Glam Polish Hella Holo Customs Swatches & Review

Hi folks! Today I wanted to show you some cool new shades from Glam Polish, who is a guest maker of the month for the Facebook group Hella Holo Customs. The group has two makers each month create a few polishes from ideas from group members, and then those polishes are sold exclusively in the group. I'm excited to be able to show you these pretties!

Press Sample

Serendipity is a soft, pale blue holographic with purple and pink shimmer, sparks and glass flecks. Effortless formula, just glides on the nail. This is two coats.

Tainted Love is a berry red linear holographic with a pink flash. This is excellent, with full coverage on one coat. It did seem a tad deeper on two coats though, which is what I've done here.

Sole Fantasy has a violet tinted holographic base with violet, pink, lavender and silver ultra holo microglitter, neon pink microglitter, and purple glass flecks. This was easy to apply, even considering how full of glitter it is. This is two coats. The microglitter can be a bit bumpy so you might want an extra layer of top coat.

Forest Nymph is a forest green jelly filled with iridescent, color shifting and holo flakies, purple glass flecks and violet holo microglitter. This is super duper packed with flakies, which may make it seem thick, but the base is thinner so don't overload your brush. I used two coats here.

These are available now through the end of the month; to order, you need to join the Hella Holo Customs group and read all the rules. Let me know what you think of these special holos! Are you interested in picking any up? Thanks for stopping by today and have a lovely weekend!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Illyrian Polish Fall 2016 Stranger Things Collection Swatches & Review

I'm back today with a great collection for Fall from indie brand Illyrian Polish inspired by Stranger Things. So...have you seen Stranger Things?? It's a Netflix produced show, a sleeper hit and I'm totally in love with it. It's a must see if you like creepy thriller dramas. It's set in the early 80's and has some excellent child actors, and it's easy to binge watch. I've already seen season 1 twice and am eagerly anticipating season 2. This collection has five polishes that totally embody the show's aesthetic. I purchased two of them, and then was asked to review the full collection which I am excited to be able to show you today.

Press Sample | Purchased by Me

Image by Illyrian Polish

Eleven is a purple-y berry jelly with red to green color-shifting iridescent glitter and a scattering of holographic pigment. This is a little thick but not difficult to apply. I used three coats here but you could get away with two for a more translucent look, or layer it over an opaque base color. This didn't dry as gritty as I was anticipating, I only needed one layer of a thick top coat for a smooth finish. See those shifty glitters on the side of the bottle?? Yeah, so dope.

Mouth Breather is a dark teal blue with violet shimmer. This seemed a bit thick to me at first too, but it applied fine, no problems. This dries down dull, so you'll want a glossy top coat for shine.

I'm The Monster has a murky green base with purple/pink micro shimmer flecks. Another formula I found to be a little thick and dries kinda flat, similar to Mouth Breather, but this was not as opaque, presumably to allow the shimmer to take center stage. I used three coats here. Swampy perfection!

The Upside Down is a glitter bomb with a greyed purple tinted sheer base with lavender & silver holographic glitter and copper-to-green shifting iridescent glitter. This is amazing, it applied almost like a regular polish and covered completely in two coats. Not what I was expecting by such a dazzling, dense glitter polish! And again, this doesn't dry super textured so I only needed one layer of a thick top coat. Impressive!

Demogorgon is a blackened indigo blue with orange/yellow shimmer and small iridescent purple flakes. This too was viscous, which I'm starting to think is the norm for this brand, but I'm not complaining because they applied really nicely for me. This is two coats.

This collection will be restocked on the Illyrian Polish website on Friday November 11th at 6pm CST (along with some other shades that I will be showing you soon). I purchased Eleven and Demogorgon for $10.75 each and the other shades were sent to me for review. You can see more photos on their Facebook page and Instagram. Let me know what you think of these shades! Are you a Stranger Things fan??

❤ Kellie

Some of the products mentioned were provided for an honest review, some were purchased by me.

Zoya Winter/Holiday 2016 Enchanted Collection Swatches & Review

We made it to Wednesday, congrats to us! And happy November to all you autumn-loving folks, I'm totally digging the crisp weather right now. Today I have the Winter/Holiday line from Zoya to share with you, the Enchanted collection. This six shade palette gives us two metallic "flips" and three PixieDusts! Zoya said they were retiring this textured finish a while back, but they must have reconsidered due to popular demand, as they gave us some in their summer collection too.

