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Hey friends! I cannot believe it’s almost May already. Today post is for the May Polish Pickup. The theme for May is National Parks and Landmarks. I wasn’t super excited about the theme this month but I will say a whole lot of gorgeous is for sale this month!
The May PPU will be open starting on May 6th. As always, links and full sale details can be found at the end of the post.
Also just a heads-up, I will be going live on my YouTube channel later today at 4PM Eastern time so be sure to come hang out!
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.
Bee’s Knees Lacquer – Ride Together, Die Together
Inspiration: Pimon and Tumba from the Wildlife Exploitation Preserve in Borderlands
Description: This is a black-based purple to red to gold multichrome with gold light reflective glitter
Price: $13.50 for 15ml | Cap: None
Ride Together, Die Together had a beautiful formula. The base was slightly on the thicker side but I found it applied very easily. It started off a little sheer but it built up really easily. The multichrome was exactly as described.
The reflective gliters in here all spread out very evenly and easily but they do give off a bit of texture. For the smoothest finish possible, you will want to use 2 coats of top coat. I found that I could see the gold reflect both the gold as well as silver reflects in person.
My photos show ride together die together in two coats plus 2 coats of topcoat. I did pair this one with a glitter smoothing top coat before going in with my usual quick dry topcoat. Removal will be on the difficult/messy side if you try to scrub this one off.
Bee’s Knees Lacquer
15ml, 5+ Free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Cameo Colours Lacquers – Gorgeous Grinnell Lake
Inspiration: Grinnell Lake in Glacier National Park
Description: A light grey crelly base with holo sparkle, a dash of indigo/purple shifting shimmer, full of lime/blue/gold UCC flakes, turquoise green and blue metallic flakes, a smattering of lime/gold iridescent microglitter, and silver holo micro flakes.
Price: $11.50 for 15ml | Cap: 105
Gorgeous Grinnell Lake had a beautiful formula. It started off a little sheer so you will want to build it up for opacity. This has a TON of flakies and glitters in it but the base didn’t feel thick at all.
All of the components spread out evenly and easily without giving off texture. At first, I thought the holographic was on the more delicate side and then I brought it outside and saw that it was extremely holographic.
My photos show Gorgeous Grinnell Lake in 3 coats plus both glossy and matte top coat. Removal won’t be overly difficult.
Cameo Colours Lacquers
15ml, 5 free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Crystal Knockout – Fat Bear
Inspiration: Katmai National Park’s annual fat bear contest
Description: a bright coral jelly base with crystal chameleon flakes in pink, green, gold, copper, and orange, and iridescent color-shifting glitters in multiple sizes
Price: $11 for 15ml | Cap: None
***A portion of each bottle sold will be donated to the Katmai Conservancy***
Fat Bear had a good formula. It was on the thicker side of normal but I didn’t have any application issues. The flakies and glitters spread out very easily without giving off any noticeable texture.
In person, I found this was a true coral, it didn’t lean orangey or red. My photos turned out WAY more orange than I would have liked. It was also very bright! I didn’t realize it until after I swatched this that this polish will also glow under blacklight.
My photos show Fat Bear in 3 coats plus both glossy and matte top coat. I was surprised that this was perfectly smooth with just 1 coat of top coat.
Since this is a jelly, you will have obvious VNL in 3 coats. I also swatched this in 1 coat over Holo Taco’s The Floor Is Guava which is a coral creme.
Crystal Knockout
15ml, 5 Free & Cruelty Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Cupcake Polish – Big Bend
Inspiration: Milky Way swirling in the night sky.
Description: a navy blue nail polish with gold to green multichrome shimmer and a hint of silver reflective glitter to mimic the Milky Way swirling in the night sky.
Price: for 15ml | Cap:
Big Bend had a good formula. The polish applied similarly to a jelly polish so you will want to build it up for opacity. I found the base wasn’t thick at all despite having reflective glitters in it.
The reflective glitters were very reflective and twinkley. I found they did give the polish a bit of texture. The shimmer was as described,
i used 3 coats for my photos. Removal will be difficult/messy if you try to scrub this one off.
Cupcake Polish
15ml, 5 Free & Cruelty Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Fair Maiden Polish – La Dame de Fer
Inspiration: La Dame de Fer
Description: A classic “blurple” with a striking red aurora shimmer finished with reflective glitter.
Price: $12.50 for 15ml | Cap: None
La Dame de Fer had a beautiful formula. The base didn’t feel thick at all despite having a ton of reflective glitters in it, Like the previous polish, it applied similarly to a jelly so you will want to build it up for opacity.
