Sunday, October 20, 2013

Emily de Molly's Oceanic Forces

**Purchased by Me**

I haven't written a blog post in a while.  I had applied for a position as a magistrate, and had I gotten the position and gone from Lacquer-Loving Lawyer to Manicured Magistrate, I would have given up blogging for a while.  I did get asked to interview for the position, which made me feel great, but ultimately the position was filled by someone else.  So, I'm back to blogging!

I was lucky enough to get notice of a restock of Emily de Molly polishes at llarowe.com and to be able to shop before the stock was sold out.  I had originally wanted Cosmic Forces which has a purple jelly base, but I was surprised that all three of the "Forces" were in stock:  Cosmic Forces, Dark Forces, and Oceanic Forces.  They all have similar glitter including large circle holo glitter and smaller holo hex glitter and smaller color-matching glitter.  I was trying not to spend too much on polishes and almost only ordered Cosmic Forces.  I'm so glad I ordered all three, though.  It turns out that although online I had liked Cosmic Forces the most, in the bottle, I liked Dark Forces (black jelly base) the best, and when I swatched all three on nail wheels and when I wore them on my nails, I liked Oceanic Forces the best of all.  I shouldn't be surprised.  Blue polishes are a favorite of mine along with orange polishes, and teal is a favorite shade of blue.  I have no other polish among my over 300 bottles of polish like this.  I received many compliments on this manicure.  Emily de Molly polishes are probably the most creative blingtastic indie polishes right now.  Back in the day, you would only satisfy similar look-at-my-nails diva cravings with Lynnderella polishes, but to me Emily de Molly polishes are much more aesthetically pleasing overall while not lacking in creativity or show-stopping super-glitter.

Application Tips:
The formula was a perfect jelly consistency so it wasn't thick or too thin.  Two coats is fine, but it is lighter than bottle color although a very pretty shade as well.  I used three coats of Oceanic Forces.  It was not too difficult to get the large circle glitter to come out of the bottle.  Many of them would stick to the handle of the brush.  I would use an orange stick to pull the circle glitter off the handle of the brush and set them aside to use at the end.  Once I was done with my last coat of polish, I would place the extra circle glitters randomly on my nails.  I used a coat of Gelous and then a coat of Seche Vite to smooth out the surface, and it came out very smooth.  No glitters stuck out to catch on anything or to tempt you to pick at them. I barely had any cleanup to do.  This is how all glitter polish, especially those in jelly sandwiches, should be.  You don't lose the glitter in the underlying coats because it's not covered up completely by the next coats, unlike many other glitter polishes or jelly glitter polishes.  Removal was not difficult and took only slightly longer than removing regular polish.  I used one cotton ball with acetone per nail or two to remove the blue jelly polish, and then I used an orange stick to push off the remaining stuck-on large circle glitters, and then I used one last cotton ball to clean up all my nails.  There was no staining or smurfy nails or skin.

Wear Time:
Fantastic wear time.  I hated taking the polish off after a week.

Photos:
All photos were taken with my iPhone 5.  As usual, it is difficult to photograph polishes with holographic glitter.  You can Google the polish name and find many other photos, though.

Blurry--you can see some of the holo effects from the glitter.
 

Indirect sunlight (shade)
 
 
Indirect sunlight (shade)
 

Indirect sunlight (shade)
 

I love that this polish has so much glitter!
 

Blurry--shows holo effects of glitters.
 

Slightly blurry--LOVE those large circle glitters!
 

So much holo glitter goodness!
 

**Purchased by Me**

Thank you for reading my blog!

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Rainbow Honey Tenda

**PR sample provided by company representative**

I was sent the full Rainbow Honey Summer Fab Collection set of three mini bottles for review.  I have pictures of the pretty packaging, pictures of the polish bottles, and a review of the coral polish, Schrammi, here

Tenda (which I think means "store" in Portuguese, if I remember my college Portuguese classes correctly) is a bright Kelly green polish.  I don't normally buy green polishes . . . but when I do . . . No, really, I don't normally buy a lot of green polishes, but when I do, I end up surprised at how much I love them.  I didn't buy this polish, it was a sample sent for review, but as I'll go into more later, I had been desperately wanting a similar shade in a Revlon polish for many months.  Tenda is another in a long line of green polishes to surprise me.  When I saw it in the bottle I thought, yeah, well, it's green, Kermit, grass, whatever, nice, yeah.  Then I put it on.  It's so lively and pretty, and the golden shimmer doesn't take away from the overall green color but adds a really nice detail when you get really up close to the polish.  This was really not work-appropriate, but I wore it to work *and* to court anyway.  I got more compliments on this mani than I have gotten on any other mani that I can remember.  It really got noticed at work and by family and out and about running errands.

