Lacquer or Leave Her!: Ellagee

Showing posts with label Ellagee. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Before & After: For Owl's Sake (BPS BP-L014 & BP-L019 + Ellagee Summer Polishes)

(Press sample;affiliate links)

Hello!

Born Pretty Store recently sent me some of their newest plates to review, and I was excited to see they've started to make larger, rectangular plates for more coordinated images.

Here's the video showing the images and discussing ideas for using them:

And here are still shots of the two plates I'll be using in my mani today. First, BP-L014, a henna-style floral collage plate:

Born Pretty Store BP-L014

Can I say how much I love this plate? There are big areas in the collage style, to give you that flexibility to create tons of coordinated manis, but they are also separated enough to allow you to isolate edges and elements if you want. In terms of ease-of-use, this is a beginner version of a collage-style plate, while being an advanced plate in terms of beauty.

But wait--how does it stamp?

Born Pretty Store BP-L014 stamping test

Pretty darned good. There is a smudgy bit at the middle-top of the left image that is clearly user error; otherwise, the lines and details are all wonderful.

How big are the flowers on this plate? Excellent question--here they are next to a standard Konad so you can estimate:

Born Pretty Store BP-L014 vs. Konad

And now let's take a look at BP-L019, a whimsical plate featuring adorable owls in quantity:

Born Pretty Store BP-L019

This one also stamps very well:

Born Pretty Store BP-L019 stamping test

And here it is next to da Konad for size reference:

Born Pretty Store BP-L019 stamping test vs. Konad

Okay, let's get down to it. For plates like this, you have to have something fun and awesome for you base, so I chose Ellagee Seaside Cottage from her Beach Bum summer collection (see my review here):

Ellagee Seaside Cottage

Then, I added a coat of Ellagee Bubble Up (from her All Summer Long glitters collection, review here) to my middle finger and my thumb. Next, I stamped one of the owls from BP-L019 with Ellagee Salty Breeze (yes, it stamps!!) onto my ring finger. I stamped flowers from BP-L014 onto two stampers and filled them in using the reversed-stamping technique; I stamped them with Sally Hansen Brisk Blue and filled them in with Ellagee Salty Breeze and Sally Hansen I-Rush Luck. Finally, I finished up with a few dots for the owl's eyes and the center of the owl's flowers.

For Owl's Sake

I love how these colors all play together. Bright. Happy. Fun, Summery. The kind of manicure that just makes you smile when you look down at it. :)

And don't forget, you can get 10% off of your non-sale-priced order at Born Pretty Store using my discount code:

Happy polishing!
M.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Review: Ellagee Beach Bum Sun-Bleached Neon Cremes, All Summer Long glitters, and Lickity Split Latex Mani Mask!

(Press Sample)

Hello!

Today I have some of the most fun, most summery polishes I've seen: two polishes from Ellagee's Beach Bum Sun-Bleached Neon Cremes collection and two from her All Summer Long glitter collection. Plus, I'm going to test out her Lickity Split Latex Mani Mask and see how that works!

Ellagee Salty Breeze and Seaside Cottage

Ellagee Bubble Up and Flutterby Garden

The Beach Bum Sun-Bleached Neon Cremes collection has seven bright-but-not-too-bright summer shades with a semi-matte finish. As the name implies, these colors aren't your typical summer neons, they have a subtle sophistication to them while still maintaining the traditional neon palette. If you're like me and you're not into the highlighter-intensity neons, this collection is for you: if regular neons are Courtney Love, these polishes are Gwen Stefani.

Let's start with Salty Breeze, a radiant orchid creme:

Ellagee Salty Breeze

This is two easy coats with no topcoat, to show off the flawless semi-matte finish. The formula was excellent--applied like butter with no patchiness or other issues. Good coverage, fast dry time.

But let's say you aren't in the mood for a semi-matter finish; here's how Salty Breeze looks with a coat of Seche Vite:

Ellagee Salty Breeze with topcoat

Either way, this polish is perfection. It's English gardens and pretty sundresses. It's afternoon tea and strolls on the beach with your sweetie. It's feminine and universally flattering, and I think the sun-bleached finish is unique and romantic.

The second polish I received from this collection is Seaside Cottage, a lemony-avocado creme:

Ellagee Seaside Cottage

This is two thick coats; I found the formula to be a little thinner on this one, so I was generous on my second coat. Once I did that, I had full coverage without a problem. Application was amazing again--smooth, no pooling or pulling. Wonderful.

Still not sure why you'd want to cover the awesome finish, but if you just gotta get some shine, here's how it looks with topcoat:

Ellagee Seaside Cottage with topcoat

I can't say enough about this color, I'm so glad it's one of the two I received! This is the sort of color that can be over-the-top when done in neon, but the sun-bleached version gives it a softness while still maintaining the edge. It makes me want to throw on my bathing suit and a flowing cover and go lounge by the pool. It makes me want to run down to the beach and learn how to surf. Nah, forget that--I wouldn't want to ruin my nails--I'll watch my honey surf while I use my gorgeous manicure to flip the pages of my magazine.

So, how do you make an awesome polish even better? Duh, add glitter, of course. And Ellagee's All Summer Long collection has ten bright, fun glitters to help you get your summer groove on.

