Legion Lacquer: Winter/Holiday collection

Hi guys!  Are your days as hectic as mine seem to be now that the holidays have descended upon us?  I have really been struggling to keep my blog updated like I want but I am determined to make time for it.  So in the next couple weeks, I'm going to be playing catch up with some collections that I've swatched.

If you don't already know about Legion Lacquer, it's time to change that!  I don't think I've seen another indie brand charge out of the gates as strongly as these ladies have.  I am the proud owner of about a dozen LL polishes and I love every single one of them!  The attention to detail is pretty amazing.

With His Nose So Bright

With His Nose So Bright was not my favorite of the group when I unwrapped this collection.  However, on the nails...it's pretty freaking awesome!  This is Rudolph in a bottle and the shimmer in the base is to die for.  The brown base is perfect with a mix black and green glitter finished off with large red circles that make this so fun.  

WinterMint

WinterMint is a glitter topper filled with a mix of white, green, and silver glitter of various shapes and sizes with green shimmer.  This is one coat dabbed over Sally Hansen Mint Sorbet.  I didn't have to fish for any of the glitters, even the gorgeous holo hearts!  Perfect for winter and would make a great St. Patrick's Day polish as well. 

LL Holiday Blend

Next up is LL Holiday Blend, a glitter bomb with green, red, gold and iridescent glitter of various shapes and sizes with gold flakies and green shimmer.  I've used this over Essie Forever Young.  Again, no fishing or digging out glitters needed from this gorgeous blend. 

Snow Miser 

As part of a duo, this is Snow Miser, a baby blue crelly with a mix of white, silver, and blue glitters of various shapes, sizes and finishes, and snow white flakies and micro holo glitter.  If you love blue, then you need this polish!  This was so easy to apply and was opaque in two coats and topcoat.  It's available on it's own or as a set with Heat Miser.

Heat Miser

And this beauty is Heat Miser, a bright red crelly with gold holo glitter, gold flakies and red and gold shimmer.  My pictures do it no justice so trust me when I say you'll want this one.  The shimmer and holo sparkle is absolutely stunning.  This is two coats with topcoat.  As mentioned, this is part of a duo with Snow Miser or available on it's own. 

Royals

Lastly, this is Royals, not part of the holiday collection but the LL girls were kind enough to send this to me for swatching.  I am so happy to own this gorgeousness in a bottle!  It's a mix of purple, pink, and gold holo glitter of various shapes and sizes with purple shimmer in a clear base.  I used one dabbed coat over eighty4 C.R.E.A.M. and had no issues with any of the larger glitters.  I wanted to catch an Instavid to show off the holo sparkle but there was no sun for me the next day.  I received so many complements while wearing this!

All of these are still available for purchase from Legion Lacquer's store so if you haven't already purchased any of these amazing polishes, there's still time.  Be sure to follow Legion Lacquer here on Instagram so you don't miss out on new releases, one coming very soon for Valentine's Day so stay tuned for that!

*Products in this post were provided to me for review 

Different Dimension: Happy Holly Days

Hi everyone!  I am so glad to be able to actually sit down and take a moment to write a blog entry!  As I'm sure everyone has been, I have been so busy the last few weeks with the holidays, and two of my daughters had birthdays in the same week so it's been extremely hectic in my house.  Not to mention, it seems I was flooded with swatch requests all at one time so my nights were filled with polish and acetone fumes with no time to write!  Trust me, I'm not complaining.  I am so thankful to be able to do something I completely love in my free time.

So, better late than never, I have the GORGEOUS Happy Holly Days collection from Different Dimension.  I'm going to be 100% honest, I had never tried the brand before.  I do own several of Missi's polishes but sadly they are still in my untrieds pile.  This is not intentional, but only as a result of being a complete polish hoarder with too little time to paint!  So on a whim, I submitted a blogger/swatcher application and was absolutely floored when I was selected.  I hope you guys enjoy my swatches as much as I love these polishes!

Mistle-Toad

First up is Mistle-Toad, a green linear holographic with a subtle duochrome of pink shimmer.  Dead.  I couldn't believe how gorgeous this transferred to the nails and is seriously my new favorite green.  This is two perfect coats and topcoat.  Went on like buttah.

