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.

Glam Polish Limited Edition Group Exclusives Swatches & Review

Hi there! I've got some new polishes from Glam Polish today to celebrate their 4th Anniversary and their fans, two new limited edition polishes created exclusively for the members of the Glam Polish Facebook fan group!

Press Sample

Glitter For Breakfast is a special shade created from an inspiration picture and name suggested by fan group members. It is a mix of pink, violet, gold and silver holographic microglitter in a delicate pink tinted holo base with platinum silver flakes, pink glass flecks, and holo flakies. Excellent application, covers in one coat but I used two here. It is a glitter so it will dry with a gritty texture, I suggest using a layer of thick top coat or two to get a smooth finish.

L-O-V-E is a special shade created to celebrate Glam Polish’s birthday and to show appreciation to their customers for supporting them over the last four years. This is a greenish-teal-turquoise intense holographic with added platinum silver flakes. This is has a superb formula, it's close to being a one coater but I used two here. This is stunning, not to be missed!

These shades will be available on Nov. 24th at 3pm EST; ordering info and a discount code required to purchase them will be posted in the Glam Polish Fans Facebook group, to join please visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/739265499436119.

In case you are interested, Glam Polish has a few promotions coming up for this launch, more detail and photos can be seen in their newsletter!

* Glitter For Breakfast & L-O-V-E - Save $3 total when purchasing both Glam Group Exclusives together (promotion ends Nov 28th 11:59pm EST).

* Wizardly Ways Collection - Save 10% when purchasing the full collection, no code required. (promotion ends Nov 28th 11:59pm EST).

* Black Friday Sale - Save 10 to 55% off select shades on glampolish.com.au, shades already marked down, no code required. (While supplies last)
** Black Friday Promotion - Glam Polish is giving away a free full sized limited edition nail polish to the first 75 USA/international customers who spend a minimum of $50 USD on products, not including shipping, in one transaction placed on the glampolish.com.au website from 3pm on Nov 24th.

Congrats on 4 awesome years Glam Polish! I adore you!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Guest Post by Paulina's Passions: Dream Big Nail Art

Hi everyone! Please enjoy this amazing guest post by my friend Paulina from Paulina's Passions!

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Hello the beautiful readers of Kellie's blog! My name is Paulina and I am from the Paulina's Passions blog.  I cannot even describe how excited I am to be here for this guest post. I have been following Kellie's blog for ages and I have always found tons of inspiration here. I especially love her blog posts with indie polish swatches and all the beautiful holo pictures! Kellie is my Swatch Queen and I always come to her blog for new releases and collections.

I made a super simple, summery nail art for this guest post. I have recently tried my first polishes from KBShimmer and I have totally fallen in love with them. I paired two beautiful polishes from the Summer 2016 collection to make this nail art. KBShimmer One Night Sand and Playing With The Boys look absolutely gorgeous together and I knew I would be using them for nail art!

Using a regular striping tape I made mint and glittery stripes on my ring finger. I am really loving these simple stripes and how the colors look over a white base. I popped a cute water decal with a message on my middle finger. This is just a little reminder to us all that we should always try to fulfill our dreams and not to be afraid to reach for them and just DREAM BIG! The decals come from Shop Keeki. (http://www.shopkeeki.com/)

What do you guys think of these simple bright nails? I am quite pleased with the end effect of this nail art and I got so many compliments while wearing them. Sometimes I like making simple things on my nails, just some simple stripes or cute decals always look adorable. If you enjoy nail art, I'd be super happy if check out my blog at Paulina's Passions.

Thank you so much Kellie for having me on your lovely blog. I am really happy that I could contribute to your beautiful website and share my passion for nails with your readers.

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Paulina's links: BLOG | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | YOUTUBE

Thank you so much Paulina, I appreciate you putting together such a beautiful manicure for my readers, it is so gorgeous! Just like all your amazing work always is. Be sure to check out her on social media, and she also makes awesome YouTube videos!

❤ Kellie

My Picks from the Essie Summer 2016 Collection Swatches & Review

So even though school started here last Monday, and I've already had my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season, it's still technically summer right? Since it's not Labor Day yet?? I'm going with it! Anyway, here are probably the last summer polishes I'll be showing this year, two I bought from the Essie Viva Antigua collection. The other four shades in the collection were nice, but not must haves for my stash.

Viva Antigua! is a sparkling turquoise with iridescent micro flakies of shimmer. The application on this was really nice, great formula. I used two coats for full opacity.

Loot The Booty is a radiant blue sapphire with micro flakies of pale shimmer that shine blue in the base. Awesome color, amazing formula. Practically paints itself on! Two coats here too. The name of this still makes me giggle.

I purchased these from my local CVS. They should still be available wherever Essie is sold, like Ulta, Target, and most drugstores. Did you pick up any colors from this collection? Are you sad summer shades are leaving us and that fall shades are coming out? We all know I'm a heathen for fall, but I gotta give my summer polishes credit, they are so great!

❤ Kellie

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 June and July 2016 Colour of the Month Series Swatches & Review

Today I have two duos from Canadian indie brand Girly Bits Cosmetics, the June and July editions from their Colour of the Month series. Let's take a look!

