Wednesday 13 August 2014

Digital Nails Sectumsempra Swatch and Review

I'm here! I am skipping around throwing around confetti! And training materials! And schedules! And photos! And all sorts of other managerial things! But... I also wanted to update this blog because my backlog is growing and I don't really like it when it's growing. I've got a bit of an older one from Digital Nails today. (You can check out Raph's shop over at Etsy here!) This one is a love child between Mish of the lovely Accio Lacquer and Digital Nails. Seeing that Mish is a fellow Potterhead, I knew she would make this Slytherin cosplayer happy!

Digital Nails Sectumsempra Swatch

From Digital Nails: Sectumsempra was invented by none other than Severus Snape. This spell send deep cuts into your enemies, allowing the flicks and swished of your wand to inflict sword-like cuts. This polish's inspiration was sent to me via Mish @ Accio Lacquer. I aksed Mishka if she was comfortable with being my Harry Potter consultant, complete with a consulting fee! She jumped at the chance and a few weeks later sent me an email with a few spells, and why they were so important to her. This one resonated with me particularly because I love the love hate relationship with Snape throughout the books, and this spell in particular represents his tortured soul. The love he had for Lily, the bitterness when she left his side as his best friend, they way they all mistreated and bullied him in his Hogwarts years. Knowing all of this, the idea of protecting with your very life the young boy who is representative of the relationship that stole away the light of your life - that kind of conflict creates a sad and profoundly deep character - just one of them that makes the HP series so wonderful and full of emotional impact.

This burgundy leaning oxblood jelly is full of specraflair, and is worn above at two coats, with the exception of one on the pinky nails to show the opacity. It flashes a full rainbow spectrum in sunlight and transitions to a deep blackened red in the shadows.

This polish looks great with a super shiny topcoat, and I recommend a quick dry topcoat like our Ain't Nobody Got Time For That (ultra fast dry topcoat) to really bring out the holographic goodness. It's a stunner in the sunlight! The bottle is 15ml & it looks fantastic on your toes!

Always, my polishes are 3 free, which means I don't use any ingredients that contain toluene, formaldehyde, or dibutyl phthalate. These polishes are made in small batches and may ever so slightly vary between them.


I love this polish. The thing with Digital Nails is that even for a polish hoarder, there is SOOOOOO much replay value on her polishes. They're wonderfully thought out, well formulated and durable as fuck. After a week, this one was still going strong and I was just tempted to wear it again!

I wore two coats, which went on smoothly and wonderfully and topped it off with Seche Vite.

Here's some sun photos but holographic polishes definitely call for it!

Digital Nails Sectumsempra Swatch

Digital Nails Sectumsempra Swatch

Digital Nails Sectumsempra Swatch

And here's some lightbox photos as well. You can really see the red wine-like tones come out. I love that this polish doesn't rely on being holographic to look good. It looks just as awesome indoors and in the shade.

Digital Nails Sectumsempra Swatch

Digital Nails Sectumsempra Swatch

Digital Nails Sectumsempra Swatch

Overall, Digital Nails Sectumsempra kicks ASS. I LOVE the name, I love what the ode is about and I love the shade. It's perfect. When I cosplay as a Slytherin student, I always wore vampy shades but I think I'm just going to default to this. There's nothing like a bit of magic like that holographic goodness!

If you like this polish, or any of the other Digital Nails polishes I've shared, be sure to check out Raph's shop as well as follow along on Facebook and Instagram for news and updates!

What do you think of Sectumsempra? Will you add this as one of your favourite Harry Potter tribute polishes?

Full disclosure: This sample was provided for an unbiased review.

Monday 11 August 2014

Essence Studio Nails Fix It! Nail Glue Review

So, I finally got a chance to try out Essence Studio Nails Fix It! nail glue. Normally I would be excited to try something new but "nail glue" - that only means that I broke a nail. I did. I broke my pinky nail. I don't know how but I wasn't ready to let go. Oh oh, before I go on, remember to enter the Nail Polish Canada GREAT POLISH GIVEAWAY - it ends on Friday! Here's a link.

