Fresh Off The Boat - Enchanted Polish All Love Garden

Enchanted Polish - All Love Garden

Enchanted Polish All Love Garden is an exclusive shade only available on Mei Mei's Signature. All Love Garden is a dark olive green holo. This is two coats topped with HK Girl topcoat.

Enchanted Polish Comparison: Up In Smoke vs. Majestic

Hello! I have been MIA for a long time because I have been busy with my own indie brand. I also got a bit bored with blogging to be honest.

However after some thought, and seeing some of my old swatch pics pinned by others on Pinterest, I am inspired to 'blog' again. This time though, I am going to do things a little differently. I never really enjoy writing up the blog post, so from now on, I will only post swatch photos with minimal description.  I hope you will all still enjoy my photos!

Since I haven't posted for a long while, I am going to bring out the big gun for my returning post. Here is a mani done with Enchanted Polish Up In Smoke and Majestic, can you tell which is which?

Enchanted Polish Majestic and Up In Smoke

For those of you who are EP 'connoisseurs', I am sure you can tell I have Up In Smoke on my ring finger, and Majestic on the rest. Although very similar, UIS is slightly darker with a stronger purple tone, a bit more holo, and does not have the pink/purple microshimmers that Majestic has. If I could only have one, I'd have to pick UIS.

Which one is your favorite?

Goodbye Talia

This mani is dedicated to the passing of the sweet Talia Joy. R.I.P. and thank you for the memories, your inspiration and courage will always be remembered.

(Polishes used for this mani: various Too Fancy Lacquer prototypes)

Enchanted Polish Purple Roses

Enchanted Polish Purple Roses - two coats with top coat

Enchanted Polish Purple Roses is a special polish dedicated to cystic fibrosis awareness and a beautiful friend of Chelsea. A lilac silvery foil under dim light, Purple Roses really shows its true color under bright light! It is simply stunning!

Too Fancy Lacquer is here!

Hello guys! If you are wondering why I've gone MIA in the past month, well that is because I have been busy with preparing the opening of my own polish line, Too Fancy Lacquer!

Too Fancy Lacquer is an indie polish brand that specializes in unique and gorgeous shades. All polishes are handmade myself with 3-free (formaldehyde, toluene and dibutyl phthalate free), and cosmetic grade ingredients.

Please visit Too Fancy Lacquer on FB, where you can keep up with the latest news and updates:

https://www.facebook.com/TooFancyLacquer

You can purchase Too Fancy Lacquer on our Etsy store:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/TooFancyLacquer

Here are some swatches of Too Fancy Lacquer that are currently available in the shop, I hope you will like them as much as I do! 

Aphrodite - a purple linear holo, three thin coats with no top coat

Tell Me A Sea-cret - seaform green linear holo, a personal favorite! Swatch shown with two coats and no top coat

Royal Jeans - denim blue linear holo, two coats with no top coat

Nail Art Sunday

Dotticure Mani with Zoya Kendal and Essie Merino Cool

Hello peeps! Sorry I have been MIA for awhile, but for good reason (more on this later)! Today I bring you a simple dotticure mani I did using Zoya Kendal as the base, and Essie Merino Cool for the dots. Simple yet cute, and very easy to DIY too!

Dotticure Mani with Zoya Kendal and Essie Merino Cool

So I have been making my own polishes and frankening lately! I am mainly creating holographic polishes at this stage, since everybody loves holo! If you would like to see my collection so far, please visit and like my FB page: https://www.facebook.com/TooFancyLacquer. Can't wait to see you there!

KBShimmer Spring Training

KBShimmer Spring Training, two coats with top coat

Today I have another KBShimmer from the Spring Collection for you. Spring Training is a mint green crelly sprinkled with pink, purple, blue, gold and white hex glitters in various sizes. It is such a refreshing color, and it has a hint of floral smell too!

KBShimmer Spring Training

KbShimmer is one of my favorite indie brands, the quality is always exceptional, and the shades are always up my alley. I already have my eyes on a couple from her Summer Collection, have you checked it out yet?

Kbshimmer Spring Training

Frankening Fun: SpectraFlair vs. Diamond Pigment

Today I have an epic post on some of the frankens I made with diamond pigment! What is diamond pigment (DP) you might ask? It is a cosmetic grade holographic pigment which could be an alternative to the now hard to get SpectraFlair (SF). But is it really as good as the real thing?

