Indie Review: Carpe Noctem Cosmetics: Autumnal Secrets

*Press Sample

*Cruelty and 3-Free

*Carpe Noctem Cosmetics

ONE MORE SLEEP UNTIL I GO TO FLORIDA.

I have not packed one thing but I am up to date on all my swatches!

Yesterday, I showed you the lovely Fall collection from Spellbound Nails!

Tonight I have another soon-to-be released Fall collection called Autumnal Secrets made by Emily from Carpe Noctem Cosmetics.

Full disclosure: The above swatches are my own and while that Fall photo emulates them mucho perfecto, I cannot take credit for it. I borrowed it from the Google monster and you can find it as a wallpaper here. 

Photo heavy but I know you don't mind :)

First up is Samhain Flame.

Samhain Flame is bright red metallic polish that has an auburn look about it in most lighting.

All of the polishes in this collection were 1 coaters, with the exception of Autumn Amber. I used 2 coats to even out any of the brush strokes that can often be seen with metallic type polishes.

1 coat of NYC on top.

The formula was easy to work with and the polish glided on nicely. You can see that even with 2 coats there are some brush strokes left behind, but the color of this is so intense that it hardly matters.

Samhain, for those of you wondering, 

is a Gaelic festival that marks the end of the harvest season and reminds us that 

'winter is coming'. 

Hah. Thanks for the reminder, Em!

BUT lets not rush the Fall weather shall we?!

Next up is Spiced Cider.

Spiced Cider is a rich chocolate brown. The problem with most brown polishes, is they often become too dark after a couple of coats.

That was not the case here. This was opaque in 1 coat but even with 2, the color did not darken very much with the second coat. I know, perfect color for some Football nail art, amiright?

Shown here with an 1 coat of NYC topcoat.

I had no trouble formula wise, it went on easily and dried nicely.

I am really loving the way the light reflects off of Spiced Cider, really showing off the lighter colored particles.

Next we have Autumn Amber.

Autumn Amber is a metallic gold, and essentially is the same shade as my skin here.

This was the only polish out of this collection that I found to not be a 1 coater. Because of the lighter nature, the first coat was splotchy and needed the second to even it out. I like that there is just a little bit of red sparkle giving it a more dynamic look.

Shown with 1 coat of NYC topcoat.

Overall, formula wise, this one wasn't as opaque as the rest of the polishes and it wasn't my favorite, I have used it a couple times for some nail art!

Next up is Mulled Wine.

Right off the bat, I knew this one would be one of my favorites. I fell in love with how appropriate the name is for this wine purple shade.

Last year, I went to Europe and spent a day in Germany. While there I tried glühwein, which is mulled wine. I thought it tasted terrible. I had a case of the dropsies that day and I ended out spilling a bunch on me. This was what color it was. 

Mulled Wine was a 1 coater, but the color was not nearly this deep with 1 coat. I wanted to liven up the color so I used 2 coats here. 1 coat of NYC top coat.

The formula on this one was thicker than the rest and I used thinner coats.

I tend to love these shades on my skin.

I wore this shade for several days and I currently have it on my toes paired with Gorgeous Gourd, which you'll see next!

All of Emily's polishes have such great wear! I get a full 2 weeks on my toes without needing any touchups and at least 5 days on my hands.

The perfecting pairing to Mulled Wine is Gorgeous Gourd.

Gorgeous Gourd is an intensely flame colored orange. I LOVE IT.

This is a serious surprise favorite for me. It is unlike anything in my collection and I didn't think it looked half bad on me.

The 1 coat opacity trend continues, but is shown here as 2 coats with 1 coat of NYC top coat. I wanted this orange to be as intense as it could be.

The formula was great on this one, flowed easily onto my nails and seemed to be the most even and without many streaks.

Want to know when I am going to wearing this?

WHEN THE SECOND HUNGER GAMES MOVIE COMES OUT IN NOVEMBER!

Remind you of the THE GIRL ON FIRE much?

Gahhhhh.

Last but, certaintly not least, is Creeping Ivy.

Creeping Ivy is a lovely emerald green. I liked that it wasn't too vibrant and was a bit more muted than the other polishes in this collection.

Another 1 coater, but I used 2 here with 1 coat of NYC top coat. Like GG, this one was absent of any brush strokes.

The formula was fabulous and it dried evenly.

Overall, I really love this collection. Between the amazing glitters you saw by Spellbound yesterday and these solids, I suppose I can say goodbye to summer and welcome Fall.

My top picks are Spiced Cider, Mulled Wine and Gorgeous Gourd. 

These polishes will be on sale Saturday, September 14th.

You can find Carpe Noctem Cosmetics at the following links:

Facebook | Etsy

Will you be picking any of these up?

