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Hey friends! Today’s blog post is for the December Polish Pickup. I can’t believe this is the last PPU of the year! 2021 really flew by. So much happened this year that it’s just surreal. I don’t think I mentioned this news here yet but I plan on taking a small break from swatching starting this month. I’m honestly pretty damn burnt out. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVED swatching but… your girl is TIRED. I will be posting my usual monthly posts (potentially a little late like this one is) but I am working at like half capacity just trying to finish up with PR posts.
ANYWAY, Polish Pickup opened today, December 3rd. If you are shopping in Europe/UK, you can shop now on the international website. As always, links sale details and comparison photos can be found at the end of the post.
Live Swatch Video
Polish Pickup aka PPU is a monthly collaboration of indie polish and other handmade product makers based on a chosen theme. There’s a new theme with new products each month from dozens of makers. Items are available the first Friday – Monday of each month for pre-order.
All Mixed Up Lacquers – Cozy Toesies
Inspiration: Colorful Toe Socks
Description: A clear/milky white (warm) to black (cold) thermal with loads of different color, size, and shape glitters
Price: $12 for 15ml | Cap: 150
Cozy Toesies had a wonderful formula. It didn’t feel overly thick at all despite having a ton of glitters in it. I found it applied very easily. The glitters all spread out evenly and I didn’t need to do anything special to get great coverage. I did find myself dabbing glitters in a few spots but not like full out glitter placement.
The thermal aspect in this started changing on me right away. I found the warm state to be a very pale white that leaned slightly greyish and the cold state is black. This polish also dries down fairly textured due to all of the glitters. I would reccomend pairing this with a glitter eating top coat before going in with your normal top coat for the smoothest finish.
Cozy Toesies will likely be a 2-3 coater depending on personal preference. If you don’t mind obvious VNL, it will be a 2 coater. I used 3 coats and that completely covered up my nail line in the warm state. Removal will be on the difficult side due to the amount of glitters. I would suggest soaking this polish off or pairing it with a peel off base coat for the easiest removal.
All Mixed Up Lacquers
15ml, 5 Free, Cruelty-Free
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BCB Lacquers – Sunset Bonfire
Inspiration: Inspired by bonfires on the beach at sunset
Description: A cobalt blue polish with a strong pink/green/gold shifting shimmer and holo.
Price: $13.00 for 15ml | Cap: 300
Sunset Bonfire a gorgeous formula! Just the base color for this one is a beautiful deep jewel tone blue haired with the strong read to go to Green chimneys fact it looks absolutely amazing! The shimmer effect does not show brushstrokes and this is also extremely holographic. This part has pretty good coverage into coats I did have some pretty obvious visibleSo I would recommend wearing this polish in three coats. The third coat deep in the color to what you see in the bottle as well as adding more opacity. Does Polish Dri dull.
Note: BCB Lacquers recently changed their bottles, caps and brushes! They now have a paddle shaped brushes and bottles are now 15ml. For photos on the new vs old, check out my blog post for their Princess collection.
BCB Lacquers – Black Cherry Merlot Cuticle Oil
Inspiration: Inspired by the warm & cozy smell and taste of a Black Cherry Merlot wine.
Description: Black Cherry Merlot cuticle oil is a boozy, sophisticated twist to black cherry. The oil is in a 10mL thick glass container with a stainless-steel roller ball and a metallic teal cap.
Scent: Top notes of Black Cherries, Black Currants, Red Wine, Apple, Amber & Oak.
Ingredients: Jojoba oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil, avocado oil, almond oil, tea tree oil and skin-safe fragrance.
Price: $10.00 for 10ml | Cap: 75
Directions: Twist off top of container to dispense oil. Then apply directly onto the cuticle and nail. Apply 2-3 times per day or as needed onto the cuticle to hydrate dry skin around the nail
Black Cherry Merlot Cuticle Oil this was my first time trying out the cuticle oil by this brand. It feels AMAZING. I am not a wine girl (I only use it for cooking) so I can’t say how accurate the fragrance is but I thought the fragrance was really nice. I was picking up the cherry scent and it smelled better than the wines that I have personally smelled.
This absorbs very nicely without feeling overly greasy. I will fully admit, I don’t usually use roller ball cuticle oils (I prefer brushes) but this one applies very nicely.
