Press Sample
It's been 83 days since we were hit by a tornado and I'm finally getting my a/c fixed in the main part of my house today. It's been a very frustrating experience. Since I am required to be home for the install, I'm going through my box of items I received at the Cocktails and Colors party in Las Vegas last month. One that immediately caught my eye was Glisten & Glow Snorkel in St. Thomas - a vibrant cyan creme. I used this as a base for some nail art last week but I wanted to wear it entirely on its own as well.
I used a base coat of Duri Rejuvacote, 2 coats of polish and finished it with Love Angeline Topped With Love top coat. The first coat was a little thin looking but the second coat self-leveled to a beautiful opaque creme.
Look how beautiful this is! While blue isn't normally a color I reach for, this one is such a happy creme. I really miss cremes sometimes - it's easy to wear, it's easy to come off, you can dress it up with glitter or stamping. It's great. This is one in the 4 part collection called Experience the Islands and is currently listed for $7.50.
Glisten & Glow is available on their website. Join the social conversation with Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration. For more information, please read this post.
At Cosmoprof North America, I found out that Color Club was going into the stamping business - and boy were they ever! Launching over 40 plates out of the gate, they mean business. Also while at Cosmoprof, I was blessed to meet the husband and wife duo behind the stockist site Color4Nails. This posting will be about the Color Club Stamping Plates but they were provided to me via Color4Nails.
Side note, Color4Nails is a small home business that was founded in 2011. Their goal is to offer unique polish from different counties as well as from independent polish makers. What I really love is that they have some amazing collaboration polishes only available on their website but we will talk more about that later.
The above 3 plates are the ones I received from Color4Nails. Since they were a press sample, I cannot speak to the ease of purchasing through the website, but I was happy that they were well packaged. I had received 2 bottles of nail polish as well and they were also well packaged. If you've been reading PolishGalore for some time, you may recall another stockist/beauty website that sent me a horribly "wrapped" package, so it's important to me that things are properly packaged.
The first plate I used was the Color Club Sixties plate. First, take off the protective plastic from the plate. Apply your desired polish to the plate, remove excess with a scraper, use your stamper, and apply it to your nail. Since this was my first try, I decided to use 4 different designs.
The plates are gold in color and the outer white area is a plastic attachment that keeps you from banging the plate's edge. To keep it clean, I scraped towards the plate instead of off the edge.
For reference, I used a base manicure of LVX "Vanilla". I used Digital Nails "Questionable Browser History" which is a liquid latex masking fluid to cover around my cuticles so I didn't have to clean up as much. For stamping, I used CND Creative Play in "Red-Y To Roll", "Royalista" and "Isn't She Grape". For top coat, I used CND Creative Play top coat. My scraper and clear stamper were from UberChic.
So I'm pretty impressed with the pick up of each stamp. The designs are all well etched inside. The smearing you see is from my top coat. I have to now rummage through my box to find one that doesn't smear. I had also attempted Digital Nails "Ain't Nobody Got Time For That" top coat (smeared) and Anonymous Lacquer "With A Quickness" top coat (smeared) and this was a good 5 minutes after stamping. There's also the possibility that CND Creative Play isn't a great stamping polish. It's made to be a lacquer, and is not branded as a stamping polish.
The second plate I used was called Illusion. I used a base manicure of Glisten & Glow "Snorkel in St. Thomas". I used Digital Nails "Questionable Browser History" for my cuticles. For stamping, I used M Polish "I Need A Vacation" and LVX "Crimson". For top coat, I used Love Angeline "Topped With Love". My scraper and clear stamper were from UberChic.
LVX is used on my index and pinkie, M Polish is on my ring and middle fingers. M Polish is an actual stamping polish and you can see how it works beautifully. LVX also works but it's not as crisp. I actually had a really hard time with this plate picking up images the first time. I don't know if it's a combination of my stamper and polish or what. It looks etched just as well as the Sixties plate, so I'm not sure what's going on but I really love the different designs available.
