ER31DC - Day 17 Glitter

Good morning!

Its yet ANOTHER 31DC mani today. Glitter! YAY for glitter!

I have pulled out one of my favourites for today - Ellagee - Beyond The Sea.

Laura originally sent me this for review, but I loved it so much I had to buy a large bottle of it. I have it here over Butter London Slapper.

What do you think? Do you like it? Would you wear it? Do you have either of these polishes? Want them?

Don't forget to check out everyone else's glitterbomb manis!

Other posts you might like:

Flowers for Mom Nail Art Challenge - Day 1 - Roses

Yeeeeeeees, I've joined ANOTHER nail challenge. This one isn't massively demanding so I am looking forward to it :)

Day 1 is Roses - I've done rose manis before, but I saw a special one I loved on Instagram a few days ago, so I tried recreating it from memory. I now have some fantastic polishes that I can use for it as well, so I'm really pleased!

The polishes I used were:

Sinful Colors - Black to Black

Ellagee polish - Lime-O-Rama and Way Orange

Essie - Off the Shoulder and Mojito

L'Oréal - Opulent Pink

What do you think? Are you a neon / roses fan? Do you think they work well together?

Don't forget to check out everyone else's rose nails today!

Cubbiful  

 Dipped in Lacquer 

  Makeup and Nails, Not War 

 Paint Those Piggies!  

 Paulina’s Passions  

Polish and Repeat 

 Tes Did It Nails

Ellagee - 1985 Collection Swatch and Review

Polishes in this post were sent for review by the maker.

Hi all!

Today I have some polishes from Ellagee's latest collection - 1985. All the polishes from this collection are neon shimmers and are totally different from the lines we have seen from Laura before!

Being a glitter lover, I was unsure about these.. but after swatching I am really excited to share them with you!

Laura kindly sent me three to review - Blurple to the Max, Lime-O-Rama and Way Orange. From looking at the bottles, my instant favourite was Lime-O-Rama - green is my favourite colour and it just glows.

All my swatches of these (apart from Lime-O-Rama) are with 1 coat of Seche Clear for base, 3 coats of polish and 1 coat of Seche Vite top coat. I don't do white bases, they certainly weren't needed for any of these, although they might help drop the coat number to 2, rather than 3.

So here is Lime-O-Rama first. I had no issues with this at all - the formula was smooth and easy to apply, and yet surprisingly opaque for a neon.

 It leveled beautifully - I didn't want to take it off! I only needed two coats of this for full opacity. As you can see, I took these in failing natural light and they still glow. Absolutely stunning!

Second, I have Way Orange. This one had a thicker consistency than the other two and I did need the third coat to level it out. Top coat also helped with this, but as you can see it isn't s perfect as Lime-O-Rama. However, the colour blew me away! You honestly couldnt get any more neon than this - perfect orange for summer, I will definitely be wearing this! 

The shimmer softens the look too, which just makes me love it more! If you are not a big neon fan or you don't dare go 'all the way', then nails are the way forward - instead of clothes, accessorize with a beautiful neon shade on your fingers or toes and keep your clothes neutral. Perfecto :)

And third - the shocker for me - Blurple to the Max. I think that this definitely hits the 'shimmer' quality, but neon to me is orange, green and yellow. However, this looks beautiful on and is lovely for spring / summer. Any of you who know me, will know I am a purple disliker. It has to be something special for me to wear it. 

The shimmer stands out more in this polish than in Lime-O-Rama or Way Orange, giving it a lightly frosted look - very feminine and demure. Application was closer to Lime-O-Rama, smooth, but I did use 3 coats just out of habit - it did intensify the colour, although for a lighter shade you would still get full coverage from 2.

I kept this on all night and waited until morning to photograph it - these photos are after 2 lots of washing up (no gloves), some gardening, housework and a boat load of marking. No tip wear, chips or scratches, and still shiny. (My cuticles however, did not survive!) I am impressed - Laura's other polishes are also pretty much indestructable (hence my love for them - long wear is essential with my busy job!)  and being non glitter, and with their thinner texture, I didn't hold up much hope for these being practical. But I am pleased to say I couldn't have been more wrong! This is going into my work collection (as my only purple) for future use!

Ellagee polishes are now available through her online store, but if you're an Etsy fan - her shop is still open here. Polishes are $8 for full size, and $4.50 for mini. She has a great range of collections, from glitter toppers and full on glitter bombs to her shimmers and holos. She also ships internationally! Check her out if you haven't already!

So what do you think? Which is your favourite? I am still going to pick Lime-O-Rama I think, as I love green, but I was seriously surprised by Blurple to the Max.

