Renaissance Cosmetics: St. Clair & Rose-Osie

Press Sample

I have some more Renaissance Cosmetics today! I meant to post Thursday... but I'm still technically keeping up with twice a week so I'll take it. You can see my RenCos post from earlier this week here. I have to start by saying these two polishes were impossible for me to photograph. I actually swatched them twice because I hated my first set of photos. I did however get some instagram videos posted which I will link you to with the swatches. Be nice though... these are my first instagram videos and they are pretty rough. And shot in my new bathroom because I like to keep it classy.

Renaissance Cosmetics - St. Clair
Excuse the funky lighting, it shows off the shifty sparkle best!

First is St. Clair, a blue shimmer with aqua and fuchsia sparkle. My photos do not do this justice, I suggest checking out my video of St. Clair on instagram instead so you can see the color and sparkle! My lighting is way funky, ignore the skintone and just look at the polish.
My swatch shows two coats of St. Clair with Glossy Glam on top. This polish had a tendency to pool on me, but then again I was doing coats thicker than usual. Keep an orange stick handy to clean up as you polish along. This was also a toughie to clean up because of all the shimmer. Just take your time painting in the first place to minimize the sparkle herpes. Also, you won't be taking close-ups of your nails so a little herpes is acceptable, and after a handwash or two it'll be all gone.

Renaissance Cosmetics - Rosie-Osie
Bow charm from Daily Charme

Second is Rosie-Osie, a super-saturated red jelly with red shimmer along with red, gold, and silver holographic glitters. When I got this polish on my nails my eyes almost fell out of my head. I mean, it's too beautiful to even take an accurate picture of (or at least beyond my skill). Again, check out the instagram video instead!
I have shown just two generous coats of Rose-Osie. The jelly is so saturated but all the shimmer and holographic goodness shines though. When I was cleaning up, Rosie-Osie tended to stain my cuticles even though I painted carefully--and you will need to paint very carefully. Usually I use Zoya's Remove Plus since it's gentler and less drying, however I did need to use pure acetone for this baby. When I took this off a day later I didn't have any nail staining. But, I do recommend the tin foil method to protect your cuticles and then use acetone or cuticle remover to get any leftover red tint off.

Final thoughts: Both of these polishes require some babying. I know for some the application and clean-up needs might be a deal-breaker, but that's the beauty of a review. You know your polish strengths, limits, and desires. For me personally I know I will be wearing Rose-Osie for the holidays and a mid-winter pick-me-up, I'll just plan for a weekly cuticle removal afterwards. For me the payoff of this beauty is worth it!

Check out RenCos on instagram and facebook for more information about the brand, or just head on over to the shop which I have conveniently linked for you below. Sorry, you will only find enabling here.

Products:
Renaissance Cosmetics

Have you loved your cuticles today?

Renaissance Cosmetics Review: Nightshade & Emerald Envy

Purchased By Shelby Lou & Press Sample

I have some absolutely gorgeous polishes to show you today from Renaissance Cosmetics. After I reviewed Curio/Curiosity (my holy grail black & white glitter) I was contacted by Meghan to do some more reviews for her. RenCos, as I have affectionately nicknamed it, is made by Meghan from Will Paint Nails For Food. She is a true artist and, as it turns out, her vast experience with polish has made her into quite the indie maker!

First I have Nightshade from the RenCos debut line. Nightshade is a deep blue jelly with golden shimmer (it takes on a gold-green shift in the blue jelly) with gold, copper, teal, and wine glitters. I feel like I see some holo or iridescent finishes in there too, and the wine glitters are the perfect touch. This one is like instant galaxy nails! I would love to try a galaxy mani over this one....

