Why should I suffer addiction alone? Polish linkspam and picspam :) Mostly Indie brands.
So, I mentioned a polish-spam, and here it is. Because I always try to do too many things at once, a quick breakdown of what is in this post, in case you are dithering over whether you want to click:
I thought, because a few friends have asked (tactfully refraining from openly asking how I afford so much polish), that I would post links to where I usually shop for discounted polishes online, so there are a bunch of links to some of the major discount sites that I use.
Bottle-spam (with mani pics where possible) of the indie/homemade polishes I've bought, with links to places where you can find them, and probably lusting over some hard-to-get ones.
More pics, because if I have a post with fewer than a hundred pics in it, you know I get itchy ^^;
Further discussion of methods of simultaneous concert-watching, and how might be best to accomplish this.
The further adventures of my Sakurai Sho squirrel purse--and his new friends.
OK. So. Discount shopping sites first.
There are 5 major sites where I tend to do most of my online polish shopping for regular drug-store to lower-end salon brands. Each site has slight differences in what they carry, so I'll try to list that here.
Head2Toe Beauty
This site carries China Glaze, Color Club, Essie, LeChat/Dare to Wear, Misa, and Orly. Some of these polishes are quite discounted.
For example, China Glaze tends to run US$6-10/bottle in a brick and mortar store, but on this site, tends to run around $3-4. The site carries collections from recent collections to quite a few years ago. You won't find the crazy popular and hard-to-find collections here, like the OMG holos, but the vast majority of CG's catalogue is here at steep discount.
Likewise, Color club is vastly discounted, and some of the HTF older polishes, like Revvvolution (a charcoal linear holo) are often here, and for $3, rather than the $5-6 you'd find in a traditional store. If you're interested in Wild at Heart, a purple linear holo which shares the name of a recent Arashi single, they have it here.
Not all the brands here are at such steep discounts. Misa's definitely discounted, but Essie is not discounted at all, and the Orly is a bit cheaper than you'd find at an Ulta, but generally not heavily discounted. Occasionally, some of the $10 special Orlys, like the Mineral FX Collection, are $7.50, but the standard Orlys tend not to be discounted.
You can usually find a 5% discount coupon for this store online. Just google Head2Toe coupon for the code.
8ty8beauty
This site is almost identical to Head2toe in terms of price, though there's a slightly different lineup of brands: Savina, Orly, MoodStruck, Omega Labs, Color Club, China Glaze, CND. If something is missing on one of these two sites, it's not a bad idea to check the other. Sometimes they carry slightly different things. 8ty8, for example, carries the Gay Pride "Live your life in color" set of Color Club polishes, but Head2Toe doesn't.
You can usually google up a coupon Code here as well.
Transdesign
This site carries deeply-discounted Barielle (including sets!),Amour, Entity, China Glaze, Color Club, Orly (actually discounted!), and Misa, and CND and Essie, but those two aren't generally discounted.
BeautyJoint
This is a great site for more drug-store level polishes, like Kleancolor (under $2/bottle!), Sally Hansen, LaGirl (GLITTERS), Milani, NYX Girls, etc. They also carry China Glaze, but at $4/bottle. They have sales and such, and are discounted, but perhaps not as steeply as the above. On the other hand, most of their polishes start lower, too. This site carries all kinds of cosmetic and skincare items in addition to polish, and like the above sites, almost always has online coupon codes available.
Cherry Culture
Another mostly drugstore makeup site. Carries NYX (not the girls line, but the salon line), Milani, LaGirl, LASplash, LA Colors, Sinful Colors. Some are discounted; others are just hard to find. They have really good sales occasionally, so it's worth it to sign up for updates at their site.
Those are the online stores I've had business with. I haven't had any bad experiences (yet), so I'd recommend them. I'm not sure which ones will ship internationally, but I'm guessing only one or two might.
Whew. That was wordier than I meant it to be ^^;
On to the Indie polishes!!
