*First Blogiversary + Birthday Giveaway!!!*

Hello and welcome, goddesses!!  August 13th was officially Tiny Twinklings' first blogiversary, hooray hooray!  I closed out that year with several other big firsts- graduating from college in June, starting my first real career job in August, etc.- and am starting this second one out with a few more... buying my first house, namely among them. (!!!!!  Closing in just a few short days- let the pandemonium ensue!)  And in two weeks I will also be a Birthday Princess, which I take very seriously ;)  Tee hee.

So in celebration of my blog's birthday and mine, I am so pleased to offer you the chance (many many chances, in fact!) to win a couple of my very favorite things: Rainbow Honey Mystery Bags!  They've made many monthly appearances here on Tiny Twinklings, and in fact my very first post ever featured the July Mystery Bag of last year.  I've been saving my double of the August 2014 Mystery Bag and Limited Edition polish all year, and together with this year's August 2015 Mystery Bag and featured Limited Edition polish complete our fabulous prize!

In total, that prize includes:

>> AUGUST 2014 MINI MYSTERY BAG <<

"Modern Hearts" nail polish

"488nm" nail polish

"Royal Fruits" perfume roller ball

"Royal Fruits" cuticle balm

"Royal Fruits" scented topcoat

"Summer Juice" body splash

>> AUGUST 2014 LIMITED EDITION<<

"Crystal" nail polish - full size!

>> AUGUST 2015 MINI MYSTERY BAG <<

"Mr. Saturn" nail polish

"Jelly Red Sandals" nail polish

"Fruit Juice" bath oil

"Fruit Juice" bath tea

"Fruit Juice" perfume roller ball 

"All Your Base" basecoat - full size!

>> AUGUST 2015 LIMITED EDITION <<

"Celestial Hydra" - full size!

The fabulous contents of these mystery bags pictured above are my personal (duplicate) set; yours awaits, brand new and unopened :)

Your prize!!!

This giveaway is open to U.S. addresses only.  The giveaway will be open for two weeks, starting now until Saturday, September 26, 2015 at 11:59PM Mountain Time.  You must be 18 years of age or older to enter, please.

First Blogiversary + Birthday Giveaway!!!

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It has been by far too long since my last post, and I want to convey my sincere gratitude to my darling readers who have stuck through the droughts with me.  I'm looking forward to my life finally settling into place again... I've missed this!!  I've missed you!  Thank you so much for celebrating this crazy, exciting month with me ♥️  

Good luck, and enjoy!

XOXO
Marisa + Sprinklepuff

Hare Polish "Desperately Seeking Blue Skies"

Happy weekend, darlings!  Blue skies are all around me today, so I'm wearing this joyful, optimistic lacquer for good luck while seeking a different kind of "blue sky"... a first house!  I didn't even know that is what realtors, or at least, my realtor, call(s) a "property with potential" until he mentioned casually it today.  The prophetic nature of that coincidence didn't quite pan out for today, but this is only the beginning so I'm hopeful for blue skies ahead yet :)

WingDust Collections "Roads Untravelled"

Happy WingDust Wednesday, Twinklings!  (Didn't know this was a thing until just now but I'm pretty excited about it :D )  I'm back in the lower 48 with a few more untraveled Alaskan roads now traveled, and while it was all pretty flippin' fantastic, I gotta say, it's good to be home.  So now that I'm all vacation-ed out, I think it makes sense (??) that I feature all possible travel-themed indie polishes in this next sorta free but yet still busy week before I start my *big girl job*.  This darling one arrived in the mail while I was away, and the moment I clapped eyes on it I just couldn't resist wearing it first thing!

