New Storenvy Shop Open!  Adventures in Graphic Design!  

   This post is going up a lot later than I hoped it would, but at least I'm typing again!  One day off blogging turned into two, then an entire week.  Losing my momentum is not good!  But I'm back now...  Let's see how I did this month, shall we?

December Checklist

   Not as good as I would have liked to do, but some of my projects evolved into much bigger ones once I got into them, and little Freya had a very needy two weeks midway through the month.

Hair Care - Video / Review

   Hello Princesses!  I was sent two complimentary Goody hair products in my Violet VoxBox to test & review.  This is how they are both fitting into my hair care routine, and I've made a video that gives a closer look at the QuikStyle hair brush.

  I have an every-other-day hair washing schedule.  On the days I don't wash my hair, I get to use the headband.

Nail Art / Mini Tutorial

   I was swatching Zoya Kristen a few days ago when inspiration struck.  Actually, a piece of fuzz struck.  Necessity is the mother of invention, right?  As soon as I was adding topcoat I noticed a very fine piece of red fuzz glossed into my index nail, like so:

Swatch & Review

   Hello, princesses!  Are you curious about the I Love Nail Polish scattered-holographic effect topper?  I was, so I bought it and tried it over China Glaze Recycle (which is a perfect grey creme that I should have owned sooner, I used 2 coats).  My Private Rainbow (S) is a subtle rainbow-sparkling polish.  My camera muted the effect, which is a bit stronger than in my photo, but it certainly isn't anything linear.  It's like China Glaze Fairy Dust's even daintier sister.  I really enjoyed wearing it, and can't wait to see what it looks like over more... shall I say colorful? polishes.  What do you think of it?

Swatch & Review / Nail Art

   This was one of the items provided for review in my Violet VoxBox from Influenster. They would like us to share a "shining moment" we had while wearing the polish.  I didn't actually get to wear this for very long, but I did dress Sparkling Water up with some pearl-chain nail stickers.  As I was finishing my manicure, I had a realization...

   Are nail stickers "cheating" when it comes to nail art?  Should they even count?  Yes.  Just because you make a cake using a box mix instead of from scratch, will someone claim that you didn't bake a cake: you cheated?  No, you just made what you currently had time and ability to do.  We all admire the hand-piped frosting flowers, the mind-blowing 3D fondant creations that make their way to Pinterest collections... but sometimes you have to be content with sprinkles.  In the end it's tasty, you did make cake.
    With nail stickers and decals... they are quick and easy to master, but do take skill to apply in a creative, eye-pleasing way.  So what if I didn't sit down with a tiny brush and make each dot myself.  I still chose where I wanted the design, carefully cut them to the proper length, and carefully applied them with tweezers.  That's all I had time for.  And you know what?  It was pretty, I enjoyed the look - I did nail art.

   Now, let's get to what we're really after: a proper swatch and review of Sally Hansen Sparkling Water!

Swatch & Review

   I paired two of the newest I Love Nail Polish holographic polishes together to test them out.  Here are my thoughts on Bottle Service and Pt 78.  I wore this manicure back in November, and by some miracle the clouds parted that Monday afternoon and I was able to get a few quick sunlight pictures...

Video

   Woohoo!  Another box from Influester, and another video showing what was inside it!  The contents of the Violet VoxBox were customized depending on who they were sent to.  For me, this is the best box yet - it includes nail polish, and a hairbrush!!  =D

   I was sent these complimentary products in exchange for my opinions; you can learn more about Influenster here!

Nail Art

   Today's post features an ancient relic!  Okay, not really.  But Lush Lacquer recently changed their name to Polish Me Silly, and either way I think Mr. Bubble might be a discontinued color?  I bought it last year.  Mr. Bubble is a mix of matte glitter in a clear base, and I used it to make a really cute glitter gradient sandwiched between layers of L'oréal Bubble Trouble!

