Rainbow Honey Mystery Bag - June 2014

It's my favorite time of the month again!  I found myself getting anxious for the month of May to be over with so I could get my June Rainbow Honey Mystery Bag.  I eagerly anticipate ripping open the bubble mailer to see what amazing scent is going to greet me each month and June was the best one yet. As usual there were 3 polishes and some other goodies.

This month's extras were some mini cuticle sticks, some white and lime green pearls, perfume in the scent Nucifera, an exfoliating sugar scrub in the scent Tea Biscuit and a cuticle balm in Tea Biscuit.  Nucifera is a pleasant fragrance described as being on a beach.  I like it.  Tea Biscuit is a nutty vanilla scent that literally smells like a cookie.  The note that came with the package says "Please do not eat"!  It's that good. 
Those type of scents are my favorites.

This is my first experience with a cuticle balm outside of Burt Bees and I am in love.  It absorbed right away leaving my cuticles looking and feeling fantastic not to mention smelling incredible.  There was no residue, it was not sticky.  I didn't have to reapply until the next day and even then my cuticles were not in desperate need.  I usually use California Mango cuticle oil which I swear by but I do have to reapply often.  I am so pleased with this, it is my favorite item out of the entire bag this month!

Now onto the polishes.  Upon first glance my thought was "oh pink".  I wasn't quite sure how I felt about them but after really looking at them, I was very pleased.  Each is completely unique to my collection.

Ichigo, Rose Macaron & Pikake

Rose Macaron is a soft pink crelly with pink and gold micro glitters as well as purple, pink, yellow and gold glitters.  It's a very feminine and pretty polish. 

Indoors with indirect lighting

3 thin coats with 1 coat Nail Pattern Boldness Digital Flash

Pikake is the glitter topper in the group.  I used it for the swatches over another Rainbow Honey Cameo 18 from the April Mystery Bag.  I will be trying this over other colors as well but I was in a neon mood.  I photographed it under several different lighting conditions because of the difficulty capturing the true color of the neon pink.

Outdoors direct sunlight.  1 coat of Pikake over Cameo 18

Indoors in shade.  Most accurate color to how bright Cameo 18 really is.  I love how different all the glitters are on and how the purple and white pop on this pink

Last is my favorite of the three and that is Ichigo.  Ichigo is a fuchsia jelly with purple and blue iridescent
flakies.  In the bottle I thought it was maroon and didn't seem like the most exciting of colors.  It almost appeared like a vial of blood.  Sorry for that image but I wanted to give and honest reaction!  When I swatched it I instantly changed my mind!  It's really pretty.  My only complaint would be that the formula was a bit thick and with the flakies in the jelly application was tough.  It was very thick.  I ended up having to use a lot of polish just for this swatch and with it being a mini you can tell from the first photo on this page how much is gone already from just one hand!  That being said, it's worth the effort.

See what I mean about in the bottle??

Look at the jelly swishy goodness!!! This is outdoors in direct sunlight.  3 coats with one coat of Nail Pattern Boldness Digital Flash

Here is my video review of this bag as well.  I don't have anything to dupes any of these so I have nothing to compare them to.  I am very pleased overall with my third consecutive Rainbow Honey bag. 


You can purchase Rainbow Honey products here.

Indie Polishes - Laquerlicious Bling-A-Ling

Sometimes a girl just wants to sparkle and today I have a polish so amazing it's deserves it's own post.  It's been no secret who my favorite glitter indie polish brand is and that is Laquerlicious.  This shade is glitter on X.  Described as a clear base with a crazy mix of silver, black, magenta, and teal hologram glitter in hex, square, circle and triangle shapes.  And let's not forget the pink stars!   I would describe it as a mermaid disco ball explosion in polish form.  It's beyond beautiful.  I love the color choices here as teal and pink are two of my favorite colors and the possibilities for combinations you can use this with are endless.  This is Laquerlicious Bling-A-Ling.

I chose two distinctly different manicures when I wore this.  I have many more in mind and will be wearing this as my go to when I want to bling out my nails.  For the first way I chose to layer Bling-A-Ling over a dark base but I didn't want to use pure black.  Since there are black shapes also in the mix I did not want to loose them entirely.  I chose to use two coats of Nicole by OPI Khloe Had a Little Lam Lam which is a darkened teal polish.  I then used two coats of Bling-A-Ling using the dab method to make sure I got good coverage.  I sealed it all up with one coat of Seche Vite.

Close up in indirect lighting.

Macro of middle finger

A few days later I was dying to use it again and I decided to do something completely different and made it into a jelly sandwich using Essie Marshmallow.  I started out with two coats of Marshmallow then one coat of Bling-A-Ling then another coat of Marshmallow.  I topped it off with one coat of Seche Vite.  It reminded me of a teal cookies & cream. 

And of course I had to try it matte using Essie Matte About You.

