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Reviews and swatches: Huemorista polishes


I know I promised these forever ago, I hope you'll forgive me!   I was so excited to get the Huemorista polishes, and there are not very many reviews on them.  I ordered "Hidden Rainbow", "Unzipped", "Midnight Invite", "Sex on the Moon" and "Promise Ring". 


First up:  The ever popular "Hidden Rainbow:
Here is the promotional picture from Huemorista's Etsy site:
Described as "Very light gray with multi-colored glitter particles and more medium-sized round glitters as well." The polish in person is closer to the description than her photos, definately grey and not white, with a good sprinkling of smaller glitters and a few larger ones.  This has been compared to Deborah Lippmann's "Glitter in the Air", which may explain it's popularity.
 
(4 coats - 1 coat)


Next up:  Sex on the Moon
Promotional Picture
She describes this one as "Dusty purple based gray with a fuschia flash and opalescent flakies"
The texture in the promotional photo is quite a bit different from what I get when I paint it out, and it's much less of a purple/grey duo than a muted dusty purple for me.  That said, it is very pretty and the glitter is pretty eye catching!
 
(1 coat - 4 coats)

Promise Ring is next!  This one is really neat in the bottle, with holographic glitter coating the edges of the sweet gold paint. 
Promotional photo
I love this one, and it's great for layering.   Less of a glistening gold than I see in her pics (though there is a Julep I've seen paint out that way), but still really sweet and gorgeous.  She describes this one as "Brilliant foily silvery gold with holographic glitter and medium size round glitter particles throughout"
 
 (4 coats - 1 coat)

Fourth, let's take a look at "Unzipped", an intriguing griege with a metallic sheen.
Promotional photo
Explained as "Denim blue meets charcoal gray with an orange shimmer", I don't find any of the blue in here.  I do LOVE this one on my nails (I'm wearing it now), but wish the orange came out a bit more.  It is not as dark charcoaled grey for me as in her photos.
(4 coats - 1 coat)


Last, but certainly not least, is "Midnight Invite"
Promotional photo
"Midnight blue jelly-finish with opalescent flakies and bright aqua glitter particles" says Huemorista, and it truly is a gorgeous, glittered jelly!  I'd call it more of a cerulean than midnight, but this and "Unzipped" top my favorites list, by far.
 
(4 coats - 1 coat)

Overall review:  I wish that the photos weren't so altered that the color came out distorted - trust the description over the pics when ordering.  They all paint out beautifully, though the hex glitters tend to get stuck to the bottle, perhaps a suspension base would help with this.  The colors are unique and gorgeous, and I find myself hording them for sure.
In the future, I will most likely just order 3 of the same color, as they are sold in sets of 3 tiny bottles, and I'd rather have an average size of the ones I love.  I do wish it were an option to order 1 15ml bottle of a single color, instead.  Finally, for all the obvious work in marketing, editing, and the genius of creating these beauties, the packaging is a bit "arts and craftsy" to me, not in a great way.  I think simply getting a custom stencil made to etch a logo onto the bottle would keep it custom and classy, as opposed to the taped on labels and tags.

I encourage you, readers, to order from Huemorista, support her small business and tell her I sent you!  These are fun little treasures that any polish hoarder should keep in their secret collection.

 (Photo for size comparison)
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The Ladies of Winter...my first Franken'd series!

I had a lot of fun making some Frankenpolishes the other day, and I am happy to introduce them to you today!  Winter tones that layer well, let me introduce:
(From L to R:  Bieber Groupie, Dark Fairy, and Ice Queen)



"Bieber Groupie" is a duochrome periwinkle with a good sprinkling of fine holographic glitter and a teensy bit of hex holographic glitter.  Sheer with the cool duochrome showing it's power in one coat, and opaque and ready for a face to face Bieber sighting in three, this color is loads of fun.  




Next, let me introduce "Ice Queen", a sugared up hint of frost shade even the white witch would rock while trolling through Narnia.   This one is sheer enough to luke nude until you enter the light, when the sheen of pearlescent white and flash of holo glitter take over.  In three there's been a good layering of snow sparkling in the sunlight.


