Nail Polish Discussion - Any Brand

[PearlyQueen]

I have a few more manis (and a pedi!) to show. First is Sally Hansen 02 Crystal Opal (2013 untried, over black) with Illyrian Polish Mixed Emotions. I put the Illyrian over the Sally Hansen as yet again it seemed a bit sheer to use on its own. I do love it though! Of course the SH didn't dry properly again, and by the time the sun came out, it has tipwear, but I wanted to enclose those pictures anyway as the Illyrian was so pretty in the sun!

View attachment 67770

View attachment 67771

View attachment 67772

View attachment 67773

Next is Emily de Molly Embellished Response with Zoya Solange (2013 untried, with topcoat because I hate the texture).

View attachment 67774

View attachment 67775

On my toes is Tonic Polish Sophia!

View attachment 67776

Finally it's Tonic Polish High Tide with Femme Fatale Tidal Stars. Both are more green/teal than my pictures show, the Tonic in particular has a strong green to pink shimmer, but my camera didn't think it was important enough to bother with.

View attachment 67777

View attachment 67778

View attachment 67779

I love both the Illyrian and the Femme Fatale highlights in the last one! SH is obviously not great for drying, I hate that when I find it, usually in an old mainstream brand for me.

 

[PearlyQueen]

So it looks like the new Tonic collection isn't going to be out for another 2 weeks, by which time I have to empty my Stackry box. So I guess I'll either have it sent here or wait until there's enough stuff to go to my box again. I nearly bought the 6 I want from the latest collection, but then I saw that Cupcake Polish has a 30% sale and I bought 6 from there instead.

Not sure if I should order anything from PPU. I passed on Bats Full of Shame, but if I remember correctly, Anne, you have that one. I also quite like the Ethereal and Alchemy, maybe the Blush too, but not sure if I should spend on polishes I "quite like".

Luckily I don't want anything from Femme Fatale this month, not keen on the FTLOP box and only like one or two of the new Glams, but not enough to bother with ordering.

I should probably save my money as I finally made it to the dentist (I have a loose tooth) and it looks like it might have to come out and then I'll need a double crown or an implant. So far it's cost me £90 to see the dentist and the hygienist, and then I'll have to go back in 2 weeks to see if the gum has tightened up around the tooth enough. Ugh.

Shame about the Tonics but yay for cheap cupcakes - I was tempted to get a few myself but didn't. I did skip PPU too and I really didn't like FTLOP at all, the Pahlish was OK but that was it so more money saved. Dental bills are some of the worst, hope all is well now.

 

[PearlyQueen]

I spent the last weekend sorting out the spare room and it turns out we didn't have as much crap as I thought. So I managed to fit everything in the large wardrobe and in bags under the bed. I had enough space to move my rainbow drawers in there, they were in the way in my bedroom, so this is great.

View attachment 67801

It has mostly mainstream polishes except some overflow Enchanteds, also Vapids and WingDusts. This weekend I aim to put my new Helmer together and then start rearanging my polishes.

Still no news on the Tonics, but PfD had a small sale yesterday and listed mystery bags with PPU/FTLOP overpours. I got 2 bags and put a note to request 4 polishes I'd really like. She said no guarantees, but it felt like she was saying it as she's only allowed to sell them as mysteries. Otherwise why would she say you can put a note with requests? Well, I hope I get those 4. The 2 bags contain 6, so I might get duplicates, but PfDs are quite easy to sell, and a bag of 3 was only $25 anyway.

I love those drawers, and great news you have more space than expected. I missed the PfD sale, would definitely have been interested if I'd known - she didn't put anything on FB or Instagram that I saw . I was gutted that Just Keep Swimming didn't turn up in the rewind this month, so if you get two of those please can I have first dibs on the spare? In fact please let me know if there are any of them you don't want, I'm sure I've missed a few others I liked. I'm thinking about getting the Rewind one from RC today, waiting till later today to see what Shleee release first (didn't get my usual email from them last night!). I have an RC cart with Sea-ing is Believing, Wildflower's Don't Play Koi and the newest EP which is really pretty - holding fire for now but I may press the button later on all three. I've never tried Wildflower though so not sure. And after giving up EP do I really want to start again??? We'll see, I've been very spendy recently but the PfD is really calling me anyway, might end up just getting that one...

 

[PearlyQueen]

Nail mail! My June PPU order just arrived.

View attachment 67802

Also some manis, because i haven't posted any in a while. First is Femme Fatale Bodice Lace. This was okay, but nothing special.

