January 2024 Little Box of Horrors: Naps and Nails Z-Z-Z-Zombies

 *press sample*

Hello hello! The third and final January box polish I have to share with you from Naps and Nails is for the Little Box of Horrors box. New to LBoH? It is a bi-monthly shop that is open at 12pm pacific time on the 18-30 during the months: January, March, May, September, November with a Re-animation TBA. Shipping starts on the 15th of the next month after the store closes. This month's theme is Zombies and the shop will open on January 18th and end on January 30th. Swatch time!

Cold State

Warm State

Naps and Nails Z-Z-Z-Zombies (2 coats) Transitioning 

Inspiration: Paranorman

Price: $13

Bottle Limit: 100 bottles

I absolutely love this! Z-Z-Z-Zombies is a thermal flakie polish that transitions from green when warm to deep blue when cold with metallic pink/purple/blue flakes. The flakes go so well with the polish, and really adds depth to it. Swatches show 2 coats and it applied flawlessly. Even with the flakes, it only needed one coat of topcoat to smooth it all out. I love it! 

You can find out more about the Little Box of Horrors box on their Facebook page. Make sure to set your alarms to pick this one up since it has a smaller bottle cap. 

*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*

Polish Pickup August 2020 Weird Science Swatches & Reviews

*press samples*

Hi everyone! I told you'd I'd be back soon! My parents are here and I am so happy to see them! We are distancing and masking with our HEPA filter going to be on the safe side. Tonight I have a bunch of items from this month's Polish Pickup to share with you. The theme is Weird Science and this is near and dear to my heart as I have a Ph. D in Microbiology and worked in science for over a decade. Despite not being in science anymore, I'm still a science geek in my heart. 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, August 7th at 11:00 AM ET and ends on Monday, August 10th 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!

Polish Pickup October 2019: Urban Legends Swatches and Reviews

*press samples*

Hi guys! OMG, can you believe it's October already? It feels like yesterday it was July, am I right? Polish Pickup is coming up this weekend, and this month's inspiration is Urban Legends. There are sooo many urban legends out there, so I am super interested in seeing where makers go with this one. In case you're new to PPU, this is 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, Oct. 4th at 11:00 AM ET and ends on Monday, Oct. 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. I have a whopping five PPU shades to share with you this month, so I decided to combine these into one post. Go ahead and hit that button to see these beauties. 

Polish Pickup May 2019 Lucky 13 Lacquer Swatches and Reviews: Take a Look, It's in a Book and Lotion of Immortality Trio

*press samples*

Hi guys! I have a bunch of PPU items to share this month, so I may combine the next few polishes into 1 post, but I thought that the 2 Lucky 13 Lacquer items I have may get a little wordy and picture-heavy, so it gets its own post. This month's inspiration is the 80's, and I couldn't be more excited! I was an 80's baby (born in '82), so give me all of the iconic toys, music, games, and movies from that era and I will be happy. Lucky 13 was inspired by something near and dear to my heart, Reading Rainbow. I feverishly read any book I could find when I was a kid, and I loved LeVar Burton. I received a little maker's note about the inspiration for this month, and wanted to share it here:

" I grew up watching Reading Rainbow, LeVar's soothing voice helped my love of books grow throughout my childhood."

I feel like LeVar inspired many of us to pick up a book and use our imaginations. Just a few years ago there was a Kickstarter to bring back Reading Rainbow, and my husband and I backed it. I believe it was also the highest amount raised for any Kickstarter at the time. Polish Pickup will open up at 11:00 ET AM on May 3rd and will run through 11:59 PM ET on May 6th. 

May Indie Pickup: Lucky 13 Lotion of Immorality Trio + Glitter 

Lucky 13 Lotion of Immortality Trio + Butterfly Glitter ($11)

Cap: 35 trios

Inspiration: Reading Rainbow

Lotion of Immortality is a thick moisturizing lotion that is perfect for the cuticles, hands, or the body. It is made with shea butter, aloe, and love. It is very emollient, but does not leave you greasy at all. Each jar is 20 g which is plenty for the cuticles and hands. If you put it all over your body, it obviously won't last as long, but a little goes a long ways. Instead of the usual shimmer included in each trio, a small container of gold holo butterfly glitter was this month's addition.  You can use it in your favorite nail polish, or hand-place it on your skin or mani. If you use it on your mani, it is recommended that you use at least 2 coats of top coat to smooth it out. 

Scents:

Take a Look, It's in a Book: described as an endless room of books on dusty shelves, and all the time in the world to read them. It has the barest notes of sandalwood, vanilla, and tobacco. This one is extremely complex, and is definitely a warm, rich scent. 

Butterfly in the Sky: I can go twice as high! Fresh air & floral. It includes notes of hibiscus, rose, juicy plums, and fresh mountain air. The rose is what I noticed first, but not in a bad way. Some "clean" scents can give me headaches, and this one didn't do that. It's a clean, spring-like scent. 

Secretly a Starfleet Officer: Patchouli, lavender, chamomile, and apricots. It includes notes of musk, leather, and a gentle powdery freshness. I know that patchouli is a polarizing scent, and while you can tell it's in there, the lavender and fruit really evens it out. I had my husband smell this one, and he immediately put it on his hands. This is the most "masculine" of the scents, but definitely remains a unisex scent.

