Sunday, July 17, 2016

Review: Spellbound Nails Harry Potter 3 Collection: Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban

(Press samples and affiliate links ahead!)

Hello!

So, my hard drive died and had to be replaced and I'm struggling to get my files replaced, because some of what I thought was backed up in the cloud wasn't--and yet, I'm still in a good mood. Why? Because I get to show you Spellbound Nails Harry Potter 3 (The Prisoner of Azkaban) collection, and I love love love love it! Anybody who tells you nail polish can't pull you out of your bad mood has never experienced the joy of a perfectly formulated glitter holo...and yes, there's one of those in this collection.


Spellbound Nails Harry Potter 3 collection
Spellbound Nails Harry Potter 3 collection



The inspiration for this collection is the third Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban. If you haven't read it--seriously??--and you're an Amazon Prime member, you can read it for free right now on Kindle Unlimited (all of the series may be available--run!).

While Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire is my favorite of the series, Azkaban runs a close second. Things are starting to rev up for Harry and get a little darker, and the wizarding world gets a little more complex.

Of course, the best way to enjoy the book is flipping the pages (hard copy or virtual) with your perfectly painted nails, so let's take a look at the collection.



Spellbound Nails Harry Potter 3 collection
Spellbound Nails Harry Potter 3 collection


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Spellbound Nails Crookshanks
Spellbound Nails Crookshanks


First up is Spellbound Nails Crookshanks, a squishy yummy tangerine-orange jelly with orange flakies:


Spellbound Nails Crookshanks
Spellbound Nails Crookshanks

Spellbound Nails Crookshanks
Spellbound Nails Crookshanks

Spellbound Nails Crookshanks
Spellbound Nails Crookshanks

Spellbound Nails Crookshanks
Spellbound Nails Crookshanks


This is three easy coat with excellent formula. This one is meant to be a building jelly--perfect for pond manicures or stamping sammiches or any other nail art that requires layers. You can even use this to leadlight.


This polish just makes me happy--I love that Ashley made a polish for Crookshanks, and I think she captured the spirit perfectly with this--the flakies give the polish that striped-cat feel you get from orange tabbys, and it's just plain fun. The orange is bright, but the tangerine edge to it makes it a little more adult than a lot of summer oranges, and lets you ease your way on into fall.



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Spellbound Nails Runaway Rat
Spellbound Nails Runaway Rat


Next we have Spellbound Nails Runaway Rat, a greige crelly with orange and copper glitters:




Spellbound Nails Runaway Rat
Spellbound Nails Runaway Rat

Spellbound Nails Runaway Rat
Spellbound Nails Runaway Rat

Spellbound Nails Runaway Rat
Spellbound Nails Runaway Rat

Spellbound Nails Runaway Rat
Spellbound Nails Runaway Rat


Let's face it, Wormtail isn't going to be just any old rat, missing toe or no. The orange glitters here give this a subtle splash of color, so you can wear a neutral that has a bit of flavor to it, too. This is two easy coats with perfect formula, just loads of gorgeousness.


Spellbound Nails Stormy Snitch
Spellbound Nails Stormy Snitch
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And then there's one of my favorites of the collection: Spellbound Nails Stormy Snitch, a gray polish with teeny gold glitter and lots of gold dots:




Spellbound Nails Stormy Snitch
Spellbound Nails Stormy Snitch

Spellbound Nails Stormy Snitch
Spellbound Nails Stormy Snitch

Spellbound Nails Stormy Snitch
Spellbound Nails Stormy Snitch

Spellbound Nails Stormy Snitch
Spellbound Nails Stormy Snitch


This is two easy coats of excellent formula. I had a little pulling on the first coat, but that evened out with the second no problem.


This polish feels like golden stars are dropping from the heavens. Yes, thank you, I do want to go out in the storm and catch one of those lovely golden snitches--but since I haven't yet mastered flying on a broom yet, I'll settle for wearing this polish and feeling like I have a little piece of golden goodness on my nails. Sure, this polish is technically a neutral, but the gold glitters make it so pretty and luxurious it feels decadent in its own right. Adore.