View attachment 67803

View attachment 67804

View attachment 67805

Next is Nails Inc Disco Lane (2013 untried) with Lilypad Lacquer Ooh Shiny stamped with Hit The Bottle As Black As Night. The Lilypad has silver flakes, but they don't show in the pictures. I was quite pleased with the stamping, it turned out well.

View attachment 67806

View attachment 67807

View attachment 67808

This is Tonic Polish Mermaid Parade with Glam Polish The Return of Jafar. Love a good multichrome.

View attachment 67809

View attachment 67810

View attachment 67811

Love both of these manis! That stamping is so striking, and adore both the polishes in the multichrome one. Very very nice indeed, especially the Glam which I don't think I have

 

[PearlyQueen]

Some more manis because I'm bored and I should be doing housework, but trying to put it off as long as possible, hahaha.

This is Different Dimension International Space Station with Topshop Winterfrost (2013 untried) topped with Lilypad Lacquer Happy Days Ahead. The DD was more green with shifts to teal and blue, but it shows mostly as teal in my pictures.

View attachment 67812

View attachment 67813

View attachment 67814

Next is Polished for Days Mr Mint with Darling Diva Shake Your Pom Poms. I love the PfD so much. Sadly this many got trashed very quickly as I wore it on Saturday when we were moving furniture and boxes.

View attachment 67815

View attachment 67816

View attachment 67822

Finally this is Femme Fatale Hemlock with Colors by Llarowe Weeping Angels. It was an okay mani.

View attachment 67819

View attachment 67820

View attachment 67821

These are also cool! Once again I'm drawn to your Llarowe topper, I didn't buy most of these, maybe one or two - can't remember, too many polishes I guess!

 

[PearlyQueen]

Sorry I've not been posting for a while. My little boy Morpheus RIP, it's been a sad couple of weeks for me. We now have a new kitten who is keeping us very busy too, he's very hard work but really cute. My manis are still lasting forever, though I do have one to post still in the camera! I've been told we're not going back to the office till September, so no-one is seeing my nails except you, the cats and my oblivious husband...
Recently I've been a bit too shoppy, I got a single Glam last time (the purple Angel one) - I read that they won't ship till September, which means I can add another two releases to the shipping, hopefully get a few there. I wouldn't have bothered with a single one otherwise. And I bought almost all of the new Illyrian protos released the other day. I got distracted by kitten and was a couple of hours late for the launch, but everything was still available and I loved a few of them, got a bit carried away and got 8 out of 9. They are not going to be re-released so I jumped. We'll see how long they take to get here... I know her last release had more people complaining about shipping delays and the usual ran out of materials excuse, plus the PO doesn't scan things oldie, so I'm not holding my breath - I've had a shipping notice but of course not received at PO yet!

 

[Anitacska]

Sorry I've not been posting for a while. My little boy Morpheus RIP, it's been a sad couple of weeks for me. We now have a new kitten who is keeping us very busy too, he's very hard work but really cute. My manis are still lasting forever, though I do have one to post still in the camera! I've been told we're not going back to the office till September, so no-one is seeing my nails except you, the cats and my oblivious husband...
Recently I've been a bit too shoppy, I got a single Glam last time (the purple Angel one) - I read that they won't ship till September, which means I can add another two releases to the shipping, hopefully get a few there. I wouldn't have bothered with a single one otherwise. And I bought almost all of the new Illyrian protos released the other day. I got distracted by kitten and was a couple of hours late for the launch, but everything was still available and I loved a few of them, got a bit carried away and got 8 out of 9. They are not going to be re-released so I jumped. We'll see how long they take to get here... I know her last release had more people complaining about shipping delays and the usual ran out of materials excuse, plus the PO doesn't scan things oldie, so I'm not holding my breath - I've had a shipping notice but of course not received at PO yet!

I'm so sorry about Morpheus. I'm dreading the time when ours pass away. They're now 8, 9 and almost 10, but luckily healthy (knock on wood). I took Paws to the vets on Monday to see why he's pulling his fur out, but they didn't seem to have a clue. He was given a steroid injection to calm down the soreness/itch he might have, but he was pulling it out again on Wednesday.

A new kitten is exciting though, please post some pictures!

 

[Anitacska]

Your manis always look nice, but there's something compelling about that teal mani with your choice of accent. And the stamping over the Lilypad is perfect!

Thank you! Yes, I thought the glitter accent was really cute and went well with the DD. Also pleased with the stamping, must have been a good plate and stamping polish as I'm really out of practice, lol.

 

[Anitacska]

I love both the Illyrian and the Femme Fatale highlights in the last one! SH is obviously not great for drying, I hate that when I find it, usually in an old mainstream brand for me.

