May 31, 2013

Ruby White Tips - My Overall Thoughts and Impressions

Disclaimer:  These polishes were 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.  


Over the last couple of weeks I've been swatching and reviewing eight polishes I received from Ruby White Tips.  Full reviews can be found in the following posts.

Part One - B.B. Kiddo and Capricorn
Part Two - The Polish With No Name and KickAss Topcoat
Part Three - The Sword
Part Four - Gracelyn, O.M.G...I...Die and Mermaid Dreams

All of the polishes I received were good quality and I really like six out of eight of them.  The two that I didn't like were The Polish With No Name and the KickAss Topcoat.  There was nothing wrong with the polishes themselves but the polishes I received were different from those portrayed in the listings.  For more details on the differences see Part Two.  When I raised my concerns with Ruby White Tips they didn't seem to be taken seriously.  I've also conferred with some other polish addicted friends and they agree that the polishes I received are significantly different from the ones shown in the listings. 

I was also accidentally sent the wrong polish for O.M.G...I...die.  For more details on this see Part FourI understand that mistakes happen but it's the effort that is made to fix those mistakes that really count.  I also have no problem providing photos to back up my claim.  My issue is that when I first pointed out the inconsistencies between the polish I had received and the polish I had ordered I was told that I had received the correct polish and it had always contained the pink glitter.  I would have been quite happy with a response asking to see a picture of the polish I had received but instead I had to take that initiative myself, force my point and it turns out I was right.  If a customer is concerned with an order you need to follow up with them.

Though I really liked a lot of the polishes I received I think that the customer service at Ruby White Tips needs to be stepped up a notch.  If I were going to order a polish at full price I would do a lot of research, check blog reviews and look for swatches first.  My personal favorites were O.M.G...I...Die and Mermaid Dreams.  Hopefully my swatches will help you decide whether there's a polish from Ruby White Tips that you want to add to your collection.


Spring Swatch Spectacular: Ruby White Tips Part Four

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

Today I have the final three polishes that I received from Ruby White Tips to show you and then my overall impressions of this indie brand.  First up is Gracelyn from the Customs Collection.  Gracelyn is packed with tiny purple flakes.  The listing says this polish is pink, but in my opinion it falls in the purple category.  No problem with that though as it's somewhere on the border between the two colours.



I did three coats of this polish but it was still a bit sheer and my nail line was still visible.  It's beautiful on it's own but due the number of coats it would take to become opaque I think it would work best as a topper over an opaque base colour.  On the other hand, if you're going for a more subtle sheer manicure a coat or two of this would be a great option.  The pictures show three coats of gracelyn with one coat of CND Super Shiny top coat in natural sunlight.



Next up is the Rachel Zoe inspired O.M.G...I...Die.  This polish is described as being made with round teal, square orange iridescent, and micro holo sparkles in a jelly base.  The first bottle I got didn't look the part though.  It had the correct raspberry coloured jelly base but had three sizes of pink round glitter, very few orange squares and no silver microglitter.  

Mislabeled Incorrect Polish


I contacted Ruby White Tips and described the polish I had received and was told that O.M.G...I...Die has always had pink round glitter and that she couldn't guarantee that everyone's polish will look the same on each and every person.  This bugged me.  I knew my polish was significantly different.  I responded with a swatch of the polish I received and links to reviews from other bloggers and pointed out the differences between O.M.G....I....Die and the polish I had received.  It turns out that she had accidentally sent me a custom polish that she had made for a customer who wanted the same base as O.M.G...I...Die but with different glitter.  

Replacement polish - Correctly labeled O.M.G...I...Die

 The correct polish got sent to me free of charge and I'm much happier with this one.  It's one of my favorites out of all the polishes I ordered from Ruby White Tips.  The formula was easy to work with despite being packed with glitter.  I did three coats to add some extra depth but it was opaque after two.  The following pictures show three coats of O.M.G...I...Die with one coat of CND Super Shiney top coat in natural sunlight.