I highly recommend this glitter topper.  It's so much fun and unique.  The color combinations is perfect.  You can find it here or by visiting www.laquerlicious.com

Indie Polishes - Laquerlicious Summer Glitter Toppers

Today I have for you the Summer Glitter Toppers collection from  my absolute favorite glitter polish maker Laquerlicious.  I first became aware of this brand after liking her Facebook while entering a random giveaway.  I didn't win any polish from that contest but I did win the ultimate prize, I found this gem of an indie polish maker.  My first purchase was a LE Valentine's Day polish and from that moment on I was hooked.  I was lucky enough to get two of her polishes that were featured in the A Indied subscription box offered by Llarowe.  There was a few left over and although I didn't subscribe I was able to purchase them individually.

I love everything about Laquerlicious glitter bombs.  Each one is chocked full of so many different shapes, sizes and colors of glitters.  You will never get the same look twice.  They are incredibly versatile.  I have so much polish it's that fact alone has me reaching for my bottles time and time again.  The possibilities are endless once you change up what you layer them with.  Glitter heavy polishes are not for everyone but there is nobody who makes them better than Michelle.

First up is Blowin' Bubbles.  When I look at this polish I smile.  It's a clear base jam packed with what is described as "a fun mix of circle (bubble) glitter, star glitter, silver hologram glitter, pastel hex & dot glitter and neon pink glitter!"  I couldn't agree more.   The first thing I thought of when I saw this bottle is my favorite childhood show Jem and the Holograms.  I decided to do my manicure with another childhood favorite of mine My Little Pony.  For this look I used a base of Lime Crime Crema de Limon then a layer of Blowin' Bubbles.  I then added layer of L'Oreal Bananarama Love from the Miss Candy collection.  I topped it off with another layer of Blowin' Bubbles then a coat of Seche Vite.  For the accent nail I used My Boyfriend Scales Walls and then a decal using My Online Shop plate Jr-11.  I used Crema de Limon for the hair and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Knockout Pink for the pony. 

Next is Sip of Summer.  A clear base with pastel glitters in hex, star and triangle glitters.  I love that you can layer this over anything.  The matte glitters are a perfect edition to this trio of toppers.  It works for jelly sandwiches or to look like sprinkles on a cupcake. The glitters are great sized, not too large.  It even looks really cool over black.  For this look I wanted to showcase the glitters so I only used one coat of Sip of Summer over SinfulShine Pragmatic with an accent of another decal made using My Online Shop plate Special Edition and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri polishes in I-rush Luck and In Record Lime.  The white in the Carebear belly is Zoya Purity.  I used one coat of Seche Vite on all nails.

Last up is my personal favorite of the three and that's Crazy Daisies.  It has all of my favorite things especially neon pink and green.  I am pretty sure I had a folder that looked like this in the 9th grade.   It has everything a glitter topper loving girl like me could ever ask for.  It's described as "This polish is a clear base with a crazy mix of neon daisies, transparent hearts, pastel hex glitter, star glitter, iridescent glitter and black and white triangles!"  Whew!  What's not to love???  For this manicure I used OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls on my index and ring fingers and a base of Hit Polish Scotland the Brave on my middle and pinkie.  I then layered one coat of Laquerlicious neon glitter in At the Lake before topping them all off with Crazy Daisies.  For my stamping I used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Knockout Pink using Fab UR Nails plate FUN 3.

You can find these at the Laquerlicious shop here or by visiting www.laquerlicious.com.  I highly recommend all three! 

Indie Polishes - Laquerlicious Neon Summer Toppers

I am child of the 80's.  Today I have a collection for you from my very favorite glitter maker Laquerlicious that embodies one of the most iconic element of my favorite decade... neon.  From bright green rubber sunglasses to hot pink tee shirts tied in a knot, in the 80's neon was everywhere.  Like all fads or trends, neon has made a comeback recently and especially for the summer of 2014 in nail polish everywhere. The best neons on the planet right now are in the form of this mind blowing trio. 

These dense glitters are the most vivid glitter combinations I have ever seen.  The bright pink in Beat the Heat is that intense in person.  Each are a clear base then backed with two different color neon glitter and some micro flakies.  It's brilliant.  Like all Laquerlicious glitter polishes these are incredibly versatile.  If applied carefully enough they can be opaque in two coats or you can use them as a glitter topper over white or with any color. 

These polishes are so incredibly sparkly as well!

Lemon Limeade is neon yellow and green glitters with neon green micro flakies.  At the Lake is neon blue and purple glitters with electric blue for the micro flakies and with Beat the Heat is a combination of neon pink and hot orange glitters and neon pink micro flakies,  I think that touch of the second glitter shade really elevates these. 

