REVIEW: Nostalgic Nail Lacquer "Andie"

Oh, Nostalgic Nail Lacquer........how I love you so! I can NOT say enough wonderful things about their polishes - and even though I have eleventy billion polishes to try (not to mention swatch and review, let alone a full mani) I keep gravitating towards their shades -I can't resist the glitter!!! Today, I have NNL's "Andie" to review.

Nostalgic Nail Lacquer is an indie brand found on Etsy. "Andie" is from the Bizarre Teenage Love Triangle trio - the polishes are named after characters in "Pretty in Pink" -- Andie, Duckie and Blaine. Here's all 3 polishes:

Duckie, Andie, Blaine

Cute packaging! The labels make the glass look frosted, and I love the fonts they used for the polish names! Simple and effective.

Andie is a milky pink jelly base with large pink hex glitter and small purple glitter. The jelly base is not very pigmented (would still show VNL and that's not my style) so here I have shown it over a base of Essie "To Buy or Not to Buy", a pale lavender. This does give the polish a slight purple tint in the pictures, but "Andie" is pigmented enough to hold its shade with 2 coats.

Daylight:

Direct sunlight (just trying out different angles and light sources for best representation):

I really liked the consistency of "Andie" -- the jelly was thick enough to apply evenly, and the glitter was not too difficult to work with. As with "Duckie", I had to work with the hex glitter to get it evenly distributed on the nail, but I don't mind a bit of work for such an amazing polish! I love everything about it -- the colors, the finish, the glitter.............it's almost like pink polka dots floating in a sea of pink jello! Or maybe I just analyze things too much. Hmm...

My experience with NNL during purchase and shipping was nothing but positive. My polishes were shipped fast, and well wrapped. The Bizarre Teenage Love Triangle trio was actually my second purchase, and I have no doubt I'll be back for more!

Verdict: Yes, please. Soft, pretty, squishy glitter perfection! Definitely a keeper. When NNL restocks their Etsy store, snag a Bizarre Teenage Love Triangle trio while you can!

Polish Peep Show: Lacquistry and All That Glitters!

I got some killer nail mail today! Today's packages were 2  "indie" brands I found on Etsy that are stocked with some seriously sparkly polishes! If you haven't tried anything other than mainstream brands, now is the time to check out indie brands -- these polishes are made with love by women who love lacquer, so you know they are going to be good!

First up, we have a quartet of polishes by the lovely Jenna of Lacquistry! Lacquistry is the first "indie" polish brand I ever tried, thanks to a random search on Etsy one night. Her polishes are PACKED with hex glitter, micro glitter, shimmer, even duochrome shades! I can NOT get enough of them -- I think this is my 4th or 5th order.

First up, "Frosty Marrow" and "Chocolate Covered Cherries":

"Frosty Marrow" looked like a great topcoat for what I like to call my "cheat manis". When I'm wearing a one-shade mani, and I get bored with it, I just slap on a crackle topcoat, a chunky glitter, or a shimmery sheer shade to change the look and avoid having to re-do my nails. Because I'm suuuuuuuuuuuuuper lazy :) "Chocolate Covered Cherries" looked amazingly sparkly, and boy was I right! I swatched it quickly when I received it and the sparkle is deep. I'm looking forward to layering it over a deep brown or red shade.

Next is "Devil's Dandruff" and "Valentine Shards" -- me likey irregular glitter:

Such a nice change of pace from most glitter these days. Don't get me wrong -- it should be clear by now that I love me some glitter (especially hex!). But after seeing so much hex, circle and square glitter these days I really can't wait to try out these irregular "shards"! They seem to be more like the mylar flakes in the Zoya Fleck polishes, but I haven't really tested them out much so not sure. "Devil's Dandruff" is a generous helping of red shards in a red jelly base that has no shimmer. "Valentine Shards" is pink shards in a clear base. I like that these have no shimmer in the base, to be honest -- it would almost be overkill between shimmer and the shards if they did (I can't believe I just said that, but it's true).

The 2nd package was a trio from All That Glitters (just a coincidence, I totally did NOT know about this shop when I named this blog), another serious glitter producer on Etsy. I don't think I will ever get tired of polishes like these -- sheer to moderately opaque shimmery base, various sizes/shapes of glitter, and unconventional color combinations. Based on the quick swatches I did when I opened the package, the formula is FANTASTIC and the polish bases seem nicely pigmented (meaning I could probably wear them alone and not have to bother with a base!).

Check out "Cha-Cha Twist" and "Very Peacock-ish" (my apologies for the blurry picture, my hands did NOT want to stay still today!):

HEX HEAVEN! I need to get some better pictures, because "Very Peacock-ish" even has bar glitter in there with all that hex! And no matter how many brands put out a "mermaid teal" shade, I will always need to have them all! Love, love, LOVE! And "Cha-Cha Twist" has red square glitter too! I'm really digging square glitter these days.

And last but not least,  "Plum and Plummer":

Purple is my favorite color for polish, hands down. I usually have to talk myself out of doing purple manis every day! This is a really pretty plummy shade with silver hex glitter that stands out nicely. I have a feeling I'm going to like this one alot!

Be sure to check out both Lacquistry (though Jenna is on a much deserved vacation at the time of this post!) and All That Glitters  on Etsy -- if you love glitter (like me!) you NEED some of these polishes!