My favorite Halloween Polishes, part 2

...You ready for part 2? (if you missed part one, you can find it here. )

Last time I showed you some basic building blocks, plus a couple that were a little extra-special. I'm going to continue on with the extra-specials--and by coincidence, all of today's offerings are indies, too. :)

Let's have at it!!

Best all-in-one Halloween polish: No Worries Polish Truffula Tree

No Worries Polish Truffula Tree, artificial light

If you want a fun, special Halloween manicure that will catch they eye, but don't have time for nail art and the like, this polish is for you. Beautiful formula, and very festive. Your one-stop Halloween polish experience. :)

Most versatile Halloween accent polish: The Nail Junkie Tiger

The Nail Junkie Tiger

I realized as I was putting this together that I don't have a full swatch of this polish, because I tend to use it as an accent rather than a full mani. So I'm showing you a Halloween mani I did with it instead of a swatch. This is a great polish to use as an accent nail, a background glitter to stamp over, a stand-out skittle nail. The basic orange-and-black color scheme make it perfect for almost any sort of theme--spiders, witches, pumpkins/jack-o-lanterns, haunted houses, bats. Yes yes yes, I realize it has bar glitter. I love bar glitter myself, but even if you don't love it for daily wear, I think it still has a place in theme manicures. :)


Darkest, most goth-type Halloween polish: A Study In Polish Consulting Criminal

A Stud In Polish Consulting Criminal, direct sunlight

Perfect for deadly vampires, serious sorcerers and goth fairies, this red, white and silver in black jelly polish will take care of all of your dark, shadow-filled Halloween-style desires.


Polish that looks most like body part and blood splatter: 6 Harts Ninja Bat

6 Harts Ninja Bat, over medium gray franken, indirect sunlight

Let's say you're stuck in a horror movie, and some serial killer is coming after you, trying to kill you. Let's further say that you pull out a grenade, and blow him to bits. Let's still further say you take a look over at the wall that his body splattered all over. That's what this polish reminds me of, when I'm in a Halloween state of mind.

On that note: Spaghetti and meatballs, anyone?

Most night-sky and alien-esque Halloween polish: Nail'd It Purp...Excuse Me.

Nail'd It Purp...Excuse Me!, no undies, direct sunlight

Looking for a night sky polish that comes with its own moons? Want something that captures a whimsical, alien-creature type of look? Going to the party as Dr. Who, and want to take the galaxy with you? Want nails that the sauciest of sorceresses would wear, polish that will make your nails look like they can cast spells all on their own? This is the polish for you. You could get a slightly more subtle look than the one I put together here by putting undies under it and using one coat. But who wants subtle for Halloween??? :)


Most self-explanatory: Pretty & Polished Blood Clot

Pretty & Polished Blood Clot, no undies, two coats, artificial light

Yeah, it's probably pretty obvious why this one made the list--this is so creepily, horrendously like a microscope view of blood cells clotting up, it makes the Halloween freak inside me dance with joy. This is also one of those frustrating polishes to photograph--it looks so much better (and creepier!) in person. I believe this was also released for a while under the name 'Bloody Mary'; whichever way you find it, your evil nurse/doctor/serial killer costume would not be complete without some of this dripped, er, painted onto your nails.


Most non-horrific Halloween polish: SoFlaJo Frankie's Lab Dance

SoFlaJo Frankie's Lab Dance, 2 coats, indirect sunlight

 

The only thing horrific here is my swatching ability--these were taken a year ago, I apparently didn't realize the bottle was in focus rather than the nails, and they make me shudder! But they still get the basic idea across, including the duochrome aspect of the polish, and the glitters. This is a wonderful polish for princesses, faeries, elves of various sorts, and other sweet, ethereal costumes. It's also just a fun, quick Halloween polish that will help you capture the general spirit of the holiday in one bottle.


And to end, an absolutely quintessential Halloween polish: Leesha's Lacquer Monster Mash

Leesha's Lacquer Monster Mash over Zoya Keiko, artificial light

I have undies here, but you can build this polish up on its own to get more glitter and nearly the exact same base color (as you can see in the bottle). This is another polish that I love for capturing the spirit of the holiday just as it is, with no nail art and no costume to pair with it. It's full of energy and fun, just the way Halloween should be.

And so, my favorites are at an end...but I'm sure this is only the beginning of the possibilities. So I leave you with this very important question: what amazing Halloween polishes am I missing from this list? What are your favorites? Point me to them!!! :)

Hugs and Halloween thrills,
M.

1 Year Blogiversary Prize 2

Again, this is going to be picture heavy, so less chit chat and more photos!  All of the polishes in this post were either purchased by me or donated for the giveaway and not for review.  Tonight, I only have three polishes from the prize to show you as well as an example Avon - a different color but from the same collection.  Let's get down to business!  As always, click on the photos to enlarge them.  To enter, go HERE.