Essence Studio Nails Fix It! Nail Glue

I picked up Essence Studio Nails Fix It! nail glue from Penneys when I was in Dublin. I forget the cost but it was definitely under €3. I really ended up just buying everything and anything nail related by Essence when I was there. Call me a dork, but the "cheap brands" available in Canada aren't as high quality and awesome!

Here's a photo of the break. It's the corner where the free edge starts on the outside of my hand. Pretty bad spot. It's done for!

Essence Studio Nails Fix It! Nail Glue

Essence Studio Nails Fix It! Nail Glue

I'll preface with this: I've never actually been great at patching my nails.

So, typically when I attempt to patch my nails it lasts about a day or so and then it's just... Done. So much for life support. Last time, I used a paper-based tea bag and and a quick dry nail glue dropper that I got from Shoppers Drug Mart. I ran out of paper-based tea bags sadly, so I had to opt for this... (I can't confirm 100%) silk or nylon or bioplastic material. I was pretty hesitant. The threads were a bit hard to work with and when I cut the piece out, it became stringy immediately.

Essence Studio Nails Fix It! Nail Glue

In either case, going from a fast dry dropper to a regular brush application was pretty good! The brush allowed for a lot of control and a regular speed dry allowed me to scrape off any excess as well as placing the teabag patch more accurately with tweezers.

Here's how it turned out with a bit of filing:

Essence Studio Nails Fix It! Nail Glue

To finish it off, I added some OPI Nail Envy Matte:

Essence Studio Nails Fix It! Nail Glue

It might not look great, but I'm happy to report that this patch has lasted for OVER a week and I've been able to swatch 4 different polishes without having to reapply any glue. There has been zero shimmer or pigment residue on the patch as well. I'm pretty impressed! Not sure if it's going from a dropper to a brush application for a cleaner fix, or if it's Essence but I'm willing to give Essence all the credit on this one.

How do you guys fix your nails? Do you believe in a special glue, or is it all super glue for you? How long do your patches last? Let me know! Also, if you haven't watched any of Matt Mulholland's videos on YouTube, do it. I kind of want to marry him. I recommend his "Kiss From A Rose" cover, "My Heart Will Go On" recorder cover-actually that one is so good, I'll embed it here. I couldn't stop laughing! Hope you guys are enjoying the week so far!

Wednesday 6 August 2014

Rainbow Honey Stolen Dance Swatch and Review

Whew! So I am going to be a lot busier than expected this month. I won't be able to follow my usual week formula but I will be posting. I don't think it will be every day. So essentially: "I am back but I am also sort of not." It makes perfect sense! Here's the last sample I have from Rainbow Honey's Summer Mixtape collection. You have about 12 days left for the awesome 20% off promo so remember to use MIXTAPE20 when you check-out from the shop. And again, be sure to check out the actual Summer Mixtape playlist because it's an awesome mixtape that really isn't getting enough attention! This is the polish based off my favourite song off the playlist... Stolen Dance.

Rainbow Honey Stolen Dance Swatch

From Rainbow Honey: We shouldn’t talk about it, but this pale kiwi green will entice you with its gold and violet shimmer...

Stolen Dance is a track by Milky Chance
and it's actually my favourite song off the Summer Mixtape. I'm happy I got at least one of the cremes from the Summer Mixtape collection to try out! The description is fairy accurate but I think there's a bit of milkiness to it, which makes me wonder if the song's artist was considered? Mayhaps? Again, I've been having a lot of problems painting my nails in my room - I've got a fan going. I was having a really hard time with the formula when it was on, but when I turned it off, I had an easier time. Two coats does well for coverage. Here's two coats with top coat:

Rainbow Honey Stolen Dance Swatch

Rainbow Honey Stolen Dance Swatch

Rainbow Honey Stolen Dance Swatch

Rainbow Honey Stolen Dance Swatch

You might already be familiar with Stolen Dance... But that's because I used it to showcase the craziness of Rainbow Honey Best Friend:

