Elevation Polish - Vinson

Hi friends! Finally. Finally I have some Elevation Polish to call my own! 

Technically, my friend Jenne got me my first Elevation, I just don't have it yet. :-)

I ordered this one the next day.

I was on the fence about whether or not to get this one, but I am so glad I did. One thing I have to say, is that Elevation Polish is always so much more fantastic in person than it is in pictures.

Vinson is a dusty lilac metallic polish with a very strong linear holo in it.

I also did a little stamping over the top for this mani.

Vinson is a color that is readily available on the Elevation shop page. The ones that go fast are the Elevation SBPs (Small Batch Prototypes).

Today's post is short and sweet. I'm gonna play around with some alternative stamping options, and see what I can come up with for my next post!

Have a great day!

ELEVATION POLISH

~SHOP~

Happy Birthday to ME!

It is now officially my birthday!

For this special birthday post, I want to share a special polish.

It's no secret that I love Emerald and Ash, and it's also no secret that I am infatuated with blue polish. Today's post is a combo of those

two amazing things.

Blue Corundum is a special edition polish made by Emerald and Ash that you have to keep an eye out for. It has popped up every now and again, and when it's there...you have to nab it!

Blue Corundum is a dark sapphire blue with a strong linear holo to it. This is a two coat stunner. I'm always amazed over and over when I use it. Definitely a favorite!

Get your mitts on it when you can! It is so WORTH IT!

Since it's my birthday, I want one of you to get a gift! 

Emerald and Ash has generously sponsored this giveaway.

One of you lucky ladies (or gents) can enter to win a bottle of:

"Titty Sprinkles" from the Life in Color collection,

and a 7ml bottle of Emerald and Ash cuticle oil in a scent of your choosing!

This contest will run for 24 hours! That is for the duration of my Birthday!

I will notify the winner by email on Wednesday morning!

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Model City Polish - Summer Neons

Are you enjoying summer? It's finally beginning to feel like summer here in Minnesota. When it comes to nail polish, I have seen so much COLOR for the Summer!

Nina over at Model City Polish has created some stunning Summer shades, 3 of which she sent me to swatch and show to all of you!

Today, I have Green Monster, Purple Dragon and Hot Pink Barbie

Green Monster

"Green Monster is a bright green blend with green and gold flakies. This one is a little trickier on nail line coverage so depending on your taste and visibility of nail line, you may try using a base color."

I always get a little nervous when it comes to a light green polish. This one is so bright that it works well, and I really like it! In my pictures I have on three coats of Green Monster and one coat of Seche Vite.

Look at those baby flakies!

Purple Dragon

"Purple Dragon is a bright purple shade with blue and purple flecks. This one applies a little patchy at first but smooths out as coats are added."

I agree with the description...the patchy first coat made me go, "hmmm". As soon as I added two more coats, no problem! The flakie/shimmer in this polish is what gives it its character. I love this one!

Hot Pink Barbie

"Hot Pink Barbie is a crazy bright pink filled with pink and purple flakies"

For a side note about pigment fading, click here.

My lights really don't like to show the cool shimmer that this polish has. In person you can really see the pink and purple undertones.

My macro shows that shimmer really well.

In general I love the vivid colors in these polishes. I think my favorite is Purple Dragon. I liked the way that these applied as well. They didn't leave bald patches or get streaky! If you like bright, these are for you!

These three and numerous other lovely shades are available NOW in the Model City Polish shop!

MODEL CITY POLISH

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Emerald and Ash - Life in Color Collection part 2

I'm back, again! I've got the rest of my pieces from Emerald and Ash's "Life in Color" collection to show you! I can't really say that I've saved the best for last...there is no one "best" in my eyes. All of the colors have been stunning, in my opinion.

I'd like to share with you again, a word about the collection from Emerald and Ash:

"The 14 polishes in Life in Color were created because we absolutely love color and sometimes the colors we wanted to make just didn't fit into a collection. This was our chance to play and make things we've been thinking of for the past year, as well as allowing us to play with different finishes we haven't used before. Seeing as this was our chance to play with color we decided to take this opportunity to give names to the polish that make us laugh while mixing in some that have personal meaning to us.

All of these polishes are highly pigmented, so as always we recommend a good base coat to wear with them."

Zetus Lapetus

"Zetus Lapetus: A lipstick pink shimmer that just screams wear me! We felt that wasn't enough so we tossed in some bright blue micro flakies and a smattering of holo. Sassy, fun and reminiscent of our favorite, always up to something, girl of the 21st century. Depending on your application, 2-3 coats bring this polish to full coverage."

