Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Swatch and Review: Lorelei Lacquer Cousin It Trio/Mini Collection!



Hey y'all! Today on the blog I have some more swatches from Lorelei Lacquer to share with you today. This little trio/mini collection is called The Cousin It collection and consists of three super fun polishes with hilarious names that are perfect for Halloween! Ready to see the swatches? 


The first polish in the trio is called Charred Unicorn Bits, a blackened green jelly with so many fun things going on it it - multichome flakies, holo flakies, and green and purple matte circle glitters. This one is a little on the thick side because of how many different types of glitter that are in it but it applies easily in 2 coats. I did need to manipulate the glitter a bit because its so jam packed in there but all of them came out of the bottle easily, no fishing required! My swatch photos show two medium coats plus topcoat.
Charred Unicorn Bits in direct artificial light
Charred Unicorn Bits in direct artificial lighting 
Macro of Charred Unicorn Bits
Charred Unicorn Bits in indirect natural lighting
Charred Unicorn Bits in indirect natural lighting
The second polish in the trio is called Train Your Zombie How To Sit. This one is a steely blue-green linear holo. Let's all pause for a minute and gaze upon it because...its a ONE COAT WONDER! Yes, you read that right, Train Your Zombie is shown here in one medium coat plus topcoat. No patchiness, no self leveling issues...just one glorious easy coat. The holo in this one is insane as well. I wasn't able to get a sun picture because it has been raining but HOLOOOOOO.

Train Your Zombie How To Sit in direct artificial lighting
Train Your Zombie in direct artificial lighting
Macro of Train Your Zombie How To Sit
Train Your Zombie in indirect natural lighting 
Train Your Zombie How To Sit in indirect natural lighting 
The final polish in the mini collection is called Colder Than A Witch's Tit and its a cool toned, dusty purple linear holo. This one is so witchy and perfect for fall! This one is another one coat wonder, y'all! Lorelei Lacquer knocked it out of the park with these. Colder Than A Witch's Tit is shown here in one easy coat plus topcoat. The holo is weaker in this one than in Train Your Zombie but still strong. I can't wait to see it in the sun!

Colder Than A Witch's Tit in direct artificial lighting
Colder Than A Witch's Tit in direct artificial lighting
Colder Than A Witch's Tit in indirect natural lighting
Colder Than A Witch's Tit in indirect natural lighting 
Macro of Colder Than A Witch's Tit

So how can you get your hands on these? They're launching TONIGHT at 12:01AM CST at loreleilacquer.com. You can get them separately (individually priced) or as a set for $27. Don't forget that you can use my code PISHPOSH10 for 10% off your order!

If you'd like to see my live swatch, click below to head over to my Youtube channel! 



Thanks for reading!

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Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Press Release: Zoya Winter 2015 Matte Velvets


BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!!! 
ZOYA MATTEVELVET 
Six new MATTEVELVET Nail Colors to slip into this WINTER/HOLIDAY season.

The best-selling, MATTEVELVET finish returns this holiday season with six new shades. Each nail polish perfectly opaque, matte color with that extra special ZOYA MATTEVELVET fleck finish everyone loves.

·         Aspen (ZP814) - a sparkling artic white with a micronized diamond pearl fleck.

·         Sue (ZP815) - a soft champagne gold with a multi-hued oyster shell pearl fleck.

·         Amal (ZP816) – a classic crimson red with a ruby red pearl fleck.

·         Iris (ZP817) - a deep amethyst with a fuchsia pearl fleck.

·         Yves (ZP818) - a deep sapphire that's midway in between indigo and royal blue with a blue pearl fleck.

·         Honor (ZP819) - a true emerald green with a tone on tone emerald pearl fleck.

NOTE: MATTEVELVET nail color by Zoya is not intended to be worn with a base coat, glossy top coat or speed dryer. Due to the unique matte formulation, color is not as long-wearing as traditional nail color. A completely clean, dry surface yields the best results for matte nail color wear. To extend wear, apply one coat of the Zoya Matte Velvet Topcoat over your favorite matte shades after polish is completely dry.

AVAILABLE NOW!

ZOYA IS THE HEALTHY COLOR OF FASHION!
Zoya MATTEVELVET Colors, 0.5 oz. -  $10 (US) ea.
Zoya MATTEVELVET Color Sampler, 6 – 0.5 oz. bottles -  $60 (US)

Available in top salons, spas and on zoya.com

* **BIG5FREE, TOXIN FREE: Zoya Nail Polish Formula contains no formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, dibutyl phthalate, toluene or camphor.


Swatch and Review: The Walking Dead Duo by Lorelei Lacquer!


Hey y'all! Today on the blog I have swatches of a super awesome fandom duo from Lorelei Lacquer to share with you! Each month, Jeanine releases LE duos that are only available for that month and for October the inspiration is...The Walking Dead! 


