Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Polish 'M: coffee and dessert

inspiration from coffee and dessert

Hi, all!  Today I have a beautiful duo of polishes to show you from one of my favorite indie brands: Polish 'M.  These two polishes were inspired from some of my favorite things ever: DESSERT & coffee!  Let's get right into them!

Instant Human (Just add coffee)
(blackened brown faint holo with a rainbow of micro metallic glitter and shimmery micro flakes)

Application: 3 thin coats, but 2 regular coats should work just fine!  This dries a tiny bit textured and a regular layer of your favorite top coat will do the trick and give you a smooth finish.  Applies just like a normal creme polish and the glitters/flakes spread themselves out nicely.  I love dark brown polishes.. they are edgy but still very office appropriate.  What do you think?


Oh, I wanted to see this matte, too.  For this mani I used Polish My Life Mat(t)erialistic.



Life is Uncertain (Eat dessert first)
(beige nude faint holo with a rainbow of metallic glitter and shimmery micro flakes)



Application: 2 coats!  My first coat was very thin, so I thought I would need 3, but I liked it after 2.  Like Instant Human, this also dries a tiny bit textured, so use a glossy top coat for a smooth finish.  This contains the same glitter mix but is much more visible thanks to the lighter base.  Let's talk about that.. isn't is just gorgeous?!  In some lights I noticed it had a slight pinky tone to it.  This is definitely office appropriate and honestly.. good for any day.  Sophisticated.  Love this one, and you know how I love my dark polishes!


 And again.. with matte top coat.  It just looks so soft, like a fleecy blanket.



These two polishes are currently still available in the Polish 'M shop!  You can get them individually for $9 each, or as part of a "quad" for $25 (an awesome deal!), which will also include two full-sized cuticle oils in the scents of Pecan Pie and Cafe Mocha.  They smell amazing!  In my experience, the oils work really well with my skin.  Could just be me, but I swear my nails grow a lot faster now.  Related to the oils?  hmmmm...

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you enjoyed this post.  Let me know what you think below!

XO,
Vanessa

Shop links:
Polish 'M
Polish My Life

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Nibs & Nails: Brandy Dazzle

Diamine ink polish inspiration polish duo from Polish 'M

Audrey from Right on the Nail has this really fun series where she asks makers to create a polish using a fountain pen ink as their inspiration.  Michelle from Polish 'M wound up creating two polishes for her challenge, one that represents the ink in the vial and one that represents the ink in its dried state.  When I saw the promo bottle shots I made it my mission to grab a duo.  As I've said before, I have a hard time finding a good red polish, but I had a feeling this one would be perfect.  Also, I just knew the rust-colored polish would be spot on for fall.  Happily, I was NOT disappointed.

Before I get too far into my post, please check out Audrey's post that also includes the inspiration ink!  She has so many great photos on there!

Application notes:
Brandy Dazzle: 2 coats plus top coat.  Smooth and effortless application.  Perfect polish!
Brandy Dazzle 2.0: 3 thin coats plus top coat.  Easy application, minimal clean up on a couple of nails.  Amazing color and depth.

Brandy Dazzle: A gorgeous burnt orange/rust color with gold shimmer throughout.  Photo taken in indirect natural light.


Brandy Dazzle 2.0: A perfect vampy red with slight shimmer throughout, great for fall or anytime!  I'm smitten!  Photo taken in indirect natural light.

The next photos are more recent with shorter nails (they look so tiny now!).  I couldn't help noticing that the microglitters in A Bit Corny were similar in color to these polishes, so I tried a little skittle.  What do you think?  For these photos I applied 2 coats each on Brandy Dazzle and Brandy Dazzle 2.0, and 3 for A Bit Corny.  LOOK at the shimmer.. ugh.. so pretty.  I really love these polishes and I think you would, too!  First photo taken in indirect natural light; second photo under artificial (ottlight) light with matte top coat.  You know I had to see what this looked like matte! 



