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Hey nail friends! Today’s post is for the April Polish Pickup. For April the theme is The Periodic Table Of Elements. I wasn’t too sure about this theme at first but as per usual, the makers did an amazing job making some gorgeous polishes.
The April sale period opens this Friday which coincidentally is April Fool’s day. As always, links and sale details can be found at the end of the post.
**note I am actually still editing this post but the video is up and I wanted to be able to link this over there. so if parts are missing sorry!**
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 – Unbalanced AF
Inspiration: balancing the chemical ratio to keep a swimming pool clean and clear
Description: A white to berry/fuschia solar with pink/gold/green/blue shifting shimmer. Filled with color shifting flakies, pink, purple, black and white glitters of different shapes and sizes.
Price: $11 for 15ml | Cap: 200
Unbalanced AF had a fantastic formula. The flakies and glitters all spread out evenly and easily with minimal texture. I found it changed colors very easily for me both under natural sunlight as well as a blacklight flashlight (indoor photos only).
The shimmer effect had a very pretty color shift. I was mainly seeing a pink, gold to green color shift.
How dark this polish will get will depend on how strong your UV light source is. I have found that strong lights like my blacklight flashlight tends to make solar polishes show darker than natural sunlight will make them. When I brought this polish outside around noon, it got to around the color in the third photo in the above collage.
My photos show Unbalancedd AF in 3 coats plus top coat. This polish dried down a little dull so you will want top coat for a glossy finish. Removal won’t be overly difficult but the glitters will give you some trouble if you try to scrub this of.
Cameo Colours Lacquer – All My F*<k$ Argon
Inspiration: Argon (Ar)
Description: A light/medium pinky-lilac base (depending on lighting), full of scattered holo sparkle, jam packed with a shimmer that shifts indigo/purple/pink/red, with purple metallic flakes and silver holo micro flakes.
Price: $11.50 for 15ml | Cap:105
All My F*<k$ Argon had a fantastic formula. It applied very smoothly and evenly. I found it started off a little sheer but it built up nicely. The flakies all spread out easily without giving off texture.
I found the base color to really be in the pink/lilac color group. Just a headsup, this was one of the first photos I took with my new camera so I did have to do some color correcting because I honestly had no idea what I was doing.
My photos show All My F*<k$ Argon in 3 coats plus top coat. Removal won’t be overly difficult and I didn’t experience any staining.
Cameo Colours Lacquers
15ml, 5 free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Crystal Knockout – Volt
Inspiration: Energizer lithium batteries
Description: A white-grey crelly base filled with platinum silver flakes, matte black, blue, white, and pink micro glitters, white flakies, and two shades and sizes of pink dots. Glows bright green in the dark!
Price: $11 for 15ml | Cap: None
Volt had a really great formula. The base color is a *very* pale grey that’s basically white. I would have just called it a white crelly if I hadn’t seen the description. The base felt slightly on the thicker side due to the amount of glitters but I found it very easy to work with.
The glitters all spread out very easily and I didn’t need to hold the bottle upside down or do any fishing. The glow in the dark pigment in here is EXTREMELY glowy in person. I charged it up using a blacklight flashlight.
My photos show Volt in 3 coats plus 2 coats of top coat. The glitters do give this polish some texture, so for the smoothest finish possible I would suggest using a glitter smoothing top coat before your normal quick dry top coat.
The coverage was very even so if you don’t mind it being a tiny bit sheer, it will be passable in 2 coats. Removal will be on the more difficult side due to the glitters so soaking this off or pairing it with a peel off base coat will be the easiest removal experience.
Crystal Knockout
15ml, 5 Free & Cruelty Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Cupcake Polish – Radium Girls
Inspiration: the element Radium which was used by thousands of clock decorators – dubbed the “Radium Girls” who lost their lives ingesting radium powder as part of their work.
Description: a very pale (almost white) green filled with gold/red/green aurora shimmer that glows green in the dark.
Price: $13 for 15ml | Cap: None
Radium Girls had a fantastic formula. The shimmer in here gave me a lot unicorn pee vibes. The whole polish just screamed unicorns to me.
The base is on the more sheer side so you will have some VNL in 3 coats. The base is sheer enough that it can be used as a topper. If you like using shimmer toppers over your bare nails, this will be fantastic for that in 1 coat.
