December 20, 2013

Darling Diva Polish Zen Pool and Chandelle 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 two polishes from Darling Diva Polish that have been on my wishlist for a long time.  Carrie was nice enough to send them along for review when I splurged during her Black Friday sale.  So, without further ado, here are Zen Pool and Chandelle

Zen Pool


Zen Pool features a creamy aqua base with a subtle blue shimmer.  It is filled with blue, pink and white round glitters as well as some large and extra large white hexes.  This polish applied really easily.  You know those polishes with large glitters where you have to work super hard to actually get the glitter out of the bottle?  This in not one of them. You will get plenty of glitter with every brush stroke.  It is a tad bit sheer.  You can see the whites of my nail tips are still peeking through just a tiny bit.  If this bothers you, you could definitely layer this over another base colour.  As for top coat, it really depends on your nail shape.  My nail beds are quite curved which causes the edges of the larger glitters to poke up since they aren't curved to match.  If you're like me, then you'll probably want to use a thicker top coat.  If, however, you have flatter nail beds you'll be fine with any kind of top coat as the polish dried very smoothly except for those larger glitters.  Photos show three coats of Zen Pool with one coat of Seche Vite in natural lighting.




Chandelle


Chandelle features a sheer mocha base packed with gold shimmer as well as pink, gold and green glitters.  It's a combo that I didn't think could every look good together until I saw this polish.  The end result is very organic.  If mother nature wore polish I'm pretty sure it would be this one.  If you want something sheer and light you could wear a single coat or if you wanted something a little more pronounced it layers up nicely.  The formula was fantastic.  It was so easy to apply and there was no fishing for glitters or dabbing needed.  It dried really smoothly too so you could use any top coat with this polish.  Photos show three coats of Chandelle with one coat of Seche it in natural lighting.  Just look at that shimmer!




Conclusion

My love for Darling Diva Polish lives on.  I think my favorite of the two is Chandelle just because I own nothing else like it.  It's a colour combo I usually wouldn't go for but I love it in this polish.  If you would like to get either of these for yourself check out the Darling Diva Polish shop.  Zen Pool is currently on sale so don't wait too long.  You can also check out the Darling Diva Polish facebook page for updates, coupon codes and new collections.  I don't think I'll have a chance to do another post before Christmas so to all of you, enjoy the holidays and I hope you all get polish in your stockings!

December 17, 2013

Pipe Dream Polish Swatch Spam Part II

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! Who's ready for some more Pipe Dream Polish? I know I am!  Today I have three more shades to show you.  Some new, some old but all gorgeous.  If you missed Part I of the Pipe Dream Polish review you can find it here.  If you're all caught up then here are some more polishes to feast your eyes on.

Electric Soul


Electric soul feature a blurple base packed with blue, purple and aqua micro flakes that catch the light.  The end effect is a purple nail that appears to glow blue.  I did find the formula on this one a bit finicky.  It felt somewhat thick but still took three coats to become opaque.  Because of this it did take longer than usual to dry.  The end look is gorgeous but does require a little extra patience.  Photos show three coats of Electric Soul with one coat of Seche Vite in natural lighting.




Time In A Tapestry


Time In A Tapestry features a teal-green shimmery creme base packed with gold and brown hex glitters of various sizes.  I found that the base appears more green in indoor lighting and more teal in natural lighting.  The formula on this one was fantastic.  It applied so smoothly even though it was full of glitter and no dabbing was needed to get the glitters all over the nail.  I used three coats but you could get away with two.  The end look is just gorgeous.  I'm not usually a huge fan of green polishes but this one has definitely won me over.  Photos show three coats of Time In A Tapestry with one coat of Seche Vite in natural lighting.




