Elevation Polish Weddell Sea - a review and a praise

Happy Monday my dear nailpolish friends! Yesterday's Skittelette featured the one and only Weddell Sea by Elevation Polish.  I was most intrigued by this insanely beautiful polish - a white cream/crelly with only a drop of two of grey in it and a dusting of finely milled holographic particles and golden shimmer. I have read that it is quite similar in the color concept like the famous OPI My Boyfriend Scales the Wall which unfortunately is not available here (well of course I COULD order it online). This is one of those rare opportunities where I already ponder about getting myself a back-up…. But let's have a look at it when worn on its own:

 and this is what it looked in "everyday mode"

I applied two medium thick coats of Elevation Polish Weddell Sea over my regular Base Coat. I found the application really easy and the slight patchiness upon the first coat was nothing too worrying and got completely covered by the second coat. The dry time is really quick (well done Elevation Polish - those little gems used to need some more time to get dry in the past).

Final thoughts: I wore Elevation Polish Weddell Sea for two days which is a first for me - I never wore a nearly white polish or white polish as a full mani before :-o!!!!!

I ordered Elevation Polish Weddell Sea with their own Bigcartel Shop here.

I look forward to reading your comments - as always many thanks for your visit!!!

Christine <3

Stamp Camp Skittelette: Flower Power

Welcome my dear naillacqueristas to another Sunday Stamp Camp post. These past weeks I worked hard on improving my stamping skills. And looking back now, I cannot prevent patting my own shoulder. I came a long way since my first jittery stampings!!! However I am still having quite some miles ahead of me but right now I am pretty pleased how my stamping turns out IF I use Stamping Polish. With regular polishes my results are still a total hit or miss (jaja, I hear you with using one coaters, etc - still the use of stamping polish is the easiest for me right now).

So let's move on to why exactly I am so pleased with my stamping:

Pinkie: two coats of Cult Nails Time Traveler
Ring: Elevation Polish Weddell Sea stamped with MoYou Pro Plate
Middle and thumb: Elevation Polish Ceram Sea stamped with MoYou Pro Plate
Index: Elevation Polish Ave Secretan

I am working my way slowly towards more and more contrasting Skittelettes - I just love the tossing and turning of ideas and then the mix and match game on my nails. For this one I did not mattify the stamping - I did not want to add to the diversity of the mani by mixing different finishes.

I look forward to reading your comments - thanks for stopping by!!!
Christine <3

Elevation Polish Ridnitsohkka 2

My nails grow like weed - literally!! And with all the social hubbub that went down in my life over the last couple of weeks, I never got round to shorten them - as I type this I am back to nubbins, but earlier this week they were as long as rarely before. One of the nice things I like with those varying lengths of nails is the variety of polish I end up wearing for different lengths. For example I really like pale and pastel colors on longer nails and this length is perfect for practicing nailart and chunky glitters to name two.  So today I have another gem from my pile of untrieds and an Elevation Polish on top of that!!!

Ridnitsohkka 2 is light grey loaded with so much green shimmer, that the polish ends up looking like a pale jade mint leaning green.

I applied one thin and one medium thick coat of Elevation Polish Ridnitsohkka 2 over my regular Base Coat. The formula is nice and creamy and when you carry too much polish on your brush it will not be entirely self leveling. Generally I find Elevation Polish not a brand to reach for when you are in a hurry for painting your nails. Elevation Polish want to be applied with care and enough time at hands - a wonderful thing though if you have an evening with some time for your own leisure ;-). Dry time is normal to slow - even with one coat of KBShimmer Clearly on Top, Ridnitsohkka 2 takes some time to harden and turn resistant to dents.

For Day 3 of Ridnitsohkka 2 on my nails, I wanted to give it some tweak: a Skittelette was in place:

Pinkie: two coats Emily de Molly Ivory Tower (a nude holo with a silvery white shimmer and no, the holo is not overly strong)
Ring: two coats of Wing Dust  Coral Leaf (despite the name, on my nails it is a dusty pink jelly with blue and pink micro glitter and silver foil snippets)
Middle, index, thumb: Elevation Polish Ridnitsohkka 2

Final thoughts: Ridnitsohkka 2 has all the oomph effect any Elevation Polish I tried so far had on me: just WHOAWZERS! It is elegant, multifaceted, classy with and edge. The Skittelette looked so delicate and pretty - those of you who visit my blog regularly know that I have pull to combine pink and green ;-)

I ordered Elevation Polish Ridnisohkka 2 with Lulu's Bigcartel shop here. And Wing Dust Coral Leaf (after many fruitless attempts) and Emily de Molly Ivory Tower with Llarowe.

