Polish Con Fall 2016: Fall in Love With Indies

Polish Con Fall 2016: Fall in Love With Indies

What is this? Two posts in one night? Well, I just HAVE to tell you about my experience at Polish Con! I had the amazing opportunity to help out at and attend the inaugural Polish Con (Polish Convention) in Chicago last week, and I had the time of my life! There were loads of indie nail polish vendors, tutorial tables, and lots and lots of people to meet. And of course, INSANE amounts of polish to purchase (which, let's be honest, I went a little crazy; I'll show my haul at the end of this post)! By no means did the pictures that I take represent the entire event; they are just the ones that I had the time to take! Let's take a look! 

My first stop, of course, was the Ever After Polish table! This is Rachel and her husband, Ian. Check out the event exclusives and her newest collection, based off of the musical Wicked! 

Next to Rachel Was Miranda's portion of the table, sporting her bath/body and hand care products. I wasn't able to nab a picture of her, but you can spot her head ducking down! I picked up a Maple Bacon lip balm from her table, a new flavor that she is offering, and it smells DIVINE! It was great to meet Rachel and Miranda in person!

Next, I went to the Cupcake Polish table! Sara's table was so stinking adorable; she even had shopping baskets, so that you didn't have to juggle the bottles while shopping. It was amazing to finally meet Sara in person as well! 

The event limited edition colors were in cute little bowls on the tables! 

 

And she had some adorable cupcake bath bombs as well! 

Next was the DIFFERENT dimension table! I wasn't able to get a picture of the table (it was PACKED by the time I got to it!), but I was able to get a picture with Missi! She is too sweet! 

I also visited the Darling Diva Polish table, and I think that I fell even more in love with Carrie; she. Is. AWESOME. Her polishes are bomb, and she is even more so! She even had a raffle, where the prize was a hot pink glittery travel cup with the Darling Diva logo, as well as an LE polish.

Great Lakes Lacquer was also at the event, as Mariah was one of the main organizers of the event (she worked alongside Rachel and Miranda to plan the entire event). She had some stunning event exclusives/limited editions, as well as the other beautiful polishes that she brought along! I was smitten when I was able to meet Mariah! 

The event LEs-- they cleared out quickly! 

 

I also had the pleasure of meeting Stefanie from Supernatural Lacquer (as well as her mother)! I was able to try her acetone additive at the event, and I am officially a convert! She has a bunch of new scents, and they are so moisturizing! 

Chelsea of Pretty & Polished also attended the event! She debuted some of her new Fall polishes, as well as some polishes that she created for the event. 

Again, these were not all of the vendors who were in attendance, just the ones that I was able to nab pictures of! 

In addition to the vendors, there were also tutorial tables. I had the pleasure of hosting a tutorial table, at which I spoke about nail care, filing, and manicure clean-up. I am so happy that I was given the opportunity to speak about this topic, and it was a pleasure to meet with everyone who signed up for the tutorials. Here is a shot of my table; look at all of the Ever After nail files! 

Oh yeah, you wanted to see my haul, right!? Some may say that I went a little overboard, but...NAHH! I can't wait to play with and blog about all of these pretties! 

At the end of the convention, it was announced that it will be held in Chicago every Fall, and that the location for the Spring will rotate; this coming Spring, in 2017, the Con will be held in New York! This is even closer to me, so I will for sure be attending! 

You can keep up with all of the info on Polish Con by following on Instagram and on Facebook! 

Thank you so much for stopping by, and I'll see you next time! 

♥ Megan

Darling Diva Polish Andromeda (September 2016 Fantasmic Flakies Custom): Swatch and Review

Darling Diva Polish Andromeda (September 2016 Fantasmic Flakies Custom): Swatch and Review 

*Sent by maker for review*

Hey! Long time, no blog! So sorry that I've been absent for a bit; I was catching up with work and school work, then I went to Chicago for the inaugural Polish Con! It was SO MUCH FUN, and I bought more polish than I probably should have. You know what that means: More swatching and blogging material! 

Today, I am sharing the September custom for my group Fantasmic Flakies. The September custom was created by the amazing Carrie of Darling Diva Polish. DDP was one of my first indie brands, and will always hold a special place in my heart. Carrie named the September custom Andromeda; let's take a look, shall we? 

