KBShimmer Office Space Collection Swatches & Review

Hey folks, I'm here today to show you the next KBShimmer collection coming soon in January, the Office Space collection! “Sometimes you want to be a bit naughty, but stay within the professional lines. The Office Space collection consists of eight naughty and neutral shade ideas for the office. These shades add a pop of color and sparkle to your nails, while still keeping the boss happy." My job doesn't discriminate against any nail polish colors, thank goodness, but if they did, these colors would be a revelation!

Press Sample

Take Back CTRL is a dusty rose mauve crème. Leans purple but is on the border of the pink family I think. Excellent formula, buttery and smooth. Opaque in two coats.

A Hint Of Manila is in the famous KBShimmer mega flame finish, this has a light tan base loaded with tons of holographic sparkle. A touch thick but not difficult to apply. This is two coats. Dries with a glitter texture so you'll want a thick layer of top coat or two for a smooth finish.

Staple Relationship is a deepened gray with slight purple undertones full of metallic silver flakes and holographic sparkle. This is in the KBShimmer birthstone finish, a favorite of mine. Super opaque, a one coater! I used two anyway though.The flakies dry flat so there is no texture to this one.

Caught On Tape is a pale pink mauve crème. This is simple and pretty, really classic. Lovely formula, really excellent for such a light color! And quite opaque, I only needed two coats.

Fax Of Life is a dark platinum grey linear holographic shade. I was pretty floored at how opaque this guy was, almost a one coater but I used two for 100% coverage. Easy and breezy and great!

Supplies Party has a warm vanilla cream base loaded with metallic flakes and holographic sparkle. Another birthstone finish shade with a great formula. An unexpected favorite, two coats.

Cubicle Pusher is a muted dusty grape holographic. Great formula, just a little on the thinner side. I used three coats here but you could probably get away with just two, I think I was being cautious haha.

Makin’ Copies is a pale silver filled with white shimmer and holographic pigment. The holo in this is subtle, but it's definitely there. A bit more sheer, but being an almost white, that isn't really unexpected. I used three coats here.

This collection will launch on Wednesday, January 4th on the KBShimmer website. The polishes will sell for $9.25 each. For international folks, check out Harlow & Co., though I'm not sure what date they will be available there. Let me know what you think about these neutral beauties!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Potion Polish Magic of Christmas Collection Swatches & Review

I can't believe it's December y'all, it's been one crazy year! I've welcomed the snow and the cold weather, but I'm sure I'll be sick of it soon haha. Is it cold where you are? Any-who, I've got another awesome indie holiday collection for you today, it's the Potion Polish Magic of Christmas collection! And spoiler alert...it's my favorite collection they've ever done!

Press Sample

Christmas Cheer is a deep plummy purple with a blue sheen that shifts from a dark violet to a magenta cherry red to a cobalt blue with holographic flakes mixed in. This is a gorgeous shade and I was sad to take it off! Good formula, a touch on the runny side, but you get the right amount on your brush and you're set! This is two coats.

Snowmelt is a fosty winter blue with added silver flakes and a soft holographic effect. This formula knocked my wooly winter socks off! Effortless to paint with, opaque in just two coats!

Very Merry is a deep cranberry holographic with added twinkles of gold glitter. Stellar and super simple formula, two coats for coverage. This reminds me of a yummy bowl of cranberry sauce, with holo!

Define Naughty is a light creamy beige with a soft holographic effect. This shade was very easy to apply for such a light color, and it was more opaque than I expected! I used two coats here.

All Decked Out is a peachy warm rose gold jelly stuffed with holographic flakes. Nice and easy formula, no issues here. I found it looked great at two coats but you can make it even more opaque by using one more layer. Those holo sparks are dazzling eh?

Morning Mocha has a dark chocolatey base filled with strong copper shimmer and golden bronze chrome flakes. Another great formula, no fuss here! Two coats for full opacity. This guy dries a bit dull so you'll want a shiny top coat.

Even Santa Loves Pink is an adorable soft pink leaning slightly lavender holographic with gold accents. Can you believe it, this one is great too! Two easy dreamy coats. I'm head over heels for this, I always like pink at Christmas time!

Holly Bough is rich dark green holographic with some glimmery gold chrome flakes. It was very smooth and lovely, just glides on the nail. I used two coats here.

