Silly Bee's Chickadees Grasshopper Pie Swatch and Review

Greetings and Nailutations,

*Press Sample*
Today I have a post that is long overdue.  You know when you put something in a "safe" place and you can't find it....yah, that is basically what happened along with moving from the master bathroom into my own "mani-cave" this polish went missing.  I'd been looking for it for a while and as I was going through all my indies - it appeared!  I heard harps and it shimmered in the light!

This fun (and delicious) polish is called Grasshopper Pie and is from Silly Bee's Chickadees.  As I started swatching it, images of mint and chocolate pie entered my mind and I got hungry.  This polish was absolute perfection.  Grasshopper Pie is a light green creme with black shards.

The formula was creamy and smooth and went on like butter!  The photos show 2 coats with shiny topcoat.  The other thing I noticed is that typically these bottle shapes makes polish with glitter difficult to work with because the glitter gets stuck to the sides of the bottle, but for Grasshopper Pie, the glitter was distributed evenly throughout the bottle.  That speaks volumes about the formula as well.

This is my first Silly Bee's Chickadees and I was not disappointed!

Loves: formula, formula, formula!  Need I say more?  Great concept for a polish, creative and fun.  Another added plus is that Silly Bee's Chickadees is 3-free so it doesn't contain 3 of the nasties that can be found in mainstream polish.

Wishes: I wish I had a Grasshopper Pie to eat now!  :)  I wouldn't change anything.  This polish was so much fun!

Information
Silly Bee's Chickadees STORE
Facebook site
Instagram: @sillybeeschickadees

Happy Polishing,
Kristi aka @beginnails

Beginnails' Sunday Six Week 25

Greetings and Nailutations,

Another week down with nail art!  Woo hoo!  The following are my 6 favorite manis of the week with nail art.

The first is a comparison I was doing with 3 different Drip Drop Nail Paint greens.  I used Melon Ballin' as the base and the lighter shade is So Chill and the darker green is Sparkling Shamrocks.  I added a pink bow!

This next mani I did for the theme of "fashion."  I went through a magazine and found a cute summer outfit, that was both simple and fun.

The Hello Kitty nails are for a nail art contest hosted by Heather's Hues (@heathers_hues on instagram).  She will soon be releasing a Sanrio themed collection.  I was inspired by her pink and black announcement post!  Contest ends June 1st, so there is still time to enter.

Next, I used Very Berry from Kitty Polish as a base and added flowers.  

The Splash Flower technique is so easy and looks amazing.  I did these for another nail art contest raising awareness for Lupus, Fibromyalgia and Scleroderma.  The contest is hosted by @amylovesnewwave and @joycelynn_ann.  Give them a follow!

This last mani was for a theme of triangles.  I just threw this on...sometimes when you don't think ahead of time, things turn out ok.

That's it for the Sunday Six - my six favorite manis of the week with nail art!  Which one is your favorite?

Happy Polishing,
Kristi aka @beginnails

April Glitter Box Swatch and Review

Greetings and Nailutations,

Today I'm reviewing The Glitter Box from April.  The Glitter Box is a monthly box with exclusive polishes from The Juice Box Lacquer, Kawaii Lacquer, Fat Lacquers and a guest indie.  April's box was a little different in that Fat Lacquers was out on maternity leave, so it only contained 3 polishes, but at a discounted price.  I jumped on that - because I am a thrifty shopper.

Let's get to some swatches!

First up is a polish from Kawaii Lacquers called Cloudy With A Chance Of Nimbus.  It is a very sheer blue-purple holo glitter polish.  I opted to use it as a topcoat over black and white.  Other photos with no undie needed roughly 3 coats to get complete opacity.  Photos show 2 coats over white/black with a shiny topcoat.

Next is Flower Child from Lavish Polish.  Flower Child is a lavender glitter crelly containing circles and hexes in a multitude of colors.  Loved this one!  Photos show 2 coats with shiny topcoat.

