PR SAMPLE

Advice. hmm… A wise dragon once told me, aim high in life, but watch out for flying boxes.
This month’s Polished Gamers Box theme is Spyro and I think this might be a trip down memory lane for some folks! I noticed quite a few people saying that this game was their childhood, and unfortunately / fortunately for me, this game is my current adulthood! I was pretty darn excited that the remastered trilogy was released on the Switch so I am finally getting to play the games!
BUT enough of my life story, let’s get to the items, but up first of course, some of that sweet sweet FAQ:

What is the Polished Gamers Box?
The Polished Gamers Box is a game themed “box” featuring several makers each month. Each box will have a gaming related theme and feature different types of indie products that include nail polish, nail care, body care, wax, and other handmade items.
Every month a Facebook Event is created within the Polished Gamers Facebook group and within that event, a post is made for each item. Each month an album is also created that features a collage of each item.
What if I don’t want to order everything in the box?
That’s the beauty of the Polished Gamers Box! You can pick and choose what you want to order. No minimums or maximums, just order what items you want!
When can I get the box?
The box will launch on the 15th of every month and will be available for preorder for a five day period.
Preorders will open at 11:00 AM PT / 12:00 PM MT / 1:00 PM CT / 2:00 PM ET
Preorders will close at 9:00 PM PT / 10:00 PM MT / 11:00 PM CT / 12:00 AM ET
The turn around time will be approximately 2-4 weeks after the box preorder ends on the 20th of each month.
Where do I go to order the box?
polishedgamersbox.com
Is there a support email if I have questions about my order?
Yes! Feel free to email polishedgamers@gmail.com if you have questions about your order or the box!
Is there Polished Gamers social media I can follow?
There is!
Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/polishedgamers/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/polishedgamers/
How much is shipping for the box?
Domestic: $4 flat rate shipping
International: At cost shipping (website will calculate at checkout)
Customs forms are auto generated for international orders and will not be changed or adjusted to reflect a different price other than the real full cost of your order.

STARTING JANUARY 2021
INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING CHANGES:
With changes to the VAT rules in the UK, PGB will unfortunately have to discontinue shipping to the UK for orders under £150. We would encourage group buys to the UK. Unfortunately we are unable to hold multiple orders so that once combined, the orders reach that total. Changes could occur in the future but for now unfortunately this is the solution.
If an order accidentally makes it through, unfortunately we will have to refund it.
If you do make multiple orders, shipping overages can/will be refunded if the multiple purchases are made using the same name.
Shipping overages are refunded when orders are actually packaged up. Combining orders is a time consuming and manual task that the system does not just automatically do for us, so this does take a little extra time. But we do know it helps take some pressure off of releases with low cap items
Are there caps on items?
Each maker will set caps for their items and things can sell out!
Can items return and be sold again?
All Polished Gamers Box items are exclusive to the month’s box. BUT a monthly “respawn” began late 2020. Each month a max of 5 makers will bring back an item that was released in a previous Polished Gamers Box. These items can be the original formula, or a 2.0 new formula.
The items that return are up to the makers, but be on the look out in this group or in brands’ fan groups for polls on what could / should return!

All of my swatch photos are taken using Cuticula’s peel off base coat (unless otherwise noted) and are topped with Vapid’s quick dry top coat. I also top that with Red Eyed Lacquer’s matte top coat for each polish.

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BCB Lacquers

Dark Passage

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Description: Dark Passage is a darkened purple base with scattered holo with a turquoise magnetic pull. It has gold, silver, iridescent, blue/purple, teal/purple, purple/red flakies, light gold hex glitters, and chameleon blue/green/purple shifting glitter
Price: $13.00 USD
Cap: 75
Inspiration: Inspired by Azizi from Dream Weavers imprisoned in the realm of Dark Passage

My swatches below are 3 coats of polish (for both the magnetized and not magnetized photos) and topped with 1 coat of top coat.