The shimmer was very strong and had a slight color shift to it. I was seeing a red with yellow at very extreme angles.
The reflective glitters do give the polish a bit of texture. Pairing it with a glitter smoothing top coat will give it the smoothest finish possible or you could just use 2 coats of top coat.
I found coverage was ok in 2 coats but still a little bit sheer. If you don’t mind obvious VNL, it will be passable in 2 coats. My photos show La Dame de Fer in 3 coats plus 2 coats of top coat.
Removal will be on the more difficult/messy side, so I would recommend soaking this off or pairing it with a peel off base coat.
Fair Maiden Polish
15ml, 5 Free & Cruelty Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Glisten & Glow – Northern Lights at Acadia
Inspiration: Northern Lights at Acadia National Park.
Description: a grey base reflective glitter polish loaded with flashes of blue, purple, green and silver
Price: $13 for 15ml | Cap: None
Northern Lights at Acadia had a good formula. The base was pretty thick but I didn’t have any issues with application. It was incredibly sparkly from all of the glitters in here.
Due to those glitters, this will dry down very textured. You will want a glitter smoothing top coat with this polish to get it perfectly smooth and glossy. If you like matte textured polish, this will be great without any top coat. I used the KBShimmer Smooth Moves top coat before going in with my quick dry top coat.
My photos show Northern Lights At Acadia in 2 coats plus 2 coats of top coat. Removal will be extremely difficult if you try to scrub this off. I used a peel off base coat but soaking this off is also an option.
Glisten & Glow – Cuticle Remover in Calm Seas
Inspiration: Acadia National Park in Maine
Scent Description: a mild aroma of the salty sea with a clean fresh vibe
Ingredients: distilled water, potassium hydroxide, coconut oil and fragrance
Price: $13 for 1 ounce | Cap: None
Directions: Apply generously to the cuticle area and let it sit for 60 seconds. Next, gently push back with your favorite tool. Finally, wash hands and cuticles thoroughly with soap and water.
Glisten & Glow
15ml, 5 Free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Heather’s Hues – Southern Lights
Inspiration: Bruny Island
Description: a multichrome magnetic that shifts between red, pink, copper, gold, and green. It has red-orange-gold-green iridescent flakes and silver reflective glitter.
Price: $12.50 for 15ml | Cap: 250
Southern Lights had a really great formula. I was a little surprised at how the base didn’t feel thick at all despite having those reflective glitters in it. I didn’t experience any issues with application.
This polish did start out a little bit sheer but I found it built up very nicely for full opacity in 2 coats. The reflective glitters and flakies do give it a little bit of texture so you will want to double up on top coat. I found the reflective glitters to be very sparkly.
The multichrome effect was extremely color shifty in person I was seeing the colors as described. Both magnetized and unmagnetized this looks amazing. You see the flakies best magnetized but they are visible without magnetizing the polish.
My photos show Southern Lights in 2 coats plus both glossy and matte top coat. My middle nail is unmagnetized and my thumbnail is in 1 coat over black. I wouldn’t recommend scrubbing this polish off.
Heather’s Hues – Cutie-cle Balms in Flamingo-Go
Inspiration: the Everglades
Description: a mix of blackberries and citrus notes of lemon and bergamot, blended with vanda orchid, jasmine, and violet, all over a base of vanilla beans and transparent musk
Price: $11 for 30ml | Cap: 70
Ingredients: apricot kernel oil, avocado oil, candelilla wax, chia seed oil, 100% pure coconut oil, fractionated coconut oil, jojoba oil, kukui nut oil, olive oil pomace, rosehip seed oil, sweet almond oil, and vitamin E. The scented options contain essential oils and/or fragrance oils. Cutie-cle Balms should be stored in a cool, dark place and used within 8-12 months of purchase as the natural oils used have a shelf life.
This month’s cutie-cle balm scent smells incredibly fruity and sweet which is my personal favorite scent type. I couldn’t decide which fruits I was smelling in person, but it is definitely really really fruity smelling.
Heather’s Hues
15ml, 5 free, Vegan & Cruelty Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
KBShimmer – Superior Sunset
Inspiration: Lake Superior in Northern Minnesota
Description: a fuchsia-leaning magneta nail polish. This pink shade is amplified by a color-shifting shimmer that shifts through hues of green, blue, aqua, and sometimes hints of indigo. Gleaming bits of reflective glitter catch the light for an amazing sparkle, even in lower light.
