Pastries and ponies

Hey polish lovers!   I recently found L'oreal's "créme puffs" on clearance and picked it up.   While if didn't suit me on it's own, I love it with a couple costs of Rainbow Honey's "A little kindness" from her my little pony collection.

Lots of love, till next time!

Kissing Cousins

In case you haven't been following, my two newest polish loves are Emily de Molly's "Cosmic Forces", and the similarly formulated "In a Roundabout Way" by Glitter Guilty.  

It occurred to me as I was drifting off the other night, that they're sheer enough to layer!   I knew I had to try it - so without further ado, I present two layers of "Cosmic Forces" topped with a single layer of "In a Roundabout Way"

I'm famous!

Woo hoo!  I've never been featured somewhere like this before, so I had to share!  Isn't it FUN to get your five minutes of fame?  Better this way than on an episode of COPS.  MSN did a little article on Summer nail manicures, pulled mostly from Pinterest as far as I can tell.   They included this super old one of mine from last year - the article is here, and if you have nails pinned to Pinterest you should check it out because there are 33 other manicures featured; one might be yours.

Also, if you're dying to read an old post, here's the original!

Skin & Sparkle

Have I got a lovely for you, ladies!   Featured below is my very first RBL polish, "Plie", which I recieved in a polish swap.  Every once in a while, I get in the mood for a good nude, and this fits the bill for this Irish-skinned lass.  

"Plie" is a grown up tutu pink with griege undertones.  While I can't rave about the formula, I can't complain about it either.  This was two coats, photographed under cloudy Oregon skies:

The real magic happened when I topped it with two coats of Essie's "Kisses and Bises", an unassuming sheer topper with a bit of pink copper magic.   I'm always impressed with what this little beauty does to a manicure.

 Here's the two together - hard to photograph the true magical allure, because I kept staring at my nails when I was wearing this combo, and went so far as to recreate it when it chipped.   It's a bit reminiscent of China Glaze's "Fast Track" from the hunger games collection, but that one is a definite latte-brown base, and I love the way "Plie" lends a delicate effect for my pale skin.  I'll be keeping this manicure as a go-to for my more understated days.

 

 (Rescue Beauty Lounge "Plie" and Essie "Kisses and Bises")

Channeling Lisa Frank

Oh hello, there!   Did my AMAZING manicure catch your attention?  Deservedly so.  Not because of my glorious nubbins, but because of the rare polish beauty displayed here.  Her name is "In a Roundabout Way", and this circle glitter packed beauty was created by emerging polish mastermind Glitter Guilty.  I've reviewed two of her ingenius polish subscription boxes so far, and I'm dying to see what's next.  

My bestie, over at Mommy Does her Nails, received this one in her box this month.  As soon as I saw it, I knew I HAD to have it.  So I begged and harassed Glitter Guilty to make a few more bottles - which she kindly did.  I snagged one of the last ones, saving my friendship; because, let's face it, this polish would have been MINE even if I had to go "find" it at miss Mommy's house.   Her brilliant mani, a gradient layering with it, was perfect.  So I put my own spin on it with a couple different colors for my base gradient.

The colors I used were Sinful Colors "Dream On", a neon fuchsia purple that dries matte on it's own, and Love and Beauty (forever21) "Aqua".  The ONE coat of  "In a Roundabout Way", which is a buildable denim base with large round glitters in holographic silver, blush, green and aqua and small round glitters in green and fuchsia.  As my dear momma put it when I posted the bottle on instagram..."It's so you!"

 (Sinful "Dream On", Glitter Guilty "In a roundabout way", Love and Beauty "Aqua")

Now that my friendship is safe, and my inner Lisa Frank has been released, here's a few close up shots.   The large glitters are awesome and super holographic.  All of these shots were taken outdoors with a typical Oregon overcast sky.  Gotta love that Pacific NW glory.