A Rhyming Dictionary "Álfhól", and other thoughts on Icelandic elves

Hello from the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska!  I kinda thought I would be writing posts about my travels as I am doing them but eh, unsurprisingly I become even more nonchalant about things like dates and times and schedules and aspirations in general while on holiday.  But then, would it be a vacation if you didn't let go a little bit??  Speaking of letting go, you might want to suspend belief for what's all about to happen because it is pretty unbelievably fantastical ;)

"Álfhól" is a waterfall cerulean blue awash with fine rainbow iridescent microflakie shimmer, and in particular a luminous golden gleam that glows like sunlight through falling turquoise waters.  The maker describes the flakies as "green, green-silver, gold, and yelow", though I also espy prismatic sparks of pale rose, sapphire, orchid and silver.  A finish that sparkles like an icicle-studded pool in the sun becomes a speckled sea flecked with metallic shards in the shade, the gold sheen haloed in a peridot nebula.

These swatches represent three coats of "Álfhól", though really the shimmer dazzles quite densely in two.  This polish dries moderately quickly and distributes with even opacity.  Such a dream!  So many thanks to my darling favorite Lacquer Slacker Liz for first alerting me to the promise of this collecion (and new-to-me brand!), and then also for reminding me to go get it once it had been released, which despite my supposed vigilance I had failed to track properly.  Not that I mind much now, though, now that I have half of this fabulous collection in my hoarding clutches, and the others in my sights!

"Álfhól" was released as part of the A Rhyming Dictionary Iceland-inspired collection of nine polishes this May 2015, and means "elf house" (generally of a small and wooden variety).  Elves have long played an essential role in Icelandic culture; at last
count, approximately 52% of Icelanders believe in húldufólk, or elfin peoples, of which there are a range of scales and species as taught at the Álfaskólinn (Elf School) in Rekjavik. This tends to strike a classically Western mindset as all a little silly, but the relationship between Icelanders and their elvish folklore is a genuine and beautiful one that has been sustained by a millenia surviving in a rugged, challenging, and primordial land. I myself visited- and dearly loved- Iceland several years ago, and I think I may have encountered the huldufolk myself, though I knew nothing of them at the time.

My mom, our tiny rental car, and I had just about bested the odds of a pitted and garbled gravel mountain path, stubbornly on our way up to see the Snæfellsjökull glacier. My mother's resolve had fizzled out by the first trail landing and so that is where we gave up and stopped, and though we were nowhere near the glacier I hopped out to see what was to be seen. I had only ambled a short way down the trail when it descended and opened out into a small mossy dell, with mist clinging to the ridge and the amphitheatre bowl ringed with specter-like boulders, hunched and huddled as if in audience. It was a hauntingly beautiful scene, and the moment I stepped into it I was beseiged by two sensations- one, of losing my breath in a physical manifestation of awe- and two, that instant and persistent feeling that I was being watched. It was not a menacing energy, per se, but the intuition that I had just stepped into a place beholden to a different Nature, to different powers and codes and forces, was a strong one, and one never steps lightly in such an unfamiliar territory. Into the eastern face of the tiny valley bore a cavern sheathed in basalt, and it was to this feature that of course I was drawn. With every step towards the cave, the concentration of ethereal energy seemed to increase, until at last my simple and fruitless attempt to peer into the unfathomable maw impressed me with such a thrill of foreboding that I turned and darted back to the mouth of the valley, turning my ankle in the process and yet delighting in the odd mischief of it all.

It was only when I returned to the trailhead that I bothered to read the signs there, and it was then that I learned the cave was not just any cave, but a singing cave- Songhellir, as it is called- and that it is referenced in the ancient Egils saga as a place where the hero spends a night, and hears the reverberating echoes of dwarves and other elfin folk singing deep within the earth (or so I do recall from that illuminating sign).  And it was not until days later that I first encountered the prevailing current of elvish affiliations still infused in modern Icelandic culture, when in an Akureyri bookshop we requested the most eccentric item on Iceland they might have, and were directed to a guide on the local energy concentrations and húldufólk settlements.  And it was still later, a year later to be precise, that I read up on Icelandic elf culture, and was finally able to summarily understand my holistic experience of wonderment and awe while visiting this primal land of fire and ice.  It is all very fascinating and certainly worth investigating further, though for me the long and short of it is this: the Icelandic belief in beings, energy spheres, and otherwise mythical worlds coincident with their own is part of what makes Icelanders such a conscientious people, for they are sensitive to the fact that they share this land with other creatures and so pay them great respect.  It is a beautiful way of thinking, and that the means is sweetly and quaintly rooted in ancient myth, folklore, and tradition, only makes it the more so.

