NOTD: Gorramit by Nerdlacquer

Disclaimer: I purchased this.

Nerdlacquer was/is my favorite of the indie polish brands, but purchasing from them became such a crap shoot that I gave up after my last buy in 2015. Pulling out Gorramit to wear reminded once again of what I loved about the brand though, and it looks like the Nerdlacquer site is up and running and has new products, so who knows?

Gorramit is one of the "vintage" Nerds (but apparently still available) and is described as "a cantankerous golden yellow with silver sheen plus red, copper, rust and gold glitter. A little feisty, but easy on the eyes, and quite opaque in two coats. Keep away from liquor, women, and firearms."

Yellow is not the easiest polish color to make or wear, but the formula on this is superb. I've been wearing it for over a week now and had zero tip wear when I decided to clip my nails back after about 5 days, as they were getting a little long for my taste.

These glitter intensive polishes are top coat hungry, and I used two coats of Gelous to smooth things out and there is still a bit of texture. I don't know if Gelous is why Gorramit is wearing so well, but my bottle of Gelous is still going strong after several years with no signs of thickening/drying out, which is saying something.

I dunno if I'll be dipping my toe back into purchasing any new Nerdlacquers, but I do cherish the ones I own!

NOTD: The Ring by NerdLacquer

There once was an indie polish brand called NerdLacquer. I say once, because I find it's really best for me to think of it in the past tense, even though it appears the site is still active. It was (is?) my favorite indie polish brand, but man has it been a strange ride.

You see, the owner/creator has a habit of going incommunicado for long periods of time, even though people have placed orders and paid their money for polishes. It's happened several times, in fact, which should have told me something, but I still placed an order last year for 3 polishes. I did use PayPal, however, as at least there is recourse to get your money back should something go wrong.

Which it did.  After about 6 weeks and no polishes I emailed the owner, but got no response. I filed a claim with PayPal, and in due time they refunded my money. Perhaps 3 months later, my 3 polishes showed up, and there was also a lovely pair of stone earrings in the package for good will (or something?). I was bemused but happy to have 3 more Nerdlacquer polishes in my collection, but also sad that I now know it's just not worth the gamble of placing an order, even when the site does look current and active. It is literally a crap shoot on if/when you will receive your order.

I still love Nerdlacquer's polishes and no other indie brand has captured my imagination the way these did. Too bad it's been such a bumpy ride for so many people with this brand. All I can say is buyer beware and I truly wish that wasn't the case.

NOTD: Graphite Gravity, Don't Blink & Androgynie

I recently received a Sally Hansen magnetic polish in the charcoal gray Graphite Gravity as part of the Summer Beauty Box from Influenster.  I was excited to see how it worked, having not tried one before.

Instructions are pretty simple.  STEP 1: Apply 1 coat of base coat. Shake Magnetic Nail Color to activate. Remove overcap with magnet and set aside. Apply 1 coat of Magnetic Nail Color to all 10 nails and let dry. STEP 2: Apply a thick second coat of color to 1 nail and immediately hold the built-in magnet over the nail. Rest the guide just below the cuticle without touching the wet nail polish. Hold for 10 seconds. Repeat for all 10 nails and let dry. Finish with top coat.

My results were a bit mixed.  Some nails showed the effect, some did not.  The key seems to be in placing a thick second coat, so perhaps the nails that did not work for me were not covered with enough polish.   Below you can see the effect on my index finger, but not so much on my middle finger.  I also managed to touch the magnet to the polish, even though there is a guard (raised ridge on the magnet cap) to prevent that from happening.  My fault - I was trying to get the magnet as close to the nail as I possibly could. 

I like the color of Graphite Gravity enough that I can see using it even without the magnet, especially since it dries quite fast.  The price for the Sally Hansen magnetics is ranging from $9-10, although I've seen then on sale for $5.99 at Walgreens online this past week.

Seche Vite did some major shrink damage to my tips, however, which left me less than satisfied with my manicure.  So, I decided to do an accent nail with NerdLacquer's Don't Blink, a light gray creme with micro silver and black giltter and larger silver hexagons.  I've seen some lovely swatches of Don't Blink, but the two times I've tried it, I wasn't in love.  Putting it over Graphite Gravity also left some black edges, so still not happy with the look.

I'm a stubborn one, though.  I went looking through my stash to see what could salvage this manicure.  Orly's Androgynie looked interesting and I hadn't tried it yet, so that was the winner.  Androgynie was part of Orly's 2011 Holiday Soiree collection and is a black jelly packed with multi-sized and colored glitter.  I've seen reviews that said this polish didn't translate as well on the nail as it looks in the bottle.  I used only one coat and I think it looks pretty good!  I'm guessing using it as a layering polish as opposed to trying to build it up with multiple coats is the way to go.  I also decided to add a layer of OPI's Pirouette My Whistle from the NY Ballet collection to Don't Blink, as it just wasn't singing to me.  If you're counting, or even still with me, I'm up to four different polishes now.

A few final thoughts.  Seche Vite, I'm about to quit you and your shrinking ways.  Amanda of NerdLacquer, if you are still out there, you need to come back and make more polishes.  I can't afford the ones on ebay and I'm reduced to doing accent nails because I only ever got mini bottles to begin with.

Disclosure:  I received Graphite Gravity for testing and review as part of Influenster's Summer Beauty Box.  The rest I bought. 

NOTD: a-England's Princess Sabra (Tristam Eyes) and NerdLacquer's Exterminate

Princess Sabra is gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.  Described on a-England's site as an "alluringly feline golden olive bronzite", this beauty was inspired by polish creator Adina's cat Tristam's eyes.  The combo of the color and the holographic flash puts Princess Sabra on my list of favorites. 