This collection is available now on the Potion Polish website. They range in price from $10.00 - $10.75 each. Let me know what you think of these shades! They really hit it out of the park for me, I'm in love with every shade!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

China Glaze Holiday 2016 Seas and Greetings Collection Swatches & Review

This year for the holiday season China Glaze is doing things a little differently! They are taking us on a tropical escape from the snow and cold to give us "warmed up" winter in the form of bright shades, shimmer and vibrancy! Let's take a look at the Seas and Greetings collection!

Press Sample

Good Tide-ings is described as a cool blue lavender, or in other words, a periwinkle crème. This is a total one coat wonder, excellent buttery formula that is very opaque. I used two coats here, as usual.

Warm Wishes is a watermelon coral with super subtle silver shimmer. This formula was on the thin side, so it could be runny if you overload your brush. I noticed some slight streaks after two coats, so I used three layers here.

Joy To The Waves is a shimmering "serene" blue with a strong gold flash. This is thin and a bit sheer. I used three coats for full coverage. This type of shimmer can get brushstrokey so I recommend polishing with care.

Eat, Pink, Be Merry is a pale pink with subtle shimmer. Another thin formula, and a little sheer. I found that floating the brush over the nail instead of pressing down to be the best method of application to ensure a streak-free finish. This is three coats.

Partridge In a Palm Tree is an aqua green matte with silver shimmer. This is one of those mattes that dries SUPER fast. And if you put on too thin of a layer, it can crack upon dry down. I got the best results when I applied this very quickly with a good amount of polish on my brush. If you manipulate it too much you will get uneven streaks. Very opaque, this is two coats but you could get away with one if applied well.

And you know I had to show this to you with top coat. The shimmer comes out like whoa!

Let's Shell-ebrate has a clear base with purple hexes, super tiny purple microglitters and soft gold flake shimmer. I layered two coats over Eat, Pink, Be Merry. You could also layer two or three coats of this on by itself for a different look.

I wanted to show you a shot of Let's Shell-ebrate in the shade to better highlight the gold flecks, as they are quite prominent but the full sunlight photo washes them out a bit.

Snow Way! is a winter white with a strong iridescent gold shimmer flash. Pale shades can be tricky to apply, but this was pretty straightforward and not finicky. I used three coats here for full opacity.

Tis The Sea-Sun is a vibrant coral crème with a sprinkle of practically invisible shimmer. A more orangey red kind of coral, thin but not runny or difficult. I found this really easy to polish with actually! This is two coats.

Sand In My Mistletoes is a peachy nude crème. This was a little thin, but surprisingly opaque. I saw some faint streaky-ness on two coats though, so I used three for good measure.

The More The Berrier is a metallic magenta foil. A more typical holiday type shade, this reminds me of a bold party dress. This is absolutely a one coat polish, I even left it alone at one because it looked so great I felt another coat couldn't improve it any more!

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Starfish is an iridescent gold-to-green shimmer topper. I am convinced this was made to pair with Partridge In a Palm Tree, it looks perfect in my humble opinion haha. This is two coats over Partridge.

Seas and Greetings is a striking amethyst purple shimmer. This formula reminds me of the old school polishes that were full of chemicals, kinda sheer and a bit watery but when built up they look really dimensional and glowy. This is three coats.

This collection is available now at Sally Beauty Supply stores and online at www.sallybeauty.com for $6.99 each. This is a crazy refreshing color palette for me right now, being knee-deep in the usual holiday reds, greens and dark colors haha. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I'm really pleased with the departure from the status quo for the season. My favorite is the combo of Partridge In a Palm Tree and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Starfish. What do you think of this collection?

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Native War Paints Denim Collection Swatches & Review

Hey party people! Today I have the latest collection from indie brand Native War Paints, and they are shimmmaaahhss! This is by far my favorite finish from NWP, they do shimmers incredibly well. Instead of the gold shimmer we saw in their Sweater collections, this new collection, called Denim, has blue shimmer!

Press Sample

Jeans and a T-shirt is a pale grey with blue shimmer. This one seemed a bit sheer at first but it builds up nicely. Lovely formula, not thin like I expected, easy to polish with. This is three coats. These all dry dull so you'll want a top coat for maximum shine.

Skinny Jeans is a dusty yet vibrant medium purple with blue shimmer. This one was a tad thick. Nice and opaque at two coats.