BCB Lacquers
15ml, 5 Free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
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Bee’s Knees Lacquer – Solstice Gift
Inspiration: A Court of Frost and Starlight
Description: a pale lavender pastel multichrome with silver metallic flakes. The formula is the same as Gwishin so it may dry with some texture.
Price: $13 for 15ml | Cap: none
Solstice Gift had a great formula. This polish has a TON of flakies in it but it didn’t feel overly thick at all. They all spread out very evenly and easily. I will note that I found they did seem a little top coat hungry so I would recommend doubling up on top coat or pairing this with a glitter smoothing top coat for the smoothest finish possible. I didn’t notice any real texture from the flakies though.
I found the multichrome base seems to shift to a purple-ish color to a blue. It wasn’t the most color shifty multichrome but there was a color shift. The flakies will definitely be the star of the show with this polish.
I swatched Solstice Gift in 3 coats. I found in 2 coats it was a tiny bit too sheer for my tastes. Removal on this polish won’t be difficult but it will be messy if you try to scrub it off.
Bee’s Knees Lacquer
15ml, 5+ Free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
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Cameo Colours Lacquers – Sun Warmed Nook
Inspiration: A sunny, warm reading nook.
Description: A bright yellow crelly, full of a warming red/gold/green shifting shimmer, tiny bronze and red/copper flecks, and a vibrant green glow when the lights go out
Price: $11.50 for 15ml | Cap: 105
Sun Warmed Nook had a fantastic crelly formula. This polish really reminded me of a springtime yellow. Not a pastel yellow but not a full on bright as heck neon yellow either. The shimmer is on the more subtle side, I was seeing the color shifts in person but the shimmer super in your face.
The glow in the dark aspect charged up very easily for me using a blacklight flashlight. This polish glows very strongly. I didn’t test it for how long it glows but I didn’t notice it fading quickly. I found this had pretty ok coverage in 2 coats but my photos do show it in 3 coats. If you don’t mind obvious VNL it is passable in 2 coats.
Nothing in here will dry textured but you will want to coat for a glossy finish. Removal won’t be overly difficult and I didn’t experience any staining.
Cameo Colours Lacquers – Firelit Nights
Inspiration: Evenings spent curled up by the fire.
Description: An effect topper with a bit of red/gold/green shifting shimmer, a dash of scattered holo sparkle, full of red/bronze/copper UCC flakes reminiscent of dancing flames, and a smattering of red/gold/green iridescent glitter.
Price: $11.50 for 15ml | Cap: 105 bottles
Firelit Nights had a beautiful formula. The flakes all spread out very evenly easily on their own without needing to do anything special. I found the shimmer in this was very color shifty especially over black. It was also very holographic.
I think to see the shimmer best, you will want to wear it over a darker base color but this will look great over a variety of bases.
My photos show Firelit Nights in one coat over the KBShimmer’s Total Eclipse as well as in three coats on it on own. Nothing in here dried textured not will it be difficult to remove.
Cameo Colours Lacquers
15ml, 5 free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
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Color Spectrum Polish – Cinnamon Whisky
Inspiration: Fireball Whisky
Description: A burnt orange cream with red to copper shimmer, red holo glitter, orange to gold shifting metallic flakies and holo.
Price: $12 for 13ml| Cap: 115
Cinnamon Whiskey had a beautiful formula. It didn’t feel overly thick or thin and I had zero application issues. I do want to note, the polish did seem to want to run down the stem of the brush a little bit but nothing that made application difficult. I did end up going in for a slightly thicker than my usual coat because of this. So I think this polish will be a 2-3 coater depending on thickness of coats/application.
The shimmer effect gives this a beautiful golden like shimmer. I found it also to be very holographic in natural lighting. Nothing in here will be difficult to remove but you will want top coat for a glossy finish.
Color Spectrum Polish – Cinnamon Whisky Vegan Lip Balm
Inspiration: Fireball Whisky
Description: A vegan lip balm with flavors of yummy warm cinnamon, a hint of vanilla and spice along with a subtle gold shimmer
Ingredients: Sunflower Wax, Castor Oil, Jojoba Oil, Coconut Oil, Vitamin E & Flavoring
Price: $5 for .15oz| Cap: 45
Cinnamon Whisky I have sung the praises of the CSP lip balm many many times and this one is no exception. As someone who is obsessed with cinnamon and often doubles the recommended amount of cinnamon in recipes, this one has just enough cinnamon in it to be Nicole approved but not so much that I think that it will be overpowering.
