Aphrodite Lacquers Review!

Hey ladies! I have a really fun review for you today, I'm really excited to share it. Aphrodite Lacquers has some really amazing polishes and I was lucky enough to receive some minis for review, so I went on a swatchfest last night! The first three are from the Outta This World collection, and the second three are from the Romance Novel collection. Let's get started! [Descriptions in quotations are taken from the Aphrodite Lacquers Etsy listings]

"Blackhole: black jelly polish with 3 different size black hex glitter."

Index: 2 coats

Middle: 3 coats

Ring: 1 coat over grey

Pinky: 1 coat over white

Index: 2 coats

Middle: 3 coats

Ring: 2 coats over grey

Pinky: 2 coats over white

"Asteroid: black polish (jellyish), with huge white glitter, small silver glitter, and silver shimmer."

Index: 3 coats

Middle: 1 coat over black

Ring: 1 coat over white

"Interstellar: black polish (jellyish) with huge purple glitter, small dark purple glitter, and small lavender glitter."

Index: 3 coats

Middle: 1 coat over black

Ring: 1 coat over white

Notes on Outta This World: the three polishes I got from this collection all applied pretty well, had a good consistency and covered really well in 3 coats. However, there was a lot of streakiness in the black pigment used, which made it hard to use over light colors. I'm going to try them over a dark-ish red or something soon, I think that would be a nice effect. Also, it was a little hard to get the larger glitter out of the bottles, but I think that's in part due to the fact that these are mini bottles.

 Secret:"Hot pink jelly base, packed full of dark pink micro glitter, and white glitter"

Index: 2 coats

Middle: 1 coat over Wet n Wild Fuchsia-Rama

Smoulder: "Dark red jelly base, packed full of bright red micro glitter, and white glitter"

Index: 2 coats

Middle: 1 coat over OPI Smitten with Mittens

Enchant: "Aqua jelly base, packed full of green micro glitter, and white glitter"

Index: 2 coats

Middle: 1 coat over Cult Nails Toxic Seaweed

Notes on the Romance Novel collection: These 3 are definitely my favorites of the group. The colors are vibrant, the small glitter is so pretty, and I love the mix of the medium white glitter with the jelly bases. These had no problem at all with the pigments. And I was surprised at how opaque they were! Especially Secret, that was a surprise stand out for me. Enchant was definitely full coverage IRL, as well. I'm a huge fan of this collection, it definitely makes me want the other polishes in it. Secret is definitely going with me to camp, also. I'm pretty enamored by it, which is weird for me. Pinks are generally not my thing, but there's something about it!


What do you all think of these polishes? Aphrodite Lacquers has a new collection coming out next week, as well. I can't wait to see it!! Also, the customer service at AL is really great. She's such a sweetheart to work with as a reviewer, but also as a buyer.

*Disclaimer: these polishes were provided to me in return for an honest and fair review. All opinions are my own*

Announcements!

Happy happy Friday:] Just a few things, first: I have a mini indie blog sale going on here & a silent auction here! Or just click on the tabs up there ^^ and check them out:]

Second, I'll be going away from July 4-August 8 to California! I'm a camp counselor at an amazing camp there and I'm so excited to be there for the second summer now. I'll miss all you guys so so much, but I do have my Twinsie Tuesday posts scheduled as well as other posts in the week, AAAAND some amazing guest posts from my Twinsies. I can't wait to show you all! I'll be on here when I have time off on weekends, so I won't disappear altogether.

Finally, I'll be restocking the Etsy shop today with a small amount of polishes [about 20] of the more popular ones.

My Very First Ozotic!

Hello everyone! I've got some pic spam for you of some really pretty polishes [AND my first Ozotic].  First, I slapped on 2 coats of Revlon Royal. Notes about Royal: it's one of the most stunning polishes I own, but the formula is.. ehh. I'm really in love with the color and want it everywhere, but it generally takes 3 coats to be opaque and I usually have trouble with how runny it is. I mean, it definitely doesn't stop me from wearing it, clearly, but it's something to consider. Definitely need to spend a little time with Royal. That said, it looks amazing under Ozotic Elytra 528. The minute I saw the Elytra polishes I knew that I needed at least one, and I was right. It's just a really unique look that these glitters have. So I put on 2 coats of 528 [also, why the heck don't these have names?!] over Royal, and... look:

Jellies and glitter and duochrome and cobalt blue all in one mani... Be still my heart!! ;] I'm going to leave you with some bracelets I made last night. I've been crafting a little lately and I love these bracelets for how easy they are and how adorable they look stacked together.

Twinsie Tuesday: My Favorite Brand

Happy TT everybody! Today, we had to pick a polish from our favorite brand. I kind of set up this post with my post from yesterday, and I think I've mentioned it before, but China Glaze is absolutely my favorite brand. They have EVERYTHING. Really though. I'm pretty much in love with CG and I fangirl out all the time when looking at their new collections. Honestly, I really think that they do the best job at having unique polishes when it seems like a lot of releases we're seeing are just more of the same. And the formula of their polishes are pretty consistently great. My favorite CG of all time has to be Emerald Sparkle: perfect shade of green plus it's jam packed with glitter heehee. But my absolute favorite shade of the summer has to be Surfin' for the Boys..

Just yes. Brightbrightbright neon coral? Amazing. Hot pink shimmer? Even more amazing. The formula and wear time: the most amazing. I wore this the entire weekend working at my church's festival, and I was really hard on my hands. This wore with no chipping, just some tip wear like on the ring finger. And it was perfectly opaque in 2 coats, like Pink Plumeria. Which is just amazing for a neon. On top of all that, I really liked how this looked on me. In fact, I've had this polish on my toes for almost a week and half now and I plan on putting it on right after this pedi wears haha. It's my perfect summer color, and definitely one I need to take with me on my upcoming trip [more info on that later!].

