My Indie Gift Guide Part 1: Deco Lacquer

It’s the holiday season!!! If you haven’t already, it is definitely time to pick out gifts for your favorite people. I am going to be doing a two-part series to give you some last minute ideas for the polish (and beauty) lovers in your life. I wanted to focus on Indie brands, because they are not as widely available and therefore make great gifts; they have that “unique” factor. I also want to focus on a couple of indie brands that are not as popular so you might even find something for your polish junky friends!

First up I want to share Deco Lacquer with you! Look at these cute, beautiful little polishes. Don’t you want to scoop them up, put them on your dresser, and stare at them all day while the sun shines through your window and birds chirp a mirthful tune? I think that these polishes are very gift-able not only because the actual polishes are cute, but they come in amazing illustrated boxes as well (which my stupid self did not save). A lot of care has been put into these polishes, both in formula and aesthetic; I hope that shows through in my review. So that you know what to expect, I will review the colors I have in my usual fashion!

Today’s swatches are over Zoya Get Even. My top coat of choice is Seche Vite.

Deco Don’t Call Me Baby Girl, 3 coats plus top coat

The name of the first polish I have for you today has a sentiment I very much appreciate. Don’t Call Me Baby Girl is the color of strawberry milkshakes, yum. I’m actually not really a fan of pink but I do like colors like this for my nail art arsenal (as if I ever do nail art…).

Deco Don’t Call Me Baby Girl, 1 coat

The formula on this polish is really nice, it is that perfect Goldilocks consistency, not runny and not gloopy. It also self-levels so well! I found this polish to be quite opaque on the first coat for a lighter color. It is a bit patchy, but I have no complaints. While these polishes are mini, the brushes certainly are not! They are full sized and similar to Covergirl polish brushes, but I find that these are a bit bigger and they fan out a lot better. Maybe they have more bristles.

Deco Don’t Call Me Baby Girl, 2 coats

This polish is almost opaque in two coats! I probably could have gotten it done in two, but this was the first polish I tried and I am always careful with my coats when I do not know what to expect. There are just a couple lighter patches that my picky self wanted to cover up (though they are quite difficult to see in the photo).

Deco Don’t Call Me Baby Girl, 3 coats

Ahhhhh. Three coats of creamy, smooth, shiny perfection. The shine  these polishes have by themselves is amazing. Glossy top coat is not required!

Deco Petite Palm, 2 coats plus top coat

The next polish I have to show off is this adorable color, petite palm. It is a very green-toned mint and one of the more saturated mint shades that I own (in fact, I have nothing else like it). This ended up being my favorite of the four polishes, I love green polish and there is something about mint that is nice around winter and the holidays (though who am I kidding, I would pretty much wear this any time of the year).

Deco Petite Palm, 1 coat

WOW! I was totally blown away by this polish. Look at how opaque it is with just one coat. How many lighter colors have coverage this good? This is the result of a super creamy formula that is easy peasy to apply. Seriously. Wow.

Deco Petite Palm, 2 coats

If you need more than two coats of Petite Palm, you’re doing it wrong. The formula is so flawless. Just like Don’t Call Me Baby Girl, it dries so smooth and super shiny. Delicious.

Deco Male Tears, 3 coats plus top coat

This beautiful pale blue is the reason I wanted to try Deco to begin with; the name cracks me up! The color is quite appropriate for winter, as it has enough white in it to be an “icy” pastel.

Deco Male Tears, 1 coat

This polish seemed to have a slightly thinner formula than the others I tried, but it was still quite good for a lighter shade. There are some other brands with which the first coat would look like a total disaster. Yes, I found this to be a bit patchy but it applied nicely and dried smooth. I actually forgot to use a base coat when swatching this color and as the coats build up, you will see my ridges disappear beneath the wonderous formula.

Deco Male Tears, 2 coats

Look at that magnificent coverage! I am in awe. For me, it still is not totally opaque on coat number two, there were still some lighter patches (see my pinky, for example). But if you are not as discerning or are just more expert in applying your polish, this can be a two-coater.

Deco Male Tears, 3 coats

It is perfect at three coats, but honestly it did look really good at two until I took a closer peek. I want to direct your attention to how smooth and shiny this dries! Can you even tell that I don’t have a ridge-filling base coat on? Honestly, that is a major testament to these formulas. They are hard-working polishes that apply so easily and smoothly.

Deco #slay, 2 coats plus top coat

The last polish I want to share with you today is #slay, a medium toned pinky-purple. I am really attracted to colors like this even though they never look great with my skin tone. Oh well, it will look great on my toes (why do colors that look ugly on my hands always look good on my toes? Is it just because my eyesight sucks so I am tricked into thinking it looks good? Mysteries of the universe…).

Deco #slay, 1 coat

Let’s just take a moment to appreciate the amazing coverage this polish has. It is still sheer and too light on the first coat, but look how even that puppy is! Hardly any patchyness or streakyness to talk about. What is this wizardry?

Deco #slay, 2 coats

Two coats and you are done. The color deepens and visible nail line evaporates from sight. Bravo. Magnifico. Stupendo! Just like the other polishes, this one dries shiny and smooth.

To wrap up, these polishes are giftable for many reasons: 1) They are adorable. 2) The packaging is really quality. 3) The polish is actually really good and the formulas all had that shiny, smooth quality. That’s the kind of consistency I long for in every brand I try. 4) They come in some gift sets!

I want to expand on the last point by telling you about the amazing deal I got for these four polishes when I ordered them back in September. They are normally $12.5o a bottle. Petite Palm, Male Tears, and #slay were all part of a summer trio selling for $29.50. The creator, Jules, had a promo going on for her birthday that was 50% off, so I got the trio for $14.75. Then, if you ordered on her actual birthday she tossed a free polish in, which is how I ended up with Don’t Call Me Baby Girl. Guys, she actually looked at my order and noticed that I had ordered pastels so she gave me another pastel. There is no way she could have known that pink is not my color, so I really appreciate the thought. I did not just get a random extra polish, some thought was put into it. That’s the kind of customer service I can appreciate! Hopefully there will be a Cyber Monday deal going on for you guys so you have a chance to save like I did.

Your polish and beauty friends would love to have a little bottle of Deco lacquer pop up in their stockings, I just know it :] happy holiday shopping!

xx, Ashley

You can visit Deco on their website here. To see if there are any stockists of Deco near you, check here.

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