OPI Suzi Says Da! + Dandy Nails Grave Robber

I'm ashamed to say that these pictures are from a manicure I wore waaaaay back at the beginning of last November. I guess they just kept getting pushed to the back of my un-posted folder. Nevertheless, you're finally seeing them tonight. Suzi Says Da! is one of the polishes I picked up from the OPI Russian collection (which I'm extremely enamoured with- it's an older collection from Fall 2007, but there are still a few polishes kicking around from it if you look hard enough). This is a deep red-toned brown creme. It reminds me a little of darker Chanel Rouge Noir. From what I recall, the formula was good, and I used two coats for these pictures. 

This one was taken under bright artificial light:

This was also a perfect base colour for Dandy Nails Grave Robber, a combination of metallic orange and steel-blue shredded glitter in a clear base. Very unique, and such a cool colour combination. I applied it as a gradient to the tips of my nails. I really love how this turned out, and it wore for ages. 

I'll also take this opportunity to show you a really cool bracelet I picked up last fall- it's a white "blood vessel" motif cuff that I really loved pairing with the vampy-ness of Suzi Says Da!. I purchased it from Nervous System's Etsy store. I highly recommend checking them out- they make some really amazing and unique items!

What do you think of my accessorizing? Have I piqued your interest in anything I've shown you today?

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?

Pirate Polish - The Pirate With The Golden Gun!

Have you been wishing for a more affordable way to cover your nails in luxurious flakes of real gold? Well, Pirate Polish has a (possible) solution for you! Presenting... 

The Pirate With The Golden Gun! Made with 0 karats of real gold flakes!*

But don't take our word for it. Read this user testimonial:

"If I close one eye, and kinda squint, it looks exactly like popular brand name topcoats of a similar name!" -T

Now available in the Pirate Polish Etsy store! 

*Made, in fact, with gold-coloured (read: yellow) shredded glitter. 

Well, I hope you all got as much of a chuckle out of reading that as I did writing it! If you're curious, these swatches are done over an old black label OPI (my only black label OPI, actually!) called Mrs. O'Leary's BBQ. 

Here it is by itself:

I hope you enjoyed today's post... let me know what you think of it!

Pirate Polish on Etsy
Pirate Polish on Facebook

Pirate Polish The Witching Hour over American Apparel Coney Island

This is a layering combo I've been dying to try out, and I'm glad I finally did! I love how this glitter combination looks over a stark pastel pink; it really stands out (especially the shredded metallic glitter!). I think I like it even better than the insta-galaxy nails manicure featuring The Witching Hour over OPI's Every Month Is Oktoberfest. 

What do you think of this combination? Isn't it magical? ;)

The Witching Hour is part of the Pirate Polish Halloween Collection and can be purchased via the Pirate Polish Etsy store (I do ship internationally, as well!). You can also check Pirate Polish out on Facebook.

Pirate Polish The Witching Hour (layered over OPI Every Month Is Oktoberfest)

I decided to layer The Witching Hour (from the Pirate Polish Halloween Collection) overtop of my OPI Every Month Is Oktoberfest manicure from the other day- how wicked does this look in the sun? I love how that shimmer comes out and plays with the glitter topcoat. 

In the shade:

And I couldn't resist putting a mattifying topcoat overtop of The Witching Hour; I love how it makes the glitter stand out (please ignore the tip wear this is showing at this point!).

What do you think of this combination? I'm pretty thrilled with it! Unfortunately, I can't say I'm thrilled with the weather forecast for tonight- possible chance of snow (and temperatures are already venturing into the sub zero area). Ugh. So not ready for Canadian winter.

As always, Pirate Polish is available in my Etsy store. The Witching Hour is part of the 5-piece Halloween Collection I released recently, and if you're interested in checking out swatches from the full collection, you can see them here!

Pirate Polish - Halloween Collection!

Today I'm really excited to share the Pirate Polish Halloween Collection with you! I absolutely adore Autumn and all things Halloween, and I think I've captured some of that whimsical excitement with these lacquers- I hope you like them!

Left to Right: Autumn Embers, The Witching Hour, Fangs, Trick or Treat, Zombies! 

The first one I want to introduce you to is The Witching Hour:

The Witching Hour is a magical mixture of metallic purple and turquoise shredded glitter, small magenta glitter, and medium hexagonal navy metallic glitter. The base is clear, and below you can see The Witching Hour layered over a black creme.

Just for fun, I've included some extra photos pairing spooky decorations with the bottles; I thought the purple witch's hat and skull were nice companions to The Witching Hour.

I've dubbed the next lacquer I'm going to show you "Fangs"; it contains a wide array of black, white, and metallic red glitters in various shapes including diamonds, hexagons, bars, and squares.

Most notably, the white diamonds made me think of vampire fangs. Whether you like your vampires to be of the sparkly variety, or, uh, the Eric Northman variety, this lacquer has you covered. ;) Below you can see Fangs layered over a grey creme base.

Next up is Trick or Treat, a classic Halloween mixture of orange and black. This is Halloween in a bottle.

Orange and black glitters in a wide variety of shapes and sizes swim in a clear base. Below you will see Trick or Treat layered over a plain white creme, but I think it would look amazing over a wide variety of other colours (purple, green, etc).

How cute is this next picture of a mouse with sweet treat? He looks pretty satisfied. After all, who wouldn't want a giant sparkly candy corn (not to mention awesome Halloween lacquers)?

I think this next one might be my favourite of the bunch; it makes me think of falling leaves. I've named it Autumn Embers. 

Autumn Embers is a mixture of fine metallic copper, orange holographic, and rich purple-brown glitters, with the addition of medium and large reflective copper hexagonal glitters. Below it is layered over a black creme, although it could be opaque on its own in several coats.

The warm holographic sparkle makes me think of glowing embers. Gorgeous.

The fifth and final Halloween lacquer I have to show you is called "Zombies!".

For a long time I've tried to find the perfect avocado green shade, and I think I've achieved it here. It's not too bright or clean, and leans more yellow than blue. It's just a little bit "dirty" looking. Perfect for a zombie polish! I've also added black glitters in various sizes (including tiny black squares) to the avocado green base. It's just squishy enough that you can see the layers of glitter, but it's still opaque in 2-3 coats.

What could be more appropriate for Halloween than a horde of zombies? 

...it's particularly terrifying for a couple Domos out for a walk in their Halloween costumes!

"OMG! Zombies! Run!"

Uh oh, someone can't keep up. Remember: in the event of a zombie attack, you only have to run faster than the next slowest person.

Unfortunately, this little Domo wasn't fast enough.

Even worse, he was abandoned by his Domo buddy. Tragic!

But of course, if you abandon someone in the zombie apocalypse, they'll probably find you again... as a zombie!

"Braaaains...."

I hope you enjoyed this little zombie/Domo drama. And even more, I hope you enjoyed my Pirate Polish Halloween lacquers!


The Halloween collection will be available tomorrow (Sunday) on the Pirate Polish Etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/piratepolish. All full size (15ml) polishes are priced at $10, although these five Halloween lacquers will also be sold as a set for $45. Supplies will be limited until I can determine what the demand for these will be, so if you're interested, get yours early!

You can keep up to date on Pirate Polish releases by following Pirate Polish on Facebook: http://www.etsy.com/shop/piratepolish