I’m so excited because my October Polish Pickup order is in the house! Woo Hoo! In case you didn’t know, that’s a LOT of excitement. Nail Polish Excitement. It’s the best kind. Okay … this is getting a bit awkward, so let’s soldier on with this post. We’re only here to see the pretty colors. I know this. And yet, I continue to natter on. And on. And on.
October’s theme was Monsters and Mythical Creatures. Each polish maker picked a different creature and based a polish upon that inspiration. And let me tell you: Every single polish maker brought their A game to this month’s shop! I know I say this every month. And I feel like it’s true every single month. But October blew my budget right out of the water and ran for the hills with all my money. And you know what? I didn’t even care. I ended up purchasing 12 polishes from the October shop. One of them was left out of my package on accident, so I have 11 to show in today’s post. I also have 6 or 7 (total, including my “missing” polish) new-to-me brands in this month’s purchases, which makes it even more exciting!
Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer, Not Winding You Up was inspired by the clockwork repair droids from Dr. Who. The Polish Pickup site describes this beauty as a “burgundy jelly with light gold metallic microflakies and red-pink-gold-green shifting Nfu Oh-style flakies”. The formula is great. This polish is easy to apply, and it was pretty much opaque for me in 1 coat.
I love the rich base of this polish. It is a beautiful combination of base and glitter colors. I particularly love the pink flashes against the deeper burgundy base. And it has a gorgeously squishy jelly appearance on the nail. This is a new brand for me, but I am really impressed with this polish. I still can’t get over the idea that it’s a 1-coater. I would not have expected that in the least. I might have been better off doing 2 for my swatch pictures, as I can see a couple of slightly low spots. But I feel like it would be 1 and done for me in real life.
Blush Lacquer, Not Your Average Seahorse was inspired by the Percy Jackson version of a Hippocampus. The Polish Pickup site describes it as a “navy-based polish with shifting orange-gold-green micro flake shimmer, shifting green-blue-purple-pink flakies, and a touch of scattered holo”. The formula for this polish is great. I’m going to sound like a broken record in this post when talking about the formulas, but they are all great. This lovely was opaque in 2 easy coats.
I can’t even with this polish. It is beyond stunning. There is so much motion and interest in here. Look at all those colors! I love how the navy base sets them off perfectly, but it gives a slightly softer look to the finish than a black or even a gray might do. Overall, it has a beautifully ethereal and watery look that seems to fit the Hippocampus inspiration perfectly. This is another new-to-me brand. I found I particularly loved their brush. It is wide and rather rounded, which made it a snap to get a clean line at the cuticle. Fabulous!
Colores de Carol, Hydra of Lerna was inspired, as the name implies, by the Hydra. The Polish Pickup site describes it as a “medium dark gray linear holographic with purple shimmer, iridescent purple flakes, and UCC flakes”. The formula is great. It was a little more sheer than I expected, but not impossible to build on the nail. I liked it in 2-3 coats. Two brought it pretty much opaque, but I might like 3 for more depth of color in the base.
I love me some Colores de Carol. This is probably my favorite indie brand. And this polish is stunning. Just stunning! I love the tone of gray, which is soft and gentle. The UCC flakes are fabulous. I adore these in pretty much any polish, and they have quickly become one of my favorite indie polish elements. I love, love, love the flashes of pink and turquoise that wink out at me through the base color.
CrowsToes, …Need a Light?! was inspired by Godzilla. The Polish Pickup site describes it as a “black-based blue with a shot of bright blue and silver”. The formula for this polish is great. Because it’s so glitter heavy, you might expect it to be gritty on the nail, but it is not. It has a perfect balance between base and glitter, and it’s opaque in 2 easy-breezy coats.
Now this is a beauty! The blackened base is dramatic and mysterious. And then, you have that beautiful and slightly unexpected flash of blue and silver. It’s icy and frosty — like a little “zing” against the darker base color. I basically discovered CrowsToes through Polish Pickup, and they are quickly becoming a favorite brand for me. I love their creative and fun approach!
Ever After, Wolfsbane was inspired by a werewolf. The Polish Pickup site describes it as a “deep, ultra marine blue holo with electric blue sparkle and a hint of purple”. The formula for this polish is great. It practically glides onto the nail and is opaque in 2 coats.
This polish had me at hello! Like … for realZ. It is so, so, so, sooooooo stinkin’ pretty! I love the depth and richness in the blue base. And then, you have those hints of sparkle that peek through: blue and purple flashes as the light plays across your nail. It’s magical and mysterious and has a twilight/early evening feeling to it. I love it so darn much.
