Hi everyone!
Last week I showed you the first set of Color Club Halo Hues, and this week I have the second set to share with you. While I liked the first set a lot (basically, if it's holo, I like it), this set offers some more vibrant shade options, which I was really excited about.
Along with the regular swatches, I also included some comparison photos in this post that compare this 2013 set with the 2012 set. Hopefully those will aid you in making your own decisions regarding which shades you want.
Swatches, review and comparisons after the jump!
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Shimmer Polish Swatch Spam - Part II
Hi guys!
Today I'm continuing on with more Shimmer Polish spam! If you missed Part I, be sure to check it out so you don't miss seeing any of these awesome polishes.
Jennifer consists of light blue, light purple, copper and scattered black glitter in a clear base. This is such an interesting shade! I love the touches of copper, especially. I've shown one coat layered over OPI...Eurso Euro. The formula was excellent and all of the glitters flowed nicely.
Mary is a raspberry red jelly base packed with magenta, holographic and black glitters. This one has my heart. If I didn't go through names in alphabetical order, I would save this one for last because it's definitely my favourite. The colours go beautifully together and there's so much depth within the layers. I've shown three coats here and that didn't feel at all thick because the formula was so great.
Natalie is a mix of blue, copper, gold and iridescent glitters in a clear base. I've shown one coat over OPI My Vampire is Buff, and I'm so freaking in love with this combo! The nude really shows off the blue and gold glitters, which is a classic combination. I had to remove this in order to finish the rest of my swatching, but you can bet that I'll be wearing this as a full mani very soon.
Rochelle consists of gold, red and holographic glitter in a clear base. My photo shows one coat layered over OPI My Paprika is Hotter. This is such a fiery combination! Love it. And as I've now come to expect, the formula was great.
Sophie features red, pink, purple and iridescent glitters in a clear base. I chose to layer it over OPI Suzi's Hungary Again!, which I think makes a really pretty and spring appropriate mani. Again, the formula was excellent and my swatch shows just one coat of Sophie over SHA.
Tiffany is a mix of light pink and blue glitters in a clear base. I've shown it here over OPI You're Such a Budapest. I like this one a lot - it's so delicate and pretty and feminine. I also think it would be the perfect polish to wear to a baby shower!
Is it possible to have a crush on a polish brand? I think now that I've tried quite a few Shimmer shades, I can safely say that this has easily become one of my favourite indie brands. Beautiful colours, phenomenal formulas, and any other adjectives that just describe how great this brand is.
Also, new goal for me: to have a Shimmer shade named after me! No brands that I know of have a polish named Kayla, not even Zoya! And come on, it's not that uncommon of a name! They do have a Shivon, which is close to my middle name Shevonne, but definitely not close enough. I want a polish named Kayla!
Shimmer Polish is available via the Shimmer Polish Etsy shop. Each shade retails for $12. And you can keep up with Shimmer Polish on Facebook .
Today I'm continuing on with more Shimmer Polish spam! If you missed Part I, be sure to check it out so you don't miss seeing any of these awesome polishes.
Jennifer consists of light blue, light purple, copper and scattered black glitter in a clear base. This is such an interesting shade! I love the touches of copper, especially. I've shown one coat layered over OPI...Eurso Euro. The formula was excellent and all of the glitters flowed nicely.
Mary is a raspberry red jelly base packed with magenta, holographic and black glitters. This one has my heart. If I didn't go through names in alphabetical order, I would save this one for last because it's definitely my favourite. The colours go beautifully together and there's so much depth within the layers. I've shown three coats here and that didn't feel at all thick because the formula was so great.
Natalie is a mix of blue, copper, gold and iridescent glitters in a clear base. I've shown one coat over OPI My Vampire is Buff, and I'm so freaking in love with this combo! The nude really shows off the blue and gold glitters, which is a classic combination. I had to remove this in order to finish the rest of my swatching, but you can bet that I'll be wearing this as a full mani very soon.
Rochelle consists of gold, red and holographic glitter in a clear base. My photo shows one coat layered over OPI My Paprika is Hotter. This is such a fiery combination! Love it. And as I've now come to expect, the formula was great.
Sophie features red, pink, purple and iridescent glitters in a clear base. I chose to layer it over OPI Suzi's Hungary Again!, which I think makes a really pretty and spring appropriate mani. Again, the formula was excellent and my swatch shows just one coat of Sophie over SHA.
Tiffany is a mix of light pink and blue glitters in a clear base. I've shown it here over OPI You're Such a Budapest. I like this one a lot - it's so delicate and pretty and feminine. I also think it would be the perfect polish to wear to a baby shower!
