Indie: Pahlish spam! [& Blog Sale Update!]

I updated my blog sale, guys! Check it out if you're interested!

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Here are the first Pahlishes I purchased (and swapped for)! Check it out!

You can get yer own at Llarowe or at the Pahlish Etsy shop.

Pahlish Glittoris over Illamasqua Collide




Pahlish Glittoris over OPI Let Them Eat Rice Cake - you can see here that the tinted base of Glittoris turns OPI LTERC very pink!




Pahlish Train Underwater over NARS Midnight Express - this one is actually perfect at 2 or 3 coats on its own, but I have a tough time photographing jellies, so this looks more true to life than my pictures of it on its own




Pahlish Lovesong Writer over OPI Smitten with Mittens - this one really glows




Pahlish Toxic and Timeless over CND Urban Oasis - this version does not have the bar glitter; I think some of the older versions have it, though




Pahlish Fire in the Taco Bell - 2 coats on its own. The last picture is taken with my P&S camera and no flash, so you can get an idea of how it looks different IRL!

Reswatch: Zoya Veruschka

Although I haven't worn this polish in a while, it's still one of my favourite Zoya polishes. I tried the other matte polishes from Zoya, but none drew me in the way this one did.

I highly recommend this polish, the next time you order from Zoya! It's way better than OPI HTAT Suede.

Zoya Veruschka - First three pics without topcoat, last three pics with topcoat

Non-Nails Post: Shiseido Rouge Lacquers Swatches

I don't usually do makeup posts, because I remember when I was first getting into nails, I hated makeup posts in my nail blog feeds, LOL. But, since there are not too many swatches of these online, I thought I should make an exception here. I promise I won't be making a habit of this!

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Initial thoughts:

They feel different on the lips than YSL glossy stains; there's no gummy texture. These are definitely more a liquid lipstick than a gloss. So far they are very opaque.

They do transfer onto a drinking glass more than YSL glossy stains, too.

There's no scent, from what I can tell.

Still need some time to figure out which colours I like on my lips. I can say that Camel is not a good look on me (NC25, black hair) O_O


The haul



Packaging comparison with YSL Glossy Stains. No window to see the colour


The "name" doesn't show on the sticker, so it could be a little annoying if you had a bunch to try and find the one you want.




Close ups (sorry Nocturne is out of focus!) - they all have a tiny shimmer running through them.









With my 3 YSL glossy stains




Ok it's over!

What I love & dislike in Indie Polishes... (Indie Personal Taste?)

There are a lot of gorgeous indie nail polishes out there, and I'm just starting to get a feel for what makes me love an indie polish on the nail (and not just in the bottle). Sometimes it's hard for me to purge an indie polish, because more often than not, I actually know the lovely lady who created it and how much of their heart went into it! That said, I think those creative women know that I can appreciate how beautiful their polishes are, even if I don't end up keeping them :)

Here are a few things that I love and do not live in indie polishes:

1. I dislike holographic glitter. I love me some linear holo polishes, but that's the only way I like it. This is a bit of a tradeoff, because I love how light-catching holo glitters can make a polish, but for some reason I just don't love how those holo glitters look on my nails!

2. I love hidden shimmer and glass flecks. I think this really gives polish depth and interest. It's especially a nice surprise if it's something you can't see from pictures of the bottle, but once you get it in your hands, you see it. Totally love that.

3. Glitter balance. For me, a balanced mix of glitter means either all medium-to-large glitters or all small-to-medium glitters. I don't really like the look of large hex glitter and tiny glitters in the same mix. I suppose this is because I either like to see 0% of the my base colour (totally opaque glitter polish) or ~50% of my base colour (a glitter topcoat that doesn't overwhelm the base colour). I have yet to be over the moon about a polish of something in-between.

Similarly, I find too many types and colours of glitter in one polish to be overwhelming (I could never get on board with Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday, for instance), no matter how kick ass they look in the bottle!

4. Light-catching and shiny glitters that "glow". I am the biggest sucker for polish that glows, especially in low-lights.

5. Aesthetics. I love square bottles, professional looking labels, and clever names. I know it has nothing to do with how it looks on the nail, but man does it make me think twice about purging a polish if it is looking good in my polish drawer!

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Are there any specific things you look for or do not look for in an indie polish? :)

(Sorry for a pictureless post... I spilled water on my personal laptop that has all my pics! I am posting from work - shhhh!)

Indie (& NOTD): Pahlish Toxic and Timeless

Ok, I bought my first Pahlishes a couple weeks ago, but haven't had time to get the perfect layering combos yet to make a swatch post. HOWEVER, I just *had* to share my NOT-weekend:

Pahlish Toxic and Timeless - 2 coats over Essie Armed & Ready (2 coats) and Nfu Oh 56 (1 coat). Topped it off with Barielle ME and Seche Vite.




HOMG. I love this combo. I think next time I will sandwich the Nfu Oh between layers of Toxic and Timeless.

Here it is over a simple base so you can get a better idea of the polish:

Pahlish Toxic and Timeless (1 coat) over CND Urban Oasis (also 1 coat) - By the way, the version I got is without bar glitter, which is my preference anyway. Some other swatches you may find have chartreuse bar glitter :)




Since you're already here, let me show you the other ones I ordered:



Swatches for the rest of these babies will come once I'm happy I've done them justice!

You can get Pahlishes at her Etsy Store and later this month at Llarowe. Huzzah!

BACK TO THE WEEKEND!

Reswatch: Brucci Black Emerald

My neighbourhood grocery stocks a few OPI (I picked up my bottle of OPI Smitten with Mittens here ages ago) and a LOT of Brucci nail polish. The first Christmas I lived here, they sent out $10 off $20 coupons, so I there to check out their polishes.

Overall, I was pretty impressed with the Bruccis I tried. The only thing that bugged me, was that the caps seemed to make this screeching sound whenever I opened or closed the bottles! I'm not sure if I was imagining it, but I decided to get rid of them and keep only 1 that I loved (I decanted it to a quieter bottle, lol):

Brucci Black Emerald - This is one of the few duochromes I love. These pictures don't do the polish justice. I really need to try to take these pics again!


Happy Friday, everyone! :D