Glisten & Glow Saddle Shoes & Sock Hops

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I've been on my forever quest to find the perfect grey - did Glisten & Glow Saddle Shoes & Sock Hops meet my needs?

KBShimmer High-rise To The Occasion

Nothing To Disclose
The KBShimmer Blogger Collections have definitely been fun to watch over the years, and this past Fall 2017, one especially caught my eye! Created with Michelle from Ehmkay Nails, High-rise To The Occasion starts with light grey crelly base has rainbow flakies and violet shimmer. The shimmer makes the polish almost looks lilac in low light which makes me super happy.

LVX Ashe

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Why hello again! It's been a long three months - a very busy three months in my household but time and time again I realized just HOW MUCH I've missed blogging. So today, my 33rd birthday, I decided that I was carving out time to do the thing that I've been enjoying for 7 long years now and BLOG.

My normally super sunny South Texas was hit with a cold front today and it was a brisk 34 degrees when I got up. My parents used to tell me that the year I was born, it was really cold too. So cold that my Dad had to have a thermometer above my bassinet to make sure I didn't catch cold when they brought me home from the hospital. Because of that, I reached for LVX Ashe, a light charcoal grey from the Fall Winter 2016 collection. I have such a love for greys on my nails so I was excited to try this one out.

I used a base coat of Duri Rejuvacote, 2 coats of polish and finished with Glisten & Glow HK Girl. The first coat was almost opaque enough but I had a few brush strokes so I went for a second thin coat to make everything look amazing. And amazing is just one of the works to describe this polish.

I'm pretty darn happy with it. It doesn't have the blue or yellow undertones to me that most greys can get. I'm in desperate need of a proper manicure but I feel this works for me right now. Not sure if I'll change to something more Christmas-ey for the weekend or not. It's not like I don't have enough polish to choose from.

Overall, this is a great addition to my world. I've been a huge fan of LVX since it first came out and I appreciate the luxury that this brand brings to my collection. I'm also privately happy that they will only be releasing 2 collections per year (instead of 4) so that I can continue to monetarily support them since I'm rebuilding my press contacts after disappearing for so long.

So where is PolishGalore now? On the eve of Kellie Gonzo closing her blog (link here) as well as many other bloggers who have packed up their brushes over the years, I'm here to reflect on why I started this blog in December 2009. I fell in love with polish and I loved being able to paint my nails and shre it with others. Granted, I've gone places I never thought I would - Las Vegas, San Francisco, Chicago and now New York City in the Spring - and I've done some amazing things - magazine articles, print campaigns, online campaigns - but what has really stuck with me is the amazing community that I've been introduced to. I may not have 10,000 page views a month anymore, and I don't even have 5000 Instagram followers, but I've made some amazing friends and have some killer nail polishes and frankly, I enjoy blogging still. So that's what I'm doing. I've finally gotten the ability to place my polish in a pet and (mostly) kid-free zone of my house, I have my light box set up where I think it will serve me well, and I have a patient family who is giving me the time I need to paint and write.

LVX [Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Instagram] is available on their website. It is 10-free to include Toluene and Camphor, vegan and cruelty free. Use promo code POLISHGALORE for 20% off your purchase!

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration. For more information, please read this post.

Morgan Taylor Rule the Runway

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Does it feel like fall to you? It really doesn't here. We STILL don't have the damage fixed from the tornado that came through at the end of May. But I had been eyeing this color since it showed up at my house so today I'm wearing Morgan Taylor Rule the Runway from the Fall 2016 Sweetheart Squadron collection. This is dusty grey creme with just a touch of purple/lavender in it. I felt it was super elegant and beautiful for my nails.

I went with a base coat of Duri Rejuvacote, 2 coats of polish and finished with Digital Nails Ain't Nobody Got Time For That top coat. The formula was excellent, no pooling or flooding and full coverage in just two coats.

I know that Morgan Taylor was going for a slate gray but the hint of purple just makes me swoon. I also really like the whole concept of the collection - stepping away from jewel tones like other companies do for fall and moving towards a more muted palette.

