I'm back! Last week I was at Cosmoprof North America 2016 and if you checked my Instagram or Facebook, I saw a LOT of things. I'm still working through to decompress through all the paperwork and photos I took but today I wanted to show off an indie brand that I stumbled upon through Facebook.
Anchor & Heart Lacquer is based out of Portland, Maine, which you know is a bit dear to my heart. My husband was born and still has family just south of Portland so I feel like I'm being a bit of fan girl when I buy from a Maine company. Owner Taryn Jade has a wide range of colors and during a recent sale on her Etsy site, I picked up The Vivacious, a berry shade with a subtle holo and gold shimmer. This shade is from the My Friends, My Anchors collection.
I used a base coat of OPI Nail Envy in Hawaiian Orchid. If you recall, last summer OPI decided to tint their strengthening treatment. You can wear the base alone with 2 coats, but I just used one because I was originally going to wear a different color altogether today. While Hawaiian Orchid is a bit of a dusty rose shade, it did not affect my wear for The Vivacious. I used 2 coats of The Vivacious over and then topped using Anonymous Lacquer's Fast Dry Top Coat called With A Quickness that I received at the Cocktails and Colors 2016 event in Las Vegas. I was super happy that the formula on The Vivacious was smooth, didn't run or pool, and spread evenly with the flat brush.
This shade can lean pink or berry depending on your skin tone and lighting. As you can see in the bottle, there's a scattered holo and gold shimmer running throughout the formula. In the shade, I could see the strong shimmer. In the sun, it was just enough holo to make me stare at my nails while flexing my fingers. Come on, we've all done it. One thing I have noticed is that the top coat I'm using, while making the polish shiny, did not completely cover all the properties of this polish. My thumb isn't glass smooth like I prefer - it's not bumpy like a texture polish and I'm not catching lint on it or anything, but there's just a very small grit to the polish that I've noticed. I'm not sure if it's the formula itself or the combination of me trying a new top coat. It's not enough to bother me by any means though.
Also I'm trying a new nail shape! I changed to squoval in summer 2011 after having a more rounded look prior to that. While I was in Las Vegas, I received an essie gel coutour manicure by Jolene Canzoneri Brodeur [website | instagram] and she asked if she could file my nails to a different shape. Since Jolene is a celebrity/entertainment/editorial/commerical nail artist, I was going to take her advice and she gave me this soft almond look. I cannot tell you how many compliments I've received from my fellow bloggers on the new nail shape. It's growing on me as it does elongate my nail beds and give me a very feminine look. On the practical side, I didn't break one nail in Vegas, coming home, or my first week back at work and that's saying something!
So back to Anchor & Heart - so far, I'm happy!I have one other shade that I purchased which seems super office appropriate and I may wear to my next big meeting. The Vivacious may be purchased in her Etsy shop for $9.50. I purchased during her 4th of July sale for a 15% discount.
Anchor & Heart may be purchased on Etsy. Join the social conversation on Facebook and Instagram. Use #anchorheartlacquer or #AHLnailmail to share with other AHL lovers!
Image via Cosmoprof North America
Where has June gone?! Sorry it's been quiet on my front - we had not one but three tornadoes come through my town on May 31st, one right past my house. We sustained quite a bit of damage but in the end, we're okay, the cats are okay, and I didn't even lose any nail polish. It's the little things, right? However, all that aside, I am excited to announce that I will be attending Cosmoprof North America again this year! This is the largest business-to-business beauty show in the country and it's three days jam packed with educational panels, product demos, meetings and more. This will be my 6th year to attend, and I'm hoping to gain some great coverage of new and exciting products. Sometimes, products are embargoed, meaning that I'm not allowed to take photos or even write information down. Other times, I'm allowed to share about new products or collections on social media and my blog, so if you're not doing so now, be sure to like me on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram and add me to Snapchat.
But get this! The group of bloggers who have been allowed to cover the show for their blogs has grown and now we have coverage from all over! Here is a list of bloggers who will be at the show and where to follow them. If you click on their logo, you'll go to their blog, but the social media methods they will be posting on, are located under their logo.
This is not a full list. If you are attending and would like to be included in this list, please email me at krystalATpolishgaloreDOTcom
Press Sample
If you've been reading PolishGalore for any length of time, you'll know that I'm pretty terrible when it comes to nail art. I love the look, I love the creativity, I just don't have "it" when it comes to creating half the time. That's why when I got these new UNO by Gelish MINI 1-step soak off gels, I knew that I could probably create something awesome for Memorial Day using vinyls. Let's see what happens, right?
UNO by Gelish MINI is a single-step process for DIY gel manicures. That's right, no base coat, no top coat, and no cleansing involved. Just get an LED light and your choice of over 20 colors and get to work. These durable, high-shine manicures boast a 7-10 day wear time, providing you wrap your tips, keep the gel off your cuticles, and use thin coats when applying. Please do not confuse "1 Step" with "1 Coat".
