Nibs & Nails Presents Pretty Jelly Polish in Heart of the Bleu Ocean (Inspired by J. Herbin's Bleu Ocean) Swatches and Review

*press sample*

Hi guys! Welcome back to another installment of Nibs & Nails. You know, where we ask popular indie nail polish brands to dupe (or just be inspired by) fountain pen inks with shimmer or sheen. This post was supposed to be up on Friday, but life happened. Work was really crazy on Friday and I just couldn't even focus on editing photos. I hope this beautiful polish from Pretty Jelly makes up for my tardiness. This ink may look slightly familiar to you because I've shown another ink that is a dark blue with gold shimmer from Diamine called Shimmering Blue Seas. Mariah from Great Lakes Lacquer made that one, and later in this post I'll show you how the 2 polishes compare.

Pretty Jelly is a brand I didn't know that much about until recently. The owner and maker, Liz, started out as a nail blogger (Liquid Jelly) and started making polish back in 2012. Now that I've had the chance to try them, I definitely need to get some more!

As always, make sure to check out my husband's ink blog, Inkdependence, to see a full review on tonight's ink from J. Herbin called Bleu Ocean.

J. Herbin Bleu Ocean ink swatch with 2 coats of Pretty Jelly in Heart of the Bleu Ocean

The ink is a dark royal blue that is almost a navy color in the saturated spots. The shimmer ink both the ink and nail polish is more pronounced in real life when compared to my photos. Overall, the polish may be ever-so-slightly lighter than the ink, but it's still really close! 

Pretty Jelly Heart of the Bleu Ocean (2 coats, with topcoat)

Pretty Jelly Heart of the Bleu Ocean (2 coats, matte)

There's that beautiful shimmer! The shimmer is almost more of a flakie shimmer that has a little purple/pink in there. Oh, and the formula was amazing! It had almost a whipped formula that was a breeze to apply. Since this is more of a jelly formula (which makes the brand name even more appropriate!) I thought it might need 3 coats, but it was almost a 1 coater!

So how does this compare to Great Lakes Lacquer polish The Shimmering Gold Sea from several weeks ago?

It's closer than I thought it'd be! The Pretty Jelly polish is a jelly while I found The Shimmer Gold Sea more of a crelly. The Shimmering Gold Sea is also a little darker with a bit more purple to it which can also been seen in the inks as well.

So there you have it, what do you think? Liz did a fantastic job, and I can't wait to make an order! For more information on Pretty Jelly, check out their website, Facebook, Intagram, or Twitter pages.

*This polish was provided by the company or PR representative. All reviews are based solely on my opinion. For more information, please see my full disclosure at the bottom of the site*

Fair Maiden Fall into Delirium Collection Swatches and Reviews: Acorns & Ashes and The Road Less Traveled

Hi guys! A couple weeks ago during Nibs & Nails I asked everyone what indie they would like to see next on the blog and several people said Fair Maiden Polish. To be honest, I'd been eyeing their products for a couple years, but you guys finally convinced me to pull the trigger. I made an order a couple weeks ago and I got lightning fast shipping (yay for fast TAT!). I should have bought the entire Fall 2016 collection, but their discounted full collection sets were already sold out. Perhaps I'll get the rest of them the next time I order. Without further ado, let's do this!

Pahlish August 2016 Out of Oz Collection Swatches and Review: Dorothy Gale

Pahlish Dorothy Gale (2 coats)

Hi guys! I know, I know. I am such a bad blogger. Last week I was planning on having a Nibs & Nails post, but I blame my husband for not being ready with his part. And then I wanted to post this polish from Pahlish on Saturday or Sunday, but then I ended up with a terrible headache. On the bright side, I just got the Zoya Enchanted Collection and the Paint Box Polish 12 Collection in the mail and I am so excited to swatch these!