The Hobbit House // Talkeetna, AK

I more or less wrote this entire post because I got to stay at this ^^^ adorable sod-roof log cabin in Talkeetna, Alaska, only a few days ago, and because of the way my mind works I knew that I *could not* stay at this place without wearing "Álfhól" for the occasion.  Known as the Hobbit House, it is definitely a unique and also surprisingly (relatively) inexpensive place to stay in the Denali region of Alaska.  While I would overall recommend it for its two outstanding qualities- price and personality- something that did surprise us was the fact that it is immediately bordered on one side by a strip parking lot leading right off from the highway, and on the front by the owner's flightseeing business, with a lawn where tourists tend to wander in from the highway from 7am to 11pm, checking out the information and looking at the beautiful lake and such, and also gawking at the cute little sod cabin where you are trying to have a nice (romantic) getaway.  Needless to say, not nearly as quaint, secluded, rustic, nor private as you might be led to believe from this cute picture I selectively took ;)

Well goodness, I do hope you love reminiscing because there was PLENTY of it to be had in this post!  I can only hope that you enjoyed my stories as much as I did reliving them.  I keep resolving to be less long-winded in my posts so that I can write more of them, and yet this was a little story that has been anxious to be given life for a long while now, so it does feel good to have finally recorded it.  And now, back to Alaska!

I mean, can you honestly blame me though?  :)

Have you ever had an otherwordly experience that nearly almost just maybe made you believe in (or at least seriously consider) the supernatural??

XOXO
Marisa + Sprinklepuff

P.S. Apologies for incorrect (and by incorrect I mean nonexistent) punctuation on most of the Icelandic words in this post, including Alfhol itself, which should have an ascending accent over both vowels.  These words are of course spelled wrong entirely without their proper letters/punctuation, but my tablet apparently doesn't care about that at all, and since that is my tool of resort in this endeavor it makes the rules :(  Any strange or abnormal formatting I am also going to blame on this hapless tablet and my even more hapless un-ability to utilize it for on-the-road blogging purposes.  Oy.

UPDATE:  Now that I am laptop-equipped and punctuation-enabled, I have hopefully fixed most of the missing accents, so this post should read with a smidgen more accuracy!  Though considering that I speak maybe three words of Icelandic, take that with a grain of salt ;)

Hare Polish "On the Road Again"

Hello darling Twinklings! I really am on the road again (or in the air, rather), and I thought it fitting that I am typing this particular post from the Seattle Airport en route to my summer holiday in Alaska!! And just in time, too; I'm in the mood for exploring :)

>> On the Road Again << 

"On the Road Again" is a nomad mauve crelly dusted with burnished copper shimmers, lacy white hex glitters, icy iridescent film glitter, and UCC flakies shifting from gilded bronze to mossy green, and on precious occasions to peacock blue. This muted balance of dusty lilac and vintage rose is quietly feminine, though the sun-drenched metallic and frost-sheathed crystalline elements evoke an unexpectedly intrepid nature- a delightful twist on an old classic. The result is an impressively versatile manicure that could sip sweet tea with a demure Southern belle, and then just as easily dance in the desert with a gypsy wanderer, festival music in the air and swaying feathers in her hair. Free-spirited and timeless, like an age-old daydream.

HARE lacquers are consistently of the highest caliber in terms of both composition and formula, and "On the Road Again" is no exception. This glitter crelly applied very evenly, and dried quickly (always a merciful and cherished quality in this restless soul's polishes). I used three coats in my swatches for full layered impact, though two layers were also quite satisfactory. The surface dries smooth and fairly glossy, necessitating only one layer of topcoat. I used my new summer favorite, Rainbow Honey "Twisted Ice Tea" scented topcoat, and loved its blissful synergy with this polish :)

"On the Road Again" debuted this spring 2015 as part of the Stir Crazy Collection. HARE Polish may be purchased at their Etsy shop or online etailer Llarowe. (Apologizes for the absence of helpful links; I am typing this on my tablet, and have not yet aspired the sophistication of inserting links on the Blogger app interface :/ At this time of writing, I am not even yet sure how to insert pics, but if you are reading this now then I have been successful in that particular endeavor and am doubtless very pleased with myself, teehee.)

