Pretty & Polished Color Change Nail Lacquers

Today I have some polishes to show you that were sent to me for review from indie polish maker Pretty & Polished. They are unique in that they are color changing lacquers, meaning they change colors according to temperature. A mani using these ends up producing a french tip gradient-like effect because the bed of your nail is warm and the free edge is cooler, depending of course on how long your nails are. Water temperature affects them too, you can actually see the color change when your hands are in water of varying temps which is pretty cool.

Sometimes these types of polishes are marketed as "mood changing" or "thermal" but as far as I know they all use the same type of method to get the color change. There are also color changing polishes that change when exposed to UV light like the sun, but those are different. These are my favorite type of color changing polishes because my nails usually have a pretty nice free edge, meaning the two-tone effect is usually always evident. If your nails are too short they can just stay the "warm" color, which I think kind of negates the purpose.

This first one is called Pretty Chameleon, named for the color changing lizard of course. The cool color is a medium bright magenta pink with bits of sandy type glitter and the cool color is a light strawberry milk with the glitter being more apparent as purple bits. I was thinking that a top coat might mess up the effect (which it does not) so these photos are taken without it, which is why they look bumpy. This is two thick coats with my hand at normal temperature. This is how the polish would look most of the time.

This is the same polish with the picture taken right after I dipped my hand in hot water. It was a cold day so it wanted to change back very fast which is why it's a bit blurry.

And here is the polish after dipping my fingers in cold water. See the water droplet on my pinky?

This next polish is called Cuttlefish, which is a color changing marine fish. This how it looks with my hand at regular body temperature. The warm color is a pale blue almost white cream with blue and green glitters and the cool color is a bright teal aqua with the same glitters. This is three coats. The glitters were a bit tough to place but not terrible.

This is the warm color, the photo is taken after I dipped my nails in hot water. Again it wanted to change color really fast so this is a bit blurred. Who knew it wasn't easy to take photos of waterlogged nails?

And this is the cool color shown after I dunked my nails in cold water, a pretty bright teal ocean blue with peeks of the glitter. I love how this looks!

After I took the photos above, I decided to experiment with a top coat and it really improves the overall look of these, evidenced below. I think the polishes tend to run a bit thick and the glitters were bumpy in them both, so of course top coat would help the look, but I was worried it would affect the color change. It did not. And creator Chels even says so on her website, but of course I didn't do my research before I swatched them haha.

You can buy these and P&P's other color changing polishes on their website for $9.50 for a full size bottle. They also sell them on their Etsy store. What do you think of these two? Have you tried any color change type nail polishes before? 

Products provided for review.

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 ;)

Pretty & Polished Holiday Picks

Hi friends :) My girl Chels who makes Pretty & Polished lacquers and accessories has some new polishes out for the holiday season, here are two of them.

Love Always, Candy Cain is a glitter topper in red and white, 'natch considering the name. Anyone who knows me knows I'm obsessed with peppermint and this time of year it's friggen everywhere and I love it. This polish has small round white and red matte glitter, large red and white heart glitter, medium & large red hexes and large white hexes in a clear base. I used three coats over Cult Nails Nevermore.

This is called Island of Misfit Toys, which I get is a cartoon reference but I just watched Perks of Being a Wallflower (unbelievable film, btw) and they mentioned it in there so it was fresh in my mind when I picked these out. This glitter is a mega hodgepodge of colors shapes and sizes, but it really works. I was surprised at how much I like this. Three coats over Wet n' Wild white.

You can buy Pretty & Polished nail lacquer at their Etsy store www.etsy.com/shop/prettyandpolished. Minis are $4.75 and full size bottles go for $7. I haven't been disappointed by any P&P polishes, and these are no exception. Go check out the rest of her holiday selection on her blog www.prettynpolish.com.

P.S. I know my nails are SUUUUPER long in these picks, cray cray right?! I just cut them but you might see another few posts with them this long. I credit Duri's Rejuvacote.

