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It’s Polish Pickup time again! This time, we are celebrating under the mystical theme, Magic & Alchemy! Knowing how often our makers are constantly mixing up little sparkly potions and baubles that mesmerize, I knew they would bring it! And they did! I have thirteen unique and exclusive items to share with you. Let’s get to it!

Polish Pickup is a fun Facebook Group where members submit and vote for one theme for the month. Afterward, indie makers create a polish or product based on the decided theme. Members can make purchases through the Polish Pickup website during the four-day shopping window, where you can pick as little or as many items as you desire. The flat rate shipping price of US $3.00/CAD $5.00 is the cherry on top. Evidenced by its rapid growth, PPU is a very clever concept that has introduced me to many new indie brands, as well as given a wider stage for smaller, well-loved ones.

Recently Indie Pickup has been following the same sale and shipping schedules as Polish Pickup and this month, posts from makers are being combined in the Polish Pickup Facebook group. Indie Pickup was created to house most of the extra non-polish items that came along after the explosive growth of Polish Pickup. The Facebook group still exists but has been made redundant, with all sharing being move to the Polish Pickup Facebook Group. All your Pickup products in one place!

Baby Girl Lacquer – Chrysoprase Stone

Chrysoprase Stone

Thermal

Called after its namesake, Nene’s Chrysoprase Stone is a fresh minty green to white crelly thermal with an assortment of flakies including UCC, gold and crystal chameleon flakes that shift from orange to gold. Additionally, you can spot some snow white and midnight sparkle flakes in there too! 

The polish had an easy application with the flakes playing nicely in there. I found the shift to be a bit on the subtler side and the transition quick. All of this does work to it’s benefit as this is such a delicate, beautiful polish. I’m wearing three coats with a glossy topcoat.

$12.00 // no cap

Baby Girl Lacquer: Shop //  Instagram //  Facebook //  Fangroup

By Dany Vianna – Basilisk Scales

The Basilisk – Harry Potter

Dany has two products for the Magic and Alchemy round; one for PPU and the other for IPU. First up, her nail polish.  As a devout Harry Potter fan, she drew inspiration from the Basilisk for this creation. Basilisk Scales has a peridot holographic base with a mix of green and gold UCC flakes and metallic gold flakes. Yes, as you would guess, this is a favorite of mine in this bunch. It’s so deliciously pruggly. The polish has mixed sized flakes which can add a bit of texture with the larger pieces. I quite like this effect, especially from the UCC flakes. I’m wearing two coats with a glossy topcoat.

For those that do not know this fun but not so relevant fact, I’m a huge HP fan, having 3 of my four tattoos being HP related. And my last one is of a Basilisk with the statue of Salazar. No need to tell where I’m sorted right?

But Basilisk is such a magical and fun creature, because (it) is a chicken egg that has been hatched by a frog. His eyes and fangs are very famous and I thought why it’s scales wouldn’t be too? – Dany Vianna

$11.50 // 100 bottles available

By Dany Vianna: Shop //  Instagram //  Facebook //  Fangroup

By Dany Vianna – Key To Eternal Life

Philosopher’s Stone – Harry Potter

Dany’s second offering acts as her introduction to IPU. Hers is a beautiful necklace designed under the inspiration of Harry Potter’s Philosopher’s Stone. The Key to Eternal Life is a gold necklace with red, color shifting crystal beading accents and a golden key pendant. The necklace comes with an extender for those who would prefer to wear it longer. In my pictures, I’m wearing it without the extender and it lays in the lower part of my chest. This is a delicate and light weight necklace for easy wearing. 

$12.00 // 25 necklaces available

By Dany Vianna: Shop //  Instagram //  Facebook //  Fangroup

Cameo Colours Lacquers – Elixir Of Immortality

Elixir of Immortality

Here is Cameo’s contribution to the Magic and Alchemy theme; the Elixir of Immortality! My nail shape is different in this photo because I got this polish weeks before most of the others. If the inconsistency bothers you, you’re not alone. We tarry on!

Every time I come across the name “Elixir of Immortality”, it reminds me of the movie, Death Becomes Her. I don’t think the potion they drank in the movie was called the that, but it’s the first thing that comes to mind. Cameo’s  Elixir of Immortality has a light purple base, filled with violet to purple to indigo to blue shimmers, holographic sparkle, holographic micro flakes, and platinum silver flakes. The polish applies smoothly and dries smooth also. I has some beautiful sparkle!  I’m wearing two coats with a glossy topcoat.

