Layla Ultra Violet Holographic

Hey everyone!  I hope you enjoyed hearing from SonyT again!  We were on Spring Break last week and I was back home in Philadelphia helping to help my mom out with my much younger sister who has been struggling with her health lately.  We did remarkably little painting of nails compared to my typical visits, and I have barely any internet connection in my bedroom, so I just didn't bother trying to put together any posts.  I am not too upset that I am back in classes again because the weather is INSANELY nice.  It was nearly 80 today here in DC and I spent my break out on the law school deck "working" (and staring at the crazy holo nails I am about to show you).  The weather even cheered me up enough to start working out again.  I started P90x yesterday and holy cow am I sore.  I hope you all have gotten a taste of spring/summer as well.  Back to nail polish now I swear. 

3 coats Layla Ultra Violet, no topcoat, natural light

I have been seeing a lot of the Layla Holographics swatches floating around lately and I was so impressed that I had to have one.  All the posts said they were available on Aveyou.com, but I could not for the life of me figure out how to get them that way.  They seem to be waiting for a release date still, which is odd.  I finally found these on evil-bay and this gem was waiting for me when I got back from Philly.  I have always wanted a brand to make a holo line that was formulated more like GOSH holographic than the glitter gal polishes.  Don't get me wrong, I love the glitter gal polishes, but they aren't the same level of intense linear holo as GOSH.  Layla has finally filled the void!  Ultra Violet is a pinkish violet linear holo.  If you grab these make sure you grab the buffer that they direct you to use first in place of a base coat.  Though I am not convinced that it did anything, you should at least know before you buy that they direct you to use it.  This actually applied very smoothly.  I didn't have the dragging issues that GOSH and NFU Oh are plagued by.  You definitely need 3 coats for opacity. It dries super fast, and doesn't want a topcoat ruining the holo effect.   If you can believe it, this baby is actually even more holo in person.  My deck still doesn't have direct sun so this is just a shade shot.  Not bad though!  Sadly these chalky holos still come off super fast.  I applied this last night and had to touch up my mani this morning before snapping a pic.  The good news is that this is gorgeous and it is self evening.  If you need to touch up the tips you can simply blot some on the tips of your nails only and it will blend in perfectly.  Win!  I seriously love this holo and have already put in an order for a few more. 

I hope you like it!

Shbecky

Julep Anne & Hungry Asian Mumbling

Hello world!! Man... it has been AGES since I have posted on here. Luckily, Shbecky's dedication to Legally Lacquered (and her polish addiction) has kept the blog afloat.

Just yesterday though, I got a couple of polish shipments in the mail and had to post my NOTD. I have been hearing great things about Julep Anne for so long now - highly pigmented vibrant purple. It is about time that I snagged my own bottle. I did note, from other bloggers, that the formula on this polish was not great. Boy were they right. My first coat of Anne was a complete disaster. The polish was thick and clumpy. I had high hopes that the second coat would even it out - especially since I added some thinner to the polish - but I was wrong. It was still a thick, uneven mess. The color is certainly brilliant, but I couldn't leave the disaster on my nails. It would drive me nuts!! So I added Hungry Asian's Mumbling - a decadent mix of gold and silver holographic hex glitter in small, medium and large. When I tell you that Mumbling is to die for, I mean it. We all have those polishes that are literally show stoppers. You can't help but stare at your own nails every time the light hits them. Mumbling is that polish.

1 coat Orly Bonder + 2 coats Julep Anne + 1 coat Seche Vite + 1 coat Hungry Asian Mumbling + 1 coats Seche Vite

Blurry picture that does NOT do the holo-ness of Mumbling justice!

