It’s that time of the month again for Polish Pickup! This month the theme is World Travel. The makers really brought it this month. I have 12 polishes plus 2 extra items to share with you all today. The PPU shop opens this Friday and the UK PPU shop opens on Thursday! Don’t forget to check out my live swatch video up on YouTube!
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. All items are shipped together, for one flat rate price of $3 (U.S. orders). Canadian shipping starts at $6 USD on the main site and international shipping is also available from the sister site.
Disclaimer: I was sent these products as PR in exchange for photographs and an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. My photos were taken indoors with daylight/LED bulbs and outdoors in natural light. I used KB Shimmer Clearly On Top glossy top coat, Glisten & Glow Glitter Grabber (for glitter polishes) with a mix of the Zombie Claw Polish (gifted) and Glisten & Glow matte top coats for my photos.
All Mixed Up Lacquers – So Icy Baby
Inspiration: Glacier Lagoon in Iceland
Description: A Tri-thermal/solar shifting from white (warm), soft blue, dusty purple (cold) and when in sunlight or UV light a light pink (warm), light purple, bright purple (cold). Filled with vibrant mega ucc flakies and crystal flakes.
Price: $13 (15ml) Cap: 150
So Icy Baby had a great crelly-like formula. It feels a little thick from the flakies but it applies really nicely. The flakies are gorgeous! I don’t know why purple bases with flakies just do it for me but they do and this is no exception. It is sheer on the first coat so you will want to build it up.
This polish is going to have a TON of different colors on the nail from the tri-thermal and solar pigments. I tried to capture as many of them as I could. To get the solar effect, I used a UV flashlight.
All Mixed Up Lacquers
5 free, cruelty free
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All Mixed Up Lacquers – Mani/Pedi Fizzies
Inspiration: Glacier Lagoon in Iceland
Description: 2 Heart Shaped Fizzies scented in a sweet berry, apple, cinnamon, and fresh cedar. A pretty pink color with blue and purple peeking out from the center.
Price: $7 Cap: 35
I had never tried a mani bomb before this one. I really enjoyed it! This is like a bath bomb but for your hands. I really want to try this for my next pedicure. I feel like my attention span is too short to sit and soak both hands for up to 15 minutes and if I use this for a pedicure, I can sit and read at the same time.
I have a demo of this up on my YouTube channel for the curious. I used a glass bowl for the video but I would recommend using this in your sink or bathtub as this gets VERY bubbly. The bubbles do die down after a little but I almost regretted my choice in bowls when this started bubbling.. I couldn’t decide what the fragrances were that I was smelling with this one. It smells very fruity but I just couldn’t pinpoint an exact scent. If you like sweet/baked good fragrances, you would like this one.
Directions: Drop them in warm water and soak hands or feet for 5-15 min. Be careful, oils may leave a residue. These foam so make sure to leave room in bowl so it doesn’t overflow.
Ingredients list: Baking soda, Citric acid, Kaolin clay, buttermilk powder, almond oil, jojoba oil, vitamin e, scent, mica
Alter Ego – Redwood Reaches For The Sun
Inspiration: Cynthia & her hubby went to Muir Wood in San Fran to see the giant redwoods
Description:A red leaning brown with blue shimmer and green microglitter
Price: $10 Cap: None
Redwood Reaches For The Sun had a great formula. There’s a ton of microglitter in it but they spread out evenly. This color is an interesting mix of a reddish brown and the micro glitters give it an extra earthy feel. In the bottle, I didn’t think that I would like this but I really like the natural for lack of a better word feel to this polish.
It has good coverage in 2 coats but I went in fir a third. That third coat does deepen the color to what you see in the bottle. The microglitters do dry down a little textured but 1 coat of top coat seems to smooth them out all the way.
Alter Ego
17ml, 5 free, Vegan & cruelty free
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Bee’s Knees Lacquer – Tartaros
Inspiration: The Tartaros vaults from the game Immortals Fenix Rising
Description: a rich, deep blue polish full of purple to gold to green multichrome shimmer and a scattering of holo flakes
Price: $13 (15ml) Cap: None
Tartaros also had a great formula. This applies like a jelly polish so it is sheer on the first coat. This does seem really pigmented so I would suggest doubling up on base coat for people who are prone to staining. The multichrome shimmer is very strong and color shifty. Sitting at my desk, I was seeing purple the most with gold and a hint of green at extreme angles.
This will be a 2-3 coater depending preference. I had VNL at some angles so I went with 3 coats. The third coat doesn’t add any color depth but it adds opacity. I didn’t have any staining.
Bees knees lacquer
15ml, 5 free
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Cameo Colours Lacquers – La Ville Lumière
Inspiration: The Eiffel Tower at sunset
Description: A mauve leaning lavender with a touch of holo sparkle, full of pink/red/gold shimmer, blue/indigo sparks, copper/gold/fuchsia UCC flakes, and silver holo micro flakes.
