"Superchiclacquer" Secret Santa Sack!

This year (some time in the beginning of November I believe) I was scrolling through Instagram when Michelle from Reverie Nail lacquer posted that she was being part of a "indie secret Santa sack" by the user Superchiclacquer. Seeing as I am new to indies and have only tried a few brands- I figured this would be an awesome way to try out some other indie brands I've never heard of!

The day that I got back from Vegas I arrived to my package which was in a velvety red Santa sack AND each polish was individually wrapped! I realized this would be perfect for gifts or to put under a tree but said f*ck it, and opened them right away, of course. 

I believe the price was $30 for about $40 worth of product. I haven't had a chance to swatch these all, but I thought I would share with you what awesomeness came in this bag.

PLEASE NOTE these are no longer for sale, as they only sold 100 and sold out almost immediately. If you find other secret Santa sacks, please, inform me! 

One polish I got was in CARAMEL SWIRL by Colores de Carol. I have seen her polishes before but never took the bite to get one! This one is a chocolate colored holo. I might want to eat it if I wear it. 

Next up is GILDED HOLY by Alchemy Lacquer. The name sounds familiar, but nothing particular sticks to mind. I suppose I was never too fascinated! This color is SUPER Christmasy, but honestly doesn't appeal to me much- its a light green with dark green, silver and red glitter. I don't fall for polishes with tons of shimmer like this one, most times. Maybe I will love it more swatched! 

*DROOLS* Holy crap. This polish is "JINGLE BELL ROCK" by Above the Curve lacquer....I've ever heard of them but now I am glad that I have! This is a crimson and linear holo. I'm actually wearing this right now and it is beautiful. Probably my favorite in the bunch!

The last full sized polish I got was "JACK FROST" by Smitten polish. Another brand I have never heard of- but is a beautiful light blue that truly does look like a frosty light blue polish with all the holo sparkly goodness. My second favorite!

Lastly I got a small container with Christmas themed glitter- some silver sparkles, candy canes etc. I also got "Sugar Plum Princess" by Crazy Sister Designs- it is a mini sized glitter topper with pink and silver sparkles. Very pretty! NOT PICTURED IS A MINI TOP COAT.

ILNP Ultra Chrome Flakies PART 1

I recently recieved my ILNP Ultra Chrome Flakies collection- that's 13 bottles of holy goodness. However, I do not have the patience nor the time to swatch 13 bottles in one sitting! I found some time today to capture some shots and some swatches of 6 of the polishes to share, and plan to post the rest within the next couple of days. 

PLEASE NOTE I have horrible lighting inside and it is incredibly hard to capture these polishes. They all are very different and have duochromes that make them appear different depending on lighting- and like I said, I have no lighting. 

With that said, check out these pretties! 

Each polish comes in a matte black box, with a heart shape showing the color and the brands label. I love these boxes, and am keeping my polishes in them as a pretty display! 

A list of ingredients and stuff is on the back of the box, sorry its blurry, but this is just to give a general idea. 

Each box has a sticker on the top which tells you the color name. 

As you can see, each bottle has a sticker on the bottom of the bottle as well with the color name. The first color I have here is BRILLIANCE, which is a mostly green, gold and slight purple shift polish. This is 2 coats over bare nail. 

The second polish here I have is GAIA, this is the first polish I used (except when worn was put over a dark jelly green). This color is mostly green with a turquoise and blue shift. This is also 2 coats over bare nail. 

This here is ELECTRIC CARNIVAL, which is probably the most bought and swatched polish from this collection. Its a purple, gold/copper and green shifted polish. This as well is also 2 coats over bare nail, I really like this one but it is not my favorite. 

This color right here is METROPOLIS. It is mostly purple, with a blue purple shift. I realize most of these polishes have the same tones, but in different saturations. As you can see, there is also a goldish tone to this one as well. This is also 2 coats, even though for some reason was more sparse. 

I have NO idea how I forgot a bottle shot of this polish! However, this is OPEN FIELDS which is mainly green with gold and orange duochrome. Very pretty. Also 2 coats over a bare nail. 

Last but not least for this set is SUPERNOVA which is my favorite out of the 6 I posted today! This has so many beautiful shifts but mostly purple and green. This is 2 coats over a bare nail....and I think I would wear it just like this! 

