Octopus Party Nail Lacquer "Death & Taxes"

*Provided to me for my honest opinion and review*

 Well, well, well... I'm here, again, with another stunning OPNL named "Death & Taxes". This color is extra special fancy pantsy because it is to honor the one year anniversary of Octopus Party Nail Lacquer's opening. I wanna have a little chit-chat about the badass name first though, shall we? A bajillion years ago (okay... more like a few hundred) a dude with a sweet wig named Daniel Defoe was busy paving the way for what we know today as a novel. The name "Death & Taxes" is a reference to his work The Political History of the Devil, in which he states "Things as certain as death and taxes can be more firmly believ'd." It may be more commonly known by the quotation courtesy of Benjamin Franklin "... but nothing in this world is said to be certain, except death and taxes." Boom. So much truth right there.

Ahem, anyways. Now that you've had a totally unnecessary mini history lesson, I bring you the color of the hour, "Death & Taxes". This is a stunning charcoal infused with gold/silver chromaflair pigment and a subtle, yet captivating, array of red flakes and sparks. In addition to the totally killer color, Dave paired up with Daily Charme to bring us a skull and spiky crown bauble for our nails.

In these pictures you can see the gold and silver chromaflair bouncing off of that charcoal holo base. And while the charms totally swallowed my baby nails, I still think they're doable for anyone else with nubs! The only one that gave me issues was the spike crown, but I theorize that it had something to do with the 5 cups of coffee I had before trying to apply. 

Obviously this polish required this many macros. Don't judge. I love how the red flakes and sparks really come out. This color really reminds me of some fancy gem stones I used to see when my dad would take me to the rock and mineral market. And that spike? It looks menacing, much like taxes or death. The skull is just my favorite. He's kinda adorable but also not. I think it's the gold and the tiny size that are making me want to name him and keep him forever. I applied these suckers with a smidge of nail glue and clear top coat, and they lasted a whole entire shower! I did wake up the next morning with sad, unadorned nails though. I totally didn't expect them to stay on longer than 5 seconds so that was pretty exciting! 

As far as formula goes, this one was perfect. Two coats, one coat topcoat. No funky things to report! The skull charm was super easy to apply though the spikes kinda wanted to give me a hard time. I finally got them to lay the right way on the third try. They may have won 2 battles but I won the war, ha! Don't forget to scoop this lovely up on 11/30 when it drops over at Octopus Party Nail Lacquer.

Until next time, my loves! 

Octopus Party Nail Lacquer "Spirit-Mint" Fall 2014 Collection

This post is serious. Seriously full of more amazing fall holo awesomeness from Octopus Party Nail Lacquer. This whole collection is flawless and covers a large range of color pallets for fall- frosty, deep, dark colors, sultry burgundy colors, rich pumpkin colors, and a festive glitter topper among others. Today I have a sort-of-not-typical-but-still-appropriate color to show you. This guy is a glowy, creamy mint holo with a glint of gold and is called "Spirit-Mint". I know you're probably thinking "wtf, a mint color for fall?" but it is so refreshing and almost a neutral color. I'm pretty pumped to have this among all the other burgundy, burnt orange, and gold polishes for fall. Enough of my blabbing, this is Spirit-Mint!

I love how the green is super subtle. It's not a "HI I AM GREEN" polish, but you can definitely tell it has hints of minty goodness in there. The golden flash is really easy to pick up in all lighting and I really love this one in the sun.

 

In the sun you can see how linear the holo is in Spirit-Mint. The flame is present in all lighting situations too which is my favorite kind of holo. This guy could almost be passed off as a neutral since it is so delicate and ethereal. All photos here and above show 3 coats plus on topcoat.

 

 

As I was painting this, and by request of the lovely creator of Octopus Party Nail Lacquer, I decided to compare this little beauty to Enchanted Polish "A Little Fishy Told Me" since they're both soft mint holos.

 

 

In this lighting they looked pretty darn close. But I can assure you that the blue flecks in Enchanted Polish, along with the more blue leaning base really made it different than Spirit-Mint. Spirit-Mint has a much more typical holographic base that leans greener and a tighter linear holographic flame as well as a beautiful gold sheen. Fishy is more crème based and has blue flecks throughout with a looser linear holographic effect. This shows 3 coats of each, no topcoat.



 

On the left is the EP, and on the left is OPNL. I think the macros really help you see the difference in both the level of holo and the flecks of color in these polishes. I think they're definitely distinguishable and it's worth owning both of them because...own all the pretties.