Thanks. Yes, SH is notorious for not drying properly, I think every single one of those have given me trouble.

 

[Anitacska]

Shame about the Tonics but yay for cheap cupcakes - I was tempted to get a few myself but didn't. I did skip PPU too and I really didn't like FTLOP at all, the Pahlish was OK but that was it so more money saved. Dental bills are some of the worst, hope all is well now.

I'm due to go back to the dentist on Monday, so we'll see what he says, but it's been giving me a lot less trouble lately. I daren't bite on it, but at least it doesn't feel uncomfortable anymore, I had a constant dull throbbing going on before.

I bought 3 from PPU in the end, but I'm not buying any extra ones from makers' shops. I really like the Lilypad from July HHC, I might get that especially as shipping is usually only $2 or so and there's never any customs.

 

[Anitacska]

I love those drawers, and great news you have more space than expected. I missed the PfD sale, would definitely have been interested if I'd known - she didn't put anything on FB or Instagram that I saw . I was gutted that Just Keep Swimming didn't turn up in the rewind this month, so if you get two of those please can I have first dibs on the spare? In fact please let me know if there are any of them you don't want, I'm sure I've missed a few others I liked. I'm thinking about getting the Rewind one from RC today, waiting till later today to see what Shleee release first (didn't get my usual email from them last night!). I have an RC cart with Sea-ing is Believing, Wildflower's Don't Play Koi and the newest EP which is really pretty - holding fire for now but I may press the button later on all three. I've never tried Wildflower though so not sure. And after giving up EP do I really want to start again??? We'll see, I've been very spendy recently but the PfD is really calling me anyway, might end up just getting that one...

Yeah, I'm pretty sure she said it was a group exclusive sale. It was only 10%, so the sale part was a bit rubbish, but the mystery bags were good value. I requested Just Keep Swimming, Toss a Coin to Your Witcher, Superbloom and Regulus, those are the ones I don't have an really like. I also don't have Glinda, but someone in the UK is holding her bottle for me and I didn't want to mess her about. (She buys every FTLOP box and sells the polishes after she's used them once. So it takes a while, but she's very good and will let you know once the polishes are available.) Of course I will let you know what I get and you can have any spare bottle I get, and if I don't get any extras, you're always welcome to a decant. My order is due at Stackry on Monday and I'll be shipping everything straight after.

I only have one Wildflower polish and it's very sheer, I believe it's fairly normal for the brand. It's nice enough, but definitely more of a topper. I wasn't sure which EP you were referring to, I thought RC had an exclusive, but I know now, it's the new multichrome. I looked at it when it launched and passed. It looks nice, but $16, meh, not spending that much.

I thought you might buy some Illyrians! Which one did you not get? Some of them look quite nice, so I may be interested in decants if you don't mind. I started swatching my untried Illyrians the other day and some are really nice, but some are so sheer. I did all my untried Tonics and PfDs earlier and hardly any of those were sheer. Once I'm done with them, I want to do my Glams and EdMs too, but that'll be quite a big job with over 300 and 250 respectively. I "only" have 124 untried Illyrians.

Tonic is beginning to annoy me now, she's pretty much disappeared. I know she's probably busy with her 2 boys and working behind the scenes, but some updates would be nice. If the latest collection stays instore until the end of the summer, I think I will wait, even though I would love to buy me some new Tonics.

 

[Anitacska]

Love both of these manis! That stamping is so striking, and adore both the polishes in the multichrome one. Very very nice indeed, especially the Glam which I don't think I have

Thank you! I'm happy to decant the Glam.

These are also cool! Once again I'm drawn to your Llarowe topper, I didn't buy most of these, maybe one or two - can't remember, too many polishes I guess!

Thanks. I'm pretty sure I mentioned this before, that Doctor Who collection really annoyed me as it was clear she wasn't a fan and just plucked some names out of the show. Donna should've been red/orange (it's a blue/purple duochrome). All in all I got 3, but I'm still annoyed, hahaha!

 

[PearlyQueen]

I'm due to go back to the dentist on Monday, so we'll see what he says, but it's been giving me a lot less trouble lately. I daren't bite on it, but at least it doesn't feel uncomfortable anymore, I had a constant dull throbbing going on before.

I bought 3 from PPU in the end, but I'm not buying any extra ones from makers' shops. I really like the Lilypad from July HHC, I might get that especially as shipping is usually only $2 or so and there's never any customs.

Good luck with that! What did you get from PPU?
The Lilypad is nice!