Hi, my name is Ashlee and I struggle with magnetics sometimes.
I was so sure I had it this time, but in the end my magnetic lines ended up spreading out a little bit and I did not have those nice crisp magnetic lines for my photos. I still think the polish is gorgeous even with the spread out magnetic effect though.
I’ll go over my process incase it helps anyone (and I’ll cover what I think I did wrong and down below under the REL polish I cover the different things I tried for that one), or if you have more tips for me as well, I am all ears! If you want to comment them down below on this blog post please definitely feel free and maybe it will help others too! <3
For magnetics I start with one coat of the polish and I usually don’t magnetize that one. After applying the second coat, I hold the magnet over each nail for 30 seconds. Also after the third coat (assuming it needs a third coat), I hold the magnet over each nail for 30 seconds again. I think what I did this time was I top coated too soon again (I have definitely made this mistake before). After top coating, I still hold the magnet over each nail for 30 seconds, but I think putting that coat on too soon can cause the spreading. I might recommend waiting to top coat for at least a few minutes if possible. 🙂
BUT this polish is gorgeous either way I think and it is filled to the brim with flakies. There are some GIANT ones in there. I absolutely adore this one not magnetized as well. I will have photos below of the polish magnetized and not magnetized so you can see your options! 😉 I don’t think I can decide which way I prefer to wear it, but I am loving the overall shimmer of this one not magnetized……but also the magnetic lines are a sort of teal / turquoise which are a couple of my favorite colors. Ugh I just can’t decide.
Also be on the lookout for more photos from other swatchers so you can see the crisp magnetic lines that aren’t as spread out like mine!

EDIT TO ADD: I now recommend holding the magnet over the nail after each coat for a solid minute. That really seemed to help.

Not magnetized photos below:

Color Spectrum Polish

Sparx

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Description: A bright yellow with purple shimmer, purple to green shifting flakies, copper to gold to fuchsia shifting ucc flakies, purple to green to pink shifting iridescent flakies and holo!
Price: $12.00 USD
Cap: 50
Inspiration: Sparx the Dragonfly

My swatches below are 2 coats of polish and topped with 1 coat of top coat.

I have now swatched a couple yellow polishes from Color Spectrum Polish and she really has this color down for sure! I love the mix of the different shifting flakies in this one and I hope I was able to capture the holo-goodness that is jam packed in this polish as well! It applied very easily and I almost did 3 coats, but I think 2 coats was plenty. There might be a little bit of visible nail line, but there is nothing wrong with that! 🙂 I may have mentioned before that I don’t wear yellow polish very often, but I can definitely see myself wearing this one again!

Colores De Carol

Dragon Treasure

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Description: A clear base full of a mix of holographic glitters in various shapes and sizes (This is a topper)
Price: $12.50 USD
Cap: 50
Inspiration: Spyro Gems

My swatches below are 1 coat of the topper over black, 1 coat of the topper over white, and 2 coats of the topper on the two nails by itself. Each nail is topped with 1 coat of top coat.

So I do want to mention that this polish applies smooth, but when I applying it, I was a little bit shaky and I think I may have “globbed” it on in a few areas! That was definitely operator error and shouldn’t be what you experience. 🙂 I will say that I am rather impressed with this topper though because only one coat of top coat has made my nail almost completely smooth. On the nail with the topper over white, I don’t feel any texture, and on the nails of just 2 coats of the topper with 1 coat of top coat, I don’t feel very much texture at all. I didn’t even see a need for a second coat of top coat. Once I put on the matte top coat though, I do not feel any texture anywhere.
This is a very lovely and super fun topper! The mix of shapes is fun, and the mix of shimmer and colors is also very nice. It definitely reminds me of the gems from Spyro–so I guess to get these gems, you’ll have to spend gems to get gems. 😉

Geekish Glitter Lacquer

Sheila

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Description: A burnt orange base with orange-green crystal chameleon flakies and gold microflakies
Price: $11.00 USD
Cap: 100
Inspiration: The kangaroo Sheila from many of the Spyro games

My swatches below are 2 coats of polish and topped with 1 coat of top coat.

This gorgeous burnt orange polish applied like a dream. I know I keep saying it about these GGL polishes every month, but it’s definitely the truth and this one is no exception. I love the mix of larger and smaller flakies, and while this polish is subtle, it’s definitely gorgeous on it’s own, or it could be the perfect backdrop for some nail art! I think this one matte is particularly stunning as well! Check that out below!
It was also a little bit difficult to capture the sparkle of the microflakies. I think it’s definitely easier to see in person and I love it!

Jen & Berries

Living in Cynder

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Description: Living in Cynder is a deep purple crelly to match Cynder’s scales, with a scattering of hot pink microglitters, showing off her belly and wings and a touch of UCC flakies that shift from purple to aqua to honor her eyes
Price: $11.00 USD
Cap: 100
Inspiration: Cynder

My swatches below are 2 coats of polish and topped with 1 coat of top coat.