Le Polish, I’m Sexy and I Gnome It was inspired by a gnome in Gravity Falls. The Polish Pickup site describes it as a “teal jelly with strong red shimmer and various rainbow flakies and glitters”. The formula for this polish is great. It has loads of glitter, so it is somewhat textured on the nail. But not too textured. It smoothes out nicely with a top coat, and it is easy to apply. It’s opaque in 2 coats.
Wow!! I don’t know anything about Gravity Falls, but I know I LOVE this. Love it!! There are so many glitters in here. It really is like a gnome barfed a rainbow out onto my nails. This sounds horrible, but, in reality, it is the most fabulous thing ever. Ever! Le Polish is another indie brand that has quickly captured a place in my polish loving heart. I love their glitter combinations to the moon and back!
LynB Designs, Siren Song was inspired by the Sirens. The Polish Pickup site describes it as a “bright sky blue base with aqua shimmer, holo micro shimmer, and chameleon iridescent glitters”. The formula for this polish is great. It is nearly a 1-coater and oh-so-easy to apply. It was opaque in 2 coats. It’s slightly textured on the nail, but it smooths out well with top coat.
This is yet another new-to-me brand. I could not resist this polish when I saw the teaser pictures. It’s such a gorgeously perfect shade of blue. As we all know, blue is my weakness, big-time. This polish has so many sparkles. They twinkle and blink out at you as the light shifts and changes. It has a very ocean or mermaid feeling to it.
Poetry Cowgirl, Things Within Us was inspired by Penny Dreadful. The Polish Pickup site describes this polish as a “delicate and hauntingly beautiful gray crelly packed with holo pigment, iridescent red flakies, red and blue sparkles, and a slight blue shimmer flash”. The formula is great. It is smooth and easy to apply, and it’s not too sheer, particularly for a crelly. It was opaque for me in 2 coats.
This polish. Ugh!! So, so, so freaking GORGEOUS!! It is beautiful and delicate on the nail. I love how bright it is, and how all the elements of the polish work together to create depth and dimension. And those flashes of red — YUM! They are unexpected and absolutely perfect.
Polish M, I Wear My Head on My Sleeve was inspired by the Headless Horseman. The Polish Pickup site describes it as a “metallic electric blue with aqua to violet shifty pigment, silver holo micro flakes, scattered silver holo galaxy glitter, and iridescent purple micro flakes”. The formula for this polish is great. It’s super easy to apply and nearly opaque in 1 coat. I used 2 for my swatch picture.
This polish is va-va-va-VOOM gorgeous!! Just look at that tone of blue. Electric, indeed! It practically sizzles off the nail. I love, love, love this bright blue base, and the aqua tints running through it give it even more punch. This was my first Polish M acquisition, and I think it is beyond fabulous.
Supernatural Lacquer, Como se Llama-corn? was inspired by a Llama-corn (of course!). In case you’re wondering, a Llama-corn is a mythical creature that is the offspring of a Llama and a Unicorn. The Polish Pickup site describes it as a “blurple base with a purple to blue shift, hot pink color shift flakes, and scattered holo”. The formula is great. It’s opaque in 1-2 coats. I was happy with 1 coat on some nails and wanted 2 on others.
This is a beautiful and unexpected color combination. I adore the flashes of pink throughout the base. And I love the base color. It reminds me of denim. Supernatural Lacquer is another brand that is new to me this month. As with the others, color me impressed. This playful and cheeky polish makes me want to add more from this brand to my ever-growing stash. I particularly love their brush, too. This is another brand that has a nice, wide brush, which makes getting that perfect manicure a snap!
Top Shelf Lacquer, Not Your Average Unicorn Brew was inspired by a golden unicorn. The Polish Pickup site describes it as a “warm rose gold polish featuring a linear holo finish, copper fleck, and multi-colored metallic flakes”. The formula is great. It practically applies itself, although it goes on a tad sheer toward the free edge of the nail. Even so, it was opaque for me in 2 coats.
This is my first Top Shelf Lacquer polish, and it is magical! The rose gold base is pretty and warm. It seems to glow off the nail, and I love how the flakes and glitters add a lovely depth and interest to the finished look on the nail.
And that’s it for my October Polish Pickup haul! Well, almost. I still have the one polish that needs to make its way to me. Can you see why October totally blew my budget? There were so many polishes I wanted. I felt like I was being excessive at ordering 12, but my original wish list had a whopping 30 polishes on it! Given that, I think I did pretty well at paring things down. It was hard, though. So, so haaaaaard.
The November theme is fandoms. I’m hoping it will be an easier month for me. Most of the fandoms are not of interest to me. I’m not a person who likes the “normal” things that seem to take the rest of the internet by storm. And I generally like older fandoms. Maybe my wallet will get a chance to recover — ha, ha! If you’re interested in shopping for November, the site will be open from November 3-6.
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