Emily Oh Emily!

One of my favorite boutique brands is Emily de Molly.

Here is Crystal Cavern:

Three coats. A hot pink leaning orchid loaded with a gilded shimmer. There are some small (tiny) flakes, but more like a large fleck than a flake (oh semantics!).

Under my flash the pink almost vanishes.

Here's another angle:

Here you can see the pink that really anchors it. 

This one is from around 2016 and, sadly, after a perusal of the site, is now discontinued. 

Though I will say her offerings are gorgeous and rarely let me down.

No affiliation, just a constantly happy customer.

Thanks so much for reading my little nail polish journal!

Summer Trippin'

 China Glaze Wanderlust.

Pale violet pink with a pretty secret shimmer.

To wit:

Three coats. Gorgeous shimmer. This is under flash.

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

A Red Pink or A Pink Red

I think Zoya really nailed it with Liza.

Bright, crisp, perfect tulip shade for spring. Three coats. 

In my realm I have a bit of wear issue with Zoya, but I am still trying to find the right top coat. It's not dissimilar to my old Sally Hansens, so part of it is my overuse of my nails.

Easy formula, lovely shade.

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Pink for Spring

 Here is Pahlish Suzie, Do You Copy? Which I believe refers to a television show.

Three coats

It's a frothy pink shimmer and flakie combo with a very strong blue flash:

I am pretty sure I didn't capture it very well, but you get a drift of the blue shimmer. 

It's an older one, from 2019's For The Love of Polish Box. FtLoP box is a trio of polishes curated as a monthly sale on the Polished for Days site. It's the first week of each month with Polished for Days and Pahlish holding down the fort and a guest creator adding the third polish. There is a theme and often it's a nice trio. Worth checking out a Polished For Days. 

I love the doll pink verging on coral around the edges along with the blue. Nice!

You may be able to find this on a blog sale or perhaps a Facebook sales page. 

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

I'm Not Outta Green Yet

 Squeezing one last one into the month!

Here is Essence Outta Space is the Place:

Soft pastel rose pink that is full of seafoam green shimmer. Sunny afternoon with Lily in the background.

Two coats, this has a top coat.

Here in lower light to bring out the shimmer. This is a lamp and some Photoshop to brighten a too-dark photo. (One day I might learn to master even the smallest portion of that software)

From their 2017 Outta Space Stories here is another in a sweet little collection. There really is a gorgeous green shimmer that is outta this world. 

Since it's a bit older, I found that I probably should have thinned it a bit before using, since I had a really thick formula.

Though a tiny bit delicate (in the top photo I wanted to catch the light but after one day I'd already dinged it so I had to hold my hand that way to catch the sunshine) and a bit too thick, I managed to not have to do too much clean up.

Older polish does get persnickety, and that's just a fact; polish thinner is a must. Mea culpa. 

Here are some of the other ones I've blogged:

• Essence Beam Me Up!
• Essence Intergalactic Adventure
• Across the Universe

I think you can still find it on eBay and big South American river, but not sure. 

Long gone on Essence's site. I wonder if the latest craze for eyeshadow palettes has eclipsed their nail polish efforts. I know that the US and EU sites are full of some basic color collections, but nothing seems to pop out as a "spring release." Though, I don't follow the brand assiduously, I have yet to really find one that puts a foot wrong. 

Thanks so much for enjoying greens with me for March 2021 and thanks for reading my little nail polish journal. 

Zoya Alegra...Metallic Yet Shimmer

Staying on the Zoya front, which isn't hard to do, they have so many pretty shades, here is a Zoya still on their site, Alegra is a fuchsia "sparkle" and basically a deep pink with some lighter pink sparkles.

They call it a metallic, but it seems more like a glass fleck in a jelly.

I'm not the expert.

Also mine is more of a deep cherry shade, less fuchsia (which always seems brighter to me)

Meanwhile...

There is some silver glass fleck and a lot of pink shimmer, but I honestly thought it was a deep cherry and had not inclination toward fuchsia.

Debate over, at three coats it's a pretty classic and the usual Zoya formula.

I rarely have trouble with Zoya, though I do get my fair share of tip wear. Wrapping helps, so does extra top coat, but no doubt, I notice it for sure.