Can We Carol On

Next is Can We Carol On, a creamy light dusty lavender holo with blue shimmer.  Another absolute stunner.  As I'm sure you can imagine, the holo is much stronger in sunlight and was just a perfect formula.  Two smooth coats used here and topcoat. 

Load of Baubles

If you are looking for a perfect baby pink, then you need Load of Baubles!  She dries matte with an unbelievable blue shimmer.  I did use topcoat simply to bring out the shimmer even more so but I have to say this was the best formula matte I've ever used.  It doesn't dry chalky like so many do, more like a matte satin finish.  It is a little on the sheer side so I used three thin coats to achieve this level of opacity.  I felt so girly and pretty with this on!

That's Snow Joke

That's Snow Joke is in a clear base with silvery blue shimmer with blue, white, and silver holo glitters in a mixture of sizes and shapes.  This is one dabbed coat over Can We Carol On for a really icy look!  I didn't have any issues with sinking glitter but I seem to recall needing to place the larger circles just beucase I'm really OCD and need to have uniformity.  Also, I realize my skin tone looks crazy here but I'm working on my lighting situation and did slightly edit the picture just to get the polish true to life.

Why Am I Such a Misfit

This one stopped me in my tracks when I was unwrapping this collection.  Why Am I Such a Misfit is such a fun and unique polish for Christmas with its neon and pastel glitters in all shapes and sizes.  I always buy wrapping paper in these colors for my girls' presents and I would love to one day buy all new tree ornaments and really go for something non-traditional like this.  Since it's pretty sheer on it's own and my nails are ridiculously stained I decided to layer it over Load of Baubles.  I did see several other swatchers like @mrslochness that did swatch it on its own and I would prefer it that way but I couldn't make it work for me.  I can't wait to try it over more shades for versatile looks.

I Only Have Ice For You

If I could only choose one holo topper for the rest of my days, I Only Have Ice For You would win hands down.  This is unlike anything I've ever seen before and just blew me away.  This has not only a linear holo effect but also includes sterling silver micro flakies.  What?!  Of course I had to try it over purple so this is American Apparel Violet Panache.  I'm fairly certain this has since sold out and I'm really kicking myself for not getting a back up bottle so I'm going to have to ration this one out!

Christmahanakwanzika

I just love the name of this polish!  So that no holiday was left out, Missi threw them all together in one polish!  This is Christmahanakwanzika, a glitter topper full of red, yellow, blue, green, black and gold glitters, and I used one dabbed coat over a red base.

You're Not Making Any Frankincense

You're Not Making Any Frankincense is such a pretty topper filled with gold and silver holo circles, and hex and square glitters.  I went with gold as my base but would look good over so many other colors.  I just love circle glitter so this was definitely a fave of mine for this collection.

This is Not Fir

I think this may be my favorite of the collection!  This is Not Fir is such a perfect, squishy green jelly filled with silver and green circles, squares, and hexes.  I used two coats over a similar green base but it can also build up on it's own in several coats.  It's just such a perfect holiday green!  Glitters came out easily and I used two coats of topcoat to perfectly smooth out.

Don't Be the Santa of Everything

Let me just apologize in advance if you don't care for the shade of green I used as my undie.  I was informed by friends the day after I posted this collection to my Instagram account that this was a horrible pea green.  I guess I didn't see it that way but please don't let my swatch keep you away from this polish; it's the perfect Christmas topper!  Don't Be the Santa of Everything is a topper full of red and green circles and hexes of different sizes.  I would probably use this again over black to really make the colors pop.  It really is Christmas in a bottle! 

Tinselitis

Tinselitis is a glitter topper filled with silver holo glitters with a strong, gorgeous silver shimmer.  I used one coat over Orly Snowcone.  Just look at that bottle shot, serious holo glitter porn!  

The Happy Holly Days is just an amazing collection overall.  I discovered one bad thing about swatching these polishes:  having to take them off to swatch the next one!  I truly wanted to wear each one for days at a time. As I mentioned before, I am so late in blogging this so I'm sure there are several of these that have sold out at this point.  However, ALL her polishes are definitely hoarding worthy and I'm sure you'll find something you have to have.  You can purchase Different Dimension at her Etsy shop, and follow her on several social media sites, including Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.  

