Sally Hansen Smokey Silver

Press Sample

Continuing with the Insta-Dri Matte collection is Smokey Silver and is a true silver metallic. This is a "1-stroke, 1 coat" polish that leaves you with a matte metallic finish in 60 seconds.

Sally Hansen Smoldering Teal

Press Sample

Today I have Smoldering Teal from the Insta-Dri Matte collection. This is a "1-stroke, 1 coat" polish that leaves you with a matte metallic finish in 60 seconds.  This is a mermaid blue teal that leans a little green.

Sally Hansen Rose Flush

Press Sample
I have three different Sally Hansen types to start sharing with you. This line is the Insta-Dri matte which says to wear just 1 stroke, 1 coat and it dries in 60 seconds. The brush is very long so you need to watch for drips but I'm putting it to the test! The polishes claim to dry down to a matte metallic finish. This is Rose Flush and is a soft rose with golden shimmer.

China Glaze Combat Blue-TS

Press Sample
I was moving polishes from one drawer to another when I came across this beauty from China Glaze - Combat Blue-TS from the Rebel Fall 2016 collection. This is such a rich blue matte and I could not WAIT to wear it.

Morgan Taylor Making Waves

Press Sample
I've been going through a blue phase with nails. First, it was a red phase, and now it's blue. Today I have Morgan Taylor Making Waves, which is a rich royal blue that dries down matte. This polish came out in 2014 as part of the Island Treasures collection, but I got it as part of a sample pack of polishes from Morgan Taylor in a beautiful acrylic box as a press package. Additionally, Gelish has a color also named Making Waves, but it has a blue shimmer to it and this is a straight creme.

ella + mila in line for wine

Press Sample

Today I have ella + mila in line for wine from the Elite collection. This merlot wine red creme actually has a matte finish which makes for an interesting look.

China Glaze Beak on Fleek!

Press Sample

This was a surprising color. Today from the China Glaze "You Do Hue" 2019 collection with Sesame Street, I have Beak on Fleek, which ended up being a matte yellow.

Pink Mask It's A Boy

Press Sample
Being a #boymom, I've embraced blue nail polish more in the past 6 years. When I was first looking over colors for Pink Mask, I chose It's A Boy, a cornflower blue creme that looked right up my alley.

Pink Mask Brut Rose

Press Sample
One of my favorite parts of Pink Mask is that they have the swatch of the color on the top of each bottle. This is especially helpful when I've put my bottles in my Helmer, away from light and exposure. Today I have Pink Mask Brut Rose, a shimmery rose gold gel.

Pink Mask Gel Polish

Press Sample
Back in July, I got a lovely email from Pink Mask, an Argentinian company that launched in the USA this July with their gel polishes. While they have been around since 2015, this was my first experience seeing their product.

China Glaze Shadies & Gentlemen

Press Sample
This summer when I got to see the preview of China Glaze's Halloween Collection called "Paint It Black", I was most stoked for this beautiful matte black called Shadies and Gentlemen. It looked just like an untouched chalkboard and I was obsessed.

ILNP Fully Loaded

Nothing To Disclose
Call me a glutton for punishment but I decided I need another flakie to wear this week. When ILNP came out with flakies, I wasn't thrilled only because I hate layering polish. And yet here I am today with ILNP Fully Loaded, a green to violet iridescent flakie.

China Glaze Santa's Side Chick

Press Sample
Last week, I realized that somehow my master spreadsheet of nail polish was deleted. I think it had to do with the account that I used on Google Sheets but the end result is that I have a spreadsheet from 2015 and nothing newer. However, this has also made me really want to get through my purge. I'm working hard to push out nail polish and figure out what I really want to keep. Today I'm using China Glaze Santa's Side Chick from the Glam Finale collection.

LCN sharp as a bullet

Press Sample
Happy Leap Year Day! Doing anything special or taking advantage of any special sales? I have work but I wanted to be a little adventurous with my nails. I had to go back to nubs because I ended up cracking one nail and splitting another and I just said "BYE FELICIA". Today I have LCN sharp as a bullet from the Industrial Innocence collection. As you can see from the printed sticker on the cap, this is a "matt" (matte) effect polish.

