Polish Addict Nail Color: Beatles Thermals

My Beatles fan side is definitely happy today!  Polish Addict Nail Color first released these two shades last summer, and re-released them this May.  The second I saw their names on Instagram I knew I had to own Hey Jude and Strawberry Fields Forever - especially Strawberry Fields Forever!  (If you've been around for a while, you'll be familiar with my inherent need to own strawberry things and all things related to that song.)  But because funds are limited - and so is space in my Helmer! - I got mini bottles.  I've left my pinky out of shots because a) 3 fingers looks less crowded on a mini bottle than 4, and b) my pinky nail is still too short to shape and I think it looks weird next to my other long nails.

Hey Jude

First off, I have to say that I really like the glitter density of Hey Jude.  The amount of glitter in the first coat matches the amount that I see in the bottle!  Very nice.  And the glitters applied very nicely, as smoothly as if they weren't even there.  The yellow and green glitters are most noticeable in the photos, but there are some teeny tiny gold holo glitters that really make this polish special.

Two coats of Hey Jude was enough to be opaque.

Hey Jude is a thermal, but I barely noticed a difference even when I plunged my fingers into ice water.  My camera definitely wasn't able to pick up the transition.

Based on the transition photo in the shop, it looks like my bottle is stuck in the warm phase.  I've heard that heat can damage thermal polish, and it was hot when my order was in the mail, so maybe the heat killed it?  But Strawberry Fields Forever is still very reactive, so I'm not sure.  An older review of Hey Jude also said that she couldn't see much of a difference in hue, so maybe the thermal formula is just odd on this polish.  But thermal or not, I still really like the teal color!

Strawberry Fields Forever

Like Hey Jude, the glitter density of Strawberry Fields Forever gets a round of applause.  The amount of glitter on my nails matches the amount that I see in the bottle perfectly and effortlessly!

Also like Hey Jude, two coats of Strawberry Fields Forever is great for opacity.  In fact, I think it was almost a one-coat wonder!  But I do prefer the look of two coats, especially since it's a glitter polish.

The thermal color changes are wayyyy more noticeable than with Hey Jude!  Strawberry Fields Forever is yellow in its warm state and berry-pink when cold.  When it's transitioning, it kind of reminds me of a half-ripe strawberry!

I actually had a hard time photographing this while cold or even transitioning because my hands were so warm that it kept turning yellow before I could get the focus right!  Summer is hard.

I love, love, love this polish.  It definitely meets my standards for strawberry themed things!

The multitude of gitters are fairly holographic, which is gorgeous.

I'll say one thing for my stubby pinky nail - it looks pretty nice in macro shots! 

I plunged the bottle into a bowl of cold water to get it to transition a little bit for this bottle shot.  Because why not?

Sadly, these two polishes are now gone from the shop (why do I always put off publishing reviews until the polish is gone?), but their Beatles-related sister Abbey Road is still available in the shop!

What do you think of these polishes?  Are you a Beatles fan too?  Let me know in the comments!

All Mixed Up Lacuqers: Nail Chicks Be Like... Collection

Okay.  I'm supposed to be on a no-buy.  For everything.  Until I find a job with reliable income.  But, obviously, that's not really happening because the indie nail polish world is so amazing and tempting!

This is my first time using All Mixed Up Lacquers.  I saw a collage of this collection pop up in my Instagram feed, and I went to the profile to investigate (I guess I need to stop doing that if I want to follow my no-buy) and found that this is a 10-piece collection made as a collaboration with bloggers Bethany of Hosuewifenails and Mercedes of Manicutie, inspired by things that nail polish fanatics say.  And you guys know how much I love buying nail polish because it has a cool name, so yeah, I had to have the whole collection.

To my surprise, my order was delivered while the collection was still in pre-order mode!  I kicked myself into gear so that you could feast your eyes on these 10 gorgeous babies as quickly as possible.

Warning: TONS of pictures ahead.  But that's the best part of a nail polish review, right?  And my pinky nail is still short and awkward so it's not going to be in the photos.

