OPI Halloween 2014 Peanuts Collection Swatches & Review

Happy Halloween everybody! I sadly don't have any nail art to share with you this year since I've been trying to get caught up on my swatching, but I do have OPI's Halloween collection to share. This year, OPI looked to the Peanuts for their Halloween inspiration and put together a four-shade collection in ode to the cartoon.

Who Are You Calling Bossy?!? is your standard black polish. Good coverage and formula; this is two coats. If you don't already have a staple black in your collection, this is a good option.

Good Grief! is a bright sunshine yellow, a perfect match to Charlie Brown's iconic shirt. This had a good formula for yellow and covered well in two coats.

Where's My Blanket??? is a glitter topper with black, yellow, and pale orange glitter. I layered two coats on my index and middle nails.

To Be or Not To Beagle is a glitter topper with black and multicolored glitter. I layered two coats here on my ring and pinkie nails.

These limited edition Halloween shades are available wherever OPI is sold and are also available in a mini set that includes nail decals. I was never a huge Peanuts fan, but I can see these being hugely popular! Did you pick them up as a collector's item or did you pass on them?

The products in this post were provided for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

SquareHue July 2014 Box Swatches & Review

Hola! Today I have SquareHue's July box to share with you and the theme for this month is Barcelona. I'll give you the run down about the SquareHue subscription service at the end of the post, but for now let's get to the swatches!

Plaça Catalunya is a beautiful hot pink with silver micro shimmer. The formula on this one shows a bit of brushstroke, but the coverage was great in two coats.

Rambla de Raval is a fiesty warm orange with golden micro shimmer. Same slight brush stroke issues at the first shade and also a little more sheer. This is two coats but a third would probably have been wise to make sure everything was totally opaque.

Passieg de Grácia is by far the stunner in this set. This deep, vampy purple just takes my breath away! Absolutely flawless formula makes this polish a total knockout. I'm wearing two coats.

If you aren't familiar, SquareHue is a subscription service that sends you three expertly created nail polishes each month for $19.99 shipped. These shades are all 5-free, made in the United States, and not tested on animals. Plus, SquareHue donates a portion of every monthly subscription cost to a great cause; right now they are focusing on the awareness and prevention of human trafficking. What do you think about this month's colors? That purple is just rocking my world!!

The products in this post were provided for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Zoya Yuna and Sansa Swatches & Review

Good morning! Today I have my two must have shades from Zoya's Ignite collection from Fall 2014 to share with you and let me tell you, you guys are in for a treat! Zoya is one of the brands that hardly ever disappoints me and once again, they've released two stellar fall collections. I only got my hands on two of them thanks to a fabulous friend, but I'm confident that these are the best two, so enjoy!

Yuna is an incredible greenish gray shade packed with golden glitter. Seriously, I just can't even deal with how gorgeous this is. Of course, the formula is perfect and this is two coats.

Sansa is a gorgeous, deep royal plum/purple with golden shimmer. I'll admit that I wanted this one mainly for the name (hello, fellow Game of Thrones addicts! Please tell me I'm not the only one!), but the color is absolutely stunning. I got at least three comments on this from different people while I was wearing it, including older men! You know it's a stunner when old dudes comment on it. :P

So what do you think? Did I pick well? Check out the Ignite collection at www.zoya.com and tell me if you would have picked your top two differently!

Go Mad For Zoya & WIN*!

Are you "MAD" for Zoya?! Now's your chance to bring the color of your dreams to life! Step inside our virtual color labooooooratory (muahahaha) to experiment with color and finishes to "mix" your very own shade. The Zoya color animator offers various pieces and parts (finishes, opacity and hues) to play with - feel free to use the description section to elaborate on your masterpiece. Give your creation a name, submit it, and there's a chance we will bring it to life!

 

NOW - Thursday, October 31st (10:00am ET) Piece together your creation for a chance to have it custom created just for you! The highest voted shade will win, so don’t forget to share your creation with your friends and family after it's been submitted!

 

http://www.zoya.com/content/category/Halloween_Color_Lab_2014

 

How It Works:

1. Go CRAZY! (You know we are) Create a custom shade using the Zoya Polish Animator
2. Name your creation and describe any additional elements you would add to the polish.
3. Submit (and don't forget to share!) your custom shade for a chance to bring it to life! Have more than one color you’re mad about? Create as many as you'd like!
4. One winner will be selected on October 31, 2014 at 9am EST

*Terms and Conditions
Purchase not necessary to enter. Valid Art of Beauty account required in order to participate. Enter NOW through 10/31/14 (9:00am ET). One winner will be selected and contacted by 5pm ET 10/31/14. Please allow up to two weeks for production of custom shades. Winning shades will be created based on Zoya's Creative Director's interpretation of the description and cannot be returned, exchanged or duplicated at a later date.

