Case of the Blues: Sassy Lacquer Dawns Dew

With the end of this project in sight, I sighed in relief.  Until, that is, they decided to get an extension so we could continue on this insane project for another week.  Now, I'm just sighing.  There go my plans to hit up Disney this weekend!  Meh.  Oh, and let me just tell you, time changes suck.  They need to keep it one way or another.  This stupid variation is killer!!!!  Ugh.  So, I guess you can say that today, I have the case of the blues.  And the Mondays.  Maybe a little of both.  Or a lot of both?  Fitting that I'm rocking some seriously killer blue nails!

First, I want to show you a quick peek at my undies for this mani.  They'll be up on the blog shortly for a Comparison Thursday post, but here's the ombre I used as my base mani.

Deborah Lippmann Dancing in the Sheets, Elevation Alphubel, OPI What's With the Cattitude, Barry M Blueberry Ice cream, and China Glaze Electric Beat.

I chose to top these guys off with an indie called Dawns Dew [sic] by Sassy Lacquer.  (Read my interview with Carrie of Sassy Lacquer here.)

Color: Super sheer blue with fine blue and pink shimmering micro glitters.

Ignore the smudge on my middle finger...  I ran out of time, so it had to stay.  Womp womp!

Finish: Sheer – a polish that is sheer like a jelly, but has shimmer.  Not squishy like a jelly.  Best over darker colors.

Bottle / Brush: Round mini bottle – wand and brush are just long enough to reach the bottom of the bottle.  However, the fact that it’s a mini makes application a little tricky.  Requires a steady hand to apply evenly without pooling.

Opacity: Low – it requires several coats for opacity, but you'll never really get rid of visible nail line.  This is pretty much best used as a topper over other polishes.  It's so sheer that I couldn't get it to build up enough to cover my visible nail line.  However, it looks great over other colors and transforms darker colors into something special.

Here it is over black and white.

Glitter Application: Easy – Spreads evenly without much manipulation.  Like with Tiger Lily Wears Pink, Dawns Dew has super fine micro glitters that come out of the bottle easily and spread without any need to manipulate.

Consistency: Medium – applies easily and doesn’t flood the cuticles.  It was almost perfect.  I didn't even need to do any cleanup - and this is my right hand, guys.  I'm not so awesome at polish application with my left hand, so the application for Dawns Dew is something special.

Overall Ease of Application: Easy – applies well without pooling, dragging, streaking, or balding.  Spreads evenly and smoothly.

Stampability: Not designed for stamping.

Dry Time: Medium – dry to the touch with minimal smudging in 3-8 minutes. Overall Thoughts: Dawns Dew is a very pretty blue shimmer looks best over darker colors.  The micro glitters slightly detract from lighter colors by giving them a speckled look, which is actually trendy right now so it's not really a negative.  You just don't notice the blue sheen and pink shimmers as much over lighter colors as you do over darker.  It completely transforms mid-range and darker colors showing off it's beautiful shift from blue to pink.  Application was amazing.  It applied evenly, spread well, and I didn't screw up my right hand, which is fantastic since it's now my swatching hand!  Even though I'm not usually really into sheers like this, I'm very pleased with Dawns Dew.  It's extremely pretty while also being fairly unique.

You can purchase Dawns Dew from Sassy Lacquer's store.  Follow Carrie on her blog and Facebook for more information, news, and updates.

What's your favorite sheer?

*I was not financially compensated for this post. I received a sample for review purposes. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.  For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy in the tab above.* 

Wear Test: Sassy Lacquer Tiger Lily Wears Pink

Wow oh wow!  Today has been INSANE.  I have decided that my job the past week and a half goes a little bit like this:

Or maybe even...

With a little bit of...

Perhaps?  And that may even be an understatement, lol.  Between all the work and having to wear boring manis while meeting with partners at the firm, I was able to actually get in a very pretty pink, Sassy Lacquer's Tiger Lily Wears Pink, as a wear test!  First, let's learn a little bit about Sassy Lacquer's creator, Carrie!

1) What was your inspiration for this collection, other than the obvious April Flowers concept?

Spring Showers Bring May Flowers. The grass green of spring for Emerald Meadow, the dancing in the wind daffodils for the yellow one, the first flower of spring that pops through the snow-the crocus, the blue mist of the rain, the morning’s first dew, Tiger Lily’s – My Fav flower ever-had them in my wedding bouquet. 

