NOTD: Windestine Girl With the Best Smile

It is a gorgeous early spring day here in Central Indiana! Time for some finger-jewels :)

I fished in my mini polish box the other day because I have neglected them, ultimately. I found a franken I had made, inspired by OPI Thanks a Wind-Million and Zoya Bevin (the latter of which I have now) which is slightly more blue than those two.

I added Windestine Girl with the Best Smile on top (just one layer). If you have never tried a Windestine polish, what are you thinking?!?! Seriously, Jeweled Sand is a Holy Grail Glitter. It is amazing. So is this one, which is similar to Jeweled Sand but with pink, purple, and light green glitter.

Windestine's small glitter mixes look AWESOME over greyed colors. 

BONUS: Photos of Windestine Jeweled Sand over RBL 360, taken in August!

RIP Big Almonds :(

Anyhow, I <3 Windestine so much. I really want to buy her new polish called Wish Upon A Star which is a charity polish for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. This charity sent my husband and his family to DisneyWorld when he was little. His brother received a liver transplant at 5 months old. I think they do wonderful work, lifting kids out of the gloomy world of medical problems and giving parents peace, knowing their child can forget about their problems for a little bit and enjoy themselves. 

I am proud to be a Windestine customer. She has wonderful polish that applies perfectly. It is also very well designed and feminine. 

Review: CrowsToes Orion - Pleiades Collection

Orion is a constellation that appears just above the horizon here in the Northern Hemisphere during the winter months. CrowsToes nail polish is made by The Polished Crow and she discusses the Greek mythology story behind her collection here: 

http://thepolishedcrow.blogspot.com/2012/12/blog-post.html

NOTE: I purchased this polish myself from llarowe.com with my own money!

Bottle shots

Orion the constellation has personal meaning to me. When I was growing up in San Diego, our family would sometimes take a trip to IHOP to eat breakfast for dinner. I always got the chocolate chip pancakes! When we were out doing this one night when I was around 10, we all went outside to wait for my mom who was using the restroom after eating. I looked up in the sky and I seriously thought I had just discovered a constellation (because I had never learned it). It was Orion but I saw the main rectangular shape with the "belted waist" and I called it the Hunter Daddy constellation because my dad was a hunter (gun AND bow). I was a bit of a daddy's girl at the time. When I found out later that week that I had not made it up myself, I was devastated---until I learned that it was named the Hunter, too! I was right about something at least :)

Onto the polish! 

This is a really sparkly multichrome that goes from a green-gold to green to blue. It is not a drastic multichrome like, say, Ludurana Show but it is noticeable. I am wearing it over black in all the photos. 

Wearing a multi or duochrome over black is the best way, in my opinion, to bring out the range of color. This polish is fairly sheer and I hate wasting multichrome so one layer of Wet n Wild Black Creme and one layer of Orion means I get to wear it many more times!

This photo shows how blue it can get. Open up the image in another window to see it better!

See, I have been on the hunt for a multi or duochrome polish that has a base color of green (hunter green in this instance) and changes easily in the light. I think I have found it, which makes me so happy! No diss intended but the shots of this polish on The Polished Crow were not promising.

Open this photo in another window to see the particle sizes and the changes in color better.

The bottle does that thing that a lot of duochromes in rounded bottles do; they appear to be a MUCH more complex multi-chrome. Don't be fooled, this one only has about 3 distinct colors as far as I can tell.

I added the constellation Orion to my ring finger using Sally Hansen Gold Chrome and Petites 24k Gold

Now, I compared it to the only other two greenish duo-multi-chromes I have; Scherer Chameleon in Fandango and MISSHA HGR01

Bottle Shots

Reverse order from the above photo

Correct order

Correct order

As you can see, the MISSHA is a more dramatic multichrome but it never gets to the deep golden or forest greens of the CrowsToes. Fandango really only has two colors and it is a muddied and sort of frosty color.

How would I rate this polish on a scale of 1-10?

Uniqueness: 10

Do you see many forest green-based multi OR duochromes out there?! No, seriously, if you know any more, tell me! This is very unique to me!

Formula: 10

Like other duochromes, it has a really smooth formula and applies rather sheer. It is opaque in 3 coats but I don't like to use that much. I recommend it over a black nail polish like I recommend most other duochromes :)

Payoff: 7

I am only saying 7 BECAUSE...it is not a dramatic duochrome. That may bug some people. The other polishes in this collection seem to be a lot more dramatic. I think it is probably because of the pigment used in making a green duochrome and the type of pigment used. Maybe one day, I will get my wish of a wicked awesome, super dramatic and flashy green-based multichrome!

ORION rates a 9 for me by those standards

I really like this polish a lot!

