Squishy Face Polish - Nebula

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Hello Lovelies! First of all, I expect some of you are wondering just where in the heck I have been. It's okay - I've been wondering too (ha?)!

Let me start by saying that 2013 has been the WORST year on record for my family. Any bit of bad luck possible has come our way. Big, small and in between, bad luck has just plagued all of us. I suppose I should just expect the rest of this year to bring even more bad luck, since good luck has just been few and far between.

First of all, mom is feeling very weak, and is looking at a possible transfusion. Her CBC was low before her last chemo, and this week has been horrendous for her. My oldest is having issues with school (grades), and I now have to stand over her to ensure she doesn't half ass anything or hide it altogether. My youngest is in his "testing the limits" stage, which is certainly trying.

The big thing that I mentioned on IG, was that my niece, who is now 33 weeks pregnant, was out walking one night last week and was hit by a car. She suffered a broken shoulder, split lips (top and bottom), broken teeth, and tons of bumps, bruises, and scrapes. She landed on her stomach, which has caused the placenta to partially detach, which is incredibly dangerous to both mother and baby. She was recently released from the hospital, and is now stuck at home on bed rest and bored to tears. She was not at fault, and I managed to get ahold of my ex-husband (the Attorney) and he referred us to a friend of his that is a personal injury lawyer and is apparently just a hard ass in court. I'm still so furious at the guy that hit her, and so incredibly worried about her and the baby.

So, there ya have it. All of that is why I was gone for a bit. I had to focus on my family, especially after my niece's accident, and I just couldn't spend my usual 6 hours a day swatching, photographing, editing, and posting. I hope you all forgive me, but even us bloggers have lives outside of polish, right?

I am however, coming back with a bang today. I have a stunning polish from Squishy Face Polish to share with you today, and it's so awesome that I desperately want to go back and wear it again.

Nebula is a beautiful dusty scattered holographic polish from the fall 2013 "Cosmic" Collection. The base color is a dusty purple, at least that's what my eyes perceive it as. It's certainly a very unique color, and I am a complete sucker for unique colors.

This is 2 coats of Nebula, topped with Glisten and Glow HK Girl Top Coat, shown in various lighting:

Wow. Just wow. This color brings out the olive in my skintone, but I care not. It's just too pretty to ignore. I love dusty colors, and the only other dusty purples I own lean more pink. This is exactly what I was looking for in a dusty purple polish, and the holo makes it so much more epic. I do wish I had some good sunlight for holo shots, but since I have to photograph at night, you'll have to trust me on this - Nebula is very holo in any light, but in sunlight, it throws rainbows all over and is so gorgeous that it's almost dangerous. So much love for this polish.

Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Not exactly a macro, but look at that baby! Soooo gorgeous! As much as I love linear holos, I still adore a good scattered holo sparkle. Love, love, love!

Nebula's formula is just epic as well. Squishy Face Polish has one of the best Indie formulas around, and Nebula is certainly no exception. this girl was not as thin as the usual holos, but not as thick as an indie cream either. No thickening during use here. Application was just amazing with no dragging or balding at all. Nebula flowed onto the nail like melted butter and dried lightning quick, even before top coat. Wear is exceptional for a holo with no chips or tip wear at over 48 hours (I wore this for a good 4 days), and the holo effect never dulled down.

I'm fast becoming a huge fan of Squishy Face Polish. These holos are just incredible. I have yet to find a holo formula that is as perfect as Squishy Face's, and I am so excited to share the other 4 colors with you. I don't want to ruin the surprise, but wait until you see the blue - mind blowing!!!!

You can grab Nebula and the rest of the Cosmic Collection by visiting Squishy Face Polish on Store Envy. Full size bottles run $10 each, or you can grab the full set for $50 full size or $20 for minis. I highly recommend grabbing these before they're gone - you will not be sorry! You can also follow Squishy Face Polish on Instagram for sales, re-stock info, new releases and more. Go forth and shop!!

What do you think of Nebula? Are you a fan of dusty colors?

I'll be back tomorrow with some Love, Angeline Halloween goodness ( with some holo, of course!).  I'm so glad to be back, and I'm so grateful that you all stuck around. You guys are the best readers and friends in the world!

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!
-Kimber








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Squishy Face Polish - Polaris

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Hello lovelies! Man,  am still feeling a bit under the weather, although I'm finally starting to show some signs of life. This cold has been brutal and I truly apologize for my lack of posts - but thank you so much for sticking with me. All too often I see bloggers treated as if we are somehow superhuman and are expected to be swatching and posting machines through even the most miserable illness - I am so happy you all understand that I am, in fact, only human.