I used a base coat of Duri Rejuvacote and 3 coats of polish. Be careful with matte polishes because thin coats is best. I ended up rushing my last coat and ended up putting two large dings in my nails as soon as I put down my camera. For staying power, add your top coat, let dry and then add one more thin coat of polish to keep the matte effect.

No formula issues other than my heavy handedness on the last coat. This polish performs like most blacks. It does have a hint more grey than black in it which is apparent in the first coat of polish and in removal but on the nail, it looks like a nice satin black. 

I'm now halfway through the LCN Industrial Innocence collection and will finish posting them soon. Meanwhile, from now until March 31, 2016, you can purchase LCN on their Boutique website with free shipping using the code INDUSTRIAL.

LCN is available in both 8 ml (shown) and 16 ml. You can purchase on their website - 8 ml is $7.50 and 16 ml is $14.00. Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

Love, Angeline Baiser de Mousse

Nothing To Disclose
We are halfway through my 14 Days of Valentine's and as I peer into my box that I pulled for this prompt, I noticed I have quite a few indies coming up. Today is a brand called Love, Angeline and this polish is Baiser de Mousse from the Chateau Macaron collection. The polish name translates to "Foam Kiss" (how's that for 1 semester of the French language in college!) and this is a light pink pastel matte with a teeny tiny pink microglitter that stays hidden in the matte formula.

I used a base coat of Duri Rejuvacote and 2 coats of polish. Because this formula dries matte, I did not use a top coat, which will reduce the "life" of your manicure. To extend your manicure, use a top coat, and then one last thin layer of color to bring your polish back to its matte state. That way if the top layer chips, you still have a beautiful manicure underneath instead of just continuing to peel away the matte layers.

So matte polishes need to be applied carefully because they can tend to gloop together. I was a little thicker handed than I wanted to be which also means your polish needs longer to dry. I was going through a matte pastel phase when I bought this collection but I'm pretty much over it now and want to gloss all the things. Or holo all the things. Gloss holo ALL THE THINGS. But this is a pretty matte pink to wear to a baby shower or office appropriate. I don't hate it. Update: As soon as I finished this blog post, I went to put my bottle up and it slipped out of my hands, breaking at the neck on my tile floors. RIP.

Love, Angeline has closed her business and is no longer available for sale.

An InLinkz Link-up

My Top 5 Indie Polishes

 Nothing To Disclose
Last week, 29 amazing bloggers decided to come together and decide their top 5 indie polishes. I make #30 but after a sick Squish all week and a job that doesn't allow for much blogging time, I fell behind. However, this holiday weekend let me catch up (until I snapped my SD card in my reader...)

So without any further ado, here's my top 5 indie polishes!

Digital Nails Purple Reign is a deep purple holo that is perfectly opaque in just 2 coats. The holo is ridic - just look at it! And that's with a top coat! Purchase Digital Nails here.

Girly Bits A Stripper Has Been Sleeping In My Bed is a crazy rainbow packed glitter in a gunmetal gray base. I actually used 2 coats over another indie to give myself a base to grip to. This is a thirsty glitter and needs a good top coat to cover. Purchase Girly Bits here.

Glam Polish WHOOSH! is a very light lavender holo that is opaque in just 2 coats and doesn't dull with top coat. The bottles always seem more holo that the nails to me, but there's still plenty of holo to go around. Purchase Glam Polish here.

ILNP Mega is the original silver holo from their line before they came out with Mega (L), Mega (S) and the most recent Mega (X). I just recently pulled all 4 from my boxes to play with but I only got them on a nail wheel before Squish started squealing for mommy. Check my Instagram for a short video and comparison. Purchase ILNP here.

Love, Angeline Did You Say Peppercorn?! is the combo breaker in my Top 5. It's a very muted, matte grey with blue microglitter that's only seen with a top coat, which I didn't add. I picked this color because it's a great office neutral and something that's a great palette cleanser to my holo and glitter bombs. Purchase Love, Angeline here.

And there we have it! Be sure to check out the other bloggers below!