I have to admit...before I got this polish, I didn't know about Zenon. I also didn't know what "Zetus Lapetus" meant. All I knew was that this polish was bitchin' and I couldn't wait to wear it. Turns out, it's just as pretty as I'd hoped it would be. This is one of those colors that EVERYONE can and should wear. 

In my pics I have on two coats of Zetus Lapetus and one coat of Seche Vite.

Elevendy Seven

"Growing up, when I used to ask my Mom about an amount of something, quite often the reply would be that we need "elevendy seven". So maybe we needed elevendy seven of...eggs, or...dogs, or who knows what. It's a term that stuck with me into adulthood and is a fitting name to go on a color that was my mom's favorite (green, that is). A beautiful grass green stain crelly that is filled with yellow shimmer, rainbow flakies and a touch of holo. You might just want to pull off your shoes to run your feet through it. Due to the pigments used, this polish will dry to a stain finish, if you like a glossy look add a topcoat to it to make it shine. Depending on your application, 2-3 coats will bring this polish to full coverage."

I love the tone and shimmer in this green. It truly does remind me of sunny skies and green grass. My skin doesn't always love green, but it loves this one!

In this one, I lit it up a little more so you could see the yellow shimmer and the flakies that are hiding in there!

I have on two coats of Elevendy Seven and one coat of Seche Vite.

Stubble Jumper

"Stubble Jumper: A stunning polish that was created for Courtney over at Swatcher, Polish Ranger, and she was kind enough to let us include it in our collection. Stubble jumper refers to a person or farmer who has to jump over the wheat "stubble" as they walk across the fields. This blue-ish teal crelly is flecked with blue shimmer as well as yellow and green/gold micro-flakies. It is a stunner that gives full coverage in 2-3 coats, depending on your application."

When Ashley and Nate asked me to review their collection, I remembered when I saw this one on Swatcher, Polish Ranger! I thought "I REALLY HOPE STUBBLE JUMPER IS IN THAT BOX!"

Ta DAH!!! This color is lovely, and I am so happy to have it! The texture of this polish is lovely as well.

In my pictures I have on two coats of Stubble Jumper and one coat of Seche Vite.

Titty Sprinkles

"Titty Sprinkles: Based on a recurring joke about everything I own, including my own lady lumps, being covered in a fine dust of glitter, shimmer and sparkle at any given time.  We can now proudly say that shimmer and sparkle has been bottled (no titties have been harmed in the making of this polish)! This is a flakie extravaganza polish that can be full coverage in 2-3 coats or used as a topper. Filled with yellow, bright blue, hot pink and white micro flakies. Once on the nail you will never know what color it really is. Is it silver? Is it blue? Is it light pink? This is a polish that clearly does what it wants.

I love Titty Sprinkles! I love the color, I love the name...I love everything about it. This is a major chameleon polish, but I was able to capture all the colors in this macro that you see here.

I have on three coats of Titty Sprinkles and one coat of Seche Vite.

Emerald and Ash is prepping for a trip to Las Vegas to go to Cosmoprof North America. Their store will remain open while they are away, and upon their return the orders will be filled and shipped.

The "Life in Color" collection will be available this Thursday, July 10th at 9AM MDT. Visit www.emeraldandash.com to get your hands on these and all of the other AMAZING colors.

EMERALD AND ASH

SHOP | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM

Emerald and Ash - Life in Color collection, part 1

I haven't anticipated the arrival of a collection like I did this one in a long time. Emerald and Ash never disappoints,  this collection is absolutely stunning. Once again, I was privileged enough to be asked to swatch and review half of this collection. Here's a word about the collection, straight from Nate and Ashley, of Emerald and Ash.

"The 14 polishes in Life in Color were created because we absolutely love color and sometimes the colors we wanted to make just didn't fit into collection. This was our chance to play and make things we've been thinking of for the past year, as well as allowing us to play with different finishes we haven't used before. Seeing as this was our chance to play with color, we decided to take this opportunity to give names to the polish that make us laugh while mixing in some that have personal meaning to us.

All of these polishes are highly pigmented, so as always we recommend a good base coat to wear with them."

I literally squealed in delight when I opened the box with all of these colors in it. I am going to show you 3 colors today, and the rest on Wednesday!

Bees?

