Franken: Luxuria / Lust

Hello lovelies! A huge welcome to all the new followers who have found your way to our blog through the giveaway or from the awesome LTHP spun sugar mani! I'm really humbled and glad that you've come to join us in our little polish well. I truly hope that you'll enjoy yourselves here! :)

It's a glorious sunny day for swatching but I'm still growing out the nail break on my index finger so I didn't get any swatches or nail art done this week too. Instead, I put on my lab clothes and tried my hand at frankening again. I simply couldn't get the 7 Deadly Sins off my mind! >.<

Unfortunately, my frankening attempt this time didn't turn out to be as great as I'd hoped but I thought I should still share it and ask for your opinion :et

Here's what I got when I tried working on Luxuria / Lust:

Since I've already used red for Ira / Wrath, I went with a deep plum/purple jelly this time for a more seductive and mysterious look. When I was happy with the base color, I started adding glitter polishes - purple, red, black, gold... And then I thought... hmmm, maybe I went a little overboard with the glitters. lol! :f

What do you think?
Is it seductive enough or a little too much for you?

On a side note, I've been looking around for frankening supplies such as suspension bases and solvent-resistant glitters to make more polishes for you (since some of you have asked for Ira/Wrath) and me. Do you have any sellers to recommend? Any help will be greatly appreciated! :k

xoxo,
mich

p.s. There are still about two or three more days to enter our giveaway and nail art contest for a chance to win awesome polishes from OPI, Orly, China Glaze and even some of my exclusive frankens! So what are you waiting for? Head over here for more details!

[edit 29 July]
Due to the positive response that I've received for this franken, I have decided to include this in the prize pack for the nail art contest too! So go get your nails painted! Contest ends 31 July! ^_^

Franken: Ira / Wrath

It's finally the weekends!! *whee*
I had planned a swatch-a-thon on Saturday (yesterday) but as fate would have it, I chipped my index fingernail on my swatching hand so I had to shelve the swatch-a-thon. :(

Instead, I decided to try my hand at frankening again! After some pouring and shaking like a mad scientist, here's what I've got:  

(Please excuse the three-finger swatches! I was so thrilled that I simply had to share it asap! :i )

Ira / Wrath. Three coats. A blood red jelly with a mix of red, gold (looks rose-gold because of the red base) and black glitters of various sizes.

This is my first time frankening a glitter polish with a colored base. It took me a while to get the right shade of dark, brooding red that I want. And then it took me several more tries to get the right mix of polish such that it would be opaque enough without obscuring the smaller glitters. But I'm rather pleased with the result - such a squishy and shiny jelly! The glitters also add to the illusion of depth and gave it a sandwiched look that I love so much. :L

Close up of the nail

Here it is, layered over a dark blood-red base for a richer base color:

So what do you think of Ira/Wrath?
Is it angry and fierce enough for you?

Unfortunately, I am unable to make more of this for sale at the moment due to the lack of supplies. As you can see in the pictures, I don't even have enough to make a full bottle for myself! However, due to the positive response I've got on Instagram, I did my darndest to squeeze out the last drops of my polishes to make another small bottle. To be fair to everyone, I've decided to include this in the prize pack for the nail art contest. So if you want to get your hands on these 'limited edition' frankens, do give our nail art contest a shot! You might just win the contest! Contest ends on 31 July so go get painting! :e

xoxo,
mich

Nail Ideas: Fun Retro Circles!

I'm terribly sorry for disappearing for a whole week again! *ashamed* The course has turned out to be much more hectic than I had thought. I even had to attend a practice workshop over the saturday - which saw me sleeping for less than 2 hours the night before just so I could prepare for it. -.-|| I slept for more than 12 hours after that and still felt exhausted. Looks like it's true that we can never repay our sleep debt!

Anyway, I didn't have the time to do any swatches so here's an old mani that I've tried for another Instagram contest held a while ago.

I decided to try this straw mani after seeing Lindsey's at Neverland Nail Blog. First, I painted a white color and topped it off with one coat of OPI Barre My Soul for a slightly tinted vintage look. To make the circles, I dropped a drop of polish on a piece of cardboard and dipped one end of the straw into the polish before 'stamping' it on my nails in a rolling motion (to follow the curves of the nail). Just be careful to make sure that there is no polish bubble at the end of the straw before you stamp or you will get a gigantic blob / dot on your nails! You can experiment with different sizes of straw and colors to get a more varied look.

