Monday, September 24, 2012

Hebridean Sprite Beauty~ Nail Polishes


I know I've disappeared for about a month, but there was a purpose to my vanishing act. I've been hard at work on the finishing details of my nail polish line.

I plan to expand eventually into other items as well, like lipsticks and eyeshadows, but I wanted to start with nail polishes all under the blog name, Hebridean Sprite Beauty. This has been in my mind for over a year now and I've finally decided to go through with it.

I wanted to have a company that was everything I valued in a cosmetic line: cruelty-free, good ingredients, products that work well, unique colours and shades, and because I know how difficult it is for vegans to find animal-byproduct free ingredients in their products, I decided to make the entire line vegan as well.

These first shades are all named after Scottish and Celtic mythology and make up the first part of my main line, the Mythology Collection. There are nine in total.

Each polish is made with solvent resistant glitter or non-degrading cosmetic approved pigment as well as stainless steel ball bearings. They also come with a information card, describing the name, the thought process that went into each polish and the history behind the myth. Included on each card is also an image by an artist showing one possible presentation of the mythological creature.

Huge thanks to all the artists that helped me with this endeavour through Deviant Art, I certainly couldn't have done this without every one of you!
(All artists have given permission for their art to be used in the cards and this blogpost ONLY. Please do not take their art or use it without permission from THEM. Thank-you!)
If you want to see the cards a bit bigger just click them :).

Brownie Photograph by Me! Kylie, my model is such a sweet helpful little girl. 

 These photos are both in sunlight and in indirect light. Really close-up too as the glitter in Brownie Helper is only 0.008 inch in size.

Underhill image slightly tweaked by me, but was from a stock photograph by Pavel Azamatov on Deviant Art. 

Image- A Ripple in the Water by: Carolyn Gan
Artist's website: http://wratbox.com/
Image- Fairy Ring by: JinxMim
With stock images by: almudena-stock, Eirian-stock and Kikii-stock

Image- Harbringer of Death By: Frankie Curran
Artist's Website: www.FrankieCurran.com

Image- Pure of Heart by: Kate Bloomfield
With stock on Deviant Art by: SatrummJinxmimHumblebeezMissystock, and Sed-rah-stock

Image- Selkie Blues by: Andrea Sgorbissa
With stock images on Deviant art from: YsaeddaStock, faestock, greenleaf-stock, Goblinstock, redheadstock, mjranum-stock, jinxmim, grace-stock, thehoneybadger, trisste-brushes, and Morgue File.

Image- Smaug and his Treasure by Raymond E. Gaustadnes
Artist's page is at: http://shockbolt.deviantart.com/

Image- Fairy by Enrique Parietti
This collection has been the slow work of a year and I now finally have something to show for all the brainstorming, mixing and testing. 

I'd love to hear what you think!

Hebridean Sprite Beauty is a little store through Store Envy, an online store service that works similar to etsy but doesn't charge fees (yay!) The paying system is all through paypal so it's very safe for everyone.

I open October 1st for business and each polish costs $10 USD. I'm only shipping to Canada and the USA at this time due to international mailing restrictions but hopefully once I figure out more of the legal mumbo-jumbo I can ship internationally too.

There is a minimum order of $20 right now (it sucks I know, and I'm sorry!) I really wish I didn't have to place a minimum but shipping out of Canada is insane right now. The cheapest shipping option available in Canada is 3x the price of American shipping. In order for me to make any money (because I take a hit for each shipment I send out over what each customer pays) I have to enforce a $20 USD or minimum 2 nail polish rule. 
If I can find cheaper shipping, hopefully I can drop this, but after searching for many many hours a day over the course of about two weeks this is the lowest I can find available and thus the lowest I can charge.

The store link address is http://spritebeauty.storenvy.com
I'll also be adding a link page at the top of the blog for quick access. I hope you'll take the time to check me out come October!

Copyright (C) 2012