Lacquer or Leave Her!

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Review: Winstonia Winter Wonderland plate (with sample manicures!)

(Press samples and affiliate links ahead!)

Hello!

I warned you this week was gonna be a blitzkrieg of polish, plates, and inspiration--and next on the agenda is my final Winstonia holiday plate of the year, their Winter Wonderland plate!

Here's the video I made for this plate and the other holiday 2016 plates I reviewed:

Let's take a closer look at the plate:

Winstonia Winter Wonderland stamping plate

I adore the little village on this--I have a little Christmas village I used to put up at Christmas time before I became mama to the most destructive cats on the planet. But with this plate at least I can have a pretty substitute on my nails. And I love the patterns for the 'sweater' manicures--very pretty and mix-n-matchable. :)

How about size? The images vary, so here's a comparative look next to a ruler:

And how do they stamp?

Absolutely top-notch quality from thin lines to thick. :)

For my first sample mani, I wanted to do a Whoville-type town with whimsical building and bright colors. I started with a base of Spellbound Nails Let It Snow, and stamped snowflakes with Messy Mansion Chalk. I made decals with Messy Mansion Chalk, Banana Bender, Spring Green, and Red-y Or Not, and positioned them at angles to give them a little extra whimsy:

Winstonia Winter Wonderland over Spellbound Nails Let It Snow

I love the fun and happy feel of this, very wintery, pretty, and cute. :)

For my second mani, I wanted to go a different route; I started with a base of Spellbound Nails Holly Jolly, then stamped my sweater images in Messy Mansion Soft Gold. I wanted to keep the matte look of the base polish, so I didn't use topcoat:

Winstonia Winter Wonderland over Spellbound Nails Holly Jolly

I love how well the big flowers and the little flowers in the different images go together! This makes me want to curl up in a ski lodge with a cup of cocoa--except I don't ski, but I personally don't think that you should have to ski in order to be able to enjoy cocoa in the lodge. ;-)

You can find this and a ton of other adorable plates in Winstonia's shop, and you can get 10% off your order when you use my code, MICH10. And don't forget to follow them on Facebook and Instagram for news and inspiration!

Happy stamping,
M.

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Review: Lina Nail Art Supplies Can't Wait For Xmas! Plate (with sample manis!)

(Press samples and affiliate links ahead!)

Hello!

Today I have a new brand of stamping plates to show you--well, new-ish, and new to me. This is the first of several Lina Nail Art Supplies stamping plates I have to share with you--their Can't Wait For Xmas! plate.

Here's the video review I did:

And let's take a closer look at the plate. I love that the plates come in little envelopes; I've been storing my plates vertically in a box lately, so this is really nice to keep them protected:

Lina Nail Art Supplies stamping plates in their covers

Here's the plate we're going to look at today, Lina Nail Art Supplies Can't Wait For Xmas!:

Lina Nail Art Supplies Can't Wait For Xmas!

The full-nail images are 1.7 cm x 2.2 cm:

And they pick up and transfer beautifully, even the fine lines with the clear stamper (although always use a gentle scrape for best effect):

I've already shown you one manicure using this plate, over Sassy Pants Polish Long Winter Nap, stamped with Messy Mansion Sterling:

Lina Nail Art Supplies Can't Wait For Xmas! plate over Sassy Pants Polish Long Winter Nap

For my second mani, I started with a skittle of polishes from the Zoya Enchanted Holiday 2016 collection (Zoya Elphie, Olivera, and Waverly). Then I stamped using Hit The Bottle Polishes My Suitor Wears Pewter (also available at www.beautometry.com; stay tuned for a review):

Lina Nail Art Supplies Can't Wait For Xmas! plate over Zoya Enchanted polishes

I wanted to show you something with non-traditional holiday colors because one of the things I love about this plate is there's just as much you can do for winter as for Christmas! What do you think? I think this is festive in a subtle way, and I love the winter jewel tones.

I'm impressed with the quality of these plates, and they have a ton of cute designs to choose from. You can find this and their other awesome plates in the Lina Nail Art Supplies store; here's the deets on all their sites:

Website: www.linanailartsupplies.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/linanailartsupplies/

Twitter: www.twitter.com/LinaNailArtSupp

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/linanailartsupp/

Instagram: www.instagram.com/linanailartsupplies/

Happy stamping!
M.

Review: Spellbound Nails Seasonal Lattes Collection

(Press samples ahead!)

Hello!

Today we're going to take a look at another fun indie collection--Spellbound Nails Seasonal Lattes Collection! I love the idea for this because I am deeply addicted to coffee in general and seasonal coffee drinks in particular, much to the distress of my wallet.

