Liquid Lacquer Swatch-A-Thon! 6 Bottles Of Awesome Sauce You Shouldn't Live Without

Hi Peeps! How goes it? I am doing quite well, thanks for asking. I'm very excited to bring you my first Liquid Lacquer (formerly  2chix Lacquer) review! I recently entered a giveaway on Instagram and was pleasantly surprised to actually win! My prize was sweet, two full size bottles of Liquid Lacquer awesomeness. I decided to apply for a premium blogger package when I entered the giveaway, and I squealed when I got my approval email. Collide Into You has been one of my top lemmings since I first saw swatches, and I haven't seen a bad LL review yet. This post is a tad photo-heavy, but I do not apologize. These pretties deserve a little extra attention! Let's start the review with the 2 holos. Here's The Rain Song (eat your heart out)...

 Bright, teal holo anyone? I love this color so much! The Rain Song is one of the gorgeous holos in Liquid Lacquer's Physical Graffiti Collection. Have a look see at it swatched....

 The only issue I had swatching this bottle of awesome sauce...no sunshine ANYWHERE. Seriously, I haven't seen the sun since last Monday. Lame. That always seems to happen when I have killer holos to swatch. Regardless, the gorgeousness that is The Rain Song is more than apparent by my photo. Here's a closeup...

 The formula is lovely. I used three thin coats over OPI Ridge Filler, without top coat. Perfect consistency, dry time is good too. I think all holo junkies should have a bottle of The Rain Song in their polish stash. Now let's check out the second bottle of holographic perfection I got from Liquid Lacquers. Allow me to introduce you to Dancing Days of the Physical Graffiti Collection...

The best way I can describe it is a deep magenta/purple. I love it. It's not hard to see why...

I love linear holos, and Dancing Days is one of my new faves. The formula is excellente and dry time is awesome. Same as before, I used 3 thin coats over OPI Ridge Filler, no topcoat on this one either. Here's another shot for your face, the holo shows up a bit more...

Yes, as with The Rain Song, any avid holo collector needs to score Dancing Days. I really dig it myself. Now I've got a gorgeous jelly masterpiece to show ya. It's another must-have in my opinion. Feast your eyeballs on Mockingbird...Btw, my apologies to those that saw my swatch on Facebook. I listed Mockingbird as Halfway Gemini because I'm occasionally idiotic.

 Agh, let me start by saying...LOVE! Blue is one of my faves, this particular shade of blue especially. The white (or matte silver) glitters are the perfect touch. The formula was very easy to work with, and for a jelly it didn't take much work to build it up. For my swatch below, I used four thin coats but - it was totally passable after 3. I also used Seche Clear for my base, and 2 coats of OTD top coat.

Told ya, masterpiece! I've recently purchased a couple deep blue jellies, but this is the only one I have that already has the glitter in it. For that reason, I love it even more. I love this so much actually, it made me sad to remove it so I decided to use it on my toes. No I will not now, nor will I ever post photos of my feet, so don't worry. Bleh, creepy foot fetish people be gone! Now back to Mockingbird. I think it deserves a closeup...

My husband also seems to really like this polish in particular. He momentarily turned into Joe Dirt & was all "Dang!" Totally understandable. I couldn't help but gawk at it almost constantly. The formula is nothing short of amazing either. I didn't have to work too hard at getting the larger glitters, I'm sure that was helped by the fact I shook the bottle upside down a few minutes. Dry time wasn't bad, another good thing. I love the jelly sandwich in a bottle! Now, let's check out the first of 2 glitter toppers I've got today- Pink Elephant...

Gorgeous grey, white, black, and neon pink glitter mixed into a clear base. This one was a very nice surprise, since I haven't seen Pink Elephant yet :) I wont drag the suspense out, check it out swatched...

It's a fun, unique mix of glitter that I will be wearing frequently during the summer months. Perfect formula, easy to work with, and decent dry time, I had no issues when using Pink Elephant. Shaking the bottle upside down for a bit before using eliminates glitter fishing, and glitter placement is pretty dang good just using the brush. However I am a glitter glutton, so I opted to dab on a few more large glitters. My swatch above is one coat (with a bit of dabbing) of Pink Elephant over Dancing Days. I thought it was an appropriate, and gorgeous combo. Here's a peek at Pink Elephant over Zoya Trixie...

I love that combo too, even if it is extremely hard to photograph. Now I'm gonna show you the next glitter topper of the group. I introduce you to 80's Baby...

80's Baby is a gorgeous mix of neon pink, yellow, and green glitter with random pinkish-orange neon bars, holo macro glitter, and matte silver glitter in a clear base. I love this one too, and it was yet another nice surprise that I hadn't seen before. Check out 80's Baby combined with The Rain Song...