Lastly is Candy On A Cloudy Day from The Juice Box Lacquer.  It is a grey jelly with neon yellow, pink and black small and medium hexes and large neon pink, green, yellow and blue hexes and black circles and rectangles.  I loved the concept of this polish, but it required a lot of glitter fishing with a bamboo stick as all the larger glitters were stuck at the bottom (even after being left upside down for an entire day).  I show it below with 2 coats and both shiny and matte topcoat.

Loves: I loved that this box had very original, different and fun polish.  The price is also reduced on pre-ordering as well, which is nice.

Wishes: I wish I would have remembered previous months glitter boxes - some of the months looked very appealing.

If you would like to check out The Glitter Box head to the store (here) or their instagram (@theglitterboxpolish) to hear when new boxes are released.

Happy Polishing,
Kristi aka @beginnails

Love, Angeline's Rainforest of the Sea Collection Swatches and Review Part 2

Greetings and Nailutations,

Today I have the second half of the Rainforest of the Sea Collection from Love, Angeline.  I loved the colors and different textures of the first half and that continues with the second half!

Let's get to some swatches!

First up is Lunar Love, which is a light pink jelly with teal shimmer and iridescent glitter.  This polish is soft, feminine and beautiful.  Formula applied easily and I added a bow charm.  Perfect work appropriate color with a little bit of fun with the glitters.  Photos show 2 coats with shiny topcoat.  This polish would also work perfect with a french mani.

Next is Sinking Flora, my favorite of these 5.  Sinking Flora is a turquoise scattered holo.  It is gorgeous and applied easily.  I added a little fimo flower.  Photos show 2 coats with shiny topcoat.

Shallow Waters is a blue glitter jelly.  It contains several colors of hexes, circles and squares in a few sizes.  It looks like underwater sea life swimming in the blue ocean.  The glitter sparkles in the light and I caught a photo of it.  Photos show 2 coats with no glitter fishing with shiny topcoat.

Next is Marine Life which is a micro glitter polish with super fine glitters that sparkle in the light.  I loved this in the bottle, but application was very difficult.  With just 1 coat (shown in photos) it was completely opaque, but very hard to apply - the glitters stuck together like....wet sand (that is the best way to describe it).  If you are willing to put up a good fight in application, the pay off in the beauty of sparkly nails is worth it.  Photos show shiny topcoat over 1 coat.

Lastly is Operation Sun, a yellow jelly with subtle holo and iridescent glitters.  Photos show it quite a bit brighter than it truly is.  In real life it is softer in color.  Photos show 2 coats with shiny topcoat.

Loves: Fun theme, bright colors, different textures (jelly, micro glitter, holo) create a unique and interesting collection that will have a polish or 2 (or 10!) appeal to everyone.

Wishes: I wish I could tame the beast of Marine Life - it truly is so beautiful.


Information:
Love, Angeline
Facebook
Instagram: @loveangelinepolish

Happy Polishing,
Kristi aka @beginnails

Love, Angeline's Rainforest of the Sea Collection Swatches and Review Part 1

Greetings and Nailutations,

Today I have half of the Love, Angeline Rainforest of the Sea Collection.  There is a total of 10 polishes, so only 5 will be shared today and another five at a later date.  When I heard the collection name I thought of bright brilliant colors and that is exactly what this collection contains.

Let's get to some swatches!

First up is Sea Urchin, a purple-blue glitter jelly.  The jelly contains green, magenta, blue and lavender circles as well as turquoise hexes in 2 sizes.  The jelly was a bit sheer and in the minis the glitters required fishing.  Photos show 2 coats with both a shiny and matte topcoat.

Next is Coralline, a micro glitter bomb.  Neon pink and and yellow micro glitters are packed into this polish.  I loved the look of these micro glitter bombs and 2 generous coats provided complete opacity.  Photos show 2 coats over a yellow undie and shiny topcoat.

Spawning Sponge is next, a glitter topper containing neon green, blue and white hexes in 2 sizes.  The color combination is great, my only struggle was the desperate glitter fishing that had to be done, which is why the photos below show a glitter gradient (my patience was wearing thin).  Photos show glitter placed individually (yes, practically each piece) over a light pink (Pink Ferrari from Drip Drop Nail Paint) undie.

