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Spooky season has started! Hey friends! I am so excited about today’s blog post. For September the Polish Pickup shop is themed as Scary Vibes AKA Halloween! I told y’all in my Orly review, that it is Falloween in these parts and no “it’s too early” talk will be permitted!
This is going to be a long post so if you are looking for something specific, do consider using the search feature on your browser. This is the first month I am doing PPU in the new blogging format so there is going to be a lot of scrolling.
As always, I will have links and sale details at the end of the post. Nothing was standing out to me as far as comparisons go but if anyone thinks of something to compare, just let me know and I will get that added to 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 – Scary, Sparkly, Skeletons
Inspiration: Photo of a sparkly skeleton
Description: a scattered holographic gray base with holographic flakes, white and black hex glitters, multiple colors of micro holographic glitters, and bits of iridescent flakes and hex glitter
Price: $12.50 for 15ml | Cap: 150
Scary, Sparkly, Skeletons had a fantastic formula. The base felt just slightly on the thicker side but not unusually so since this has *a lot* of glitter action going on. It starts off a little sheer so you will really want to build this one up to get the most opacity.
This polish is SUPER sparkly! You can really see the holographic elements best out in the sunlight. This polish will also come with a baggy of skull shaped glitters. Sadly, my dog decided to steal the baggy from me so I wasn’t able to add them to my swatches.
I swatched Scary, Sparkly, Skeletons in 3 coats plus 2 coats of top coat. I did pair this with a glitter smoothing top coat (KBShimmer Smooth Moves) before going in with my quick dry top coat. I do think this does benefit from doubling up on top coat for a smooth finish.
Removal for this polish will be on the more difficult side, I wouldn’t recommend scrubbing this polish off. I used a peel off base coat.
All Mixed Up Lacquers
15ml, 5 Free, Cruelty-Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Bee’s Knees Lacquer – Ghost or Grandma?
Inspiration: There’s an urban legend in Korea that if you go to sleep with the fan or AC blowing on you, you won’t wake up. This polish is inspired by all the times I stayed at my grandmother’s, and I woke up in the middle of the night to see a shadow creeping through my room to turn my fan off
Description: A ghostly pale green with glowy blue shimmer
Price: $13 for 15ml | Cap: None
Ghost or Grandma? had a really great formula. This polish is pretty sheer so you will have very obvious VNL with it. The shimmer is really strong though so depending on lighting, that will distract from your VNL. In brighter more direct lighting, all of your nail will be visible.
To be honest, I don’t love the base color on this polish but I do really like the shimmer. I feel like the base color leans just slightly in the prugly polish category.
My photos show Ghost Or Grandma in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. Nothing in here will be difficult to remove and I didn’t experience any staining.
Bee’s Knees Lacquer
15ml, 5+ Free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Cameo Colours Lacquer – Spoopy Pumpkins
Inspiration: a photo of a bright orange jack-o-lantern on a black background with blue smoke curling out of it
Description: a neon orange crelly, with a red/green shimmer, blue metallic flakes, black micro flakes, and holo micro flakes
Price: $11.50 15ml | Cap: 105
Spoopy Pumpkins have a fantastic formula. It starts off a little bit sheer but it does build up and reach full opacity. These flakies in here all spread out very evenly and easily without giving off any texture.
I found in the bottle the shimmer seemed pretty strong but it wasn’t as strong on the nail as it seemed in the bottle. In my opinion, the flakies were definitely the star of the show. I do also think these would look fantastic with a matte top coat.
The orange base is going to be PERFECT for Halloween manicures and just Falloween manicures in general. The flakie + base color makes this look really unique as well.
My photos show Spoopy Pumpkins in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. Nothing in here dried textured but the flakies will be very messy on removal.
