Viva Las Vegas

Saving the best for last, here is the fourth lacquer I recently purchased from Glam Polish, Viva Las Vegas.  The other three polishes I’ve featured from Aussie indie Glam Polish have all been from an Alice in Wonderland-themed collection, whereas this stunning metallic glitter comes from their springtime The King Collection, a lacquered nod to all things Vegas and its patron musical saint, Elvis Presley.

Viva Las Vegas is beyond gorgeous, with a gaudy mix of iridescent glitter nestled in a champagne-hued micro-glitter base.  It’s Vegas in a bottle, all slot machines and stainy, rum-based drinks, white leather jumpsuits and golden pyramids, poker chips and all-you-can-eat buffets (of which there had better damned well be some fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches on offer for the King.)

Here we have three light coats of Viva Las Vegas.  These micro-glitter polishes tend to dry down with a bit of texture; use a layer of topcoat like I did if you’d prefer to smooth things out (which I always do, because high gloss topcoats pull out all sorts of fun colours and hidden dimension.)  I purchased my Glam Polishes, including Viva Las Vegas, from indie stocklist Harlow & Co., because I also always do.  Ka-ching, I’m all shook up!

Stranger Things

Yes, I am completely one of those (getting-to-be-annoying?) people who has drank the Stranger Things Koolaid.  In my case, though, it’s less like Koolaid and more like the very blood that runs through my ever-nostalgic veins – this show could not possibly be more up my alley than if it were called The Sandra Lewrey Show for Sandra Lewreys.  I grew up on a steady diet of the ’80s movies, TV shows, novels and music Stranger Things so lovingly recreates (Steven Spielberg, Stephen King and John Carpenter being the primary influences) and its arrival on Netflix not even two weeks ago now – right in the midst of a languid summer heatwave, exactly the kind of conditions under which I used to sprawl out in a friend’s cool basement and wile away the humid daylight hours with some combination of The Goonies, Stand By Me and either Poltergeist or Jaws playing on an endless loop on the TV – signaled the end of all other productive activity.  I’ve regressed, and it feels fabulous.

Everything that just about everyone has said about Stranger Things I second, third and fourth, which is also the approximate number of times I’ve watched the eight episodes back-to-back.  I even found myself engaging in a round of Shag/Marry/Kill today with Mr. Clarke, Hopper and Mike and Nancy’s dad, Ted (for the record, Ted gets the axe, Mr. Clarke is the one I’d marry and Hopper…it’d be hot for about two seconds.  Then he’d start crying and pass out on top of you in a drunken stupor until you’re either crushed to death by his massiveness or drown in his cold flop sweat.)

On a more serious note, Stranger Things is a show to be savoured, a show to be studied. Note all of the grid imagery that makes up the bulk of the show’s aesthetics.  Start looking and you’ll find those horizontal and vertical lines – like the bars of a cell – and grids – like the graph paper the boys use to plot out their D&D adventures – EVERYWHERE.  Then there’s the use of water and keys and music, and the fact that I am super invested in a fictional relationship between two 11-year-olds.  Stranger Things have happened.

I could talk about this show all day long (pretty much do) and I adore it more than anything I’ve seen in forever, but I’ll leave off for now with these nails, a nod to Joyce Byers’ homemade wall ouija and the show’s overarching message that we’re all RIGHT HERE.  Nothing strange about that.

You’re Entirely BONKERS

Kicking off the week with another everything-and-the-kitchen-sink lacquer from Glam Polish, this time the super sweet You’re Entirely BONKERS from their It’s Only a Dream, Alice Collection.

Like Six Impossible Things, a polish I took a closer look at last week, You’re Entirely BONKERS (emphasis on the “bonkers,” gotcha) is a silvery-blue holo stuffed with iridescent mirco-glitter, tiny chromatic flakies and a smattering of razor thin glass glitter. Six Impossible Things’ pale pink glitter gives that polish a delicate, sort of romantic look, but You’re Entirely BONKERS positively dazzles with a disco’s worth of purple, blue and green glass glitter that actually looks like ALL the colours of the rainbow when it’s out in the sun doing its sweet thang.

Speaking of, also like Six Impossible Things, You’re Entirely BONKERS was just a total jerk to try and photograph, both in and out of the sun, but particularly in the shade where its iciness registers as out-of-focus.  Another pretty polish that presents so much better in real life than in photographs, but gorgeous all the same.

The Pastel Leopard

Right, so it’s official: There’s nothing I can pair with the word “leopard” that doesn’t make me think of a strip club, including the names of every manicure I’ve ever done with this polish, KB Shimmer’s leopard-spotted glitter, Spot Sign.  It’s a sickness.  Then one day I’ll use some flocking powder to create The Velvet Leopard and that’ll just put me right over the edge. 😉

Saturday Night Sushi

Looks like the gang’s all here – a little edamame to nibble on before getting down to the main business of sake, a California roll, Ikura (here in 3D form using the marigold-hued micro beads I purchased from Daily Charme) and maguro!

Party in a Bottle!

That’s what I’m going to call this polish, another sparkly pick from Glam Polish’s Alice in Wonderland-themed It’s Only a Dream, Alice Collection, because its actual name, The Best Futterwacken in all of Witzend, is an unwieldy nightmare and I have no idea what it means.  Neither does Google.  Probably something inane that ninny Mad Hatter cooked up. So Party in a Bottle it is!