This polish has a fantastic formula! It’s actually thinner than I expected (simply because with the amount of flakies and glitters I expected it to be on the thicker side) but it is definitely thinner in a good way. It applied so smoothly and easily! I was also able to get full coverage with only two coats so that is cool as well! I am obsessed with the mix of glitters in this one, especially in low light–it just sparkles! And that shimmer!!! If you can, try clicking on my macro shot. It wasn’t until I looked closer that I noticed just the sheer amount of awesome-ness and mix of glitters in this one. It’s insane how much there is and I love it! It doesn’t hurt that I’m a big fan of purple as well.

Red Eyed Lacquer

Fire and Ice

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Description: Teal Magnetic with flakies and red/orange shifting shimmer
Price: $12.50 USD
Cap: 100
Inspiration: Spryo and Crystal Dragon

For the magnetized swatches, I used 3 coats of polish and topped with 1 coat of top coat. For the non-magnetized swatches, I used 2 coats of polish and topped with 1 coat of top coat.

So story time for this polish. Unfortunately / fortunately there are two versions of it in existence. The 1.0 version used a discontinued magnetic pigment, and the 2.0 version uses a different magnetic pigment that is still currently available. The little bit of 1.0 magnetic pigment that existed was unfortunately lost, so Bianca created a very similar 2.0 version. I did a little comparison on a nail wheel and thought I would include it here just for funzies. So, if you see a “2” on the bottom of my polish in the photos below, that is why. 🙂 All of the swatch photos (except for the nail wheel photos right below) are of the 2.0 polish.

Well, if you read the portion of my blog under the BCB Lacquers polish, you may already be aware that I struggle a little bit with magnetics. I tried a couple different things this time and ended up with somewhat better results I think!
I still did one coat without magnetizing it, then I did another thick coat on each nail and held the magnet over each nail for a whole minute. I timed it on my cell phone and everything. Then I did another thick coat and held the magnet over each nail for another minute. I actually had a tin I purchased from REL’s site and I stuck the magnet to that and didn’t have to hold it over my nail–I just had to set my hand under the magnet.
I waited a few minutes then I top coated and held the magnet over each nail again for about 30 seconds. But then disaster struck and I bumped my pinky nail with the magnet. So in a panic I put another coat of polish on and messed up the magnetic lines a little bit. So that is definitely operator error why my pinky does not look to be magnetized. One of these days I will just get everything right I hope haha.
This polish applied very very easily and I really love this one both magnetized and not magnetized. The shimmer is insane and I’m really happy that a 2.0 version was able to be created. I love the mix of colors though, and I apologize, but I gotta admit that I’m pretty biased because I do love teal and purples. I cannot wait to wear this one again soon!

Saki Cosmetics

The Hero

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Description: A light purple crelly with purple, orange and white glitters.
Price: $12.00 USD
Cap: 75
Inspiration: Spyro

My swatches below are 3 coats of polish and topped with 1 coat of top coat.

Saki has created another fabulous crelly this month! If you liked the white crelly from last month’s Mario box, you will definitely be a fan of this one too!
This polish applied very easily and I think there are even more glitters in this one! It went on super smooth and I am so in love with the color and the mix of glitter sizes and shapes–I definitely think Spyro when I look at this one. 🙂 Each layer of polish dried quickly too. I didn’t have any issues with layers smooshing or pooling up or dragging or anything at all! And as always, I did not fish for glitters–this is just a normal application so there is definitely a healthy amount there!

Swamp Gloss

Core Of Light

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Description: A pink tinted white, with tons of aurora shimmer in red/gold and iridescent flakies in violet/red/purple/orange/gold and scattered holo flakes
Price: $13.00 USD
Cap: 100
Inspiration: The core of light, an ancient machine that holds off The Darkness

My swatches below are 3 coats of polish and topped with 1 coat of top coat.

This polish applied like butter! It is so full of flakies and shimmer that I maybe didn’t expect it to, but it sure did! I am also a little shocked that 3 coats seemed to dry so fast. This is a gorgeous polish that at first I thought was a very very faint blue, but I think that is just the white with pink shimmer playing games with my eyes. This is stunning by itself or also one coat over black blew my mind (I have a photo of what that looks like shown on a nail wheel below). This is definitely one of those polishes that will have you staring at your nails for quite a while!

