Top Shelf Lacquer - The Ten Club (March 2019 PPU Exclusive)

I have been a Pearl Jam fan since my teen years in the mid 90s. I was an alternative music girl through and through. I would spend hours in my bedroom, listening to Pearl Jam, and painting on my walls and making collages.  It was all very stereotypical.  While I have changed a lot since my teen years, one thing that has stayed consistent is my undying love of anything Pearl Jam related.

When Polish Pickup announced that March's theme was 'Album Covers', I was really hoping to see a PJ polish included. You can imagine my excitement when it was Top Shelf Lacquer (which I adore) that was doing it. And even more when it was based on the album that started it all, Ten.

The Ten Club is a coral-ish crelly base filled with orange to magenta shifting shimmer, and aurora flakes in pops of green, pink, purple, and orange.

If you look at the collage above, you can see that the polish really matches the inspiration album cover.  It's the addition of the magenta to orange shimmer that really gets me in this polish. It's perfectly compatible with what's happening on the cover and I love it.

I used two coats of The Ten Club (how great is that name?! That's how you know it's a great homage to the band!) for full opacity.  The first coat dried a touch translucent but the second coat really covered up any patches.  It has the application of a creme but the squishy look of a jelly, which really lets the elements of the polish to shine through.

If you're new to Pearl Jam, I would suggest the album Ten is a great place to start.  Some of PJ's most known and loved songs come from this album, such as Alive and Jeremey.  One of my personal Pearl Jam favourites, Black, comes from this album and I promise you won't be sorry if you add it to your playlist.

The Ten Club will be available from Polish Pickup from March 1 - March 4 only. It will be listed for $13 and there is no planned cap.

What is your favourite Pearl Jam song? I'd love to hear from you!

Top Shelf Lacquer

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My Indie Polish - Seven Year Switch

Hey, hey everyone!

I know that things have been quieter again lately but I am hoping to get back into the swing of things again. After an insanely busy summer that included moving and an emergency surgery (both of which wreaked havoc on my nails), I feel like I am beginning to settle into my new job and have enough time to devote to some blogging interests again.

And boy, oh boy, am I back with a doozy of a polish to show you all today.

My Indie Polish - Seven Year Switch

Some of you may know that I have a Facebook group for thermal nail polish lovers called Holy Shift. Every now and again, polishes are created and offered specifically for members of this group. When Tanya of My Indie Polish contacted me about a thermal flakie with a very strong multichrome shifting shimmer, I was intrigued to see it.  The results are fabulous.

Seven Year Switch is a deep forest green to white thermal base with colour shifting flakes and a strong purple to green shifting duochrome shimmer.  It sounds complex and it is.  This is a stunning polish and I literally gasped out loud when I put it on for the first time.  The thermal shift is a strong one, and then combined with the shifting shimmer it becomes one of those really special polishes.

I half expected the warm state to be almost translucent on my nails but with a few coats I didn't have much visible nail line.

I used three thin coats of Seven Year Switch for the opacity that you see here. It applied easily and the formula smoothed onto the nail without any issues. It is a really reactive thermal, so it shifted between cold to warm and into transition throughout the day.  Excellent formula with a stunning result.

Seven Year Switch will be available tomorrow, October 1st at 9am EDT.  It will be priced at $16CAD plus shipping.  This polish is in VERY limited supply. As in, only 20 bottles will be available kind of limited. Once it's gone, that's it. There won't be more, so I recommend you jump on this one if you want a bottle.

Will you be grabbing this beauty?

My Indie Polish 

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Girly Bits - April Polishes of the Month

Back in June 2013 when I decided I wanted to start blogging, the thought that brands would ever want to work with me was something that never even crossed my mind.  Blogging was (still is) a fun hobby and a way to share my love of all things colour with the world.  Though, if someone had asked me if I could have picked one brand that would have been 'the one' to work with, Girly Bits would have been it.  So you can imagine my excitement when Pam of Girly Bits reached out about swatching the April Polish of the Month duo.  This blog post is a little bit of a full circle moment for me.

Each month, Girly Bits releases two colours that are available for one month before they're gone for good.  Each of these polishes are not yet named, because Pam allows for her fan group to suggest names for the polish.  Once they are officially named, I will pop back to edit the post.

Polish #1

Polish #1 is described as a mid-tone pink/purple orchid creme.  On some people, this will lean more to the pink side and on others it will lean more purple.  For me, it went more towards the purple side.  You know, creme polishes really are such a classy and simple look that pack a huge punch.  Before I knew what an indie was, all I wore were mainstream cremes and a polish like this brings me back to my early days.

I used two coats of Polish #1 for the coverage you see here. It's smooth and shiny on its own, though I did at a coat of top coat to help protect the polish from chips and daily wear. The consistency is such that it allows the polish to level on its own.

