The Time Has Come...

I have been contemplating writing this post for a while now, and I can't put it off any longer. I have been blogging for a long time, si...

Friday, May 30, 2014

KBShimmer Nail Care Trio

Hi there! Today I wanted to review some nail care products for you from KBShimmer. They make bath and body products as well as nail polish, some of which I have recently reviewed for you. I wanted to give an in-depth review of the three nail treatments they produce also so here it is.
KBShimmer Nail Treatments

Nail Prep pH balancing pre-polish nail treatment is a liquid nail prep to be used before polishing your nails. It helps balance the pH of your nail to allow your polish to adhere better. I like it because I usually have some type of cuticle oil or balm on so it remove that moisture before I put on my base coat. I am a big fan of this, I prefer it to my Orly Primetime because it seems to dry a little faster and does a better job at dehydrating the nail plate which prevents chips.

The Basic Training nail polish base coat works "like double sided sticky tape" by adhering to the nail plate and to the polish you put on top of it. It works to keep your nail polish on while also helps prevent staining. I found this to be a fine base coat, working in a similar manner to my go-to Orly Bonder.

And last is the Clearly On Top quick dry top coat. I have talked about many top coats before and how I feel like they are incredibly personal to each individual, with different body chemistry comes different results in my opinion. I found it to dry quickly, cover nicely with shiny results. However, this tends to bubble for me quite often which isn't ideal. I've heard from many others that it works perfectly for them without bubbling but like I said, everyone's chemistry is a little different. This is the only treatment from them I probably wouldn't repurchase. This is 2-free which means it does contain DBP but does not have any formaldehyde/formaldehyde resin or toluene, similar to my current favorite HK Girl.

I love that all of these are priced at $5 for a full size bottle which you can get on the KBShimmer website or Etsy store. They are cheaper than a lot of nail treatments on the market and they work! Have you ever tried any of these products before? What did you think of them? See ya next time!

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Product samples were provided for consideration. I purchased a top coat at an earlier date.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

KBShimmer Early Summer 2014 Collection Part 2 Swatches & Review

Hi folks, I'm back today with the second half of the KBShimmer Early Summer collection. This half has three jelly cremes and three texture glitters. I used KBShimmer's pH Balancing Prep, Basic Training base coat and Clearly On Top top coat for all of these swatches (an in depth review of those coming soon).

First up is Let's Not Coral, a pinky coral creme with an awesome jellyish quality. This went on without a hitch and dried super shiny. I tend to love colors like this anyway, but I think this would appeal to those non-pink lovers too because it's so pretty! This is two coats.
KBShimmer Let's Not Coral

Next is Right as Reign, described as a deep bold purple but it pulls very blue on me. I wouldn't have thought it was purple except for looking at the website's description of it. I would say it's "blurple" if anything, even though I loathe that word haha. This formula is seriously flawless. Two coats.
KBShimmer Right as Reign

And here is Low & Be Bold, a bright cobalt blue with that same awesome jellyish creme formula. I did not want to take this off once I had it on! I thought it was a dead ringer for Rescue Beauty Lounge's IKB:2012 but it's a bit brighter. (I'll do a comparison post on that soon.) I can't say enough good things about this "near creme" formula! Two coats.
KBShimmer Low & Be Bold

This is the first of the textured glitters, Too Pop to Handle. These apply very easily for having as much glitter as they do. They dry to a matte lightly textured finish but you can also add topcoat for a smooth look. I think this one is the most textured out of the three. This is a neonish red toned purple with holographic glitters in magenta, violet, aqua and pink. I used two coats here.
KBShimmer Too Pop to Handle
without top coat
KBShimmer Too Pop to Handle (with top coat)
with two layers of top coat

She Twerks Out is possibly my favorite polish name of all time, hilarious. It's a turquoise blue filled with holographic glitters in teal, lime green, aqua and violet. I really enjoy this one, but I couldn't get it to photograph very well so I apologize. Two coats.
KBShimmer She Twerks Out
without top coat
KBShimmer She Twerks Out (with top coat)
with two layers of top coat

And last is my favorite of the collection, Partners In Lime. It's a bright lime green packed with holographic glitters in gold, lime green and aqua. I can't tell you how much I love this polish, it's seriously amazing. Super unique and so fun! I used two coats.
KBShimmer Partners In Lime
without top coat
KBShimmer Partners In Lime (with top coat)
with two layers of top coat

You can get all these polishes and more from the KBShimmer website. The cremes are $7.50 and the glitters are $8.75 per bottle. So what do you think of this collection? Do you like the first half (the holos) or this half better? I really enjoyed all of them and would say that there are some must-haves in the bunch. See ya next time!

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Product samples were provided for consideration.