I decided to do them each in two different ways to show you the many possibilities.  One very popular look right now on Instagram first done by @Madamluck uses all three in a gradient and is absolutely stunning.  For my swatches I used the glitters over a similar base color on two nails with nail art using the glitters and stamping for one look and with the other chose lighter colors and used them as toppers.

This is two coats of Beat the Heat over Zoya Kiki on the index and pinkie fingers.  For my ring and middle fingers I used OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls and stamped BM-317 using Kleancolor black and filled it in using Beat the Heat.  Application was really great and despite being a dense glitter, I didn't have any issues.  Everything is top coated with one coat of Seche Vite.

For this manicure I chose to layer Beat the Heat over a polish I think is the perfect bubble gum pink.  This is SinfulShine Your's Truly with two light coats of Beat the Heat and one coat of Seche Vite.  This way let the real beauty of those neon flakies come out.  I really loved it both ways.

Lemon Limeade had the thickest formula of the three.  For this look I did two coats Lemon Limeade over two coats of Wet n' Wild Spoiled polish I'm So Jaded.  For the nail art I again used OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls and then stamped plate BM-308 using Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in In Record Lime.  I finally filled in some of the wedges with Lemon Limeade.  Everything is topped with one coat Seche Vite. 

For this one I chose to layer it over two coats of Lime Crime Crema de Limon.  I thought that it was a great color choice and perfect given the name!  I used a thicker coat on my middle finger and it's hard to see the undies.  I will definitely wear this combo again but this time only use one coat of Lemon Limeade.  This is also the most sparkly of the three polishes.

For my nail art using At the Lake I layered two coats over Hit Polish Scotland the Brave which is a scattered holographic blue polish that was the closest shade I had to the neon blue glitters in At the Lake. I used OPI My Boyfriend Scales walls and Kleancolor black again for the two accent nails and stamped Mash-498 for the wave design.  I then used Essie I'm Addicted to fill in some areas.  I thought it would be much more sheer and I was attempting to do the leadlight stamping technique.  I then used OPI I Can Teal You Like Me from the sheer tints collection to do a few more areas on the tips and the cuticle area and then finally using At the Lake for the body of the waves.  All nails have a coat of Seche Vite.

Finally for a softer but yet so neon look, I chose to layer two thin coats of At the Lake over Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Blue-Away.  It looks soft but yet has a neon feel to it.  I loved this one very much. 

I cannot wait to try these over different colors and over white.  I can see them over other bright neons as well as punching up softer pastel shades.   You need to invest in these if you haven't already.  You can get them here or by going to http://www.laquerlicious.com/.  The set is only $21.00!  Everything Michelle makes is fantastic and these polishes are no exceptions. I will have some more of her polishes on the blog soon.  You do not want to miss those.

Indie Spoltight - Hit Polish is back!

It's no secret that I am huge fan of the indie polish brand Hit Polish.  Back in the end of 2013 Rachel, the brilliant mind behind Hit Polish announced that another business venture she had with her hubby would need her full attention and that she was no longer going to be making polish.  She had a huge "Everything Must Go!!" sale and even threw away all her recipes and supplies.

The other business did well enough for her to open up shop once again on May 15th of 2014.  Thing will be done a bit differently this time as she is doing it as a hobby.  Her currently line up is going to be available for purchase through August 14th.  The plan is to keep things simple and assess sales and demand sometime in July and then decide what products will be kept for the new relaunch.  There were two LE polishes also available that will not be a part of the permanent line up.  There is an impressive 35 polishes I believe that will be for sale.  The majority of those are spectraflair polishes.  Just before she closed up the old shop she had introduced them and they were very popular. This launch I picked up three of the new colors.

The formula on all three was very similar.  Each one went on a bit sheer for the first coat and dried quickly with a second thicker coat making them almost opaque.  There is a bit of visible nail line especially with Scotland the Brave but that is perfectly fine by me.  A third coat would easily have covered it.  This is very similar in formula to several other holos from other brands.

Radiant Orchid, Raspberry Fizz and Scotland the Brave

Taken in the full Florida sunshine!

 Raspberry Fizz reminds me of scattered holographic version of SinfulShine Royal Flush which is said to be a dupe for Zoya Yana.  It's the perfect berry pink.

With flash indoors and indirect light.

This is the truest to color.  Taken indoors with indirect light.

Radiant Orchid is the Pantone Color of 2014 and it's everywhere. This is the most subtle of all of them.  I adore this color.  It almost took on the look of Odette from the Zoya Naturel collection.

With flash and indirect lighting.

And finally my favorite Scotland the Brave.  This fun bright blue is perfect for summer.

With flash indoors and indirect lighting.

Now here are the three polishes from last year that I purchased.  The formula is the same on these.    From left to right is Fern Gully, Blackened Amethyst and Pewter Goblet.  I will swatch them in a different post. 

All of my Hit Polish Spectra Flair Holographic polishes.

