Darling Diva Bubble Time Swatches & Review... Again

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. 


Remember when I showed you Darling Diva Polish Bubble Time about a month ago?  It had a cute light blue base... which turned out was not how it was supposed to be.  In the initial batch the blue glitter bled turning the white base blue.  The blue glitters have been swapped with ones that look the same but won't bleed so the base will stay white.  Carrie at Darling Diva Polish sent me a replacement bottle so now I can show you what Bubble Time is actually supposed to look like!

As with last time, the formula was great.  It took two coats to get opaque and I had to do minimal dabbing to get the glitter where I wanted it.  Since it does contain larger glitter I just used a thicker top coat to smooth things out.

Photos show two coats of Bubble Time with one coat of Gelous in natural sunlight.  I will admit, I am a bit partial to the blue based version (which is even blue-er now!) but that's just because blue is my favorite colour.  The white version is pretty awesome too and reminds me of party balloons.  If you want a white based bottle of Bubble Time check out the Darling Diva Polish Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/DarlingDivaPolish.  Do you like the white or the accidental blue base better?

Pahlish Ocean Gone Wrong Swatches & Review

I'm really loving Pahlish polish lately so today I have to other half of the April Showers Duo for you, Ocean Gone Wrong.  This polish is a glitter topper featuring blue glitter in a variety of shades, shapes and sizes in a clear base.

I'm going to break the swatching rules and instead of wearing this glitter over the creme polish from the April Showers Duo, Through Still And Storm, I'm going to show it to you over Pahlish Valley Of Ashes.  I thought the blue glitters would really pop against a grey base and I was right.  The formula was great.  No dabbing was required and it dried very smoothly.

Photos show one coat of Ocean Gone Wrong over Pahlish Valley Of Ashes with one coat of CND Super Shiney top coat in natural sunlight.  I love this combo.  The shimmer from Valley Of Ashes stills shows through nicely and the various glitters really stand out against the grey background.  Do you like blue?  Do you like glitter?  Then go get this polish from the Pahlish Etsy shop.  You can buy it by itself of as part of the duo.  Since this was a duo made for April, I'm not sure how much longer it will be around for.

Pahlish Valley Of Ashes Swatches & Review

I'm a sucker for grey polishes. They're kind of neutral, but kind of not neutral all at the same time. Today I have Pahlish Valley Of Ashes to show you. This polish is a light grey with microflakes that shift from teal to pink, though the teal is definitely the predominant shimmer colour.  I went a little picture crazy with this one since I really want to show you what the shimmer looks like in person.

This polish goes opaque in 2-3 coats.  The formula was great, easy to apply and dried quickly.  It isn't super glossy when dry so if that's the finish you'd like you just need to add a top coat.

Photos show three coats of Valley Of Ashes with one coat of CND Super Shiney top coat in natural sunlight.  I still feel like I didn't capture the true beauty of the teal shimmer but it's close.  The shimmer is just a little more pronounced in person.  If you like grey polish then this is a must have.  I don't think I've seen anything like it before.  To get a bottle of your very own check out the Pahlish Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/pahlish.  What do you thinkg of this pseudo neutral polish?

Black Sheep Lacquer Into The Void Swatches & Review

It's a good thing I did some swatching and took some photos yesterday, because today it is nice and thunder stormy outside.  Today I have a pretty glitter topper from Black Sheep Lacquer, Into The Void.  This polish is full of fine silver glitter, small blue squares and small brown hexes.  Who ever thought I'd be excited about brown glitter?!

I applied one coat of Into The Void over Different Dimension Lapis Lazuli.  Application was easy and no dabbing was needed.  It dried very smoothly and I just added a thin top coat over top.

Photos show one coat of Into The Void over Different Dimension Lapis Lazuli with one coat of CND Super Shiney top coat in natural sunlight.  If you ask me what my three most hated polish colours are my instant answer is "yellow, orange and brown".  However, as an accent, I really like this metallic brown glitter.  I also love that this brand is made right here in Canada.  Check out this polish and many others at the Black Sheep Lacquer Etsy shop.  This glitter is one that's not overly glittery... if that makes any sense.  Sometimes you still want some sparkle without your nails looking like a disco ball.  Into The Void fits into that niche perfectly.

Different Dimension Lapis Lazuli Swatches & Review

Hello everyone! I had a super busy long weekend so didn't have time to do many post.  Time to make up for that now.  Today I have Different Dimension Lapis Lazuli on my nails.  This was a polish that I flip flopped about buying.  I already have so many blue polishes... do I really need another?  The answer is yes.  This polish has some amazing micro flakes that I haven't seen anything like before.  It was inspired by the stone of the same name.  Lapis Lazuli features a cobalt blue jelly base packed with translucent microflakes that have a purple-copper shimmer.

I used three coats of this polish and reached about 90% opacity.  Where there are more flakes it ends up more opaque, so you can't see a clear nail line, you can just see that some spots are a little lighter than others.  I don't mind this as it lends itself to the look of a stone.  If this is something that bugs you then you can just layer Lapis Lazuli over a similar coloured creme polish.  Application was very easy but I did find it did take longer than average to dry.

Photos show three coats of Lapis Lazuli with one coat of CND Super Shiney top coat in natural sunlight.  This polish is very unique.  I hope the photos give you an idea of how cool the microflakes are.  If you'd like a bottle of your very own check out the Different Dimension Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/DIFFERENTdimension.  I think this would also look amazing layered over a very dark navy or black polish.  Yet another thing to go on my polish 'to try' list.

Geomtric Accent Nails To Swith Things Up

A very short post today.  I had a super busy long weekend and wore the same polish for the whole thing.  I added some geometric accents to my OPI Solitaire mani using China Glaze Sea Spray and Pahlish Valley Of Ashes.  Sometimes a quick accent nail is all you need to switch things up.

100th Post! OPI Liquid Sands Solitaire Swatches & Review

I can't believe this is my 100th post!  It doesn't feel like I've written that many but the numbers don't lie.  Today I have one of OPI's liquid sand polishes from the Bond Girls collection, Solitaire.  Bond movies were a staple in my house when I was a kid so anything Bond themed automatically catches my attention.  Solitaire is a pearly white polish with a handful of small silver glitter.  It dries to a matte textured finish.

The directions said to use two coats but I ended up using three as it still seemed a tad sheer after two.  Application was easy.  The only thing I dislike about the liquid sands is that they seem to stick to my skin so much better than other polishes, so this makes clean up a bit more difficult. 

The above photos show three coats of Solitaire in natural sunlight.  The photos below show it in shade.

As I've said before, I think textured polishes need a bit of glitter to add to depth of the textured effect.  Solitaire adds to this theory because it has some glitter and it looks amazing.  It's definitely a great option if you want a white polish that stands out.  What do you think of textured polishes?  Is this trend still going strong or starting to fade?