I look forward to reading your comments - thanks for visiting!!!
Christine

Elevation Polish Forest of the Frog

 One of the bright sides of a no-buy therapy is that you get to finally use those gorgeous untrieds that got undeservingly neglected next to the amount of new polishes. Elevation Polish remains one of my big weaknesses and I have to admit wearing Forest of the Frog mesmerized my senses and made me order some new Elevation Polishes upon the recent restock. So yes, I am back to week 1 of my no-buy - LOL!!! But back to the polish at hand. Forest of the Frog is a green based jelly filled mostly with blue micro shimmer and some gleaming purple micro shimmer.

 

look at all that purple shimmer in the bottle, sadly they hid completely on the nails

I applied two flawless coats of Elevation Polish Forest of the Frog over my regular Base Coat. The first coat went on sheer and you could see the green base clearly. A medium thick second coat provided this wonderful opacity you see in the pictures but also twisted the polish into mostly blue looking finish. Around the base of my nail you can see it's base color better. The mix of green and blue gives Forest of the Frog a very intriguing, captivating appearance shifting in any light with twisting and turning your hands.Dry time is on the slower side but I was expecting this with Elevation Polish. I finished the mani with KBShimmer Clearly on Top.

Final thoughts: Last week we had a reminder or a forecast what November can be like: grey, wet, dark and clammy - Elevation Polish Forest of the Frog was exactly what I had to wear on my nails to distract from the ghastly weather - hence the absence of photos taken in the sun, and sadly I could not capture any of the purple shimmers on the nails… But anyhow this is a  masterpiece!!!

I ordered Elevation Polish Forest of the Frog with Lulu's Bigcartel shop here.

I look forward to reading your comments - thanks for visiting!!!
Christine <3

Pahlish Monthly Duo for April: Romance and Bromance

Admittedly, I did some tossing and turning before ordering the April Duo released by Pahlish - not because I did not like it, mind you, but first it was sold out and then I felt I should restrain myself somewhat after that Picture Polish splurge but I think it was by Easter I finally caved and tossed it into my cart… I could have done worse - this is an awesome uniqueness created in collaboration between Pahlish and Elevation Polish. Pahlish Romance is a soft light grey filled with finely milled golden iridescent shimmer that - typically for Pahlish - is not smack in your face but "voluminizes" the light grey base to make it look deep, which is quite an achievement with such a light color. Elevation Polish Bromance is the clear based glitter topper of the duo. It holds square silver matte glitter tiny winy holo sparkle and - I could hardly believe my eyes - coral neon flakies!!!

Rewind - first up Pahlish Romance:

I applied two coats of Pahlish Romance over my regular Base Coat. The formula is thin, highly pigmented and easy to control. As with so far each and every single Pahlish polish I wore Romance is self leveling and quick drying.

And here the Duo is complete with Bromance:

I added one coat of Elevation Polish Bromance. The formula is while a bit thick easy to apply and loads  of the silver glitter, the holo sparkles and even the one or the other flakie. It spread nice and even on the nail with only the slightest tendency to club and left the surface totally smooth.

Lastly I did an accent nail with A England Camelot to better show-off the sparkiliciousness of Bromance

Final thoughts: What a great collaboration!!! And Pahlish for sure has the knack to create the most beautiful greys out there - I realized that I own about 4 different ones by Pahlish - each and every single one of them a gem!!! As for Elevation Polish - they remain to be one of my favorites.

The Pahlish monthly duos are solely available in their Bigcartel Shop here.

I look forward to reading your comments - thanks for visiting!!!
Christine <3

My picks for Spring 2014: Elevation Polish Cerro Torre 2 and Nararsuk

We have spring polish week over here and while I have to admit that all the nude shades were not overly exiting for me - especially after seeing the third or fourth set of them - I could not resist getting myself Elevation Polish Cerro Torre 2 released also in February 2014.

Cerro Torre 2 is a very pigmented slightly grey leaning nude cream. No shine, crelly, jelly or other accents - just a straightforward cream - how nice is this for a change? I do not own the first version of Cerro Torre, so unfortunately I cannot show you a comparison.