Diamond Holographic Pigment - 35 microns

So this is what diamond pigment looks like in a bag, looks a lot like SpectraFlair doesn't it? I quickly mixed some up in a clear base and compare it to SF:

Diamond Pigment vs. SpectraFlair

On the left is a tiny scoop of DP in clear base, and on the right we have SF in a clear base. Apologies for the poor photo quality, but you can see although both pigments show strong linear holo effect, the SF bottle has a smoother prismatic effect to it.

Diamond Pigment - one coat

I then applied one coat of the DP base to a purple creme, and am surprised at how pretty the holo looks! Yes, it is more of a scattered holo, but the rainbow effect is still quite vibrant!

Polishes made with Diamond Pigment & SpectraFlair

Here are some polishes that I made with DP. Firstly I created the base color by mixing up some oil based colorants, then I added a tiny scoop of DP to complete the look. A quick tip when you are working with holo pigments or shimmers. Always mix the powder/pigment in a jelly base so it can shine through the polish. If you mix it in a creme/opaque base, you will find you can barely see the holo/shimmer no matter how much you add into the mixture!

I am quite happy how they all turned out, especially the orange, pink, and the reddish grapefruit one. I have also included one that I made with SF into the collage for comparison, can you tell which one looks different? It is the bottom left one, where the holo effect is more linear and smoother.

Bottle shot of polishes made by moi :)

So there you have it, I hope you find this post helpful! Although Diamond Pigment is not a dead set dupe of SpectraFlair, it is a pretty good alternative, especially when it is much cheaper than SF! I got the DP at $8USD per gram, and if I am not mistaken, SF (mixed in clear base) is now being sold at as much as $15-$20USD per gram. Since a little bit of pigment goes a long way, one gram of DP would give you many hours of frankening fun, so it is definitely more cost effective if you are a franken newbie like me!

KBShimmer Iris My Case

KBShimmer Iris My Case - two coats with top coat

KBShimmer Iris My Case from the 2013 Spring Collection, is a soft pastel lilac crelly mixed with white, magenta and blue hex glitters in various sizes. Can you just say gorgeous? Such a perfect shade for spring!
Application is also a breeze, there really isn't anything that I don't love about this polish!

KBShimmer Iris My Case

KBShimmer Iris My Case

Enchanted Polish Love The Way You Lilac

Enchanted Polish Love The Way You Lilac, two coats with top coat

Enchanted Polish Love The Way You Lilac (LTWYL), yet another gorgeous holo from Chelsea. Seriously just take my bank account already, because every single Enchanted Polish is simply to die for!

Enchanted Polish Love The Way You Lilac

Love The Way You Lilac, a soft lilac linear holo, is just breathtaking. Formula is perfect too, two easy coats where the application is a breeze. I am waiting for more Enchanted to arrive, and I can't wait to show you what I've got! I think it's safe to say that Enchanted is now my favorite indie brand!

Enchanted Polish Love The Way You Lilac

Peri My Holo Heart - my first holo creation!

Peri My Holo Heart - my first handmade holo polish, two coats with top coat

Since periwinkle is my favorite polish shade, it is no surprise that the first holo polish I made is a periwinkle/cornflower linear holo. Given it is my first experiment with Spectraflair (SF), this polish is a tad too opaque for the prismatic pigments to really shine through. A handy tip if you want to create a holo polish with Spectraflair; add SF to a jelly color base so that the holo effect is more prominent, and that you won't end up adding (wasting) more SF than required!

Anyway I am quite happy with my first attempt, and apparently one of the girls from a nail polish group on FB is too! She likes it so much she wanted to buy Peri My Holo Heart from me, so I actually have sold my first ever polish! That is such a nice surprise, and totally not expected!

I have since then whipped up more holo polishes, and will be showing them to you very soon! If I could create one holo polish, what color would you like to see the most? Any suggestions are most welcome!

NerdLacquer Harlow Exclusive: Batcave and Scully

NerdLacquer Harlow Exclusive - Batcave, two coats with top coat

NerdLacquer Harlow Exclusive - Batcave

NerdLacquer Harlow Exclusive - Batcave

Today I have the rest of the NerdLacquer Harlow Exclusive Trio for you (you can read about my first post on Han Shot First here). First up is Batcave, described as "a deep charcoal with silver and black microglitter, a hint of cobalt in the base, plus big square black glitter, medium hex royal lase and purple glitter, and medium and micro silver holo", it is definitely as complex and mystical as the description suggests. Love the holographic sparkle the hex gives out amongst a sea of dark glitters, and although Batcave dries on the gritty side, two coats of top coat would give you a glossy, glassy finish.

