Tonic Polish Light of Lyra

*Purchased by me*

I am admiring my NOTD so hard right now and just had to share it with you ASAP! Tonic Polish Light of Lyra is from Tonic's debut release and totally knocks my socks off. Light of Lyra is a bright blue-toned purple with tons of blue-green shimmer. I love a good contrasting shimmer polish and the real victory with this one is how prominent the shimmer is. The aqua really just pops against the purple! Unlike some other contrasting shimmer polishes, you can see this shimmer even in low lighting, so you don't need sunlight for this polish to look beautiful. The purple base is a bit darker in lower lighting, but the blue-green loveliness is there for sure.

This is two coats of Light of Lyra. It was easy to apply and has a nice gel-like consistency. Not too thick, nor too thin. I used one layer of top coat for extra shine.

Light of Lyra is available at https://www.etsy.com/shop/Tonicpolish along with the other first release polishes, as well as some new ones! I still have two that I haven't tried yet, but I already want to order more Tonic Polish!

A St. Patrick's Day Untried- Starry Earth Magic in the Air

Well, I'm knee-deep in St. Patrick's Day dancing madness, so this is going to be a fast post. Obviously I'm all about rocking the green right now and I've had this green indie sitting in my untrieds drawer for months! This was the perfect time to pull out Starry Earth Magic in the Air. Magic in the Air has small green glitter and larger emerald green and celery green hex glitter in a clear base. I dabbed two coats of this over Zoya Midori for this look.

Starry Earth Magic in the Air was pretty easy to apply. The glitter seemed a little unwilling to get on the brush at first, but after swirling the brush around a bit, I picked up plenty of glitter. The base is a nice consistency. My pet peeve about some glitters is when you get this big blob of base and like two glitters on the brush, but Magic in the Air does not have that problem at all.

Starry Earth Magic in the Air is available now on Etsy. Have you tried any Starry Earth polishes? What's on your nails this weekend before St. Patrick's Day? I'm going to try to post my mani on Monday, but I am going to be just a taaaaad busy, so we'll see how that goes!

Jindie Nail Candy Land

Base: one coat Nicole by OPI Base Coat Plus
Color: three coats Jindie Nails Candy Land
Top: one coat Gelous
Application: poor (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

OK let me just start by saying, I hate to give the application of this polish a poor rating because I really LOVE the polish. But... I don't want to lie to you. I will discuss application in more detail shortly. Jindie Nails Candy Land is a fun white jelly base with neon hex glitters in assorted colors and sizes. I absolutely adore the look of this and I also love the name! The glitters are really pretty neon shades of green, yellow, purple, pink and blue, and in the white base, they remind me of Funfetti frosting (just the best frosting on the planet).

Now... down to business. If you just apply this polish in regular brush strokes, you will not get very many (if any) of the pretty glitters on your nails. If you try to dab this polish on to get the glitters on your nails, the white base looks uneven. The glitters tend to sink to the bottom, and even after I had this upside for 30 minutes, the glitters really didn't want to come out to play. Based on this experience, I had to give Candy Land a poor application rating. HOWEVER, if you're like me and you want to wear this polish anyway, I have some tips. You should start by applying two regular brushed on coats of the polish and concentrate on just getting the coverage you want from the white base. Don't worry about the glitter yet. After those two coats are done and have dried for a minute or so, load up your brush with as much polish and glitter as possible. Then, wipe the glitters off on the neck of the bottle. Wipe off all that excess polish from the brush, and then use the brush to pick up those glitters you just put on the neck of the bottle. Place glitters on your nails. This method is definitely a bit tedious, but that's what I ended up doing to achieve the look you see here. So this is kind of three coats of polish.

My final verdict? I love and will still wear Jindie Nails Candy Land. It takes a little effort to achieve the look I want, but it's so worth it in the end. I think you could also layer this over a white creme or jelly base, so that you can just focus on applying the glitter, rather than trying to get some coverage too.

Jindie Nails is restocking on jindienails.com sometime between April 15-20 and will be selling her gorgeous new spring collection then too! Check out her Facebook page for more info.

The Polish Bar Shiny Pebbles

Base: one coat Nicole by OPI Base Coat Plus
Color: three coats The Polish Bar Shiny Pebbles
Top: one coat Poshe
Application: excellent (out of poor, average, good, excellent)
The Polish Bar Shiny Pebbles was sent for review. All opinions are my own honest thoughts.

Today I have another lovely spring polish from The Polish Bar. The Polish Bar Shiny Pebbles is a white crelly base with a really interesting mix of copper, turquoise, brown and bronze glitters. I am a huge fan of the copper/bronze/gold and turquoise combination, especially in spring and summer make-up. Until now, I didn't own a polish with this particular color mix, so I'm really happy Janice from The Polish Bar sent me Shiny Pebbles! I also like the cute name! It reminds me of being a kid and looking for pretty little rocks in the sand at the beach.