Price: $11.50 (15ml) Cap: 105 bottles (100 US/5 UK)
La Ville Lumière had a great formula. It didn’t feel too thick or too thin. It applies evenly and easily. This polish is just stunning! I have really been enjoying the polishes by this brand lately! They do holos really well. I found the color of this to be a little tricky to photograph. In cool toned lighting, it will look more lavender and in warm lighting it will look mauve.
The holo sparkle and shimmer are both pretty strong in this. Nothing dries down textured. Shorter nails might be good in 2 coats. I used 3 for my photos. This soaked off easily.
Cameo ColoUrs Lacquers
15ml, 5 free, vegan & cruelty free
website | instagram | facebook | facebook group
Color Spectrum Polish – Coffee Shop Stop
Inspiration: Amsterdam
Description: A black (cold) to grey (warm) thermal with lots of copper and orange shimmers, orange to yellow UCC flakies and orange hex glitters
Price: $12 (13ml) Cap: 100 US / 5 UK
Coffee Shop Stop had a great formula. It applies really smoothly and easily. On the nail, I see the shimmers and hex glitters the most with the flakies being more of a scattering on the nail. The shimmers give this a chocolatey/coffee vibe color wise.
The cold state to me, was more of a *very* dark grey than a pitch black. The warm state is sheer so you will see some VNL with this. Excuse the ding on my middle nail, I’m growing out some damage on it. I used 3 coats for my photos. I suggest using the soak off method for removal.
Color Spectrum Polish
7 free, vegan & cruelty free
Website | etsy | instagram | facebook | facebook group
Fancy Gloss – The Purple One
Inspiration: the Superdome when it was purple in honor of Prince.
Description: Very dark purple/black in some lights (cold) to purple (warm) packed with pink/purple/green/copper/gold flakes and copper/red/green shimmer.
Price: $12.50 (15ml) Cap: 500 US / 20 UK
The Purple One had really great formula. It applied smoothly and easily. It didn’t feel too thick or too thin. It is very opaque especially for a polish with so many flakies! The cold state will look black in lower light situations.
This one looks amazing matte! I usually lean towards glossy but for this, I prefer it matte. I used 3 coats for my photos but I think shorter nails would be good in 2 coats. Nothing in here is too difficult to remove.
Fancy Gloss
10 free, vegan & cruelty-free
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Heather’s Hues – Secret Getaway
Inspiration: an exquisite trabucco set in turquoise waters off the coast of Puglia, Italy
Description: a turquoise when cold to white when warm thermal polish with red-pink-orange-gold shimmer and flakes, multichrome flakes in pink-gold and blue-teal, and a mix of holo dust, microshreds, and flakes
Price: $12.50 (15ml) Cap: 200 bottles
Secret Getaway has a great crelly-like formula. It wasn’t too thick or too thin and applied nicely. I LOVE the color in the cold state! It’s very tropical and makes me wish for summer (it’s currently 12 degrees here) weather. In the warm state, at my desk I thought it was a stark white. Once I got this in my lightbox, I realized that it was actually a *very* pale light blue in the warm state. On the nail, I can immediately see 2 different types of flakies. The shimmer is all but hidden until you top coat.
This will be a 2-3 coater depending on how white you want the warm state to be. Shorter nails will probably be good in 2 coats. I opted for 3 coats. Nothing in here dries down textured and removal is easy. I didn’t get a chance to photograph this one matte as I broke my nail.
Heather’s Hues
5 free, vegan & cruelty free
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KB Shimmer – I Can Sea Clearly Now
Inspiration: by sunsets, beaches, and everything tropical.
Description: shifty shade starts with a glistening gold that quickly shows off hues of lime and aqua. A quick flick of the wrist or change in lighting brings out bolder blues, teal, green, and hints of periwinkle. Seeming almost pastel at times and jewel-toned in others, this water-inspired hue glimmers as it catches the light, for a unique nail polish that celebrates the tropics.
Price: $11 (15ml) No Cap!
I Can Sea Clearly Now had a great formula. It applied so easily and smoothly. This is an extremely color shifty polish. I was seeing the full range in colors in greens, teals and blues. This polish is the shifty shimmer lover’s DREAM polish!
I used 3 coats for my photos. I had some VNL where my hard gel extensions were but I think on natural nails VNL will be minimal if at all visible. KB Shimmer has really been killing shimmer polishes lately.
KB Shimmer – Paradise Sugar Scrub
Inspiration: Citrus drinks
Description: Paradise is our nod to those refreshing citrus drinks, starting with a strong note of fresh-squeezed limes, sweetened by hints of pineapple, zesty orange, and lemon. Subtle notes of gardenias finish off this citrus scent. Soft lime and cream swirls of sugar are accented by a dusting of biodegradable glitter. This refreshing, bubbly lime scent, is perfect for anyone who longs for the warmth of the tropics and the weight of a cool drink in their hand.
Price: $11 Cap: None
I feel like I always say how much I love this scrub (it’s one of my personal favorites that I keep many backup jars of) but it really is just that great! It’s not too coarse and is perfect for hands, feet and the body.
