Sunday, June 30, 2013

Butter LONDON Part One: The Cremes

*Purchased by me.

Well hello there.  It's time for another of my late night blog posts.  I do my best blogging between the hours of three and six in the morning.  Not too good for the sleep schedule, but when you have insomnia what else is there to do.

I have three gorgeous Butter Londons to show off today, and a few more in the next few days.  I may have gone a bit nuts with the Friends and Family discount code.

Brummie is a gorgeous bright purple creme, and I knew I had to have it as soon as I laid my eyes on it.  I went to Ulta and they didn't have it.  I had settled myself to have to wait, and suddenly, there was s discount code.





The pictures just don't show up as bright as this polish is in person.  I had only seen it online and was blown away by the brightness when I opened my box.  I was thrilled. I used three coats and got full coverage. Brummie has a pink undertone which I love. It's so different from amy of my other purples.

Slapper, my dear Slapper.  I had wanted this color for well over a year, and I've finally got it.  It's a very bright yellow toned blue, but not so yellow that I can't wear it.  I first heard about it while watching a YouTube video and set out on a search to find a cheaper dupe, long story short.  There aren't any that I can find.





Coverage on this was magnificent.  I only used two coats and got full coverage, which with my nails is amazing.  And even better, there's no staining.  I have run into so many different bright blues that stain like crazy, I was about to swear off wearing them. My photos on Slapper show up quite blue, but in real life there a touch more green.

Cake-Hole is a super bright almost neon pink creme and there isn't a camera on earth that can capture this color properly.  My camera looked at me with disdain when I showed it another neon. All I can say is I love wearing neon polish and making neon polish, but in order for my business to work my camera has to cooperate too.  So, we've come to an agreement.  I can wear and create all the neons I want as long as I don't take any photos.  The camera wins again!





This was the most stubborn of the three.  I love a good pink creme, but they tend to be a bit sheer on my nails.  I used three coats, and in certain lights and angles you can see my nail lines.  It won't stop me from wearing though.  

All three of these colors are amazing and perfect for Summer.  I can't wait to wear Brummie and Cake-Hole on my toes.  If it weren't almost 5 in the morning, I would be painting my toes right now. If you know Butter London you know they're pricey.  15 bucks a pop, but they do have discount codes to from time to time.  To stay up to day follow then on Facebook.

*Disclaimer- I bought all of these with my own money and am not being compensated in anyway.  I'm just a fan.



Monday, June 24, 2013

No More GFC (Google Friend Connect)

Hey guys, I just wanted to do a quick post about GFC.

I don't know the exact date, but very soon you won't be able to follow through GFC. I've switched to Bloglovin and have a link to it on my blog.  If you're interested in following me, please do so through Bloglovin.  There's a link on the right hand side of my blog.

Thank for your time and I'll be back with some swatches in a few days.

Friday, June 21, 2013

Literary Lacquers Anne of Green Gables

*Sent to me for the purpose of review

I recently placed an order with Amy and she was kind enough to send me a few goodies from her new collection to review.  I was so excited to see that she was doing an Anne of Green Gables collection.  When I was little my mom used to read those books to me at bedtime.

Lake of Shining Waters:

A stunning teal linear holo polish.  I'm loving the teal.

I used three coats and then use a coat of top coat.  I love that Amy uses holo pigments that you can use top coat with.

Look at those rainbows.  So pretty.

It was actually bright enough that I took all my photos out on my deck.  It seems that the weather is always against me when I want to do swatches.

Overall, Lake of Shining Waters was perfect.  I had no issues with application or removal.  I can't wait to wear it again.

Anne with an E:

This polish is unlike anything I have in my collection.  It's a very sheer milky white based glitter topper.  My experience is that no amount of coats will make this polish opaque.

I did two coats over a purple jelly and I love the results.  The white kind of muted the purple and made it look dusty, which I love.

The combo of silver and iridescent glitters is stunning and I can't wait to try it over other colors.

When I got to swatch this one, the weather had of course turned on me.

I had no issues with this color either, I do wish it were a little more opaque. 

Marilla's Amethyst Broach:

A perfect shimmery lilac color? I'm in!

Personally, I've never seen amethyst this color before, but the polish is gorgeous.

I did three coats of this beauty and love they way it looks.  It's not just shimmer, it's glass fleck.  

Again, no issues with this color.  I love the purple.  I'm into a purple phase right now, and this is no exception.

Raspberry Cordial:

A raspberry/hot pink linear holo? Just take my money now.

In addition to being a holographic polish there are also a few fuchsia color micro glitters.

I did three coats and there was still a little nail line visible, but that's just my nails.  They don't like sheer polishes.

Overall, this collection was a dream to work with and I can't wait to try more of Amy's polishes.

