Addicted to Holos: February 2015 *Guest Blog*

Lauren’s Note: Today we welcome another guest blogger! Meet Windy. Windy and I probably initially “met” online through our mutual love of Julep nail polish in an online community called Julep Swap. Since Julep Swap is very much polish-focused with pretty much no deviation, some of the gals formed an online group where we could talk about other things besides polish. And polish. And thus, our little On Fridays We Wear Purple circle was formed. I liked Windy right away because she had a sarcastic sense of humor that I can relate to. And of course, the polish. When Windy was debating about whether or not she should get this box, I enabled her and told her to do it so she could guest blog for us! Also because I really needed to learn what holos were. (Don’t tell people that I was in a polish group and didn’t know. They might kick me out.) Without further ado, here’s Windy!

Hey ladies! Oh and gentlemen, of course,<cough> apologies if I disenfranchised any of the menfolk out there. I am guest posting for the lovely Miss Lauren about a brand new polish box called Addicted to Holos – Bi-Monthly Indie Polish Box. This is the inaugural box preordered in February 2015. Since I am a total polish whore and well addicted to holos…it isn’t hard to figure out why I caved and bought this box even at its fairly hefty $60, + shipping. If you aren’t as into nail polish as myself you may be wondering, “Ok, but what the hell is this holo polish of which you speak?” Short version: Holo nail polish contains shimmery pigments that make it sparkle rainbows in sunlight in addition to the main polish color. It is NOT glitter nail polish. It is a magical thing possibly created by Tinkerbell herself (reports are unconfirmed). I was a holdout on the whole holo polish thing for a long time before falling hard. Public service announcement…if you start wearing holo polish be careful because you may crash your car while staring enthralled at your nails. Just saying. You’ve been warned.

Unlike some beauty boxes, the packaging focus for this box was less presentation experience and more make sure the pretties arrive intact. The polishes were individually wrapped by the five indie makers that comprise the box: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer, Literary Lacquers, Philly Loves Lacquer, Sweet Heart Polish and The Polish Bar. I had never tried any of these specific indie makers. So yea, I totally folded like a cheap card table and handed over my monies.

Cuts in My Heart by Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer ($12) was the standout of the box for me because it is close to a one-coater. I have two kids under five, so time is precious. If a polish will give me great coverage in one coat, max two, it has a shortcut to my heart. This deep pinky-red ox blood holo is gorgeous. I am a sucker for polishes in this color family and she is definitely my favorite of the group. She did dry to a somewhat matte finish, so expect to add a top coat to finish her off for maximum shiny holo loveliness. I jumped on a fresh mani using Cuts in My Heart immediately after opening my box as the accent color to Julep’s Nedra (which I also completely love, bee-tee-dub).

Laughs in Flowers by Literary Lacquers ($12) is a soft, dreamy pink holo with added glitter pop. She is a two thick coats or three thin coats polish. Soft pinks are not always my jam, but I am liking this one especially for the Spring/Easter season. If you are glitter averse, the glitter in this formula is not overwhelming. Think glitter for added spice rather than OMG, GLITTER BOMB!! The name of this polish is a nod to the poem Hamatreya by Ralph Waldo Emerson. The book nerd in me adores that all of the Literary Lacquers polishes take their names from literature. It’s absolutely nerdtabulous and if you don’t agree, sorry, I just don’t think we can be friends, m’kay? M’kay.

Fortunate Rainbow by Philly Loves Lacquer ($12) is a light, springy green. This one is also an Easter basket perfect color and even reminds me of pastely (Is that a word? It is now, I declare it so.) Easter basket grass. She was a three-coater for me to reach what I considered optimal opacity. This will be a great polish for getting into springtime. I do have a few similar shades, but none exactly the same as Fortunate Rainbow. I will definitely be wearing her when the warmer weather starts sticking around for more than a day.

Candied Violets by Sweet Heart Polish ($10) is perfectly named. She is a pastel violet color that continues the Easter basket trend. She is holotastic with added glitter kick similar to the Literary Lacquers polish. If you are a purple nut (which I certainly am…heck I’m even in a group called On Friday’s We Wear Purple) she is a lovely frosty purple shade. She was another three-coater to reach the opacity I wanted but I don’t coat very thick, your mileage may vary.

Midnight Kiss by The Polish Bar ($11) is the other standout of the box. She is a stunning deep blue holo with a subtle purple shift. Similar to some other reviewers I read, I also note a slight teal shift to this polish. I love bold colors and wooboy does she fit the bill splendidly. First coat was a bit streaky but second smoothed things out. Again, I used three thin coats to reach my desired opacity, YMMV.

For those keeping score at home, at $60 + shipping this box clocks in at pretty much retail cost for the polishes included. The indie box offering available from Llarowe.com: A Box, Indied, retails $50 plus shipping making it a full $10 less expensive than this one. The key differences are that this box comes with a stress-free full week of preorder time (no sell-outs), swatches of all the polishes were easily available online from reviewers by the preorder window AND I was not required to sign up for a recurring box subscription or gamble that the box would sell out before being offered for regular purchase outside of subscription. While I might not have selected all of the polishes in this box for individual purchase, I do like all five and feel certain I will wear each one. In my experience with A Box, Indied, there is usually anywhere from one to three polishes included that I don’t see myself wearing. This being the first offering of Addicted to Holos, some kinks were still being worked out. For instance, I did not receive tracking for the box after shipment, but the makers assured everyone that tracking will be happening with box two. While none of the polishes were uber unique, I think that also contributed to the fact that I will likely use all of them. What would I change? I might enjoy seeing at least one of the shades be a bit more daring or unusual. I also feel like the presentation factor could benefit from a bit more oomph given the premium box cost. Overall I was quite pleased.

Final Grade: A

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