Monday, May 26, 2014

KBShimmer Early Summer 2014 Collection Part 1 Swatches & Review

Hi friends! For everyone in the US, I hope you are enjoying your Memorial Day! Today I have the first half of the KBShimmer Early Summer collection, 6 of the 12 are holographic so it made sense to put them in a post together. I used KBShimmer's pH Balancing Prep, Basic Training base coat and Clearly On Top top coat for all of these swatches. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do :)

First is Pt Young Thing, a platinum silver linear holographic polish. When I first started seeing swatches of this collection, I wasn't sure how holo these were going to be, maybe because they were being swatched indoors or something. I was seriously surprised that these were so holo reflective rainbowy in the sun, comparable to Gosh Holographic or China Glaze OMG! Love. This is two coats.
KBShimmer Pt Young Thing

Next is a goooooollllddd! I love gold in case you didn't know. This is called Goldie Rocks, a yellow gold holo. I don't know if I'm seeing things but it looks to me a little like there is microglitter in this too which is fun. This is three coats.
KBShimmer Goldie Rocks

Next is Run! It's the Coppers! which is a hilarious name. I don't have very many copper nail polish shades, it seems like there is just not that many out there so I love that KBShimmer included one in this collection. This was a tad brush-strokey, but it's intensely metallic so that kinda comes with the territory. This is three coats.
KBShimmer Run! It's the Coppers!

Here is In Bare Form, a light beigey nude subtle holographic shade. Nude holos are one of my favorite types of polish. This one is a little light for my skin tone but I still liked how it looks. I wish the holo was a little stronger on this one but it's still quite nice. This is three coats.
KBShimmer In Bare Form

This guy is called Stark Raven Mad, a charcoaly almost black holographic. I loved how the rainbow effect popped out with the holo on this, oooh. I didn't use top coat in this swatch because it was the first shade I put on and I wasn't sure if a top coat would dull the holo effect. It didn't end up doing that on any of the other shades, so I should've just tried it on this one too, but oh well. This is three coats.
KBShimmer Stark Raven Mad

And last is Big Tan On Campus, which is a bronzey brown tan holographic shade. I. Freaking. Love. This. I wasn't really taken with it when I first saw it in the bottle, but when I put it on I fell head over heels. It's very metallic like Coppers! but it's not brush-strokey and the linear holo effect is very strong. I also think it looks really nice with my skin tone. This is two coats.
KBShimmer Big Tan On Campus

You can get these right now from the KBShimmer website for $8.75 each. They cost a bit more than her regular polishes, which are $7.50 but I assume it's because they are more expensive to make. I am a huge fan of these, what do you think of them? Stay tuned for Part 2 of this collection, review & swatches coming soon! Have a wonderful week and thanks for reading!

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Product samples were provided for consideration.

Friday, May 23, 2014

KBShimmer Bath & Body Products Review

I was recently given the opportunity to review some products from KBShimmer along with their new early summer collection (review & swatches coming soon!). They have been one of the most popular indie brands since they came on the scene so I was excited to try them out.

First of the products I tried was their hand/body lotion in the scent of vanilla. I work with the public so I use a lot of hand sanitizer and wash my hands often, which means I'm usually applying lotion several times a day. I really like the whipped texture of this and it doesn't leave my hands greasy which is important to me. And the vanilla scent is to die for! These are $10 for a 9 oz. bottle.
KBShimmer lotion

Next is their sugar scrub, also in the vanilla scent. I like to exfoliate so I've tried a lot of scrubs in my day, but I haven't settled on a favorite, until now. This has a great gritty texture, but is not too rough. The scent is great and the scrub dissolves when washed off which puts it into perfect status for me. Too many of the scrubs I've tried in the past leave behind lots of grainy bits I have to work to rinse out of my tub after a bath so I love this! These are $10 for a 9 oz. jar.
KBShimmer Sugar Scrub

Now for the cuticle oil (which I'm using a stock photo for, sorry!). The scent I tried is Pink Sugar, inspired by the Aquolina Pink Sugar fragrance I'm guessing. I don't care for that perfume on me, I find it too strong with the musk, but this KBShimmer blend must be a bit different because I love it! I can't stop sniffing my nails, which is must look disturbing to any onlookers haha. It sinks in nice and fast so it doesn't leave my fingers greasy. My cuticles are left nicely moisturized for a long time after I use it. They also have a lemongrass scent which sounds lovely too. These are $6 each.
KBShimmer Cuticle Oil pen
Image via KBShimmer website

Their nail file is etched glass, the kind I prefer to use. I immediately loved this because I needed to get a new one, so it was just what the doctor ordered. The grit is not too harsh and not too gentle, the ideal balance. I love the translucent hot pink on the handle! These are $4.75 each.
KBShimmer nail file

You can purchase all of these products and many more on the KBShimmer website. They also makes bath bombs and soap, in addition to some awesome nail polish colors of course. Have you ever tried the bath products from this brand? Are you excited for their early summer collection? It's full of holos, glitter textures, and jellies! They are available starting today May 23 and you will see my review of them soon. See ya next time!