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal! 

Of Gleams and Songs

Whenever I get a polish with a pop culture reference it's safe to say I need to look it up.

Native War Paints The Gleam In Your Eyes Is So Familiar from Polish Pickup 2018 was no exception.

In fact if it weren't for searching I would have guessed "modern era vampire/monster/paranormal franchise".

The hook in Video Games got me, too, so at least I'm not "whooo??" (insert clip art of granny in a rocking chair with square glasses and a gray bun).

Meanwhile, why haven't I worn this delight sooner?

A delightful pink rose with some lavender tossed in, my flash photo here doesn't show the perfectly beautiful blue glass fleck that gives a pronounced blue flash.

I am mesmerized.

Easy three coats, and a healthy holo with a scatter that leans toward a nice soft flame of warmth.


I am crazy about the formula, too. Dried very nicely, three days later I am seeing no wear or any issues.

For some reason I don't have a lot of this brand, why I do not know!

It was a one off for the Polish Pickup (www.polishpickup.com) back in 2018 (August).
If you aren't familiar with this check it out, it's a pop up type shop with limited edition samplings from an ogling array of makers. You may want to hide your credit cards. Shipping is a flat $3.

Don't blame me if you are gazing at your nails and sipping ramen broth for a few weeks.

Just saying!

Oh and Native War Paints does have an offering this month (check it out here).

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

So Nice, I Wore It Twice

Somehow in my surfing, I picked up Colors By Llarowe Marilyn The Legend in a destash. This is a Polish Pickup 2017 offering and quite a lovely pink packed with loads of holo microflakies (I am not sure what the term for these are, but it's glass fleck sized holo flakies)

This is a beautiful pink, but a little bit of an application issue for me. 

Here it is in May:

This is in sunshine. I love the holos, but they really don't produce holo, but a glassy metallic random reflection now and again.

Three coats - necessary - and my cuticle flooded pinkie shows that the applicator (me) is less than perfect.

Here it is in early August:

This is under my lamp, so it's a little brighter pink. I would say that this is the perfect pink summer polish.

I will say I did have issues with some of the application, but not impossible. I didn't do cleanup, again, so you can see did soup around a bit.

I may move this along. I am not 100% in love with the formula, though I own my application errors, the visible nail line after three coats was frustrating.

I wanted to add that I had a bad break on my pinkie after this and had to cut things down. The weird thing was that my middle finger had a shallow "smile" crack along the middle, so while it didn't go all the way through, it certainly wasn't a healthy looking thing. I am going to pop the polygel on this weekend.

This one you may find around destashes, it's a gorgeous pink, that's for sure!!

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!!

Beam Me Up! By Essence

Essence Out of Space Stories was a fun, little, and affordable collection that came out in 2017. I have to admit that it's about the first Essence collection I grabbed, and I don't think all the ones they had on their US site were the same as in store or on their EU site, so go figure.

Though, I am happy with what I found, even if the duochromes are a little unimpressive after comparing them to my old Sally Hansen and the various indie offerings.

Here is a real win, though, Essence Beam Me Up!

Here in the sunshine it's a red leaning pink with a scattered holo that doesn't really flash as strong as I'd hoped, but it's a pretty shimmer that does catch the light enough to give a pretty semi-rainbow effect when conditions are right.


Here it is under lamp and flash:

Much more pink with the blue correcting light of the flash and a daylight corrected lamp. this is a few weeks later when I wore it again.

Two coats and I was good. The brush was a little small and wonky, so that's a bit of a let down.

Since I had such good luck with application, first coat is a great covering coat, I wanted to try stamping with it.

Here it is over white. I am using my Moyou London Plate Arabesque 03. Moyou, by the way, just rocks.

I had some wobble issues, but the plate stamped beautifully. I used a soft jelly stamp, one I found on eBay. These pick up very well, but man, they will "float" if you are not spot on.

As a stamping polish, perfection!!! It pulls so neon over the white! Surprise win!


Essence no longer carries this line in their US or EU site. In fact their EU site seems to have lines that are not carried here in the US. As a side note the the US site has Catrice makeup. Dang! If only they would carry Catrice polish!!!

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Stamping it Up

Wanted to play with a stamping with a holographic, but haven't had one I wanted to sacrifice to the stamping gods.