I found the glow in the dark pigment to be very strong. Long after I finished my swatch, my nails and the bottle were still glowing! I charged the polish up with a blacklight flashlight for my photos. However, I did notice that when I came in from outside, my nails were noticeably glowing stronger due to being exposed to the sunlight.
My photos show Radium Girls in 3 coats plus top coat. As well as in 1 coat over a black creme. This polish does have the slight rubbery feel glow in the dark polishes have so you will want top coat for a smooth finish. Removal won’t be overly difficult.
Cupcake Polish
15ml, 5 Free & Cruelty Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Fair Maiden Polish – Heart Of Glass
Inspiration: Europium Sulfate (Eu2)
Description: a bright magenta jelly base filled with violet-red-golden iridescent flakes and holo flake
Price: $12 for 15ml| Cap: None
Heart Of Glass had a beautiful jelly formula. The base didn’t feel overly thick or thin but it did start out fairly sheer so you will want to build it up for opacity.
This polish is jam packed with flakies! I found they don’t dry textured but I think this polish *might* benefit from a glitter smoothing top coat. I didn’t notice them being particularly top coat hungry but I also didn’t have it on for very long.
My photos show Heart Of Glass in 3 coats plus both glossy and matte top coat. I did have some VNL after 3 coats. This one is sheer enough in 1 coat that I think it would work well as a topper.
Fair Maiden Polish
15ml, 5 Free & Cruelty Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Fancy Gloss – Beryllium
Inspiration: a cartoon of Beryllium
Description: Green (cold) to blue (warm) packed with blue reflective micro glitters.
Price: $12.50 for 15ml| Cap: 400
Beryllium had a great formula. It was on the thicker side of normal but I found it easy to apply and didn’t have any problems with the application.
The cold state is a spring green and the warm state is a teal leaning blue. I found the thermal aspect started changing on me right away.
I found for the reflective glitters, I could see the blue on my nail but for the reflects, I was seeing silver.
The reflective glitters will give this polish quite a bit of texture. For the smoothest finish possible, I would recommend doing at least 2 coats of top coat. A glitter smoothing top coat will give this the smoothest finish possible. I used 2 coats for my photos and found that the polish wasn’t quite glossy smooth after a few minutes.
My photos show Beryllium in 2 coats plus 2 coats of top coat. Removal will be on the difficult and messy side due to the glitters
Fancy Gloss
15ml, 10 free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Glisten & Glow – Minty Fresh
Inspiration: the element Fluorine (F) and it’s use in toothpaste! Keep that Smile Bright with Minty Fresh Toothpaste!
Description: a white based crellie loaded with mint and blue metallic flakes
Price: $13 for 15ml | Cap: None
Minty Fresh had a beautiful formula. To my eye, this looks like a pale blue base. The metallic flakies all spread out very evenly and easily without giving off texture.
This polish reminded me a lot of the polishes from the Glisten & Glow Inner Peace collection. It isn’t a dupe for the blue or green polishes from that release but they are similar in my opinion.
My photos show Miny Fresh in 3 coats plus top coat. I found in 2 coats, it was still a little bit sheer but passable if you aren’t picky or if you have very short nails. You will want top coat for a glossy finish as this polish dries a little dull.
Glisten & Glow – Glitter Grabber
Description: a smoothing top coat for glitter, textured and flakie polishes
Price: $8 for 15ml| Cap: None
This top coat is one of my favorites! If you like any of the new reflective polishes, a glitter smoothing top coat like this one will be your best friend.
Glisten & Glow
15ml, 5 Free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Hearts & Promises – Potassium Flame
Inspiration: potassium
Description: a sheer pastel purple base loaded with silver reflective glitter, purple metallic flakies, purple and red shimmer, as well as rainbow flakies.
Price: $13 for 15ml| Cap: 300
Potassium Flame had a wonderful formula. The base didn’t feel overly thick or thin and I had zero application issues. SInce this is on the more sheer side, you will want to build it up for the most opacity.
The flakies and glitters all spread out very easily. There will be some texture due to the reflective glitters. I paired this polish with a glitter smoothing top coat before going in with my regular quick dry top coat.