KBShimmer Early Summer 2014 Collection Swatches/Review

It pains me to have taken so long to do this review! You guys know that KBShimmer is one of my absolute favorite brands and they put out TWO awesome summer collections this year. This is the first one from the beginning of the summer.

Low and Be Bold is an absolutely striking ultramarine blue. It's a little bit sheer, but I got good coverage with three thin coats.

Right As Reign is a deep inky indigo purple shade. I used three thin coats here too.

Let's Not Coral is a coral creme that leans to the pink side of coral. This one was perfect in two coats.

She Twerks Out is a gorgeous aqua shade with green, aqua, and purple glitter and a matte textured finish. These textures are new to KBShimmer and they turned out great! This is two coats with no top coat.

Partners in Lime is a vivid lime green textured polish with green, aqua, and yellow glitter. This is two coats with no top coat.

Too Pop to Handle has a violet base filled with purple. pink, and blue glitter. I used two coats here and no top coat so the finish would remain textured.

Goldie Rocks is a beautiful golden holographic polish. I used three coats here.

Run! It's the Coppers! is such a gorgeous shade! This copper polish has a brilliant holographic effect. This is three thin coats.

Big Tan on Campus is a unique shade in my holographic collection. This light taupe-y brown is a fantastic color for fall! This is three coats.

In Bare Form is a fabulous nude holo! This is one of my favorites out of this group. It's so perfect to wear to work with just a little bit of extra oomph! This is three coats.

PT Young Thing is a strong silver holographic shade. I used three coats here like the rest of the holos, but I think two would have been sufficient.

Stark Raven Mad is a pitch black holo. This one only need two coats.

Once again, KBShimmer has amazed me with the creativity and execution of this collection. There is such a good variety here! My two personal favorites are In Bare Form and Run! It's the Coppers!. Which ones catch your eye? You can purchase any of these shades on KBShimmer's website.

The products in this post were provided for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

KBShimmer 6th Anniversary Collection Swatches/Review

Hello everyone and happy Friday! Back in August, KBShimmer celebrated being in business for six whole years and a trio of polishes was created for the occasion. They are bright and gorgeous and nothing less than what I'd expect from such a vibrant and creative company!

Shore Thing is a bright minty green. It's a bit more vivid in this photo than it is in real life, but it's beautiful nonetheless. I used two coats here.

Beach Please borders on neon magenta pink. This is so close to being a neon, but thankfully it photographs better than neons do, so you can get a real idea of what it looks like. This is two coats.

Hexy Bikini is a glitter polish filled with silver, blue, and magenta glitter. You could easily build this up to wear alone, but I chose to layer one coat over Beach Please.

The KBShimmer 6th Anniversary trio is still available on their website. The cremes retail for $7.50 and the glitter is $8.75. It thrills me that KBShimmer is celebrating another anniversary and I want to extend my deepest congratulations to one of my very favorite brands!

The products in this post were provided for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

KBShimmer Vinyl Nail Decal Review

Have you ever tried to create any type of striped nail art, but became frustrated when you couldn't create those perfectly crisp lines you desired? Well, I have the solution for you. These nail vinyls from KBShimmer are a live saver when trying to create any kind of striped nail art!

You simply peel the vinyls off the sheet they arrive on and place them over your completely dry base color; my base color is OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest. Paint over the vinyls and peel them off immediately but carefully. Finish with top coat and admire your perfect lines!

KBShimmer has a bunch of different vinyls available, including chevrons, scallops, and stars. You can see and purchase all the vinyls on KBShimmer's website.

The products in this post were provided for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

OPI Pink of Hearts Duo 2014 Swatches/Review

As many of you know, October is breast cancer awareness month and each year, OPI puts out a duo in support of breast cancer awareness. This year, they've stepped up their game with a gorgeous creamy glitter and the perfect light pink.

Mod About You is a lovely shade of baby pink, this is a classic OPI color. It applied perfectly in two coats, although the formula was a little thick.

The Power of Pink has a creamy pink base with white and hot pink glitter suspended in it. This one covered fabulously as well in two coats and I had no issues getting the glitter to come out of the bottle.

This duo also comes with a cute glittery pink nail file with a breast cancer awareness ribbon charm hanging from it. The set retails for $16.95 and you can find it wherever OPI is sold.

The products in this post were provided for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

SquareHue June 2014 Box Swatches/Review

Hey guys! I have perhaps the best SquareHue shades ever made to share this morning. The June box totally and completely knocked it out of the park with three full-coverage, perfectly "summer" shades! This box was themed around Maui and I'll tell you what, I would wear any single one of these shades on a tropical vacation!

Wailea is warm peachy color, one of those classy neutral type of shades. This is two easy coats.