I love how simple it is to create such a retro and fun look! I wore this for almost a week and received a quite a few compliments ^_^ I must say it is definitely very attention grabbing - a lady stared at my nails not-so-discreetly for almost the whole of my train ride! lol!

So what do you think of this mani?

xoxo,
mich

p.s. If you love doing nail art, do remember to participate in our first ever nail art contest to win some exciting prizes! Contest ends 31 July so what are you waiting for? ;)

The Polish Well frankens! (an update)

Since I've posted swatches of my frankens, Purple Rose of Virgo and Invidia/Envy, I've received a few inquiries from some of you who are interested in purchasing it. I had not thought it would receive this much interest but I'm truly grateful for your support! <3  

Here's a quick swatch for those who have missed my previous posts:

1 coat of Purple Rose of Virgo layered over black

2 coats of Invidia/Envy layered over Illamasqua Rampage

After months of scouting for the glitter polishes I used in Purple Rose of Virgo, I'm happy to say that I've managed to secure some of that holographic glitters to make a few more bottles! I've also managed to snag an extra bottle of small green glitters to make more of Invidia/Envy.

Bottle shot

Due to the limited supplies, these will only be available in two sizes, 5ml and 10ml, so that more people may get to enjoy this glitter. They will be going at 4USD and 8USD respectively excluding shipping (free shipping within Singapore; flat rate of USD5 for shipping everywhere else). I hope you will understand that I am unable to take responsibility for the packages once I've mailed them out. :(

Like I've said, these will be available in limited quantities for now but I will continue to look out for more supplies to make more of these if there is a demand for it.

If you would like to place an order, please email me at the.polish.well[at]gmail[dot]com. You will be put in queue and invoiced as soon as possible (i.e. when there is stock). Feel free to email me too if you have any inquiries. I also welcome any feedback or suggestions that you may have :)

Once again, thank you for your support! :k

xoxo,
mich

p.s. You may also enter our nail art contest to win these exclusive polishes as well as a 5ml decant of your choice of any Lynnderella in my stash! You may also checkout our giveaway to win other amazing polishes from OPI, China Glaze and Orly! 

All That Glitters: Heartbeat City

It's been a week since our last post! *horrified* I apologize for the lack of updates for the past few days as we've been busy preparing for our course [starting this coming week] and our graduation ceremony. Yup, we've finally graduated from university! *wheeee* It's been a long four years filled with sweat and tears but we've made it! Of course, there had been fun times as well - I, for one, would not have known great friends such as jayo and cherily if I had not been to law school!

Anyway, to make up for our absence, I have a pretty indie polish from All That Glitters to share with you today!

Heartbeat City. One coat over China Glaze Seaspray.
Heartbeat City is a mix of blue, green and holographic hex glitters of various sizes packed in a sheer blue base. Not only are the glitters dense, they are really bright - almost like having a glitter shower on your nails!

Here's a bottle shot to show you how reflective the glitters are:

Because the glitters are really bright, I wanted to layer it over a dark color for a more dramatic effect. But while I was trying out the layering combinations on a nail wheel, this soft combination with Seaspray inexplicably caught my heart. Of course, to soften the look further, I added a matte top coat:

Loooooooove!!

Application was pretty good. The formula was a tad thick with the chock full of glitters but it applies nicely and evenly on the nails without need for any prodding or dabbing. I also did not have to fish around for the glitters.

So, what do you think of Heartbeat City?
You can get Heartbeat City from All That Glitters on Etsy or you may also get some All That Glitters from Mei Mei Signatures at SGD15 each :)

xoxo,
mich

*Product was provided for honest review. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.*

Celebrating the Thousands! *CLOSED*

WHEEE! It's time for another round of celebrations! :party

Sometime last week, we've reached 100,000 pageviews (and nearing 900 followers) on blogger!!  I can hardly believe this! :o
To top it all off, I've also recently reached 3000 followers on Instagram (@thepolishwell) after just three months! :L
Thank you ALL so much for your support!!! :k

To express our heartfelt gratitude, we've decided to hold a two-part celebration so that there is fun for everyone! :e 

Part 1: The Giveaway!