Spellbound Nails Seasonal Lattes Collection

The Spellbound Nails Seasonal Lattes Collection features five polishes of various types that carry you through the beauty of fall to the freshness of spring, with beautiful glitters that--wait for it--also have the appropriate scents for each drink!

Spellbound Nails Seasonal Lattes Collection

Let's start out with Spellbound Nails Eggnog Latte, a creamy beige crelly with brown flakies and bronze hex glitter:

Spellbound Nails Eggnog Latte

This is two coats with exceptional formula--this is what crellies should be, not so thick they pull and patch, but not so thin they pool in your cuticles at any touch to your nail. Love.

I allow myself one eggnog latte per year, and that's it--because eggnog is the sort of thing that I love so much I will consume it non-stop if I let myself, and I can't afford to buy a new wardrobe every holiday season. So, not only do I love the look of this polish--the glitters look like a mix of espresso particles and nutmeg to me--but I adore the scent. It's like having an eggnog latte without the calories, and there's just nothing wrong about that!

This base on this is a great neutral and I love a neutral that has a bit of something special to it.

In the spirit of the collection, I decided to decorate a few of the polishes with coffee-drink accent nails:

Spellbound Nails Eggnog Latte stamped with UberChic Beauty Coffee Addict and Messy Mansion Carbon

That image just captured how much I love love love both eggnog lattes and this polish. :)

Next up is Spellbound Nails Gingerbread Latte, a glitter bomb with red, brown and gold glitters in a variety of sizes and degree of holo awesomeness:

Spellbound Nails Gingerbread Latte

This is three coats with topcoat, perfect application and formula.

I loved the look of this in the bottle--reds, browns and golds, sign me up--but was surprised at how much I loved it on the nail. This is my surprise favorite of the collection--not only does it capture the fun of gingerbread, it also calls up fall leaves and autumn scenery. I could stare into it for hours.

This polish also looks great as a topper--here it is over Spellbound Nails Milky Way:

Spellbound Nails Gingerbread Latte over Milky Way

Next we have Spellbound Nails Matcha Latte, a holographic glitter bomb with lime and evergreen glitters in different sizes:

Spellbound Nails Matcha Latte

This is three coats with topcoat, excellent formula and application.

Okay, so, I've never had a matcha latte, but if this is any indication, I need to have one ASAP. I love green tea ice cream, so I'm not sure why I've never tried one. Before I opened the bottle, I thought to myself, how do you capture the smell of green tea?? But OMG, she totally did it. The scent is ah-mazing. And in terms of a polish, this is such a festive green, and will also be reappearing on the blog around St. Patrick's day, I'm pretty darn sure.

This also makes a fun topper; here it is over Barry M Silver Foil:

Spellbound Nails Matcha Latte over Barry M Silver Foil

I love how the holo glitter gives a flash of gold in there--so pretty over the silver. :)

Next we have Spellbound Nails Peppermint Mocha Latte, a barbie pink crelly with holographic red and bronze glitters:

Spellbound Nails Peppermint Mocha Latte

This is two coats with topcoat, excellent formula and application.

Peppermint Mochas are my very favorite drink during the Christmas season, and the scent on this one makes me deeply happy--because anyone can make something smell like peppermint, but this also smells like chocolate, too. This has a creamy, fun look that makes me think of strawberry ice cream, which was my favorite as a a child; because of that, I decided to stamp with a frappachino-type of drink cup, because now I want something cold and creamy:

Spellbound Nails Peppermint Mocha Latte stamped with UberChic Beauty Coffee Addict and Hit The Bottle Polishes Shadows Of Darkness

And, ironically, the last polish I have to show you represents the first seasonal drink to make an appearance every year, the pumpkin spice latte. Spellbound Nails Pumpkin Spice Latte is a tangerine jelly with gold micro-shreds and holographic orange and copper glitters:

Spellbound Nails Pumpkin Spice Latte

This is three coats with topcoat, with excellent application and formula.

I love the deeper orange to this--it makes me think of fairytale pumpkins and gorgeous leaves from my persimmon tree. The scent on this is warm and inviting, and this jelly is so squishy and perfect that I just want to stroke it, lol. The eponymous pumpkin spice latte deserves a gorgeous polish, and this is it.