Is it possible to have a crush on a polish brand? I think now that I've tried quite a few Shimmer shades, I can safely say that this has easily become one of my favourite indie brands. Beautiful colours, phenomenal formulas, and any other adjectives that just describe how great this brand is.
Also, new goal for me: to have a Shimmer shade named after me! No brands that I know of have a polish named Kayla, not even Zoya! And come on, it's not that uncommon of a name! They do have a Shivon, which is close to my middle name Shevonne, but definitely not close enough. I want a polish named Kayla!
Shimmer Polish is available via the Shimmer Polish Etsy shop. Each shade retails for $12. And you can keep up with Shimmer Polish on Facebook .
The product(s) in this post were provided by the manufacturer or their PR in exchange for an honest review.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Review & Swatches - OPI Euro Centrale Collection
Good morning!
How was everyone's weekend? Mine wasn't very exciting - just some movies, pizza, swatching, etc. I love those kinds of lazy weekends, though!
Today I have another Spring 2013 collection to share with you. This time it's OPI's Euro Centrale Collection. There's quite a variety of colours and finishes with this one, as well as a bunch of very funny (read: PUNny) names.
Keep reading for the swatches and review!
How was everyone's weekend? Mine wasn't very exciting - just some movies, pizza, swatching, etc. I love those kinds of lazy weekends, though!
Today I have another Spring 2013 collection to share with you. This time it's OPI's Euro Centrale Collection. There's quite a variety of colours and finishes with this one, as well as a bunch of very funny (read: PUNny) names.
Keep reading for the swatches and review!
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Guest Post at Kelsie's Nail Files
Hey everyone!
Today I have a guest post up on Kelsie's Nail Files! Be sure to head over to Kelsie's blog for the full post and to learn more about this studded mani.
Today I have a guest post up on Kelsie's Nail Files! Be sure to head over to Kelsie's blog for the full post and to learn more about this studded mani.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Review & Swatches - Color Club Halo Hues 2012 Collection
Hi everyone!
Holographic polishes have been making a serious comeback lately! I mean, it's not that we ever stopped loving them, it was more that companies pretty much stopped producing them. But they've started popping up again and I don't know about you guys, but I'm a pretty happy camper about it.
One brand that's jumping on the holo bandwagon is Color Club! In late 2012 they put out a six piece collection of holographic polishes and just recently they released yet another six piece holo collection. I managed to snag both collections, so today I'm sharing swatches of the first set with you.
Swatches and the review after the jump!
Holographic polishes have been making a serious comeback lately! I mean, it's not that we ever stopped loving them, it was more that companies pretty much stopped producing them. But they've started popping up again and I don't know about you guys, but I'm a pretty happy camper about it.
One brand that's jumping on the holo bandwagon is Color Club! In late 2012 they put out a six piece collection of holographic polishes and just recently they released yet another six piece holo collection. I managed to snag both collections, so today I'm sharing swatches of the first set with you.
Swatches and the review after the jump!
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Sation - Assorted Swatches
Hi guys!
We're having a snowstorm here today, so my original plans to run a few errands have fallen through. Instead I get to stay home and tackle more of my to-swatch bin! I always feel so productive when I get a lot of swatching done. I just hope that the weather doesn't get so bad that Canada Post stops delivering mail today. I'm waiting on so much nail mail and I'm getting impatient!
Anyways, Sation is a new brand to me, but I've seen swatches on a few of my favourite blogs (like Nailed It and Let Them have Polish), and I've always been interested in trying some for myself. So when I was contacted by Sation and asked to do some swatching for them, I jumped at the chance!
Cast a Spill On You is a medium blue shimmer from the recent Candylandia Collection. This one is super opaque - you could definitely get away with just one coat if you apply it carefully enough. I used two just in case.
Ego-Friendly is from the I Love Miss-Self Collection and it consists of small green hex glitters, bright lime green and black shards and scattered silver shards. Boy, this is a unique one! I've shown two coats here layered over Illamasqua Milf. The formula was a little thick, which is to be expected from glitter polishes like this.
Miss & Makeup is also from the I Love Miss-Self Collection and it features small holo glitters (both hex and bar), larger black and silver shards and then there's also larger pink hexes. Another unique one here! I've shown two coats over Sation Queenie in a Bottle, which can be seen on its own below. I think this would work really well over a bunch of other colours as well! I can definitely picture it over a grey creme.
Lollipop! Goes the Princess is another from the Candylandia Collection and it is a very pale blue-toned purple creme. It's almost periwinkle, actually. Very pretty and perfect for spring. Great formula with this one and my swatch is two coats.