The Sassy Shark

Spyro magnet

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Description: Resin magnet with Spyro
Price: $8.00 USD
Cap: 75
Size: 2 in tall x 2 in wide
Ingredients: Epoxy resin
Inspiration: Spyro

The Sassy Shark has created yet another masterpiece. This magnet perfectly represents purple Spyro and his yellow underbelly and horns. I heckin’ love the little cut out of the tiny dragon as well. And please, do me a favor and check out the low light photos down below. I am in love with the shift and shimmer of the glitters that were used in this one.
Like the others previously released, this magnet feels pretty darn sturdy and I don’t imagine dropping it would cause any damage. It is another fabulous addition to my collection and I bet it will pair nicely with yours too. 😉

Tonshi Mountain Studios

Spyro

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Description: Deep purple dragon skin and 24k gold mica to represent Spyro’s horns.
Scent Notes: Grape Soda, Blood Orange, Fizzy Pop
Price: $6.60 USD
Cap: No cap
Size: 4.4 ounces
Inspiration: Spyro’s character design for the cover of Reignited Trilogy for PS4

This. Wax. Melt. Is. Huge.
Oh my goodness. I almost couldn’t use my hand for a size comparison because you almost can’t see my hand behind it! The detailing is amazing and there will actually be multiple dragon molds used so there will be a few different dragon images that you could receive!
So before you scroll down and see the mess that I made, I have a confession to make. I grabbed an old steak knife from the kitchen and I have been using that to cut all of my wax melts into pieces when I melt them. hahahaha Ummm this time it did not go as smoothly. I obliterated the chunk of wax I was cutting off. BUT this is normal and can happen. If this happens to you, just pick up the pieces and melt them all! It definitely all still melts the same. 🙂 It actually may melt even quicker in pieces like mine ended up in.
BUT oh my gosh. Watching this melt is mesmerizing. If you saw Adria from the November Diablo Polished Gamers Box, you saw how pretty that wax melt was with all of the glitters and shimmer while it was melting, and this wax melt has glitter in it too! I think the stronger your candle (or if your melter is electric) the glitter will swirl more. This is my second time using the same tea light and they just aren’t as strong after the first use unfortunately.
The scent throw is fabulous and I am finally getting my sense of smell back so I can really smell this one! I pick up fizzy grape soda. Just to the max. But it’s not overbearingly sweet and a little muted by the blood orange. I think while it is melting I smell the blood orange a little bit more, but it also is not overbearing and this is just a nice mixture.

I also like to always mention to check out the “melt after” date just to make sure you’re melting the wax once is it ready to be melted! I haven’t had an issue melting before this date, but I am sure the maker knows what they are doing. 😉

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Polished Gamers Box Respawn

The Polished Gamers Box Respawn continues!
Each month a maximum of five makers will be bringing back an item that was released in a previous Polished Gamers Box!

These will be available on the site during normal preorder times as listed above.

Jen & Berries

High Punch/Low Kick

I was sent this respawn item as a PR item this month so here is my brand new review of the set!

Description: High Punch is a non-greasy, fast absorbing cuticle oil with a subtle strawberry/fruit punch scent. Low Kick is a non-greasy, low shine, fast absorbing cuticle balm with the same scent

For the cuticle oil and balm duo:
Price: $9.00 USD
Cap: 60

For the cuticle oil only:
Price: $5.00 USD
Cap: 250

For the balm only:
Price: $4.50 USD
Cap: 60

Inspiration: Mortal Kombat arcade game controls
Ingredients: High Punch: *Jojoba oil, *grapeseed oil, *avocado oil, *sweet almond oil, *vitamin e oil, *tea tree oil, fragrance
Low Kick: Candelilla wax, illipe butter, *mango butter, *jojoba oil, *sweet almond oil, *coconut oil, arrowroot powder, *vitamin e oil, fragrance.
* denotes organic ingredients