 



As far as formula goes, Spirit-Mint needed 3 coats and dried really quickly (in a good way). Wear is great and I had no application issues at all with this baby! This with the rest of the Fall 2014 collection is dropping (September 26th 12PM EDT) in literally two hours over at Etsy so be sure to check it out! There are really no bad colors in the collection.

 

Until next time lovelies!

Octopus Party Nail Lacquer "Pumpkin Slice"

Hello there!

I just want to preface this post by saying that I may talk a ton about pumpkins, and pumpkin things. I love fall, and while the part of the world I live in doesn't really get fall, I do my best to participate in it. So far I've had pumpkin latte's, baked pumpkin cupcakes, cookies, pie, but I digress.  Dave over at Octopus Party Nail Lacquer is seriously killing this Fall 2014 collection, and this pumpkin holo called "Pumpkin Slice" (which is an LE!) is practically edible.

Ahhhhhhh! It's another supremely glowy jelly holo! This formula is really similar to the jelly holo "Gold Vibrations" from the Gold Crush duo by OPNL. And I really dig it. I found this one to be a bit more opaque, only needing 2 coats. I really loved how brilliant and radiant this holo was. I didn't even use top coat here because it was so shiny without I didn't find the need for it.

Unfortunately the week I swatched this bad boy it was cloudy and gloomy in Arizona, so I didn't get to snap any sunshots. I can imagine how perfectly glorious this would be though basking in the rays of the sun. I think my favorite thing about this is it really looks like a pumpkin coated in holographic deliciousness.

These macro's really show just how glowtastic and holo Pumpkin Slice is. I think it's definitely a must have. I can imagine myself using this for a gradient or a cute little pumpkin accent nail. I'm always a bit cautious with orange colors but I think this one would look good on just about anyone. I kept thinking about having a pumpkin spice latte with some pumpkin loaf while I was painting my nails! 

As far as formula goes, it's solid. Dry time was perfect as well! No gloppy feel to it even though it's a bit on the jelly side and it was opaque in two easy coats.

If you want super pumpkin holoness on your nails be sure to keep an eye on Dave on Facebook and on his Etsy store! This along with the rest of the Halloween collection is dropping on September 26th so be sure to be there or be square. And remember... PUMPKIN ALL THE THINGS! (even your nails).

Until next time lovelies! 

Octopus Party Nail Lacquer "Witches Get Stitches" Fall 2014

Hey hey hey,

First of all, I want to apologize for my lengthy absence. I broke a nail, then I broke another nail, and then life got a little hectic-ah! But I figured since I left you all with a glittering beauty from Octopus Party Nail Lacquer that I would welcome myself back with one as well. It's probably no secret that I really, really enjoy Dave's polishes. The formula, the color selection, the uniqueness of what's offered, and super fast shipping are all great. Not to mention, I feel that Octopus Party deserves far more attention than it gets for the previous reasons. I've got 3 colors to show you from his up and coming Fall 2014 collection, but first up is "Witches Get Stitches". 

Witches Get Stitches is described as a fuchsia jelly with garnet, gold, and lavender flakes. Let me tell you, this is a super gorgeous, flecked polish. The glitters just bounce off of each other and reflect a ton of different ways in different lights. Unfortunately Arizona weather doesn't want to cooperate this week and it's very cloudy/rainy here so I can't show you its glory in the sun *insert sad panda face here*.

In all 3 of these pictures I've used 3 coats of "Witches Get Stitches" with one coat of top coat. The sparkle is awesome because the lavender glints subtly while the gold and garnet really smack you in the face. So much glintiness (not a word but I'm rolling with it) going on! 

I know, I know. More macros- but with this much shimmer and glitter variation I just had to. Looooooook at it! Glorious. You can see how the garnet adds a lot of depth to the fuchsia jelly base, all while providing the perfect back drop for the gold to shine through. 

Formula was good, and all photos above show 3 coats with one coat topcoat! Dry time was awesome and I am on day 2 of wear with no chips at all! So really the only bummer about this gorgeous color is that it's an LE for the upcoming Fall 2014 collection. Make sure you're watching Dave's Facebook/social media for more updates, but this among loads of other gorgeous colors are dropping on September 26th. If you're waiting in agony for some pretties from OPNL, check out his Etsy and nab some great stuff now to hold you over.

Until next time lovelies! 

Octopus Party Nail Lacquer "Gold Crush Duo"

I dunno about you, but I am really ready for fall. Fall everything. Pumpkins, lattes, candles, cool, crisp air, burlap decor yadda yadda. In Arizona, especially in Scottsdale, Fall is something you kinda have to create for yourself seeing as how it's about 90 in October still. So when Dave over at Octopus Party Nail Lacquer unveiled this hella sparkly, golden cider, double rainbow duo I kinda spazzed. And maybe flailed a little. The duo consists of a golden apple cider colored holo jelly named "Gold Vibrations" and an insanely holo packed glitter topper called "Glow For the Gold". Not only are the polishes to die for, but it comes in a totally adorable bag with the Octopus Party Nail Lacquer logo on it and a totally awesome golden sticker! I'm pretty stoked on this so bear with me, it's pic heavy and I love it!

