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...

Showing posts with label pearl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pearl. Show all posts

Friday, December 23, 2016

Pretty Serious Cosmetics Holiday 2016 Ghosts of Christmas Past Collection Swatches & Review

I'm back today with another bunch of gorgeous shades from Pretty Serious Cosmetics, their Holiday collection for 2016, Ghosts of Christmas Past! Last year we got the Ghosts of Christmas Future, so maybe next year we'll get the Ghosts of Christmas Present? Haha on to the pretties!

Very Merry Berry is a deep neutral red jelly crème. This applied easily and was nice and opaque in just two coats.
Pretty Serious Cosmetics Very Merry Berry

Fairy Lights is a pale pearly frosted grey with pink and purple shimmer. This is ethereal and glowy, not a frost so there are no brush strokes to be seen! Lovely to apply, three coats.
Pretty Serious Cosmetics Fairy Lights

Enchanting Evergreen is a deep evergreen with flat green shimmer laced throughout. Fabulous, effortless formula. This is two coats.
Pretty Serious Cosmetics Enchanting Evergreen

Tarnished Tinsel is a full coverage gold glitter with sneaky bits of red and silver twinkle here and there. The gold glitter pieces are actually very small, short bar pieces, my friend Peachy Polish has an excellent macro on her review in case you want to see the splendor! I used two coats.
Pretty Serious Cosmetics Tarnished Tinsel

Velvet Bow is a dark buttery smooth metallic red, one of those shades with an internal glow. Insane formula, a one coat wonder but I used two here.
Pretty Serious Cosmetics Velvet Bow

Peace On Earth is a pale minty green with a soft but robust pink shimmer. An almost on the nose dupe for YSL Peace Green, if you've been lusting after that one. The strong shimmer and pigmented base lend to an easy two coat formula.
Pretty Serious Cosmetics Peace On Earth

Mojito is a color shifting topper that flexes from gold to green to subtle blue. I layered one coat over Very Merry Berry. This looks so rad! I bet it would be even extra with a matte top coat, I'm kicking myself for not trying that out and taking a photo.
Pretty Serious Cosmetics Mojito over Very Merry Berry

Jack Frost is an icy shimmer topper with added iridescent glitters that positively glow! I layered one coat over Enchanting Evergreen for a glistening winter look.
Pretty Serious Cosmetics Jack Frost over Enchanting Evergreen

This collection is available on the Pretty Serious Cosmetics website now for $9.95 AUD, which is about $7.20 USD with the current exchange rate. I'm very pleased with this collection, we get some traditional holiday colors in unique finishes and some out of the box shades too! Let me know your thoughts!

❤ Kellie
The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Friday, August 12, 2016

China Glaze Fall 2016 Rebel Collection Swatches & Review

Happy Friday everyone! Today I took a trip down memory lane with the Fall 2016 collection from China Glaze! Rebel gives us 12 shades inspired by the "quintessential juxtaposition of the 90s." I was born in '86 so I lived through the entirety of the 90s decade and it definitely left an impression on me. 90s fashion is coming back in a big way so this collection is super timely and really gave my nostalgic heart a twinge. Let's take a look at the colors!
photos via China Glaze, collage via me

Purple Fiction is a stunning royal metallic plum. This applied amazingly, a touch on the thin side but covered easily in two coats. And no visible brushstrokes, they seemed to melt away! I'm obsessed with this jewel-like shade. Pulp Fiction is one of my favorite movies of all time too, so I love the name.
China Glaze Purple Fiction

Dope Taupe is a soft greige taupe crème. Perfect formula, opaque on one coat! I used two here. I still say "dope", I didn't realize it was 90s slang haha.
China Glaze Dope Taupe

Blue-Ya is a sapphire blue jelly with gleaming blue and green shimmer flakes. Great formula, easy to apply and opaque on two coats. I couldn't stop staring at this when I put it on!
China Glaze Blue-Ya

