Thursday, July 31, 2014

Throwback Thursday: KBShimmer Lilac Dreams

I wanted to share with you a KBShimmer polish that is being discontinued, so you can grab a bottle before it goes away! This was my first KBShimmer polish which I purchased back in 2012. 2012 in nail polish years might as well be 5 years ago! This is a beautiful shade that is a blast from indie polish past. 

Lilac Dreams
Lilac Dreams is a lilac micro glitter bomb with holographic silver and aqua glitters.

Color: This one is so incredibly hard to describe, other than it's an intense and complex glitter. This  isn't a straight up purple, it has some other colors thrown in for dimension that make this polish look amazing. 

Formula: This is a teeny bit on the thick side, but not unmanagable to apply. I used 3 coats in this swatch. 

Price: This is on sale for $6.00 on KBShimmer's website. This is being discontinued, so get on it!

Overall: Gorgeous complex glitter! As I said it's hard for me to describe this one, other than it's pretty awesome!

My Rating 4.5 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Way-Cool Mani Wednesday: Golden Beach

I loved both yesterday's polish Lumina Lacquer Soleil and the KBShimmer polishes from Monday that I decided to combine the two for a fun summery mani!

Polishes Used: KBShimmer Beach Please and Lumina Lacquer Soleil

Happy Wednesday!

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Lumina Lacquer Soleil

I'm not much of the impulsive nail polish buyer anymore, but I came across a polish on IG that the second I saw it I knew I needed it! The polish is Soleil from Lumina Lacquer. This was actually my first purchase from Lumina Lacquer and new indie in my collection.

Soleil 
Soleil is a micro fine holographic glitter.

Color: Hello! Soleil is spectacular. I love the gold holographic glitter. This is a very intense holo too, it's so bright and reflective.

Formula: I used 2 coats above, and this is probably 90% opaque. This is so blingy and shiny that in person it will look 100% opaque. The camera is the only thing that picks up those little spaces without glitter. You will not seem them on your nail. The formula was pretty thick, and did require a more careful application. Not a bad formula, but not one that was a breeze to use either. I'd recommend doing 2 thick coats. If you try to add on more coats the application will get even trickier.

Price: This is $10.00 on the Lumina Lacquer shop site.

Overall: This is one of those wow factor polishes. I love this new take on the holographic polish with fine glitter particles. I love my bling, and I love my bling holographic. What is also great about Soleil is since it's gold it will compliment anything you wear or any nail color. There is plenty of room here for accent nails or nail art using this one! The formula is a bit of downer because of the thickness, but it's not a deal breaker at all.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Monday, July 28, 2014

KBShimmer 6th Anniversary Beach Themed Trio

*I received the following products in exchange for my honest review.

I have a beautiful and fun collection to share with you today. This is KBShimmer's 6th Anniversary Trio. KBShimmer has already spoiled us this summer with 2 collections, so why not some icing on the cake? I think you all will love these shades! This trio will be available for purchase on Friday, August 1st.

Beach Please
Beach Please is a bright near neon magenta creme. (2 coats)

Shore Thing
Shore Thing is a bright aqua-mint creme. (2 coats) *Note: This one freaked out my camera. I adjusted my color settings to reflect the color more accurately, hence the weird color of my skin! 

Hexy Bikini
Hexy Bikini is a textured glitter combination of holo silver, teal, and pink. (2 coats)

Colors: These colors are the bomb! The cremes Beach Please and Shore Thing are so saturated and bright. I don't have colors in these shades that are that bright in intensity. Hexy Bikini is a beautiful compliment to these colors. I adore this holo glitter.

Formula: Outstanding formula on all of these. The cremes were 2 easy coats. They were not streaky at all and self leveled nicely. Hexy Bikini was opaque in 2 coats. The glitter formula is thicker, but not unmanageable at all. Hexy Bikini can definitely be layered with one coat if you'd like.

Price: This sold as a trio will be $21.00. Individually, Beach Please and Shore Thing will be $7.50. Hexy Bikini will be $8.75. These will be up for sale Friday, August 1st on the KBShimmer website.

Overall: I really enjoyed this trio! I loved KBShimmer's previous summer releases, but I have to admit these three are my favorite! I encourage you all to try these out, and I think you'll be very happy to add them to your nail polish collection.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Paint Splatters
Happy Monday!