The final polish I want to show you is Mermaid Dreams.  It's a tie between this and O.M.G...I...Die for which is my favorite.  Mermaid Dreams is a shimmery teal with micro silver and blue glitter as well as larger gold hex glitter.



I absolutely love it. The formula was really easy to apply smoothly and it dries with a satin finish.  The pictures below show two coats of Mermaid Dreams with one coat of CND Super Shiney top coat in natural sunlight.



If you like any of these polishes and want to get a bottle of your very own check out the Ruby White Tips Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/RubyWhiteTips.  You should also check out the Batworld Sanctuary Collection.  Half of all proceeds from these polishes will go towards batworld.org to help wayward bats.  While you're there take a look at Billy's Blue.  Half of the proceeds from this polish will go towards Autism Speaks.  Stay tuned for my overall thoughts on this indie brand in the next post!

Zoya Feifei Swatch

I've been wearing a lot of indies lately but when I was preparing to go on a five day trip and needed a polish that I knew would last.  Trusty Zoya to the rescue!  I love Feifei.  Overall it looks like a shimmery grey-blue but in different lighting it changes its personality.  In indoor lighting I got hints of green and gold and in outdoor lighting the shimmer has great depth.  The pictures below show two coats of Zoya Feifei with one coat of CND Super Shiney top coat in natural sunlight.


May 23, 2013

Spring Swatch Spectacular: Ruby White Tips Part Three

Disclaimer:  These polishes were 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.    


The next polish I have for you from Ruby White Tips is The Sword from The Kill Bill Collection.  This polish is a pearly colour shifting polish with a silver holographic glitter sprinkled through out.  In sunlight it shifts from purple to a light gold.  In some indoor light I noticed a slight green tinge to the gold. 


All of the pictures show three coats of The Sword in natural sunlight.  I didn't use a top coat because the polish dried perfectly smooth on its own.  The holographic glitter may make it look a little rough in the pictures but I assure you this is an illusion.  After three coats you could still see the nail line a bit but only at certain angles.  When the light was hitting it directly and the purple colour was more pronounced the polish appeared opaque.



The formula on this polish was great and it was a breeze to apply.  It ended up being a much better layering polish than I originally expected after first coat.  I did try applying CND Super Shiney top coat after taking these pictures and it didn't affect the look of the polish at all.  I really like this one.  It could also be used as a shimmery top coat over a solid base colour.  Ruby White Tips polishes are always 3-free, vegan and are never tested on animals.  If you'd like a bottle of The Sword you can check out the Ruby White Tips Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/RubyWhiteTips.

Spring Swatch Spectacular: Ruby White Tips Part Two

Disclaimer:  These polishes were 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.

Today I tried Ruby White Tips The Polish With No Name.  Each bottle comes with a unique number name, so I have the only 'Thirty Two'.  The Polish With No Name is a light blue creme with a very subtle shimmer.



 I feel like the bottle I received has significantly less shimmery pigment that the polish shown in the Etsy listing.  Maybe there was a formula change?  I'm not sure.  It is still a very pretty polish but was not quite what I was expecting.  I may not have purchased it had I know since it is very similar to a polish I already have.


All pictures show two coats of The Polish With No Name with one coat of CND Super Shiney top coat in natural sunlight.  The formula was great and dries somewhere between a matte and satin finish.

Next up is the Kick Ass Topcoat.  In the Etsy listing this top coat is described as containing some spectraflair, black, charcoal and silver holo sparkle along with a mixed color flakes in a clear base.  The bottle picture in the listing looks predominantly silver with larger dark glitter and some holographic flashes, however the bottle that I received clearly had a lot of multicolour glitter (not flakes) in it as well.  The red hex glitter stood out most as something that was different from what I though I was getting.


I added on coat of the Kick Ass Topcoat over the two coats of The Polish With No Name I was already wearing.  It's even clearer now that there are lots of coloured hex glitters in this topcoat which weren't mentioned in the polish description.  The Etsy listing also had a photo showing this topcoat over light blue from Nelly Oliveri but when I compared it to my photos over light blue they look completely different.  The one in the listing portrays lots of fine holographic silver glitter with some larger charcoal glitter, not a rainbow coloured top coat.  The polish bottle contents also look very different in that listing picture as well.  It was that combination of holographic silver and charcoal combination that I was expecting to get.


