Tinkybell's 30 Days of Untrieds Challenge Day 4 PLUS Indie Thursdays: Stardust Polish North of the Wall and Always Pays His Debts(Game of Thrones Collection)

Helloooo errbody! Today is a double feature of sorts. I have done Indie Thursdays on the blog up until my slump, and I missed doing it! I'm slowly falling in love with indies and I try to get my hands on them as much as possible. Anyway, since I am on an untrieds challenge, I thought I would combine the two and feature an untried indie polish (or two!) for Day 4.


I have ordered a couple of polishes from Stardust Polish before (which I have posted before on my Instagram.) Drema, the owner of Stardust Polish, is pretty much a nice person and easy to talk to if you have concerns about the product or anything else. She's made some pretty polishes and it's a shame I only have a few of her creations... but I am hoping to remedy that. (My bank account isn't feeling too happy at that thought, though. Haha.)

Anyway, I have two polishes from her Game of Thrones collection: North of the Wall and Always Pays His Debts. I love the TV series (my boyfriend got me hooked on it, among other things...) and have yet to read the books (I have it on my e-book; I should really get a start on it!) But when I saw that Drema has released a GoT collection I wanted to get my hands on at least one of the polishes! So, let's get to the swatches, shall we? :)


First, we have North of the Wall.

Macro

North of the Wall is a light grey crelly base with tiny holographic glitters, and silver and blue hex glitters of different sizes. I love the combination of this polish! And this reminds me of the white walker that Sam encountered outside of the wall. Of course, this polish is prettier than that zombie :P Anyway, I used three coats for this swatch, plus top coat.

Then I had to see it matted, so here it is:

Looks pretty frosty!


And here is Always Pays His Debts:

Macro

Sorry for the bad macro shot, but it difficult for me to take a decent shot of this polish! So much glare... but then most of my pics have glare anyway. Oh well... Anyway, Always Pays His Debts is a sheer, shimmery red base with medium gold and smaller holographic glitters. I'm pretty sure this was inspired by House Lannister... because a Lannister always pays his debts, doesn't he? ;)  I'm not really a fan of this polish, just cause I don't like the base color. I personally don't like the shimmer, but some people do, so to each his own. This is three coats plus top coat.

I also tried this one with a matte top coat:

I think it looks better matted, cause the glitters show up more and it's not as shimmery.


Thoughts? I love North of the Wall! I've always loved glitter polish that is coordinated, and I think this polish is just that. The colors all worked together and it made for a nice combination. It also applied pretty easily. It just got a little thick towards the end, but maybe it's cause I was working in a hot room and I had the fan on. Nothing a few shakes can't care though, so it's all good. I also need to work on my glitter placement, but this polish has an adequate amount that you don't really have to fish for glitters. Always Pays His Debts was a bit thin, but not very runny. It had a decent amount of glitter, no fishing needed. If you wanted more glitter on, you can always fish for them, but you'll still get a decent amount with a normal coat and some placement. Like I said, I didn't really care for the base color, but it improved in my eyes with the matte top coat. So I guess it's obvious which one is my favorite, right? ;) North of the Wall won my heart for this collection!


And that's it for today's double feature! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll be back! :)


*I bought these polishes from Stardust Polish's Storenvy website (which is currently closed right now for some maintenance, so check Drema's Instagram @stardustpolish for restock info.) These retailed for around $9 each plus shipping.*


*Disclaimer: Due to variations in screen displays and resolutions, polishes may appear different to each reader. I try my best to capture colors as accurately as I can, and if I can't, then I try to describe the color/s to the best of my ability.*

Indie Thursdays: Mod Lacquer Pop Art Collection

Hello everyone! I'm so sorry about being MIA for so long. I've been busy, but mostly, I've been going through some issues. Personal life can be a b*tch at times and mine is being the biggest of them all right now. But I won't bore you with the specifics!

My polish mojo is also nowhere to be found lately, so I haven't been posting as much on my Instagram account as well. Have you ever had those days when you try to do nail art but no matter what you do, it all comes out wrong? Well, I'm having a few of those days, one after the other.

Anyway, today I told myself I will suck it up and just persevere through this funk that I'm in. I have skipped the regular blog segments on Monday (due to a legitimate excuse; we had a nail girls meetup!) and Wednesday (due to personal issues) so I told myself, "no more skipping blog posts! If you do, I'll kick you in the bum so hard." And who wants a kick in the behind, right? So here I am, plowing through like a champ! (Well, maybe not, but I am trying. :P)


For this post I have for you the Pop Art Collection by Mod Lacquer.