Press Sample

images via Zoya

Waverly is a deep sapphire blue with blue sparkles in the exclusive PixieDust matte sparkle formula. I am SO happy to have new colors in this finish, it's so striking. Applied easily and dries quickly to a textured, sandy finish. I prefer these in their textured state, but you could use a few layers of top coat to make it smooth if you want. I always wear a base coat, though they say you don't need one for these. However this is a very pigmented blue, so it may stain.

Lorna is a luscious berry magenta with a sugary bling in the matte sparkle PixieDust formula. The sparkle from the glitter in these may seem shy in the photographs, but it's delightfully twinkly in person. Two easy coats here.

Alice is an enigmatic periwinkle PixieDust with subtle magenta and blue sparkles. This formula seemed thinner with a slightly chunkier heft to the glitter. I was thinking maybe I would need three coats but it became opaque in two. This is nice and unique, an exciting shade to have in a texture finish.

Elphie is a bewitching emerald green PixieDust matte sparkle. Another excellent formula, full coverage in two coats. I think this is probably named for Elphaba from Wicked, which is of course awesome. I needed this green texture in my life, sexy and so wearable.

Saint is a vivid periwinkle shimmer multichrome with a magenta shift. This has a thin but easy formula, a bit prone to brushstrokes but they don't look bad with this type of finish. I used three coats for full coverage.

Olivera is a mesmerizing color-flip metallic with an indigo base and a green and purple shift. This is seriously gorgeous, dark and glimmering. Very close to being a one coater, two layers makes it perfect though. I can see myself wearing this over and over.

The Enchanted collection is available now on the Zoya website for $10 each. What do you think of these lacquers? I'm pretty taken with them, this is probably my favorite Zoya collection all year! I would say Olivera and Elphie have to be my favs, how about you? Enjoy your day sweets!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

ALIQUID Lacquer Adopt a Shelter Dog Charity Polish 2016 Swatch & Review

It's October again! Indie brand ALIQUID Lacquer is celebrating Adopt a Shelter Dog Month with creating another limited edition polish to support the ASPCA. Their previous efforts have raised almost $700 over the past two years! This year they are teaming up with TwinkledT to also release some cute vinyls for doggie themed nail art.

Press Sample

Dog Ate My Homework is a berry-tinted jelly with holographic and iridescent microglitter, gold flakies and blue glass flecks. Since it is a jelly it is pretty sheer, but that allows the gorgeous glitz inside to pop and layer to give a complex look. You could build this up on it's own or layer it on top of an opaque base color for a different look. I used three coats here.

The included TwinkledT vinyl sheet comes with 24 decals and 24 stencils in lots of cute designs. These worked really nicely for me, and being a beginner, I think I did pretty well with them! I used my go-to opaque white crème to fill in the heart-paw and dog stencils. I also put on a coat of matte transforming top coat to give the polish another look.

About the cause: About 3.9 million dogs enter U.S. shelters every year, and 1.2 million dogs are euthanized (800,000 of them pit bulls and pit bull mixes like our dog Trudy). Adopt a Shelter Dog Month seeks to call attention to the plight of these animals and to encourage people to adopt dogs rather than going to a breeder. No matter your preferences, you're bound to find a rescue dog that fits perfectly into your home! Click here to read all about pet adoption!

The vision of the ASPCA is "a humane community in which all animals are treated with respect and kindness." Donations to the ASPCA support a variety of causes, including:
•Grants to shelters nationwide
•Spay/neuter and microchipping programs
•Adoption, fostering and relocation programs
•Investigation and seizure of abused animals
•Lobbying for anti-cruelty legislation

This polish will only be available in the month of October from ALIQUID Lacquer's website. You can purchase it for $13 and $6 of that will go to the ASPCA! Since I received this polish for review, I have donated the $6 that would've been given to the ASPCA had I purchased this.

If you are a dog lover, cat enthusiast, or just want to support a great charity for animals, please consider donating or purchasing this awesome polish!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

SuperChic Lacquer Urban Dictionary Collection Swatches & Review

Hi friends! Today I have a new collection from indie brand SuperChic Lacquer, the Urban Dictionary collection of eight superholo shades. They are described as "fierce color depth shades with intense linear holographic effects." I used a good base coat on all of these to prevent staining, I prefer the SuperChic Bring It On! stain blocking/color bonding base coat.