As before, this swatch is also 1 coat with a little bit of extra glitter dabbing. I love that combo! Just as expected, the formula of 80's Baby was awesome. Shaking the bottle upside down eliminated glitter fishing, dry time was good, and coverage is perfect. Have a look at 80's Baby over Neon Green (Salon Perfect)...

I'm diggin' that combo too. So, 80's Baby is perfect. It's a must have for neon glitter fiends for sure, but it's versatile enough even those Peeps that typically dislike neons can rock it. No complaints from me on this or any of the other Liquid Lacquer pretties so far! But...what about my lemming, Collide Into You? I saved it for last, and I think it's about time to let you see it...

I mentioned before this was one of my top lemmings, right? It did not disappoint once it got here either! The formula was perfect. Extremely easy to work with, no issues at all with glitter placement. Oh I love it so much more now that I've tried it. Check this out...

 Three coats of Collide Into You over Seche Clear, with two coats of OTD topcoat. This is definitely one of my favorite polishes EVER! The teal base is perfectly accented with various sized magenta circle glitters. The small gold circle glitters make it even more perfect. Time for a closeup...

I could look at that all day. Collide Into You is absolutely gorgeous! My opinions on the 6 Liquid Lacquer pretties I've reviewed for you today...I LOVE every one of them! I am now hopelessly addicted, and you can bet that I will be bringing you more LL reviews in the future. I recommend all polish addicts try at least one, I'd be willing to bet you'll become addicted too. Check out the Liquid Lacquer shop on Big Cartel here. Just a little note, the shop is currently undergoing maintenance in anticipation of the next restock. Be sure to like Liquid Lacquer on Facebook here to stay up-to-date on shop news like restocks, new releases, giveaways, etc. I recommend you act quickly once restocks are announced. Liquid Lacquer pretties don't stay around long, and it's obvious to me WHY they are so popular. So, now you tell me...Which polish is your fave from the review? Do you have any Liquid Lacquers in your polish stash? Love 'em, hate 'em (gasp)? Got any lemmings? Leave me some comment love folks. I love to hear your opinions! P.S...don't forget to enter the giveaway. I will probably end up adding a 3rd prize pack before it's over! Until next time Peeps...

*UPDATE* International Prize Added - Giveaway Time! Spring Has Sprung Guilty Pleasures Giveaway

**UPDATE**

The giveaway is now open internationally! Yay, now I don't feel like such a turd. The gift card will be an international only prize. Basically the same rules apply, except the international winner will have the gift card emailed rather than shipped. 48 hours to respond or another international winner will be chosen, yada yada yada. Consider it a small token of my appreciation for following along with my madness. Specifically Melissa D. Miss Claw of Cthulhu, if it weren't for your helpful advice from the start I would've given up months ago. Seriously. My photos and my reviews were embarrassing. Anywho, enough needless typing. International folks also enter via the widget below. So what are you waiting for? Get to it!

Hey Peeps! This is a bit belated, but better late than never right? Here's the dealio...I figured there's no better time than the present to have another giveaway, there's plenty of reasons to celebrate. Here's just a few...It's Spring, my favorite season of the year duh?! My awesome polish pal Sara, owner of Pinkey Nails, was married over the weekend. Congrats Sara! Oh, and my wedding anniversary is coming up July 11. My daughter is now an official Junior High student, 7th grade already! It doesn't seem like very long ago we were shuffling her back & forth from half-day kindergarten. She finished her last day as an elementary student on Thursday, as if I wasn't already tripping about getting old she will also be turning 12 June 14! Another bit of good news, the tornado last week missed our apartment, my daughter's school, and hub's store by blocks. I'm very grateful for that, and I may have mentioned that a couple times over the passed week. Again I will ask you to please keep those affected in your thoughts and prayers. Oh, one more bit of good news for me...I managed to land another contract after 2 months of nothing, which means extra polish monies for me! No, actually I will most likely end up spending my money and a good chunk of hub's money next month on our not-so-cheap junior high schooler. Oh, and I must say...to the piece of SHIT that stole my daughter's cell phone and head phones while she was shopping at Ghettoville Target with my mother...I hope it rots your f!%king head from the inside out. Seriously, brain cancer wishes and chemo filled dreams to you my friend. It was an old, outdated crap phone that we planned to replace on her birthday anyway - but that is beside the point. What kind of f$!ktard steals a phone from a 12 year old? Argh! Tween girls are f$%king nuts too, she bawled and carried on about that till I wished I could find the perpetrator and do really awful things to them for an extended period of time. Jackholes make me mad. Anyway, back to the giveaway! I thought it appropriate to have some of my guilty pleasures for prizes, those pleasures being some sweet ass indies :) The first prize is sponsored by Sara of Pinkey Nails. She was awesome enough to send a bottle of her own creation, Spotted Orchid. She's also added 2 Kleancolors in Black and Neon Lime, a pack of assorted rhinestones, femo, and flocking powder.

