Barielle Keys Collections

Good afternoon!  It's very strange weather here in NorCal, it's rained a couple nights in a row and has been fairly muggy yet hot out here.  I have no idea what other areas are like right now but jeesh, can we make up our minds?  Hot or cold please.  speaking of hot...I have a really hot collection to share with you today and a surprise at the end of the post so make sure you read until the end!  Today's post features the Keys Collection from Barielle.  I've only tried 1 other Barielle polish before and I liked it, but this set really blew me away with the fabulous formulas and colors!  Let's jump in and take a look!

*PRESS SAMPLE*

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First up is Topless In St. Tropez.  Topless In St. Tropez is a bright shell pink with a touch of coral and subtle silver shimmer.  The light handed shimmer keeps this color very lady like and in my opinion, suitable for any occasion.  The color is gorgeous and the creamy formula was fantastic.  I used 3 coats of Topless In St. Tropez and 1 layer of Barielle Gel Topcoat.  

Two colors in the Keys Collection look very similar but let me assure you they are not the same!  The first "similar but not the same" color is Barefoot In Bermuda.  It's a deep hot pink creme.  The color is really an eye-catcher and it really popped on my nails!  Barefoot In Bermuda had a fabulous formula and application was so smooth.  I used 3 thin coats and no topcoat because Barefoot In Bermuda was very shiny on it's own.  

The second "similar but not the same" color is Paradise In The Tropics.  Paradise In The Tropics is a berry creme color compared to the pink in Barefoot In Bermuda.  I am totally in love with how juicy this shade is.  Again, it's nice and bright and really pops on the nails.  Paradise In The Tropics had an awesome formula, very creamy and opaque.  I used 2 coats of Paradise In The Tropics and no topcoat because it dried shiny on it's own.  

No surprise Miami Heat was one of my favorites of the collection.  I have always loved red polish and Miami Heat is a super bright cherry red jelly (YES JELLY!)!  I think it's the brightest red I have put on my nails in a long time.   Even thought Miami Heat has a jelly formula I had great coverage in 2 coats.  It was very shiny and squishy and I did not use topcoat.  Be aware that there will be some visible nail line, as is standard with any jelly type polish.   

My other favorite of the collection - Hawaiian Sunset.  I always love orange and especially in the summer months.  This particular orange is pretty darn stunning because it is packed full of an intense golden shimmer.  Hawaiian Sunset is so bright and fun and shimmery, I immediately put it on my toes.  Formula and application were both awesome.  I used 3 coats of Hawaiian Sunset and 1 layer of Barielle Gel Top Coat.  

Rounding out the summery sunshiney collection is Panama Pina Colada (super cute name).  This yellow creme is brighter than a pastel but it's not an in your face neon.  Panama Pina Colada also had a pretty fantastic formula for a yellow - which in general has a reputation as being a finicky color.  The formula was nice a creamy and evened itself out nicely.  I used 3 coats of Panama Pina Colada and no topcoat.  

Lookie here!  I did some nail art with the Keys Collection!  I started with Paradise In The Tropics as the base and dry brushed* all the other colors on my tips to create that distressed look.  Though because of the colors I think it came out looking more like flames going up my nails.  However you want to categorize it art wise, I think it came out pretty awesome!  I finished it with 1 layer of Barielle Gel Top Coat. 

*dry brush is when you scrape as much polish off the brush as possible on the inside of the bottle neck and wipe the remaining little bit on your nails.  

OK now here's the surprise - I've got a giveaway for you!  1 winner will receive the entire Keys Collection!  How's that for awesome?  

Giveaway Details

• You must be 18 to enter
• Open to US & International residents, excluding New Zealand and Italy
• 1 winner will receive the entire Barielle Keys Collection
• Giveaway will run from July 22nd, 2014 to August 8th, 2014 12:00 AM PST.  
• Prize must be claimed within 48 hours
• Please follow all the rules...follow and/or like all the provided links
• Prizes provided by Barielle
• My Nail Polish Obsession and Barielle are not responsible for lost, damaged or stolen goods

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Rainbow Honey Mixtape (partial review)

Good evening lovelies!  Do I have an East Coast (and West Coast at this hour) night owls up and reading posts right now?  Because I have a great one for you!  Rainbow Honey recently came out with their Summer Mixtape Collection and it's full of bright, fun colors that really capture the essence of summer.  The Mixtape Collection has "12 new cemes, shimmers and glitters!"  Something for everyone to love.  I have 3 of them to share with you right now.  The Mixtape collection is available for purchase NOW and each bottle is $10...but...I have a discount code to share with you!  Use MIXTAPE@) to receive 20% off your order.  The code is good until 8/31/14 - not get to shopping (after you read my post of course)!