Boots and Jeans is a beigey nude polish with blue shimmer. This one is very similar to Jeans and a T-shirt, sheerish but with a nice, easy to use formula. This is three coats.

Denim on Denim is a dark blue with blue shimmer. I found this to be similar to Skinny Jeans, a little on the thicker side, with full coverage in two coats.

Distressed Denim is a deep aubergine purple with blue shimmer. This dries darker than it looks in the bottle, a little more wine than berry. Same thicker formula, two coats.

My Favorite Sweater and Jeans is a teal polish with blue shimmer. This is still just as shimmery as the others but the colors don't contrast as much, so it might not appear very glisteny in the photo, but it definitely is in real life. Good formula, also a tad bit thick, two coats.

It hit me that the formula on the darker shades are all very similar to how matte polishes behave for me. They dry very quickly, and I seemed to get the smoothest finish when I had a generous amount of polish on my brush and worked very quickly and deliberately. If you play with your strokes too much (heh heh) you might get uneven-ness and visible streaks.

These are all available for pre-order on the Native War Paints website now. They are $8 individually and $40 for the full collection. After the pre-order ends on 9/17, they will sell for $9 individually and $50 for the collection. What do you think of these shimmery gals? I'm honestly gaga for them all, but Distressed Denim and Boots and Jeans have me swooning!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Zoya Fall 2016 Urban Grunge Collection - One Coat Creams Swatches & Review

Happy Friday friends! Today I have the first half of the Urban Grunge collection from Zoya. These six shades are toted as "one coat creams", so we will see if that is true! The last collection of one coat creams didn't impress me so much, so I was anxious to see how these babies measured up. They are all pretty for sure, so great formulas are icing on the cake.

Press Sample

August is a soft leather type of grey crème. On the thicker end of the spectrum, but lovely to apply. One coat! I used two for my swatch, because I (almost) always do.

Wyatt is a true racing green crème. Lovely formula, not as thick as the two lighter shades in the collection, but just as saturated. Another impressive one coater, I used two though.

Tara is a purple plum crème. Not quite as opaque as the others, but still has great application. Seemed slightly more jellyish. I needed two coats for full opacity on this one, but I'm not complaining.

Mallory is a saturated Prussian blue crème. Same formula as the green, super easy to apply with excellent pigmentation. One coat, but I used two.

Noah is a balanced beige, not quite taupe or yellow. The formula is thick but not difficult to paint with. This is a one coat shade, however I used two here.

Courtney is a deep beet root red crème, although this borders on a jelly crème hybrid. More transparent than the others, you definitely need at least two coats for coverage, possibly three if you have very white nail tips.

These available now on the Zoya website for $10 each. I will have the second half of the collection up soon, the "metallic holos". Let me know what you think of these! I honestly love them all, and most of the formulas are exceptional.

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

The Holo Hookup September 2016 Swatches & Review

Hi everyone! Today I have the next edition of The Holo Hookup to show you! In case you haven't heard of it yet, it's a monthly pre-order "box" of four holographic polishes from indie makers Cupcake Polish, Different Dimension and Glisten & Glow along with a guest maker. They always have a fun theme and create some beautiful limited edition polishes. The theme for September's box is art, all the shades are inspired by famous paintings! And the guest indie maker is Vapid Lacquer.

Press Sample

Inspiration Photos

Cupcake Polish Bad Hare Day is inspired by Robert Deyber's Bad Hare Day (Mona Lisa). This is a beige/ivory linear holographic with copper speckles throughout. This has a great formula, thick but in a good way. This is two coats.

Different Dimension Monroe is inspired by Andy Warhol's Monroe. It's a creamy, lightened tiffany blue linear holographic with added shimmers and neon pink microglitters. This was also thick in a good way, buttery. Dried a little slow and has some texture, so wait a bit between coats and use a thick top coat.

Glisten & Glow The Abstract Expressionist is inspired by Sam Francis's Untitled, 1994, (SFP94-75, SFF.1749). It's a berry purple linear holographic with gold and purple shimmers. Super easy, great formula. I used two coats here.

Vapid Lacquer Dali's Elephants is inspired by Salvador Dali's Elephants. It's a very warm red-orange linear holographic. Thinner formula but very pigmented. I didn't shake my bottle very well and my first coat was not very holo, so I gave it a good tumble and the second layer was much more sparkly. This dries surprisingly shiny!