What No Buy?

Ha, yeah, of course this one would exist!  I see other ladies talking about breaking their no-buys alllll the time.

What No Buy? is a holographic glitterbomb.  The base is clear but quite dense with holo dust, and there are lots of small-to-medium shiny glitters in pink, orange, green, and blue.  I have two coats over white, one coat over black, and two coats over my naked nail.  You can see that the base is dense enough for semi-opacity in just two coats over naked nail!

 

Just look at all that holographic glitter!!!

This Looked Better in My Head

I've definitely said this, either to myself or in a post, about a lot of the nail art designs I've done!  Nail polish can be finnicky and it's hard to get the image in your mind to turn out exactly on your nails.

This Looked Better In My Head is a bright fuchsia jelly with matte purple flakies and some very fine holo microglitters, although I'm not sure those ones picked up on my camera.  From pointer to ring finger, I have two, three, and four coats on my nails.

My camera really flattened out the color, so I did my best to edit it on the computer.  The brightness of the fuchsia is most accurate in the macro shot above.

One Coat Wonder

Every nail polish lover covets a one coat wonder!  They save a ton of time end effort.

One Coat Wonder is supposed to be an actual OCW itself, but that wasn't really the case for me.  Partly because of the tiny brush in the mini bottle, and partly because of how long my nails are - they require a lot more polish than your average shorter nail!

I did use only one coat on my ring finger, and I thought I did it nice and thick, but while editing the photos I realized that no, it was a little streaky.  I decided to show my bum pinky nail because, again, I thought that with its shortness I'd be able to get away with one coat, but again, nope.

But don't get down on One Coat Wonder!  Even if it always needs two coats, it's still such a gorgeous mint-teal-turquoise color with more superfine holo dust.  I highly recommend buying this one in a full-size bottle if you want it to live up to its name!

Look at My Holo

Holo sparkles are the best sparkles.  If you're friends with a nail polish fanatic, she's eventually going to shove her holographic nails in your face and say "LOOK AT THEM SPARKLE!"

Look at My Holo is a neon pink crelly with TONS of holo dust.  I have two coats on my pointer finger, three on my middle, and four on my ring finger.

Once again, my camera really muted the neonness of this one so I did my best to edit the colors on my computer.  The color accuracy is best in the sunlight and macro photos!

#nailmail

Getting nail mail is one of the most exciting things in my life, and it has been since the time I discovered the indie polish scene!  And using the hashtag on Instagram is a must so that I can share my happiness with everyone.

#nailmail is a white crelly base packed full of holographic glitters of many colors - soft and hot pink, teal, lime green, navy...  It's like the explosion of color and happiness that you get whenever you open up your nail mail!

I have three coats on each finger in the photos.

The glitter density here is great - it's quite easy to get the same amount of glitter on your nails as you see in the bottle.  I had to do a bit of dabbing to get glitters to apply evenly, which is normal for glitters of this size; still, it might have been easier if I had a full-sized bottle with a bigger brush.

#mynailsandmydrink

Here's another popular hashtag for polish lovers!  I usually see this when people have exciting drinks like Starbucks or artisan beer/pop or even just a really cute thermos.  I myself usually use this hashtag when showing off my fancy artisan pops that I like to try out every now and then.

#mynailsandmydrink is a beautiful pink-toned beige crelly with holo dust in the base, and beige small-to-medium chunky glitters.  The base color is one of my favorite browns that I've worn - it's a lovely cream-in-my-coffee brown.  I don't think my camera really captured the pinkish undertones, though, so once again I did my best to edit the photos and that's why my skin looks extra pink!

I have two coats on my pointer and ring fingers, and three coats on my middle finger.

Just like #nailmail, the glitter density is really good and I had to dab it around a little bit, but not infuriatingly.

I was drinking boring water in a boring glass when I swatched this, so here's a more exciting picture of my nails and my drink!  The totally awesome cup actually came with my order of this collection (I have no idea if it was a pre-order special or if it will come with all orders).  My totally awesome drink is a ginger ale float spiked with my apple pie moonshine that I got when I was in Tennessee, and my totally awesome mani will be featured on the blog next week so stick around for more details on that!