Morgan Taylor [Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | YouTube] is available at CosmoProf for $8.50 a bottle. Online, non-professionals can purchase Morgan Taylor at Ulta Beauty. 

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration. For more information, please read this post.

LVX Mineral

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So I've been noticing that I own a lot of cremes, and as much as I love my glitters and holos, there's something about a classic creme manicure. Pair that with LVX, and you have yourselves a winner. LVX is primarily creme polishes although they have made some metallics in the past. Today I'm wearing Mineral from the Winter Resort 2015 collection which is a grey creme.

I started with Duri Rejuvacote, 2 coats of polish and finished with Glisten & Glow H K Girl top coat. The formula was thin on the first coat but self leveled and evened out with the second coat. I do have quite a few ridges on my ring finger that stuck out at me like a sore thumb while wearing this polish but a ridge filler would take care of that.

This is a really interesting grey. It almost leans teal grey and in other lights it pulled almost green grey to me. It's still not my heart stopping grey that I search for but it's a great base color, palette cleanser, nail art staple polish. My nails are getting too long for me again so I need to trim them down and then I'd really rock this color on my nubs.

Overall I forgotten how much I really liked LVX. The price is up there but it's rare to be disappointed with their formula. 

LVX [Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Instagram] is available on their website. It is 10-free to include Toluene and Camphor, vegan and cruelty free. Use promo code POLISHGALORE for 20% off your purchase!

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

My Top 5 Indie Polishes

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Last week, 29 amazing bloggers decided to come together and decide their top 5 indie polishes. I make #30 but after a sick Squish all week and a job that doesn't allow for much blogging time, I fell behind. However, this holiday weekend let me catch up (until I snapped my SD card in my reader...)

So without any further ado, here's my top 5 indie polishes!

Digital Nails Purple Reign is a deep purple holo that is perfectly opaque in just 2 coats. The holo is ridic - just look at it! And that's with a top coat! Purchase Digital Nails here.

Girly Bits A Stripper Has Been Sleeping In My Bed is a crazy rainbow packed glitter in a gunmetal gray base. I actually used 2 coats over another indie to give myself a base to grip to. This is a thirsty glitter and needs a good top coat to cover. Purchase Girly Bits here.

Glam Polish WHOOSH! is a very light lavender holo that is opaque in just 2 coats and doesn't dull with top coat. The bottles always seem more holo that the nails to me, but there's still plenty of holo to go around. Purchase Glam Polish here.

ILNP Mega is the original silver holo from their line before they came out with Mega (L), Mega (S) and the most recent Mega (X). I just recently pulled all 4 from my boxes to play with but I only got them on a nail wheel before Squish started squealing for mommy. Check my Instagram for a short video and comparison. Purchase ILNP here.

Love, Angeline Did You Say Peppercorn?! is the combo breaker in my Top 5. It's a very muted, matte grey with blue microglitter that's only seen with a top coat, which I didn't add. I picked this color because it's a great office neutral and something that's a great palette cleanser to my holo and glitter bombs. Purchase Love, Angeline here.

And there we have it! Be sure to check out the other bloggers below!

An InLinkz Link-up

KBShimmer Meow or Never

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I'm quite close to being a crazy cat lady (we have 6 cats - ages 14 years to 4 years old) so when I heard that KBShimmer had a color called Meow or Never, I knew it was the one for me. This polish from the 2015 Spring collection is based on the Pantone spring color Glacier Gray and has purple, gray, periwinkle and sky blue glitter ranging in size from small to large. This is also a crelly and 3 thin coats is recommended.

I used a base coat of Duri Rejuvacote, 3 coats of polish and finished with KBShimmer Clearly on Top. 30 minutes prior to application, I turned my bottle upside down in order to help get more glitter to the top of the bottle.

No sun again, so here's a photo in my light box. You can see that the glitters really show up well - especially the periwinkle blue glitter which I love.

Meanwhile in the shade, you can really see how crelly this is - glitters are suspended in the grey base color.

Finally in indirect light, the polish just looks lovely. I really didn't have any issues with glitter sticking up or curling up, which is always a plus.