Anyone else on the road again this summer??


XOXO
Marisa + Sprinklepuff

Hare Polish "I'm Your National Anthem"

Happy Independence Day, American darlings, and a perfectly pleasant July fourth to all others!!  It is a good thing that I had this polish queued up for the occasion because beyond my blue-speckled red claws, nothing else about the day was particularly festive or patriotic.  In fact, like the rest of this month (as you may have noticed) it was for the most part downright lazy- but then, lake days should be!  I only just got back from the lake an hour ago, actually, so it's really remarkable and strange that I've chosen today of all days to pick up my blogging torch again, but hey- today's the day and the only one all year at that, so procrastinating is just going to have to wait.  ;)

Guest Post with *Lacquer Slacker Liz* featuring CrowsToes: An Edgy Ocean Dream

Happy day, Twinklings!!  And what a special day it is here on this tiny, twinkling blog, to receive a visit from my very own polish angel... Lacquer Slacker Liz!  Polish angel, nairy godmother, blogger BFF; if blogging is an adventure at sea, an edgy ocean dream even, then Liz has been my lighthouse.  Not only does this fabulous lady have a discerning sense of color and a meticulous eye for detail, she writes with a compelling degree of humor, sincerity, and passion little seen in beauty blogging, or the written word in general.  I tend to start my morning reading Lacquer Slacker Liz, for the polish of course but also simply for Liz's clever quips and brilliant descriptions- I always end up with a smile on my face, and I often feel like standing and applauding Liz's en pointe narrative :)  She also tends to capture the many personalities of a polish in many lights, in such a way that I have been frequently smacking my own forehead for having passed up whichever lacquer that Liz then goes and reveals to be such a gem.  Exquisite torture.

Besides producing an excellent resource for polish lovers, Liz is full to bursting with vibrant enthusiasm and golden-hearted generosity, and it has been my greatest pleasure in blogging to get to know this fellow color lover and lacquer loony.  (Sorry not sorry for all the sappy sap... sometimes you just gotta get down with your feels ;) )  Behold, and enjoy!!

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Thanks so much, Marisa, for welcoming me to Tiny Twinklings!

I'm totally psyched to be guesting here as I'm a huge fan! I'm afraid I won't be able to duplicate Marisa's engaging, whimsical style or her beautiful prose, but we share a serious enthusiasm for color as a replenishing source of joy that feeds the soul as well as the eyes. The featured polish for my post is one that I purchased specifically with Marisa in mind, long before she asked me to guest post, because it does exactly that.

An Edgy Ocean Dream was created by indie polish maker CrowsToes exclusively for international etailer Edgy Polish in Sweden. I came across this beauty on Be Happy and Buy Polish and was immediately smitten. Sending away for a polish from Sweden is a bit of an extravagance, but as Jessica said in her review, this one is worth it. Described very simply as a "mid-tone aqua holo with a highlight of golden flecks," this is a gorgeous complex holographic polish in a vibrant medium-light aqua enriched by superabundant golden flakes. The reflective flakes take on a gleaming pale sea green look from the base color, giving the polish a lush tropical south sea vibe, and add a beautiful burnished foily speckled look to the polish in indirect light and shade. In direct sun there is a magnificent linear prismatic display with a blazing central flame of cerulean blue edged by sparkling bands of aqua, green, yellow and red, all floating over a semi-metallic flash of pale sea green. So gorgeous! 

Application was a pleasure. The consistency of An Edgy Ocean Dream is fluid, full-bodied and dense with flakes. It has a certain thickness because of that, but nevertheless goes on with a creamy, self-leveling flow over the nail. Pigmentation is very good, with completely even opaque coverage in two medium coats, which is what I used for this manicure. Cleanup is fairly straightforward with a little bit of stickiness on the part of the golden flakes. An Edgy Ocean Dream dries naturally in very good time to a silky smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat does not diminish the holographic effects in any way. 