I SO wish I had a picture of my mani for you before I added the Mumbling so you could see the Julep Anne disaster. The color is really brilliant, so I can't blame you for snagging a bottle. I just expected more from a polish that is on the pricey end. And I know everyone has their personal take on Julep bottles but I have to admit - not a fan. Because the brush is submerged in the bottle, you have to wipe off access every time you dip it in. Not to mention, you can't really set this bottle on the table while you paint your nails (at least I can't cause I don't trust myself not to knock it down). Makes the whole process a struggle. I bought a couple of other Juleps during my binge - so hopefully they won't be a disappointment formula wise. With regards to Mumbling - loved the bottle and the brush just as much as the polish itself. OBSESSED!

You can buy Julep from their website and Kae from Hungry Asian sells her fabulous handmade polishes on Etsy. She is also just an incredibly sweet girl and loves what she does - which is always a plus in my book.

Anywhoooo I am off to work on my note (aka. ginormous paper) for my journal. Not a fun process, as you can imagine. Especially when I am on Spring Break! Hope you all enjoyed your weekends and I hope to be a bit more regular with the blogging =)

Peace, love, and polish galoreee

Sony T

Revlon Colorstay in Blue Slate with HITs Poseidon Accent

Happy Friday! I hope you all had a nice week.  We had some seriously incredible weather here for a few days.  Sunny skies, near 70 degrees in FEBRUARY!  I struggle sometimes with the bad, dark and cool weather so it was nice to roll down the windows on my car and oogle some holo manis.  I sported HITS Demeter for most of the time and somehow managed not to grab a photo.  Fail.  Anywho, now I am rocking one of the new Revlon Colorstay polishes with a holo accent.  Blue Slate is a gorgeous slate grey/blue creme.  It really has the perfect name.

2 coats Blue Slate + Poseidon Accent Nail and So Wet topcoat, artificial light

This new line of Revlon polishes is supposed to be durable like a gel mani.  Unfortunately I already have some chips on Day 2, but I still really love the color.  The formula was really fantastic.  In fact I probably could have left it at one coat.  It is extremely pigmented.  I must tell you, though, that I HATE the brush.  It's on a long stem, but has a tiny little flat brush that isn't even as wide as the stem.  With such a pigmented polish it is very difficult to use this brush.  If the formula wasn't incredible and the color was not so stunning, I would have purged this without second thought.  Maybe I'll rebottle it?

I set out initially to just have a plain Blue Slate mani.  When I put the bottle back down on the table it was sitting next to HITS Poseidon and I realized they had similar undertones.  I couldn't resist painting a coat over it.  This was just one smooth coat with flawless application as usual.  The HITS No Olimpo polishes are a force to be reckoned with in the holographic realm and have yet to disappoint me.  They are not an American brand, but Llarowe stocks them regularly!

Anyone else hate the new Revlon brushes?

~Shbecky

HITS Specialita No Olimpo Apolo

Hey guys!  In case no one has noticed, I'm on a blue kick these days.  You all have likely seen this gorgeous polish around the blogosphere, but I am showing it you again because I LOVE it.  HITS is a Brazilian brand, but you can get it from the lovely Leah Ann at Llarowe.  I've got a bunch of these polishes, and each one impresses more than the last.  I have had this on for 3 days already in these pictures.  Other than the slightest tipwear on my middle finger, this has held up insanely well.  Apolo is a deep blue linear holo.  The formula is incredibly smooth and is opaque in 2 coats. 

2 coats Apolo + So Wet topcoat, artificial light

 I had a slight issue with this bottle.  There were some clumps in the polish that ended up on my nail.  Fortunately they aren't visible over the holo.  Note that unlike many of the chalkier holos (like GOSH or NFU Ohs) these hold up their holo-ness even with a topcoat!

2 coats Apolo + So Wet topcoat, indirect artificial light

I've included two pictures in different lighting so you can see how strong the holo is! 

