more frankening results

i have made some more pretty polishes lately.  i'm excited that i have improved my OPI "Creme de Menthe" dupe and it's gorgeous.

Creamy Mint, and look, it doesn't give me lobster claws anymore!

Reptilian, medium green creme with golden shimmer

Bathyshere, dark teal jelly with light gold glitter and shimmer 

Hello Holo, a one-off bright pink linear holo

as always my polishes are for sale at my Etsy shop!

BK Crystal Sand "#11"

today i have a special post!  Born Pretty is a site that sells all sort of beauty products from nails to hair to tools and accessories.  a representative offered to send me a polish if i would post about it, and i am more than happy to do that!

i chose a light purple shimmer polish (since i love purple), known as "#11" of the BK Crystal Sand collection.  this polishes retails for $4.74 on the Born Pretty webstore but you get a discount if you purchase multiple polishes.  it is B3F according to the product page, and it smells B3F too--very faint odor!  i was actually pretty impressed by this polish.  it is not a glitter (and if you are a regular reader you know i'm not a fan of glitter), but it is SO SPARKLEY.  the formula is great: it's nearly opaque in a single coat (2 is perfect) and the brush is wide and flat, similar to an OPI Pro-Wide brush, so application is a breeze.

it's great for layering over dark cremes as well.  for being SO SPARKLEY, it doesn't eat up top coat much, but i'd suggest a thick coat for maximum brilliance.  here are my photos:

^sunlight

^shade

***also if you use the coupon code LINDSAYL73 you'll receive 5% off your order at Born Pretty***

obscure swatches

i picked these up at a beauty supply store because they are unique/weird.  each is for sale for $1.50/ea (+shipping)

Toma Mood Changing "Antique Bronze to Gold Saturne".  brown base with greenish-gold shimmer.  2 coats shown.  ugly-pretty, not pretty ugly!

Toma "Solstice".  brown shimmer with gold microglitter and some multi-coloured shimmer.  2 coats shown.  how pretty is this?

CM "Misty Jade".  light green shimmer.  2 coats shown.  very pretty but i wish it didn't give me lobster claws

(i can't stop making) frankens

here are a handful more i recently made that are currently listed for sale on my Etsy shop.

Xmas Tree, dark green jelly with different sizes of holo glitter

Sunken Treasure, blue jelly with different sizes of yellow glitter

Canopy, green holo with golden iridescence

Bokeh, purple holo with pink iridescence

A Drizzling, lavender creme with blue microshimmer

my perfect blurple franken

i was enamored when i saw Scrangie's swatch of Nicole by OPI "Midnight Snowfall".  but as she admits, her camera never quite captures purple or violet blue quite accurately.  i eventually acquired that polish but was somewhat disappointed by how it didn't match Scrangie's photo (and needed at least 3 coats).
thus i decided to mix my own blurple that would straddle that line between blue and purple ever so elegantly.  i think i succeeded, even though my franken is not as vibrant as the polish in Scrangie's swatch (i believe because mine has a touch of white added to it).  it definitely switches between blue and purple depending on the light source.  the formula is pretty good too, and 2 coats is perfect for an opaque finish.

edit: i made a second bottle and listed on my Etsy shop for sale!

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure "Ring My Shell"

"Ring My Shell" is a sheer, pale pink/off white shimmer polish with some pink and green iridescence.  it's a good palate cleanser.  shown is 2 coats.

Island Girl swatches

my mom brought some Island Girl polishes back from Hawaii so i thought i'd swatch them.

Island Girl polish names suck.  here is "Island Color", a silver and pink glitter polish.  shown is 3 coats:

^direct sunlight

^shade

second is "Island Surf", a shimmery berry pink with scattered holographic microglitter.  2 coats again:

Dare 2 Wear "DJ Mix"

i picked up "DJ Mix" in a recent haul.  it's part of the Creative Rhythm collection.  now i knew i was going to like this polish because it's one of my favourite colours but i was blown away when i did this manicure.  "DJ Mix" is of course a neon polish.  the formula was perfect--it could have been a 1 coater if i'd been more vigilant.  i used 2 coats and a top coat (because neons dry matte and i am not a fan of matte).  the result?  something i could not have predicted from the bottle!
i was expecting a creamy teal but instead i got a juicy kelly green.  this is one of my new favourite polishes.  it is so pretty and flattering.  i wish Dare 2 Wear brand polishes were easier to find near me because so far i am a big fan of them!

you can see in the above photo the disparity between the bottle colour and the nail colour.

(as with all neons, i have colour corrected the photo to make it more accurate to real life)

Picture Polish "Denim"

i paid a small fortune on eBay for this one, but it would have cost more ordering it directly from the company due to their international shipping policies.  it's a beautiful, unique polish that is indeed reminiscent of worn denim.  it's a medium purple-leaning blue creme with silver flakies and subtle blue iridescence.  unfortunately this one gives me lobster claws!  i think i used 2 coats.  please forgive the tipwear.

black holo franken

 i recently sold my bottle of OPI "My Private Jet" holographic version and frankened a replacement using OPI Designer Series "Vintage" and China Glaze "Liquid Leather" (black jelly).  as per the usual recipe i used about a 3:1 ratio.
the result was an (intentionally) warm black holo with golden shimmer from the DS "Vintage".  as you can see from the photos, it is stunning.  shown is 1 coat over 1 coat of black.

moar frankens!

i've decided to put my frankens on my Etsy shop if anyone wants to buy them.  i'm having way too much fun making polishes lately.  below are some photos of my recent frankens, all shown with 2 coats:

Dilapidalliance, medium purple with blue-green iridescence.  baby RBL "Scrangie", no?

Night Swim, black base with duochromatic green-blue shimmer

Open Field, bright green jelly with red flakies and shimmer

Algae Bloom, bright aqua jelly with red and gold flakies and shimmer

Peat Bog (my favourite!), dark olive green with gold flakies and gold shimmer

Wet n' Wild Fantasy Makers "Fiery"

this was a gift from a NB friend.  it's a beautiful golden pink duochrome.  i don't know much about these Fantasy Makers except that they seem to be popular.  no wonder!

Essie "Photo-Op"

i picked this polish at a local dusty because it looked like a brick red creme.  and indeed it's a nice brick red, although my photo failed to capture this somehow.  oh well.  forgive the tipwear.  this is a black label Essie and had an exceptional formula.

franken sale!

email me at lazylungs@gmail.com if interested

each bottle is $6.50.  shipping is $1.50 for the first polish and $0.50 for each additional polish until the weight of the package exceeds 13oz, after which shipping is $4.95 for the entire package (USPS Priority)

^franken #1, 2 coats shown, medium green jelly with copper glitter (i have 3 bottles of this)

^franken #2, 2 coats shown, black jelly with red-green duochrome shimmer and glitter (i have 1 bottle of this)

^franken #3, 3 coats shown, light grey creme with blue microshimmer and iridescent glitter (i have 1 bottle of this)

^franken #4, 2 coats shown, medium green-grey creme with blue shimmer (i have 1 bottle of this)

^franken #5, 2 coats shown, medium purple creme with blue microshimmer (i have 1 bottle of this)

^franken #6, 2 coats shown, medium green jelly with pink shimmer (i have 1 bottle of this)

PSA re: CVS

hi all, just wanted to let you know that my local CVS had three brand new and un-de-serialized bottles of DS Sapphire for sale.  y'all should check your stores to see if you get any DS polishes.  i was pretty amazed!

"why can't i hold all these holos?"

my stores also got new bottles of the Burlesque collection including the glitters!  keep your eyes peeled!