BadAss Polish Dusk & Bling

Today, I have for you the remaining BadAss Polishes I received to review.. If you want to check out my review of their Are You Ready For Some Football? polishes you can find that review here. These next two polishes will be part of their core line, and I'm really impressed with them. I'm so glad they will be core too because I'd hate to see these go away!

Dusk over Cult Nails Time Traveler

Dusk is a mixture of small dark blue glitters and gold glitters in a clear base.

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you will know I have mentioned on multiple occasions that blue and gold is my favorite color combination. Needless to say, I love this. This is an absolutely beautiful glitter. I used 2 coats here over Cult Nails Time Traveler and it is stunning. This could be buildable on its own with 3 coats, but I think a base really allows for the glitter to stand out more. This covered nicely, and applied well.

Bling over Cult Nails Nevermore

Bling is a mixture of a gold and silver glitters in a clear base.

I don't think I've seen a gold and silver mix polish like this. I do not own any. I love this combination, it is definitely blingy. I used 2 coats here over a base. Again, you could use 3 coats on it's own, but I prefer having a base. This covered really nicely too, and applied evenly.

You know what I love about these? They are smaller glitters with amazing coverage. We are used to seeing indies with chunky glitters, and this is something different. These polishes are thoughtful and well planned out. The color combinations are beautiful, and they apply so nicely. I really like these, and I think you all will too.

You can purchase these polishes for $8.50 each on BadAss Polish's Etsy shop.
You can also follow BadAss Polish on Facebook.

* I received these polishes for my honest review from BadAss Polish.

Happy Friday!

KBShimmer Sugar Plum Faerie

I blame indie nail polish for my lack of money this holiday season. They all really hit it out of the park with their holiday collections. The self control I felt I had most of the year with nail polish, went completely down the drain with indie polish this holiday season. I still have not purchased all of what I wanted, and I'm hoping  that they are not limited edition polishes because I'd like to get them at some point. One indie I was really excited about this season was KBShimmer. I saw quite a few polishes in her holiday collection I wanted. I only ended up getting three, when I really could of got them all, but that's how the cookie crumbles. I have Sugar Plum Faerie to show you today.

KBShimmer Sugar Plum Faerie

Sugar Plum Faerie is a red-toned purple jelly base mixed with fuchsia, purple, green, and tiny holographic glitters.

This is what I think indie polish is all about--creativity. I love when indies create something I never could of thought of myself and really surprise me. This is an entirely unexpected holiday polish with an unexpected mix of glitters and colors that is just perfection. I'm not sure if this was a thought out and planned color or a happy accident.....either way it is amazing. The color combination is beautiful, and on top of that is applies really nicely. I used 3 coats here. The best part of this one is you could wear this year round, it isn't just for the holidays. I am in love -swoon-. Two days in row, but I'm calling this a must have!

Oh! I did a mani with this a few days ago, using it as an accent with Cult Nails Flushed. They look amazing together! (Note: I did layer the KBShimmer over the Cult Nails).

I purchased this one from KBShimmer's website for $8.75.

Happy Thursday!

Claire's Pinata & Comparison

Claire's and Icing are those stores that I have easy access to, but I do not shop at often. I know when I go in there 8 out of 10 times I'll find something new and cool I want. Haha, that's why I try to avoid it. The temptation is strong!  Lately, they both have an excellent selection of fun glitter polishes. The best part of Claire's and Icing is they have this permanent Buy One Get 1 50% off sale on their cosmetics. Their polishes usually are $4-$5 a pop, so this makes them really affordable and even more tempting. I picked up this pretty I spotted last weekend. I couldn't resist it!

Claire's Pinata over Cult Nails Nevermore

Pinata is a mixture of gold, silver, purple, red, blue, and green shredded glitters in a clear base.

Seriously how could I not resist this? It is amazing! I do not have a rainbow shredded glitter polish like this, so I was very excited to see this. I did add some thinner to this off the bat, as I did find it a bit on the thick side. The thinner did the trick though, and I found it easy to apply afterwards. I love the bright colors in this polish, and I'm really very excited about it. I'm so excited about this one, I'd call it a must have especially if you do not have any polishes like this one.

After typing up this review, I knew I'd get some questions on how this compares to Cult Nails Happy Ending. The pic below is a comparison on nail wheels.

L-R Claire's Pinata & Cult Nails Happy Ending.

They both are shredded glitters, but their color scheme is entirely different. Happy Ending is a mix of orange, gold, aqua, and lavender glitters, while Pinata is a mix of gold, silver, purple, red, blue, and green glitters.

I *think* I found this one on the Claire's website if you do not have a Claire's near you. This is the listing, it isn't called Pinata though, just "Multi". While, the image is of the correct polish I am not 100% sure that is what you're getting since it is named different. If you're interested in purchasing this online, I'd contact Claire's customer service first, and verify that is the correct polish.

