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Hello my friends! It is that time of the month when we all get to geek out over some new PPU items! For May the theme is Junk Fook.
As always, the makers really gave us a variety of colors and finishes so I am pretty dang excited to share these. I have one more item on the way but I wanted to get this blog post up to share what I currently have available.
The May 2023 PPU opens up on Friday, May 5 at 11AM on the PolishPickup website. As always I will have links and sale details 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.
Bluebird Lacquer – Blast Off!
Inspiration: Lisa aka Cosmetic Sanctuary and Lou’s mutually favorite soda Baja Blast
Description: a Bluebird shattered holo formula in a pale Baja Blast aquamarine with an effervescent pink to gold shifting shimmer
Price: $12.50 for 15ml | Cap: 400
Blast Off! had a fantastic formula. This was my first time trying the shattered holo formula from Bluebird, it is 100% worth the hype. It reminds me a little bit of the Bee’s Knees A Lion With A Thorn In Its Paw line of polishes.
The holo flakies in here are very holographic and strong. They do dry down flat but you will want top coat for a glossy finish. The shimmer was also very strong but just slightly overshadowed by the flakes.
My photos show Blast Off! in 2 coats plus glossy top coat. If you go in for super thin coats or have very long nails, you will probably need a third coat. Removal will be very easy, but also very messy.
Bluebird Lacquer
15ml, 5 Free, Vegan & Cruelty Free
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Clionadh Cosmetics – Salt Water(melon) Taffy
Inspiration:
Description: A vivid mint green crelly base with pink-peach-lime shifting shimmer
Price: $13 for 11.5ml | Cap
Salt Water(melon) Taffy I knew immediately that I was going to love the shimmer in this polish. It is super color shifty and strong! You don’t see any brush strokes through it either which is always appreciated.
The minty green base is really delicate looking. I am not really one for mint greens but I can appreciate how the base color plays with the shimmer.
This is a sheerer polish so you will have some VNL with it, even in 3 coats. I do think this would work well with a VNL blurring base or even as a topper over another minty green.
This polish is remidning me of something that I have swatched semi-recently but I CANNOT for the life of me remember what that is. If anyone has any ideas on what I could be thinking of please let me know because it is driving me crazy.
My photos show Salt Water(melon) Taffy in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. The depth of color is slightly deeper/better in three coats but I would likely just wear this one in 2 coats. Removal won’t be difficult at all.
Clionadh Cosmetics
11.5ml, 10 Free, Vegan & Cruelty Free
Use my affiliate code NicoleLovesNails to save extra!
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Crystal Knockout – Sugarspun
Inspiration: Cotton Candy
Description: A bubblegum pink to peachy-gold thermal with orange-gold shifting shimmer, orange-red iridescent flakies, and matte pink and light blue glitters
Price: $12.50 for 15ml | Cap: None
Sugarspun had a great but thicker formula. I often find that this brand’s glitter polishes tend to be on the thicker side but man do I love them! I do not find the application to be difficult but it something to keep in mind.
My hands were like little ice cubes when I was swatching this one so I had to warm up my hands with a hairdryer to start seeing the color states. Once my hands were warmed up, I was able to easily see both states and this seems very reactive.
As I mentioned, this polish does have a thicker formula. Because of that, I opted to swatch it in 2 coats as I felt by adding a third it would make my nails seem a little chunky. I did have some VNL with this polish in the warm state but it was opaque in the cold state.
My photos show Sugarspun in 2 coats plus 1 coat of top coat. The glitters do give this polish some texture so depending on your personal preference, you might need a second coat of top coat to smooth everything out.
Removal of course will be on the more difficult side if you opt to scrub this polish off. Use the soak off method or a peel off base for the easiest removal.
Crystal Knockout
15ml, 5 Free & Cruelty Free
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Fair Maiden Polish – Sweet Tooth
Inspiration: a super sweet pink frosted cake! (inspiration pic attached)
Description: Bright pink with red/orange shimmer and holo flake
Price: $12 for 15ml | Cap: None
Sweet Tooth holy moly this polish is beautiful. This one had a fantastic, very creamy formula. I was pleasantly surprised at how opaque it was.
The bright pink base screams summertime pink and the shimmer gives it an orangey almost golden glow. The holo flakies gave a subtle holo sparkle.
My photos show Sweet Tooth in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. This will be a 2-3 coater depending on application. I had a few dark spots on my pointer finger but my other nails were good in 2 coats.
Fair Maiden Polish
15ml, 5 Free & Cruelty Free
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Heather’s Hues – Mmm Is For Macaron
Inspiration: the delectable macaron
Description: A lavender crelly kissed with iridescent blue-violet micro flakes and filled with a variety of purple and silver glitters
Price: $13 for 15ml | Cap: None
Mmm Is For Macaron had a beautiful crelly formula. I did find the base to be on the thicker side but still easy to apply.
The pale lavender base gives very elegant, regal vibes to me. It starts off very sheer though so you will need to build it up to get the opacity. The coverage was a little too uneven for me to say it’s passable in 2 coats. I reach full even coverage with 3 coats.
All of the glitters spread out pretty evenly with minimal texture. I used one coat of top coat to smooth everything out.
My photos show Mmm Is For Macaron in 3 coats plus glossy top coat.
Heather’s Hues – WiTS
Inspiration: Crème brûlée
Description: top notes of French vanilla, heavy cream, and butter, blended with maple sugar, coconut, and peach, with hints of brown sugar and glazed caramel. It smells just like one of my favorite junk foods, crème brûlée, which is a creamy vanilla custard topped with a buttery caramel glaze
Price: $9 for 2 ounces | Cap: 100
This month’s scent smells amazing! It’s sweet, vanilla- with a dash of coconut.