I had no application issues.  I think I used two coats, but I can't remember for sure.  I know I used Seche Vite top coat as I wanted the mani super shiny, and Tenda wasn't shiny enough for me on its own.  I think I got minor shrinkage from the Seche Vite, but I took the pictures after *many* days of wear, so a lot of what you see is tip wear.  Cleanup and removal was easy with no staining.  I loved this polish so much that I wore it for well over a week (almost two full weeks), and I didn't have any chips.
 
We had so much rain I had to wait days for some sun so I could take pictures, and even then it was in between showers so that I had to discard a bunch of photos because they had shadows in them from drops of water on the glass through which I was taking photos.  I wasn't able to fully capture the golden shimmer, but here are some photos taken in as much sunlight as we had here in South Florida for a while:
 
 


 
 
And now for the story of the green polish I had coveted for so long:  Revlon's "Posh."  I would pick it up in the store and put it back down over and over and over again.  I loved it so, but I couldn't seem to justify buying it.  But, if you look at the pictures below, you can see that Tenda is a very close shade *and* it has gold shimmer, so I'm very happy and satisfied.   One of the pictures below is blurry but I included it anyway because it shows both Posh and Tenda with more light so that you can see more of the (slight) difference between the shades.  In the sharper photo, the colors are a little darker than in real life.  Anything that looks like a rough cuticle in the sharper photo is not actually any such thing.  I had rushed out of the house to go to Target, and I had put on a coat of clear polish because I had been wearing the polish for well over a week at that time. I didn't have time to do proper cleanup, though, so what you see is just pieces of clear polish sticking to some edges of my cuticles.  I assure you that cuticle oil keeps my cuticles nice and photo-ready under normal circumstances.


NOTE:  The polish on my nails is not the same as the polish in the bottle.
Bottle:  Revlon Posh
Nails:  Rainbow Honey Tenda


NOTE:  The polish on my nails is not the same as the polish in the bottle.
Bottle:  Revlon Posh
Nails:  Rainbow Honey Tenda

 
The Rainbow Honey Summer Fab Collection is available at Fab.com for $25 for three full-size 15 ml bottles.  These polishes are fun in a bottle, and I highly recommend buying this set!

**PR sample provided by company representative**

Thank you for reading my blog!
 

Rainbow Honey Schrammi

**PR sample provided by company representative**

I was sent the full Rainbow Honey Summer Fab Collection set of three mini bottles for review.  As always, the packaging showed Rainbow Honey's trademark attention to detail.  The pictures below are blurry, but I wanted you to see the pretty packaging:

 

 
 
Here are some photos of the mini polishes:

 


This photo is the sharpest of all the ones I took, and it shows the gold shimmer in the green and coral polishes, and it shows the crazy bling and holo in the glitter topper polish.
 





The mini bottles hold a lot of polish at 4 ml each.  I just topped a mani with Costa Del Sol, and I used maybe one-tenth of the bottle or less.  By making the mini bottles tall like this, the brushes can be relatively long and longer-handled than in most other mini bottles I have used, and that makes application easier.
 
I had nothing like any of these polishes in my collection of more than 365 polishes.
 
On to Schrammi:
 
Schrammi is a pinkish coral polish with a golden shimmer.  If you have a Cuban background, it might remind you of a mamey shake.  It is truly lovely.  Also, the color looks really flattering against my pale skin tone.  The golden shimmer just puts the polish over the top.  The golden shimmer is also subtle, and the polish as a whole looks classy, so it's work appropriate, but it's a lively, bright color and perfect for summer.  All Rainbow Honey polishes are works of art to me, Schrammi definitely included. 
 
I had no application issues.  I think I used two coats, but I can't remember for sure.  I know I used Seche Vite top coat as I wanted the mani super shiny, and Schrammi wasn't shiny enough for me on its own.  I think I got minor shrinkage from the Seche Vite, but I took the pictures after some days of wear, so a lot of what you see is tip wear.  I had no chips or other problems, and cleanup and removal was easy.
 
I wasn't able to fully capture the golden shimmer, but here are some photos taken in sunlight:
 
This is the color the polish appears most of the time, especially from a distance and in the light.
 
 
 

 


 

 

 
 
Indirect sunlight
 
 
The Rainbow Honey Summer Fab Collection is available at Fab.com for $25 for three full-size 15 ml bottles.  These polishes are fun in a bottle, and I highly recommend buying this set!

**PR sample provided by company representative**

Thank you for reading my blog!