Swatch & Review

   Hello, Princesses!  Today I'm sharing an absolutely gorgeous indie creation - Convergent by Digital Nails.  This polish is also extra-special because it was the first manicure I got to do after giving birth to my daughter (she was almost 2 weeks old!), and it felt so great to do my nails again.  The only bad thing about this polish... it's so beautiful and color-shifty that I spent almost an hour trying to choose which pictures to share.  I got it down to 12.

Edit:  Whaa!  I had this scheduled to go live on Nov 30th and I just noticed it still wasn't up... stupid Blogger!  ;_;

    Hello, everyone!  I'm starting a new way to to end each month here on Princessly Polished.  I'm expanding the collective haul post to include other topics such as projects I'm working on, my favorites of the month, blogging goals, etc...  I hope you enjoy it!

   To start things off, this just happened:

Swatch & Review

   Sunlight picture, yay!  I've already shared Nfu-Oh #62 before on my blog, but I've had these polishes for so long that my nails and photography skills have improved to the point that I really ought to reswatch them all!  Anyway, #62 is the linear holographic polish.  It takes 2 coats.

   China Glaze Hello Gorgeous! can be built up into a textured glitter polish because the soft pink glitter nicely hides any bare patches!  I used 3 coats by itself (no topcoat, no "underwear") for a look very similar to what I did with China Glaze Glistening Snow.  Next time I wear this I'll try it as a single-coat topper over a dark color.

Swatch & Review

   Here's a really great glitter topper from I♥NP!  It's called Cheshire Blues, and it contains pale blue, periwinkle, white and pink glitters.  I was really impressed with this one, because I only used 1 coat on my middle nails and I did not have to fish for glitter!  I was totally surprised when my brush grabbed those 3 heart glitters!  China Glaze Electric Beat impressed me, too.  Perfect shade of blue and a wonderful formula.  Two nails took 2 coats and the others only needed 1!  These polishes are both from older releases but fortunately still available - do you have either of them?

   Also, my blog is getting an overhaul!  I'm doing all the work myself so please tell me if you spot anything that isn't right.  What do you think of it?  =)

Swatch & Review

   Still plowing through nail pictures taken before Freya was born, here is a manicure that nicely used 3 untried polishes.  The blue creme on my center fingers is China Glaze Fade Into Hue, a perfect periwinkle tone.  Love it!  The glitter over it is the same sauce in the bottle I'm holding; L'oréal The Bigger The Better.  In the bottle it looks uninteresting but it turned out to be black and silver tiny & micro glitter in a clear base.  The coverage was great - my swatch shows 1 coat.  And the outermost black nails are L'oréal Drop Dead Gorgeous, a black polish filled with silvery-white flecks.  In the bottle it looked like these might have some iridescence but it was lost on the nail.  Still, the coverage was great, so I'll keep it for my stash of black-with-something-extra polishes, since I love those entirely too much.  ♥

   Hello everyone, sorry for my absence.  Things have been somewhat awful around here.  This past week my husband and I have been dealing with very nasty colds.  My Mom had a heart attack last week .   She's doing better now, but I'm reposting her Zoya polishes with some price reductions.  She needs the money for bill copays.  Please check out my blog sale, because anything of hers you buy from means money passed along to her.  Thanks!

Swatch & Review

   Wow, a swatch post!  It has been so long!  Today I'm sharing Laquerlicious Star Attitude - 1 coat over China Glaze Def Defying.  This is an AWESOME combination!!  Seriously, I could not get over how bright and happy my nails looked.  I used 3 coats of Def Defying, though I could have gotten away with 2 on the glitter-coated nails.  Star Attitude only needed 1 coat because it is packed with all different types of glitters... star shapes, hexes, shreds, micro bars...  Despite being so full of gllitter application was easy, so this nail polish is a winner in my opinion!  Thanks for looking.  =)

   First off, the happy news that the winner of my last giveaway has been found!  Congratulations to Sonya - her goodies are going out in tomorrow's mail!

New Instagram Account

   Since having my daughter I realized that some people are following me for pictures of her, and some of you just want to see my beauty and review related postings.  I've started an official Instagram account for Princessly Polished, so be sure to start following it if you weren't before!

Blog Sale Update 

   I've also added more polishes to my blog sale - go check it out!

