Review: Pueen plates 1-25

(Purchased by me; affiliate links)

Hello!

A few weeks ago, I bought one of the new sets of Pueen plates, the one that contains plates 1-25. I posted a manicure using them, and you showed interest in seeing a review of them, so here they are!

First and foremost, as always I recorded a video showing all of the images accompanied by my chatter about the ones I like. :) Here's the video if you like your plate reviews in that form:

Next, here are stills of each of the plates, if you prefer a silent version of my review, lol:

My favorite on this plate is the one top left--don't know what to call it, but it's cool!

I love the flower prints, and that cool lace print!

Love that top image, and how cute are those flower balloons!

The interlocking lines are my favorites here

Love the background stamp to the left, and the one with the berries (eyeballs for Halloween? Oh yeah...)

I will find a reason to use that pineapple, mark my words.

That one on the left looks like a terrain map to me

Love the 3D illusion image and the stars are very fun. :)

That peacock image is to. die. for.

Love the water waves on the right

The one on the left reminds me of those bead door curtains from the 70s...I love the middle diamond one

The rubber duckie has stolen my heart

Crazy weird pinwheel background image FTW

Very cool reptile/fish patterns

That leaf image at the top is one of my favorites in the set--I love the art-deco one in the middle, too

I love that quad of diamonds, and how cool is that kaleidoscope looking one bottom middle!?

That heart is made of little circles, and I love the stylized flower on the left

Completely in love with that patterned one on the right--what a great background stamp, and it reminds me of the tilework on an Italian villa. :)

Love the art-deco-ish one in the middle bottom

Little snail guy is too adorable for words

Who doesn't need a domino swirl?

Pretty background pretty background reindeer pretty background wait what?

That one on the right looks like a cable-knit sweater with flowers on it :)

Not my favorite plate, I must admit...but the butterfly and teddy bear are very sweet. :)

I'm crazy about the flowered image on the right, and the paper doll cut outs are adorbs :)

And no plate review would be complete without a comparison to a standard Konad plate:

Pueen v. Konad

As you can see, the Pueen images are a teeny titch larger than Konad--but barely, especially once you take into account the half-moons. In terms of etching, to my naked eye, the Pueen plates don't look to be quite as clean when it comes to the engraving; however, I haven't noticed any issues with stamping at all; I've had all the images I've tried stamp well.

Speaking of which, you can check out the manicures I've done with these plates by clicking these links:

Diamond-pattern image

Gradient dots image (some smudging on index finger was my fault)

Art Deco image

I have a few others that I've done but haven't posted yet; I'll update them here when they post.

I purchased my plates from Amazon.com; they were $18.99 when I got them. I thnk they're a good deal for that price; if you like the style of the images, you'll have plenty here to have fun with.

Thanks for reading! Hugs and love,
M.

Review: Lucky 13 Lacquer

Hello!!

I always love sharing new indie polishes I've found with you, so I'm excited about this post. :) Today I have for you: Lucky 13 Lacquer.

There were so many goodies on the Lucky 13 Lacquer site that it took me three days to decide what to get. I could only manage three, and I'm so incredibly pleased with the three I got, I'm already planning out my next trip when funds allow. :)

Bring on the polish! Apologies again for the cuticles--they're recovering, but slowly, and this was taken right before I broke my nails.

The first polish is A Leaf On The Wind, from her Ballad Of Serenity collection; this is a beautiful robin's-egg blue crelly with silver and light green glitters:

Lucky 13 Lacquer A Leaf On The Wind

Lucky 13 Lacquer A Leaf On The Wind

Lucky 13 Lacquer A Leaf On The Wind

When I look at this, I absolutely can see beautiful leaves flying across a clear sky. This is two coats with topcoat, and while it seems a little patchy in the pictures, it was opaque in real life; if you're worried about it you can do three coats to be sure. Application was beautiful, no struggles at all. :)

Next is Bowties Are Cool; this is a brownish-gold base with red, gold and brown glitters in it. It can be worn alone, but I wanted to try it as a topper, over Orly Buried Alive:

Lucky 13 Lacquer Bowties Are Cool overcast light

Lucky 13 Lacquer Bowties Are Cool overcast light

Lucky 13 Lacquer Bowties Are Cool overcast light

Lucky 13 Lacquer Bowties Are Cool overcast light

This is from her Dr. Who Collection (Last Of The Time Lords), and I believe The Doctor would approve. I sponged this over my base coat, and was able to get the glitters where I wanted them without fuss. I'm such a huge red fan, I love the way this polish is a perfect setting for a splash of red. :)


And finally, the piece de resistance: Strawberry Girl, also from her Ballad Of Serenity collection. This is a strawberry-red jelly with green shards and teeny black hex glitters:

Lucky 13 Lacquer Strawberry Girl indoor light

Lucky 13 Lacquer Strawberry Girl indoor light

Lucky 13 Lacquer Strawberry Girl direct partial sun

This is two coats with topcoat. No problems with application, even though there is shard glitter--they went on perfectly. And how beautiful is that polish!! It looks exactly like the mess I make when I try to clean strawberries for making strawberry shortcake, lol. I think it's pretty, fun, and perfect for summer picnics. I adore it! But wait...is there a way I can love it more? Maybe if I mattify it...:

Wow, wow, wow! I think this is just so pretty and whimsical. I love it and plan to wear it like crazy this summer. :)

So there are a few of the polishes I fell in love with from Lucky 13 Lacquer; you can find her shop by clicking here. Her polishes are currently $8 for full-sized bottles, but this is about to go up to $8.50, so hurry over there and take a look! She is taking orders even though she is on vacation, and will fill all of the orders placed before she returns next week at her current prices. Of course her polishes are three-free and cruelty-free.