Today I have a seriously jaw-dropping polish from a fairly new to me brand, Squishy Face Polish. SFP just released their Fall Collection (The Cosmic Collection), and I'm lucky enough to be able to swatch them for you guys! I can't tell you how excited I am, since Squishy Face makes some stunning polish, and the Cosmic Collection is one of my faves so far this fall. Lots and lots of holo goodness and, of course, glittah!!!

The first polish I have to share from the Cosmic Collection is Polaris, an utterly gorgeous Green linear holographic polish. Oh. My. God, Loves.....when I first unpacked this one my eyes about popped out of my head! I love a good, vibrant green, and Polaris is vibrant and saturated and just full of holo sparkle.

This is 3 coats of Polaris topped with HK Girl Top Coat:

Okay, First I have to admit...I am over the moon with these photos. So happy with how accurate the color is, and that I captured the holo glow in the lightbox! Next....OMG are you looking at this polish!?!? This is, IMO, the perfect green holo for fall. For any season for that matter. There is nothing about this color that doesn't make my little heart beat faster.

What? You want a macro? Well, okay!

Polaris' formula is, for lack of a more unique word, Perfect. Consistency was fabulous, no thickening during use, and no shaking until my hand went numb to make sure there were no thick spots. Application was perfection as well. This polish has the best formula of any of my holos, hands down. Which we all know is saying A LOT, since holos are notorious for being a pain. Not Polaris! No streaking, dragging, or balding, perfect opacity at 2 coats (I'm wearing 3 since I whacked a nail and had to fix it), and ultra-fast dry time. Another huge deal with holos, at least for me, is wear...I wore this for almost 5 days and had one tiny spot of tip wear on one thumb. That was it. No chips, no major wear, no color fade - nothing. My god, I don't know what Alice put in this, but she has struck holo formula gold!

Lovelies, you need this polish. NEED. If you only grab one green this fall? Make it Polaris. ANd, if you aren't into greens (you still need this!), Squishy Face's Cosmic Collection boasts a gorgeous holo in several colors. I cannot wait to share the rest with you all - I am just blown away!

You can find Squishy Face Polish on Store Envy. The Cosmic Collection is available now, and retails for $10/full size polish, or $50 for the entire 6 polish collection. Don't skip this one folks, these will sell out and you have to experience these for yourself. *sings* Looooooove!!!!!!  Take a peek at some of the other SFP babies too - I can't wait to grab some more. I'm that in love with this brand, lovelies! You can also follow Squishy Face Polish on Instagram for sales info, new releases, and swatches. Keep an eye on this one ....I have a feeling Squishy Face is going to be HUGE!

What do you think of Polaris? Do you have a fave green holo?

I'll be back tomorrow with more Indie Goodness. I have so much coming up that I can't even keep track of it at the moment! ;) That's what happens what you take time off, then get sick right away. But I'll be a swatching fool this week so expect more fabulous polish than you can handle starting next week.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!
-Kimber





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Gothic Gala Lacquers - Welcome To The Ball

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Hello Lovelies! Man, it has been a crazy day. For some reason the business is booked solid at the moment and I've been in and out all day. 7 clients may not seem like much, but at one hour per client, 15-45 minutes drive time each way, plus all my usual responsibilities, my day is already gone.  I feel fairly triumphant actually getting this posted before midnight!

Today I have a new Indie Brand to share with you all. Gothic Gala Lacquers just opened shop late last month, but I have been stalking Sam and her polishes for a few months on Facebook and Instagram. I just had a feeling when I saw that first pic that Gothic Gala was going to be something special.

The first GG Polish that I'm sharing with you lovelies is Welcome To The Ball, a freaking stunning mix of various holographic glitters and microglitter in a charcoal base. Normally I save the big whammy for last, but I couldn't resist this one. It was calling my name way before it even made it to me!

This is 2 coats of Welcome To The Ball topped with NPB Glitter Food and HK Girl Top Coat:

Oh. My. God. Can we just take a moment to bask in the glory of this gorgeous polish?? Those holo glitters, the microglitter, that charcoal color....it's all just perfection. It's happy in a bottle, I tell you! But wait! There's more! How about a macro shot so we can bask in the holo action?

I want to point out that the glitter in the top right corner has an actual RAINBOW. So awesome.