Titallating Tentacles is another glitter topper.  Titallating Tentacles contains red circles and small hexes as well as blue hexes in 2 sizes.  This glitter topper had slight glitter fishing and photos show 2 coats over a mint undie and shiny topcoat.

Lastly is Plankton, another micro glitter bomb.  This was my favorite of the 5 in this blog.  The effect of the neon blue and green micro glitter in the polish is amazing.  Photos show 2 coats over a light pink, however Plankton is opaque in 2 generous coats and a shiny topcoat.

 Loves: Fun theme, bright colors, different textures (micro glitter bomb, glitter topper and glitter jelly) are some of the things I love.  I am always a Love, Angeline fan.

Wishes: I wish there was more glitter in the glitter toppers so that there was less fishing for glitter.

Information:
Love, Angeline
Facebook
Instagram: @loveangelinepolish

Happy Polishing,
Kristi aka @beginnails

Beginnails' Sunday Six Week 24

Greetings and Nailutations,

Another week full of nail art!  These are my favorite 6 manis of the week using nail art.

First nails are showing my interpretation of Aztec nails.  I used nail art pens to draw the designs.  Base is Polishaus Mustard Yellow.

Next is my absolute favorite!  This is for a contest where I used purple, teal and butterfly to bring awareness to Lupus, Fibromyalgia, and Scleroderma.  I used Drip Drop Nail Pain Skin Deep, a Ciate purple and a Ciate mint.

Fun is the theme for this mani.  I enjoy gardening, so I went with flowers.  I used Kitty Polish Nude Beach as the base and MoYou Princess Collection 09 plate for the flowers.

Using Black Luna Lacquer Rapunzel as a base, I stamped a bunny and drew grass.  This was for the theme of song, so I thought of Little Bunny Foo Foo song.  I used MoYou Princess Plate 09.

Next is a simple and sweet one.  Who doesn't love polk-a-dots?  I used Drip Drop Nail Paint's Skin Deep.

Lastly I have a double water marble.  I was attempting to make a sunset in the ocean.  I like the concept, but I'd like to retry with more colors to show the blue water more.

Hope you enjoyed the nail art!
Happy Polishing,
Kristi aka @beginnails

Kitty Polish Swatch and Review

Greetings and Nailutations!

*Press Sample*
Along with the Beach Bum Collection from Kitty Polish, I was also sent 4 other polishes Chelsey carries (or soon will carry in the case of Brilliant Sunset) in her store.

Now let's get to some swatches!

First up is Brilliant Sunset, a very special polish.  All profits will be used to help a friend of Chelsey's who suffered a stroke at the beginning of the year.  Proceeds will help cover medical bills and recovery.  Brilliant Sunset is a red-orange jelly with holo sparkles in just the right light.  Photos show 2 coats with shiny scented topcoat from Kitty Polish.

Next is 24, a gorgeous gold glitter bomb.  Gold micro glitter, gold small hexes and gold holo hexes all come together to create 24.  It sparkles and dances in the light.  Photos show 2 coats over a nude base coat with shiny scented topcoat from Kitty Polish.

Prom Date is next.  Prom Date is a feminine pretty glitter topper.  It contains pink and iridescent hexes in 2 different sizes.  I chose to place it over a lavender undie.  Photos shows 2 coats with shiny scented topcoat from Kitty Polish.

Lastly is Very Berry, a deep pink jelly with a subtle holo.  This color is absolutely stunning.  Photos show 2 coats with shiny scented topcoat from Kitty Polish.

Loves: As always, Kitty Polish is perfectly formulated to make application a breeze.  All polishes are 5-free, except Brilliant Sunset, which is 3-free.  I also love to see small companies doing something nice to give back - which Brilliant Sunset is a sweet gesture of kindness.

Wishes: I can't say I would wish anything be different.  I have always been pleased with Kitty Polishes, from the outside of the bottle with the adorable labels to the inside polish.

Information:
Store: Kitty Polish
Facebook
Instagram: @kitty_polish

FYI:  Any purchases in May (and if you like Kitty Polish Facbeook) are entered into a giveaway to win a polish of choice.

Happy Polishing,
Kristi aka @beginnails