Novel Nail Polish

Happy Monday, guys!  I hope everyone is having a fabulous long weekend.  I took advantage of the sales today and went shopping with my mother-in-law.  My girls racked up and I only managed to get myself a shirt.  I didn't even go into Ulta to look at polish since my good friend Blanca (IG @lacquermeup) and I are on a competitive no-buy at the moment.  We've both nearly cracked, but I got this!  I keep telling myself I have hundreds of untrieds to keep me occupied but it's just too tempting with all these sales.  I tried explaning to a coworker recently why Blanca and I are constantly buying indie polishes, that most brands only make a certain amount and once they're gone, they're gone.  Civilians just don't get it, though.  ;)

The polishes I have on the blog today come from Novel Nail Polish.  Creator Monica Cantu is a school librarian and bases her collections on the books she's read and comes across during her day job.  I was lucky enough to get to swatch her Game of Thrones collection, ten gorgeous thermals.  This was my first experience with thermals and I can now say I'm a huge fan!  If you're wanting the look of a gradient without all the work, you should definitely try a thermal.  It's pretty cool looking down at your hands throughout the day and seeing what transistion your nails might be in.  I alternate being hot and cold in my office at work so it was fun seeing the changes.

 

First up is Eyes of Wight, inspired by the terrifyingly glowing blue eyes of the white walkers.  This is the perfect shade of light blue when warm, and turns to a darker teal color when cold, and as you can see here it glows in the dark.  This was also my first time with a GITD polish and it caught me off guard that night as I was going to bed!  This dries with a slightly gritty texture but is stunning with topcoat, with gorgeous silver shimmer. 
 

Next is Children of the Forest, a nude color when warm that changes to a taupe shade when cold.  This is full of hex glitters in perfectly complimentary shades like gold, brown, and teal green colors.  I needed two coats of polish which dried matte and topped this off with two coats of topcoat.
 

 

This is Daggers in the Dark, a pewter color when warm that changes to a lovely light plum color when cold.  I absolutely fell in love with this polish.  It dries to a brushed metallic finish and looks amazing with topcoat.  I used two coats of the polish.
 

 

Next in line is Not Today, from one of my favorite lines of the series.  I love the depth of this polish, which has a ton of tiny sparkle that I could not capture.  A macro lens is definitely next in line for me!  When warm, this is a very sheer shade that includes black glitters, and micro glitters in shades of brown, gray, and black.  I love it most when it's cold and becomes a black color but you still get all the gorgeous glitters.
 



This next polish, Hands of Gold are Always Cold, is a perfect fall shade of...gold!  When warm, it's a lovely gold metallic shade that becomes a darker broze color when cold.  Two coats needed for full opacity and topcoat needed to smooth it out.
 

Winds of Winter is a light blue color when warm, that changes to a darker shade of blue, almost periwinkle.  I did need two coats of topcoat to smooth down the larger glitters as these seemed to curl very slightly. 
 

Summerhall's Shadow is a light blue/grey when warm that becomes lavender when cold.  This is similar to Eyes of Wight, and dries with a shimmery finish.  Two coats of polish and a coat of topcoat.
 

This one is my absolute favorite!  This is Dark and Full of Terrors, a bright berry red when warm, that goes to a deep blood red, almost black when cold.  This is a gorgeous jelly full of red and black glitters.  This one has the most dramatic transition and I didn't want to take it off!  I needed two coats of polish and two coats of topcoat to smooth it out.
 

I really liked the look of this one in both states.  This is The North Remembers, a sheer shimmery nude when warm that becomes a pretty bright red when cold.  Please excuse my stained nails, which you can really see here.  I considered using an undie but I actually liked the affect the shimmer had on my nails.  This is two coats of polish and one coat of topcoat.

For the grand finale, I have Dragons Trump Everything.  This one is quite different from the rest of the collection, with the amount of glitters in all shapes and sizes.  As you can see, the warm state is a very sheer light purple, made up of BEAUTIFUL irridescent shimmer that turns a bright red toned purple when cold.  The glitters in this one include shades of purple, pink and silver in different shapes of hex, square, circles and stars.  I did have to fish a little for the stars but they were easy enough to retrieve.

 

Overall, this is an amazing collection of thermals.  The quality of these are amazing and I had no issues with application.  I love the range of transistions, from subtle to dramatic.  I enjoyed the GOT references and I'm so ready for the next season!  Be sure to follow Novel Nail Polish on Instagram (@novelnailpolish) and visit her Etsy shop for pricing and availability.

*Products in this post were provided for review