When on the lips, I get whiffs of cinnamon and spice. My nose wasn’t picking up vanilla. The shimmer in this is very subtle, like the other lip balms by this brand you won’t get full on glitter lips. I don’t really see shimmer on my lips.
Color Spectrum Polish
13ml, 7 Free, Vegan & Cruelty free
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Colores De Carol – Blankets & Hot Chocolate
Inspiration: a warm blanket and Hot Chocolate
Description: A medium grey crelly with multichrome shimmer (gold-green-orange-red), UCC flakes gold-green-orange-red and violet-pink-gold and iridescent mermaid flakes.
Price: $13 for 15ml| Cap: 300
Blankets & Hot Chocolate had a really great formula. The base didn’t feel overly thick or thin and I didn’t have any application issues. The flakies all spread out very evenly and easily without giving off any texture. I found the shimmer to give this polish a really nice sparkle but the shiftiness was on the more subtle side.
This polish had very even coverage so it will likely be a 2-3 coater depending on personal preference. I had a tiny bit of in 2 coats so my photos show Blankets & Hot Chocolate in 3 coats.
Colores De Carol
15ml, 5 Free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
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Crystal Knockout – Housecat Homebody
Inspiration: The ultimate cozy situation: coffee, crocheting, cardigan, cat.
Description: A peach crelly with bronze shimmer and tons of metallic chameleon flakes in green, gold, copper, and fuchsia.
Price: $11 for 15ml | Cap: None
Housecat Homebody had a wonderful formula. It didn’t feel overly thick or thin and I didn’t have any application issues. I found the base color is a light peachy shade, I feel like my photos lean a little bit orange in tone. The flakies all spread out very evenly and easily without giving off any texture.
I think this polish will be a 2-3 coater depending on preference. It seemed to dry just a tiny bit more sheer than it applied. If you have much of a free edge, you will likely want to go in for 3 coats to cover up any VNL.
I swatched Housecat Homebody in 3 coats. This polish looked so pretty matte! Removal won’t be difficult and I didn’t expereince any staining.
Crystal Knockout
15ml, 5 Free & Cruelty Free
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Cupcake Polish – Sweet Slumber
Inspiration: a cozy pink and silver bedroom
Description: a grey crème nail polish filled with pink and silver metallic flakies.
Price: $13 for 15ml | Cap: None
Sweet Slumber had a gorgeous formula. It starts off on the more sheer side but builds up very easily. This polish is jam packed with flakies but it didn’t feel overly thick at all. The metallic flakies give this an almost antique metal look on the nail.
This polish will likely be a 2-3 coater depending on your own personal preference. I didn’t see a huge difference in opacity or color between 2 coats and 3 coats. I used 3 coats for my swatches.
Nothing in here will dry textured or be difficult to remove.
Cupcake Polish
15ml, 5 Free & Cruelty Free
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Fair Maiden Polish – Snuggles
Inspiration: cozy Snuggle bear from the fabric softener
Description: baby blue base packed with bright magenta-gold-green shimmer and iridescent flakes.
Price: $12 for 15ml | Cap: None
Snuggles had a fantastic formula. It starts off on the sheer side and slightly patchy so you will want to build it up for opacity. The base is a very pale baby blue and the shimmer/flakies really pop from that base color.
I think Snuggles will likely be a solid 3 coater. The third coat evens out the base and adds more depth to the shimmer effect. This polish dries down dull so you will want top coat for a glossy finish.
Fair Maiden Polish
15ml & 5 Free
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Glisten & Glow – Hygge Life
Description: an ivory with pink under tones polish loaded with rainbow iridescent flakes.
Inspiration: the Danish word of Hygee and the life that it represents. The warm atmosphere and enjoying the good things in life with good people. A perfect polish for the everyday/work friendly life that is a palette cleanse from the bold and vibrant. Just a simply delicate and refreshed manicure vibe!
Price: $13.00 for 15ml | Cap: None
Hygge Life have a really great formula. It felt a little bit on the thick side but nothing out of the normal range for a flakie polish. Because this is so light in color, it was unsurprisingly a little uneven on the first coat. I found by the second coat, it was 90% opaque with fairly even coverage.