~Shbecky

On A Roll: Glitter Gal Silver and 10 to Midnight w/ a side of failed striping

Happy Friday!  Now that I have no class Fridays AND no work I am really appreciating 3 day weekends.  I have TONS of work to do, but would much rather blog.  I even cleaned my apartment to procrastinate.  Oh well, at least I am doing something.  As you saw yesterday, some chips in my mani provoked me to paint my nails AGAIN.  I was looking at my pinterest (follow me here) where I post some of my favorite manis, and was reminded of a look that I did for my sisters and cousin this past summer.  I then realized that I never did it for myself.  I didn't want to copy the Butter London Wallis/RGB Slate combo I did before because I am always inclined to use something I haven't posted before.

Glitter Gal Silver/10 to Midnight w/ Orly striping and Posh topcoat, artificial light

I settled on Glitter Gal Silver and 10 to Midnight.   Silver is a silver linear holographic polish.  It's a bit weaker than Gosh Holographic and Nfu Oh 61, but I like having something a little more subtle to wear when I'm not trying to throw my crazy nails in people's faces.  I needed 3 coats for opacity purposes, but it dries really quickly and is easy formula-wise.  I used Silver all over the nail and then free-handed the top half of each nail with Glitter Gal's newest linear holo, 10 to Midnight.  10 to Midnight is a charcoal linear holo. 

Trying to get some rainbow!

Though you can't see it much in these photos (the sun is nowhere to be found), this bears a striking resemblance to OPI My Private Jet in all of its original formula glory.  The linear holo effect may even be stronger in 10 to Midnight.  For all of the people who aren't as luck as I am to have the original My Private Jet, you should DEFINITELY grab this from Llarowe.  She restocks frequently and is my absolute favorite polish vendor to buy from!  The formula on this was flawless as well, and it only took one layer to get solid color!

I wish I had left the striping out :( .  It ended up being an obnoxious disaster.  I think I need to replace my Orly nail art polishes.  I could not for the life of me get solid lines in one coat, which I never had issues with in the past with these exact nail art polishes.  I ended up having to go over my lines more than once which led to uneven lines.  To top it off my So Wet topcoat kept smudging the black even 20 minutes later.  It took a few rounds of fixing it to realize it was an issue with that particular topcoat.  I switched to Poshe and had no more issues with the black dragging.  I still love how this looks from afar, but up close.....meh. What are your favorite striping polishes?

Anyone else love Llarowe as much as I do??

Happy Weekend!
~Shbecky

OPI Pink Friday, Super Bass Shatter and Save Me

Hey guys!  Today I have some more of the Nicki Minaj for OPI collection to show you.  I apologize in advance for the chips, but a bit of dish-washing and cooking this morning was enough to leave me with a few chips.  For this mani I used two coats of Pink Friday as a base.  Then for an accent nail I used one coat of Save Me topped with Super Bass Shatter.  I like all the polishes in this mani, but I don't really care for the accent nail combined with Pink Friday.

2 coats Pink Friday, Save Me and Super Bass Shatter Accent Nail + Poshe topcoat, artificial light

Pink Friday is pastel creme version of a bubble gum pink.  I really like it.  It's 4 Free and doesn't have the patchiness issues that most pastel polishes have.  The formula is pretty spot on and just as smooth as Fly was.  I can't really tell you much about Save Me yet, but it is a clear top coat with holographic shimmer and also has a lot of holographic bar glitter.  The jelly dries matte and leaves the glitter very rough, but nothing a good topcoat can't fix.  As for Super Bass Shatter, it is a maroon shatter pretty similar in formula to the other OPI shatters.  It's a bit like the blue and turquoise shatters and has a fine matching shimmer mixed into it.  I can't wait to try it with a base that contrasts a bit more loudly!  A few final notes - so far the collection seems chip-prone.  My Electric Beat mani didn't chip for at least 4+ days.  Fly and Pink Friday didn't make it a full 24 hours, even with careful tip-wrapping.  I have polish ADD and like an excuse to switch up my nails, but I know some normal people like to keep their manis in tact for a few days!  Also, Fly left some pretty intense stains even with a reliable base coat.  I still love it though!

