New Year's Eve Manicure with Enchanted Polish

Hey lovelies!

Here's a couple quick pics of my New Year's Eve mani.  I was finally able to track down Enchanted Polish Dark Fantasy and Flashing Lights.  Funny story about Flashing Lights--I ordered it and Glitter Unique's Gold Galaxy Holo glitter to play with and then the next day found out they're the same thing.  Whatever, I still wanted the real thing with Flashing Lights. I'll have to post these as full manis soon because they are so pretty.

Halloween Manicure: Lynnderella Witch Cauldron Was It

Happy Halloween!

Here are a quick few pictures of my Halloween mani. My nail art skills suck and I have crappy brushes so while I'd love to be able to try even the more simpler nail art techniques I fail haha.

So I went with something simple and traditional for Halloween: black and orange.

Digital Nails Nox and Sectumsempra Review

Here are some quick and dirty swatches of a polish I bought some time ago and hadn't gotten around to posting yet.

Storenvy Removing Paypal from Checkout Options?

Note: This post has been updated in certain sections.

Today I received some unsettling news: soon Storenvy will no longer allow customers to checkout with Paypal and is switching to Stripe.

American Horror Story: Freak Show Inspired Manicure

Or "How a Mani Can Show You've Grown as a Person."  More on that later.

Let's just talk for a second about how awesome American Horror Story is. Where else on television will you see this amount of gore, depravity and general sinfulness?  Although to be honest some scenes are really hard for me to watch (especially that one in S03E01. You KNOW the one I'm talking about--or rather a lot of season 3 period) where I have to clench my teeth and kinda squirm until it's over.  Also it was really special to see my girlhood crush Dylan McDermott doing all the dirty and bad things he did in seasons 1 and 2.  Thanks for that, AHS!

But aside from the horrific parts of AHS there are some really great moments like pretty much any scene with Jessica Lange and this:

It's true

In honor of American Horror Story's 4th season Freak Show I dedicate the following mani.

Polishes Sneaking Into Your Stash!

Well dear readers it's finally happened. While shopping my stash today I found a color I have absolutely no recollection of buying.  I have probably over 1,000 polishes (despite my recent attempt at purging) but surprisingly I remember every single one of them.  There has never been a time where I found a polish in my collection and think "Oh yeah, I forgot I have this one" or "Where did I pick that up?"

And then there was today.  I'm looking in my stash for OPI Sapphire in the Snow and while looking around I spot a white-ish polish.  Thinking it's OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls I pick it up and consider using this slightly off-white instead of the true white for my upcoming mani.  But then I notice the shimmer.  Lo and behold it's actually OPI Moon Over Mumbai.

My reaction:

... Wait, what? Where did this--?  Wait, WHAT?   I don't even-- Where did this come from?  Did I steal this??

I know the "Did I steal this?" sounds strange but truly that seemed more likely than the idea that at some point I picked up this polish, looked at it and thought "Yes, I will buy this!" and now have no memory of it.  I know my memory sucks most of the time but this is polish we're talking about.

It's not that it's a bad polish, it just doesn't strike me as a ME Polish.  As it is I only own OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls and the true white I was thinking of using (Finger Paints Paper Mache if you were curious) for nail art purposes.

She can wear anything

From what I've read online Moon Over Mumbai from the Spring 2008 OPI India Collection is a sheer, dove gray with a pearly finish.  Some reviewers on Makeupalley insist there is a pinkish and/or lilac hue to it.

So I think the best thing to do under these circumstances that the polish of unmemorable origin be released to someone who will love it properly.  Off to the blog sale it goes.  Luckily I can tell from the treads and the level in the bottle it's unused so there's that.

Do you ever find polishes in your collection that you don't remember buying?

Colors by Llarowe Yo Cupid Take A Hike Swatches

Quick review of the first time Colors by Llarowe participated in their monthly collection of A Box Indied.

Colors by Llarowe Yo, Cupid, Take a Hike is a deep, ultramarine blue holographic polish.  This is one seriously pigmented polish.  One coat was almost all that was needed but photos below are with two thin coats and no top coat.  The polish flows really well—there was no thinning necessary!  As usual with Colors by Llarowe the holo is gorgeous and stunning.

Yo, Cupid, Take a Hike was limited edition and exclusively available in the February box of A Box Indied.  You may try your luck on eBay, polish groups on Facebook, or Storenvy to score a bottle.  

Blog Sale Update

Hi guys!

I just updated my Blog Sale page with a bunch of new polishes and added pictures that I recovered from the old blog.  I have a TON of polishes, many are brand new or very lightly used (mostly swatched on a nail wheel, some used for 1 mani etc) and many are below retail!  I've got lots of indies and mainstream polishes that need a good home so be sure to check it out!

Elevation Polish Matsuda Swatches and Review

Hi everyone!

Today I'm featuring a brand I've never tried before and I have to say so far I'm impressed.

I was searching for swatches of a glitter polish when I came across the combination with Elevation Polish's Matsuda as a base.  I happened to catch the store when there were a few bottles still in stock and decided to take a chance.

Matsuda is a lovey proper blood red cream polish with a slight red shimmer that's more noticeable in the bottle.  The formula is VERY nice!  It applied great and dried pretty quickly to a glossy finish.  Shown here is three thin coats but I bet two normal coats would be enough.  One problem I had with Matsuda was a bit of staining so definitely wear a base coat with this polish.