KBShimmer [website] can be purchased through their website for those in the United States and through Harlow and Co for international sales. Prices range from $5.50 to $8.75. Connect with KBShimmer through their social media networks: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

Zoya Tove

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Heading into the finale of the Zoya Naturel Satins collection and today I have Tove - a misty slate grey which leans more blue to me. I sometimes have to seriously question where they get these names. As you may recall, Zoya names all their polishes after women. The only Tove I've ever heard of is a singer which a very interesting song called Habits (Stay High). I know she has other songs and she's currently touring but yeah, I just know her for this one crazy little song.

I used a base coat of Zoya Anchor, 2 coats of polish and no top coat. The formula was pretty much a one coater here too but two thin coats is always best for me. I was very happy with the coverage.

The sun has decided to go away so this photo is from my light box. I'm absolutely in love with this color. It's not my perfect grey but the hint of blue is just SO perfect for me. I'm seriously considering wearing this for my upcoming baby shower. LOVE.

Here in the shade, it's definitely a dusty little number. Still love it.

LOOK AT THIS. This is what really made me fall in love with this polish. Seriously, I'd paint a room this color if I could because I do love it. I seriously see myself reaching for this polish over and over this year. Hands down my favorite of the collection.

Zoya [Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube] can be purchased on their website for $9/bottle. 

China Glaze Five Rules

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Today is awesome. I thought I lost these photos that I took but after some intensive computer searching, I found 8 sets of photos! One was this grey creme from the China Glaze "The Giver" limited edition collection called Five Rules. I haven't read the books so I'm not as excited about this collection as others but I was excited to take another chance with a grey creme. If you're a long time follower, you know I've been looking for my perfect grey forever. Is this it?

I used a base coat of Cult Nails Get It On, 2 coats of polish, and finished with Glisten & Glow HK Girl. Formula was pretty fantastic - not chalky, not runny.

I do love this grey but I feel like it has a hint of green to it. Not moss green, but maybe a swamp look? It's quite pretty and I know it would be great with stamping.

I will definitely wear it again, but probably only on short nails like I have here. It's still not my holy grail grey but it's getting close! 

The Giver Collection is limited edition so if you find it, BUY IT. This is one of the few times that China Glaze will NOT be keeping these colors around due to the collaboration with the movie.

China Glaze [Website] [Facebook] [Twitter] can be found online through several etailers, including my favorite Head2Toe Beauty, Sally's Beauty Supply as well as TransDesign.

LVX Truffle

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From one grey to another! The LVX Spring 2014 collection starts for me with Truffle, a much lighter taupe creme. I used a base of Duri Rejuvacote, 2 coats of polish and a top coat of Digital Nails Ain't Nobody Got Time For That. I was really impressed with how well this polish applied.

We are having a lovely rainy season so no sun, but you can see how well this color shines - in fact, you can see my trees in the reflection of my nails! No pooling, no streaking - just nice and even polishing.  This is ALMOST my perfect grey!

In my indirect light, you can see that it's a smudge too dark for my ideal grey but man it's pretty. Reminds me of a truffle mushroom. 

LVX [Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Instagram] is available on their website. It is 10-free to include Toluene and Camphor, vegan and cruelty free. Use promo code POLISHGALORE for 20% off your purchase!

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

LVX Relique

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I almost forgot to talk about this lovely little guy, LVX Relique! I used a base coat of Cult Nails Get It On, 2 coats of polish and a top coat of Cult Nails Wicked Fast. The formula was nice but it didn't want to photograph well.

But I did get one photo in the shade - Relique is a taupe creme that leans a bit purple. Nicely opaque, no issue with streaking.

LVX [Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Instagram] is available on their website. It is 10-free to include Toluene and Camphor, vegan and cruelty free. Use promo code POLISHGALORE for 20% off your purchase!

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

LVX Cashmere

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LVX Cashmere is a light grey creme from the Fall 2013 collection. I am still looking for my perfect grey but none seem to really hit the spot. For this manicure, I used a base coat of Cult Nails Get It On, 2 coats of polish and a top of Cult Nails Wicked Fast.

So this comes super close to being my happy grey that I want to wear all the time. I think it needs a tiny more grey in it for me but it's a great palette cleanser or office appropriate shade.