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Spellbound Nails The Knight Bus
Spellbound Nails The Knight Bus



Up next is Spellbound Nails The Knight Bus, a buildable grape-purple jelly with little holographic lavender glitters:




Spellbound Nails The Knight Bus
Spellbound Nails The Knight Bus

Spellbound Nails The Knight Bus
Spellbound Nails The Knight Bus

Spellbound Nails The Knight Bus
Spellbound Nails The Knight Bus

Spellbound Nails The Knight Bus
Spellbound Nails The Knight Bus


This is another beauty perfect for layering--this is three coats of excellent formula and easy application. What I love best about jelly glitters like this is how the layers of glitter give so much dimension--it's just not a look you can get from a one-coater or even a two coater polish. So if these sorts of effects are your thing, and you love to do layered nail art, you're gonna love this one--such a bright, energizing shade of purple, and the spray of glitters adds light and shine to your look.


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Spellbound Nails Dementor
Spellbound Nails Dementor


Next up is my absolute favorite of the collection--how could it not be--Spellbound Nails Dementor, a black holographic polish with navy holographic glitters:




Spellbound Nails Dementor
Spellbound Nails Dementor

Spellbound Nails Dementor
Spellbound Nails Dementor

Spellbound Nails Dementor
Spellbound Nails Dementor

Spellbound Nails Dementor
Spellbound Nails Dementor

Spellbound Nails Dementor
Spellbound Nails Dementor


Trying to capture all of the awesome in this polish in one picture is just too impossible, so I made a quick video:



This polish is just...just...just...it's everything. I don't normally go crazy over black holographics, they're pretty and all, of course, but the blue glitters in this adds an extra layer of special--they peep out at you here and there, sort of like eyes watching you. The holo is strongly linear especially in the light, but also has a scattered quality to it as well, like a combination of an evening-sky effect and a purely linear holographic. I swatched it last partly because I didn't want to have to take it off right away, and I'm wearing it and drooling over it as we speak.

This is two easy-peasy coats, no fuss, no muss, excellent formula and application. Just beautiful in every possible way. Looking at this give me the courage to face my most-likely-gone-forever files, lol. :)


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Spellbound Nails Marauder's Map
Spellbound Nails Marauder's Map


Next we have Spellbound Nails Marauder's Map, a tan crelly with black glitters:



Spellbound Nails Marauder's Map
Spellbound Nails Marauder's Map


Spellbound Nails Marauder's Map
Spellbound Nails Marauder's Map

Spellbound Nails Marauder's Map
Spellbound Nails Marauder's Map

Spellbound Nails Marauder's Map
Spellbound Nails Marauder's Map


This is two easy coats, excellent formula and application. This polish says so many things for me--it cries out for coffee-themed nail art because it reminds me of coffee ice cream with espresso bean bits in it, or coffee with coffee grounds in it (I take my caffeine in whatever form it comes). It also reminds me of chocolate-chip cookies, and of course, it puts me in mind of an ink-splattered piece of parchment, just like the Marauder's map. So, for a coffee-loving, chocoholic writer, this polish is just about everything. Love, love, love, love love.


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And to cap off the collection, we have Spellbound Nails Patronus, a shimmering sheer with micro-flakies and a subtle shift:


Spellbound Nails Patronus
Spellbound Nails Patronus

Spellbound Nails Patronus
Spellbound Nails Patronus

Spellbound Nails Patronus
Spellbound Nails Patronus


This is three coats of shimmery delight, perfect application and formula. This polish isn't meant to give you full coverage, it's means to be light and gentle, like the patronuses (patroni?) it's named after. This is a perfect polish for any time you're in a soft, feminine mood--it's magical fairies and princesses, but in an understated way. It's also an amazing bridal polish--if I were getting married, this is the polish I'd wear. I might put a simple stamp of wedding rings under one of the coats for an accent nail, but that's it. Simple. Pure. Gorgeous.