Like the polish I featured yesterday, Six Impossible Things, Party in a Bottle is a stunning mix of micro-glitter, matte glitter and tiny chromatic flakies in a rich holographic base. Unlike Six Impossible things, though, which I actually think looks sweet and delicate – like sparkly spun sugar – Witzend (sorry) is a super vibrant holo glitter bomb, packed to the decorated rafters with a rainbow’s worth of dazzling holographic micro-glitter for a fun, speckled, confetti cannon-type of look.

Like its collection mate, Party in a Bottle applies smoothly and evenly in just a couple of coats and removes like a dream if you don’t mind peeling off your polish.  And before anyone gives me grief for destroying my nails, I find that scraping away at my glitter-crusted nails with an acetone-soaked cotton ball actually does more damage to the surface of my nails than simply peeling it off, but whatever works for you.  All the same, this polish really is the Best Futterwacken Party in a Bottle I’ve ever seen. 😉

Six Impossible Things

Astute readers may have noticed that I have been way off the swatching pace lately. Truth is, my polish purchase power is at an all-time low, as there are very few polishes that have caught my eye this year.  I think that’s just what happens when you already own a tremendous load of lacquers, to say nothing of my “only one of a type” stance regarding my personal collection – I just don’t need (nor do I have room to store) five variations on a pastel green creme.

Then Glam Polish, a favourite Aussie indie, released an absolutely gorgeous and unique collection of glitter-stuffed, micro glitter-packed, holo-infused polishes, and I caved HARD.  Like, four polishes at one time hard – had to hold myself back from snapping up all nine lacquers in the Alice in Wonderland-themed collection, actually.

This pretty pink pick right here is Six Impossible Things from Glam Polish’s recently released It’s Only a Dream, Alice Collection.  Regrettably, one of the Impossible Things would seem to be the ability to take a decent photo of this stunning polish; like all of the truly gorgeous ones, it’s a bit of a wallflower and does not take kindly to having its picture taken.

But in real life, heavens, Six Impossible Things is spectacular!  Fun, sparkly and ever-changing as you move your hands about, this gorgeous glitter polish flashes an icy, rosy pink from the smattering of pink chromatic flakies suspended in its holographic base. A sprinkling of iridescent micro-glitter provides a beautiful hit of colour-shifting fun, while the pale pink glass glitter adds just the right amount of delicate visual interest.  I think Six Impossible Things would actually be pretty great as a manicure/pedicure polish for brides and/or their attendants – it’s that highly covetable “flashy without the tacky” dichotomy blown all to smithereens. Formula-wise, Six Impossible Things applied nicely in three even coats, although it does dry ever so slightly textured, so you’ll want to top this one with a high shine topcoat.

Glam Polish does ship internationally, but with the ever-looming threat of a Canada Post strike at hand, they’ve suspended shipments to Canadian customers until the successful resolution of the situation (BAHAHAHAHAHAHA.)  I purchased my polishes through Harlow & Co., an international stocklist run right out of my home province of Ontario. Harlow has done well by me over the years, and vice versa – I’ve never had anything but great experiences dealing with them, and that includes navigating the recent “Will they/Won’t they?” lockout (my polishes were sent via Canada Post; they haven’t declared their intention to strike just yet, although Harlow has alternate shipping arrangements in place should the strike actually go down.  That’s just a fabulous bit of customer service right there, no?  One of the many reasons I love Harlow, and the awesome products they stock.)

Eye Spy

This combination of polishes, ILNP’s multi-chromatic flakie topper, Paradox, over Enchanted Polish’s plum holo, January 2015, reminded me so much of the colour and effect of the wallpaper in Disney’s Haunted Mansion, I added some not-so evil eyes just to seal the ghostly deal.  These nails should keep the haunts of the Mansion extra happy, but all the same, keep your eye(s) on this one. 😉

No Name Nails

You guys, the unthinkable *may* have happened – I’ve no pithy little title for this post, mostly because I have no idea what these nails actually are.  Pastel watermelon seeds?  A highly stylized sunset?  The visual representation of that little *PING!* noise that goes off above your head when you have a particularly inspired thought (or so movies have taught me)?  Sesame seeds?  Quarter-daisies?  I’d say this manicure is way open for interpretation.

And because I made a point of taking the photos for these nails in the sun, where the beautiful base polish I used here could really shine, I’ll give IT a name – KB Shimmer’s In Bare Form, THE perfect nude holo for folks of the ultra pale variety.

Disney Girl Challenge: Ariel (One More Time)

Looks like third time’s the charm for these charming Ariel nails that borrow quite a bit from a previous design, while adding some serious infrastructure upgrades in the form of new shells – a couple of nail charms from Daily Charme – for one Miss Mermaid.

I love these nails!  I think this manicure turned out so well, particularly the shells, which started out life as plain white charms that I then painted a holographic purple (Enchanted Polish’s August 2015), highlighted with the same purple multi-chrome I used in Ariel’s tail.  Speaking of, her tail also got a bit of an upgrade – ILNP’s glitter flakie topper, Supernova, over Polish Me Silly’s mermaidy multi-chrome, Paradise, for a scale-type look.

Ariel’s face over on my thumb also looks much improved.  Pupils are the windows to the soul, and everybody should have them, even my little Disney nail characters. 🙂