$11.50 //  95 bottles available

Cameo Colours Lacquers: Shop //  Instagram //  Facebook //  Fangroup

Great Lakes Lacquer – The Blind Bandit

Togh Beifong from Avatar: The Last Airbender

For this bold polish, Mariah drew inspiration from Togh Beifong from Avatar: The Last Airbender. When I shared in the Facebook Group that I didn’t know who Togh was, I was warmly welcomed to learn about this badass. She seems to be a fan favorite of the fandom. This is one of the things I love most about the nail polish community. Be it literature, games or strictly beauty, it really spreads across all those lines. 

The Blind Bandit is a vibrant, glowing grass green with an intense shimmer moving from gold to green to blue. It’s way greener than my swatches show! The polish has an easy consistency and smooth finish. I’m wearing two coats with a glossy topcoat.

$12.50 //  no cap

Great Lakes Lacquers: Shop //  Instagram //  Facebook //  Fangroup

JReine Cosmetics – My Eternal

Marie Laveau – Voodoo Queen of New Orleans

Jill also has two offerings this month! First, let’s look at the stunning nail polish inspired by New Orleans native, Marie Laveau. My Eternal is a sultry deep blue with an OG UP shift of red to green to gold. There’s also a sprinkle of holographic particles for extra sparkle. This is a stunning polish and the ease of application only adds to the appeal. The glowing shift  from the UP adds just a touch of warmth. I’m wearing two coats with a glossy topcoat.

$13.00 //  no cap

JReine Cosmetics: Shop //  Instagram //  Facebook //  Fangroup

JReine Cosmetics – Voodoo Pixie Magic Kit

Voodoo

Jill’s second product is one I’m personally quite excited about. I slept on the opening craze of burnishing powders so I was really wowed! Voodoo is a loose burnishing powder with an intense shift of green to gold to red. I decided to wear it over an olive cream and was immediately floored. My initial hesitance about working with powders had to do with the mess. When I have to think about product getting caught in my deep c curve ridges, it’s an immediate nope. In reality,  it wasn’t that bad. I used latex around my nails and cleaned off the clingers with a damp q-tip and a toothpick. 

For a first timer like me, the kit makes the approach quite easy. It comes with Jill’s Super Base sticky base coat, the pixie magic powder in Voodoo and an applicator. I applied the Super Base over my olive cream, used my finger to apply and burnish the powder. I did notice a couple of streaks when I applied topcoat and this was curbed by floating rather than brushing. The other swatchers have taken care to show this over a variety of colors which is really fun to see!

$15.00 //  250 cap

JReine Cosmetics: Shop //  Instagram //  Facebook //  Fangroup

Jior Couture – Lwa Erzulie

Erzulie, Haitian Voodoo Goddess

Aurora

Erzulie is knowns as the Haitian voodoo goddess of love, beauty and motherhood. She inspired Sacha in her creation for this month. Lwa Erzulie is a vivid, red hued pink crelly brimming with three different aurora pigments and three different UCC flakes. Topping this off is a mystical golden-bronze shifting shimmer. This polish has a bright yet warm tone to it with the UCC flakes playing nicely within. It applies with a bit of a syrupy feel, similar to that of a jelly. Here, I’m wearing two coats with a glossy topcoat.

$12.50 //  no cap

Jior Couture: Shop //  Instagram //  Facebook //  Fangroup

KB Shimmer – Lime Margarita Sugar Scrub

Practical Magic, Midnight Margaritas Scene

Now unto the most delicious yet inedible offering in this post. You can thank Christy for the delightful torture that is her Lime Margarita Sugar Scrub. I’m a lime margarita girl and this scrub infuriated me a bit because I really wanted the real drink after sampling it. I even toyed with the idea of taking a small lick of the scrub. Just the tiniest. But I didn’t, I swear.

For this scrub, Christy drew inspiration from the Midnight Margarita scene in the movie Practical Magic. It’s such a good scene and the scrub fits the mood perfectly. The scrub itself is exfoliating and moisturizing with a zip of invigoration from the citrus. 