LVX [Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Instagram] is available on their website. It is 10-free to include Toluene and Camphor, vegan and cruelty free. Use promo code POLISHGALORE for 20% off your purchase!

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

Layla Softouch 3 - Stone

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One of my favorite things about Layla is the long brushes inside the glass bottles. I didn't think I'd like the long brush but it's actually easy to hold and handle.  This is "3" which is also called Stone in their catalog.

I didn't use a base coat (as Layla says not to) and two coats of polish. The Softouch line looks like a matte but it doesn't get glossy with a top coat, so I didn't add a top coat either. It's this lovely dusty purple gray. I kind of wish that it would turn glossy to see those shimmers but hey, I'll live.

Here it is in the sun. This is two coats of polish and you can see how it's soft, matte, and pretty at the same time.

Meanwhile in some indirect light, it looks more grey. Even without a base and top coat, this polish did well. It wore well on me without tip wear or chipping for four days. Also, it didn't stain my nails which was great. 

The price on these polishes do vary - the current price I've found is $9.95 but sometimes you can find them on sale at Ulta.

Layla Cosmetics [Website | Facebook | Twitter] is distributed to the US through the Luxcon Group who has a Facebook Page to several online websites including Ninja Polish, Zappos, AVEYOU, Brigette's Boutique, Amazon, and Drugstore.  It is also available at Ulta.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

NCLA Rock Solid

NCLA is one of those brands that while I love it to death, these caps are going to be the death of me.  It's a false square cap that is supposed to be able to be removed to show a smaller round cap, but sometimes I can't get the square cap off and then my bottles don't line up perfectly, and THEN I RAGE. So if anyone knows how to get the fake square caps off without breaking anything, please do let me know in the comments.

Today I'm showcasing the finale of the Going Out in LA 2012 collection with Rock Solid. This is a fancy little grey that has a gritty glitter in it.  Talk about some extra texture! I used a base of Poshe, 2 coats of polish and a top of Cult Nails Wicked Fast.

I'm still hunting for my perfect grey, and this kind of comes close! The gritty glitter is definitely unique to any of my other greys, but if you don't want the sandpaper feeling, I suggest you add more thin coats of top coat.

In the shade, not much different - the glitter shows a bit more in the bottle, but I'm thinking of changing how I take pictures and show more nail than anything else. I'm working on revamping my self, you could say.

And finally in indirect light. The grittiness didn't bother me as much as I thought it would, but I did catch it lightly on things. The formula was nice and smooth (yes, smooth!) with no patchiness and quite opaque. I think this would be better suited to my nubbins that I have now than on longer nails.  Cleanup was normal - just a bit more scrubbing to get off the grit.

NCLA [Website] [Facebook] [Twitter] [Tumblr] is available on the website for $16.00 a bottle and in a variety of stores.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

essence stuck on you

essence, mainly an overseas brand, does have a small presence in the USA but starting this fall, they are making a bigger statement.  I first saw this brand at my local HEB (grocery store), but had been receiving the international press releases with all kinds of awesome polishes that never arrived at my local store.

What did arrive, the other day, was the new bottle size from the colour & go nail polish.  The old bottles were smaller and were sold for 99 cents - the new bottles are larger (8ml), have a different brush (longer and slightly fatter), a redesigned lid that "clicks" when you have it on tight, and are retailing for $2.  essence is a Big-3 free brand.

Today I have stuck on you, a purple swirly grey with silver microglitter.  I used a base of Poshe, 1 coat of polish and a top of Seche Vite.  Honestly, I should have probably used 2 coats but I was excited.

Nice and vampy - yep!  I'm trying not to swatch my polishes so late in the day - I feel like the lighting is a bit off.

Here in the shade, you can see a bit of streakiness in my ring finger - this is where 2 coats would have been better.

A nice shot in indirect sun, trying to capture all the pretty that is in this bottle.

