January 2024 Polished Gamers Box: Naps and Nails My Biggest Adventure Yet

 *press sample*

Hello yet again! The next polish I have to share with you from Naps and Nails is for the Polished Gamers Box.  It doesn't matter if you're a gamer or not; these polishes from the makers are so fun and beautiful. You may remember this box used to be monthly, but they recently changed to a quarterly schedule with each quarter having a different theme. This month's theme is Playstation vs. Xbox, and the pre-order will begin on Monday, January 15th and run through Friday, January 20th. Shall we get a closer look at what Naps and Nails has in store for us? 

Naps and Nails My Biggest Adventure Yet (2 coats)

Inspiration: Little Big Planet 3

Price: $13

Bottle Limit: 100 bottles

What a shifty polish! This one is so amazing! My Biggest Adventure Yet is a teal base with loads of shimmery shifts of purple, green, and gold. I have a prominent C curve on my nail, so this one is extra shifty on my nails. This one applied perfectly in just 2 coats, and it dried with no texture. It needed only one coat of topcoat, and removal was a breeze. 

If you want to see swatches of the items available for the box ahead of time, you can always join the Polished Gamers Box Facebook Group to see what's coming from all the brands.

*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*

Hella Handmade Creations January 2024 : Naps and Nails The Crooked Man

 *press sample*

Hello everyone! Tonight I have the first of several posts for upcoming polishes from Naps and Nails that will be available in the next week or so. Up first we have the shade from Hella Handmade Creations that will be available starting January 14th at 12:01 AM EST through January 21st @11:59 Hawaii time. New to HHC? It works similarly to Polish Pickup where there's a pre-order for exclusive polishes with themes chosen by the brands participating. As stated above, pre-orders open every month on the 14th @ 12:01 am Eastern time and closes on the 21st @ 11:59 pm Hawaii time. During this time customers are able to shop all different brands within the shop and have everything ship from one location. This month Naps and Nails will continue their series on The Nun, Annabelle, and Conjuring Collection. 

Naps and Nails The Crooked Man (2 coats)

Price: $13

Bottle Limit: 250 bottles

Yay, we have a magnetic polish! I haven't used one lately, so I had to remember how to do it properly. The Crooked Man is a blackened base with silver reflective glitter and a beautiful multi chrome magnetic pull that shifts from purple/blue/red. I went ahead and used 2 coats and used the magnet for each coat and worked on one nail at a time for the best pull. I also recommend a quick dry topcoat to really set those particles before they start to diffuse a bit. I bet this would look beautiful with other magnet shapes as well. I only used one coat of topcoat, and it dried with a smooth finish despite having reflective glitter. 

Remember to set your calendar for the 14th, and you can check out the website now to make your wishlist.  

*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*

Noodles Nail Polish Fall 2022 Collection Swatches and Reviews

 *press samples*

Hello hello! I hope your week is off to a great start. I celebrated my husband's birthday this past weekend, but other than that, it's been quiet around here. Instead of a cake, he requested some rice crispy squares so we've been eating those for dessert and I'm ok with that. Tonight I have the newest collection from Noodles Nail Polish and it's an 8-piece set featuring crellies, a glitter topper, and a holo multichrome polish. Each polish will retail for $10 each, and they will be available this Friday, September 16th at 5 PM EST on the Noodles website. 

As always, this is going to be a pic and text-heavy post, so we should get started. 

Static Lacquer 2020 Sunset Trio Swatches and Reviews

*press samples*

Hi guys! Tonight I'm back with the first of 2 posts for a couple trios from Static Lacquer releasing this Friday, May 8th at 5 PM PST (8:00 PM EST). The first trio is full of shifty shades inspired by beautiful sunsets. These will retail for $11, or get the trio with a discount for $37 + shipping. Shall we go ahead and look at some swatches? 

Pretty Beautiful Unlimited Show Me Your Beads Quad Feb. 2020 Swatches and Reviews

*press samples*

Hi guys! Work has been insanely busy this week, so I'm really looking forward to the weekend. Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day tomorrow! My husband and I always go to IHOP for our Valentine's dinner because it's super low key and there's never a wait. It's basically a joke between us. Tonight I have the first of several posts to share from Pretty Beautiful Unlimited. Up first is a quad inspired by Mardi Gras which happens to fall on Tuesday, February 25th this year. This set is full of glitter, flakes, and magnetics...so a little of everything! These will release tomorrow (Valentine's Day) and each one will retail for $11 except for Beads and Floats which will be $10. And for an even better deal, you can purchase all 4 for just $38 for a savings of $5. 

Good news, there's also a sale starting tomorrow. There will also be a 20% off sale on new releases starting at midnight on 2/14 and ending at 11:59PM on 2/16. Use code: FEBNR20 at check out. Shall we get a closer look at these beauties?

Polish Pickup November 2019: Fairy Tales Swatches and Reviews

*press samples*

Hi guys! I've got three PPU shades to share with you tonight. Can you believe it's almost November?! I've been so bad about doing Halloween manicures this year. Does adding glow-in-the-dark topcoat to all polishes count? This month's theme is Fairy Tales, and I think my collage above really demonstrates how diverse the polishes are this month. 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 ($5 for Canada and more for international). 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, November 1st at 11:00 AM ET and ends on Monday, Nov. 4th 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.

