China Glaze Cirque du Soliel: Worlds Away Swatches/Review

I am so excited to have these swatches for you guys! China Glaze really outdid themselves here and these polishes are amazing! Before we start, I want to state that a couple of these polishes seem to have neon pigment in them, so they were frustrating to capture correctly. I will mention which shades are not totally accurate. Let's go! :)

Escaping Reality is a neon raspberry pink shade and one that did not photograph quite right. It's a bit more washed out here than it is in person. Very bright and happy color!

Whirled Away is a black and white glitter topcoat. I like what China Glaze is doing here! This is two coats over Escaping Reality, but I do wish that I got more glitter with each coat; it was especially hard to get the white hexes out of the bottle.

Hanging in the Balance is a GORGEOUS shade of blue which unfortunately looks nothing like my swatch, but this was the best I could get. This is an obscure reference, but it's very close to Denny Hamlin blue!

Creative Fantasy is a jelly-like neon purple that is pretty accurate to this photo. Love, love, love.

Igniting Love... whew! This is a sexy red! It reminds me of the color of a fresh red pepper.

Get Carried Away is a glitter polish with a slightly tinted base. I layered it over Igniting Love so that you could see all the variations of glitter in it.

Bend Over Backwards is a reddish orange shimmer, like Cranberry Splash from the Holiday Joy collection, but more orange-toned.

Running in Circles is a grass green shimmer. I can't stop thinking of St. Patrick's Day when I look at this one! 

Surreal Appeal is another neon-ish shade, this time in a pinkish-coral. My favorite of the two pinks.

It's a Trap-eze! is going to be the most popular polish from this collection, hands down. This is a light blue base packed with multi-colored glitter, reminiscent of recent indie polish trends.

Def Defying is one of the so-ugly-it's-pretty kind of shades. This yellowy-lime green is definitely unique in my collection.

Water You Waiting For is an amazing blue glitter polish with so much depth! I'm a sucker for blue and the blues in this collection definitely delivered!

The formula on this collection as a whole was really good. I used two coats for all of these swatches. The Cirque du Soliel collection will be released at the beginning of December and will be available at retailers such as Sally Beauty and Ulta. My top picks are Hanging in the Balance and It's a Trap-eze! Which ones caught your eye?

Products provided for review.

Black Cat Lacquer Winter Collection Swatches/Review & Giveaway!

Hello! I have a the Black Cat Lacquer winter collection swatches (and a giveaway!) for you guys today. Please enjoy! Up first is Holiday On the Moon, a mix of different shades of blue glitter and holographic half moons. I layered it over China Glaze Hanging in the Balance.

Frozen is really cool; I love glitter shards and this one is so perfect as a winter polish. I layered it over China Glaze Creative Fantasy.

Hazy Shade of Winter is an icy blue shade made up of large and small glitter. This one should probably be layered, but I did three coats by itself here.

 Fire Woman is a fiery mix of red, yellow, and black glitter in a clear base. This is layered over China Glaze Bend Over Backwards.

Like a Virgin is one of my very favorites that I reviewed. It appears to have almost translucent white glitter in it that makes it the most gorgeous layering polish. I layered it over China Glaze Running in Circles.

Just Like Heaven contains a whole mess of glitter; there are hexes, squares, holographic hearts, micro bars, and diamonds too. I love this one. It's layered over China Glaze Surreal Appeal.

Vogue is a really awesome multi-colored mixture. I'm so in love with this layering combination too; it's over China Glaze Def Defying.

Strangelove is a magenta glitter with some lighter pink glitter too. Layered here over China Glaze Water You Waiting For.

This Charming Man is a copper glitter polish packed with micro glitter that ends up being opaque in three coats.

I Want Candy is a beautiful shimmery lavender shade with purple, blue, and magenta glitter. I love this one. This is three coats by itself.

All of the formulas here were awesome. I did two coats of all the layering polishes over the base color and had no problem getting the glitter out of the bottle. You can view and purchase Black Cat Lacquer on Etsy. Which was your favorite from this post?

How would you like to win your very own mini set of the winter shades from Black Cat Lacquer? All you have to do is fill out the form below! This giveaway is open internationally.

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Products provided for review.

 

Elixir Lacquers Swatches/Review

Good morning everyone! Today I have swatches of some beautiful polishes from Elixir Lacquers for you.  These first four shades are from the Lov-a-Bully Collection, in which 10% of each bottle sold will be donated to the Atlanta Bully Rescue, an organization that works tirelessly to reduce the number of unwanted bully breeds in Atlanta and surrounding areas (from www.elixirlacquers.com).

Smokey Coat is a gorgeous coal black with silver micro shimmer. The formula on this bottle was fabulous and needed two coats for opacity.

