What's Indie Box - Bakery Delights, February 2014

I've been buying What's Indie Box on and off since the inception of this rather nifty idea - a rotating roster of five indie labels each contribute an exclusive polish to a special themed box once a month, and once a month a surprise package of delightful mystery arrives on your doorstep! Unlike a lot of other surprise boxes, What's Indie Box doesn't require any minimum subscription - all you have to do is trundle over to Peita's Polish, lay your cashes down when you decide you want in, and if you can't afford it next month, there's no drama. I've found it's a really great way to sample a bunch of different indie labels at once, and would particularly recommend it to anyone who's still hovering around the edges of the indie pool, dipping in a tentative toe.

(Just to be a TOTAL enabler, I'd also point out that you can chuck in a couple of things from Peita's Polish while you're ordering the Indie Box for no extra postage charge - her Quick, Gloss Me Up fast dry topcoat is a particular favourite of mine)

Enough spruiking, on to the swatches! The February box as themed around cake, and as someone who's allergic to just about every kind of cake, I was already pretty tempted. However, this box also featured a bunch of my favourite up and coming indie labels all in the one place, and just like that I was sold. My only mistake was opening this beautiful box at work when I could neither play with any of the polishes, OR have any cake, which became pretty equal compulsions as I sorted through these delicious treats.



First up we have Key Lime Pie, from Moonstone Polish (who I reviewed a little while ago here), which is a clear based glitter topper full of pale cream and lime glitters.

I swatched it here over Ulta3 Mojito, although in hindsight it would probably do better over a calmer, subtler base. It wasn't until I got it under my light that I noticed the teeny tiny irridescent specks through it - they're absolutely gorgeous, but show up much better in person than in photos.

Next is a creamy confection from an old favourite of mine, Glam Polish. Their contribution to this box is called Fairycakes, and reminds me perfectly of the delicious little cream filled cakes I would always make a beeline for at parties.

No undies needed for this one, which is pretty unusual for a creamy based glitter. The formula is just fantastic opaque enough to cover on it's own, while still letting the glitters shine through. It's also very easy to work with for something jam packed with so many sizes of glitter and shimmer.

Are you getting hungry yet? Maybe some blueberries will fix that. Peita's Polish contributed a beautiful polish called Blueberry Bonanza, and I can't look at it without picturing big, fluffy blueberry muffins warm from the oven, with plump ripe blueberries just waiting to burst into your mouth when you bite into them.

As with Fairycakes, this didn't need any undies, and the formula was the perfect balance for a creamy glitter. Amoung the blue speckles, there are also large iridescent hexes, that like the ones in Key Lime Pie, show up much better in person.

Next up we have one from Prettypots Polish, who I've been getting pretty excited about over on my Instagram, even if I haven't gotten to blogging about them here. They contributed a polish called Mintberry Macaroon, which looks delicious even if I'm not 100 per cent sold on the idea of a minty macaroon.

This one came with a little bag of extra glitters, similar to the Shades of Phoenix Dia Dos Muertos collection, and they really come in handy when you want to add just a little extra sparkle on top. I didn't have any trouble getting the stars in the polish onto my nails, but they stand out much better if you carefully place them on top before topcoating.

And finally we have a glorious purple flakie filled holo from Lilypad Lacquer called Blackberry Beauty. I have a few Lilypads from back when they first launched, but to be honest they've lost my interest lately by focusing on holographic polish almost exclusively. Don't get me wrong, their holographic polishes are absolutely amazing - but there are only a limited number I will ever really use, and I already have a BUNCH. Blackberry Beauty is an interesting departure though - there's still a ton of holo sparkle, but the flakies give it a lot more depth than some of their more recent releases.

I'm such a sucker for a good purple, but even given my natural bias, this is a STUNNING polish.

The April What's Indie Box is available now from Peita's Polish, and the theme is All Things Mythical and Fantasy - this is open for order until 29th of March, so be sure you don't miss out!