Catrice King of Greens and Heavy Metallilac

Happy Caturday! 

  So I have this awesome swap buddy in The Netherlands named Sharon. She's been a loyal LTHP Facebooker for a while now and she pretty much rocks. All I can say is she knows my taste well! I gave her complete freedom in what to send my way. I wanted a "sampling" of The Netherland's prettiest polishes. Sharon definitely delivered! She sent a small mountain of amazing polishes my way. Among that epic pile of color were these Two stunners by Catrice. 

Catrice King of Greens

 This is King of Greens. The name is perfect for this color. For some reason this particular tone of Green reminds me of American money, shimmery money lol. The shimmer in this polish is crazy amazing. I usually save this description for my rich shimmery Reds but King of Greens really does glow. The micro shimmer reflects light beautifully in this polish. I love that while vivid it is not an "in- your-face" shade of Green. It is very sophisticated and eye catching at the same time. The formula is very saturated with color and shimmer. This could have almost been a one coater but I did Two to get an extra smooth and glassy surface.

Catrice Heavy Metallilac

  I'm literaly sitting here trying to type about this color and I keep getting distracted by the pictures and wishing I was wearing this right now. Heavy Metallilac is an AMAZING Amethyst toned Purple shimmer with metallic Pinky-Lilac flashes throughout. Once again this color GLOWS and I mean that.  I have not loved a Purple shade this much since O.P.I Plugged in Plum. This color is just electric! The second I started applying this my jaw pretty much dropped at it's beauty. The formula is flawless and could do with One coat but I did Two.

 Sharon really hit the nail on the head when she picked these out for me. They are seriously STUNNING! Can you believe that in Europe this is a "normal" brand?! Lucky bishes loool! Catrice makes stuning shades with fantastic formulas and I am so happy to finally have some in my collection, I never thought I would. I love international polishes. So cool to see what is trendy in other places.

Thoughts?

Some Butter London Swatches

Friday, fryday... 

  Today I have Three Butter London picks to show you guys. I've seriously become a huge fan of this brand very quickly. ANNNNND I finally got to kill a leming of mine. That doesn't happen very often. Mainly because I don't often catch "the lemmings", but for All Hail the Queen I made an exception.

To see these swatches continue reading.

Etsy Mania! Some Picks from Lush Lacquer

Hey it's Thursday! 

  Today I have some picks from Etsy Shop: Lush Lacquer. This shop is ran by a mom and daughter team and they have some beautiful and unique creations. They are really good at keeping up with their stock and they are constantly expanding their line. These are my Three picks!

To see these swatches just continue reading!

Nails Inc. Black Taxi and Princess Arcade- Nail Jewelry

Humpday is here and I'm in Pink...

  Sort of.. Anywho, I recently got to try some of Nails Inc. London's newer releases and I'm really pleased with what I received. Among my pretties were Princess Arcade and Black Taxi. It only made sense to pair them.

 I'm really feeling the index and middle fingernail accents. Layering Princess Arcade over Black really intensified the effect of the beautiful Magenta glitter blend. Princess Arcade has such depth and it makes for some beautiful gradients. The formula on Princess Arcade is slightly thick but manageable. I layered Two-ish coats of the glitter over Black creme. Nail- jewelry is right!

Here is my base color Black Taxi.

 This you see here is just ONE coat of polish. The formula on this was a little thick but easy enough to work with. Besides, they had me at "one-coat- Black".

So I'm really loving my new Nails Inc additions. Nails Inc is available at Sephora stores. 

Thoughts?

(**Nails Inc Products provided for review**)

Nails Inc. Floral Street and Kings Cross Crackle

Good evening all!

  I know crackle polishes just became a "thing" again just last year, but doesn't wearing a crackle feel old school now? Nail trends come and go crazy fast don't they? Nails Inc. recently sent me one of their new Special Effects Crackle polishes to try along with a lovely White creme so I paired them for an eye catching look. 

 Kings Cross is a vivid neon Orange crackle. The formula on this crackle is the best I've ever come across. It applies like a jelly and you can really have a play on crackle textures. Meaning, the formula on this allows for thinner or thicker application for thinner or thicker cracks. It is very easy to work with.
  As you can see Kings Cross breaks up great and smooth. I hate when crackles get "lumpy" and you end up needing 17 coats of top coat to smooth it out. Kings Cross gets an shiny squishy texture once top coated and it looks awesome. The only downside is that I don't know how many colors this crackle would look good over since it's slightly sheer.

Here is my base color Nails Inc Floral Street. The name threw me off lol :D.