   Now you might be wondering... when will regular posting resume?  November.  I took October off from blogging to let myself recover from childbirth and adjust to being a mommy.   I'm really missing my nail postings and reviews, though!

   September.  Month of Multichrome Madness.  And Also a Baby!

   Of course you know that on the 15th my daughter Freya was born, so here's a quick rundown of the other little pretties I picked up this month...

   I couldn't resist preordering the new I Love Nail Polish brand multichromes.  (Website here.)  Left to right they are Cygnus Loop, My Little Glacier, Birefringence, and Mutagen.  These look pretty awesome, can't wait to try them myself.  =)

   I did a bit of blog sale shopping for the L'oréal jelly polishes Bananarama Love, Creme de Mint, and Bubble Trouble.  I also snagged the discontinued glitters Ozotic 528 and 530.  These five bottles all came from Jacki at Adventures in Acetone.

   Then I placed a very exciting Digital Nails (on Etsy!) order.  I bought Convergent, along with the Starship trio!  Serenity, Galactica, and Leviathan.  Sadly these multichrome glitters are suffering the same end as their Ozotic cousins above... once they're gone, they're gone.

   So, definitely on a bit of a multichrome kick.  But that's okay, the grey days of fall are a perfect time for appreciating these color-shifting gems.  Of course, I probably won't be paying too much attention to my nails until my little girl can go more than 3 hours without eating.  ;P

Introducing my daughter...

 

~  Freya Lunette   ~

Born on Sunday, September 15th, 2013 at 11:41am

weighing 7lb .9oz and measuring 19" long

Freya, Norse, means "lady" or "noblewoman"

Lunette, French, means "little moon"

♥ ♥ ♥

   Hello everyone, and thanks for letting me show off a new little princess!  My husband and I are back at home and doing great, and so is Freya.  September 21st was her due date, but she decided on an early appearance!  She's healthy and (appears) happy, so that's okay with me.  Joe says we need to record the story of her atypical labor and delivery for the benefit of others, so there may be a post about that up on the blog eventually.  =)

   Expect it to be fairly quiet on the blogfront until I get into a routine with my little one.

Nail Art / Swatch & Review

   Good day, Princesses!  Last month when my Laquerlicous polishes arrived in the mail I was immediately inspired by this one.  It was calling out to me from the bottle and I knew I needed to use it in a melon-y manicure ASAP.  I wanted to make the glitters pop, so I couldn't do just a regular pink/red watermelon design.  I thought of trying a nice cantaloupe color, but there is a funny thing about watermelon...


   It's a fruit, it's a vegetable.  It's not technically a melon.  And when it grows without the red pigment-giving antioxidant lycopene... it comes in the most lovely shades of yellow!

Photo source: whataboutwatermelon.com

   I must admit to feeling quite clever about remembering that yellow watermelons are indeed "a thing".  You see, I've never actually found one in person.  They just aren't common in our area.  I'd love to try a slice, though!  They sound like they taste fantastic...  Anyway, nail polish, yes.


   Laquerlicious Melon Sorbet is such a fantastic glitter topper.  I mean, just look at this macro!  It is full of satin and matte shapes in happy shades of pink and green, along with a dash of black and white.  It's the perfect blend of color variety and glitter sizes, easy to work with, and has perfect topper coverage at one coat.  Each nail ends up looking totally unique (without looking chaotic) and there is no need to do glitter fishing.  Though I did fish out the pastel pink circle for my index nail - I saw it in the bottle and I wanted it!  I could go on, but that would probably be cruel.  Right now this polish is on clearance, and there aren't many bottles left.  I'll just say that if you missed this one, I feel very sorry for you.


Details on the nail art:
   Pastel yellow glitter nails: 3 coats China Glaze Lemon Fizz and 1 coat Laquerlicious Melon Sorbet.  Topped with 1 coat of Gelous and 1 coat of Poshe.  (Only used Poshe for the other nails.)
   Melon slice accent nail: Lemon Fizz base with China Glaze Happy Go Lucky sponged at the cuticle for a riper, sweeter-looking melon, black seeds using a nail art striper (L.A. Colors Black), and Zoya Purity sponged at the tip for a realistic fade into the rind..
   Melon rinds:  Base color is Zoya Hunter with squiggly lines done with a bright green nail art striper (L.A. Colors Mint Green).