This is three thin coats of Shiny Pebbles. It was super easy to apply. The crelly base builds up nicely in three coats and never looks streaky. The glitter is quite plentiful, no fishing trips required here. The Polish Bar is a great brand for anyone who has been avoiding some indies because the idea of layering them over a base color sounds like too much work. I have tried I think 6 polishes from The Polish Bar thus far and none of them have needed a base color. Nor have they needed any special application methods like dabbing. Just polish and go!

The Polish Bar Shiny Pebbles and other The Polish Bar lacquers are available at The Polish Bar on Etsy. I don't see Shiny Pebbles available at the moment, but I'm sure it will be soon. For more information about The Polish Bar, check them out on Facebook.

The Polish Bar Shiny Pebbles was sent for review. All opinions are my own honest thoughts.

The Polish Bar Spring Showers

Base: one coat Nicole by OPI Base Coat Plus
Color: three coats The Polish Bar Spring Showers
Top: one coat Poshe
Application: excellent (out of poor, average, good, excellent)
This product was sent for review. All opinions are my own honest thoughts.

All of my favorite polishes this spring have been either mint or periwinkle blue. I guess I'm just going through a phase! My newest periwinkle love is The Polish Bar Spring Showers. Janice, the creator of The Polish Bar polishes, calls this a cornflower blue crelly with silver holo glitter in various sizes and shapes. I can see cornflower here too, but I get a little more hint of purple, so I like to call that periwinkle. Either way, this is such a lovely color for spring and the silver holo glitter looks gorgeous in this blue base.

This is three thin coats of Spring Showers. Spring Showers was easy to apply and the glitter was plentiful. I have had a really great experience with The Polish Bar lacquers I've tried so far. The crelly finish of the base color builds up nicely in two to three coats, but it also allows the glitter to show through. Janice sent me mini bottles to try, and I know some people find minis hard to work with, but these have performed really well.

The Polish Bar Spring Showers is available now at The Polish Bar Etsy store, along with the rest of Janice's spring collection. For more news about The Polish Bar, check them out on Facebook.

The Polish Bar Spring Showers was sent for review. All opinions are my own honest thoughts.

The Polish Bar Perfect Harmony

Base: one coat Nicole by OPI Base Coat Plus

Color: three coats The Polish Bar Perfect Harmony

Top: one coat Poshe

Application: good (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

 The Polish Bar has a new collection coming up for spring 2013!! Janice is awesome and sent me three of her new spring pretties to try. I adored the last three of her polishes I tried, so I was super excited for these. I tried The Polish Bar Perfect Harmony first because it's dusty mint color was calling to me! Perfect Harmony is a lovely mint crelly base with lavender-purple glitter and lavender holo glitter. Yes, I said lavender holo glitter, so you will need this polish. Mint and purple together is the perfect combination for spring, but it's rarely done in polish. Kudos to The Polish Bar for changing that for us! I do apologize for any stray raindrops you might see on my fingers in these pictures. It is rarely ever not precipitating in Connecticut right now.

This is three coats of Perfect Harmony. It was easy to apply and I had no trouble getting the glitter to come out and play. There is some VNL at three coats, but because the base is that squishy kind of base, it didn't bother me. You might be able to achieve this look in two thicker coats. This would layer well over Zoya Neely or Nicole by OPI Alex By the Books too, if you like to preserve your indies and not use too many coats!

So The Polish Bar polishes I have tried are four for four now. I have loved each one! That's pretty awesome. I can't wait to show you the other two spring polishes she sent! The Polish Bar spring collection will be available March 15 at Janice's Etsy store. For more information, check out The Polish Bar on Facebook.

Product sent for review. For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy. 

Happy Hands Banana Stand

Base: one coat CND Stickey

Color: four coats Happy Hands Banana Stand

Top: one coat NYC Grand Central Station

Application: good (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

I apologize in advance for anything I might say in this post that does not make sense. I have a terrible cold and my brain feels like it is operating at about 10% of it's normal capacity. Anyway, I am currently wearing Happy Hands Banana Stand, a polish I lusted after for ages!! I wanted this for quite awhile after it came out, finally got it, and then let it sit for months in my untrieds. Why do we do this? It's a sickness, I tell you. I finally got around to wearing it last night and I love it every bit as much as I thought I would!! Banana Stand is a crelly banana pudding yellow base with medium chocolate brown and yellow hex glitter, and small green glitter. What an awesome and unique combo for a yellow polish lover like myself!!!

I did use four thin coats for this look. Three thicker ones would most likely do the same. I didn't mind using four coats too much because it dried pretty quickly. Banana Stand was also not streaky (a chronic problem for some yellows). If you'd rather use fewer coats, you can layer this over a yellow creme, like Zoya Creamy or Pippa. The glitter cooperated nicely and was easy to get on the nail. Banana Stand also dried very smooth with one coat of top coat, no bumpy glitter feeling.