Matte All The Flakies

If you've been following me long enough, you'll know that this isn't actually something that I'm prone to saying.  Matte is a great effect and all but I usually prefer my nails to stay glossy!  But using a matte topcoat over a flakie polish can look really, really cool.

Matte all the Flakies is a clear base with white holographic flakies and, of course, superfine holo dust in the base.  I was all prepared to take glossy photos and then use my matte top coat for some matte pictures, but THIS ONE DRIES MATTE!

I have three coats over naked nail and two coats each over black and white.  The holo-ness definitely didn't show up as well over naked or white, but it looked AMAZING over black!  I suggest always using this over a darker color so that the holo can really pop.

Buy All The Polish

Now THIS is definitely something I say all the time!  Screw everything, buy ALL the nail polish!

 

Buy all the Polish is a super festive glitterbomb.  Purple, teal, soft pink, and hot pink glitters all float around in a clear base.

The glitters applied pretty nicely, but I definitely needed to dab them around.  I'd say that the dabbing was a little more intense than with the two crellies above, but still not infuriating.  And I didn't have to fish around for the glitters, which seems to happen more often in a clear base for some reason!

I have three coats over naked nail, two coats over black, and two coats over Sally Hansen Blue My Mind.  I honestly can't decide which look I like best!  They all look like a party on my nails.  I think I'm gonna need to incorporate this into my next birthday mani.

Look at this bottle shot macroooooo you can see so many layers of glitter floating around in there <3 <3 <3

It's So Squishy

I think this about every jelly-based glitter that I've used.  I don't know what it is about jelly polish that looks so squishy even when it's days dry, but it definitely does!

It's So Squishy is yet another glitterbomb with tons of different colors, sizes, and shapes of glitter.  The base is somewhere in the realm of sky-aqua-teal-blue, which makes it look even more squishy.

I have two, three, and four coats from my pointer to my ring finger.  Once again, the glitters applied nicely with a bit of dabbing and no fishing.

#nailporn

This is another phrase that I haven't really said before, but I've seen it used before on Instagram and I would definitely say that this post constitutes as nail porn.

#nailporn is a neon-lime green crelly packed with holo dust.  It's barely less holographic that Look At My Holo, and just as neon.

This one was opaque in two coats and I didn't see a need to build up to three.  It applies super smoothly and evenly, even on a mini brush!

As you can see, my camera had a hard time with this one yet again.  The color is most accurate in the sunlight photo!

So, that's the end of this incredibly gorgeous collection.  I hope you enjoyed it, I hope that you're as tickled by the polish names as I am, and I hope this post doesn't cause a problem for you if you're on a no-buy!

Which polish is your favorite?  Do you find yourself saying any of these phrases all the time?  Let me know in the comments!

Emily de Molly Monet's Garden

I have been coveting this nail polish for probably close to two years.  Before I got in to blogging, I was a full-time lurker on the subreddit RedditLaqueristas.  Somebody posted a swatch of Emily de Molly Monet's Garden saying that they needed that polish.  I immediately decided that I needed it, too.  EdM is an Australia-based indie company, so ordering direct through her would have been super expensive.  I found an American stockist, but every time I checked, Monet's Garden was sold out.  Eventually, I gave up, figuring I would never ever own this amazing beauty.

Then, an amazing thing happened.  Courtney of Swatcher, Polish Ranger decided to sell off some of her polish stash.  And she lives in Canada, which means that my dollar has slightly higher buying power.  AND SHE WAS SELLING MONET'S GARDEN.  I'm pretty sure I cheered when I saw that it hadn't been sold yet!  Of course I snagged it right away.

So, now, after a little over two years of coveting this polish, I give you...

Monet's Garden by Emily de Molly!

This nail polish seriously did not disappoint.  Sometimes when you covet something for a long time and you finally get it, it's not as great as you'd built it up in your head.  Not so with this nail polish!