   I'm a nail-art novice, so I am really happy with how these turned out!  I actually wore these nails at the end of last month; editing the pictures now and seeing them again made me happy all over again!  It's only summer for another week, so it was a perfect time to get my melon on.  Haha.


   If you'd like to see more about yellow watermelon, check out this article on wiseGEEK and this recipe for, what else?  Yellow watermelon sorbet!  Also, if you've ever had the chance to eat yellow watermelon please leave a comment telling me about your experience!  Until I find it myself I'll have to live vicariously through others.  =)


   This might be my last blog post for a little while.  My previous OB appointment revealed that I can basically go into labor at any time (Yay!  ...I think?), and if I don't by this weekend I'll probably be induced (having issues with low fluids again, thus the constant monitoring).  In fact, as this post is going live I'm heading off to one more appointment, where I guess they could say "we're keeping you now".  But I'm hoping that doesn't happen...  Either way, I don't know that I will have much of a brain for blogging.  Most of my time off this week has been spent cleaning, packing, and napping.  ^-^  Until we see you again, hugs and kicks-es from the baby and I! ♥

Swatch & Review

   It's no secret that I looove Nyx products.  I have a whole slew of their eyeshadows, lipglosses, and of course nail polish.  When it comes to the polish I mainly have bottles from their cheaper Nyx Girls line.  I don't often see anything about these Advanced Salon Formula polishes.  So, I've been really curious about their quality.  Finally I decided to just go for it and try all of the pastel colors.  That is, the colors that have "pastel" in their name, and happen to go in sequential numerical order...

   I present to you swatches of Nyx Advanced Salon Formula: Pastel Yellow, Pastel Pink, Pastel Blue, Pastel Coral, Pastel Pistachio, Pastel Mint, and Pastel Lavender.  Let me start off by saying that I added a bit of nail polish thinner to all of the polishes because they were slightly thick, and I wanted them to be flowing a little better!  Not sure if this was because of sitting around or if these are all normally thick polishes.

Pastel Yellow

3 coats, plus topcoat

   This buttery yellow wanted to photograph a bit more vivid than it looks in person.  I had to use 3 coats for opacity, it looked streaky otherwise.  My topcoat helped to level the color out better.  I can't fault a pastel yellow for being a 3-coater, they usually are.  The color is very nice (a bit warmer than China Glaze Lemon Fizz).

Pastel Pink

4 coats alone

   This polish stands out as the lone shimmer in this group of pastels.  I could tell from the Online swatch that it wasn't going to be a plain creme finish, and was hoping for a hidden-shimmer creme instead.  This is more of a pink jelly with ultra fine pinky-purple shimmer.  I was surprised by how much I ended up liking the shimmer and even the color (I'm picky about pink polish), but the formula leaves much to be desired.  This wasn't as thick as the other pastels, but it was super sheer.  It went on streaky, patchy, blah...  Took 3 coats to look decent and 4 for me to be happy with the effect on my nails.  Shorter nails could be okay with 3.  I'm torn about this one. The squishy jelly effect is pretty, and the shimmer is brushstroke free... but I don't have patience for 4 coats of one polish!

Pastel Blue

2 coats, plus topcoat

   This is one of the colors I was most hopeful about, and I wasn't let down.  It is the best polish out of this pastel bunch.  Despite how pale a blue it is I only needed 2 coats, and it was the most willing to self-level out of all these colors.  I added topcoat and that only made it look more perfect!  I really love this light powder blue, and I think it will be a great base color for nail art.

Pastel Coral

2 coats, plus topcoat

   I don't often go for coral, but I did want to add a not-too-bright shade to my stash for nail art.  This color fits the bill nicely.  It's a pigmented true coral without being an eye-searingly bright shade or too warm for my skin.  On the note of pigmentation, this one did want to stick to my cuticles at removal time.  It took a little more remover than the other shades did to completely rid myself of its coral tinge.  This polish was thick and didn't want to self-level, so topcoat is a must.

