KB Shimmer Lilac Dreams

Now when we go to SEPHORA and look at polishes, we are looking at mainstream polishes. Mainstream polishes are almost always machine-made by medium and large companies, which in turn are often owned by corporations. That doesn't mean they're not good, they are and some are great. It just means that they are made to appeal and sell to the widest possible spectrum of consumers, thus the term "mainstream."

Indie polish makers, on the other hand, are independent of any governing corporation, they make what they want to make when they want to make it with their own two hands. They are artisans and they make artisinal nail polish. You can only buy indie polishes from indie makers (usually, this means online). Every indie polish that's made demonstrates the inspiration and creativity of the artisan who formulated it. That is why they are special and much beloved by nail polish enthusiasts like me (and you too)!

Blah blah blah... ok so in this post I have for you an indie polish called Lilac Dreams. It was made by KBShimmer. It is a dark pastel purple shimmer polish with blue sparks, and it is indeed very shimmery. Here's the bottle...

KBShimmer Lilac Dreams

And to show you just how full of shimmer this polish is, here's an EXTREME CLOSE UP of the polish in the bottle (click the pic to see it even bigger)...

Lilac Dreams macro shot baby

You can see that the primary color of the polish, the purple, is made of many many tiny shimmery bits. When you paint your nail, all the shimmery bits lay flat on your nail with their surfaces aligned, so you get a kind of metallic foily type of finish. And of course then there are the blue sparks. So cool, who doesn't love a blue spark?

Wanna see it on? Ok!

KBShimmer Lilac Dreams on the nail, or whatever they say

I was nervous applying this polish. I don't know why, there's no reason for it. I mean, why get nervous about nail polish? I don't know, but I did. All I could think about were those bazillions of shimmery bits getting away from me to pool at my cuticles and smear across my fingertips and guess what? That's what they did. Can you say, self-fulfilling prophecy? I think I need to work on my attitude. 

More pics!

blue sparks are awesome!

modified version of "the claw"

KBShimmer Lilac Dreams out the house y'all

So the day after I put this polish on I decided to experiment with some toppers. Toppers are polishes that are made to go over another polish. I picked out two. One is an all glitter polish in a clear base made by China Glaze called Prism. 

China Glaze Prism

The other is a flakie, a clear polish containing flakes of iridescent material, made by Confetti Cosmetics called Ice Ice Baby. *snicker*

Confetti Cosmetics Ice Ice Baby -- see the flakes?

I wanted to see them both, I couldn't choose, so I added Prism on my left hand and and Ice Ice Baby on my right. For Prism, since it's a glitter polish, I wiped most of the polish off the brush at the bottle neck and then lightly brushed it onto the tips of my nails. I let that dry and then did it again and again until I had the amount of sparkle I wanted. The photos don't show the sparkle very well because the silver glitter shows up as gray to the camera, but you get the idea...

KBShimmer Lilac Dreams with China Glaze Prism tips, and iris

KBShimmer Lilac Dreams with China Glaze Prism tip

Since Ice Ice Baby is transparent, I applied one coat directly over Lilac Dreams. The flakies in Ice Ice Baby are blue, and I thought it did a good job enhancing the blue spark look of Lilac Dreams. See what you think...

KBShimmer Lilac Dreams with Confetti Cosmetics Ice Ice Baby, and iris

KBShimmer Lilac Dreams with Confetti Cosmetics Ice Ice Baby--blue sparkiness abounds!

Like!

I think the Ice Ice Baby topper is the best, don't you? The glitter in Prism makes it kind of more dimensional (and verrry very sparkly at night, whoa!) than the Lilac Dreams needs. In other words, the amount of shimmer in Lilac Dreams gives it a very reflective foily finish, which the glitter in Prism interferes with a little too much. 

My, I certainly am talkative. Must be because I'm drinking beer. Hah! Just kidding... not. 

*burrrrp* *teehee*


Ok my intrepid little fashionista, stay tuned. I think I'll do a GREEN polish with lots of photos and not a lot of yak for my next post.

love,
Aunt Liz