Heroine Chic is a charcoal brown metallic with flecks of red shimmer. This applied well but had a thinner formula than I expected. Still, only two coats were necessary for full coverage. This has some brushstrokes, but they look ok due to the metallic-ness of the base. I almost wish this was a crème though, and interestingly enough it was described as such in the press materials. *shrug*
China Glaze Heroine Chic

Pearl Jammin' is a pale blue with a strong pearly opalescent shimmer. This was pretty thin, but was almost opaque in two coats. I used three for 100% coverage. A little brushstrokey, but such is to be expected with this type of shimmer. Reminds me of a seashell!
China Glaze Pearl Jammin'

Y'all Ready For This? is a warm red with microshimmer that subtly reflects a blueish-purple. Nice, normal formula, two coats for opacity. This is very pigmented and it may stain your skin upon removal, so be careful. Even thinking the name of this gets that song stuck in my head haha.
China Glaze Y'all Ready For This?

Jagged Little Teal is a rich teal crème. Lovely formula, easy to apply and buttery smooth. Almost a one coater, but I needed that second layer to make it fully opaque. I really appreciate the Alanis Morissette reference, her music and lyrics fed my pseudo-angsty pre-teen soul. I probably definitely shouldn't have been listening and singing along to some of those songs at that age though haha.
China Glaze Jagged Little Teal

Don't Mesh With Me is an iridescent lavender microshimmer in a clear base. I applied one coat over Jagged Little Teal. I would personally only wear this layered over another color, I am pretty sure it's meant to be a topper.
China Glaze Don't Mesh With Me

Buuuut, I thought I'd be a trooper and show it on its own anyway. This is three coats of Don't Mesh With Me. Not bad to build up application wise, but it'll probably never really be opaque.
China Glaze Don't Mesh With Me

Fresh Prince-ss is a baby pink crème. I found this to be streaky on two coats so I used three. This reminds me of the pink clothes worn in the movie "Clueless", which I've seen about a million times!
China Glaze Fresh Prince-ss

Combat Blue-ts is an insanely luxe looking royal blue matte crème. Mattes can be difficult to apply because they dry so quickly, so I used the three-stroke method when applying this and worked fast to get a smooth result. Opaque in one coat but I used two.
China Glaze Combat Blue-ts

This is Combat Blue-ts with a top coat. Very pretty of course, but I think I prefer it matte for a more unique look. I didn't have any staining with this, but didn't wear it very long. I always wanted combat boots in the 90s but I never got them.
China Glaze Combat Blue-ts

Holo At Ya Girl! is a green gold iridescent microglitter with small blue and green hex glitter in a clear base. I used one coat over Combat Blue-ts. Despite the name, there is nothing holographic about the glitter.
China Glaze Holo At Ya Girl!

And this is Holo At Ya Girl! by itself at three coats. This one is wearable on its own, unlike the other glitter in the collection in my humble opinion, but it's not my favorite look. Since it's so blingy though, even though you can see through to the nail in the photo, in real life it's less apparent.
China Glaze Holo At Ya Girl! // @kelliegonzoblog

Teen Spirit is a deep inky purple with metallic shifty microshimmer. We saw a similar shade a few times last year from some other brands, but this is more purple than those. Nice, easy formula and opaque on two coats. Dries very shiny, but I always recommend a top coat. So glad they put a Nirvana reference in!
China Glaze Teen Spirit

This collection is available at retailers like Sally Beauty Supply and Ulta Beauty now for around $7.50 each. What do you think of these shades? Were you a 90s chick? I am pretty pleased with the colors in this collection, and am impressed with the ease of the formulas! Let me know what you think!

❤ Kellie
The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Thursday, April 23, 2015

#TBT: My Favorite Black Label OPIs Part 2

Happy #ThrowbackThursday! Today I have my second installment of my favorite BLOPIs, you can check out my first post here, it also includes an explanation of what a "black label" OPI is in case you don't know. In a nutshell, it's a vintage OPI from before 2006. This is a collaboration series I'm doing with my friend Karen, aka manigeek from the beauty blog beautygeeks. She's blogging about her favorites at the same time, so be sure to check out her post too!