 

[PearlyQueen]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure she said it was a group exclusive sale. It was only 10%, so the sale part was a bit rubbish, but the mystery bags were good value. I requested Just Keep Swimming, Toss a Coin to Your Witcher, Superbloom and Regulus, those are the ones I don't have an really like. I also don't have Glinda, but someone in the UK is holding her bottle for me and I didn't want to mess her about. (She buys every FTLOP box and sells the polishes after she's used them once. So it takes a while, but she's very good and will let you know once the polishes are available.) Of course I will let you know what I get and you can have any spare bottle I get, and if I don't get any extras, you're always welcome to a decant. My order is due at Stackry on Monday and I'll be shipping everything straight after.

I only have one Wildflower polish and it's very sheer, I believe it's fairly normal for the brand. It's nice enough, but definitely more of a topper. I wasn't sure which EP you were referring to, I thought RC had an exclusive, but I know now, it's the new multichrome. I looked at it when it launched and passed. It looks nice, but $16, meh, not spending that much.

I thought you might buy some Illyrians! Which one did you not get? Some of them look quite nice, so I may be interested in decants if you don't mind. I started swatching my untried Illyrians the other day and some are really nice, but some are so sheer. I did all my untried Tonics and PfDs earlier and hardly any of those were sheer. Once I'm done with them, I want to do my Glams and EdMs too, but that'll be quite a big job with over 300 and 250 respectively. I "only" have 124 untried Illyrians.

Tonic is beginning to annoy me now, she's pretty much disappeared. I know she's probably busy with her 2 boys and working behind the scenes, but some updates would be nice. If the latest collection stays instore until the end of the summer, I think I will wait, even though I would love to buy me some new Tonics.

Thanks re PfD! Hope you get all the ones you asked for. Group only explains why I didn't see it, I'm not in the group (since I use hubby's FB a/c I don't like to join too many, he gets really annoyed when his feed is full of polish!). Hmm, wondering if I should skip Wildflower now, it's really pretty but I hardly use toppers... Haven't checked out RC yet, still contemplating! Shleee was a bust, only restocked four polishes, only really fancied one of them, one other I'd have taken if I was ordering but shipping for two polishes is nearly £12, for three or more it jumps to £20 flat rate - takes a fair few to make that work out cheap and the polishes are not exactly cut price! They are nice though!
You guessed right about the EP, it's really appealing to me - but £14.50 from RC which is also pricey (cheaper than Shleee....!).
Illyrians I skipped Angel, later wished I'd got it but too late, and it is a bit paler than I usually like. You are of course welcome to decants - my damn list for that is in my office though!
Bet you're actually enjoying the swatching, Glams sounds daunting though!

 

[PearlyQueen]

Thank you! I'm happy to decant the Glam.



Thanks. I'm pretty sure I mentioned this before, that Doctor Who collection really annoyed me as it was clear she wasn't a fan and just plucked some names out of the show. Donna should've been red/orange (it's a blue/purple duochrome). All in all I got 3, but I'm still annoyed, hahaha!

Ha, I remember how annoyed those Dr Who shades made you when they came out! Definitely was bandwagon jumping though, I do agree.

 

[Anitacska]

Good luck with that! What did you get from PPU?
The Lilypad is nice!

I got LynBDesigns, Ethereal and the Dreamland (yes, I know, you have it, but decided to get it anyway).

 

[Anitacska]

Thanks re PfD! Hope you get all the ones you asked for. Group only explains why I didn't see it, I'm not in the group (since I use hubby's FB a/c I don't like to join too many, he gets really annoyed when his feed is full of polish!). Hmm, wondering if I should skip Wildflower now, it's really pretty but I hardly use toppers... Haven't checked out RC yet, still contemplating! Shleee was a bust, only restocked four polishes, only really fancied one of them, one other I'd have taken if I was ordering but shipping for two polishes is nearly £12, for three or more it jumps to £20 flat rate - takes a fair few to make that work out cheap and the polishes are not exactly cut price! They are nice though!
You guessed right about the EP, it's really appealing to me - but £14.50 from RC which is also pricey (cheaper than Shleee....!).
Illyrians I skipped Angel, later wished I'd got it but too late, and it is a bit paler than I usually like. You are of course welcome to decants - my damn list for that is in my office though!
Bet you're actually enjoying the swatching, Glams sounds daunting though!

That's pretty expensive shipping. I only have one Shlee, it's nice, but I haven't used it yet. I think I got it from Girly Bits when I needed an extra polish to make shipping worthwhile.