**Disclosure: The product(s) in this post were provided to me by their manufacturer for my unbiased review. I covered the cost of shipping the samples. Please see my Disclaimer page for more info**

Indie Review: Spellbound Nails Fall Collection

*Press Sample

*3 Free and Cruelty Free

*Spellbound Nails

Happy Week(end)! We had perfect sunny Fall weather this weekend!

Today I have 6 lovely polishes from Spellbound Nails Fall Collection to show you! You have seen Spellbound Nails around these parts before here and here.

Ashley will be releasing these polishes on September 9th, TOMORROW! Get excited!

First up I have Under the Harvest Moon. 

This one was a surprise favorite for me. The color matched my skin tone perfectly! Under the Harvest Moon is a not-too-bright pinky coral. As summer fades into fall, this is the perfect transition shade. 

This polish is packed with a beautiful holo sparkle punch! Check out that sparkle in the macro above! 

It catches the light beautifully.

Under the Harvest Moon applies smoothly and is opaque in 2 coats. It dries quickly but it is a bit rough to the touch. This is really no problem at all and one coat of NYC top coat smoothed it out nicely.

Using Under the Harvest Moon as a base polish, I applied the glitter goodness of Fall in Love.

I am showing you 2 macro shots so you can really see the holo glitz in this glitter topper.

There is a lot going on here! We have black squares, large red hexes, small holo hexes, small red hexes and itty bitty holo sparkle! My kind of glitter!

I haven't tried many of Spellbound's glitter toppers, but after this collection, I am a believer!

This is just one coat of Fall in Love and I cannot believe the amazing coverage!

I used the glob and spread method and you can see the awesome glitter payoff! I didn't have to place or fish for any glitters and I still got a ton of every size and type of glitter.

This combination here is definitely one of my favorite looks. The red hexes in this glitter is going to make it work for a lot of different holiday seasons! Think Christmas and Valentines Day! 

Next up is Mocha for Two.

Mocha for Two is a gold base with gold holo glitter that shifts between gold, yellow, orange and red shades. There is also red hexes and small green and gold glitter that make up the base of this.

This reminds me of a crisp fall morning after the leaves have started to fall from the trees or Thanksgiving Day! 

Mocha for Two looks a little chunky in these photos but despite the high concentration of glitter it did smooth out after a coat of NYC top coat.

The gold really shines in the sun! 

Next up is Autumn Vixen. 

I am disappointed the pictures don't do this combo justice. I paired Autumn Vixen with my most favorite OPI polish, Vampsterdam.

I love square glitter. Something about it adds so much flare to any glitter topper. This topper has gold squares and hexes, and the same holo glitters that you saw in Mocha for Two that are shifting to an orange here.

Here it is in the shade! You can see the gold glitter a lot better here. Like Fall in Love, it goes on easily and there is perfect glitter coverage in just one coat. I used one coat of NYC top coat.

Next up is definitely my favorite combination! Ashley will be offering these 2 polishes as a duo tomorrow and I am so glad she is! Check out these 2:

First up I have Forever Green.

Forever green is a glitter bomb of forest green and a sprinkling of purple glitter.

The formula was by far one of the best I have ever encountered. It went on so fluidly and built up with amazing opacity.

The first coat goes on a little sheer and while you can get away with 2 coats, I chose to do three to really get this color to stand out.

Next I layered Fall n' Leaves in a glitter gradient.

Fall n' Leaves is the essence of Fall to me! It is packed with small gold circles, large red circles, orange, black and red hexes in 2 different sizes as well as some black squares and large black hexes.

I did get a couple of the large red circles and black hexes out of the bottle, but I put them back since I was really trying to achieve a falling leave look.

Using the glob and spread method, I used only 1 coat to get all this glitter! I sealed it all in with 1 coat of NYC. I ended out wearing this for a couple of days and because of the high concentration of glitter, you can imagine what a beast removal was. I will be using a PVA base when I wear this next!

Overall, I loved this collection with my top choices being the Fall Duo and Under the Harvest Moon.

You can see more swatches from Paint Those Piggies and Varnished Reputation!

These will be available for purchase tomorrow! You can follow Spellbound Nails at the following links:

Facebook | Blog | Etsy

What do you think? Are you ready for Fall? Will you be picking any of these polishes up?

**Disclosure: The product(s) in this post were provided to me by their manufacturer for my unbiased review. Please see my Disclaimer page for more info**

Indie Review: Monday Night Football with Glitterfied Nails

*Press Sample

*Cruelty & 3 Free

*Glitterfied Nails

There isn't a game on tonight, but there will be at some point this season, my man friends assure you. As you learned in my post last night, Football bamboozles me. But that definitely doesn't mean I can't rock some Team Spirit glitz on my nails!

