China Glaze Monsters Ball Halloween 2013 - Bat My Eyes and Howl You Doin'

Hey friends! Since it is the week of Halloween, I have a lot of really fun, themed posts lined up! First off, I have a couple of awesome glitters from the China Glaze Halloween collection. I always love the polishes that they put out every year, and this year is no exception.

 

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for personal use. 



 

 

 

China Glaze - Bat My Eyes (Monsters Ball, Halloween 2013)

 

Bat My Eyes is a black jelly base LOADED with gold hex glitters and tiny orange holographic bar glitters. This polish. Ugh. What a nightmare! It has to be one of the most thick and goopey polishes I have used in a long time, and I will be adding a healthy dose of thinner to it before my next use. But it is soooo pretty! I love love love black jellies with gold glitter. The orange bar glitters are actually great in this too. They add a nice extra depth to the polish, instead of looking like fuzzy bits.

 

 

China Glaze - Howl You Doin' (Monsters Ball, Halloween 2013)

 

Howl You Doin' is a deep plum jelly with purple and orange shard micro glitters. Now this is one sexy polish! I really love the combo of the jelly base color and the irregular shard glitters. Formula was much better that Bat My Eyes.. 2 coats for full coverage. The first coat was a little patchy, but the second covered everything perfectly. It dries a bit on the dull side, so be sure to top it off with a high gloss top coat.



These two are definitely my favorites from the set, but I am starting to get that craving for the black texture as well.

I have a couple of easy Halloween nail art ideas coming up this week that I am really excited to share with you guys! Hope you all have a happy Monday!

Pipedream Polish Halloween 2013 - She's A Thriller and Feed The Monster

Hey friends! Hope you all are having a fun weekend! Nothing exciting going on here, I'm kinda boring and usually a home body! Though I am really excited for Halloween this Thursday, and have some holiday appropriate polish to share. I sure hope you all aren't tired of Pipedream Polish, because I am definitely not!

 

Please Note: Products were provided at a discount by the company/creator for review purposes.

 

 

Pipedream Polish - She's A Thriller (Halloween 2013)

over Zoya - Darcy/Wet n Wild - The Clock Strikes Orange gradient

 

She's A Thriller is a black and white glitter topper that has circle glitters! Yep, circle glitters. You know I love them! It is of course, a perfect polish. No typical issues, and I even got the larger circles out without having to fish for them! One coat is all that is needed for this amount of coverage, no dabbing at all. Oh, if only all glitter toppers were this good! I decided to do a little Halloween gradient for the base, and it turned out pretty awesome, I think! As far as I know, this is not an LE and there are still some available.

 

 

 

 

 

Pipedream Polish - Feed The Monster (Halloween 2013)

over O.P.I. - Incognito In Sausalito

 

Feed The Monster is an orange, fuchsia and gun metal glitter topper with hex glitters in various sizes. Sadly, this beauty was LE and is now sold out. As much as I hate sharing stuff that is no longer available, I did so for the purpose of overall review and to show the consistency of quality. It is very rare to find a mainstream company that continually puts out top notch products, but this Indie brand is doing that. It is on par with every other Pipedream Polish in my stash, and not a single one has let me down in beauty or performance. So even though, you can't get this particular polish, there is a wonderful selection to choose from, and I know you won't be disappointed!

 

 

I am actually rather spoiled now, by April's creations. But that's okay! Just means that I am getting awesome goodies!

 

Please Note: Products were provided at a discount by the company/creator for review purposes. All opinions are my own. For more info, please read my disclaimer.

Pipedream Polish is available online via Etsy. Products retail from $7 to $8.25 a piece.

O.P.I. Incognito In Salsalito - Fall/Winter Color Trend

Hey guys and gals! It's Friday and that means it's time for another installment of Fashion Friday - Color Trend Edition! I hope you all are enjoying this new little feature I have added, because I am having a blast! Color is so much fun.

