*Disclosure: PR samples- I received these polishes free of charge in exchange for photography.*

Sale period: 7 – 10 February 2020

6 polishes (in this post)

I always look forward to the February PPU. The themes have continually been a play on traditional Valentine’s themes.

Cupcake: Bluebonnet

Inspired by the official flower of Cupcake Polish’s home state of Texas–the bluebonnet.

This medium blue base is PACKED with pink/green shifting aurora shimmer. The overall result is super glowy and bright. I also shot a macro in diffused light (last image) because I like how this polish looks in soft, overcast light. You might be able to do two coats on shorter nails.

3 thin coats + 1 coat of glossy top coat.

Femme Fatale: Terraform

This polish is designed to be a bit sheer and maybe even show some nail line if yours is particularly apparent. It did look alarmingly sheer on the first coat, but it built up nicely in three coats. In real life I could see a bit of my nail line every now and then, but it didn’t bother me at all. The flakies are quite packed in there (included a macro in diffused light for you to see) and have a lovely shift to green.

3 coats + 1 coat of glossy top coat.

Great Lakes: The Greatest Gift and Honor

Inspired by the magnolia flower. The name comes from a line from Mulan: “The greatest gift and honor is having you for a daughter.”

I swore off light pinks a long time ago. I’ve been burned too many times by cute pale pinks that looked adorable on pale-skinned swatchers, only to be reminded in real life that I do not have pale white skin. Pale pinks just don’t do much for my yellow-toned skin. And yet this polish shows up and proceeds to look NOT hideous on me! I’ll never know how she did it…I assume it involves actual witchcraft and sacrificial rituals. I dunno. I’ll just enjoy it because another one isn’t coming along any time soon.

It’s shown here opaque over a clear base, but I also enjoyed the look of 1-2 coats of this over a nude jelly. The overall look is more ethereal and shows just a hint of VNL, which in my opinion is quite elegant with these kinds of colors.

3 coats + 1 coat of glossy top coat

Lilypad: Harlequin Hunter

Inspired by the harlequin hilefish.

You can do two coats if you have shorter nails. I opted for three, which deepened and intensified the color. In the bottle the color looks like it could lean turquoise, but on the nail it is definitively green. Oddly, it seems to continue morphing green as it dries. The final color is a bright grass green with none of the turquoise hinted at in the bottle.

3 coats + 1 coat of glossy top coat.

Pahlish: Breath of the Wild

Inspired by the eponymous video game, which is part of the Legend of Zelda series.

This is a companion polish to a full collection that will be releasing later in February, also inspired by the world of Zelda.

Really cute and soft sage color. The shimmer is the metallic kind and shifts red/pink/gold/green, although it looks like there’s a bunch of different kinds of shimmer packed in there, so it’s not a uniform shimmer look.

2-3 coats + 1 coat of glossy top coat.

Scofflaw: Cryptid Preservation Society

Brush change for Scofflaw! This polish was my first Scofflaw with that wonderful wide paddle brush. It works brilliantly with Scofflaw’s glitter-heavy formula, allowing for perfectly even application.

2 easy coats + 2 coats of glossy top coat, as is usual with glitter-heavy polishes.

Polish Pickup shop (US): http://www.polishpickup.com/

Polish Pickup shop (UK): http://www.polishpickup.co.uk/