Great Lakes Lacquer Polish Pickup Mood Rings & Emotions November 2025 Swatches and Review

Polish Pickup is now open for pre-orders through Monday, November 10 at 11:59PM EST. The theme this month is Mood Rings & Emotions. I have Great Lakes Lacquer's cheerful yellow shimmer to share with you today. Let's check it out!

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Great Lakes Lacquer Polish Pickup Optical Illusions October 2025 Swatches and Review

Great Lakes Lacquer's contribution to the October 2025 Optical Illusions-themed polish is based on an image of the Chicago skyline reflecting on Lake Michigan from the Michigan side - it looks like the city is upside down! I got this polish only a couple days before the shop opened and unfortunately it sold out before I could get a post up, but I thought I would share it anyway in case you wanted to enjoy the images, if your ordered it. Otherwise, Polish Pickup does have a Rewind month where previous shades are offered again and due to this sellout it might be a future offering then. 

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LynB Designs 13 Days of Holo-Ween Beetlejuice Edition Advent 2024 Swatches and Review

I purchased a number of mystery advents last year and thought I would share some of them since there aren't a lot of photos out there. LynB Designs has one that counts down to Halloween and that was one I bought for the first time. The price was $85 for 13 polishes, which comes to $6.54 per polish. Since it contains one shatter finish, which the brand normally sells for $12 with no discounts due to the expense of the base, if you subtract that off the price, the other polishes average for a little over $6, which is the brand's regular price during 50% off sales. For fun, I will not only review and describe the polishes, but also ask the question, would I buy this one if it were not in a mystery collection. 

Royla Lee January 2025 Releases Swatches and Review

I'm finally back in business on the blog and Youtube! I was struggling with a gradually failing 10-year-old computer that would crash with anything graphics intensive. I could fumble through photo edits, but eventually video came to be impossible. After three weeks, my new Macbook Pro arrived from Chengdu, China, (I ordered a massive 2tb hard drive in it so it had to be custom assembled for me!) It is like the BMW 5-series of computers, lol. I was also finally able and motivated to fully move into Final Cut Pro for my video edits. I had been using it for Instagram reels, but this is my first full review video using it, and it will upscale to 4K. I hope you enjoy the better quality. At some point I need to get a better camera / lighting setup for video but that will have to wait. The computer was a big expense, but I needed it also because I'm finally finishing my masters degree and needed a computer that could handle a lot of photo files. Hopefully it will last me 10 years or more like the last one did.

Now for the review! I have the debut release of Royla Lee for you. This is a rebranding of Wildflower Lacquer to reflect the growth and spirit of Taylor's (the maker's) polish journey. The name is a tribute to her beloved Grandmother.  Anyone who has been following the brand for a while knows that Taylor absolutely loves and connects to things vintage and nostalgic and this collection taps into that. I know with any rebranding it involves and adjustment from the customer - that the name and logo won't match previous releases - and that not everyone will like it. I'm happy that the whimsy and humor of Wildflower hasn't gone away and that the branding better reflects what Taylor wants to explore creatively. Also, she was finally able to get screen-printed bottles! This is a big up-front cost for a brand, but saves labor and ensures the bottles will hold up against wear, acetone spills, etc. Now on to the goodies! The pre-order is open through January 19 at 6PM CST.

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Wildflower Lacquer July 2024 Releases Swatches and Review

Wildflower Lacquer has their July 2024 Pre-order open now through Friday, July 12 at 11:59PM CDT. There is one six-piece collection as well as a number of limited edition and charity polishes. The brand also introduced new cuticle oils, but those sold out right away and will be back in the future. Let's check it all out!

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Wildflower Lacquer Love for Moonflower Benefit for Nadia Polish Swatches and Review

Hi everyone! I've been on the longest break of my time posting nail swatches - basically half a year. Previously I never missed more than a couple weeks for 12 years posting nail pics online. I don't know that I will be back as frequently as I was due to work and my health, but I will try to stop by as much as I can. I am back with a polish that is really important for a long-time member of the nail polish hobby. Nadia, the blogger and vlogger behind Mama Hearts Polish and maker behind Moonflower Polish, a stamping polish brand, was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She is the mom of two kids and is such a kind and generous person. She just had surgery recently, which was successful, but has a long recovery ahead of her. Her day job was as a dog groomer, but she is having to take time off because the recovery from mastectomy and reconstruction makes her physically demanding job impossible for awhile. Taylor of Wildflower Lacquer was so nice to add a polish to benefit Nadia in her May release. $8 of the $13.50 price will go directly to Nadia to help replace the income she has lost while recovering and to help with medical bills. Nadia's mom has also set up a gofundme which you can find here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-nadias-breast-cancer-journey-donate-today?qid=f0a46ea28b261f9bfed7f035849740a4 

*polish sent by maker, donation in excess of value made to Nadia's gofundme by me*

Rogue Lacquer Imagineers: Land of Imagination Quad and Another Green Mystery Polish Swatches and Review

The holiday sales are wrapping up, but I wanted to share some polishes that are still available from Rogue Lacquer. The Imagineers: Land of Imagination Quad and Is the Grass Greener? released earlier this year and can be picked up for 15% off with code ROGUEBF15. The regular price on the quad is $40 for all four or $12 each. Is the Grass Greener, a green mystery polish, is $9. Let's check them out!

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Polish Pickup Haunted History September 2023 Swatches and Review

We're in the final hours of the September 2023 Haunted History-themed Polish Pickup! The pre-order is open through September 4 at midnight EDT. I have products from Anchor & Heart Lacquer and KBShimmer to share this month!

