Brand Challenge: Contrary Polish

Purchased Myself

Hello readers,
Today I'm shopping the untried Contrary Polish shades in my collection. Let's take a look at swatches.

Contrary Polish Magical Manatee Swatches & Review

Press Sample

Hello readers,

Today I have polish to share with you that has been on my wishlist since it was released last year.  First off, it's called Magical Manatee and I love manatees so this was a no brainer.  Second, it has shimmer and flakes.  That sealed the deal.

Metallic Stamped Flower Nail Art

Purchased Myself

Hello readers,
Today I have my first attempt at stamped decals to share with you.  Instead of the traditional method of filling in a stamped outlined, adding a coat or two of clear and waiting for it all to dry, I tried the method wear you fill the outline on the stamper and then stamp it directly onto tacky top coat.

Contrary Polish Gift Wrap Swatches & Review

Purchased Myself

Hello readers,
It's December! Which means the holidays are right around the corner.  Gift Wrap seems like the perfectly named polish to start things off.

Stamped Jelly Sandwich Manicure Tutorial

I love jellies.  They can add such depth to a manicure in just a couple coat.  I also love stamping.  You can add a complex design to your nails in minutes.  Today I tried combining the two and add some dotting into the mix as well.  Here's what I ended up with.

The colour is just so rich and squishy looking!  This is definitely a manicure that will be staying on for a few days.  Scroll down to find out how to do this yourself.  It was actually really easy.

You will need an opaque polish, a sheer jelly polish, a stamping polish and a glitter polish.  You will also need a small dotting tool, stamping supplies and a shiny top coat.

Contrary Polish Firebrand, Zoya Paloma, CND Blackjack and Zoya Blaze.

Paint your nail with the base colour using as many coats as it takes to get opaque.  I used two coats of Firebrand.

Add one coat of your jelly polish.  I used Zoya Paloma.

Wait until the jelly polish is completely dry.  Stamp on the design of your choice.  I used the Bundle Monster BM203 plate with CND Blackjack.

Add another coat of the jelly polish.  Try to minimize the brush strokes needed so you don't smudge your stamp.

 Using your dotting too, add dots on top of the design where appropriate.  I put a dot of Zoya Blaze in the center of each diamond.

Add a coat of a shiny top coat to smooth out the dots.

Clean up around your nail with some acetone polish remover and enjoy your shiny new mani!

Contrary Polish Firebrand Swatches & Review

Happy Monday everyone!  Today I'm really excited to show you my first Contrary Polish, Firebrand.  FYI Carrie is a fellow Canadian and I love to try home grown brands.  Firebrand is a deep wine coloured polish with a burgundy shimmer.  If the light hits it at just the right angle you also get flashes of purple.

As I was applying the first coat I was afraid the polish was going to be streaky, but after a second coat my fears were cleared right up.  This polish goes opaque in 2-3 coats depending on how thin you make them.  It dried very smoothly and I just added a topcoat to protect against potential chipping.

Two coats of Contrary Polish Firebrand with one coat of CND Super Shiney top coat in natural sunlight.  Top left was taken in shade and the rest are in direct sunlight.

Bonus picture with the dahlia I planted yesterday! They are a perfect match.

Overall I really like this polish.  I'm not usually drawn to reds but I really like this shade.  The subtle pops of purple make it different than the usual shimmery red.  Application was easy and so far I've had it on for a day with no chips.  Contrary polish has lots of polishes in this style, that is, a creme base with tons of shimmer and I hope I get to try more of them in the future.  What do you think of this classic colour with a twist?