OVERALL OPINION

These polishes are expensive, at about $12.50 per bottle. I bought the whole collection for presale around $160. While they are more expensive, they are worth every penny. These polishes look different depending on the lighting and are super shiny with an almost metallic finish! While they look difficult to remove.... THEY WIPE OFF WITH A BREEZE! I use my normal acetone dip it tub, and they come off quicker and easier than glitter! You can use it by itself and build up over a bare nail, or as a single layer over polish. My only "complaint" is they can be very liqudy- so make sure to dab off the brush and let excess fall off into the bottle before applying.

Overall I give these a 9.5/10! 

Ciate Mini Mani Month (Advent Calendar!)

I have always wanted an advent calendar, just because they seem cool. When I found out they had NAIL POLISH advent calendars I was so excited! It was last year, and each of the retailed for around $50. All of the advent calendars use mini nail polishes, and I couldn't talk myself into the purchase. 

The thought almost completely slipped my mind until I was browsing through TJMaxx/Home Goods and found "Ciate's mini mani month" advent calendar! I know this isn't 2014's, I believe it was from either last year or the year before as I recall seeing them at Sephora. Retail price is $50 and I got mine for half price at $25!

Just wanted to pop on and show some pictures and a brief explanation. I was curious what other nail polish advent calendars are out there, if you have own one and how you have been liking unveiling a new beautiful polish every day. Leave your comments below, I'd love to hear from you! 

UPDATE: I should be recieving my ILNP Ultra Chrome Flakies collection any day now, and I can't wait to do some swatches for you! I will also be getting my "secret santa" indie sack & a few bottles and cuticle balms from Reverie lacquer. Below is a picture of a new nail and cuticle product that I picked up for only $4 at TjMaxx, and I plan to do a review in the near future as well. :) 

Nail and Cuticle Care!

Behind every manicurist, is a woman who wishes she had perfect nails. And in most cases- that simply isn't the case. However, there are certain products and routines that can help nails grow faster, become stronger, stop peeling and keep them from yellowing. It is a trial and error process, but below I list some of the products I use and why I love them so much! Taking care of your cuticles and nails is important to keep them healthy and have a long lasting manicure. All of these products would be a create starter kit!

Cuticle Clippers
(~$3 for a set, including cuticle pushers + free shipping!)

Personally, I don't clip my cuticles. When dead skin builds up around the edges of my finger, sometimes I use them to trim away after a long soak in the shower. The real power of these babies is using them for cutting your actual nails! Yup. I end up with straight, mostly smooth square nails in which I can file any way I like. Also helpful to cut corners, or create more almond like shapes.

Crystal Nail Files

($8 at Sephora, on sale for $5 today!)

Normal nail files work, sure. Crystal nail files however prevent your nails from peeling after they have been filed down. The sound somewhat irritates me, personally, but I did adjust. The one I use (linked) comes in a little hard case which can be taken anywhere, and is a cute size.

Cuticle Pusher
(~$3 for the set, including clippers, free shipping!)

The set I got (also linked, and came with clippers) is metal. This makes them easy to sterilize! They are also sturdy and do not bend. I use these to push my cuticle back after using an oil or a serum, which creates a clean smooth like and easy nail polish clean up.

Essie Quick Dissolve

I found this baby for $2 at Big Lots one time and now, I'm hooked! I don't get any oily residue and it works quite well at softening the cuticles enough to push them back. It doesn't dry them out, and also prevents your cuticles from peeling and cracking. You can use this before you clip your cuticles, if you do, but I find applying this, following instructions and pushing back leaves my cuticles in nice order. I had problems finding this online.

Nivea Cream

This is a major love of my life! I own probably 10 tins, opps. I buy the baby sizes for only $1, yup, $1! These are amazing to apply after long work days, before and after manicures, when your cuticles begin to dry, and to counteract the damages of acetone. I love using this- and apply before every manicure, after using acetone, to soften and heal my cuticles and the skin around my nail.

Julep Nail Serum 
(~$21 INCLUDING Freedom top coat) 

This was a gift to me as part of a kit that came with the Freedom top coat. I wouldn't say this is a required product, but it has vitamins to enrich the nails. I apply it last, before base coats, and rub it into the nail and skin. Doesn't leave much of an oily residue, a little goes a long way and most of all, blends in super smoothly. 

