Sunday, June 30, 2013

ellagee Double Feature Collection Review

*All products were provided for an honest review

I've been dying to get my hands on some ellagee polish, so when creator, Laura, contacted me to do a review I was so excited!! 

She sent me three polishes from the soon-to-be released Science Fiction Double Feature collection, inspired by the Sci-Fi classics. Included in the collection are amazing glitter bombs, solar changing, glow in the dark, and thermal changing polishes. It'll be an epic collection to say the least! 

First up is Twin Suns, a sheer pale yellow topper. It changes to a peachy-orange in direct sunlight. This polish is inspired by the twin suns of Tatooine, the planet and setting for many key scenes in the Star Wars saga.



I layered two coats of Twin Suns over two coats of white polish. The formula of this polish was very easy to work with and applied easily. It has a subtle golden shimmer that was very hard to capture in a photo. The photo above is taken with artificial lighting.


The only thing to be aware of when using this polish is top coat. A UV protectant top coat may prohibit the color changing effect. My first try at this mani I used Sally Hansen Dries Instantly and it didn't work for some reason. I started over and used Seche Vite and it was a success!! 

The photo below is taken in direct sunlight. The polish changes to a pale orangey color. SO COOL!!



Next Up is Redshirt, a beautiful glitter bomb that can be layered or stand alone. It has a clear base with small red, black and gold hex glitters. It is inspired by those unfortunate souls in the red shirts on the crew of the Star Trek Enterprise. 


I used one thick coat of Redshirt over black and two coats alone on my ring finger. The application was lovely. The glitter dispersed evenly and didn't drag. LOVE THAT! 





On to my favorite of the three, Not the Droids You're Looking For! Another glitter bomb filled with silver hexes, blue and gold circle glitters in a clear base. It is inspired by Laura's favorite droids, R2-D2 and C3PO. 

Can you see the resemblance?  LOL


I layered two coats of NTDYLF over two coats of white and two coats on its own on my ring finger. This polish was a little trickier to apply because of the larger glitters. The blue circles especially I found I had to fish for. 


It was all worth it in the end because I got this beautiful sparkly result!


This amazing collection will debut early July, so keep your eyes peeled!!


You can follow ellagee on Facebook here. Laura holds weekly giveaways, so make sure to give her a like!

You can purchase her amazing polishes on their website ellagee.com.

Happy Polishing!!!

*All products were provided for an honest review


Thursday, June 20, 2013

Studs & Water Decals

*All products were provided for an honest review

This is part 2 of our KKCenterHK product review featuring products that can add some sizzle and pop to your mani even if you're a beginner nail artist (or nartist as my boyfriend would like to say).  First up is a simple stud design.  



The polish is Essie Where's My Cheuffeur? and I used the silver 1.5mm round studs, which can be found on the KKCenterHK site here.  They are easy to apply and there are endless design possibilities!  Be sure to apply a thick layer of topcoat.


The second product review is a water decal.  This is the second time I have reviewed water decals and my love for them continues to grow.  For this mani I used CoverGirl Pina Colada from their Glosstini Mini's collection.



These purple rose water decals can be found on the KKCenterHK website here.  If you browse through the site you will see that they have over 2,000 water decals!! That's a lot of manis!


These are so perfect when things in life are busy but I still want an intricate nail art design.  They are so easy to apply and are 10 times faster than freehand nail art.  What could be better than that?


To buy these products and many more nail and beauty supplies visit KKCenterHK...

Use our unique coupon code to save 10%: nailaddictedsisters

Facebook: KKCenterHK
Twitter: @kkcenterhkcom


*All products were provided for an honest review
Wednesday, June 19, 2013

***New Indie Polish Alert***

*All products were provided for an honest review


I happened to be on the blogosphere at just the right moment. Leesha of Leesha's Laquer was looking for bloggers to review her new polish line. I jumped at the offer. New indie brands are popping up all the time and who wouldn't want to have the first crack at swatching them?

Leesha sent the cutest package of goodies with a lovely handwritten note along with two super cute minis.



The polishes, Mille Lacs Lake and Pow Wow Pow, are two out of a collection of five total polishes (the others will be called Lady Slipper, Butterfly Dancer and Four Directions). The collection is based on a Native American theme.






The first polish I tried was Mille Lacs Lake. The name of this polish came from the name of the lake, Mille Lacs Lake, on the reservation in Minnesota where Leesha's tribe, the Mille Lacs band of Ojilawe is located. This glitter polish is suspended in a clear base and is jam packed with blue holo glitters, blue hexes, squares and tons of tiny blue glitters.


I started off with two coats of a baby blue polish and one coat of Mille Lacs Lake with an accent nail having two coats. After doing the accent nail I couldn't resist and finished off the rest of the mani with two coats.  

The application was wonderful!! It was smooth and didn't drag or get clumpy, even on the second coat. I was really pleased with the formula of this polish. I wish every glitter was this easy to apply!!





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Next up is Pow Wow Pow, named after the explosion of color that is seen on the regalia of the pow wow dancers. If there's one thing that this polish does not lack, it's color. It has every color glitter of the rainbow in a sheer pinkish base. 