As per the usual TPW tradition, we've decided to hold a giveaway where the winners will be allowed to choose colors of their choice from a selection of polishes. Where's the fun in receiving colors that you don't like, right?

This time round, winners may choose their prizes from any of these 2012 collections:

• OPI Germany Collection (swatches part 1 and part 2)
• China Glaze On Safari Collection (swatches)
• China Glaze Bohemian Collection (duochromes said to be released in July)
• Orly Flash Glam FX (although not fully released yet, it is said to have 22 awesome glitters which you can view here *drools*)

Cremes, shimmers, duochromes and glitters! Definitely something for every lacquerhead, don't you agree? ;)

The Rules:

• Open to all my followers on any of these platforms: Blogger, Tumblr, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ (I hope I didn't leave out any this time round!)
• This is will be open internationally.
• There will be 2 winners 
• The first winner may pick up to 3 polishes from any of the above collections.
• The second winner may pick 2 polishes of his/her choice.
• Giveaway will be held from 1 July 2012 until 31 July midnight EST.
• All entries will be verified and winners will be chosen randomly using Rafflecopter within a week of the closing date.
• All polishes are brand new and will only be purchased after the winners have indicated their preferences.

As a special thank you to those who comment regularly on IG and Blogger (you know who you are), we will be giving you an extra 2 entries each. There will be no need for any actions on your part. Thank you so much for making our blogging experience such a wonderful one! <3

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*****

Part 2: The Nail Art Contest!

As you may have already known, I've been bitten by the nail art bug with all the nail art contests going on recently. To share all the fun I've had, we will be hosting our very own nail art contest! ^_^

In order to make this fun and simple for everyone, the theme for this contest shall be...

Fashion!

Prints, pattern, colors... you name it! Just deck your nails out with any design inspired by your favorite style, clothes, shoes, accessory, brand, etc. Let your inner fashionista run wild!

The Rules:

• Contest is open internationally to all my followers.
• Entries will be accepted on both this blog and Instagram but contestants need only enter their entries on one platform.
• There is no entry limit - you may submit as many entries as you want.
• Design must be done on your own nails.
• No stickers, decals, foils or wraps. Stamping is strongly discouraged but not prohibited. 
• Pictures should be clear and display a handwritten note that says "#tpwfashioncontest" in the same frame as the nail art. Yes, that does mean you will have to submit a design done specifically for this contest. 
• Contest will also end on 31st July at midnight.
• 10 finalists will be chosen from all the entries (on blogger & IG) based on originality, creativity and execution.
• The shortlisted entries will be posted on both Facebook and Instagram on 2nd August for public voting.
• Each person is entitled to vote once on each platform and voting will end on the 4th August. 
• All the votes will be tallied by 5th August and the finalist with the highest total number of votes will be the winner.
• Entry into the nail art contest does not prohibit you from entering the giveaway above.

The Prizes:

Ok, now, the exciting part! I had wanted to make this contest extra special for all participants so after much deliberation, I've decided to put together the following prize pack:

• 5ml of my franken, Purple Rose of Virgo;
• 5ml of my franken, Invidia / Envy;
• 5ml of my franken, Ira / Wrath;
• 5ml of my franken, Luxuria / Lust and
• a 5ml decant of your choice of any Lynnderella in my stash (except The Glittering Crowd and Connect the Dots)

I've received some positive comments and even some inquiries about my frankens so I thought it would be great if I could share them with you. Unfortunately, I have very limited supplies of the polishes I'd used so I could not make them in large quantities for sale as of now. Instead, I've decided to include a precious bottle of each in the prize pack up for grabs. Although they may not be as pretty/popular as the polishes from other indie brands, each franken is special and carefully hand-mixed with much pride and love.

I've also included the small Lynnderella as a way to share a little of what I was lucky to get before the recent change of events. Instead of selfishly sitting on my Lynnderella stash (till death do us part), I've decided it is much more meaningful to share it with those who did not have a chance to get the Lynnderella they wanted. Believe me, it was a difficult decision to part with some of my favorite polishes but sharing is one of the reasons why we've started this blog in the first place, right? *nods*

*****

So that's all I have to say for now! I really hope you like the prizes that we've chosen!
If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below or email us, we will try to get back to you asap! 

xoxo,
mich