Flakie Friday! Daring Digits Before Sunset

Hiya Loves! Happy Friday!!!! We all know what Friday means here at KLK - Flakie Friday with Susan from The Subtle Shimmer!! I really look forward to our flakie posts. I've rediscovered my absolute love for all things flakie. If there is a flakie that you would like to see, let me know in the comments. I'm always open to suggestions.

Today I have an Indie Flakie to share with you. You know how I love Indie Brands, and an Indie Flakie? Bonus!! Daring Digits is an awesome Indie brand that is based out of my own City, Albuquerque, NM. Ashley is the brains behind the brand, and her creations are unique, dazzling, and affordable.

This polish is called "Before Sunset", and captures some of the beauty and complexity of the sunsets here. If you haven't seen a New Mexico sunset....well, they have to be seen to be believed. The sky at sunset here is nothing short of amazing. Before Sunset captures the beautiful dusty colors and golden glow of our sunsets perfectly. The base color is a dusty mauve/purple and this girl is packed with Gold and Bronze flakies with just a hint of teal. This polish also has some extra punch...

You'll notice that the base color of Before Sunset is a bit different in each of my photos. That's not my old as dirt camera at work....Before Sunset is also a color changing polish! The change is soft and kind of subtle, but it is definitely there. The base color changes from Dusty Mauve/purple to a brighter, yet still dusty pink/purple. The color change actually happens with warmth as opposed to cold. My lighting setup is incredibly hot, so as I was taking my photos the color gradually changed. It is more evident if you take a hot bath or wash your hands in hot water than it is here though. The macro shot is the best match for the actual color of the base when warm.

This is 2 coats of Before Sunset topped with HK Girl Top Coat.

Look at those flakies! And I love the color change, despite it not being incredibly drastic.

Formula:
Before Sunset has a lovely smooth, creamy formula. No issues with thickening, or gooping up here.

Application:
Despite this girl being absolutely packed with flakies, Before Sunset applied smoothly and evenly with no dragging, balding, or gooping. Opacity is great, I used 2 thin coats, but one was almost opaque. This girl does dry slightly matte, but once top coat is applied, she shines like glass.

Before Sunset isn't a color I would normally choose for myself, but I really like it. It's soft and beautiful, and the flakies give it that extra pop of color that I always crave. Despite its softness, this girl is an attention getter. Several people asked me what polish I was wearing while I was out and about!

Before Sunset is not yet available on the Daring Digits website, but will hopefully be available soon. You can follow Daring Digits on Facebook for updates and information on new and upcoming collections and products.

All Daring Digits Products are 3-Free, Cruelty Free, and handmade. You can find Ashley's creations via DDPolish.com, and right now there is a TON of polish on sale. Full size bottles are currently only $6!

What are your thoughts on Before Sunset? Are you a fan of color changing polish?

Be sure to check out Susan's awesome (as always!) Flakie Friday post! Yet another polish that I must have after seeing Susan's post!

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!
-Kimber

Essie Repstyle Magnetics : Snake It Up

Good Morning lovelies! For all my U.S friends, I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. I feel much like I gained 10 lbs and am still fairly lethargic from all that food!

Today I have one of the new Essie Repstyle Magnetic polishes to share with you all. I stumbled across this at Walgreens and fell in love with the color, and figured it worth a share. And since I have a ton of really cool Indies coming up, I figured I would swatch this now - kind of a little break from all the glittah!

The Essie Repstyle Collection is brand new, and features 6 magnetic colors in mostly neutral tones. There is only one magnetic design  with these, and it happens to be......you guessed it! Snakeskin. Snake It Up and Sssnake are the only 2 in the collection that are really vibrant, Sssnake being a jewel toned red, and Snake It Up being a Dusty Blue. Considering my love for blues, it should be no surprise that Snake It Up was my final choice. I heavily considered Sssnake as well, but at almost $12.00 each for these, I decided that one was going to have to do.

All photos are 2 coats of Snake It Up with a coat of Gelous to intensify the magnetic effect.

Snake It Up kind of reminds me of a magnetic version of Dive Bar, which is my very favorite Essie Polish. In some light, it seems to have a bit more blurple to it, which makes it even more stunning.

Formula:
Snake It Up's formula was a dream to work with. Great consistency, no thickening, glopping, or gooping. And as a bonus, it seems to have less of that strange smell magnetics have.

Application:
Smooth and silky, Snake It Up flowed onto the nail nicely and stayed put. I did find that the magnetic effect was fairly week, so I added a coat of Gelous to my nails before using the magnet, which intensified the effect. Even then, the pattern isn't as bold as I would like, and did not cover the sides of my nails. The magnet does not have the ridge to rest on your finger, so you have to hold it flat over the nail, which seemed to leave an inconsistent image. Dry time was long, even with a coat of Seche Vite.

Even though I adore the color, I don't feel like these are really worth $12. Granted I have paid more for magnetic polish (Layla's retail at $15), however my Layla's have a stronger magnet and the image is much more solid. If the price point was a bit lower, I would probably pick up one or two more of these, since I still love magnetics, especially after using them in a gradient. For now, I think I'll wait until they're on sale.

What do you think of Snake It Up? Will you be trying out any of the Repstyle Collection?

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing! Be sure to stay tuned for more Glitzology, Twenty Seven, Polish TBH and more!!

-Kimber