Pastel Pistachio

2 coats, plus topcoat

   This really is pistachio green!  While the color names aren't super creative at least they are spot-on...  The coverage was good for a light green, good at 2 and surely better with 3 coats.  It is also on the thick side and needed topcoat to level it out more.  So, not the perfect polish but fully tolerable for a shade that is usually finicky.

Pastel Mint

2 coats, plus topcoat

   Nyx gave us blue, green, and blue-green here!  Sitting next to Pastel Blue this definitely has a minty green cast, so it isn't too confusing.  I like the shade but can't say that is the most spectacular mint ever.  It did have good coverage, though.  It also leveled out with topcoat.

Pastel Lavender

2 coats, plus topcoat

   This is a red-toned (but not pink-y) pastel purple.  I have several lavender shades but can't think of an exact dupe for this one.  I really like the color and I think it would work for most skin tones.  Once again this polish was quite pigmented and only needed 2 coats, but needed topcoat to level it out better.

   Here is what I can say about all the polishes:  They have very low odor; I hardly noticed any polish smell at all.  They remove easily.  I love the square bottles which are sturdy and store wonderfully.  The wide, flat brushes are easy to work with.  (Pastel Pistachio and Pastel Mint each had a stray long bristle, but I didn't need to trim it before use.)  And yes, they all had to be thinned.  (Pastel Pink was the least thick of all, but it was also a shimmery jelly instead of a creme.)  Rather than be watery pastels these seem to be so loaded with pigment that they are thick and not really good at leveling themselves out.  I can't really be upset about needing topcoat with most of these when I always use it anyway, but of course I'd prefer for these to have a smoother finish.  I am most impressed by the fact that I couldn't find dupes for any of these in all the pastel polishes I already own!

   They are pastels, though, and it probably isn't good to judge an entire line by just these.  Am I inspired to buy the rest of the Advanced Salon Formula line?  No.  But I will pick a color up if I'm curious about it... and it doesn't have a dupe for half the price in the Nyx Girls line.  What do you think?  If you own any Advance Salon Formula polishes let me know which ones they are and what you think of them, thanks!

Swatch & Review

   Good day, princesses!  I have another Laquerlicous creation to share with you today.  Behold the glossy, glittery beauty that is Sapphire Glaze!

   I love this polish!  It's so gorgeous!  In the shop it carries this description: "This polish is in a deep blue base with blue, teal and magenta micro glitter."  That is very accurate.  You can tell there is more than one shade of blue glitter, and the magenta glitters give it a little something special.  The deep blue base often makes the magenta glitter look like a deep purple on the nail, which is awesome in my opinion!

   Looking at the polish in the bottle I thought "well, it's a dark jelly, but I wouldn't be surprised if it took 3 coats by itself".  Not so!  It covers very well and I had no issues with visible nail line or bald spots on my nail.  Despite being packed with glitter the glitter is very easy to work with and spreads evenly.  It does have some texture by itself but it smoothed right out with topcoat, which added to the shiny jewel effect.

   This polish is perfect for princesses who love royal blues and/or having their tips sparkle like gems!  You can find Sapphire Glaze (and a range of other jewel-themed "glaze" polishes) at the Laquerlicious shop.  My thanks to Michelle for sending me this polish to share with everyone on my blog!

   Things are looking up!  My last doctor visit went well and my fluid levels are where they are supposed to be.  So long as this continues I should be able to safely carry this baby to term!  As of today that only makes 3 weeks to go, anyhow...  I'm fine with her waiting until then to come out, haha.  =)

   So, this month... kind of made up for buying so little earlier in the year...  Some things were gifts though, too!  And pretty much everything else in this picture was on sale.

   Usually I would have a bunch of pictures and list off everything that I accumulated, but I'm not doing that this time.  (Combine a busy week & weekend with the exhaustion of pregnancy...)  Instead I'll leave links to what I've already shown on my blog!