Polish 'M will have ONE FINAL restock of these polishes this Saturday, October 15, 2016 at 11AM PST.  Set your alarms!  Once they are gone, they're gone for good.  These will be available as a duo or individually.  While you are in the shop, I highly recommend any of the Fall collection as well, especially my top picks: Lone Scarecrow and Woodland Stroll.

Shop Polish 'M
Follow Polish 'M on Instagram @creativenailchick

Thanks for reading!
XO,
Vanessa

Monday, October 10, 2016

Simple dots using Polish 'M

Double side dots

Hey, all!  I've got another really simple nail art look for you today.  I got this idea from Amy @mcpolish on Instagram.  I love this method!  It's so easy, and you don't really need any special tools.  Today I chose to keep my base color the same on all nails, but you could do a contrasting nail and it will look good!  The polishes I chose are two from Polish 'M: Woodland Stroll (fall 2016 collection) and Back to Reality (summer 2016 Back to Reality collection).  I've got regular swatch photos of these polishes on my blog if you want to see them alone.

Double side dots: I used the small end of a dotting tool since I just trimmed and filed my nails and they are a bit smaller.  You don't need a dotting tool, though!  You can do this with a slightly blunt pencil tip, a bobby pin or a toothpick if you want!  Just put a blob of your dotting polish on a paper and dip in your tool of choice to gather some polish, and dot.  Seal it all in with your favorite glossy top coat.  I used Polish My Life Le Top Coat.





indirect natural light
 
What do you think of this look?  :)
 
Thanks for stopping by!
XO,
Vanessa


Friday, October 7, 2016

Simple mani using Polish 'M

Easy Nail Art using Polish 'M 

I am not the greatest nail artist out there, but now and then I will try a little something.  For this mani I chose two polishes from the Polish 'M fall collection.  I think they work well together!  I used some skinny straight nail vinyls for the stripes. As you can see, my placement wasn't perfect, but I still think this look is fine because with a quick glance, nobody will really notice my errors!  Right?  

The polishes I used are A Bit Corny (neutral crelly) and Woodland Stroll (brown), 3 coats for ABC and 2 for WS.  The application is SO easy.  I do prefer the matte finish on ABC, so I've got both glossy and matte photos for you today.  


What do you think?  Glossy or matte?  

For more details on these polishes, please check my reviews here and here.  :)  The Polish 'M fall collection will be fully stocked on Saturday, October 15.  There isn't a bad one in the bunch, if you ask me!  My favorites are definitely the darker shades (Lone Scarecrow, Pumpkin Frost, Woodland Stroll) and Apple Orchard, because it's one of the few reds I really like on my skin tone! 

Shop for Polish 'M lacquer and cuticle oil at www.polishm.com

Thanks for stopping by!
XO,
Vanessa

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Polish My Life September 2016

Polish My Life September 2016 gleam and creme 

Hi, y'all!  Today I have 3 polishes to show you from Polish My Life.  This year PML started a duo series to represent the gemstone for each month.  One half is a creme and the other is a gleam.  I've got September to show you as well as this year's anniversary polish!

September Gleam: Sapphire Baubles
Notes: Formula was good and applied easily.  I used a light hand on both coats and didn't experience any issues.  This has a squishy feel to it, so I waited at least 5 minutes between coats.  The holo spark is very subtle and so pretty (green flash!) when the light catches it just right.  Love this one!


September Creme: Sapphire Silk
Notes: Formula was really great!  It felt so buttery and smooth and was almost a one-coat for me.  I hardly EVER get one-coat on any polish, but this one was so close.  The slight duskiness provides just a bit of softness.  I can see myself wearing this one often, especially as blue is my favorite color.


Anniversary Polish: Bronze Beauty
Notes: Good formula and easy application.  I applied 3 thin coats, but if you're more confident than me 2 regular coats should work just fine!  This is such a pretty brown shade!  The holo spark is medium and lightens up the polish just a tiny bit in some angles, but mostly this is just a gorgeous deep (and obvious) brown.

You can find these and lots of other beautiful polishes, hand care/cuticle care and manicure basics in the Polish My Life shop.  If you haven't tried an indie polish brand yet, why not?  :)

XO,
Vanessa