I layered two coats of Pow Wow Pow over a mustard yellow base color. The formula of this glitter polish was not as easy to work with as Mille Lacs Lake. It was slightly goopy and dragged just a bit. These are the kinds of things I expect from a pure glitter polish. A bit of dabbing in the application is needed.



I give Leesha a lot of credit as well as all indie polish makers. I don't know how you all do it, but I'm glad you do because I love your products. Leesha's Lacquer polishes will be available towards the end of July on Etsy and will retail for $8.00. Only 5 units of each polish will initially be available, so be sure to snatch them up while they are available.

You can follow Leesha on her blog (she is currently having a giveaway and hosting a nail art competition) HERE!

*All products were provided for an honest review


Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Sparkle and Texture

*All products were provided for an honest review



Today we have some more products from KKCenterHK. Part one of two posts contains products that will add sparkle and texture to any mani.

 First up, we have a loose neon pink glitter. I haven't gotten into any of the textured looks or polishes, but this is very similar to that at a fraction of the cost of any of the textured polishes.



This mani has gotten me back in the mood for PINK! I used Zoya Sweet and topped it with Nailtini Blue Flame. For the accent nail I dipped my finger into the pot of glitter and didn't use a top coat. These pics don't do this glitter justice. It is SO SPARKLY and pretty!!





Next up is a somewhat ocean themed mani of sorts using blue micro-beads. 

Color Club Blue Heaven (pointer and pinky), Essie Avenue Maintain (middle and thumb)

When using the micro-beads I first started with a base coat of white polish. Then I used a thick coat of top coat and poured the micro-beads on till my nail was covered. Finally, I added a hefty coat of top coat.





When the top coat dried it melted off the color coating on the micro-beads and kind of cured everything together to make this cool textured blue looking polish. 




If you like the textured look I would definitely recommend these micro-beads and the loose glitter. Both come in many colors.

Use our unique coupon code to save 10%: nailaddictedsisters


Facebook: KKCenterHK
Twitter: @kkcenterhkcom


*All products were provided for an honest review



Thursday, June 6, 2013

Purple Burst

At first glance this may look like a glitter gradient gone bad. But if you look closely you can see that the glitter polish is zig-zagged. I tried to make the pattern a little different on each nail.

The combination of Essie Play Date and the glittery Pop Beauty Lavender Glitz makes it hard to see the  definite line between the two colors.






This is another one of those manis that looked a lot different in my head. I still like the way it came out.

I'm loving the Pop Beauty glitter polish. I have 2 of them and they are jam packed with glitter. I'm definitely a fan!




Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Tip Top Review Part 2

*All  products were provided for an honest review

The second part of our Tip Top product review showcases five of Tip Top's polishes that are all Vegan, Formaldehyde, Toluene, DBP and Camphor free.

The first shade is called Dangerous Robot, a fiery, vixen red.

The next shade is Pyjama Party, a sheer peach that is probably best used for french manicures.


Next up is Splish Splash, the kind of vibrant blue that everyone should have in their polish collection


Night Life is a shimmery and electric blue. 


Last up is my favorite of the five polishes, Baby Steps.  This is an eye-catching silver that will be great for future nail art designs. 



 I also created two nail art designs with the polishes.  First I created a blue french...

Then I tried a red leopard print.  I knew Baby Steps would be great in nail art.  


This is a fun design for a night out, or maybe jazz up a little black dress!


I was impressed with Tip Top's polishes.  They go on smooth and even.  I hope to have the chance to try out more colors from their collection :)

Find out more about Tip Top Nails and their great products on their site here or their Facebook page here.

*All  products were provided for an honest review



Saturday, June 1, 2013

Tip Top and Ya Don't Stop

                                          *All products were provided for an honest review

Getting nail mail is always an exciting day. When I came home to see a small BOX by my front door, I thought, "I didn't order anything." Then I saw it was from Tip Top Nails. I couldn't believe my eyes when I opened the box. There were so many goodies inside!! 


For part one of two posts, I will show you Limited Edition Duo polishes (one from each collection).


Confetti Glitter
Once in a Blue Moon

I used one coat of the shimmery blue polish, which covered well. I then used a dotting tool and a top coat to make a dripping effect, one nail at a time. When the polish was still wet I added the fine glitter. It's really hard to see because the colors match so well, but it would have looked really cool. LOL



I love using loose glitter sometimes as apposed to glitter polish, because it removes so much easier.




Wild Thing Glitter
Sweet Cheeks

This is more of a bar glitter so I chose to cover the whole nail. I didn't use a base color and the glitter covered my nail completely. This kind of glitter is not as easy to work with. As you can see it's kind of all over the place on my cuticles. It's almost impossible to keep that from happening because the bars jut out and have a mind of their own.

This look is really cool and bright. I didn't dare go near it with a top coat for fear of ruining my brush with all little glitter pieces. 




Sprinkle Beads
Drama Queen
(pic with flash)

I suppose these aren't called caviar beads because they are smaller? I used 2 coats of the black polish, which applied evenly and smoothly. I then used top coat to apply the sprinkle beads. They stuck to the polish very easily. I didn't leave this mani on, but from what I hear these beads don't stay on very long. Again, a top coat wasn't used.




Each of these duos come in a variety of colors. What do you think of the duos? 

Go check out Tip Top Nails:
Tip Top on Facebook

     *All products were provided for an honest review