Photos show two coats of An Edgy Ocean Dream over Seche Rebuild treatment and Pretty Serious All Your Base basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. 

What did I tell you? Just wonderful and totally worth the postage from Sweden. It got here really quickly, too. I love the complexity of greens and blues and the semi-tarnished foily finish that is created by the inclusion of the gold flakes with the holographic formula -- they play together so very well. And the name is perfect, no? 

Thanks for reading! 

love,

Liz

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like + follow + share the love

Lacquer Slacker Liz

BLOG // FACEBOOK // PINTEREST // BLOGLOVIN'

check out some of the recent activity on Lacquer Slacker Liz:

Lacquer Slacker Liz

>> http://lacquerslackerliz.blogspot.com/2015/05/polish-my-life-blue-pansy-and-mentality.html <<

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Lacquer Slacker Liz

>> http://lacquerslackerliz.blogspot.com/2015/05/girly-bits-youre-my-hooper-hero.html <<

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Lacquer Slacker Liz

>> http://lacquerslackerliz.blogspot.com/2015/05/essie-petal-pushers-and-shimmer-polish.html <<

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Lacquer Slacker Liz

>> http://lacquerslackerliz.blogspot.com/2015/04/alchemy-lacquers-naiad-of-spring.html <<

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I just want to thank our lovely Liz again for guest posting during this insane time of my life.  An angel, indeed!!!  And how gorgeous is this polish?!  I sometimes think Liz might be clairvoyant; really, it was like she premeditated me when she proposed this lacquer as our guest star.  She'd already known I'd love it when I didn't even know it existed, haha!  I, too, am enthralled with this inspiring name, its physical manifestation, and of course the permeating Swedish-ness of it all...  I'm a fourth Swedish myself, and the fact that this polish comes exclusive from the charming city of Malmö is quite compelling to the imagination.  How luxurious!  

I see I have disappointingly few personal photos of Malmö, but voilà, here I am with Santiago Calatrava's infamous Turning Torso.  I had just graduated high school and was excited to be starting architecture school; now, five years later, I am about to graduate college, and am excited to be soon starting out in the profession for realsies.  Funny how things come full circle, isn't it?

XOXO

Marisa + Sprinklepuff 

Rainbow Honey : April 2015 Mystery Bag unboxing & review

Hello, Twinklings!  Secret's out: it's the April Mystery Bag by Rainbow Honey!!  And if I were to take I guess, I would say that this month's bag is all about April showers... and it's glorious.  Make it rain, baby.  Make it rain GLITTER.

Also, darlings, do remember to enter my Springtime Giveaway for some exceptionally spring-y Sephora Formula X and Nails Inc. London polishes!!  I am very, very excited about finally hosting a giveaway, so give it a whirl and who knows, you might just win something!  WHEEEEeee FREE THINGS!!!!
 

"Thistle Tresses" + "Eidolon" // "Delphine" + "Thistle Tresses"

Springtime Giveaway!!! Sephora Formula X "Inspiring" + Nails Inc. London "Floral Street Mews"

In two months from this very day, I will have finished my last college exam, quarter, degree EVER (hopefully ever, anyway).  TWO MONTHS.  There is still so much to do before that time but my joy of anticipation cannot be eclipsed.

Two months left of school for me... so how about two polishes of springtime joy for you??!!  IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

Happy April, by the way!  It's been pretty quiet on Tiny Twinklings lately, and likely the crickets will only keep chirping these next couple months as I careen towards graduation.  Many readers will know by this time that I am an architecture student at the University of Oregon, and am currently hammering out my thesis studio project (topic: architecture for happiness / typology: community center / location: Anchorage, AK).  The enormous importance of this project, by necessity and yet to my dismay, has begun to preclude energies dedicated to this beloved blog, but I wanted to assure my darling readers that however infrequently I manage to get posts up in this final, frantic interval of college, once the mortar board has flown, Tiny Twinklings will be BACK.