 

This week, we have the classic fall shade, navy, with an updated look. Pantone's pick for this fall hue is called "Mykonos Blue," a rich deep blue reminiscent of the deep Grecian waters it was named after. Mainstream brands gave quite a few samplings of this shade; China Glaze Queen B, Zoya Sailor, and (a second option) O.P.I. Keeping Suzi At Bay. Which was, initially, my first choice for this color, but alas I had no luck finding it!

 

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use. 



 

 

 

O.P.I. - Incognito In Sausalito

 

Incognito In Sausalito is an inky blue navy cream. First, I loooove the name! Super clever. Well done O.P.I.! The color isn't the most original, but the it is a good one for fall, and nail art! I used it for these Argyle nails from a previous post. Formula was great, smooth and flowy, a good solid one coater. I did use two coats because I wasn't careful with my first coat, and had a couple of thin spots.

Navy is a great alternative to more traditional fall/winter shades, especially a darker one that has a bit more of an edgy vibe.

If you are interested in seeing all of my picks for the Fall/Winter season, I have added a handy little tab at the top of the navigation bar! Until, next time friends!

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use. All opinions are my own. For more info, please read my disclaimer.

Pipedream Polish Color Portrait World

Hey friends! Hope you are all having a fantastic week! There weather has been ahhhhmazing! I love fall!

 

Today, I have another gorgeous Pipedream Polish to share, from the most recent fall collection - Like The Weather. You can read my previous review of Time In A Tapestry, here.

 

Please Note: Products were provided at a discount by the company/creator for review purposes.

 

 

Pipedream Polish - Color Portrait World

 

 Color Portrait World is a deep indigo blue jelly loaded with silver and fuchsia circle glitters in various sizes. So, automatically, I love it because circle glitters, right?! But it goes beyond that. This is definitely one of the most amazing and truly beautiful polishes in my 300+ collection. I even stopped in the middle of swatching to message April and let her know. As with every single Pipedream Polish I own, the formula was outstanding. I was a little worried it would be on the sheer side, but nope, 2 coats and complete coverage. Perfect glitter ratio, though I did have to do some minor fishing for the larger circles, but nothing drastic because there is a ton of them in the bottle. It is also shiny as hell, so I apologize for the glare!

 

 

 

Matte

 

A nice pic of Color Portrait World mattefied so you can see the incredible depth of this baby. Thanks to a little trick I learned from my IG pal, Amy/Mcpolish.

 

If you haven't grabbed any Pipedream Polish yet, go now and get this beauty! You will be hooked for sure and you will understand the love we (April's fan club/stalkers) have for this outstanding Indie!

 

Please Note: Products were provided at a discount by the company/creator for review purposes. All opinions are my own. For more info, please read my disclaimer.

Pipedream Polish is available online via Etsy. Products retail $8.25 a piece.

Hare Polish - Read My Biorhythms

Hey guys! So I went and bought another Hare Polish. My wallet isn't too happy, but I sure am!!! I am starting to fall in love with Hare Polish. After spending more time browsing the shop, I am starting to see some really great and interesting colors! Lord help me, all I need is another Indie brand to swoon over! The new fall collection, in particular is especially amazing. Flakies!!! And vintage coin operated boardwalk games! Ugh, so awesome.

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my own personal use.

Hare Polish - Read My Biorhythms

Read My Biorhythms is a jade green sheer jelly with tiny gold and silver flakies. This is really a swoon-worthy polish. The color is phenomenal, the flakies are to die for, and it is a squishy jelly! It is very sheer, this is 3 coats worth and there is still the tiniest bit of VNL (visible nail line). I didn't mind it, and it was a lot less noticeable in person. The glitter amount was perfect for the sheer formula, from the size to the overall amount in the polish. Expert blending, right here folks. Dry time was fantastic, and even with three coats, there was very little wait time in between.

 

Gah, I just cannot get over this!!! I want to get the rest from the set, they are all really stunning. Zoltar Speaks is waaay up on my "OMGNEED" list, a teal version!!!!

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use. All opinions are my own. For more info, please read my disclaimer.

Hare Polish is available on line via Etsy. Products retail for $10 a piece.

Rose Cutaway

Hello my fellow polish friends! I hope you all are having a great weekend! I have a bit of nail art for today's post, something I have wanted to do for quite a while, but always forgot about.

