Northern Star Polish July 2017 Polish Pickup Exclusive Swatches and Review: Shark Bite

Northern Star Polish Shark Bite (2 coats) $9

Hi guys! Long time, no blog. Guess who has jet lag? San Francisco was nice...at least as much as I got to see of it. They say you need 24 hours per time zone change to readjust and I'm right in the middle of it. Tonight I have another exclusive polish from Polish Pickup which I mentioned a couple weeks ago. If you need a little refresher on how it works, follow the link here for more information. Northern Star Polish is run by Kristen and she's been making polish for years. Last year she took a long hiatus and this is her way of getting back into the polish game. She made some of my favorite cuticle oils, but it doesn't look like she's making those yet. On the bright side, Northern Star Polish is releasing another polish for September's Polish Pickup and you can see that here. 

I know, I know, Shark Bite isn't for sale anymore, but at least you can see a pretty swatch and learn a bit more for the pre-order which goes from 9/1-9/4. It's a teal blue cream base with fuchsia microglitter and aqua blue shimmer. It's extremely saturated, but I didn't have any issues with staining. That said, this is the type of color that may stain so don't forget your base coat! The formula was just perfect, and I needed just 2 coats for full coverage. Even with the microglitter, it does not dry textured so you can use pretty much any top coat you have around. This is supposed to be named after a drink, but I've never heard of a Shark Bite. Please tell me I'm not the only one! 

Obviously this has everything I love in a polish. Saturated color? Check. Contrasting shimmer/microglitter? Check. Good formula? Check. I'll definitely be purchasing a few polishes from this month's Polish Pickup and there's a good chance I'll get Take a Bite from Northern Star Polish. Again, you can learn more about the Polish Pickup on their Facebook page and website and the pre-order begins on 9/1 with flat-rate shipping of just $3. 

Literary Lacquers Aug/Sept 2017 Limited Editions - Birthday and Book Club

*press samples*

Hi guys! It feels like forever since I've had 2 substantial posts in a row, but several new collections and limited edition shades are releasing this week. I'm leaving for San Francisco tomorrow for work, so I needed to get this post out ASAP. SF is a great city, and I've been fortunate to visit a few times. I won't have a chance to see anything but a hotel room this weekend, but at least I've had a chance to see the sites previously. Literary Lacquers has 2 new limited edition polishes releasing tomorrow, August 24th at 12 PM MT (or 2 PM EST) which will stick around until Sept. 8th. They also have 10 returning shades with the release, and those are: 

 84 Charing Cross Road

Cyan-tifically Proven

Shadow Between Us

Je Reviens

Rebecca, Always Rebecca

Afterglow

Tia Wanna

Arousal

Curious Yellow

English Voodoo

I don't have any of these to show you, but check out xoxoJen because she has links to all of her swatches. Stick around to the end of the post for more restock information. 

Quixotic Polish 2017 She Sells Seashells Collection Swatches and Reviews

*purchased with blogger discount*

Hi guys! This post was supposed to go up yesterday, but it was just taking me too long to get all of the photos edited in time. In other news, did you watch the eclipse? We had about 93% occulsion of the sun here and we were lucky that it was really clear at work. People were camping next door to get a good look and we had several glasses to pass around. Anyway, tonight I have the brand new Quixotic Polish collection that features contrasting shimmers. I've been waiting for an indie to do a whole collection of shimmers like this, so I was ecstatic that Mary from Quixotic was the one to release it. These were released on Sunday, so you can find them in the BigCartel site right now for $10 each or $47 for the whole set. Let's take a better look at these warlocks. 

Stella Chroma July 2017 Polish Pickup Exclusive Swatches and Review: Blackberry Mint Moscow Mule

Stella Chroma Blackberry Mint Moscow Mule (3 coats)

Hi guys! TGIF! I was stuck in traffic for 2 hours tonight, so this must be a quick post. Well, somewhat quick because I still need to explain this super awesome new thing called the Polish Pickup Facebook Group. Do you hate it when a new indie box comes out with multiple brands and you only really love one of the colors? What do you do then? Destash the ones you don't want? Just suck it up and buy it and keep them all because you're too lazy to destash? Well, there's now a group and website called Polish Pickup that will open for suggestions for box themes for the upcoming month. Everyone votes, and the winner becomes the theme for a future box. Any indie brand can participate and has their own specific inspiration picture and polish for that month. All you need to do is go to the Polish Pickup site during the pre-order window (the first Friday-Monday of the month) to make all of your purchases of these exclusive polishes. There's no need to pay for multiple shipping charges; since this is a pre-order, all polishes get sent to Polish Pickup and they send you the polishes you ordered. Yup, it's that simple. 

Now that I've explained a little more about Polish Pickup, I must give you some bad news. The polishes I have to show for the next few days are no longer for sale. I don't get any of them before the release so I have no way to promote them here on the blog (definitely stop by the Facebook Group for some awesome swatches though). The good news is that you will have the chance to purchase from the next Polish Pickup with the "Fall Foliage and Fun" theme. The polishes I'll be showing you have the theme of "Cocktails & Mocktails" and were released back in July. I'm not a big drinker, but I'll have one once in awhile. 

Tonight's polish is from Stella Chroma with the inspiration drink called the Blackberry Mint Moscow Mule. Full disclosure: I've never had a Moscow Mule, let alone a Blackberry Mint Moscow Mule. That said, I knew this polish was my #1 pick for the month. I've never seen a polish like this, and I have quite the collection. Blackberry Mint Moscow Mule is a peachy nude crelly base with loads of copper and ultrachrome flakes and gold shimmer. It dried a tiny bit darker on my nails, but that could be from my skin tone. It was a bit sheer, but built up well in 3 coats. I love this polish and should have bought a backup. Yes, it's that interesting and unique. Removal was fairly painless, but worse than removing a creme. 