Tonight I have 2 polishes from Andrea at Glitterfied Nails.
Both of these polishes are from her extensive Team and School Spirit line.
I am located in New England and we favor the New England Patriots. These polishes are absolutely perfect for Patriots fans! Or for anyone who has blue/white/silver school colors! Let me show you how I wore these awesome glitter toppers.

First up is Punt Return. Shown here as 1 coat over OPI I don't give a Rotterdam.

Punt Return is a perfect mix of dark blue, light blue and white glitters in multiple sized hexes and squares. There are small white hexes and glitter that glint a nice gold, that really adds dimension to this polish. 

The formula is flawless. The glitter spread very easily and dried smooth. Using the glob and spread method, I got a ton of glitter coverage. I gave the bottle a good shake before I started painting, and I had no trouble getting at least 1 large square out of the bottle. Because the squares were a little larger, I did fish out others to add to my nails.

I really liked this glitter and wanted to try it over a few other colors. I ended out really loving it over the red! Check out a close up! The small white and gold really stands out here!

Polishes used: OPI Red, OPI Suzi Loves Cowboys, Color Club Chelsea Girl. 

Next up is Free Safety. This one is totally for those Patriots Fans out there!

Free Safety is shown here over 2 coats of Orly Boho Bonnet.

Free Safety is jam packed with glitter. There are multiple sizes of red and 2 shades of blue hex glitters, as well as white squares and silver holographic squares and hexes. Holo glitters get me every.time. Love!

Like Punt Return, the formula is perfect. Neither one of these had thick bases, which made for a nice even and smooth finish. I got fantastic glitter coverage in just one coat, using the glob and spread method. For some reason, it was a lot easier to get the squares out of the bottle on this one!

I wanted to try this over a couple colors that I would be picking out next time I head to watch a Patriots game, either at home or a friends!

The red glitter really POPs over Revlon Cobalt blue.

Check out those red glitters!!

Such good glitter coverage here over Layla Soft Touch 01!

Polishes used: OPI Red, OPI Suzi Loves Cowboys, Orly Boho Bonnet, Revlon Chroma Chameleon Cobalt, Layla Soft Touch 01

Overall, I am loving Glitterfied Nails Team Spirit line! I wasn't sure about Free Safety at first, because I thought it would be too reminiscent of 4th of July, but paired with the football accent nail, I am really feeling ready for a Patriots Game! In addition to these 2, Andrea has so much more to offer in her shop!
 This is definitely one Up-and-coming Indie maker to keep your eye on.

You can find Glitterfied Nails by clicking the links below:
Etsy - Facebook

Homecoming is coming up and we are diving into Football Season and I know you want to show off team spirit! Several of her polishes are absolutely perfect for Fall and Halloween! Check out Coin Toss and tell me it isn't perfect for some Halloween Candy Corn nail art?!

What do you think, Reader? Will you be rocking some Team or School Spirit glitter this Fall?

**Disclosure: The product(s) in this post were provided to me by their manufacturer for my unbiased review. Please see my Disclaimer page for more info**

The Boys of Fall

Yes, Kenny Chesney reference. I am still basking in the glory that was his concert. 

But, I am slowly coming to the realization, 

that summer is over. 

:sad face:

School is starting and football season is under way.

I don't know anything about football, except there are guys in tight pants. 

It's cool. I like the get together's, drinks and the snacks that come with football season though! 

I love hosting parties eating snacks!

This past Thursday I went to a Preseason Patriots Game vs the Giants. 

We won! 

I am that girl that lightly claps while looking around to make 

sure other Patriots fans are clapping with me.

I bring the snacks and a smile to the party.

This was the mani I wore for the occasion. I used a SH Basecoat and 2 coats of OPI Into the Night.

This was a nice blue, but it was a little sheer and the formula was thin. I used 2 thick coats for opacity here. It chipped after just 2 days though, weird formula on this OPI. I usually get better wear.

For my football accent nail, I used 2 coats of OPI Suzi Loves Cowboys, (My name isn't Suzi, but I sure love me some cowboys) and following this pinterest tutorial, I used a mix of Essie Jazz and SLC to make small dots. I then used an Art Club white striper to make the football laces.

Of course, I wanted to pay tribute to the football players tight striped pants, so I added 2 stripes of a bluish Art Club striper silver on my pointer finger. I added dot sticker gems to my middle and pinky fingers. 

NYC topcoat over all except the football, I used a Sephora OPI matte topcoat.

Yay for a day off tomorrow! Stay tuned for a review of 2 polishes from
Glitterfied Nails Team Spirit line tomorrow for
MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL.
I hope there actually is football on tomorrow.

Do you like going to football games or do you wonder why the lines of 

scrimmage are on the TV but aren't on the field in real life?