If you aren’t overly picky (like me), this will be passable in 2 coats. I wanted a bit more opacity so my photos show Hygge Life in 3 coats. I used the Glisten & Glow glossy and matte top coats for my photos. Nothing in here will dry textured nor will it be difficult to remove.
Glisten & Glow – Top Coat
Description: a quick dry top coat
Price: $7.50 for 15ml | Cap: None
Ingredients: Butyl Acetate, toluene, ethyl acetate, alcohol, acrylate co polmer, butyl bezyl, phthalate, nitrocellulose, and benzophenone
I think pretty much everyone at this point has heard how amazing this top coat is. It’s insanely fast dryer, super glossy and gives great wear time. I have been using the G&G top coat for swatching and personal wear for a very long time. It is one of the top coats that I always reach for.
If you need a top coat that you can apply to your nails and 15-20 minutes later need to put on gloves and wash some dishes, this is the top coat for you. Same goes if you give yourself a pedicure and want to put on socks or go to bed.
This top coat is also great for stamping or nail art as long as you float the top coat, you won’t have any issues with smearing.
Benefits:
- 2-4 minutes or less and your nails will dry, durable, long lasting with days or weeks of no tip wear, or chipping!
- crystal clear, shiny, glossy “wet/gel like” appearance
- seals and evens glitters and flakie polishes
- non smearing for stamping manis
- glows under black light
Glisten & Glow
15ml, 5 Free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
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Hearts & Promises – Cinnamon Hot Chocolate
Inspiration: Cinnamon Hot Chocolate
Description: a yummy milk chocolate brown holographic base with pink shimmer, pink sparkles, gold flakies and assorted iridescent hex glitters.
Price: $12.50 for 15ml | Cap: 200
Cinnamon Hot Chocolate had a really wonderful formula. The base didn’t feel overly thick or thin and I didn’t have any application issues. I found the base color was somewhere between a warm cinnamon brown and a chocolatey brown. Often browns make my hands look red but I didn’t experience that with this polish.
The shimmer effect is really gorgeous and gives this inner glow type of look. The flakies and glitters all spread out evenly without giving off any texture. The holographic was also very strong.
I think this will be a 2-3 coater depending on your own personal preference. I found it was opaque on me in 2 coats but my photos show it in 3 coats. I found the third coat deepened the base color just a smidge. Nothing in here will be difficult to remove. No issues with staining.
Hearts & Promises
15ml, 5 Free
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Heather’s Hues – Cuddly & Cozy
Inspiration: cuddling up under a flannel blanket with a cute dog by my side and drinking warm coffee or tea
Description: A black to deep teal green thermal kissed with holo teal glitters and black to red to orange multichrome flakes.
Price: $12.50 for 15ml | Cap: 200
Cuddly & Cozy had a beautiful formula. It did not feel overly thick or thin and I had zero application issues. The day that I was watching this when my hands are like ice cubes so I did need to get my hair dryer to warm up my hands in order to get to see the warm state. I found the cold state for this polish is a very dark teal that will look black in low lighting. The warm state is a medium green leaning teal.
The flaky’s in this are absolutely gorgeous and they have a beautiful red to black color shift. This polish had pretty good coverage in 2 coats. I had a few light spots so if you aren’t picky this could be a 2 coater. I used 3 coats for my photos. Nothing in here will dry textured but you will want top coat for a glossy finish.
Heather’s Hues – WiTS in Peppermint Hot Cocoa
Inspiration: Inspired by A mug filled with peppermint hot cocoa
Description: notes of warm hot chocolate and melted marshmallow followed by hints of peppermint and vanilla bean
Price: $7.50 for 2 ounces| Cap: 50 jars
Ingredients: ***CONTAINS OILS DERIVED FROM SEEDS/NUTS*** lotion contains avocado oil, sweet almond oil, rice bran oil, babassu oil, jojoba oil, oat extract oil, buckthorn extract, kukui nut oil, chia seed oil, vitamin E, vegetable glycerin, BTMS-50 (emulsifying wax), stearic acid, shea butter, aloe vera, distilled water, and Optiphen (preservative). Scented options contain skin-safe
I am so excited to finally be sharing my FAVORITE lotion in the entire world in a PPU post. WiTS stands for What Is This Sorcery?! Which is an accurate description on this lotion. I have raved about this lotion for years and years. It is the lotion I keep in multiple locations around my house. It’s the one that is always in my purse. Seriously, I basically hoard the stuff.