The second prize is my favorite polish set in the world...The Berry Duo by A Girl Obsessed! I had to order those the second I got a chance, then decided since I love them so much I should share the love with one of my readers. Thank you Sam, aka, A Girl Obsessed for sponsoring your awesomeness! Seriously, you peeps are lucky. Check it out...

You can click here to see my swatches of the Berry Duo. LOVE! Ok, now the rules and junk...I'm still not able to do international shipping, so this one is yet again US ONLY. Sorry to my international peeps. I know it's lame :( Facebook, Etsy, & blogger, etc aren't affiliated with me, the other 2 chickies involved, or the giveaway. Speaking of giveaways, it will end at 12am CST on July 1. After entries are verified, the winners will be contacted by email. They will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. We love bubble wrap, but we hate broken polish bottles so we will wrap them with care. However, we can not be held responsible for lost or damaged pretties. And now I think that about does it for technicalities so get to entering! Good luck!

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Zoya Swatch-a-thon - Irresistible Collection - Kerry, Bobbi, Amy, plus 3 randoms!

Hey hey Peeps! How goes it? Today I decided to finally get this Zoya post up. I've actually been working on it a while but crap happens. The tornado that ripped through the far southern parts of the metro missed our apartment, my daughter's school, and my husbands store by blocks. Literally. Scary s#!t. We were incredibly lucky, I didn't really realize HOW lucky we were till the next day. Although we weren't completely unaffected, it could've been much worse. Our water was out for a couple days, landlines were out, cell towers in the area were hit too so you couldn't call out till Wednesday. All of the places we usually shop are either closed or gone, that's lame. I'm very thankful regardless, so many were far less fortunate. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Now enough rambling, onward to the review! Here's the dealio on the Zoya's I'm showing you today...I only ordered 3 from their new Irresistible collection for the simple fact I don't like all 6. I know it would've been more appropriate for me to review the whole collection but...I'm not the type to buy a whole collection of polish UNLESS I actually like them all (that rarely happens), so for that reason I ordered 3 other randoms. First up are the 3 pretties I picked from the Irresistible collex. Check out Bobbi...

What a shame, it's such a pretty color but I personally think it looks like shit on me. There's 3 coats over Seche Clear. No top coat. Great formula,I just really really REALLY hate how Bobbi looks on me. Howeva, I do think it looks pretty cool like this...

 I'm still not very good at it, but I've been kinda obsessed with leopard print lately so I practice almost daily. I used Zoya Gei Gei for the spots and that awesome black holo Lexis from Lacquerhead Polish for the outlines on this one. I know it's not the greatest, but definitely my greatest. Don't laugh! I dig the color combo. It totally transformed Bobbi into something wearable. I'm sure I'll be doing this mani again soon, yeah. I actually like it. Wooo! Now lets have a look at Amy, my second from the Irresistible collection...

 So, I'm experimenting with backgrounds again. I still haven't decided which one I prefer and I'm still happy to take suggestions. I think Amy rocks ass by the way...3 coats over Seche Clear, no top coat. Obviously I am pleased with this one. Another sweet formula, awesome dry time. I love bright, shiny orange. It's such a happy color :) I have one more shot of Amy I gotta show ya...

Ok, it was an accidental over-exposure shot but you gotta admit it looks pretty awesome right? Now on with my favorite, Zoya Kerry...

The first time I saw this polish my mouth fell open. I have been really obsessed with yellow polish lately and this is so damn shiny, looks like foil. I love it! I know it would look better on someone with at least a bit of skin color but I love it anyway. And, Kerry is actually my brother's name so that's kinda neat too. I guess. I'm sure he wouldn't be ecstatic about it, but that's ok. Same as before, 3 coats over Seche Clear, no top coat. Here's a lil bit of Kerry super sized...

Awesome sauce right? Now let's have a look at the 3 Zoya randoms...

There's a 2 coat swatch of Trixie over Seche Clear. My reasoning for this purchase...I had a really old bottle of shiny silver from Avon or something. Anywho, last time I wanted to try and implement silver into some of my many nail art fails it was nowhere to be found. And, this was only $4 :) I like this one better than that old stuff anyways. Zoya's been one of my favorite brands for only 10 years or more. Anywho, enough rambling, check out my next bottle of awesome sauce...

