Review - Ellagee Trio

Today I have some amazing Ellagee polishes to share with you! Creator of Ellagee, Laura, asked me to review some of her polishes and I was giddy with excitement. (The puppy who pees on the floor when excited....that was me lol)

She sent one polish from three of her collections, White Lace and Promises, Dolphins! What? and Bejeweled. Dolphins! What? is one of her newest collections and made a huge splash in the indie world. (pun intended) If you missed out on seeing some of these great memes check them out here, here, here.

Life Is De Bubbles is from the Dolphins! What? Collection. Pink, blue, purple and iridescent "bubbles" float inside this baby blue jelly base. Silver holographic dolphins make this a super special polish! This polish is quite sheer so the following pictures have 3 coats with topcoat.

The following picture has one coat of Essie Matte About You along with a solid blue accent nail.

A Kiss for Luck is from the White Lace and Promises Collection. This is a clear base with white and iridescent glitters of different sizes. This glitter topper was jam packed with glitter without being overbearing. The base wasn't thick or gloopy and gave the perfect amount of coverage with one coat. This is one coat, plus Essie Matte About You, over a maroon and black base. The colors coming off these flakies is absolutely gorgeous!

Ocean Jewels is from the Bejeweled Collection. This textured glitter is technically in a clear base (but you don't see it at all). It's completely filled with blue, turquoise, aqua, purple, violet and golden glitter pieces. There are holographic glitters mixed in to provide the perfect amount of sparkle! With 2 coats you get almost full coverage. I've decided to use this glitter on my tips for a glitter gradient over an aqua base coat. My ring finger has two medium coats of Ocean Jewels. Dry time was a bit long on this considering the amount of glitter but that's to be expected. The polish was quite thick but not difficult to apply.

These polishes give you an idea of the range provided by indie brand Ellagee. From special glitter polishes to holographic shimmers there's definitely something for everyone. I was extremely impressed by the quality of the polishes, the sweet little packaging and the label. Little things like a professional bottles/labels, etc. make it seem that much more special to me.

You can pick up polishes from many different collections on the Ellagee website for roughly $9.50 USD. All polish is vegan friendly, cruelty free and free of toluene, formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate and camphor.

Make sure to follow Ellagee on Facebook and Instagram to keep up with her most recent creations!

~Linda


*Products were provided for review. This review includes only my honest opinions.*

Rainbow Honey Magic Cake

Hello lacquer lovers!

If March is your birthday month, then Happy Birthday! Let's have some Birthday Cake...or maybe some Magic Cake!

This is one of Rainbow Honey's glitter toppers that was part of The Summer of 199X Collection (Part 2). It's designed to make you a feel like a wild child. It's filled with pink, blue, yellow and lime green neon glitter pieces that could be considered matte since it's not super shiny or reflective at all. There are also some little iridescent flakes mixed into the clear base to compliment the square and hexagon glitter.

This polish was my gateway into Spring. I'm ready...bring it on!

This is two coats of RH Magic Cake over NOPI Teal Me Something New and Essie Matte About You.

I had no problem getting the glitter out of the bottle and didn't notice excess base causing a long dry time (which is sometimes one of the things I hate most about glitters). The glitter laid nice and flat and didn't seem to bunch up on the nail. Overall, my kind of glitter :)

You can still pick up Magic Cake here and the full sized bottle runs you $10 USD.

Be sure to follow Rainbow Honey's social media sites to keep up with some of their new releases. Or even some old ones you might not have known about.

Twitter: @Rainbow_Honey
Facebook: Rainbow Honey
Instagram: Rainbowhoney

Thanks for stopping by!

~Linda

(Product was provided for review but all opinions are my own)

Black Sheep Lacquer Review

Hello lovelies, today I have two polishes from a new-to-me Indie maker: Black Sheep Lacquer. They are a Canadian Indie brand that is Leaping Bunny certified meaning they do not test on animals nor do any of their suppliers. Their polish is also big 3 free.