I applied two coats thin of Cerro Torre 2 over Seche Ridge Filling Base Coat. The formula is a tiny winy little bit thin for a cream (like melted ice cream). If you apply thin coats and avoid carrying a load of polish on your brush you will not enter flood territory. I would rather go with three thin coats should you not like the opacity at two than slapping on thicker coats. The most astonishing thing was to watch the polish level itself out completely. I literally SAW how any unevenness  disappeared within seconds of application. Dry time is on the fast side and the shine is just beautiful.

Nararsuk was the first glitter I bought from Elevation Polish - another clear based glitter filled with black, turquoise and teal bar and hex glitter and I even saw some black stars in my bottle but I could not fish them out - oh well, it is pretty enough like this:

I painted one coat of Elevation Polish Nararsuk over my Cerro Torre 2 mani. The consistency of Nararsuk is fabulous - there is just the right mix of base polish and glitter to allow an easy paint job. Of course I could have invested some more efforts in trying to get some of those stars out but when applying I totally forgot about them and only when seeing one of those stars blinking smugly at me from the bottle I was reminded of them.

Final thoughts: Elevation Polish Cerro Torre 2 is one of those few nudes that I can wear year round as it fits my skin tone no matter if I am winter pale or got a slight tan. Its selfleveling qualities is outstanding - I don't own any other nude that has this quality.

I ordered Elevation Polish Cerro Torre 2 with Elevation Polish Bigcartel site here.

Thank you for stopping over and I look forward to reading your comments!!!
Christine <3

My picks for Spring 2014: Elevation Polish Cuernos del Paine and Plumeria

With spring being unleashed, leaves popping bright green and bushes blooming at full force it is about time to give an insight into my nailpolish buys for spring. Well, it is not a very wide spread brand-wise - I found the big brands were not really hitting it off from my view point but there were three brands out there who did lovely pastels and soft colors. The first being one of my favorite Indie Brands Elevation Polish - Cuernos del Paine from the Patagonia Collection released in February 2014.

Cuernos del Paine is described as greeny mint cream on Elevation Polish's Bigcartel site. Oddly the first two pictures look way more pulsating than my nails looked IRL - but maybe it is a screen thing and it will look subtler on yours. But then Cuernos del Paine does have a vibrant note that clearly pushes it out of plain pastel land and is reminiscent of that incredible fresh green of new leaves when they just start peaking out of the branches.

Elevation Polish Cuernos des Paine has one of the most awesome formulas I encountered with a light shade. It is reach, creamy, highly pigmented, selfleveling, quick drying, very shiny - what else would you expect from ANY polish? If you don't have ridged nails or aren't obsessed with slapping on two coats no matter what like me, then you will find Cuernos des Paine totally opaque in one coat if you apply a medium thick coat. Which I would recommend anyhow as the creaminess could possibly result in streakiness if applied too thinly.

Elevation Polish Plumeria is a clear based glitter filled with small and mid-sized round glitter in as many colors as you see on my nails below. There are also lots of iridescent particles floating in the base.

Application wise I found Plumeria not all that easy. Somehow, there is so much polish traveling on the brush, that I had a load of it on my nails though no glitter. I remembered a suggestion I read on a Blog (sorry, cannot remember where), to pile some of the glitter on a sheet of paper and either dip the brush in there or - as I did for my mani - pick the glitter with an orange wood stick and place it on the nail. Given the size of the glitter I found this the easiest way to prevent glitter clusters which would result in some visible bumps on the surface of the nail. Dry time was fast and I was done with one coat of Glisten&Glow HK Girl.

Final thoughts: Elevation Polish Cuernos del Paine deserves a full line of exclamation marks for its soft yet vibrant light green and its immaculate formula. Plumeria is such a happy and joyful glitter that looks good on really any light color. I am sure, it looks fun too over a black or navy cream.

I order my Elevation Polishes with their own Bigcartel site here.

Thank you for visiting and your thoughts and comments make me happy!!!

Christine

Happy St Patrick's Day

I am no way close to being Irish - I am plain Swiss (or nearly so) but hey, any day is a good day for going for green nail polish - no?

Slapping on some happy green for today gave me a good excuse to dive into the cave and look for untrieds - older untrieds that is, and look what I found? Essie Mojito Madness. This perfect bright green was released as part of Essie's Summer Collection of 2012 - and yes, it sat since then unopened in my Alex (consider me flushing ashamedly).