 This polish was such a pleasant surprise. The formula on this color is so smooth, even and perfectly pigmented. This is not a very bright White. This is a "soft" White. The formula is not a jelly creme but it applies like such. This you see here is just Two effortless coats of Floral Street. This might just be my new favorite White creme.

If you like shatters but have had issues with formulas I suggest checking these crackles by Nails Inc. Out. Nails Inc. polishes are available at Sephora.

Thoughts on neon shatter? I kinda love it. 

(**Nails Inc products sent for review**)

A Quick Swatch and a Huge Thanks

Hi lovely readers,

  When I was typing up yesterday's post I never expected to get the reaction I did from you guys. I want to tell you all from the very bottom of my heart how much your kind words mean to me. Your support and your stories really touched me. I received so many emails from so many of you with the nicest comments ever and I could not help but to feel better. How could I not? To know so many people care in your own way is an overwhelming feeling. You all remind me why I stay strong and why I fight every day. Yesterday's feedback reminded me why it is that I do what I do for this blog. All the hard work that sometimes feels like too much is really worth it.
  Yesterday was a particularly rough day and I felt like it was finally time for you guys to know me as I really am and not just my nails (and now eyes). I feel like by opening up to my readers about my struggles it actually took so much pressure off my shoulders. As silly as it may sound blogging about nail polish really does make me feel good about myself. I take a lot of pride in my blog. So many of you told me that coming here brings a little bit of joy to your day. Who am I to take that away from you guys? A lot of you shared your very own struggles to let me know I am not alone and I could not appreciate that more. We all know we are not alone but it can really feel that way when you are struggling with depression. You all have my deepest most heartfelt gratitude for being so supportive. To me... A total stranger. You guys may not realize it but your words really do mean so much to me. I urge any and all of my readers who are struggling with depression and anxiety to please talk to someone about it. A friend, a relative, your doctor.... Your entire blog following... Someone! Please don't hold anything in because IT DOES NOT HELP!

  With that in mind I've decided to show you guys a swatch of a recent CVS purchase. Green is the color of depression awareness, it only seemed fitting that I post this beautiful polish today.

 This is Sally Hansen Electric Emerald. This color comes from SH's magnetic polish line. This is probably my most beautiful magnetic polish. I have ICING's Green magnetic but that one leans much more Golden. I love this one because it is a true Emerald Green. The magnetic effect creates waves in a lighter Green. For this manicure I applied one coat of color and on the Second pass I used the magnet. This color has a great formula and it pretty much applies itself. Big win for me.

  Thank you all so much! Tomorrow is Mr. LTHP's B-day so we will be out and about celebrating and having a good time. Repti-Con is in Tampa this weekend and we love to see all the awesome reptiles they bring to these shows. I decided I will be taking a little break but I will be doing some scheduled posts since I have SO MUCH material to show you guys. It will be a little mental vacation. I will be seeing my doctor soon and start incorporating some form of exercise into my daily routine. I have a lot to stay well for...

  So again I say.. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for your kindness and your advice and your loving words. I don't think I will ever be able to communicate to you all how much this all means to me.

Bettina Fiori Collection Swatches

It's Friday....

  But it doesn't much feel like one.... I've been having a rough week. I know it's usually all farts and Sunshine around here but... Truth? I struggle with depression and anxiety. There's days, sometimes weeks, where just the thought getting out of bed makes me want to curl up and disappear. I know I've never opened up about this before because I didn't even know how to approach it or put it out there. It needed to be addressed.... I am a ball of insecurity and awkwardness. I constantly shut down because it is easier than trying to be happy. I don't really have many friends and that is just fine.
  I present myself to be a very happy person but ultimately I am very insecure and indifferent towards most things. If I have no expectations, I can't be disappointed (I realize that's not a healthy way of thinking). I started blogging as a way to focus my energy on something positive and that I enjoy. The past few weeks have been nothing short of an emotional roller coaster from Hell and I can't shake this bad funk I am in.... "Funk" doesn't even sound like the right word at this point... Most of the time I find myself trying to force "it". What is "it"? Well... Everything... I don't want to quit blogging but I constantly find myself reassessing my dedication. I'm in a dark place and I might need a break... I hate to put this out there but it was eating away at me and not entirely helping my situation.

  That being said here are swatches of Bettina's Fiori Collection. A huge thanks for my friend Wanda for  sending these my way!

 Continue reading to see close ups.

My Picks from the Orly Flash Glam FX Collection

Happy Thursday!!

  First off! Thank you all so much for the sweet and encouraging feedback on yesterday's post! You guys are so nice! I think I will continue to do make-up features here and there since you guys were so receptive to the idea of my branching out. Thank you!!!