This is Japanese Rose Garden from the Far East collection which came out in 2000. It's a dusty light rose pink with a slightly frosty silvery pearl finish. This is actually a shade you can still buy today, it's in the core line. This one is a black label though, so it has some chemicals that the core collection doesn't have of course, and I love the formula. While there are some brushstrokes due to the finish, they are subtle and I think the end result is really pretty and just so classic. I don't remember where I picked this up from, I think I got it in a swap a long time ago.
OPI Japanese Rose Garden
OPI Japanese Rose Garden label

Here is SRO (Standing Room Only) Silver, which I received as a gift from one of my polish besties a few years ago. It's from the Holiday on Broadway collection from 2003. This is a sheer-ish silver holographic polish. It's very thin and the chemicals make it nice and smelly. This is four coats. The fire of the holo really pops out in bright lights, which is why I love it. Well, that and it's one of the more harder-to-find OPI shades, which makes owning it kinda special :) I also love layering with this, it's gorgeous over dark colors.
OPI SRO (Standing Room Only) Silver
OPI SRO (Standing Room Only) Silver label

You can see the two BLOPIs that Karen chose today on her blog HERE. I'm loving this series, how about you? Have you ever gotten a hard-to-find or exclusive polish that made your heart race? I definitely regret not getting into polish sooner, there were such treasures to be had!

Talk to you again soon :)

❤ Kellie

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Black Luna Lacquer Auroras Swatch & Review

Howdy good folks! Awhile ago I saw an awesome photo of a opalescent pearl glitter polish on instagram a while ago and I knew I had to have it. It's actually the type of glitter I'd been looking for for a long time, but you usually can only find it loose and not in a nail polish. The polish is called Auroras from the indie brand Black Luna Lacquers. I layered two coats here over a white crème.

I love this glitter, it looks so ethereal and I love the color shift it gives at different angles. I can't wait to layer it over more colors. This is the first polish I've tried from this brand. I don't care much for the bottle shape and the clear base smelled quite strong. Not a deal breaker for me, but worth mentioning. I bought this from the Black Luna Lacquer website for $8.50. What do you think of this angelic glitter polish? Would you rock it?

I'll see you again soon!

❤ Kellie

Monday, November 10, 2014

R29 + Rescue Beauty Lounge Collection Swatches & Review

This is a very exciting day my friends, because today I get to show you the newest collection from Rescue Beauty Lounge. It's a special one because it's a collaboration with none other than Refinery29! If you haven't heard, Refinery29 is an incredible fashion and style website that covers shopping, beauty, wellness and celebrities! The collection is called R29 + Rescue Beauty Lounge and it contains 7 new polishes created with the different teams from Refinery29.

Bubblegum Punk was created with R29 News team. This is a iridescent rainbowy silver white shimmer/flakes. I find this insanely gorgeous. It's got a cellophane effect that is really cool. I used three coats here. This would be really great layered as well.
Rescue Beauty Lounge Bubblegum Punk

It looks a bit different in the shade/low light so here's another shot for you.
Rescue Beauty Lounge Bubblegum Punk

Sunny Skies comes from the R29 Health and Wellness team. When I saw the name of this polish I expected to find a bright yellow in the box, but to my surprise and delight I saw a slightly dusty turquoisey blue-green crème. I can't believe we didn't already have this color in the RBL family, it feels essential and like it's been with me for years. I love it, but I have inklings that this might be a stainer so protect your nails with a double layer of base coat. Two coats.
Rescue Beauty Lounge Sunny Skies

Pretty Gritty was imagined by the R29 Beauty team. This was the one I was immediately in love with when I saw it. It's a bruised mauvey moody purple with tiny gold microshimmer flakes. I really like this and the formula is seriously terrific. Two coats but you might be able to get away with one.
Rescue Beauty Lounge Pretty Gritty

Better Than Boyfriend Jeans is the R29 Shopping team's color. This is an uber pale baby blue jelly crème that is really lovely and comforting. It is a tad greyed and sooo soft feeling, just like the perfect worn in pair of jeans! I love this way more than I expected to. Three coats.
Rescue Beauty Lounge Better Than Boyfriend Jeans

