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!

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 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!

Pretty and Polished Dolli-Pop Color-Changing Polish

Apologies for being away so long.  I was ill the first part of February, then my husband was ill the second part of February, then I was busier at work the first part of March, and most recently one of my dogs injured himself and needed extra time and attention from me, the other dog is always on and off sick to her tummy, and I'm still busy at work.

I haven't read the new government guidelines on disclosures yet, but from summaries on other bloggers' posts, I gather that the main concern is that readers know whether I am reviewing something that I bought or something that was sent to me for free by a company for me to review.  My Official Disclosure:  I purchased the polish I am writing about in this post.

Pretty and Polished's Dolli-Pop is a gorgeous temperature-reactive color-changing polish that is purple at room temperature or cold temperatures and then progresses from dark blue to light blue as the temperature gets warmer.

I had actually been a little run down and almost burnt out from illness and such, and when I feel that way, I have less inspiration nail polish-wise.  But on Sunday I read a post on the Holographic Hussy blog reviewing Dolli-Pop, and I instantly knew that I wanted to use Dolli-Pop for my weekly manicure.

The polish formula was a dream come true for me!  It was the perfect consistency, and it didn't pool or pond or drag.  The brush was long and made it easy to apply the polish.  I used three coats, although two might have been fine.  I barely had any cleanup to do, and what little cleanup I had was easy.  I did get some shrinkage from Seche Vite which I think I'm going to start calling Shrink Vite.   I still can't give it up, though.  It dries even thick layers of polish very quickly, and I can go to bed right away and never, ever have sheet marks on my mani after using Shrink Vite.  Anyway, Dolli-Pop dries with a matte-like finish, and I prefer it with a shiny finish.  I can say that no matter how many coats of top coat you add (I add another coat every day or every other day), it does not affect the color-changing effect.   I have been wearing the polish for two days now, and it has worn well without any chips; I just have the shrinkage from my quick-dry top coat.

This is a really fun polish that really cheers me up every time I look at it.  It's like having different several different manicures in one, so for those of you who feel the need to change your polish every day, you can actually keep this polish on for a while and still have a different mani every few minutes!  The blue shades run through the entire range of denim blue colors, from the lightest blue to the darkest.  The polish also has some gorgeous little blue gem-like flakes that catch the light beautifully.  Most of the time my nail beds were a sky blue with the tips of my nails a deep purple and the two colors blended into each other like a perfect gradient creating the look of a funky French manicure.

Here are some pictures:

Left hand, indirect sunlight, in air-conditioned car.

Left hand.

Left hand.

Left hand.

Left hand.

Left hand.

Right hand, temperature cooling.

Right hand, temperature cooling further.

Left hand, temperature cooling.

Left hand, temperature cooling.

Left hand, cool temperature.

Right hand, most purple color at coolest temperature.

Left ring finger and pinkie, cool temperature.

Thumbnail, cool temperature.
You can see the reflection of my iPhone that I used to take the photo.

Right hand, sunlight.

Thank you for reading my blog!

Nostalgic Nail Lacquer Pride

I wanted Nostalgic Nail Lacquer's Pride polish for months.  It is a top coat with a clear base and white star and bar glitter and blue and red hex metal glitter.  It was a limited edition polish, and I did not get it when it was sold on Nostalgic Nail Lacquer's website store.  When I saw a bottle on a blog sale, I snatched it up!  I love it!  When I received my precious bottle in the mail near the end of October, I was wearing Rainbow Honey's Kawako, a nice dark navy blue polish that I reviewed here.  Once my work week was over, I added a coat of Pride to my Kawako manicure.  Nostalgic Nail Lacquer's polishes are very high quality.  The polish went on easily and smoothly.  I got star glitter easily on every nail.  The bright blue and red metal hex glitter didn't curl or bleed, and it was mirror-like in the way it reflected light.  All the glitter lays flat, even the star glitter, although I did use a coat of Gelous over it and then a coat of Seche Vite just to be sure everything was glassy-smooth.  I have used other red, white and blue-type top coats, but often the glitters are paper-like, or crinkle-paper-like, if that makes any sense, and this is the only glitter top coat I've seen with these gorgeous metal hex glitters.