An InLinkz Link-up

Zoya Sage

Nothing To Disclose
Ready for the grand finale of the Zoya Naturel Satins collection? This is Zoya Sage - a mossy sage green. I really thought this would be my favorite as I have been pulling for more greens lately but Tove stole my heart.

I used a base of Zoya Anchor, 2 coats of polish and no top coat. The coverage on this was pretty awesome too - basically a one coater.

Well again I didn't have any sunlight so here is my light box. This is actually a really nice color! I'm not sure how often I'd wear it and it would definitely be a nubbin color for me but it's a very pretty sage green.

Here in the shade, the colors do play nicely with my skin. I'm a happy camper! I'm surprised that these last two have been my favorite but here they are. Sage and Tove. Krystal loves.

Finally here in indirect light (which almost looks like sunlight but trust me, it's cloudy out there), I'm able to just enjoy this polish. It's such a pretty little sage number. If you can only buy two polishes get this and Tove.

Zoya [Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube] can be purchased on their website for $9/bottle. 

Zoya Tove

Nothing To Disclose
Heading into the finale of the Zoya Naturel Satins collection and today I have Tove - a misty slate grey which leans more blue to me. I sometimes have to seriously question where they get these names. As you may recall, Zoya names all their polishes after women. The only Tove I've ever heard of is a singer which a very interesting song called Habits (Stay High). I know she has other songs and she's currently touring but yeah, I just know her for this one crazy little song.

I used a base coat of Zoya Anchor, 2 coats of polish and no top coat. The formula was pretty much a one coater here too but two thin coats is always best for me. I was very happy with the coverage.

The sun has decided to go away so this photo is from my light box. I'm absolutely in love with this color. It's not my perfect grey but the hint of blue is just SO perfect for me. I'm seriously considering wearing this for my upcoming baby shower. LOVE.

Here in the shade, it's definitely a dusty little number. Still love it.

LOOK AT THIS. This is what really made me fall in love with this polish. Seriously, I'd paint a room this color if I could because I do love it. I seriously see myself reaching for this polish over and over this year. Hands down my favorite of the collection.

Zoya [Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube] can be purchased on their website for $9/bottle. 

Zoya Rowan

 Nothing To Disclose
Let's get to the back half of the Zoya Naturel Satins collection, shall we? These last 3 are definitely more earthy in color and I wasn't sure how much I'd love them since I gravitate to more of the pretty pinks and purples. Today I have Zoya Rowan - a "creamy suede taupe" - reminded me of putty.

I used a base coat of Zoya Anchor, 2 coats of polish and no top coat. The formula on this polish was super opaque and I really only needed one coat but I used a second thin coat just to make sure I had even coverage. I was pretty impressed by it!

Check it out! So it's not totally my cup of tea but it's a neat looking color overall.

This is in indirect light - it's a little dark for me but I think I could jazz it up. 

Here in the light box, you can see it's just more of the same putty look. This was definitely my least favorite color although it was my favorite formula.

Zoya [Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube] can be purchased on their website for $9/bottle. 

Zoya Leah

Nothing To Disclose
Getting to the mid way point in the Naturel Satin collection with Leah, a "lavender tinged taupe". I was originally most excited about this because I do love all things purple/lavender.

I used a base coat of Zoya Anchor, 2 coats of polish and no top coat. The formula on this polish was much better than Ana and Brittany. Dry time was fast even without a top coat.

Okay, now I know what you're thinking. What IS this. This doesn't look lavender at all in the sun. If anything it looks blueish silver. I don't know why - I seriously had to check my photos again to make sure I used the right ones in editing but I did!

Even in the shade, I'm scratching my head. This isn't what I expected but I do like the dusty look that it has.

Finally in the indirect light I got some purple coming through and I was pleased. This really is up my alley for colors.

This photo was in my light box. Purple? Check. Happy Satin finish? Check. Happy Krystal? Partially checked. I'm definitely having a love/hate feeling with this collection. It's unique, the formulas are pretty decent but me and nudes - just not loving it totally!

Zoya [Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube] can be purchased on their website for $9/bottle.