Elvis In The Cloud came from the minds of the R29 Technology team. This might be the color I never thought I'd see from RBL, it's so different from what we usually see from them. It's a mid-tone orange copper metallic with a touch of subtle duochrome iridescence. I keep reading this name as "elves" haha, which made sense because this leans a little on the christmas-y side for me. Two coats, a little brushstrokey.
Rescue Beauty Lounge Elvis In the Cloud

All About Yves is the R29 Fashion team's contribution. They chose a ridiculously beautiful cobalt blue creme that would look amazing on anyone. Lovely jelly crème formula with incredible pigmentation. I immediately thought of retired IKB:2012 when I saw this blue but it's a bit brighter with a better formula. Two coats gives you perfect opacity.
Rescue Beauty Lounge All About Yves

Galaxy Glue is the last shade and it comes from the R29 Creative team. It's a green metallic, same kind of finish as Elvis but less opaque. Reminds me a bit of that greeny blue duochrome that was really popular last year that lots of brands were coming out with, but it's pretty different. There's a hint of grey brown to it that makes it more complex and soft. Three coats, kinda brushstrokey.
Rescue Beauty Lounge Galaxy Glue

Be sure to check out the RBL blog and Refinery29 for more insight into how these colors came to life. Also, as always, please check out and enjoy the reviews from the other RBL bloggers: Peachy Polish, NailsandNoms, Manicurator, Polish Police, Refined and Polished, Fashion Polish, Makeup Withdrawal, Warm Vanilla Sugar and newcomer The Beauty Look BookScrangie may or may not be putting her post up at the same time, just an FYI.

These are available for purchase exclusively on RescueBeauty.com now for $20 per bottle. What do you think of these colors? I think the Refinery29 folks did an exceptional job on their color ideas and Ji brought them to life beautifully. My favorites are All About Yves, Bubblegum Punk and Better Than Boyfriend Jeans.

Thanks for stopping by!

❤ Kellie
The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Formula X for Sephora - Illustrious

Hi everyone! I hope you're keeping warm out there, I hear it's pretty cold in most of the US right now! I live in northern Nevada so it's very cold in the winter and very hot in the summer. This year actually hasn't been that bad winter-wise, but I almost shouldn't say that because it can always get worse haha.

I have a gorgeous color that feels perfectly suited to the chilly weather, Formula X for Sephora Illustrious. This is the first polish I have tried from this new brand, which was brought in after they phased out Sephora by OPI nail lacquers (but I believe they still sell gel polish under this brand name). Formula X colors are more expensive at $10.50 for 12 mL than the SOPI's were at $9-$9.50 for 15 mL. Right out of the gate they have a zillion colors and finishes to choose from and I have to say I'm in love with the bottle design.
Formula X for Sephora Illustrious

Illustrious is an ice green shade with subtle metallic glaze of shimmer. On their website it's described as "pistachio pearl" and their bottle shot is way more yellow toned than it actually is.  I find it to be a beautiful pale and crisp green. It was really not a pleasant formula to work with for me. It was thick, streaky, and difficult to level out. I topped it with my favorite top coat of the minute, Glisten & Glow HK Girl, and luckily it smoothed everything over and gave it a fab shine. I love how this looks against my skin tone! This is two coats.
Formula X for Sephora Illustrious

You can purchase Formula X from Sephora.com and Sephora stores. Have you tried this brand yet? I picked up one other color from them when I got this one that I'm excited to try out. I have high hopes for this new brand, I think I need more of them already!

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Thursday, June 14, 2012

a-england The Mythicals

Hi folks! I've been a little under the weather so sorry for the lull in posting. Today I want to show you a new-to-me brand called a-england. Adina Bodana from Italy, now residing in London, is the owner and creator of the company. A little blurb from her website tells us "Painting her nails through the bitter sweet stages in life has been a constant moment of enjoyment and empowerment. Sometimes a way to start a conversation, then share an impression, a smile, a story." I love that and what the brand as a whole represents, the touch of regal in everyone. The polishes I have are from her first collection, called The Mythicals. These are named for Arthurian legends, LOVE!