There are some positives about this topcoat though.  The formula was great and it dried very smoothly which is rare with a glitter polish.  It also dried very quickly.  If the rainbow glitter appeals to you then this is a great topcoat for you to try.  Personally I am not a fan of glitter with many colours included so this isn't a combination that appeals to me too much.


As always, all Ruby White Tips polishes are 3-free, vegan and animal cruelty free.  If you like The Polish With No Name or the Kick Ass Topcoat and want to get a bottle of your own visit Ruby White Tips' Etsy store at https://www.etsy.com/shop/RubyWhiteTips  

May 22, 2013

Spring Swatch Spectacular: Ruby White Tips Part One

Disclaimer:  These polishes were 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. 

I wanted to start my review of Ruby White Tips with two polishes that look incredibly similar in the bottle.  When I was browsing the Etsy store I had a lot of difficulty figuring out the differences between Capricorn and B.B. Kiddo so I thought I'd do a side by side comparison to help out all of you potential Ruby White Tips customers.

B.B Kiddo from The Kill Bill Collection is described as a larger grained light purple and hot pink color shifter.  Capricorn is described as a multi-chrome foil fleck polish that shifts from blue to purple to pink.  As you can see the colour looks almost identical in the bottle but the shimmery finish is a little different between the two.


I tried the polishes on their own and with a base colour.  On my pointer and third finger I used three coats of the polishes by themselves.  On my fourth and pinky finger I used one coat of the respective polish over CND Blackjack.  All fingers have a final coat of CND Super Shiney top coat.  The polishes look a lot more different on that they do in the bottle.  Capricorn is a bit more blue and B.B. Kiddo is a bit more purple when they are worn alone.  When worn over a base colour the difference in pigment size really stands out.

My personal favorite is B.B. Kiddo.  It looks amazing over a black base and I think the larger grained colour shifting pigments makes it more unique.  The only think I liked more about Capricorn was that it was opaque after three coats where as B.B. Kiddo was still a little bit sheer.  I think one more coat would take care of that though.  Both had great formulas and were smooth when dry.  If you see a polish that you love and want to get one of your very own you can check out the Ruby White Tips Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/RubyWhiteTips.  Don't forget to check out their facebook page to stay up to date with new polishes, sales and giveaways too.

Julep Hooray For May! Mystery Box Review

I picked up my mystery box from the post office today and here's what was waiting for me.


Cute packaging as always.  One of the polishes was in an organza gift bag if you wanted to make it a present for a friend.




I got six polishes.  Nina (It Girl) is a neon orange creme.  Fiona (Boho Glam) is an electric lime green neon creme.  Lime isn't the first colour that comes to my mind for this polish... more like pea soup.  Charlie (It Girl) is a bright yellow creme.  Teresa (Boho Glam) is an opaque pink pearl frost.  I rather like this as a neutral colour.  Jordan (Boho Glam) is a full-coverage silver gunmetal multi-dimensional glitter.  This is definitely my favorite of the six.  Finally, Clara (It Girl) is an opaque peach creme.  Another very neutral colour.

Overall I love the three on the right but honestly, I'm not a big fan of the three on the left.  Oranges and yellows don't go well with my skin tone at all and pea soup green is just not a pretty colour in my opinion.  Also, it would have been nice if there had only been one super neutral colour in mix and perhaps some more cool toned colours to round out the selection.  Had I known in advance that these were the colours I would receive I probably would not have purchased the box, but that's the whole point, it's a mystery!

May 21, 2013

A Subtle Glitter Gradient

Sometimes you still want glitter without it being blindingly sparkly.  I love a subtle glitter gradient to accomplish this.  Here I used Orly Boho Bonnet with LynBDesigns Iocaine Powder to add a little extra sparkle to my blue-grey mani.


