Man in Black - My Indie Polish (March 2019 PPU Exclusive)

There's a man goin' 'round takin' names

And he decides who to free and who to blame

Everybody won't be treated all the same

There'll be a golden ladder reachin' down

When the man comes around

-The Man Comes Around, Johnny Cash, American IV

If I was forced to name my favourite album of all time.....more than Pearl Jam, more than U2, more than the Rolling Stones....it would be American IV by Johnny Cash. Other than the song I posted above, it's an album of cover songs sung by Cash. Generally speaking, I'm not much one for cover songs.  This album, though? It transcends covers and Cash actually takes songs written and turns them into his own, and in many cases better than the originals.  Don't believe me? Just listen to 'Hurt'.

Okay, now that I have gone off and waxed poetic about my love for this album, you'll understand my excitement when Tanya of My Indie Polish reached out to see if I was interested in swatching her Cash-inspired offering for March 2019's Polish Pickup theme of 'Album Covers'.

Man in Black is a black crelly filled with silver flakes and a subdued holo sparkle.

Okay, so.  I am not much of a black nail polish fan usually. Probably because in my teen years I exclusively wore black nail polish so these days I enjoy the sparkle and pops of colour.  HOWEVER. This polish is sheer understated perfection. Johnny Cash isn't an over the top guy. He wore black. He loved being at home with his wife. He believed in God. All in all, he was a pretty understated guy himself. I cannot think of a better designed polish to represent the Man in Black.  The crelly base allows the flakes to swim under the surface and the addition of the slight holo is just enough to bring in that sparkle that Johnny always had.

I am a fan of My Indie Polish's formula.  Tanya has been in the business for over seven years, so it's no surprise that she knows what it takes to make a good, easily applied formula.  The first coat is slightly translucent but the second coat achieved complete opacity.  My skin around my fingers tends to hold colour (not the nails, but the skin) so I always use a coat of an oil-based balm before removal to prevent staining, and I had no issues with that. Removal was easy-peasy.

Man in Black will be available from Polish Pickup from March 1st - March 4th and will be priced at $12.50.  I do not believe that there is a cap to this polish but will update if that changes.

Final verdict - I love this polish like Johnny loved June.

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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!

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Fiendish Fancies - You're So Cool (February 2019 PPU Exclusive)

Hey, everyone!

I'm trying to get back into the swing of this blogging thing a little more consistently!

Are all y'all ready for tomorrow's Polish Pick Up window opening?! *ohhhs, ahhhs*

It's my favourite weekend of the month because these days with exchange and shipping, my polish habit has taken a bit of a hit.....and who can argue with getting as much polish from as many brands as possible in one package that ships for $5?  Not this girl!

Anyways, enough rambling from me and on to the reason you're here....swatches! This month's theme is Duos, which is perfect for Valentine's Day.

Fiendish Fancies - You're So Cool

You're So Cool is described as a a bright pink with copper magnetic flash, turquoise sparkle and purple sparkle and flakes.  This polish leaned towards red on my skin tone. Let's chat a little bit about the magnetic shimmer. This isn't the effect you're used to seeing with magnetics. Because the base colour is much brighter and isn't a jelly, you don't see that obvious line.  What you DO see (and photos struggle to capture) is this coppery shimmer that just seems to float under the surface of the polish and move as the hand moves. The added detail of the purple and teal flakes just gives this polish more complexity.  I kinda love it.

You're So Cool is inspired by the duo of Clarence Worley and Alabama Whitman from the Tarantino classic 'True Romance'.  If you follow Fiendish Fancies at all, you know how committed Lara is to her subject matter and this polish shows just how much!

I used two coats of You're So Cool for the photos. The polish was a near one-coater but I did two to get that magnetic shimmer. It applied smoothly and I wore it or 6 days without chips or much wear.

Just for funsies and to show that shimmer a bit better, I did a flash photo.  This isn't colour accurate, but it does give a better idea of what the flash of shimmer looks like.

You're So Cool will be available from February 1 until February 4 at Polish Pickup.

Happy Shopping, Nail-philes!