When she leaked in our Lorelei Lacquer fan group that October was TWD...I died a little from excitement! I am absolutely in love with this duo - the formulas are excellent and the polishes are beautiful! Are you ready to see some swatches? Are you prepared to want stuff...and thangs? Let's do this! 


The first polish in the duo is called Don't Open. Its a flakie topper in a clear base filled with purple holo flakies, purple holo circle glitters, purple and blue micro shimmer, and larger silver holo shreds. I wore it below in my swatch photo as one thick coat over Zoya Willa plus topcoat but it can also be built up in 3-4 thin coats to wear on its own! 
Don't Open in indirect artificial lighting
Don't Open in direct artificial lighting
Macro of Don't Open
The second polish in the duo is called Dead Inside. Its a gorgeous magenta holo polish with a blue flash. This beauty could be worn as a one coat wonder if you do a thicker coat but I wore it below in two thin coats plus topcoat. This one is a such pinkie bloody shade that matches the inspiration perfectly! I had no staining issues with Dead Inside when I removed it.

Dead Inside in indirect artificial lighting
Dead Inside in direct artificial lighting
Macro of Dead Inside
Macro bottle shots of Dead Inside (left) and Don't Open (right)
So you guys probably want the deets for this duo, huh? Okay so the LE Don't Open/Dead Inside duo launches on Thursday, October 1st at 12:01AM CST at loreleilacquer.com with a restock on the 15th (in case you miss the initial launch). These polishes will only be available in the duo and only for the month of October, so don't miss them! They're total must haves, especially if you're a TWD superfan! They will be available in full size for $20 and mini size for $13 - Jeanine is now offering free shipping on all US orders and you can use my code PISHPOSH10 for 10% off your entire order! So. Much. WIN! 

If you'd like to see the live swatch I did on my Youtube channel, click down below! 


image credit: google images
So what do y'all think? Will you be picking these beauties up? Are you a fan of TWD?

Thanks for reading!

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Monday, September 28, 2015

Indie Spotlight Series: Meet The Maker Of Lorelei Lacquer!

Image credit: loreleilacquer.com


Hey y'all! Today on the blog I have the September edition of my Indie Spotlight Series to share with you. This month I am featuring Jeanine from Lorelei Lacquer! I've had the pleasure of working with Jeanine several times of the last few months by swatching her collections - she is the first indie to invite me to be a permanent swatcher and WOW was that a huge honor! I definitely adore her polishes and think everyone should own at least one Lorelei. With her commitment to her brand and the quality of her polishes coupled with her unique and flawless formulas, Jeanine has a polish brand that will go places and do great things! So without further ado, let's get to know the maker behind Lorelei Lacquer!

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1.What inspired you to start Lorelei Lacquer? 

Well I guess I can start off being straight forward. I'm bipolar, and if you get to know a lot of the makers, most of them are. We need a creative outlet and it's hard for us to find jobs. At least that was the case for me. I fell in love with nail polish in 2012, I fell into the indie rabbit hole around 2013. All I ever thought seeing all of the creations was by other indie makers was, THESE LOOK AMAZING! I am a smart kid, I want to franken my own polishes so I can get exactly what I want. I actually toyed with the idea of Lorelei Lacquer back in August of 2014. I got the website and everything, but I didn't have the resources to actually open up a shop. So off and on between August 2014 and January 2015 I was playing around with the ingredients I had purchased for frankening. My friend was dropping out of the indie business to stick with her bath and body line and I got a whole bunch of supplies for a great deal. So in February 2015 it was decided to open up shop. I had come up with a few polishes and ideas I loved and went with it finally making it to my opening of May 29, 2015.

TL;DR: I needed a way to make money while being able to keep myself kind of sane and doing something I enjoy, and I just went for it when the time came.

2. How do you decide what to do for future collections? 

I'm not going to do something that I'm not passionate about. I usually start with a theme. For example I decided I needed to do Adventure Time because I've been in love with the show forever now. I made a list of possible names with ideas and started creating from there. There was suppose to be a Lady Rainicorn and an Ice King, but I couldn't make something I was happy with. Plus 9 shades is a lot, especially when you're just opening up shop. I basically have 1 requirements for me to run a line. I need to enjoy it (ex zelda, Adventure Time, My Birthday! LOL). I'm sorry but there are things I am not very passionate about, and I'm not going to run a line on it because I think it's going to be popular. I know businesses should be customer focused, but if I do that, I feel it limits my creativity. I won't release a polish or a line if I don't love it.