This box will be available for pre-order on The Holo Hookup website starting Sunday, August 21st at 9pm EST through Sunday, August 28th at 9pm EST. The price is $40.00 plus shipping, available both domestically and internationally. To see more swatches, you can check out The Holo Hookup’s Facebook and Instagram pages. Let me know what you think of these! This has to be one of my favorite boxes since I started reviewing them, so good!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

KBShimmer Summer 2016 Collection Swatches & Review

Summer is almost here! And the Summer collections are rolling in, yay! Today's collection is from KBShimmer, a twelve piece collection with an array of finishes, crème, crelly, glitter, holo, shimmer, and even a few more metallic flakies! KBShimmer always blows my mind, so I was way excited to see what they had come up with for the season.

Press Sample

Along For The Tide is an inky cobalt blue polish jam packed with shimmery micro flecks that shift from pink to violet and blue to purple, with a linear holo finish that pops in bright light. This applied really well, opaque in just two coats. I was mesmerized by the star-like glimmer in this!

Don't Play Koi has a muted white crelly base with coral, aqua and grey hex glitters. I love the addition of the grey in this, unexpected and totally ties in all the colors. This was on the thin side and required a little bit of manipulation to place the glitters, not unlike most glitter crelly mixes. I got this opaque in two coats, but you may need three depending on your application style.

How Low Can You Flamingo? is a shocking pink crème, it's being marketed as an "almost neon" but I would go right ahead and call this a neon! Easy peasy formula, dreamy in two coats.

Neon Me has a muted white crelly base full of small circle glitters and microglitters in a rainbow of neon shades. Same type of formula as Koi, thin, with some glitter placement. I went ahead and used three coats for complete coverage on this guy.

Ready For A Good Lime is a pastel lime green crème. This was easy to apply, better than almost any type of bleached neon I've tried! Two coats for full opacity. My camera had a hissy fit with this color and made my skin look a little odd here haha. Neons, amirite?!

Good Reef! is a light peachy coral pink filled with blue and pink shimmer that pops in certain lights. This one was pretty sheer on the first coat, and doesn't self level very well. I needed three coats to cover the streaks and make it opaque. KBShimmer recommends applying two normal/thin coats and one thicker coat. This also dries semi-dull so you'll want a topcoat for shine. The formula isn't the worst I've tried and I like this color enough to deal with it, but it might deter some.

Suit The Breeze is a periwinkle blue in the same type of style as Good Reef, with shimmery pink and violet micro flake shimmer. This applied muuuuch better though, opaque and even in just two coats, but you may want three if you are a stickler for thin coats. This one also dries on the dull side.

Mai Tai One On is a soft lemonade yellow with tons of yellow gold and soft green shimmer. Another one in the style of Good Reef, with a better formula. However, since this is a pale yellow, I did need three coats for opacity. The shimmer in this one just screams "summer" to me!

Playing With The Buoys is a soft, pastel sage with mint hues and blue undertones. Applied like an absolute dream and was opaque in two coats. This type of color just hits me straight through the heart, love!

One Night Sand is a metallic flake finish polish, same style as the polishes in their Birthstone collection that came out a few months ago. The color is a near copper, rose gold with added pops of holographic. Amazing formula, easy and opaque in two coats. I love that the flakes lie flat so they aren't textured!

Gull, Get Real! is another metallic flake polish, this one is a light, grey toned purpley-blue. Same great formula, two coats for full coverage. It's so funny, I had really recently purchased two flake polishes in a rose gold and a rich purpley-blue from a different brand, and it looks like maybe I should've waited because this one and One Night Sand are so similar to those! Serves me right I guess haha.

That's Nude To Me is a beige, pink toned nude subtle linear holographic. This is a perfect summer neutral! Looks more shimmery indoors and has a great holo effect in bright light. Great application, opaque for me in just two coats.

This collection will go on sale June 1st at 9am EST on the new & improved KBShimmer website. All the polishes are $9.25. They will also be available on Harlow & Co. for you international peeps!

So what do you think? Do you spot any must-haves? My favorites are Don't Play Koi, One Night Sand, and Suit The Breeze! Are you looking forward to summer? I'm a June baby so that'll be fun, but I prefer Autumn and Winter to be honest haha. I am excited to have lots of sun to be able to swatch more on the weekends though!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.