The day I wore Dorothy Gale at work I asked my co-workers who Dorothy Gale was and I was shocked by the amount of people who had no idea. Apparently I'm just a big Wizard of Oz fangirl . Dorothy Gale the polish is a bright blue crelly with gold and darker blue flakes and shimmer. It's a beautiful polish, but I would have been ok with a few more flakes and shimmer. It dried a shade darker than the bottle color, although this may have been due to the topcoat used. I've never had a problem with the formula of any of my Pahlish polishes, and Dorothy Gale is no exception. I used 2 easy coats for full opacity.

Unfortunately there was a sale on the whole collection a couple weeks ago and this one is now out-of-stock. You can always sign up for some destash groups on Facebook to see if you can find it on there. Find out more about Pahlish on their website, Instagram, and Facebook pages.

Pahlish August 2016 Out of Oz Collection Swatches and Review: Yellow Brick Road

Pahlish Yellow Brick Road (2 coats)

Hi guys! This week is flying by, and I'm not complaining one bit. We have family in town again this week, but this time it's my in-laws. My plan for this weekend is to sleep the whole time and I'm 100% ok with that. Tonight I have a polish that is unfortunately sold out right now. I doubt that it's going to be restocked, but you may be able to find it in a destash.

No Wizard of Oz collection would be complete without an ode to the yellow brick road! To be honest, it can be a bit hard to find a really good yellow polish. They can easily clash with skintones and be hard to apply. There's just something about the yellow pigment that notoriously makes polishes thick and streaky. Pahlish's Yellow Brick Road is a deepened yellow gold jelly with tons of silver (or gold? It's hard to tell) flakes and holographic shimmer. I wish this was still in stock because I think everyone needs it. It even sparkles in low or indoor light. It was extremely opaque for a jelly, and I used 2 easy coats for the photos above. Find out more about Pahlish on their website, Instagram, and Facebook pages.

Pahlish Out of Oz Collection Swatches and Review: Munchkinland

Pahlish Munchkinland (3 coats)

Hi guys, how was your weekend? My family was in town so we went shopping and hung out. Tonight I have a polish from Pahlish that is still on sale now. Unfortunately the other ones I bought are currently sold out, so I figured I'd show the one for sale first. Oh, and if you want some really cool Halloween polishes, check out the Pahlish website now! 

Ok, I love The Wizard of Oz. I watched that movie every single Sunday when I was a kid. The bright colors and fun characters beg to be made into polishes, and the indie brand Pahlish made that happen. Munchkinland is an ivory crelly with subtle copper/bronze flakes and shimmer. It's not a chalky white color by any means, it's more of a soft white color. I honestly don't know how this is inspired by Munchkinland, but it's still a pretty polish. The first coat was slightly streaky, but it built up well on the second. Depending on how thick your coats are, you may be able to get away with 2 coats, but I needed 3.

You can still get this polish on the Pahlish website for $10. I know they have restocks every Sunday at 7 PM CST so keep your eye out for those. Find out more about Pahlish on their website, Instagram, and Facebook page

September For the Love of Polish Box Swatches and Reviews Part II

Hi guys, TGIF! No Nibs & Nails this week, but expect it next Friday for sure. Tonight I have the other 2 polishes in September's For the Love of Polish Box which feature Polished for Days and Illyrian Polish. This is my first time trying the increasingly popular Illyrian Polish, and so far I'm really impressed. Follow me after the break for my thoughts.

September For the Love of Polish Box Swatches and Review: Ever After Polish in The Pumpkin King

Ever After Polish The Pumpkin King (2 coats)

Hi guys! Things may be a little slower on the blog this week because I'm still recuperating from my travels to Denver. You may notice that I've been really enjoying the indie brand Polished For Days lately, and I just had to buy their monthly box called For the Love of Polish. Two brands are featured every month (Polished For Days and Illyrian Polish) with a monthly guest. September's featured guest was Ever After Polish, and boy did they knock their polish out of the park! The monthly trio retails for $27 plus shipping with only a 48 hr pre-order. 