A quick note: Due to an international stocking issue with clear suspension base polish, which almost all of these polish-creators use, many of these sellers are on temporary hiatus. But a new supplier of suspension base has been located, so we all should be getting the goodies again within the next few weeks. But with these closed stores, especially on etsy, you will likely have to google {polish name + swatches} to see what their polishes look like. Get ready to drooooool, though :)
OK, so the following polishes are created by independent polish frankeners and mixers. Most are run by one to two people, and they tend to be a bit more adventurous than your typical polish. Some of them, like Cult Nails or Dollish Polish have their own shopping sites, while others, like Lacquistry or Candeo Colors, have Etsy sites. Still others, like Girly Bits or Nerdlacquer, have a combination of places where one can buy their goodies. With indies, the one-to-two person nature of the business means small batches and frequently, difficulty getting your hands on polishes, especially LEs or really popular polishes. Most of these people don't do this full-time, either, so restocks can be sporadic and swarmed by polish addicts. It's usually a good idea to sign up for notifications of shop openings and/or to like them on Facebook, where most of these vendors tend to announce things.
So why go through all the hassle?
THE PRETTIES. Also, dorkery. Many of the creators tend to have themes that make you want polishes for reasons other than just pretty colors. Nerdlacquer, for example. She has a Scully polish, a Batcave polish, and a "Han shot first" polish, available at Harlow & Co. *GRABBY HANDS*
SCULLY. POLISH.
Need I say more? Maybe I do. She has Firefly/Serenity polishes, Star Wars Polishes, Dr. Who Polishes, Monty Python polishes, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy polishes. It's EEEEEEVIL.
Nerdlacquer
So far, these are my preciousssssss(es):
Nebula, Data Squirrel, Regeneration, Holy Grail, The Quantum Bluniverse, I think you call me . . . . Sexy?, Outed by a Probot, Don’t Blink
A closeup of some of these (I definitely recommend clicking for bigger pictures--these tend to be really complicated polishes):
Swatches!
Data Squirrel
Holy Grail--A GLOW IN THE DARK LINEAR HOLO WITH HEX GLITTER. This polish is perfectly named.
Don't Blink (over Sally Hansen Dorien Grey)
Bottle Shots:
The Quantum Bluniverse:
Regeneration (Dr. Who!)
If you look at my nails in that pic, you'll probably see the best picture of holy Grail's linear holo. Rainbows on my fingers make me hum Kitto Daijoubu all day, so holos make me inordinately happy :)
OK. So Nerdlacquer just moved, so I'm not sure when she'll have stock again, but there are Three Places to buy her stuff: At her etsy store, Harlow & Co, which has about half of her general line, plus the three exclusives: Scully, Batcave and Han Shot First, and NinjaPolish, which also has three ninja-themed polishes, two of which I desperately want: Acid of One Thousand Fangs, Eight Gates, and Smoke Dragon. I'm not sure of the chartreuse of the first one, but the other two are kind of amazing. *wants*
Nerdlacquer. Awesomeness.
Dollish Polish
Most of these polishes are also pop-culture themed, though a bit more eclectically, as you can see.
Nice Scrunchy, Heather (Who here is in my generation? I will know by the ones who squeal when they read this), Random Dancing, Expecto Patronum
Nice Scrunchy, Heather is a very subtle red linear holo that I believe has since been retired
Blurry shot to show the holo:
The holo, as you can see, is really subtle--you need full sun or a flash for it to pop out. It generally looks like a rather complex shimmer, which I like. I think it might perfectly match my academic regalia, which is always a plus.
Color Club Wild At Heart with accent Nail of Random Dancing--I wore this the week Wild at Heart came out and felt it was the perfect Arashi Manicure:
Expecto Patronum: LOVE THIS. Subtle enough to wear to work, really soft and pretty! (But I love soft white polishes)
Dollish Polish has her own site here but she's sold out right now. I think she's planning on restocking maybe 5-10 colors at a time fairly soon. You should check them out, because so many of them are fantastic.
Another pop culture-y seller I haven't bought from but want to is Nostalgic Nail Lacquer: She has 7 deadly sin polishes, Jem and the Holograms, Labyrinth, and Pretty in Pink! And her polishes are gorgeous!
Candeo Colors A new small brand on etsy. I have two of her polishes, Sour Grapes and Orchid. I love both, but think the bottles need more ball bearings to help mix up all the lovely glitter!
Sour Grapes
Orchid (I'm wearing this right now!)