On another note, my Julep Hooray For May! mystery box is waiting for me at the post office.  I plan on picking it up tomorrow and should have a review up for you soon!

May 18, 2013

A England Lady of the Lake Swatch

A England Lady of the Lake is a beautiful rich dark shimmery purple.  In shade or most indoor lighting the shimmer has purple and silver tones.  Get it in some sunlight though and tiny holographic glitter comes to life and adds a nice scatter holo to the purple.  I personally like scatter holographic polishes way more than linear holographic polishes so this has just the right amount of rainbow sparkle for me.  I was very pleased with the coverage and formula of this polish.  It only took two coats to get opaque and the finish was amazingly smooth.  The only reason I added a topcoat was for longevity.  Check out the swatches below of this amazing polish.  All pictures show two coats of Lady of the Lake with one coat of CND Super Shiney top coat.


Outdoor shade.

Outdoor direct sunlight.
Outdoor direct sunlight.  Just look at that sparkle!

May 15, 2013

Indies! Neener Neener Nails High Tide

I recently received this polish as a gift from a friend and was super excited to try it out.  High Tide is a sheer light blue cream polish with a mix of blue and purple glitter of various sizes.  The first thing I noticed about this polish was that it smelled kind of weird.  I realize all polish doesn't smell very nice, but this one reminded me more of a white out smell than the traditional nail polish smell.  I got past that though and moved on to actually putting it on.  It took three coats to get opaque.  I noticed that the polish dried quite quickly so I had to work fast to get an even coat on each nail.  The finish was a bit rough.  It took three coats of top coat to get a smooth finish (I am picky though!).  I also use a fairly thin top coat so it would likely take less with some thicker brands.  One thing I quickly learned was to be very light with the brush when applying top coat.  It was easy to smudge the blue cream base upwards and cover up the pretty glitter if there was too much contact between the top coat brush and the nail. 


All photos were taken in natural sunlight and feature three coats of High Tide with three coats of CND Super Shiney top coat.  Once I got the finish smoothed out I was really happy with the look of this polish.  It's a great springtime colour.  Want a bottle of your very own?  You can find Neener Neener Nails on Etsy at https://www.etsy.com/shop/NeenerNeenerNails.

Indies! Darling Diva Polish Dangerous Driver

Most swatches I found online for this polish show it over a base colour.  I wanted to see what it could do on its very own.  Dangerous Driver is a sheer purple holographic polish.  I find some holographic polishes a bit overwhelming, but this has the perfect amount of colour shift and sparkle.  Bright but not blinding.  In shade or interior lighting it looks like a shimmery lavender but get it out in some sunlight and all of a sudden your fingertips turn into rainbows.


All photos show four coats of Dangerous Driver in direct sunlight or outdoor shade.  The formula was fantastic.  Despite putting on four coats it dried really quickly.  Also, the finish was super smooth.  I didn't even use a topcoat!


This is a great multipurpose polish.  You can wear it alone like I did for a more subtle pastel look or you can use it as a topcoat over a darker coloured polish to really make it sparkle.  If you'd like a bottle of your very own you can check the Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/DarlingDivaPolish.

Update: I couldn't wait to see what this polish would look like over a variety of base colours so I tossed a few on a nail wheel and added one coat Dangerous Driver to all of them.  Look at the sparkly results!
Left to right are Finger Paints Art of Theft, OPI I Brake for Manicures, OPI Suzi Skis the Pyrenees, China Glaze Crimson, China Glaze Creative Fantasy (purple) and OPI Pamplona Purple (pink).



May 14, 2013

Black and White Abstract Paintings


  I love black and white patterns.  They always catch my eye even though they're not colourful.  This was inspired by a picture I saw on pinterest that was originally from pshiiit.com but I haven't been able to find it on that blog and don't want to post it here without permission.  Anyhow, back to the original topic, black and white!  This was actually pretty easy to do.  Paint your nails white.  Then, put black polish on the top third of the nail.  Get as much polish of your black nail polish brush as possible and then white the black polish on your nail is still kind of wet,pull it from the top of the nail down.  That will give that streaky look halfway up the nail.  Finally, with a fine brush, add dots of white on top of the black.  I chose to use a brush instead of a dotting tool because I wanted the dots to look a little rough around the edges.  I love the result.  I think they look like little abstract paintings on my nails!

