Swatches and Reviews: Butter London - Blagger

Wow... well that was a bit of an unexpected hiatus. I didn't mean to go silent the past week and a half or two weeks, but sometimes real life has this way of just happening. I was so busy that half the time I didn't even paint my nails! (gasp! I know!)

So, starting today, I'm going to try to play catch up and get through this backlog of posts, starting with this one.

Now, I don't know why, but I have an inordinate number of blue nail polishes in my collection. I just find myself magnetically drawn to blue nail polish. When I found today's polish as part of a Butter London 50% off  sale almost 6 months ago, it was almost a given that it would wind up in my cart. This beautiful cobalt blue is Blagger from Butter London, and oh how I love it!

Swatches and Reviews: Salon Perfect - Oil Slick

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to working through a backlog of nail polish swatches that I just haven't had the time to write reviews for.

The first polish that I'm going to take a look at is one that I've used in tons of nail art. You always seem to need a good black creme polish, and Oil Slick from Salon Perfect fits the bill perfectly when I'm looking for a good opaque black.

Reviews and Swatches: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Blue It

It's been a bit of a busy week, but I'm trying to use this weekend to catch up, write posts and hopefully schedule some to go out soon.

This polish was supposed to be last week's Budget Friendly Friday polish... but, well, that never happened, despite my best intentions. I had even posted about it on Instagram! 

So, here you are, a week and one day late, your Budget Friendly Friday polish!  Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Blue It.

Swatches and Reviews: Indigo Bananas - With a Spoon in It

As I've come to be more and more immersed in the world of nail polish, there are a few indie brands that have stood out. One of those which I've heard only amazing things about is Indigo Bananas. Amazing holos, multichromes and glitters,  wonderful formulas and - truly - an artisan among indie nail polish crafters.

Today I received my first Indigo Bananas polishes and figured I might as well throw it on and take photos for the Monday Indie Spotlight.  Of the five polishes that I bought, this is the one that called out for me to try - With a Spoon in It

Reviews and Swatches: Enchanted Polish - March 2014

Wow, it's been a crazy busy week thusfar. I started a new job on Tuesday, which  meant that my whole posting schedule got out of whack. I'm going to be using this weekend to write up some posts so you don't have to deal with the unplanned breaks from here on in.

Today I'm bringing you what was originially meant to be my Monday Indie Spotlight polish. This amazingly gorgeous polish is from Enchanted Polish, and is the March 2014 addition to the company's monthly mystery polish releass.

Reviews and Swatches: Butter London - Cuppa

I just can't bring myself to remove the nail art currently on my fingers to swatch a new Budget Friendly polish, so I'm reaching into my pile of swatched-but-not-yet-posted nail polish photos to bring you today's post.

I used this polish as the base for my apple manicure last week, and it's a beauty of a neutral and surprised me with how easy it went on and how good it looked. So, for today's swatch, let's take a look at Cuppa, a creamy pale beige/tan from Butter London.

Reviews and Swatches: Love, Angeline - Quick Change

After a two week hiatus, the Monday Indie Spotlight is back! Each week, I take a look at a different indie nail polish, swatch and review it.

This week, I'm taking a look at Quick Change, a grey crelly from Love, Angeline.

This is the third Love, Angeline nail polish that I've reviewed (the other two being Strawberry Fields  and Card Trick) and as much as I love the brand, I wish I could have loved this particular polish.

Swatches and Reviews: Pure Ice - Wild Thing

Last week, I reviewed Pure Ice - Excuse Me for my Budget-Friendly feature and was pretty disappointed with the polish. This time, Budget-Friendly Polishes returns to its normal Friday schedule, and I'm going to give Pure Ice another try.

Just as last week, this nail polish was a gift from my mom (though why she chose this one for herself, I have no idea). This time, though, the polish is definitely a bit more to my liking - a bright green creme called "Wild Thing."

Reviews and Swatches: Julep - Felicia

Everywhere you look this season, you see speckled nail polishes. I think this trend started with offerings from  Illamasqua and Deborah Lippmann, but it's spread beyond and into every little nook of the nail polish world.

Julep seems to be the latest to jump on this bandwagon. While it WOULD be nice to see an original polish from them, I just can't hate on such a pretty nail polish

Swatches and Reviews: Pure Ice - Excuse Me

I know it seems like a lot of my reviews tend to rave and praise the nail polishes that I'm trying out. But, as I try to provide my open and unbiased opinion when reviewing products, I occasionally come across some things that I genuinely don't care for.

The subject of today's (belated)  Budget Friendly Polish feature is Excuse Me from Pure Ice. This is a bright yellow frosty nail polish that I honestly wish I could have liked more than I did.

Reviews and Swatches: Nfu-Oh - 51 (Flakie)

Oh, this polish. This beautiful, beautiful darling of a polish. I believe this may have been my very first lemming. I keep staring into the lacquer on my nails and feel like I'm downing in this beautiful opal-flecked abyss.

Creme polishes may be my favorites to use on an everyday basis, particularly for nail art, but flakies are like that decadent treat that I allow myself to have once in a while.

