Fox And Owl Polish Swatch and Review Installment 1

Greetings and Nailutations!

*Press Sample*
I have a special treat today (well actually for the next 3 blogs).  For the next 3 blog posts, I will be going through Fox And Owl Polishes.  Fox And Owl Polish is handmade polish out of Melbourne Australia.  Now let's get to some swatches!

USE CODE: BEGINNAILS15 to get 15% off order $20+(in AUD) valid thru May 31st.

First up is Sirene, which is a pastel glitter topper that is perfect for spring.  It contains light pink large circles and two sizes of hexes as well as light turquoise-mint medium and large size circles, silver hexes, stars AND micro iridescent glitter!  Photos below show 1 coat over a pink and mint colored undie with a shiny topcoat.  The best thing is that there was zero glitter fishing and this was using mini bottles.

Next is Purrrr, which is part of the Pastel Collection.  Purr is a light pink glitter crelly containing three sizes of circle glitters with a turquoise-mint palette and light grey colored stars.  I love a colorful glitter crelly.  Photos show 2 coats and shiny topcoat.

Pretty Kitty is also part of the Pastel Collection and is a white glitter crelly.  Pretty Kitty is full of lavender and light pink circle and hex glitters.  This delicate polish is shown in photos with 2 coats and a shiny topcoat.

Next is Starship, which is a glitter topper full of  iridescent micro glitter, black, lavender, purple, neon pink hexes in several sizes, silver shards and neon pink stars.  This vibrant, exciting glitter topper is shown below with 2 coats over a lavender undie and a shiny topcoat.  I experienced no glitter fishing because the mini bottle was packed full of glitter.

Lastly is Wowza and literally…it is WOW!  A purple glitter jelly containing lavender, silver hexes and light lavender hearts and iridescent glitter.  Photos show 2 coats with shiny topcoat and also with matte topcoat.

Loves: All Fox And Owl Polishes are 5 free, so they do not contain 5 of the nasty chemicals that can be found in polish.  I love that they are all pretty and girly, yet fun and edgy with a surprise in them - I was surprised to find stars and hearts in them.  Another added plus is that there was zero glitter fishing in any of these polishes.  I grabbed 5 random polishes and it is great to see an indie maker that can successfully make quality crellies, jellies AND glitter toppers.  Formulas were great and easy to work with on all.

Wishes: I loved the the color combinations, but I wish the stars in Purr and the hearts in Wowza were a bolder color so they pop a little more - I love to see the presence of a large glitter shape.

Fox And Owl Polish can be bought on Etsy and make sure to follow on instagram (@foxandowlpolish) and Facebook for release dates, photos and sales.  They do ship within Australia and to the U.S.

What is your favorite?

Happy Polishing,
Kristi aka @beginnails

April A Box, Indied Review and Swatches

Greetings and Nailutations,

This month's A Box, Indied from Llarowe is themed "Rainbow" and is called "Every Color Indie Rainbow."  Get it??  Haha, I read it and it made me chortle.  This month includes a polish from Colors by Llarowe, Different Dimension, Dollish Polish, Girly Bits and Jindie.  The great part is that they are all holos!  They sparkle like a rainbow in the light (non-filtered light…).  I have photos taken in my light box (filtered light) and under my kitchen light. Also, just a warning….I apologize that the box is sold out, so you can't go purchase them.

Now let's get to some swatches!

First is Courage, Brains, Heart from Colors by Llarowe.  This bright magenta holo was so stunning under the light that is almost hurt my eyes!  Is that possible?  Yes!  The camera phone had a hard time focusing at times!  Formula was great, it was a one coater, but I did 2 and added a shiny topcoat.

Next up is The Lovers, The Dreamers and Me from Different Dimension, which is a royal blue holo.  The formula was wonderful and this polish could be a 1 coater, but I did 2 and a shiny top coat.

The third polish is from Dollish Polish called Twist of Lime.  Twist of Lime is a vibrant green holo.  It is a subtle holo compared to the 2 above.  This has 2 coats and a shiny topcoat.  There seemed to be some pigment clumps, which were a darker green that did not dissolve and shaking did not mix them.  The photos captured one on my ring finger (sorry).  I have tried other Dollish Polishes, which have been great, so I this has been a one time issue I have experienced.

Next is Girly Bits' Perry-twinkle.  This polish is a silver grey blue holo.  This stunner also had strong holo sparkle.  Photos show 2 coats and a topcoat and the formula was great.

Lastly is Blue & Green's Love Child from Jindie Nails.  WOAH!  When I went out to the light, that was my thought…WOAH!  A teal holo that sparkles in every direction!  This was a 1 coater, but photo shows 2 coats and shiny top coat.

Loves: um…hello, it was a box of holos!  Very pleased with the polishes this week.  Thank you thank you Llarowe!

Wishes: Only thing that needed some TLC was the pigment mixing in Twist of Lime.

Happy Polishing,
Kristi aka @beginnails

March Indie-Go Box Swatch and Review

Greetings and Nailutations,

I must admit, I am a sucker for subscription boxes.  Anytime a few indies join in shananigens to create some sort of limited edition exclusive polish for a box….I'm sold.  Some may say it's a weakness, but I consider it a super power.

The March box contains a polish from Ethereal Lacquer, Stardust Polish, Literary Lacquers and guest indie maker Pipe Dream Polish.  They can be purchased for a limited time (limited quantity) from Ethereal Lacquer at the end of the previous month.

First up is the guest polish from Pipe Dream Polish called Lagune Enchantee.  It is a delicious blue jelly almost verging on crelly with several sizes of blue, turquoise glitters as well as green squares.  This polish is gorgeous.  Photos show 2 coats with a shiny top coat.

Next is Literary Lacquers Invariably Fatal, a dark grey holo.  In the light (not the light box) it sparkled like a full moon hitting a rippling lake.  Formula was amazing and easy to work with.  Photos show 2 coats with a shiny topcoat.

Third polish is Stardust Polish.  This polish surprised me.  I applied Madame De Pompadour and it looked like a light pink and I thought…hmmm, I've seen pinks before, what makes this one so special? When I hit the light - this little stunner glimmered.  I ended up wearing this polish for 2 days (very unnatural for me as a polish addict).  Photos show 2 coats with shiny topcoat.

The last polish is Claire de Lune from Ethereal Lacquers, which is a grey holo polish with iridescent glitters infused in it.  It is very sheer, so photos show 3 coats to get total opacity with shiny top coat..  The mint green studs are from Born Pretty Store.  (Item ID: 12408 option 3).  You can use code DGJ61 to get 10% off, but please be aware that items are shipping from Hong Kong, so depending on where live it may take 2-5 weeks to get products.

Loves: my first Literary Lacquers surpassed expectations and met all the good reviews I had seen on this brand.  All colors were very different and the names were cohesive.  Formulas were easy to work with and application was a breeze.

Wishes: I wouldn't change a thing!  I already ordered April's Indie-Go Box!

Happy Polishing,
Kristi aka @beginnails