Feed The Monster


Feed The Monster is a glitter topper that was originally part of the Halloween collection.  When glitter for it became unavailable April had to discontinue it and I was so sad that I had missed out on it.  Then, April's glitter sleuthing skills found another source and Feed The Monster was resurrected.  I didn't hesitate to get my hands on it once I was given a second chance.  This polish features orange, purple and silver glitters of various sizes in a clear base.  The formula was excellent.  It didn't require any dabbing and applied quite smoothly.  Though not a full coverage glitter I think you could come quite close with three coats.  I tried it layered over a dark base colour for this mani.  Photos show one coat of Feed The Monster over OPI Ink with one coat of Seche Vite in natural lighting.




Conclusion

Out of these three polishes I think Time In A Tapestry is my favorite.  The shimmer + glitter combo got me.  Feed The Monster is gorgeous though and is one of the very rare orange containing polishes that I love.  I think I might add a little thinner to Electric Soul to try and make application a little bit easier.  I'm pretty sure it was the thickness of the coats that made it take longer to dry.  Hopefully thinner coats will take care of that little problem.  If you feel the need to include any of these polishes in your collection you can find them in the Pipe Dream Polish Etsy shop.  You can also find updates and the occasional sale code on the Pipe Dream Polish facebook page.  Until next time, happy polishing!

December 11, 2013

Pipe Dream Polish Swatch Spam Part I

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 we had our first real snowfall. I am celebrating it by avoiding the outdoors and slippery roads as much as possible and writing up a blog post instead. I have three polishes from Pipe Dream Polish to show you. I did go a little crazy with the camera so get ready to look at lots of pictures.

Bruises


You could probably guess the colour of Bruises without even seeing it.  It perfectly represents that dark blue-purple colour that a bruise first turns.  In indoor and overcast lighting it looks more like a metallic steel blue that shifts to purple when viewed from an angle.  The formula dried very quickly which means that it's much better to just wait to add another coat than to try and touch up the current one or you'll end up with smudges.  The coverage was very good and it only took two coats to become opaque.  Photos show two coats of Bruises with one coat of CND Super Shiney top coat in overcast natural lighting. The last two photos really show that purple shift that comes out at an angle.




Fall Again


Fall Again is a glitter topper packed with copper, bronze and brown glitter as well as gold flakes in a clear base.  There is a ton of glitter in this polish which means the formula was quite thick.  However, it was still easy to work with and the glitter payoff was fantastic.  I used it to create a glitter gradient over Bruises.  To give you an idea of coverage, I brushed one coat of Fall Again over the top two thirds of my nail and then dabbed a second coat on the very tips.  It dried a little uneven (I mean, look how much glitter there is) but I wouldn't go so far as to say it dried roughly.  One coat of a thicker top coat is enough to even everything out.  Photos show Fall Again over Bruises with one coat of Seche Vite in overcast natural lighting.




But wait! There's more! All of a sudden the sun actually peeked out from behind the clouds and these green flecks appeared in bruises that hadn't been visible before.  I liked Bruises before but now I love it.  Photos below show the same mani in brighter sunlight.



Tomorrow's A Mystery


It's teal.  It's glittery.  What's not to love?  Tomorrow's A Mystery features a teal jelly base packed (and I mean packed!) with lime green holo, turquoise, and green circle glitters along with several shades of blue and green smaller glitters.  I love the circle glitters in this.  Because of all the glitter the formula was somewhat thick but it wasn't too hard to work with.  Also, because of how dense the glitter is it only took two coats to become opaque.  Like with Fall Again the glitter did dry a little unevenly but it wasn't rough to the touch.  The jelly base also dried with a satin finish so if you want a high gloss finish just add a shiny top coat.  Photos show two coats of Tomorrow's A Mystery with one coat of Seche Vite in natural lighting.




Conclusion

If I had to choose a favorite I think it would be bruises.  Those green flecks that come out in the sun are super pretty.  It's a tough choice though because the three polishes are so different.  The only bad thing about such great polishes is my wishlist from this indie maker just doesn't stop growing.  If you'd like some Pipe Dream Polishes of your very own check out the Pipe Dream Polish Etsy Shop and facebook page.  I have three more polishes to swatch and then I'll be back later this week with Pipe Dream Polish Part II!  Until then, happy polishing. :)
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