Christmas Eve Nail Art

Morning!  Merry Christmas Eve day!  I finally had some time to get festive an did a mani last night using so fabulous polish from my stash.  The brands I used are some of my favorites, if you haven't checked them out before I implore you to do so ASAP.  The stamping polish is from Girly Bits and it's my go-to brand for stamping polish (and regular polish of course).   You can get Girly Bits stamping polish in an array of colors for $7.49 USD.  The polishes I used are from Dreamland Lacquer (fka Smitten Polish), only He's An Angry Elf is in the shop at the moment and you can get it for $10 USD.   The Ejiubas plate is a double sided plate and I picked it up on Amazon for $13.99. Actually it was a set of 2 double sided plates for that price, which is a pretty great deal!  Ok - now that you know all that, let's jump in to the post so I can head out and hang with family! 

*press sample*

*nothing to disclose*

Dreamland Lacquer: Shop, Facebook, Instagram

Girly Bits Cosmetics: Shop, Harlow & Co, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter 

Ejiubas: Shop, Amazon, Facebook, Instagram

KBShimmer Winter 2016

Good morning and happy day!  Halloween is officially behind us, boohoo.  Now we get to roll into the best eating holiday of the year, Thanksgiving!  It also means seasons will be changing again soon so it's time to start showing you Winter polishes.  KBShimmer released a large collection at midnight so once you've checked out my post you can head over and do a little shopping!  The Winter collection is 16 polishes is an array of finishes.  They all have a wintry look that will be perfect for the upcoming colder months.  The Winter Collection is available now so go forth and buy all the KBShimmer things!  Now we can look at swatches.  

*press sample*

KBShimmer: Shop, Harlow & Co, Live Love Polish, Color4Nails, Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest

KBShimmer Winter 2015 (partial review)

Good afternoon!  Welp, Halloween is tomorrow and I officially have my first Winter collection on the old blog.  While I love the warm, cozy and typically vampy colors of the Fall collections, I also enjoy the rich jewel tones and ultra blingy colors of Winter ones.  So today I have the new KBShimmer Winter collection, which consists of cremes, holos, jellies, crellies, glitters and flakes!  There are 14 polishes in all and several new holiday themed water slide decals.  This collection launches on November 2nd!  So let's jump in and check out the polish (I will have some water slides up soon!).  

*press sample*

KBShimmer: Shop, Harlow & Co, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest

Fleece Navidad is a light grey polish with blue microflakies.  It's reminiscent of chilly days full of snow and ice.  The formula was really nice and it applied easily in 3 coats.  I used one layer of KBShimmer Clearly On Top Quick Dry Topcoat.  

Oh Holo Night is one of the glitter toppers in the collection.  I couldn't resist the mini holo stars!  So cute!  This glitter topper was really easy to use.  No fishing for any pieces and they all laid on the nail nicely.  I used 2 coats of Oh Holo Night over Fleece Navidad, finished with a layer of Clearly On Top Quick Dry topcoat.  

Smoke Signals is a unique and pretty light grey crelly full of orange, red and aqua glitters.  I love this combo - it's unique and cool and is a great polish for both Fall and Winter seasons!  The formula was pretty sheer on the first coat but that's how crelies work so I wasn't concerned - and for good reason.  Smoke Signals built up perfectly in 3 coats.  I used 1 layer of Clearly On Top Quickly Dry topcoat to finish.  

Owl Miss You is one of my favorites from the collection.  It's a gorgeous soft beige (that read more greige on my skin tone) and is full of golden metallic flakes and golden shimmer.  This soft shade is such a perfect neutral that I can imagine myself wearing for several occasions.  I think it would be totally suitable for work too!  The formula and application were both great.  I used 3 coats and finished with a layer of Clearly On Top Quick Dry topcoat.  

Coal In One is one mega stunning holo.  For the record, I wouldn't mind getting this charcoal grey linear holo in my stocking!  If you were only going to get one polish and really wanted that WOW factor I'd suggest Coal In One.  The formula was opaque and buttery.  It applied like a dream.  I used 2 coats and no topcoat.  