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

Seventy Seven Nail Lacquer Falloween 2019 Collection Swatches and Reviews

*press samples*

Hi guys! I just got back from Dallas where it was the same temperature and less humid than NC. I can't believe it's still 93 degrees here and it's almost October. I'm happy to report this is the last work travel for the year and I'm good with that. Tonight I have a brand I've never reviewed before, Seventy Seven Nail Lacquer. I have the 5-piece Falloween Collection to share with you tonight, and it features shimmers and multichrome shades which are some of my favorites. They are now available as a pre-order until September 9/30 at 11:59 PST.  They retail for $11.50 each, or as a discounted set for $55 which will save you a few bucks. Like most of my posts lately, it is quite picture-heavy, so should we get to some swatches? 

Polish Con New Orleans 2019 Show Specials and Limited Editions from Leesha's Lacquer

*press samples*

Hi guys! Polish Con NOLA is less than a week away, and I have the show specials and limited editions from Leesha's Lacquer to share with you. All of these have limited availability at the show and on the Polish Con Fairy site. Check out the site now to put any of these that interest on your wishlist so you can purchase them at 1 PM central time on Saturday, April 6th. I'm sad to say I won't be attending the show, but hopefully one of these days I'll be able to take a weekend off to go. 

Event Exclusive

Leesha's Lacquer Happy to be Bayou (2 coats)

Price: $12

Cap: 40 bottles-full-size only

Happy to be Bayou is a deep violet base with gold shimmer/flakes and pink/green aurora shimmer. The aurora shimmer really stands out in this one! It needed just 2 coats for full opacity, and had a nice thicker consistency with no texture. 

Limited Edition

pouvior, foi, justice (1 coat) over a black creme base 

Price: $12

Cap: 35 bottles-full-size only

Pourvior, foi, justice is a flakie topper with the 3 colors of Mardi Gras with purple, gold, and green flakes and a touch of holo shimmer. This one is chock full of flakies, and just one thin coat laid down plenty of flakes. It dried with no texture and a perfect consistency. 

Show Specials ($11 each)

Only 15 bottles of each will be made (full-size only) and no more will be available after the show. 

Leesha's Lacquer Bayou a Beignet (3 coats)

Bayou a Beignet is my top pick of the show specials. I know, no surprise there. This is a light cream crelly base with a rainbow of ucc flakies. I'm used to seeing flakies with grey or white bases, but I've never seen anything like this one. It was a bit sheer, to really make the flakes pop, but it fully covered in 3 thin coats (and dried with minimal texture). 

Leesha's Lacquer Crawfish, Crayfish, Crawdad (2 coats)

What a great name for a polish! What do you call them in your neck of the woods? I think we used crawfish and crayfish interchangeably in Ohio. Anyway, this one is a bright red shimmer with iridescent blue flakes in the background. This one was very pigmented and needed just 2 coats for full coverage. It dried with no texture and was easy to remove. 

Leesha's Lacquer Down the MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI (2 coats)

Down the MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI is an eye-searing neon orange with green contrasting shimmer and various ucc flakes. You know I love contrasting shimmers, so this is another top pick for me. This would also make for a great pedicure. I used 2 coats for my photos, and the formula was slightly thicker, but not problematic. Love it! 

Leesha's Lacquer Fais Do Do (3 coats)

Fais Do Do is a flakie-filled multichrome that shifts from blue to purple. Pictures really don't do this one justice. You can either use 3 thinner coats (as I did above), or use it as a topper over your favorite base. It dried with some texture due to the amount of flakes, but had a really good formula. You can use either 1 coat of a thicker topcoat to smooth it out, or 2 coats of a thin one. 

Leesha's Lacquer From MLPS to LA (2 coats)

From MLPS to LA is a neon blue base with small iridescent glitters and larger iridescent flakes with a scattered holo finish. Spring is the perfect time for these iridescent flakes, and I'm so happy to see them in more polishes. This one was opaque in 2 coats, and dried with just a little texture. 

Leesha's Lacquer Who Dat? (2 coats)

Who Dat? is another top pick for me. It's a bright raspberry purple base with iridescent flakes and aurora shimmer. Not only do we have those beautiful flakes again, but this time it comes with aurora shimmer! This one applied like From MLPS to LA, so check that out above. 

Leesha's Lacquer Who Do? VOODOO (2 coats)

I apologize I took so many picture of Who Do? VOODOO, but I wanted to really capture the complexity here. It's a deep blurple holo with a blue/pink/gold/multichrome effect. The holo is strong with this one, and the multichrome effect adds interest in low light. It applied perfectly in just 2 coats, and dried with no texture. Love it! 

There you have it! If you aren't able to make it to the show, head on over to the Polish Con Fairy site to put these exclusives on your wish list before they sell out (site opens for purchasing at 1 PM central time on Saturday, April 6th). All polishes will be available until 11:59 PM ET Monday, April 8th, or until sold out. Some of these are very limited, so get there right at 1 PM. My top picks are Happy to be Bayou, Bayou a Beignet, Down the MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI, Who Dat?, and Who Do? VOODOO. I know, it's a long list. I'm not done with Leesha's Lacquer, because I have their Spring Collection to show you tomorrow (which will also debut at Polish Con). You can find out more about Leesha's Lacquer on their website, Facebook Group, and Instagram pages. 

*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*