Thanks for taking a look! Hugs and love,
M.

(the polishes reviewed in this post were purchased with my own money.)

Reminder of giveaway!

Hello everyone!

Just want to remind you about my giveaway, which ends tomorrow at midnight. It's for a $20 gift certificate to Ninja Polish, and you can enter by clicking here. :)

Good luck!!
M.

Seven Deadly Sins Tag!

Back when we did the Seven Deadly Sins for Polish Days, Lariesa of Me, Myself, and Polish did a fun post that included a Seven Deadly Sins tag, and welcomed other bloggers to use the tag if they wanted to; you can see her original post by clicking here.  It has taken me a while to get it scheduled in, but I finally have it!


1.  GREED: What is your most expensive nail polish and what is your most inexpensive nail polish?
 Well, my most expensive nail polish is China Glaze L8R G8R, which goes for about $40 on eBay. However, I was lucky enough to find it in a dusty hunt for $5. :)

Most inexpensive: I have a ton of polishes that I paid nothing for. Most of these are Wet n Wild or Sinful Colors; for example, there are often $1 off Wet n Wild coupons in the newspaper, and I wait until they go on sale for $1 each. Then I pounce with my coupons and go to town, lol! I also am a huge bargain hunter and take full advantage of Sally Beauty red tag sales + coupons. The only thing more awesome than a pretty polish is the same polish for free or really cheap, I say! It takes a while, but now you know part of the secret to how I've managed to build up my stash. :)

2.  WRATH: What nail polish do you have a love/hate relationship with?
Butter London Wallis. I adore the color of this polish, but for some reason Butter Londons don't get on well with my body chemistry and it's a fight to get it to look anything but ragged. Well worth the fight, but still.

3.  GLUTTONY: What nail polish brand makes up the biggest chunk of your collection?China Glaze. This is my go-to brand because they have an amazing selection, are on top of most trends, have an incredible formula (most of the time--there are exceptions) and they are very affordable. It also helps that I can usually get China Glaze for $3 or less, often a lot less during Sally's red tag sales. And, they're cruelty-free!! What more can a girl ask?!

4.  SLOTH: What nail care product do you neglect due to laziness?
Full routine manicures. Between work and keeping up with challenges, I skip taking the time to do a full, routine manicure as often as I should. 

5.  PRIDE:  Which manicure are you the most proud of?
Probably my Inspiration Sunrise manicure. It may not be my best manicure, but it was a huge achievement for me at the time, and was the first moment I felt like I could actually produce manicures other than just simple stamped manicures. You can see it here. :)

6.  LUST: Which nail polish is at the top of your wish list?
Ooo...so many...but the one that I want but will never have is OPI La Boheme. First of all, it is way too expensive. Second of all, OPI isn't cruelty-free. I really, really, really wish OPI was cruelty-free!! Hopefully someday, and hopefully sooner rather than later.

7.  ENVY: What do you see other nail bloggers doing that you wish you could do?
Water marble with ease. When I tried it I was hopeless, plus I can't deal with the mess. >.<

Thanks for reading! What are your Seven Deadly polish sins? If you do the tag, please let me know  by linking in the comments, I'd love to see! So yes, this is an exception to the no-links-please rule. Feel free to link it so I can come read! :)

Big hugs,
M.

Polished Pairings: Zoya Clara

Hello!!

Today is my last 'pastel' post for my Nail Challenge Collaborative group. I decided to finish it off with a polished pairing--a pairing-up of a beautiful polish and a beautiful topper that hopefully will create a beautiful manicure. :)

I started off with Zoya Clara, which is a soft, pretty peachy coral shimmer:

Zoya Clara

Zoya Clara

I love the soft, feminine shimmer flash to this polish, and you know I love my peachy corals. :)

For my pairing, I chose Seche Collage Overlay. I got this on red-tag sale at Sally's, and figured, I love their topcoat so much, why not give their glitter a try?

I also decided to do an accent stamp on this pairing, and I forgot to take a picture before I did it, but I think you'll be able to get a feel for what it looked like without the stamp. I used Barry M Silver Foil and Pueen plate Pueen 11 (stay tuned for my review of these plates, which will post tomorrow):

Seche Collage Overlay over Zoya Clara

Seche Collage Overlay over Zoya Clara

Seche Collage Overlay over Zoya Clara

I really love the way the stamp works with the glitter! It almost looks like the bar glitter just happened to come together in some cool patterns. I also like the glitter--I know, I may be in the minority because of the bar glitter--and I think it's very versatile. :)

Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed it! Please check out the other pastel manicures linked below. :)

Hugs and love,
M.