Let me introduce you to this beautiful flakie polish: Nfu-Oh's flakie #51

Reviews and Swatches: Philly Loves Lacquer - Avenuers

It's yet another Monday, and I seem to be back on schedule! (knock on wood). That means that it's time to bring you another nail polish from an indie maker.

I know that I've already shown you a few polishes from Philly Loves Lacquer, including Fancy Brigade earlier this month. For today's episode of Indie Spotlight, I'll take a look at another of PhLL's, with another polish that continues the Mummers theme. Esther makes some pretty holos, and Avenuers, a pretty, silvery grey scattered holo polish with subtle rainbow microglitter is a nice addition to the collection.

Reviews and Swatches: OPI - Kermit Me to Speak

I'm usually not one of those people who runs out to buy the brand new collection  from OPI  or China Glaze or Essie or whoever. (Indie brands, however, I DO tend to get excited for... even if I don't always  purchase them right away).  With big, mainstream brands, I tend to wait for sales or clearances or auctions or whatever way I can get them for less than $9 a bottle.

After a job interview yesterday, I elected for some retail therapy and wandered Ulta. I came across a display with the newly-released Muppets: Most Wanted collection and this polish, Kermit Me to Speak, grabbed my eye immediately. Somehow, despite my usual patterns, I found myself buying a brand new polish almost immediately after its release!

NOTD: Interview Nails... and a question

If you didn't know, I've been searching for work for...a while now. The job market may have improved out there, but it's still difficult getting a job. The process tends to be longer and more arduous than it was when I last did this years ago, and I find myself with layer after layer of interviews and screenings.

One of those things that goes hand-in-hand with applying for jobs is interviewing for said jobs. This also usually means toning down the bright nailpolish colors a bit. Interviewing forces me to go through my selections of taupes and beiges and nudes and other "safe" colors.

I took this photo while on the train on the way to an interview yesterday. (The houndstooth pattern was the dress I had on). These were my INOTD - Interview Nails of the Day - featuring Butter London's Yummy Mummy. I LOVE the way this polish looks against my skintone.

I'm curious... What nail polishes do you / would you wear in a corporate office or to a job interview?

Reviews and Swatches: Cult Nails - Baker

Indie Nail Polish makers come in all shapes and sizes, from tiny operations run by a single person bent over bottles and scales in their home to larger operations that employ a lab to manufacture their products.

Cult Nails is one of the larger names out there in the indie/niche polish market, but the polishes are developed with love by a great designer as part of a family-run operation. Today, I'm bringing you one of the polishes I picked up in the recent Cult Nails clearance sale - Baker, a warm light tan polish with a soft gold shimmer.

Reviews and Swatches: Sinful Colors - Cinderella

This week was crazy and I've been behind the entire week. Between job interviews and applications and a migraine that last two days, I barely got anything done. I really need to write up some posts that I can throw on the blog when I have these kinds of weeks instead of leaving you with radio silence.

Anyways! Here is your Budget Friendly Friday polish... once again on a Saturday. This time, I'm bringing you a sweet, delicate, spring-ey pale blue shimmer called Cinderella

Reviews and Swatches: Philly Loves Lacquer - Fancy Brigade

Living in the Philadelphia area, you grow up with the Philadelphia Mummers. Every New Year's Day, you watch the Mummers Parade on TV, or you brave the bitter cold to stand along Broad St. and watch the comics and the string bands and fancies march their way up to City Hall. Maybe you even head down to 2 Street afterwards.

In today's Monday Indie Spotlight, I'm trying out Fancy Brigade from Philly Loves Lacquer, a gorgeous deep teal holo polish inspired by our beloved Philadelphia Mummers and released this past holiday season .

Reviews and Swatches: Butter London - No More Waity Katie

I was trying to figure out what purple colors I have that I could use for the next Tri-Polish Challenge entry, when I remembered that I had picked up this polish during one of the Butter London Last Order clearance sales.

No More Waity, Katie is definitely a strange polish: strange color, strange formula, strange choice for a polish meant to commemorate the Royal Wedding.

But despite that all, somehow I actually like it.

Reviews and Swatches: Sinful Colors - Berry Blast

Welcome back for a new installment of Budget Friendly Friday Saturday! Yeah, sorry for skipping out on yesterday. You know how it is, sometimes, when you fall in love with a manicure and just don't want to take it off to swatch....

Believe it or not, when I look at my blog stats, the number one search term that gets people from Google to Fledgling Nails is for this polish: Sinful Colors - Berry Blast. I haven't swatched it yet, but it DOES show up in my collection list. I picked Berry Blast up in a polish haul from Walmart about 2 months ago, but haven't had a chance to swatch it until today.

And is this one ever a beauty ...

Reviews and Swatches: Zoya - Tomoko Pixie Dust

Yeah, I know, Friday is usually when I do my Budget-Friendly Polish feature.The problem is that  I'm still wearing the manicure I did for this week's Theme Buffet and I love it too much to take it off yet!

Luckily, I've started building up a collection of polish swatch photos that I haven't posted yet. Unfortunately, none of the photos in my reserves are of budget or drugstore brands. Instead, I'm going to give you swatches of a lovely, sparkly, textured polish from Zoya called "Tomoko." This is one of their "Pixie Dust" nail polishes, and was my first foray into textured polish.