I'd gotten a couple of Up Colors polishes in a huge sale from an online etailer quite some time ago and wanted to used them. I quickly discovered that they were very un-three free (dibutyl phthalate) and I figured I needed to just use it up.

Here it is over Zoya Zanna

I think it's a good stamping polish. I used a negative space plaid and though there are some gaps, it did a nice job.

Zoya Zanna, wow, what a gorgeous orchid pink, I love it a lot. I must have purchased it during a sale, but I love it a lot. Went on like a charm.

Up Colors is out of south america, but I am not sure if it's a Brazilian brand. I know that it's not a super unique holo. I have it in blue (here) and green. It does have a strong holo, so the color is subservient to the holographic power.

Thanks so much for reading my little nail polish journal!

Pinking It Over

I wanted to run a random swatch/comparison of some pinks that are a mix of old and new, blogged and unblogged. Enjoy! (all are top coat free)

China Glaze Sass in a Glass

A rich, glass fleck formula. Soupy-ish. Big three rich. This is from the same collection that has "It's 5 O'clock Somewhere" in it. That's all I really know.

It's got a metallic micro glitter/glass fleck in strong pink magenta jelly. The most red of the bunch.

Four coats used and a pretty shade. Hard to argue with this one!

Might be around blog sales or eBay, it's long since discontinued.



Sinful Colors Forget Now

Three coats, easy formula and a strong blue shimmer that really turns my head. Blogged before, but wanted to compare.

I always think I want to purge this one, but I really love it a lot. I never know if SC has a color, has renamed it under a repromote or not. It is pretty and worth looking for.

This should be around, though I can't imagine why they'd discontinue a color like this.
I know it should be around online, too.




Zoya Mae

Three coats, a beautiful shade, but man, it was a hard polish to apply. I think I ended up moving it along. Or it's in the move along box. Hard to recall.

Plus it felt sheer, although it is rather luminous, it's too hard to work with.

Still at Zoya.



L'Oreal Pink Shell

I love this one so much. A reblog and because it can work as a topper I always think it's too sheer, but it's really not, it builds at three coats and just rocks.

A favorite.

I am sure available online (I just looked on eBay and youch!).

It's a strong glass fleck shimmer, which is really a win.


Here is a comparison:

Left to right:
China Glaze Sass in a Glass
Sinful Colors Forget Now
Zoya Mae
L'Oreal Pink Shells

With a lot more clean up.

I love the drug store offerings here. The win is evident.

Hope you enjoyed!

Indigo Banana Duo

Now that I am wearing the Polygel and able to get some consistent length on my nails, I will be trotting out some more of the polishes that I love so much, and hoping to finally do some justice to them!

If you've read my blog, you know that over the years it's been often a case of nubs, building to longer nails, only to nub again. And again. And again. 

While perfection is distant horizon that one may enjoy during a beautiful sunset, life is for the living now and as I tighten my filing game, I am thoroughly enjoying the work Polygel does to help my nails stay long.

Back to Indigo Bananas! 

Here is a great one, Wise Up, Janet!

Can we talk?

SMOOCH!!!

This is two coats over Color Club Secret Rendezvous (blogged here).

It is a holo flakie that has an orchid pink base and tons of holo and lots of little flakies.

No top coat here and it's gleaming!

I love the ringed flame around my nails and the little darker purple/pink flakies.

This is a two coater, perhaps three if you don't have a base, but there is so much going on you won't get visible nail line.

I love how Secret Rendezvous brightens it up a bit. I think over a dark purple it would be a different animal. Delightful!

Next up is Indigo Montoya

A scattered linear holo in my shot, but there is a flame and it's not shy.

Two coats over a Sally Beauty polish called Nina Ultra Pro Sailor

I like the blurple quality of this navy and it's why I snapped it right up.

To me Indigo Montoya (love the nod to Princess Bride) is a delightful indigo blue that pulls both navy and purple depending on the light.

Although the two IB polishes I have up are sold out, I highly recommend checking the shop out. Just google Indigo Bananas and you will find it!

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Maybelline Colorama Plum Sparkle

When I first started collecting, I scored a ton of Coloramas at the Dollar tree.
Most I found a good home(s) for, but I kept a few.

