Black Dahlia with stamping nail art

Press Sample

I recently received some new stamping plates and wanted to try them out. I found some time to stamp over a polish I recently reviewed and one that's going to be in a future review of mine.
I am still working at technique so the stamps sometimes don't transfer perfectly from the plate to the stamper. I think that I am improving though, I'm quite pleased with how these transferred!
All supplies were purchased by me except for the Black Dahlia polishes, those were sent to me for review.

Base is Black Dahlia Teal Hydrangea stamped with plate VL030 and MDU #4 stamping polish.





Base is Black Dahlia Magical Moss stamped with plate AP18 and Konad black stamping polish.



See what I did there? Matchy matchy with the logo! When I saw that plate I knew I had to have it for this very purpose. :)



So, what do you think?

Bitch by Jaclyn: April Showers Collection

Press Sample

The April Showers collection from B.i.t.c.h. by Jaclyn is launching Tuesday! I think she has captured the shades of April really well! These blues, greys, and purples are so pretty together.

Let's start with the namesake of the collection, April Showers. Which is a light blue crelly glitter polish. I wore two coats with topcoat.





Cuddle Puddle is a blue holographic polish. I wore two coats with topcoat.





Drip Drop is a silvery blue frost with subtle holo sparkle. I wore two coats with topcoat.





Go Away is a grape colored holo. I wore two coats with topcoat.





Gutter Bitch is a charcoal holo. I wore two coats with topcoat.





Just Foolin' Around is a pastel orchid holo. The holo is a little stronger in full sun, it's just difficult to capture under studio lighting. I wore two coats with topcoat.





Make It Rain is a pretty teal leaning blue holo. I wore two coats with topcoat.





Jaclyn is also launching a new quick dry topcoat called Lubed & Ready. I've been able to test it out and it dries fairly quick, is super glossy and hardens well. Each time I tried it though, the polish underneath's solvents were still trying to evaporate under the already dry topcoat which caused bubbling. I even tried letting the polish dry for a while before using the topcoat but had the same result. It seems that while the top coat dries quick, it doesn't also dry the layers underneath. I will most likely use Lubed & Ready as a re-glosser through the week to keep my manis super shiny.

I enjoyed wearing this collection, and I would say my two favorites are Go Away (because PURPLE!) and Make It Rain because it's an unusual shade of blue, not quite teal, but definitely teal leaning.

The April Showers collection launches on April 7, 8pm Central at http://www.bitchbyjaclyn.com/

Black Dahlia: Leaf by Leaf

Press Sample

The Leaf by Leaf collection from Black Dahlia launched Friday April 3, and is available now at their online shop!
I've used the color descriptions from the press release and made my notes below each of them. Let's take a look!

Dandelion Explosion: Bright coral red-orange jelly with matte mustard yellow and orange hexes in a variety of sizes and a splash of hot pink matte squares

I was pleasantly surprised with this one, as I wasn't expecting it to be so squishy and the formula was very nice. I wore two coats and topcoat in the photos below.





Glass Orchid: Bright blue-green jelly with holographic aqua and navy glitter in an assortment of sizes

I love a good blue/green combo, and this one is exceptional. It has a nice squishiness, and good formula. I wore three coats and the nail line is slightly visible under bright lighting. For a more opaque look you may want to wear a similar cream shade underneath.





Rose Petals: Raspberry pink crelly with glass flecks that shift from red to orange to yellow

What a fun bright pink to ring in the summer months! The shimmer is a nice touch for this polish and I don't think I've seen a pink that has orange shimmer/flakes in it until now! Three coats and topcoat for the photos, good formula.





Striped Peonies: Plum crelly with gold, rose and blue flakies, and glass flecks that shift from turquoise to violet to red

Of course this is a favorite of mine, how could it not be? It's a bright violet shade with heaps of sparkle. Two coats and topcoat were worn, formula was good.





Teal Hydrangea: Mint teal crelly

What is there to say - let's just gaze at it instead, shall we!? It has a nice squish factor and is a lovely color! Two coats and topcoat, great formula.





Grape Hyacinth: Full coverage glitter in a violet jelly packed with blue, aqua and green holo glitter, with accents of purple, iridescent blue-purple and silver glitter, and lavender shimmer

Another favorite of mine from this collection - just look at that sparkle! And is it blue or purple?! She's a shifty gal with heaps of sparkle! Worn over Striped Peonies in these photos but is opaque in two coats.





Grey Twilight Organza: Medium grey crelly with large holo red and violet dots, and small and large holo silver hex glitter (Note that this polish is on the thick side to ensure large glitter remains
suspended.)

It really does look like organza to me! The sheen it gives off is pretty, and the glitters sprinkled throughout give it an interesting effect. As described, this one is fairly thick to ensure glitter suspension which means you'll need to work a little more quickly with application.





Speckled Lilac: Pale lilac crelly with small matte mint hexes, light blue and aqua squares, periwinkle hexes and small metallic purple glitter

Beautiful polish and perfect for springtime! It reminds me a little bit of the speckled eggs we see around Easter time! The formula was really nice and was opaque in two coats.





Overall, I have enjoyed this collection, the formula is good, especially the squish factor for those glitters! Three purple polishes makes for a happy Jen too. :)
Which are your favorites?

The Leaf by Leaf collection and other pretty polishes are available at http://www.blackdahlialacquer.com/