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Hey friends! I have another blog post for you all tonight and this one is for the April 2023 Hella Handmade Creations. This month is really blowing by and I am once again feeling panicked about being able to fit in all of the posts that I have scheduled.
But one post at a time so here we go. The April shop opens up on the 14th, as always links and sale deets are at the end of the post!
Live Swatch Video
Coming later this week!
Hella Handmade Creations is a monthly indie polish collaboration. Makers each pick their own theme and make a series of polishes based on that theme. Each month brands have a new polish, that is exclusive to the Hella Handmade Creations website.
Bee’s Knees Lacquer – Evil Comes In Every Size
Theme: Ice Nine Kills
Inspiration: the I.N.K. song Assault & Batteries
Description: a mid-toned blue Doomicorn sister with the same green to blue shimmer
Price: $13 for 15ml| Cap: None
Evil Comes In Every Size with no surprise to anyone, had a fantastic formula. In typical Doomicorn fashion, it starts off fairly sheer but builds up really nicely. It’s not nearly as sheer as Doomicorn was but you still won’t reach full opacity with it.
The blue base seems very pigmented so make sure to wear a base coat with it. I didn’t personally experience any staining with it but I could see that happening with extended wear.
The shimmer in here is super strong and as described. My photos show Evil Comes In Every Size in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. I did have VNL with this polish.
Bee’s Knees Lacquer
15ml, 5+ Free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Color Spectrum Polish – Spring on the Blossoms
Theme: Animal Crossing
Inspiration: Cherry Blossom Trees
Description: A pastel pink with iridescent flakes and scattered rose pink glitter.
Price: $12.50 for 13ml | Cap: 100
Spring on the Blossoms was the polish that I was most excited to swatch from this month’s HHC. I LOVE Animal Crossing and have been loving this series.
This polish had a good but thicker formula. It was thick enough that I did add some thinner just to see if that would make application easier. It did slightly but the polish was still pretty thick.
I love love love the sheer pink base paired with the flakies and glitters. Since this polish is so sheer you do need to build it up to get the most opacity. Even with 3 coats, I did still have VNL but I loved how everything looked anyway.
My photos show Spring on the Blossoms in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. Nothing in here dried textured or will be overly difficult to remve.
Color Spectrum Polish
13ml, 7 Free, Vegan & Cruelty free
Website | Etsy | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Crystal Knockout – The Undisputed King
Theme: The Habitat of the Cat
Inspiration: the African Lion
Description: A bright blue crelly base with matte neon orange, yellow, and red glitter
Price: $12 for 15ml | Cap: None
The Undisputed King had a great but thicker formula. The glitters all spread out very evenly and easily. I did run this one through my nail polish shaker before swatching so be sure to give it a really good shake before applying or hold the bottle upside down for a few minutes.
The base color is a vibrant sky blue. Between loving the base color and loving the glitter mix, this polish was so fun. Because it was on the thicker side, I opted to swatch this one in 2 coats as not to add too much bulk to my nails. Longer nails than mine might need a third coat.
My photos show The Undisputed King in 2 coats plus 2 coats of top coat. The glitters do dry down textured so pairing this with a glitter smoothing top coat (I used Salon Perfect’s Glitter Gloss) before your quick dry top coat will give this a nice smooth finish.
Removal will of course be on the more difficult side if you scrub the polish off. Use the soak off method or use a peel off base coat.
Crystal Knockout
15ml, 5 Free & Cruelty Free
Website | Etsy | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Heather’s Hues – Joyride
Theme: Heather’s fave custom paint jobs on her son’s favorite import cars
Inspiration: Lamborghini Murcielago covered in Swarovski crystals
Description: a baby pink shimmer packed with a mix of silver holo glitters, micro-shreds, and microflakes, rose microglitters and microflakes, and silver reflective glitters
Price: $13 for 15ml | Cap: None
Joyride surprised me by having a not thick at all formula. I saw the reflective glitter and thought this would be really thick but it had a normal consistency.
This polish is next level sparkly from the reflective glitter and holographic glitter. You get a ton of sparkle both indoors and outdoors. In bright direct lighting, your socks will be knocked off. Sadly when I was taking my photos it was very overcast but even on an overcast day, you can see a ton of sparkle!
The polish has a very pinky rose gold look on the nail which I personally really loved. The glitters do give this polish some texture so I did pair it with a glitter smoothing top coat before my quick dry top coat.
My photos show Joyride in 2 coats plus 2 coats of top coat. Longer nails than mine might want to add a third coat to cover any possible VNL. However, there is so much sparkle going on here that I do think if you have VNL you will have to search for it between the glitters.
Removal will be very difficult with this one. Use the soak off method or a peel off base coat for the easiest removal.
I included an extra photo in natural light (taken with my phone) because when I was outside helping Wayne with branches not only did the sun finally come out but I couldn’t stop staring at my nails.
Heather’s Hues WiTS in Slice
Theme: Little Trees car air fresheners
Scent Description: a fresh citrus fusion of zesty lemon and lime, tangy grapefruit, and juicy orange
Price: $9 for 2 ounces | Cap: 40 jars
Heather’s Hues
15ml, 5 free, Vegan & Cruelty Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Night Owl Lacquer – I Four-Fourths Don’t Care
Theme: Gilmore Girls
Description: a deep brown filled with bronze metallic micro flakies
Price: $12 for 15ml | Cap: None
I Four-Fourths Don’t Care I love love shades of brown like this. I found it had a fantastic crelly formula, just slightly on the thicker side but the type of thickness that adds opacity.
Coverage was great on the first coat but not really a one coater. The metallic flakes do dry down textured but they will make removal pretty messy.
My photos show I Four-Fourths Don’t Care in 2 coats plus both glossy and matte top coats.
Night Owl Lacquer
15ml, 5 Free & Cruelty-Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group | TikTok
Sale Info
The Hella Handmade Creations store opens on the 14th of every month at 12:01am Eastern Time and closes on the 21st at 11:59pm HST (4:59AM Eastern time on the 22nd). All items sold are on a pre-order basis and won’t ship until around 4 weeks after the sale period.
Hella Handmade Creations
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group | Facebook Chat Group
Multiple orders to the same name and address are combined and shipping overages are refunded. Shipping price is based on weight. Shipping is available internationally and there is a Facebook group for international group buys.
