Oh my stars have I got something amazing for you guys today! This is the 2016 Community Collection from Literary Lacquers. And guess what - I have a contribution this year! Mine's the big one in the middle, of course. Hadta showcase my own! Have you guys heard of the community collection? Amy does one every year, and she asks bloggers and other polish fanatics to help her design a polish. I am so honored to be among this year's contributors!

I am SO SAD that we haven't had sun on over a week. I really want to see this entire collection in the sun! I have these pictured indoors, unfortunately. I do have them shown 2 different ways - artificial light and natural light. You can really tell the difference! The artificial light brings out the holo in them all.

First up is my polish :) This is Burning Slowly From the Inside Out, inspired by The Selection series by Kiera Cass, and more specifically The Elite, the second book of the series. It's an orange-red linear holo with white and orange red flakies. It's a dream come true for me to have designed a polish with an indie maker. Thanks a bunch, Amy!
My inspiration was my current literary obsession - The Selection novel series by Kiera Cass. The covers are just so amazing, and I've dreamed about the fiery red-orange of the cover of The Elite. Let me just say this - I'm not much of a romance reader. These books are fairly high in the romance department, but the dystopian drama fills it up, too. This series is kind of like The Hunger Games meets the Bachelor. The country has been torn apart by war, and from the ashes it has risen as a caste system, complete with a ruling monarch. When the ruling monarch's child is "of age," there's a competition of sorts. Girls from all over the land are chosen to compete to be the prince's wife. Let's just say I found myself wanting a Prince Maxon in my life! But the true star is the cover of these books. They are fabulous studies in gorgeous colors! My favorite is the cover of The Elite, which features a beautiful fiery red-orange gown (on our heroine) with a background of shimmery white holo-y goodness. And as for the name? It comes from this quote... “It wasn’t like I made his world better. It was like I was his world. It wasn’t some explosion; it wasn’t fireworks. It was a fire, burning slowly from the inside out.” - Kiera Cass, The Elite


Leaves of Grass is an emerald green mega glitter linear holo designed with polish lover Alex Bacon-Leslie, who is a longtime friend of Amy and an admin of the Literary & Lacquers facebook group. It's inspired by Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. This one just twinkles and glitters under the lights. It's perfect for Christmas!

Leaves of Grass is one of the great, iconic American poetry collections. Walt Whitman wrote about nature and exalted the material world, sensual pleasures and the human body. Each edition of the collection was different. When it was first published it only included 12 poems, but by the end of Whitman’s life it contained more than 400. Such an iconic work felt appropriate to lend its’ name to this gorgeous green polish. Leaves of Grass is a work that demonstrates the human condition, which resonated with me from the first time I picked up a copy. This iteration of the idea of “Leaves of Grass” is a sun-drenched meadow in a bottle.


This one is gorgeous, and I adore it. It's so different.  A Sensible Rabbit is a taupey neutral shimmering holo with black microglitter designed with Cassandra Pio of Fierce Hearts Wildlife Rehabilitation and inspired by Watership Down by Richard Adams.  It's so unique. There's nothing like it in my collection.

Watership Down is a story of brains over brawn, the power of the underdog, compassion, and most importantly: rabbits. A Sensible Rabbit is inspired by Hyzenthlay, whose name is translated in the book as “fur that shines like dew.” She’s a no-nonsense doe who rises to the occasion when it’s her time to shine. The book might focus on the boys, but it’s a lady of a rabbit who really saves the day. I wanted a polish that mimicked a rabbit’s surprisingly complex fur, with enough sparkle to get me through a slog of a day, and of course Amy delivered. It’s a testament to my character that I love the same books I did when I was 11 as well as work in a field my childhood self would think is pretty awesome. I’m blown away by the support that Amy and the indie polish community have offered me as I get Fierce Hearts Wildlife Rehabilitation off the ground. You can follow my exploits, rabbit related and otherwise, on my facebook page.