Again, you can learn more about the Polish Pickup on their Facebook page and website and here are the appropriate links for more information on Stella Chroma (website, Facebook page, Facebook Fan Group, Twitter, and Instagram). Have a wonderful weekend! 

Pahlish Swatches and Reviews: Hempstock and Ashen

Hi guys! Ok, so I watched both nights of Bachelor in Paradise and I'm still confused about what happened between Corinne and DeMario. I'll definitely be watching through the rest of the summer. Tonight I have Hempstock from Pahlish which was released earlier this year and is still in stock if you are interested in purchasing. I also bought a Mystery Pahlish which is often a test batch or prototype of colors that may be released in the future. The Mystery Pahlish is always discounted and I've never been disappointed with what I've received. Swatch time!

KBShimmer Office Space Collection Swatches and Review: Staple Relationship

KBShimmer Staple Relationship (2 coats)

Hi guys! How was your weekend? Mine was good. I didn't sleep as much as I'd like, but what else is new? Tonight I'm watching Bachelor in Paradise and I can't wait to see that mess. Please tell me I'm not the only one watching tonight. Anyway, I have one final polish from KBShimmer to show you and it's from the Office Space collection which features interesting "work appropriate" colors. 

Poor Milton. I can't watch Office Space without feeling bad for Milton. Staple Relationship is a deep charcoal base with silver and blue/pink flakes and holographic glitter. You can especially see the bluish flakes in the bottom photo. The finish is similar to those from the Birthstone Collection which really appeals to me. For some reason I didn't get a photo showing the holo finish, but it's there and it's strong. It applied well in 2 coats, but the removal was a bit difficult with the glitter (and the flakes tended to stick to the sides of my nails). No problem, I just went ahead and used a peel-off basecoat to make it a breeze. 

You can find this on the KBShimmer site right now for $9.25. Make sure to check out KBShimmer's website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages for more information.

KBShimmer 2016 Birthstone Collection Swatches and Reviews: Diamond and Pink Tourmaline

Hi guys! I'm still recuperating from my long weekend. My brother is coming into town this weekend, but I think it's supposed to rain. Boo. A few weeks ago KBShimmer had a sale and I just had to buy some polishes. What really caught my eye was the Birthstone Collection. I know it was released last year, but these holo metallic colors were too gorgeous to pass up. Each month's birthstone color is featured and you know I had to buy mine. Shall we get to it? 

Bliss Polish The Indie Shop Atlanta Exclusive: Secret Grove

Bliss Polish Secret Grove (3 coats)

Hi guys! I was in DC for a pen show all weekend and I was just too exhausted to blog last night. Tonight I have a polish that was exclusive to the Indie Shop: Atlanta back in March. I've been going through these slowly because they're no longer available anyway. Bliss Polish is a brand I've been meaning to try out for years, so I was ecstatic that Yvette was in Atlanta to see them in person. The label reminds me a little of what Cirque used to have before the rebranding this year. Secret Grove was a part of trio that was available, but I was only able to snag this one. 

Secret Grove is a blackened teal crelly with blue, green, and gold ultrachrome flakes. I found that it had the perfect amount of flakes without making it apply too thick. You could easily get away with 2 smooth coats for full opacity, but I went a third just to add a little more dimension. I just love this one!

Unfortunately this one is no longer for sale. Bliss Polish currently has a bunch of creme polishes on clearance for only $6 and I have my eye on them. Make sure to check out Bliss Polish on their Facebook and Instagram pages for more information. 

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Travel Stories Romantic Rendezvous Collection Swatches and Reviews: Orchid-ing Aside and Shhhhimmer

*press samples*

Hi guys! TGIF! Tonight I have 2 polishes from the second upcoming Sally Hansen Collection called Romantic Rendezvous. These collections were inspired by the travels and adventures of Sally Hansen Global Color Ambassador, Madeline Poole. Wouldn't that be an amazing job? Where do I sign up? This collection also features 7 polishes, so you have a total of 14 new ones to choose from. Shall we get started?

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Travel Stories Adventure Land Collection Swatches and Review: Leaf Me Be

*press sample*

Sally Hansen Leaf Me Be (2 coats)

Hi guys! This week has been flying by...mostly because work has been really hectic. You know how it is when you get back from vacation. We have a pen show coming up soon, so it's a lot of packing. Tonight I have a polish from the first of 2 collections Sally Hansen has released this summer called the Adventure Land collection. It features 7 different polishes in a variety of finishes. I'll be completely honest with you, I've never been able to get the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat to work for me. For some reason, it always bubbles on me. I've ended up using Vapid Lacquer's top coat for my swatches and I've had no problems with bubbling of the polishes themselves. I've read that others have had the same thing happen, so I'm not sure what the problem is. There is no fan on in the room, and it's happened with a brand new bottle that isn't even thick. 

Leaf Me Be is a dark hunter green creme that dries a shade darker on the nail compared to the bottle color. I love it! It's an unconventional summer color, and I'm so happy a mainstream brand has gone out of their comfort zone. It was also extremely pigmented and you'd likely get away with just 1 coat (of course I did 2 for good measure). 

I have 2 polishes from the Romantic Rendezvous Collection coming this week so stay tuned. These collections are releasing this month and will cost $9.99 at retailers. Stay up-to-date all things Sally Hansen with their website, Instagram, and Twitter pages.

*These polishes were 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*