Tag: Indie
Electric Jaguar
Lumen Lacquer “Electric Jaguar” is giving GOTH LISA FRANK.
“Electric Jaguar” was one of my first picks when I was picking out polishes from May’s “Tropical Forest” Polish Pickup. It’s NOT magnetic – it’s a dramatic multichrome that shift from red to green to gold to amber. The main shades are red and green, but somehow it’s not giving Xmas. It’s completely wearable.
This is two coats of “Electric Jaguar” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Tropical Oasis” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Blackberry Passionfruit“.
Polish Pickup May 2025 – Tropical Forest
So, we’re calling four new polishes a “light” month now, yes?
May’s theme was “Tropical Forest” and brought some of the most stunning polishes I’ve ever seen. It was hard to decide, but I’m excited to try all of them.
Lumen Lacquer “Electric Jaguar” ($13) is inspired by a jaguar moving through the forest.
Hit the Bottle Polishes “A Realm of Kingfishers” ($13.50) is inspired by sacred kingfishers that the creator’s garden yearly. It’s magnetic!
Cupcake Polish “Stinking Corpse” ($13.50) is inspired by the stinking corpse lily (someday, I’ll get to smell one in person).
Whatcha “Lilac-Breasted Roller” ($13.50) is another magnetic polish inspired by the…checks notes…lilac-breasted roller. If you have not seen this gorgeous African bird, I suggest you Google it NOW.
A nice bunch of polishes…how do I choose?
Power Number
…I feel like I’ve been stuck in the early 00’s lately – binging One Tree Hill with Lily, which also means revisiting the music and fashion – so why not revive another millennial trend? CRACKLE POLISH is back y’all.
Fresh from April’s Polish Pickup, we’ve got Colores de Carol “Power Number“. It’s a teal multichrome shimmer crackle – it’s got EVERYTHING, and it crackles like a sonofabitch.
I started with Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Tropical Oasis” and a single coat of Atomic Polish “Sour Apple Rings”. I topped with a thick coat of “Power Number” and I admit, that it got patchy as it shrunk, so I may have filled in a few bald spots to even out the finished look. I finished with Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Blackberry Passionfruit“.
Stargazer Lily
Leave it to Beaux Rêves Lacquer to create another polish that is nearly impossible to photograph accurately.
Beaux Rêves Lacquer “Stargazer Lily” is from April’s “Celebrate!” Polish Pickup. It’s another magnetic polish and is a sister polish to “Blooming Azalea”.
Since I used the Velveteen Magnet, there isn’t a clear line to see the magnetic effect, but since I’m using a ring light, you can see a pink to blue transition on my nails. Since I was velvetizing, I did not bother with DRK Nails Magic Effect.
This is two coats of “Stargazer Lily” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Tropical Oasis” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Blackberry Passionfruit“.
Persephone’s Pomegranate
Zombie Claw “Persephone” was one of my picks from February’s “Fables & Folklore” Polish Pickup and is inspired by Persephone eating pomegranate seeds. I like the IDEA of eating pomegranate seeds, as well as the taste – but in real life…it’s such a pain in the ass.
I was struck by how similar in tone this polish is to Julep “Persephone”. I wonder how they’d look together?
This is two coats of “Persephone” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Tropical Oasis” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Blackberry Passionfruit“.
Cheesecake & Candlelight
If cheesecake is involved, it’s automatically a celebration. Even if I wasn’t veering dangerously close to Golden Girls territory – at the ripe old age of 49 – this would be a universal truth.
Royla Lee “Cheesecake & Candlelight” is from April’s Polish Pickup and is inspired by the Golden Girls and their nightly cheesecake ritual. Truth be told, I CANNOT WAIT to live with my girlfriends and eat cheesecake and talk shit about the ugly neighbors. Of course, I’m a Dorothy – and I’ve got my friends slotted accordingly. In fact, the more the merrier – I know at least 6 or 9 Golden Girls that might be interested after their husbands (mysteriously?) pass away…
This is my first Royla Lee polish and it is quite nice. Like most chromed shimmer polishes, I did get a few visible brushstrokes, but they weren’t hideous. I ended up taking a lot of “thumbs up” pictures while I was in San Francisco the weekend before last, so I’m glad I was wearing such a pretty polish.