As summer draws closer to its end, I find myself feeling nostalgic, and watching old movies.  One movie I recently re-watched was Practical Magic. This witchy movie follows a cursed family who struggles with their relationships with men and each other.  One of my favorite scenes starts with the sound of a blender. Then, the quartet of witches sings about limes and coconuts while sipping their margaritas. This magical scene inspired our September sugar scrub, Lime Margarita.  This juicy, drink-inspired scent starts with notes of salty lime blended with subtle hints of raspberry, apple, strawberry, and peach. Finished with wisps of jasmine and vanilla, this scent smells so much like the real thing that you’ll wish you could drink it! – Christy

$10.00 //  No Cap

KB Shimmer: Shop //  Instagram //  Facebook //  Fangroup

KB Shimmer – Something Wicca Comes This Way

Charmed Television Show

Magnetic

Christy’s polish melds science and magic with its magnetic properties and witchy origin. Something Wicca Comes This Way has a deep duochrome base that moves between shades of blue and purple with pops and sparks from holographic micro glitter and colorful flakes. When magnetized, shades of peach, pink, lime and gold are beautifully isolated. I really love how you can see the flake peaking in between the magnetized portions. This nail polish applies really well and is very responsive to the magnet. I’m wearing three coats as I normally do with all magnetic polishes, then topped with a glossy topcoat.

College was hard, but what made those years bearable for me was coming home to watch The WB!  In the late 90’s and early 00’s, The WB had all the magical shows: Buffy, Angel, and my favorite, Charmed.  Charmed featured a trio of sisters trying to make it in the world, all while dealing with a family loss and their newfound identities as, “The Charmed Ones,” the most powerful good witches of all time!  Fans of the show discussed whether Dan or Leo should win Piper’s hand, had a love-hate relationship with Cole, and many even wanted their our own Book Of Shadows.  – Christy

$10.00 // No Cap

KB Shimmer: Shop //  Instagram //  Facebook //  Fangroup

Painted Polish – Mischief Managed

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’s Movie Poster

Lexi delivers a crelly inspired by the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban movie poster. Mischief Managed has a fall-worthy teal base with a rainbow of color-shifting flakies, a smattering of holographic pigment and holographic galaxy glitters for extra sparkle. What a fantastic adaptation! As usual, the application is excellent with easily found flakies and the color intensity builds quickly. I’m wearing two coats with a glossy topcoat.

$12.50 //  250 bottles available

Painted Polish: Shop //  Instagram //  Facebook //  Fangroup

Starlight Polish – Lwa Erzulie

Fire

Original Unicorn Pee Pigment

Issa created a topcoat “named for phoenixes….a phoenix in a bottle, a phoenix aflame.” Purifying Flames is a strong topper with the original unicorn pee pigment. It also has red, orange, and yellow micro flakes, red to green and bronze to green small multichrome flakes, small gold holographic glitter, and small orange to gold to green iridescent glitter.

This is a hefty topper, the pigment is so shifty and intense. However, its heft does not apply to consistency; it is quite easy to work with.  Purifying Flames does leave some texture behind however, but I only needed one coat of topcoat to smooth things over. At first, I swatched it after black and red and then knew that I wanted to see it, more delicately, over my nude nail. Because of this, you can really see how well the elements are dispersed. It’s shown in one coat in all my pictures with a glossy topcoat.

My inspiration is fire, and the belief in fire’s ability to purify, usually by the destruction of evil or corrupting elements.  I really like how one writer, pen name Myst Shadow, wrote it: “Fire was, apparently, the purifying element.  Across numerous cultures.  Across different belief systems.  Fire burned, and in burning, cleansed.  Toxins broke down in fire.  Curses broke, as the items they were cast on were immolated.  And in natural ecosystems, what burned left behind an ash rich in nutrients, to nourish what would later grow.”

 

I’ve always loved that interpretation of fire, both as a magical element and as a metaphor for personal change.  To burn away one’s old self in a bright blaze of change, emerging refined and honed, having shed things that weigh down and hold back, and becoming one step closer to the person you want to become.

Starlight Polish has a top coat named for phoenixes.  I wanted this to be a phoenix in a bottle, a phoenix aflame.  And, I wanted this top coat to feel like a celebration of that process of change.  I hope I’ve achieved my goal! – Issa

$17.50 //  200 bottles available

Starlight Polish: Shop //  Instagram //  Facebook //  Fangroup

Sweet & Sour Lacquer – Transformed

Alchemy & Alchemy iPhone Game

Our final polish comes from a brand making her debut here at PPU.  Darlene lures us in with the vampy shade, Transformed. This is a blackened purple crelly base packed with violet to green to gold and red to violet to blue shifting chameleon shimmers. Additionally, there are crystal chameleon flakes that shift from copper to red to gold to green. Upon first application, the polish has a sheer quality but it builds up nicely. This does allow for some great layering and depth from the flakies. Here, I’m wearing three coats with a glossy topcoat.

All items will be available from on Friday, September 6th, 11 am EST, to Monday, September 9th, 11:59 pm EST from

Polish Pickup Online

Polish Pickup:  Store  //  Facebook  //  Instagram  //  Facebook Group

What are you most where you most excited to see this month?