In real life, this is a glowing magenta with multi glitters and a glowing violet flash. I couldn't get an accurate picture of it for anything :/
Candeo Colors is available here at etsy. I'd definitely google "Candeo Colors swatches" to see some of her other stuff, since her store is currently closed while she frantically mixes up more.
Lacquistry
Year of the Dragon! I'm a Fire Dragon, so when I saw this LE only had one bottle left, I grabbed! This is why I shouldn't be allowed on the internet after midnight; it's worse than Gremlins. I wore this for Chinese New Year :)
Her etsy store is here. It's also closed right now. I kind of desperately want about 10 of her polishes, but my timing is always off. Check out her Golf Socks and Lake Placid on Acid <3 Also, she has a line of Tool-themed polishes and another line of Alice in Chains polishes, which is kind of fun.
Lacey-Lou's Stockpile: Gina's Galaxy.
Ok, these polishes are a bit odd:
They come in a jar with all the pigments and glitter being very thick and concentrated, and you get a stirring stick and a bottle of clear polish that you mix with it to adjust the translucency and consistency. I made kind of a mess, but I do really like the polish:
It's a violet with multi hex and micro-glitters,and an odd raisiny sheen and blue undertones. I think I'll mix more base with it next time. It really does remind me of a night sky, though.
A-England
These polishes always have legendary or mythical themes. Adina's first collection, The Mythicals, was all Arthurian, and this collection, The Legend, is based on Pre-Raphaelite paintings of St. George and the Dragon:
A England Princess Tears, Princess Sabra, Dragon, St. George, The order of the Garter, Ascalon, Bridal Veil
All of these have holographic particles except Order of the Garter (the blue Shimmer), but they're more scattered than linear, and very subtle. I wore these a lot while teaching Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Saints' lives this semester, but managed not to take many pictures, so I'll link you to some of Scrangie's swatches. I think Dragon is my favorite--it's probably the most holo and has this odd gold sheen to it that I really love.
Here's St. George:
*sniffs* I miss my longer nails. I'm all stubby right now, since I ripped a middle nail a week or so ago :P
A England is sold at llarowe, which also sells Girly Bits and other hard to find brands, in particular Australian and Brazilian polishes which are amazing. Definitely worth a visit. NinjaPolish also sells A-England and carries some really fun and hard-to find polishes, indie and otherwise, as does overall beauty. Overall also carries Dollish Polish and Cult Nails, as well as another awesome indie, Elixir Polish. They also carry some Australian brands and BB Couture.
Whew! LAST ONE.
Cult Nails
Iconic, Quench, Scandalous, Power Thief, Hypnotize me, Toxic Seaweed Living Water, Let me Fly, Manipulative, Time Traveller, Unicorn Puke(!), Seduction
This line started as an indie, but Maria recently quit her day job to pursue polish full time! She has the best customer service I've ever seen and I cannot recommend her highly enough. Her polishes tend to run $US10, but occasionally she'll have $5 sales, and when she launches a new collection, she often will give a discount if you buy the whole set, which you frequently want to do.
Bottle Spam!
Iconic, Quench, Scanalous, Power Thief
Hypnotize me, Toxic Seaweed (LE), Living Water, let me fly
Manipulative, Time Traveller, Unicorn Puke (extremely LE, also released as Clairvoyant, both gone due to ingredient discontinuation), Seduction (LE)
Probably last year's buzziest polish was Unicorn Puke, which only had 300 bottles made as Unicorn puke
Bottle 275:
People sort of lost their minds over this polish, even though they knew it was going to be rereleased as Clairvoyant for the Superpowers collection. I think someone paid something like $150 for a bottle on ebay? wth? Then the manufacturer stopped making the particular flakies in the polish, and . . . well, it's no longer in production. I managed to snag two bottles of Unicorn Puke and two of Clairvoyant before the shortage was announced. Whee.
Soooo Pretty! This is my mom's hand, btw--I gave her one of the Clairvoyant bottles for Xmas, and gave a polish-buddy the other Unicorn Puke. She wore Clairvoyant for new Year's.
Both of our New Year's manis! Mine is Glitter Gal 3D Silver. My mom has since decided that Clairvoyant is "pretty," but makes her "nails look cyanotic." ORZ.
