Hey friends! And for the third and final blog post of the day, I have the 5th year anniversary collection from Bee’s Knees Lacquer. We have a variety of finishes, some ridiculously gorgeous shimmers I might add, and even a few unicorn pee polishes.
The collection is inspired by the podcast Radio Rental and it is a 13 piece collection that launches on the 30th. If you missed my other posts, along with this release, there will also be a Facebook group custom for the All The Polishes Facebook group and 3 mystery charity polishes. There will also be some respawns and overpours from last month’s collection.
As always, I will have all of the links and sale details at the end of the post. I will also throw in comparisons after swatches as I think of things that are similar. If I don’t have a comparison up that you would like to see, feel free to let me know!
Live Swatch Video
Bee’s Knees Lacquer is a US based indie brand. Their polishes are in 15ml bottles, 5 free, cruelty free and vegan friendly.
Always Check The Crawl Space
Description: a pale pinky purple with extra sparkly red to orange to gold shimmer
Price: $13
Always Check The Crawl Space had a fantastic formula. the base is very sheer so you are really going to want to build this one up. The base is sheer enough that the color you mainly see on the nail is the shimmer so this will be really great as a topper over a variety of colors.
The shimmer in here was super strong and super glowy. The color shifts were as described without any brush strokes.
My photos show Always Check The Crawl Space in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. I did have very obvious VNL with this polish.
Come Out, Come Out
Description: a deep violet base with extra sparkly green to blue shimmer
Price: $13 *may stain*
Come Out, Come Out had a beautiful formula. The base is a very deep and rich violet color. So I went into swatching this polish fully expecting that it was going to stain the bejesus out of my nails… and I was correct.
I wore 2 coats of base coat with this one and when I removed my swatch, my gel was stained a lovely purpley blue shade. My natural nails weren’t affecteted but I would be careful with this one if you have an overlay or nail enhancments.
Even with the staining, this polish was STUNNING. I found indoors, it looked more blue toned and out in natural lighting, the violet/purple color came out to play.
My phoots show Come Out, Come Out in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. Shorter nails might be good in 2 coats but the third coat does deepen the base color.
I wanted to compare this one to Witch Children. I would say Witch Children is darker and and Come Out Come Out is more color shifty.
Dammit Malachi
Description: a pumpkin orange with extra sparkly red to orange to gold shimmer
Price: $13
Dammit, Malachi had a fantastic formula. The shimmer in here is a larger particle size so I didn’t see any brush strokes. They do not dry down textured and while they won’t be difficult to remove they will be messy.
I love the base color on this polish. At first, I thought the shimmer was a little underwhelming. BUT once I got this one built up in 3 coats and saw it in a range of lighting, I really liked it. The shimmer is very strong and color shifty.
My photos show Dammit Malachi in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. I did have some VNL with this polish, in low lighting it won’t be as noticeable.
DNF
Description: a bright green jelly with red to green UP
Price: $16 | Cap: 400
DNF had a beautiful jelly formula. This one starts off very sheer and stays that way but the base color is a really nice kinda chartreusey green.
The unicorn pee in here paired really well with the base color. I found the red/gold color shifts to be the predominant color and the green came in at more extreme angles.
My photos show DNF in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. This one dries down fairly glossy but top coat never hurt. Nothing will be difficult to remove and I didn’t have any issues with staining.
He’s Mine
Description: a mid-toned blue with glowy red to green shimmer and magnetic holo pigment
Price: $13.50
He’s Mine had a really great formula. I was a little surprised that this one was opaque on me in 2 coats.
The magnetic pigment magnetized very easily for me. As per usual, I used a ring magnet for my swatches. However, I wasn’t really seeing much holographic in it, even out in the sunlight. I spoke to the brand owner about that and apparently this type of pigment is smaller in size than say a typical linear holo.
The magnetic pigment paired with the shimmer looked really amazing though. Evem without the rainbows, I liked the effect on the nail. The shimmer was as described and very glowy.
My photos show He’s Mine in 2 coats both magnetized and unmagnetized. Nothing in here will be difficult to remove but you will want top coat for a glossy finish.
My Earliest Memories
Description: a deep raspberry jelly with green to blue sibling UP
Price: $16 | Cap: 400
My Earliest Memories also had a fantastic formula. This one seemed a tiny bit more opaque than DNF but it was still pretty sheer. So I did have very obvious VNL with this polish.
I am starting to feel a little spoiled when it comes to shimmer that unicorn pee just isn’t hitting the same way as other shifty shimmers. Like I love me some UP but I dunno maybe it’s just me?
Whatever though, I do like the combination of the sibling UP and the base color on this polish. The shimmer just felt a bit more subtle in comparison to the other shimmers in this release. I found the base leans between a raspberry and a pinky berry depending on your light source.
My photos show My Earliest Memories in 3 coats plus glossy top coat.
Roo’s Hollow
Description: a dark chocolate base with glowy blue shimmer and magnetic holo pigment
Price: $13.50
Roo’s Hollow had a really great formula. This one starts off fairly sheer so you want to build it up to get the most opacity. I was really digging the way the shimmer pairs with the base color on this one. It is definitely very unique. I did find that the blue shimmer was so strong in here that after the first coat, you don’t see much of the chocolately base.
The magnetic effect was similar in this polish as the previous magnetic so while I didn’t see super strong holographic out in the sun, it still looked pretty cool. Unmagnetized, this polish has a steel gray kinda vibe.
My photos show Roo’s Hollow in 3 coats plus glossy top coat.