Queenie in a Bottle is a blue-toned hot pink creme from the Candylandia Collection. Surprise favourite right here! I always prefer the blue-toned pinks because they tend to work better with my cool skin tone. This one dries to a flat finish so you'll definitely want to add top coat. It has a great formula and my swatch shows two coats.
Tall, Dark & Has Some consists of small black and blue glitter and larger bright blue and black shards. I've shown one coat over Cast a Spill On You, which in hindsight wasn't the best layering combo because it camouflaged the blue shards. I'll have to layer it over something else for you to better see those. Maybe a nude creme? Or a yellow? I think they would both work really well.
Overall, I really like all of these shades and it was definitely a good first taste of Sation for me. My interested is piqued and I'll be sure to check out my local Winners stores to see if they have any other colours in stock.
Sation polishes can be purchased from their online store and they retail for just $5 each (except for the I Love Miss-Self series, which are each $7). As I said above, they can also be found in select Winners stores in Canada.
We're having a snowstorm here today, so my original plans to run a few errands have fallen through. Instead I get to stay home and tackle more of my to-swatch bin! I always feel so productive when I get a lot of swatching done. I just hope that the weather doesn't get so bad that Canada Post stops delivering mail today. I'm waiting on so much nail mail and I'm getting impatient!
Anyways, Sation is a new brand to me, but I've seen swatches on a few of my favourite blogs (like Nailed It and Let Them have Polish), and I've always been interested in trying some for myself. So when I was contacted by Sation and asked to do some swatching for them, I jumped at the chance!
Cast a Spill On You is a medium blue shimmer from the recent Candylandia Collection. This one is super opaque - you could definitely get away with just one coat if you apply it carefully enough. I used two just in case.
Ego-Friendly is from the I Love Miss-Self Collection and it consists of small green hex glitters, bright lime green and black shards and scattered silver shards. Boy, this is a unique one! I've shown two coats here layered over Illamasqua Milf. The formula was a little thick, which is to be expected from glitter polishes like this.
Miss & Makeup is also from the I Love Miss-Self Collection and it features small holo glitters (both hex and bar), larger black and silver shards and then there's also larger pink hexes. Another unique one here! I've shown two coats over Sation Queenie in a Bottle, which can be seen on its own below. I think this would work really well over a bunch of other colours as well! I can definitely picture it over a grey creme.
Lollipop! Goes the Princess is another from the Candylandia Collection and it is a very pale blue-toned purple creme. It's almost periwinkle, actually. Very pretty and perfect for spring. Great formula with this one and my swatch is two coats.
Queenie in a Bottle is a blue-toned hot pink creme from the Candylandia Collection. Surprise favourite right here! I always prefer the blue-toned pinks because they tend to work better with my cool skin tone. This one dries to a flat finish so you'll definitely want to add top coat. It has a great formula and my swatch shows two coats.
Tall, Dark & Has Some consists of small black and blue glitter and larger bright blue and black shards. I've shown one coat over Cast a Spill On You, which in hindsight wasn't the best layering combo because it camouflaged the blue shards. I'll have to layer it over something else for you to better see those. Maybe a nude creme? Or a yellow? I think they would both work really well.
Overall, I really like all of these shades and it was definitely a good first taste of Sation for me. My interested is piqued and I'll be sure to check out my local Winners stores to see if they have any other colours in stock.
Sation polishes can be purchased from their online store and they retail for just $5 each (except for the I Love Miss-Self series, which are each $7). As I said above, they can also be found in select Winners stores in Canada.
The product(s) in this post were provided by the manufacturer or their PR in exchange for an honest review.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
piCture pOlish - Ariel's Tale
Good morning!
It's another week, which means I have another piCture pOlish shade to share with you!
Ariel's Tale is a clear base with lots of teal hex glitters mixed throughout. It first caught my eye when I was swatching Marine last week because I thought the two would make a really great layering combo. Turns out, they do! I've shown one coat of Ariel's Tale over Marine below.
Although Ariel's Tale looks great over Marine, I wanted to try it over something with a little more contrast so that I could really show off the beautiful teal glitters. I chose OPI Did You Ear About Van Gogh?, and I really, really love this combination! I actually finished my swatching session and then reapplied this as a full mani!
I love that the nude background allows for all the focus to rest almost solely on the pretty glitters. And because I showed one coat over Marine, I decided to go for two coats here, and I think I prefer it with the extra sparkle that the additional coat offers.
In regards to formula/application, Ariel's Tale gets top points. The glitters brushed on smoothly and they distributed nicely so I didn't have to do any placing.
Overall, definitely another winning piCture pOlish shade!
piCture pOlish is available online at the piCture pOlish store. They do ship internationally, but there's also many network members all over the world whom you can purchase from. Refer to the Network Members List for a complete list of where you can find piCture pOlish. Also, be sure to check out all of piCture pOlish's social media links:
Thanks for looking! And check back next week for another great piCture pOlish shade!