 Today I have Six eye-popping glitters from the Orly Flash Glam FX Collection. I picked these up a few weeks back while at Premiere Orlando 2012. While there I met up with some of my gals from the Central FL Beauty Blogger group I belong to. The second I found the group among the sea of people the first thing Courtney said to me was "You HAVE to see these Orly glitters". Needless to say she had me at "glitter". 

  I obliged, pretty much immediately, and we practically skipped to the Orly booth where an array of amazingly flashy glitters were waiting to be inspected by me! Narrowing it down to Six would prove to be quite the challenge....

You know you totally wanna see some close-ups of these! Just continue reading :D! 

Sation Class of Sation Press Release

Hi Loves!!

  Please enjoy the following press release from the lovelies at Miss Pro Nail- Sation.

Class of Sation is Now in Session

 Miss Professional Nail (Miss) announces the launch of its Limited II collection, Class of Sation, an exclusive line of nail lacquers available in June 2012. Inspired by new beginnings and rite-of- passage experiences, the 24-color collection captures the déjà vu of high school nostalgia with a fun, modern twist on yearbook superlatives and familiar clichés. Class of Sation offers a reminiscent revival of years past or a whimsical fast-forward into the future, where anything is possible and dreams are as boundless as the glory days of summer.

 Miss rallies its school spirit with Sation’s all-star lineup, including Most Hue-nique, Tardy Tart, Kiss My A’s and Most Likely to Not Chip, a winning team of vibrant creams and unique glitters that bring together the ultimate lacquer combination. The glitters, some which feature holographic effects, will be sold at slightly higher price points.

  I SERIOUSLY LOVE the theme of this collection. The names are priceless and the uniqueness of these shades is seriously just awesome. I've received Six colors from this great collection to show you guys. I seriously cannot wait to swatch them because I just know you guys will LOVE them!!

All Miss products are formaldehyde, toluene and dibutyl-phthalate (DBP) free. Find Class of Sation, California Gleamin' and Sation Classic nail lacquer collections in professional beauty supplies, salons and online at www.misspn.com.

LTHP Dabbles! My very first #EOTD Post!

Trying new things is always exciting... 

  Exciting and unnerving! I've been working up the courage to post this for a while.... For some months now I had been toying with the idea of featuring more than just nails on LTHP. Now, I know this blog is called Let them have Polish and all but... I'm a girl, and this girl also loves make-up! Make-up and I had a little fight and we stopped talking for a while but that has changed now. I was intimidated by make-up and color but blogging and being exposed to so many talented ladies left me wanting to give make-up a second chance!

  With the encouragement of some lovely ladies in my beauty blog networking groups I started playing with my eye make-up and taking pictures. I'm not great at make-up but that being said... Remember when I first started blogging? I had no idea what I was doing then either so I'm hoping with time and practice my make-up skills will improve as well as my picture taking. Just like I did with my nails. So... Yeah! Here's my first Eye of the day(s) post!

 These are all looks that were done early in the morning right before work. I've been thinking of calling this little experiment " Make-up for the working girl". These are VERY basic looks. I always see AMAZING stuff from makeup gurus like Vintage or Tacky, Nikkietutorials and my awesome friend Miss Phyrra so I figured I could feature some "basic" make up for those of us who are still learning :D...

More Picks from Sation's California Gleamin' Collection

Happy Tuesday!!!

  Today we are going back to some Summer shades by Sation. These six pretties come from the California Gleamin' LE collection. So... Can you guys tell I'm on a yellow kick? 

To see swatches of these awesome shades just keep on reading.

Sation Little Horse on the Prairie Collection Swatches

Good morning!

  Today I have the First Fall collection to make its way to me this year. This is Little Horse on the Prairie by Sation. This collection is made up of six classically beautiful cremes. I must say that in the midst of all the Spring shimmer and the neon Summer madness, the indie glitter craze.... I was actually craving a nice creme collection. Little Horse on the Prairie could not have come at a better time! I know Summer is just gettin here and I shall be rocking the crap out of my neons but I'm looking forward to a nice, creamy Fall!

To see swatches of these beauties just keep on reading :D!

Hungry? Have a *Jelly* Sandwich!

Hey it's Sunday!!

  Why blab when there are awesome glitter- jelly sandwiches to be seen!!! 

Continue reading to see some awesome sammies!

Etsy Mania!! Rockstar Nails With Love

Happy Caturday! 