Photo by Mod Lacquer

Who is Mod Lacquer? (copied from Mod Lacquer's Etsy store)

Welcome to Mod Lacquer LLC! I personally hand blend all the nail polish sold in this shop with the intention of creating unique and beautiful designs. Nail polish is one of my life passions, and my goal is to share my passion with as many people as possible. 


This collection consists of five bright, squishy jelly polishes with hex glitters. I've always admired this collection when I saw it on Mod Lacquer's Instagram page (@modlacquer) almost a couple of months back, but was only able to purchase it about three weeks ago. So, let's get to the swatches, shall we? :)


Leading the pack is Satire.

Satire is described as "a bright sheer pink/coral jelly base with bright yellow glitter." For some reason, some of the glitters looked orange to me, but maybe that's because they were sandwiched in the jelly base. It dried pretty glossy but I still put top coat to smooth out the glitters. Swatch is three coats with top coat.


Second in line is Far-Out.

Far-Out is described as "a bright sheer yellow jelly base with bright blue glitter." This polish reminds me of Island Girl Island Sunset, but the glitters in this one are a darker blue, and the base on this one is a jelly. Also, I had some broken glitter pieces in this one, but not really a big deal. For this one, I did three coats plus top coat.


Next, we have Juxtapose.

Juxtapose is described as "a bright sheer spring green jelly base with violet glitter." This polish reminds me of the old Barbie lunch boxes with the pink and green motif that I had when I was in elementary school! Ahh, nostalgia.


And her we have Radical.

Radical is described as "a bright sheer blue jelly base with bright pink glitter." This polish kinda reminds me of Barielle Falling Star, but that one has tiny copper glitters whereas Radical has bigger pink glitter. I'm not sure why I am reminded of that polish with this one because they are different, but strangely, it does. This is three coats with top coat.


And rounding out the collection is Subliminal.

Subliminal is described as "a sheer orchid jelly base with small light pink glitter." Again, the strange phenomenon of some of the glitters appearing darker than they really are was observed here. It was as easy to apply as Satireand the same glossy jelly finish. This is three coats, with top coat to smooth out the glitters.


Thoughts? I love jelly polishes, and these did not disappoint. The squishiness is just awesome! The colors are buildable; if you want just a hint of glossy color, you can do two coats. Opaque in three, but if you want to go more opaque, then you can do four (I didn't try with four.) The formula was pretty easy to work with. You do need to manipulate the glitter around so that they don't bunch up together. (You might have to turn the bottles upside down for a bit, if the glitters settled, so you can get maximum glitter placement.) For me, the probem child was Far-Out but it's typical for yellows anyway. Dry time is pretty decent; the first coat dries fast but of course as you build it up the dry time slows down a little bit. The only issue I might have is the handle of the bottle. Don't get me wrong, the bottles look pretty rad but I was having slight difficulties with handling the cap. The brushes are the flat, wide kind, but are fluffy and fan out quite nicely. The brush on Juxtapose was a bit uneven, but not so much that it affects the way you polish. You do need a top coat for these babies, as they dry a bit gritty due to the glitters. My favorites are Satire and Subliminal, becausethey were the ones who applied the easiest.


Would I recommend these polishes? Yes, definitely. If you love jelly sandwiches, you'll surely love these. It looks simple yet the colors stand out. I think it's very summery! :) They are a good way to add some pop to your nails without being too in-your-face. Plus, if you buy the set, you only pay for the price of four! Jennifer also has a discount going onin her Etsy store. Hurry though, because as of the last time I visited the site, she only has 9 sets left. She does sell them in minis so if you're not ready to commit to full sized bottles, you also have another option.


And that's it for this week's Indie Thursdays! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll be back! :)


*I bought these polishes with my own money from Mod Lacquer. The set is $38 USD plus shipping, but Jennifer has a discount code going on at the shop.*


*Disclaimer: Due to variations in screen displays and resolutions, polishes may appear different to each reader. I try my best to capture colors as accurately as I can, and if I can't, then I try to describe the color/s to the best of my ability.*

Indie Thursdays: Sonnetarium Fresh: Spring 2013 Collection

Hello everybody! I'm trying to get back on track with the blog so here I am! :) Today is Thursday and it's time for Indie Thursdays once again!