Press Sample

Rum-Billie is a warm spiced rum linear holographic. Awesomely robust, opaque in one coat and easy to apply. This is a unique shade to my collection, I can't get over it's hotness!

Trap Queen is a vibrant raspberry holographic. This gal is also a one coater, yay! Did you immediately start singing that song? Because I did :)

Zombie Crush is a dark blackened blood purple holographic. Great formula, super pigmented. I got a little of this in my cuticle and it ended up staining my skin, so take care! One coater here.

Wonderwall is an intense pale champagne gold holographic. There is a teal tinge to this that is quite subtle, but it's definitely there. This is the only shade in the collection where two coats were necessary for full coverage.

Awkward Turtle is a gorgeous muted olive green holographic. I was hoping for a green in the SuperChic intense holo formula, so I was really excited to see this! Another fabulous one coater.

Rosebuddy is a pale pink intense holographic. This is almost a rose gold but is more pink than the almost coppery shade I think of for a rose gold. Due to it's lighter color I really thought I would need two coats, but one really did cover my nail completely!

Deadpool is a dark ocean-at-night blue holographic. Who doesn't love a dark blue for fall? One coat wonder.

Awesome Sauce is an intense rich dark chocolate holographic. I'm loving all the brown shades that are coming out this year and this is no exception. This is a one coat shade as well.

This collection, along with SuperChic's other intense holos, the Dreamology collection, will be available for pre-order today September 26th at 4pm PST (USA) on the SuperChic Lacquer website. All polishes are $12 each. Let me know what you think of all of these holo babes!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Zoya Fall 2016 Urban Grunge Collection - Metallic Holos Swatches & Review

I'm back today with the second half of the fall collection from Zoya! The Urban Grunge collection is twelve shades, six of which I showed you Friday and now we have the sparklier six! These are named the metallic holos, not that they're both--three are metallic and three are holos. I am pretty much carried away by my love of these, so let's get to the swatches!

Press Sample

Merida is a brilliant evergreen filled with holographic flakes. This is the infamous Zoya holo formula, like previous hits Dream, Storm, etc. I have been waiting for them to come out with a green version, along with a lot of others, for a long time so I am absolutely over the moon for this! Awesome formula, covers completely in one coat but gets deeper with two layers.

Alicia is a pale silver holographic with holo flakes a touch of gold flash. This applied really nicely, easy formula. It was really super close to being opaque in two coats for me, but I could still barely see my nail line so I used three.

Finley is a deep royal purple with holographic flakies, same formula as Merida. A tiny bit less opaque, but I still only needed two coats.

Britta is a creamy berry metallic with a red and purple fuchsia flash and tons of gold shimmer. I wasn't sure about this when I saw it in the bottle but it really wowed me when I put it on. Super opaque, one coater but I used two here.

Troy is a liquid pewter grey with a foil finish and an touch of black and gold. Crazy good formula, another one that's opaque in one coat. I used two again. One of my favorite colors to wear on my nails, gunmetal!

Ash is vibrant cherry metallic with a red and gold shimmer. Same formula as the other two metallics, one coater again! This looks way cuter on the nail than I expected, very sparkly. And I have to say, they really missed an opportunity naming this one Ash instead of Troy, the actual ash colored one... Oh well!

These are available now on the Zoya website for $10 each. I posted the first half of the collection already, the "one coat creams", they are not to be missed! What do you think of these six shimmering shades? I love them all, and honestly this might be my favorite Zoya collection in a long time!

❤ 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.

Glisten & Glow All Dressed Up Duo and Experience The Islands Collection Swatches & Review

Hey folks, I'm back again today with the latest from indie brand Glisten & Glow. They put out two small releases of some great crème shades that I'm happy to share with you today! There's the All Dressed Up duo and the Experience The Islands quartet, six colors everyone should have in their collection! Plus I hear these are great for watermarbling, if that is your pleasure!

Press Sample

Wedding Gown White is a bold white crème. I found this easy to use, not chalky like some stark whites can be. It was right on the edge of being a two coater for me, but I think it looked best at three. Dries shiny!

Little Black Dress is a classic black crème. Easy to apply, neither thick or thin. This is two coats. This and the white are the two shades that make up the All Dressed Up duo.

ATV In Aruba is a fuchsia berry pink crème. This applied like an absolute dream, creamy and opaque and buttery. Two coats here, but it's almost a one coater.

