Let's take a sneak peek at Kelara One Man Wolf Pack, which is part of their Double Rainbow holographic polish line.
*I was not financially compensated for this post. All items in this review were purchased by me for my own use. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience. For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy in the tab above.*
Color: Gun metal silvery gray holographic.
Finish: Holographic – pigment gives polish a rainbow in the sunshine.
Bottle / Brush: TKB hexagon – lid is tapered at the bottom and larger at the top, which helps with handling the brush and application.The wand is an average length.The brush is thin but long, so you have to make sure you don’t load up on polish on your brush otherwise it may pool up on your cuticles.
Opacity: High – opaque in two coats!
Glitter Application: N/A
Consistency: Medium – applies easily and doesn’t flood the cuticles.
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: Medium – dry to the touch with minimal smudging in 3-8 minutes.
Overall Thoughts: Kelara is one of my favorite indie brands for a reason! The consistency of One Man Wolf Pack is soooo good. Sometimes holos are a massive pain in the butt to apply, but I can honestly say that isn't the case with any of the polishes from the Double Rainbow collection. Wolf Pack has elements of linear and scattered holoness, which makes it really pop in the sunlight. It definitely leans more toward gun metal silver that looks a little like stainless steel than silver. The rainbow isn't very strong in indoor lighting, but it's still very pretty. In the sun, though, the rainbow shines through easily. I have used two coats here, and it's perfect!
You can purchase Kelara Lacquers at their store or Etsy. Also, follow them on Facebook and Twitter for news and updates on new collections.
This is going to be a quick post as I'm working diligently on updating my blog sale! I am hoping to have it up tonight, so check back tomorrow.
*I was not financially compensated for this post. All items in this review were purchased by me for my own use. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience. For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy in the tab above.*
Color: Pink base with pink, purple, and orange fine glitters.
Finish:Glitter Jelly – glitter in a colored jelly base.
Bottle / Brush: Tall skinny round bottle with average brush – long cap with standard size wand.Some of these brushes come bent.Average application with standard non-bent brush.Picks up glitter decently, but it isn’t the best.
Opacity: Medium – achieves opacity at three to four coats. Probably best over undies. I have it layered over itself in my swatch shots.
Glitter Application: Medium – requires the dab method, but spreads evenly.
Consistency: Medium – applies easily and doesn’t flood the cuticles.
Overall Ease of Application: Medium – applies well with minimal pooling, dragging, streaking, or balding.Spreads well with the dab method. Doesn't shrink or pull back. Doesn't thicken like many other glitter bombs.
Stampability: Not designed for stamping.
Dry Time: Medium – dry to the touch with minimal smudging in 3-8 minutes.
Overall Thoughts: Dark Elf is one of those polishes that makes you realize why you love indie polish. It spreads well, isn't too gritty, isn't topcoat hungry, and sparkles like mad. If you love OPI's Absolutely Alice, in my opinion, Dark Elf is the pink version of AA. It applies well using the dab method without much trouble. The only bad part is removal. Since it's such a densely packed glitter, you'll either need to use some felt or the foil method for removal.
You can purchase Dollish Polish at Dolly's store and on Llarowe. Follow Dolly on Facebook and Twitter for news and updates.
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.*
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!
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.*
I apologize for the sporadic posting this past week. After vacation, I had so much work to catch up on that I've been pretty much doing stuff just for work all week. In fact, I've got to work most of the weekend, but I'm taking time off tomorrow since it's the hub's 30th birthday! Anyway, I apologize in advance if my posts are brief or if I run out of time in the day to get something up on the blog. My current project, which I am managing (ugh), will be over in 2 weeks, so I should be back on a normal schedule after that. Oh, and don't forget to vote on the Untried Parade! Only 25.5 more hours! And and and! I'm soooooo behind getting everything up to date for the reader of the month, but I should (read hope to) be able to announce a winner for both on Sunday or Monday. I appreciate your patience, everyone! Tonight, I'm going to show you guys Lynnderella Once in a Blue Rune, a bright blue jelly with matching blue glitters, over Indigo Bananas Klein Trink Wasser (the review can be read here). I don't have too much time tonight, so I'll make this quick.
Color: Blue jelly packed with blue metallic and holo glitters of various sizes and shapes.
Finish:Glitter Jelly – glitter in a colored jelly base.
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:Medium – achieves opacity at three to four coats. Here, however, I used it over two coats of undies.
Glitter Application:Medium – requires the dab method, but spreads evenly.
Consistency: Thick – thick or it can be clumpy, but is easily remedied with some polish thinner.
Overall Ease of Application: Medium – applies well with minimal pooling, dragging, streaking, or balding.Spreads well manipulation.
Stampability: Not designed for stamping.
Blurry to see the holo.
Dry Time: Medium – dry to the touch with minimal smudging in 3-8 minutes.
Overall Thoughts: This polish is stunning. Drama aside, Once in a Blue Rune is so worth the price. It's such a vivid bright blue, which is my favorite color, so it's seriously jumped up to one of my favorite polishes. The only bad thing about this polish, which is the same for several of the Lynnderellas I own, is that it's got so much glitter that the base is kind of goopy. I wouldn't say that it's clumpy like what happens to Seche Vite or Rejuvacote when they get old, but it's not really fluid. When you get the glitter on the brush, the glitter to base ratio is such that it's impossible to spread unless you use the dab method. The drawback to the dab method, especially with Lynnderellas, is that the polish builds up pretty thickly and threatens to flake off in sheets more quickly than not. To be honest, though, I love this polish so much that none of that really matters to me. I mean, look at it. It is sincerely stunning! However, if the dab method drives you bonkers, you probably won't like this polish.
Once in a Blue Rune is a regular line polish, and you can purchase it and other Lynnderella polishes on her eBay store here. You can follow news on Lynnderella polishes at her website as well as at the Love Lynnderella Facebook page.
Do you have a polish that is difficult to apply, but you over look it because you love the polish so much?