Today I have for you an indie brand I have only known about due to Jessica's (@bluevelvetlacquer on Instagram) recent swatches: Sonnetarium. I've only seen this brand on her but I was intrigued by her swatches, so naturally I had to search for it! Jessica didn't include a link with her swatches though, but luckily the bottle showed the website.

So, who is Sonnetarium? (copied from Sonnetarium)

Michelle's love of nail polish began in the summer of 2011, at which point her collection quickly escalated beyond her wildest dreams. She did, however, discover that she had a desire for something more, beyond what the traditional companies would offer. With an affinity for pattern and design, a quest began to create polishes that she loved but could not find.

Sonnetarium was born with humble origins. Each label was painstakingly hole-punched with a scrapbook puncher, each polish mixed to-order. But with expansion and growth coming fast, it became no longer feasible. Michelle enlisted the help of her family to expand Sonnetarium to the four-membered business that it is today.

With the expansion and upgrades, one thing remains certain: our attention and catering to customers comes first and foremost. The lacquers have undergone reformulation to provide the best wear and application possible; the labels and bottles are sleek and reflect our extreme attention to detail. But most of all - we will always include a handwritten note with your order. You keep us alive and kicking, and it is your passion that drives ours to make us what we are today. Every one of our customers is important, and we hope that our demeanor emphasizes that very fact.


Our nail lacquers are now 3-free: free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate, and never contain ingredients tested on animals.


Two collections caught my eye: the Fresh: Spring 2013 and So Punny: S/F 2013 collections. For this post I will showcase Fresh. Let's get right to the swatches, shall we?


(Due to time constraints, I didn't have time to watermark my pics... but who would want to steal them anyway?!)


First, the shade that piqued my interest: Raspberry Sorbet.

Raspberry Sorbet looks brick red to me... It's a crelly (more towards the creme side) with deep red glitters and gold and copper fleck shimmer. Very interesting shade, indeed! I had the most trouble with taking a pic on this one. Tsk! This was three coats with top coat.


Next, we have another shade that I saw on Jessica: Strawberry Smoothie.

Strawberry Smoothie is a light pink crelly (more towards creme) with red square glitters, plus red, white and holo glitters of multiple sizes. This polish makes me crave for a strawberry smoothie! Aptly named, indeed. This is three coats with top coat.

And here is Banana Pudding.

Banana Pudding is a creamy light yellow crelly (more towards jelly this time) with matte yellow glitters of different sizes. Now this one was the problem child for me! I couldn't quite get the hang of applying this polish just right, so I ended up using four coats and the glitters drowned... I love the base though but I don't know if it was the formula or the brush that caused it to apply very streaky. I did wait a couple minutes for each coat to dry but it was just dragging and leaving bald spots. Anyway, it also makes me think more of creamed corn and less of banana pudding, lol. This is four coats with top coat.


Next up: Cucumber Salad.

Cucumber Salad is a green shimmery base wich feels like a jelly to me, but just a tiny bit creamier than normal jellies. It has white and darker green hex glitters. This is three coats with top coat but would've probably been more opaque in four, or use undies. Not sure if it was just me or the formula itself...


And rounding out the collection, here is Blueberry Yogurt.

Blueberry Yogurt has the same feel as Cucumber Salad, a little on the thin and runny side, but boy is it gorgeous. It's a blue-toned purple with a beautiful violet shimmer, plus darker purple hex glitters of various sizes. It reminds me of a Jamba Juice Bananaberry smoothie, which is my ulitimate favorite smoothie, although the actual smoothie is more red than this one. The glitters look like the blueberries blended into the drink. :) This is three coats with top coat, but could probably use another coat, or an undie.


Thoughts? I love the concept of this collection. I also love how Michelle named the collection after food instead of flowers/plants like what other brands do with their spring collection.