Ellagee Polish Part 2

Please note: these three polishes in today's post were sent to me for review purposes. All other Ellagee polishes I have posted about are polishes that I have bought myself.

This post is also EXTREMELY pic heavy!

The three polishes that Laura kindly agreed to send me are from her new 'You're the Top' collection. They are Beyond the Sea, I've Got a Crush on You and Crazy He Calls Me and are all glitter toppers (glitters in a clear base). All of the polish names in the collection are inspired by the great music from the 1930's and 40's.

I wanted to save my favourite of the 3 until last, but I honestly couldn't. I really didn't think I would be a fan of this, but I sneakily tried it out for an earlier mani last week and loved it that much I wore it for 4 days before I reluctantly took it off. This is I've Got a Crush on You.

'I've Got A Crush On You is a clear base with shades of pink, white, and silver glitter. Other colors in the photos are reflections from the holographic glitters.'

I also wanted to show you how versatile this topper is - its pale, feminine attributes mean it works well with a variety of colours. I chose one of my favourite neutral shades - L'Oréal - Soft Chinchilla to show you how soft and elegant this can look! This is 2 coats of Soft Chinchilla with 1 coat of I've Got a Crush on You and 1 coat of Seche Vite.

What do you think? I love the colours together - it's glittery, but not in your face glittery. Its demure, understated and very classy looking. It also doesn't HAVE to look barbie, ditzy blonde pink, which is why I love it so much!

The formula was wonderful. Not too runny or thick, very easy to work with. I did dab a little more than I usually would but only because its hard to brush properly when you're only doing a small section of your nail!

The above photos are all in artificial light.

The above 4 photos are taken in natural light - here you can clearly see how light and delicate the glitter is. Really beautiful! 

The second polish I have for you is Crazy He Calls Me. A beautiful rainbow of colours, which I chose to layer over black. Here I have 2 coats of Sinful Colors Black to Black, 1 coat of Crazy He Calls Me and 1 coat of Seche Vite.

I didn't realise just how many photos I took of this - I was quite taken by it!

This is what Laura has to say about it: 'Crazy He Calls Me is a clear base with shades of red, orange, gold, yellow, green, turquoise, blue, and purple hexagon glitter.'

I really like this against the black. I think because of the variety of colours, that it would probably look best over Black or White, but you could pick whichever colour you like - depending on the effect you want. This polish is heavily glitter packed, so you could achieve full coverage of glitter in 3 coats. All the above photos are in artificial light.

It reminds me of a party in a bottle, it brings a smile to my face when I look at it on my nails! I forget how much I love my black nails - I think this may make me wear them more often!

Absolutely lovely - love how all the different colours catch the light! Would you wear it?

And here is the final topper - this is Beyond the Sea. 

'Beyond The Sea is a clear base with shades of teal, turquoise  magenta, and gold hexagon and square glitter. Other colors in the photos are reflections from the holographic glitters.'

I chose to layer this over Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Blackberry. I think it really showcases the beautiful teal / turquoise glitters. As you can see, there is a fine sprinkling of gold and magenta which is well balanced.

 The above photos are in artificial light.

 The above are in natural (fading - sorry!) light. 

What do you think of the three? You already know my favourite - which is yours?

Just a reminder - you can find these at Laura's Etsy store here.

Also, check out her Facebook page, Instagram and Twitter. She often posts details of discounted products and offers, as well as teasers for her new upcoming collections!

Please feel free to let me know what you think - I love hearing your thoughts and comments!

Rachael xxx

Ellagee Polish Part 1

Warning - this is an extremely pic heavy post!

So anyway, here is Part 1 of my review of a brand new indie line - Ellagee by Laura. 

Spotted these beauties through a shared link on facebook - obviously it was fate! 

Their first collection is one called the Sparkling Spring Wildflowers collection - originally a set of 5 (when I ordered) but now a set of 7 tinted base jelly polishes - the two later additions being Lantana and Cherokee Rose (coming soon!)

Here's a little bit about the collection which I took from Laura's Etsy page - 

"If you've ever been to Texas in the Spring you know how breathtaking the fields of wildflowers are. Everywhere you look are patches of brilliant color, the bluebonnets are sometimes so thick the patches can look like water. These polishes were inspired by some of my favorites."

such cute, beautiful wrapping!

 

I really struggled which to swatch first - they all looked so cute in their little bottles! As you can see, they came beautifully wrapped in little gift bags, and I also got some really cute free gifts!

So, before any further pictures are shared, I do need to apologise. On sunday, it was my birthday - this lucky girl got a DSLR camera, which I have of course used to take most of these photos. Unfortunately, a good camera does not mean my skills with it are any good, so my shots are with varying degrees of success, but I think you will agree, I have improved over the 5 swatches, even if its only a tiny bit!