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Throwback Thursday: Essence Pool Party

I want to preface this by saying that I don't think you can find this polish anymore. I know, disappointing. It has been discontinued. I love this one so much I had to revisit it it. I hope that some of you who have been in the nail polish game for awhile still have this one in your stash. This is one is my favorite Essence polish!

Pool Party
Pool Party is a bright medium blue with an intense silvery glass fleck glitter.

Collection: Essence Colour & Go 2010-2012(?)

Color: Out of all the blues I own in my vast nail polish collection, I do not own one like this. The glass fleck glitter in this is beautiful, and it makes me long for more polishes like this now. This color lives up to it's namesake, this is the perfect swimming pool color. Awesome color!

Formula: When I first bought this back in 2010, I found the formula to be a little sheerer than expected. I also had significantly longer nails had VNL (visible nail line) with this after 3 coats. I used 2 coats here, and didn't find it to be sheer at all. Did the formula thicken up over 4 years or is it just because my nails are shorter? I'm not sure. That being said, sheer or not, I didn't have any application issues with this at all.

Price: This was $0.99 at Ulta back when it was available. Like I said, I'm hoping many of you have this in your collection already!

Overall: Love it! I think I talked enough already about it! I think you all get it.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Paint Splatters
Happy Thursday!

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Way-Cool Mani Wednesday: Creme Skittles

I've found my mani-style of the summer. I've been doing a bunch of creme skittle manis. I guess it's more like two creme accents? I don't know the proper terminology, but basically I've been wearing 3 different colors of cremes on my nails. I've been sticking to bright or pastel shades, and it's been perfect for summer. I love it allows me to get creative with color combinations, and I get to play with more polish!

Here is a recent one I did.


Polishes Used: Julie G Tahiti, Miami Beach, and Maybelline Dayglow Teal.

Such fun colors, and there are countless options when doing manis like this. If your someone who wants to play up their nails, but isn't a fan of doing nail art, I highly recommend trying this type of mani out!

Happy Wednesday!

Monday, July 21, 2014

Zoya Rebel

This is complaint #5832 of how hot is outside. I'd say this is the dead of summer here, but the dead of summer will last another at least 2 months. I feel stupid complaining because I know there are some of you who have to content with not only miserable heat, but freezing snowy winters. I'm sorry!

So how about a cooler color to help me think of cooler days? I have a icy looking Zoya to share with you today.

Rebel
 Rebel is a sky blue with an intense metallic silver shimmer.

Color: Rebel was actually a spring color from the 2014 Awaken collection. I'm sure it's supposed to make think of sparkling blue ponds,streams, or lakes. Nope, in the feels like 103F weather this is making think of glaciers and something out of the movie Frozen. This is a beautiful shade of blue. I love soft this shade remains even with the intense shimmer.

Formula: This is a good formula. I used 3 coats above, it as little sheerer than I expect on the first coat, but it built up nicely.

Price: This is $9.00 on the Zoya website.

Overall: Rebel is a stunning shade! I don't quite get the name, Rebel is a bit harsh of a name for this type of color. The blue is rich and the shimmer is eye catching. I don't own anything like this in my collection.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Paint Splatters
Happy Monday!

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Pastel Bright Skittle Birthday Nails

Today is my birthday, and what is a birthday without a birthday mani?

This is probably the first birthday I didn't go all out and do some gigantic glitter bomb manicure. I kept it simple this year, but fun and bright! I'm happy with it.

Polishes Used: Maybelline Ultra Violet, Coral Heat, and Cult Nails New Day

I can't get enough of these pastel bright colors. I love them so much!

Happy Saturday!

Friday, July 18, 2014

Revlon Balinese Bay

I have to share with you another polish from the Revlon Haute Rocks Pebbled Texture collection. If you want to see my full thoughts on the formulation of these polishes I recommend you check out my review of Moroccan Oasis. Short version, these were marketed as textured glitters, however, I found these to be better suited as glitter toppers through my experience. Your experience maybe different. 

Balinese Bay over Broadway Nails Easter Annie
Balinese Bay is a mixture of magenta, black, lavender, and holo glitters in a sheer milky base.