Polish #2

Polish #2 is described as white crelly base with a rose gold shimmer throughout, with scattered holographic twinkles, and ultrachrome flakes in pink, purple, and gold.  *Deep breath* This polish is indie polish perfection.  Everything that I love about indie nail polish can be found in this one bottle.  The crelly, milky vase, the shimmer that peeks through, and the flakes. How the colour perfectly matches the inspiration photo.  How delicate it is while still be a 'Wow!' polish.  I love everything about it.

I used two coats for full opacity. I was convinced that it would need three, seeing that it's a white crelly and my nail line is so strong, but I was wrong.  I allowed each coat to dry a little bit before adding the next in order to prevent dragging.

This duo will be available starting on April 1st through Girly Bits. For the first ten days, they can be bought together for a discounted price of $29.50 CAD. After that, they are available separately. Polish #1 will be priced at $15CAD and Polish #2 will go for $16.50 CAD. 

Will you be grabbing these perfect-for-Spring lovelies?

Girly Bits

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Top Shelf Lacquer - Bright Shimmer Quad

I love this time of year when the colour schemes for polish start to change from darker, winter colours into bright, sunny polishes for spring and summer.

Amy of Top Shelf Lacquer asked in her fan group a little while ago for suggestions for ideas for a spring collection.  The winning photo was of a vase of flowers and that photo has been turned into the Bright Shimmer Quad.

Technically, Alcohol is a Solution

Technically, Alcohol is a Solution is described as a watermelon pink jelly with pink to orange shifting shimmer, and tiny scattered holo microglitter.  I really enjoy the colour shift of this polish.  Most often when you see a pink to orange, the pink is a deeper colour and the watermelon base gives it a really fresh look. The orange shift is subtle but obvious.  Oxymoron, I know, but I am not sure how else to describe it.  It's a really pretty shift and I quite like how fun it is.

The formula of this polish is a little more sheer than I am used to with Top Shelf Lacquer polishes.  Since the base is a jelly, I like to do really thin coats and build for opacity. The first coat went on sheer (kind of like a tint polish) but it built up to opacity in three coats.  I used a thin coat, a heavier coat, and a thin coat again. Great formula and the glitters are so tiny that removal was easy peasy.

Let the Evening Be Gin!

Let the Evening Be Gin is described as a jade green jelly base with green to turquoise shifting shimmer and tiny scattered holo microglitters. I am not much of a green polish lover however this one works really well with my skin tone and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It's a fresh cut grass colour that works perfectly for spring. The addition of a shimmer that isn't seen as often makes this polish just right.

Like the pink I posted, the first coat of this polish was on the sheerer side.  With a slightly heavier second coat, I got full coverage.  Top Shelf Lacquer's formula just works really well with my body chemistry and I get really great wear time.  It's obvious how much time Amy has taken to perfect her formula.

Call Me Old Fashioned

Call Me Old Fashioned is a grape purple jelly base with purple to red shifting shimmer with tiny scattered holo microglitters.  Okay, so. Purple. Purple personally isn't my jam but I know that the majority of the indie polish world goes a little bit crazy over purple.  This one is sure to be a hit with those passionate purple people.  I love the subtle shift into red in this polish, which looked more pink on my skin tone.

Same deal with the formula.  Three thin coats, sheerer formula but builds to opacity and allows for the shimmer to shine through.

Time Flies When You're Having Rum

Time Flies When You're Having Rum is described as a turquoise jelly base with a turquoise to lilac shifting shimmer and tiny scattered holo. Okay.....big statement time.  This polish is my favourite Top Shelf Lacquer ever.  I have been buying this brand since its inception and have been blogging for Amy for quite some time as well, so to say my TSL collection is large is an understatement.  This colour is nail polish perfection.  The base colour is the perfect Caribbean sea blue and the shimmer's shift from a bright, saturated turquoise to lilac is stunning.  This right here is why I love indie nail polish - it literally makes me gasp.  I will need backups of this polish.  I can't gush enough.

For this polish, I used a thin coat and two heavier coats to get opacity. Each coat helped to build up and the shimmers that peek out from the layers just glow from within. Nothing to report - it's perfect!

I'll give you all a minute while you pick your jaws up off the floor. While you're collecting yourself, here are the details.

The Bright Shimmer Quad will be available Friday, March 16th, 2018 at 8pm EDT.  Full sets will be available at a discount (but only for two weeks. After that you will need to pay full price and buy them all seperately) for $36 for full size and $28 for Polish Shots (8ml).  They are also available individually for $10/full or $7.50/Polish Shot.

Are you planning to grab any of these? Let me know in the comments.

Top Shelf Lacquer

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