It's another week, which means I have another piCture pOlish shade to share with you!
Ariel's Tale is a clear base with lots of teal hex glitters mixed throughout. It first caught my eye when I was swatching Marine last week because I thought the two would make a really great layering combo. Turns out, they do! I've shown one coat of Ariel's Tale over Marine below.
Although Ariel's Tale looks great over Marine, I wanted to try it over something with a little more contrast so that I could really show off the beautiful teal glitters. I chose OPI Did You Ear About Van Gogh?, and I really, really love this combination! I actually finished my swatching session and then reapplied this as a full mani!
I love that the nude background allows for all the focus to rest almost solely on the pretty glitters. And because I showed one coat over Marine, I decided to go for two coats here, and I think I prefer it with the extra sparkle that the additional coat offers.
In regards to formula/application, Ariel's Tale gets top points. The glitters brushed on smoothly and they distributed nicely so I didn't have to do any placing.
Overall, definitely another winning piCture pOlish shade!
piCture pOlish is available online at the piCture pOlish store. They do ship internationally, but there's also many network members all over the world whom you can purchase from. Refer to the Network Members List for a complete list of where you can find piCture pOlish. Also, be sure to check out all of piCture pOlish's social media links:
Thanks for looking! And check back next week for another great piCture pOlish shade!
The product(s) in this post were provided by the manufacturer or their PR in exchange for an honest review.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
My First a-england Polishes - Dragon & Saint George
Hi everyone!
If you happened to catch yesterday's post, you already know that I recently participated in a Secret Valentine swap and that my Secret Valentine was very good to me. As I said, she sent me four polishes from my wishlist including Illamasqua Raindrops, the two polishes I'm showing you today, as well as one more which I'll be sure to show you at a later date.
The two I'm showing you today are a-england Dragon and a-england Saint George, both of which have been on my wishlist since the first time I saw swatches.
I've shown two photos for each polish - the first is in natural lighting and the second is with the flash on to best demonstrate the holo effect.
Dragon is a beautiful dragon green (they named this shade perfectly) with a scattered holographic finish. I don't think I own another green quite like this, holo or no holo! It's really lovely. And the formula is amazing - super smooth and easy to apply and I'm showing just one coat here!
Saint George is a rich teal with a scattered holographic finish. Teal lovers, rejoice! This is a stunning and super rich shade of teal. The holo effect isn't super strong on the nail, it's more just a pretty sparkle effect. This one also has an excellent formula and it's also just a one-coater.
I haven't tried myself, but I'm pretty sure I've seen a few stamping manis with these two shades, so that's pretty awesome considering it's not very often you come across a holo polish that can be used for stamping! My guess is that Dragon will work better in more subtle stamping manis, but Saint George is so saturated that I think it'll work really well for any stamping.
I can't say enough good about these two polishes. And I think I can safely say that these will not be my last a-englands. I have a couple of other shades on my wishlist right now and I'll be making a point to pick them up with my next online order.
a-england polishes can be purchased from Ninja Polish, llarowe, Nail Polish Canada and the a-england website (although they are only able to ship within the UK right now, so if you're outside the UK, purchase from any of the first three vendors).
If you happened to catch yesterday's post, you already know that I recently participated in a Secret Valentine swap and that my Secret Valentine was very good to me. As I said, she sent me four polishes from my wishlist including Illamasqua Raindrops, the two polishes I'm showing you today, as well as one more which I'll be sure to show you at a later date.
The two I'm showing you today are a-england Dragon and a-england Saint George, both of which have been on my wishlist since the first time I saw swatches.
I've shown two photos for each polish - the first is in natural lighting and the second is with the flash on to best demonstrate the holo effect.
Dragon is a beautiful dragon green (they named this shade perfectly) with a scattered holographic finish. I don't think I own another green quite like this, holo or no holo! It's really lovely. And the formula is amazing - super smooth and easy to apply and I'm showing just one coat here!
Saint George is a rich teal with a scattered holographic finish. Teal lovers, rejoice! This is a stunning and super rich shade of teal. The holo effect isn't super strong on the nail, it's more just a pretty sparkle effect. This one also has an excellent formula and it's also just a one-coater.
I haven't tried myself, but I'm pretty sure I've seen a few stamping manis with these two shades, so that's pretty awesome considering it's not very often you come across a holo polish that can be used for stamping! My guess is that Dragon will work better in more subtle stamping manis, but Saint George is so saturated that I think it'll work really well for any stamping.