NerdLacquer Harlow Exclusive - Scully, two coats with top coat

NerdLacquer Harlow Exclusive - Scully

NerdLacquer Harlow Exclusive - Scully

Next is Scully. A peachy-nude with white and silver hex and glitters that come in various sizes and shapes, it also has a lovely blue-violet flash.While I love the blue-violet shimmer, unfortunately Scully hates my skintone. It makes my fingers look dirty, and I think Scully would suit girls with a paler skin color. Nevertheless, it is still gorgeous and quite unique!

So there you have it, the NerdLacquer Harlow Exclusive Trio. Which one is your favorite?

NerdLacquer Harlow Exclusive - Han Shot First

NerdLacquer Harlow Exclusive - Han Shot First, two coats with top coat

I am beyond excited to bring you my very first NerdLacquer! I missed the boat before Amanda went into hiatus, but like many in the polish world, we are totally over the moon when Amanda announced her comeback!

Han Shot First is part of the NerdLacquer trio exclusive to Harlow & Co. Described by Amanda as "a deep dusty teal with giant gold square glitter, medium square turquoise glitter, gold small and micro, smallish holo hex", Han Shot First is incredibly pigmented, where you could easily get away with just one thick coat. The formula is perfect, albeit it dries on the gritty side, so a generous layer of top coat will give you the glossy finish.

I am very impressed with my first Nerd, and although I am not a Star Wars fan, I can definitely appreciate the humor in the polish name! I still have to swatch the remaining polishes from the trio (namely Scully and Batcave), so watch this space!

Purchase Info: The NerdLacquer Harlow Exclusives can be purchased from Harlow & Co. They are currently sold out, but you can get the latest restock information if you follow Harlow & Co on Facebook.

Enchanted Polish Tenderheart over Zoya Miley

Enchanted Polish Tenderheart, one coat over Zoya Miley, two coats

Hello my lovely readers! Today I have another Enchanted Polish for you. Tenderheart, from the Love A Lot Glitter Collection, is a clear base polish packed with shining red hearts, holographic silver diamonds, tiny red hexes and  tiny iridescent silver glitters. This sparkly glitter combination would add a sweet touch to any mani!

The formula of Tenderheart is a little bit on the thick side, and I need to dab and place the hearts onto my nails, but it is still easy enough to work with. On another note, Zoya Miley serves as a perfect undie for many glitter toppers, it is just so versatile and compliments the glitters so well!

Autism Awareness Mani with BSJ #13 Blue Holo

BSJ #13 - two coats with no top coat

April is the month for Autism Awareness, and I have lighted it up with BSJ #13, a dark blue linear holo. I have featured this polish before (see here), but I think it is the perfect polish for this occasion!

My First Attempt at Frankening!

Skittle mani of some frankens made by me

I have finally dabbled into the world of frankening, after getting a bunch of glitters and suspension bases online. It is so much fun! Although I am a newbie and still have much to learn, there are a couple of frankens that I am quite happy with, like the ones on my pointer and middle fingers!

Bottle Shot of my Frankens

Franken Mani

I actually wore the periwinkle one (with the pastel green one as accent) as a full mani, and it last four days without much tipwear or chipping! There is also no sinking or curling of the glitters as yet (after 10 days), but then I'd require more testing before I can declare my creation a success :P

So what do you think of my frankens? I will be making and posting more of them as I get inspired, so watch this space!

HARE Polish Swatches Spam!

I have been MIA for a little while, so to make it up for it, I am going to spam you lot with a few Hare beauties :P

Hare Pegasus - two coats alone with top coat

Pegasus, a soft lilac jelly with various silver glitters, is one of the most popular Hare polishes, and it is easy to see why! It is so delicate and gorgeous!

Hare King of Carat Flowers - two coats alone with top coat

King of Carat Flowers, a light grey jelly packed with gold and lilac square and hex glitters. Hare seriously knows how to make the best glitter jellies!

Hare Golden Years - two coats alone with top coat

Golden Years, a semi-sheer navy blue jelly with gold glitters in various sizes and shapes, has a certain rustic feel to it. I did two coats in the above swatch, but I think I could do three coats to give the mani more depth.

Hare Ancient Affairs - two coats alone with top coat

Ancient Affairs. a grey jelly with vibrant blue shimmers and turquoise micorglitter throughout, is one of my favorites! I just love sparkly, shimmery effect!

Hare Medusa Luminosa - two coats with top coat

Last but not least, we have Medusa Luminosa, a bright purple jelly with gold glass flecks, pink microglitter and glowing blue hexes. I love the fact that most Hare polishes are opaque enough to be worn alone, and Medusa Luminosa is no exception!

So there you have it! Which Hare is your favorite? If I really have to pick one, I'd go with King of Carat Flowers, because it is quite unique to me!