Welcome To The Ball's Formula is so impressive that I really had a hard time believing that this is from a debut collection. I experienced no thickening, clumping glitters, and no no need to shake the hell out of the bottle to blend things up. Application was just as flawless with no dragging, balding, or unruly glitters. Opacity was awesome with full opacity at 2 rather thin coats. Dry time was fairly epic (my nails were dry before I could even reach for my top coat) and wear is incredible. I've actually worn this twice since I managed to somehow delete the first set of photos of this girl, and both time I had zero signs of wear at over 24 hours. WTTB does dry just slightly textured, so I added a coat of Glitter Food to keep things smooth and protect the larger glitters. Between the glitter food and top coat, you would think that the holo effect would be diminished, but that just wasn't the case.  This girl has some VERY strong holo - especially in sunlight. Since I swatch at night, and it's been all sorts of overcast and rainy here, I wasn't able to snap any sunlight pics. But if you want to see this beauty's holo effect in sunlight, head on over to Accio Lacquers post here. 

I have to admit, Gothic Gala has me excited. Samantha's debut collection is just fabulous and shows incredible potential to keep the unique and gorgeous polishes coming our way. In fact, Welcome To The Ball is the most perfect debut polish I have ever had the pleasure of swatching. You guys really need to snatch it up while it's available (It sells out FAST!)

You can find Welcome To The Ball and Samantha's other fabulous polishes at Gothic Gala Lacquers on Etsy. Full size polish retails for $9.00- $9.50 and Samantha has at least 2 new collections in the works as we speak (I believe her Holo Deck Collection is in pre-order at the moment), and from what I have seen......WOW! You can also follow Gothic Gala on Facebook and Instagram for sneak peeks at upcoming collections, re-stock and sale info, and swatches. This is a brand to watch, loves. I'm not even joking.

So tell me...what do you think of this polish? Are you as floored as I am?

I'll be back tomorrow with this week's Mish Mash Challenge mani as well as some awesomeness from Squishy Face Polish. I also have more from Cinema Swatch Lacquers, Love Angeline, Polish TBH, Polish Addict and Tawdry Terrier coming up (I am gonna be a busy girl over the next week!).

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!
-Kimber



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Polish TBH Diagon Alley Collection - Dark and Difficult Times

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Hello there Lovelies! My lord.....it's been awhile since I've posted. I'll be honest - I took some time off for my birthday, and when I was supposed to come back, I found myself a little burnt out. I haven't really taken a true break in 2 years, so I suppose it was time. And if I'm not feeling it, then I'm not putting out my best work, which isn't fair to those that I'm swatching for, or to you. I avoided most things nail related while I was gone, which seemed to help. Even though I still am highly addicted to polish and will be for the rest of my days, I seem to need a break now and then. I hope you all aren't miffed at me. :)

I'm back now, and feeling so much better. And I have a truly fab-u-lous polish to share with you today.

Dark and Difficult Times is another pretty from Polish TBH's new Diagon Alley Collection. It's a darkened blue/grey with black holo and charcoal glitters, and some red/green color shifting flakies to sweet the pot. Christian created this beauty to represent the dark, gloomy skies seen throughout the Harry Potter series, and named her after a quote from Albus Dumbledore ("Dark and difficult times lie ahead. Soon we must each face the choice between what is right, and what is easy").

IMO, Dark and Difficult Times is the showstopper from this collection. Not only is the blue/grey base a fantastic color, but the combination of glitters and flakies is truly unique and brilliant.

This is 2 coats of Dark and Difficult Times with topcoat:

Le Love! Not only do adore blue/grey polish, but flakies!!!!! Let's have a closer look, yes?

Yeah, I know. That's a huuuuge macro! But look at the glitter and flakies! *dead* This baby has definitely stolen my heart.

Dark and Difficult Times has the Polish TBH trademark formula of awesomeness with no glopping, clumpy glitters, or thickening during use. Application was flawless with no dragging, balding, grumpy glitters, etc. Dry time was incredibly fast and opacity is excellent. I'm wearing 3 coats here, but IRL I only really needed 2. This girl also dries fairly smooth, so no need for anything other than top coat.

I am just head over heels for this entire collection so far. I have 2 more to share with you, and they are full of awesome. I can't wait!

You can check out the Diagon Alley Collection and all that Polish TBH has to offer at Polish TBH on Big Cartel. The shop is closed until 9/15, so bookmark that link, loves! Full size polishes currently run $10-12 depending on finish. Act fast on 9/15 since this collection is selling out fast, guys! Be sure to follow Polish TBH on Facebook and Instagram for re-stock info, sales, and swatches.

What do you think of Dark and Difficult Times? Have you grabbed anything from Diagon Alley yet?

I'll be back tomorrow with a beauty from Gothic Gala Lacquers as well as another challenge mani, so be sure to check back soon.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!
-Kimber



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Born Pretty Store Holo Polish - # 11 (Violet)

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Hello Lovelies! Phew! What a Monday! I don't think I've stopped running around until just now. I'm about ready to fall over, but I have new pretties that have arrived so sleep is not an option! Here's a hint - Keep an eye out for some movie related polishes!