The formula is amazing - these round glitters have a tendency to hug the inside of the bottle, but Glitter Guilty had the forsight to pack the bottle with them - they required less fishing than my bottle of Emily de Molly's "Cosmic Forces", which is a bit of a cousin to this polish.

The sad news - this was (for the time being at least...) a limited release polish.  But with the way her creations have been going, you'll want to keep an eye on Glitter Guilty.  Or join the madness (genius?) and subscribe to her monthly sub box.  Tell her Frankie Caswell sent you.  You can yell at me later for starting your new addiction - but you won't really mean it, because there's nothing not to love here.

Glitter Guilty box reveal - May 2013

A Glitter Guilty subscription is 15.99 a month, which covers shipping.  The box includes a monthly mini indie, a custom full size polish, and some chocolate (while it's cool enough to keep) or other treat.   The curator also sends out a "golden ticket" each month in a few boxes for an extra treat!  

I was so excited and nervous for my 2nd box, let me tell you.  And it was a major score!   First, I'll reveal my "Monthly Me" polish, and I'll put a spoiler alert before the "Monthly Mini" to allow any other GG readers to save the surprise if they so choose.

"Demon of the Deep" is a gorgeous, true cerulean blue with gold and teal microshimmer distributed generously throughout.  It was labeled on the outside of it's wrapped package, so I wasn't sure what to expect from the name.  I do adore it, it's a well pigmented jelly - all pictures are of two coats, as my first coat was kind of streaky (user issues, not so much polish issues).  It was hard to capture the shimmer and true color on camera, it is MUCH stronger and more gorgeous in person.

(Forgive my cuticles!  2 coats DOTD in partial light)

(2 coats DOTD in direct light)

Here's how I had my information filled out this month:

Colors you love?  Plum, Indigo, Vivid Turquoise...most jewel tones with grey, nude, or milky base
Colors you hate?  Yellow, Orange, Pinks, heart glitter

I'd say this definitely qualifies as a jewel tone, and this polish is a much closer fit to "me" than the last one.  Since I don't often wear bright blues, I don't even have a close dupe - just a couple cremes that would make for good "undies".

One more look before we move on:

Wondering what others recieved?   Check out Mommy Does Her Nails' review of her JAW DROPPINGLY GORGEOUS polish.


***************************Spoiler alert*************************
Now, onto the "Monthly Mini", the polish all subscribers receive in their box each month.









As revealed a couple days ago on their FB page, this month's mini was named "Party Hearty" (in honor of the curator's birthday!!!).  But, don't go searching for a crowd full of heart glitters here, because instead we've got a flashback of neon shaped glitters that will make any '80's fan swoon.  I paired it with my favorite grey, Cockatoo's Mystery by Loreal.

You ready for some fun???

 (Close up of Loreal "Cockatoo's Mystery" with Glitter Guilty "Party Hearty" gradient)

I actually painted this one first, in case the blue had staining (there was none) - but I couldn't bear to take it off, so I've got different mani's on each hand right now.   I hope she adds this one to her store, because it's awesome.  It's got assorted neon hexes and squares in hot pink, vivid blue, transluscent lime green, and a sprinkling of small glitters throughout.  The formula is awesome, no "fishing" for glitters here.  I hope YOU get in on the fun of the monthly box, because it's so much fun, and with awesomeness like this, I expect great things to follow.  If you do sign up, put my name in the referral link - Frankie Caswell.  Thanks!!!!!


P.S. I keep forgetting things I forgot because I loved the polishes so much!   The chocolate this time was a chuao Chocolatier Potato Chip Chocopod.  The unseasonably hot Oregon weather got to it, so it's hiding in my fridge to become edible again.
And I was not even the least bit bummed not to get the "golden ticket" or extra prize this month.  These polishes rock.

Sorry, I've been kidnapped by cosmic forces and laziness

I fell in love and got lost...this is my new love, Emily de Molly's "cosmic forces". If I could, I'd have it permanently adhered to my nails!!! Also, sorry for another iPhone post - that's the laziness.