Heather’s Hues
15ml, 5 free, Vegan & Cruelty Free
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KBShimmer – Straight To The Pint
Inspiration: cotton candy ice cream
Description: palest pink crelly base and is accented with a mix of small and medium glitters in light purple, hot pink, and blue, echoing those sugary bits
Price: $12 for 15ml | Cap: None
Straight To The Pint had a fantastic crelly formula! It is no secret that I love glitter crellies and this polish was so fun.
The base didn’t feel overly thick at all and I didn’t need to do anything special to get great glitter coverage. However, I did run this polish through my nail polish shaker prior to doing my swatches. I didn’t when I was doing my live swatches and still had really great glitter coverage.
The glitters do dry down with some slight texture but I found 1 coat of the KBShimmer Clearly On Top top coat smoothed everything out nicely for me. I had this on for several hours and didn’t notice the polish feeling more textured with time. So I don’t think you’ll have to pair this with a glitter smoothing top coat if you have a thicker formula quick dry top coat.
My photos show Straight To The Pint in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. This will be a 2-3 coater depending on application and personal preference. Removal of course will be on the more difficult side if you scrub this polish off, don’t do that to yourself.
KBShimmer Sugar Scrub in Fruity Loops
Inspiration: sugar-loaded breakfast food
Description: A sweet and punchy orange scent gives way to notes of juicy ripe berries. A hint of tart tangerine brightens the sugary vanilla note for a perfect blend that is sweet, but not overpowering. Like those colorful loops, this scrub features a rainbow of swirled colors; coupled with a dash of biodegradable glitter on top, this hand and body scrub is sure to be a cheery treat for your skin.
Price: $10 for 9.5 ounces l | Cap: None
As someone who really hates Fruit Loops, I was concerned by the name of the polish. Thankfully for me, this doesn’t smell like what I remember Fruit Loops smelling like.
It smells very fruity and very sweet
KBShimmer
15ml, 5 free, Vegan & Cruelty Free
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Music City Beauty – Nacho Business
Inspiration: Nacho Doritos
Description: an orange base with red to gold shimmer and black micro shreds
Price: $12.50 for 15ml | Cap: 100
Nacho Business I love how close to an actual Dorito chip this polish looks! The formula was great, slightly on the thicker side but very easy to work with.
The base color is a very artificial cheese orange shade! The black microshreds turn this from a mac & cheese orange to a Dorito orange. The only thing that would have made me love this polish more was if it was scented to be like a Dorito. I know that’s an odd one but really, I love me a weird scented nail polish moment.
My photos show Nacho Business in 2 coats plus glossy top coat. Nothing in here will dry down textured or be overly difficult to remove. P.S I think to make this look even close to a real Doritos chip would be to make it matte!
Music City Beauty
15ml, 5 Free, Vegan and Cruelty-Free
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Night Owl Lacquer – Jalapeño Face
Inspiration: Jalapeño flavored snacks
Description: a blackened purple with vibrant multichrome shimmer that shifts bright green/cyan/cobalt/violet.
Price: $13 for 15ml | Cap: 100
Jalapeño Face this was another stunner! The formula was on the thicker side but I found it very easy to apply. Again, it’s that kind of thickness that adds to opacity and not difficultly in applicaiton.
The shimmer is next level strong. I was seeing a green/teal/blue/purple color shift. There aren’t any brush strokes through the shimmer. Despite it being a dreary, rainy day, the shimmer looks really amazing out in natural lighting.
My photos show Jalapeno Face in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. I found in bright lighting, I was able to see some patchiness in 2 coats so I added a third. It wasn’t 100% necessary but I thought a third coat would look better in photos. Longer nails than mine might have some VNL.
Night Owl Lacquer
15ml, 5 Free & Cruelty-Free
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Restored By Polish – Chic Chick
Inspiration: Party Cake Peeps
Description: a delicate ivory crelly with aurora shimmer & multi colored flakies
Price: $12.75 for 12ml | Cap: 100
Chic Chick was a standout for me based on the fact that I didn’t think that I was going to like it and ended up LOVING it. I am not usually one for colors like this but the delicate effect paired with the shimmer and flakies totally sold me.
The base applied wonderfully and I was really happy at how evenly it looked even in one coat. In one coat, this would work well as a topper. I found I really liked how it looked in just 2 coats. I did test out how it looks in 3 coats for my live swatch video, I still prefer the dainty look of 2 coats but you do get more coverage with a third coat.
My photos show Chic Chick in 2 coats plus glossy top coat.
Restored By Polish
12ml, 10 Free, Vegan & Cruelty Free
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Sweet & Sour Lacquer – Sour Then Sweet
Inspiration: Sour Patch Watermelon gummies
Description: a sheer pale pink base with a strong shimmer shifting gold/green/orange
Price: $13 for 15ml | Cap: 300
Sour Then Sweet had a fantastic formula. The shimmer in this polish is unreal! I was seeing the colors as desribed. There are some brush strokes while the polish is wet but they do disappear as the polish dries down.
Like the Restored By Polish offering, this is going to be one of those polishes where you can wear it in 1 coat for a sheer look and build it up in 3 coats if you want more opacity. Personally, I liked it best in 2 coats.
My photos show Sour Then Sweet in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. You get a tiny bit more opacity, plus a stronger shimmer effect, with the third coat but there is still very obvious VNL with this polish in 3 coats.
Sweet & Sour Lacquer
15ml, 5 Free & Cruelty-Free
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Use my affiliate code ‘SWEETNICOLE10‘ to save 10% on S&S website orders
Sale Information
The April 2023 Polish Pickup goes live on Friday May 5th at 11AM Eastern time on PolishPickup.com. The sale period closes the following Monday at 11:59PM. International shipping is available and all items are sold on a pre-order basis, for more information do check out the PPU website.
Polish Pickup
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