Color: This is a an unexpected glitter color combination for me, but I absolutely love it. This really mixes colors with edge with colors that are soft. I adore this, and out of all the Pebbled Texture polishes this one is my favorite.

Formula: As you can see from the bottle the glitters are heavier than the base. The base floats to the top while the glitters sink. This made this difficult to apply as full coverage glitter as this was intended. I used 2 coats over a base. Even though these are called "Pebbled Textured" these glitters are smooth and not textured. I did find I got more coverage with Balinese Bay than the others in this collection though.

Price: I found this in the $5-$6 range at CVS. This collection is limited edition, but I'm still spotting these at the drugstore. 

Overall: I am in love with this as a glitter topper. In fact, I think I'd put it as a contender for one of my favorite this year. The color combination is beautiful. Again, as a this was meant to be this doesn't really work out though. Revlon would of been so much better off presenting these at glitter toppers. 

My Rating:

As a Pebbled Texture 1 out of 5 Paint Splatters
As a Glitter Topper 5 out of 5 Paint Splatters
Happy Friday! 


Thursday, July 17, 2014

Throwback Thursday: China Glaze Sea Spray

Today, I have oldie for you that turned into an unexpected favorite. I bought China Glaze Sea Spray when it came out in the Anchors Away spring 2013 collection. This was not a polish I ever would typically wear, and was really skeptical about wearing it. I remember putting it on, and not really feeling it.

When I went out I got lots compliments on this nail color. A few compliments turned me around on the color, and it became a favorite of mine. How could I not like a color I got so many compliments on?

Sea Spray
Sea Spray is a pale grey-blue with a soft silvery/blue shimmer.

Color: Sea Spray is a beautiful shade. I love how they incorporated this shimmer in this soft shade. I don't see this often especially in recent years. I know pastel-shimmers can easily go frosty or pearly, if not done right. This is a proper shimmer

Formula: Not my favorite formula here. This isn't the worst formula, but I found this one really likes to pool up in the cuticles, and applies a bit streaky and uneven. I used 3 coats here. I would of preferred an easier to apply formula.

Price: A Google search will give you many options to purchase this in the $3.50-$7.00 range.

Overall: Beautiful color. I love the soft shimmer against this pale grey-blue. I also love that this isn't a type of color and finish that I have seen much this year. I like to break out some older trends. The formula is lacking, but it's still an old favorite of mine.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 Paint Splatters
Happy Thursday!

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Milani Bella Blue

*I received the following product in exchange for my honest review. 

I have a stunner of a polish to show you today! You know those nail polishes that look very inconspicuous on first glance, but when you take a closer look and put it on your nails....BOOM? It turns out to be some nail polish masterpiece? Yes, yes, people. This is what we have here with this Milani from their Bella Blue Limited Edition summer collection.

Bella Blue
 Bella Blue is a black sheer base with an intense teal duochrome shimmer.

Color: This is a stunningly beautiful polish. The intensity of that shimmer, and how it lights up against the base is gorgeous! This polish does a slight duochrome, I couldn't pick up in the photo. This polish does shift from a teal to purple dependent on the angle you look at your nails. Stunner!

Formula: Awesome formula, so easy to use and smooth. Do not let the "black sheer base" worry you. This is 100% full coverage in 2 coats. The shimmer is so saturated this polish isn't sheer when applied in 2 coats.

Price: This can be found for an average of $5.00 at Walgreens, Kmart, and Fred Meyer stores.

Overall: Bella Blue is one of those, I'm not sure I can sum up any more than I did already? It's stunning. The formula is awesome, and just look at it!

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Paint Splatters
Happy Tuesday!

Monday, July 14, 2014

L.A. COLORS Reckless

I love cheap thrills nail polish. One thing I've learned is that cheap nail polish doesn't mean it's cheap quality. In my experience using a great base coat and top coat that works for you can make a $1 polish or even a $18 polish wear the same. Now, formulation may not be as great, but wear time usually is the same for me.

The best places to find cheap thrill nail polishes? Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Big Lots come to mind first. You can find good stuff there for $1-$2! I found this pretty L.A. COLORS at Dollar General.

Reckless
Reckless is a saturated medium blurple creme.

Color: This is one of those colors that under some light looks purple, and others it looks blurple. Either way, it's beautiful rich color. I love the vibrancy of it.