A England: Lady of The Lake

Hey guys!!  I have a new-to-me brand for you all tonight.  You know how happy that makes me (really really happy).  It makes me almost as happy as getting news tonight that I made my first choice in law journal did!  Yay!  Anways, this is A England Lady of The Lake.  It is a deep purple that leans red.  I want to call it a creme/holo hybrid.  It paints on like a creme similar to the Glitter Gal holos, and has VERY fine silver and holo glitter that creates the faintest hint of a linear holo in certain lights.  In other lights the polish just looks like it has a white fine dust.

2 coats Lady of The Lake + Seche Vite, artificial light

 A England polishes are 3 free and are not tested on animals.  The polishes all have the Camelot/King Arthur themed names. The bottle feels like an Essie in your hand with a silver lid in place of white plastic.  This painted on very smoothly, though I found the brush a bit flimsy for my taste.  Overall, I am genuinely impressed with this brand and I'm glad I finally grabbed this.  I also got Tristam, which I'll probably try out tomorrow AM.  A England hails from England (big shocked), and shipping is normally cost-prohibitive.  However, they recently offered free worldwide shipping and I took advantage.  Definitely keep you eyes peeled for another special!

2 coats Lady of The Lake + Seche Vite, flash (the rainbow is peaking out!)

I'll be posting tomorrow and trying to schedule a post for Wednesday, but I am prepping for a not so fun hospital visit that is happening Wednesday and only time will tell if I will be able to post.

~Shbecky

This one time I tried an ombre mani

Hey everyone!  Sorry I didn't post last night :(  I have been feeling a little off since I got back, and to top it off most of my nails tore very low down from the salt water at the beach.  You also might notice that I have various cuts and sores on my poor swatching hand.  I was trying to break apart some polish bottle that were stuck to a shattered polish.  My Kleancolor chunky holos came with the green shattered.  Anyways I ended up with a couple deep cuts and have glass all in my hand still.  I am hoping I can still get some swatching in tomorrow, but my hand stings and isn't exactly loking pretty at the moment. 

Anyways, I've been seeing ombre manis everywhere these days.  My collection of holo polishes is growing pretty fast, so I figured I'd combine the two trends.  It was a pretty huge fail.  I need to pick 3 holo polishes in one brand and combine the polishes so that the finishes are consistent and the fade is correct.  For this I used Glitter Gal Red on my thumb and Glitter Gal Enchanted on my pointer finger.  Then I have China Glaze Don't Be A Square on my middle finger, China Glaze Rated Holographic on my ring finger , and one of my Golden Rose holos that has lost its number sticker on my pink.  It is still pretty, but I would like to do this the right way.  I want the finishes to match!  I also want to try when my nails aren't misshapen nubbins with awful cuts.  Again, I won't review the polishes here, because that would be a little boring for both me and you. 

Ombre holo mani

I'm going to work on getting you a winner for the Nfu Oh 61 Giveaway tomorrow!  Enjoy your Saturdays!

~Shbecky

Nfu Oh #66

Hey everyone!  I hope the weather where you all are is as incredible as the weather here is.  No clouds, no rain and best of all no humidity!  The Congressional offices closed at noon today so I ran to grab a quick pedi to prepare for my trip to Hilton Head with the boyfriend's family.  I'll spare you the pictures of my feet, but they are red, white and blue striped for July 4th (duh).  I'm not sure what my internet access will be down there, so I'm yet to decide how to handle posting.  I'll do my best, I promise!  Tonight I have a polish that is a perfect match to the weather.  Fabulous Street seems to have returned all of the holos except #61 to stock, but last week they only had #65 and #66 in stock so I grabbed them.  Here is #66 in all of its holo glory.  It's a light green chalky linear holo and I'm in love. 