This is the only Happy Hands polish I own right now, and I think I may have to rectify that terrible situation.  Happy Hands Banana Stand is available now both on the Etsy store and at Harlow and Co. Kristi (Happy Hands creator) has since changed bottle shapes, so if you purchase now, you will get a new square bottle shape, not this round one. I have my eye on The Worst Is Over and the Harlow and Co. exclusive Art Is Hard. Gorgeous!

Don't forget my random OPI giveaway ends tonight!!

My Valentine's Day mani- Jindie Nails Love Conquers All

Base: one coat Zoya Get Even

Color: three coats Jindie Nails Love Conquers All

Top: one coat Poshe

Application: good (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

I'm not a big Valentine's Day person. If you are in a relationship, you should tell the person every day how much you appreciate them. I don't need a box of candy to know whether someone loves me or not. However, I DO love polish with hearts in it!! This Valentine's Day, I'll be sporting Jindie Nails Love Conquers All. I impulse ordered this polish when I ordered Candy Land and Candy Land Remix (swatches soon!), and I am so glad I did! Love Conquers All is a lovely white crelly (creme/jelly) base, with various sizes of black, red, lavender and pink hex glitter, and more importantly, HEART glitter in a TON of colors! I got dark red, a brighter orange-y red, pale pink, and lavender hearts in this mani, but I also see black, dark purple and white in the bottle!

Love Conquers All was really easy to apply. The white base was even and near opaque with three coats. I didn't have trouble with it streaking. The heart glitter is very plentiful and came right out onto the brush with no fishing. Some of my hearts were at the bottom before I used this, so I did leave it upside down for about 5 minutes first. After that, the hearts were just jumping right out! The formula felt a tiny hair thick, not a problem right now, but it may need a dab of thinner in the future.

Jindie Nails Love Conquers All is an LE shade for Valentine's Day. It's currently sold out just about everywhere, but should be coming back in stock at Ninja Polish. To keep up with the latest news about Jindie Nails, check out her Facebook page.

The Polish Bar Satellite

Base: one coat Zoya Get Even

Color: two coats OPI Houston, We Have a Purple, one coat The Polish Bar Satellite

Top: one coat Poshe

Application: excellent (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

The last, but not least, lacquer from The Polish Bar I got to try is The Polish Bar Satellite. When I scroll through Janice's Etsy store, Satellite jumps out at me the most! This polish has a far bit going on, so I'm going to borrow Janice's own description of Satellite. She says Satellite has a "tinted pink jelly base with magenta, turquoise, and lime green fine holo hexes, larger silver holo hexes and dark fuschia and silver holo micro glitter". The lightly tinted base is a great mix of glitters and the dark fuchsia micro glitter and holo hexes really show up well. 

I wanted to layer Satellite over OPI Houston, We Have a Purple, because it seemed like a great combo. I think I was right about that! This is two coats of the OPI and one coat of Satellite. Satellite, like the other two The Polish Bar polishes I tried, had a fantastic formula. If you're tired of babying glitter polishes to get them to apply well, try The Polish Bar. I just used regular wiped coats and one coat! If you wanted a more dense glitter look, I'm sure you could achieve that with 2-3 coats.

I am SO glad I had the chance to try three polishes from The Polish Bar. I will definitely be purchasing some more. I already have my eye on Rainbow Jello and Violet Sky! Check out The Polish Bar on Etsy and like The Polish Bar on Facebook for the latest updates.

Product sent for review. For more information, please read my Disclosure Policy.

I Want to Compose a Love Song for The Polish Bar Love Song

Base: one coat Zoya Get Even

Color: two coats China Glaze Agent Lavender, two coats The Polish Bar Love Song

Top: one coat Poshe

Application: excellent (out of poor, average, good, excellent) (my excellent rating is for Love Song, NOT Agent StreakyMcStreakface)

After trying The Polish Bar Eternal Sunshine, I was pretty excited to try out the other two I got. Today I'm sporting The Polish Bar Love Song. If I were Karen from MBB, I'd probably write a cute love song for this post, describing the many glorious attributes of Love Song. Alas, I lack her amazing writing talents. Love Song is a fantastic combination of purple, lilac and lavender hex glitters, purple hearts, and an assortment of rainbow hex glitters in a clear base. The addition of the rainbow glitters is what really makes this unique to me. The polish is mostly shades of purple, but then you get a yellow, blue, red or green hex mixed in there and it looks so amazing!

Love Song applied really nicely. Both of The Polish Bar polishes I have tried so far have a really great formula. Unlike some indie glitters, they are not thick at all, but still manage to have plentiful glitter. This is two coats applied normally (not dabbed). I didn't get any heart glitter this time, but I noticed a ton of hearts on the bottom. I'll let my bottle sit upside down for an hour or so before I wear this one next time! I guess I'm ready for spring already, since I keep picking very springy polishes to wear! This combination is so great for spring!