I can't say enough good about these two polishes. And I think I can safely say that these will not be my last a-englands. I have a couple of other shades on my wishlist right now and I'll be making a point to pick them up with my next online order.
a-england polishes can be purchased from Ninja Polish, llarowe, Nail Polish Canada and the a-england website (although they are only able to ship within the UK right now, so if you're outside the UK, purchase from any of the first three vendors).
Monday, February 18, 2013
Illamasqua - Raindrops
Hi guys!
Recently I participated in a Secret Valentine swap with some polish friends and my Secret Valentine was very good to me! She sent me four polishes that were all on my wishlist, including the one and only Illamasqua Raindrops! I literally squeed when I opened the bubble wrap and saw the label!
Raindrops is a sheer stormy light grey with small flecks of white-grey glitter. It starts out rather sheer, but it does build up nicely with three coats. And because Illamasqua's formula is pretty much top-of-the-line (in my opinion, anyways), building up the coats is a breeze.
I'm sure this would also work really well as a layering polish. I can picture it over light blues, dusty purples, light and dark greys, and so on. I've already worn it on its own (as I've shown you here), but I think I'll definitely layer it next time.
Raindrops was on the HTF (hard to find) list for a while, but Illamasqua listened to us when we said we wanted it back! So they re-released it last month.
Also, have you heard that Illamasqua might be releasing a pink version of Raindrops? It looks super pretty! Check out on .
Raindrops can be purchased from the Illamasqua website. The prices on the site are in £ GBP, so be sure to do the conversion for your own currency.
What do you guys think? Do you agree with the hype about this polish? Personally, I always wanted it, but now that I have it, I totally understand the hype.
Recently I participated in a Secret Valentine swap with some polish friends and my Secret Valentine was very good to me! She sent me four polishes that were all on my wishlist, including the one and only Illamasqua Raindrops! I literally squeed when I opened the bubble wrap and saw the label!
Raindrops is a sheer stormy light grey with small flecks of white-grey glitter. It starts out rather sheer, but it does build up nicely with three coats. And because Illamasqua's formula is pretty much top-of-the-line (in my opinion, anyways), building up the coats is a breeze.
I'm sure this would also work really well as a layering polish. I can picture it over light blues, dusty purples, light and dark greys, and so on. I've already worn it on its own (as I've shown you here), but I think I'll definitely layer it next time.
Raindrops was on the HTF (hard to find) list for a while, but Illamasqua listened to us when we said we wanted it back! So they re-released it last month.
Also, have you heard that Illamasqua might be releasing a pink version of Raindrops? It looks super pretty! Check out on .
Raindrops can be purchased from the Illamasqua website. The prices on the site are in £ GBP, so be sure to do the conversion for your own currency.
What do you guys think? Do you agree with the hype about this polish? Personally, I always wanted it, but now that I have it, I totally understand the hype.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Review & Swatches - Zoya Lovely Collection
Hi guys!
How has everyone's weekend been going? I spent both Friday and last night practicing gel nail enhancements on a few family members! And today I'll be doing some swatching as well as setting up my new melmer/doing some stash re-organization. I have a fun day ahead of me!
I'll also be watching the season premiere of The Amazing Race later tonight. There's something you probably didn't know about me: I absolutely love reality competition shows like The Amazing Race, Survivor, Big Brother, Hell's Kitchen, etc.
Anyways, today I'm sharing my swatches of the Spring 2013 Zoya Lovely Collection with you. This collection was actually an unexpected gift from a fellow nail addict! How nice, right?
Keep reading for the swatches and review!
How has everyone's weekend been going? I spent both Friday and last night practicing gel nail enhancements on a few family members! And today I'll be doing some swatching as well as setting up my new melmer/doing some stash re-organization. I have a fun day ahead of me!
I'll also be watching the season premiere of The Amazing Race later tonight. There's something you probably didn't know about me: I absolutely love reality competition shows like The Amazing Race, Survivor, Big Brother, Hell's Kitchen, etc.
Anyways, today I'm sharing my swatches of the Spring 2013 Zoya Lovely Collection with you. This collection was actually an unexpected gift from a fellow nail addict! How nice, right?
Keep reading for the swatches and review!
Read more »
Friday, February 15, 2013
Shimmer Polish Swatch Spam - Part I
Good morning!
How was everyone's Valentine's Day? I've been gushing so much about my fiance lately that I won't bother sickening you by showing you the romantic gift he gave me, hahaha.
Anyways, are you ready for some beautiful glitter creations from the indie brand Shimmer? This is the first time I've tried the brand, but I've had my eye on these since I first saw them pop up on Adventures in Acetone (I'm pretty sure Jackie's was the first blog I saw them on). I have seven shades to share with you today and I still have thirteen more to show you at a later time!