I know that you are supposed to use Nfu Oh's special base coat, but I used OPI's DS base coat.  It seems to work just fine.  I used 2 coats of #66 followed by one thin coat of OPI's standard top coat (anything thin will do just fine).  Then I used either one or two coat on each nail of #66.  The extra coat was just to fill in a few patchy spots.  Like most holos this dries super fast.  I'm showing you photos taken in 4 separate lighting areas so that you can see how this looks really different depending on the light.

3-4 sandwiched coats #66, no top coat, artificial light

3-4 sandwiched coats #66, no top coat, flash

3-4 sandwiched coat #66, no top coat, shade

3-4 sandwiched coats #66, no top coat, sunlight (LOVE)

Admittedly there isn't a huge difference between this and its silver counterpart #61.  HOWEVER, there is a difference.  This clearly flashes a green tint even though it is subtle.   Needless to say I will be holding on to both!

Don't forget you can win a bottle of Nfu Oh 61 by entering here!  You have until 11:59 PM EST July 4th!

~Shbecky

Glitter Gal: Purple

Hey everyone!  Hope you all are enjoying your Friday afternoons.  I'm sorry that I didn't post yesterday, but I went straight to play kickball after work and never really had a chance.  I figured I should probably show you the holo that I resisted posting on Monday. We seem to be getting a nice little break from the clouds today, so this seems like a good time to show you this fun polish.  I need to reswatch and get this in the sunlight, but I didn't have time to yet.  I'm actually sitting on an Acela train riding back to Philly to see my family at the moment.  I love going home!  Anywho, this is Glitter Gal's Purple.  It's a 3 Free maroon/fuchsia holographic polish.  As usual I couldn't pick pictures and have included a bunch.  You really need to see the different looks you get from this polish.  As I've mentioned in my past Glitter Gal posts, this brand hails from Australia and has quite the price tag.  Both the polish and the shipping are expensive, but worth it IMO.  Also, you should be aware that these are smaller than the standard nail polish.  Oh well.

2 coats Purple, no top coat, artificial light

This beauty is a dream to apply and is the closest to a one-coater I've had for a holo polish.  Another bonus is that this dries super fast like most holo polishes. 

2 coats Purple, artificial light

2 coats Purple, w/Flash

Close up flash shot of Purple

I'm not sure what the light area is around the edges.  You couldn't see that IRL at all.  Overall this is a huge win.  I wish I had brought this with me now :(. 

Don''t forget to enter our Nfu Oh 61 Giveaway!  It's almost over!

~Shbecky

China Glaze: Let's Do It In 3D

Hey everyone!  I know it's super late, but today was a crazy day for a simple little Hill intern like myself.  I was at work for almost 12 hours and a polish post wasn't in the cards until now.  I watched The Nail Files tonight, which is the new nail salon centered reality show on the Tv Guide Network.  It was pretty funny, but I would have loved a little more actual nail talk mixed in with the crazy moments.  Maybe next week?

Tonight I am showing you China Glaze Let's Do It In 3D.  This is one of their many discontinued polishes that holo fans everywhere wish would be re-released.  This is a charcoal holographic polish that has a sort of foily finish.  It leans a little bit blue/green in the light and is truly beautiful.  As a bonus this is 3 Free.  While down in NC last weekend I painted my boyfriend's mother's nails with this as well.  Not many mothers of boyfriends are awesome enough to rock a holo polish, but I've definitely lucked out.  She looked great with it on her nails and paired it with a cute black dress and funky silver jewelry.

2 coats Let's Do It In 3D + OPI top coat + 1 more coat 3D, sun

 I knew I'd be traveling, so I used the sandwich technique.  The mani held up perfectly for the 48-ish hours I kept it on.  I only took it off because I was dealing with nail polish remover.  I also learned that this is one of the best self-leveling polishes I have encountered.  The boyfriend's mother has some trouble with ridges in her nails, but this smoothed them right out!  I think a combination of the formula and the intense reflection makes for a lovely finish.

bonus shot! 

