Review: Aly’s Dream Polish Ballad of Serenity

[DISCLOSURE: The products featured in this post were provided for my objective and honest review.]

Let me start with a little backstory of how I came to have the opportunity to review this collection. Not very long ago, I stumbled upon Aly’s Dream Polish by chance. I saw a photo of her Macaron collection and was instantly attracted by the pretty and awesomely sweet pastel holo polish. I visited her site and was stunned that it was full of holo polish creations, which did not use Spectraflair as many other indies do. I was surprised I’d not heard about this brand before, given that there are so many holo junkies in the nail polish community!

Anyway, I immediately contacted Aly to find out about international shipping from her base in the US. I have to say that I was very impressed with the friendly and personal customer service. That same day, I ordered the whole Macaron collection, along with a few shades from her massive Euphoria collection of holo polish in every shade imaginable!

I became a fan right away. Not only does Aly make pretty holo polish, but the formula was a breeze to use. Granted, the holo effect is not blinding like FNUG and Color Club Halo Hues but I love their soft, sparkly effect just the same. After all, I’ve always loved variety among my polish.

When Aly announced that she had a new collection coming out and was looking for bloggers to review them, I immediately offered to help. I even gladly agreed to pay the international shipping fees for her to send the samples to me. After all, I didn’t volunteer because I wanted free products, but because I think she’s a lovely person, makes pretty polish, and I very much want to share this brand with more people.

It is my pleasure and honour to present to you Aly’s Dream Polish Ballad of Serenity! Please be prepared that this is a picture-heavy post.

Aly’s Dream Polish Ballad of Serenity

SGSwatchFest: Mother’s Day

Today’s the second Sunday of May, the day we celebrate Mother’s Day. Mums are the most important person in our lives, so it seems sorely inadequate to dedicate just one day in the year to her. Nevertheless, it’s still a reminder to show our appreciation for our mothers.

For SGSwatchFest: Mother’s Day, we’re doing red and/or pink manis to celebrate all mothers. For my mani, I chose piCture pOlish O’Hara and Ozotic 607.

I took all the photos in natural light but it was quite a cloudy day.

On my right hand, I applied two coats of piCture pOlish O’Hara. It’s a bright, sexy red jelly with scattered holo. Formula was great to work with and it dried with a glossy finish. This was without top coat.

piCture pOlish O’Hara

Alanna Renee Sandpit

I’m continuing with posts on manis I did some weeks ago. I think I may have to abandon the weekly themes for now since I’m choosing what shades to wear by mood rather than by theme.

Today’s post is on Alanna Renee Sandpit. It has a light brown crelly base, not unlike the colour of the sand in a sandpit. There is multi-coloured glitter of different shapes and sizes. Overall, it really looks like colourful children’s toys half-buried in a sandpit or sandbox. A really unique polish and I like it a lot!

I applied three thin coats. The larger glitter pieces needed placement but it was otherwise easy to apply. I’d added top coat for the photos.

Alanna Renee Sandpit (daylight lamp)

Polish Days – Five: The Fifth Element

It’s time for Polish Days again! For the month of May, Hannah of Polly Polish came up with a very general theme – The Number 5. It seems kind of random but it’s my favourite number, so I’m not complaining.

I confess I was going to be lazy and just do a full mani with Emily the Molly The Fifth Element, the only polish I have with an indication of 5 in its name (as opposed to a generic numerical code). But inspiration sort of struck and I thought I would include the other four elements – fire, earth, water, air – too.

As I was painting my nails, it occurred to me that I could also have done the five elements based on Chinese philosophy. This would have included metal as the fifth element. It could still work, I suppose, given the metallic glitter in the shades I used.

To cut to the chase, these are the shades I used:

• China Glaze Fireside Glow
• Tony Moly GT02 Earth
• Cult Nails Living Water
• Deborah Lippmann Glitter in the Air
• Emily de Molly The Fifth Element

Polish Days – The Number 5 (daylight lamp)

Pretty & Polished Hameau

Kiki or @polishmad has threatened an intervention if I don’t start posting more nail pics instead of numerous haul pics. As such, I thought it’s time I get my act together and put up another blog post!

This is not a new mani. I haven’t been taking nail photos with my camera for a while, so I figured I should post some of the older manis first until I start taking new photos.

The polish featured in this post is Pretty & Polished Hameau from the Save the Dauphine collection. It’s a collection inspired by Marie Antoinette. For some reason or by some coincidence, there have been quite a few shades or collections inspired by this infamous French queen.

P&P Hameau is a creamy beige/nude polish with green and purple glitter. The colours are inspired by the cottage built for Antoinette.

I wanted it to be more opaque so I layered two thin coats over Essence Rebel Delight. This was with top coat.

Pretty & Polished Hameau (flash)

Press Release – Cult Nails Dance All Night Polish Collection

Press Release

Cult Nails releases the Dance All Night Collection on May 9th, 2013 during a Preview sale. The collection includes 3 High Shine Creme’s and 3 Glitter lacquers. The collection will be available during our Preview Event where the entire collection can be purchased at the discounted pricing of $60 for the set. (Retail $72). The first 250 orders will also automatically receive a bottle of Wax That (Not pictured), our new Wax Finish Top Coat that will allow you to turn any polish into a wax finish polish. Our Preview Event will run from May 9th – 18th 11:59PM EST. All polishes will be available for purchase individually starting on Sunday May 19th for $12 per bottle.

Cult Nails Dance All Night Polish Collection