Polish Pickup May 2021 | Guilty Pleasures
Hey friends! Today I am sharing my swatches for the May 2021 Polish Pickup! For May, the theme is Guilty Pleasures. I have a TON of new-to-the-blog brands to share as well as some long time favorites. This is the biggest PPU post I have ever done and my little laptop struggled to keep up! I ran out of space on my hard drive (both on my laptop and external hard drive) and editing everything was a lesson in patience and also required ordering a new hard drive. But it was all totally worth it!
I will have my live swatch video up in a few hours along with my comparisons video but for now, let’s enjoy some swatch photos! The Polish Pickup shop opens Friday May 7th. As always, sale details will be at the end of this post.
In case you are new, 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.
Live Swatch Video
Alter Ego – Get Yer Red Hot Dogs Here!
Inspiration: Hot Dogs
Description: glossy red
Price: $10 Cap: 100
Get Yer Red Hot Dogs Here! had a great formula. It didn’t feel thick or thin and I didn’t have any application issues. This is a gorgeous “red carpet” red polish. It had a strong metallic/shimmer look on the nail that is only slightly brush strokey.
It dries down pretty shiny on its own but I did use top coat anyway. This is very opaque and I think most people will be good in 2 coats. I went in for 2 coats, with a slightly thicker second coat for full opacity. Since this is so opaque, I would definitely recommend doubling up on base coat to prevent staining.
Note: The shimmer seems to have a *very* slight color shift of red to orangey red to a pinky red. I didn’t notice it on the nail or bottle until I was in my swatch area with multiple light sources. I’m not sure if it will be apparent in normal day to day lighting.
Alter Ego – Acetone Additive Duo
Inspiration: Hot Dogs
Description: Hot Dog and Bread scented acetone additives
Price: $7 Cap: 30
This was my first time trying out the acetone additive by Alter Ego. It was noticeably thicker than the additives I have tried in the past (Heather’s Hues & Bliss Kiss). I found these need a *really* good shake to get the oils/glycerine mixed so I actually stuck them in my nail polish shaker for a few seconds. I used 1 vial in 4 ounces of pure acetone. I found that ratio was sufficiently moisturizing to my skin.
The fragrances on these were very unique to me. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t super enthusiastic about the hot dog fragrance theme when I opened the package but I was intrigued enough to give them a sniff right away. I found the Hot Dog fragrance smelled like spiced cured meat (which is apparently what hot dogs are?) or maybe a sausage. The bread scent smelled like bread to me but not yeast-y. The fragrances seem more obvious on the skin than in the bottle.
It’s nourishing without feeling sticky. I will note that I do wash my hands after I use this as I found the fragrance on my fingers didn’t mesh well with the scented cuticle oils and hand lotions that I use. I have been using this additive for the past week and a half and find it very comparable to my normal go-to acetone additive. I am still not super crazy about my fingers smelling like spiced meat but I do like the additive.
Alter Ego Body Care Products
17ml, 5 free, Vegan & Cruelty Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Babygirl Lacquer – O-R-E-Oh’s
Inspiration: Oreo’s
Description: a chocolate & vanilla scented, magnetic polish with an assortment of white & UCC Mega flakies, as well as chocolate glitters.
Price: $12.00 for 15ml Cap: 100
O-R-E-Oh’s had a great formula. It applied evenly and easily. It was slightly on the thicker side and was surprisingly opaque on the first coat. The magnetic shimmer wasn’t super strong for me. I found that it didn’t show up well in photos. You can definitely see it better in my live swatch video when I show it moving around.
For this polish, I found that I was getting the vanilla fragrance the most with like a hint of chocolate. It wasn’t overwhelming. I didn’t do a test to see how long my nails stayed scented, but usually I find scented nail polish stays fragrant (with top coat) for 1-3 days.
This will be a 2 coat polish on pretty much everyone. I used 2 coats for opacity and an extra coat to do the magnetic effect.
Note: the bottles shipped to customers will have more magnetic pigment added thus making it stronger.
Babygirl Lacquer
5 free & cruelty free
Website | Instagram | Facebook Page | Facebook Group
Bee’s Knees Lacquer – Awakened
Inspiration: The novel, Lover Awakened
Description: a soft sky blue with shimmer that shifts from white gold to gold to emerald to blue at the extremes
Price: $13 for 15ml Cap: NONE
Awakened had a wonderful formula. It didn’t feel overly thick or thin and I didn’t have any application issues. The shimmer was not brush strokey at all and it is STRONG! This is a very shift shimmer polish that Bee’s Knees is well known for.