 

The original inspiration comes from a set of NCLA wraps, but also from the most awesome nail art blog,  One Nail To Rule Them All.

 

 

 

Used:

 

O.P.I. - MVIB

(besides MBSW, this is an amazing base for nail art!!!)

O.P.I. - Black Onyx

Color Club - Coral Cascade

Essie - A Crewed Interest

Revlon - Posh

 

Striping tape

Nail art brush

Dotting tool

 

I really love this. So frickin much! And even though it looks complicated, it's super easy! I got quite a few compliments from the others moms at my kiddo's school when I wore these. One even asked if I would do her nails, if she paid me!

 

Well, that's all for today! I have a tooooon of swatching to catch up on, so hopefully, there will be lots of pretty polish on the blog next week!



China Glaze Rendezvous With You - Fall/Winter Color Trend

Hey friends! Happy Friday! After a crazy week, I am ready for some relaxing time with my family! And maybe a little nail art on the side.

 

Since it's Friday, I am continuing the Fashion Friday posts with a seasonal twist - Fall/Winter color trends! A popular color in many collections this season has been a deep rich purple. Pantone calls this color Acai and I am really loving it!

 

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use.

 

 

 

China Glaze - Rendezvous With You

 

Rendezvous With You is a deep purple (Acai) with a silvery foil look. I was totally expecting it to be too dark and not like it on me at all, but man was I ever wrong! It is gorgeous!!! The silvery foil shimmery bits add such an amazing depth. Seriously stunning and so elegant. It is a perfect polish choice for holiday parties. Formula was flawless. One smooth coat for all this loveliness. Nice dry time too. It dries to a more silver toned metallic finish, but after adding a top coat, the rich purple depths came out more.

 

Jewel Tones are usually a big trend during the colder months, but this is definitely an unexpected color, and polish. I can see myself using this a lot through out the season.

 

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use. All opinions are my own. For more info, please read my disclaimer.

Bliss Polish SOA Collection

Hey y'all! Hope you are ready for a new collection from Bliss Polish! If you can believe it, Yvette has created another batch of beauties and this time, they are all inspired by Sons Of Anarchy. The collection has a little bit of everything going on; mattes, glitters, holos, and even a thermal and a duo chrome. I have four out of the seven colors from the set.

 

Please Note: Products shown were sent to me by the company/creator for review purposes.

 

 

Bliss Polish - Gemma (thermal, cold state)

 

Gemma is an oxblood thermal with gold shimmer and scattered holo micro glitter. In it's warm state, shown below, it transitions to a bright cherry red. I love thermals, even though this is only my second one. The transition is great and really noticeable. The formula is a little on the thicker side, but not problematic. 2 coats for full opacity.

 

Gemma (thermal, warm state)

 

Gemma (thermal, transition)

 

 

 

Bliss Polish - Tara

 

Tara is a fuchsia pink duo chrome that flashes to a warm orangey pink with a bright purple shimmer and tiny iridescent flakies. The color shift is really nice, and I was really surprised how much I liked this one! A tiny bit brush stroke, but no other issues. Almost a one coater, but I added a second to give the shimmer a nice boost.

 

 

 

Bliss Polish - Jax (matte)

 

Jax is a gunmetal silver that dries to a matte finish. It has the tiniest holo shimmer, but completely gets swallowed by the pigment. Even with a glossy top coat, it was very hard to capture any of the holo goodness. Kind of a let down. The formula was less than stellar as well. First coat was very patchy, a thick second coat did smooth everything out.



 

(topped with Glossy Glam)

 

 

Bliss Polish - Mayem

 

Mayhem is a black crelly (cream/jelly hybrid) with scattered holo glitter. I was unable to get any decent picks of this out in the sun due to some (wonderful!) rainy weather. The holo is very subtle indoors, otherwise. Formula was similar to Jax, patchy and streaky on the first coat, with second to smooth it all out.

 

I'm not a fan of Son's Of Anarchy, so I can't comment on the interpretations, but I do love Gemma and Tara - the polishes. Funny since red and pink polishes are not at all thing I usually like. These four, along with the rest are in stock and ready for you to snag!

