Girly Bits and Elevation Polish Bamboozled Duo Swatches & Review

Hey there! I've been having a helluva month, ugh. Lots of real life problemos have been happening lately, but I'm getting through it one day at a time. Most recently my polishing/computer desk decided to bust, basically breaking in half. I have a tiny space right now so it was kind of a big deal, considering my desk was piled high with crap haha. I have a new desk on order but I feel very displaced, ugh. I haven't been able to get posts ready too far in advance, so I hope you'll bear with me while I try to be flexible with my work space haha.

Today I have a special polish duo created with two brands, Girly Bits Cosmetics and Elevation Polish. They call it the Bamboozled Duo because it's representing the live green and brown dried state of a bamboo plant. I first saw them on my friend Jenny's blog and decided I had to buy them!

First is Girly Bits BamBoom!, a seriously fabulous glittering green holo with microglitter. It was really easy to apply and I got full opacity in two coats. This could dry with a bit of texture due to the glitter, but I used Seche Vite as my top coat and didn't have any issues. I'm in love with this polish! So spaaarrrkkkklllyyy!

And this is Elevation Polish Arashiyama, a mid-tone sandy nude with holographic throughout and soft grey metallic shimmer flakes. I was surprised at how opaque this is, two coats and you're good! Another easy formula, it practically applied itself. I think this is so pretty and classic, but with a twist. This is my first Elevation Polish and I'm pretty pleased with it!

These polishes are being sold exclusively in the Elevation Polish shop. I purchased the set for $22. The set is limited edition; they will be restocking them today for the last time so don't hesitate to pick them up sooner rather than later! Let me know what you think of these beauties and we'll see you again soon :)

❤ Kellie

ILNP Summer 2015 Ultra Holos Collection Swatches & Review

Hi everyone! I hope your week is starting off well! I'm still under the weather, but I think I'm beginning to come around the bend. Summer sickness is the worst! Today I have the second summer collection from ILNP to show you, a gathering of ten ultra holographic shades.

Press Sample

I See You is a tan champagne holographic. It was very smooth and easy to apply. This is two coats.

Next is Float On, a bright oceany blue holographic. This one appears more scattered holo than linear and it's a tad more jelly-ish. This covered completely for me in three coats.

Closure is a vivid apple red holographic. It was completely opaque in two coats. Surprisingly I had a tiny bit of staining on this one so double up on your base coat to avoid that.

Here is Paper Route, a pale grey milky holographic. It was on the sheer side on the first coat, but I used a slightly thicker coat on the second and it became totally opaque. This has a stronger holographic effect than I expected for a pale shade like this.

Ten Fold is a cool toned blueish green holographic. I was expecting this to be a "money green" but it's definitely got more of a blue tinge to it. This was the sheerest of the ten, this is three coats and it's still a bit see through.

This is called Walking Home, a yummy grape purple holographic. Great formula, two coats.

Paige is a fuchsia pink holographic. Another effortless formula, two coats for full opacity.

Next is Honor Roll, a striking navy blue holographic. These dark shades really pop with that awesome mix of linear and scattered she has going on with these ultra holos. Two easy coats.

1UP is a summery lime rind green holographic. Another easy one, two coats.

And last is Missed Calls, an inky black holographic. Excellent rainbows on this one, just wow. Two coats.

These are all really great. Easy formulas, fast dry time and easy removal. You can purchase these on the ILNP website for $10 each. Tell me which one of these is your pick! I have to give it to Paper Route, such a classy shade!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Color Club Spring 2015 Shift Into Neutral Collection Swatches & Review

Greetings friends! I am doing really well today, in case you read my previous post about my sick kitty, he's doing much, much better! Yay for healthy fur babies! I have a collection from Color Club called Shift Into Neutral to show you today. It's a gathering of seven neutrals, that actually would be great for palette cleansers with all the neons that are coming out for this summer. I'll give you a hint now, I love them.

Press Sample

First is Barely There, a nudey beige crelly. Fabulous formula and opaque in two coats, which was surprising for this type of finish. This might be my new go-to nude shade!

Blank Canvas is a squishy white crelly. It's not stark white, more on the soft marshmallowy side. It's not streaky, surprisingly, but I did need three coats for complete opacity. You could do two if you don't mind your nail line showing. I didn't really need another white polish, but I ended up liking this a lot and I'm glad I have it.

