Sweet Baby Octopolish!

One of my fave makers recently came out with an absolutely adorable polish that looked like rainbow sprinkles on a white-frosted cupcake, and in an effort to rein myself in from clicking "buy" I remembered I had something in a similar vein so pulled that out to wear instead. indoor, bright CF lighting It's a Trap-eze was the stand out fave of China Glaze's 2012 Cirque du Soleil collection, and when I wore it the first time within a year or so of buying, it was a cool-toned white base jam-packed with jewel tone glitters (heavy on sky blue and magenta). window-filtered bright sunlight Remembering that the 3 coats this needed to reach complete opacity resulted in a chippy, gloopy mess of glitter, this time around I used one coat of Bee's Knees A Mantis Shrimp's Favorite Color, then one partially dabbed coat of Trap-eze. outdoor, overcast daylight This is not exactly the same polish as what it was on release.  It's highly probable that some o...

One excellent Enchanted deserves another, and this beauty was a surprise new color that came up when Grass Stain was restocked.  Despite the lack of any swatch photos other than what was on the sale listing, this blue-purple glowing YES meant I could not pass this one up. indoor, bright CF lighting Good call, me! outdoor, overcast daylight Pursuit of Happiness starts with an intensely saturated violet base that when layered with the duochromatic shimmer appears to exactly straddle the base between blue and purple.  Only when I finally removed this (after more than a week!) could I definitively decide it was purple. outdoor, bright direct sunlight In bright, direct light, the shimmer flares into an absolutely electric blue that makes the base by contrast look even darker, producing that spectacular "glowing from within" look that so many polish nerds swoon over. indoor, diffuse lighting from nearby window + incandescent Magically, you do not need ...

An unfortunate happenstance in any indie polish collector's life is to fall for a limited release years after it's come and gone.  When I saw a pic just a few weeks ago of Cirque Martinique, I absolutely swooned... and promptly started searching for similar (possibly attainable) things.  The day after someone suggested Enchanted Polish Grass Stain, that color was restocked. indoor, CF lighting I don't usually go for plain crème polishes, the lack of shimmer or sparkle or shift is just not my usual jam.  THIS polish right here makes me understand all my crème queen pals. window-filtered morning daylight Grass Stain is exactly that - an absolutely organic shade of kelly green that leans very slightly toward yellow.  It has the "squish" and glassy shine of a crelly or jelly polish, but it's completely opaque.  Paint careful, because you know a color like this will cling to your cuticles forever, but it's totally worth it.  outdoor, shady dayli...

I keep finding nail inspiration in lots of unusual places lately.  My super weird work schedule means that I'm in quasi-isolation most of the time, just like everyone else, so I welcome all the help from non-standard sources!  I was recently perusing another blogger's destash and found this beauty, and finally remembered oh wait, I already have that!! indoor, CF lighting Great Lakes Lacquer released Creatures of Night Brought to Light! with last year's August PPU, and it's themed around one of my all-time fave movies, The Last Unicorn. outdoor, bright sunlight This polish is a real chameleon.  The base is an inky dark cool-toned violet, but the duochromatic shimmer is a warm plum wine.  Indoors, most of the time it looked like a smoky amethyst with a brighter central flash. indoor, bright CF lighting With brighter light and any angles, though, the shimmer blazes into metallic copper, and then almost to green.  outdoor, bright sunlight I'm...