Here is Maybelline Colorama Plum Sparkle:

It's a magenta shimmer with a scattered holo fine glitter running throughout.

Posted here with no top coat, which whould have smoothed out its slight texture.

Three coats, but two would be fine.

Dandy in the flash, even under the lamp it's demure smolder is a delight.

I find that the holo is super subtle, but the color and shimmer are ample payoffs.


Can still be found online, I found it with a fast search.

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!
:)

Layla Hologram Effect Part 1

When these came out the flame was just beginning with the indie holos, so these were not merely epic, but had a strong holographic flame that was longed for and well missed by those who loved the old China Glaze and OPI offerings.

This is for polishes 1-8, but they released more. All are readily available on eBay.

Pigments that seemed to be gone were not merely back, but mind blowing-ly back.

How they apply

1 - All of these are three coats - a must.
2 - Chipping -because of the rigidity of holo pigment, a good layering system helps with wear:
     Normal mani
     Add top coat
     Top off with another layer of polish
3 - Flame and top coats - Layla's flame is sensitive to top coats, I've watched while holo flame                  vanished with top coat application. The layering technique in 2 helps.
4 - Balding - these will pull up pigment with a second coat. I used a ridge filler and had no issues.

To the polishes!

Layla Hologram Effect 01 Mercury Twilight

A cool, classic holo silver. gorgeous.
Not much more to say here.
Oh. Wait. Gorgeous!



Layla Hologram Effect 02 Coral Glam

A copper pink that tends toward an earthy coral in most light. My photo pulls a little blue and softens it up.
At the top of nail on the pinkie and index, you can see the warmer copper shade come out.
A favorite, and very unique.



Layla Hologram Effect 03 Retro Pink

A soft red toned pink that is very nice. Classic and neutral.



Layla Hologram Effect 04 Ultra Violet

A classic true purple. Not a plum, not a violet, just a gorgeous purple.
A favorite!


Part 2 in a day or two!

Thanks for reading my nail polish journal! 

Every Month Is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Awareness means monthly self exam and getting mammograms every year.

I think as we realize that our diets affect our bodies in ways we haven't completely parsed scientifically (though there is a ton of actual evidence, too), it doesn't hurt to address nutrition in a meaningful way in ones life. It's something I'm addressing beyond just thinking about it. Won't say it's easy, but every little bit helps.

Meanwhile here is a pretty combination that surprised me with its blatant cuteness

Color Club Yachty, Yachty, Yadda topped with Sephora Formula X Whimsical

CC YYY is a staple in my pink wardrobe, it's the perfect blend of an Easter pink and a bubble gum pink.

Sephora's X line has been through several iterations of bottle design and seems to also regularly discard lines and colors. I will be frank here, I dislike Sephora's site and search features. It's often like walking into a crowded party only to find the company would have been nice if the music wasn't so loud.

I found Whimsical at Big Lots! and for $1.80 I am pleasantly surprised. It's a combination of a scattered silver metallic glitter of two sizes mixed in with a strong dose of silver glass fleck as a base.

A pretty polish, but super hard to find. I'd suggest if you are after this effect, without trying to hunt down this one, try SinfulColors Out of This World and a silver hex glitter, there is one in every brand and price point. It's pretty easy to recreate since it's fairly generic.

In the meantime, this pretty little polish that combines topper and glitter, which is always nice!

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Pink Roses

Wanted to reuse a plate I'd posted about here. It's the XY11 plate (still available on eBay with a quick search using XY11 and narrowing down the category)

It was full of interesting things and I thought these negative space roses were super nice!

Good ol' CND Raspberry Pink stamped with WetnWild black creme.

My new stamping polish, for sure!

I love how the roses pop.

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Emily de Molly Bellisima

Here is a sweet polish that you need to own:

Emily de Molly Bellisima

I've put it over a nude, and I think it rocks better over a pale pink, white, blue or gray pastel or ice shade.

This is a true beauty.

Pink matte glitter and silver smaller glitter packed with a large lavender shade of pink glitter, then accented with a smattering of giant glitters. I love the fact that the large glitters are round, too.

This is never going to be a full cover polish, but it's packed with impact and you just need to let it shine.