You can purchase Hit Polish by going here or visit www.hitpolish.com.  All polishes purchased by me. 

Rainbow Honey Mystery Bag - May 2014

It never ceases to amaze me at how many talented indie polish makers there are out there.  As a fan of them, I get to choose between some of the most phenomenal polishes on the planet.  It makes it a bit hard though with so many to pick from, deciding on brands to patronize can be an overwhelming experience.  I keep a notebook specifically for polishes.  When I come across something I like, I jot it down.  One brand that I had noticed was on there several times was Rainbow Honey.  I had it in the back of my mind as one I wanted to try for quite some time but never ordered from them.  Recently I signed up for an Ipsy subscription and while on the wait list I saw in the April 2014 bag there was a Rainbow Honey polish.  I was so jealous I missed out on it but I did get the Ipsy code giving me a 25% discount.  I decided at the time to try the mystery bag of the month.  It is for sale for $10 or free with any purchase over $65. Starting in May, Rainbow Honey decided to offer a monthly subscription. 

The price is still the $10.00 + shipping.  It was billed on the 30th of April and I got my shipping notice late Sunday evening.  My bag showed up on Tuesday the 6th.  I was pleased with the speed in which the package came.  Immediately upon opening the bubble mailer I could smell the goodies inside.  This month's package included a perfume and soap in the scent Summer Juice, a lip balm in Enter Lime, and then an envelope containing 5 mini orange sticks and 2 sponge cosmetic applicators.  I realized I didn't have a decent photo of them so I will snap one tomorrow and update the blog.

Everything is sealed tight and packed so perfectly.

The polishes are nothing short of pure summer happiness in a bag.  I was so impressed by the selection of shades and I loved every single one of them.

First up I have Waves.  This is going to be part of the upcoming summer collection.  It's described as glass-flecked shimmer sparkles in turquoise and gold.  It's stunning.  I love how this one looks on.  It's gorgeous.  My photos look a bit more blue than it actually is.

Next is a fantastic summer glitter called Neon Blossom. It contains hot pink heart glitters and yellow flower glitters.  It's my first ever flower glitter.  It's also got some small neon green square glitter and some white glitter throughout.  I adore this.  I have layered it here over Sally Hansen Insta-Dri shades In a Splash, Pink Blink, OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Chartreuse Chase. I did have to fish a bit for some of the glitters.  Shown without top coat.

I saved my favorite for last.  It's no secret I love a good crelly glitter polish and this is no exception.  From what the card inside the bag says this is going to be part of a "collection of confections".  I can't wait.  Here is Petit Four.  This is 2 coats with one coat of KB Shimmer Clearly On Top.  I think next time I will do 3 thin coats instead.  I can't say enough about how much I love this.  It's a yellow with pink and aqua glitters. (actually looking at the macro shot below there is way more going on there than I first realized!) It's so perfect for summer.

And of course here is a macro shot of all three of these amazing polishes together.

Here is my video review which shows a bit more of the other items as well.   Subscriptions are available and will start with June 2014 (or the next avail month depending on when you find this) and the May bag is available for single purchase in the month of May 2014.  There is a full size bag also available for $25.00.

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Grape Going! new formula??

As a polish fanatic I have many vices.  One of those is for the Sally Hansen Insta-Dri line of polishes.  Anytime a new collection comes out I have to have them.  I use them almost exclusively for stamping and nail art as well as when I need a polish to wear and am short on time.  I started my love affair with them after I would use my hour long lunches from work to drive over to my nearest CVS or Walmart and buy a polish then paint my nails in my car. I did this many times and started to collect some really cool shades.  After I discovered stamping I went crazy and bought a ton of them.  The majority of them would be opaque in one coat and dry very quickly.  Not all the polishes in the Insta-Dri line are so opaque, one such polish was a shifting polish called Grape Going!. 

Today while browsing my local Walmart I spotted a purple shade of polish that I hadn't seen before.  It was similar to Orchid Express which was a LE.  I grabbed it and immediately did a double take.  The label said 410 Grape Going! but this was a super purple shade not the blue/purple flash sheer polish I knew I had in my stash.  I dug back behind the other two bottles in the display case to find that exact bottle I recalled.

Both bottles were labeled the exact same.  Product number 410  (polish on my nails is OPI I Theodora You)

Side by Side New bottle on the left, old bottle on the right.

Pointer and ring fingers are the new bottles.  Middle and pinkie are old.  I did my thumb in Orchid Express just for color comparison.  The new Grape Going! is darker but very similar.

L to R Grape Going! new, Grape Going! old and Orchid Express.

As you can see it looks like they have switched to a new more opaque polish.  There is nothing remotely similar in these polishes save for the name and the fact they are purple.  I wish they had just gave the new one a different name.  I am not sure if they are discontinuing the old one so get it while you still can.  I will be using the new one for stamping for sure.  It's so pretty.