I found this to be a solid 3 coater. It is on the sheer side so you will have some VNL. Going in for thicker coats should hide it on most, but probably not all, angles. I used 3 coats for my photos. Nothing in here will be difficult to remove. I didn’t experience any staining.
Bee’s Knees Lacquer – Boo!
Inspiration: bad horror movies
Description: a ghost flake topper with red to green and gold to green ghost flakes.
Price: $14 Cap: NONE
Boo! had a great formula. The flakies all spread out evenly and easily on their own. The base didn’t feel thick at all. You get a really nice amount of flakies in 1 coat. My experience with ghost flakies is that they are easiest to photograph over darker colors. I had a hard time showing the topper over Awakened as that polish is on the lighter side.
As per usual, I couldn’t decide what I wanted to swatch this over so I went with 1 coat over a black creme (Heather’s Hues’ Shadow). Over black, this is very spooky and gives me serious Halloween vibes. This would be a good topper to go over nail art as the flakies shouldn’t obscure the underneath layer too much.
Bee’s Knees Lacquer
15ml, 5+ Free, Vegan & Cruelty Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Cameo Colours Lacquers – Emily’s Next Move
Inspiration: The TV drama Revenge
Description: A juicy red jelly base with scattered holo sparkle, red holo micro glitter, red/gold shifting glitter, black glitter, and silver holo micro flakes.
Price: $11.50 Cap: 105 bottles (100 US/5 UK)
Emily’s Next Move had great formula. It is on jelly/sheer side so there will be some slight VNL if you have much of a free edge to speak of. This has a TON of holo in it and I am pretty bummed it was raining the day I was swatching this to really show the holo sparkle. All of the components spread out evenly and easily on their own without needing to do anything special.
I used 3 coats for my photos. To get the juicy red you see in the bottle, you will want to go in for that third coat. Nothing in here dries down super textured but to add some shine and smoothness, you will want top coat. 1 coat of glossy top coat smoothed it out nicely. I didn’t experience any staining after wearing it for 24 hours.
Cameo Colours Lacquers
15ml, 5 free, Vegan & Cruelty Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook group
Color Spectrum Polish – I Scream, You Scream
Inspiration: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream
Description: a creamy off white base with copper shimmer, bronze microflakies and black square glitters.
Price: $12 for 13ml Cap: 115 bottles
I Scream, You Scream had a great crelly like formula. It applies a little patchy at first but it does build up nicely. The glitters spread out nicely on their own.
The black square glitters are a nice scattering on the nail very reminiscent of chocolate chips. I didn’t need to hold the bottle upside down or do anything special for good glitter coverage.
This will be a 2-3 coater depending on polishing style. My pinky was good in 2 coats but my other nails needed a 3rd coat. 1 coat of top coat smooths this out perfectly.
Color Spectrum Polish
13ml, 7 Free, Vegan & Cruelty free
Website | etsy | instagram | facebook | facebook group
Fancy Gloss – I want cake… I need cake!
Inspiration: cake
Description: a dark pink/reddish in some lights (cold) to neon orange/yellow (warm) packed of blue/green/copper/gold clear flakes
Price: $12.50 for 15ml Cap: 400
I want cake… I need cake! had a wonderful formula. It felt slightly on the thicker side but pretty normal for a flakie thermal. The flakies all spread out evenly and are very dense on the nail.
This is a beautiful red-leaning deep pink to a neon orangey yellow that is *extremely* tricky to photograph color accurate. I found that in the bottle, I was seeing more of the deep pink but on my hands, it looked a lot more red.
This had great coverage in 2 coats. I think for personal wear, I would wear this in 2 coats. The third coat does seem to slightly deepen the both colors. My photos show this in 3 coats. This will have a typical flakie polish removal to make it easier, I’d suggest soaking it off. I didn’t experience any staining with this polish.
Fancy Gloss
15ml, 10 free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Heather’s Hues – Get Nekkid
Inspiration: candlelit bubble baths
Description: a nude crelly with a red-pink-gold shimmer, holo flakes, and a mix of iridescent glitters
Price: $12.50 for 15ml Cap: None
Get Nekkid had a great crelly formula. It had the perfect consistency and I didn’t have any application issues. This is a pinky nude crelly base. The glitters spread out evenly and I found the holo flakies to be a light dusting on the nail.
This was just slightly uneven in 2 coats. I think on shorter nails with thicker coats this might be opaque in 2 but I went in for 3 coats. Removal was a little tricky but not terrible with the soak off method.
I will note that the iridescent glitters don’t photograph great at some angles. I noticed while editing my photos that at some angles they look almost like holes in the polish. I didn’t notice that while I was wearing this, only when looking at my final photos.