Anyways, I love this polish.  You probably couldn't force me to part with it.  Everyone needs to track one of these babies down.  What's not to love about a gorgeous, unique, fast-drying holo?

Don't forget to enter our Nfu Oh 61 Giveaway!


~Shbecky

China Glaze 2Nite

WARNING - This is an extremely picture heavy post.  I really can't help it.  I took 20 pictures or so of this mani and every single one came out perfectly and IMO showed off a different angle of awesomeness.  Tonight I present to you China Glaze 2Nite, a silky smooth grey-ish lavender-ish periwinkle blue linear holographic.  Do you like that description?  This beauty came from the OMG collection of holographic polishes a few years back and was a major polish craving of mine.  I checked ebay regularly and only found outrageously priced bottles.  A couple of weeks ago I came across a fantastic blog, Concrete and Nail Polish.  Not only was the blog beautiful and well done, but its creator, April, does a weekly round up of giveaways which I submitted our Nfu Oh 61 Giveaway to.  During my exploration I realized that April also has a great little shop featuring clothing and nail polish, two of my favorite things.  Her shop is called Medusa's Threads and everyone should check it out.  She has some very reasonably priced HTFs and is great with customer service and communication.  I will be a repeat customer for sure! 

Anywho, back to the polish.  As you may have gathered from my description this polish has a lot of colors flashing through it.  It's almost like a duochrome holo.  The polish is totally opaque in 2 coats and very easy to apply.  It also dries extremely fast unlike most holo polishes.  Normally polishes like this are tacky for a long time because they are worn without a top coat.  2Nite leveled itself out within 30 seconds and I was able to go about business as usual after about 15 minutes.  Now to the photos!

2 coats 2Nite, no top coat, artificial light

look at the gorgeous reflection!

2 coats 2Nite w/flash

INCREDIBLE colors

Ok - I'm done.  I will try to refrain from posting so many photos in the future.  Now for the downside.  I was a little lazy with this last night and didn't use my handy sandwiching technique on this (adding a thin layer of a top coat between holo coats).  As a result my nails chipped A LOT at work today.  I'm not sure how this beauty will do with a better application process, but I can tell you it isn't durable at all on its own.

Verdict?   This girl can't turn down a good linear holo, especially one with such great colors.

Don't forget to enter our Nfu Oh 61 Giveaway!!

Glitter Gal: Black

Hey guys!  Just a quick morning post to start off Sunday right (aka w/ some nail polish).  I almost feel like a cheater showing you this now, as my boyfriend recently gave me my HUGEST lemming ever, My Private Jet in it's original holographic beauty.  Just before this magical event I snagged Glitter Gal's Holographic Black.  It's no MPJ but it certainly does a good job and is on the same level as Color Club Revvvolution.  There is just something so striking about a black/brown/charcoaly holographic polish.  These tend to have a linear holo, but it seems to be formed via scattered holo glitter.  I always think of polishes like Nubar Reclaim, GOSH Holographic, and the Nfu Oh Holos as true linear holographics.  You can't actually see any individual glitter there, just a rainbow reflection.  Here you see the glitter specks but they form a linear shaped holo still.  Maybe some of you know what I mean.

2 coats Black, no top coat, artificial light w/flash

I started you guys off with a blow up of my pinky finger (ignore that bizarre gap shape along the cuticle) using flash so you could see what I mean.  I seem to fail at capturing the dark holos without flash, but I never get to mess around in sunlight.  These are 3 Free and slightly smaller than the average .5 oz polishes.  As I mentioned in my last review they are pricey and come with some serious international shipping charges.  I had to give into this craving.  This one is worth it, as it covers smoothly in 2 coats and packs a lot of shine as a normal polish, especially for a holographic.  They normally lean more matte with the holo shining out rather than the actual polish's finish.

2 coats Black, no top coat, artificial light

MPJ will be up here soon, but I need to catch it in the daylight before I let it make it's appearance. 