Formula: This isn't a buttery perfectly smooth formula. It is a bit streaky, but I could even it out in 2 coats. I'd say this is an average formula.

Price: I found this for $1.50 at Dollar General.

Overall: Gorgeous bright blurple creme shade. I have few blurple colors in my stash, but this one stands out a little brighter/lighter than the others I own. This polish at $1.50 is hard to pass up too!

My Rating 4 out of 5 Paint Splatters
Happy Monday!

Friday, July 11, 2014

Royal Polish California Heat Collection

*The following products were sent to me in exchange for my honest review. 

I have for you a really pretty collection from Royal Polish today. This collection is called California Heat. You know how I mentioned the popularity of the those pastel bright shades this season? California Heat collection has some colors that definitely fit that bill!

Surfer Girl
Surfer Girl is bright mid-tone pink creme. (2 coats)

Melting Popsicle
Melting Popsicle is a bright peach creme.  (2 coats)

Take Me To The Ocean
Take Me To the Ocean is a bright sea foam green creme.

Ocean Air, Sand In My Hair over Surfer Girl
Ocean Air, Sand In My Hair is a mix of hot pink, blue, aqua, purple, and holographic glitter in a clear base. (2 coats)

Beach Bum
Beach Bum is a yellow-toned nude subtle linear holo. (2 coats)

Summer Breeze
Summer Breeze is a mix of blue, pink, and purple flakes in a clear base. (3 coats)

Colors: There are some excellent colors here. I love the saturation of the pastel bright shades. These colors are rich and in your face! The glitter, flake, and holo are nice contrast to the brights and make a cohesive and fun collection.

Formula: I'm going to break this down polish by polish because there were some noteworthy things about most.
Surfer Girl- Smooth and easy to use formula. This applied flawlessly in 2 coats. This color stains nails, so double up on base coat
Melting Popsicle- Exactly same formula as Surfer Girl except no staining.
Take Me To The Ocean- Superb formula. One coat wonder!!!! So impressed!
Ocean Air, Sand In My Hair- For the most part the glitters applied nicely, but I was unable to get the larger circle glitters out of the bottle. I feel this maybe due to it being a mini bottle. Bottles being purchased are full size, so results may vary.
Beach Bum- Smooth easy to use 2 coat formula.
Summer Breeze- Sheer, and will require 3-4 coats to achieve 80% opacity, but this is meant to have a sheerer final look or be applied over a base.

Price: I'm breaking this down again as these have varied prices. These are all sold in 13.2ml bottles and can be purchased on Royal Polish's site.
Surfer Girl, Melting Popsicle, and Take Me To The Ocean- $6.75
Ocean Air, Sand In My Hair and Summer Breeze- $9.75
Beach Bum- $11.00

Overall: This is a beautiful collection. I very much enjoyed the bright pastel cremes, Surfer Girl, Melting Popsicle, and Take Me To The Ocean. These are standout shades to me as far as color and formulation. I haven't found pastel cremes with formula as nice as these. The glitter, flake, and holo round out the collection with a little bling and fun.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Paint Splatters
Happy Friday!

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Throwback Thursday: Orly Frisky

I think the biggest buzz I've seen with nail polish this summer is with Maybelline Bleached Neons. Pastel brights are definitely in, but I know that Maybelline collection hasn't been easy to find. I haven't found a dupe to a color in that collection, but if you're into those pastel bright shades, I think I have one that maybe right up your alley from a 2011 Orly collection.

Frisky
Frisky is a bright turquoise creme.

Collection: Orly Happy Go Lucky Summer 2011

Color: This is an outstanding color. This is hands down one of my favorite nail polish colors ever. Frisky even made it into my Top 20 of 2011 nail polishes. This color is so saturated and bright that you cannot help, but love it. Just look at it!

Formula: This is what makes the polish even more spectacular. The formula on this is perfection. This applies like buttah. I used 2 coats above, but I think some people could get away with one if they use a thicker coat.

Price: This is part of Orly's core line, and is priced at $8.00 at Ulta.

Overall: Frisky is amazing, and definitely on trend for summer 2014 even thought it was released in 2011. I think this a must have color in every nail polish collection. Just look at it again! This would make an awesome pedicure color too. Best part, you can go drive to your Ulta and pick it up today! Go now!

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Paint Splatters
Happy Thursday!