And since it's now a family mani party, my grandma's New Year's nails--I painted her nails with Nicole by OPI Follow me on Glitter :DDD
She just turned 90! I'll be going to her birthday party this weekend! I will have to bring awesome polish for her to sparkle in :)
>_>
Right. Cult Nails.
Seduction is a purple jelly with flakies, like UP/Clairvoyant, but it's a warmer purple base, and the flakies are mostly red, pink, blue and purple--no green or gold, as in Clairvoyant It's LE, but not crazy LE, since the components are still around. If you like it though, I suggest snagging it before it runs out.
Toxic Seaweed
This polish used some of the same flakies as UP/Clairvoyant and has since sold out, so you'd have to get it off of ebay of MUA or something. I . . . like it better in the bottle than on my skin, so despite my clear hoarding behaviors, I'm not sure if I will keep it or not.
OK, I wear my Cult Nails all the time, but . . . somehow don't have any swatch pics. Clearly, this will need to be remedied in the future. But generally, Maria's polishes are awesome, and she tends to come out with 4-6 collections a year, and because she does work with a lab to mass-produce, her polishes tend not to run out (except when the components are discontinued) like most of the indies. you can get her polishes from Overall, as mentioned above, or directly from her site.
So. Those are my indie polishes! I kind of wonder if anyone has made it this far. If nothing else, this is a good reference for me to keep track of all the different polish sites ^^;
I was going to torment people with random swatches, but man, it's late ^^;
I did want to show off our new additions:
Remember my ridiculous squirrel purse, which I have named Sho Sakurai's Dream?
Hee. I was at a street fair this weekend and saw the seller!
Now I have a Casual Squirrel and a "Formal" Squirrel!
And then the Boy decided he needed a squirrel of his own. I call it Emo-Squirrel, but the Boy considers it a Ninja Squirrel^^;
So, in order to stay consistent with the retail enabling, here is the seller's website. I promise, she has all sorts of awesome designs which aren't squirrel-related :)
So it seems that there's some interest in maybe having a real-time virtual concert party when the new concert comes out :) If you're interested, what suggestions might you have? We could do gchat, but might not work for people in some countries. There's twitter, and AOL. Does anyone have any suggestions for logistics?
I thought, because a few friends have asked (tactfully refraining from openly asking how I afford so much polish), that I would post links to where I usually shop for discounted polishes online, so there are a bunch of links to some of the major discount sites that I use.
Bottle-spam (with mani pics where possible) of the indie/homemade polishes I've bought, with links to places where you can find them, and probably lusting over some hard-to-get ones.
More pics, because if I have a post with fewer than a hundred pics in it, you know I get itchy ^^;
Further discussion of methods of simultaneous concert-watching, and how might be best to accomplish this.
The further adventures of my Sakurai Sho squirrel purse--and his new friends.
OK. So. Discount shopping sites first.
There are 5 major sites where I tend to do most of my online polish shopping for regular drug-store to lower-end salon brands. Each site has slight differences in what they carry, so I'll try to list that here.
Head2Toe Beauty
This site carries China Glaze, Color Club, Essie, LeChat/Dare to Wear, Misa, and Orly. Some of these polishes are quite discounted.
For example, China Glaze tends to run US$6-10/bottle in a brick and mortar store, but on this site, tends to run around $3-4. The site carries collections from recent collections to quite a few years ago. You won't find the crazy popular and hard-to-find collections here, like the OMG holos, but the vast majority of CG's catalogue is here at steep discount.
Likewise, Color club is vastly discounted, and some of the HTF older polishes, like Revvvolution (a charcoal linear holo) are often here, and for $3, rather than the $5-6 you'd find in a traditional store. If you're interested in Wild at Heart, a purple linear holo which shares the name of a recent Arashi single, they have it here.
Not all the brands here are at such steep discounts. Misa's definitely discounted, but Essie is not discounted at all, and the Orly is a bit cheaper than you'd find at an Ulta, but generally not heavily discounted. Occasionally, some of the $10 special Orlys, like the Mineral FX Collection, are $7.50, but the standard Orlys tend not to be discounted.
You can usually find a 5% discount coupon for this store online. Just google Head2Toe coupon for the code.
