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.

Light It Up Blue - Charity Auction

You might remember my blue manicure for Autism Awareness Month a little while ago, and my brief mention of an upcoming charity polish auction. Well, I have some more details now, and this is looking like a HUGE DEAL.

If you head on over to Paint It Blue you can see all the details, but the basic premise of this deal is that a bunch of amazing indie polish makers have created custom, one of a kind blue polishes to be auctioned off. All the proceeds are going to ASPECT, who I also mentioned in my last post on Autism Awareness Month.

Seriously, anyone who is anyone is indie polish has gotten in on this project - here are a few swatches that have been shared so far just to get you all worked up.

I Wanna Be Where The People Are - Loony Lacquer and Peitas Polish Reviews

I freaking LOVE The Little Mermaid. I know, I know, changing yourself to suit a man you've seen once is a HORRIBLE message, and I don't really care for the original Hans Christian Anderson story. But I looooove the Disney movie, possibly largely because it contains one of my favourite Disney songs of all time, Part Of Your World. When it comes on my headphones while I'm on the train, I find it EXTREMELY difficult not to wave my arms and mouth along, and it's a staple of my "Home Alone Karaoke" playlist, along with most of the soundtrack for Wicket. It's been in my head all morning while putting this together, so here, you can have it in your head too.

Now that's off my chest, let's talk polish. I have two lovely mermaid themed polishes for you today, so let's start with Ariel's Ocean from Loony Lacquer, an Australian indie maker. It's from her Disney Princess collection - yes, she has done an entire Disney Princess collection. I bet you can all guess how I came across her work!

Aussie Nails Monday - Galaxy

I've been pretty slack with these lately, and this only just qualifies, but what the hell. The theme for Aussie Nails Monday this week was "galaxy", a really neat type of nail art where people use sponging and sparkles to create the impression of outer space on their nails. When done well, it looks absolutely breathtaking, so be sure to check out the other bloggers contributions to this theme - there are some talented artists in this challenge!
I however, am not nearly so talented and have also been rather busy, so my contribution is instead two polishes that remind me of galaxy nails.
First up is an absolutely adorable polish from indie maker Pieta's Polish, called Shooting Stars. While it is admittedly quite tricky to use (the stars need to be placed pretty carefully) , I was so delighted with the results I declare it totally worth the effort. Unfortunately, my photos don't capture the delightful little holo specks in the base, or the blue to purple shimmery colour shift. These photos are all one and a bit coats over Bourjois 1 Seconde Blue.