Press sample.

I had the pleasure of swatching some upcoming Great Lakes Lacquer polishes, and I wanted to share Love Wins with you today. From the brand:

Inspired by one of the shows my family and I binged during early quarantine, She-Ra and The Princesses Of Power on Netflix.

Light grass green with a soft linear holo, this is filled with a pink/purple to gold to green shifting aurora shimmer with purple to pink to orange to gold to green iridescent flakes.

$1 for every bottle sold will go to GLSEN, who 'champion LGBTQ issues in K-12 education since 1990.'

https://www.glsen.org/

Love Wins has become an instant favorite! The shifting shimmer dances on the nail, and the iridescent flakes add such complexity to this shade. I see a hint of holo in direct sunlight, but I wouldn't say that it is the main feature of this polish.

Two coats Love Wins with one coat Dior Gel Coat. LED lighting.

 

Love Wins applied beautifully in two coats. The flakes dispersed evenly onto my nails with no effort on my part, and I experienced no dragging or pooling.

You can grab a bottle of Love Wins for $13 (no cap for now) this weekend (Dec 4-7 2020) from Polish Pickup

Press sample.

Ethereal Lacquer's Frost collection consists of seven gorgeous polishes that will be available for preorder from November 13-20. Onto the swatches! 

All shade descriptions were provided by the brand, and I have added additional notes where applicable.

Two coats Everfrost with top coat, LED artificial lighting

Natural, indirect lighting

Incandescent artificial lighting

One coat Everfrost over black and white polish, with top coat

Three coats Frosted Bauble with top coat, incandescent artificial lighting

Incandescent artificial lighting

Natural, indirect lighting

Three coats Frozé with top coat, LED lighting

LED lighting

Natural, indirect lighting

One coat Frozé over white and black polish with top coat

Nightfrost- A deep midnight navy with red, gold to green multichrome shimmer and large holographic flakies. This is a favorite for sure! The navy base shines in the sun. $13.00

Two coats Nightfrost with top coat, LED lighting

LED lighting

Natural, indirect lighting

Plumfrost- A deepened jewel toned violet base with a strong pink to orange shifting shimmer. Another favorite. The glow from this one is unreal. $13.00

Two coats Plumfrost with top coat, LED lighting

Natural, indirect lighting

LED lighting

Three coats Skyfrost with top coat, LED lighting

Incandescent lighting

Natural, indirect lighting

One coat Skyfrost over black and white polish with top coat

Snowfrost- A pale ivory base full of turquoise to purple shifting shimmer and green, aqua, violet to blue shifting flakies. This is beautiful on its own, but I think this works better as a topper. $12.50

4 coats Snowfrost with topcoat, LED lighting

Indirect LED lighting

Indirect LED lighting

One coat layered over black and white polish, 4 coats on its own, LED lighting

Overall, I had no application or formula issues with any of these polishes except Snowfrost. Snowfrost requires a bit longer of a wait between coats or it drags and clumps up a bit. I really like this collection as a whole, and it fits the theme quite nicely. 

 Press sample.

The theme for this month's Polished Gamers Box is Diablo, and Arcane Magic is Ethereal's offering. Arcane Magic is a bright violet base with a pink to orange shifting shimmer and holographic flakies. It is $13.00 with no cap. 

This is my favorite color to wear! It's the perfect mix of pink and purple, and the shimmer running through it warms it up just the right amount. I captured as many different lightings as possible because this polish has so much to offer. Arcane Magic is opaque in two coats and went on like a dream. I had no issues with chipping or wear time.

Wildflower Lacquer released shimmer and flakie mystery bags in September, and Ethereal was one of my favorite surprises! I'm so anti-mystery when it comes to makeup, but something about nail polish mystery bags just get me. I guess it's because my polish tastes are way more broad than my taste in makeup. Anyway, on to the swatches.

Two coats Ethereal with one coat Through the Looking Glass

Two coats Ethereal with one coat Through the Looking Glass

Two coats Ethereal with one coat Through the Looking Glass

I love this polish! It's so squishy and sheer enough to show all the complexity of the flakes and holo. This is unfortunately not available to purchase, but Wildflower always has something amazing on the horizon!

 It's been quite a while (~6 years) since I've posted a nail swatch! I never stopped painting my nails, but I fell out of love with swatching. Recently, that passion was reignited when I impulsively volunteered to swatch few polishes for a brand. So...I'm back! 

I thought long and hard about what exactly made me stop swatching. It was a combination of my habit of abandoning hobbies and the pressure I put on myself to have flawless nails and photos. My goal this time around is not perfection. Instead, I want to present true-to-life photos of beautiful polishes on nails that might not always be shaped perfectly on hands that are always perfectly manicured. I'm excited to get back to swatching with that in mind.

Today, I'm sharing this stunning polish from Great Lakes Lacquer. It has the most beautiful purple base with shifting flakes. There's a smattering of holo pigment as well. This applied with no issues and had great coverage in two coats. 

Two coats Great Lakes Lacquer Can We Not Right Now? with one coat Dior Gel Coat

Two coats Great Lakes Lacquer Can We Not Right Now? with one coat Dior Gel Coat

Great Lakes Lacquer Can We Not Right Now?

Can We Not Right Now? is no longer available for purchase, but plenty of other gorgeous polishes are available for purchase here

Barneys New York has some awesome Deborah Lippmann exclusives in a bottle with a special white cap. The first one I want to show you is Virtual Insanity.

2 coats

Deborah Lippmann Virtual Insanity is a purple base packed with pinky gold and red shimmer. The formula is on the thick side, and I honestly wasn't very happy with it. I'll definitely thin it the next time I wear this. Virtual Insanity is such a beautiful shade, but it instantly reminded me of another polish I'm obsessed with: Formula X Infinite.

2 coats Virtual Insanity, 2 coats Infinite

While they're not identical, you can probably see why Formula X Infinite came to mind when I swatched Virtual Insanity. Personally, I think they're different enough to own both.