Jessica Cosmetics; Polished in Pastels, Summer 2016

Happy Tuesday.  It's almost Fall, ALMOST!  But here in California we still have very Summer weather.  So I figured I'd share a final Summery collection with you.  Really though, this collection will be perfect for anyone planning a fairy/princess costume for Halloween and these will definitely work for your Spring manicures!   This is the Polished In Pastels collection from Jessica Cosmetics.  It's a 6-piece set, nice pastel cremes and purple shimmery shades.  You can get this kit now for $54.  Individual shades are $9.  So let's jump in and check these out.  

*press sample*

Jessica Cosmetics: Website/Shop, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

Jessica Cosmetics La Vie Boheme, Fall 2015

Good morning again lovelies!  Alright I know it's Winter but I recently realized I forgot to post this amazing Fall collection.  I suppose it's ok because these are very non-traditional Fall shades and they totally work for several seasons.  There are a few colors that will be perfect for Winter manis and the whole set could easily bring you into the Spring!  So Maybe it was a good think I waited to share it with you.  Any who, I got a sneak peek at this collection way back when at the CosmoProf convention in the summer.  I was totally smitten!  I loved the colors, the concept, all of it.  I felt like I was looking at a washed out water painting yet the colors were still vibrant.  La Vie Boheme is available now on the Jessica Cosmetics website and each shade is $8.40.  These are gorgeous both in color and formula...if you want some shades that are trans-seasonal then these are definitely need to come home with you.

*press sample*

Jessica Cosmetics: Website/Shop, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

My Personal Top 10 Mainstream Polishes of 2014

Good morning lovelies!  I'm back with 1 more Top 10 post for you - but this time it features the mainstream brands that I tried out.  Much like that last post, featuring my favorite indie polishes for 2014 (you can see that post HERE), I will provide pictures and links to the original posts so you can read up on the individual polishes if you so desire!  Thank you for a a fabulous year full of gorgeous polish 2014!  I hope that 2015 has exciting things in store for us polish fanatics!  So lets get started!
*please click on links to original posts for disclosures*
10. Jessica SoHo In Love.  What a gorgeous, pastel pink-nude creme this is!  It was the perfect palate cleanser and a perfectly girly shade.  I hope to try plenty more polish from Jessica Cosmetics this coming year.  Original post HERE.  

9. China Glaze Stop That Train.  Here's one of those polishes that is just so me I couldn't take it!  The rest-red orange color was fabulous.  The shimmery finish was to die for.  I know China Glaze will have loads of interesting and beautiful polish for 2015 and I look forward to seeing exactly what it will all look like!  Original post HERE.  

8. Sheswai Lacquer Yowza.  I am not even sure if this polish was released in 2014, but since I tried it out this year it made the cut!  This is such a gorgeous, shimmery purple.  And the formula.  Swoon!  Sheswai has their formula down to a perfect science - buttery, creamy, opaque!  I know Sheswai mostly does cremes, a couple shimmers.  I hope they release a plethora of new shades in 2015!  Original post HERE.    

7. OPI Comet in the Sky.  I'll admit that I wasn't too impressed with the Gwen Stefani Holiday 2014 Collection.  Then I saw Comet in the Sky.  Jaw hit the ground - no joke.  OPI totally channeled the indie brands with this iridescent and black glitter bomb.  It's FANTASTIC!  I wore it over a deep navy blue shade and it was perfect galaxy on my nails.  OPI is another brand that I know won't disappoint in 2015 - I have already seen a few collection floating around the Facebook groups and I can't wait to see them in real life.  Original post HERE. 

6. Color Club The Uptown.  I'll admit I've never been much of a flakie fan.  Then The Uptown came out and I happened across it in a beauty supply store.  I bought it.  I loved it.  Now I am beyond happy that I did get it because for some reason Color Club changed their formula and The Uptown looks nothing like this lovely flakie polish!  Color Club always does a great job of putting out interesting and unique collections full of glitters, shimmer, textures, toppers.  I can't wait to see what they have in store for us in 2015.  Original post HERE.  

5. Orly Pink Crystal.  This was actually not a polish that Orly ever released.  This was a one off that polish fans were finding across the states in Marshall's and TJ Maxx stores.  Man we went nuts over these texture polishes.  One look at Pink Crystal and it's easy to see why we all spend time looking for this (and it's peach counterpart Just Peachy!).  This was a nice bright, perfect for spring and summer pinky-red texture that I think should have been release in mass quantity.  But oh well, maybe 2015 will bring more Orly textures for us to love.  Original post HERE.  

  

4. Dior Aventure.  This is one of the gel-like colors that Dior released in the late Spring.  I'm a little (ok HUGE) fan of the Dior formula so I was excited to try these.  They didn't disappoint.  Aventure applied just like the regular Diors but had so much more shine and gloss.  I'd be a happy camper to see more polishes like this line from Dior.  I'd also be happy to see some more greens and oranges too!  Original post HERE.  