Heather’s Hues
15ml, 5 free, Vegan & Cruelty Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
KBShimmer – Everything Is A-Bouquet
Inspiration: Fresh Cut Flowers
Description: a deep, grape-purple jelly nail polish with a strong green to blue shimmer
Price: $11 for 15ml Cap: None
Everything Is A-Bouquet had a great formula. It didn’t feel overly thick or thin and I didn’t have any application issues. The purple base pairs really nicely with the shimmer. In some lighting, the shimmer looks so strong that you won’t see the base color. The shimmer doesn’t show brush strokes.
I found this was pretty opaque in 2 coats but I had some light spots towards my tips so I used 3 coats. I think shorter nails will probably be good in 2 coats but note that the extra coat does deepen the base color.
No issues with staining and removal will be easy.
KBShimmer Sugar Scrub – Freshly Blended
Inspiration: a freshly blended beverages
Description: a sweet and tropical medley of fresh berries, cantaloupe, and lychee. Sweet sugarcane and vanilla orchid round out this paradise-perfect scent. A soft, cream color is accented by swirling orange, and a hint of glimmering biodegradable glitter tops off the scrub for a sparkling, tropical treat that will have you wishing you had a freshly blended drink in your hand, too!
Price: $10 for 9.5 ounces Cap: None
I have reviewed this sugar scrub a bunch of times already so I won’t go into details on it. However, this has been my go-to sugar scrub for 2 years now. It’s really fantastic!
This month the fragrance is a fruity blend that smells heavenly. It does not smell at all of alcohol, just pure fruity goodness. The fragrance isn’t overly strong (in my opinion) and it doesn’t stay on the skin terribly long after rinsing off the sugar.
KBShimmer
15ml, 5+ free, Vegan & Cruelty Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Leesha’s Lacquer – Berry Wine
Inspiration: Berry Wine spritzers
Description: a berry based multichrome with a pink to purple to blue shift and a dash of holo
Price: $12 for 15ml Cap: None
Berry Wine Spritzers had a wonderful formula. It was just slightly on the thicker side but it was very easy to work with. The base is a medium toned berry and the multichrome shimmer gives this a cool toned look on the nail. The “dash” of holo is a very strong linear holographic.
In the bottle, I wasn’t super impressed by this but once I got it onto my nails, just wow! This is a stunner. Shorter nails should be good in 2 coats but third coat adds opacity. This dries down dull so you will want top coat to give it a nice shine.
Nothing in here was textured or will be difficult to remove.
Leesha’s Lacquer
15ml, 5 free, Vegan & Cruelty Free
Website | Etsy | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
You can use my code NicoleLovesNails25 on the Leesha’s Lacquer site to save 25%!
Moonflower Polish – Caramel Delight
Inspiration: Girl Scout Cookies known as Samosas or Caramel Delites depending on where you’re from.
Description: Vampy neon purple base with bronze-gold shifting magnetic shimmer with slight hints of red and green at extreme angles.
Price: $12 Cap:100
Caramel Delight had a wonderful formula. It felt slightly on the thicker side of normal but applied easily. The magnetic shimmer looks really pretty in this base color. I found that the magnetic effect seems to make the shimmer look stronger and not give a strong line on the nail. Note: I didn’t magnetize my middle nail.
I was seeing the bronze to gold color shift in person. I think I saw a hint of green as I was walking through my house to get my outdoor shots but I couldn’t get it to pick up in photos. This was opaque in 2 coats but I added a third to magnetize. Nothing in here stained or was difficult to remove.
This immediately made me think of one of the polishes from the My Old San Juan trio, but these aren’t actually all that similar side by side. This one is also more opaque.
Moonflower Polish
15ml, 5 free, cruelty free
Website | Instagram | Facebook Page | Facebook Group
My Indie Polish – Special Blooms
Under blacklight
Inspiration: Tanya’s love of gardening and her special bloom plant the New Tree Peony
Description: a green neon jelly with various purple and pink glitters of different sizes.
Price: $12.50 for 15ml Cap: None
Special Blooms had a wonderful jelly formula. It is a *bright* neon green with an assortment of glitters. The large circle and star glitters do seem to sink slightly in the bottle, so I kept the bottle upside down between coats. All of the glitters spread out evenly on the nail but I did find myself dabbing the larger ones in to a few places. I love chunky glitters and just couldn’t help myself. It’s totally optional though.
This one is going to be a solid 3 coater. I found the third coat deepens the base color to what you see in the bottle. Natural nails might have some VNL if you go in for thin coats. Removal is going to be tricky so I would recommend the soak off method or a peel off base coat.