My photos show Potassium Flame in 3 coats plus 2 coats of top coat. Removal will be on the difficult/messy side, I used a peel of base coat for my swatches.
Hearts & Promises
15ml, 5 Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Heather’s Hues – Io-Dine & Dash
Inspiration: the beautiful colors that iodine puts off when burning
Description: a hot pink to bright violet solar polish filled with orange-gold iridescent flakes and pink-orange-gold shimmer
Price: $12.50 for 15ml | Cap:
Io-Dine & Dash had a pretty good formula. The polish was on the thick side so I did end up adding a little bit of thinner to make it a little easier to apply. The flakies all spread out evenly and easily for me. There are some larger sized flakes in here but I found they all dried down flat.
The neon base is BRIGHT! This is a super bright neon pink. The solar effect changed very easily for me both by just going outside as well as using a blacklight flashlight (Amazon link). Like the previous solar polish, how dark this gets in natural lighting will depending on time of day and color coverage.
I used 3 coats for my photos. Coverage was pretty even in 2 so if you don’t obvious VNL, it will be passable in 2 coats. I did have some VNL on the clear part of my nail but I don’t think it will be as obvious on natural nails.
This polish dried down flat so you will want top coat for a glossy finish.
Heather’s Hues – WiTS in Tranquil Sleep
Inspiration: the tranquil sleep Heather got in chemistry class
Description: top notes of violet, cyclamen, hyacinth, blended with middle notes of juicy cantaloupe and watermelon, jasmine, rose and lily of the valley, rounded by hints of cedar, amber, and musk.
Price: $7.50 for 2 ounces | Cap: 50 jars
The fragrance this month is perfectly named. It has a very tranquil floral scent to it. I don’t in general love floral fragrances but I found this one very nice.
This lotion is my go-to all time favorite lotion in the whole world. I honestly can’t recommend it enough.
Heather’s Hues
15ml, 5 free, Vegan & Cruelty Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
KBShimmer – Grand Finale
Inspiration: a nod to my favorite purple fireworks
Description: A soft, red-leaning violet base is filled with sparkling holo glow flakes. A near metallic-like shimmer shines bright in hues of gold, copper, and bronze for a unique shade that mimics glittering pyrotechnics.
Price: $11 for 15ml | Cap: None
Grand Finale had a gorgeous formula. I would say that the violet base is a warmer toned violet and not really a red leaning violet. The shimmer is very glowy and gives this a metallic look on the nail. I didn’t see any brush strokes through it.
My photos show show Grand Finale in 3 coats plus top coat. I think this will be a 2-3 coater depending on nail length.
KBShimmer – Sweet Sangria Hand & Body Scrub
Inspiration:
Description: a sweet, fruity blend as refreshing as a glass of sangria loaded with seasonal produce. Sweet grape notes are brightened by a hint of tart berry. Deep wine notes amplify hints of orange, black plum, and pineapple for a blend that will have you envisioning relaxing days laughing with family and friends.
Price: $10 for 9.5 ounces | Cap: None
This month’s scent smells so fruity and delicious! I can’t say enough how much I love this sugar scrub. I use it for all over body, manicures and pedicures.
KBShimmer
15ml, 5 free, Vegan & Cruelty Free
Website | Etsy | Amazon | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
LynB Designs – The Periodic Table Of Elephants
Inspiration: a play on words that my family like to use when talking about the elements
Description: an intensely shifty (pink to orange to yellow to green to blue) buildable base loaded with silver reflective glitter and holo shimmer
Price: $13 for 15ml | Cap: None
The Periodic Table Of Elephants had a really great formula. This polish is super sparkly and shimmery. The reflective glitters do give this polish quite a bit of texture.
This polish is extremely glowy and ethereal due to the shimmer in the pale base. You will want to build this one up in 3 coats to reach full opacity. If you don’t mind obvious VNL, this will be passable in 2 coats.
I used 3 coats plus 2 coats of top coat or my photos. I paired this polish with a glitter smoothing top coat before going in with my usual quick dry top coat.
Removal won’t be overly difficult but it will be very messy due to the glitters. I used a peel off base coat for my swatches.
