Glimmer by Erica Halloween Collection 2014

Good evening lovelies!  It's official.  I've swatched and reviewed my first Halloween collection for the year, WOOT!  Halloween is not only the best holiday ever, it has the best polish collections too (this is a fact).  I guess I will always be a kid at heart and if I don't dress up for Halloween anymore at least I know my nails will always kick a** with some fabulous indie concoction that resonates deep with my horror/blood/gore/campy loving soul (also I sneak some of my kids candy at the end of the night).  The Halloween Collection from Glimmer by Erica is pretty dang fabulous!  There are 6 polishes in the collection and it's definitely a set that covers all bases - jellies, shimmers, glitters and the always iconic pumpkin orange.  Erica did a great job on this collection.  These will be available today (RIGHT NOW) in her shop.  Each full size bottle is $9.25.  Well?  Less talk, more polish - grab some popcorn or candy corn and let's look at these lovely little beauties!

*PRESS SAMPLE*

Glimmer By Erica: Shop, Facebook, Instagram

I picked Blood Lust first.  It really spoke to me.  It was sitting there looking so glossy and juicy in the bottle.  Blood Lust is a red jelly with red glitters, blue/purple iridescent color shifting glitters and holo micro glitter.  It has so much depth and really glows.  The jelly formula was very easy to work with and as you can see from my pictures it built up to perfect opaqueness.  I used 3 coats of Blood Lust and 1 layer of topcoat.  Blood Lust looks great in all lighting but I especially love the pictures in the shade - you can really see all the awesome going on in the polish!

*artificial light*

*direct sun*

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Ectoplasm is a sheer purple jelly with green glitters and iridescent blue glitters.  This is a neat polish because it looks different depending on what kind of lighting you are in.  The jelly base in Ectoplasm wasn't quite as juicy or shiny as Blood Lust, but it did have a gorgeous color that covered wonderfully.  This mixture of blue, purple and green work so well together too.  The formula and application of Ectoplasm were both great.  I used 3 coats of Ectoplasm for complete coverage.  I finished with 1 layer of topcoat.  

*artificial light*

*direct sun*

*shade*

Possessed is a sheer milky off-white polish full of yellow/red, purple/blue and green color shifting iridescent glitters.  There is also some pretty micro shimmer to round it all out.  The light shade of the polish works really well with the iridescent glitters, and creates an almost nude yet glowy polish look.  The formula and application of Possessed were both great.  I started with a ridge filing base coat for a little color on my nail, then used 3 coats of Possessed and finished with 1 layer of topcoat.  

*artificial light*

*direct sun*

*shade*

Jack O' Lantern is, of course, the orange of the bunch.  Jack O' Lantern is bright, vibrant and the perfect pumpkin color.  It's an almost neon orange shade, jelly type polish full of golden shimmer.  I love the color and the shimmer - they look like they are lifetime bff's.  Jack O' Lantern was more sheer than I'd expected, and in hindsight I would have started with ridge filling base coat to help eliminate the visible nail line.  I used 3 coats of Jack O' Lantern and no topcoat. 

*artificial light*

*direct sun*

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Moving on to the glitters - Love Spell is a mix of red and purple glitters in a clear base.  For some reason purple and red make for a perfect Halloween polish don't they?  The glitter was plentiful and came out easily.  Formula and application were both great.  I used 2 coats of Love Spell over Jack O' Lantern.  

*artificial light*

*direct sun*

*shade*

Witch's Brew is my second favorite from the collection.  This micro glitter is totally awesome!  Witch's Brew is full of orange, black, green and purple metallic micro glitters in a clear base.  BUT this is a dense glitter with great coverage - I actually started with a base color and quickly realized I didn't need it at all...as you can probably tell my lack of any base color peeking through.  I used 1 1/2 coats of Witch's Brew and 1 layer of topcoat.  

*artificial light*

*direct sun*

*shade*

Glitter Week, Day 3: Glimmer by Erica (part 2)

Hello!  It's a gorgeous day and I am preparing this post in my back yard while I soak up some warm sunshine.  I am officially ready for the Spring!  Today is day 3 of Glitter Week and I have the second part of the Glimmer by Erica post!  I hope you liked the ones you saw yesterday!  I know I enjoyed playing with the glitters and I have to say that the 6 featured in this post are my favorites (shhh don't tell the other ones).  So let's jump in and start looking at pictures!  Then if you want you can leave a comment and let me know which was your favorite from the 2 posts. 

Glimmer by Erica: Shop, Beauty So Fly, Facebook, Instagram

Vegas Baby!  I love it!  I pretty much love anything that refers to Vegas.  But this awesome mix of "silver holographic micro glitter, purple iridescent glitter, gold, pink, blue, purple and orange holographic glitter hexs and holographic glitter diamonds" is a big winner!  Formula and application were both fabulous!  I was more than happy with the amount of glitter I got on each nail.  I used 2 coats of Vegas Baby over 1 coat of Sinful Colors Black on Black.  I finished with 1 layer of topcoat.  

I have noticed a trend with Erica's glitters....they are bright, happy and cheerful!  Rainbow Star Sprinkles is an exceptional example of that!  Rainbow Star Sprinkles has "all seven colors of the rainbow plus a little extra sparkle with some rainbow holo."  I smile just looking at this polish.  Formula and application were both great and I was very please with the glitter payoff.  I used 2 coats of Rainbow Star Sprinkles over 2 coats of OPI I Just Can't Cope-acabana.  I finished with 1 layer of topcoat.  

Moving right along, here we have Muy Caliente!  Muy Caliente is a spicy blend of "red, orange and yellow glitters in a clear base."  Erica says it best, this polish is "hot hot hot!"  These are some of my favorite colors and I love seeing them together!  Formula and application of Muy Caliente were both great!  I had a pretty good glitter payoff, I could have gone for some more of the larger hexs, but it still looked great!  I used 2 coats of Muy Caliente over 2 coats of OPI Toucan Do It If You Try. I finished with 1 layer of topcoat.  

Beneath the Blue is so calming to look at after Muy Caliente.  Beneath the Blue is packed full of "greenish blue micro and fine glitter, aqua and navy hex glitters, and small light blue glitter in a clear base."  I had to put this over a blue base.  It reminds me of a sparkling pool or a tropical ocean.  I loved how sparkly this was as well.  Formula and application were both great.  Very happy with the amount of glitter that was on my nails.  I used 2 coats of Beneath the Blue over 2 coats of Zoya Rocky.  I finished with 1 layer of topcoat.  

Shrinking Violet is a lovely blend of "lavender holo micro glitter, purple hexs and violet hexs."  A purple glitter lovers dream!  I just had to do the tonal layering here again because I thought the darker shades of purple would look nice over a very light purple.  And it did!  Formula and application of Shrinking Violet were both great.  I used 2 coats of Shrinking Violet over 2 coats of OPI Rumples Wiggin'.  I finished with 1 layer of topcoat.  

And finally we have Drama Queen.  I know I can be one at times (or most of the time).  Drama Queen is a mix of "red, red holographic, teal holographic, and blue glitters."  This color combination is beautiful but I find it hard to match to a base.  So you can always do nude, white or black.  I went with nude.  I was happy with both the formula and application of Drama Queen.  It's really packed full of glitter and it's very sparkly.  I used 2 coats of Drama Queen over 2 coats of Zoya Chantal.  I finished with 1 layer of topcoat.