Here's the second prize again:

Prize Two

Sponsored by Wishes of a Blue-Eyed Girl, Kelara Lacquers, Polished 10, Soflajo, Elevation Polish, Sharla Sells Avon, and Nail Bed Dreams.

Kelara Lacquer Happy Blogiversary, Color Club (unnamed pink), Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Birthday Wishes, Soflajo My Sign's Aqua-rium, Elevation Polish Magens Bay, LA Girl 3D Dazzling Pink, Avon Saturn, Julie G Gumdrop Rock Candy, and Bath and Body Works PS I Love You Shower Gel. 

And here are bottle shots of the polishes in the prize:

Avon Starburst

The first polish I want to show you is Avon Starburst, which is a scattered holo in dark fuchsia.  The Avon in the prize is Saturn, which is an orange scattered holo.  

Can I just say that this polish was AMAZING?!  Like, seriously amazing.  It probably could've been one coat, but, as you guys know, I'm weird and did two.  

These photos are zero cleanup.  ZERO. CLEANUP.  Do you get what I'm saying?!  Amazing polish.  Such depth and opacity.  I'm almost speechless.  Looking forward to trying my hand at stamping with this beauty!

Kelara Happy Blogiversary

I used 1 coat of Happy Blogiversary over Barry M Strawberry Ice Cream.  Happy Blogiversary is a pink shimmer with multiple color and sized hexes.

Application was easy.  The brush strokes in the macro aren't evident at all to the naked eye.

Here it is with NYC Matte Me Crazy.

Since this was a custom, you can only get this polish from my giveaway!

SoFlaJo My Sign's Aqua-rium

My Sign's Aqua-rium is a glittery teal matte.

Application was easy, but it took a little bit longer to dry than the others.  This is three coats without a topcoat.

Here it is with HK Girl topcoat.

And here it is shiny with topcoat but blurred so you can see those gorgeous glitters.

Elevation Magen's Bay

I love her little pic and signature!!

Elevation Magen's Bay is a custom I had made for me by Lulu, the creator of Elevation.  I sent her photos of Magen's Bay in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands as inspiration, and this is the beauty she came up with!

A light teal base with teal and light blue dots, hexes and squares.

This is two coats.  Super easy application with a very quick dry time.

Again, since this was a custom, you can only get this polish from my giveaway!

You can get Avon products from my awesome Avon Lady, Sharla, and you can follow her page here.  You can purchase Kelara at their store.  Follow Tara and Kellen on Facebook and Twitter.  You can purchase SoFlaJo at her store and on Etsy. Follow Jody on Facebook. Lastly, you can get Elevation polishes at her store and Llarowe.  You can keep up with Lulu at her blog.

Aren't you guys loving these customs?!  I absolutely love them all!  And, man, I'm digging all of the holos in these prizes!  

Rainy Grossness!

Well, today was a rainy nasty day in Georgia.  I'm on the 34th floor, and all I could see most of the day was a white haze.  No buildings, no clouds, no sky, just white.  It's kind of disconcerting, lol.  Now, the news people are predicting we'll have "wintry" weather on Thursday.  Awesome.  I'm pretty skeptical, though, because "wintry weather" never really pans out in Georgia.  We'll see, I guess!

In other news, as you may have read on my Facebook page, I am going on a low, scheduled buy.  Basically, when I got my first paycheck after getting on a new project in November, I went totally crazy with my polish spending.  I like to say it's because I had all of that pent up need to spend after several months of low/no buy.  Either way, it's time for me to get back on track with my budget.  I'm creating a pretty ridiculous and out of hand wish list, which will help me determine what polishes I will buy for the month.  At the first of the month, I will choose which polishes I will buy and which restocks I will purchase from.  I will not exceed $50 per paycheck on polish.  I will, however, allow myself to splurge on items on my wishlist that are hard to find or limited edition that I am able to find for a reasonable price.

Had to break up the wall-o-text with something.  What's better than my kitty Jynxie sticking his tongue out at us?  It was like that for 5 minutes.  I love that cat, lol.

In the meantime, I will be working on slashing through my untried list and weeding out polishes that I won't wear again.  Hopefully, I'll be able to re-home some of my beautiful collection to help fund some of my scheduled buys.  I encourage anyone who is going on a no/low/scheduled buy to work through your untrieds and share them on my Facebook page!  Untried can mean anything from new to you polishes to new techniques.  I want to see them all!  I think I'll call it Blue-Eyed Girl's Untried Parade.  Let's make this fun and set up a giveaway!  Get your photos up on my page, labeled as Untried Parade with a brief description of what's new or untried about your manicure, by February 21st.  I'll compile them into an album and voting will open February 22nd at midnight.  The photo with the most likes will receive one full-sized polish of their choice from my hand made collection that are all LE and not for sale.  All of my available polishes can be found in my album Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers on Facebook.  

