Recent "Nail of the Days": Part 3

Hi everyone, welcome to another work week.  I hope you all had a nice relaxing weekend.  My weekend was absolutely crazy but it was also really fun.  Yesterday I went shopping with my mom and went to the movies and say 3 Days to Kill.  I really liked it actually.  I'm excited for today because I'll finally be headed home and get to see the hubby and my little furry kitties :)

Today I have another round of my recent "nail of the days".  People seem to be interested so I will definitely continue :)  

First up, something nice and simple, but definitely not on the shy side.  I've been trying to hold off on pastels since there's snow on the ground and this was one of those attempts.  This combination is China Glaze Frostbite, which is a really glowy blue, and a simple accent nail of OPI Pirouette My Whistle.

Next up, my take on an icy winter mani.  I started out with a base of OPI Suzi Takes the Wheel and layered on OPI It's Totally Fort Worth It near the tips to give a shimmery effect.  I finished off with OPI In True Stefani Fashion near the tips.

For this next mani, I went a little funky with my combination but I ended up really liking it.  My base is OPI I Don't Give a Rotterdam and the glitter is Maybelline Color Show Clearly Spotted.

This next one is definitely my favorite of the bunch :)  I also just really like polka dots, I think I could wear them every day.  For this look I started with a base of OPI Peace & Love & OPI.  My dots are OPI I Just can't Copeacabana and OPI Taupe-less Beach.

Last but not least, I had to throw in a little bit of pastel...just a smidge ;)  I wore these nails during my day-long doctor's visits so they were nice and cheerful to look at.  I used OPI Lucky Lucky Lavender with an accent nail in OPI My Favorite Ornament.

Would you wear any of these?  Which one was your favorite?  Have a great Monday everyone!

Barielle Velvets Spring 2014: Swatches and Review

 *Press Samples

Hi everyone!  I hope the weekend is treating you well :)  This is the very first time I've had a chance to sit down today, busy, busy, busy.  This morning I went with my mom to her hair appointment, from there we went to Target, and then met up with my dad and the hubby for his birthday lunch.  From there, my husband and I went around to some stores and then Ikea, and then met up with his family for dinner.  Whew!  I came home, painted my nails, and here we are. 

Onto the polish!  Today I have a brand new collection from Barielle, that has soft romantic and dreamy colors that are warm, rich, and feminine.  From the name "Velvets", I actually thought this was a collection of matte polishes, but they are actually all creams and one subtle shimmer.  Let's get right into it.

Uptown Girl-

Uptown Girl is a soft beige polish with pink undertones.  This polish is on the sheer side but does build up to be opaque in three thin coats.  I have to say....I think this color is absolutely stunning.  It's very soft and pretty but I like that it doesn't look sheer.

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My Tan Blazer-

My Tan Blazer is described as a tan camel color.  I have a love of camels, so I really like the fact that Barielle described it as a camel color.  I think that is spot on.  I found this polish to have a really opaque and fantastic formula.  I used two easy coats below.

My Week Away-

My Week Away is the only polish of the collection that wasn't a true cream.  This polish is a dusty pink with very subtle shimmer which reads to me as green/gold.  The formula was smooth and buttery and I used two easy coats.

Cream 'n Sugar-

Cream 'n Sugar is a very, very sheer pink.  I used three coats of this polish below and you can see how sheer it is.  I think this would be good if you wanted to throw on a quick layer of polish to not have plain nails.

Sexy Mood-

Sexy Mood is described as a muted magenta cream.  To me it looks like a dusty "radiant orchid" color.  Very on-trend for this year.  This formula was great again, two easy coats below.

A Little Exotic-

Last up, A Little Exotic, which is a muted, dusty rose.   The formula was good on this one and it took two coats. 

While some of these colors aren't really "me", I can certainly appreciate the great formulas on these polishes.  My hands down favorite was Uptown Girl.  These shades are available now and can be found on Barielle's website here.  ALSO, I wanted to note that there is a second new collection from Barielle which is waiting at home to be swatched...think bright summery colors :) 

*Products in this post were sent for review in exchange for my honest opinion.

Julie G The Perfect Pairs: Swatches and Review

Hi everyone, happy Friday!  It feels weird to type that since I am writing this Thursday night ;)  I'll be in the field again today for work, but I'm most excited about the weekend.  Saturday is the hubby's birthday and we are going out to lunch with my family, dinner with his family, and going to Ikea in between.  Sunday is going to be fun too because I'm going shopping and to the movies with my mom.  Sometimes you just need a weekend at home with family!

Today I have three polishes (with three matching lipsticks) to show you from Julie G.  I won these polishes in a giveaway and I am really excited to show off these vibrant colors.  It makes me really wish we had Rite Aids where I live :)  (side note: yes, I know you can order Julie G polish online, but I prefer to see my polish in stores before I buy, I'm weird like that).  These polishes and lipsticks come in matching duos and are named after historical male/female duos.  Let's get right into it!