The final plate I received was Food and this was the one that I felt was the most detailed by far. Sadly, it's also the one I had the absolute hardest with. Granted, I'm still very novice when it comes to stamping, so it may just be all that. I also want to try another stamper in the future. I used a base manicure of Dermelect Explosive. I used Digital Nails Questionable Browser History for my cuticles. For stamping, I used M Polish "Pish Plashin' Around", CND Creative Play "Red-Y To Roll" and "Isn't She Grape?" and LVX "Mink". For top coat, I used Love Angeline "Topped With Love". My scraper and clear stamper were from UberChic.
Not going to lie, I feel like a major failure right now with this last plate. I tried a double stamp on my ring finger and that just looks like mud. My index refused to take up the image. The words are a mess on my middle finger. The only one that came out half decent is my pinkie. I think my base manicure probably wasn't the best idea either. I should have gone with something more neutral.
Overall I think these plates are really nice - well etched, durable and lots to choose from. I don't feel totally defeated and want to look at picking up some more stamping polishes. M Polish is currently closed so I can't grab any more of hers but there are a couple more indie companies popping up and there's always Konad as well. I'm hoping Color Club comes out with a line as well.
You can purchase the Color Club Stamping Plates directly from Color4Nails here. Be sure to check out Color4Nails's social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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
This week, LVX released their first joint Fall/Winter collection which included Vanille, a buttery beige. I wasn't really sure what to think of this color the first time. It reminds me a little of cake batter but we all know that whites and yellows can be notoriously hard to apply, so I was a bit scared.
I started with a base coat of Duri Rejuvacote, 3 coats of polish and finished with Digital Nails Ain't Nobody Got Time For That top coat. The first coat of polish was a disaster - nothing but streaks and I was worried. The second coat self-leveled quite a bit but I still felt like it was a little patchy in a few places. The third coat of polish leveled the polish out perfectly and had the right level of opacity so I felt confident to top coat. The best part is that the thin coats of polish used dry fast with LVX, so you don't have to worry about smearing or smudging.
I keep starting at my nails and I'm still not sure if this is a ME color or not. On the one hand, I like how it's a stark contrast from my normal purples or pinks but on the other hand, it's not the most flattering look to my eye. Reminds me a little of yellow snow heh. I am very pleased with the formula in the end though.
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'm still working my way through all my Cosmoprof footage which includes items from the 2016 Cocktails and Colors indie event. While there, I chatted a little with the owners of Native War Paints. This husband and wife duo were HILARIOUS. As we were winding down the night, Mr. NWP pointed to the display of polishes and said "Take one." It was like the angels were singing. I immediately went for a purple... which I was wearing a purple shirt with purple nail polish on and oh yes, my purple hair. If you have any doubt if I like purple... What I couldn't tell at the time is that this beauty, aptly named Shy Violet has a gorgeous gold shimmer running through it.
I used 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 very nice - I was worried at first because the shimmer almost had a pearl-like effect with the first coat and I was afraid this would be a brush stroke mess. Instead, the second coat and drying erased the look of any brush strokes which was great come top coat time. Being a neon, this does dry matte and top coat brings out the best in the shimmer. Additionally, this polish is from the Mrs. White Neon Brites and so I'm told that they watermarble beautifully.
I absolutely love this color. Now you can just barely see some VNL on a few nails but for the most part, it's opaque. In person, the shimmer hides any VNL so I'm a happy camper. I feel like I've had some crazy nails lately but the purple makes me smile.
Native War Paints may be purchased through their website. Join the conversation on social media on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Use #nativewarpaints to find other fans!
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
Yesterday the Fall-Winter 2016/17 collection launched at LVX. After I played with stamps last week, I decided that I needed to go out of my comfort zone and wear a green on my longer nails. I mean, they aren't LONG but they aren't as short as I'm used to. LVX Oasis is a classic hunter green creme with blue undertones.
I used a base of Duri Rejuvacote, 2 coats of polish and finished with Digital Nails Ain't Nobody Got Time For That top coat. The formula was a little thin with the first coat but self-leveled to a perfect opacity with the second coat.
What do you think? I'm pretty happy with it and it kind of freaks me out in a good way. I feel like a model, haha. While I'm not sure how much I will wear this polish out, I do want to play with it more on shorter nails. I am getting rather long here!
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.