The lotion itself is light and nongreasy. It absorbs into the skin really nicely and I just love it. This month’s fragrance I was scared to sniff. I honestly do not like peppermint scented products in general. I found the fragrance on this is heavy on the hot cocoa and the peppermint isn’t overpowering. Which is my usual complaint with peppermint fragrances. I was really pleasantly surprised that I liked this one as I went into sniffing it prepared not to like it.
Heather’s Hues
15ml, 5 free, Vegan & Cruelty Free
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KBShimmer – Totally Stoked
Inspiration: fireplaces
Description: A warm red base shows off glowing hues of orange, gold, and ember. A scattering of holo flakes adds a touch of sparkle, echoing those sparks that float among the flames
Price: $11 for 15ml | Cap: None
Totally Stoked had a beautiful formula. It didn’t feel overly thick or thin and I had zero application issues. The red base felt like a holiday/winter red shade and the shimmer really glows from it. I was seeing all of the described colors in person. The holo flakies were also very holographic!
So I swatched Totally Stoked in 3 coats. I found it was a tiny bit sheer in 2 coats, passable but sheer. The third coat deepened the base color just a smidge. Nothing in here will dry textured and I didn’t experience any staining.
KBShimmer – Sugar Scrub
Inspiration: Lattes
Description: A dark, rich espresso scent is lightened by notes of cream and hints of sweet vanilla. A light beige in color, this sugar scrub echoes those artful lattes with a darker tan swirl.
Price: $10 for 9.5 ounces | Cap: None
The KBShimmer sugar scrub is another product that has been a favorite of mine for years and years long before I started my blog. I love this stuff for all over body, pedicures and manicures. I always keeps backups handy and jars are in both bathrooms in my house.
This month’s fragrance smelled exactly like it is described. If you like coffee scents you will love this one. As a non-coffee drinker, I didn’t really like it to be honest. It was just too coffee smelling for me to really enjoy the scent. The scrub itself is amazing though.
KB Shimmer
15ml, 5+ free, Vegan & Cruelty Free
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LynB Designs – Treat Yourself
Inspiration: by my favorite cozy blanket
Description: deep blurple base with teal to green to blue to purple shifting shimmer, linear holo and scattered holo flakies
Price: $13 for 15ml | Cap: None
Treat Yourself had a fantastic formula. The shimmer effect in this very strong. I was seeing the described colors in person. I am so used to this brand doing magnetic polishes, I spent way too long trying to magnetize this polish!
The holographic flakies in this give this a gorgeous sparkle in both my normal house lighting as well as in natural light.
This polish is slightly on the more sheer size you’re going to definitely want to build it up for opacity. It had pretty OK coverage in two coats but it was more sheer than I would like so my photos show Treat Yourself in 3 coats.
Nothing here will dried and texture or be difficult to remove. However, it does dry dull so you will want top coat for a glossy finish.
LynB Designs
15ml, 5 Free & Vegan
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Music City Beauty – My Favorite Jacket
Inspiration: by a fleece lined jacket Kim received as a gift last year
Description: a 5D magnetic with an ink blue base and green magnetic pigment and blue glass flakes
Price: $13 for 15ml | Cap: 100
My Favorite Jacket had a really fantastic formula. This polish is opaque in ONE coat! Unmagnetized, I was seeing a very strong green to blue color shift. Magnetized you’ll see that gorgeous deep blue base plus the flakies really come out to play when this is magnetized.
My photos show My Favorite Jacket in 2 coats. My middle nail is unmagnetized. For the other nails I used a ring magnet.
This polish is extremely pigmented so I would definitely recommend pairing this one with two coats of base coat if your nails are prone to staining. I had this on for 2 days and was very surprised that I didn’t have any issues with staining despite only have 1 coat of base coat on.
This polish dries down fairly dull so you will want top coat for a glossy finish. No issues on removal.
Music City Beauty
15ml, 5 Free, Vegan and Cruelty-Free
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My Indie Polish – Puppy Kisses
Inspiration: a cute picture of a black and white puppy
Description: a white Crelly base with black shreds, black holographic stars, bubblegum pink stars and a mixture of pink glitters
Price: $13 for 15ml| Cap: None
***This polish will also come with a bag of star glitters for glitter placement***
Puppy Kisses had a gorgeous formula. The base didn’t feel overly thick or thin and I didn’t have any application issues. I found the glitters and shreds spread out very evenly and easily. I didn’t need to do any fishing for the glitters.
