Polish Pickup September 2020 All Hallows Even Swatches and Reviews

*press samples*

Hi folks! I know you're shocked at the amount of posts this week. Tonight I've got 4 of the Polish Pickup items to share with you. New to PPU? If so, here's how it works:

Definitely join the Polish Pickup Facebook Group. You don't necessarily need to actively participate in the group, but it will give you a look at the polishes that will be available in the coming month. PPU themes are chosen by the people, often a few months in advance (brands need time to find their inspiration and test their polish). Any indie brand that has been around for at least a year can participate and each has their own specific inspiration picture and polish for that month. All you need to do is go to the Polish Pickup site during the pre-order window (the first Friday-Monday of the month) to make all of your purchases of these exclusive polishes. There's no need to pay for multiple shipping charges; since this is a pre-order, all polishes get sent to Polish Pickup and they send you the polishes you ordered. Yup, it's that simple. Oh, and shipping is a flat-rate of $3 to the US (more for international and they just had to increase the pricing to Canada). Recently they also opened a UK site which you can find here. Since all orders are pre-orders, shipping will take place about 3 weeks after the end of the pre-order.

PPU starts Friday, Sept. 4th at 11:00 AM ET and ends on Monday, Sept. 7th at 11:59 PM (but if a polish has a cap and sells out before the end of the pre-order, it's gone, unless you get lucky and the cap gets raised...which is rare) on the PPU website. Guess what next month is?? PPU Rewind! Each brand gets to bring back a shade (or product) from a previous month for the PPU website, and a different color they can sell on their website if they're interested. 

The website is currently open for wishlisting, so go check out this month's offerings STAT. Time for swatches!

Nailed It! Summer 2020 Shades of Summer Collection Swatches and Review: Nightfall

*I bought this*

Hi everyone! It has been a hot minute since I've blogged, right? Don't worry, I have my monthly Polish Pickup post coming up soon, so you won't miss me again. I hope you're staying safe during the pandemic; I've been staying home, wearing a mask, and practicing proper hygiene. Oh, I'm on vacation next week, too! I mean, I'm not going anywhere, so I guess you can call it a staycation. My parents are coming to visit me and it's the first time I've seen them since January. They will have their own areas of our house, and we will be wearing masks and distancing, but it will be so nice to just have them there even if we'll be adding a few extra feet between us. 

Other than that, not much else has been going on with me. I've been working out as much as possible; I've lost about 75 lbs since last May. If I can do it, you can do it. I have strictly worked out from home using Les Mills On Demand. Let me know if you want to hear more about my fitness journey. And yes, it truly is a journey. There is a beginning, but never an end. Tonight I'm featuring a brand that has quickly become a favorite of mine. Tiara is the mastermind behind Nailed It! and she is based out of Hawaii. Tonight I have one shade from their newest collection, the Shades of Summer, which is full of shifty shimmers. 

Nailed It! Nightfall (3 coats)

Nailed It! Nightfall, low light (3 coats)

Did I go a little nuts with all the photos? Yes, but no regrets. Nightfall is an extremely shifty polish. It has a medium cool purple base color that has red/gold/green/blue shifting shimmer with a slight holographic finish. Straight on and in bright light you see the purple and red, and as you start to angle your nails, the gold and green comes out to play. If you have low light, the gold and green are most evident with the blue only coming out in low light and at extreme angles. I hope this makes sense! I could have used 2 coats, but I went ahead and used a third thin coat for good measure. I've never had an issues with the formula on any of their polishes. I absolutely love this polish, and I've received many compliments while wearing it. I'm actually considering a backup bottle. 

This one retails for $12.50 and it's available now on the Nailed It! website. You can find out more about Nailed It! on their site, Facebook Group, Instagram, or YouTube pages. 

Starlight and Sparkles Mythological Wish Collection Swatches and Reviews

*press samples*

Hi guys! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I got caught up on work and went to our local (ish) nursery. Oh, and I'm thinking of starting up my work with polymer clay. I used to make beads and miniatures back in the day, but just stopped having the time. I think it's time to make time again. Tonight I've got Issa from Starlight and Sparkles' newest collection, Mythological Wishes. In case you've forgotten, make sure to check out the original Mythological Creatures set I reviewed back in December which featured toppers with UP and Aurora pigments. The new Wishes Collection is six toppers with combined color-shifting shimmer and multichrome glitter (the shimmer in these are again UP and UP sibiling pigments). I'm also happy to mention that she has sample bottles that hold a decent amount of polish! The mini size holds 7.5 mL while a full bottle is the normal 15 mL. Mini bottles can have brush issues, but these were very generously sized and I had no issues with applying them.

Each full-sized bottle will retail for $16, or $11 for the mini bottle. On the Starlight and Sparkles website, purchasing four or more bottles of polish from the Mythological line in a single order will give a discount of 3.5% on all Mythological polishes in the order, which will be reflected in the cart as "Mythological line discount." The collection releases on May 17th at 7 PM MT on their website, and Psyche's Beau will start their pre-order at 12 PM PST. Shall we get to some photos? 