2 coats Black, no top coat, artificial light w/ flash

Hopefully I'll get another post up tonight.  I have a bunch of swatches I want to work on later :)


Don't forget to enter our Nfu Oh 61 Giveaway!

~Shbecky

Glitter Gal: Blue Marine

Good morning fellow polish fiends!  I'm feeling almost completely human again.  It's a miracle!  Yesterday I finally got my Glitter Gal shipment all the way from Australia.  Let me tell you, shipping was NOT cheap.  I think it was in the $20 range (eek).  I looked everywhere for a US vendor, but no such luck.  Please let me know if you have a better way to get these!  Considering I spent more on these 3 polishes than I normally dare spend (give me a break - I REALLY wanted these for a long time), I set my bar high.  In some ways these lived up to my expectations, in others they came close (small bottle/high price/hard to get in the US).  I just can't justify the terribly expensive shipping on polishes that already aren't cheap.  This morning I am showing you Marine Blue.  The 3 I bought were all holographic polishes, and this happens to be a unique one in my collection.

2 coats Marine Blue, no top coat, artificial light

Glitter Gal polishes come in little cube shaped bottles with small black round caps.  The brushes are realllllllly short.  However, they are still easy to paint on.  These are smaller than most polishes, but I forget by how much.  These are also 3 Free as far as I can tell.  The formula is great on this one.  I'd venture that they are better than the OPI DS holographics in formula, and they are nothing like the chalky holos like Nfu Oh and GOSH.  They stay put, paint on like a creme would, and have a fast dry time.  Be careful though, because they will be smooth quickly but are still dentable for quite some time after.  Marine Blue is really just that, marine blue.  It reminds me of OPI DS Glamour but this is a true blue slightly linear holo and Glamour leans purple in comparison (see a brief review and image here).

Glitter Gal Marine Blue bottle

This color happened to be particularly camera shy, and I wish I had thought to grab a flash pic before swatching the other polishes.  Below was my best capture of the effect.  You can see where the holo effect is peaking out of the blue, but IRL it is way stronger.

2 coats Marine Blue, artificial light

Verdict?  This would have had to be a COMPLETE dud for me to get rid of it.  I really like it though.  I will do a side by side comparison with OPI DS Glamour soon! 

Don't forget to enter our Nfu Oh 61 Giveaway!  I am loving the favorite holo replies!

~Shbecky

Golden Rose Holographics 109 and Upcoming Giveaway!

Happy Tuesday!  I was less than thrilled to be getting up at 7 AM this morning to return to work after the long weekend, but I was excited that it is so gorgeous outside.  Actually, it might be too hot out, but it's at least nice to see the blue skies from my air conditioned office.  For those of you who have not caught onto the nice weather/holo-ey nails correlation, I am wearing a holo polish to celebrate sunny skies and summer weather.  I'm going to pretend that this is totally work appropriate.  Golden Rose polishes don't have names, just numbers.  This is 109, a grey/pink base with a shy linear holo effect.  This seems to be one of the go-to shades for holo-producing brands.

2 coats 109 + 1 coat Seche Vite + 1 coat 109, artificial light

Golden Rose polishes are not 3 free as these contain Toluene.  This is not a deal breaker for me.  These retail for $3.99 at their website.  Right now they are marked down to $3.49, and the site offers free shipping on orders over $20!  As you can see in the photo below, these polishes have slightly wacky bottles.  The top is made of a cheap light plastic with a coat of gold on it.  The brush is really short and flexible compared to the top, which made it a little difficult to apply.  Again though, I don't think this is the end of the world.  I would be tempted to pour it in another bottle or just deal with the clean up.  The polish applies a little thick compared to most holos, but stays put and evens out pretty well in 2 coats. 

When it comes to holos, beggars can't be choosers.  Golden Rose offers a cheap line of really pretty holographic polishes for way less than other brands.  They are a permanent collection rather than limited edition like so many of the favorite brands' holos.  So really, we can forgive them for not having perfect bottles and brushes.  