Price: $11.50 for 15ml | Cap: None
Superior Sunset had a great formula. It was very much on the thick side but I found it applied very easily. The base color was as described and was very color shifty from that shimmer. It was also very sparkly from all of that glitter.
This will be one of the reflective polishes that you don’t want to overwork. The glitters give this one a lot of texture so you will want to double up on your top coat for a smooth and glossy finish. I used the KBShimmer Smooth Moves glitter smoothing top coat before going in with the KBShimmer Clearly On Top top coat.
My photos show Superior Sunset in 2 coats plus 2 coats of top coat. Removal will be very difficult if you try to scrub this polish off.
KBShimmer Sugar Scrub in Mixed Up Mango
Inspiration: Vacations in Key West
Description: scented with ripe and slightly floral mango, tart yuzu and juicy lychee berries. A hint of watery cucumber accents the hints of sugary vanilla and coconut cream, for a refreshing scent-sation that will transition your mind and body to the tropics any time of the year.
Price: $10 for 9.5 ounces | Cap: None
This month’s scent is one of my favorite KBShimmer scents that I have ever tried. If you like mango scented anything, you will LOVE this one. It’s deliciously fruity smelling.
KBShimmer
15ml, 5 free, Vegan & Cruelty Free
Website | Etsy | Amazon | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
LynB Designs – Picture This
Inspiration: Pictured Rocks Lakeshore in Lake Superior
Description: blue to purple to pink to orange to yellow multichrome with added holo
Price: $13 for 15ml | Cap: None
Picture This had a really great formula. The base didn’t feel overly thick or thin and I didn’t have any application issues. At first this went on a little sheer/patchy but reached opacity very quickly.
The multichrome pigment was VERY color shifty! In person, I was seeing a blue,purple,pink, gold with green at extreme angles. I could see some brush strokes through the shimmer but they were pretty minor once the polish dried.
The linear holographic was also very strong. It was raining when. swatched this polish so I wasn’t able to take it outside. I tweaked my lighting a bit to better show the holographic pigment. This is going to be one of those holographic polishes will get more holographic as the polish dries.
My photos show Picture This in 3 coats plus top coat. I think this will likely be a 2 coater on most people. For personal wear, I would wear this in 2 coats. This dries down slightly dull so you will want top coat for a glossy finish.
LynB Designs
15ml, 5 Free & Vegan
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
MTK Designs – Spirit Of St Helens
Inspiration: Mt St Helens (& Spirit Lake)
Description: a dusty pale celery green (warm) to periwinkle blue (cool) thermal with a bit of purple mid temp transition; accented w/ a sprinkling of copper & pink sparkles and copper shimmer
Price: $12 for 15ml | Cap: None
Spirit Of St Helens had a great formula. I found the polish applied like an opaque creme polish, so slightly on the thicker side but not in a way that makes the polish difficult to apply.
The thermal aspect started changing on me right away. I found the warmest state is a pale minty aqua, the midstate is lavender and the cold state is a dark periwinkle.
This polish has a delicate pink shimmer effect, I could see a pink with a gold-ish kind of color shift. It was hard to photograph but I could see it in person.
My photos show Spirit Of St Helens in 3 coats plus top coat. I think this will be a 2-3 coater depending on nail length and personal preference. The polish does dry down fairly dull so you will want top coat for a glossy finish.
MTK Design
15ml, 5 Free & Cruelty Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
My Indie Polish – Just Peachy
Inspiration: a park in Portugual that is filled with peaches
Description: a peach base with various colours of glitter
Price: $13 for 15ml | Cap: ??
Just Peachy had a beautiful formula. I found the base didn’t feel overly thick or thin and I didn’t have any application issues. The glitters all spread out very evenly with only a minimal amount of texture. I was seeing burgundy, lime, grey, seafoam green and hot pink hex and circle glitters in a variety of sizes.
I didn’t need to hold the bottle upside or do any glitter placement. However, I did run this one through my nail polish shaker before applying.
The base color to my eye is a pale peach that leans a little towards sand. It was slightly uneven so you will want to build this up in 3 coats. I found the third coat fixed all of the light spots.
My photos show Just Peachy in 3 coats plus both glossy and matte top coat. I also used a glitter smoothing top coat (I used KBShimmer Smooth Moves) with this polish before going in with my glossy top coat. I don’t think that will be 100% necessary but I wanted the polish to look perfectly smooth.
My Indie Polish
15ml, 7 free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group | TikTok
Native War Paints – Mighty Mac
Inspiration: ??
Description: ??
Price: ?? for 15ml | Cap: ??