I applied two coats of Essie Mojito Madness over Essence Hardening Nail Base. The formula was nice enough, maybe a tad on the runny side, wiping off my brush was core to prevent polish flood on my nails. Dry time was rather quick and the finish pretty shiny, to achieve the squishiness my photos show, I finished the mani with Sally Hansen Insta Dry.

My second St. Patrick's mani features another Elevation Polish: Cuernos del Paine - a soft, soft lime green on the verge of being a pastel.

I applied two effortless coats of Elevation Polish Cuernos del Paine over Maybelline Express Protecting Nail Coat. The formula is superb, the polish has the perfect creamy consistency and goes on nearly without streaks. I still prevent going over the same area twice and waited some minutes in between the two coats. Cuernos del Paine dries rather fast and to a lovely shine and smooth finish.

To add some St. Patrick's feel I brought forward Lynnderella All Hallow's Eve - still my favorite green glitter - and mattified it with Mentality Matte Top Coat.

Final thoughts: there are too few St Patrick's Day in the year - or I should simply go more for green - I love this color so much and end up wearing it way to seldom.

I cannot remember where I got Essie Mojito Madness from - it is too long ago. I ordered Elevation Polish through their own website here and I received Lynnderella All Hallow's Eve from my wonderful friend Radha aka @nailpolishsnob in Instagram.

I look forward to reading your comments - thanks for stopping by!!!
Christine

Elevation Polish Cerro Torre 2 and Elevation Polish Quartz Monzonite

I take a little break from all those Picture Polishes - but not from the nudes ;-P! Earlier this week I received my latest Elevation Polish order and among my newbies is yet another nude shade - this time round it is Cerro Torre 2. It is a mid-tone nude with the slightest tinge grey in it

I applied two wonderfully easy coats of Elevation Polish Cerro Torre 2 over my regular base coat. This is a crelly formula, more cream leaning than jelly. Already the first coat goes on nearly flawlessly and opaque and a medium thick second coat leaves you with the above super shiny result - I am a very impressed me over this!

And since I did a nude polish comparison yesterday, and because I thought it might be a question that the one or the other of my dear readers might ask in the comments or in their minds, I did a quick comparison to Picture Polish Beige. No need to throw in Picture Polish Nude here - this is way too peachy.

Pinkie and middle: two coats of Picture Polish Beige, ring and index: two coats of Elevation Polish Cerro Torre 2. Now isn't it astonishing, how yellow Beige looks next to Cerro Torre 2?

And finally the reason I went just a tad bonkers over nudes: I want to some neutrals to layer glitter over them! While bright bases provide funny and happy manicures, more often than not, it can be just that bit over the top for my office environment which lead to me skipping my pretty glitters mostly. To kick-off this white area on my polish map I layered Elevation Polish Quartz Monzonite over it - a clear based glitter filled with black, white, magenta glitters:

This is one coat of Elevation Polish Quartz Monzonite over Elevation Polish Cerro Torre 2 and Picture Polish Beige. The glitter spreads so nicely and lays flat and smooth on the nail - le sigh - le perfection!

I order my Elevation Polishes directly from their Bigcartel shop here - and oh, just in case, it is restocked today!

I look forward to reading your comments - thanks for visiting!!!
Christine

Elevation Polish Tuesday: Pic du Gar

You remember my Elevation Tuesdays? I neglected them quite badly, nevertheless, I still have some to show you. Today I have Pic du Gar for you (Pic du Gar is a mountain in the Pyrennes - the massif at the boarder between France and Spain). Pic du Gar is in my eyes  THE perfect purple jelly - simple as that.

Beware some picture spam - the first set shows Pic du Gar without Top Coat, the second set with Glitter Gal Gloss Boss

I applied two coats of Elevation Polish Pic du Gar over Essence Hardening Nail Base. The formula is jelly-perfection - sheer but creamy and wonderful to control. Already the first coat went on even with jellyish sheerness - from there it is totally up to you if you want to have just a second coat to enhance the jelly personality or if you want to go for third coat to achieve a pulsating purple mani. It dries to a satin finish which I also quite like. If I would have wanted to keep that look, I would have sealed my mani with Cult Nails Wax That but I wanted to get it maximally squishy and slapped on Glitter Gal Gloss Boss Top Coat.

Final thoughts: I really came to love my jellies - thanks to Melissa from the Lacquer Reverie who gave me a lesson or two by how she carry those squishy gems off.

I order Elevation Polish with their own Bigcartel shop here.

I look forward to reading your comments - thanks for stopping by!!!
Christine