Pahlish "The Ghost Shift"

'Ello! Today I have for you one of my favorite ever indie brands out there, Pahlish. Not only do they churn out some of the most unique glitters, color combos, and microflakey polishes, they also make a mean holo (and sometimes even a combo of some of the previously listed!). Aside from their stellar color choices, they have a wide variety of fangirl inducing names  i.e. a whole bunch of song refrences from Ben Gibbard, DCFC, Neutral Milk Hotel, a whole Great Gatsby collection, etc. And just recently they released a whole slew of Doctor Who inspired polishes, a collection so lovely and large that they released it in two parts with two different monthly duo's to boot. Today I have "The Ghost Shift" from their All Of Time and Space collection.

The Ghost Shift is described on Pahlish's website as a "darkened silver holographic with gunmetal grey and iridescent purple microflakes that pop out in lower lighting, while the holographic effect is stronger in bright lighting." I found the flakies really dance in the holographic flame and give almost a tealish hue to the overall color.

 

Here in indoor lighting you can see how gunmetal grey it really is. If you move your fingers just right you can see the burst of the purple microflakies as well. It's such a neat polish because it's kinda in your face and subtle all at once, and has a lot of nuances to it once you get it on your fingers.

 

HOWEVER, I really, REAAALLLLY feel like this baby comes to life in the sun. It shows off a smoldering grey holo with a flecked metallic finish, to a clean linear holo, and all kinds of crazy I-don't-know-what.

 

 

As far as formula goes, I found it a bit more difficult to work with than my other Pahlish's but no less lovely and it was smoothed down with some top coat! All photo's shown are 2 coats with a generous coat of quick dry topcoat.  I can't say much more about this beautiful polish other than if you want it, you can buy it at their Pahlish big cartel site. They generally restock every Friday at 7pm central!  

Colors by Llarowe "Best Day Of My Life"

I don't know what kind of magical genius that Llarowe thinks she is, but I do know that if you own any of her polishes you know what I'm talking about. She does a lovely range of finishes including glitters, shimmers, cremes, holos, multi holos, any kind of amazing awesomeness you can imagine in the polish world- she does it. I have, from her core collection, "Best Day Of My Life" and it is no exception to my previous statements! 

Do you see that gorgeous pink/coppery shift just bouncing out of the purpley-blue holographic base (yes, I used the word "purpley")? I mean c'mon! That's some serious polish-wizard sorcery.

Here you see the shift from each stage.

I don't know that there are words to express the level of love I have for this polish. As I was painting my nails I kept saying "must. resist.need.for.backup.no.you.need.a.backup.get.real.mmkay?". The formula. as per usual, is just a breeze to use. And although I have nubbins I found the wider brush to be fairly simple to apply with. I used 2 coats in these pictures but you can honestly get away with 1. 2 just feels right to me! It also dried very fast and as a momma I appreciate that.

Aaannnd last but not least, some shots to show the mind boggling holo! Tang.

I'm not trying to enable people, or to force to buy this... but I am fairly certain there is going to be another preorder soon involving these beauties and you know you want to buy all the polish anyways! Check out the lovely polishes you could be buying here at her website. I'd love to hear what pretties you own from Llarowe and which ones you're planning to get!

Thank you for reading <3

Carpe Noctem Custom "#asnmb"

Hi there!

This is my first (official) blog post to the public world, so be gentle please. Today I have a very special custom made by Emily over at Carpe Noctem Cosmetics that my lovely nail mail buddy Amanda had made for our one year anniversary! This amazingly holo, shifty polish was inspired by some berries (no really, I swear!) known as "Marble Berries". The totally awesome part about these berries is that their coloration is so intense that, even with time, they never fade. I could spend lots of time talking about the scientific glory of these beauties but I digress. Here is a picture. Soak in their awesomeness.

And here is the custom polish "#asnmb"

I couldn't believe how well the subtle, blue sheen of these berries was captured by Emily. The vibrancy of the reference picture was definitely not lost in translation and the icy blue shift is just stunning. I also own quite a few holographic, shifty polishes and I own nothing like this yet.

I mean look at it! It's perfect. If you're in the market for a custom, my first recommendation would be Carpe Noctem. Not only is Emily awesome to work with (she listens, she doesn't make you feel like you're obligated to say you like it if you don't, and she is super talented!), but her formula is the bees knees. It's smooth, easy to apply, has excellent dry time,  and all the polishes I own from her dry super shiny AND last long. All the pictures above are 2 coats with NO topcoat. I didn't get chipping until the 4th day of wear.

Mind. Blown.

What do you all think? Do any of you own a custom polish? 

Blogging terrifies me. The interwebs can be a scary place full of hateful, vengeful, and just downright nasty people. However, as I have learned in the past year, it can be full of lovely, supportive, caring people who are your friends. I decided that since polish is something I love that I should be able to burn your retina's out with my short little nubbin nails. Who knows? Maybe I will gain some followers and meet more awesomely wonderful people... or more trollish people. It's up to you! In the meantime, here is my face. Judge it if you must.