Secret Indie Polish Review No. 2

On Mother's Day weekend a bunch of indie nail polish shops were having good sales so I went with one at random. Unfortunately it was a totally different experience than with Wicked Polish (which I happen to be wearing AGAIN as I type this - is it too early for me to settle down with one polish elf and become a junkie??). She's doing a polish restock today and it's KILLING ME. Drunk in Public looks like a cupcake exploded! Want.

But I also want to explore other sellers so I can better guide other moms (and non-moms!) who want to know more about how to find these polishes. There are so many people I know who'd rather support a starving artist than a corporation (purchased from another corporation) but the indie nail polishes are more of an in-the-know-already scene, so unless you're digging already it's hard to find out more. Since writing my last entry so many people have been like, I had NO idea!!! I'm still learning a lot myself.

So in the interest of not settling down with my original elf I found a new one - selected at random. I liked that her ad included leopard print. Yeah, ads count! It caught my eye! She is also a mother so that was another reason I chose her - and I liked the polishes I saw. Some GLOWED IN THE DARK! You can take the girl out of the rave, but you can never take the PLUR from her heart!

Second Indie Polish Review

This is where it gets a little harder for me to write: I know someone's craft is Their Baby. I feel badly when something turns out poorly because I know the creator is putting their heart and soul into doing something they love. That is why I've decided to not mention the name of the seller but use this experience to let new indie polish buyers to know what to look for.

Fresh out of the envelope: my two new indie polishes.

OK, diving in with the honesty: these bottles aren't full. They look pretty, though!

Now, not to beat a dead horse, but...

They're really not full and that's not cool. Just for a line up (keeping hush on the brands so if you figure it out it won't be because I blabbed):

• The yellow I've used more than half a dozen times at two coats an application and in nail art.


• The pink is an indie polish that I've used 4-6 coats of and it is thick!


• White - three coats


• Peach - two coats

Peach Glow-in-the-dark!

This is the better of the two polishes. It's two coats of glow over two coats of an apricot-scented polish by Revlon. I was too tired to do a third or a top coat because it was taking FOREVER to dry; I'm sure the humidity wasn't helping. When I asked the seller a secret shopper question on Instagram (I saw a blue version swatched on someone's nails that was beautiful had a nice amount of glitzy bling - this shade wasn't swatched anywhere that I could find) her response was at least three (3!!!!) to be fair I'll try three on over a basecoat but I'm not in a rush. The glow was faint after holding it directly under a lightbulb and wouldn't show up in a photograph at all. But it was still cute - good for some place with UV lights, I bet. I'll send Lirpa out on the town for a report.

Milky gel with glitter? Squint - see?

Then there was The Other Polish. This is three coats of this polish on a base coat and with a top coat. I was really excited to try this one because the swatch I saw showed milky nails with lots of glitzy bling sparkle. It looked nothing like what I have going on here ::disappointment::

Crazy angle so you can see the minimal glitter.

Now, with THREE COATS (3!!!!!!!!) I got exactly EIGHT (8!!!!!!!) sparkles. ...both hands included. TOTAL. That's not cool. The hologram glitter was so rad (that's the one on my middle finger and the two you can see on the other hand above). I would have flipped out if this polish was packed with it. Oh, it would have been beautiful! Even if my nails weren't a "white crelly" (AKA jelly/milky) like they were said to be...and that the demonstration nails showed. I really wish I could show you the swatch because it was so creamy you could barely see the nail underneath.

Also, I was inspired to make my first meme:

...because who does? If it was for something that dazzled me YES, YES! I'll make time for that! But for two clear polishes with the bare minimum of sparkle, no. I do not. It just made me nail-sad.

So what did I learn on this particular Indie Adventure?

• Not all polish elves are equal - stalk them for a while before making a purchase.


• Do they have a large following?


• Ask how many coats are used if it isn't posted - I'd seen people do this and wondered why but now I get it.


• Do a hashtag search (like on Instagram) because if people are loving it they will be hashtagging to show off (try # fairybloodsplatter - you'll see! Girl has a visual montage!)

I didn't contact the seller prior to purchasing because I wanted to be an average customer. I noticed she gives discounts to bloggers but does that mean we'd get a better polish to show off and promote? I did write in the comments while purchasing on Etsy that I was really excited to review her polishes so I dropped a hint. 

There just wasn't the TLC that came with my previous experience. ...and no, there was definitely no candy or even a stamped thank you. When I was a seller I used to always include something fun with my packages. It's what takes handmade products one step further - even a scribbled "thanks" or a heart, a sticker or stamp, just something for that human touch. It only takes a second.

Lirpa will be following up on Friday by trying one or the other. I'll eat my words if something earth-shattering changes. The above is my review based on my unsolicited personal experience.

Meanwhile I'll be looking for a new indie-polish-elf to make my next purchase from - and given the criteria I've listed above I have a couple girls in mind. 

Onward & upward!

UPDATE: Lirpa's Review

Seven coats of polish, 9 pieces of glitter.

I wanted Lirpa to try both these polishes to make sure I wasn't crazy. She liked the peach (as did I for the most part) and didn't use a base color. The creamy white went on clear and after seven layers she gave up with only 9 pieces of glitter...total. It was a huge disappointment especially when she saw the pictures of how they were supposed to look. The yellowing on her nails here is a stain from a previous polish and has nothing to do with the polishes I'm reviewing. 

These are your average chick's nails, though. Like, when you see all those girls with pretty indie polish or nail art they've either put it on their own lovely nails or found a swatching model to do it for them - your average nail polish-loving chick just has average nails like ours. That's another reason why I think these reviews are so important. If you haven't heard of indie polishes and want to know more it's better to hear about it from an outside consumer. The sellers (while independent) are also their own marketing.

It kills me to write anything negative, though.