Rescue Beauty Lounge Aqua Lily with Pirate Polish Lovandula

After my disappointment with Rescue Beauty Lounge's Piu Mosso, I'm happy to report that Aqua Lily rather makes up for it. It's a gorgeous turquoise blue with lovely purple/pink shimmer. The formula was quite dense, covering easily in two coats. I found this shade to be really flattering on me, and I'm definitely happy I was able to snag this when it was re-released last fall. 

Aqua Lily was also the perfect base for Pirate Polish's Lovandula (a lovely lavender glitter from the Valentine's Day collection); I love the contrast between the pink and lavender glitters and the vibrant turquoise of Aqua Lily.

What do you think of Rescue Beauty Lounge's Aqua Lily? Does it make a good base for Lovandula? There are still a couple bottles on sale in the Pirate Polish Etsy store, if Lovandula is catching your eye!

Mineral Fusion - Grotto

Today I've got a new-to-me brand to share with you. Come to think of it, it might be new to a lot of you, too. I'd certainly never even heard of it before. This is Mineral Fusion's nail polish in Grotto, a muted mid-tone purple with blue shimmer. I found a display of these polishes at Superstore, and this was the only one that stood out to me; if you're planning on looking for them, look for them in the organic foods aisle (at least they weren't in with the rest of the cosmetics at the store I went to). 

Overall, application and pigmentation were fairly good. I'm not sure I'll bother picking up any other colours, but it was interesting to try something new. I also thought it would make a pretty base for Pirate Polish Lovandula, which I've been layering over everything lately.

What do you think of this combination? Have you ever come across nail polish by Mineral Fusion before?

Zoya Dove + Pirate Polish Love In A Cold Climate

Zoya Dove is a gorgeous (you guessed it) dove grey creme. Application was lovely, and it covered in two coats. I'm especially pleased with this grey because it's fairly neutral- it doesn't lean too green or too blue. It's perfect. And now it's my #1 grey creme. 

I decided to top Zoya Dove with two coats of Pirate Polish Love In A Cold Climate; all in all, I think I prefer Love In A Cold Climate layered over a dark blue, but this is still quite pretty. Mmm, blue heart-shaped glitter.

I purchased Zoya Dove from Nail Polish Canada; when I picked it up, I also nabbed the other polishes from the same collection (Zoya Intimate Collection Spring 2011). At the time, it was on sale for $36- it doesn't seem to be now, but it might be worth keeping your eye on if you're looking to pick this collection up!

Pirate Polish Love In A Cold Climate is part of my Valentine's Day Collection, currently available in the Pirate Polish Etsy shop. I'm currently away, so all orders will ship after my return this weekend, but to make up for the inconvenience I've activated a coupon code to give you a 10% discount off your order- just enter "AWAYONVACAY" as a coupon code and your order will be adjusted accordingly.

What do you think of Zoya Dove as a base for Love In A Cold Climate?

Pirate Polish Cinnamon Girl (layered over OPI Midnight in Moscow)

Tonight I have a twist on one of the shades from the Pirate Polish "Love In A Cold Climate" Valentine's Day collection. While Cinnamon Girl can be worn alone as a (very bright and intense) red jelly, as shown in my original swatches of the Pirate Polish Valentine's Day collection, it can also be layered over a darker shade to show more contrast between the red base and the multitude of red glitter. In this case, I used one coat of Cinnamon Girl layered over OPI Midnight in Moscow. 

OPI Midnight in Moscow, by itself:

Overall, I'm pretty thrilled with how this turned out; I love seeing the contrast between the base and the red glitter, in all it's varied shapes and sizes. Speaking of which, how enormous and awesome is that giant square red glitter?

Cinnamon Girl is currently in stock (along with the rest of the Valentine's Day collection) in the Pirate Polish Etsy store.

Pirate Polish "Love In A Cold Climate" collection swatches (Valentine's Day 2013)

I'm thrilled to announce the release of the Pirate Polish "Love In A Cold Climate" collection for Valentine's Day 2013! This collection is a set of four polishes, and I think there is something here for everyone. 

Left to right: Be Mine, Lovandula, Cinnamon Girl, Love In A Cold Climate 

First up is Be Mine, a soft candy pink creme peppered with fine golden accents: subtle golden flakes and tiny golden holographic sparkles. By far the most demure polish of the collection, this lacquer fits the bill if you're looking for something soft and sweet, and yet it has more going on than your standard pink pastel. Be Mine is opaque in two coats.

Lovandula is the perfect lavender glitter bomb; tiny purple holographic glitter, bubblegum pink hexagonal glitter, an abundance of diamond-shaped lavender glitter, and large silver holographic hex glitter. For such a cute looking polish, this lacquer definitely packs a big holographic punch. Lovandula is shown below, two coats over a purple creme.