Glitter density on the brush to the nail matches the glitter density in the bottle.  With so many large glitters, that's really impressive!  And the glitter application is very easy - no smearing, and if I decided to dab over the same spot again to add some more glitter, the teal jelly base didn't streak, either.

Even though the base is very much a jelly, I still only needed two coats for full opacity!  I added a third coat on my middle finger, and while it did deepen the glitter layering a little bit, I don't think I would do three coats on all of my fingers next time I wear this.  It just makes everything take longer, and when I don't need three coats for polish to look good, I'd rather stick with two!

Of course, it wouldn't be a glitter swatch without a few macro shots...

This bottle shot was taken from the top of the bottle.  Where the polish and glitter had been sliding down the edges for a while.  And yet, look at all of that glitter!  *swoons*

In case you couldn't tell, I'm super super in love with this nail polish.  Hopefully I'll get some more Emily de Molly polishes in the future - now that I know about the American stockist and am no longer idolizing one particular polish!

Have you ever coveted a nail polish for a long time before buying it?  Which one was it?  Let me know in the comments!

Aliquid Lacquer: Egeria

Aliquid Lacquer has a really awesome collection of polishes inspired by ancient Roman mythology and tradition called When In Rome.  She releases one new lacquer every month, and each month's lacquer generally has something to do with that month.  For example, July's polish Neptunalia (which I think I really really need) is inspired by the Roman's midsummer tradition of honoring Neptune, which took place on July 23.

Here's the description of Egeria from Aliquid Lacquer's website:

Egeria was a water nymph and patroness of childbirth, wisdom and prophecy. She befriended Rome’s second king, Numa, and advised him on how to set up the religious and legal practices of Rome. When Numa died, Egeria was transformed into a spring, which people would visit to ask for her inspiration.

So that explains why the polish Egeria looks exactly like a beautiful, sparkly pond.  I absolutely love the holographic glitter in this.  And the non-holo pink glitters break up the holo sparkle just enough to prevent you from getting totally lost in the sparkly reflections - just like a lily would do in a real pond!  Egeria actually reminds me a little bit of Monet's Gardens by Emily de Molly - an Australian indie polish that I've been coveting for over a year but always seem to miss out on through EdM's stockists that ship to America.  Owning this polish satisfies my needs of having a pond on my nails. <3

woohoo, holographic glitters!

As far as application goes, Egeria is quite nice.  I had to dab a little bit in order to get an even distribution of glitter across my nails, but the jelly base is thin enough that I didn't end up with any awful globs of polish anywhere.  (Well except for on the inner corner of my pointer finger, but that's because I accidentally got too many glitters stuck there.)  I did end up with a small thin spot near the cuticle on my middle finger, which I didn't notice until I was taking the photos - so be aware of that if you use this polish.  Just make sure that you cover all parts of your nail on every coat and you'll be fine!

so dense with glitter!!!

  
Two coats of Egeria is pretty much opaque, but there was a tiny bit of VNL, so I built up to 3 coats on my pointer and pinkie fingers.  My middle and ring fingers just have 2 coats.  What's really great about the thinness of the jelly base is that 3 coats doesn't look ridiculously thick on my nails.  Sometimes, when I use 3-4 coats of a glitterbomb for opacity or glitter depth, my nails end up looking kind of spherical, but that definitely didn't happen here.

 

I had to take the photos for this polish on my phone, because my Canon camera absolutely did not want to pick up the color.  The pink glitters showed up all right, but the teal base might as well have been gray for all my camera cared!  Yuck!  I really prefer the photo quality of my camera, but sometimes, sacrificing pixel count and focal length is necessary to show color accuracy.

I've never known much about Roman mythology, except for my highly biased opinion that they stole their ideas from the Greeks.  But the When in Rome collection is educating me on Roman mythology one month at a time, and teaching me that they had a lot of very unique gods, goddesses, spirits, and traditions!

What do you think of this polish?  Who's your favorite Roman mythology character?  Which When in Rome polish is your favorite?  Let me know in the comments!