A peek at my Julep Mystery Box

Hello!

I just wanted to quickly show you what came in my Julep mystery box, in case you've been wondering what sort of thing comes in these; I wasn't sure if I should get one, but finally decided to splurge, since it was a good deal. :)

Here is a picture of everything included:

1) Pomegranate body scrub
2) Pomegranate body creme
3) Nail file
4) Pedicure guards
5) Three nail polishes: Julep Melissa, Julep Ally, Julep Sadie

Here's a group shot of the polishes, and an up-close of a wand swatch of each:

Julep Ally

Ally is a pretty blue shimmer; at first I thought it looked like China Glaze Frostbite, but this one is deeper blue. :) You've seen this one on the nail on my Earth Day manicure, which you can find here. :)

Julep Melissa

Melissa is a topper with a pretty teal-green shimmer. When on its own or over light colors, it's a subtle shimmer, over black the color comes through more. :)

Julep Sadie

Ah, Sadie. Sadie, Sadie, Sadie. This is one of the 'Sea Salt' polishes, which is Julep's textured line. This is gorgeous and you've already seen it in my Earth Day manicure, too. It's very much like the Zoya Pixie dust line; if I didn't know better I would have thought it was. I love it. :)

Thanks for taking a look! Big hugs. :)

M.

(The items in this post were purchased with my own money.)

Review: My picks from the Color Club Kaleidoscope collection

Hello!!

I have most of a relatively new Color Club collection to show you today: The Kaleidoscope collection. Maybe I just haven't been looking in the right places, but I haven't really seen this around the blogosphere, which I find strange--there are some pretty colors here, and perfect for the current season. I liked most of the collection, so I bought most of the collection, and will show you all of the ones I got. :)

I'm not quite sure why it's named 'Kaleidoscope' and why the byline is 'the possibilities are endless',  and I haven't been able to find an answer to that, but my speculation is that the collection is designed around the flakie, with the idea that the flakie adds to the versatility of the other polishes. Anyway, that's my guess and I'm stickin' to it. :)

The first color is Abyss, a pretty turquoise creme that's just perfect for summer:

Color Club Abyss, indirect sun

Color Club Abyss, direct sun

This is two coats with topcoat. The formula on all of the polishes was good, and applied well.

This may not be the most unique color--possibly I'm attracted to it because I don't have a plain turquoise in my collection--but even if so, it's a well-done version of a classic color. Gorgeous!

Next up is In Theory, a superb peach creme:

Color Club In Theory, indirect sun

Color Club In Theory, direct sun

In direct light, the more orange side of the peach comes out, while when out of direct sun, you get a deeper coral aspect to it. It's the sort of color that's universally flattering, and it's interesting while also being understated. This is two coats with topcoat (and a little Seche shrinkage >.<)


And now for something completely different: Bright Night:

Color Club Bright Night, in direct sun

Color Club Bright Night, indirect sunlight

This is two coats with no topcoat, because I wanted to show you the cool rubberized matte finish. I have another polish that's similar in color, but this finish with this color knocks it out of the park for me. As you can tell from my first picture especially, this polish will show any defects if you aren't careful--in this case, my nails had begun to take a fair amount of abuse from the move, and had a little bit of shredding on the nail that I missed and didn't buff out--and you can see it as a few teeny bumps on my index and middle finger. This is the sort of thing that normally wouldn't show under other polishes, but this one is a bit persnickety that way...so when you use this polish, do a double-check for any issues like that, and if you have ridges or dents, you might want to use two coats of base coat, or a ridge filler. But I think it's worth it. :)

Next is Evolution, a pretty robin's-egg blue creme:

Color Club Evolution

Color Club Evolution

This is two coats with topcoat, and again the formula was excellent. It practically applied itself, and made my nails look like smooth porcelain. Again possibly not the most unique polish, but also again, a classic done well. I didn't have a polish this color, so I'm extremely happy.

I've saved Pearl-Spective for last; it's a flakie topper that is a much smaller, finer flakie than I've seen before, with a gentle pink-purple flash to it. First I'm showing it over Color Club Endless Summer (which is from their Fiesta collection...stayed tuned for that one!); of all the polishes I tried this over, this is the one that photographed the detail of it best:

Color Club Pearl-Spective over Color Club Endless Summer

And here is Pearl-Spective over Evolution, so you can see what it does over a lighter, more pastel color:

Color Club Pearl-Spective over Color Club Evolution 

If you're a polish collector like me, you have one or two (>.>) flakie toppers. This one is different from the other ones I have in that the flakes are much more minimal, and so create a more over-all shimmer effect. The color flash is more dedicated to the pink/purple realm rather than being more rainbow, as well. For both of these reasons, I'm very glad I bought it and feel it adds something unique to my collection.

What do you think? A pretty, fun collection, or are you just not impressed? I think it does a good job of having one foot in spring and one foot in summer in a fun way. I'm already having some nail art adventures with them... :)

Thanks for taking a look!! Big hugs,
M.

(The polishes in this review were purchased with my own money.)