I bought the mini bottles, which was a steal at $6 for a 9 ml square bottle, considering most indies offer minis for $4.50-$5 for a 4-5ml bottle. The price was also what convinced me to buy the collection. The packaging is also simple but beautiful, very professional-looking. The brush is tiny though, so I had to load it with polish, and it felt a bit stiff to me. Well, it is a mini bottle so the brush size is understandable, but there are minis with bigger brushes, so I'm wishing these had a bigger brush. I'm not sure if it contributed to the streaky application of Banana Pudding, but I can live with it. The colors are gorgeous enough to make up for it, in my opinion. It's a shame though, because I love yellows and Banana Pudding was so beautiful. I tried so many times to put it on but I was afraid to finish the bottle so I stopped at my third attempt. Anyway, the formulas are a bit inconsistent, as while the first two polishes were just right, the third polish was thick, and the last two polishes were runny. I'm not sure if Michelle intended it to be that way but I would've liked it to be more consistent. Dry time was a little slow, but thin coats and a fast-drying top coat will solve that.


Would I recommend these polishes? Yes, for the most part. The colors are very pretty, and the price is pretty decent. Don't let my issues deter you from these polishes! It might just be user error and you might have a better experience with them than I did. The size of the mini bottles is impressive at 9 ml (some major brands have less than that, and they're full-size!) Some might find the full size bottles to be a better deal ($8.50 for 15 ml) so it's up to you which one you're comfortable with.


And that's it for this week's Indie Thursdays! Thanks for visiting. :)


*I bought these polishes with my own money from Sonnetarium's website. The collection is $30 for five 9 ml  bottles, plus shipping.*


*Disclaimer: Due to variations in screen displays and resolutions, polishes may appear different to each reader. I try my best to capture colors as accurately as I can, and if I can't, then I try to describe the color/s to the best of my ability.*

Indie Thursdays... On A Sunday.

Hi errbody! No, I didn't get my days mixed up, lol. I decided to do an Indie Thrusdays segment today for a very special friend of mine.


First of all, let me explain a little bit about my "tuplets." I think I have already mentioned the tuplets in a previous blog post. I met my tuplets online on Instagram, when one of them (I forgot who! Bad.) invited me to join her and a few other girls for a "bestie twin nails," or in our case, "bestie quintuplet nails," session. (Bestie nails are when you and other girls come up with a theme and do a matching mani. Hence, the term "twin" or whatever tuplet numbers you have.) We all got to talking on Kik and like they say, the rest is history! We then started a tag called "tupletnails" on Instagram, but sad to say, we haven't exactly done a lot of matching manis lately.

(Did I mention these girls are from Australia?)

Anyway, one of the tuplets, Sylvie, recently launched her indie nail polish line called Smudged. I think I am not alone in saying that I am proud of her for finally getting her stuff out there. And, I feel honored to have been a part of the process, if only for the encouragement and support part. :) 

Follow Sylvie on Instagram!

Sylvie doesn't normally ship to the US, but she made an exception for me because I am special like that ;) lol jk. Anyway, let's get right to the swatches, shall we?

First, we have Catnip.

Catnip is "a light green cream base with white, purple and grape daisy glitters." The white glitters kinda makes the polish a bit textured. It has purple square glitters, and daisies, which I love! Shown is two coats with top coat.

Next, we have Bubble Naut.

Bubble Naut is a "light blue cream base, with baby blue glitters." I would have wanted the base on this one to be a bit less opaque, but it's still beautiful nonetheless. Shown is two and a half coats plus top coat.

Here we have Fuchsia Field.

Fuchsia Field is "a magenta jelly with square, iridescent and grape daisy glitters." I always have a hard time with jellies so forgive me for having a sucky swatch. This is one thin coat plus two dabbed coats, plus top coat.

And here is Butterfly Cemetary.

Butterfly Cemetary is "a purple jelly with fuchsia tint, square and iridescent glitters." And butterfly glitters!!! Again, this is a jelly so forgive my sucky swatch. This is one thin coat plus two dabbed coats, plus top coat.

And last but not the least, the special polish, B Tuplets.

You won't find B Tuplets on her shop, because this is a custom bottle for the tuplets! Hence the name, B Tuplets, which actually means Best Tuplets but Sylvie said it didn't fit on the labels, haha. Anyway, my tuplet bottle is a grayish creme base with a hint of lavender, with the same blue glitters from Bubble Naut, and off-white hearts glitter! Looks soft and girly, doesn't it? This is two coats plus top coat.