As with most polishes like this, you can also use it as a topper--the pigments have interference qualities that make them do cool things over darker colors. Here's one coat of Patronus over Spellbound Nails Black Eye, a black-as-night polish--notice the blue effect, that shifts into purple in many lights:


Spellbound Nails Patronus
Spellbound Nails Patronus


Oh, and by the way? Patronus glows in the dark. Which makes it even more perfect as a bridal polish in my opinion, because I can think of a few ways glow-in-the-dark nails might be fun on your wedding night...


Spellbound Nails Patronus
Spellbound Nails Patronus


So what do I think of the collection as a whole? I'm really impressed with the quality of the polishes, they apply like a breeze and are gorgeous. They're so versatile in terms of potential for nail art, which is always a big plus for me. I also love that while these are colors you can wear with your summer wardrobe, this collection will ease you into fall--the neutrals are perfect for any time of the year but nestle right in to fall wardrobes, and the orange, purple, and black--well, let's just say you can expect to see them again on the blog come time for Halloween nail art.


And, when I see a collection named after something, it's important to me that the collection evokes the memories and emotions I associate with the inspiration. This collection does that for me--I squeeed when I saw Dementor, but squeeed even louder when I saw the name of it, and how perfect the polish called the dementors up for me. My breath caught when I saw Patronus--it truly captures the their quiet grace. Same with all of the other polishes in the collection--and that to me is what takes nail polish out of the realm of 'just polish' and into the realm of art.


The Harry Potter 3 collection will release on July 31st in Spellbound Nails' shop; and don't forget to follow her on Instagram and Facebook for information on sales and upcoming collections!


Happy polishing,
M.

27 comments:

  1. The colors are looking really nice.

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  2. Gorgeous swatches! For me, the mark of success for a collection inspired by such a universally familiar source is this: can you tell what the inspiration for the polish is before you see the name? This one hit it out of the park in that respect - four of the seven were instantly recognizable! And the others had me nodding and smiling as I read the names. Can't wait for the launch!

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    1. Great criterion! I agree, she really did a great job with these. :)

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  3. Hahaha, awwwww the squishy Crookshanks <3

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    1. Right?! So adorable. I should have some nail art with that one up either here or on IG soon...I couldn't keep my paws off it if, hehehe

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  4. My fave books in the series are 3-5. I couldn't pick a favorite between the three. My favorites of the polishes are Dementirely and Patronus. All of them match the inspiration really well. But those two are so cool. A glow in the dark shimmer is way unique. :-) excellent job with this post. <3

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    1. Thank you! I'm with you on 3 and 4, but I have personal baggage that makes it very difficult for me to read what Dolores Umbridge does...:(

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  5. These are all gorgeous! Stormy Snitch is my fav

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  6. Im not a HP fan (terrible I know!) but these are all so pretty!!

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    Replies
    1. GASP! Just kidding. You love polish, which means you're cool no matter what. :)

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  7. These look so nice! I especially love Runaway Rat and Dementor!

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  8. I'm sorry to disappoint you, I'm not a Harry fan (nor have I read the books), but can appreciate a great polish! - I really really like Stormy Snitch.

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    1. Oh, and so sorry to hear about your techy issues! Hope you manage to save at least some of your work!

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    2. Not a Harry Potter fan?! WHO ARE YOU?! (kidding). And thanks--I got most of it back so I'm super stoked!! :)

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  9. These are so perfect! I love Runaway Rat!!

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  10. I need Runaway Rat and Dementor!! These are gorgeous. My 6 year old wanted to watch the series again so we started them on Friday and finished up today. Thank goodness for stormy days! These are gorgeous!

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  11. Flawless swatches, so in love with this collection.

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  12. I was lucky enough to get to swatch these as well
    And I freaking love them!!!! Who doesn't love some amazing hp themed pretties?!

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    1. Right!!!???!!! This is such an awesome collection, I've been doing art with them like crazy!!

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  13. I've so got to show these to my daughter, she a massive Harry Potter fan. Fab swatches x

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    1. I predict Crookshanks and Dementor will be her favs! :)

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