Pretty & Polished - Phat Camp

Hi friends :) Today I have another Pretty & Polished glitter from her Summer Camp collection. This is called Phat Camp. I wasn't sure I loved it at first but when I saw Chalkboard Nails' swatch of it, I knew it had to be mine.

This has a clear base and is full of dark pink small round glitters, magenta purple medium round glitter, medium purple shards, and medium teal hex glitters. I layered two coats over a black crème. I wish I had put topcoat on for this swatch, regrettably you can see the bumpy texture. *shrug* This is a fab color.

Being a "phatty" myself, I love this polish ;) What do you think?

Pretty & Polished - Cheer Camp

I have been wallowing for a few days in a funk. As you may know, right now in Las Vegas the magic awesomeness that is the CosmoProf Las Vegas Conference is happening again. I went last year and it was so incredibly fun and exciting. I was all set to go this year, got my press pass all set, got a room at the Luxor with my blog bestie Jen the Polishaholic, and asked for the time off from work. However, due to circumstances beyond my control, I found out a while ago that I would not be able to go to the conference. And in a weird coincidence, Jen couldn't go either! I am so freaking sad and wishing I could be there so hard. I am trying to smile and read the girls' tweets and blog posts who are there and feel happy for them but it's hard, haha. I am going to have to double plan ahead for next year so I don't go through this anguish again! You can keep up with all the CosmoProf LV news via my friends', Beauty Judy and PolishGalore, blogs.

I tried to drown my tears in the beauty of a new polish, this gal is called Cheer Camp by indie seller Pretty & Polished. It's part of her Summer Camp collection. Being a cheerleader for five years during middle and high school was a huge part of my life and going to cheer camp every summer was some of the best times I've ever had. I had to get this for the name alone, but it is also just a beautiful polish.

Cheer Camp has a milky pale pink base with pastel pink and purple hex glitter and micro pink glitter. I used three coats. I got this in a mini and the glitter had already begun to sink when I got it in the mail but I let it sit upside down for a while and it was fine. It doesn't bother me but I figured it was worth mentioning.

You can get Pretty & Polished nail lacquers every so often when she restocks her Etsy store, but lately she has been doing pre-orders via her blog. Prices have varied a little so I won't list them here. Do you have any P&P polishes? How do you like them? I have Phat Camp from the same collection that I'll be showing you soon. Have a great week and to everyone at CosmoProf, TAKE A BILLION PICTURES FOR ME!!!

Pretty & Polished - Swing

This is Pretty & Polished indie polish creation Swing. I really love this polish because it's so different. I've told you before I like her polishes because a lot of them look like jelly sandwiches with using only one polish. This one really pops shows how the glitter stands out in varying depths. Swing is a berry red jelly with black, white and silver large and small hex glitter pieces.

shiny with topcoat

matte-ified

I really like this movement of indie polish makers that's come out of the woodwork lately. It's really cool to be able to support independent businesses in this economy. You can buy Pretty and Polished lacquers on http://www.etsy.com/shop/PrettyandPolished. The store is closed right now while it's being restocked but you can sign up to receive an email when the shop reopens.

Pretty & Polished - Jawbreaker

This post features an indie polish seller who calls her shop Pretty & Polished. She has some really unique lacquers available, some that I like particularly because they give the look of a "jelly sandwich" using only one polish instead of two.

This one is called Jawbreaker, and it is the spitting image of the candy it's named for. It has the classic colors, blue, red, purple, green and yellow flecks, in this case different sizes and shapes of glitter, in a milky white base. You get a more translucent look with two coats, but I used three.

Shiny with topcoat

Matte-ified, seems a bit pinker than when it's shiny.

You can purchase this and other polishes by Chelsea at her Etsy shop Pretty & Polished. She sells mini and full size bottles, $4.75 for 5mL and $8.00 for 15mL. Be sure to check it out!