Happy Wednesday!

Talk it Out Tuesday: Blogging Burnout

Blogging Burnout

* DISCLAIMER: Please note this post is not in regards to people who have had any serious life changes or challenges that have caused them to stop blogging. I genuinely understand and respect those circumstances, and take them seriously. This is really just a casual conversation topic, so please realize I'm not trying to diminish any serious issues here or be critical of anyone who has to stop blogging for reasons out of their control. 

The main reason I unfollow blogs is because of the lack of posting or inconsistent posting. I had to purge some blogs a few weeks ago because I was at my limit on Blogger. I ended up removing close to 100 blogs mainly because they had not been updated in months, weeks, or the blogger posted inconsistently (2 posts one week, one post 3 weeks later, 1 post a month later etc).

I understand blog hiatuses, and bloggers should not have to apologize for them. There is no need to apologize! We all have times in our lives and the reasons are irrelevant that we may need a break or have to be absent from blogging. These are not the blogs I removed.

A majority of these blogs were brand new blogs with 2-10 posts in a 1-3 week span, and they never blogged again. I see a lot of this happening since nail blogging has become so popular. I saw to a lesser degree blogs that had been very consistent where the bloggers just dropped off the face of the earth. 

Why does this happen? I have guesses I'm sure with newer bloggers who quit realize that blogging requires a lot of upkeep and consistency to gain a following (my opinion only). While blogging is fun, it is not always easy and it does take work. The other reason for good blogs being abandoned is I'm sure people have other things going on in their lives that take precedence or they've simply moved on to other interests. These all are valid and understandable reasons, but it is always disappointing to see a new promising blog disappear or a tried and true blog not get updated anymore.

There is also instances where regular and active bloggers experience a burnout. I have mini burnouts on a occasion. I know I blog differently than some. I tend to collect my new polish over a span of few weeks, and do a major swatch session on weekend. This allows me to have library of swatches to choose from at any given time. I started this even while I was changing my nails everyday. I knew I'd get to a point where I would not be able to do that, and wanted to the flexibility to have blogging material on hand.

There are times though where I put off the swatching a few days or a week because I just don't want to be bothered with it. There are times I open up a blog post, and I have no idea what to write. It's those times I just go with those feelings. I do not post or I push back the swatching. I don't do this because I'm tired of blogging really,  it's just at that moment it's not going to happen. If I'm not feeling right about what I'm doing the result are not going to be good. Plus, the last thing I want to do is push myself into corner where I feel obligated or guilty for not posting, that would ruin the experience. I do definitely have those moments and days where I just don't want to be bothered, and that's ok!

Thankfully, I have never felt the need to put my blog on hiatus for any extended amount of time. I hope that doesn't change, but there are no guarantees in life. Last week, is a good example of an off week for me blogging.  I only had 4 posts last week, when I typically have 5 or 6. I know that's a lot by many standards, but to me that's an off week. I just wasn't feeling it! This weekend, I had a bunch of new colors to swatch, and it revitalized me. Usually, a  couple of new pretty polishes is all is usually takes.

I know many bloggers have these moments too, and some more so than me. I also know that some life challenges occur that are out of our control cause this too. That is always of course completely understandable. If it's for reasons of needing a break or having other interests that's ok too. We all need a break at times, but please let your readers know if it's because of that...none of this falling of the planet stuff! We miss you too much!

What are you thoughts on this subject from a blogger or a reader perspective?
If you're a blogger who stopped blogging what are your reasons?
If you're a blogger who has had burnout or got in a funk how do you get out of it? 

Happy Tuesday 

Urban Outfitters Silver Holo

I think it's safe to say the dark ages of hololess sadness and despair have come to an end. The holo polishes are once again making their mark on nail polish world after a seemingly long stint away due to what I'm sure were issues with finding ingredients. I remember when I first got into nail polish back in late December 2008 the China Glaze OMG collection was still available on e-tailers. I bought half of that collection back then, not knowing that would be one of the last times we'd see GOOD holos out there that were sold in large quantities and easy to find. 

The dark days are over with the release of the Color Club holos and the upcoming 2013 release of the China Glaze holos. What I did not expect was to find holos in Urban Outfitters a store that is 5 minute drive from where I live! What I expected less is that these holos would be the absolute best holos I've ever had as far as holo effect. These puppies are strong linear amazing holos! I did not purchase any of the Color Club ones because I'd have to order them, and with shipping it wasn't appealing, so it was nice to spot these in a store I could just pick up! I have the silver one to show you today.

Urban Outfitters Silver Holo

Silver Holo is a silver linear holo.

This is bright, strong, and just downright amazing. Do I really need to say more? If you have an Urban Outfitters store near you, go pick this up now or ASAP. You will not be disappointed! 

I picked this one up for $10. 

Happy Monday!