Anyway, let's get on to business!  Tonight, we're going to take a look at the rest of my New Year's Eve manicure.  I showed you my undies yesterday, which was Soflajo Red Carpet and an accent of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out.  I topped my left hand with a glitter ruffian of Lynnderella Fiddle Dee Dee and a full accent of Lynnderella New Year's Eve Eve.  On my right hand, I did the opposite with full coverage of New Years Eve Eve and a ruffian accent of Fiddle Dee Dee.  I received Fiddle Dee Dee as a random act of kindness from a friend, which was a total surprise.  Needless to say, it's one of my favorite polishes because of the meaning behind it.  Let's get on to the review!

Lynnderella Fiddle Dee Dee

Color: Clear base with multicolored and multishaped glitters including silver holo butterflies and hearts and red holo hearts.

Finish: Glitter Top Coat – glitter in a clear base to be worn as a top coat.

Lynnderella New Years Eve Eve

Color: Clear base with multicolored and multishaped glitters including several different colors of satin hearts, giant holo silver hexes, and holo regular and mini stars.

Finish: Glitter Top Coat – glitter in a clear base to be worn as a top coat.

Both FDD and NYEE

Bottle / Brush: Rectangle bottle brush – ribbed cap that is a little hard on the hands to open if you have sensitive skin.  The wand is the standard length, but the brush is a little too thin to pick up large / shaped glitter without fishing.  The brush's width is also an issue for spreading.  It doesn't fan out and pretty much requires you to dab polishes that are densely packed with glitter.

Opacity: Glitter topcoat – not designed for full opacity.

Glitter Application: Hard – difficult to dig the larger and shaped glitters out of the bottle, but spreads well with the dab method.

Consistency: Medium – base applies easily and doesn’t flood the cuticles.

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

Stampability: Not designed for stamping.

Dry Time: Medium – dry to the touch with minimal smudging in 3-8 minutes.

Overall Thoughts: I'm going to review both of these polishes together since they're both similar in concept.  Unlike many of my other Lynnderella's, these two had great consistency.  They weren't too thick and spread easily.  I really liked the explosion of colors and shapes that both of these polishes provided.  FDD had fewer colors and centered more around red, green, silver, and gold with holo pieces.  NYEE has pretty much every color in the rainbow.  Both are major glitter bombs, so you'll definitely need either a thick topcoat like Gelous or Glitter Food plus a thick quick dry topcoat to even things out.

You can purchase Lynnderella's from their eBay store.  Follow their blog for news and updates.  Also, follow Lovelynnderella on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for updates on new polishes, swatches of new collections, and swatches of limited editions.

Are you on a no/low/scheduled buy?  If you are, what's your plan of attack?

Fiiiiiiinally back! Soflajo Red Carpet

Wow, I apologize for taking the whole week off last week.  After being ridiculously sick for three weeks, I needed the down time.  In that time, I received some amazing polishes from purchases and swaps, reached 400 blog followers (!!!!!), and got to spend some quality time with the cutest and most ridiculous kitties ever.  Specimen #1:

Just one of my kitties striking a pose...  Say hello to Fenway!  I'll have some pics of Jynx later.

Well, since it's already late and I have to wake up early tomorrow, let's get down to business!  Tonight, I'm going to show you part of my New Year's Eve mani.  I'm pretty late in showing you guys all of my holiday manicures, so I'll try to catch up.  As undies for NYE, I wore Soflajo Red Carpet with an accent of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out.  We're going to focus on Red Carpet tonight.

Color: Red with holographic micro glitters.

Finish: Matte – flat finish, no shine.

Bottle / Brush: Round (9ml) 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: High – opaque at one coat!  I used two for photos.

Glitter Application: Easy – Spreads evenly without much manipulation.

Consistency: Thick – thick, but is easily remedied with some polish thinner.  Although, I didn't add any thinner.  I wanted to see how it would apply without it.  It worked well, but you have to go fast since it's a matte polish, which dries quickly.

Overall Ease of Application: Medium – applies well with minimal pooling, dragging, streaking, or balding.  Spreads well without much manipulation.

Stampability: Not tested for stamping.

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

Overall Thoughts: This was my second Soflajo, and I really liked it.  The color is more of a burnt red than a bright cherry, but the holographic micro glitters set this apart from other matte polishes I have.  Once I added a top coat, the shimmer from the micro glitters made it glow.  I will show you guys the finished mani with a top coat tomorrow night.  I also like that this is a larger mini, so you get more bang for your buck.  Jody, who owns Soflajo, is a pleasure to work with, ships quickly, and has great communication.  You can purchase Soflajo polishes at her site or at her Etsy store.  Follow her Facebook page for restock information and updates.

What did you wear for New Year's Eve?