2) What was your inspiration for your brand name?

My Last name is Sasville, I came up with Sassy Nails for a part of my blog, since it focuses on not only my life, but my hobby’s and then turned that into Sassy Lacquer for the business. I also have another side business Sassy Sweets by Carrie 

3) How did you become interested in creating your own polish line?

I don’t really remember, I have always been crafty. It was soon after my hoarding, I mean collecting of polish began, I ran into a group of Frankener’s and just ‘got’ into it...started ordering supplies, and thought hey, why not sell them....

4) Tell me 3 fun facts that people wouldn't ordinarily know about you.  (Hobbies, interests, history, etc)

I love to go on midnight drives, by myself to clear my head....most of the time just back roads or I jump on the interstate and go up an exit and back, or a couple times I have circled Tampa Bay, going over the SkyWay Bridge in St. Petersburg. (Florida)

I hide the last of the ‘good’ (meaning bad for you) food from the kids and hubby and eat it when they aren’t around or in bed, LOL!

I have another business, Sassy Sweets by Carrie. I make cakes and cookies and lots of other things. https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Sassy-Sweets-By-Carrie/301067029903448

First, let's take a look at the basic rundown for Sassy Lacquer's Tiger Lily Wears Pink, then we can get into the wear test.

Day One

Color: Pink with darker pink micro glitters and pink shimmer with a slight touch of gold shimmer.

Finish: Shimmer – polish that shimmers pink and gold in the light.

Bottle / Brush: Round mini bottle – wand and brush are just long enough to reach the bottom of the bottle.  However, the fact that it’s a mini makes application a little tricky.  Requires a steady hand to apply evenly without pooling.

Opacity: Medium – achieves opacity at three coats.

Glitter Application: Easy – the glitter is so fine in TLWP that it spreads evenly without much manipulation.

Consistency: Thick – This one was tricky, but not for the normal reasons that a polish is tricky.  It applied thickly but was self-leveling.  The first two coats are thick and a little clumpy, but you don't notice it at all after a few minutes because it levels off on its own.  I think a drop or two of thinner couldn't hurt especially if the bottle's been open for a little while you're polishing your nails.  It's not really an issue, nor is it distracting, though.  I just wanted to make sure you guys knew to be patient while applying.  It is worth it in the end.

Overall Ease of Application: Medium – applies well without pooling.  Seems clumpy when first applying, but it levels off without any indication of clumping, dragging, or streaking once it's dry.  Spreads well without much manipulation.  However, it dries quickly, so you need to move fast in order to keep it from creating bald spots.

Stampability: Not tested for stamping.

Dry Time: Quick – dry to the touch without smudging in under 3 minutes.

Items used for wear test:

• Alcohol to dehydrate nail bed and remove oils
• Orly Bonder basecoat
• KBShimmer Clearly on Top quick dry topcoat

Day Two

Minimal tip wear, but still going strong.  One chip on my right hand thumb, but that was because I was peeling labels.  Otherwise, color was still bright, shimmer was still vibrant, and the topcoat was still shiny.

Day Three

A little more wear on the tips, but still going strong.  Sadly, I got a tear on my index finger, so I had to redo it and add a patch.

Day Four

At this point, the polish completely sheeted off of my middle finger.  I had some weakness causing my nail to flex, which made the polish lift from the nail.  The rest of my nails, though, were still looking great.  I took some shots of my right hand so you could see the wear there as well.

Overall Thoughts:  Tiger Lily Wears Pink is a fantastic pink.  It's perfect for work when you want to have something fun without drawing too much attention.  Its application is a little tricky at first, but it self-levels making the end result smooth and perfect.  The wear on this was phenomenal.  The only reason my middle nail sheeted off is because it was relatively weak causing the polish to lift from the nail prematurely.  Every other nail had minimal tip wear.  I truly wonder how long it would last had my middle nail been a tad shorter or in better shape.

You can purchase Tiger Lily Wears Pink at Carrie's store, Sassy Lacquer.  You can also follow Carrie on her blog and her Facebook page for news and updates.

What's your favorite fun but still work-appropriate polish?

*I was not financially compensated for this post. I received a sample for review purposes. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.  For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy in the tab above.*