 Verdict?  All of my Golden Rose Holographics have a permanent home in my collection (As you can see from the number sticker on top!).

Keep on the lookout for more details on our upcoming giveaway! It will at least contain one bottle of Nfu Oh 61, and I am trying to decided what else I can get to offer you so that the Nfu Oh bottle isn't lonely!  In the meantime, join us on twitter (@Legal_Lacquer) and as a follower on Google Friend Connect!  Those will definitely count as entries :)

-Shbecky

Color Club: Revvvolution

As this lovely holo post goes live I'll be nervously scampering around at my new internship with some nice lawyerly government people.  I'll be getting great experience, but I definitely can't wear the outrageous-by-normal-standards polishes that I would like to be wearing.  Especially in the summer time I love to wear attention grabbing polishes.  To ease the pain I swatched Color Club Revvvolution tonight.  Clearly this is polish is everything that a work friendly polish should not be (sparkly, eye catching, holo-ey, black - you name it), so obviously I love it.  I am waiting to acquire OPI My Private Jet (holo version), and this is my go to until that miraculous day arrives.

Revvvolution, like all Color Clubs, is 4-free and comes in a heavy squared bottle.  The brush is relatively thin and pretty firm, but it's easy to use.  This required only 2 coats, and the second coat is just for boneheaded klutzes like myself who never apply the first coat evenly.  It is a black/charcoal scattered holo with a slight linear holo effect in the right lighting.  The holo was hard to capture in my light box, but sadly the only sun I saw today was when I was forced by fire alarm to evacuate my building at 8:30 this morning.  Apparently the building didn't get the memo about this being my last sleep in day before starting work!  Eisenbrat stayed in bed and pretended it was possible to ignore the blaring sound and obnoxious voice coming through the speaker thing in her room until I told her that real fire trucks had arrived.  I still have no idea what that was about. 

Now for some pics!

2 coats Revvvolution, no top coat, artificial light

  The holo was camera shy, so I grabbed a shot with flash to make up for it.

2 coats Revvvolution, no top coat, flash

If you still don't believe me, here is an insanely zoomed in flash shot of my pinky.  There's that holo-ey goodness!

Holy Holo :)

Verdict? Definitely keeping this baby.  This will look beautiful next to my non-existent bottle of MPJ ;)

If anyone is curious, I'm rocking Butter London All Hail the Queen to work.  It has a slight holo, but is so neutral that I dare someone to tell me it is not appropriate.  Hopefully they'll all be too distracted by my new suit to care!  Any suggestions for interesting but not inappropriate polishes to wear to work on Capitol Hill?

-Shbecky

OPI DS Sapphire

I'm in back to DC mode today, and the weather is disgusting.  As a pick me up I thought I'd share OPI DS Sapphire.  Holo goodness always cheers me up!  I apologize in advance for my amateur attempt to capture the lovely linear holo in this polish.  OPI DS Sapphire is a 3-Free light blue gentle linear holo with a hint of lilac flash.  This little gem is a bit camera shy, but I included some close ups and bottle pics to demonstrate the effect that I couldn't seem to capture in shots of my mani.  This was easier to apply than holos like GOSH Holographic, but not as easy as non-holo polishes.  This was 4 coats using the sandwich approach, which I find really effective.  Since top coat tends to ruin holo effects, I started with Seche Vite Ridge Filling Base Coat and followed up with a thin coat of OPI regular top coat (any thin one will due).  Then I applied to more holo coats.  VOILA!

4 sandwich coats - natural light

artificial light

look at the holo!

It's even spectacular in the bottle

Verdict? Stash - duh.  I'm a holo fiend!  I can't wait to get home because Nfu Oh 61 is waiting for me with some other sweet finds.

Does anyone else crave all things holo?  Do you have any tips for capturing the effect on camera??

-Shbecky