Finally indoors with the flash and you can see that I really needed 2 coats for my pinkie and ring fingers.

essence [Website | Facebook | Twitter] colour & go nail polish is available in a total of 18 colors and is $2 a bottle.  It can be found at Ulta, HEB and Fred Meyer stores.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

China Glaze Concrete Catwalk

While I'm still on my hunt for the perfect grey, Concrete Catwalk seemed like a logical choice to check.  This is also from the 2011 fall collection "Metro".  This whole collection screams NYC to me, but that may be the Glee-episode in me talking...  Or something.  Sadly, I don't recall which base and top coat I used and I believe this was 2 coats.


Also, I suffered a devastating loss - goodbye nails, hello nubbins.

So, not my perfect grey - this one has too much of a dark presence for me.  I do like it much better on nubbins that on long nails though, so I'm sure I'll wear it again, especially in the long winter months.

In the shade this almost has a blue tone to it, but I do believe it's just bad lighting.  Bad blogger too.

Finally indoors with the flash - and some bad focus.  You can see a little bit of patchiness on my pinkie fingers.  You'll notice that on the last post too - you need to make sure to cover the whole nail surface with the polish so you don't end up with patchy spots.




China Glaze [Website] [Facebook] [Twitter] can be found online through several etailers, including my favorite Head2Toe Beauty, Sally's Beauty Supply as well as TransDesign.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

NOTDs Posts

While I work on cranking out some awesome new polishes from brands like NCLA and Jesse's Girl Cosmetics, I wanted to share some of the recent "Nails of the Day" posts that I've been wearing to work.

7 March:  I wish I remembered what these color were.  I know that the white was a China Glaze older color and the pink was an OPI color.  I really don't care for French manicures but I was on my way to a job interview and needed something quick and classic.  It was cured with Seche Ultra V - UV Activated Top Coat and an older CND UV lamp.  I had this done by my manicurist locally who shapes my nails & cleans up my cuticles.

12 March:  I don't remember what hot pink I used here as a base (this is why I write things down normally!) but the glitter tips was from Mattése Elite Mon Amour.  You'll see a review of that later - promise!

18 March:  Here is butterLONDON Knackered which I had a hard time buying when I saw it on blogs.  No one seemed to show it in the best light - and honestly I don't feel like I am either.  I layered this over one coat of Sephora black (the general small bottles that they sell - I got mine for $1).  I really do love all that's going on here - the multichromed purple and green, the microglitter that almost seems holographic.  Love.

19 March:  From the Capitol Colours collection, China Glaze Fast Track was a great office nude with just a hint of shimmer from the microglitter particles.  You'll see a full review on this later.

20 March:  I bought a gram of SpectraFlair pigment from PaisleyPolish1 on Etsy.  Unfortunately, I apparently bought her last gram because the shop is currently closed.  I put about 4 small spoonfuls (using a nail stick) into a half bottle of Seche Vite, added some thinner (because my Seche was getting thick) and some BB ballz to be able to shake the mix up.  I'll have more of a post later but this is 1 coat of the SpectraFlair top coat over China Glaze Sea Spray.

23 March:  I'm really happy and excited about this manicure.  I used a base coat of Sephora black and then 2 coats of Shades of the Season "white" - a color that I picked up from cvs/Pharmacy over the winter break.  It was in a big tube of polishes and as you can see, the glitter shows up either as green or blue depending on the light.

26 March:  I can't believe I've never done a post on Cult Nails Iconic!  I've had it forever but just hadn't put it on.  The flakes get a bit lost in the red base, but it was still a great manicure.

29 March:  Finally I have the new JulieG Gelato in Venice, the new line of nail polish from Jesse's Girl Cosmetics.  This is a mint green creme that reminds me a lot of mint chocolate chip (minus the chocolate chips!).  Oddly enough I only had gelato once in Venice but it wasn't mint - I think it was strawberry.

1 April:  While opening the dryer to get my sheets out, I did this.  Granted this is my right hand but my nails have been getting in the way of my typing and other daily activities so super nubbins I go.

I haven't decided what color to put on my super nubbins but I'm almost thinking of neon.  Neon and nubbins work for me.  :]


Hope you've enjoyed my NOTD!  If you follow me on Instagram (PolishGalore), you've seen all these already, and sometimes I post them on Twitter as well!  :]

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.