Tell Them To F*ck Off
Description: the cool-toned violet sister to Doomicorn with the same glowy green shimmer
Price: $13 | Cap: 650
Tell Them To F*ck Off also had really great formula. This polish is very similar to Doomicorn. Not dupe territory as it is a cool toned version but I did notice that this one seems to be more opaque.
The shimmer was super strong and super glowy. I didn’t see any brush strokes in person.
My photos show Tell Them To F*ck off in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. While this is more opaque than Doomicorn, I did have some hints of VNL with it.
The Man in Red
Description: a deep red base with extra sparkly red to orange to gold shimmer
Price: $13
The Man in Red had a fantastic formula. Just wow. I was obsessed with the shimmer + base color combination of this polish! This polish does start off pretty sheer but it builds up really nicely.
The shimmer was very strong and glowy in this polish. This shimmer is my favorite type of shimmer effect used in this collection. No brush strokes but you do want to build it up to get the real BOOM glow on the nail.
My photos show The Man In Red in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. I didn’t experience any staining with this polish and removal won’t be difficult just messy.
The Puppy People
Description: a dark cherry base with extra sparkly green to blue shimmer
Price: $13
The Puppy People had a beautiful formula. The base is a little sheer so you will really want to build it up to get the most opacity. I do think this one is likely going to be a solid 3 coater as it was a little bit uneven in 2 coats.
The shimmer in here was larger in particle size so I didn’t see any brush strokes. The particles won’t be difficult to remove but they will be messy.
The base color for this polish is a really pretty cool toned berry shade. Personally, I would have thought it was somewhere in the magenta/purple/berry family and not really cherry red. However, I realized while typing this blog post that the color of “cherry red” that I think of isn’t actually the color of real cherries.
My photos show The Puppy People in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. I didn’t have any problems on removal.
The Tunnel
Description: a mid-toned grungy green with extra sparkly red to orange to gold shimmer
Price: $13
The Tunnel had a wonderful formula. The base on this polish is pretty sheer but wow it gets makes the shimmer glow on the nail! I would say the base color is accurate but leans a little yellow toned from the shimmer.
I cannot stress enough how sparkly and beautiful the shimmer in here looks paired with the base color. I feel like I was also seeing a green color shift to the shimmer but that might have just been the base color.
As you can see, I did have very obvious VNL with this polish. I do think it would work well as a topper but I loved it in 3 coats.
My photos show The Tunnel in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. Side note, everytime I say the name of this polish it makes me think of the Secret Tunnel from Avatar The Last Airbender.
Turn Back
Description: a deep coppery red to green multichrome with emerald green light reflective glitter
$13.50
Turn Back had a great formula. The base for this polish is very thick. I didn’t have any issues with the application but just note, this one is pretty thick.
The multichrome in here really looked like a magnetic to me but I double checked and this doesn’t have any magnetic pull. I found the color shifts were a reddish copper with like a hint of a greenish tone.
The reflective glitters do give this polish some texture. I opted to pair this polish with a glitter smoothing top coat before going in with my quick dry top coat. This polish was super sparkly out in the sun. I could see the green reflects easily out in the sunlight.
My photos show Turn Back in 2 coats plus 2 coats of top coat. Due to the thickness, I decided not to try to go in for a third coat. I did have a little bit of VNL with this polish on the clear part of my nail.
This polish is very similar to Autumn Queen. The only difference between the two is the color of the reflective glitters.
Note: my swatch for Autumn Queen was way too white (this was when I first got my camera and had no clue on settings) hopefully you can see the color difference in the glitters.
You Look Like You’ve Seen A Ghost
Description: a mid-toned purple with extra sparkly cobalt blue shimmer
Price: $13
You Look Like You’ve Seen A Ghost had a (surprise!) incredibly formula. The base was sheer but it didn’t seem as sheer as the other shimmers in this release. I did still have VNL with it but it wasn’t as painfully obvious as some of the other polishes.
The shimmer was sparkly and just goreous. It looked really just beautiful in this base color. I thought this was going to be another stainer but I didn’t have any issues with staining.
My photos show You Look Like You’ve Seen A Ghost in 3 coats plus top coat.
Final Thoughts
I thought this collection was fantastic. I loved the color story (rainbow!) and thought the variety in finishes was really nice.
I was a little disappointed that the holo magnetics weren’t more holographic out in the sunlight but even without the in-your-face rainbows I wanted, they do still look really cool.
My top picks are The Tunnel, The Man In Red and Dammit, Malachi.
Bee’s Knees Lacquer
15ml, 5+ Free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
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Sale Information
The Radio Rental collection goes on sale September 30th at 7PM Eastern time on the Bee’s Knees Lacquer website. These will be available for a 1 week long pre-order window. All of the polishes will be available individually or you can pick up the full collection (minus the 2 polishes with caps) for $100.
Along with this release, BKL will also have a ton of other polishes available. Those polishes being a Facebook group custom, 3 charity polishes, overpours from The These Hollow Cows collection, and respawns.
Bee’s Knees Lacquer ships internationally from the US. They also have a few different stockist pages. This collection will also be available on their intentional stockist pages, Girly Bits Cosmetics (Canada), Hypnotic Polish (EU/UK), Femme Fatale (Australia), and Rainbow Connection (EU/UK).
Respawns
Respawns (other than These Hollow Vows overpours)
- Your Golden Traitor (50)
- The sewers (175)
- The Barrens (175)
- Down Here 2019 (50)
- Fairy Punchfather (175)
- Captain Whatever (50)
- Autumn Queen (175)
- Aurelian (125)
- Baby monster (175)
- Time travel is in your blood (175)
- Friendo (160)
- Blood of the Gods original (75) *this color may fade in strong sunlight
- Celestina (150)