This gal is Blush Crush, a milky, very pale pink crelly. This is more jelly-ish than the others, making it more sheer. It was still looking a little streaky on three coats and you can definitely see my nail line, but it was getting a little thick so I didn't do another coat. This isn't my favorite.

Next is Get a Mauve On It, a tan-ish muted mauve jelly crème. This is more of a brown toned mauve rather than a pink or purple like most I own. I think this is a great neutral. It reminds me of Zoya Bridgette but less pink. Great formula, great opacity, two coats.

Midnight Mulberry is a plummy dusty purple jelly crème. This is darker than I expected to see in a Spring collection, but it somehow fits in well. This also had a fabulous formula, I used two coats here.

And here we have New-tral, a soft dusty putty pink crème. This was a surprise favorite for me, a perfect girly fresh color. It's one of those pale shades that make me look really tan and ya gotta love that haha! Amazing coverage, almost a one coater. This is two. I can see myself wearing this a lot.

Last we have Sweet Mint, my second favorite of the collection. It's a soft pale warm mint green with some hidden icy shimmer. I love this and it's actually different than any other green mint that I have in my collection which is awesome. This is two coats.

These are available on the Color Club website for $8.50 each. I also know they are stocked at some e-tailers like Head2ToeBeauty and HB Beauty Bar (though I have never ordered from HB). I really enjoyed this collection, it's a great gathering of soft work appropriate colors and there is only one I would skip (Blush Crush). What do you think of these gorgeous soft neutrals?

Have a great day loves!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

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 :)

Press Sample

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Deborah Lippmann - Fashion

I wasn't sure I really needed this "not-so-typical taupe" crème from Deborah Lippmann, considering I already had her perfect nude in Naked which came out earlier this year. However, I decided I just really had to have Fashion, I couldn't resist! I'm guessing this is named for the David Bowie song, which is just badass. I love me some Bowie! I would say this is a touch darker and more taupe than the more nude Naked shade. This looked fab and opaque in three thin coats.

Hope everyone has a great week! I'm on vacation, spending time with my nephew who's visiting for the weekend :) I have the new BB Couture collection to swatch for you so look for that coming soon!!

BB Couture A Touch of Greece Men's Collection

I know you've all been on the edge of your seat anxiously waiting to see what BB Couture had in store for their next collection. Well it's time at last! I love that they come out with new stuff so often, it's a polish fiend's dream! This collection, including both a Men and Women's set, is called A Touch of Greece, inspired by and named after Greek Gods and Goddesses. Oooh this is SOOOO up my alley! I have been into mythology since I was a young tyke, it's been fascinating to me. Persephone has always been my favorite. I swear if I have kids one of them will be cursed with that moniker haha. Well, maybe just one of my future puppies haha.

The men's collection has the square bottles, which I prefer, so I'll start with them. Eros is the color that drew my eye first. He is a pale avocado mint green, lighter and paler than Kelly's Green but almost in the same category. There are speckles of black and silver glitter floating about in the crème base of this guy, giving him depth. Eros is the Greek God of sexual love, desire and beauty. Well, that works for me because I luuuurve this polish! Two coats.

Ares is the Greek God of war, and the second polish that I fell in love with when I first saw the new colors. Like the embodiment of a warrior, the polish has a silver sheen of shimmer, almost like armor, swimming in a deep grey crème with a slight cast of blue. This finish is close to one of my favorite BBC's, Impact Driver, without the purple. All hail Ares! Two coats.

Uranus is not a color, or a name for that matter, that I was expecting to see in this collection. He is God of the sky in Greek mythology, husband to Mother earth, Gaia (who you'll see in the women's collection). This color is not going to hit it out of the park with everyone, but I personally really, really like him. He looks like yummy butterscotch or caramel syrup, and it looks nice with my skin tone. This guy will probably harbor a few giggles with more than a few people out there, but humor and beauty always make a good combination haha. This is two coats.

Plutus is the God of wealth and abundance, so of course it would make sense for his polish emulation to be green! This guy is a gorgeous bright grass green jelly crème that flowed smooth and even with great pigment in two coats.

Apollo is the God of the light and the sun. His color is appropriately bright and cheery, being an almost-but-not-quite-neon orange crème. This guy was super easy to paint on and showed off my skin tone nicely. Perfect for spring and summer! I know what my next pedicure color is going to be :D

Last is a color I wasn't quite sure I could wrap my head around at first. Hades is the God of the Underworld, the black sheep of the Greek world. I was glad he was included in this collection, as I said I'm a fan of mythology and he is an integral part of most mythos. The color the ladies over at BB Couture chose to represent him is not a mundane black or grey, but a light tan khaki camel brown with a subtle shimmer! Very interesting! I have decided that I adore this color and will cherish it til my dying days. I may wear it on the day I meet Hades himself ;) This is two coats.

