April 30, 2014

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Dogwood Swatches & Review

Disclaimer:  This product was offered at a reduced price or at no charge to manicuremanifesto.com in exchange for published reviews.  All reviews are fair, honest and reflect my personal opinion.

Hello readers,
Today I have one of the polishes from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers spring collection to show you.  Unfortunately we've had a complete lack of sun this week in Southwestern Ontario so I had to fight to get half decent pictures of this polish.


Dogwood has a white crelly base with silvery blue shimmer and flakes.  In some lights a bit of pink shimmer appears as well.  I found the formula on this one a bit thick which made it kind of difficult to work with.  It did dry quite quickly though despite this.  I used three coats but if you're not too picky about a hint of nail line showing through you could definitely get away with two.  Pictures show three coats of dogwood with CND Super Shiney top coat in natural overcast lighting.



Since mother nature was not being cooperative with my lighting requests this week I also took some pictures under LED lighting to give you a better look at the shimmer in this polish.  It's not quite as pronounced on the nail as in the bottle but it's definitely there.



I think this polish definitely has potential.  I'm going to add a bit of thinner before using it again which should make it much easier to work with and I think might make the shimmer show through a little more too.  You can find Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer at


Stay tuned later this week for Peruvian Lily, another shimmery crelly from this collection.  Hopefully the sun will come out so I don't have to fight to get photos.

Happy polishing,

Michelle

April 28, 2014

The Lacquer Legion April Challenge: Glam

Hello readers,
Today I have another creation inspired by The Lacquer Legion's monthly challenge.  This month's theme was 'glam' and I will admit that I had a way easier time this month coming up with an idea than I did last month.  When I think of glam I think of long evening gowns and rich, fancy fabrics.  This led me to create the look of a floral brocade on my nails.


I used 3 coats Layla Ceramic Effect 52 stamped with Chine Glaze Gossip Over Gimlets using Pueen plate 55.  I added one coat CND super shiney to seal everything up.  Photos show this combo in natural lighting.




I am super happy with how this design turned out.  In certain lighting the flakies from the polish shine through and in others the stamping on top is what is most predominant.  Overall it definitely looks rich and glamorous.  I'm keeping this mani on until it chips.

Happy polishing,

- Michelle

April 26, 2014

Zoya Odette and Finger Paints Vivid Reflection Swatches & Review

Hello readers,
When I saw this polish combo on the Model City Polish blog a couple weeks ago I knew I had to give a try myself.  Softer pastels seem to be the perfect base to bring out the colours in the most recent Finger Paints flakies collection.


Zoya Odette is a soft medium purple and is the prefect match for the purple and orange flakies of Vivid Reflection.  The formulas on both were great.  I found the flakies show up the best in more shaded lighting but are still pretty in direct sunlight too.  Photos show three coats of Odette with one coat of Vivid Reflection topped with HK Girl in natural lighting.




I love this combo and am definitely going to have to try similar pairings for the rest of the FP flakies I bought.  Their toned down colours are definitely growing on me.

Happy polishing,

- Michelle

April 23, 2014

WingDust Collections These Broken Wings Swatches & Review

Hello readers,
When WingDust Collections recently offered a pre-order for These Broken Wings I couldn't resist.  I had already seen swatches and fallen in love.  With the restock crazyness taken out of the equation my willpower didn't stand a chance.  I also love supporting a fellow Canadian brand.


These Broken Wings has a super shimmery periwinkle blue base with a soft holo sheen as well as iridescent and 12kt white gold leaf.  That's right, there is real gold in this polish.  The forPmula was great.  The only thing you need to be a little careful about is the gold leaf flakes.  Be gentle when you brush them on because they can still break apart into smaller pieces.  Photos show three coats of These Broken Wings with one coat of HK Girl top coat in natural lighting.




It's official.  I am in love with this polish.  It's so soft and shimmery and delicate.  I also bought it's darker compatriot, Steel Town Girl, which also features gold leaf.  I'm going to have to try that one very soon.  You can find WingDust Collections at:


Stephanie is currently in the process of creating her next collection.  I can't wait to see what she comes up with.

Happy polishing,

- Michelle

April 22, 2014

Finger Paints Shredded Chromes Comparison

Hello readers,
Today I have three of the Finger Paints Shredded Chromes collection to show you.  I was really drawn to this collection when I saw them at Sally's (and it didn't help that they had B2G1 free this month :P)


The three I like most were Stargazing Lilac, Gilded Chrome and Crystalline Crush.  Even as I bought them I knew I probably didn't need both Gilded Chrome and Crystalline Crush, but hey, the third was free. I swatched all three together so you can decided whether you need to add all of these to your collection.  Photos show two coats of each polish with one coat of Seche Vite in natural lighting.





My favorite of the three is definitely Stargazing Lilac.  I really love how the darker purple glitters pop against the lighter shimmer.  Gilded Chrome and Crystalline Crush turned out to look very similar on the nail.  Crystalline Crush is just slightly pinker while Gilded Chrome leans a little more gold.  I don't think you need to get both of these though as they were hard to tell apart unless I looked very closely.  My personal choice out of the two is Crystalline Crush.  Also, I'm not sure if these were intended to be textured polishes, but they definitely turned out that way.  Even after a thick coat of Seche they were still noticeably gritty.  They still looked very pretty though and if you really wanted a smooth finish it would just require more than one layer of top coat.  Overall I think this collection is really pretty but I think you just need to pick up the two or three that speak most to you rather than the whole thing.

Happy polishing,

- Michelle

April 21, 2014

Lucky 13 Lacquer Iced Blueberries Swatches & Review

Hello readers!
Today I have a Lucky 13 Lacquer simple custom which is perfect for spring and Easter.  The speckled effect reminds me of my favorite Easter candy, Cadbury mini eggs. Nom nom nom!


Iced Blueberries features the white crelly base from Rising moon with the purple glitters from Fool Of A Took.  Kyoti warned be that the base on this one might be a little sheer, but I don't think she knew what she was talking about since the pictures below show only two coats!  The formula was great and really easy to apply.  The glitters spread out evenly without any extra effort from me.  Pictures show two coats of Iced Blueberries with one coat of HK Girl top coat in natural lighting.




After a day of wearing it on its own, I decided I wanted a little more sparkle.  I added one coat of OPI Pirouette My Whistle and another coat of HK Girl to seal everything up.  The pictures below were taken in natural lighting.


This polish is the perfect spring colour.  The formula was amazing and so easy to apply to get the perfect speckled look.  I think this has actually turned out to be one of my favorite L13L's. You can find Lucky 13 Lacquer at


 Happy polishing!

- Michelle
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