Here are some pictures (any bubbles are from the top coat):

Sunlight
You can see how the gorgeous hex glitters reflect light so that they're different colors at times.
You can also see the silver flakie-like glitter in the beautiful Kawako base coat.

Indirect Sunlight

Shade
Even in low light, look at how those metal hexes glow!!!

Sunlight
Jeans in the background show how close to denim the color is in Kawako.

Shade
Again, look at how the metal hex glitter glows, even in the shade!

Thank you for reading my blog!

Rainbow Honey Kawako

I apologize for not posting in a while.  I have had some health issues (nothing very serious), and we also just refinanced our home mortgage (woohoo!), and that took chunks of free time.  Also, my husband has been monopolizing the home computer, the one that I use to edit blog photos for blog posts.  The few times I was alone at home, I either had things to do and couldn't take advantage of the opportunity to use the computer, or I was just too tired and sat back and read a book instead.  I read dozens of books, actually, including urban fantasy novels and time-travel fantasy novels set in the Scottish middle ages.  Then last week I started working on our taxes.  I have to go through our receipts and have everything organized before the end of January.  It's good and it's bad, blog-wise.  It takes time away from blogging, but my "reward" to myself for finishing each category of receipts is to work on a blog post.  Working on the computer is also more challenging this week because my glasses are getting new lenses because my prescription changed so much.  I really need glasses to work on the computer, so I will limit my time on the computer to avoid too much eye strain until I get my glasses back.

This blog post is the last of my reviews of the Rainbow Honey Yokai Collection.  I had a preview post here on the Rainbow Honey Yokai Collection with pictures of the package I received and of the three polishes swatched on nail wheels by themselves and in combination with other colors and matted.  The Yokai Collection polishes were limited edition for Autumn 2012 and were released on October 13, 2012.  The polishes were available on Rainbow Honey's website for $10 each but they were not sold anymore after October.  Did any of you manage to buy any of the Yokai Collection polishes before they sold out?

The first of the Yokai Collection that I wore was Kitsune.  I reviewed Kitsune here.  Then I tried my first dotticure over Kitsune!  After Kitsune, I tried Oni and wore it as a manicure for a full week in mid-October. I reviewed Oni here.

This last polish from the Yokai Collection is Kawako.  It's worth going back to my preview post here because I had swatches of the polish as it came in the bottle and also after adding a matte top coat.  Also, I mentioned a post on Sheila's Pointless Cafe blog where she compared Kawako to Essie's Starry Starry Night.

I normally create a draft post soon after applying a manicure, but I don't have a draft post for Kawako, so I have to rely on my memory.  It's a gorgeous dark shade of blue with sparkly bits.  Other bloggers found the formula too thick, but I didn't.  The one thing I wasn't sure I liked or didn't like was the addition of flakies.  Some of the flakies were large, but they remained under the surface of the blue polish, so they marred the surface of the polish, keeping it from being smooth, but they didn't add the special multichromatic effect of flakies.  When a flakie was at the surface, however, especially when it was one of the flakies that flashed fuschia, the effect was amazing.  You'll see in the pictures below that there was some tip wear, but otherwise the polish held up very well.

Sunlight

Indirect Sunlight

Indirect Sunlight
The dimpling is from flakies below the surface of the polish.

Sunlight
It was difficult to capture how the polish glistened.

Sunlight
You can see a bit of the shimmer in the polish.

Sunlight
Blurred--shows the sparkles.

Sunlight
Seldom-seen right hand
You can see some of the shimmer in the polish
Dimpling and uneven texture is from flakies underneath the surface of the polish; top coat didn't smooth it out enough.

Indoors
Such a pretty dark blue!

Thank you for reading my blog!