3. Rescue Beauty Lounge Oliveto.  Alright - I am not sure this could really be considered a mainstream brand but it surely isn't an indie.  I guess it sits somewhere in the middle but it's going in this post so I'm just going to have to deal with my in-betweener polish selection.  What I love about this polish isn't just the color or name, it's the way Ji makes you feel like you are in Italy, taking in the sights though her inspiration.  RBL is a brand that paints a lovely picture behind the polish as well as your nails.  I hope 2015 brings us more inspired collections much like this from the Italian Summer Collection.  Original post HERE.  

2. Zoya Posh.  This is a re-release from a year or two back.  I can't say no to a red.  Let alone a matte red.  This is a real beauty and it looks amazing in it's intended matte state as well as with topcoat.  It's like getting 2 polishes for the price of 1!  I would love to see more MatteVelvets from Zoya in 2015! Original post HERE.  

1. Barielle Hawaiian Sunset.  I don't think this one even needs an explanation.  Look at it.  Bright orange.  Heavy gold shimmer.  Jen Jen Jen!  Actually I went into this list with a completely different order so when it started pouring out of my head I surprised myself.  But then I look at this picture and the post and I just knew this was my favorite mainstream of the year.  I only started wearing Barielle about halfway through 2014 but I was consistently impressed with the formula and quality of their polish.  2015 should be a promising year for Barielle and I can't wait to see what their collections have in store for us!  Original post HERE.  

Jessica Cosmetics Autumn In New York & The Brittle Nails Treatment Kit

Good morning lovelies!  I have my first Fall post for you today and it's a pretty fantastic collection.  This is the Jessica Cosmetics Autumn in New York collection that I shared pictures of in my CosmoProf North America post last week (you can see it HERE).  Well I could barely wait to try these classy shades on so I didn't!  The Autumn in New York set is already available for purchase on the Jessica website and each full sized bottle retails for $8.40.  

*PRESS SAMPLE*

Jessica Cosmetica: Website/Shop, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

Up first is Soho In Love.  Soho In Love is a soft nude-pink creme.  What a breath of fresh air this polish is from all the bright, loud, in your face colors that the summer has had for us.  Soho In Love had a wonderfully creamy formula and was pretty opaque for such a light color.  I used 2 coats of Soho In Love and 1 layer of topcoat.  

New York State of Mind is a blue-grey slate creme.  This color is pretty amazing and it's unique to my collection (hard to do considering how many blues I have).  It's almost a dusty shade but it's still vibrant.  New York State of Mind had a great formula and application.  Again, very creamy and opaque.  Also very glossy.  I used 2 coats of New York State of Mind and no topcoat.  

This amazing hunter green polish is Meet Me at the Plaza.  Meet Me at the Plaza has a buttery formula that is creamy and opaque.  The color is fantastic and perfect for the Fall season.  This is another polish that had a very glossy finish so I didn't need to use topcoat.  I have on 2 coats of Meet Me at the Plaza.  

Every fall collection needs a gorgeous, rich brown right?  Well Mad for Madison is a perfect deep, chocolatey brown with red undertones.  The formula and application were buttery and smooth.  If you are a brown lover you will want Mad for Madison!  I used 2 coats of Mad for Madison and no topcoat to show that it's glossy on it's own. 

Blue Harlem is a gorgeous yet tricky color.  In the bottle it looks like an indigo blue, on the nail it is definitely leans more purple.  But with blue undertones.  It doesn't really matter which side of the blue/purple battle Blue Harlem falls into because it's gorgeous.  Just like the rest of the Autumn In New York collection, Blue Harlem had an amazing formula.  Very creamy and rich, buttery and smooth.  I used 2 coats of Blue Harlem and no topcoat.  

I'll admit that while I loved all the colors in this entire collection, Broadway Bound is my favorite.  I am a huge fan of this red-orange shade.  The fact that Broadway Bound has a little subtle shimmer only adds to my love.  This color is bright, but not neon and will be very complimentary to the neutral fall shades that everyone wears during the season.  Broadway Bound has the same fantastic formula as it collection counterparts and was very smooth and creamy.  I used 2 coats of Broadway Bound and no topcoat.  

*shade*

I decided to try a little art using the entire Autumn In New York collection and this is what I came up with.  I used Pueen stamping plate #51 and very haphazardly applied the images to my nails.  I let the dots smear and smudge to create a non-uniform look and I actually loved the way it turned out.  It looks like a wild painting you would see in a New York art gallery!  I used 2 coats of Soho in Love as the base and the remaining colors for the messy dots.  I finished with 1 layer to topcoat.    