Darling Diva Polish Andromeda is described as a red berry polish that flashes from brick red through purple berry with a soft linear holo and blue to red multichrome flakies. It is seriously so multi-dimensional, and may officially be one of my new favorite Darling Diva polishes! I was able to get Andromeda fully opaque in two coats; it dried quickly, smoothly, and evenly; shown are two coats plus one layer of glossy top coat. 

Andromeda is available only to members of Fantasmic Flakies, and it is available until the end of September. Be sure to join the group right here, in order to be able to purchase this beauty, as well as future group customs! 

Please be sure to check out Darling Diva Polish on social media! 

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Thank you so much for stopping by, and I'll see you next time! 

♥ Megan 

**Polish was provided for honest review by the maker. All opinions are my own!**

Darling Diva Polish The Watch Your Pack (Teen Wolf) Collection: Swatch and Review

Darling Diva Polish The Watch Your Pack (Teen Wolf) Collection: Swatch and Review

*Sent by maker for swatch and review*

Helloooo!! I am SO EXCITED for today's post! I was asked by the makers of Darling Diva Polish to swatch and review their upcoming collection, The Watch Your Pack (Teen Wolf) Collection. Now, I have never watched Teen Wolf, but after seeing these names and swatching these, I definitely need to get into it! Darling Diva was one of my first indie polishes, and they will always hold a special place in my heart.

The Watch Your Pack (Teen Wolf) collection will be releasing on Friday, July 22nd, 2016. It will be a one pour collection, meaning that once it is gone, it is gone, and will not be restocked! This collection is made up of 8 polishes, and they all have some beautiful and unique elements. Let's take a look! 

The Screamer

Collection: The Watch Your Pack (Teen Wolf) Collection

Color/Finish: (As described by the maker) If you were a socialite banshee haute couture as well as longevity in your polish would be a must. Something subtle but with spark. This super pale teal shimmer polish is just the thing Lydia would reach for.

Formula/Application: Darling Diva The Screamer was sheer, but buildable. Because of the flakies that are in the polish, it is necessary for the base to be sheer; that way, they are able to pop! I used four coats for full opacity, and had minimal pulling between coats. In hindsight, this was most likely due to not leaving enough dry time between coats. Depending on the thickness of your coats, I would recommend about 4-5 minutes between coats. The Screamer dried smooth. My pictures show 4 coats, plus one layer of glossy top coat, under a daylight bulb. 

Rating: ♥♥♥ 3.5 hearts! I adore this shade of teal, as well as the flakies that are in The Screamer. The only thing contributing to the lower rating is the number of coats that I needed for full opacity. As I stated, though, this may have been user error; I will report back when I try again with thinner coats, and possibly a longer drying time! 

The Hot Kitsune

Collection: The Watch Your Pack (Teen Wolf) Collection

Color/Finish: (As described by the maker) Carrying around the spirit of a kitsune is hard work. One that fires electricity? Damn girl!!! This holo gold polish would sure captivate that naughty kitsune spirit long enough to oh say, have lunch with your hot werewolf boyfriend.

Formula/Application: The Hot Kitsune was wonderful to work with! The first coat covered well, and the second made it fully opaque. It dried smooth and glossy; my pictures show two coats plus one layer of glossy top coat, and they were taken under a daylight bulb. This is a very flattering shade of gold, and I feel that it would work well with a lot of different skin tones!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 hearts! I love this shade of gold, and the formula was absolute perfection. I can't wait to use this as the base for some nail art! 

Tainted

Collection: The Watch Your Pack (Teen Wolf) Collection 

Color/Finish: (As described by the maker) When a werewolf kills an innocent their eyes change to a brilliant blue[linear holo with holo glitter]. Queue to not get on their bad side I guess.

Formula/Application: Tainted had a wonderful formula as well! I was able to get it fully opaque in two medium coats. It dried smooth and glossy, but my pictures are shown with one layer of glossy top coat; pictures were taken under a daylight bulb.  

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 hearts! I think that I actually gasped when I applied this, as the formula and the color were absolutely perfect! I am always a sucker for blues (second to purples), and this medium blue holo has stolen my heart. 

The Alpha

Collection: The Watch Your Pack (Teen Wolf) Collection 

Color/Finish: (As described by the maker) This is a deep red shimmeryish polish with added golden holo sparkle and gold flakies. There is a little shift in the flakies but the red is the main player here. Be dominate and kick some ass with this on!