LynB Designs
15ml, 5 Free & Vegan
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Moo Moo Signatures – The Last Mineral On Earth
Inspiration: raw minerals wallpaper
Description: a White base with gold to orange to green chameleon flakes, diamond flashing blue shimmer, bronze to orange ucc flakes and neon yellow tiny hexes.
Price: $13.50 for 12ml | Cap: 200
The Last Mineral On Earth had a really nice formula. The base was slightly on the thicker side but what I would consider normal for a flakie crelly polish. The flakies all spread out evenly and gave off a very slight texture.
The base goes on evenly but I think this will likely be a solid 3 coater. My photos show The Last Mineral On Earth in 3 coats plus top coat. Removal won’t be overly difficult but it will be messy if you try to scrub it off.
Moo Moo Signatures
12ml, 5 Free, Vegan & Cruelty Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook
MTK Designs – Wolf Rocks
Inspiration: Wolframite, a form of Tungsten (W)
Description: matte thermal orange (warm) to stone (cold) with copper and purple micro sparkles.
Price: $12 for 15ml | Cap: ??
Wolf Rocks had a beautiful formula. I found the thermal aspect to change easily for me. While I was swatching it, it mainly stayed in the cold state for me. I kept it on for a little over 24 hours and found that it did go back and forth between the various states.
The brand notes that this is technically a tri-thermal with a teal shade as the midtone state. I could see this mid-state on my nails but it is pretty subtle. I honestly thought my eyes were seeing things until I looked at my swatch photos and saw my camera did pick up a third color.
The shimmer is on the more subtle side but it pairs beautifully with the base colors.
My photos show Wolf Rocks in 3 coats both with and without top coat. This polish does dry down matte so you will want top coat for a glossy finish. Personally, I prefer this polish glossy but I am a glossy girl in general.
Removal won’t be overly difficult and I didn’t experience any staining.
MTK Design
15ml, 5 Free & Cruelty Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
My Indie Polish – THC
Inspiration: THC
Description: a green base filled with purple microshreds and tiny glints of blue and sparkle throughout
Price: $13 for 15ml | Cap: None
THC had a fantastic formula. The green base is on the jelly-like side so you will want to build it up for opacity. I feel like the clear part of my nails exaggerated the sheerness level of this polish. I did have some VNL on my natural nails but I just feel like my photos make it look a lot sheerer than it was in person.
The microshreds do not dry down with any serious texture. I would still recommend top coat for a smooth finish.
My photos show THC in 3 coats plus top coat. Removal won’t be overly difficult and I didn’t experience any staining.
My Indie Polish
15ml, 7 free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group | TikTok
Native War Paints – Wakanda Forever
Inspiration: Vibranium, a fictional metal from Marvel Comics that is mined in Wakanda.
Description: a Teal/blue/purple shifting shimmer with silver reflective glitter in a violet tinted black base.
Price: $12.75 for 15ml | Cap: 150
Wakanda Forever had a beautiful ofrmula. It started off a little sheer but I found it did reach full opacity in 3 coats. The shimmer effect was as described.
The reflective glitters do dry down textured so I would recommend doubling up on your top coat for the smoothest finish possible. I used 1 coat of top coat for my photos and found that it didn’t feel 100% smooth after about 30 minutes.
My photos show Wakanda Forever in 3 coats plus top coat. This can also be worn in 1 coat over a black creme. Removal will be on the messy/difficult side due to the glitter.
Native War Paints
15ml & 5 Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Restored By Polish – I See Em, You Cesium
Inspiration: the 55th element Cesium
Description: a indigo jelly polish with purple & blue reflective glitter
Price: $11.50 for 12ml | Cap: 100
I See Em, You Cesium had a wonderful formula. The base didn’t feel overly thick at all despite being jam packed with them. I found the reflective glitter on the nail was very sparkly and twinkly. Without direct lighting, you can see a blue/purple glitter on the nail. In direct lighting, the reflects your eyes pick up is more silver.
My photos show I See Em, You Cesium in 3 coats plus 2 coats of top coat. For the smoothest finish possible, I would recommend pairing this with a glitter smoothing top coat before going in with your normal top coat.
Removal will be on the more difficult side as well as messy. I used a peel off base coat for easy removal.