I knew that was the one you'd skip. I'm in no rush for decants, I'm still avoiding the Post Office (and all shops) unless absolutely necessary.

I do enjoy swatching, I do 20 while watching tv in the evenings, usually on the days when I don't change my mani. It helps with choosing matching polishes especially when the polishes in the bottle look quite different to how they apply.

 

[PearlyQueen]

That's pretty expensive shipping. I only have one Shlee, it's nice, but I haven't used it yet. I think I got it from Girly Bits when I needed an extra polish to make shipping worthwhile.

I knew that was the one you'd skip. I'm in no rush for decants, I'm still avoiding the Post Office (and all shops) unless absolutely necessary.

I do enjoy swatching, I do 20 while watching tv in the evenings, usually on the days when I don't change my mani. It helps with choosing matching polishes especially when the polishes in the bottle look quite different to how they apply.

Yes, Shleee is a very occasional treat with those shipping costs - it would be different if there were lots available at a time, a big order would be fine with the flat rate, but she restocks weekly and just a few. It's annoying! Because when I get them they are soooo pretty, even outside my main colour favourites they have vavavoom!
You know my tastes! I liked it, but I always feel more virtuous if I find at least one to leave in the store! I'm not going out either (hubby has lots of underlying health conditions, including Type 1 Diabetes and I'd be devastated if I brought it home and killed him, even if he never notices my nail polish...), I've only left the house about 8 times since March.
I have sheets and sheets of card swatches of every single polish I own, and even that is satisfying though they're all single coat ones - still gives me an idea of how they will look, just that they are usually nicer when I wear them! They're now outgrowing the wallet I keep them in and looking a bit tatty, but at least I don't have to figure out where to keep a load of swatch wheels - since I barely know where to put my polish, that would be a puzzle!

 

[Anitacska]

Yes, Shleee is a very occasional treat with those shipping costs - it would be different if there were lots available at a time, a big order would be fine with the flat rate, but she restocks weekly and just a few. It's annoying! Because when I get them they are soooo pretty, even outside my main colour favourites they have vavavoom!
You know my tastes! I liked it, but I always feel more virtuous if I find at least one to leave in the store! I'm not going out either (hubby has lots of underlying health conditions, including Type 1 Diabetes and I'd be devastated if I brought it home and killed him, even if he never notices my nail polish...), I've only left the house about 8 times since March.
I have sheets and sheets of card swatches of every single polish I own, and even that is satisfying though they're all single coat ones - still gives me an idea of how they will look, just that they are usually nicer when I wear them! They're now outgrowing the wallet I keep them in and looking a bit tatty, but at least I don't have to figure out where to keep a load of swatch wheels - since I barely know where to put my polish, that would be a puzzle!

Oh absolutely! While we don't have any underlying health conditions (not that I know of anyway), you never know with this virus. I'm 44, overweight, I used to smoke (now vape) and I'm pretty unfit, so it could affect me more than average. Also while it doesn't seem to affect children too seriously, you could still be left with complications. My daughter refuses to take medication and has told me she will not go to hospital if she gets very ill with it, so that's another huge worry. So we don't socialise at all and I only go out when really necessary (shops, vet, dentist). Just hoping that things will calm down by September, so she can start college (although we're still not sure exactly what course as she couldn't do her GCSEs and didn't get any predicted grades due to being home educated). It's such a huge mess!

I swatch on sticks and so far managed to fit them into a drawer in my bedroom, but another brand might not fit. What kind of card do you swatch on?

I put the new Helmer together yesterday and I've moved loads of polishes around, so now I have 3 half empty and one completely empty drawers in the Alexes (EdM, Different Dimension, PfD and saving the empty one for Tonics). Although the PfD drawer will be a lot fuller once I receive the 20 new polishes I have at Stackry! I also have some space in a few other drawers, especially the ones I expect to be buying from going forward (Cupcake, Pahlish, KBShimmer, Fair Maiden, etc.). Not sure if I should move the EPs and Vapids back into my room, I guess it would be good to have all my indies in there. I guess the next step is to update the spreadsheet as now a lot of polishes are in different drawers.

 

[PearlyQueen]

You know, I hadn't even thought of that side to home schooling - I did think when the schools shut at least you had a head start but exams and grades is going to be tricky - hope that works out.
I just cut A4 printer card into 3 or 4 pieces and swatch straight onto it, it's far from perfect! I quite often use the back of scrap card from the office. It's only a small step up from paper, but a bit more durable.
It must be nice to have extra space for polish, every new bottle I get is a headache! Must find space for my third helmer!!!

Spreadsheets are so useful but the updating process can be a nuisance.