Low Kick Cuticle Matter Balm

Now this is not my first time using the Jen & Berries matter balm! I have tried this balm out previously and I really like how it helps my cuticles. I was about to mention that I use the balm and then apply the cuticle oil after sometimes, and hopefully that isn’t weird, but I just checked out the Jen & Berries site and it says they work great together! So yay! I’m not crazy! But also, I think I’ve been doing it backwards………I normally put on the balm, and then oil. But I think it may be better to put on the oil, then rub the balm in to help the oil soak in. BUT I think it works either way 😉 But also, don’t quote me on that. For this review, I still did it the weird way though (balm first, then oil).
I really love the balm in a stick form. I sometimes have a hard time dipping my finger into product and then applying it, and instead this way I can just smoosh the balm on my cuticles if I feel like it haha. I normally do gently rub the balm into my cuticles though and that will help it soak in faster and cover more area.
As the scent description mentions, the scent is subtle. I pick up some strawberry with a little bit of a kick (haha I made a joke because the name is low kick) which must be the fruit punch portion. I don’t notice the smell after applying it unless I hold my hand close to my face. But also please take my scent description with a grain of salt as my sense of smell is not completely back after being ill. I think the scent in the cuticle oil is a little bit stronger than in the balm as well.
I think this is a wonderfully helpful product and I appreciate it being solid so that I can keep one in my purse! I don’t have to worry about a cap falling off and oil spilling out or something.

High Punch Cuticle Oil

I am a big fan of this cuticle oil! This is my first time trying out Jen & Berries cuticle oil and I have been using it on my hands for a couple days now as I prep for this February PGB swatch fest. It soaks in quickly for me even without rubbing the cuticle oil into my fingers (I imagine it could be different for everyone) and I love that the scent isn’t overbearing.
Now with cuticle oils, I normally just apply them and forget them because I’m usually typing at work and I don’t want to try and rub in the oil, but even without rubbing the oil in, it still soaked in quickly. I also tested it out (seen in the photos below) by gently rubbing both the oil and balm into my cuticles. I applied the balm first, then the oil. The oil soaked in even faster after doing so.
Please take my scent description with a grain of salt as my sense of smell is not completely back after being ill but the oil scent is about the same as the balm. The scent is subtle, but for the oil I think I pick up more of the fruit punch? I will say that both smell pleasant and I hope to be able to smell it fully soon! 🙂

Fangirl Polish

Chocobo keychain

Description: No need to gather nuts, greens, fly all over to capture different chocobos, or even visit the Chocobo Farm… You can have your very own Gold Chocobo, and bring it with you on every adventure, with this fun keychain!
A cute, double sided, resin glazed, gold chocobo dangles from a silver keychain, accented with a beautiful black Aurora Borealis glass bead.
Price: $10.00 USD
Cap: 72
Inspiration: Gold chocobo
Size: 4 inches long including keychain

I actually purchased this keychain when it was originally released and wanted to take a few photos to help promote it! So this is not a PR sample. 🙂
This keychain originally came with a Fangirl Logo tag but this respawn of the item will not.
It is an adorable and sturdy (yet lightweight) keychain that will be a super cute addition to any keychain or purse! I actually had mine displayed on my desk because I’m too scared to ruin all my amazing keychains……But any way you use it, it’s still adorable!

Jewelry By RPF

Animal Crossing inspired Rabbit Necklace

Description: This month’s necklace, perfect for an Easter basket gift, is a fun antique silver rabbit shaped pendant with a hand painted oval glass cabochon. I mixed three different polishes together to get this creamy white base with pastel and neon glitter and a touch of blue shimmer. It comes with an 18″ silver tone chain necklace with a lobster claw clasp. The pendant is about 2″ long and 1 1/4″ wide. It’s made from a zinc alloy metal and is lead and nickel free.
Price: $12.00 USD
Cap: 15
Inspiration: Chrissy, a peppy rabbit villager
Size: 18″ necklace with 2″ long pendant
Ingredients: Zinc alloy metal, glass, nail polish, glue

I was originally sent this necklace as PR as part of the April 2020 Animal Crossing PGB and thought I would add my original photos here for you to see:

Other February respawn items:
-Sassy Cats Lacquer – Nuka Punch QDTC & Basecoat Duo (Fallout Box) ($12.00, cap 30)
-Moon Shine Mani – Vault Boy (Fallout Box) ($12.00, No cap)

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Don’t forget!
When can I get the box?
The box will launch on the 15th of every month and will be available for preorder for a five day period.
Preorders will open at 11:00AM PST / 12:00PM MST / 1:00PM CST / 2:00PM EST
The turn around time will be approximately 2-4 weeks after the box preorder ends on the 20th of each month.
Where do I go to order the box?
polishedgamersbox.com