First up, Anthony, which goes with the matching Cleopatra lipstick.  Anthony is the lightest of the three polishes and it's a bright lighter pink with a little bit of peach.  The formula on this one was perfection.  I used two easy coats with no topcoat below.

The middle shade of the group is Fred, which is paired with the lipstick Ginger.  Fred is a medium punchy cooler-toned pink.  Very bright and vibrant!   The formula on this one was a tad on the streaky side but it did self level so that wasn't an issue.  I used two coats with no topcoat below.

 

Last of the duos is Romeo, which obviously is paired with the Juliet lipstick ;)  As opposed to the first two very pinky shades, this duo was very coral and man do I love a good coral nail polish.  I have very fair skin and I just love the way coral nails pop against my ghost complexion haha.  The formula on this one was perfect, no issues at all.  I used two coats without topcoat below.

Last but not least...the lipstick swatches!  Now, I've had my blog for a year and this is actually the first makeup to make it to my blog.  Admittedly I'm a lip balm girl because I think lipsticks look ridiculous on my small lips.  I have been wanting to branch out though and I think these colors will be perfect for Spring and summer.  I don't have much lipstick knowledge but these seemed very pigmented and buttery.  I used two easy swipes below.  Hey look...you get to see my ghost skin!

I am really impressed with both the nail polishes and the lipsticks from the Perfect Pairs collection.  Which is your favorite duo?  I honestly love them all!

Zoya Awaken Spring 2014 Collection: Swatches and Review

*Press Samples

 

Hi everyone, happy Thursday.  One day closer to Friday!  :)  I'm going to make this post right to the point since I'm writing it before heading in the field for work.  I was really excited when I saw the original press release for this collection.  I am a huge fan of pastels and Spring collections always seem so cheerful during the gloom and darkness of Winter.  

This collection features seven polishes.  Two of the polishes are creams, one polish is a frost, one polish is a glitter topper, and the remaining three are Zoya's classic shimmer finish that they do so well.  Let's get right into it!  All swatches below are without topcoat.

Zoya Cole-

First up is Cole, which is a full-coverage peach cream (originally released during NYFW as Stella for Peter Som's SS14 Collection).  Yes, please!  Oh man do I love this polish.  Cole is a peach cream, maybe a crelly formula so it is slightly sheer but buildable.  I used three coats and I think the resulting color is absolutely stunning.  It's so soft and delicate, a perfect Spring color.

originally released during NYFW as Stella for Peter Som's SS14 Collection - See more at: http://zoya.com/content/item/Zoya/Zoya-Nail-Polish-in-Cole-ZP721.html#sthash.SzVYlZks.dpuf

originally released during NYFW as Stella for Peter Som's SS14 Collection - See more at: http://zoya.com/content/item/Zoya/Zoya-Nail-Polish-in-Cole-ZP721.html#sthash.SzVYlZks.dpuf

originally released during NYFW as Stella for Peter Som's SS14 Collection - See more at: http://zoya.com/content/item/Zoya/Zoya-Nail-Polish-in-Cole-ZP721.html#sthash.SzVYlZks.dpuf

Zoya Brooklyn-

Next up, Brooklyn, which is the only one I don't care for in this collection.  Brooklyn is a frosty pale gold polish.  It's very brush-strokey, even if you are careful, and I just didn't care for the final look of the polish.  There was nothing wrong with the formula, it's just my personal color preference.  I used two coats.

Zoya Hudson-

Third of the group is Hudson, which is a medium cool-toned purple with silver shimmer.  This is one of the shimmers that Zoya does best.  The formula was slightly thin, but I did manage to use two coats for my swatches.  The color is very pretty and fits in nicely with the "purple orchid" Pantone color of the year.

Zoya Dot-

Dot is the final cream of the collection.  This polish is a pale pink petal cream.  Like Cole, the formula is on the sheer side, but it does build up to be opaque in three thin coats.  I think the color is worth it.  I am really into pale opaque pinks this Spring and this fits the bill perfectly!

Zoya Rebel-

Rebel is another shimmer polish, a blue sky metallic with silver shimmer.  The color is perfection again and I used two coats for my swatches below.

Zoya Dillon-

Second to last is Dillon, which is a mint metallic with shimmer.  Zoya says the shimmer is silver, but on me it does lean gold so I'm not exactly sure which one it is ;)  I am in love with this color!  The formula was good and I used two coats below.

Zoya Monet-

Last but not least is Monet, which is a iridescent cellophane glitter topper.  Zoya describes the glitter as holographic but I would have to disagree on that one.  I did find this polish to be a little bit thick and gloopy which made it slightly hard to apply.  I found that if I blobbed the polish in the center of my nail and spread it around from there, it worked better than trying to apply it like a regular polish.  I used one coat over Dot.

Overall I was quite pleased with this new collection.  The formulas weren't completely typical of the normal Zoya formula, but I didn't find that the application issues deterred me from any of the polishes, some just require some extra work.  My favorites from this collection are Dot, Cole, Rebel, and Dillon.  These polishes are on sale now and can be found here.

Will you be picking up any of these polishes?  Which are your favorites?

*Polishes provided for review in exchange for my honest opinion.