Lucky 13 Lacquer Take a Look, It's in a Book (3 coats, warm transitioning to medium)

Price: $14

Cap: 120 bottles

Inspiration: Reading Rainbow

Lucky 13 Lacquer Take a Look, It's in a Book (3 coats, cold)

(medium to cold transition)

Take a Look, It's in a Book is a tri-thermal that shifts from pale lavender (warmest) to periwinkle (medium) to bright plum (cold) with red/copper/gold/green unicorn shimmer, and teal/blue/purple color-shifting flakes. While I love it in the warm state, the real star is in the cold state when the flakes and shimmer really pop against the dark background. Truth be told, I didn't know this was a thermal when I started applying it, so I ended up using 3 coats because it was slowly transitioning to the warm state and I thought it was sheer. Oops. That said, you could likely get away with just 2 coats, but I used 3 from my confusion. It applied perfectly; just make sure that no rogue flakes stick past the free edge. It dried with very minimal texture, but I still recommend a good topcoat to protect the nails. Oh, I also used the Lucky 13 Lacquer Elemental Ward top coat for my photos which retails for just $5 and comes in a variety of scents (not available through PPU). 

There you have it, everyone! This was my first time trying the Lotion of Immortality, and I was extremely impressed with the longevity and the level of moisturization it provided. The polish for the month was extremely unique, and chock full of fancy ingredients (tri-thermal, unicorn shimmer, flakie, oh my!). You can find out more about Lucky 13 Lacquer on their website, Facebook Group, or Instagram pages, while you can find more about PPU on their Facebook page and website.

*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*

Emily de Molly Group Customs Swatches and Reviews: Opal Illusion and Symbiosis

Hi guys! It's almost Thanksgiving! I'll probably be taking the rest of the week off to visit with my family. I will definitely be lounging around and eating way too much food. Make sure to check your social media pages often because there will be plenty of Black Friday sales going on. I'll have the Zoya Holiday 2018 collection up soon, as well as some swatches from Starlight and Sparkles. The polishes I have for you tonight cannot be found on the Emily de Molly site because they are group customs. You'll need to join the Emily de Molly Fan Group on Facebook to find the links to purchase them (they are $10 apiece). Hayley said they will be available for several months, so you should have plenty of time before they go away. Shall we get to it? 

Ruby White Tips Swatches and Reviews: Like Kim, But Not and Sonny the Horse at Ryerss Farm

*purchased with a blogger discount*

Ruby White Tips Like Kim, But Not (2 coats)

Ruby White Tips Sonny the Horse at Ryerss Farm (2 coats, cold)

Ruby White Tips Sonny the Horse at Ryerss Farm (2 coats, warm)

Guys, can we talk about The Bachelor for a second?! Whoa, Arie is such a dick. The whole scene was raw and emotional. My heart was breaking for Becca and I can only imagine what she's going through. Sorry, I know lots of people don't watch the show, but I just needed to get that out there! Tonight I have the second set of polishes from Ruby White Tips. 

A few years ago they had a polish called Kim, a nude holo named after an angry Pomeranian dog. That polish is no long available, so I assume Like Kim, But Not ($9.50) is named after that one, but with a shimmer twist. Like Kim, But Not is a warm neutral creme with silver and red shimmer. This is my perfect nude! I have yellow undertones, and I think this works really well with my skin. I think the shimmer will allow it to mesh well with cool-toned ladies and gents, too. I used 2 coats for the photos above, and it applied flawlessly. It dried with very minimal texture, and was easy to remove. 

Are you into thermals? If so, Sonny the Horse at Ryerss Farm ($10) is for you. It's a mint green creme that turns purple when cold. It transitions quickly and I love that the warm vs cold state is so striking. My apologies that my tips started to turn purple in my "warm state" photos. Like I said, it changed so quickly! If you have really short nails, you will mostly see the warm state unless you wash your hands or go outside when it's cold. I mean, it's still winter, so I'm sure you can easily find some cold weather! I used 2 coats for the photos above, and I had no issues with the formula or application. 

There you have it! Laura has a mix of colors and finishes in the shop, so there's something for everyone. My top picks are Bitch Please, I Ride a Unicorn and Sonny the Horse. You can find Ruby White Tips on their Etsy store, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram pages. 

*These polishes were purchased at a discount and I only give honest reviews*

Heather's Hues November Birthday Duo Swatches and Reviews

*purchased with a blogger discount*

Hi guys! Welcome back to some more reviews from Heather's Hues. Unfortunately these aren't for sale anymore, but you can find many more beautiful polishes on her Etsy site. These were part of a duo that was made specially for Heather's birthday last month. Shall we see some more pictures?

Heather's Hues 11/7 (3 coats, warm state)

Heather's Hues 11/7 (3 coats, cold state)

Heather's Hues 11/7 (3 coats, transitioning)

As you could guess, 11/7 is Heather's birthday! If you know anything about Heather, you know she knows her way around a purple polish. 11/7 is a lavender to blurple thermal with a subtle scattering of holo and flakes. Most of the time it was the lighter color, but my nails weren't too long at this point. The formula was slightly thicker than most of the other Heather's Hues polishes, but nothing too serious. 

Party Like a Rockstar (3 coats, warm state)

Heather's Hues Party Like a Rockstart (3 coats, cold state)

Heather's Hues Party Like a Rockstar (3 coats, transitioning)

Party Like a Rockstar is my pick of the duo and transitions from a light grey (warm state) to black (cold state) with tons of holo shimmer and multichrome flakes. Man, the flakes just glow in this one! If you can find this in a destash, you should definitely pick it up. My only slight issue I had was that it was pretty sheer and needed 3 heavier coats for full opacity.

While you're at the site, make sure to check out her Cutie-cle oil and balm! You don't need very much and it doesn't leave your fingers all greasy. Also new on her site are her wax melts, body sprays, and lip balms which I still need to try. You can find out more about Heather's Hues on their Etsy site, Instagram, and Facebook pages. Also, don't forget to sign up to be a part of Heather's Hue-t-pies Facebook group!

*These polishes were provided by the brand at a discounted price. All reviews are based solely on my opinion. For more information, please see my full disclosure at the bottom of the site*