First is Guinevere, a pale antique mauve. I always thought mauve was more of a pinker shade, but it is decidedly on the purple spectrum. I love the legends of England and who doesn't adore the queen, the wife of King Arthur and the lover of Lancelot? I got this opaque in one coat, but shown here is two.

Next is Morgan Le Fay, half sister to Arthur, sorceress and healer. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for Morgan, I first heard of her in the film Merlin and she was played by Helena Bonham Carter, whom I adore. This is a luminescent silvery white sparkler. It lends itself well to layering, and I did a glitter sandwich with it that I adored, but here it is by itself in all its glory. I wasn't sure I was going to like this at first, it seemed a bit ordinary, but now I see how foolish that was because it's brilliant! This is three coats.

Iseult is another polish I wasn't sure I was going to like but it too won my heart after I put it on. This is a pale romantic pink with a pearlized shimmer. I find this to be ridiculously delicate and dainty. I dare say this may be my favorite pale pink ever. The story of Iseult isn't as familiar to me as the rest of the mythicals, but learning about her love potion induced eternal affair with Tristam was enjoyable. This is three coats.

King Arthur is a tungsten steel grey with a powerful metallic shimmer. In no need of introduction, Arthur is a legend and hero of folklore and literary tale. This polish is as authoritative as his tradition. I have to say while this is a beautiful polish, it's not my favorite on me. This is two coats.

And last is my favorite, Perceval. This gorgeous resplendent red truly glows it is so radiant! I love how it's metallic but not a foil, it still retains its smooth shimmer finish. The knight who witnessed the Grail and pledged allegiance to Arthur on a chance meeting, this bold ruby color truly represents the hero that was Perceval. I used this in a half moon mani à la Dita Von Teese once and it was breathtaking. This is two coats.

These are the first a-england polishes I've tried and I'm impressed. I love the ideas and stories behind all of Adina's lacquers and her attention to detail really shows her passion. I love the square bottles and the brushes are of superior quality, however I don't like the mirrored silver handles, as we all know my distaste for fingerprints.

You can buy a-england polishes from their site http://www.a-england.co.uk based in the UK or from US distributor Llarowe, whom I got mine from. They retail for $12 and there are many more than these to choose from, including some beautiful holographic shades. Do you have any a-england lacquers? Do you love them as much as I adore these?

Products provided for review.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Zoya Touch Collection: Swatches & Review

Zoya has a new three piece collection called Touch, which includes three opaque, pearly nude lacquers. These shades were inspired by New York fashion runway looks and they definitely remind me of luxe fabrics and expensive threads.

First up is Minka, a beautiful, Russian sounding name eh? This is a pale beige nude with yellow undertones. Yikes, this does not look good on me. I'm sure it would be fine on another skin tone but on my olive skin it just doesn't work. This was pretty thick, but that of course helps to make it cover in fewer coats which is rare for a nude. I used a topcoat in all of these photos as they don't dry particularly shiny.
Now this is more like it. Pandora is definitely more "Kellie-friendly" haha. This is a pink beige nude with mauve undertones. I quite like this baby, it's la la lovely. This is also two coats, it was also thick but not as much as Minka. The topcoat really brings out that dash of pearl shimmer; it adds some sass to the nude look.
Shay is one that gave me some troubles applying, this is my second go at swatching it. I kept fudging up the first time so I gave up and went at it again the next day. I think the thickness is what did it, but this try was easier and as you can see, produced a nice result. This nude is peachy with orange-ish undertones, suited to warm skin tones.
Do you like this collection or is it too simple for you? I like to wear nudes every so often so I like finding a good one. The point of this collection is to find a flattering nude hue that suits you, so you don't necessarily have to have the entire collection.

You can purchase the Touch collection at Zoya.com as well as their hundreds of other colors. They retail for $8 a bottle. The best thing about Zoya? They don't discontinue their colors. GENIUS.


Products provided for review.
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