You can find Literary Lacquer on Etsy and Facebook

Disclaimer: I was sent these for the purpose of review.  All opinions are my own.













Thursday, June 13, 2013

Get to Know Me Tag

Yeah, I'm doing another tag. I really love doing tags.

1. Are you named after anyone? No, I'm not.  My mom and dad made my name up.  They lived in a small town when I was born and because they both have names that start with J and so does my brother.  the townspeople thought I would feel left out if my name didn't also start with a J. Hence my name being Jennalyn.

2. When was the last time you cried? I honestly can't remember the last time I cried, I know it wasn't that long ago. I have no idea when it happened or why it happened. I can remember the last time I almost cried.  It was last week, while on vacation.  I didn't sleep well the first night, and the next day I was weepy. Some people get silly when they have no sleep, I get weepy.

3. Do you have kids? Not human kids.  I'm pretty attached to my cats. I don't really want kids.

4. If you were another person, would you be a friend of yourself? I think so. I'm an introvert so it takes me a while to warm up to people. So to some I look rude and standoffish.

5. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Yes, a little too much.  One of my favorite sayings is "I'm not good ad giving advice, may I offer you a sarcastic comment?"

6. Will you ever bungee-jump? NO, I'm afraid of heights and falling. I sometimes freak out walking past the stairs to my basement. They're just open, and one really could fall down them.  Add in that I'm clumsy, and it's just a disaster waiting to happen.

7. What’s your favorite cereal? I love cinnamon things, Cinnamon Life, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Waffle Crisp.

8. What’s the first thing you notice about people? I don't know.  I can tell you what I notice first about the opposite sex, that's the eyes and if they wear glasses.  Also, height.  I like tall guys. So, we'll go with that.

9. What is your eye colour? You know the color of Benedict Cumberbatch's eyes? Yeah, neither do I, but that's the same color as my eyes.  They change and so it's confusing to tell a single color.

10. Scary movie or happy endings? I'm a rom-com junkie and love a good happy ending.  I do like scary movies, but I have to be in a particular mood to really get into them.

11. Favorite smells? Vanilla, my Watermelon Lemonade candle, my Oscar after he's been in the sun for a while.  He as fur that absorbs smells, and his fur smells nice after he's been in the sun.

12. Summer or winter? WINTER, I am not a ran of hot weather or thunderstorms.  I much prefer snow.

13. Computer or television? Computer for sure. All of my favorite shows are online and not on my TV. Can we say British shows?

14. What’s the furthest you've ever been from home? Florida, I went to Disney World.  I'm not much of a traveler. I would love to travel to the UK and spend a year or two.  That would be amazing.

15. Do you have any special talents? I'm quick to learn languages.  I love French, Spanish, and Italian.  I'm really strong, I've bench pressed 295 lbs.  I'm pretty great at making new color combos for nail polishes.  I can create a new color and just guess what would look good together and it works.  For instance, I had to make a custom pigment to replace one that was discontinued, I guessed the ratios and got it right on the first try.

16. Where were you born? Munising, Michigan.

17. What are your hobbies? Watching shows online, creating nail polishes, making new color combos, reading, photography, painting my nails, blogging about my nails, eating, and sleeping.

18. Do you have any pets? Yes, I have three cats, a dog, about 100 guppies, and 35 chickens.  I used to have rats and bunnies as well.

19. Favorite movie? All of the Harry Potter movies, Phantom of the Opera, really any rom-com.

20. Do you have any siblings? Yes, I have an older brother. He's 8 1/2 years older than me.

21. What do you want to be when you grow up? What I am now.  I love making polishes and can't imagine wanting to do anything else.

See, wasn't that fun?  Yeah, it was. Thanks for putting up with me and my crazy tag whims.

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Digital Nails: The Ladies of Who and Rory Too

*Purchased by Me

I would like to apologize for the rambling, you've been warned.

So, here I am on vacation blogging, at three in the morning.  I'm in my hotel room listening to various people snore wishing I were in my own bed. Does this happen to anyone else?  I'm a light sleeper and when I'm not in my own bed, you can forget about sleep altogether. Caffeine and concealer will be my best friends for the next couple of days.  

Yeah, I'm doing two Doctor Who posts in a row I'm a rebel like that.  I even brought two seasons of Doctor Who on vacation with me, and I'm only going to be gone for two days.  I first saw this collection on Digital Nails' Facebook page and fell for Run, You Clever Boy. When I saw swatches of them all, I knew they had to be mine.  That has never happened before. I never buy an entire collection, there's usually one or two colors that I like. Not so with this one.  I loved all seven colors, and add in the Doctor Who theme and I'm hooked.

Because he's in the minority I'll start with Rory's polish called Pandorica.