Red Nose is a mixture of red/orange-colored holographic glitter in a clear base. I layered one coat over Smokey Coat and the formula here was great as well.

Spotted & Splotched consists of brown metallic glitter and random white hexes. I layered two coats over Essie Sand Tropez. I had a slight issue getting the white glitter out of the bottle, but I found that turning the bottle upside down for a few minutes before I used it helped.

Forever Home is a mix of blue, black, white, and red heart glitter in a clear base. This one gave me the most problem formula-wise. It was a little thick and the glitter tended to want to sink to the bottom of the bottle. This is two coats over Nicole by OPI Keeping Up with Santa.

Peppermint Barque is part of the Holiday Trio that Elixir Lacquers has created and is a very pretty mixture of red, green, and white glitter along with teeny holographic silver micro glitter. I layered two coats over Color Club Status Update for this swatch.

Elixir Lacquers come in full size bottles for $10 and are Big 3 and cruelty free! Check them out at http://www.elixirlacquers.com or Facebook! 

Products provided for review.

Spreading the Cheer: China Glaze Holiday Joy Giveaway!

Hello everyone! I come bearing fabulous news! I received an entire set of the new China Glaze Holiday Joy collection, which I reviewed here, courtesy of China Glaze to give away to one lucky reader! This giveaway will run until December 11th, which will hopefully give me enough time to choose a winner and get the prize to them before the holidays. Best of luck! This giveaway is open internationally and you must be 18+ or have parental permission to enter. (More terms and conditions can be found in the Rafflecopter widget).

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Tough As Nails: Swatches of new shades!

Hola! Please enjoy some swatches of a couple new lacquers from Tough As Nails, starting with Blitzkrieg Blue. Blitzkrieg Blue is a beautiful, icy blue mixture of glitter that was opaque in three coats. This one would also look fabulous over a navy blue!

Moe Money is a gorgeous pea green polish with golden shimmer. I love this one; it is a beautiful color and has a great formula. Opacity reached in two coats.

Firstly, Obligatory Xmas Polish, is hilarious. Secondly, it's gorgeous! I layered two coats here over China Glaze Jolly Holly.

Shock & Awe is a mixture of gold and silver glitter in a clear base. There's all types of glitter in this one: hex, micro, bar, and some random stars as well. I layered it over Milani Dark Coffee.

Tough As Nails nail polish can be purchased on Etsy in both full and "shorty" size bottles. I love that she stocks the shorties instead of regular mini size bottles; I feel like they are such a better deal! Will any of these shades be making it onto your wish list?

Products provided for review.

Sonnetarium Winter 2012 Collection Swatches/Review

Oh. My. Gosh. You guys. This is another Sonnetarium post, so you know what that means. Prepare your wallets! These five polishes make up Sonnetarium's Winter 2012 Collection and are absolutely gorgeous. Michelle from Sonnetarium seriously never ceases to amaze me and I have never been disappointed with a polish I've gotten from her. Onto the photos!

Peppermint Kiss is one of the most beautiful red/green glitter holiday polishes I have worn so far. It has red, white, and green glitter suspended in a milky base. I used three coats here for more glitter, but two would have been fine.

Sugarplum is so amazing!! I layered two coats of this shimmery, glittery beauty over Zoya Mira and I just don't think it could honestly get more perfect. The purple lover in me is squeeing!

Lenten Rose is a soft, lovely mix of pink and iridescent glitter. I layered two coats over plain white.

Twelve Days is a beautiful red glitter polish. I was expecting this to be another glitter topper, but was so pleasantly surprised when it turned out to have a colored base and was opaque in two coats.

Eight Nights is a stunning blue glitter polish that has a blue base. I only two needed two coats for opacity here.

Sonnetarium polishes can be purchased from www.sonnetarium.net. Also, make sure to 'like' Sonnetarium on Facebook to keep up with all the new nail polish awesomeness! Which one of these polishes do you like best?

Products provided for review.

SoFlaJo Yule Tidings Swatch/Review

Hello! How many of you went out to do some Black Friday shopping last night? Did you get anything good? I hope there were no horror stories! At any rate, today I have a review of SoFlaJo Yule Tidings for you. Jody from SoFlaJo is running a Cyber Monday sale for free shipping on any $20 purchase on 11/26 so don't miss out!

This is three coats of Yule Tidings by itself. I think it's very pretty on it's own, but it would also look fabulous layered over a deep green as well. The formula was great and it has very good coverage.

In order to take advantage of SoFlaJo's Cyber Monday sale, you must order directly from her website here. Happy shopping!

Products provided for review.