This month’s fragrance is very limey. My nose picks up that fragrance more than anything else. I don’t usually love lime fragrances to be perfectly honest. They always remind me of lime jello. The fragrance doesn’t linger too long after you use this so using scented lotions or oils is fine.
KB Shimmer
5 free, cruelty free & vegan
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Leesha’s Lacquer – Puesha de Sol
Inspiration: our last trip to Cancun, Mexico and the sunset over the ocean we saw on our last day!
Description: A blurple duochrome polish with a pink to gold shift as well as iridescent rainbow shifting glitter, iridescent rainbow bar glitters and mini holographic bar glitters.
Price: $11 (15ml) Cap: 90 US / 10 UK
Puesha de Sol had really great formula. It applies like a jelly polish so it’s a little sheer but it builds up really nicely. The glitter mix is really fun and as a converted bar glitter lover, I LOVE them! The glitters do give off some texture but 1 layer of top coat smooths them out. The bar glitters lay fairly flat in this base and aren’t pokey.
I found that this one is a blue leaning blurple with a pinky shimmer effect. I used 3 coats for my photos. This comes alive with top coat!
Leesha’s Lacquer
15ml, 5 free, vegan & cruelty free
website | Etsy | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group
Psst.. You can use my code NicoleLovesNails25 on the Leesha’s Lacquer site to save 25%!
Paint It Pretty Polish – Hit The Slopes
Inspiration: Whistler, British Columbia
Description: A blue(warm) to purple(cold) thermal polish packed with iridescent flakes in gold/green/pink and orange/yellow/green
Price: $11 (15ml) Cap: 100 US /
Hit The Slopes is absolutely loaded with flakies AND on top of that it has some larger flakies which are always my absolute favorite in flakie polishes! Paint It Pretty always wows me with their flakie polishes. Formula wise it did feel on the thicker side of normal but it applied really evenly and easily.
My hands were pretty warm so Hit The Slopes started transitioning on me right away. I will have a comparison of this and another blue to purple thermal by Paint It Pretty at the end of this post or click here.
Paint It Pretty
15ml, 5 free, vegan & cruelty free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | facebook group
Twisting Nether Lacquer – Lantern Festival
Inspiration: the annual lantern festival at Samgwangsa Temple in South Korea
Description: a bright yellow crelly with a bright and colorful matte glitter mix
Price: $12.50 (15ml) Cap: 150 US /
Lantern Festival had a fantastic formula. This brand is one of my personal favorites for glitter crellies since they’re always amazing. I didn’t need to hold the bottle upside down or do any glitter placement to get good glitter payoff. This yellow is like a Spongebob Squarepants yellow.
The glitters surprisingly don’t give off very much texture. I used a glitter eating top coat before my glossy top coat just to make sure I had a perfectly smooth finish but I don’t think that was really necessary. I used 3 coats for my photos. Shorter nails might be good in 2 coats.
By the way, this brand is currently having a sale on their main website! Use code HAPPY15 to save 15% on your order. And yes, this is a new nail shape. As I mentioned, I broke a nail and decided to try something new.
TWISTING NETHER LACQUER
5 free, vegan & CRUELTY free
WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK PAGE | FACEBOOK GROUP
Zombie Claw Polish – Hot N Bothered
Inspiration: by the hot springs at Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Description: a turquoise polish overloaded with 5 different kinds of flakies and holo
Price: $13 (13ml) Cap: 150 US
Hot N Bothered also had a great formula and it applied really easily. The flakies give this such a fun look on the nail. I love turquoise flakie polishes and this was a treat to swatch. I don’t think my swatch photos really show how holographic it is in person.
This color is gorgeous and it reminded me of Excellent the October 2020 PPU Sister Polish. I compared them in the bottle, and they actually aren’t similar at all. This is more for a green leaning turquoise and Excellent is more blue leaning. I will have a comparison up of the two at the end of this blog post or click here.
Zombie Claw Polish
13ml, 10 free, vegan & cruelty free
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Sale Info
These items will be available on PolishPickup.com starting February 5th at 11AM Eastern time until Monday February 8th at 11:59PM. The UK site, PolishPickup.co.uk opens February 4th at 1600 GMT. Orders to the same name/address are automatically combined and shipping on multiple orders refunded. As of October 2020, there are upgraded shipping options within the US. 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.
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. It’s a new channel and I’d really appreciate if y’all would watch the videos and subscribe!
POLISH PICKUP
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Comparisons
Zombie Claw Polish Excellent vs Hot N Bothered
Excellent was the sister polish (swatched here) to the October PPU polish, What Was I Laughing At Again? Both were turquoise bases but in different shades with different flakie effects. None of these are dupes for the others.
Paint It Pretty Startle vs Hit The Slopes
Startle (from the Halloween Thermal Trio reviewed here) in the warm state is more of a dusty denim blue. Hit The Slopes is a clear sky blue aka the kind of blue I wish the sky was right now. Startle also has a cooler feel to it. The flakies are totally different in these polishes. Not dupes! Startle is still available on the Paint It Pretty PolishEtsy page.