My Indie Polish
15ml, 7 free, Vegan & Cruelty Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
NeVerMind Polish – A Forbidden Ride
Inspiration: the black and chrome Harley from the Bearded Lumberjack by EB Slayer (aka @swatchshslayer on IG)
Description: A black polish packed with chrome and holo flakies
Price: $12.50 for 15ml Cap: 220 bottles
A Forbidden Ride had a wonderful formula. It was slightly on the thicker side but around what I expect for a polish that is all flakies. Both types of flakes spread out evenly on the nail and this is jam packed with them. In the bottle, I wasn’t too sure on this but once I got it on my nail, I was obsessed! It is *very* holographic.
The black base is similar to a jelly polish so it will need to be built up. I found it built up best in 3 coats but shorter nails might be able to get away in 2 coats. Removal will be a bit messy for all of the flakies but not difficult. I didn’t experience any staining.
Note: my bottle came with the brand’s wide brush. PPU bottles will come with a thinner one.
NeVerMind Polish
15ml, 5 Free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Nvr Enuff – Crush
Inspiration: A good glass of red wine after… well anything!
Description: A deep and luscious wine-red linear holo with a dash of galaxy glitters
Price: $12 for 15ml Cap: US: None UK: 20 bottles
Crush had a fantastic and very opaque formula. This is described perfectly, it’s deep and luscious. I found the linear holo gave this an almost 2 toned look on the nail.
It applied really nicely in 2 coats. Shorter nails might be able to get away with 1 coat. I would highly recommend wearing a good quality base coat with this polish. It is very pigmented and while I didn’t have any staining, I could see this potentially staining. The galaxy glitters might give some trouble during removal but I didn’t have any problems getting this off.
NvR Enuff
15ml, 5 Free & Cruelty Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Pepper Pot Polish – Mack ‘N’ Cheese
Under blacklist
Inspiration: Queso in a can
Description: Vibrant neon-y yellow/orange with orange aurora and gold glitter of mixed size.
Price: $11 for 13ml Cap: None
Mack ‘N’ Cheese had a wonderful formula. It didn’t feel overly thick or thin and I didn’t have any application issues. This is a *very* bright orange with like a touch of yellow. Basically, it is a neon ‘is there really any cheese in this?’ powdered mac & cheese orange polish.
The glitters and shimmer give this a nice low key subtle sparkle. The glitters all spread out evenly and don’t give off much if any texture when dry. You get pretty good coverage in 2 coats but that third coat adds more opacity to hide VNL. This has some slight VNL but you have to really search for it.
Removal might be tricky if you scrub this one off. I didn’t have any issues with removal and no staining to report.
Pepper Pot Polish
13ml, 5 free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Sassy Sauce Polish – Toes In the Water
Inspiration: Vacation
Description: a blue/green/purple shifting multichrome with blue/green/purple/pink/red shifting ghost flakies
Price: $12.50 for 15ml Cap: 500
Toes In the Water had a wonderful formula. It is on the sheer side but it builds up really nicely. This is a very color shifty multichrome base with equally color shifting flakies. I was seeing all of the described colors in person. The main color I was seeing on my nails were the green/blue with purple as I moved my hand around.
I was surprised at what good coverage this has in 2 coats. Shorter nails will probably be good in 2. I had some light spots and VNL so I went in for a third coat.
Alternatively, this can be used as a topper. I chose to show this in 1 coat over black on my thumbnail. I think it looks great both ways. No issues with staining or removal.
Note: The ghost flakies made this one a little tricky to photograph.
Sassy Sauce Polish
5 free & cruelty free
WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | FACEBOOK GROUP
Swamp Gloss – Dorothy
2 coats over a blurring base coat
Inspiration: Dorothy from Twister
Description: A yellow jelly with red/gold/green shimmer and orange green blue flakes
Price: $13 for 15ml Cap: 300 bottles
Dorothy had a great jelly formula. It is sheer so it will need to be built up. It’s a warm lemony yellow with color shifty flakies. The flakies look absolutely amazing in this base and dry down pretty smooth.
This builds up nicely in 3 coats but it is on the sheer side so you will have some VNL. It does dry down dull so you will want top coat to add shine and make the flakies pop. I didn’t have any staining or trouble removing this polish.
Note: I used a nail line blurring base coat on my thumbnail to show what this looks like when you use that type of base coat.
Swamp Gloss
15ml, 10 free, vegan & cruelty free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Sweet & Sour Lacquer – Love That Chicken (sandwich)
Inspiration: the chicken sandwich from Popeyes
Description: An orange jelly with a mix of orange, green, and gold holo glitters in varying sizes, as well as matte white glitters.