This giveaway is my way of thanking you, my precious Twinklings, for sticking with me through the thick and thin of my first half year of blogging!  Your thoughts and comments especially bring an amazing community energy to Tiny Twinklings, and so I owe a very special thank you to many dear, familiar faces out there.

I also want to extend my warmest welcome to new faces bringing fresh life to this blog- twinkle on!!  Since Tiny Twinklings' inception, my greatest rewards have been the wonderful and invaluable opportunities to come to know some of my fellow nairies, and as this adventure continues I am very excited to know more and more of you, so welcome, welcome!!!

I have been impatiently looking forward to hosting a giveaway for what feels like a VERY long time, so let's get started, shall we??!

The prize: a cheerful and charming duet of old spring favorites, as the season comes into full bloom!!  One lucky reader will win Sephora Formula X "Inspiring" (a pearlescent turquoise shimmer) and Nails Inc. London "Floral Street Mews" (a floral glitter topper with peach, white, and sky blue pearl glitters in hexes and blossoms).  This first giveaway will be open to the United States only.  (To my 9% international readers, joining us from as far away as Iraq to Lithuania to Belgium to South Africa: first of all, WOW!  I am so honored to have you with us, and am determined to improve my giveaway sophistication so that all my highly-valued Twinklings will have the opportunity to win fun things in the future!!)

This giveaway will be open for two weeks, starting now until Saturday, April 25, 2015 at 11:59PM Pacific Time.  You must be 18 years of age or older to enter, please.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck, Twinklings!! ♥

I wish I thought to bring my own bottles of these beautiful flower-ful polishes with me to Oregon to model for you, but alas!  In addition to an enormous deficit of time, I also broke a nail to the quick the other week (the nubs are growing back surprisingly quick, but for a while there I didn't even recognize my own hands!), and then last week broke one of my full-spectrum lamps; idk what the deal is, it's just been one big hot mess around here.  So I've just been casually enjoying my favorite season for polish (I'm really such a spring), and dreaming of summer... and freedom :)

XOXO
Marisa + Sprinklepuff

These prizes are provided and were purchased by me for the purposes of this giveaway.

6 Harts Polish "Swim Through The Deep Skies"

The hidden polish community is a fascinating digital underground: all words, no voices, all hands, few faces.  In a world of nuggles, with no inkling of the irresistible allure that something so innocuous as nail polish holds on the minds of ladies (and gentlemen!) all over the planet, it is a rare happening indeed to meet with another of this invisible, magical world.  We, the nail fairies, or nairies, if you will, walk through the physical world hidden in plain sight, and reveal ourselves only in our digital kingdom to our fellow nairy passionistas.  Oh, your nuggle friends are aware of (and baffled by) your ever-shifting, perfectly-painted nails, and might even, to their intense bewilderment, catch an occasional glimpse of one overflowing corner of your nail polish dynasty.  I find it is always best that they never know the full extent, unless you have a fainting couch and smelling salts immediately near your stash.  These dear nuggles are delicate creatures, you know.

But, once in a blue moon, a holographic blue moon (because, well, we're nail polish folk and cannot help ourselves), you might just be lucky enough to encounter another nairy in real life...

Until the day I met Courtney of 6 Harts Polish, I had never been so lucky, and, I suspect you will likely understand why that day I felt like I had actually found a unicorn.  A craftsy, hug-loving, sweet-as-sugar Montana girl who is not merely nairy-literate, but so fully engrossed in The Obsession as to concoct her own lacquer magic...?  It was kind of like looking into a mirror, or a dream.

An immensely warm, kind, darling dream mirror who gives really great hugs.

These lovely qualities of hers were really emphasized in this circumstance: after weeks of correspondence and anticipation, I was a full half hour late to our appointed meet-up.  Thirty minutes!  I dislike being late so I was absolutely horrified, and so ashamed that I wanted to sink into my own skin, but when I finally bounded, near panic-stricken, into our local riverside Bernice's Bakery, Courtney was so gracious beyond any expectation; all friendliness and warm welcome.  You would just love her!  The next half hour was revolutionary to me: words spoken that I had only ever seen typed (indie lacquer!  Helmer stash!  Elevation Polish!), sentiments reciprocated that had only ever evoked confusion in my nuggle friends (the unforgivable sin of a four-coat slow-drying crème polish, for example).  This nairy world that I had been living in for almost four years now was finally a living and breathing entity, and it was all kinds of beautiful.