I am a bit bummed out though. Remember all that damage to the nail that was left from the nipping and resulting infection? That has finally reached the center to tip of my free edge. The damaged areas are ultra thin and last night my pinky split vertically down the free edge. Thankfully I was able to patch it, but since I really don't want to lose my length already, I grabbed some Nail Repair today to keep on over the damaged spots on those nails. Since I use a peel off base coat as my very first layer of polish, I'm hoping that I won't have to keep repairing them and the damage can grow out with no further incidents. WIsh me luck!

Today I have one of the new Holographic Polishes from Born Pretty Store to share with you. I know you've probably seen this one several times, but it's so beautiful that I couldn't resist it.  Plus you all know how much I love Born Pretty Store. The second I saw that they had holos, I had to have one!

Born Pretty Store Holo Polish #11 is a lovely Violet Linear Holo. In sunlight, this baby has some pretty good holo cation going on. Indoors, you can see the holo fairly well in brighter lighting, otherwise it appears a dusty purple. It's really pretty either way, but we all want that linear effect right?

So, let's take a look! All photos are 2 coats of Born Pretty Store Holo Polish #11 topped with HK Girl Top Coat (yup! No dulling holos here!). These were taken outdoors, in full sunlight.  I apologize if these look grainy - they don't look that way in any of my photo programs so I have no idea what blogger did to them. :( If you click to enlarge them, they're not as weird.

Gorgeous! I love how vibrant this color is while still being a touch dusty. The holo is absolutely not shy in the light, as you can kind of see in the above photos. I still cant figure out why they're so grainy here but are fine anywhere else. But, since I love the holo in this so much, let's take a closer look so you can get a better idea of the holo goodness...

Oh hai Rainbow There you are! Yowza!!! That's some beautiful holo goodness right there, am I right?

Born Pretty Store Holo Polish #11's formula was very impressive. Perfect consistency with no annoying thickening. Application was truly wonderful, even though I used my regular ridge filling basecoat. I experienced very little balding at the cuticle line, no dragging, and dry time was lovely and fast. I did use top coat with this, since HK Girl does not dull holos.

I'm pretty impressed with this polish and really want to try out a few more of these Born Pretty holos. I wasn't expecting the holo to be quite this prevalent, or the quality to be this nice. I have some fairly high end holos that don't apply as well as this one.

You can find Born Pretty Store Holo Polishes by visiting BornPrettyStore.com. This particular polish is #11, item number 6409, or you can click here to go right to the polish. These beauties are currently on sale for $5.59 (normally $12.88) so now is the perfect time to try them. The bottles are rather small at only 6ml, but for that price? Hey, they're worth it! You can also save 10% on your entire order (I personally like to grab studs and glitters from Born Pretty, plus they have some really awesome new layering polishes) by using the code below at checkout!

What do you think of this polish? Have you tried any of the Born Pretty holos yet?

I'll be back tomorrow with Try It On Tuesday!

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!
-Kimber


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Candied Lustre - Teal My Secrets (Holo Glitter Thermal!)

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Hello lovelies! Man, it feels like forever since I've posted! We have had a series of huge storms out here and my power keeps getting knocked out. On Friday, we had the biggest storm I've seen in a good decade - complete with 89mph winds, tornado sightings, flooding (in fact, a few friends were stranded in their cars, which were flooded), and 27,000 homes and business without power. PNM is actually STILL working on restoring power to some people. Luckily my power is back on, and I've been working on swatching these glorious thermals for you. I feel horrible that I haven't been able to post them sooner, but it's really hard to swatch in the dark. :)

This post has been a pest as well! I actually had to work on photographing this polish 3 times! Every time I would get photos uploaded, cropped and watermarked, my darling husband would shut down the computer without saving anything (or asking If I needed to save anything) and I would lose everything. Seriously, 3 times. Looks like I need to start saving after every single step. Crop, save. Watermark, save. Blah blah blah. It's fairly time consuming to have to go through over 200 photos, find the right ones, crop and watermark.

Anyway......

Today I have the second polish from Candied Lustre's upcoming thermal collection. This one is called Teal My Secrets, and is a light blue to vibrant teal thermal polish packed with holo dust and holo glitters.

This is the one that I first unwrapped and literally gasped when I saw the color change. Honestly, it's just so beautiful in both and warm and cold states that I get a little misty. ;) Also, I have no idea why these darn collages keep coming out so pixelated! But you get the idea, right? Let's look at some better shots of this beauty!