Formula/Application: You. Guys. YOU GUYS. This one took my breath away, even more so than Tainted did! The first coat was full of shimmer and flakies, and I did not need to fish for any; the second coat deepend the red a bit, and added even more dimension by intensifying the shimmer and flakies. My pictures show two coats of The Alpha for full opacity, plus one layer of glossy top coat for some added shine. 

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 hearts! I don't think that I can gush about The Alpha enough! The deep but bright red, along with the shimmer and flakies, makes this an instant favorite of mine! 

Blood, Teeth, & Bromance

Collection: The Watch Your Pack (Teen Wolf) Collection

Color/Finish: (As described by the maker) Made for the amazing bromance between Scott and Stiles. Its a thing of beauty, just like their friendship. Deep blue, with flakies and sparkle.

Formula/Application: Darling Diva Blood, Teeth & Bromance was smooth and easy to apply. I thought that it would be overly sheer, but its easy opacity surprised me! I was able to get this opaque in two medium coats. This dried down the tiniest bit bumpy, but smoothed right out with one layer of glossy top coat. Shown in my pictures are two coats, plus one layer of glossy top coat.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 hearts! I love when polishes look squishy like a jelly, but surprise me with great opacity. The flakies and glitter in Blood, Teeth & Bromance give it lots of dimension, and make it extremely unique. 

The Huntress

Collection: The Watch Your Pack (Teen Wolf) Collection 

Color/Finish: (As described by the maker) Imagine you are out hunting whatever monster is threatening your family..........and you look down at your nails as you pull back your arrow and catch sight of this gorgeous deep blackened purple polish full of gold flakes and holo gold shimmer and are wowed by the gorgeousness of your nails in the moonlight. Would you miss?

Formula/Application: Darling Diva The Huntress was almost opaque in ONE COAT! I had just trimmed my nails down and they were pretty short, so I probably could have gotten away with one coat; however, I like to be extra careful that there are no bare spots on my nails. Shown are two coats plus one layer of glossy top coat; pictures were taken under a daylight bulb. 

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 hearts! This is one of the most unique colors that I have seen! It kind of reminds me of a super dark raisin, in the best way possible. The contrast between the base color and the flakes is so appealing! Another one of my top favorites! 

Eye Candy

Collection: The Watch Your Pack (Teen Wolf) Collection 

Color/Finish: (As described by the maker) This polish is full of holographic flakies and multichrome flakies that flash pink to green. As with the series Teen Wolf, this polish is definitely eye candy. Think Derek style pretty but in polish form. Sparkle on Derek, sparkle on..........

Formula/Application: Darling Diva Eye Candy applied evenly, and the flakies required absolutely no manipulation. I decided to layer it over black and white, in order to show how different it can look over light and dark colors. I love them over both colors equally! Shown are two coats of black and white, one coat of Eye Candy, and one layer of glossy top coat, under a daylight bulb. 

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 hearts! I am a sucker for flakie toppers, and will hoard..I mean, collect, as many as I possibly can. I am loving the mix of colors in Eye Candy, and can't wait to play with it some more, using different base colors! 

The Healer

Collection: The Watch Your Pack (Teen Wolf) Collection

Color/Finish: (As described by the maker) Every werewolf needs that special Veterina....sorry, Druid healer who can take care of your boo-boos. You can gift your favorite healer with this blackened green shimmery soft holo perfect for traipsing around the forest gathering all those druidy things that are needed to heal your wolfie :)

Formula/Application: Darling Diva The Healer applies like butter! I did not have any dragging or bald spots whatsoever, and reached full opacity in two coats. Shown are two coats, plus one layer of glossy top coat; pictures were taken under a daylight bulb. 

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 hearts!I've been falling more and more in love with green polishes every day, and I adore this shade! I appreciate that The Healer is holo, but that it is a "soft holo," for the times when I want some sparkle in my life, but not an "In your face" linear holo ( I know, I know, that rarely ever happens. But, it does!)

Aren't they all beautiful?? I would have to say that my top three from this collection are Tainted, The Alpha, and Eye Candy. Again, The Watch Your Pack (Teen Wolf) Collection will be available on Friday, July 22nd, and it will be a one-pour collection. So, be sure to pick up whichever colors that you fall in love with! 

Please be sure to check out Darling Diva Polish on social media! 

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Thank you so much for stopping by, and I'll see you next time! 

♥ Megan 

**Polishes were provided for honest review by the maker. All opinions are my own!**