8ty8beauty
This site is almost identical to Head2toe in terms of price, though there's a slightly different lineup of brands: Savina, Orly, MoodStruck, Omega Labs, Color Club, China Glaze, CND. If something is missing on one of these two sites, it's not a bad idea to check the other. Sometimes they carry slightly different things. 8ty8, for example, carries the Gay Pride "Live your life in color" set of Color Club polishes, but Head2Toe doesn't.
You can usually google up a coupon Code here as well.
Transdesign
This site carries deeply-discounted Barielle (including sets!),Amour, Entity, China Glaze, Color Club, Orly (actually discounted!), and Misa, and CND and Essie, but those two aren't generally discounted.
BeautyJoint
This is a great site for more drug-store level polishes, like Kleancolor (under $2/bottle!), Sally Hansen, LaGirl (GLITTERS), Milani, NYX Girls, etc. They also carry China Glaze, but at $4/bottle. They have sales and such, and are discounted, but perhaps not as steeply as the above. On the other hand, most of their polishes start lower, too. This site carries all kinds of cosmetic and skincare items in addition to polish, and like the above sites, almost always has online coupon codes available.
Cherry Culture
Another mostly drugstore makeup site. Carries NYX (not the girls line, but the salon line), Milani, LaGirl, LASplash, LA Colors, Sinful Colors. Some are discounted; others are just hard to find. They have really good sales occasionally, so it's worth it to sign up for updates at their site.
Those are the online stores I've had business with. I haven't had any bad experiences (yet), so I'd recommend them. I'm not sure which ones will ship internationally, but I'm guessing only one or two might.
Whew. That was wordier than I meant it to be ^^;
On to the Indie polishes!!
A quick note: Due to an international stocking issue with clear suspension base polish, which almost all of these polish-creators use, many of these sellers are on temporary hiatus. But a new supplier of suspension base has been located, so we all should be getting the goodies again within the next few weeks. But with these closed stores, especially on etsy, you will likely have to google {polish name + swatches} to see what their polishes look like. Get ready to drooooool, though :)
OK, so the following polishes are created by independent polish frankeners and mixers. Most are run by one to two people, and they tend to be a bit more adventurous than your typical polish. Some of them, like Cult Nails or Dollish Polish have their own shopping sites, while others, like Lacquistry or Candeo Colors, have Etsy sites. Still others, like Girly Bits or Nerdlacquer, have a combination of places where one can buy their goodies. With indies, the one-to-two person nature of the business means small batches and frequently, difficulty getting your hands on polishes, especially LEs or really popular polishes. Most of these people don't do this full-time, either, so restocks can be sporadic and swarmed by polish addicts. It's usually a good idea to sign up for notifications of shop openings and/or to like them on Facebook, where most of these vendors tend to announce things.
So why go through all the hassle?
THE PRETTIES. Also, dorkery. Many of the creators tend to have themes that make you want polishes for reasons other than just pretty colors. Nerdlacquer, for example. She has a Scully polish, a Batcave polish, and a "Han shot first" polish, available at Harlow & Co. *GRABBY HANDS*
SCULLY. POLISH.
Need I say more? Maybe I do. She has Firefly/Serenity polishes, Star Wars Polishes, Dr. Who Polishes, Monty Python polishes, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy polishes. It's EEEEEEVIL.
Nerdlacquer
So far, these are my preciousssssss(es):
Nebula, Data Squirrel, Regeneration, Holy Grail, The Quantum Bluniverse, I think you call me . . . . Sexy?, Outed by a Probot, Don’t Blink
A closeup of some of these (I definitely recommend clicking for bigger pictures--these tend to be really complicated polishes):
Swatches!
Data Squirrel
Holy Grail--A GLOW IN THE DARK LINEAR HOLO WITH HEX GLITTER. This polish is perfectly named.
Don't Blink (over Sally Hansen Dorien Grey)
Bottle Shots:
The Quantum Bluniverse:
Regeneration (Dr. Who!)