Bungee Jump In The Bahamas is a lovely mint crème. I found this one to be a little on the thick side, but I got it on with minimal effort. Two coats.

Parasail In Puerto Rico is a coral pink crème. This one had a great consistency, but it looked a tad streaky to me on two coats so I used one more.

Snorkel In St. Thomas is a vibrant turquoise/cyan blue crème. This one was a little thin but applied well. Not quite 100% opaque on two coats, this is three.

You can grab all six right now for $45 and free US shipping on the Glisten & Glow website. The Experience the Islands foursome is $30 and the two All Dressed Up shades go for $15. You could also purchase them individually for $7.50 each. While you're shopping, you could also pick up a bottle of their amazing fast dry top coat, HK Girl, a cult fav!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Girly Bits Sweet Nothings Collection Swatches & Review

Hey folks, today I have the Girly Bits Sweet Nothings collection, a top coat, and one bonus shade to share with you today! I have only tried a few polishes from them in the past so I was really stoked to be able to review a full collection for you on my blog! This 7 piece collection was inspired by sweet French Macarons, and their delicate texture.

Press Sample

Mon Chéri is a mid tone blush pink crelly that leans slightly peach, with peach and gold shimmer and platinum silver shimmer. This applied easily and went on smooth and streak-free. I used two coats here for full opacity.

Mon ChouChou is a mid tone lilac crelly, with pink and blue shimmer, and platinum silver shimmer. This one seemed a bit sheer on one coat so depending on your application you may need three coats, as I did. Even though it was less opaque than Mon Cheri, it flowed onto the nail nicely and was not streaky.

Mon Petit Canard is a pastel yellow crelly, with copper and platinum silver shimmer. This one was a tad streaky, but really minimally. I used three coats on this guy for full coverage. I'm a sucker for soft yellows so this is so cute to me!

Bleu de tes Yeux is a sky blue crelly with blue and platinum silver shimmer. Same formula as Mon Cheri, no streaks and opaque in two coats. I love the little flecks of darker blue in this, it makes it very dimensional!

J’ai Besoin de Toi is a light, almost dusty, sage green crelly with platinum silver shimmer. This was similar to the yellow shade, slightly streaky, but I would still classify this as a having a good formula. I used two layers here, but it you do thinner coats, you may need three.

Bonbon D’Amour is an opaque white crelly with a mix of neon circle glitter, smaller pastel glitter, and purple metallic flakes. The base of this had a lovely consistency, not too thick or thin with good pigmentation. I used two coats and needed some placement to get the glitters to lay in a pleasing way on my nail, which is pretty typical for these type of crelly glitters. You'll want a layer of thick top coat to get a smooth finish, but probably just one.

Tarte au Sucre is a real stunner! It's a lilac microglitter accented with silver holographic, red shimmer and multi colored iridescent glitter pieces. I found this to have excellent coverage, needing only two coats for full opacity. Dries gritty so you will need one or two layers of a thick top coat for smoothness. The iridescent glitters really POP in lower lights, but I didn't get a good picture of it in the shade, unfortunately. Just take my word for it ;)

I used their Glitter Glaze top coat over Tarte au Sucre. This top coat is a quick drying glossy top coat with a slightly thicker viscosity than their regular top coat formula, What A Rush, and is designed for smoothing out glitter or textured polishes. This applied well and dried quickly. Upon full dry down over the glitter, I did still feel minimal "bumps" but they were not rough to the touch, if that makes sense. I would probably still layer one more coat to get a completely smooth surface, at least over the glitter I tried it with.

Image via Girly Bits Cosmetics

And the bonus shade, Razzle Dazzle 2.0, is a re-launch of the original, first release in 2011. It is a raspberry scattered holographic microglitter with pops of copper, blue and deep pink in a sheer fuchsia jelly base. This can be layered or used by itself. I built it up here in three coats. There is still slight "gaps" where you can see the base of your nail, so if that bothers you I would layer it over a similarly colored raspberry polish. This is very blingy!

The Sweet Nothings collection, top coat and Razzle Dazzle 2.0 are available on the Girly Bits website now for $12.91 USD each. Please be aware that they ship from Canada, in case you are located in another country. What do you think of these? My favorites are Mon Cheri, J'ai Besoin des Toi and Tarte au Sucré. But I really enjoyed all of them! Have you tried Girly Bits yet?

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.