It's black holo hotness. I'm in love with this color. Mostly because it's holo, a little because it's Rory, and a bit because The Pandorica Opens and The Big bang are two of my favorite episodes. They also happen to be from one of the seasons I brought with me.

I only got one good sun shot before it went away again.  I seem to pick the worst days to swatch and photo, and I'm to lazy to make a real light box.

Pandorica was a breeze to put on and was completely opaque in just two coats. I love that even in the clouds you can see the holo. Not only that, but top coat doesn't dull the holo effect.

I was quibbling over what color to paint my nails for vacation and this was my pick.  I love the holo and I think it can keep my occupied enough for two days to not get bored with it.  

Super Temp: 
I love Donna, like I mentioned in my last post, her sass is a thing of beauty.

I'm not usually a fan of orange colors, but this was red toned enough that it worked.  I love this color and I love that the ginger glitters in the accent color work so well with it.

Look at that shimmer, so much shimmer.  I knew I had to have it when I saw that shimmer.

I did three coats of this beauty and fell into it's shimmery depths.  You can't see it here, but that shimmer is also slightly color shifting.  I wasn't able to get a good shot of it, but trust me, if you look hard enough it's there.

As per the usual it was cloudy when I took these shots as well, but my dining room window has magical powers that make polishes look great even when there's no sun. For the accent nail I used Ultimate Ginger, and I have to admit, that was almost a polish name for one of the colors in my Doctor Who collections.

So, who guessed Super Temp would be the accent nail with this mani? I am in love with the way it makes the orangey red glitters pop in Ultimate Ginger.

This is one of those deceptive polishes. I was convinced there was no way this would be opaque when I got the bottle, then I swatched it. opaque in three coats, no undies.  How awesome is that.

Can we just take a minute to gaze at the color combo in this?  I'm so tempted to watch Vincent and the Doctor it's unreal.  It's perfect.

Oh look, there's a hint of shift going on in Super Temp there, I see some green in that shimmer.  Lovely. As for application Ultimate Ginger was a sinch to put on and the foil method was my far the best way to remove it.

I love a good circle glitter polish and Eapelliarmus! doesn't disappoint.  My friend Mishka over at Accio Lacquer named this beauty.


I had to take photos of this polish twice since there was no sun when I took the first ones they looked horrible.  Luckily, the weather was a bit better the second go around.

That base is incredible, deep purple, jelly, and micro flakies.  There's no more to say. Oh wait, there is. CIRCLE GLITTER! In three different sizes and even in silver holo.

Application was opaque in two coats, but the largest glitters were a little sinky so I added and third coat to get at least one on my nails.  It worked, you can see it there on my middle finger.  

 Run, You Clever Boy. Oh those words, they had be theorizing for months.  I was wrong on so many levels, but in the back my mind I couldn't help but think she was what she was. There I said it in a spoiler free way, I think.

I fell for this color and fell for it hard.  It's got three things that I make a polish very hard for me to resist.  It's red, it's color shifty, and it's based on Doctor Who.  Of course I was going to get this polish.

I wound up doing three coats even though two looked opaque, it just didn't photo very well with two.  I also couldn't get good color shift shots.

I do love how the green plays off the red base, it's almost festive.  I like festive.  If I could, I would listen to Christmas music pretty much all year.

My nails look kind of wet here, that's because they are.  I had just attempted some water shots and when I pulled my hand out I got the perfect shot of the shift.  GORGEOUS!

So Disco. I love this color, but I am a sucker for pink.

Three coats and I got full pink and holo coverage, and yes, my nails were like disco balls. I loved it.

This was actually one of the polishes in the running to be the official vacation polish, but it just wasn't holo enough for the look I was going for.

I took these photos at night under my desk lamp. I had planned on waiting until the next morning to photograph them, but I just couldn't wait.

All of these polishes were great, inspired, and just plain fabulous. There was one though that stole my heart and ran away with it.  When I first read the description I wasn't that thrilled, but when I saw swatches of it, I bought it that minute.  I am of course talking about Hello, Sweetie.

If you know me then you know that cerulean blues polishes are my ultimate weakness. If you add in teal shimmer watch out world.  

No picture can do this polish justice, even my Oscar wanted to get in on the fun.  If you look really closely you can see him reflected in my nails.  Silly Bubbers.

Hello, Sweetie does dry to a semi-matte finish, so I added top coat.  I'm really not a matte lover.  I did three coats of this shimmery jelly beauty, an was really pleased with the coverage

Wow, that's all I can say.  This collection blew me away, and I may have have a couple new favorite polishes of all time.  There are not enough good things to say about Digital Nails. You can find them on Etsy and Facebook.

Disclaimer: I bough these polishes with my own money and all opinions are my own.