Cameo Colours Lacquers
15ml, 5 free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Color Spectrum Polish – Forbidden Forest
Inspiration: Dark Fiery Forest
Description: A black to red multichrome with red & black holo glitter and a holo magnetic strike
Price: $12.50 for 13ml | Cap: 115
Forbidden Forest had a fantastic formula. It was just slightly on the thicker side but I found it very easy to apply and it was also very opaque.
The holographic magnetic pigment in here gives a polish a slightly grayish tone. I would say this is kind of like it looks like a gunmetal gray, especially when not magnetized. Speaking of it being unmagnetized, the black to red pigment looks like a red shimmer when the polish doesn’t get magnetized.
This polish is very holographic. I do find with this type of holographic, indoors in most lighting it looks silver/grey. Out in direct lighting, you can really see just how holographic it is. The added holo glitters give this even more holo sparkle.
My photos show Forbidden Forest in 3 coats both magnetized and unmagnetized. This one is opaque on me in 2 coats but I added a third to magnetize the polish.
Color Spectrum Polish
13ml, 7 Free, Vegan & Cruelty free
Website | Etsy | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Crystal Knockout – The Spirit Flame
Inspiration: A burning candle in the dark of night
Description: A neon orange base with a pink/blue contrast shimmer, purple-blue iridescent micro shreds, and iridescent color-shifting flakies in orange, pink, purple, and blue. Glows in the dark!
Price: $12 for 15ml | Cap: None
The Spirit Flame had a wonderful formula. The base felt slightly on the thicker side but it applied very evenly and easily. This polish starts off a little sheer so you will want to build it up for the most opacity. I did still have some VNL with it after 3 coats but you kinda hard to look for it to see it in person.
The flakies and shreds all spread out evenly without giving off too much texture. One coat of top coat seemed to smooth it out completely for me.
I found the glow in the dark aspect charged nicely using a blacklight flashlight. I did find that the polish seemed to decrease how much it glowed while I was taking my photos. I did let the brand know that the GITD didn’t seem to be super strong. I will say that I had this polish on when I went to bed (several hours after swatching) and my nails were glowing faintly in the dark.
My photos show The Spirit Flame in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. Nothing in here will be overly difficult to remove.
Crystal Knockout
15ml, 5 Free & Cruelty Free
Website | Etsy | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Fair Maiden Polish – Camp Crystal Lake
Inspiration: a neon retro horror art piece of Friday the 13th
Description: a bright neon pink with icy shimmer packed in that goes green-aqua-violet
Price: $12 for 15ml | Cap: None
Camp Crystal Lake had a wonderful formula. This polish is BRIGHT and it is a PANK shade of neon pink. The shimmer pairs really nicely with the neon base.
The shimmer in here is a little on the subtle side. Like it’s very easy to see this in person but it’s not like a crazy strong shimmer. I was able to see the color shifts in person. Also, there were no brush strokes through the shimmer.
My photos show Camp Crystal Lake in 3 coats however, I didn’t see any different on the nail between 2 coats and 3 coats so I do think this will be a solid 2 coater.
Fair Maiden Polish
15ml, 5 Free & Cruelty Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Heather’s Hues – Creepy Circus
Inspiration: the scary vibes from a creepy circus
Description: a black crelly with black to red multichrome flakes, blood red holo microglitters, small metallic red glitters, and a hint of iridescent red to orange flakes
Price: $12.50 for 15ml | Cap: None
Creepy Circus had a wonderful formula. The base was a little bit on the thicker side but not unusually so given this has a lot of flakes and glitters in it.
So while I can tell this polish is in a black base, with all of the red/orange components it has almost a *very* dark brownish red look on the nail. The glitters do give this polish some texture but I am undecided on if you need to pair it with a glitter smoothing top coat. I did use one for my photos but again this might be ok with just top coat.
I noticed while recording my live swatch video that this polish seems to perform best with normal to thick-ish coats. Going in for very thin coats makes this apply a little unevenly.
My photos show Creepy Circus in 3 coats with both glossy and matte top coats. I think unless you go in for thick coats, this will likely be a solid 3 coater. Removal will be on the more difficult side I do NOT recommend scrubbing this polish off.
