Lacquer or Leave Her!: review

Showing posts with label review. Show all posts

Monday, November 19, 2018

Black Friday Special: Stella Chroma Nutcracker Trio

(Press samples ahead!)

Hello!

So, on Black Friday, Stella Chroma is releasing three awesome polish sets--I already showed you one, the Limited Edition Holiday Duo, here. Today we're going to look at The Nutcracker Trio, inspired by The Nutcracker ballet, and if you love flakies, OMG are you gonna want to mark your calendar for this.

First up, let's take a look at Stella Chroma Sugarplum Fairy, a delicate, pale lavender crelly with red/green/purple iridescent flakies and green/yellow shimmer:

Stella Chroma Sugarplum Fairy

Coverage: 2-3 coats; I'm wearing three in these pictures
Formula: Excellent; no problems with application.
Other: Excellent dry time and removal.

This is what a blizzard looks like in some magical fairytale world where princesses ride unicorns and gemstones pave the streets. So beautiful.

Next up is Stella Chroma Herr Drosselmeier, a pale grey crelly packed with red-orange-yello iridescent flakies and red-gold shimmer:

Stella Chroma Herr Drosselmeier

Coverage: 2-3 coats; I'm wearing three in these pictures.
Formula: Excellent; no problems with application.
Other: Excellent dry time and removal.

You guys! This is like a white fire opal for your nails. I have a small fire opal pendant that I LOVE and I can't wait to wear it with this polish on my nails. This glows from the inside like CRAZY.

And finally, we have Stella Chroma Mother Ginger, a bright blue jelly polish with red/orange/blue iridescent flakies and green/yellow shimmer:

Stella Chroma Mother Ginger

Coverage: 2-3 coats; I'm wearing three in these pictures.
Formula: Excellent; no problems with application.
Other: Excellent dry time and removal. I wondered if this might stain, but I had no problems there, either.

So, that magical place I mentioned up above, where princesses ride unicorns? This is what their lakes look like. Deep and shimmery and filled with magical flakes.

So, what do I think about this trio? I was lucky enough to go on a school trip to see a special matinee production of The Nutcracker when I was eight, and I've loved it ever since--it's an important part of my holiday traditions, even though I usually have to watch it on DVD rather than see a live production. There's something so magical about the intersection of Christmas and ballet that makes lots of little girls' (and boys'!) hearts flutter, and I think the combination of flakies and other assorted nail magic in these capture the feel beautifully.

Stella Chroma Nutcracker Trio

This trio will be available in Stella Chroma's store on Black Friday at noon EST; you can purchase each separately for $12 or the set for $33, through December 7th. And, from Black Friday--Cyber Monday, she's offering free domestic shipping with any purchase of $25 or more--no code required. She'll also give a free upgrade to domestic priority shipping from Dec. 14-19, since the 19th is the last day to ship in time for Christmas.

And a portion of the proceeds of all the polishes that Stella Chroma sells during the last quarter of 2018 will be donated to GirlStart, a non-profit based in Austin, Texas that helps young girls develop interests in STEM.

And in the meantime, you can find Stella Chroma all over the interwebs:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/STELLACHROMA/

Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/stellachromatics/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stellachroma/

Big hugs,
M. xoxo

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Friday, November 16, 2018

Stella Chroma LE Holiday Duo!

(Press samples and affiliate links ahead!)

Hello!

There's a nip in the air and turkey's on sale everywhere, which can mean only one thing--it's almost time for Black Friday sales!!

Stella Chroma has several holiday sets that are going to be released on Black Friday, and of course there will be a sale involved...

So today I'm gonna show you the first of three sets that will be going on sale on Black Friday--here's the Stella Chroma Limited Edition Holiday Duo:

First we have Stella Chroma Rosé til Champagne, is a luxurious rose gold metallic foil with silver flakes:

Stella Chroma Rosé til Champagne

Coverage: two coats
Formula: Excellent. Great application, fast dry time.

This is a polish that can function as a neutral (blush is so on-trend for a neutral still), but still have plenty of holiday cheer to it--those silver flakes are ev-er-y-thing. This is bling, while still maintaining pure sophistication.

The second polish in the duo is Stella Chroma Merlot Ho Ho, a deep burgundy scattered holo:

Stella Chroma Merlot Ho Ho

Coverage: two coats
Formula: Excellent--applies like butter. Great application, fast dry time. No staining!

Okay, you guys know me well enough to know I'd crawl though insect infested caves to get at this polish. This is such a perfect holiday polish--this is mulled wine and cranberry sauce (the good kind your grandmother cooked down for a couple of hours to make all those flavors lush) and diamond necklaces in gorgeous wrapping paper. Just YES.

Since this is a holiday duo, I thought I'd try out a little holiday nail art with it...I think every girl deserves to have rose gold jingle bells:

Stella Chroma Rosé til Champagne stamped with UberChic Beauty Happy Christmas

And I thought a little filigree would be beautiful over that gorgeous holo:

Stella Chroma Merlot Ho Ho stamped with UberChic Beauty Happy Christmas

Both of these images are on UberChic Beauty's Happy Christmas plate; the first with Kaleidoscope Black, the second with Moyra Gold.