I had seen Elevation Polish and heard how great they were but creams usually aren't my normal preference (in comparison to glitter, sparkles and holos!).   Now that I've actually tried this brand and experienced how nice the formula is I can totally see why people love Elevation Polish.  And even though I have several other reds in my collection Matsuda is still unique to me and the formula is outstanding so I'm really glad to have it!  

On another note when I ordered from the Elevation Polish website I got a shipping notice the very next day and received my polishes quickly.  They were wrapped properly and had no issues.  Even the shipping charges were reasonable--a little over $3 for 3 polishes. 

Elevation Polish is available directly on their website where there's a restock at 9 PM CST every 7th and 22nd of the month and Llarowe.

CrowsToes Tiki Torch Swatches and Review

Hi everyone!

Today I have CrowsToes Tiki Torch from the Mad, Crazy Summer Collection for you!  I’ve loved CrowsToes from when I first saw Cheshire.   and I was so excited to see the exciting new finishes (for CrowsToes) included in this collection—duochromes and holos!  Tiki Torch has glitter but it’s still different than the usual CrowsToes fare due to the squishy, berry jam jelly base!

Unfortunately I can’t decide what color the glitters are in Tiki Torch.  I see red and copper glitter with holographic glitter of some shade mixed in.  Some bloggers describe gold glitter instead of copper though it could even be orange.  The glitters are all small, that we can be sure of and the overall look is definitely the “fiery sparkle” described in the listing on Llarowe’s shop.  Someone on Facebook said Tiki Torch was like jelly for fairies and I have to agree!

While I love the look of this polish shown here is 5-6 thin coats :(  And in the sun pictures my ring finger still looks like it could do with a coat or two more!  I’m officially on a hunt for an opaque similar color to use as a base to conserve Tiki Torch because my bottle was a little under-filled when I received it.  So overall Tiki Torch is a bit disappointing for me but that sparkle is hard to resist.  Just look at this bottle shot!

I probably just got an off bottle and I’ve bought tons of CrowsToes polishes before without lots of problems so I know it’s still a good brand :)

Tiki Torch and the rest of the Mad, Crazy Summer Collection is available at Llarowe.

Superbowl XLVIII 2014 Denver Broncos Inspired Manicure

Happy Superbowl Sunday!

Today’s mani is featuring a polish I made myself.  I came across a custom polish created by Darling Diva Polish and since it wasn't available for sale to the public I figured I’d make one for myself.  I’m not sure if I’ll release this under Lemming Lacquer but I loved the way the custom looked.

My unnamed polish is made up of dark blue and orange holographic microglitters.  I love the extra twinkle from the orange holographic glitters!  This is three coats of my unnamed polish over three thin coats of Picture Polish Cosmos.  I know that seems like a lot of polish but layering my unnamed polish over Cosmos adds even more depth.  I really love how the shade of blue from Cosmos is changed by layering the darker different shade of blue from my unnamed polish.

Colors By Llarowe Good Golly Miss Molly Swatches and Review

What a mouthful of a title for a post!

I wanted to bring out a really special polish for my first swatch post on the new blog. I was super lucky (and way persistent) to nab Colors by Llarowe Good Golly Miss Molly during the last restock.

Good Golly Miss Molly (GGMM) is a damn sexy deep, dark magenta. Leah Ann said on Facebook she picked up the wrong tint when mixing a batch of Woman From Tokyo.  To me the shade is more Woman From Tokyo and Dirty Diana combined to make an awesomely rich shade in between the two.  All around this is a GORGEOUS polish. Sorry for a few nails being slightly off in shape (stupid cold!) but I haven’t been keeping up with moisturizing and my new nail shape has been a bit difficult to keep going and keep intact.

Welcome to Lemming Lacquer

Hi everyone!

If you've been to my blog before (Sparkles Make Me Happy), you’ll notice there’s been a change here. Sparkles Make Me Happy was deleted from our server due to hackers attacking the WordPress installation. Being hacked was bad enough but to find out that the blog I've spent roughly two years working on because of them is just all that more special, right?

Saying that, I’m not one to willing submit to a loss in crappy situations so I've decided now is time to announce the re-branding of my blog and nail polish jewelry line as Lemming Lacquer! The name Lemming Lacquer was thought up by my boyfriend and I love how apt it is. Nail polish lovers are very familiar with the term lemming meaning the vehement and feverish desire for a particular polish. In talking with other nail polish lovers, it seems everyone has that one first and special polish that ultimately led to an ever-growing collection and more polishes added to their “lemming lists.”

I’m really excited for this change and I hope it’s not too confusing for anyone. The URL for Sparkles Make Me Happy will be pointed to this blog but will eventually be taken down and replaced with the Lemming Lacquer blog URL. I’ll be sure to post ahead of time so people can update their bookmarks and reading lists.

I’m currently fighting off a really lame cold but before that I was working on swatches of some gorgeous nail polishes along with new jewelry to be added to my shop. I’ll post pics here of some of the new offerings including different styles of earrings, necklaces and rings! I saved a few of my old posts from Sparkles so they’ll be posted here as well.


Thank you all so much for your continued support. Here’s to another awesome year!


Thanks,
Cassie