Turkey Day Nails!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I wasn't planning on doing any themed nails for Thanksgiving, but I decided last night that I couldn't resist painting some adorable turkey nail art. So these cuties are what I will be sporting while I stuff my face today ;P

I started out with Milani Chocolate Sprinkles on every nail except for my ring nail, which I painted with two coats of Essie Sand Tropez. I painted the feathers with China Glaze Riveting, Lighthouse, and Nicole by OPI Keeping Up with Santa. I used my biggest dotting tool to create the turkey's body with Milani Dark Coffee and then used Riveting again for the beak and feet. I hope you love them as much as I do!

Kawaii Winter Collection Swatches/Review

Hello! Before we get into the post for today, I want to wish everyone who celebrates it a happy Thanksgiving in advance! I don't know about you, but I am dying for some pumpkin pie. I also can't wait to put my Christmas decorations up! For now, I have some gorgeous winter polishes from Kawaii to tide me over.

Let It Snow is a beautiful mix of white, royal, and midnight blue glitter in a clear base. I layered two coats over Zoya Kristen.

Frosty Remix is probably the most unique holiday polish I've seen so far, made up of red, white, and black glitter, as well as some larger translucent white hexes. You can see them on my pointer and middle nails. I layered two coats of Frosty Remix over Zoya Anja.

Ho Ho Ho is a mixture of red, green, and white glitter in a clear base. This is two coats over plain black.

Peppermint Pattie is a mixture of red and white hex and bar glitters. I love this one! I layered two coats over Color Club Status Update.

You can purchase Kawaii nail polishes on Etsy and make sure to like Kawaii's Facebook page to keep up with new releases and sales! Will you be purchasing any of these?

*Products in this post were provided for my honest review.*

Windestine Hawaiian Collection Swatches/Review

Hey everybody! Today I have some beautiful Windestine polishes for you to enjoy. First up is Pele, a fiery orange/red with a mixture of blue, gold, and red glitter. I used two coats for opacity.

Peach Ice is a creamy apricot shade with silvery white glitter. I needed three coats of this one for opacity.

Moana is my favorite of the three, a deep teal shade with purple, orange, and light green glitter. I used two coats here.

The formulas on all three of these polishes were excellent and the color combinations are so unique! Windestine always has the coolest combos. If you are interested in purchasing any of these polishes, you can do so on Windestine's Big Cartel website.

*Products in this post were provided for my honest review.*

China Glaze Holiday Joy 2012 Collection Swatches/Review

Good morning everyone! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend! This morning I have swatches of the new China Glaze Holiday Joy collection for winter 2012. I hope you like!

Merry Berry is a very pretty berry creme shade. Perfect in two coats.

Pure Joy is an awesome mixture of red and gold glitter. I did two coats of it on it's own here, but I would definitely recommend layering it over any of the red cremes from this collection.

Once again, I wore two coats of Glitter All the Way alone here, but I would layer this one too. This one kind of reminds me of Mardi Gras more than the holidays!

Red Satin is one of the two pure red cremes in the Holiday Joy collection and leans more on the blue-toned side. Two easy coats.

Angel Wings is a gorgeous mixture of gold glitter with a scattered holographic effect. I used two coats here with pretty good opacity, but three would probably be perfect unless you were layering. Same goes for the other holographic-y glitters from this collection.

With Love is the perfect red creme for me. You know all the awesome indie holiday glitters I've been posting lately? Yeah, I will be wearing them over two coats of With Love.

Champagne Kisses is similar to Angel Wings, but it is a shade of rose gold instead of yellow gold. Rose gold has been a big trend lately so I know this will be a popular one!

Glistening Snow is a fine silver holographic glitter polish. I used two coats here, but again, three would be better for complete opacity unless you are layering it over something else.

Winter Holly is a GORGEOUS green glitter polish. This is three coats of it by itself so you can see what it looks like, but I would definitely layer this over an evergreen creme shade. Mmmm!

Pizzazz is a very pretty mix of multi-colored glitter. This would look fabulous layered over black or silver for New Years! It has pretty good coverage too; this is two coats.

Cranberry Splash... fun fact: I HATE cranberry, but I love this polish! This is the epitome of perfect shimmery holiday red! Two easy breezy coats.

And last but certainly not least, Blue Bells Rings. I actually swatched this one first and it blew me away. It literally glows! This amazing blue foil is perfect in two coats.

So in conclusion, my top picks for this collection are definitely Blue Bells Ring, Winter Holly, With Love, and Cranberry Splash. Which are your favorites? The China Glaze Holiday Joy collection should be available in stores near you, as well as suppliers online. Keep an eye out for the China Glaze holiday gift sets as well; they are always adorable! I know there's one with a shot glass this year that I have my eye on! ;P

*Products in this post were provided for my honest review.*