Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Ever After: Golden Afternoon

Ever After's Golden Afternoon spring collection is a quad of varying finishes, so there is something for everyone! The collection launches April 8th, 4pm CDT at the Ever After shop. Rachel is also stocking earrings, water slide decals and heaps of crelly on the launch day.

xoxoJen's swatch collage of Ever After Golden Afternoon

As always the polish color descriptions are provided to me by the brand so that each polish is accurately described. My comments are underneath.

Bread & Butterflies - Peach Crelly base with scattered holo and ucc flakes
I wore two coats with topcoat. The polish has a smooth glossy finish on its own and it has a nice fluid formula.

xoxoJen's swatch of Ever After Bread & Butterflies
xoxoJen's swatch of Ever After Bread & Butterflies


Don't Wake Me in the Morning Glory - purple Crelly base with opal and iridescent glitters in various sizes with a navy blue microflake
I wore three coats and touched up a few spots where I had painted unevenly. The polish has a fairly smooth and crelly like finish with an easy to apply formula, no issues to report.

xoxoJen's swatch of Ever After Don't Wake Me in the Morning Glory
xoxoJen's swatch of Ever After Don't Wake Me in the Morning Glory

Month of June - seafoam green/blue with ucc flakes, scattered holo and blue to green shifting shimmer
I wore two coats with topcoat. The polish has a smooth glossy finish on its own and has a fluid formula.

xoxoJen's swatch of Ever After Month of June
xoxoJen's swatch of Ever After Month of June

Lazy Daisies - white Crelly base with gold and platinum flakes and scattered holo
I wore two coats with topcoat. The polish has a smooth glossy finish on its own and it has a nice fluid formula.

xoxoJen's swatch of Ever After Lazy Daisies
xoxoJen's swatch of Ever After Lazy Daisies

Do you have a favorite or love them all? Let me know in the comments below and be sure to visit me on other social media! (links in side menu)

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Nouveau Geek Box: Mario

The Nouveau Geek box is a brand new monthly box containing delightfully nerdy items handcrafted for anyone with a love of video games, sci-fi, and other assorted geekery. The very first box will be available for pre-order April 1 at 11am CDT and ends at 10:59pm CDT on April 7.

The very first box is Mario themed and includes five indie polishes, Super Mario 3D Gummies, a star-shaped mani bomb from Lemming Lacquer, two felt nail polish remover pads from le polish, a figurine (mine was Yoshi!), and a Mario coin.

xoxoJen's swatch of Nouveau Geek Box: Mario

Your Princess is in Another Castle - a buildable sheer peach shimmer with gold glitters. I wore four coats with topcoat for photos, but this can also be used as a topper. The formula was fine, though a bit brush-strokey, and I had no issues getting the glitter out of the bottle.

xoxoJen's swatch of Ellison's Organics Your Princess Is In Another Castle
xoxoJen's swatch of Ellison's Organics Your Princess Is In Another Castle

Bob-omb.com - an explosive black polish with hints of red, pink and gold shimmer. I was surprised how rich and dark this black polish is. It seems unusual to me to find one that is nearly one coater. I did experience some trouble with the formula and contacted Jennifer about it. She responded quickly and assured me that the issue would be addressed/corrected before launch. I wore two coats for the photos.

xoxoJen's swatch of Bohemian Polish Bo-bomb Dot Com
xoxoJen's swatch of Bohemian Polish Bo-bomb Dot Com

It’s A-Me! - inspired by the main man himself! a darkened candy apple red jelly with red and varying sizes of holo and iridescent glitter. I couldn't quite capture the richness of this shade without loosing detail, but I got as close as I could. I wore one coat - yep you read that right. I couldn't believe how well it covered in one coat, formula was smooth and easy to work with although I found the brush a bit coarse/thick which made it difficult to get super close to the cuticle line without needing a lot of clean up. That aside, this one is awesome!

xoxoJen's swatch of Seventy Seven It's a-Me
xoxoJen's swatch of Seventy Seven It's a-Me

Gimme A Boost and Call Me Invincible - a stunning medium violet (almost orchid) holographic polish inspired by the new purple boost stars from New Super Mario Bros. U. I love this shade, perfect for any season. I wore two coats on two nails and one coat on the other two - can you guess which?

xoxoJen's swatch of Lemming Lacquer Gimme a Boost and Call Me Invincible
xoxoJen's swatch of Lemming Lacquer Gimme a Boost and Call Me Invincible