I thought for sure this polish was going to stain me but I didn’t experience any staining. I would still recommend doubling up on base coat if indigos/blues/purples tend to stain you.
Restored By Polish
12ml, 10 Free, Vegan & Cruelty Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook
Sassy Sauce Polish – Elementary My Dear
Inspiration: the element 10 neon
Description: a gold/pink/green/purple 5D magnetic multi chrome polish loaded with blue/purple/pink shifting chameleon flakies that pop out in the background when magnetize
Price: $13 for 15ml | Cap: 300
Elementary My Dear had a fantastic formula. The magnetic multichrome pigment is extremely color shifty and magnetized very easily for me. The flakies all spread out very evenly without giving off any texture.
To best see the flakies, you will want to magnetize the polish but they are visible without using a magnet just not as well. I was really in shocked at how beautiful and color shifty this polish is. Let’s just say, expletives were said because my jaw dropped!
My photos show Elementary My Dear in 3 coats plus top coat. It was opaque on me in 2 coats but I used the third coat to magnetize the polish. My ring finger is unmagnetized.
This polish does dry down dull so you will want top coat for a glossy finish.
Sassy Sauce Polish
15ml, 5 Free & Cruelty-Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Sweet & Sour Lacquer – Chem-Purse
Inspiration: Honey Lemon’s Periodic Table attack bag in Big Hero 6.
Description: Neon coral base with hot pink micro flakies, and gold/orange/coral/pink iridescent flakies.
Price: $12.50 for 15ml| Cap: 100
Chem-Purse had a really great formula. It was slightly on the thicker side of normal but I didn’t ave any application issues. The flakies all spread out very evenly without giving off any texture.
This polish is a very vibrant coral/vermillion shade. Due to the flakies, this will lean anywhere from coral, pink and orange depending on lighting.
My photos show Chem-Purse in 3 coats plus top coat. I think it will be a 2-3 coater depending on your nail length.
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
Twisting Nether Lacquer – Burning Sulfur
Inspiration: Sulur
Description: Yellow crelly with flakies, shimmer & holo
Price: $13.50 for 15ml | Cap: 200
Burning Sulfur had a beautiful formula. It is on the more sheer side so you will want to build it up for the most opacity. The shimmer has a red, gold to green color shift.
The flakies and holo spread out evenly without giving this polish any texture. The flakies look really pretty with a matte top coat.
My photos show Burning SUlfur in 3 coats plus both glossy and matte top coat. I did have some VNL with this polish. I think if you go in for very thick coats, you could reach full opacity.
Twisting Nether Lacquer
15ml, 5 Free, Vegan & Cruelty Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook Page | Facebook Group
Comparisons
Fair Maiden Polish Heart Of Glass vs Forbidden Fruit
I didn’t really think these two were similar but I wanted to show the comparison because the base colors were both pink-ish shades. Forbidden Fruit was released during last month’s Polish Pickup.
Sweet & Sour Lacquer Chem-Purse Vs Coral Sunrise
When I saw this coral polish, I immediately thought of another Sweet & Sour coral called Coral Sunrise (Talk Indie To Me Box Feb 2021). They aren’t dupes, this polish is brighter, more pink leaning and the flakies are different.
Cupcake Polish vs LynB Designs
I had a request over on my YouTube channel to compare the Cupcake Polish from this month to the LynB Designs polish also from this month.
The LynB polish is more silvery in person as well as having more color shifts in the shimmer and holographic on top of that. The Cupcake polish is also sheerer.
KBShimmer
I was racking my brain trying to think of which KBShimmer polish Grande Finale made me think of. After digging through my archive, I came across RV There Yet? (RV There Yet? collection) . The base color on RV There Yet? is warmer in tone, the shimmer color is more copper-y and the holographic flakies are larger. Not dupes but pretty similar.
Sassy Sauce Polish VS EDK Maholo
This is a comparison that popped into my head post-editing. I don’t think the two are dupes. Maholo seems to have more of a purple color shift there the Sassy Sauce doesn’t have as strong of a purple shift to it.
Sale Information
These items will be available on PolishPickup.com starting Friday April 1st at 11AM Eastern time until Monday the 4th at 11:59PM Eastern time. The UK site, PolishPickup.co.uk opens Thursday.
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
