Link Love

So a new thing I am going to do is put a list together of stuff that I like every so often. They might be new blogs I've found, particularly cool nail art, or just something I found to be neat-o. I tend to find new things via others' link lists so thought I might do a few of my own and pay it forward. Enjoy!

• glitter nail polish removal with no fuss? / nails by kayla shevonne


• color shifting nail polish oh yeah / chrissyai


• winter tights inspired nail art / coewless polish


• purp ombre like whoa / the nailasaurus


• cartoon inspired polish collection / chalkboard nails


• my favorite kind of salute / a polish addict


• the boy wizard lives / glitta gloves

BB Couture Ladies Formal Collection

BB Couture has a new ladies collection out! Hooray! I know I am on the edge of my seat all the time wondering when their next bunch of lacquers will come out and of course it's my joy to be able to share them with you! This collection is called the Ladies Formal collection. These are all matte/satin finish polishes.

First up is Black Velvet, ooh luxe! This is more of a deep charcoal rather than a straight black. It's much softer and wearable than a true matte. It also goes on easily and levels well. I wore this under an Elixir glitter in my previous post. Three coats.

This guy is called Chocolate Souffle which sounds just heavenly right? A color I don't know I would've chosen on my own but I ended up really fancy it. It's a rich reddish brown that looks nice and vampy on the nail. This one is more on the matte side, but it's still softer than the chalky mattes of yesteryear. Three coats here.

This one might be my absolute favorite matte polish ever. It's called Daring Debutant and it's a shade of purple that is reddish but also has a flash of blue in there which I can't figure out how they did, but it's awesome. It has a bit of a shimmer speckle in there that reminds me of stone. It's probably the smoothest satin matte I've ever used too. Ga-ga-gorgeous! Three coats.

This is called Ruby Red High Heels. It's a pinky kind of ruby red, with a soft sort of speckle that's just barely noticeable. I am just really impressed with all these, they're so nice to paint with! Three coats.

Here is Tiny Cocktail Dress, a lovely chic dark brown. I actually own way more brown polishes than I thought I did, so I must like them haha. I really like this one, it's amazing how sophisticated the espresso color looks huh! Three coats.

And rounding out the collection is the fierce Uninvited. I totally love this, it's a fabulous matte red and really flatters on the nail. It dries a tad darker than the color in the bottle, like most of these. I used this one under a new glitter polish I just bout and it really enhanced it (post on that one to come soon). Three coats on this gal too.

These are all real standouts in my collection, as mattes go they are incredibly easy application-wise, which is a HUGE accomplishment in my book. Bravo BB Couture! You can get these on their website www.bbnailpolish.com for $10.95 each. What are your thoughts on these?

Products provided for review.

Elixir Lacquers

I have a few polishes to show you today from Elixir Lacquers. They are an indie brand run by the same gal who has the blog Nail Polish Wars. She has awesome nails btw. This is a new-to-me brand and these are the first shades I've tried.

The first guy is from their holiday selection, called Snowman Suite. This guy has a clear base with smallish satin orange hexes, medium matte white hexes, large matte black circles, and tiny iridescent micro hexes. I wasn't super excited about this in the bottle but I like how it looks on the nail. I'm never going to be a fan of large circle glitters though, haha. This is two coats with topcoat over BB Couture Black Velvet.

Next is Red Nose, which has a clear base loaded with fiery copper orange holographic micro glitter. I was expecting this to be red but it is definitely orange. I had to work to get the glitter to be opaque, but it wasn't as hard as I had anticipated. My swatch shows three coats with topcoat. This is part of Elixir Lacquer's Lov-a-Bully charity bottles, where 10% of each sold will be donated to the Atlanta Bully Rescue, an organization that works to reduce the number of unwanted bully breeds (including pit bulls) in Atlanta and surrounding areas.

Another polish that helps with the above mentioned charity is Happy Tears. This polish has a slightly shimmery royal blue sheer base packed with mini blue squares and medium matte white hexes. I think this would work best for layering but I tried it on its own and I liked it. This is three coats.

Smokey Coat is another Lov-a-Bully polish. A fun part of these is they are all named after and inspired by a sweet pit bull doggy that was rescued by the foundation being supported! This polish is a deep charcoal grey with a dash of silver holographic bits. This one went on like butter, very nice. Two coats here.

Here is Forever Home over Smokey Coat. This polish, also one who benefits the Atlanta Bully Rescue, is named so in accordance with a rescued pets' home that will be theirs forever! It has a clear base with large red hearts, mini blue squares, and medium black & white hexes. I really love this one and it might be my favorite of Elixir's so far. I wish the hearts were a little easier to grab in the bottle but larger glitter is always a challenge. This is two coats.

You can get these and other polishes at their website http://www.elixirlacquers.com/. The full size bottles are $10. It doesn't appear as if they are selling minis right now. What do you think of these? I think it's such a great thing that here Lov-a-Bully polishes benefit such a worthwhile cause, I am such a dog lover! Have you tried Elixir yet?

Products provided for review.