  Today I have a cute polish by indie brand: Rockstar Nails. Shop owner Erika contacted me some weeks ago about reviewing one of her petties. She chose to send With Love my way. I had been checking this polish out for some time so when she contacted me I jumped on it! 

 For this edgy look I started with Three coats of Sation Let's make Lemonade. I had every intention of just wearing my neon Yellow nails but when I saw the bottle of With Love it was begging to be paired with my bright neon base. With Love is a blend of Black Hexes, Red hearts and large White Hearts. This is not the easiest polish in the world to work with. For this I did apply it like one would normally apply any other polish and you can see I had some trouble with the pieces wanting to stay in place or  get on the brush in the first place.
  The nice thing about this bottle is that it has a nice long brush and BIG neck opening that you can use to kind of "stir" the hearts around in the bottle. I think next time I play with this I will be picking out the bits with an orange stick and placing them. I was getting these little "ghost bits" of Black stuff(see ring finger), not sure what the deal is with those. They were coming from the clear base so I'm not sure if the Black hexes are shedding or something. Doing the "picking and placing" method with this polish would eliminate the Black bits which fixes that issue.

 As much as it might sound like I dislike this, I actually really like it a lot. I'm not feeling those random Black bits that look like smudges but I love everything else about it. I seriously LOVE the huge White hearts. She also didn't skimp on the red hearts and Black hexes. Shaped glitters are just hard to get on the brush, period. I really can't wait to play with this some more. Heart glitters are just SO cute!

Thoughts?

(**Products provided for review**)

Enchanted Polish Swatch Spam

Hi hello and happy Friday!!

  Today I have the last few swatches I had left to show you from Enchanted Polish's amazing holographic glitters selection. These Six beauties are just spectacular, eye catching and just fun all around. Enchanted Polish really has Holographic polishes down to an art!

To see swatches of these beauties just keep on reading!

Indie Mania!! 365 Days of Color Swatches

 Hi loves!!

  Today I have some swatches from the indie brand 365 Days of Color. Not long ago I had the opportunity to pick my Four favorites and these are the pretties I went with. Her creations are very cute and different. I love her use of shard glitters in her blends. I also noticed that she expanded her line to include scented cuticle balms which I am curious to try myself.

To see swatches of the cute creations just continue reading.

Wet 'n' Wild Megalast Nail Color Swatches

Happy Hump-Day!!

  Today I have some swatches of some new releases by Wet 'n' Wild. These three pretties come from their Megalast Salon Nail Color Collection. Wet 'n' Wild was very generous to the Beauty Bloggers of Central Florida. They sent each girl Four different nail colors, Three eye shadow palettes and a gel eye liner. I've been seriously LOVING my new Wet 'n' Wild products. 

  I've been loving their shadow palettes so much that I went on a huge bender the other day and I got, just about, every Three pan and Eight pan palette they have. So, back to the nail color. These Three are great cremes with amazing formulas and the brush... I'll go on about the brush some...

To see swatches of these Three beautiful colors just continue reading.

Deborah Lippmann Ray of Light and Sweet Dreams

Good Morning!!

  Today I have a combination that I ended up loving a whole lot more than I expected. I was gifted these Two Debora Lippmann polishes last Saturday at our Neiman Marcus breakfast. I won't go on a whole lot because I am crazy busy today but these pictures do all the speaking! 

 I am wearing Ray of Light with accents of Sweet Dreams. These are both jelly based polishes packed full of Coppery flakies that shift to Red to Gold to Green/Blue. I love the inky tone of the base color in Ray of Light. Sweet Dreams is exactly that... A sweet dream. When I say I couldn't stop staring at my hands I really mean it. These have a slightly thick formula but nothing too problematic. I did Two coats of each color.

 How stunning are these?! Those flakies... MMmmmmm!!! I topped these off with a coat of Cult Nails Wicked Fast top coat and I still stand by my claim of it being my new favorite top coat. Dried faster than Seche Vite, it is not goopy and IT DOES NOT SHRINK!!! I usually have an issue with jelly based polishes shrinking on me but Wicked Fast did not cause that to happen!! Oh happy day!!

Thoughts?

(**DL polishes gifted by Neiman Marcus Millenia**)

Catrice Birdie Reloaded! and Blue Cara Ciao Gradient Love!

It's Monday!!! 

  And Muffin misses you guys very much! I promise she will be back soon. Mommy LTHP just has to get her shiz straight lool! Today I have a cool gradient I did using my very first Catrice polishes. Very recently I did a swap with an amazing woman from The Netherlands and she sent me small mountain of Dutch polishes :D! I returned the favor with some awesome glittery goodness and some Bettina. 