"Bees?: No confusion here, this is a neon yellow with a little something different. In the sun you will be greeted with a smattering of holo, while inside you will get a flash of purple shimmer and flecks. Due to the nature of neon pigments this will dry to a semi-matte look. Leave it as is or gloss it up with a top coat, your choice! Also, due to the finicky nature of neon yellows, you may find that you want to wear a base coat of white under it. This will hide visible nail lines as well as making the neon yellow pop even more! On its own you can get to a nice coverage and two coats with visible nail line going away at three coats."

In my pictures I have on two coats of white, two coats of Bees? and one coat of Seche Vite. I feel like my white is a little on the thick side...so you may see Bees? 2.0 from me once I get that white base figured out. I wore this color to an outdoor event on Saturday, and at dusk, my nails were ULTRA bright! I mean, aggressively bright. I got a lot of compliments because they were so eye catching!

Here's a close up of the bottle, so you can see the shimmer. I had a hard time capturing in on my camera.

Water Bay

"Water bay: This name invokes memories of our first trip together down to St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. We figured why not name it after the breathtaking bay we stayed on. Laughter then ensued when we realized that we stayed on the most lazily named bay ever. Water Bay. Whatever, it still works. Water Bay is a pool blue foil that has a pop of holo in it that's just waiting for the sun. Much like the way that the tropical waters shimmered as the sun hit it. Full coverage in two coats."

I think that if I had to pick a favorite shade of blue...and you know that I love blue, this would be it. It's not straight blue, but not turquoise. I had a LOT of compliments on my nails when I wore this. I was out and about for 4th of July celebrations, and it definitely got attention! 

In my pictures I have on two coats of Water Bay and one coat of Seche Vite.

Thunderfuck

"Thunderfuck: A name that came to us thanks to a friend pointing out that she was recommended some interesting "similar" pages, having nothing to do with us, due to her liking our Emerald and Ash page on FB.We just couldn't pass on making a polish with one of the names that had popped up. This is a crazy cool polish that has a touch of silver pigment and a whole lotta gunmetal and midnight rainbow flakies. That wasn't enough for us because then we added in a smattering of holo and neon purple flakies. A full-coverage, in two coats, polish that will smack you in the face with its awesomeness."

This polish has a character all its own! It has such a unique quality to it, that the camera just can't seem to capture! The name, in my opinion is hilarious and will be available in a censored and uncensored bottle.
This color really will smack you in the face with its awesomeness!

One thing to note about this color is that it takes a little getting used to, when applying. It's a full coverage flakie, so it has a tendency to be fickle when you apply it. Have no fear, its wonderful and will amaze you when you are wearing it!

In my pictures I have on two coats of Thunderfuck and one coat of Seche Vite.

Also, included in my package was a bottle of E&A's nail oil scent of the month, Fresh Cut Grass. It's a soft, perfumey take on the scent that fills the air when you're mowing the lawn. I love it, just as much as all of my other nail oils! 

So?? What do you think? This collection is so diverse. It literally has something for everyone. Since I received half, I'm already plotting and planning my shopping for the release date!

Emerald and Ash is prepping for a trip to Las Vegas to go to Cosmoprof North America. Their store will remain open while they are away, and upon their return the orders will be filled and shipped.

The "Life in Color" collection will be available this Thursday, July 10th at 9AM MDT. Visit www.emeraldandash.com to get your hands on these and all of the other AMAZING colors.

EMERALD AND ASH

SHOP | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM

Time for 4th of July manis!!

Have you decided how you'll be wearing your nails for the 4th of July? 

I still haven't completely decided, so today I am wearing a different look on each hand to see which I like better! Wanna see??

Red, silver and blue double ruffian

I used OPI liquid sand to create this cool double ruffian. The colors I used are "The Impossible" (red), "It's frosty outside" (silver) and "Kiss me at midnight" (Blue). I know that textured polish isn't really a big deal anymore, but every time I use one...I love them all over again!

Red, White and Blue "Crelly Sandwich"

Adorable, right? This one makes me think of star shaped sugar cookies or 4th of July cupcakes!

The colors I used for this look are Emerald and Ash "Mie Scattering" and Northern Star Polish "Red, White and Bright". This is how I layered the polishes:

I love a cute crelly sandwich! So, which do you like better?!? I may just leave a different mani on each hand, since I can't make up my mind!

Whatever you're up to this weekend, have a happy and SAFE 4th of July!

Emerald and Ash

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Northern Star Polish

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