Anyway, hope you love these as much as I do!

The first I swatched was 'Good Morning Sunflower'. 

'Good Morning Sunflower is a gold jelly base with shades of yellow, gold, brown, and bronze hexagon and square glitter. Other colors in the photos are reflections from the holographic glitters.'

The formula on this was lovely - not too thick or too runny, a nice even mix of glitters that spread well on the nail with no dabbing required. I chose to go for 3 medium coats in an effort to hide my VNL. As you can see, its still visible but I was surprisingly pleased with the finish. I expected a really rough finish with it being so packed with glitter, but I only needed one coat of top coat (I chose Seche Vite) for a smooth finish.

As you can see, the result is a beautiful, shiny, well levelled finish. Really happy with this one and surprised by how much I like the colour - love it when you like a polish you didn't think would be a favourite!

The second I chose to swatch was Fluttery Meadow. This was the polish I was most excited to see. I am not a fan of bar glitters on the whole, but I liked the idea that it represented the grassy meadow and of course I couldn't pass up the cute little holo butterflies too :)

 

'Fluttery Meadow is a green jelly base with shades of green bar and tiny hexagon glitter and accents of silver butterfly glitter. As with most large glitters, the butterflies may require the fish and dab game.'

 (This one taken with my iPhone, but more colour accurate!)

Here I used 3 coats, plus 1 coat of SV. Application was again smooth, although I did need to dab a little to get some of the bars flat. Quite hard to see, but there is a little butterfly on my index finger. I only ordered a small bottle, so I didn't expect to find enough for one for each finger - this one came out voluntarily but none of the others wanted to play today! I did however swatch these previous to the new camera and I got two out without needing to fish for them.

Accidentally took this, but it shows you how gorgeous this polish is when it hits the light!

This next polish was such a pain to photograph - it was probably my second favourite of the bunch, it was stunning on my nails but I really struggled to get a colour accurate photo - hence why most of these are at my windowsill just before the natural light died tonight.

 

 This is Downy Paintbrush - 'Downy Paintbrush is a coral jelly base with shades of red, orange, yellow, gold, and hot pink hexagon and square glitter'.

The finish on this was just perfect - a little thicker in consistency than the previous two, but levelled out really well on the nail. I think Laura got the balance of glitters just right - the colour is superb and the hints of gold, orange and yellow shine through just enough to make your nails really pop. In love with this!  I used two thick coats here with 1 coat of Seche Vite to top it off. No dabbing required.

Now I will warn you, I did go slightly OTT with this next polish. I have a love/hate relationship with purple polishes. I buy them thinking they look beautiful, then I never wear them. Or when I do, I don't like them on the nail. This did NOT happen here. This is my favourite of the bunch - Prairie Clover. The colour in the bottle does it no justice whatsoever - on the nail it is a beautiful grape purple packed with various glitters. There are many photos because I feel the first couple in artificial light do not give you a true picture of how beautiful this colour is!

 

'Prairie Clover is a purple jelly base with shades of purple, lavender, lilac, magenta, and white hexagon and square glitter'

As you can see, I had no problems with application. I used 3 coats here as the colour intensifies with each coat - a third made all the difference. Beautiful formula, no problems at all. Winner <3

Below are the shots in natural light - they give a true reflection of the deep grape purple shade that Prairie Clover is.

 Aaand last, but by no means least - Pillow of Blue Bonnets. 

'Pillow of Bluebonnets is a blue jelly base with shades of blue, yellow, white, and silver glitter.'

This polish was the most pigmented of the lot - it only required 2 coats to achieve this finish. I did of course add Seche Vite as a top coat, but as for all of the polishes, I only needed 1 coat. I love the description that my friend gave it when I showed her these - 'It looks so deep, like water over rocks'. Perfect description!

 

So there you have it! If you love any of these as much as I do, then they are available at Laura's Etsy shop here.

She also has Cherokee Rose & Lantana available, as well as Party Like Its 1999 which is from a different collection. All Laura's polishes retail for $9/£6.10 for 15ml (full) and $4.75/£3.22 for 5ml (mini). You can also save a few pennies by buying the full sets of 7 ($29.95/£20.20 for mini, $52.50/£35.60 for full size).

And the best part... she is currently shipping internationally - yay! :)

Don't forget to come back later this week for my review of 3 polishes from her next collection - debuting this month!

Please feel free to let me know what you think of these - I love hearing your opinions! Would you buy any of these / do you already have some? 

Rachael xxx