This is two coats of “Cheesecake & Candlelight” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Tropical Oasis” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Blackberry Passionfruit“.
Polish Pickup April 2025 – Celebrate!
Celebrations! is April’s Polish Pickup theme. Who doesn’t love a good celebration?
With all the magnetic polishes I am collecting, I got a neodymium bar magnet ($3) and an SJ 3Designs Velveteen Magnet ($12). I’m excited to try both.
By Vanessa Molina “Easter Egg” ($13.50) is a magnetic polish inspired by Easter and the eggs that come with.
Royla Lee “Cheesecake & Candlelight” ($13.75) is inspired by one of my favorites – The Golden Girls.
Colores de Carol “Power Number” ($13.50) is a CRACKLE polish…not sure of the inspiration.
Baroness X “Empty Orchestra” ($13) is another magnetic polish, inspired by…an empty orchestra pit? I cannot remember exactly.
Beaux Rêves Lacquer “Stargazer Lily” ($12.50) is inspired by my FAVORITE flower and is a sister polish to “Blooming Azalea”.
I cannot wait to bust out the magnets!
Secret Allure
The magnet makes all the difference!
Penelope Luz “Secret Allure” is from January’s Masquerade Polish Pickup. The colors are fairly similar to “Nichibotsu”, but the effect is totally different. Instead of the weak ass butterfly wand, I used one of my husband’s rare earth magnets. It’s small and round, slightly smaller than a 50 cent piece. I didn’t have to go through all the drama of holding it over my nails – instead, I just laid half of my fingertip over the edge of the magnet as I painted. The effect is a mix of velvet effect and a bar magnet, giving the impression of a french manicure. I could NOT stop looking at my nails!
So what do you think of my new lightbox? My husband had gotten it for me about six months ago, but I kept forgetting to set it up. I was having a hard time capturing the magnetic polishes in sunlight and I’m very happy with the pictures using the lightbox. I’m still using my phone, as opposed to my SLR – I admit to being a lazy bum. I think I’ll switch to using it for all my nail pics.
This is two coats of “Secret Allure”, magnetized with a round rare earth magnet using DRK Nails Magic Effect and over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Tropical Oasis” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Blackberry Passionfruit“.
Erythrocytes
So many medical words are derived from Ancient Greek. Erythrocytes are red blood cells and DRK Nails “Erythrocytes” is inspired by red blood cells under the microscope…which was the theme of March’s Polish Pickup.
I was so excited to try DRK Nails Magic Effect – will this be the magical product that makes magnetic nail polish easy? Well….yes and no. I started with a base coat and a single coat of polish. I did the second coat of polish one nail at a time, magnetizing the polish with a butterfly magnet. After letting them dry for 5 minutes or so, I then used Magic Effect on each nail, magnetizing again. After those coats dried, I finished with the top coat – one nail at a time, magnetizing each one for a third time. I suspect that the butterfly magnet that I picked up from Polish Pickup isn’t strong enough, so next time I’ll try a different one. I had the best result on my thumb – it looks more like fireworks than a butterfly, but I am diggin’ it.
This is two coats of “Erythrocytes”, magnetized with a butterfly magnet using DRK Nails Magic Effect and over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Tropical Oasis” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Blackberry Passionfruit“.
Polish Pickup March 2025 – Under the Microscope
All things considered, my March order was fairly conservative. The theme was really good though – “Under the Microscope” – but I didn’t see too many unique polishes, which surprised me.
The first things I snagged were DRK Nails “Erythrocytes” ($14), as well as DRK Nails Magic Effect for Magnetic Polish ($11.20). “Erythrocytes” is the scientific name for red blood cells and the polish is inspired by red blood cells under the microscope. I’m excited to see if I get better results with Magic Effect.
Paint it Pretty Polish “Crazy Plant Lady” ($13.50) is another magnetic polished, inspired by plant cells under the microscope.
Finally, I couldn’t resist another bottle of Cuticula Limitless Quick Dry Scented Top Coat in “Froot Loops” ($10). Who doesn’t like the scent of Froot Loops?