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Rainbow Honey Bitty Love Bot

**PR sample provided by company representative**

In a previous post here, I wrote about being surprised to receive the entire Robot Collection to review, and I reviewed the groovy matte glitter top coat Yoshimi worn over Femme Bot. I also reviewed Femme Bot by itself here, and I reviewed Skyward Bot by itself here, and I reviewed Lucky Bot by itself here, and I reviewed Dusty Bot by itself here.  This is my last review of the collection.  All the colors in the collection are really pretty.  They are spring-like, but just a little edgy, so not the routine overdone pastel cream-finish spring colors.  To me they seem like chrome polishes, and I never got around to buying any of the drugstore (Essie) chrome polishes, and these colors are prettier in my opinion, too, so I am very happy because I finally have chrome-like polishes.  The polishes are made with aluminum flakes, which, according to Rainbow Honey's website, makes "the metallic lacquers of the Robot Collection simultaneously sparkly, reflective and smooth."  The finish on Bitty Love Bot, a pale greenish blue metallic polish, is definitely both reflective like a foil and also sparkly, especially in sunlight, and the finish is definitely smooth.

The formula on Femme Bot, the pink metallic and the first of the "Robots" that I tried, had been excellent, and that polish had been a one-coater.  I was expecting Skyward Bot, the second "Robot" I tried, to have the same formula and had hoped it would also be a one-coater, but I had problems with application.  Luckily (pun intended), Lucky Bot was a one-coater like Femme Bot, and Dusty Bot was also a one-coater and very pretty with a very obvious chrome-like effect, and the final polish in the collection, Bitty Love Bot, was also a one-coater.  I still think Femme Bot had the best formula of the bunch, but only Skyward Bot gave me any trouble.  Bitty Love Bot wore well for a week (although I did get a minor chip or two) and removal was easy.

Here are some photos, taken after a few days of wear, all in sunlight:






Indirect Sunlight


The Rainbow Honey Robot Collection is available at Rainbow Honey's website and at worldwide retailers.  Rainbow Honey is offering free shipping on orders over $50 on their website as well as giving you a free special polish with orders over $50 on their website.  July's special polish is Summer Blossom! Rainbow Honey describes it as "a festival of orange, yellow and white blossoms in a sea of iridescent and holographic glitters.  You can see photos of Summer Blossom on Rainbow Honey's website here and on Rainbow Honey's Facebook page.

**PR sample provided by company representative**

Thank you for reading my blog!

Rainbow Honey Dusty Bot

**PR sample provided by company representative**

In a previous post here, I wrote about being surprised to receive the entire Robot Collection to review, and I reviewed the groovy matte glitter top coat Yoshimi worn over Femme Bot. I also reviewed Femme Bot by itself here, and I reviewed Skyward Bot by itself here, and I reviewed Lucky Bot by itself here.  All the colors in the collection are really pretty.  They are spring-like, but just a little edgy, so not the routine overdone pastel cream-finish spring colors.  To me they seem like chrome polishes, and I never got around to buying any of the drugstore (Essie) chrome polishes, and these colors are prettier in my opinion, too, so I am very happy because I finally have chrome-like polishes.  The polishes are made with aluminum flakes, which, according to Rainbow Honey's website, makes "the metallic lacquers of the Robot Collection simultaneously sparkly, reflective and smooth."  The finish on Dusty Bot, a pale lavender metallic polish, is definitely both reflective like a foil and also sparkly, especially in sunlight, and the finish is definitely smooth.

The formula on Femme Bot, the pink metallic and the first of the "Robots" that I tried, had been excellent, and that polish had been a one-coater.  I was expecting Skyward Bot, the second "Robot" I tried, to have the same formula and had hoped it would also be a one-coater, but I had problems with application.  Luckily (pun intended), Lucky Bot was a one-coater like Femme Bot, and Dusty Bot was also a one-coater and very pretty with a very obvious chrome-like effect.  I still think Femme Bot had the best formula of the bunch, but only Skyward Bot gave me any trouble.  Dusty Bot wore well for a week (although I did get a minor chip or two) and removal was easy.

Here are some photos, taken after a few days of wear, all in sunlight:













The Rainbow Honey Robot Collection is available at Rainbow Honey's website and at worldwide retailers.  Rainbow Honey is offering free shipping on orders over $50 on their website as well as giving you a free special polish with orders over $50 on their website.  July's special polish is Summer Blossom! Rainbow Honey describes it as "a festival of orange, yellow and white blossoms in a sea of iridescent and holographic glitters.  You can see photos of Summer Blossom on Rainbow Honey's website here and on Rainbow Honey's Facebook page.

**PR sample provided by company representative**

Thank you for reading my blog!