Again, this was purchased by me (Nat) using my own money! No one knew I was going to review this polish or asked me to :)

Review: Rainbow Honey -The Yokai - in Kawako

Rainbow Honey's The Yokai Collection

October 13th it goes on sale at the above link!

Yokai are spirits in Japanese folklore, which is a WONDERFUL theme for a Halloween nail polish collection from your favorite otaku indie, Rainbow Honey! Well, they are my favorite anyhow :D

Each represent a particular kind of Japanese spirit.

This is a limited edition set of GORGEOUS shimmer/glitters in golden brown with golden flakies and pink/purple sparkle (Oni), maize camel with orange glitter (Kitsune), and a deep navy shimmer with intense silver and rainbow sparkle and flakies (Kawako)

LAST ONE!!

Here is KAWAKO! 

From Rainbow Honey's press statement:

"KAWAKO: the mischievous river child"

Of course, this is a GORGEOUS medium blue polish. I wouldn't call it a midnight blue, it seems more of a navy to medium blue. Very gorgeous. It is lighter than Essie Starry Starry Nights and I think it is a lot more complex and sparkly. The shimmer in this polish is traditional small-particle silver shimmer as well as silver micro-glitter and dark blue super micro glitter. 

What makes it really cool are these glass-like shards of indigo, blue, and purple. I would call them flakies but they seem to be made of actual glass! They cause the polish to be chunky. They also give Kawako a really neat reflective quality but are impossible to photograph with my camera!

Here, you can see the blue shimmer easier.

The formula is much like ONI has; it wasn't nearly as chunky as KITSUME but it was still very textured without top coat. I used only one coat of GELOUS though. That is not bad at all. It probably needed another coat of top coat but I did nail art so I left it at one. GELOUS is a thick clear polish (meant to be a base coat) that helps even out glitter nail polish, by the way!

I decided early on to do a little river-creature for this one. I tried to make "stars" out of the shimmery white I used for the moon here but they are hard to see in photos. I used Barielle Blackened Bleu for the water and Zoya Wednesday, China Glaze Exotic Encounters, and OPI Cuckoo for this Color on the creature. I tried to do a subtle black jelly division to keep the same color for the water but it was TOO subtle then it was TOO contrast-y. So hard to do nail art with jellies sometimes!

KAWAKO really does look like a full-moon night sky out away from the city. The kind of sky that has more stars in it than the ocean has fish! KAWAKO is shimmery, sparkly, glittery, and gorgeous. It is like a beefed up, non-jelly version of Sinful Colors Neptune Essie Starry Starry Nights. Stay tuned for a comparison post with some of this collection's stars and other polish!

So, my creature looks like the cactus thing from Yo Gabba Gabba---I think it is cute, hehe! I like the moon part, too, and the reflections on the water. 

Mattified!

Close up. I mixed some Wednesday with EE to get the splotchy texture on the monster!

How would I rate this polish on a scale of 1-10?

Uniqueness: 8

It is unique in that it has the flake-shards in it but the medium blue with silver glitter has been done before. I do like the upgrade on this one, though. I also love the addition of blue microglitter because it helps the blue to become something more than just the base color, especially in the sun. Sometimes silver is overpowering, after all.

Formula: 7

Same as with ONI; clumpy but only takes a few coats of top coat to even out. You don't need GELOUS with this, really. Application was a little clumpy due to the flake-shards.

Payoff: 8

This is my least favorite from the collection but I do think it is a very pretty polish, indeed. I have a couple similar polishes but nothing like it. I may purge those for this one if it came down to it because I do love how this polish looks not only in the light, but with matte over it. The matte doesn't get rid of the shimmer but subdues the intensity of the blue base. Makes it a velvety night sky.

KAWAKO rates a 8 for me by those standards

All 3 polishes were sent to me for my honest review.

Review: Rainbow Honey -The Yokai - in Kitsune

Rainbow Honey's The Yokai Collection

October 13th it goes on sale at the above link!

Yokai are spirits in Japanese folklore, which is a WONDERFUL theme for a Halloween nail polish collection from your favorite otaku indie, Rainbow Honey! Well, they are my favorite anyhow :D

Each represent a particular kind of Japanese spirit.

This is a limited edition set of GORGEOUS shimmer/glitters in golden brown with golden flakies and pink/purple sparkle (Oni), maize camel with orange glitter (Kitsune), and a deep navy shimmer with intense silver and rainbow sparkle and flakies (Kawako)

Here is KITSUNE! 

From Rainbow Honey's press statement:

"KITSUNE: the magical white fox"

I did not get any photos without topcoat :( It is a lot grittier than ONI was and took 2 coats of GELOUS with some fast dry topcoat on it. 