Every once in a while I treat myself to a little whip cream on my pumpkin spice latte (normally I get my whip put on the side in a 'pupachino' for my puppy), so I chose an image with a pile of whipped cream:

Spellbound Nails Pumpkin Spice Latte stamped with UberChic Beauty and Messy Mansion Soft Gold

So what do I think of this collection overall? The quality of every one of these polishes is amazing--I didn't have a titch of an issue with any of them. I think the concept of a collection that celebrates seasonal drinks is a fun twist on the usual approaches to holiday collections. Each of these polishes is well thought-out to deliver the spirit of its namesake drink, but also a gorgeous look to wear on the nail. And the scents--they don't overpower, but they give a clear hint of the drink they represent, and I love having that low-calorie alternative to make me smile throughout the day.

This collection will go on sale in the Spellbound Nails store on the 21st of December. You can also keep up with Spellbound Nails on Facebook and on Instagram for news and information about releases and sales.

Happy polishing,
M.

Monday, December 19, 2016

Review: Sassy Pants Polish 'Twas The Night Before Christmas collection

(Press samples ahead!)

Hello!

I hope you had a great weekend--I spent mine swatching and manicure-making so I could make this last week before Christmas a parade of polishes, plates, and inspiration!

Sassy Pants Polish 'Twas The Night Before Christmas Collection

(Source)

I'm going to kick it off today with Sassy Pants Polish 'Twas The Night Before Christmas collection! This collection takes my breath away for so many reasons...the first how beautifully it captures the inspiration. I'm pretty sure just about every child who celebrates Christmas in some form grew up having 'Twas The Night Before Christmas read to them, and then eventually reading it themselves. I personally spent ages puzzling over the line 'the moon on the breast of the new fallen snow': how could snow have a breast?? And how was the moon on it??

(Source)

Someone gave me a fancy book of it when I was a child, decorated in a vintage Christmas turn-of-the-last-century sort of style that melded with the old-fashioned language of the poem to embody the magic of Christmas for me. Angie has captured that feel so perfectly in this collection--the colors are Christmassy but muted, vintage but cheery, cozy and warm. When I look at the bottles, I can see the right jolly old elf putting his finger up to his nose, and the twinkle in his eye.

Let's jump in with Sassy Pants Polish Jolly Old Elf, a building glitter filled with green metallic shards and a ton of holo glitz:

Sassy Pants Polish Jolly Old Elf

This is three coats with topcoat; application and formula were both excellent. You may be able to get away with two coats. The holo in this is strongly scattered, with a linear flash as well--I hate it when bloggers say 'this looks so much better in person!" but I have to say it--the light this polish throws and the depth to it is gorgeous. I love how it captures the Christmas green, but in a way that combines light, like someone went all out with tinsel and ornaments on their tree. I loved shards before it was cool, and I love this effect.

I personally like wearing polishes like this with undies, too, so I did a swatch over Zoya Saint to show you the power of even one coat of this polish:

Sassy Pants Polish Jolly Old Elf over Zoya Saint

I'm really into the combination of blues and greens right now, and I love how these colors work together. Notice the soft linear effect of the holo, even with one coat!

Next up is Sassy Pants Long Winter Nap, a light steely blue crelly with blue and silver hexes and microglitters, opal shards, and silver holographic glitter:

Sassy Pants Long Winter Nap

This is two coats with topcoat, excellent formula and application.

This polish feels like a stormy, snowy afternoon, the kind where you come back from running errands and warm up by the fire with a good book and a cup of cocoa. The silvery gray in it gives it versatility similar to a neutral, but with a subtle amount of special that makes it cozy and fun.

I couldn't resist throwing a granny-square quilt accent nail on it:

Sassy Pants Long Winter Nap + Lina Nail Art Supplies Can't Wait For Xmas plate + Messy Mansion Sterling

How cozy is that?!

Next we have Sassy Pants Polish Luster Of Midday, a golden jelly filled with gold glitter, flakies, and holo goodness:

Sassy Pants Polish Luster Of Midday

This is three coats with topcoat; formula and application were excellent. You can see I still have a teeny bit of visible nail line, so keep that in mind if that bothers you with jellies. This polish has an antiqued feel to the gold that makes it unique and more subtle than a typical gold, but the scattered holo here is vibrant and eye-catching.

I wanted to see how this worked as a topper, so I tried it over Barry M Gold Foil; it gave the foil a deeper, burnished effect, and a glow:

Sassy Pants Polish Luster Of Midday over Barry M Gold Foil

This is one coat, and every single one of those teeny glitters catches the light. This is glittery while still being sophisicated, and you can pump up that light with more coats--very versatile.

Next up is Sassy Pants Polish New Fallen Snow, an off-white crelly with an icy sprinkle of holo amid white and opal hexes, squares, and shards.

Sassy Pants Polish New Fallen Snow

This is two coats with topcoat. I had a little patchiness with the first coat, but that disappeared completely, and the formula on the polish was excellent.