  Within that mountain of polish were Catrice's Birdie Reloaded and Blue Cara Ciao. I could not decided which one I wanted to wear more so I went with both in gradient form. 

 I started with Birdie Reloaded! as my base color on all Ten nails. For this gradient I used the same method I posted a tutorial for the other day. I love how doing a gradient with primaries makes it look like you used Three colors. After I was done I was wishing I had done the Blue on the tips instead. See? Having the Blue towards the cuticle gave me a slight case of the Smurf hands. I did manage to clean it up nicely but still.... I think the gradient looks kinda cool flipped with the "lighter" color towards the free edge of the nails.

  I actually got lots of complements on these.... And I still thing my gradient work needs WORK lol. I topped this all off with Cult Nails Wicked Fast. Never in a million years did I think I'd love a top coat more than Seche Vite but Wicked Fast just took that title! Seriously guys!! If you have not yet or have been skeptical about trying it... STOP WAITING and try it! You will not regret Wicked Fast!

Here is a swatch of Birdie Reloaded!. These are my very first experience with Catrice polishes and I can honestly say I am super happy girl.

 Birdie Reloaded! is considered to be a  dupe of Chanel Mimosa. This is a beautiful shade of Sunny Yellow with amazing Yellow/ Golden shimmer. The formula on this color was a very pleasant surprise. When Mimosa came out a lot of people were let down by the poor quality of the formula so I was worried that a similar color would suffer the same issues. My worries were for nothing. This color has a very creamy, even and smooth formula an is perfect in Two easy coats. This particular color has a wide brush and I got it to cover my entire nail in one stroke. LOOOVE!

A HUGE thanks to Sharon D. for sending all these beauties my way!!! These colors are s bright and happy all I wanna do is nail art! Sharon definitelly prepped me for the Summer!

Thoughts?

Frankens by Polish for Thought

Happy Sunday!!

  Today I have Four lovely frankens that were sent to me by Nicole of Polish for Thought. She sent me some pretty cute creations and left the task of naming them up to me, which was a lot of fun. She wanted me to be "punny" and funny with the names so I did my best to try and live up to her expectations since she gave me awesome colors to work with :D! 

 To see swatches of these pretty frankens just keep on reading :D!

China Glaze Summer Neons 2012 Swactches

Happy Caturday!!!!

  Finally! The day has come where I show you guys my swatches of the China Glaze Summer Neons. This was easily one of my most anticipated collections of the year. I was never one for neons and all of a sudden something snapped and I wanted ALLL things neon. This collection blew my away instantly. I've been showing you guys some nail art looks with these in the past few weeks. These are SO much fun to play with. 

  As promised! Here are my swatches!! 

 To see swatches of the China Glaze Summer Neons 2012 Continue Reading.

Sation Glittery Nail Art

Good Morning!!

  Today I have a pretty and SUPER sparkly manicure. For today's look I tried something I learned this weekend while at Premiere Orlando. This technique came from the CND and The Blonds Mainstage show. While I was at Premiere I was on a quest for nail art supplies. I wanted more stuff like freehand brushes, different shaped rhinestones and loose glitters.
  At this point I'm not even sure what booth I got these from but I had hit the jackpot at this one single vendor. I got some brushes, some glitter and some stones to play around. I wanted to get so much more but my bag was getting VERY heavy and very full. For this look I tried the glitter burnishing technique.

 I started with Two coats of Sation Miss McTeal, which I am holding in this picture and is totally droolworthy! I then did a gradient with Miss McTeal and Sation Board Girl Blue. The gradient was very subtle deep Teal to Blue. THEN things got fun! I grabbed Three of my new glitter pots. I went for the Green, Blue and Light Blue.

  To achieve this effect you want to wait for you base colors to be fully dry. Once they are dry you want to apply a nice coat of a top coat that does not dry too fast. I started applying the loose glitter in a gradient starting with the Green at the Cuticle, the Blue in the middle and the Light Blue at the free edge of the nail. After I had the gradient in place I went over the whole nail with the brush rubbing the glitter very gently in a circular motion to get it to lay flat, embed and blend. I topped the whole thing off with Two coats of Seche since it was kind of gritty. 

 Here is the materials I used.

 A new take on Mermaid nails perhaps? I love how the glitters are so fine and kind of translucent so it makes it looks like I am wearing a multichromatic glitter.

Here is a neat macro.

What do you guys think of this technique? Will you be trying it? It is actually quite easy, a bit messy but easy and fun to do. The color combinations are endless!

Thoughts?

(**Sation products provided for review**)