The Pumpkin King from Ever After Polish is a grey holographic color with loads of bronze and gold ultrachrome flakes. Even with the diffused lighting you can see how holo this one is. I was expecting to have to use 3 coats for this one. I'm happy to report that this was more opaque than I expected and it needed just 2 easy coats. Unfortunately this is no longer for sale, but be sure to check out November's box which should be releasing towards the beginning of the month. 

Polished For Days Summer 2016 Sea Nymphs Collection Swatches and Review: Neso

Polished For Days Neso (2 coats)

Hi guys! I was in Denver this weekend and was unable to post until today. Denver was beautiful, but the elevation really gave me some bad headaches. We were away during the hurricane that hit North Carolina (and several other states), but luckily the worst part of the storm didn't hit our town. My thoughts are with those affected by Matthew. A few weeks ago Polished For Days had a discount code so I just had to make an order. I only bought 1 color from the summer collection named after Nereid Sea Nymphs.

Neso is the Nereid for islands and is a coral crelly with purple and blue ultrachrome flakes and violet shimmer. I love the color combination, and don't have anything quite like it. I think Polished For Days makes some of the best flake polishes out there, so if you haven't tried them, give them a chance. Despite being a crelly, Neso had good coverage and only needed 2 coats for full opacity.

Neso retails for $11, but keep your eye out for periodic sales on their social media pages.

Polished For Days
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Morgan Taylor Fall 2016 Sweetheart Squadron Collection Swatches and Reviews: Rule the Runway and Up in the Air-Heart

*press sample*

Hi guys! Did you have a good weekend? Mine was pretty good. I went to the beautiful arboretum in Raleigh on Saturday for their yearly plant giveaway. I'm still not 100% sure of all the plants we got, but I know we got a couple butterfly bushes, an elephant ear, some hens and chicks, and sedum. Not too shabby overall. Since we had Nibs & Nails on Friday we were unable to finish up the final swatches of the Sweetheart Squadron collection, but that will change tonight. Follow me after the break to see what's in store.

Nibs & Nails Presents Ever After Polish in Forest Green (Inspired by Magical Forest Diamine Ink) | Swatches and Giveaway

*press sample*

Hi guys! I'm finally back with another installment of Nibs & Nails, where I ask popular indie brands to dupe (or just be inspired by) fountain pen inks. Tonight I have Rachel from Ever After Polish doing the Diamine Shimmertastic ink named Magical Forest. I've purchased Ever After Polishes in the past, and I have another color waiting in the queue. Stay tuned to the end of the post to win the polish featured tonight.

As always, my husband has a fountain pen blog that will have an in-depth review of Magical Forest here.

Diamine's Magical Forest

Most of the inks thus far have had gold sheen and shimmer, but I'm happy that Magical Forest breaks this mold with silver shimmer. The shimmer isn't quite as apparent in this ink compared to previous weeks, but it's still beautiful. 

Ever After Polish Forest Green (2 coats)

The base color of Forest Green matches really closely to Magical Forest, right? Good job, Rachel! The shimmer looks a bit more gold than silver, and I think there is a little bit of  holo shimmer thrown in there as well. It's not a 100% exact dupe, but that's not always the point. The formula was smooth and pigmented in just 2 coats. 

Ever After Polish Forest Green (2 coats, matte)

Forest Green will not be released in the Ever After store, so definitely enter the giveaway to win this color. Also be sure to check out the Ever After store to see the other polishes and bath and body products available now.

Giveaway Rules:

1. Open to the US Only (I'm so sorry my lovely international readers...I hope to have a non-polish giveaway for everyone so it will be easier to ship)
2. Please do not use giveaway or empty accounts. Winners will be checked for verification.
3. You must be at least 18 years old to enter
4. The giveaway will end on October 7th at midnight (EST)
5. One winner will be chosen randomly by Rafflecopter. They will have 48 hrs to respond before a new winner is chosen.
6. Please do not immediately unfollow after the giveaway ends. :-(

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*This polish was provided by the company or PR representative. All reviews are based solely on my opinion. For more information, please see my full disclosure at the bottom of the site*