May 13, 2013

Time For Some Polish Stamping

I love stamped nail art.  It makes it look like you spend hours doing intricate designs when really you did it in minutes.  I like adding dotted elements on top of my stamps to add even more depth to the design.  Here are a couple of different patterns I did recently.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.



For the first design used Wet n Wild Teal of Fortune for the base colour.  I then stamped the full nail design from the bundle moster BM210 using CND Blackjack.  Finally I added small dots of OPI I Have a Herring Problem to finish off the look.

For the second design I used OPI Dutch Ya Just Love OPI? for the base colour and stamped the silver design using China Glaze Hook and Line and the bundle monster BM212 stamping plate.  Finally I dotted Zoya Aurora in the centers of each of the circles.  To me this looks like a purple peacock.

OPI Liquid Sand Stay The Night


A month or so I ago I tried my first textured polish, Julep Jill, from the Sea Salt Mystery Box.  I decided that I didn't like it at all and concluded that the glitter element of some textured polishes is what really gives them their depth.  I decided not to give up on textured polishes all together and am working my way through the OPI Liquid Sand collection.  Even in the bottles they look awesome.  Here are swatches of Stay The Night, the first one I've tried from this collection.


Stay The Night is a black jelly with black gritty bits and dark pink sparkles.  It reminds me of campfire embers.  These photos show two coats of Stay The Night with in natural light with no topcoat.


Application was really easy and I love the look.  I'm still undecided on the actual texture part though.  I keep touching my nails trying to decide if I like it or not.  I think I might try putting a topcoat on later to see how it changes the look and feel of the polish.


After trying this one I am definitely looking forward to trying out the other three colours in this collection.  I really like the look, and who knows, maybe the textured feel will grow on me too.

May 09, 2013

Indies! Digital Nails Convergent

Today I'm excited to share with you swatches of another indie polish I just got, Digital Nails Convergent.  This polish is a super shimmery teal-blue.  At certain angles it turns into a shimmer purple, but the teal is definitely the dominant colour.  There is also some tiny holographic glitter that really pops in sunlight.



My first impressions were that is was a bit lighter than I expected based on the pictures in the Etsy shop but it was still gorgeous and so shimmery!  I thought it would take a good number of coats to reach opacity but to my pleasant surprise it only took two!  The formula is a great consistency and very easy to apply.  All photos show two coats of Convergent with one coat of CND Super Shiney top coat.


Overall I am incredibly happy with this polish.  The shimmer is just unbelievable.  The seller even included bonus toe separators and a mini buffer in my package even though I only ordered one polish.  If you want a bottle of your very own you can check out Digital Nails on Etsy at https://www.etsy.com/shop/DigitalNails.

May 06, 2013

Indies! The Lady Varnishes Castle Beyond the Goblin City

Castle Beyond the Goblin City from the You Have No Power Over Me collection is a charcoal grey almost opaque jelly polish.  It features green microglitter and larger silver and teal hex glitter.  I love this colour combo.  The green micro glitter really pops under natural sunlight.  You can also choose to have a scent added to the polish.  I chose mint and I can definitely still smell it even through the top coat.


The pictures above feature two coats of Castle Beyond the Goblin City with two coats of CND Super Shiney top coat.  This polish is a thicker polish so it takes a little bit of extra work to get it  on evenly.  However, any minor bumps due to the polish's thickness were easily evened out by the top coat to give it a nice smooth finish.  I may add a little bit of nail polish thinner to mine in the future to make application easier.  Want a bottle of your very own?  Check out her etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheLadyVarnishes.

Update: I added a little nail polish thinner to this polish and now the application is easy and flawless.  



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