I did use the extra loose glitters this comes with for some glitter placement (see the video for explanation) but I don’t think that will be necessary if you either a) fish for the stars to get more out or b) just not care about the number of stars.
This polish had pretty good coverage in 2 coats. If you don’t want a ton of glitters on the nail, it will be good in 2. I, of course, wanted more glitters out on my nail so I used 3 coats for my photos.
It will of course dry fairly textured from the glitters and shreds. I paired this polish with the Glisten & Glow Glitter Grabber before going in with my top coat. Removal on this polish will be on the difficult side if you try to scrub it off. As always, I recommend soaking this polish off or pairing it with a peel off base coat.
My Indie Polish
15ml, 7 free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
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Native War Paints – Cozy Christmas
Inspiration: the brand’s Christmas decor from 2020
Description: A full coverage glitter polish with red, orange, gold, green, blue, purple glitters, rainbow flakies and red/orange/gold shifting shimmer.
Price: $12.75 for 15ml | Cap: 150
Cozy Christmas had a beautiful formula. It did not feel overly thick at all despite having a ton of glitter in it. I found all of the glitters in the spread out very evenly and easily without needing to do anything special. Since this one is in a clear base, you will want to build it up for the most opacity.
I found in three coats I still had just a tiny bit of VNL when I looked for it. Because I was curious, I also sponged this one on my thumbnail. You get quite a bit more coverage wearing this that way. Since this is in a clear base, you can also use it as a topper.
Cozy Christmas didn’t dry down super textured but I did pair it with the Glisten & Glow Glitter Grabber for a smooth finish. Removal will be very messy/difficult if you try to scrub this off.
Native War Paints
15ml & 5 Free
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NeVerMind Apothecary – Hearth and Home
Inspiration: cozy nights by the fire
Description: A warm brown with orange and red aurora color shift and copper metallic flakes
Price: $13 for 15ml | Cap: 200
Hearth and home had a beautiful formula. It started off fairly sheer but it built up nicely for full opacity. The shimmer paired with the warm brown base looks gorgeous. I find shades like this usually cause my hands to look pretty red but I found this one didn’t do that nearly as much.
The flakies in this spread out very evenly and easily without giving off any texture. As I mentioned, this polish starts off fairly sheer so I would suggest building it up in 3 coats. I found in 2 coats it was still a little sheer.
Nothing in here will be difficult to remove and I didn’t experience any staining.
NeVerMind Apothecary – Nail Vinyls
Inspiration: the holidays
Description: 3 sheets of nail vinyls. Christmas Tree, Winter Sweater, and Snow flake patterns. 54 stencils total.
Price: $10 for 3 sheets of 54 stencils total| Cap: 100
These nail vinyls were a blast to use! It’s been quite a while for me to use nail vinyls but I found these very easy to use. The snowflake set in particular really spoke to me.
I used Night Owl Lacquer’s Winter Night’s Sparkle (Winter collab 2021, coming soon) as a base and Heather’s Hues Holo There Flakie for the snowflakes. For the second design, I used Twinkled T’s So Extra (use code NicoleLovesNails10 to save) over this month’s NeVerMind Apothecary PPU polish.
NeVerMind Apothecary
15ml, 5 Free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
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Night Owl Lacquer – Kitty Snuggles
Inspiration: Snuggles with my precious cat Kiki who we rescued last December
Description: a slightly off-white crelly with bright turquoise blue holo glitters and rose gold flakies
Price: $12 for 15ml| Cap: None
Kitty Snuggles had a beautiful crelly formula. The base didn’t feel overly thick or thin and I had zero application issues. All of the glitters spread out evenly and easily on their own. I didn’t need to hold the bottle upside down or do any glitter fishing.
I was pleasantly surprised at how nicely this built up in 2 coats. Almost always with white crelly bases, I prefer them in 3 coats but this one looked so good after 2 coats that I stopped there. This will be a 2-3 coater depending on your own personal preference.
This polish didn’t dry super textured but I did pair it with the glitter smoothing top coat anyway. Removal will be on the difficult side due to all of those glitters. For the easiest removal, soak this polish off.