If you live in Australia, where this brand is based, it appears to be on sale. Lucky you!!

Thank you for reading my little nail polish journal!

Happy Fourth of July!

Simple Lavender Pinks

I've been pleasantly surprised by Maybelline Color Show polishes. I often pick them up at the Dollar Tree or Big Lots, but occasionally I grab one at the drug store.

Maybelline Ultra Violet

This one is from the Dollar tree, but it's a pretty bright lavender pink that covers well in two coats.

They call it a "bleached neon" and I don't know when this collection came out, but I figure a spring or summer outing.

I really love this one. Very impressive.

I compared it to IBD's Cashmere Cutie

Left to right:

Maybelline Ultra Violet

IBD Cashmere Cutie

Maybelline Ultra Violet

IBD Cashmere Cutie

All are three coats, but two will do.

I think the IBD is a very nice polish, but dries a little bit more satin-like than the very glossy Maybelline..

I found IBD online at Nail Supplies and tried out a couple of bottles. This is a good formula. Worth looking into as it runs about the same as Maybelline when you factor in shipping. Since there aren't a ton of swatches and IBD is more known for its gel polishes, it doesn't have the swatches out there.

Though it seems like I am, I don't have to work too hard to tell you that it is a good brand and I've been pleasantly surprised by the ones I've tried.

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Mid Mod Stamping

I came of age just as the last gasps of this aesthetic were easing on down the road.

At it's best it's clean Danish design, at its worst it was shag rugs and "Big Eyes."

Three coats of Color Club High Society, a beautiful mousy taupe, topped with Milani Hot Orchid.

Stamped with Pueen Sumptuous Elements plate 05.

I blogged High Society back here, and found it at Ross back in the Color Club hey day.
This was part of the Rebel Debutante collection by Color Club.

Milani Hot Orchid is part of their discontinued line, I found mine at the dollar tree and it is currently on eBay as well as some other locations around the interwebz. As a stamping polish, this has to be a top ten: great color, great coverage and a pretty metallic finish. Much win.

This shade combination reminds me of those 1950's dresses with piping accents.

Three coats of Color Club Yachty Yachty Yadda topped with Pueen plate 04.

The stamping polish is a Milani striping polish, which isn't bad, but I think could be deeper black.

This is Pueen Sumptuous Elements Plate 04.

YYY by Color Club is quite a nice pink: cool to medium leaning and in three coats smooths out very well. I blogged it here.

Love the sharp, mod colors of this one.



Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Whimsical Ideas By Pam - Heart and Soul

Hey everyone.

Had many a mani planned to post and now I have a backlog of photos. Some will wait until April, because I'm getting revved up for Greens in March, aka Go Air Yer Bra!

All right: to the task at hand!

Whimsical Idea's by Pam has a couple of translucent glitters that I found by happenstance. Found the christmas one (to be seen at a future date) and this one that is new, called Heart and Soul.

Here she is:

In the bottle it is very dark, because there is nothing backing the glitter to reflect light, either white or metallic.
Over white - 2 coats here - it layers perfectly.
My thrill level with this polish is off the charts.

This can be layered to show a lot of other color theory in action as it changes depending on the base.

I enjoy it, as I do many a glitter, over white. It just pops.

Rather addictive to look at.

Dense glitter at two coats, I had to spread it around. I will keep this one thinned out so it will move the glitters across the nail, but that's not to say it was thick, just generous with the glitter.

See how the layering makes it look like there are more than one shade of purple or red? Fabulous!


I found this via a swatch on one of the blogs I follow (another polish) then saw this one when I went to the Whimsical Idea's by Pam Facebook page. She doesn't have an online store, you go to Facebook, get in touch, see what's available, then order. She invoices you by email.
So retro easy, great communication. Worth the effort.
I will note that I am not on Facebook and I can see the full site and it's easy to reach Pam. Win!

I'm crushing hard on this polish, as is appropriate for the season.

I wanted to make this my Valentine's day mani, but didn't get around to editing the photos fast enough.

Still, as we bask in the wake of that holiday devoted to love (and see a ton of St Pat's stuff already on the shelves of the variety stores) it's a polish that leaves that warm cuddly feeling in your heart.

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!