3. What goes into the testing/prototype phase?  

I know my bloggers won't believe me because I am the world's biggest procrastinator and they get their packages really late (sorry Becky!), but I know what I'm going to do at least 3 months in advance. I have a basic line ready. I do a settle/stability/bleeding test, recently I started a stain test (stupid red 27 needs to go die), formula test, and an is there something I can do to improve it test. I always have my polishes out. I tend to pick them up a lot because they're pretty and sparkly and oooohh shiny thing and look at them in the sun. Basewise things usually stay the same, but coming down to the month before, and sometimes why it takes me so long to get it out, is because I either need to add something, take something away or get rid of it completely and pick a different prototype that I had worked on at the same time. I can say if you don't waste a lot of supplies, you're not doing the best you can do. I think that is another part of the good thing indie makers are bipolar. We're ok with taking risks. You don't see that with giant companies, they keep everything plain for the general public. We go all out. I love the freedom.

4. How do you come up with the names of your polishes? 

Well, as I had said before, I always have a theme months ahead of time. There are at least one of three things that goes into naming a polish in my case. 1) It needs to make me laugh. 2) It needs to fit with the theme or 3) It needs to rhyme. Once again this goes back to, I make these polishes for me, hoping everyone else loves them, but I do try to not be offensive, but that should be a common knowledge/decency thing, not an indie polish thing. I'm sure most of my groupies understand my humor though. An outsider might give me some side eye and say that's stupid. It's all good :)

5. What do you think makes Lorelei Lacquer  a success? 

I think Lorelei Lacquer is successful because I relate to a lot of the ladies who are in the indie communities and I make them laugh, or at least try to. I know a lot of makers that sound like a customer service robots when you try to talk to them. I'm really really not that professional. I talk to them like I would talk to my friend. I give everyone deals, extras, try to make everyone happy (which is also considered to be my mental downfall, but meh LOL) and I try to go the extra mile for everyone. Like I said before, I'm not going to release garbage. It needs to be 100% before it goes out to my customers. I know I've had a few slip ups (yeah, I still want you to die red 27) but no one gets anywhere without making mistakes to learn from. Also in my group, I'm trying to make money yeah, but I'm more than happy to share the success of other brands, or mani's from other places. I am not going to sit here and say "Yes I love indies! Support me and other indies!" And then turn around and say, but you can only wear my polish and only talk about my polish because MY POLISH! No. I don't work like that. I like the family atmosphere. We're all together in this, it's not the Jeanine show. 

6. I know you have a younger child like me, which I imagine takes a lot of your time during the day! What drives you to keep going with Lorelei Lacquer? 

Ha! Yes. I work from home for my other job. For a while there is was getting overwhelming with having my then 5 year old running around especially with also being a single mother. If my dad wasn't here to help me I don't know what I'd do. It gives me the ability to say "OK mommy is going to work now, I need you to not come in until I say it's ok unless it's an emergency or you have an important question." But now my daughter is is *full day* kindergarten so I do my main job when she is at school, and most of the time I only work on nail polish at night. So being that now since she has a morning schedule and going to bed at 8, I have a lot of free time to get everything I need to done. I know people need to hover over their children all the time, but I actually have a really great kid and I'm ok with stepping away for a minute saying I need to work because she knows no matter what I'm always there for her. 

7. Can you give us a behind the scenes peek where Lorelei Lacquer is made? 


I could but no one would understand.... >.> *hears the tornado sirens going off in my room*

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And that concludes my interview with Jeanine from Lorelei Lacquer! I really hope you guys enjoyed reading this month's edition of Indie Spotlight Series about one of my favorite makers! It is always a blast to write about someone's brand that I feel I can really get behind. The most recent collection by Lorelei Lacquer is The Legend of Flakies collection which restocks on the 15th of each month, be sure you go check it out because its the best one yet! 

Image credit: loreleilacquer.com


What other brands would you be interested in seeing me feature? Which are your favorites? 

Thanks for reading! 










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Friday, September 18, 2015

Mani Swap with @okie.glam.mani!



Hey y'all! Today on the blog I have a mani swap to share with you! These were super fun and a good way to say goodbye to my neons for a while...maybe. A true polish enthusiast never sticks to trends or season appropriate colors, AMIRITE?!


I did this mani swap with a sweet friend of mine, @okie.glam.mani on Instagram and really loved how both of our swapped versions turned out! Make sure you head over to her Instagram and show her version of mine some love! 


I started with painting Glam Glaze Back to Back Blue on all of my nails except the ring finger. On that nail I painted GGal White Pointer as a base for my rainbow. Once the base colors were dry, I used the entire Graffiti Collection from Glam Glaze to dot on the rainbow in traditional color order, starting by my cuticle. I used my largest sized dotting tool and went row by row, giving each row a minute or two to dry before going to the next one. On the blue nails, I used the same large dotting tool and GGal White Pointer to dot on the clouds. Once everything was dry, I top coated with Seche Vite and let dry. Then I added Essie Gel Setter as my final topcoat. Yes, I used two topcoats - the addiction is real! I'm going to have a review coming of the Essie Gel Setter next week I think. I did a video tutorial on Youtube to show how I did these nails as well. Click below to see it in action! 

