Hi! So I fully blame (affectionately) your beautiful manicure photos for reigniting my love of nail polish and I have totally fallen down the rabbit hole of indie polish makers. As such I am very excited to shop PPU rewind next week and am wondering what polishes you are excited for and which ones you consider must haves?
Hahah! I will happily and appreciatively take the blame for anyone deciding to get into indie nail polish. That means so much to me, you have no idea! ♥️😂♥️😂♥️ That being said, this post is long so I'm going to put the rest under the cut.
PPU rewind is one of my favorite times of the year to buy polish and they have some really great things coming up!!! 😍😍😍 For anyone that doesn't know Polish Pick Up is a monthly collaboration between indie polish makers where limited edition polishes are sold during a pre-sale window that lasts 4 days. After the window closes the polishes are shipped out and usually it takes 3-4 weeks after ordering for the package to show up in your mailbox. July is a special month where the makers are allowed to bring back 2 polishes: one to sell on the PPU site and one that the maker can sell on their own site for the month of July. So really popular polishes make a return in July. PPU rewind this year will take place from 7/4 at 11:00am EST until 7/7 at 11:59pm EST. The preview on the site should go up sometime tomorrow (6/29). If you want to check it out they're here.
Don't Own But Will Be Buying
The reason it took me so long to reply to this ask is that I actually own quite a few of the polishes that will be in PPU rewind this year so I have quite a few recommendations to make! I'll divide them into two categories: Don't Own But Will Be Buying, and Own and Love. I will add links to swatches or to my blog posts on the name of the polish.
Emily De Molly - Haunted vibes I thought I bought this one when it originally released and when I realized I didn't get it I was SO disappointed. I will NOT miss it this time. It's a gorgeous orange magnetic.
Lumen - Glass Frog I stared at this polish for FOREVER when it originally released, decided to pass on it and instantly regretted it. I've heard so many people rave about it since then. I feel like it's taken on legendary status in my mind. 😂 I won't be missing it again. This one will be sold on the makers site.
Own and Love
Bee's Knees Lacquer - Doomicorn 2.0 If I had to pick, this is probably my all time favorite polish. I don't know what they've changed that it's a 2.0 version now, but I would still HIGHLY recommend this one. It has a pretty sheer formula though, so if that's not your thing you might want to pass on this one. S+ Tier
Atomic Polish - Sour Apple Rings One of my all time favorite neons. If you like eye-searingly bright, this polish is for you. The formula is a little thick, but that's somewhat normal for neons and as gorgeous as it is I can't bring myself to care. 😂 This one will be sold on the makers site. S+ Tier
Cuticula - Dead House Absolutely stunning flakey bomb, which Cuticula does so well. A tier
Monarch Lacquer- Truth or Dare A super bright pink that's perfect for summer. This one will be sold on the makers site. A tier
Garden Path Lacquers - We Never Lie About Bunnies Bunny This polish is an party on the nails and SO SO sparkly. This one will be sold on the makers site. A tier
I actually own quite a few more PPU rewind polishes than this but I'm trying to keep this post from turning into a novel. 😂 These are my favorites though. If you are looking at something and want my opinion, leave a comment and I'll let you know if I've tried that polish or that maker. Thank you so much for this ask @lizardnotes!!!!!!🥰💖🥰💖🥰
Hi! I’m actually going to Montreal for the first time next week for a wedding, but am staying a few extra days to explore. I’d love any recommendations if you feel so inclined to share any! I also love tearooms and books if you feel comfortable sharing your faves!
god i have been so excited to answer this lol, very pleased to be home and comfy and have the time!!
i'm probably going to give you too many and this is high recency bias but here we go:
drawn and quarterly (bookstore in the mile end, a very cool neighborhood; for coffee/pastries in a beautiful spot, try pastel rita on boul. st. laurent a few streets away!!)
the word (bookstore on rue milton; this is right near mcgill's main campus and it's cash only!!)
mccord stewart museum (my fave museum right across from mcgill; the current exhibits are absolutely stunning, cannot recommend enough; the gift shop also has great stickers and postcards)
notre dame basilica (skip the light show, it's not really worth the money, but go during the day and make sure to see the wedding chapel if it's open! it's absolutely beautiful)
old montreal (it's great to just walk around here and pop into little shops, plus some of the best restaurants in the city. right by notre dame)
high tea at gryphon d'or (this is a bit out of the way in monkland village/ndg, which is where i used to live, but it's worth a trip. the tea selections are incredible [highly rec the cherry almond] and the sandwiches/desserts/scones are great. they give you a bunch of spreads for the scones, including the best caramel i've ever had in my life. bring cash here too, and make a reservation)
for restaurants, i'm going to rec mostly old montreal ones because that's where i was just staying and they're fresh in my mind!
gaspar brasserie (classic yummy french food, the duck is so good)
helena (portuguese food, great if you like seafood, and get the pastel de nata and the churros for dessert)
brasserie 701 (good for brunch/lunch; the 701 burger is stunning and so are their oatmilk lattes)
dinette marcella (really good italian food)
la banquise (for every kind of poutine you can imagine; this in the plateau, which is another great neighborhood to walk around in)
chifa (fun peruvian tapas!)
okay i could go on and on lol i'm sorry, i hope this is helpful!!
Hi! I always love seeing your manicures and discovering new polish makers from you. I was wondering if you have preferred base and top coats that you use? Thanks!
Thank you so much! 🥰♥️😭 That means so much to me. I love seeing your notes in my notifications! 💖💖💖 My favorite base coat is from Glisten & Glow. I usually go with their sticky base coat, but their ridge filling base coat is great too. Glisten & Glow also makes a fantastic topcoat. My FAVORITE topcoat though comes from Cuticula. It's just as good as Glisten & Glow, but it's also scented and I love their scents! 😍 Usually if I'm buying other polishes from Cuticula, I'll pick up a couple bottles of their topcoat. When I run out of that, I use Glisten & Glow topcoat. That was a very long winded answer. 😂 Thank you for the ask! 😁
