Some people are addicted to chocolate. Some are addicted to caffeine. Some are addicted to black tar heroin.

Me? I’m addicted to cosmetics. Is there a support group for that? MAA (Makeup Addicts Anonymous) maybe? I picture a bunch of people sitting in a circle. “Hi, my name is Linda, and I’m a makeup addict. Yesterday, I saw a new collection from Tarte come out and I started crying in the middle of Sephora because they didn’t have the whole collection in stock. I’m so ashamed.”

But I digress. As of late, I’ve had a pretty severe nail polish addiction. (I blame it in part on the HUGE amount of polish that COVERGIRL gave me that has had me playing ever since.) A friend of mine had recently opened an Etsy shop for her nail polish creations called In The Gray Areas, so I regularly stalked her shop & her blog to see what kind of new stuff she came up with. When I saw her preview of her newest polish creation, Winterfell, I knew that I must have it. I knew in the same way that the black tar heroin addict knows they just need ONE MORE HIT to get through.

* Disclaimer: As I mentioned, the owner of the shop/polish creator is a friend – however, this review & the opinions in it are 100% my own. I purchased the bottle of polish for the same price anyone would pay.

Now, let’s get on with it, shall we?

After I purchased the polish through Etsy, I emailed my friend to see if I could just pick up the polish from her, as I work close to where she lives. I still paid for shipping, as I know that she (generously!) donates a portion of all proceeds to a charity you choose from a list provided. I chose for my shipping fees to be donated to the Ronald McDonald House. Great charity – HORRIBLE MASCOT.

SERIOUSLY, why would you have this as a mascot?!? “Donate money to me so that I don’t eat your soul and spit out the bones.”

Packaging is an oddly big deal to me, and I got all giddy over this packaging.

Well-wrapped with a bit of silver string, it’s adorable. (Plus, what can I say? My gal knows me. She threw in a vial of perfume oil she knew I’d like.)

Once I unwrapped the package, I clapped with glee. There was the polish I paid for (Winterfell), and another that she created for me. Ways to Feel Awesome: Have a nail polish created for you. This one was (aptly) called Fishtail Braids & Mermaids.

In the bottle, the teal base is perfection. It’s the dreamiest blue-green tint with what appears to be both gold & iridescent small glitter flakes, and larger hex & square glitter scattered throughout. It definitely has a fish scale appearance to it.

And then came Winterfell.

(Stop drooling on your keyboard, kids.) The base is a milky white that leans toward a blue-gray, and there is a very finely milled matte blue “glitter” throughout. It almost looks like sand to me.

It was suggested that I paint these over a teal/blue base, so I swatched them both with and without a base, for which I used COVERGIRL’s Mint Mojito. (I plan on painting them on my real nails soon so I can see how they wear, but I had gotten a manicure the day I picked them up, so I’m waiting. For now, you’ll have to deal with nail wheels, OKAY?!?) In each swatch, I used two coats.

Without a base.

With a base.

I don’t know about you guys, but I almost prefer them without the base. I think the sheerness of the base of Fishtail Braids & Mermaids is what makes it special. Even after one coat, the base was nice & even. I usually find hex glitters really hard to work with, as they tend to want to stand up/out on the nail, but these laid down really nicely on the nail’s surface.

As for Winterfell, I’m in true love/lust with this. It is almost like one of those Liquid Sand nail polishes decided to mate with a good nail polish, and this was the result. (Okay, I don’t hate the sand polishes, but I still can’t get used to that gritty feel they all have.) The texture is smooth as can be, and the blue specks are 100% even throughout each coat. Again, I like this polish better without a base, but both are gorgeous.

So far, I’m LOVING these polishes – truly. As I mentioned, I still need to try them for wear/chipping purposes, so as of right now, I really dig them. The prices per bottle are very reasonable ($8/each).