What do you think of this mani? Are you ready to put your neons out to pasture for a bit in favor of those vampy colors? 

Thanks for reading!


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Thursday, September 17, 2015

Maple Holistics Review


Hey y'all! Today on the blog I have a review of some products from Maple Holistics. I know that I've always blogged about nail polish and other nail and hand related items here. Additionally, my youtube channel and other social media accounts have always been about nail polish. I want to let you guys know that my primary focus will remain on polish and other related items but that I am also branching out and talking about some other things. That is where this review comes in! Maple Holistics reached out to me via email and asked if I would be interested in reviewing some products and sharing with you guys. I was a little hesitant at first but decided after looking into the company that I would go ahead. 

Maple Holistics is a company that manufactures and sells all natural products made with only holistic ingredients. They sell these products on their own website, mapleholistics.com and on Amazon. Their products are all manufactured in the US and are cruelty free. Their mission statement, directly from their website:
"Maple Holistics has one goal in mind: to provide a natural, holistic range of premium products which can enhance hygiene, health and daily living."


I started off by using the Dead Sea Mineral Youth Mud Mask after thoroughly cleansing my face. I wasn't too sure about it at first because mud masks usually leave my face feeling very dry afterwards but I went ahead with it. It smells AMAZING, primarily like lavender. I really felt like I was having a spa-like experience as I was applying it to my face. It had a slightly cooling sensation on my skin as it was drying. It dried in about 8-10 minutes, after which I washed it off. My skin felt smooth and soft to the touch after using it. I used the mask 3 or 4 times and each time got the same results. I quite enjoyed my results from the Mineral Youth Mask. The ingredients in the mask are: 
Pure Dead Sea Mud: The Dead Sea in Israel is the most saline body of water in the world, with a mineral concentration of approximately 32% (Ben Gurion University, Dead Sea Resarch Center). Mud from the Dead Sea has a high content level of salts and minerals that are claimed to be essential for the face and body.
German Chamomileb: Known to be nature’s most effective anti-inflammatory, German Chamomile is naturally rejuvenating and helps reduce inflammation. German Chamomile also contains traces of lithium to assist in calming the nerves and reducing stress.
Lavender: This highly popular oil in the world of aromatherapy contributes compounds which work well with the minerals of the mud and helps attain maximum absorption.
Green Myrtle: This valuable asset oil is reputed to be the single most effective essential oil against oily skin. Many skincare products skip over this ingredient due to its high production costs; this formula does not compromise for any cheaper and less effective alternatives.
Clary Sage: The aromatherapy aspect is heightened with the addition of Clary Sage, which helps deliver an herbaceous and relaxing scent while complementing the positive benefits on facial skin.
Biodeynes EMPP: The extracellular matrix of human skin is comprised of collagens and elastic fibers, the latter of which elasticin is a primary component. This beneficial ingredient promotes collagen and elasticin in the skin, for loss of elasticity in the skin causes sagginess and wrinkles.

The second item I received from Maple Holistics was their Vitamin C Anti Aging Serum. Unfortunately, I didn't like the serum as much as I had hoped. I wasn't able to use it as directed (morning and night) because I really disliked the way the serum felt on my skin. I told my husband that it was so dry and plastic-y feeling that I knew how Barbie might describe her own skin. I know that sounds like I'm trying to be funny, but really that's the only way I can describe it. Now, this serum is supposed to be a firming and smoothing mask - however, the product never seemed to actually sink all the way into my skin. Rather, it sat on the top layer of my skin for several hours and it wasn't until the next morning that it finally seemed gone. I suspect that my dislike of the serum is a personal preference issue because my mom tried my sample as well and had a wonderful experience.  The ingredients for this serum are:
Water, Vitamin C (Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate) 10%, Vegetable Glycerin, Hyaluronic Acid, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf, Vitamin E Acetate,Retinyl Palmitate, Algae Extract, Pullulan Xanthum Gum, Hydroxyethylcellulose, CaprylhydroxamicAcid, Glyceryl Caprylate
 Overall, I was very pleased with my interactions with the company and the speed of the shipping for my products. I look forward to trying more products from them to see if the serum was just a matter of personal preference as I suspect it is. I may be hosting a giveaway for some Maple Holistics products here on my blog, so stay tuned for that. If you'd like to see my live review of these products, head over to my Youtube channel!


Have you ever tried anything from Maple Holistics? What is your favorite skincare item?

Thanks for reading!

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