Mighty Mac had a good formula. It started out a little sheer and patchy so you will want to build this one up in 2 coats. I found the shimmer in here was both strong and delicate at the same time. It isn’t an in your face shimmer, but you will have a bit of a blue to purple color shift.
There was also some holographic pigment in here that did not want to show up in my photos. To be honest, I didn’t realize there was holo in here until I went outside to snag the mail the following day. There were lots of rainbows in the sun!
My photos show Might Mac in 3 coats plus top coat. The polish dries down dull so you will want top coat for a glossy finish.
Native War Paints
15ml & 5 Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Night Owl Lacquer – Delicate Arch
Inspiration: Arches National Park in Utah
Description: a pale peach linear holographic with rose gold to gold shifting shimmer
Price: $13 for 15ml | Cap: None
Delicate Arch had a really great formula. It does start out pretty sheer so you will want to build this one up for opacity. If you like having a sheer wash of color on the nail, this will be good in 1-2 coats. If you prefer full opacity, it will be a 3 coater.
The shimmer was very strong and glowy! It was as described to my eye. The polish was also EXTREMELY holographic. It is a BAM rainbows kind of polish.
My photos show Delicate Arch in 3 coats plus top coat. The polish dries down pretty dull so you will want top coat for a glossy finish.
Night Owl Lacquer
15ml, 5 Free & Cruelty-Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group | TikTok
Restored By Polish – Sapphire Pool
Inspiration: the Sapphire Pool in Yellowstone National Park
Description: a teal crelly-jelly base filled with turquoise and silver holo glitters in different shapes.
Price: $11 for 12ml | Cap: 100 (may increase)
Sapphire Pool had a beautiful formula. The base didn’t feel overly thick at all despite being jam packed with glitters. In my opinion, the base color was a teal that leaned more green than blue.
I found all of the glitters dispersed themselves very easily without needing to hold the bottle upside down. This polish is extremely sparkly and holographic! The glitters do give the polish some texture so to get the smoothest finish possible, I would recommend a glitter smoothing top coat. I used the Smooth Moves top coat by KBShimmer.
My photos show Sapphire Pool in 3 coats plus both glossy and matte top coat. I found this had okay coverage in 2 coats so if you have short nails, you might be good in 2 coats. Long nails will want to go in for three.
Restored By Polish
12ml, 10 Free, Vegan & Cruelty Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook
Sassy Sauce Polish – Zion Sunset
Inspiration: Zion national park in Utah
Description: A rustic cream base with a strong rose shimmer
Price: $12.50 for 13ml | Cap: 300
Zion Sunset had a fantastic formula, This polish was very opaque I can see people with nails shorter than mine to be good in 1 coat. Honestly, if I wasn’t morally opposed to wearing polishes in 1 coat I could have gotten away with just 1 coat.
The shimmer was very strong, it gives the polish a very reddish look. I didn’t see any brush strokes through it. I noticed that this polish does glow under black light!
My photos show Zion Sunset in 2 coats.
Sassy Sauce Polish
15ml, 5 Free & Cruelty-Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Zombie Claw Polish – Hanging Lake
Inspiration: Hanging Tree Lake
Description: A deep lake blue with green-gold flakies and silver reflective glitters
Price: $13for 13ml | Cap: 150
Hanging Lake had a really nice formula. It was on the more thicker side but I found application very easy. It was also very opaque. I don’t see anyone needing more than two coats for this one.
The reflective glitters were very sparkly! The flakies and glitters spread out evenly and give the polish a lot of texture. The glitters in particular were very top coat hungry. I ended up needing 3 coats of top coat to completely smooth this one out. If you like textured polishes, this will be fantastic without any top coat.
My photos show Hanging Lake in 2 coats plus 3 coats of top coat (1 glitter smoothing and 2 normal). Removal will be very difficult if you try to scrub this one off.
Zombie Claw Polish
10 Free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Comparisons
KBShimmer’s Superior Sunset vs KBShimmer’s Love You Bunches. Not dupes!
I don’t know why the Glisten & Glow polish this month made me think of KBShimmer’s Drawn To You. They weren’t similar at all.
Feel free to let me know if you have ideas for comparisons!
Sale Information
The May Polish Pickup opens up Friday May 6th at 11 AM Eastern time on PolishPickup.com until Monday the 9th at 11:59PM Eastern. The UK site, PolishPickup.co.uk opens up Thursday at 1600 GMT.
All Items are sold on a pre-order basis and are expected to ship 3-4 weeks after the sale period is over. 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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