicia is a lilac purple polish with copper/pink shimmer. This polish was named for Instagrammer @de.lish.ious.nails. It has a slightly thick formula, but it was completely opaque in one coat! Very easy to apply. I used two coats here because I almost always do.

Alison is a blue toned silvery polish with silver shimmer. This polish was named for Instagrammer @apolishedcolleen. This is so loaded with fine shimmer that it almost borders on being a frost, but not quite. There are super slight brush strokes, but nothing to get upset about. Applied easily with great coverage in two coats.

Christy is a dark navy blue polish with pink shimmer. This polish was named for Instagrammer @hospitalhands. It has a great formula, not too thick, and is completely opaque in one coat. I used two here. The shimmer in this is more subtle but it's not hidden, like other shades I've seen in this same combination.

Claire is a rosy pink polish with gold shimmer. This polish was named for Instagrammer @clairestelle8. It has a lovely formula, very easy and smooth. Completely opaque in two coats.

Jenn is a deep brown-y plum polish with flashes of green shimmer. In person, the green bits pop out at you like baby twinkle lights! Very cute. This polish was named for IG @jennpaddict1. Easy formula with great coverage, almost a one coater. This is two coats.

Tiffany is tan/nude polish with gold shimmer. The collection collaborator, @mrswhite8907, named this polish for herself. This shade covered pretty well for such a light color but I needed three coats to cover completely. There are some brushstrokes left behind, but because of the heavy shimmer they aren't as noticeable in person.

These are all available now on the Native War Paints website for $6 per bottle or you can get the collection all together for a discounted price of $30. They also have a really cool Mix & Match option where you can pick any six of the NWP Classic Essentials for $30 (they put out a Fall collection of six as well).

Let me know what you think of these classic cuties! My favorite has to be Alicia, though they are all great! I have consistently been impressed by the NWP formulas on shimmers, I can't wait to try some of their other finishes, especially their glitters and crellies.

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Native War Paints Holiday Sweaters Collection Swatches & Review

So I know the holidays are over, but I have some great holiday nail polishes to show you today! This collection is called the Holiday Sweaters from Native War Paints. You remember their Cozy Sweater collection I showed you a while ago? Well this is its sister collection, awesome gold shimmer mixed in festive shades of the season! Despite being called "holiday" these will work for any time of year, don't worry :)

Press Sample

Holiday Sweater is a rich apple red filled with a strong gold shimmer. The formula on this was excellent, almost opaque in one coat but a second deepened the color a bit. Most of these are thinner than previous NWPs I've tried, and dried a little shinier than their shades usually do, but you'll still probably want a top coat for maximum shine.

Argyle Sweater is a bright blue with gold shimmer. This seemed a bit thicker than the others, but needs at least two coats for opacity. This one dries pretty matte and unfortunately stained my nail beds, even though I only had it on less than 20 minutes (with a base coat). I recommend doubling up on a stain blocking base coat with this guy. Slight brush strokes.

Cardigan Sweater is a warm purple with added gold shimmer. Great formula, same as the red shade, great coverage in two coats. I'm obsessed with purple and gold in combination so I love this!

Oversized Sweater is a soft white with gold shimmer. This was a little streaky, as pale shades usually are, but not terribly so. I didn't have any trouble covering streaks and getting full opacity with three coats. Not really thick or thin, and pretty decent to paint with. Much better than I expected for a white.

Hand Knitted Sweater is a cheerful evergreen with bright gold shimmer. This has a similar formula to Holiday Sweater, almost opaque in one coat but two coats deepens the shade to match the color you see in the bottle. This one my be my favorite in this collection!

Ugly Sweater Party is a vibrant pink with gold shimmer. This gal had a nice, normal formula. This is two coats. Dries more matte than the others, probably due to the neon-ish color. I was satisfied with the opacity at two coats, but like some shades in the neon-like range, I can still make out the shadow of my nail line. If that bothers you, I would use a third coat.

The last collection I tried from NWP I noticed I needed to shake the bottles a lot to mix the pigments, but I didn't seem to need to with these ones, except with the blue. The shimmer is a little more subtle than the last collection but is still very present. These are available now on the Native War Paints website for $8.50 each or $45 for all six shades. Let me know what you think about these!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Native War Paints The Cozy Sweaters Collection Swatches & Review

Hi friends, hope your week is going well! I've come down with another awesome (not!) cold so I've been mostly resting and throwing back the vitamin c to try to get well before Thanksgiving hits so I am able to taste my food. :P

Today I wanted to show you a collection I bought from Native War Paints a while ago called The Cozy Sweaters. These are six polishes inspired by their best selling polish from last year, My Favorite Sweater, all featuring a strong gold shimmer. (A little fun fact, I had to photograph these without the label in the front showing because the bright white of the sticker was throwing off my exposure balance.)

Cable Knit Sweater is a dark cadet blue grey with that lovely gold shimmer. Shows up more in bright light, but still a definite shimmer indoors as well. Thick but opaque in one coat, but I used two here. Dries very fast and self-levels like a dream. Dries down to a dull finish so you will need a top coat for shine. I love this so much, I'm wearing it right now!

Cashmere Sweater is a pinky red with gold shimmer that reminds me of a freshly harvested Gala apple. Same formula as Cable Knit, very easy to apply but thick. Two coats. Also dries to a matte finish.

Cozy Sweater is a dark midnight blue with gold shimmer. This looks blue in the bottle, but is so dark that it appears mostly black to me on the nail. The shimmer really pops out from the dark base on this one. Another easy formula, two coats here. Dries matte.

My Favorite Sweater HDF is the reincarnated and slightly adjusted version of their original polish called My Favorite Sweater. The HDF stands for holographic, duochrome, and flakies. It's a mid-tone blue teal with green and blue shimmer, flakes and gold shimmer. This was quite chunky and thick with all the stuff going on inside, but I was shocked to see how easy it was to paint with. Two coats as well. I like this a lot, but I think I would prefer the original version. Also dries dull.

Sweater Dress is a mid-to-light royal purple with gold shimmer. This one was a lighter shade than I expected it to be. The shimmer makes it positively glow! Went on more sheer than the others, but was still pretty opaque which is surprising. A little brushstrokey. Two coats. Dries matte.

Sweater Weather is a muted kelly green with gold shimmer. The shimmer is not as apparent in this one as the others. It has the thickest consistency of the collection, but is incredibly opaque. I only did one coat for this guy. It dries matte like the others.

The brush on these was a little big for my preference, and they were all a little splayed on the ends. But honestly these all had such forgiving formulas that I didn't end up having any problems with application. Another thing to mention is that they all were noticeably separated in the bottle, they needed a good shaking before I could put them on. My Favorite Sweater HDF required the most mixing, all the shimmer and flakies had sunk to the bottom of the bottle and it took a long time and a lot of shaking before it came together again. That may or may not bother you. I thought it would turn me off more than it did, but I ended up loving these so it didn't matter to me in the end.

I purchased these from the Native War Paints website. All of the polishes are $8.50 each, except for My Favorite Sweater HDF which is $9.50. Or you can get all six for $45. When they put out a new collection, it's usually sold as a pre-order first and is slightly discounted, so I was able to get the collection on pre-order for $40 which is a great price. So be sure to watch their social media pages for upcoming collection announcements! Tell me what you think of these pretties!

**UPDATE: I just learned that NWP are having a 30% off sale for Black Friday using the code BLACK, which includes this collection!

❤ Kellie