Ka'ahumanu is an incredible shade of turquoise. Seriously, if one color could epitomize the perfect ocean water, it would be this one. Two coats here as well. (And do me a favor and ignore that icky fuzz on my pinkie, okay? Cool.)

And last, but certainly not least, is the shimmery sky blue goodness of Ala Moana. So, so perfect. You guessed it, two easy coats.

Unbelievable. Seriously, how incredible is this collection? If you need a little push to sign up for your own SquareHue subscription, I think this is it. Go ahead and click on any of the links in this post and sign yourself up because honestly, $14.99 for these three polishes is a STEAL.

The products in this post were provided for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

SquareHue May 2014 Box Swatches/Review

Good morning! I have the polishes from SquareHue's May box to share with you today. If you aren't familiar with SquareHue already, it is a monthly subscription service where you get three full-size polishes delivered to you each month for $14.99. They curate the box each month based on current trends, so you'll never receive the same color twice.

Ipanema is a shimmery medium shade of yellow. This is SO not my color, but it has a fantastic formula and great coverage for a yellow! This is two coat.

Leblon is a stunning, absolutely glowing emerald green shade. You can see a teensy bit of brushstrokes here but seriously, who cares?? Look at this color!! This is two easy coats.

Copacabana is an ocean blue jelly with blue and silver glitter. This is three coats here and you can still see my nail line so if you want this one to be opaque, you're going to have to layer it.

Interested in signing up for your own box? Of course you are! Who can resist awesome nail polish showing up at your door once a month? Head on over to SquareHue's website to get started and enjoy!

The products in this post were provided for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Zoya Bubbly Collection Swatches/Review

See how behind I am? Haha! Oh well, better late than never, right? I finally have my swatches of the Zoya Bubbly collection from this summer to share with you. It's getting awfully cold around here and I don't know about you, but I could certainly use some cheery summer shades to keep my mind off of the impending winter. Let's get to it!

Jesy is my favorite color (duh, coral!) out of the collection, but it was also one of the most sheer so I will be layering it when I wear it again. I used two coats here.

Alma is an orangey gold jelly with golden flakes. This is two coats. Alma is the most sheer out of the collection.
 

Harper is a juicy bubble gum with iridescent glitter. This was one of the most opaque out of the collection; I'm wearing two coats.

 Binx is a dark pink/magenta shade within gold shimmer and iridescent glitter. This is two coats.

Muse is the second cousin twice removed to Zoya's mermaidy Charla. About the same shade, perhaps leaning a little more blue, but with tons of iridescent glitter which Charla lacks. This is two coats and as you can see, it has pretty good coverage for a jelly.

Staasi is a medium green with gorgeous iridescent glitter and shimmer. This is two coats. 

My top picks from this collection are definitely Jesy (for layering) and Muse (for wearing alone). These polishes can be purchased at www.zoya.com and retail for $9 each.

The products in this post were provided for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Long Time No See: An Explanation of Sorts and Some Autumn Nail Art to Make Amends

Well, this is awkward. Hello again, everyone! The first thing I want to do is apologize for my ridiculously long, unexplained absence. I wish I had some exciting story like I've been traveling the world and just didn't have time for blogging, but frankly, there is no good reason. Stuff just got in the way. First it was work stuff, then it was wedding stuff, then it was "oh but I really want to finish these 8,348 other crafts I have started instead" stuff and eventually, it became five months since I even posted on my own blog.

People have been asking me why I haven't been blogging and if I was quitting The Nail Network. It made me feel guilty and I always promised myself, "I'll start writing up a blog post when I get home" but I never did. I just wasn't into it for a little while there and things like this aren't worth forcing yourself to do unless you are truly enjoying it and having fun.

But today I woke up and actually felt like writing. I got out of bed and went right to the couch to start typing this out on my laptop. I haven't even eaten breakfast yet (and if you know me, you know how grouchy I get without breakfast first thing in the morning). So please accept my apology for being gone for so long without explanation. I have a lot of catching up to do (my nail room is literally overwhelming), but I'm going to work on it and hopefully get back on track with a normal schedule around here. I have a lot of reviews to do, a little bit of fall nail art to share, a wedding post to write up, and of course I need to start brainstorming for my recurring holiday nail art series!

As a little token of my appreciation for sticking around while I was gone, here is some stunningly simple nail art that you could wear all autumn long! I started with a base of OPI My Vampire's Buff and then carefully painted Essie Very Structured in a chevron pattern over the base. I finished it off with a chevron of Milani Chocolate Sprinkles. If you aren't confident if your free-handing abilities, you can use tape to create the shapes, just make sure that you let the base colors dry for a while before you try to stick the tape on.

Phew! I'm glad to have that all off my chest and out in the open. Hopefully I'll see you guys again really soon! :)