Rainbow Honey Best Friend Swatch (over Rainbow Honey Stolen Dance)

And lastly, I wanted to do some freehand black tips because my nails were finally at a good length (albeit I broke my pinky nail over the weekend, fml):

Rainbow Honey Stolen Dance Swatch

Rainbow Honey Stolen Dance Swatch

Overall Stolen Dance is a pretty nice staple! I wish it was a one coater so I could use it for nail art (my half moon obsession) but it's a lovely colour and does pretty nice as an undie for glitter toppers. The subtle shimmer is also fairly pretty and makes it wearable on its own.

How would you wear Stolen Dance? What's your favourite song off the Summer Mixtape playlist? Is it the same as your favourite polish too?

Full disclosure: This sample was provided for an unbiased review.

Friday 1 August 2014

Rainbow Honey Best Friend Swatch and Review

Ah so sorry for the delay - I have been running interviews and was all over the place. I'll end the week off here for now with Rainbow Honey Best Friend, and then continue on Tuesday as it's a stat holiday here on Monday in Beautiful British Columbia. Ahhhh, anyhow today I have yet another polish from Rainbow Honey's Summer Mixtape collection. If you haven't already, check out Rainbow Honey's Soundcloud for the playlist based on the collection (or rather the collection being based on the playlist.) The shop is going through a restock today (as of now) but I believe they'll be open later tonight. And now for Best Friend.

Rainbow Honey Best Friend Swatch (over Rainbow Honey Stolen Dance)

Rainbow Honey Best Friend Swatch (over Rainbow Honey Stolen Dance)

Rainbow Honey Best Friend Swatch (over Rainbow Honey Stolen Dance)

From Rainbow Honey: Sometimes it feels like I only dream in black and white…and in neon glitter!

This glitter topper is inspired by 'Best Friend' by the band Foster the People (whom I assume everyone knows since they're fairly popular!). Here's a direct link to the song in the Summer Mixtape collection - however it's a remix by Wave Racer. If you dig it, I believe Foster the People has an official lyrics video on YouTube. This polish features black and white triangles amongst neon glitter in different shapes and sizes. It also has that signature Rainbow Honey shimmer. No fuss with application - the glitter is fairly dense. There was a bit of placing needed to avoid the bigger glitters stacking on top of one another. It's pretty fun! Here's one coat of Rainbow Honey Best Friend over top of Rainbow Honey Stolen Dance, also from the Summer Mixtape collection.

Rainbow Honey Best Friend Swatch (over Rainbow Honey Stolen Dance)

Rainbow Honey Best Friend Swatch (over Rainbow Honey Stolen Dance)

Rainbow Honey Best Friend Swatch (over Rainbow Honey Stolen Dance)

Rainbow Honey Best Friend Swatch (over Rainbow Honey Stolen Dance)

And because this was just begging for something SUPER fun, I made some quick rainbow nails and used a coat of Best Friend over top. SO MUCH COLOUR!!!

Rainbow Honey Best Friend Swatch (over rainbow nail art)

Rainbow Honey Best Friend Swatch (over rainbow nail art)

Rainbow Honey Best Friend Swatch (over rainbow nail art)

I love the rainbow look because the black and white triangle glitters had a chance to shine! I think these loud multi shape multi size glitter toppers are definitely this summer's trend. With the right application, this glitter can kick a lot of ass! If you want that extra colour on your nails, this polish is perfect. I'm a bit boring though and I don't imagine myself using this kind of colourful polish in other seasons. I'm just boring, haha!

If you like this polish, check out the rest of the Summer Mixtape collection on Rainbow Honey's website and until August 18th, 2014 - you can use the code MIXTAPE20 to get 20% off your purchase.

What do you think of this summer's trend of bright colour multi shape multi size glitter toppers? Do you have a favourite? How do you like to wear it?

Full disclosure: This sample was provided for an unbiased review.