Rainbow Honey Lucky Bot

**PR sample provided by company representative**

In a previous post here, I wrote about being surprised to receive the entire Robot Collection to review, and I reviewed the groovy matte glitter top coat Yoshimi worn over Femme Bot. I also reviewed Femme Bot by itself here, and I reviewed Skyward Bot by itself here.  All the colors in the collection are really pretty.  They are spring-like, but just a little edgy, so not the routine overdone pastel cream-finish spring colors.  To me they seem like chrome polishes, and I never got around to buying any of the drugstore (Essie) chrome polishes, and these colors are prettier in my opinion, too, so I am very happy because I finally have chrome-like polishes.  The polishes are made with aluminum flakes, which, according to Rainbow Honey's website, makes "the metallic lacquers of the Robot Collection simultaneously sparkly, reflective and smooth."  The finish on Lucky Bot, a green metallic polish, is definitely both reflective like a foil and also sparkly, especially in sunlight, and the finish is definitely smooth.

The formula on Femme Bot, the pink metallic and the first of the "Robots" that I tried, had been excellent, and that polish had been a one-coater.  I was expecting Skyward Bot, the second "Robot" I tried, to have the same formula and had hoped it would also be a one-coater, but I had problems with application.  Luckily (pun intended), Lucky Bot was a one-coater like Femme Bot.  I still think Femme Bot had the best formula of the bunch, but only Skyward Bot gave me any trouble.  Lucky Bot wore well for a week (although I did get a minor chip or two), didn't stain at all, and removal was easy.  The color on Lucky Bot was very pretty.  It was a very pale green most of the time, but at some angles it looked like the color we associate with glow-in-the-dark green.

Here are some photos, taken after a few days of wear, all in sunlight, with the last photo in indirect sunlight:















This is the best I could do at capturing the color shift to the shade that reminds me of glow-in-the-dark green.



The Rainbow Honey Robot Collection is available at Rainbow Honey's website and at worldwide retailers.  Rainbow Honey is offering free shipping on orders over $50 on their website as well as giving you a free special polish with orders over $50 on their website.  July's special polish is Summer Blossom! Rainbow Honey describes it as "a festival of orange, yellow and white blossoms in a sea of iridescent and holographic glitters.  You can see photos of Summer Blossom on Rainbow Honey's website here and on Rainbow Honey's Facebook page and below are some photos linked directly from Rainbow Honey's website:





**PR sample provided by company representative**

Thank you for reading my blog!

Rainbow Honey Skyward Bot

**PR sample provided by company representative**

In a previous post here, I wrote about being surprised to receive the entire Robot Collection to review, and I reviewed the groovy matte glitter top coat Yoshimi worn over Femme Bot. I also reviewed Femme Bot by itself here.  All the colors in the collection are really pretty.  They are spring-like, but just a little edgy, so not the routine overdone pastel cream-finish spring colors.  To me they seem like chrome polishes, and I never got around to buying any of the drugstore (Essie) chrome polishes, and these colors are prettier in my opinion, too, so I am very happy because I finally have chrome-like polishes.  The polishes are made with aluminum flakes, which, according to Rainbow Honey's website, makes "the metallic lacquers of the Robot Collection simultaneously sparkly, reflective and smooth."  The finish on Skyward Bot, a blue metallic polish, is definitely both reflective like a foil and also sparkly, especially in sunlight, and the finish is definitely smooth.

The formula on Femme Bot, the pink metallic and the first of the "Robots" that I tried, had been excellent, and that polish had been a one-coater.  I was expecting Skyward Bot to have the same formula and had hoped it would also be a one-coater, but I had problems with application.  This polish seemed maybe thicker than Femme Bot.  I had to use two coats to cover up streaks and balding on the first coat.  I could see a little bit of brush strokes showing, too.  Still, the color is gorgeous, and blue is probably my favorite color of nail polish, so I loved it.  It wore well for a week, didn't stain at all, and removal was easy.

Here are some photos, all in sunlight, with the last photos in less direct sunlight:














So reflective!








The Rainbow Honey Robot Collection is available at Rainbow Honey's website and at worldwide retailers.  Rainbow Honey is offering free shipping on orders over $50 on their website as well as giving you a free special polish with orders over $50 on their website.  July's special polish is Summer Blossom! Rainbow Honey describes it as "a festival of orange, yellow and white blossoms in a sea of iridescent and holographic glitters.  You can see photos of Summer Blossom on Rainbow Honey's website here and on Rainbow Honey's Facebook page and below are some photos linked directly from Rainbow Honey's website:





**PR sample provided by company representative**

Thank you for reading my blog!