I did get a good idea of how this polish wears because ALL of these photos have at least 4 days of wear. Seems crazy, huh, but look at that GAP ;) I got minimal tip wear, too! 

The polish is a bit like China Glaze Classic Camel in the base color (which, full disclosure, I did not like and got rid of) but it has a lot of gorgeous golden shimmer, small orange hexes, small orange holo hexes, and tiny brown glitter. The glitter is what makes the polish dry rough but I forgave it for being so awesome.

Normally, I hate this kind of pale maize camel color but it just seems to...go with me, hehe. I was worried about the holo glitter BUT it seems to only glow orange and green and occasionally gold.

I had to amp up the nail art this time!

Since a Kitsune is a fox spirit, I thought it would be cute to paint a ghost fox! It looks bright but I added some jelly white over it to fade out the color. 

oops, this is not using flash but lamplight!

It has two tails to represent its power. They can have up to nine. 

Then I mattified it to give it a ghostlier glow

So painting a fox is kinda hard, hehe. I hope it resembles one as much as it can.

How would I rate this polish on a scale of 1-10?

Uniqueness: 10

This is REALLY unique! I mean, how many pale golden yellow polishes with tiny orange and brown glitter have you seen?!

Formula: 6

It was SOO clumpy but I managed to get it on. The edges of my nails were kinda hard to polish because they would get clumpy with the little glitters. It took some wrangling. It also needed 2 coats of GELOUS and top coat to get even.

Payoff: 10

OK, the payoff was worth it. Just look at the photos :D The photos are even 4 days of wear and it is STILL gorgeous. No chips, no peeling, very little tip wear. And the colors SCREAM fall. I mean, this is the perfect polish for going to a pumpkin patch or orchard!

KITSUNE rates a 9 for me by those standards

All 3 polishes were sent to me for my honest review.

Review: Rainbow Honey -The Yokai - in Oni

Rainbow Honey's The Yokai Collection

October 13th it goes on sale at the above link!

Cute boxes and labels

Yokai are spirits in Japanese folklore, which is a WONDERFUL theme for a Halloween nail polish collection from your favorite otaku indie, Rainbow Honey! Well, they are my favorite anyhow :D

This is a limited edition set of GORGEOUS shimmer/glitters in golden brown with golden flakies and pink/purple sparkle (Oni), maize camel with orange glitter (Kitsune), and a deep navy shimmer with intense silver and rainbow sparkle and flakies (Kawako)

Each represent a particular kind of Japanese spirit.

Forgive my rushed photography. The sun was setting and I was in a RUSH to put on the polish to show you all at least one mani! Trust me, I will be going back to this one.

So today, it is ONI! 

From Rainbow Honey's press statement:

"ONI: The malevolent wild demon"

This one needs a good top coat but it is not terribly thirsty for it. Oni goes on smooth for the first coat but is a little rough on the second coat and I imagine that is from how LOADED with shimmer it is. 

Rainbow Honey's bottles are similar if not identical to Cult Nails' bottles and have a pretty decent if run of the mill brush. 

This is how shiny it is with top coat. Very gorgeous! You can't see it much in this shot but there are magenta-pink and purple sparks that fly off of this one. It is like Tony Moly Mars but MUCH easier to work with and with a MUCH better payoff. Also, the base color and sparkle are much like Orly Buried Alive L'Oreal Owl's Night but Oni is a lot more complex and darker. 

I doodled a little with some Hello Kitty Gold Star glitter. There is no photographing how awesome these are together. Oni are like crazy demon troll things and I didn't have time to paint anything like that on my nails, so I went with......spirals. Waaaah waaah. Sorry, the next two will have cool art :D

You can only imagine how pretty this is through photos.

The amount of sparkle is kind of like Zoya Kimber but amped up. I am not sure how Dee of Rainbow Honey managed to pack in this much flaky-sparkle goodness without making the formula IMPOSSIBLE to work with.

Here is a bokeh shot to show you the golden-ruby-amethyst-tourmaline sparkle. UGH I love it. It is PERFECT for fall. I may purge my bottle of L'Oreal Owl's Night... >_>

How would I rate this polish on a scale of 1-10?

Uniqueness: 8

There are some similar to this but not quite as intense.

Formula: 7

It is a little clumpy but this is unnoticeable with top coat. There is no chunky glitter in this one so it makes it a much easier to apply polish than your standard indie glitter.

Payoff: 9

I LOVE THE SPARKLES. Truly, very eye-catching and gorgeous. I GASPED when I unpacked this one in particular. If you are warm-skinned and/or love brown or gold, I would recommend this polish.

ONI rates an 8 for me by those standards

I will be reviewing the next two in this collection in the next few days :D STAY TUNED and thank you for sitting through my first review!

All 3 polishes were sent to me for my honest review.