My Indie Polish - Ian is my Hero (HHC exclusive)

My Indie Polish has created a fun, quirky thermal polish called 'Ian is my Hero' that is exclusive to Hella Handmade Creations and is based on a collection inspired by Shameless.

If you've never watched the show Shameless, you have no idea what you're missing. I love that Tanya also loves this show and we've both chatted a few times about our shared obsession. While Lip is my favourite character, I have a soft spot for Ian also.

Let's take a look.

'Ian is my Hero' is described as a thermal that is yellow when warm to an orange when cooler and a red shimmer with a little touch of holo sparkle. So, My Indie Polish's thermals are by far the most reactive for me. I have yet to wear one she's made that isn't in a constant state of transition on my nails.  SO much so that it makes getting shots difficult because the second I turn off my blowdryer, they immediately turn orange at the tips again.  Now, if you're like me and want your thermals to look like thermals, this is the brand to try. Doesn't it look like a sunset mani?

I used two thin coats of this polish and then added a medium coat for the third layer to get the effect you see in these photos.  It dries to a semi matte finish and I like to gloss it up with a shiny top coat to really get the effect of the gradient.  Again, I am a fan of MIP's formula, so this polish was no different.

'Ian is my Hero' is on sale now from Hella Handmade Creations and will stay available until November 21st at 11:59pm Hawaiian time. This is done in pre-order format, so you can expect a 3-4 week turnaround time. It retails for $13USD and is capped at 75 bottles.

Will you be grabbing this polish? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Inspired Sense - Central Canada Box

Inspired Sense - Central Canada Box

Hey everyone! Remember a couple months ago I shared with you swatches and a review for Inspired Sense's East Coast Box set? Well, Trish is back again with the next instalment of this series based on the provinces of central Canada - Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba. It includes three polish and three maple sugar based body care products and I couldn't be more excited. First up I will show the polishes.

Fall In Love With Quebec

Fall In Love With Quebec is a maple lead red jelly holo.  Quebec is known for its stunning maple trees that turn a gorgeous colour of red in the fall and this polish really captures that. It's a great red and the jelly makes it squishy and lets the holo really sparkle.

I used two coats to get the coverage you see here.  Since it is a jelly polish, I recommend waiting a couple minutes between coats to prevent dragging.  I really love Trish's jelly holos and they wear forever on me.  I got five days with this one before I changed it (out of want and not necessity).

Tour-On-Tario

Tour-On-Tario is described as a colour shifting chameleon that shifts between purple to pink to orange.  The base of the polish is a purple translucent jelly and that allows the shifting pigment to shine through.  I could get the pink to orange to clearly show, especially in lower lighting settings.

I used three coats and to the visible eye, my nail edge was barely noticeable. The camera really picks up the nail line though.  It's another jelly finish, so I again recommend allowing a few minutes between coats.  I also tried this polish as a topper over a mint green creme polish and absolutely LOVED those results. Shown below is a nail wheel of that combination.

Polar Bear Capital

Polar Bear Capital is a beige metallic polish with gold shimmer. It is based on the fur of polar bears that famously spend their time in Churchill, Manitoba.  This is a polish that won't be everyone's taste but I am a lover of champagne-hues so I thought it has a touch of class if you're looking for something along those lines.  My mom loved this colour and said it was a throw back to when she first started wearing polish.  I would agree that it's very nostalgic.

I used three thin coats of Polar Bear Capital. I found that I had to be careful not to get brushstrokes, so I 'floated' the polish on the last coat and that helped. It dries quickly and slightly matte.

Along with these three polish, the box includes three body care products - a maple sugar scrub, a maple lip balm, and a maple lip scrub.

I have been screaming Inspired Sense's praises from the rooftops ever since I found the oils and hand products.  These have become three more products to yell about. I especially LOVE the lip scrub (though I do admit to licking it all off before it ever gets to actually do what it's supposed to) and I adore that Trish uses products that can literally be ingested without issues. Two thumbs up for the lip balm as well (blogger tip - I also use it as a swatching balm because it's not super oily in photos).

The Canadian Box Set - Central Canada is available now from Inspired Sense for $40 and free shipping starts at $45.

I love this whole collection. Which would be your top choice?