Are there any stand out colors that catch your attention? I hope you're looking forward to the Women's half of this collection, as I will be showing them to you soon!

EDIT: You will be able to purchase these polishes soon now from BBNailPolish.com

xoxo,
kelliegonzo

These were provided for review.

OPI Texas Collection: The Cremes & Shimmers

Hi everyone! I hope your weekend has been great, better than mine anyway. I haven't been able to shake this cold & flu bug, once again. I'm getting awful tired of this winter crap, I'll tell you that much.

Finally, I would love to show you all the second (non-sorbet) half of the OPI Texas collection for this Spring. I've been lemming most of these shades since we saw the press photos late last year and now they are officially mine, yay! There is not one single polish in the bunch that I do not love, and that baby is saying something!

The most flashy and "look at me" polish in the bunch is called Austin-tatious Turquoise. This little baby is so hot, it's flying off the shelves and is already sold out online at a lot of our favorite e-tailers! The gorgeous combination of blue and green shimmer pigments just floats in this semi-sheer lacquer with a hint of pink and purple duochrome. I applied four coats to make this opaque and I couldn't stop staring at my nails! This is a mega winner in my book.

Suzi Loves Cowboys is an awesome dark chocolate brown jelly crème that flows as easily on the nail as you'd hope. Two coats make this opaque and so creamy dreamy beautiful! And guess what...I love cowboys too :D

It's Totally Fort-Worth It is a shimmery lavender grey shade with itsy bitsy dots of iridenscent glitter in it. The same type of glitz that was in the Katy Perry shade Not Like the Movies, but it shows up more in this base I think because of the one color opposed to NLtM's duochrome. I love this gorgeous understated shimmer, so pretty at three coats.

Don't Mess with OPI is a sexy dusty green that reminds me of a cactus, perfection in this collection! Another smooth jelly crème, this just flows on your nails with no problems at all. Two coats here.

San Tan-tonio is another awesome jelly crème with a honey tan color. This is a really great neutral, it reminds me of gorgeous buckskin horses or nice suede cowboy hats. Two coats for this guy!

I Vant to be A-lone Star is a stunning pale sky blue shimmer. This color seems to be hot for spring! I adore the subtlety of this gorgeous lacquer. Two coats.

Now that we've seen all twelve, what do you have to say about the Texas lacquers? Texas girls, do these shades do your state justice? I have to talk them up, because as I said before, not one single shade gave me trouble or made me turn up my nose. I love them all!  The formulas and dry times on them were particularly noteworthy. Great job OPI!

xoxo,
kelliegonzo

These were sent for review.

china glaze vintage vixen pt. 1

what's up blog-o-sphere? i have for you today a very highly anticipated collection from the geniuses over at china glaze headquarters. yep, that's right, the fall vintage vixen collection! 1940's style at it's hippest, these colors are inspired by the swinging times of old but old hardly describes their hotness! i was super excited to get my hands on this collection and i happily report that they did not disappoint!

first up are (l to r): classic camel, first class ticket, hey doll, and riveter rouge.

classic camel is described as a khaki crème with gold micro glitter. i compare it to dijon mustard, a gorgeous brownish yellow with dark gold shimmer. i am CRAZY over this color! it may not be most people's cup of tea, but i fell head over heels with this guy.

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first class ticket seemed pretty ho-hum to me, actually despite it's obvious gorgeousness. i feel like we've seen a lot of these purples lately. but this polish has something the others don't. turquoise shimmer! yep, and lots of it. i could do without the sightly frostyness but otherwise, this turned out to be a winner.

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hey doll was one of the polishes i was most anxious to try. it's described as a rose frost with shimmer. i agree and love that a pink found it's way into this collection, as i wasn't sure one would with the vintage theme. i have a feeling this gal will be one of the first shades that is sold out from the collection once it hits stores.

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riveter rouge is the PERFECT name for this lacquer. the gorgeous red polish looks as if it has tiny rivets in it! and of course it makes me think of our girl-power spokesperson from the era, Rosie the Riveter. awesome polish! absolutely sparkles in the sun :D

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stay tuned for more swatches of this collection coming up!

Disclosure: The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the public relations company or the manufacturer for consideration. Please see "Disclosure" tab for more information.