Renaissance Cosmetics - Nightshade

In my swatch I have shown three generous coats and one coat of KBShimmer Clearly On Top. Surprisingly, this polish applies like a buttery creme. There is a lot of pigment and sparkle in here, so keep an orange stick handy to clean up any flooded cuticles as you go. Also looks to be a little stain-y, so double-up on the basecoat. I originally had just two coats but wasn't quite happy with how it photographed and felt like I was missing some of that fantastic shimmer I saw stuck to the sides of the bottle. I went back and scraped the sides down with a toothpick, stirred it up, and shook it--Toothpick Method works every time! My third coat had more glitter and I love the depth it made.


Next is Emerald Envy from the Wunderkammer Collection. Emerald Envy is an emerald green holo with teeny holographic lime and gold glitters as well as gold shimmer. My swatch leans more teal than it looks in real life. I kind of love green and this polish made me faint a little. I am pretty seasonally snobby but I can see myself wearing this polish for late summer (which I totally am today), fall, winter, and of course March. I also must note, my husband was sitting next to me while I was swatching both polishes and he exclaimed, "Wow! That is a nice polish!" when I had this one on. See? It's man- and mani-approved.

Renaissance Cosmetics - Emerald Envy

Emerald Envy is thick but in a good way, I didn't have to add any thinner and you know I love my thinner. I have shown two coats, leave plenty of drying-time in-between for best results. I also think this could be a one-coater for the careful painters and those with shorties. There is major staining potential here, so again keep an orange stick handy and clean up as you go. And double-up on the basecoat.

Has anyone else tried RenCos? I continue to find RenCos polishes to be unique and so perfectly formulated, they are quickly becoming one of my fav indies. Check them out on instagram and facebook for a look at their classy new labels and swatches of six new polishes (of which I'm already plotting my purchase). Shipping is from Canada so it might be a little pricier for those outside the country, I recommend a group order with some nail buddies ;-)
I will have two other RenCos polishes later this week to show you so stay tuned!

Products:
Renaissance Cosmetics

Have you loved your cuticles today?

Pahlish August Duo: First Day Of My Life

Purchased By Shelby Lou

With the end of summer fast approaching I have a few more summer manis to share. Fall is easily my favorite season, but I'm not quite done with summer yet! Here is the August Duo from Pahlish, First Day Of My Life.

First Day of My Life is a duo "inspired by the end of summer and the last few days on the beach." This set sold out so fast the first Friday it was available, I feared I might actually not get my hands on it. Shannon, the maker, heard our pleas though and has kept it well-stocked since!

Pahlish Duo for August 2014
"First Day of My Life"
Meet Me in the Morning and Blankets on the Beach

The base polish is Meet Me in the Morning, which is a bright blue creme with copper microflakes for shimmer. This is the quintessential Pahlish polish finish that makes me keep coming back every month for duos. This polish was a little thick and prone to dragging. To fix this I added a few drops of thinner and did three thin coats, letting it dry well in between. I find this is the case for most of my Pahlishes of this type but it is easily fixed... hence I have almost a full melmer drawer haha!

The glitter is Blankets on the Beach, a topper made up of gold, turquoise, and copper in hexes, squares, and dots as well as gold flakie shimmer. I did a glitter gradient, my tradition pretty much since I started buying duos in April 2013. I used only the polish brush and painted the top third, then the top two-thirds of my nail. Quick and easy!

This is one of my favorite Pahlish duos ever. Meet Me in the Morning is such a classy polish all by itself and is totally glam with Blankets on the Beach. Every month I am amazed by Shannon's creativity and understanding of color.The duos are very affordable (only $16.00 plus $3.00 shipping in the US) and are such a good mix of colors that one could be satisfied by these alone (if one were able to control oneself, but I won't name names).

Pahlish restocks every Friday at 7pm Central. This is the last week the August Duo will be restocked, make sure to log on if you want it. There will also be a special pre-order for six Bespoke Batch colors from 7pm-8pm Central which were originally never to be made again. Make sure you check out Pahlish on facebook or instagram for more details!

Products:
Pahlish

Have you loved your cuticles today?