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Product samples were provided for consideration.

Friday, May 9, 2014

My Nail Polish Community

Today I have something a little different. Check out this post by Elizabeth; it's about all the different "personalities" of nail polish that lacquer addicts have. Deborah over at Love, Varnish, Chocolate and More expanded on that idea and gave an example of each one of the "personalities", so that's what I'm going to do here!

The Tease: The polish that you love but you're afraid to wear because it's discontinued and you don't have a back up bottle.
OPI Mad as a Hatter - I picked this up when it was first in stores, without knowing it would soon become one of the most sought after polishes of all time! I never did a blog post on this collection, though I can't for the life of me remember why I didn't! I'll have to do that one of these days.

The Senior: One of the first polishes you owned. Now it's all thick and you don't really like the color anymore but you keep it anyway because it has memories.
OPI Don't Melbourne The Toast - It's not that I don't like this guy, but I don't think I've worn it since the first year I got it. It's one of the first OPIs I ever own. *sigh* Memories!

The Ugly One: The polish that you absolutely hate in every way but you keep it anyway to laugh at how weird it is.
BB Couture Kelly's Green - This is cheating, because I don't hate this in any way! I love it! But it definitely is "ugly pretty" and I don't think it's one that most people love when they see it. It is the best kind of crazy polish in my opinion!

The Superficial: The polish that looks fantastic in the bottle but is all kinds of crap when you try to put it on.
OPI Pepe's Purple Passion - This one is just sad times. That lovely shimmer looks like it's drowning, it sinks so badly and it ends up looking like mud on the nail.

The Rocky Road: The polish that always insists on being lumpy.
China Glaze Fortune Teller - One of my favorite polishes ever, but seriously chunk-tastic! Multiple coats of top coat is required to get it smooth.

The Multiplier:That one shade of polish color that you can't stop yourself from buying every time you see it.
Essie Cute As a Button - I'm a coral/pink girl! Just search for "pink" or "coral" on my blog and you'll find like a zillion posts. I even created my own coral/pink with Rescue Beauty Lounge called Kellie Gonzo!

The Ex: The polish that used to be your favorite but now sits in the back of your stash collecting dust.
Deborah Lippmann Razzle Dazzle - I really love this polish but I haven't worn it in forever. Whenever I see DLs in a store, I always pick up Razzle Dazzle thinking it's some new and gorgeous color and I'm embarrassed every time to see what it really is and that I don't recognize it haha.

The Beast: The polish that you like but never wear because it's a giant pain in the butt to remove.
Zoya Charla - Ooh this one is so gorgeous but I never wear it because it's ridiculous to remove! Smurf fingers!

The Party Animal: The polish you can wear to any party or festivity, and it will always look good with everything!
Rescue Beauty Lounge Kellie Gonzo - Did I sneak this in a second time? What a shameless plug! ;) But for real, I feel like I can wear this anywhere, any time of year, and it always looks perfect!

The Socialite: The polish that caused quite a buzz at launch, but isn't as easy to get as one might think.
Cult Nails Toxic Seaweed - This one was a limited edition polish that quickly became HTF so I'm so glad I got it when I did. It's so pretty and unique!

I hope you thought these were fun and feel free to post your own in the comments or on your own blog if you have one! Thanks Elizabeth and Deb for the fun :) Also be sure to enter my 5th Blogiversary Giveaway if you haven't yet!


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Thursday, May 8, 2014

KellieGonzo's 5th Blogiversary Giveaway! - CLOSED

Hi readers! I cannot believe it but this month marks my 5th year of my blogging! My 5th Blogiversary! It's been a crazy road but I still love it just as much as I did when I started. I might not be able to post as often as I would like, I might not be an expert on nails, and I might not even wear polish some days but I am a nail polish lover to the core and I love blogging about it. So to celebrate this milestone, I wanted to do a small giveaway for my lovely readers! Thank you so much for sticking with me :)


Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. I ask that you please look at the terms and conditions listed in the widget for full rules. This giveaway is open for everyone 18 years and up worldwide. I am giving away one $50 prepaid Visa card (winner can also opt to receive this as a one-time transfer via PayPal), and one grab bag of mystery nail polishes (approximate retail value $25). Only winners located in the continental USA will be eligible to win grab bag prize; if an international winner's name is pulled for the grab bag prize they will be awarded a prepaid Visa card or a one-time PayPal transfer of the approximate retail value of the polishes instead.

Open from now until 11:59pm PST 5/30/14. Please contact me with any questions at kg [at] kelliegonzo [dot] com.

**CLOSED**
The winners have been chosen and emailed! Congrats to Vanessa F. and Jazmin R. :) Thank you everyone for entering!

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