Love Song would also look fabulous over pink (for Valentine's Day perhaps?), white, and for a wild card pairing, I'd like to try it over pale yellow. Love Song is available at The Polish Bar's Etsy store right now!

Product sent for review. For more information, please read my Disclosure Policy.

The Polish Bar Eternal Sunshine

Base: one coat CND Stickey

Color: three coats The Polish Bar Eternal Sunshine

Top: one coat Poshe

Application: excellent (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

Today's post features the new love of my life a gorgeous polish from a new to me indie brand! This soft yellow glittery concoction is The Polish Bar Eternal Sunshine! Janice, the lovely lady behind The Polish Bar, recently asked if I'd like to try some of her polishes, and I immediately focused on Eternal Sunshine. I love pale yellow polish when it's done well, and this baby is done really well! Eternal Sunshine is a creamy pale yellow with small purple square glitters, small purple and fuchsia hex glitters, and teeny navy glitters. JUST GORGEOUS!!

Three coats of Eternal Sunshine is absolutely perfect! The yellow base is sheer enough to let the glitters show through, but quite opaque in three coats. It also was completely streak free! If you wanted more of a yellow look, you could layer this over a yellow base, but I'm really loving it as is. I wish Janice would teach mainstream polish companies how to make a non-streaky pale yellow!

Eternal Sunshine just scream spring to me! I can't wait to wear it on one of those warm March days when you can just tell that spring is on the way. It would also help me get through one of those dim February days when I feel like spring will never come.

If you, like me, have thus far been missing out on the amazing polish created by Janice of The Polish Bar, check out her Etsy store. Eternal Sunshine is in stock right now! To stay up to date with the latest news about The Polish Bar, check out The Polish Bar on Facebook. I have two more of her polishes to review, so stay tuned for those.

Product sent for review. For more information, please read my Disclosure Policy.

Glimmer by Erica Muy Caliente!

Base: one coat Zoya Get Even
Color: two coats OPI Danke-Shiny Red, two coats Glimmer by Erica Muy Caliente
Top: one coat Seche Vite
Application: good (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

I'm taking a short break from holiday polish today to show you this beauty, Glimmer by Erica Muy Caliente. I love this SO MUCH!!!!! Muy Caliente is a clear base packed with red, orange and YELLOW hex glitter in several sizes, large red square glitter, small magenta hex glitter, tiny red, orange and magenta glitter, and probably about a million other kinds of glitter, all in the hot hues of red, orange, magenta, and yellow. I am super excited about the yellow glitter in Muy Caliente because a lot of indie polish makers don't use yellow very often. I happen to love yellow glitter, and it makes this polish really unique.

This is two coats of Muy Caliente over two coats of OPI Danke-Shiny Red. Muy Caliente was easy to apply, I just did two regular wiped coats, nothing fancy. All the glitter laid nice and flat, even the large red squares. This is definitely a polish I would wear year round. I think next time I will try it over white. I think it would really pop!

Muy Caliente is available now at Glimmer by Erica's Etsy store. She also has some really amazing looking holiday polishes. I have my eye on Boxes and Bows and Winter Wonderland!

Happy Thanksgiving!!! Smitten Polish Spice Cake

Base: one coat Zoya Get Even
Color: three coats Smitten Polish Spice Cake
Top: one coat NYC Grand Central Station, one coat Gelous
Application: average (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

Happy Thanksgiving to my US readers! I hope you are about to enjoy a relaxing day filled with family fun and delicious food! I'm currently wearing Smitten Polish Spice Cake on my polish, a polish I bought a few weeks ago, but wanted to save for Thanksgiving! Spice Cake is an orangey-brown creme base with orange, gold and brown glitters. There are teeny glitters, as well as larger hex glitters. This polish really screams "holiday food" to me!!

I did find the formula of Spice Cake to be a little challenging. It was a bit thick and also somehow applied a little patchy/streaky in the first coat. That's really why I had to use three coats to even it out. I also felt like some of the glitter got lost in the opaque base. My other Smitten polishes have absolutely dreamy formulas, so I was a little surprised at this one. It wasn't terrible, just more difficult to work with than the others I've tried. I also discovered that Spice Cake really requires two coats of top coat to be smooth. It was kind of lumpy after the first one, so I added the coat of Gelous. It's a really unique polish though, so I think it's worth a little effort!!

Smitten Polish Spice Cake is still available at the Smitten Polish Etsy store. Noelie is also going to be selling her holiday collection soon and it looks amazing! There are some preview pictures on her Facebook page. The Holly And The Ivy and Adeste Fidelis are definitely going to jump in my Etsy cart as soon as they're in stock!