I also wanted to share this nail care kit I received.  It's a Treatment Kit for Brittle Nails and included a 3 .25ml bottles that are specifically meant to help mend Brittle Nails.   It included a bottle of Recovery base coat, Brilliance topcoat and Phenomen Oil.  While I don't have brittle nails I decided to give it a try anyways and after a week of using it to swatch and wear polish my nails feel very strong and look healthy.  Recovery is a pretty thick base coat, but it is not difficult to use, and it leaves your nails with a very shiny and smooth base layer to start with.  You then paint with your color of choice and once dry you use Brilliance.  Can I just say that Brilliance is so shiny and smooth, I think it's stolen my heart as my new favorite topcoat.  It dries fairly quickly so in about 5 minutes you should be ready to go!  Phenomen Oil is a cuticle oil that smells like sweet almond and is very nourishing.  I used this during my swatching session and as you can see it absorbs quickly with a little massaging into my nail beds and cuticles.  I even rubbed it up to my knuckles.  My skin felt soft and looked fresh.  Check out the Jessica Cosmetics Nail Treatment page - you answer 1 easy question to find out what type of nails you have and they will recommend the best treatment kit for you!  

CosmoProf North America 2014 (HUGE POST - LOTS OF PICTURES AND INFO)

Here's what you've been waiting for!  I had the privilege to visit Las Vegas for CosmoProf this year.  I was expecting it to be amazing but it BLEW MY MIND!  There was so much to see and do, trust me when I say I saw more than most could see in a day yet I still wish I had been able to go back a second day.  My day started bright and early with a welcome breakfast and speakers.  Mark Cuban was the keynote speaker and the advice I picked up from his speech that I can pass on to you are (and this is all paraphrased by me) follow your efforts, not your passion because your efforts will one day be your passion and you will be very good at it by then.  No matter what industry you are in, be sure that you know the absolute most about your job/industry/specialty than anyone else.  And the last bit of advice he gave that stuck with me was to continue learning about your trade/industry/job (though his actual words were "always be learning" and I cracked up at the improper use of English).  And with those wise words I headed into CosmoProf.

SQUEE!  I've got my Press pass!

Fancy hanging tiled entrance.

The first stop....Jessica Cosmetics!  I'll admit I was totally drawn in by the polish chandelier.  How cool does that look?  Every nail salon should have one.  I want one in my room.  Jessica is a large mainstream brand that has a big international following (80% of sales) and this year they are focusing on introducing the brand to the USA.  YAY!  Jessica is starting with a refurbished website where you can purchase the polish.  They will also have a face on Instagram and Pinterest soon.  Aside from gorgeous colors there is also a large collection of gel colors to match the lacquers (over 150 gels currently), and more are going to be added soon.  While the gel, lacquer and sets are popular, the star of Jessica's lines are the treatments.  With products like Bend Don't Break, which helps keep your nails flexible instead of stiff and brittle, there is something for every nail need.  A new feature coming to the website will help you find your nail type by answering questions.  The end of the questionnaire brings you to a list of products that would be most beneficial of your nails.  I am very excited to see what Jessica has in store with lacquers, gels and their trendy glitter Effects collection.  Keep an eye on their Facebook page for additional information.  

The Autumn In New York collection will be available now and is full of very classy and classic fall colors.  The 6 set collection consists of 5 cremes and 1 shimmer.  Broadway Bound, the shimmer, is my pick as the standout color in the set.  This collection is also available in matching gel colors.  I have this set to review and will share it with you soon.

The Kiss Nouvea set is also available now (though I couldn't find it on the website) and is a trio of gorgeous colors that represent Gustav Klimt's famous painting The Kiss.  This kit features 3 new Effects colors, Platinum Passion, Golden Embrace (both metallic chrome finish) and Golden Embrace, a glitter topper.  

Here is one of the gel/lacquer kits, which are all kinds of awesome because they match perfectly!  Worried about the grow out showing on your gel mani?  No problem, touch it up with the lacquer!  Great concept, right?

Moving along to the next booth, we (I saw we because I spent the day with Michelle at Ehmkay Nails) stopped at Color Secrets.  Now this is a brand I am not familiar with but I was totally enamored with their products!  Color Secrets is a vegan line of polish and each of their polishes is named after a movie.  I like when brands have niches like that.  But Color Secrets also has lipgloss, regular and colored mascara, eyelashes and skin care.  They also have Lash Food, with is an eco certified lash enhancing product.  I am 100% on board with cosmetic lines that promote "friendly" products.  I have some samples from Color Secrets and will be reviewing them soon.  Keep an eye for that post!

We stopped by Orly and saw the new collections coming out for Fall, Halloween and Holidays!  While the Smoky and Sparkle collections were both gorgeous I could tell immediately which were the standouts and will be most popular.  Those are the ones I took close up shots of.  The Halloween collection consisted of black creme, neon orange creme and Goth.  Nothing new or exciting so I left out the pictures. 

