Indie Spotlight - Pahlish

Credit: Pahlish

I love supporting independent businesses, artists and individuals. This isn't necessarily in opposition to monolithic corporate culture, but rather that I appreciate the work, effort and ingenuity born of indies.

The one thing that we can be grateful for in this age is how the Internet allows for visibility. Without a network of blogs or through word spread across social media, I would have never known about the various independent nail polish creators that existed out there. Through sites such as Etsy, through blogs and through word-of-mouth, independent nail polish creators have found their niche in the nail art community.

Some of the craziest glitters and most innovative formulas can be found among indies. Mainstream polishes like Maybelline's Color Show Street Art  and Polka Dot collections  owe a lot to products and an aesthetic nurtured by indies.

This isn't to say that indie formulas are perfect - just that they offer an alternative. It doesn't matter whether these indie shops are made of a single person hunched over tiny bottles, painstakingly pouring each batch by hand, or whether they send their formulas off to be manufactured; each bottle is a work of art

As I unfortunately remain unemployed, I'm unable to support these small businesses with my wallet, but I love to explore the offerings they have. (Okay, full disclosure: I may be amassing a wish list for the day that I am once again gainfully employed and can thus afford to shovel my money over to these indies).

Pahlish is one of those companies whose polishes have captured my heart, thus why I'll take a look at it first. Founded in 2012, they are indepently owned and operated and polish makers based in Jonesboro, Arkansas (or so says their facebook page).

Credit: Pahlish

Their recent Doctor Who inspired All of Time and Space collection is breathtaking. (Note:  they're restocking the collections tonight - 1/10/14 at 7pm CST. Oh, to have money!) Where many of the indies I've come across heavily feature chunky glitter bombs, these are an artful mix of jelly bases, metallics, shimmers and microglitters. Their products range from full opacity to translucents and toppers.

From their most recent collection,  I would KILL for a bottle of Mad Man with a Box or Bad Wolf.  Among their non-Doctor Who polishes, I can't choose a favorite, but Lonesome Ocean is so appropriately named, and they offer a surprisingly rare copper polish.  Then there's Armor Falling Down and Boundless in the Dark and....

I've read several reviews of their polishes and they all seem to say good things. Pahlish, I have a feeling you'll get a large chunk of my first check sometime down the road!!

Follow Pahlish:
Store: http://www.pahlish.bigcartel.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Pahlish
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Pahlish
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/pahlish/pahlish-handmixed-nail-polish/

*Edits* So I splurged and wound up spending a few of my dollars on Mad Man With a Box. Ill give you a review when it gets in!