Formula was great and below is two coats with base and top coat.  I wore this for three days and did experience some tip wear and slight chipping on a nail that was flaking. 

On day three I topped Princess Sabra with one coat of Exterminate by NerdLacquer.   Described on Ninja Polish as "a deep Dalekanium blackened-bronze brown with small black and gold glitter, large golden hex glitter, and small and medium light blue hex glitter", this polish reminds me of Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss", which could be why I love it so much.   Unfortunately, it's out of stock at the moment, but should be back at some point.   

The only issue I have with Exterminate is that some of the larger hex glitter can stick up a bit, which makes a good top coat essential.  Even with 1 coat of Gelous and 1 of Seche Vite, I've still got some roughness where some of the larger hex glitters are.  The seem to be slightly curved, so if they get placed facing down, it's not a problem.  If they facing up, however, they are rough. 

Check out the little ant peeking over the hydrangea petal. 

NOTD: NerdLacquer Don't Panic

Here are some lucky charms, green gorgeousness, and a bit of geek for St. Patrick's Day.  I could not think of a more appropriate day to try Don't Panic by NerdLacquer.  I love the color green, but green polish on my nails is often more of a miss than a hit for me.  However, this vibrant mix of green, gold, and orange glitter in a lighter green gel base is the right mix to win me over.  To see the glitter in more detail, click on photos.

Don't Panic by NerdLacquer

If you aren't familiar with NerdLacquer, it's a wonderfully quirky and original line of indie polishes, or frankens, as some call them.  Created by Amanda Collier, these polishes are developing quite the fan base, to the point where Amanda's etsy shop is currently closed so that she can fill orders already placed.  Demand appears to have increased their price as well, as they are now $10 per bottle vs. the previous $8.  They are also offered, but currently out of stock, at Ninja Polish.  The sweet smell of success:-)

However five of the polishes, including Don't Panic, have made their way to thinkgeek.com and are available there for $9.99.  Fortunately I was able to pick up 6 mini-bottles a while back so have been enjoying these for a while. A previous NOTD featured It's Just a Flesh Wound.

As described at NerdLacquer, Don't Panic is part of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Series : a trio of far-out colors perfect for traveling the universe in a stolen starship with your certifiably insane semi-cousin...or, like, for going out or whatever.

Don't Panic is a brilliant clover green base with emerald and grass green small and large hexagonal glitter, plus a sprinkling of holographic sparkle. Friendly, non-threatening, and extremely glittery.

I used three coats of Don't Panic, although two probably would have sufficed.  Somtimes getting the larger hexagons on the nail is hit or miss, thus the three coats.  I topped it with one coat of Gelous followed by 1 coat of Seche Vite, which amplified the shine and smoothed things out nicely. 

Nail of the Day: Flesh Wound After Dark

I think after my last pastel manicure I was in the mood for something a bit more dramatic.  So, I chose a base coat of OPI's iconic Lincoln Park After Dark, which I recently got as one of 10 mini-bottles in the "Best of the Best" collection.  The first coat had me seriously doubting, as it was streaky as all get out.  By the second coat, however, I was a convert.  Holy vamp city, batman!  I see why it's a favorite now - we've got a seriously glossy blackened eggplant going on here.  Sadly, I have no photos of that as I was too impatient to try out It's Just a Flesh Wound from Nerdlacquer on top of it.  

 As described at Nerdlacquer: "It's Just a Flesh Wound is a fierce black base with small and medium black, red, and copper hexagonal glitter, plus black and charcoal microglitter and big silver hex glitter. This color always triumphs, and will still look fearsome even if a passing king lops one of your arms off. Looks amazing as a top coat over black or red. Also might challenge the other polishes in your collection to a duel; best to store it separately."  This makes me smile.


Hence my name for this manicure - Flesh Wound After Dark - a combo of two coats each of Lincoln Park After Dark and It's Just a Flesh Wound with one coat of OPI's Rapid Dry top coat.  You probably didn't need me to spell that out, but I felt bit compelled.  Amanda from Nerdlacquer also included the cute pom-pom ring in my order - nice touch.  All photos can be clicked on to enlarge for more detail.

Nerdlacquer

Nail polish lovers are living in great times.  There are plenty of quality big name commercial brands to chose from, but there are also several wonderfully creative independent label polishes being offered for purchase on the web.  I stumbled across Nerdlacquer after seeing some swatches online and immediately added them to my list of things to try.  I haven't been disappointed. 

Nerdlacquer, by Amanda Collier of Fairhope, Alabama, is available through Etsy, the "world's handmade marketplace".  I had never purchased anything through Etsy but it turned out the be a painless process.  Full size bottles retail for $8, but I took advantage of a holiday special of multiple mini-bottles, allowing me to sample several shades.  Variety does it for me, you know. 

Look at these beauties (click photo to see enlarged)!  Glitter is the currency here, and the names and color descriptions highlight Amanda's love of all things nerd.  For example, "inspired by everyone’s favorite Flying Circus, CRUNCHY FROG is a revoltingly gorgeous milk chocolate shimmer base with emerald glitter, small and medium grass green hexagonal glitter, olive microglitter, and you might also notice some large chunks of silvery white. The bones, obviously. If we took the bones out it wouldn’t be crunchy, would it? The easily-nauseated should feel free to think of this color as “chocolate mint.” Love it.

Nerdlacquer's current catalog consists of 34 shades and apparently they are feelin' the love from the masses as a note on the site indicates shipping delays could happen due to the current demand.  However, anyone who experiences a shipping delay over 7 days will receive a special limited-edition "Sorry For The Slow" color.  Amanda is nice like that, demonstrated by a free mini-bottle she included in my shipment when she experienced problems with her bottle supplier that caused a minor shipping delay.  No complaints here. 

My nail of the day will feature It's Just a Flesh Wound, coming shortly!