I chose to use most of these as layering polishes, but the glitter is very dense in all of them so you can easily build these up to opacity on their own!
Jasmine consists of teal, blue, copper and scattered red glitter in a clear base. I chose to layer it over China Glaze Keep Calm, Paint On. Great formula and great glitter payoff. I only needed one coat to get the coverage you see below.
Karen is a mix of pink, purple and holographic glitter in a clear base. I've shown it layered over China Glaze Pink-ie Promise. Very pretty.
Leslie is a clear base with lots of purple and blue glitter throughout. For my swatch I've layered one coat of Leslie over China Glaze Tart-y for the Party. Lovelovelove this combo.
Liana is a mix of blue, black and holographic glitters in a clear base. I've shown it here layered over Zoya Blu (from the Spring 2013 Lovely Collection, which I'll be showing you soon). This one is very galaxy-esque, so I think it would look amazing over a black or deep blue.
Marilyn is a deep red jelly base packed with black and glowy red glitter. My swatch shows two coats of Marilyn on her own. The red glitter is similar in colour to the red jelly base, but it's glowy nature adds a whole lot of depth to the polish.
Nichole consists of blue, red and silver glitter in a clear base. I chose to layer it over China Glaze Dandy Lyin' Around. I'm not even American, but this shade absolutely screams 4th of July to me!
Trisha is a mix of orange, gold, blue and purple glitters in a clear base. The orange and gold glitters are more dominant, which allows the blue and purple ones to just peek through. I've shown it layered over China Glaze Mimosa's Before Mani's and once again, I just needed one coat to get the glitter coverage you see below.
Overall, I'm super happy with my first taste of Shimmer Polish! These aren't just polishes with different coloured glitter slapped together. On the contrary, it's clear that a lot of thought went into each of these polishes and their respective glitter combinations.
On top of that, so far they're 7 for 7 with great formulas and no fishing or placing of glitters. Colour me impressed. I can't wait to try the other shades I have waiting in my to-swatch bin!
Shimmer Polish is available via the Shimmer Polish Etsy shop. Each shade retails for $12.
And you can keep up with Shimmer Polish on Facebook .
How was everyone's Valentine's Day? I've been gushing so much about my fiance lately that I won't bother sickening you by showing you the romantic gift he gave me, hahaha.
Anyways, are you ready for some beautiful glitter creations from the indie brand Shimmer? This is the first time I've tried the brand, but I've had my eye on these since I first saw them pop up on Adventures in Acetone (I'm pretty sure Jackie's was the first blog I saw them on). I have seven shades to share with you today and I still have thirteen more to show you at a later time!
I chose to use most of these as layering polishes, but the glitter is very dense in all of them so you can easily build these up to opacity on their own!
Jasmine consists of teal, blue, copper and scattered red glitter in a clear base. I chose to layer it over China Glaze Keep Calm, Paint On. Great formula and great glitter payoff. I only needed one coat to get the coverage you see below.
Karen is a mix of pink, purple and holographic glitter in a clear base. I've shown it layered over China Glaze Pink-ie Promise. Very pretty.
Leslie is a clear base with lots of purple and blue glitter throughout. For my swatch I've layered one coat of Leslie over China Glaze Tart-y for the Party. Lovelovelove this combo.
Liana is a mix of blue, black and holographic glitters in a clear base. I've shown it here layered over Zoya Blu (from the Spring 2013 Lovely Collection, which I'll be showing you soon). This one is very galaxy-esque, so I think it would look amazing over a black or deep blue.
Marilyn is a deep red jelly base packed with black and glowy red glitter. My swatch shows two coats of Marilyn on her own. The red glitter is similar in colour to the red jelly base, but it's glowy nature adds a whole lot of depth to the polish.
Nichole consists of blue, red and silver glitter in a clear base. I chose to layer it over China Glaze Dandy Lyin' Around. I'm not even American, but this shade absolutely screams 4th of July to me!
Trisha is a mix of orange, gold, blue and purple glitters in a clear base. The orange and gold glitters are more dominant, which allows the blue and purple ones to just peek through. I've shown it layered over China Glaze Mimosa's Before Mani's and once again, I just needed one coat to get the glitter coverage you see below.
Overall, I'm super happy with my first taste of Shimmer Polish! These aren't just polishes with different coloured glitter slapped together. On the contrary, it's clear that a lot of thought went into each of these polishes and their respective glitter combinations.
On top of that, so far they're 7 for 7 with great formulas and no fishing or placing of glitters. Colour me impressed. I can't wait to try the other shades I have waiting in my to-swatch bin!
Shimmer Polish is available via the Shimmer Polish Etsy shop. Each shade retails for $12.