I'm really interested on seeing what brands my Twinsies like best! Think there are any other CG fangirls out there?? :]


Amanda at Amandalandish
Anna at Going to the Showing
Anne at Grape Fizz Nails
Ashley at Art Evolve
Brandi at The Collegiate Nail
Chelsea at Nailed Blog
ChiChi at I'm Just Me...ChiChi
Cordia at Srsly Swatched
Jenn at All That is Gorgeous...
Jenna at I'm Still Thinking...
Katherine at Haul of Fame
Marisa at Polish Obsession
Meredith at Polish and Charms
Nory at Fierce Makeup and Nails
Rachel at Top Coat It
Tara at Polishy of Truth

Pink Plumeria

Hi all! It feels like it's been a long time since I've posted about a mainstream polish, huh? I'm on quite the indie streak haha. BUT my other loves this summer are the China Glaze neons. I've had Surfin' for the Boys on my toes since I got it. It's amazing! But today, I have Pink Plumeria from the same collection for you all:] I wasn't sure about this one when I got it, but it's really impressed me. I love the shimmer in the whole collection, it makes the formula better, I think, and adds a lot of interest!

That's 2 coats. and like I said, formula was a dream, ESPECIALLY for a neon! I can't get over how perfect this whole collection is. I can't wait to show you the rest of my picks!

Meadowlark: a Lacquistry Custom

What a week it has been in Nail World!! I explained some of the drama to my sister last night, she said it should be a TV show. If you're not up to date, here's a good post about it from The Crumpet: http://thecrumpet.blogspot.com/2012/06/lynnderella-rockafeller-week-that.html

So today I want to show you a custom polish from one of the nicest indie-polish makers out there, Lacquistry. I ordered the most amazingggg customs from her, and I can't wait to show you all! The first one I have is Meadowlark. I told Jenna I wanted a yellow, glittery, summery, fun polish and she definitely delivered.

Look at all that pretty! and that's just 2 coats:D Ugh, so happy with this, thank you Jenna!! <3

What does everyone think? Yellow and glitter isn't the most normal combination, but I just had to haha.

Matte about Summer: a Two Birds preview

Hello all!! Just to let you all know, I have a summer line coming out today on the Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/TwoBirdsOneStore at 3 pm EST. I'm going to throw a bunch of pictures at you now hahaha

American Beauty [a limited edition polish for the 4th of July]

Fly-ceratops [I love the name of this hahaha]

Just Keep Swimming [my muse was Dori]

Luck be a Lady(bug)

Pocket Full of Posies

Sour Gummy Worms

Spun Sugar

Strawberry Limeade

Those Summer Nights..

Summertime Girls

Vel-awesome-raptor [also love this name!]

What do you all think?! Special thanks to Emily, Vianna, Laura, and Sandy for the helping with the names! <3

Duochromes on Twinsie Tuesday

So I'm super dopey today.. And forgot to publish my Twinsie Tuesday post. I blame my migraine meds;] So this week, we had a pretty easy and interesting topic for TT: duochrome or metallic polish. It gave me the perfect excuse to show you one of my top 5 polishes of all time! Ludurana has some seriously stunning polishes, and I'm beyond happy to have gotten Emocionante [which means Exciting in Spanish and Portuguese]. HITS definitely has a dupe of this polish and I have that version too, but this is definitely my preferred one. While the formula has some problems with being too thin and a bit watery, it smells really good [not like polish, but like perfume], takes 2 coats where the HITS one takes 3, and the brush is way better [the HITS polishes have a history of wonky brushes]. Oh, and this wore like IRON on me. 5 days with just minimal tip wear. It was a beautiful thing haha.

Like my new nubbies? Heehee. This polish is also my go-to travel polish, since I know I love it and won't lose interest and also wears a lot better on me than my beloved glitters <3 Let's face it, glitters don't travel very well :[

Sorry again about my late post! Go take a look at all the stunning polishes my Twinsies have up today:]
Amanda at Amandalandish
Anna at Going to the Showing
Anne at Grape Fizz Nails
Ashley at Art Evolve
Brandi at The Collegiate Nail
Chelsea at Nailed Blog
ChiChi at I'm Just Me...ChiChi
Cordia at Srsly Swatched
Jenn at All That is Gorgeous...
Jenna at I'm Still Thinking...
Katherine at Haul of Fame
Marisa at Polish Obsession
Meredith at Polish and Charms
Nory at Fierce Makeup and Nails
Rachel at Top Coat It
Tara at Polishy of Truth

Zoya's Carly

Hello, lovelies:] Everyone have a good weekend? I slept in sooo long today, I was exhausted haha. Anyway, I have 2 coats of a new Zoya to show you: Carly! I really like this one, even if it doesn't exactly fit in with the rest of the collection. It dried really fast, same as most foils. I like the red base in it a lot, as well, I think it looks better with my skin than blue based purples.

This is such an interesting foil! I've never seen one quite like this before, and I really like that it's a dark and rich color. I also got the mini trio from Zoya so I can say that I LOVE Zuza and Kimber. Myrta's still a question mark in my mind, but we'll see how I feel after I wear it:] Based on them, I'm gonna have to go back for some more Zoyas!! Ohhh boy..

Nudey!

Happy Fathers' Day:] Hope your celebrations go well today! I actually just got in Girly Bits' Daddy's Little Girl, which would have been great to wear today, but I've been out of my mind busy with my church festival [which you should check out if you're in the area! Lots of good food and I'm working the pastry booth heehee: 

Anyway, here's a new favorite nude polish of mine: Fast Track from China Glaze. Disclaimer: it looks better in person than in these pictures, it's a little cleaner looking. 2 coats.

Gold shimmer.. I swear, it gets me every time.