Finally, meet "Dark Fairy", a carbon black beauty with a hidden brushing of cobalt pixie dust.  Sophisticated and mysterious, this beauty stands alone.  Streaky in one coat, but smooth and opaque in two, I'll be using this beauty up in no time.

But the real fun, nail fans, came in layering these.  Observe, "Bieber Groupie" over "Dark Fairy" 
compared to "Dark Fairy" alone:
(And the same layering next to "Bieber Groupie" alone)
See how that just pops?  WOW!   I will admit, I'm impressed with myself xD

OK, once more, here are the colors alone.  Which is your fave?





Birchbox: September 2011

Hi friends!

I hadn't decided whether or not to review my birchboxes here, but so far I have not seen any posts this month for them, and mine included nail treats, so I'll go ahead.

You may remember my frustration earlier with the customer service - the jury's still out on that aspect.  I have yet to receive a shipping notification for ANY of the three boxes I've received, and I have been watching like a hawk for this one.  They did award me some extra "points" (100 points = $10 for the BirchBox store), I assume as an apology for the mess of things earlier.

Anyhow, on to the box...I was very excited because this is the 1 year anniversary of BirchBox's launch, so there was a lot of buzz, but they've been very hush hush about it.  I picked mine up this evening with my mail, and here's what I found:
Let's take a closer look, shall we?  Here's the invoice card with a little more info about everything:

First up:  Adventurous Incoco Nail Polish Applique strips (7.99 - 10.99)
I am really excited they included these, I've been dreaming of some since the Cynthia Rowley head to toe box was available on Birchbox.  These ones aren't necessarily a pattern I would have picked myself, but they are really cute and have a nice sheen to them.  Since I have small nails, I could almost use one strip for three of my nails, they are a great size.  Debating whether to try them, give them to a good friend, or offer them with a giveaway.  Keep your eyes peeled!

Next, we've got Jouer Lip Enhancer (14.00)
Sorry, this one was hard to photograph.  The picture above is better, but this very much reminded me of Mary Kay's lip treatment.  It has a nice scent, no tingling or other strange sensations - and 20 minutes later still feels nice on my lips.

Eco-Minded LIV GRN perfume ($60)
The card says this perfume is made from sustainable ingredients.  It's pleasant, but smells artificial to me in that way that perfumes tend to, so I will most likely pass this one on.

Pangea Organics Facial Cream ($36)
I am very excited to try this one out, I've had my eye on Pangea for a while.  It's a good sized sample, too!

And last, but not least, was the bonus item - this time it's a really cute "Birchbox Friendship Bracelet".  I've seen a similarly styled bracelet on Pinterest with a heart, this one is a brushed sterling silver (I assume) in the shape of Birchbox's logo, with a fuschia string.  It's adjustable, and really pretty on.  Love it!
All in all, I am pretty pleased!  If you are interested, you can sign up for Birchbox for $10 a month, cancel anytime.  Sign up using my link and you'll get me some bonus points, too! 

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Woohoo! I'm back!!!! With the princess' Back to School mani!

So I finally have a PC to post from...we'll see how long it lasts, as it's sort of a franken itself, but I have been waiting to share my sweet girl's back to school mani.  She started 3rd grade this year, and we matched her nails to the outfit she chose for the first day.  What do you think?
 (Personally, I wish this shirt came in my size)

Peek a boo mani redraw, and sad news

Hello bloggers and readers,

Sorry I've been MIA, unfortunately my cancer ridden computer died on the operating table. I am relagated to my wonderful husband's iPad, which is pretty much useless in combination with my Nikon. We're working on a fix, and I'm keeping photos of some amazing mani's to share with you soon - including my daughter's FABULOUS back to school manicure.

But now, on to the good news! I have redrawn my Peek A Boo mani winner, since Ace never got back to me. Ashley G has a blog, so I'm sure she'll send me her address at MaMaCaswell@gmail really soon.

Also, until I get to a working Nikon compatible computer, I'll be having some guest blogs, this is a great way to see some new mani styles and get hooked on their blogs too! Keep your eyes peeled, and thanks for your comments!!!
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