Price: $12.50 for 15ml Cap: 200
Love That Chicken (sandwich) had a wonderful jelly formula. It is on the sheer side so you will want to build this up. The glitters spread out nicely on their own without needing to do anything special. They are *very* holographic.
This polish will be a 2-3 coater depending on personal preference. You get really nice coverage and color depth in 2 coats. The third coat does deepen the color and give it a nice “spicy chicken sandwich” orange look.
This dries down a little textured. I found that 1 coat of top coat smoothed it out like 90%. I used a glitter eating top coat for all of my fingers except for the middle nail. Removal will be tricky so you will want to soak this one off or use a peel of base coat. I didn’t experience any staining.
Sweet & Sour Lacquer
15ml, 5 free & cruelty free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Twisting Nether Lacquer – I Apologize… For Nothing
2 coats with a blurring base coat
Inspiration: Hedonismbot from Futurama
Description: a gold polish with gold galaxy holo glitters, purple metallic glitters in various shapes and sizes, purple metallic micro flakes, and violet-red-orange ultra chrome chameleon flakes.
Price: $13 for 15ml Cap: 150
I Apologize… For Nothing had a great jelly formula. It is on the sheer side so it will need to be built up. All of the components spread out evenly and easily. I didn’t need to hold the bottle upside down or do anything special for great coverage. This is very sparkly and holographic in person.
I was surprised at how smooth this one dried down. It wasn’t textured at all and any potential texture with smoothed out with 1 coat of top coat. Like I mentioned, it is on the sheer side. There will be some VNL at some angles with this polish. I used 3 coats for my photos. For my thumbnail, I used 2 coats over a blurring base coat.
Note: Twisting Nether Lacquer recently changed their bottle and brush! Their brush is now a wider paddle type brush. This is a permanent change.
Twisting Nether Lacquer
5 free, vegan & cruelty free
Website | Instagram | Facebook Page | Facebook Group
Zombie Claw Polish – Sweet Liar
Inspiration: the romance Novel by Jude Deveraux
Description: a deep violet base with holo flakies and blue-green-purple color shifting flakies
Price: $13 for 13ml Cap: 200
Sweet Liar had a wonderful formula. This is a beautiful violet base and the flakies give this an almost multichrome shimmer like effect on the nail. I was mainly seeing a purple to blue color shift on the nails.
I think this will be a solid 3 coater for most people. You might be able to get away with 2 thick coats but I used 3 coats for my photos. Nothing in here dried textured and removal was typical for a flakie polish. I didn’t experience any staining.
Zombie Claw Polish
10 free, vegan & cruelty free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Comparisons
Alter Ego Get Yer Red Hot Dogs Here! vs Alter Ego 7 Cherries Rose Up
7 Cherries Rose Up was in the April Polish Pickup blog post here.
Bee’s Knees Awakened vs KBShimmer I Just Wanna Fly
KBShimmer’s I Just Wanna Fly was in the April Polish Pickup blog post here.
KBShimmer Everything Is A Bouquet-A vs Hidden Potential
KBShimmers Hidden Potential is a part of the Enchanted Forest collection reviewed here
Moonflower Polish – Caramel Delights vs Borinquen Querida
Borinquen Querida was reviewed here
Bee’s Knees Boo vs Bee’s Knees The Right Key
The Right Key was reviewed here
Sale Info
These items will be available on PolishPickup.com starting Friday, May 7th at 11AM Eastern time until Monday the 10th at 11:59PM Eastern time. The UK site, PolishPickup.co.uk opens Thursday, May 6th at 1600 GMT. 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
Website | International Site | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group | Chat/BST Group
Both sites are open now for wishlisting. There are WAY more items available than just what I have shown today. Thanks for reading and don’t forget to check out my live swatch video up on my YouTube channel Nicole Loves Nails. It’s a new channel and I’d really appreciate if y’all would watch the videos and subscribe!
A note on thermals…
I want to note that thermal polishes do have a shelf life (generally at least 6-12 months) on how long they will change colors for. 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.
WELCOME!
Comments (2)
Blog Sale – Nicole Loves Nails
October 4, 2022 at 8:04 pm
[…] Lacquer: O-R-E-Oh’s $8, Lisa (dead thermal) $6, Water On Mars 2.0 $10, The Girls Are Fighting Over Shoes (thermal) $8, […]
CHEESE Scented Nail Polish?? Nails Inc x Velvetta – Nicole Loves Nails
July 7, 2022 at 9:19 pm
[…] has been a long time since I had such a weird product to share. I do believe the last one was that hot dog scented acetone additive and of course the Salty & Sweet collection from Sinful Colors. Clearly I really like weird nail […]