Press Sample

First up for June is Here's Lagoon Atcha, a bright aqua turquoise-y crème. This was thin but pretty pigmented. I used three coats here, but I could almost get away with two. This is a great shade for spring and summer. Probably fall and winter too. It's just a good one, trust me.

Peach Slapped is a near neon peach crème. The formula on this was thin too, which I wasn't expecting because most polishes I've tried in this shade are quite thick. Another one I could almost get away with two coats on, but I needed three for 100% coverage. I love this tone of orange!

The June Colour of the Month duo will be for available for a very limited amount of time, from July 5th to July 10th only. The promo price for purchasing the duo is $31 CAD, or $16.50 CAD each.

For July we have Sun's Out Buns Out, a bright dolly fluorescent pink low-density holographic with gallons of gold shimmer and glass fleck. I'm obsessed with glass fleck and gold shimmer is bae, so this polish is insanely great to me! Super easy to apply formula, opaque on two coats. It was hard for me to get my photo to show actually how amazing it is, so you'll just have to take my word for it! (Or look at other, better swatches of it haha.)

No Tan Lines is a medium orange low-medium density holographic with coral undertones filled with red shimmer and gold glass fleck. Well squeeze my oranges, gold glass fleck might even be better than gold shimmer! I'm floored at how much I love this duo. (I'm actually wearing them both right now!) Same great application as the pink, opaque in two coats.

The July Colour of the Month duo first launches on July 5th through the 10th for the promo price of $31 CAD or $16.50 CAD each. The second launch will be on July 24th through July 30th (or until sold out) with limited quantities for $16.50 CAD each.

If you haven't heard, there is a postal issue in Canada right now. So with GB Cosmetics being in Canada, they have figured out a way around that by sending to a third-party shipper for US and international customers. It's a bit more complicated for Canadian buyers, you either can choose to have your order ship after the postal strike is over, or to fetch courier rates to ship sooner. With this issue, turnaround times are a little longer than usual, so let's all cross our fingers for a quick resolution! Regardless, you can order these from the Girly Bits website right now! Let me know what you think of these gorgeous shades!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Cirque Colors Vice 2016 Collection Swatches & Review

Hi friends! New York based indie brand Cirque Colors has a new collection for Summer out now, the 2016 edition of the Vice Collection! You remember last year's Vice colors? They were hot, but these might be even hotter!

Press Sample

Plastik is a brilliant magenta purpley pink crème. This leans a little purple, and is incredibly bright. Opaque in two easy coats. Dries a little satiny, so you'll want a top coat for shine.

Rehab is a bright blue-purple crème. Not neon, but really saturated and it fits in with the other summery shades nicely. Excellent formula, two coats.

Electric Daisy is a neon chartreuse yellow crème. Intensely bright, you practically need shades to look at it! I was almost able to get this opaque in two but I needed three for complete coverage. But look ma, no white base!

High Roller is a bright mint-turquoise crème. I don't know if this type of color is possible to get neon, but this is pretty close. A great, easy formula. Two coats.

Sin City is a sizzling neon flamingo pinky coral-red crème. This is so super vivid and my lame camera absolutely refused to show it's true intensity. You'll just have to believe me, it's CRAZY neon! A little on the thin side, a tad runny, but opaque on two coats. You'll want a top coat for shine.

We Trippy is a sparkly linear holographic top coat, the only comeback shade from last year's Vice collection. I loved it last year and I love it this year! I layered one coat over all the shades, turning them into holo babes!

This limited edition collection is available now on the Cirque Colors website. They're offering special pricing until July 1st (or while supplies last), you can purchase all five Vice 2016 crèmes for $55 (which is $10 off - originally $65). Individually they are priced at $13 each, along with We Trippy. What do you think of this scorching set? My friend Ida over at Ida Nails It did an awesome watermarble with these, check it out! Talk to you again soon! :)

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

My Picks from the Orly Pacific Coast Highway & Melrose Collections

Happy Friday! It's been another crazy week for me, I'm hoping things slow down a little bit at work here soon. How has your June been going? Today I wanted to take a tiny break and show off some polishes I purchased myself. I picked up three polishes from the Orly Summer collection, Pacific Coast Highway, and one from their Spring collection, Melrose. Just a note, neons and ultra bright colors are a little hard to photograph, as I'm sure I've mentioned before. They are difficult to get fully accurate, but I tried my best. Now on to the swatches!

Road Trippin is a neon yellow crème. It's incredibly pigmented, but thick and a little goopy. I had substantial streaking with this, so I used three coats here and I was tempted to use a fourth. I had heard that this had a great formula, which is why I picked it up so I was pretty disappointed. However, I didn't need a white base to get this to glow so that might be a trade off. Or your bottle might have a better formula, haha.

Put The Top Down is a neon pink crème with a peach tinge. The consistency of this one was thinner than the yellow, but still thick. I needed three coats of to even out streaks. I still love it though, because WOW!

Scenic Route is a bright lavender crème. This one applied really nicely and was opaque in two coats. One thing to note about all of these is that the polish was really prone to running down the brush and overloading on my nail, to avoid this I had to be sure to wipe off a good amount before I applied it.

