Pirate Polish

This blog is the home of Pirate Polish! To see Pirate Polish swatches, click here. To visit Pirate Polish on Facebook, click here.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

OPI Stay The Night (Liquid Sand)

I couldn't resist picking up the four new OPI liquid sand minis- I'm always intrigued by a new texture/effect in nail polish, and I haven't seen anything quite like this before. Today I've got "Stay The Night" to show you- this is a black with red glitter combination. It makes me think of asphalt with glowing red embers. I found application to be easy, and this covered in two coats. In reality, the red glitter in this sparkles like crazy- definitely worth checking out in person!




This last picture was taken shortly after application, and it looks a little bit glossy yet. I did find that in order to maximize the fully matte "liquid sand" look, it is best to let this one dry completely. I've noticed that with some swatches of Stay The Night other bloggers have mentioned that they wish it was less glossy and more matte- I think this may be partly because Stay The Night was swatched, but not allowed to fully dry. Just a hunch, anyways.


Overall, I really like the liquid sand effect. It's not terribly gritty, although if you're sensitive to texture you might not like it. The best way I could think to describe it was that it feels kind of like a cat's tongue. Okay, that sounds like a weird comparison to make, but it's strangely accurate. It's not so gritty that it will snag on anything, but it does feel kind of rough. 

The other interesting thing I noticed about this polish is that when first applied, it looks like a normal non-glitter polish. Then it kind of granulized into this grittier finish. Pretty cool. Removal was also a breeze- not at all like removing an all-glitter polish. 

What do you you think of the liquid sand finish? Have you, or will you, be trying these out? I'd love to hear your thoughts on these!

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Zoya Dove + Pirate Polish Love In A Cold Climate

Zoya Dove is a gorgeous (you guessed it) dove grey creme. Application was lovely, and it covered in two coats. I'm especially pleased with this grey because it's fairly neutral- it doesn't lean too green or too blue. It's perfect. And now it's my #1 grey creme. 


I decided to top Zoya Dove with two coats of Pirate Polish Love In A Cold Climate; all in all, I think I prefer Love In A Cold Climate layered over a dark blue, but this is still quite pretty. Mmm, blue heart-shaped glitter.




I purchased Zoya Dove from Nail Polish Canada; when I picked it up, I also nabbed the other polishes from the same collection (Zoya Intimate Collection Spring 2011). At the time, it was on sale for $36- it doesn't seem to be now, but it might be worth keeping your eye on if you're looking to pick this collection up!

Pirate Polish Love In A Cold Climate is part of my Valentine's Day Collection, currently available in the Pirate Polish Etsy shop. I'm currently away, so all orders will ship after my return this weekend, but to make up for the inconvenience I've activated a coupon code to give you a 10% discount off your order- just enter "AWAYONVACAY" as a coupon code and your order will be adjusted accordingly.

What do you think of Zoya Dove as a base for Love In A Cold Climate?

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Nails Inc - Sweets Way

Today I've got one of the Nails Inc Sprinkles polishes to share with you; some time ago I also showed you Pudding Lane and Sugar House Lane, but I think Sweets Way tops them both. This is a milky-based glitter polish, featuring delicate blue, peachy-pink, and white glitters in a white base. I don't recall application being too much of a pain, and it had decent coverage; overall, an excellent lacquer. 




What do you think of Sweets Way? Did you pick this one up when it first came out?

Monday, January 21, 2013

Pirate Polish Cinnamon Girl (layered over OPI Midnight in Moscow)

Tonight I have a twist on one of the shades from the Pirate Polish "Love In A Cold Climate" Valentine's Day collection. While Cinnamon Girl can be worn alone as a (very bright and intense) red jelly, as shown in my original swatches of the Pirate Polish Valentine's Day collection, it can also be layered over a darker shade to show more contrast between the red base and the multitude of red glitter. In this case, I used one coat of Cinnamon Girl layered over OPI Midnight in Moscow. 





OPI Midnight in Moscow, by itself:


Overall, I'm pretty thrilled with how this turned out; I love seeing the contrast between the base and the red glitter, in all it's varied shapes and sizes. Speaking of which, how enormous and awesome is that giant square red glitter?