If you look at my nails in that pic, you'll probably see the best picture of holy Grail's linear holo. Rainbows on my fingers make me hum Kitto Daijoubu all day, so holos make me inordinately happy :)
OK. So Nerdlacquer just moved, so I'm not sure when she'll have stock again, but there are Three Places to buy her stuff: At her etsy store, Harlow & Co, which has about half of her general line, plus the three exclusives: Scully, Batcave and Han Shot First, and NinjaPolish, which also has three ninja-themed polishes, two of which I desperately want: Acid of One Thousand Fangs, Eight Gates, and Smoke Dragon. I'm not sure of the chartreuse of the first one, but the other two are kind of amazing. *wants*
Nerdlacquer. Awesomeness.
Dollish Polish
Most of these polishes are also pop-culture themed, though a bit more eclectically, as you can see.
Nice Scrunchy, Heather (Who here is in my generation? I will know by the ones who squeal when they read this), Random Dancing, Expecto Patronum
Nice Scrunchy, Heather is a very subtle red linear holo that I believe has since been retired
Blurry shot to show the holo:
The holo, as you can see, is really subtle--you need full sun or a flash for it to pop out. It generally looks like a rather complex shimmer, which I like. I think it might perfectly match my academic regalia, which is always a plus.
Color Club Wild At Heart with accent Nail of Random Dancing--I wore this the week Wild at Heart came out and felt it was the perfect Arashi Manicure:
Expecto Patronum: LOVE THIS. Subtle enough to wear to work, really soft and pretty! (But I love soft white polishes)
Dollish Polish has her own site here but she's sold out right now. I think she's planning on restocking maybe 5-10 colors at a time fairly soon. You should check them out, because so many of them are fantastic.
Another pop culture-y seller I haven't bought from but want to is Nostalgic Nail Lacquer: She has 7 deadly sin polishes, Jem and the Holograms, Labyrinth, and Pretty in Pink! And her polishes are gorgeous!
Candeo Colors A new small brand on etsy. I have two of her polishes, Sour Grapes and Orchid. I love both, but think the bottles need more ball bearings to help mix up all the lovely glitter!
Sour Grapes
Orchid (I'm wearing this right now!)
In real life, this is a glowing magenta with multi glitters and a glowing violet flash. I couldn't get an accurate picture of it for anything :/
Candeo Colors is available here at etsy. I'd definitely google "Candeo Colors swatches" to see some of her other stuff, since her store is currently closed while she frantically mixes up more.
Lacquistry
Year of the Dragon! I'm a Fire Dragon, so when I saw this LE only had one bottle left, I grabbed! This is why I shouldn't be allowed on the internet after midnight; it's worse than Gremlins. I wore this for Chinese New Year :)
Her etsy store is here. It's also closed right now. I kind of desperately want about 10 of her polishes, but my timing is always off. Check out her Golf Socks and Lake Placid on Acid <3 Also, she has a line of Tool-themed polishes and another line of Alice in Chains polishes, which is kind of fun.
Lacey-Lou's Stockpile: Gina's Galaxy.
Ok, these polishes are a bit odd:
They come in a jar with all the pigments and glitter being very thick and concentrated, and you get a stirring stick and a bottle of clear polish that you mix with it to adjust the translucency and consistency. I made kind of a mess, but I do really like the polish:
It's a violet with multi hex and micro-glitters,and an odd raisiny sheen and blue undertones. I think I'll mix more base with it next time. It really does remind me of a night sky, though.
A-England
These polishes always have legendary or mythical themes. Adina's first collection, The Mythicals, was all Arthurian, and this collection, The Legend, is based on Pre-Raphaelite paintings of St. George and the Dragon:
A England Princess Tears, Princess Sabra, Dragon, St. George, The order of the Garter, Ascalon, Bridal Veil
All of these have holographic particles except Order of the Garter (the blue Shimmer), but they're more scattered than linear, and very subtle. I wore these a lot while teaching Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Saints' lives this semester, but managed not to take many pictures, so I'll link you to some of Scrangie's swatches. I think Dragon is my favorite--it's probably the most holo and has this odd gold sheen to it that I really love.
Here's St. George:
*sniffs* I miss my longer nails. I'm all stubby right now, since I ripped a middle nail a week or so ago :P
A England is sold at llarowe, which also sells Girly Bits and other hard to find brands, in particular Australian and Brazilian polishes which are amazing. Definitely worth a visit. NinjaPolish also sells A-England and carries some really fun and hard-to find polishes, indie and otherwise, as does overall beauty. Overall also carries Dollish Polish and Cult Nails, as well as another awesome indie, Elixir Polish. They also carry some Australian brands and BB Couture.