Zuza has been one of my favorite Zoya's since they released the Surf Collection last year. Honestly, this is my second bottle. I love turquoise! Lovely formula, another 2 coat swatch without top coat. Now that I'm on a roll let's move on to the final Zoya of the review. Check out Manhattan Mixer...

That's how it looks in natural light over Pro10 Starstruck. Prettier in person, just trust me on that. There's an awesome mix of yellow/gold and green shimmer depending on movement. AGH. I love it, even if it has been around a little while! So there it is yo. I am impressed with myself as much as these new Zoyas. I managed to stick with the 6 bottle minimum during the Earth Day Sale, after coming off a torturous 2 month long no-buy! Yay me! I still managed to spend my polish money for the entire month within 2 days. That's quite alright though, I got awesome stuff. Now shall I ask which swatch you find particularly awesome? Be honest...how many did you end up snatching during the Earth Day promo? Did you also use it as an excuse to unload some of those old crackles? Well, that's it for now Peeps. Till next time!

New-To-Me-Indie Review - Lacquerhead Polish - Lexis & My Secret Crush

Hey peeps. How ya doin'? I've been great, thanks for asking ;) No seriously, I've been kinda on a roll. I don't want to jinx myself but I've won several giveaways recently, and one of those was the Fan Appreciation Giveaway from Lacquerhead polish. Score! I'm becoming increasingly obsessed with indies if you can tell. Check out mah stuffs...

Adorable aren't they?! The bright pink envelope they came in is super cute too, aww there was even pink peanuts in there! Anywho, my prizes: Lexis is a killer black holo, My Secret Crush is an adorable white crelly, and the cuticle oil is something that may have come from gods. I chose Orange Blossom and I don't regret the decision. I shall tell you more about the cuticle oil a bit later, for now let's have a look see at that sweet crelly...

LOVE!!! If you're wondering what's up with the macros lately, here it is...Hubs got me this camera a couple months ago and I just recently discovered the macro settings on it. Derp! Anywho, glad I figured it out. That's an awesome shot of My Secret Crush. Now let's check it out swatched, shall we?

There's 3 coats over 2 coats OPI Ridge Filler, and a coat of OTD. It built up well over my tinted base. The formula was easy to work with, minimum to no fishing for the purple hearts and larger blue hexes. Dry time seems decent. Awesome sauce. All of the glitter in My Secret Crush is matte and I really dig it. Here's a close up just 'cause I can...

Sweet right? Pink squares, various sized hex glitter in blue, purple, green, yellow, orange, and red. Oh, lets not forget the purple hearts. Love those things! Now lets move on to the black holo, Lexis...

I love the way the spectra flair looks in the macro. It kinda reminds me of space. This being my first black holo, I am amazed by it's brightness. It's so pretty! Check out Lexis swatched...

 I love love love it. Did I mention it's my only black holo? That rocks my socks! Now let's get up close and personal with Lexis...

Now I MUST show you another shot. I used a flash and the high contrast setting on my camera (that part was accidental but it looks cool anyway)...

So there you have the awesomeness that is Lexis. Another great formula, I used 3 thin coats over 2 coats OPI Ridge Filler, no top coat with those swatches. Dry time is excellente, which is mucho appreciated. And, duh - I love anything containing spectra flair. All that being said let's move on to the cuticle oil. Check it out...

Umm, yeah...I decided to brush up on my photoshopping skills a bit. Anywho the ingredients are awesome, and the scent is light, sweet, and fruity. Seriously, Orange Blossom smells like fruit Loops, I love it. I really dig the roller applicator. The formula seems to work pretty well too. It absorbs quickly & conditions ah-mazingly, and like I said before....that smell, oooh yum! Ok, so my opinions on the Lacquerhead Polish products I've reviewed today...LOVE! I will definitely be purchasing some other LP pretties soon. If you don't already, I would suggest liking Lacquerhead Polish on Facebook here to stay utd on shop news, giveaways, etc. You can go buy your own Lacquerhead Polish pretties at their shop on Etsy here. Now you tell me...which is your fave? How many pretties have you ordered from LP? Got any lemmings? Leave me some comment love, or don't. That's cool too. Till next time folks...

New-To-Me-Indie Review - 6 Hearts Polish - Spring Rain

Hey hey Peeps! I've got another new-to-me indie review for ya. A couple weeks ago I won one of the Friday Flash Giveaways on Facebook held by 6 Hearts Polish. I was pretty stoked to hear I won, prize being a full size bottle of Spring Rain! I just started collecting indies in err, um...Feburary. Since then, I have accumulated a pretty good stash but I had yet to try 6 Hearts. I also didn't have anything similar to Spring Rain, so double score! Check it out...