Night Owl Lacquer
15ml, 5 Free & Cruelty-Free
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Paint It Pretty Polish – Fuzzy Slippers
Inspiration: Slippers
Description: a purple jelly base packed with shifting flakes in pink, purple, green and yellow.
Price: $12 for 15ml | Cap: 160
Fuzzy Slippers had a beautiful jelly formula. It does start off on the more sheer side so you will definetly want to build it up for the most opacity. The flakies all spread out very evenly and easily without giving off texture. They also have a gorgeous color shift to them.
So I think this polish will likely be a 3 coater on pretty much everyone. In 2 coats you weren’t getting a ton of base color. This could potentially be a topper over a more opaque purple creme.
My photos show Fuzzy Slippers in 3 coats. I did have tiny bit of VNL but it wasn’t super strong. No issues with staining or removal.
Note: I had an issue with my brush so I swapped it out.
Paint It Pretty Polish
15ml, 5 free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
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Red Eyed Lacquer – Weighted Warmth
Inspiration: a weighted blanket
Description: A muted teal crelly with sage/gold shifting shimmer, orange/green shifting flakies and copper metallic flakies.
Price: $12.50 for 12ml | Cap: 200
Weighted Warmth had a beautiful crelly formula. This one applies very nicely and very evenly with zero application issues. The flakes all dry down pretty flat on their own and spread out evenly.
The shimmer is also really vibrant and has a nice color shift to it.
So this one is going to be a 2-3 coater depending on your own personal preference. It was opaque on me in 2 coats but I found the third coat did I just a little bit more depth to the base color. So my photos show Weighted Warmth in 3 coats.
Nothing in here will dry textured but you will want top coat for a glossy finish.
Red Eyed Lacquer – Da Balm-er
Description: a custom blend of boozy marshmallows and warm hot chocolate
Ingredients: Mango Butter, Kokum Butter, Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Coconut Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Jojoba Oil, Arrowroot Powder, Skin Safe Fragrance
Price: $7.50 for 1 ounce | Cap: 100
Da Balmer has quickly become a favorite product for me!
This month’s scent to my nose was heavy on the hot chocolate. I honestly didn’t really pick up on the boozy marshmallows. Marshmallows or not, it smelled SO good!
Red Eyed Lacquer
12ml, 5 free & Cruelty-Free
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Restored By Polish – Sweata Weatha
Inspiration: the SNL skit, Sweata Weatha
Description: a midnight blue jelly with matte yellow hex glitters, orange holo hex of various sizes, orange to gold color changing flakes, multi-color color shifting flakes and a red/orange shimmer.
Price: $12 for 12ml | Cap: 200
Sweata Weatha had a wonderful jelly formula. It didn’t feel overly thick at all despite having so much glitter in it. The glitters all spread out very evenly and easily. There is a beautiful strong shimmer in here that shifts from a red to gold to green.
Since this is a jelly, you will want to build it up for opacity. I found it had very even coverage but was still on the sheer side in 2 coats. My photos show Sweata Weatha in 3 coats.
This did dry down a little textured due to all of the glitters. I paired this with the Glisten & Glow Glitter Grabber before going in with my top coat.
Removal on Sweata Weatha will be on the difficult side if you try to scrub it off. I soaked it off with no issues.
Restored By Polish
12ml, 10 Free, Vegan & Cruelty Free
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Sassy Sauce Polish – Dip Your Tips
Inspiration: a photo of a hot tub with colorful lights.
Description: A sapphire blue thermal (cold) and a pale blue (warm) with a strong pink/red shift and green/blue/violet shifting ghost flakies
Price: $12.50or 15ml | Cap: 500
Dip Your Tips had a gorgeous formula. All of the flakies spread out very evenly and easily without giving off any texture. I found it was very reactive and started changing on me right away. In person, the warm and cold states are as described.
I found the flakies in here will vary in size. I got out a few larger sized ones on my nails which I always love. I think this polish will be a 2-3 coater depending on your own personal preference. I found the third coat added more opacity to the warm state. My photos show Dip Your Tips in 3 coats. I did have some VNL in the warm state but it wasn’t super obvious in all light sources.
Nothing in here will be difficult to remove and I didn’t experience any staining.