Cinnamon Girl is currently in stock (along with the rest of the Valentine's Day collection) in the Pirate Polish Etsy store.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Multichrome Madness: Enchanted Polish I Am The Walrus + Bonjour Paris

If you haven't tried any of Enchanted Polish's incredible multichromes, you're probably missing out. Case in point? Enchanted Polish's I Am The Walrus, an amazing multicoloured splendour that shifts from purplish red to orangey gold to something approaching green. Oh, did I mention it also has scattered holographic particles? Feast your eyes:







As if that wasn't enough, I topped this manicure off with Enchanted Polish's Bonjour Paris, a colour-shifting glitter topcoat. Bonjour Paris is mostly purple and blue with some flashes of red and gold. Combined with I Am The Walrus, this was pretty mind-blowing.




I haven't seen this much multichrome awesomeness since THIS happened. What do you think of this manicure? Do you own any Enchanted Polish lacquers?

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Illamasqua Nomad

Tonight I've got a really awesome polish to share with you- this is Illamasqua Nomad. A gorgeous and unique jade green creme. I don't have any other shade like this- it's not as blue-toned as most mint shades are. It's also quite saturated. In terms of formula, it was flawless. Perfect coverage in two coats. 





I couldn't resist including a couple photos of this mani with the ring I was wearing it with: a cute white rabbit. Although these last two photos aren't the most colour accurate, I really love how Nomad looked paired with it.



Nomad is currently available through Illamasqua, and I'd also highly recommend checking out their seriously amazing sale... a lot of incredible items are a steal at 5 pounds a piece. This includes a lot of awesome nail lacquers, so definitely check it out!

If you're curious about my ring, I got it here.

What do you think of Illamasqua Nomad? Have you taken advantage of their current sale?

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Pirate Polish "Love In A Cold Climate" collection swatches (Valentine's Day 2013)

I'm thrilled to announce the release of the Pirate Polish "Love In A Cold Climate" collection for Valentine's Day 2013! This collection is a set of four polishes, and I think there is something here for everyone. 


Left to right: Be Mine, Lovandula, Cinnamon Girl, Love In A Cold Climate 



First up is Be Mine, a soft candy pink creme peppered with fine golden accents: subtle golden flakes and tiny golden holographic sparkles. By far the most demure polish of the collection, this lacquer fits the bill if you're looking for something soft and sweet, and yet it has more going on than your standard pink pastel. Be Mine is opaque in two coats.





Lovandula is the perfect lavender glitter bomb; tiny purple holographic glitter, bubblegum pink hexagonal glitter, an abundance of diamond-shaped lavender glitter, and large silver holographic hex glitter. For such a cute looking polish, this lacquer definitely packs a big holographic punch. Lovandula is shown below, two coats over a purple creme.


Lovandula also conveniently doubles as a disco ball, in case of impromptu Valentine's Day dance parties...




Cinnamon Girl is a scorchingly bright red jelly, teeming with red glitter in every imaginable shape and size. It also features tiny silver holo glitter, which adds extra depth and sparkle. I really love the idea of red-on-red when it comes to combining a red jelly with red glitters. While opaque by itself in three coats, this polish can also be layered over a dark vampy shade to bring out more contrast between the base colour and the red glitter. I'll be sure to show you swatches of what Cinnamon Girl looks like layered in the coming days.






Love In A Cold Climate is this collection's namesake, and is notable for its abundance of icy blue and white hearts. It also contains a wide range of bright blue and snowy white glitters in various shapes and sizes, as well as tiny iridescent blue square glitters. Here I've shown two coats of Love In A Cold Climate over a deep blue creme.




I'm happy to announce that this collection will also be available in miniatures. The set of four minis is priced at $18 ($5 individually), while the set of four full-size polishes costs $36 ($10 individually). 


These polishes are currently in stock at the Pirate Polish Etsy store, and are limited edition for Valentine's Day. For more information, and to stay up to date on new releases, check Pirate Polish out on Facebook.

What do you think of these sweet offerings for Valentine's Day? Are you feeling the love?