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Polish Pickup Junk Food May 2023 Swatches and Review

Polish Pickup opens this Friday for the May 2023 Junk Food-themed pre-order! The shop is open May 5 at 10AM EDT to Monday, May 8 at midnight EDT. I have products from KBShimmer and Music City Beauty to share this month!

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Wildflower Lacquer Back to the 90s Collection and The Polished Hippy Swatches and Review

Wildflower Lacquer's March pre-order is open and I have something special to share! This month's release includes the Back to the '90s Collection and a polish to celebrate the 6th Indieversary of Wildflower, a polish I got to co-create! The Polished Hippy is the kind of classic holo that attracted me to the brand to begin with - and I was Taylor's first customer! The pre-order is open through March 10. Let's have a look!

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Polish Pickup Rainy Days March 2023 Swatches and Review

Polish Pickup's March 2023 theme is Rainy Days. The pre-order is open from March 3 at 10AM EST to Monday, March 6 at midnight EST. This month I have products from Great Lakes Lacquer, KBShimmer, and Wildflower Lacquer to share with you. Let's check them out!

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Great Lakes Lacquer Hella Handmade Creations February 2023 Swatches and Review

Hella Handmade Creations February 2023 pre-order is open through February 21 at midnight HST. I've got Great Lakes Lacquer's glowing and gorgeous blue shimmer to show you this month. Let's check it out!

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Great Lakes Lacquer Rainbows & Unicorn Pee Group Customs February 2023 Swatches and Review

Great Lakes Lacquer has created two gorgeous icy shades for the Facebook group Rainbows & Unicorn Pee, which celebrates glowy, multichrome pigments, originally the special pigment used in Urban Decay Toxin, called "unicorn pee" in the polish collecting community, but now expanded to a variety of substitutes as that discontinued pigment has gotten rare. The polishes are available through February 18 on the Great Lakes Lacquer site. You must be a member of the Facebook group to order the polishes. The price is $13.50 each or $25 for both. Let's have a look!

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Polish Pickup Movie Quotes February 2023 Swatches and Review

Polish Pickup's February 2023 Movie Quotes-themed pre-order is open now through February 6 at midnight EST. I have items from Great Lakes Lacquer, KBShimmer, and Wildflower Lacquer this month.

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Bee's Knees Lacquer A Court of Thorns and Roses 2.0 Collection Swatches and Review

Today I have a collection to share that is a personal purchase and sadly no longer available, but hey, pretty pictures! The Bee's Knees Lacquer A Court of Thorns and Roses 2.0 Collection was originally offered in mystery bags in December 2021 and then later as overpour. I managed to get all of them. I would love to share more personal purchases, but sometimes I wonder if it is worth it, especially when many brands have blanketed coverage with PR. There is a dramatic reduction in traffic for indie polish posts made after release when something has already appeared in a million places already before release. So if I do post personal purchases it is going to be for things where it is hard to find swatches and they were not sent to swatchers before release, or at least to relatively few. It takes a huge amount of time to make a post like this, at least 40 hours of work (painting, photographing, filming, editing pictures, IG reel editing, blog writing, Youtube editing), in addition to the money I spent, and I'd rather read books or write articles for my day job than do that if no one cares, haha. [Insert Cartman "I do what I want" gif here] If there are particular things you are interested in, do let me know, and I can see if I have time to fit it in if I have the polishes. There has really been a shift since I first got into nail posting online 12 years ago. What little is left has trained viewers to think of it primarily as advertising (and worse yet often paid advertising which you will never see here - this blog is not monetized and never will be - I don't work as a paid employee for brands and disregard paid posts as a purchaser myself), but there it is... Okay, enough of my old lady grumblings. I hope if you wanted these you managed to get them and can use these pics to pin to your collections or if not you can find them in the secondary market.

Wildflower January 2023 Releases Swatches and Review

Wildflower Lacquer has two special edition polishes and the Celestial Collection for the January 2023 release. The Celestial Collection was created with Instagramer The Lacquered Unicorn whose husband is an astrophotographer - the polishes are interpretations of things in the sky he has photographed! Each polish is priced at $12.50 to $13.50 or $87.50 for all seven polishes in the Celestial Collection. There is also a charity polish dedicated to Taylor's grandfather and a re-released 2.0 polish. They are available until noon CST January 10. Let's check them out!

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Pretty Beautiful Unlimited Hella Handmade Creations December 2022 Swatches and Review

There is one more day to shop from the December 2022 Hella Handmade Creations pre-order, which is open through December 21 at midnight HST! I have the contribution from Pretty Beautiful Unlimited to share with you. 

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Octopus Party Nail Lacquer Holiday 2022 Collection Swatches and Review

Octopus Party Nail Lacquer has just released the Holiday 2022 Collection and you can pick them up in the Facebook group The Octosquad. There are a nice mix of finishes and some great formulas here. I just wore one of them on a work trip and it was perfect at the end of five day. Let's have a look.

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Wildflower Lacquer November 2022 Releases Swatches and Review

Wildflower Lacquer has a new Golden Girls Holiday Quad, Polished Flicks polish, and Harley's Holo. They are open for pre-order through November 9 at noon CST. These polishes feature some rich jewel tones that are perfect for the holidays! Let's check them out.

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Polish Pickup Tis the Season November 2022 Swatches and Review

Polish Pickup November 2022 is now open for pre-order through November 7 at midnight EST. The theme this month is Tis the Season, allowing the pre-ordered items to show up in time for the holidays. In case you didn't already know, Polish Pickup is a Facebook group and pop-up shop that offers monthly pre-orders of indie polish and crafts made to themes voted on by members of the group. This month I have products from KBShimmer, Pretty Beautiful Unlimited, and Wildflower Lacquer. 

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