Side note: Do not use a LED lamp that has more than 18 watts. I have absolutely no idea the wattage on my LED lamp but it seemed to work fine with my nails.
First, as with any manicure (gel or not), I properly cleansed my nail, removing all my old nail polish, and making sure my cuticles were off the nail plate. Next was prepping the gel bottle - this doesn't sound like much but you do need to shake the bottle to make sure all the product is properly mixed, as gel tends to be thicker than normal polish. Then I started with one thin coat of the red creme called Traffic Stopper and cured in my LED lamp (60 seconds). Then I added a second thin coat of Traffic Stopper and cured that for 60 seconds. Next, I used the Starburst vinyl from NailVinyls and placed it about halfway on my nail before using the blue creme called Very Blueberry and cured for another 60 seconds. Afterwards, I removed the vinyl and was good to go. Very Blueberry was pigmented enough that I didn't need a second coat.
Now the only downside about using a vinyl with a 1-step gel is that there isn't a top coat to "seal" the edges of the vinyl. My vinyl didn't lift or get caught on anything but at the same time, my nail wasn't as smooth as the others, so I made this an accent nail only. A top coat would have smoothed everything out but that would have defeated the purpose of using UNO.
To remove, start by gently filing the surface of the gel with a 180 grit file to remove the shine (the nail should look matte), then place a cotton ball with your choice of remover on the nail and wrap with foil. There are many different products on the market to help aid you in removing your gel - I prefer the Steam Off by Katie Cazorla. You still file the surface but then you place your hand in the machine for 10 minutes and the steam created from the acetone penetrates to the polish and steams it right off. I've been using it every time I wear gel, without any issues.
The final look! I wore this to a baseball game on Sunday and it lasted me well. I did not wrap my tips and because of it, I had tip wear after Monday's chores of washing dishes and doing laundry. I will be wearing more of the colors as this month goes on as June will be really busy for us and can't wait to show you more colors!
Disclosure:
The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company
for consideration. For more information, please read this post.
Press Sample
I have to take some photos today, and I knew I wanted a cherry red creme since the photos are for professional needs and I'm not the photographer. Now it's not that I didn't want to go with an awesome neon or a crazy holographic, but I wanted something timeless, elegant and classic. After a little hunting, I found my LVX Crimson from the 2015 Winter/Resort collection.
I used a base coat of Duri Rejuvacote, 2 coats of polish and finished with Love, Angeline Topped With Love top coat. My nails are a little long right now and in need of some TLC but the formula for this polish was a dream. One thing I'm learning is to just get your first coat on and don't worry so much about opacity and use a second thin coat to get your evenness.
So when I look at my nails dead on, they look fantastic. Under a little harsher of a light in my box, you can see a bit of visible nail line almost leading towards the the polish being more of a jelly instead of a creme but I'm calling it a creme. Again, this is just a pretty classic red and definitely a good staple in anyone's collection. For those who are tracking like me, this is #63 in the LVX line.
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.
Press Sample
I was first introduced to CND back when the colours/effects line of polish were popular with their matchy bottles. I was so sad when they were discontinued, especially Blackjack, as it was my GO TO black creme. Then Shellac came out, and next was it's middle sister, Vinylux. Today I have the "little sister" in the line, Creative Play and that amazing bottle up there is called Dazzleberry.
Creative Play is a traditional three-step nail lacquer system (base, color, top coat) that comes in over 80 colors with 10 different finishes. They are 7-free and can be purchased in select salons worldwide. Also, check with your favorite manicurist, and they may offer Creative Play as one of their in-salon services. Prices vary, so unfortunately, I cannot give out accurate pricing as of press time.
For this manicure, I started with the CND Creative Play Base Coat. The base coat is creme in color but goes on the nail clear, and give almost a matte look to the nail. Then the color. I used 3 coats of Dazzleberry. The first coat was super sheer, almost a jelly. The second coat brought out more of the glitter and base color and I ended up doing a third thin coat to make sure I had complete opacity. I finished with CND Creative Play Top Coat which does NOT appear to be a quick dry top coat, so plan accordingly. Additionally, this polish dried a little bumpy (not gritty, not textured, just not smooth as glass) so I used two coats of top coat.
CND calls this color a microglitter which is pretty accurate. The base color is a fuchsia pink/purple combination and there is different quite a bit of blue microglitter to give a shimmer effect as well as some rainbow reflecting/holographic microglitters for extra shine. Granted, you won't be able to pick up every single color from the bottle on the nail but all that added in give this polish a unique dynamic.
Overall, I'm happy that CND brought back this "type" of nail products back for people like me who don't wear their polish longer than their work week. Vinylux is great for my super busy weeks where I can't change my polish as much as I want, and Shellac is fantastic for vacation when I know I can't change my polish when I want but Creative Play is where I will play (hah) the most.
Disclosure:
The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the
company for consideration. For more information, please read this post.