Heather’s Hues Tone It Down in Witch’s Cauldron
Inspiration: the scary vibes of a witches cauldron
Scent Description: a complex blend of amber woods, oakmoss, vetiver, and galbanum, surrounded with citrus top notes of bergamot and violet petals, and base notes of vanilla and sheer musk
Price: $7 for 1 ounce | Cap: 50
This month’s scent for Tone It Down is really unique. I had a hard time pinning down the scents that I was smelling. Admittedly, I lean very heavily towards fruity/sweet/bakery scents so the scent notes in this additive are not ones that I am used to.
It is an earthy kinda scent that reminds me of a cologne my father used to wear.
While this scent isn’t one that I would pick out for myself, I LOVE this product! I use Tone It Down when I remove all of my swatches as well as manicures for personal wear. It makes using acetone less harsh on my skin (and nails) while not compromising how quickly acetone works.
Heather’s Hues
15ml, 5 free, Vegan & Cruelty Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Night Owl Lacquer – Magic Potion
Inspiration: making potions
Description: a deep purple glowing with green/fuschia/red shimmer and black/red multichrome micro flakies.
Price: $13 for 15ml | Cap: None
Magic Potion had a wonderful formula. The base didn’t feel overly thick or thin and I didn’t have any application issues. It does start off a little sheer but it builds up for full opacity.
The shimmer was very strong and I was seeing the described color shifts. The flakies in here are all super small so they do not dry textured. I am a sucker for purple bases with shimmer and flakies so this one checked all of the boxes for me.
My photos show Magic Potion in 3 coats plus both glossy and matte to coats. Short nails might be ok with 2 coats but the third coat does deepen the base color and add opacity.
Night Owl Lacquer
15ml, 5 Free & Cruelty-Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group | TikTok
Pretty Beautiful Unlimited – I Smell Children
Inspiration: Mary Sanderson of Hocus Pocus
Description: a clear base packed with red/bronze/copper UCC flakies, gold reflective glitter, purple metallic flakies and pink/orange/gold/lime crystal chameleon flakies.
Price: $13 for 15ml | Cap: None
I Smell Children had a fantastic formula. The base did feel a little bit on the thicker side but this wasn’t at all difficult to work with. This polish has a lot of glitter and flakies in it so the thickness is to be expected.
All of the flakies and glitters spread out very evenly and easily but the reflective glitters do give this polish quite a bit of texture. For the smoothest finish possible, you will want to double up on your top coat. I opted to pair this with a glitter smoothing top coat before I went in with my quick dry top coat.
I could easily see the gold reflects in person. This polish is super duper sparkly from those glitters! I really feel like reflective glitters in a clear base with flakies is my favorite way to see them used.
My photos show I Smell Children in 3 coats plus 2 coats of top coat. For personal wear, I like this one in 2 coats. Removal will be on the more difficult side, don’t scrub this polish off.
Since this polish is in a clear base, you can also use it as a topper. For the above photo, I used it in coat over a black creme.
Pretty Beautiful Unlimited Wax Melt
Inspiration: A yummy treat for the Halloween Season
Scent Description: A magical combination of creamy vanilla custard, fresh pumpkin and apple, hints of cinnamon and clove, with subtle base notes of cedar and musk.
Price: $6 for 3.5 oz | Cap: 250
First, I LOVE this new change to the PBU clamshell design! Second, the scent for this wax melt is 10000% Falloween appropriate. My nose was picking up both the apple and pumpkin scents with lots of warm spice notes.
Pretty Beautiful Unlimited
15ml, 5 Free, Cruelty Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group | TikTok
Restored By Polish – Coraline
Inspiration: the movie Coraline
Description: a twilight-blue with white glitter & flakies, various sizes of pale yellow glitter, black flakes, blue| purple shimmer; + blue reflective glitter
Price: $12 for 13ml | Cap: 100
Coraline had a fantastic formula. The base felt just slightly on the thicker side but again not unusually so given this polish has a LOT of glitter and flakes in it. All of those components do give this polish some texture so I did opt to pair it with a glitter smoothing top coat before going in with my quick dry top coat.