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Speaking of beautiful, just look at this sparkling jewel of a polish that will be released next month!  Courtney generously surprised me with this little sneak peek, which I am so very honored to share with you.  When I first saw this gemstone lacquer I immediately assumed that it was inspired by our very own Treasure State, with its blue timbered mountains, endless sky, and royal blue state flag, but in fact was created for a movie-inspired polish maker's swap.  However, when it comes to deep skies, I believe I can reasonably attest that we natives of Big Sky Country are something of an authority ;)

Different Dimension "Luck & Leprechauns"

Happy Saint Patrick's Day, loves!  Really slipping this one under the wire...  But you know how it is!  I could never resist a good festive polish, and this one is very special indeed.  Wearing it, I can just feel the leprechaun formations soaring over the violently-violet World Cup Stadium, little lanterns aglow, a shower of gold raining down over the Irish supporters, the arc of a rainbow bowing up towards the star-studded sky, the great shimmering shamrock rising over Ireland's end...  We're talking Quidditch now, in case you weren't following :)  March always lures my imaginings and daydreams to the British Isles, and I think I can feel a Harry Potter audiobook binge-listen coming on...

(Queue Ludo Bagman's voice:) "And with that, I GIVE YOU... DIFFERENT DIMENSION!"

Okay, so it's not quite so snappy as "I GIVE YOU... POTTER!", but I'd bet that any nail addict out there gets the same rousting rush of exhilaration all the same.  Tee hee.

"Luck & Leprechauns" glitter gradient over "My Lucky Clover"

Candie's Nail Polish "My Lucky Charm"

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Happy happy Monday, lads and bonny lasses!  I should be studying for my final tomorrow, and I have been, but it's just been so sunny outside... and the impending spring break that is just beyond this exam has me so bouncy and energized... and idk, I'm just having the darndest time focusing, so I'm kinda hoping to drum up a little luck ;)  I would say that tomorrow would be a fabulous time for a little Felix Felicis, but with the luck o' the Irish strong in spirit hopefully even I, with nary a drop of Irish or even Celtic blood in my veins, will be able to glean a little off for some focus power.  With the kind of scattered energy I've been buzzing about with, I could certainly use it to compensate! :)

And that brings us to today's festive mani... you wanted green, and so here it is: a green jolly enough to make a leprechaun skip!  Just sprinkle on a little gold glitter, and I'm guessing that you could make all kinds of little magical, albeit mischievous friends on the morrow.

Rainbow Honey: March 2015 Mystery Bag!!

Hello, Twinklings!!  The Rainbow Honey store is open again, and with it comes a new Mystery Bag!!  As you know, I just love my mysteries, (ironically, I am obsessively re-watching Sherlock as I edit these photos) and must apologize for the lack of one last month...  the February mystery bag was fabulous!  (The fragrance Carnival Candy is my new love.)  Alas, time was not on my side :/  But we are back on track this month, and oh, what a great one it is shaping up to be!

Fair Maiden Polish "Change Your Fate"

Happy Friday the 13th, again!!  In the Celtic spirit of upcoming St. Patrick's Day, I just had to share with you this powerfully pretty polish inspired by Scottish princess Merida of Brave, and, fittingly enough, part of Fair Maiden's debut collection titled *Be Your Own Heroine*.  Merida was indeed her own heroine, and if this teal tribute was an arrow, it would be flying straight true to the heart and free spirit of The Bear & The Bow (as the story was originally called!).

Merida the Brave

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Can't you just see the moss-dappled mountain glade, blankets of heather cushioning your footfalls as your breath parts the curtains of mist lingering in the early morning chill...?  The shadows are yet deep in the gathering dawn, and through their nocturnal curls a tiny ephemeral light flickers and skips: the ever-elusive dance of the will-o'-the-wisp.  And along their shivering path... fate awaits.

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a rare two-faced bottle!! :)