Thoughts? I am impressed with the combination of glitters in these polishes! Like I said, I don't like polishes with glitters that look like they just got thrown together in a base, without any cohesion. Sylvie's polishes have glitters that actually make sense, if you know what I mean... And have you seen the daisy and butterfly glitters?! It's awesome. The formula can get a bit thick, though, due to the large amount of glitters in the polish, but just give them a few shakes and they'll thin out. The brush also spreads out nicely. Also, Butterfly Cemetary can get a bit messy to take off due to the small violet glitters but it's not a big deal. Dry time is also quite fast.

Would I recommend these polishes? Of course, not only because she is my friend, but you can see for yourself that these polishes are pretty. The only thing is, it's only available in Australia as of now, but hopefully she'll work with the international stockists so these pretty polishes can reach her American followers.

And that's it for this post! Stay tuned for the next ones. :)

*I bought these polishes with my own money. Smudged can be purchased from Sylvie's Etsy shop; shipping within Australia only for now. Each polish is about $9.50 AUD plus shipping.*

*Disclaimer: Due to variations in screen displays and resolutions, polishes may appear different to each reader. I try my best to capture colors as accurately as I can, and if I can't, then I try to describe the color/s to the best of my ability.*

Indie Thursdays: Glampaint Lacquer Milkshake, Turquoise and Company, Barbie Jeep

Hello everyone! It's that time of the week again! I wasn't able to post last week because of Independence Day. I did do a patriotic mani ;)

Thirteen stars were physically impossible to fit on my nubs without it looking ugly, so I managed to get eleven at the most. The star studs were from Nail Sauce.


Anyway, I have three Glampaint Lacquer polishes to share with you today: Milkshake, Turquoise and Company, and Barbie Jeep.

I have always wanted these polishes before, but they were always sold out. They were one of the first indies I remember ever wanting, but since they were always unavailable, I sort of forgot about them. Then when the opportunity to purchase these polishes came (at a sale price, too!) I went ahead and bought them! Glad I did, too, cause they were sold out again just a little bit after I purchased mine.


Anyway, let's get right to the swatches!


First, we have Milkshake.

Milkshake is described as a "milky white base with pink, purple and blue glitter." To me the base looks a little more grayish on the nail than true white, but I love it! It has tiny and medium pink, purple and blue hex glitters. Shown is three coats with top coat.


Next up, we have Barbie Jeep.

Barbie Jeep is described as "a pink milky base with glitter galore." This polish reminds me of Revlon Girly (just search for swatches) but with smaller glitters. Barbie Jeep has tiny pink, small hot pink and dark purple, medium pink and blue, and large silver holo hex glitters. Phew! Shown is three coats with top coat.


Last but not the least, here is Turquoise and Company.

Turquoise and Company is described as "turquoise base with loads of glitter." I will try to describe it a bit more, lol. It has a slightly shimmery, light turquoise crelly base, with tiny green holographic hex glitters, plus small hot pink and purple, and large white, turquoise, and silver holo glitters. Shown is two coats with top coat.


Thoughts? I love Milkshake and Barbie Jeep. Turquoise and Company, hmm, not so much. Out of the three, Milkshake is my favorite. I love milky white-based glitters and Milkshake was just perfect. The formula did get a little thick after a bit, but wasn't really much of a problem as it's a beautiful shade and chock-full of glitters. All of them were actually full of glitter, not much fishing required except for the larger glitters. I liked Barbie Jeep better than Girly because the glitters in Barbie Jeep were smaller and the formula was quite easy to work with. I didn't like Turquoise and Company as much because the base was just a little too opaque for my liking. I felt like the base obscured the glitters a little bit. It could probably work better layered over a similar-colored base. And as with all glitter-loaded polishes, load up on top coat because they do tend to have a gritty finish.


Would I recommend these polishes? Yes and no. I would recommend Milkshake, no doubt. You can probably skip Barbie Jeep if you already have Revlon  Girly. If the opacity of Turquoise and Company doesn't bother you then by all means get it, because it does look pretty. Also, availability might be an issue because as of this moment, only Barbie Jeep is available out of the three.

And that's it for this week's Indie Thursdays! Stay tuned for the next posts. :)


*I bought these polishes with my own money from Glampaint Lacquer's website. Each polish was bought on sale for $5 each, plus $5.95 shipping.*


*Disclaimer: Due to variations in screen displays and resolutions, polishes may appear different to each reader. I try my best to capture colors as accurately as I can, and if I can't, then I try to describe the color/s to the best of my ability.*