Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Featuring ellagee Handcrafted Nail Polish!

Indie Polish Review! Featuring ellagee Handcrafted Nail Polish!


Please note that these products were generously provided to me for review by Laura Garrett, owner and creator of ellagee Handcrafted Nail Polish.  The compensation in exchange for this review is pictured below, and provided polishes/gifts are graciously accepted and do not affect my opinions regarding the products.  This blog review post is my honest opinion for the owner's and any consumers' benefit.  I would like to thank Laura for giving me this opportunity.  :)

Hi, all!  I have such an amazing review to show you tonight!  I have been working on this allllll day!  (Warning: Picture heavy post!!!)   There is a really great up and coming Indie brand who is now allowing pre-orders on etsy.com for their first collection!  The new brand is called ellagee and Laura Garrett is the talented creator of the new Sparkling Spring Wildflower Collection, shipping out pre-orders on April 1st!  You can find the ellagee shop here, on etsy.com!

When Laura asked for Bloggers to submit their information if interested in reviewing her new polishes I quickly sent her a message hoping for a chance to do this.  She messaged me back and I couldn't believe it!  I am so happy that she is allowing me along with a few other really great bloggers a first look at this collection!

The Sparkling Spring Wildflower Collection is absolutely beautiful!  Laura made very artistic polishes that well represent the flowers she named them for.  I'm a country-raised girl out in Texas and I was so pleased to see these colors! ;)

The colors that Laura sent to me for review from this collection included Prairie Clover, and Downy Paintbrush!  But wait, there's one more!  Laura also provided a surprise polish titled Beyond the Sea from her upcoming collection You're the Top, which will be released in mid April!  Ahhhh, these are SO much fun, so let's get started!!!

Firstly I would like to show off this absolutely adorable packaging and gift that Laura sent!
Thank you <3 for the handwritten note!
I love the handwritten note because it is forever a souvenir for me to remember the first new Indie Polish review I was asked to do! :)
Love the treats included!  Smarties and a girly file!
Colors provided from L-R: Prairie Clover, Downy Paintbrush, and Beyond the Sea

Colors provided from L-R: Prairie Clover, Downy Paintbrush, and Beyond the Sea

Colors provided from L-R: Prairie Clover, Downy Paintbrush, and Beyond the Sea
Regarding Prairie Clover and Downy Paintbrush: the formula was pretty typical of a jelly polish, sheer but it covered well and dried pretty quickly.  There was no trouble getting any glitter out of the bottle or with the spreading!  There was no trouble with the glitter being completely covered by the jelly and most of it sat right on the top of my mani, nice and sparkly!  I am not a huge fan of layering jelly polish like some, but I believe you can make this opaque by itself in three coats.  For my swatch to show off the color, glitter and depth I used two medium coats.  I also provided a couple photos of the jellies layered once over a coordinating undies color for something a little different.  Please note that this polish is very nicely made, no goopy textures, and I did not use any top coat for any of the swatch manis unless I state otherwise.  Great jelly polish!!!!

First up is Prairie Clover, which is described by ellagee as a "purple jelly base with shades of purple, lavender, lilac, magenta, and white hexagon and square glitter."  I was so happy to see a PURPLE polish in my goodie bag!  This little cutie really caught my attention because it had tiny little lavender square glitter and magenta circle glitter that really pop out of the jelly.  I fell for it immediately and I enjoy it for what it is as well as over a thicker base color.
Prairie Clover: two coats, no undies or top coat.

Prairie Clover: two coats, no undies or top coat.
Prairie Clover, one coat, over China Glaze Coconut Kiss, no top coat.

Prairie Clover, one coat, over China Glaze Coconut Kiss, no top coat.

Next we have Downy Paintbrush which is described by ellagee as a "coral jelly base with shades of red, orange, yellow, gold, and hot pink hexagon and square glitter."  I'm happy to see this color described as coral because in the bottle it struck me as a red base but on my nail it seemed to be a bit orange tinted.  This color was a pleasure to work with as well: no fishing for glitter and it layered very nicely.  The glitter still sat right on the top as wanted and it is so very sparkly.  Laura is clearly very good at picking glitter shapes and colors to compliment each other!
Downy Paintbrush: two coats, no undies or top coat.
Downy Paintbrush: two coats, no undies or top coat.
Downy Paintbrush, one coat, over Essie Bazooka, no top coat.

Downy Paintbrush, one coat, over Essie Bazooka, no top coat.
Next up is my favorite of the three: Beyond the Sea!  I fell in love with this polish on sight!  Not only is it a perfectly named beauty, but the glitter color choices blew my mind.  I can't help but relate this glitter to The Little Mermaid.  I can't help it!  This glitter polish is a clear base filled with many sizes of turquoise hexes, some yellow hexes, tiny turquoise squares,  as well as teeny tiny yellow and magenta glitters.  Oh my goodness, isn't it lovely!?  I wanted to show you over a black base as well as a white base, and I also was in awe of how lovely the glitter is with a matte top coat.
Beyond the Sea: 1 coat over black with Essie Matte About You, 1 coat over white with Essie Matte About You,
1 coat over black with no top coat, 1 coat over white with no top coat.
Agh, I just cannot get over it!  I love it over the black, and yet I love it even more over white!
Now, check this out.  I wanted to do something a little different with this polish and use a bright, fun color to make it pop in a summery sort of way without taking away from the colors that are already in it.  Behold:  ellagee's Beyond the Sea over China Glaze Orange You Hot? with Essie Matte About You top coat.  Yes.  I went there. <3 <3 <3

It's sort of like a summer sunset on the beach to me.  It just makes me think WARM.  And sunglasses.  And mermaid.  And tanning.  I am going to wear this mani until it chips away!  My other idea for these beauties is to use them over some holographics because the transparency of the formula is just right to grab a spectraflair sparkle and not take away from the brilliance of Laura's creation....  How do I know, you ask?  Well, it's because I have already tried it!  LOL.  Maybe you should go visit the Pre-Order Listing for these babies, grab some, and try out the infinite combinations that are available with these versatile colors.  (Oh, and then send me pics!!!!)

Thank you, Laura, for creating such a fun collection and allowing me to check them out!  I cannot wait to see what else you are doing with the You're the Top Collection!!!!

7 comments:

  1. I also meant to add in there that I adore the mini bottles and labels! Very unique, classy, & girly! Love them!!!!

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  2. I love Beyond the Sea over Orange You Hot ? ! And I, too, thought of sandy beaches drenched in the hot sun. (Your description is spot on!) My kind of colors! ~~ Mim

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    1. Isn't it lovely!? She is awesome with her glitter combos.

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  3. Thanks so much for the great review Stephanie! I'm tickled pink that you liked them <3

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    1. They really are gorgeous! I need to get a hold of Good Morning Sunflower for sure, also! And I may need a bigger bottle of Beyond the Sea! LOL ;)

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  4. beyond the sea is amazing! as are the others, but i'm loving what i've seen of her next collection so far. I might have to figure out how to get the money to order a couple when they release, haha.

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    1. I can't wait to get some more of them myself! :)
      Thanks for reading my review, Katherine!

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