Duri Rejvacote

(~$8-10 on Amazon)

I haven't had a chance to grab a new bottle of this, but when I began my huge nail journey I stumbled across these on Amazon and it is BY FAR the best base coat I have ever used. This product makes my nails grow 4x as fast (helpful for when I DO get a break), strengthens the nails, reduces chipping and most of all peeling goes away completely. A must have, even if you do not paint your nails, to keep them healthy and in shape.

ORLY Nail Defense
(~$8-10 on Amazon)

I use the ORLY protein nail defense lately while I wait for my new Rejuvacote. This is supposed to help protect and stregthen the nails and applies almost like a liquid. It can be more expensive than Rejuvacote, but for those who don't shop online or live near a Wallmart, this would be my next favorite nail protector.

ILNP "Ultra Chrome Flakies 2014" Pre-Order TODAY!

For those who are into indie polishes, I'm sure they have heard of and played around with ILNP, or, I love nail polish. They make some amazing flakies, glitter polishes and chrome polishes I have been eyeing. With the pre-order today, I decided to go all out and purchased the whole "2014 Ultra Chrome Flakies" collection. I'm a bad girl. But I did it anyways, cause, polish.

[Picture directly from website] 

For those who are interested, they are still on pre-sale on their website for $11.50 each, or $149 for the whole collection. The permanent price will be $12.50 a bottle, so if you are interested, check her polishes out now! 

The link is: www.ilnp.com 

Those who are interested or have purchased, which colors are you going to get? :)

Welcome! + Pahlish "Happy Holo-ween" Collection

Welcome to Sparkly Nail Things! 

Nails are my obsession, and if you're here- they're probably yours too! Well, you've come to the right place, I think. I've combined my obsession with nails and writing, into one thing: Blogging! I've also recently stumbled across the world of online shopping and indie nail brands, and my interest is at an all time high. I plan to share and write a variety of things here, including guest bloggers. If you are interested in being a guest blogger, please feel free to leave a comment! 

Apart from that, my name is Deborah. I'm 21 years old, I live in California and I'm a sucker for nail polish. It's probably the only clean and well maintained area in my whole room, but for obvious reasons, you know, priorities ;) But this is all the boring stuff, feel free to message me if you are any questions! 

Also, all photos are taken with my Nikon D3200, unless otherwise stated, in which they are taken with my crappy half broken Galaxy S3. So, ONTO THE GOOD STUFF!

Pahlish's "Happy Holo-ween" Collection

A part from a few KBshimmers and destash polishes, this collection was my first full collection purchase. I've been eyeing Pahlish for a while as I venture into the indies of the polish world, and was struck at the beauty of all 5 of these holographic polishes. The bottles are amazingly cute, with a little ghost on them and black caps. Here are some cell phone quality swatches that I took: 

First we have "Carmel Apple Orchard" its a stunning red, with holo (of course). Almost looks burgundy when the holos are illuminated in the sun! It's a pretty simple nail polish but applies beautifully, I had no problems with application and this one only took 2 thin coats for opacity. 

 Next we have "Trick or Mint" which is my second favorite in this collection! Its a lime, or granny apple green with holo. The holos illuminate the yellow tones the most. I love how sparkly these all are! This one applies a little more thin and I needed 3 coats for opacity. 

 Next up is "Spectral Taffy" its a beautiful blue, and for some reason reminds me of blue raspberry icees! :P I love the holo in this one, which shines more silver than the others for some reason. .I love this color, but I was expecting it to be my favorite and it wasn't. This here is 3 coats!

This one right here, is my absolute favorite! "Sugar Plum Marshmallow" Is a grey holo which borederlines lavendar. It definitly has some purple tints, and to me, the holo appears most obviously in this shade. I thought it was super unique, and it applied smoothly. This here is 3 coats! 

Lastly is "Pop Rock Panic" is a holo purple, way more purple than Sugar Plum Marshmallow. Sorry if my color descriptions are pretty bland.... I have to get used to terminology, after all, I would call this one a "Jolly Rancher Grape" color ;) 

Overall opinion: I have seen polishes that are more holographic than these, with a wider variety of colors, but this was great for me to have a set of simple colors and experiment with holographics and how they apply! THESE APPLIED BEAUTIFULLY, and I had absolutely no issues with applications. My favorites, in order, go: Sugar Plum Marshmallow, Trick or Mint, Carmel Apple Orchard, Pop Rock Panic and then Spectral Taffy. They are all beautiful.

For anyone else who got this collection, what were your thoughts?