And you can keep up with Shimmer Polish on Facebook .
The product(s) in this post were provided by the manufacturer or their PR in exchange for an honest review.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
A Very Special Valentine's Day Post - Nails by ... David?
Hey everyone! Happy Valentine's Day!
Today I have a very special post for you! Last year for Valentine's Day, my fiancé (although he was my boyfriend at that time) painted my nails and wrote a guest post for NbKS. You guys seemed to really enjoy it! In fact, at the time it was my most commented-on post of all-time! Sadly, I was using the Intense Debate commenting system at the time and once I got rid of it (it was awful and gave me nothing but trouble), I lost all of those wonderful comments. Major sad face.
Anyways, I asked him if he'd be willing to do it again for V-Day this year, and being the wonderful man that he is, he didn't even hesitate to say yes!
Just like last year, David came up with the design, picked out the polishes and tools and then executed his vision on my nails. So I'll let him take over now to show you what he came up with!
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Hey guys!
I guess it’s that time of the year again where I embarrass myself online to the delight of Kayla’s readers!
Just kidding. I really enjoy helping out my lovely fiancée, especially when it comes to her blog. This Valentine’s Day I have created ... well, something. I guess you could say that the design is abstract, therefore giving me a creative excuse for my numerous errors.
I have again chosen traditional V-Day colors, and I’ve added little heart-shaped glitters to each of the nails, mainly to avoid painting the hearts freehand again.
As you can see, I drew a red squiggly line in the middle of each nail, which I thought was pretty fly, and then tossed in some dots. All of these elements sit on top of a pale pink creme, which I believe suits the V-Day theme pretty well.
I really found this to be difficult, and again I have to give props to all you people who do this everyday. It takes a lot of patience! But Kayla’s instructions were very helpful, and I actually used her Manicuring 101 tips to learn how to polish a nail properly. Since my dabble in this last year, I have also learned how to clean up some of the mess I made around the cuticles, and I think you’ll be able to see that for yourself.
The finished product earned a "not bad" from my own perspective. I loved spending the time with my lady, and hopefully I can do the same next year.
Marine is a beautiful aqua/blue-green creme. It's no secret that I love aqua/teal polish, and this one is certainly no exception. The formula is dreamy and it's opaque in two easy coats.
I've said it before and I'll probably continue to say it in every piCture pOlish post I do - I really, really love the piCture pOlish bottles. In fact, my favourite thing to do when I receive PP polishes in the mail (aside from wear them, obviously) is to store them away in their Melmer drawer! They just store so nicely that it's fun to add more to the drawer and watch them line up so perfectly.
... Clearly I'm very strange about my storage.
I can definitely see this shade being the base for much nail art in the future!
piCture pOlish is available online at the piCture pOlish store. They do ship internationally, but there's also many network members all over the world whom you can purchase from. Refer to the Network Members List for a complete list of where you can find piCture pOlish. Also, be sure to check out all of piCture pOlish's social media links:
Thanks for looking! And check back next week for another great piCture pOlish shade!
Today I have a very special post for you! Last year for Valentine's Day, my fiancé (although he was my boyfriend at that time) painted my nails and wrote a guest post for NbKS. You guys seemed to really enjoy it! In fact, at the time it was my most commented-on post of all-time! Sadly, I was using the Intense Debate commenting system at the time and once I got rid of it (it was awful and gave me nothing but trouble), I lost all of those wonderful comments. Major sad face.
Anyways, I asked him if he'd be willing to do it again for V-Day this year, and being the wonderful man that he is, he didn't even hesitate to say yes!
Just like last year, David came up with the design, picked out the polishes and tools and then executed his vision on my nails. So I'll let him take over now to show you what he came up with!
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Hey guys!
I guess it’s that time of the year again where I embarrass myself online to the delight of Kayla’s readers!
Just kidding. I really enjoy helping out my lovely fiancée, especially when it comes to her blog. This Valentine’s Day I have created ... well, something. I guess you could say that the design is abstract, therefore giving me a creative excuse for my numerous errors.
I have again chosen traditional V-Day colors, and I’ve added little heart-shaped glitters to each of the nails, mainly to avoid painting the hearts freehand again.
As you can see, I drew a red squiggly line in the middle of each nail, which I thought was pretty fly, and then tossed in some dots. All of these elements sit on top of a pale pink creme, which I believe suits the V-Day theme pretty well.
I really found this to be difficult, and again I have to give props to all you people who do this everyday. It takes a lot of patience! But Kayla’s instructions were very helpful, and I actually used her Manicuring 101 tips to learn how to polish a nail properly. Since my dabble in this last year, I have also learned how to clean up some of the mess I made around the cuticles, and I think you’ll be able to see that for yourself.