After browsing their glitter, thermal and duochrome varieties I spotted Hitman and just had to try it! Hitman is described as a very dark grey (almost black) linear holographic with small silver holographic glitter mixed in. Since these are handmade in batches there is no surprise to me when you get a bottle that looks different than the photos online. My bottle would not be described as grey, but truly black which was totally fine by me.

In the bottle, there is a strong linear holo. The following picture was taken with flash however it's almost this visible without it.

This is two coats of Hitman with topcoat. Pictures are taken indoors since the sunshine has still been lacking. While the linear holo is strong in the bottle, it appears more as a scattered holo on the nail. In the sunlight it's much more visible however indoor it reminds me a lot of Zoya Storm.

BSL also sent me Siren, a multi shaped glitter topper in a clear base. The glitter pieces include holographic hexagons in about 5 different sizes in teal, green, blue, pink, and magenta. There is also white and golden glitter pieces however there is much less mixed in. Overall, there is a green/blue look to the polish however the other colors add a nice pop.

This is one coat of Siren over Hitman with topcoat.

I also layered Siren over OPI Gargantuan Green Grape. This is 2 coats of Siren and topcoat.

You can pick up a variety of unisex polish at either their Etsy Shop or their BigCartel shop. Average price for a full sized 15ml polish is $10 USD and mini bottles are $5 USD.

I love that Black Sheep Lacquer markets themselves as a unisex polish maker. They don't have many feminine colored polishes and that appeals to me. It's kinda badass to see these intentionally made for use by men and women.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Linda

(Products were provided at discount for review but this post includes only my honest opinions.)

Rainbow Honey Sweet Talk Review

Rainbow Honey is re-releasing their Sweet Talk Collection this Friday, 1/31/14! If you missed out on the collection the first time around here's your chance to get in on the action. RH also has 2 new additions to the collection: Lovebug and My Girl.

I actually didn't order any of the Sweet Talk Collection and regretted it instantly...But...Rainbow Honey has sent me Sweet Talk and XOXO to review. *Jumps up and down*

Sweet Talk has a milky white base and is full of baby pink blossoms and purple glitter with iridescent and shimmery glitters. I found that the white base was actually slightly tinted pink which actually worked with the glitter pieces. This is 3 thin coats of Sweet Talk with topcoat.

XOXO has golden shimmer in a clear base along with gold, multi color pink and red glitter pieces. This is packed with perfect glitter pieces. There was no digging what-so-ever with this. I actually think this is the best glitter topper I've ever used. I'm not one for pink or gold really, but this is absolutely beautiful.

This is 2 thin coats of XOXO over various base colors: Gold, White, Coral and Raspberry Red. My ring finger has 2 coats of XOXO only.

You can pick up the Sweet Talk Collection this Friday 1/31 on their website and be sure to follow them on Facebook.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Linda

*Products were provided to me for my honest review. All opinions are my own*

Rainbow Honey Bubble Beam

Rainbow Honey can make some gorgeous toppers!! My all time favorite RH is The Worst Possible Thing and Bubble Beam is right behind it!

Bubble Beam has a bright blue jelly base with iridescent flakes, multichromatic flakies, glitter and shimmer shining brightly from within.

I added a layer of Essie Matte About You to allow those individual flakes to get some special attention.

This is two thin coats of Bubble Beam over Sinful Colors Endless Blue plus one coat of Matte About You.

Did you get your hands on this Limited Edition polish? How does it rank in your collection of Rainbow Honey polishes?

~Linda

Sweet Heart Polish Glamorous

Hello Lovelies! I'm back with another Sweet Heart Polish review. Today is my favorite polish that the lovely Cassandra has shared with me. Glamorous is a mix of gold glitter, iridescent glitter, purple stars and squares & large holographic pink dots in a clear suspension base.

I loved everything about this glitter! The gold is beautiful, the pink holographic dots are large enough to pack a punch, the bits of multi colors holo glitter allow for a little bit of something all over the nail, but the purple stars are my favorite. The glitter lays pretty flat once you've added some topcoat and it definitely helps to bring out the shine.

This is two coats of Julep Shenae with one coat of Glamorous and topcoat.

I had no problems at all getting the larger stars or pink dots to come out of the bottle. The consistency was perfect....not clumpy or thick and not too much suspension base. Pretty much a flawless application!