 

Please Note: Products shown were sent to me by the company/creator for review purposes. All opinions are my own. For more info, please read my disclaimer.

 

Bliss Polish is available online and retails for $8 a piece. The SOA Collection is now available, along with the rest of the Bliss Polish line.

 

 

Zoya Giovanna - Fall/Winter Color Trend

Hey guys! Today is the first installment of my new seasonal color trends series and I thought I would kick it off with a gorgeous polish that is a perfect representation of Pantone's color of the year - Emerald. I am a huge green lover, especially this particular shade of green, and Zoya Giovanna is truly stunning. Originally designed for the Zoya/Zang Toi Fall NYFW collaboration, and later released as part of the Casmere & Satin collections. 

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use.

Zoya - Giovanna

 

Giovanna is a metallic emerald green with a shimmery "lit from within" glow. Despite being such an amazing color, the formula was a bit of a problem. As you can see from the pic, it is prone to brush strokes. I have read about applying a matte tc and then a glossy tc to smooth out brush strokes, but have yet to try it out myself. It was also a total pain to apply, unfortunately. The first coat was streaky and I had issues with cuticle drag. A thicker second coat covered everything nicely, though. It is also a major strainer, so be sure to double up on the base coat!

 

 

Zoya Giovanna with Pantone Emerald color swatch

In all honesty, and I have said this before, I am willing to over look a crappy formula if the color is amazing. And Giovanna fits the bill. I can guarantee that it will be in heavy rotation this fall/winter. 

Are you feeling the Emerald color trend? 

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use. For more info, please read my disclaimer. 

Zoya Giovanna and the rest of the Cashmere & Satin collection can be found on line. Products retail for $8 a piece. 

Jewel Toned Tape Mani

Hey friends! How about a simple tape mani for today? I figured the easiest way for me to get all in to fall colors is to do more nail art. And, I do love these, so that helps.

 

 

  

 

Used:

 

O.P.I - My Vampire Is Buff

Essie - The Lace Is On

Salon Perfect - Ivy League

 

Blue Painters tape

 

I read on Chalkboard Nails about using the blue painters tape instead of scotch tape for this kind of thing, and holy crap does it ever make a difference! Perfect, clean lines. Never again, I tell. Also, I'm kinda loving mixing darker fall colors with a more subdued neutral shade. It softens the look for those who are pasty - like myself. Dark colors are notorious for washing out my already pale complexion. Which is probably why I am not a fan of fall/winter collections as a whole!

So if you have had problems with tape designs in the past, go grab some blue painters tape and prepare to be blown away! Makes sense tho, right? After all, that's what it was made for!!!

Rescue Beauty Swatch Spam

Hey friends! If you have read my blog, then you know that I fangirl hard core over Ji and Rescue Beauty Lounge polish. When Ji announced a contest to find new RBL bloggers, I was overjoyed. It would be a dream to blog about RBL polish and share all the future colors with you guys. So naturally I entered! The simple fact that Ji created this contest, instead of automatically selecting high volume blogs, has endeared her more to me than ever.

 

So as a way of celebrating the awesomeness that is RBL, I swatched my whole collection! Most, I have already posted on the blog (with full reviews), but I really wanted to go back and revisit the polishes and colors that made me fall in love and become a ReBeL for life.

 

 

 

Rescue Beauty Lounge - Catherine (review)

 

Rescue Beauty Lounge - Faraway

 

Rescue Beauty Lounge - Santa Fe

 

Rescue Beauty Lounge - Abi (review)

 

Rescue Beauty Lounge - Ghost (review)

 

Rescue Beauty Lounge - Starfish Patrick (review)

 

Rescue Beauty Lounge - Piu Mosso (review)

 

Rescue Beauty Lounge - Turn It Around (review)

 

Rescue Beauty Lounge - Nails And Noms (review)

 

Rescue Beauty Lounge - Liberty (review)

Do you have a favorite RBL or maybe one or two that is on your wish list?