The finished product earned a "not bad" from my own perspective. I loved spending the time with my lady, and hopefully I can do the same next year.
Marine is a beautiful aqua/blue-green creme. It's no secret that I love aqua/teal polish, and this one is certainly no exception. The formula is dreamy and it's opaque in two easy coats.
I've said it before and I'll probably continue to say it in every piCture pOlish post I do - I really, really love the piCture pOlish bottles. In fact, my favourite thing to do when I receive PP polishes in the mail (aside from wear them, obviously) is to store them away in their Melmer drawer! They just store so nicely that it's fun to add more to the drawer and watch them line up so perfectly.
... Clearly I'm very strange about my storage.
I can definitely see this shade being the base for much nail art in the future!
piCture pOlish is available online at the piCture pOlish store. They do ship internationally, but there's also many network members all over the world whom you can purchase from. Refer to the Network Members List for a complete list of where you can find piCture pOlish. Also, be sure to check out all of piCture pOlish's social media links:
Thanks for looking! And check back next week for another great piCture pOlish shade!
The product(s) in this post were provided by the manufacturer or their PR in exchange for an honest review.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Review & Swatches - China Glaze Avant Garden Collection
Hi everyone!
I managed to get a good bit of swatching done yesterday, so you'll be seeing lots of new polishes this week! The first of which is the China Glaze Spring 2013 Avant Garden Collection. This collection offers twelve shades that range from soft pastels to vibrant pops of colour.
Keep reading for the swatches and review!
I managed to get a good bit of swatching done yesterday, so you'll be seeing lots of new polishes this week! The first of which is the China Glaze Spring 2013 Avant Garden Collection. This collection offers twelve shades that range from soft pastels to vibrant pops of colour.
Keep reading for the swatches and review!
Read more »
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Zebra Bling Nails
Hi guys!
How has everyone's weekend been? We had a few friends in for a game of poker Friday night and that was a lot of fun! I actually won first place! Go me! Then last night we just chilled at home and caught up on some television shows that we recorded throughout the week. Today is going to be spent tackling my to-swatch bin so that I have lots of blog content for the coming week!
Today I'll be showing you the simple mani that I've been wearing for the past couple of days. It's nothing special, but I didn't have much time when I did it, so I had to go with something quick and easy. And for me, that's always some form of animal print!
The base colour here is China Glaze Love's a Beach, a lovely neon pink from last year's Summer Neons Collection. I added the zebra stripes using a striper brush and Wet 'n' Wild Black Creme.
As for the accent nail, that gave me a bit of trouble. I started with a base of China Glaze Cheers To You, a simple silver foil. My plan after that was to add a few layers of Milani Jewel FX Silver to build up a nice bling-y silver glitter nail. However, the silver glitter isn't nearly as dense as I thought (the gold polish from the same Jewel FX line is pretty dense, so I figured this one would be about the same).
So, I ended up doing about four layers of glitter and when that still wasn't enough, I added a layer of OPI Crown Me Already! to fill in the gaps. Of course at that point, the polish had built up quite a bit, so it ended up looking pretty chunky. It wasn't as noticeable in person, but it's definitely visible in macro photos!
Despite the chunky accent nail, this mani still received a number of compliments throughout the week!
Thanks for looking!
How has everyone's weekend been? We had a few friends in for a game of poker Friday night and that was a lot of fun! I actually won first place! Go me! Then last night we just chilled at home and caught up on some television shows that we recorded throughout the week. Today is going to be spent tackling my to-swatch bin so that I have lots of blog content for the coming week!
Today I'll be showing you the simple mani that I've been wearing for the past couple of days. It's nothing special, but I didn't have much time when I did it, so I had to go with something quick and easy. And for me, that's always some form of animal print!
The base colour here is China Glaze Love's a Beach, a lovely neon pink from last year's Summer Neons Collection. I added the zebra stripes using a striper brush and Wet 'n' Wild Black Creme.
As for the accent nail, that gave me a bit of trouble. I started with a base of China Glaze Cheers To You, a simple silver foil. My plan after that was to add a few layers of Milani Jewel FX Silver to build up a nice bling-y silver glitter nail. However, the silver glitter isn't nearly as dense as I thought (the gold polish from the same Jewel FX line is pretty dense, so I figured this one would be about the same).
So, I ended up doing about four layers of glitter and when that still wasn't enough, I added a layer of OPI Crown Me Already! to fill in the gaps. Of course at that point, the polish had built up quite a bit, so it ended up looking pretty chunky. It wasn't as noticeable in person, but it's definitely visible in macro photos!
Despite the chunky accent nail, this mani still received a number of compliments throughout the week!
Thanks for looking!
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