   I've already tested more of what you see here... tune in next week for Nyx swatches and more Laquerlicious eye candy!  I think I want to try out the nail decals or foil sheets I found next...

Swatch & Review

   I have several polishes to share today, princesses!  Prepare your eyes for a feast of sparkly goodness!  If you were a fan of the jelly-with-holographic-microshards beauties Aurora, Blaze and Storm that Zoya released you will like these, too!  I couldn't resist trying these new L.A. Girl polishes, and seeing how they compare...

From left to right: L.A Girl 3D Silver, Teal Dimension, Brilliant Blue, Sparkle Ruby, and Dazzling Pink

   The 3D Effect collection has 3 more polishes that I did not pick up: Electric Coral (I'm not really a coral-wearing girl), Purple Effect (looks like an exact dupe of Zoya Aurora, which I already own), and Black Illusion (a dupe for Zoya Storm, again I already own that polish).  All of them include the same silver holographic microshard glitter in a jelly base, except for 3D Silver, which is a clear-based glitter.  On to the swatches!

Top to bottom: Teal Dimension, Brilliant Blue, Sparkle Ruby, Dazzling Pink

Teal Dimension 

   I used 2 coats, no topcoat.  This is a true, deep teal color.  It reminds me of jewels and peacock feathers!  The jelly coverage is fantastic while still being sheer enough to show off a lot of holographic sparkle.  Very beautiful and a great color for heading into fall and winter.

Brilliant Blue 

   I used 2 coats, no topcoat.  Deep sapphire blue.  It brings to mind the night sky or ocean depths.  Not normally a color I would grab but the finish and look of this is irresistible!  It should be perfect as a base for nail art or sponged into a galaxy manicure.  I think the darker jelly base gives an illusion of less or smaller pinpricks glitters.

Sparkle Ruby 

   I used 2 coats, no topcoat.  Deep burgundy-red.  I absolutely love this color and was really surprised not to find any swatches of it while picking colors to buy from this collection!  The darker base makes it look less glitter-packed, but it sparkles beautifully.  And yes, Sparkle Ruby seems to be an exact dupe for Zoya Blaze!

Dazzling Pink 

   I used 2 coats, no topcoat.  Fun, flamingo-ish, warm toned pink.  This color was the most sheer and could probably use 3 coats.  It really shows the glitter!  I was on the fence about ordering this color because I'm picky about pinks, and sadly I don't think this one is the right shade for me.

L.A. Girl 3D Silver, 2 coats alone and 1 coat over black

3D Silver 

  Again, no topcoat used.  If you love the glitter but don't like any of the colors in this collection, this would be the polish to get.  It isn't going to have quite the same depth as the jelly-based colors, but it layers over any color to create an effect that looks the same from arm's-length away.  This is definitely a topper, I imagine it would take 5 coats to try to get the glitter opaque by itself.

   I'm going to talk about formula now because these all had the same formula!  In most reviews I found the swatcher said the polishes were thick, but that was not the case for me.  They aren't thin and runny, but they are very easy to use.  I didn't have any issues with pooling, dragging, or glitter being uneven.  Also, they dried fast.  I didn't use topcoat because they dried to a perfectly smooth, glassy finish all on their own.  Durability was good; I only had minor tip wear after a full workday.  Removal was a breeze, as well.  In my opinion these are all real winners.

   As for the glitter particles themselves, they are fantastic.  The fact that they are tiny irregular shapes makes the polishes interesting and unique.  The rainbow sparkle is hard to capture in photographs, so please believe me when I say it is there!  And in some lighting these polishes give a very faint linear holographic effect.  Otherwise I would classify these as scattered holo nail polishes.

   While this collection may not be L.A. Girl's most original batch of creations, it worth noticing.  If you were left wanting more by Zoya's holographic jellies last year, take a look at these.  (Don't bother buying repeats of the identical colors, though.)  If you like delicate sparkly toppers, pick up 3D Silver.  If you like solid-performing polishes that can be found for $5 a bottle or less, definitely hunt these down!  Here is the official webpage for this 8-polish collection.  I hope you found my swatches helpful.  =)