Sassy Sauce Polish
5 Free & Cruelty-Free
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Twisting Nether Lacquer – Simply Meant To Be
Inspiration: a Jack and Sally hoodie
Description: Blue crelly with red, white, and black glitters and black and white stars. Comes with extra stars
Price: $13 for 15ml | Cap: 200
Simply Meant To Be had a fantastic formula. I feel like the skirt of the line between a jelly and a crelly. It had a squishy look on the nail that jellies often have but the base was more opaque than a jelly polish. The glitters all spread out very evenly and easily without needing to do anything special. Me being me, I couldn’t help myself but dabbing glitters into a few spots. I also did do glitter placement for the star shaped glitters.
This polish starts off pretty sheer so you will want to build this one up. I found in 2 coats, it has more of a squishy jelly vibe than it did in 3 coats. I personally like the coverage in 3 coats as it gives the base more layers to build for opacity as well as you get a ton of glitters out that way.
The glitters in this dry fairly textured so for the smoothest finish, you will want to pair this polish with a glitter smoothing top coat. Alternatively, you could also just double up on your top coat. I used the Glisten & Glow Glitter Grabber. Removal will be on the difficult side if you try to scrub this polish off.
Twisting Nether Lacquer
15ml, 5 Free, Vegan & Cruelty Free
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Wildflower Lacquer – Bunny Slippers
Inspiration: Rose Nylund from the Golden Girls frozen bunny slippers episode.
Description: A light pink base with red to gold to green shifting shimmer, and scattered pink to orange crystal flakes
Price: $13 for 15ml | Cap: None
Bunny Slippers had a fantastic formula. This polish has a TON of flakies in it but it didn’t feel overly thick at all. Everything spread out very evenly and easily without giving off any noticeable texture.
The shimmer and flakies GLOW so beautifully! In person, I was seeing a copper to gold to green color shimmer with irididecnty flakies.
The base is a very sheer jelly so there will be some VNL after 3 coats. This will work really well as a topper. I didn’t want to be super predictable andshow this as a topper over black so I grabbed a red creme by Heather’s Hues called Jolly.
I used this as a topper over a red creme by Heather’s Hues called Jolly.
Wildflower Lacquer
15ml, 10 Free & Cruelty-Free
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Comparisons
KBShimmer
Kbshimmer Totally Stoked, Public Displays Of Confection (Winter 2021 collection, review coming soon) and Pitcher This (KBShimmer RV There Yet? (Summer 2021 Collection)
Paint It Pretty Polish
I don’t know why I thought this Paint It Pretty Polish was similar to their polish Split The Line (Polished Gamers Box July 2021 | Board Games). The base color are different and I think the flakies are different as well.
Color Spectrum
Another polish that I thought would be similar but ended up not being similar is this month’s Color Spectrum Polish to their polish Cuddles By The Fire (The Indie Movement December 2020 | Winter Wonderland). Again, not nearly as close as I was thinking they were.
One more comparison is the Glisten & Glow polish compared to the Heather’s Hues polish Get Nekkid (Polish Pickup May 2021 | Guilty Pleasures). The base colors are different and the Heather’s Hues also has glitter in it.
Sale Information
These items will be available on PolishPickup.com starting Friday December 3rd at 11AM Eastern time until Monday December 6th at 11:59PM Eastern time. The UK site, PolishPickup.co.uk opens Thursday the 2nd. Orders to the same name/address on the US site are automatically combined and shipping on multiple orders refunded. Details on shipping charges can be found here. Items purchased during the sale period are a pre-order and generally ship 3-4 weeks after the sale period is over.
Polish Pickup
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Other Products Used
Base coat: Vapid Commitment Issues & Heather’s Hues 1st Base
Top Coats: KBShimmer Clearly On Top, Glisten & Glow Top Coat & Sweet & Sour Lacquer Gloss Sauce *gifted (save 10% with my code SweetNicole10)
Matte Top Coat: Glisten & Glow Matte
Blacklight flashlight
Rhinestone Picker Upper Thingy (for glitter placement)
A note on thermal/solar polishes…
I want to note that thermal and solar polishes do have a shelf life on how long they will change colors. Generally, they are guaranteed to change colors for at least 6. My oldest thermal that still transitions is from 2018.
To get the most out of a thermal (all nail polish really) you’ll want to store them in a cool, dark place. I store my thermals with my other nail polish in the Ikea helmers. Once a thermal no longer changes color (aka dies), you can still wear them! The thermals that I own that have died, all stayed in the warm state but it’s not guaranteed to stay in the warm.