Final words....You Have To Own This!

Stop by Sweet Heart Polish Etsy Shop where you can get a full sized 13.5 ml bottle for $7. Also make sure to check out her Facebook page to get the heads up on any new releases and upcoming lines.

Sweet Heart Polish is always custom handmade 5-Free Vegan and Cruelty Free polish.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Linda

This product was provided for my honest review and all opinions are my own. This post contains links to third party sites which should be considered before clicking.  

Sweet Heart Polish Review

I'm Sorry I'm Sorry I'm Sorry! I've abandoned you...and I feel terrible. I won't bore you with a hundred different excuses, so why don't I just show you something pretty and shiny and lovely. Huh? Huh? Huh?

The lovely lady behind Sweet Heart Polish has graciously provided some of the polishes from her first release for me to review. She has quite a variety that range from thick shaped glitter to jellies and frosts. All of Sweet Heart Polish is handmade 5-Free Vegan and cruelty free! For those of you who are not sure what 5-Free means, it's free from Formaldehyde, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) and Toluene as well as Formaldehyde Resin and Camphor.

She has opened up her Etsy shop and is now offering all of her first releases along with a new Limited Edition glitter inspired by her great grandma. ☺ Full sized 13.5 ml bottles retail for $7 on her Etsy shop which is a super good price compared to a lot of indie makers.

So today I have four of five polishes that she has shared with me..lets get to the good stuff.

First up is Pretty Precious which is shimmery pink polish that starts off very sheer but is buildable and with 3 coats is a gorgeous frost like pink. Use 4 coats for a deeper more vibrant pink and absolutely no visible nail line. The consistency of Pretty Precious was Pretty Great! Not thick at all and had a good dry time.

This is showing off how Pretty Precious looks building up the coats. Index finger to pinky is 1,2,3,4 coats.

Next up is Mmm Juicy which is a mix of tiny matte white and green glitter, matte green squares & large black hexes in a pink jelly base. Mmm Juicy was inspired by Cassandra's favorite summer fruit....the watermelon. I think she nailed it!  This is really close to a 1 coat glitter topper giving just the right amount of glitter and a great mix of the different glitter pieces.

This is 2 coats of Pretty Precious, 1.5 coats of Mmm Juicy and topcoat. What is 1.5 coats you ask? It's basically one coat, and then a quick dab of the brush to add a few extra pretties which came out of the bottle very easily. I'm not a super glitter lover...but I really liked the proportions to this mix.

Ultimate Fan is a mix of holographic silver glitter, hearts, diamonds, squares & stars in a black jelly base. This polish was a bit difficult for me to get the holographic glitter pieces out of the bottle but I will say that I think it had a lot to do with the fact that it was a mini bottle. A combo of the baby brush and less room in the bottle caused some difficulty, but I think the larger full size bottle would work okay. The black jelly base was a pretty good consistency and built up to nearly opaque in 3 coats. The glitter pieces were definitely very pretty and thew off a rainbow of colors.

This shows the builability of Ultimate Fan with 1 coat, 2 coats, 1 over Essence Back to Black and 3 coats on my pinky.

1 coat over Essence Back to Black , 2 coats, 1 coat

Last but certainly not least is a glitter bomb. A-Mazing is a mix of yellow shredded glitter, matte green moons and squares, white rectangles, & black stars in a clear suspension base. This is actually part of her Sports Team collection, which she will be adding more to in the upcoming months. She even takes requests for team inspired looks...what's your team?

I used A-Mazing a glitter topper but I think her initial idea was to have a full coverage glitter. Looks good either way...but I'm a bit more reserved when it come to glitter and even more so when it comes to yellow. I'm too light...but I think that A-Mazing actually looked stunning nice over a white base. 

This is 1 coat of A-Mazing over 2 coats of Zoya Purity. 

I've saved the best for last so make sure to come back and check out my favorite Sweet Heart Polish....Glamorous! Oooooorrrr....If you can barely stand it stop by her Etsy shop for a sneak peak.

Make a trip over the Sweet Heart Polish on Etsy or check out her Facebook page to see what she's cooking up next!