I really like the base color on this polish, paired with the glitters it is really beautiful. The reflective glitters were very sparkly. I found that I could see blue reflects out in the sunlight. I was undecided on if they looked blue because of the base color or if it was the actual blue reflects that I was seeing. Looking at my photos, it does look like the blue reflects were the color of the glitters.
My photos show Coraline in 3 coats plus 2 coats of top coat. Do not scrub this polish off.
Restored By Polish
12ml, 10 Free, Vegan & Cruelty Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook
Sassy Sauce – Glampire
Inspiration: a glamorous vampire photo
Description: A violet jelly packed with red/copper/golden shifting shimmer, black/red shifting multichrome flakes and red glitter flakes
Price: $13 for 15ml | Cap: 300
Glampire had a fantastic formula. The base starts off a little sheer so you will want to build this polish up to get the most opacity. The shimmer in this polish really glows on the nail! Paired with the flakies, this is a real stunner.
The flakies all spread out very evenly without giving off any texture. There were a few larger flakies in here as well.
My photos show Glampire in 3 coats plus both glossy and matte top coats. I thought for sure this one was going to be a stainer but I didn’t experience any staining with it,
Sassy Sauce Polish
15ml, 5 Free & Cruelty-Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Sweet & Sour Lacquer – I Like it When the Red Water Comes Out
Inspiration: Salad Fingers
Description: Dark olive base with a pink/copper shimmer that shifts gold/green at extreme angles.
Price: $12.50 for 15ml | Cap: 100
I Like it When the Red Water Comes Out had a fantastic formula. The base is a swampy dark green that hits ALL of the prugly polish vibes! Paired with the shimmer, this is a really beautiful polish.
So fun fact, this polish was originally going to be the #1 polish I wanted to purchase during this month’s sale period. I ordered some custom polishes from this brand and Darlene included this polish in my package. It is just as beautiful in person as I was seeing in swatch photos!
My photos show I Like it When the Red Water Comes Out in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. I did have a tiny amount of VNL on the clear part of my nail at some angles but I don’t think that will affect natural nails.
Sweet & Sour Lacquer Acetone Additive in Chocolate Fear-Mint
Inspiration: Mint chocolate
Scent Description: a mint chocolate scent inspired by, you guessed it, mint chocolate!
Price: $8 for 1 ounce | Cap: 100
This was my first time trying this brand’s acetone additive. I used half of the container in an 8 ounce pump bottle of acetone. I will say, I was very surprised that the scent on this was mint chocolate. I didn’t sniff it before adding it to my pump bottle and despite using this for several days now, I couldn’t tell you what I was smelling.
When I was recording my live swatch video, I gave this a sniff and I could smell the mint chocolate scent. As someone who doesn’t like mint chocolate anything, the scent on this wasn’t bad. I usually gag at the mint chocolate scented things and I didn’t find this to be offensive to my nose.
One thing I found with this additive vs the tone it down I usually use, this one seemed a bit more heavy/greasy? Next time I refill my pump bottle, I will use a little bit less than half of the additive to the acetone just so that my fingers don’t feel as sticky. But overall, I do like the product and would recommend it!
Sweet & Sour Lacquer
15ml, 5 Free & Cruelty-Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Use my affiliate code ‘SWEETNICOLE10‘ to save 10% on S&S website orders
Sale Information
The September Polish Pickup opens up Friday September 2nd at 11AM Eastern time. The shop will close the following Monday at 11:59PM. The UK site, PolishPickup.co.uk opens Thursday.
Polish Pickup
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All items are sold on a pre-order basis and generally ship 3-4 weeks after the sale period closes. For more information on shipping, check out the PPU website.