Whew! LAST ONE.
Cult Nails
Iconic, Quench, Scandalous, Power Thief, Hypnotize me, Toxic Seaweed Living Water, Let me Fly, Manipulative, Time Traveller, Unicorn Puke(!), Seduction
This line started as an indie, but Maria recently quit her day job to pursue polish full time! She has the best customer service I've ever seen and I cannot recommend her highly enough. Her polishes tend to run $US10, but occasionally she'll have $5 sales, and when she launches a new collection, she often will give a discount if you buy the whole set, which you frequently want to do.
Bottle Spam!
Iconic, Quench, Scanalous, Power Thief
Hypnotize me, Toxic Seaweed (LE), Living Water, let me fly
Manipulative, Time Traveller, Unicorn Puke (extremely LE, also released as Clairvoyant, both gone due to ingredient discontinuation), Seduction (LE)
Probably last year's buzziest polish was Unicorn Puke, which only had 300 bottles made as Unicorn puke
Bottle 275:
People sort of lost their minds over this polish, even though they knew it was going to be rereleased as Clairvoyant for the Superpowers collection. I think someone paid something like $150 for a bottle on ebay? wth? Then the manufacturer stopped making the particular flakies in the polish, and . . . well, it's no longer in production. I managed to snag two bottles of Unicorn Puke and two of Clairvoyant before the shortage was announced. Whee.
Soooo Pretty! This is my mom's hand, btw--I gave her one of the Clairvoyant bottles for Xmas, and gave a polish-buddy the other Unicorn Puke. She wore Clairvoyant for new Year's.
Both of our New Year's manis! Mine is Glitter Gal 3D Silver. My mom has since decided that Clairvoyant is "pretty," but makes her "nails look cyanotic." ORZ.
And since it's now a family mani party, my grandma's New Year's nails--I painted her nails with Nicole by OPI Follow me on Glitter :DDD
She just turned 90! I'll be going to her birthday party this weekend! I will have to bring awesome polish for her to sparkle in :)
>_>
Right. Cult Nails.
Seduction is a purple jelly with flakies, like UP/Clairvoyant, but it's a warmer purple base, and the flakies are mostly red, pink, blue and purple--no green or gold, as in Clairvoyant It's LE, but not crazy LE, since the components are still around. If you like it though, I suggest snagging it before it runs out.
Toxic Seaweed
This polish used some of the same flakies as UP/Clairvoyant and has since sold out, so you'd have to get it off of ebay of MUA or something. I . . . like it better in the bottle than on my skin, so despite my clear hoarding behaviors, I'm not sure if I will keep it or not.
OK, I wear my Cult Nails all the time, but . . . somehow don't have any swatch pics. Clearly, this will need to be remedied in the future. But generally, Maria's polishes are awesome, and she tends to come out with 4-6 collections a year, and because she does work with a lab to mass-produce, her polishes tend not to run out (except when the components are discontinued) like most of the indies. you can get her polishes from Overall, as mentioned above, or directly from her site.
So. Those are my indie polishes! I kind of wonder if anyone has made it this far. If nothing else, this is a good reference for me to keep track of all the different polish sites ^^;
I was going to torment people with random swatches, but man, it's late ^^;
I did want to show off our new additions:
Remember my ridiculous squirrel purse, which I have named Sho Sakurai's Dream?
Hee. I was at a street fair this weekend and saw the seller!
Now I have a Casual Squirrel and a "Formal" Squirrel!
And then the Boy decided he needed a squirrel of his own. I call it Emo-Squirrel, but the Boy considers it a Ninja Squirrel^^;
So, in order to stay consistent with the retail enabling, here is the seller's website. I promise, she has all sorts of awesome designs which aren't squirrel-related :)
So it seems that there's some interest in maybe having a real-time virtual concert party when the new concert comes out :) If you're interested, what suggestions might you have? We could do gchat, but might not work for people in some countries. There's twitter, and AOL. Does anyone have any suggestions for logistics?