~ Linda 

These products were provided for my honest review and all opinions are my own. This post contains links to third party sites which should be considered before clicking.  

Essie & Aly Unite

Happy Weekend!

It's been a rainy 2 weeks with no sunshine, or I would have shown you some of my new Aly's Dream Polish Holographics that Jennifer requested. Sooo...I decided to do something else and use one of them for stamping. Not quite the same thing but...it worked out nicely. 

I started with two coats of Essie In The Cab-ana from the Spring 2013 Resort Collection: a beautiful turquoise-ish blue that sometimes leans more sky blue. On my index finger I used a few coats of holographic top coat that I made using a Spectraflair liquid mix, then added a coat of Rainbow Honey The Worst Possible Thing. On my other fingers I used a Spring inspired stamp, Aly's Dream Polish  #58 Intense Blurple and some purple striping tape. 

I used the striping tape along my fingers so that each nail was slightly more angled with more coverage of stamping towards my pinkie. This made a nice visual for me while I was photographing my hands, but still looks nice from a day to day perspective.

What do you think of using a holo topcoat, glitter, stamping and striping tape all in one mani? Was it a bit all over the place for you or do you like the way it looked? 

Thanks for stopping by ladies! 

~Linda

Ocean Blues

Hi Lovelies!

Today I have a Julep mani to show off. I recently purchased a Julep set of 5 blue polishes that I don't already have in my collection, and when I got them I swatched them instantly! I loved Annie from their Trina Turk collection and I really loved Portia which is a sheer tropical blue color with opalascent glitter. So I used both in todays mani.

This is two coats of Annie on all nails. I added Portia to my ring finger for an accent nail and then added bubbles of Portia on the inside half of my thumbs. I followed up with a thick layer of seche vite.

Since portia is not a creme it started to spread as the bead of polish started to dry, so the dots are not as clear and distinct as I would have liked, but it still looks pretty good. The lighting was not doing me any favors, so the pictures are kinda crappy. Sorry guys.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Linda

Chrono Cross Samplings

Today I have two polishes from Rainbow Honey's 2012 Chrono Cross Collection. These are Snake Eyes and Siren Song in their adorable little packaging.

Snake Eyes is described as "a sheer but shimmery sea foam green makes up the base of this polish; sprinkled throughout are loads of sea foam glitter accented by hints of purple, magenta, gold, and some searing dark eyes".

Siren Song is described as "Inspired by Marbule’s loveliest mermaid, this polish consists of a shimmering aqua color loaded with glitter, tinsel, and holographic sparkle to boot!"

Snake Eyes and Siren Song

To be honest my first impression of these polishes was not the greatest. I swatched them on a nail wheel and sighed. I didn't even really want to swatch them but pulled out a few base colors to play around and see what would look the best under these. They are both very sheer but Snake Eyes especially.

This is two coats of Julep Harley a silver metallic/chrome and two thin coats of Snake Eyes. The sheer green color in the base of this polish was hidden a bit over the silver, but shows over black and other colors. The glitter spreads nicely and I do like the different size glitter pieces as well as the glitter color combo.

This is two coats of Pop Beauty Mint Magic and two coats of Siren Song. This polish is packed with glitter but the tinsel and larger hexagon pieces of glitter do not apply as evenly as Snake Eyes. I had to apply this in patches and the glitter dries a bit bumpier than I like, but it grew on my the longer I wore it.

Outside Shade

Outside Shade

Indoor Artificial Light

These were the only two that I bought from this collection and although they grew on me they were not what I was expecting. I think I was expecting a smoother application and a deeper color to the base. Obviously polish can look different in the bottle compared to on the nail, but if there were more swatches online I might not have bought these.

Rainbow Honey was born out of a love for color and a penchant for creativity. All of their custom-designed products are always free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, and Dibutyl Phthalate (the “big 3”). They never test their products on animals and are hand-crafted and hand-packaged in the USA. 

They offer mini sized bottles (7ml) for $5 and full sized bottles (15ml) for $10 which is an awesome option. You can check out all their collections on their website.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Linda