Hello all. Today I have some swatches from Star Crushed Lacquers, and they're all 3-free. I first learned of this company when their Etsy shop launched lacquers and I was invited to take part in a special grand opening sale. With the great prices and some gorgeous shades available I decided it was worth purchasing a few. Plus, the shop owner, Edie, is wonderful to work with-i.e. responding to questions, comments, etc. (She was even kind enough to through in her topcoat with my order.) She hand-makes all of her products to order; and added bonus, each polish has a matching eye-shadow (with the same name). Her lacquers are found at her Etsy shop Star Crushed Minerals (aka Star Crushed Cosmetics)
, which also features her mineral make-up. Also, check-out her Facebook for the latest sales and photos.
In regards to all the polishes I received. All swatches include three thin coats, no topcoat, and come from her mini-sized bottles. The only issue I had was that the brushes tend to curl (all in one direction); however, over time they seem to be straightening out. Aside from the brush itself, I had no issues with application; and the brush just made me pay attention to how I was holding it for application, but it did not make application uneven. With these polishes I did find it necessary to let them dry completely between each coat, if not you can get patches. Alright, now onto the main event-swatches and reviews.
Turquoise - This is a sheer, shimmery turquoise. The pictures say it all. Because this polish is so sheer, even application is key. I did find that you can even it out if you have patches though.
Peacock Green - "Dark shimmery green with turquoise and orange highlights." It truly reminds me of a peacock! As you can see in my photos, this color is sheer, and I find that it has golden undertones as well. Beautiful!
Black Star Calla - Nearly black base color with slight pink undertones. Gold shimmer & pink sparkles throughout." For me this was more of a dark, steely-purple with rosy undertones. Beautiful, mysterious, and very hard to photograph (I took many with different setting, but this is the best I could get).
Black Garnet - Just as the name implies, this is a shimmery deep red with black undertones. Simple gorgeous, and definitely one of my favorites of the group.
Midnight Blue - A shimmery dark blue (think "midnight," heh) with some violet undertones. Absolutely gorgeous! This is probably my favorite of the bunch; it just shines like the sky on a clear night. Please forgive the fact that I missed part of my thumb when swatching-oops.
Overall impressions. Edie's philosophy on make-up and polish make her a great up-and-comer in the beauty world (she may already be there with the make-up). Just looking at her newest creations compared to a few months ago blows me away: Gorgeous! Also, from now through October 31st everything on her site is 70% off! Yes, that means polish, eyes shadow, blush, etc. Also, if you see a shadow that you like without a matching polish, ask her if she can make it; I strongly suspect she can.