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Rainbow Honey: Shop, Femme Fatale, Atouts Charme, Pshiiit Boutique, Ledouxnuage, La Trousse Beaute, Hypnotic Polish, Mei Mei's Signatures, Esther's Nail Center, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

I Wanna Get Better is a "peach crelly full of bright and neon glitters."  I am a big fan of the added gold shimmer against this beautiful color.  I also loved all the fun shaped glitters - stars, circles and squares, oh my!  The formula was a touch sheer and I feel I could have gone with one more coat for complete coverage.  The application was fabulous though.  Plenty of glitter came out and spread well on my nails.  I used 3 coats of I Wanna Get Better and 1 layer of topcoat.  

Control, a "hot shimmering fuchsia" is truly hot!  This pink is loud and in your face and I love it.  Control also has lovely shimmery flecks in a mix of purple and gold.  It really stands out against the neon pink base.  The formula and application of Control were both spot on.  I had great coverage and opacity in 1 coat, though I used 2.  The formula was nice and creamy and easy to work with.  I used 1 layer of topcoat to finish.  

*shade*

Elevate, one of the best glitters I've tried from Rainbow Honey is an "Ibiza-meets-New-Wave blend of glitters!"  Here are all the fun things I found in this amazing glitter topper: circles, triangles, hexs, and squares in light and medium teal, pink, purple, white and yellow.  So much going on, but it works so well.  There is also a dose of blue shimmer and as per the last 2 polishes, I love it!  I used 1 coat, plus a little dabbing of Elevate over Control.  The formula was great.  The glitters are really packed in and suspended well.  The ratio of glitter to base perfect and the glitters all spread well on my nails.  I finished with 1 layer of topcoat  

Zoya Tickled Collection

Good afternoon dear readers!  I am taking a break from visiting my sons TK class, cleaning the house and feeding my daughter lunch to bring you the other part of the Zoya Summer collections...Tickled!  If you missed Bubbly yesterday you can see that post HERE!   Tickled turned out to be my surprise favorite of the 2 (surprise because I am so NOT a creme finish girl).  But the formula, application and colors of this collection are all amazing and perfection for the summer.  We see a lot of neons in the summer and it's a nice change to have these softer bright-leaning-neon colors to chose from.  The Zoya Tickled Collection is currently available to purchase.  Each full size bottle is $9.  Before we jump into the review I will go ahead and say that the formula on each of these was awesome - creamy and self leveling.  These can easily be 1 coaters (if you use thickets coats) but I am light handed so used 2 thin coats unless otherwise noted.  Application was smooth and perfect and so creamy, I did not use topcoat for any of my pictures.  Now let's look at polish!  

*PRESS SAMPLE*

Zoya: Shop, Blog, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

This gorgeous pink is Kitridge.  Kitridge is a "classic summer bubblegum pink cream."  This color is amazing.  I love the shade of pink and the pastel neon tone is a real winner.  This is going to look amazing on summer hands!  

Wendy is described as a "juicy summer melon."  It's definitely a more coral leaning pink but my pictures had a hard time capturing the true color of Wendy.  So I have indoor pictures to show you on Wendy since the sunshine was creating a more pink than melon effect, and trust me...you want Wendy for the melon awesomeness.  Wendy was actually on my favorites from the Tickled collection.  Such a pretty and unique color.

And the there was Rocha and my heart skipped a beat.  I am a serious sucker for this vibrant blood orange color.  What sets Rocha apart is the tiniest addition of a fine gold shimmer.  It is almost unnoticeable but you can see it there in the bottle and in my macro.  Rocha is a stunner and if you only picked one from the Tickled collection I would say this should be it.  Also, Rocha was thisclose to being a 1 coater for me.

Tilda is another fabulous color and I feel this "warm mantis green cream" will be a perfect color for the Summer as well as Spring and Fall.  Talk about a great transitional color for all your seasonal needs!  Tilda is fresh and clean and very nature-y.  About as nature-y as I like to get (ahem, does not like to camp, hike or do anything that involves bugs or dirt).  If you are a green fan then Tilda is definitely your gal!

Ling, "a vibrant royal cream" is this perfect balance between a plain creme and a neon blue.  I felt like I was looking into clean, still pool lined with amazingly intricate blue tiles.  Ling was super creamy and opaque.  And the kicker...I only needed 1 coat of Ling!  1 coater alert!  This was pretty high up on my favorites list as well.  

Finally we have Rooney.  Rooney is a "mid-range magenta pink cream."  Rooney looks more purple in the bottle and more pink on the nails so I wasn't sure where to place this on in my rainbow review. So here it sits in the "purple" spot.  If you really wanted neons Rooney should satisfy that craving.  Rooney is pretty dern bright and amazing.