The next 2, Veronika and Stinky Little Truck are a duo. Veronika is a violet linear holo with a smattering of tiny holo flakies, and Stinky Little Truck is a bright metallic silver scattered holo. Inspired by the Veronika Layne Hot Off the Press mysteries by Julia Park Tracey. This collaboration was the brainchild of blogger Michelle Chouinard of Lacquer or Leave Her who asked Literary Lacquers to create these colors in collaboration with Julia. Veronika reninds me of grape pop for some reason. Weird right?

Julia writes: I see this as the perfect choice for the character of Veronika Layne, who is a kind of goth-hippie. She’s a tree-hugger and an eco-warrior, who has tattoos, body piercings and loves her sexy lingerie and her black and white cat. Purple nails? Yes, please!

Michelle writes: In the Hot Off the Press books, Veronica Layne drives a biodiesel truck that runs off of vegetable oil; it’s an excellent alternative fuel, but can make your car smell like a vat of French fries. But really, that’s a small price to pay to keep the earth healthy, especially if you can look like this while you’re doing it. I love metallics and bling during the holidays, but have had difficulty finding a silver polish that has an elegant, sophisticated feel while still making my fingers sparkle and shine. The subtle linear holo and flecked finish in this polish satisfy my need for something that’s glamorous and special, without going way over the top.


Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon was the inspiration for Jennifer Zakroff's Free to Fly, a delicate lavender linear holo with blue iridescent flakies and green glass fleck. It's so light and fluffy.

"Too much tail. All that jewelry weighs it down. Like vanity. Can't nobody fly with all that shit. Wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down." - Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison


This beautiful golden amber was inspired by Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne and designed by Jody Morris Feldman. It's called My Favorite Day. It's simply stunning. It's not too orange or too gold.

Jody writes: It's one of my favorite quotes from Winnie the Pooh, which the father of my grandson had me read to him over and over again when he was a little boy. Winnie asks Piglet what day it is and Piglet answers 'it's today' to which Winnie says 'my favorite day '. I told my son, every time I read it to him, that every day with him was my favorite day, so now I know that every day with his son is his favorite day. Mushy, I know, but that's what grandparenthood has done to me.


Last but not least is Phizzwizard, a soft sea green linear holo designed with Traci Hatling of Newsie Nail Novice, inspired by The BFG by Roald Dahl. My son loves this book! I believe it's being made into a movie soon, too. This such a great minty shade.

“Sophie peered into the jar and there, sure enough, she saw the faint, translucent outline of something about the size of a hen’s egg. There was just a touch of colour in it, a pale sea-green, soft and shimmering and very beautiful. There it lay, this small oblong sea-green jellyfish thing, at the bottom of the jar, quite peaceful, but pulsing gently, the whole of it moving in and out ever so slightly, as though it were breathing.” 


And finally.... the Gift With Purchase! This is Give My Heart, inspired by In the Bleak Midwinter by Christina Rossetti. Pink and glittery is generally not my cup of tea, but this one is very pretty.



Give My Heart is a Limited Edition Gift with Purchase. Terms of GWP are $24 purchase gets a free mini (5 mL), $48 purchase gets a free full size (15 mL). For orders over $75 use code 2015HOLIDAY for free domestic shipping or 2015INTERNATIONAL for $7 off international shipping. All promotions are good from December 1, 2015 at noon mountain time through New Year’s Day.


And now for the fun part. Want to win your own bottles of Burning Slowly From the Inside Out and Give My Heart? Well, you can do that right here! Amy generously provided me with a bottle of each to give away to my readers :) Just plug in your info on the Rafflecopter widget. Entrants must be 18 years or older. It is open internationally, however, once the package is mailed, I cannot be responsible for it. One entry per person. Duplicate entries will be deleted. There will be one winner who will receive both polishes. Winner must provide me with a shipping address, so that the polishes can be shipped to you. I will contact the winner and he/she must reply to my e-mail within 48 hours, or I will draw another winner. Always check the Rafflecopter widget to see how much longer you can enter - entries will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. EST on December 7. Providing an e-mail address is the ONLY mandatory entry. I will need that to contact you if you win.

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DISCLAIMER: Some products used in this post were provided to me by the company for consideration. This blog is written and edited by me, and the opinions are not influenced in any way and are not compensated. Please read this post for more information.