Stella Chroma Rosé til Champagne

Stella Chroma Merlot Ho Ho

This duo will be available in Stella Chroma's store on Black Friday at noon EST; you can purchase each separately for $13 or the set for $24. And, from Black Friday--Cyber Monday, she's offering free domestic shipping with any purchase of $25 or more--no code required. She'll also give a free upgrade to domestic priority shipping from Dec. 14-19, since the 19th is the last day to ship in time for Christmas.

And a portion of the proceeds of all the polishes that Stella Chroma sells during the last quarter of 2018 will be donated to GirlStart, a non-profit based in Austin, Texas that helps young girls develop interests in STEM.

And in the meantime, you can find Stella Chroma all over the interwebs:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/STELLACHROMA/

Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/stellachromatics/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stellachroma/

Big hugs,
M. xoxo

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Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Girly Bits Cosmetics Fall 2018 Cremes: Do They Stamp?

(Press samples and affiliate links ahead!)

Hello!

Girly Bits does a lot of things well--gorgeous polishes, amazing shop, great stamping polish, and even a great stamping plate. But what I love best about what they do are their multi-purpose cremes, that are great to wear, and great for stamping as well--because they make my nail art choices super easy. :)

So let's take a look at Pam's newest Fall 2018 cremes! I did a video reviewing the polishes, which shows the formula and how well they pick up and stamp (my lighting made them a little camera shy over black, however, so check the swatches below for an accurate look at how well they show up over black):

First up, Girly Bits Boys 'n' Berries, a deep berry creme:

Girly Bits Boys 'n' Berries

Coverage: This is a one coater!
Formula: Excellent--no problems.
Stamping: Gorgeous and rich over white, does show up over black, but it was a little camera shy. I managed to get a macro that shows how it looks over black, since in the full shot it doesn't show up as much as in real life.

Next up, Girly Bits Eggplant One On Me, an aubergine creme:

Girly Bits Eggplant One On Me

Coverage: This is a one coater!
Formula: Excellent--no problems.
Stamping: Gorgeous and rich over white, and still shows over dark! I was impressed, since the color itself is so dark. I didn't expect it to show up at all, but boosh! The effect is more subtle than some of the others, but it's definitely visible.

Then we have Girly Bits Forget Me? Not!, a cornflower blue creme:

Girly Bits Forget Me? Not!

Coverage: This is a one coater!
Formula: Excellent--no problems.
Stamping: Stamping perfection over both black and white.

Then there's Girly Bits Just The Flax, Ma'am a light taupe creme:

Girly Bits Just The Flax, Ma'am

Coverage: I'm wearing two coats.
Formula: Excellent--no problems.
Stamping: This reads off-white over black, and I was impressed that it showed up over white--it's a subtle effect because it's so similar to white, but still definitely visible.

Next up is Girly Bits Petal To The Metal, a bright raspberry creme:

Girly Bits Petal To The Metal

Coverage: One coater!
Formula: Excellent--no problems.
Stamping: Beautiful over white, this one was hard to see over black.

Next we have Girly Bits Purple Heyyyys, a blue-leaning purple creme:

Girly Bits Purple Heyyyys

Coverage: This is a one coater!
Formula: Excellent--no problems.
Stamping: Stamping perfection over both black and white.

Then we have Girly Bits Rust In The Wind, a rust-red creme:

Girly Bits Rust In The Wind

Coverage: This is a one coater!
Formula: Excellent--no problems.
Stamping: Gorgeous over white, visible but hard to read over black.
Additional issues: This didn't stain my nails, but I did find that it bled UP. What do I mean by that? When I stamped white over this, it turned the white stamping yellow (you can see a tinge of this in my stamping above. So, if you're going to stamp white over this polish, but a coat of topcoat over the polish before you stamp. :)

Then there's Girly Bits Saffron, Saffroff, a sunflower yellow creme:

Girly Bits Saffron, Saffroff

Coverage: This is a one coater!
Formula: Excellent--no problems.
Stamping: Stamping perfection over both black and white.

Finally, we have Girly Bits You Can't Handle The Spruce, a deep evergreen creme:

Girly Bits You Can't Handle The Spruce

Coverage: This is a one coater!
Formula: Excellent--no problems.
Stamping: Perfection over white, and visible over black--which surprised me. A more subtle effect than some of the others, but still definitely there--impressive for such a dark color!

So there you have it--gorgeous cremes in their own right, in colors I think are great for fall and for the holiday season, and impressive stamping capabilities. I adore how easy polishes like this make it to match your stamping to the base colors you use in your manicure.

This collection is on sale now in the Girly Bits store, and you can follow them around the interwebs here:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GirlyBits/?fref=ts

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/girlybitscosmetics/

Facebook Fan Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/GirlyBitsLovers/

Big hugs,
M. xoxo

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