Lovandula also conveniently doubles as a disco ball, in case of impromptu Valentine's Day dance parties...

Cinnamon Girl is a scorchingly bright red jelly, teeming with red glitter in every imaginable shape and size. It also features tiny silver holo glitter, which adds extra depth and sparkle. I really love the idea of red-on-red when it comes to combining a red jelly with red glitters. While opaque by itself in three coats, this polish can also be layered over a dark vampy shade to bring out more contrast between the base colour and the red glitter. I'll be sure to show you swatches of what Cinnamon Girl looks like layered in the coming days.

Love In A Cold Climate is this collection's namesake, and is notable for its abundance of icy blue and white hearts. It also contains a wide range of bright blue and snowy white glitters in various shapes and sizes, as well as tiny iridescent blue square glitters. Here I've shown two coats of Love In A Cold Climate over a deep blue creme.

I'm happy to announce that this collection will also be available in miniatures. The set of four minis is priced at $18 ($5 individually), while the set of four full-size polishes costs $36 ($10 individually). 

These polishes are currently in stock at the Pirate Polish Etsy store, and are limited edition for Valentine's Day. For more information, and to stay up to date on new releases, check Pirate Polish out on Facebook.

What do you think of these sweet offerings for Valentine's Day? Are you feeling the love?

A few festive Pirate Polish manicures!

I'm getting into the Christmas mood (Christmas music, baking cookies, wrapping presents...), and I wanted to share a few festive manicures I've done lately using some of the Pirate Polish Holiday Collection lacquers. 

Joyeux Noel, layered over a silver foil (Sally Hansen Celeb City); this one is a strong candidate for official Christmas Day manicure.

Holiday Glow, layered over Essie No More Film (which is my go-to for layering lately- it's perfect in just one coat). I love how rich and luxurious this looks.

And finally, Christmas Tree In Blue; it makes me think of snowy blue Christmas trees. A nice image!

And that's what I've got to share with you today, along with a reminder that December 10 is the last day to place an order destined for the US or Canada that will (likely) arrive before Christmas Day. So if anyone is looking to order some Christmas polishes, check the Pirate Polish Etsy shop out soon! As always, you can also find Pirate Polish on Facebook.

Thanks for looking, and happy holidays!

Pirate Polish Holiday 2012 Collection Swatches!

Tomorrow I'll be releasing the Pirate Polish Holiday 2012 Collection! Here's a sneak peek:

Left to Right: Holiday Glow, Joyeux Noël, Sugar Cookies, Christmas Lights, Christmas Tree In Blue

Sugar Cookies is a creamy white polish with multicoloured pastel glitters in various shapes and sizes. For me, the quintessential holiday treats are the sugar cookies my grandmother used to bake. Here I've tried to replicate the slightly golden hue of white sugar cookies fresh out of the oven; this isn't a stark white, it's very soft and warm, with some yellow in it.

I've had this fantastic metallic blue tinsel glitter in my stash of supplies for some time now. It reminded me instantly of the blue pine needles of a faux blue Christmas tree. I feel like coloured trees went through a phase of popularity back in the day- does anyone else recall this phenomenon? This is my Christmas Tree In Blue, a mixture of metallic blue glitters, silver hexagonal glitter, fine holographic blue glitter, and different sizes and shapes of white glitter. The overall effect is very snowy, icy, and glitzy. Below I've swatched it over a grey-beige shade.

Holiday Glow is a luxurious mixture of superfine copper and gold flakes, as well as a smattering of gold holographic glitters. It's a luminous combination that reminds me of candlelight. Below it is pictured on it's own, but it could also be layered to create an interesting effect.

Joyeux Noël is a perfect Christmas polish- red and green metallic glitters in a multitude of different sizes, along with a smattering of gold holographic hexagonal glitter. Very festive! Below it is swatched over a forest green creme. 

I wanted to create a lacquer reminiscent of Christmas Lights at night- this is my take on that theme. A deep grape purple jelly containing multicoloured matte hexagonal glitters, small twinkling silver holographic glitter, and large metallic purple glitters. Below it is shown over a dark purple creme (Illamasqua Baptiste).

I'm also pleased to be offering minis for the first time! They will be available individually for $5, and as a set for $22. The regular size bottles are priced at $10 each, and are available as a full set for $45.

This collection will be available tomorrow in the Pirate Polish Etsy shop. You can also follow updates by checking Pirate Polish out on Facebook.

What do you think of my Pirate Polish Holiday collection? Is anything catching your eye?