This polish is exactly what the name promises--when I look at this, I see a pristine blanket of snow shimmering in the light, with flakes floating down and softly adding to the top. This is the perfect polish to capture the feel of a white Christmas, and to represent snow in any of your nail art manicures. So soft and serene.

Next we have Sassy Pants Polish Nose Like A Cherry, a silvery polish packed with red metallic shards and holo glitters:

Sassy Pants Polish Nose Like A Cherry

This is two coats with topcoat, excellent formula and application. I wanted to show you two coats here versus three with Jolly Old Elf, since this is the red version of that polish, so you can see the difference in coverage. Two coats really does give you pretty darn good coverage.

When I look at this, I can practically taste peppermint, so yeah, what's about to happen was inevitable:

Sassy Pants Polish Nose Like A Cherry + UberChic Beauty Christmas 02 + Messy Mansion stamping polishes

How adorable is that?! So simple, but so festive, and so much impact. The colored shards and the play with light gives you a ton of bang for your buck. And, of course I wanted to know what this would look like over undies:

Sassy Pants Polish Nose Like A Cherry over Barry M Silver Foil

I didn't think it was possible, but that's even more festive--I love how those red shards pop, and the holo catches the light from every angle.

Next is Sassy Pants Polish Not Even A Mouse, a gray crelly with silver shard flakes, lavender micro-flakies, and lavender shimmer:

Sassy Pants Polish Not Even A Mouse

This is two coats with topcoat, excellent application and formula.

For me, This is the pinnacle of the beauty Angie has accomplished with this collection. The touches of white and lavender take this grey to a sophisticated place between just gray and flashy silver, with a sprinkle of holo light that adds a touch of unexpected complexity. If this is a mouse, it's the most beautiful mouse I've ever seen.

I had to play with the vintage feel of this, so I stamped an accent nail with Lina Nail Art Supplies 4 Seasons-Winter 01 and Hit The Bottle Polishes Champagne Shifter:

Sassy Pants Polish Not Even A Mouse + Lina Nail Art Supplies 4 Seasons-Winter 01 + Hit The Bottle Polish Champagne Shifter

Quick, simple, elegant.

Next is Sassy Pants Polish To All A Good Night, a royal blue crelly with navy holo hex and silver holo shards:

Sassy Pants Polish To All A Good Night

This is two coats, good formula and application; I had a little pull with the first coat, but nothing serious, and everything evened out nicely.

This crelly makes me want to coin a new term, maybe shimelly? This leans more to the jelly side, and has a ton of shimmer which brings light and depth the the polish. If Long Winter Nap is a snowy, stormy afternoon sky, To All A Good Night is a clear, snowy night sky. I can feel the chill on my cheeks and my nose when I look at this; it makes me think of peering out a window at evening snow flurries, or walking around the neighborhood looking at Christmas lights.

The chill inspired me to do a frosty accent nail with Lina Nail Art Supplies 4 Seasons-Winter 01 plates, and Girly Bits Silver Bells:

Sassy Pants Polish To All A Good Night + Lina Nail Art Supplies 4 Seasons-Winter 01 + Girly Bits Silver Bells

And for our coup de grace, we have Sassy Pants Polish Visions Of Sugar Plums, a gorgeous blend of purple, deep garnet red, and pink glitters, with a healthy dose of holo:

Sassy Pants Polish Visions Of Sugar Plums

This is two coats, great application and formula.

(Source)

I'm still not sure what a sugar plum is, but if it's anything like this, it's magical. I love all types of purple, but the smoky antique eggplant base of this is exquisite. The mix of shapes and sizes to this glitter keeps me staring down into it lovingly--while I'm getting blinded by the light that holo is throwing. This is tied for my favorite with Not Even A Mouse...fun, festive, but with just a touch of nostalgia. LOVE.

So what do I think of the collection as whole? If you're the sort of person who loves a vintage-style Christmas, or who just wants a break from bold red-green Christmas colors, this collection will soothe your soul. The quality is excellent, and the artistic vision has been realized beautifully.

This collection is on sale now at Sassy Pants Polish; each is available full size (15ml) for $12 each, or mini (7.5ml) for $8. You can buy the complete collection for $84, which is the equivalent of getting one of the polishes for free; you can get the mini-sized collection for $56m a $7 savings. Also, Sassy Pants Polish ships free in the US with orders of $50 or more, and in Canada with orders of $75 or more.

And don't forget to follow Sassy Pants Polish on Facebook and Instagram for news and sales!

Happy polishing,
M.