Formula and Application

For the first set of my photos, I used 1 coat of Static Lacquer's Primary Black with 2 coats of each respective topper followed with a coat of topcoat. By no means do you need to use 2 coats of each topper; I just used 2 to really show the shift under the bright lighting. The darker the base, the more noticeable the shift, but you can use any color really. These applied like a dream and even a sample bottle will last you a long time. Each polish dried quickly and with no texture, even with the multichrome glitter. 

Starlight and Sparkles Dragon Wishes (2 coats) over 1 coat of Static Lacquer Primary Black

I took so many photos. I mean, I couldn't help myself...these are just so photogenic. Up first we have Dragon Wishes which has UP sibling pigment that shifts from bronze/gold/green and flashes orange and teal at most extreme angles, while the glitter shifts from bronze/yellow/green/turquoise. The glitter is fine and doesn't add texture which makes these easier to remove, too. 

Starlight and Sparkles Kelpie Wishes (2 coats) over 1 coat of Static Lacquer Primary Black

Kelpie Wishes contains UP sibling pigment that shifts from teal/violet and flashes aqua and purple at most extreme angles, and the multichrome glitter shifts from teal/green/blue/violet/purple. Issa was kind enough to mention that Unicorn Wishes and Kelpie Wishes use the same glitter and unless you love shifters in the teal/blue/violet range, you may not need both. I personally found these to be very different...the color shift from the shimmer varies, and that's enough for me. 

Starlight and Sparkles Phantasmal Chimera Wishes (2 coats) over 1 coat of Static Lacquer Primary Black

Phantasmal Chimera is a bit of a wild card as it's a combination of the 4 colors of multichrome glitter and the UP and UP sibling pigments used in the other Phantom polishes in the Mythological line. The effect is a profusion of colors and shiftiness. In other words, this one is extremely sparkly and quite the rainbow of color. 

Starlight and Sparkles Phantom Wishes (2 coats) over 1 coat of Static Lacquer Primary Black

Up next is Phantom Wishes which shifts from a brilliant blue/violet/purple into near invisibility and the multichrome glitter shifts from blue/purple/violet/fuchsia/pink. The shimmer is the same UP sibling pigment used in the other Phantom polishes in the Mythological line. This one just glows on the nail. 

Starlight and Sparkles Phoenix Wishes (2 coats) over 1 coat of Static Lacquer Primary Black

As you can probably tell from the photos, Phoenix Wishes is the original UP pigment and shifts from red/green/gold, and flashes red/bright green at extreme angles and is the same UP pigment used in the other Phoenix polishes in the Mythological line. The multichrome glitter shifts from pink/red/orange/gold. As much as I don't want to love UP-filled polishes (due to the price), I can't help but fall in love every time. I mean, just look at that last photo 😍

Starlight and Sparkles Unicorn Wishes (2 coats) over 1 coat of Static Lacquer Primary Black

Last, but certainly not least, is Unicorn Wishes which shifts from cool green to deep blue, and flashes turquoise/indigo, and the multichrome glitter shifts from a teal-y green/blue/violet/purple/fuchsia. The shimmer is the same UP sibling pigment used in the other Unicorn polishes in the Mythological line. Again, Issa mentions that this one and Kelpie Wishes use the same glitter, so unless you really love the UP sibling pigment, you may not need both. If you ask me, you need both. 

L--R Dragon Wishes, Kelpie Wishes, Phantom Wishes, Phantasmal Chimera Wishes (1 coat) over 2 coats of Zoya Walker 

L-->R Phoenix Wishes, none, Unicorn Wishes, none (1 coat) over 2 coats of Zoya Walker

I went ahead and used all of the toppers over a lighter color and this time just one coat was used. As you can see, one coat is plenty and these are full of UP pigment, UP sibling pigment, and multichrome glitter. A sample bottle will last you a long time if you can't afford full-sized bottles. 

Well, there you have it! It's so hard for me to pick my favorites because they are all so beautiful and flashy. I was swatching these when my parents were in town, and they were so shocked with just how much they changed the base color. They've seen me wear a lot of colors, so it really takes a lot to surprise them. My top picks have to be Dragon Wishes, Phantasmal Chimera Wishes, and Unicorn Wishes. Gah, it's so hard to choose! These will be available on May 17th at 7 PM MT on the Starlight and Sparkles website and Etsy store, while the pre-order will start at 12 PM on the Psyche's Beau site. You can find out more about Starlight and Sparkles on their website, Etsy page, Instagram, Facebook Group, and Facebook page.

*These polishes were provided by the company or PR representative. All reviews are based solely on my opinion. For more information, please see my full disclosure at the bottom of the site*