This is 3 coats of Teal My Secrets when warm. Sorry about the lobster hands - I use ice water to capture the color change when photographing thermals, and it makes me all sorts of pink. Thankfully, none of you are here to ogle my skin tone, right? ;)

Man, that is beautiful! I have a soft spot for sparkly light blues and this is just too pretty for words. That sparkle just give me butterflies! But.....that is nothing compared to what happens when this polish cools down.

Same polish, just cold (also, sorry about being waterlogged here. It's like my cuticles sucked in all the water and vanished or something!:

Hello!!!! That is one of the most beautiful shades of teal I have ever worn! *Fans self* I dare you to tell me that is not just stunning. The one things that I need to note here is that the holo effect is NOT as diminished as it appears here. These were taken indoors in my light box after immersing my hands in ice water, which created a bit of a glare. The holo effect is actually just as strong as when this polish is warm.

Teal My Secrets formula is, as I'm learning is customary with Candied Luster polishes, an absolute dream. No thickening, glopping, gopping, etc. Application was so darn fabulous that I didn't even have to really bother with cleanup - so easy to control. Also no dragging or balding and dry time was excellent, even before top coat. TMS dries nice and smooth, so no need for anything other than my usual top coat. Wear was fabulous with no signs of wear and tear after almost 2 days. Impressive!!!

All I can really say is...love. Just absolute love. Bri is just amazing with thermals so I was expecting nothing less than fabulous, but these are just really stealing my heart. And I still cannot get over that Teal....Rawr!

You can find Candied Lustre Polish on Etsy, and I highly recommend heading over and taking a peek. This collection is not available just yet, but will be launching in August. I promise I'll post the exact launch date as soon as I know (I know a couple of you are stalking Etsy already!). I highly recommend also following Candied Lustre on Facebook and Instagram for release updates, sales info, and more awesome swatches.

What do you think of Teal My Secrets? Are you a sucker for blues/teals like I am?

I'll be back later this evening with the 3rd beauty from this collection. The 4th and final thermal will be up tomorrow morning, so be sure to check back often! You don't want to miss any of these babies!

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!
-Kimber


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Try It Out Tuesday (Slacker Wednesday Edition!): Smitten Polish Hocus Pocus!!

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Hello Lovelies! Well, obviously I am a big weenie and never managed to post my Try It Out Tuesday post yesterday. Since it was Chemo Day for mom on Monday, I stopped by to check on her yesterday, and ended up staying and chatting for awhile. I also had some last minute clients on top of my usual Tuesday clients, and a 3 year old that's potty training. Fun day! But...here I am now, attempting to make it up to you all. I think this polish oughta do it!

Today's TIOT polish is Smitten Polish in Hocus Pocus. I've had this in my stash for awhile now, and have been itching to wear it. I mean, this polish is fairly legendary for its squishy purple jelly base and purple, blue, and magenta holo glitters. It's seriously just fabulous. I actually considered bypassing swatching last night since it's *that* awesome.

This is 3 coats of Hocus Pocus with top coat. Some photos are intentionally slightly blurred to show holo colors.

First of all, check out how my skin tone changes with different lighting angles. Drives me mad, I tell you! I'm naturally pale with strong Olive undertones, so getting my skintone exact is near impossible. Gotta love it.

But back to Hocus Pocus.....Ain't she a beaut?? Funny thing is - I had seen swatches of this polish before, but the holo wasn't evident at all. I thought that HP was a purple jelly with purple glitter! Even then, it looked amazing, but add the holo and BAM! Instant fabulous! I wish I had some sunlight to capture this polish (it's crazy in sunlight), but  routinely photograph around 1am and the sun is loooong gone by then. ;)

Hocus Pocus has an excellent formula with no thickening during use and excellent dry time. Application was entirely problem free (no dragging, balding or clumping) and opaque in 2 coats, although I used 3 for these photos. Hocus Pocus does not dry very textured at all - your regular topcoat with smooth it out perfectly, however she does have a slightly satin finish, so you definitely want to use that topcoat! I used HK Girl for these swatches since it does not dull holos. In fact, it seemed to really bring out the colors in HP!

So far HP is my one and only Smitten Polish, but that is going to change. I'm so impressed and in love with this beauty that I must try more! If you don't have Hocus Pocus, you can find it by heading over to SmittenPolish.com or Llarowe.

What do you think of this Glittery, Holo beauty?

I'll be back sometime later today with a gorgeous polish from Love, Angeline, so check back soon! Also, I have the Daft Punk Collection from Fandom Cosmetics and some new Polish TBH coming up starting this week!

Thanks for stopping by and Happy polishing!
-Kimber


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