Vintage is from the Melrose collection, and it's the only one that I decided I couldn't live without. It's a bright mint green crème with a really nice formula. This is two coats.

I purchased these from online e-tailer Transdesign for $4.25 each. Orly polishes are also sold at Ulta and Sally Beauty. What do you think of my picks? Did you try anything from either one of these collections? I hope you all have a great weekend! I'm going to the Pride celebration in my town this weekend and will get to see a show with drag queen Yara Sofia! I literally can't wait! What are you up to?

❤ Kellie

Glam Polish No Lei-Overs! Limited Edition Collection Swatches & Review

Hey there! Today I have the No Lei-Overs! limited edition collection from Glam Polish to show you! "Hop on our direct flight to Paradise with six vibrant holo & glitter filled shades inspired by the beauty of Hawaii." These are amazing polishes and make me SO wish I was away at a tropical getaway, instead of dealing with storms and snow in flippen' April!

Press Sample

Lei’d In Lahaina has a magenta holographic base filled with a mix of bright pink holographic, neon pink and white glitter and microglitter. I found this applied very easily despite the obscene amount of glitter and shimmer packed in. I have found about 99% of the Glam Polish shades that I've tried to have excellent formulas and this is right up there. Two coats for opacity, dries a tad bumpy due to the glitter but only one coat of Seche Vite worked to cover them.

Hawaii Kai has an aqua blue turquoisey holographic base filled with neon green and blue, white, and silver holographic glitter and microglitter. Another fabulous formula, same as the magenta shade. Two coats.

Waikiki Wahine is a fuchsia holographic with purple, turquoise & navy glass flecks. I couldn't quite capture the fire on this as well as I normally would be able to, as the sun has been a little shy lately, but it's definitely there. This applied great, as well. Opaque in one coat, but the color deepens up a bit on the second layer to the shade you see in the bottle.

Lanikai Dreaming is made up of neon pink and matte white glitter and microglitter swimming in a nudey gold holographic base. This is a unique shade and I am bowled over by it! Demure but still flashy! Same formula as the other glitter shades, two coats for opacity.

Hanalei Sunset has a deep indigo purple jelly base with shimmering glass flecks, neon pink, holographic violet, and bright pink holographic microglitter. This one was a tad thin, but covered in two coats. I was a little bummed that the pink glitter doesn't pop as much on the nail as it looks like it does in the bottle, the jelly base kind of covers it a little bit too much for my taste, but it's still a lovely polish.

Hibiscus Hideaway is a bright red linear holographic with a slight orange tone. This went on so easily, totally opaque in one coat. However, I used two layers as I always do, but it didn't change the look of the polish that much so you could definitely get away with one. This is another picture that doesn't do the holo justice, it's much more intense in real life.

This collection will be available for purchase on the Glam Polish website this Friday, April 29th at 2pm EST for $11.50 per bottle. This collection is labeled as "limited edition" which means it might not come back into stock once it's gone, so you definitely don't want to hesitate to get these if you want them. Let me know what you think about these! I am so in love!

Along with the No Lei-Overs! collection – Glam Polish also has an Elvis themed 12 piece collection called The King releasing the same day. My friend Lisa of Cosmetic Sanctuary has the review of that collection her blog now, be sure to check it out!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Nine Zero Lacquer Spring 2016 Collection Swatches & Review

I have some more awesome indie polishes to show you today! Nine Zero Lacquer's Spring collection has five soft spring glittery shades perfect for the season! They all have the same basic formula and finish, they're in a colored jelly base and are packed with silver holographic square-shaped microglitter. They apply easily but can get thick upon subsequent coats so I recommend a little bit of dry time in between layers. I was able to get a smooth surface with just my regular quick-dry top coat, which is nice for a microglitter. Let's take a look!

Press Sample

Nine Zero Lacquer Iris is in a deep purple base. This is the darkest in the bunch and the most opaque. I used two coats.

Nine Zero Lacquer Let It Rain has a light turquoise/teal jelly base and is a little more on the sheer side. I still only used two coats because the glitter is so dense your eye doesn't really detect any spaces, but you could use three if you wanted.

Nine Zero Lacquer Full Bloom is a light pink. This might be my favorite of the bunch, but we all know I'm a pink kinda girl! Two coats.

Nine Zero Lacquer Annual March Blizzard has a muted blue jelly base. "This is named after the blizzard that always comes to the midwest in mid-March, right when you start to think that Spring has sprung." We have that in northern Nevada too haha! This one is also a bit more sheer, but I still only needed two coats.

Nine Zero Lacquer New Growth has a light spring green jelly base. This shade was inspired by the color of freshly budding leaves on trees. I used two coats here as well.

This collection is available now on the Nine Zero Lacquer website for $11 per bottle or you can get the five piece collection for $45. What do you think of this collection? I think they are much more impressive in real life, photos can't quite capture their fabulosity or bling. If you want to see them in action, check out Jess's (the creator of Nine Zero) live swatch video on YouTube! What shade is your favorite?

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.