I only own one other grey colored polish, and it's a franken I made so I was stoked to add Spring Rain to my collection. The green shimmer makes it unique. I've seen greys tinted with blue and/or pink shimmer, but not green. I dig it! Here's a swatch for your viewing pleasure...

I am very happy with the formula of Spring Rain. I used 2 coats to achieve full opaqueness, didn't use a top coat. You can see just the slightest streaking in the finish and I totally take the blame for that. I probably should've went ahead and applied 1 more coat. Sorry bout that folks. Anywho, the dry time seems good. I love the bright green shimmer, it really pops with the grey base :) Here's a shot using the flash, the shimmer shows up a bit better...

The shimmer is brighter in person, you'll have to take my word for it though. You know I couldn't complete my review without a little experimenting so...feast your eyeballs on Spring Rain + Mile High Club by A Girl Obsessed. I love it...

 Adorable, right? So, my opinion on 6 Hearts Polish...I'm impressed with Spring Rain and I look forward to trying more. I recommend you click here and check out 6 Hearts on Etsy. There's some very pretty polish listed on there :) You can also like 6 Hearts on Facebook by clicking here, to stay utd on shop news, giveaways, and more. Now leave me some comment love folks, or don't that's fine...whatcha think? Do you own any 6 Hearts pretties? Have any lemmings? That does it for now peeps. Until next time...

NPR - Adorned Boutique Jewelry Review

Hey Peeps! How goes it? A little out of the norm, but since my blog is Polished Dreams and Life Things you can expect to find a random cosmetic or fashion review on occasion. I had to share my pretties I scored from Adorned Boutique with you. I was EXTREMELY excited when Lakeisha from Refined and Polished emailed me, notifying me of winning the $50 gift card sponsored by Adorned Boutique for her blogiversary giveaway. If you're not already following Refined and Polished, I recommend you click here and get to it. You can also like her on Facebook here. Lakeisha posts gorgeous swatches, as well as provides some great fashion advice :) Now, let me tell you a little bit about adorned boutique...

Based out of Dallas, Texas, Adorned Boutique was launched by Kay Sawyer in 2012. She personally picks all the pieces sold in her shop, appealing to those fashionistas on a budget. International orders are accepted too! Visit Adorned Boutique here to score some adorable (no pun intended) jewelry, btw the packaging is so cute! Perfect for gifting. You can pick up some bangles or earrings for yourself, and maybe a necklace or ring for mom? I had a HORRIBLE time deciding what to get, I wanted a lot of it :) But, I also figured since mother's day is coming up I might as well get something for my mom. Of course I got me stuff too, have a looky loo at the awesome package I got...

 I love this bright, shiny, pink envelope my goodies came in almost as much as I love the pieces I picked out! I am totally reusing that...anyone else hoard recycled packaging supplies? And seriously, something that cute shouldn't be thrown away...right?

Don't know about you guys, but packaging obviously means a lot to me and Adorned Boutique aced it. I'm really digging the matching color scheme. The silver jewelry box I found inside the envelope came neatly taped with scotch tape, and what was inside was even cuter than the pink envelope itself...

 I love those little bags, I don't know what they're called but they totally dress up a package. Lots of the indies I get come in those bags too, and yes I do collect them. I can use those to put gifts in. Don't judge me! I plan to put my mom's stuff in this one ;) Now hows about a peak at what I ordered...

So, I ordered the pink chevron ring for myself, and the 2 stack rings for my mom. The stack rings were on sale for $5.99 each, and each stack came with 5 rings. Sweet! I think my mom will love them. I'll give her those and a couple bottles of polish in the little bag and...waalaa! Perfect Mother's Day gift. Each ring stack was neatly kept together with plastic tags, something that I appreciated. Now check out the mini stack bracelets I ordered. They're my favorite of the haul...

I had a hard time choosing between this and one other bracelet stack. I finally decided on this one because of the love charm and the copper and gold beads. I'm happy with my choice, check it out...

So, my opinions on Adorned Boutique...I love what I ordered and I will definitely be making more purchases in the future. Quick shipping, reasonable pricing, and adorable packaging make Adorned Boutique the perfect place to find gifts for Mother's Day, birthdays, and more. In case you're wondering, I got all of this stuff shipped for less than $50! Awesome sauce, can't beat those prices. Sign up for the shop newsletter and/or like them on Facebook here for updates and more. Leave me some comment love, let me know whatcha think. And now it's time for me to scoot. Until next time folks...
**Update**I've been informed that Adorned Boutique is having a 30% off sale through Sunday!