Argyle Pattern Nails - #3 of the IG Totally Doable Nail Art Challenge in October

Heeey! So I missed yesterday's posting day for the next challenge theme...ooops! I actually had it finished and photographed, I just completely spaced on the posting. But I have it today, so we can pretend that I didn't forget, mmmkay?

 

 

 

Used:

 

O.P.I. - My Vampire Is Buff

O.P.I. - Incognito in Salsalito

Sally Hansen Insta - Dry - Chop Chop Copper

 

Nail art brushes

 

Argyle!!! I love me some soft cozy argyle socks in the winter time. I used to have a huge collection in high school. I was so happy to manage free hand argyle and even got a big approval from the mister. He's a fan of argyle socks too - definitely a keeper, right?!

 

P.s. - SH Chop Chop Copper is crazy gorgeous, and you need to get it quick. Full swatch/review coming soon (this week hopefully)!!

 

P.s.s. - Are you guys feeling single pics for nail art? Unintentionally I have only been taking one photo when I do nail art posts. If you all want more, I will be sure to take multiples.

 

O.P.I. DS Sapphire

Hey y'all! I have something super special to share today! O.P.I. Designer Series (DS for short) is an LE line of polish released every year in the fall. Older releases were holographic polishes and are now considered HTF (hard to find). You can find usually find them on EBay or Amazon, but will pay at least $20 for a bottle. I stumbled across a bottle of DS Sapphire (released in 2006) at my local grocery store during a fantastic sale on O.P.I. Can you believe I grabbed this baby for $5?!? Major score!

 

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use.

O.P.I. - DS Sapphire

DS Sapphire is a silvery blue linear holographic. The holo is really strong, despite my pics. Sadly my lights have problems with holos. One thing I noticed, and I didn't read anywhere else, is that it also has a very subtle purple duo chrome shift as well. You can see the purple flash on my pinkie nail in the first picture. Since this is a much older polish, it is not 3 free. It has all the nasty ingredients that are now considered to be toxic and carsinogenic! It definitely has that old polish smell! Formula was a bit sheer, but surprisingly smooth. I didn't have to use Aqua Base for application. 3 coats for shimmery holo goodness!

 

 

As a collector, I am over the moon to have this in my stash. Older DS's are quite coveted and I honestly never thought I would find one. Have you ever found a HTF polish?

 

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use. All opinions are my own. For more info, please read my disclaimer.

Candy Corn Nails - #2 of the IG Totally Doable Nail Art Challenge in October

Hey y'all! Even though the day is almost over, aaand I have already posted once today (though it was just an info post), but look!!! I have candy corn nails!!!!

 

 

 

Used:

 

Zoya - Darcy

 

(Candy Corn Accent)

Zoya - Tomoko

Zoya - Beatrix

Zoya - Solange

 

Blue Painters tape

 

I love using Pixie Dust for nail art! It makes for a really fun accent design. Also, they are soooo easy to do tape mani's with! No bleeding through! Also, I have finally acquired Darcy. It has been on my wish list for ever! I also suspect it is very very similar to my favorite yellow, Julep Lexie. I may have to do a rare comparison post soon.

 

So what do you think about using Pixie Dust for nail art? Have you tried it yet?

Fall 2013 Fashion Color Trends

Hey y'all! How about a new seasonal series? Yeah? I am totally digging the idea of offering up my picks from the fall releases based off of the seasonal colors. Sounds super fun, right?

Every year, Pantone (the company that makes color for design purposes. I'm a huge pantone nerd.) picks a color of the year, and a corresponding color pallet that everyone in the fashion industry uses, from clothing to nail polish! Ever wonder why there are similar colors in mainstream seasonal collections? This is why. Emerald is the color for 2013, and the fall color pallet revolves around the rich jewel tone of Emerald.

Source

 

See some familiar colors? This season, the collections from Essie, O.P.I.. Zoya, China Glaze and even Sally Hansen have some amazing examples of these colors.

 

Fashion Friday posts will now be dedicated to seasonal trends, which colors I love, and those that aren't so great. So let's have some fun with color! (Fashion Friday collab posts with Camille will return when she is not so swamped with grad school.)