He'll Eat Anyything - a neon green jelly packed with matte gold glitter and a sprinkle of holo pigment and glitter, inspired by everyone's favorite hungry dinosaur. What a bright fun polish! I wore two coats for the photos, and stamped it for Easter nails!

xoxoJen's swatch of LE Polish He'll Eat Anything
xoxoJen's swatch of LE Polish He'll Eat Anything
xoxoJen's swatch of LE Polish He'll Eat Anything

I'm excited to see what each month will be as the boxes roll out. The best part is, that you can choose each month whether or not to purchase the box. There is no automatic invoice or obligation.
Fantastic, yes?! I'd say so!

I hope you've enjoyed my review - come back and see me soon!

Monday, March 28, 2016

Great Lakes Lacquer: April Limited Editions


I am excited to have the opportunity to review Great Lakes Lacquers (GLL). The five polishes in my review are April LEs and are my first to try. Color me impressed. The packaging is cute and unique, the formula is good consistency and easy to control on the nail - most are opaque in two coats unless otherwise noted. The set launches April 1st at 2 PM CDT and they will retire on the 2nd of May at 6 PM CDT.

xoxoJen's swatch of Great Lakes Lacquer April LEs

The Ice is on Fire
Inspired by the ice caves that form when Lake Michigan freezes up by Traverse City. Add some light from sunrise or sunset and you get magic. A medium blue green with shimmer that shifts from red to gold to green. I wore 2 coats for an opaque look.

I am including a bottle shot because the shimmer in this one is quite camera shy except when behind glass. (Does it think it's hiding!?)
In person, the shimmer is visible on the nail too, just not on camera as well.

xoxoJen's swatch of Great Lakes Lacquer The Ice is on Fire
xoxoJen's swatch of Great Lakes Lacquer The Ice is on Fire
xoxoJen's swatch of Great Lakes Lacquer The Ice is on Fire

Fools Gold
A nod toward the tradition of April Fools! A topper that can also be worn alone, this is filled with gold holo microglitter, pale pink holo microglitter, peach microflake, and rosy microflake. One easy coat as a topper over your favorite spring color or 4 (as shown in my photos) for a mostly opaque look. I especially love it over The Ice is on Fire and have included those swatches as well.

xoxoJen's swatch of Great Lakes Lacquer Fools Gold
xoxoJen's swatch of Great Lakes Lacquer Fools Gold
xoxoJen's swatch of Great Lakes Lacquer Fools Gold
xoxoJen's swatch of Great Lakes Lacquer Fools Gold

Out Like a Lion
Another nod to April Fools. Winter likes to trick you into thinking that it's gone when it's not. This year it spared us all the way up til the end. Then walloped us before it left. A white crelly with several types of microflake and two types of multichrome flake. I wore 2 coats for an opaque look - and this did not streak at all!

xoxoJen's swatch of Great Lakes Lacquer Out Like a Lion
xoxoJen's swatch of Great Lakes Lacquer Out Like a Lion

Stop. Stepping. On. My. Hyacinths.
From Mariah - "I love Hyacinths. Absolutely love. Next to lilacs, they are my favorite spring flower. They do not last nearly long enough for me. So I get a bit frustrated when those that are planted next to my porch are constantly stepped on. This year, I plan on moving them." A medium blue based purple with two different kinds of multichrome flake. I wore 2 coats for opacity.

xoxoJen's swatch of Great Lakes Lacquer Stop. Stepping. On. My. Hyacinths.
xoxoJen's swatch of Great Lakes Lacquer Stop. Stepping. On. My. Hyacinths.

Lilac Love
From Mariah - "My absolutely favorite flower ever. This spring bloom always just means home to me. I have a small bush in my front yard and it was the clencher in actually buying the house in the first place." A light pinkish purple with aqua shimmer and a scattered holo affect. I wore two coats for the photos below. I love how versatile this polish can be, one coat gives a delicate fresh look while allowing a peek at your nail line. I like this look, especially in spring/summer seasons. It might also make for a nice glitter or stamping sandwich when done in thin coats.

xoxoJen's swatch of Great Lakes Lacquer Lilac Love
xoxoJen's swatch of Great Lakes Lacquer Lilac Love

Which of these polishes is your favorite?

I hope you've enjoyed the review and will follow us on facebook xoxo, Jen and Great Lakes Lacquer