The Smoky collection will be available in August and is a very romantic and subdued collection.  I like all the colors and think they will be easy to wear with a variety of Fall outfits.  

Brush It On is a duochrome micro glitter that is heavy on the pink and orange shift.  It looks slightly sheer so it might need to be layered.  

Darkest Storm is another polish that looks to have duochrome qualities.  I love the deep, broody color and think this polish will be great for fall and transitioing into winter.  

*EDITED TO REMOVE THE ORLY SPARKLE COLLECTION UPON THE REQUEST OF ORLY.  I'LL HAVE A POST UP WITH THE SPARKLE COLLECTION AT A LATER DATE*

We stopped by the Zoya booth next and while they couldn't divulge any information about upcoming collections or hints about colors and finishes we did have the chance to sit and talk with Zoya for a long time.  Zoya was amazing to listen to, she's truly a captivating and rich story teller.  Though her stories are about her life which only makes them better.  For example, when Zoya was working in a salon her coworkers couldn't pronounce her name.  They asked her to change it to Zora or Zola but she refused and thank goodness she did!  As we all know by now, Zoya is a family run business started by Zoya and her husband. Some things you may not know are that Zoya chose to use women's names for the polish because no one else in the industry were doing that.  Many of the colors are inspired by a particular woman's personality or character.  Another tidbit you may not know is that Zoya not only enjoys making women feel beautiful through color, but they promote health and women's well-being.  Quality check for ingredients is very high and extends down to every pigment they use.

Caption is new brand on the scene that will launch their products on September 1st.  Initially they will only be available to distributors but by October 1st they will be available online for everyone.  They will run a price point of $15 each.  Now that looks like a lot for a polish but what you are getting for your money is a high quality lacquer that wears and looks like a gel but it's not a gel!  Caption is toted as having a high gloss, wet look that is achieved with no topcoat.  Most of the polishes are 1 coat and they dry in about 5 minutes without curing.  The wear time on these runs from 9 days to 2 weeks.  No special remover is needed to take it off.  The majority of the line is cremes and shimmers - while those are beautiful, I had to take some snap shots of these 4 amazing glitters!  I have a kit to try out and share with you but I am looking forward to the launch of this brand and will be first in line for these ones shown below! 

Nubar has a new collection coming out - actually it's already available to preorder!  FALLing in Love is another perfect set to represent the coming season.  FALLing in Love is 6 polishes: Don't Russet, Sweet Hue, Lush, Affair, Queen, First Date, Passion's Pain and Love American Style.  These are not cremes - they are all full of pretty shimmers!  Nubar always has wonderful formulas and I am definitely going to be picking this set up!  As I mentioned, you can preorder it now and shipping begins in August.  Use eorders@bynubar.com to inquire about preordering.  

Here's a non polish stop I made!  Pedi Princess is an awesome new shoe that will eliminate that awkward walk to the car from your nail salon...you know the walk I mean, in those slippery, thin, disposable flip flops, or your own flip flops with cotton between your toes.  Pedi Princess flip flops have extra toe separators that are embellished with gemstones, pearls or flowers.  They are cute and fashionable!  Available in a wide array of colors and patterns, even some with a bridal vibe.  You can currently pick up a pair online (SHOP) and the basic gemstone pairs are $15.  I have a pair of these to review so be on the lookout for my feet to grace my blog in the near future.  

I moved on to the Precision Nail Lacquer booth and they had several lovely collections out for display.  Enchanted is the newest collection.  You can find these products online and in high end beauty supply stores and they are $5.95 each.  The great point about this brand is that the bottle size is .55oz which means you are getting more for your money!  

We stopped at the essie booth and tried out some fancy mani products and got a little peek at upcoming collections (which I can't share with you).  Trust me when i say they are topnotch and very essie.  

We swung by the Color Club booth and checked out the new displays and bottles.  Doesn't this look fabulous!?  I had to snag a picture of these awesome neons...they are just so darn bright and pretty.  Color Club also has a couple new collection that will hit the scene soon but I was not given permission to share them.  

This was probable the most fun booth we stopped by.  Tattoo Junkee is a beauty brand exclusively sold at Walmart.  Everything in their line should be available at your local store.  The products range from $4-$20.  Tattoo Junkee has glittery makeup and tattoos to make you feel at your blingy best!  My favorite product at the booth were the lip paints - which give you the most fabulous glitter lips.  There is also the Glam Stamps, which is the tiniest stamp that you can use anywhere to give yourself a tiny little tattoo in a cute shape (butterfly, heart or skull).  I have some products to try out and will have a review for you soon!

Here I am getting a glitter tattoo.  Tattoo Junkee has a special fabric overlay that has the pattern cut on it.  The fabric is soft and molds to your skin ensuring you get the complete tattoo design no matter where you place it on your body.