Yule Worthy is a vampy burgundy/brown polish full of micro metallic flakes.   I love the uniqueness of this polish.  I have nothing like it color or finish wise, in my collection.  The formula and application were both amazing.  I used 2 coats of Yule Worthy for full coverage and a layer of Clearly On Top Quick Dry topcoat.  

The final polish that I have to share with you is Kind Of A Big Dill.  Such a silly name, but if you are one of those that hides the pickle on your tree you will appreciate it (the name and color!).  I personally adore the color.  It's a forest green jelly full of small holo glitters.  GORGEOUS!  What a perfect color for the holiday season.  Formula and application were both fabulous.  I only needed 2 coats but I applied a third for the most depth of color that I could get.  I finished with a layer of Clearly On Top Quick Dry topcoat.  

Alter Ego Nail Enamel Home For The Holidays Collection

Hello beauties!  Today I am posting my first Holiday collection and it's really a unique and lovely set of polish.  This is Home For The Holidays from Alter Ego Nail Enamel.  Let me tell you that one of the things I really love about Cynthia's unique polishes is that they all tell a story.  You get that heartfelt feeling that she puts her all into each and every one and it makes them very special and cherished.  I am also very happy to see that Alter Ego is getting some much deserved recognition - recently being stocked by Gloss48 (my review of those exclusive polishes are HERE) and I've seen so many unique one-of-a-kinds for auctions and giveaways and box sets!  The Home For The Holidays is all that I mentioned above; unique, heartfelt, thoughtful.  It's full of shimmer, glitter and sparkle.  What more could a polish loving girl ask for?  The Home For The Holidays Collection will be available to purchase on Saturday 11/15. 

*press sample*

Alter Ego Nail Enamel: Shop, Facebook, Instagram

*I used Alter Ego She Shines Topcoat on top of each polish in this collection*

Up first I have the blingy glitter bomb of the collection, Big Sister.  Big Sister is full of "medium size gold & metallic fuchsia hex glitters." It's inspired by Cynthia's big sister who had a vision and came up with this gorgeous blend of colors! The nice thing about Big Sister is that you can use it over a base color but it also covers really well on it's own. The glitters sit suspended in a slightly milky white base. The formula and application were both great - easy to get the glitters on my nails, they didn't clump up in one spot. I used 2-3 coats of Big Sister depending on the coverage I had on each individual nail, and I finished with 1 layer of topcoat.

Mother Hen is a "Pink and blue matte super fine glitter." This polish is perfect for it's inspiration - a mama to any baby in need. The small glitters remind me of babies and the soft eraser pink base is adorable. The formula and application were both nice - easy to use with good coverage. Mother Hen dries to a matte finish so for the glossy look you will want to use topcoat. I used 4 layers of Mother Hen and still had the smallest bit of visible nail line. I finished with 1 layer of topcoat.

The last glitter in the collection is Greatest Gramma, inspired by...Grandma of course!  Greatest Gramma is a milky white base with rainbow holo glitter, satin neon pink hearts and satin yellow flowers.  I love that the base is shimmery and that I catch tiny rainbow sparkles when I move my hands.  As with all heavier glitter polishes, it took a little persuasion to get the hearts and flowers out. I suggest letting the bottle sit upside down for a little while and then fish some of the glitters out.  You can wear Greatest Gramma alone for a very soft look or over a base color.  I chose to wear it alone.  I used 3 coats of Greatest Gramma plus some dabbing to get the glitters on my nails.  I finished with 1 layer of topcoat.  

Now we are at the solid colors.  This is Family Friend Forever, inspired by that one special friend that has been adopted into the family and things just wouldn't be the same without them.  This is a gorgeous medium blue based polish full of lots of sparkly blue and just a little purple shimmer.  I love this polish.  The color, formula and application were all superb!  I used 3 coats of Family Friend Forever for full coverage and finished with 2 layers of topcoat.  

As usual I saved my favorite for last.  Bosom Buddy is inspired by a best friend for life.  It's a "rusty red with a gorgeous shimmer."  It's so dang perfect and one of those colors that I totally lust after.  The formula and application of Bosom Buddy were both fantastic.  I reached full coverage with 3 coats of Bosom Buddy.  I finished with 2 layers of topcoat.