Bubble Up is a blend of pink, purple, green, and blue neon circle glitters that are simply joy in a bottle:

Ellagee Bubble Up over Ellagee Salty Breeze

This is one partly-brushed-partly-dabbed coat of Bubble Up over Salty Breeze. Application was good--I didn't get the massive pile-up you get with some circle-glitter blends, although you will want to dab a bit to get the colors and sizes you want where you want them. I didn't find any need to do anything other than give a gentle shake to the bottle to get the bigger circles out; no fishing necessary. Here's the same treatment over Seaside Cottage:

Ellagee Bubble Up over Ellagee Seaside Cottage

I absolutely live for this glitter. It's whimsical, it's happy, it's like my own little bottle of sweet tarts or gumdrops. If this glitter doesn't bring sunshine and smiles into your day when you wear it, something is very wrong with your soul and you should go have that checked. ;-)

The second polish I received from this collection is Flutterby Garden, a mix of circle and flower glitters in orange, pink, yellow, lilac, and green, with black butterflies thrown in to keep you on your toes:

Ellagee Flutterby Garden over Seaside Cottage

Neons are notoriously shy about having their picture taken, so I took this angled picture to give you a better feel for how truly vibrant they are:

Ellagee Flutterby Garden over Seaside Cottage

You all know I'm not a flowers-and-butterflies kind of girl, normally. But if the flowers are neon and the butterflies are black, oh heck yeah, sign me up! There are a couple of other glitters in the collection that have butterflies in other colors if you're not into the black butterflies. But I think this gives spice and edge to a typically sweet theme; this is a hot take on garden chic.

This is one application of dabbed polish topped with Seche Vite. I didn't have a problem getting out the flowers; you do have to fish for the butterflies, but you can get around that by turning the bottle upside-down briefly. And I mean briefly--I did it for about 30 seconds and I had plenty of butterflies to choose from.

If you're like me and have very curvy nails, the butterfly glitters may scare you, because the size and the edges will refuse to lie flat. I found that if I put on a second generous coat of Seche Vite (other thick topcoats will probably work, too), that was enough to cover the butterflies so they wouldn't snag on things and pull off. I wore this for three days to test it out and didn't lose a single butterfly.

One of the things I love about this glitter is, it's easy nail art in a bottle. To show you what I mean, I did a little bit of strategic dabbing to create a fast flower scene:

Ellagee Flutterby Garden over Salty Breeze

That pretty look took me literally two minutes to make--how's that for nail art on the run when you're in a time pinch?

I have one last goodie to show you...Laura included a bottle of her Lickity Split Latex Mani Mask into my package for me to try out. I don't have to tell you nail art is messy, and I'm always looking for the best way to make it easy as possible.

Ellagee Lickity Split Latex Mani Mask

I'm sure you've seen other versions of this that cost quite a lot, and I recently reviewed a very inexpensive version from Amazon. If wish I'd tried out Ellagee's version before I bought the other one, because it has better quality and a very affordable price.

Here's how Lickity Split Latex Mani Mask works:

1) Apply the latex around your nail. Try not to get any onto your nails, because it will act as a mask on your nail as well if you do (note that you can do it on purpose if you want to keep part of your nail untouched!). Don't worry if it gets down in your cuticles (notice I had a little bit do that), it will come right out with a gentle push from a toothpick:

Apply around cuticles

2)Wait for it to dry:

Wait for it to dry--notice I still have a wet part on the upper right hand part of my ring finger.

Here's where I saw the big difference in quality. While Ellagee's version took a teeny bit little longer to dry (I'm talking 1 minute vs. 30 seconds with the other product), that tiny extra wait was more than worth it, and here's why. With the other version I tried, if the latex on one finger came into contact with the latex on another other finger, it would stick together and start to pull off. That did not happen with the Ellagee version!! This mask is thicker and doesn't instantly bond together when dry. I purposefully let my fingers bump into each other and had no issues, which is sooo much nicer to work with. I'm extremely happy to wait an extra half a second for a product that doesn't stick to itself, so I don't have to constantly worry about my fingers touching each other while I'm doing my nail art, or take forever doing them one-by-one.

3) Do your nail art thang!

Do that nail art thang you do so well

4) Peel the latex back from around the nail, and voila!

Peel off the latex!

This is so easy to pull off, I'm literally pulling it off with the same hand I'm using to take the picture. No joke.

You can see I have a little residual polish left, but that's so minor compared to what you're normally left with, especially when you do splatter manis or watermarbles. This solution is paradise; so much better than wrapping your nails in tape or having to use a ton of acetone to clean up. And Ellagee's version goes for $4.50 a bottle, which is only about a quarter of what you'd pay for a smaller bottle elsewhere. My summary: reasonable price, doesn't stick to itself, works beautifully, and I don't have to decant it? Sold.

But hey! What if you're allergic to latex?! No worries, she also has a latex-free version you can find here. :)

Ellagee has always been a quality brand, so I'm not surprised that these polishes are outstanding in concept and quality, and I'm very happy to recommend them. Don't wait around before you go grab yours--one of the other sun-bleached neons in the collection is already sold out. And while you're there, check out her accessories section; she has fun bling for your bottles and your keychains, too.

You can find Ellagee's website by clicking here; you can also follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Happy polishing!
M.