This shows 3 coats of the jelly holo "Gold Vibrations". The first coat looked pretty sheer but it builds up beautifully to full opacity at 3rd coat. So squishy, holo, and buttery. Here you can see the insanely awesome mini bottle with the adorable label.

I just love this base. I wanted to go grab a caramel apple cider after wearing this. 

Both photos above show the base of "Gold Vibrations" decked out with the topper "Glow For the Gold" and one coat of top coat. This topper is packed to the brim with golden, decadent, glowing holographic hex glitters. It's strange to me because I thought "oh man, gold on gold is gonna be so loud" but honestly it's really, really easy to wear.  And I felt super regal while painting. 

This is the duo, together, in the sun shine. The second photo was taken in the morning, and the first one was during the afternoon when the sun is a bit warmer looking in AZ. I love how even with the glitter topper you  can still see the linear holo shining through, saying "hey you, I'm still here!" Glow With the Gold really slaps you in the face and the holo glitters really pop all over the place. Much sparkle, very glint.

I wanted to show you all how pretty this was in the shade too. It's so unique looking and I love how the gold glitter really shows. The second photo here shows it a bit blurred so you can really see how much holo Glow With the Gold packs.

Above is a macro of Gold Vibrations alone, and then Glow With the Gold over it. Obviously this duo was just so perfectly created. The colors totally compliment each other and really play off one another's beauty

As far as formula goes, Gold Vibrations (the jelly holo) is sheer but so very buildable. I didn't really feel the need to topcoat it alone and loved the golden caramel cider color. Dry time was perfect! Glow With the Gold is a glitter and I had absolutely no issues. It applied easily and evenly. I only needed one coat for the pictures above. Dry time was perfect as well on this one. 

If you're convinced you need golden nails of wonder you can purchase the duo here for the full size, and here for the mini size. This is only here in very limited quantities so hurry on over! You will not be disappointed. 

Until next time!

Lilypad Lacquer "Tealing Me Softly" Pshiiit Exclusive

Greetings!

I recently celebrated a birthday. I didn't wanna make a huge deal of it, primarily because I just turned 25 and for some reason that just sounds loads older than 24. That didn't stop my lovely friend Megan from Almost Famous Nails from sneaking me a little birthday nail mail by having a little something sent to me from a group order! What I got was "Tealing Me Softly" the Pshiiit Lilypad Lacquer exclusive. I also got a major polish boner as well! Let me show you the heavenly beauty. 

                 
















Mmm yeahhh.... This is so minty and refreshing. Super sparkly and so delicately holo but still linear. I felt like I was floating on air everytime I looked at my nails! 

 

Once I got this baby in the sun that's when the delicate nature really started to show! I love how soft and airy and whimsical the color and holo are together. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                 

                              

                     

Yeahhhh this macro lens will be the death of me. But here you can see the holo and shimmer swimming in the teal base and it's giving me the polish feels all over. All. Over. 

For the formula I have to say it was superb! No streakiness and dry time was perfect. I can't wait to use this again! 

Until next time, lovelies! 

Octopus Party Nail Lacquer "Thermogram"

Hey all!!

I have a delicious, insanely  linear holo polish from Octopus Party Nail Lacquer called "Thermogram" to show you. It's such a super holo that it was possibly burning my retina with its awesomeness. Thermogram was part if the July Indie Go Box and is a soft purple, silver leaning holographic polish. Enough jabbering and on to the photos!

                

See seeeeee it's so holo ahhhh! This is just two coats plus one coat of topcoat. No dulling at all!

                       

 

And here Thermogram really shows off her holo and purple and everything in the beautiful sun! I just loved how the color played off the holo in these shots.

Did I mention that I recently purchased a macro lens? And of course that means that  lately I have been in "MACRO ALL THE THINGS!!" Mode. Well I decided that I needed to macro this too. I mean, honestly? Why wouldn't I? 

                                     

                                      

                                      

                                                               I just. Can't. So much holo! 

As far as formula goes, it was like butter! And wore for 3 days with no chipping, *schwing*. If you're feeling the itch for some fancy polishes, hit up Octopus Party on Etsy! Unfortunately this one is no longer available but there are still tons of gorgeous polishes waiting to be bought! 

Until next time, readers!