Category: Nails

Indie Spotlight: I’m Doing My Nails Today in Beach Barbie

Today I have a really fun polish to show you from the new indie brand called I’m Doing My Nails Today, or IDMNT for short. This brand is just getting started, and I’m loving what I’ve tried so far! Let me show you the polish Beach Barbie.

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Beach Barbie is an aqua based polish filled with pink glitters. There are fine glitters, small hexagons, and shards. I used two coats in the photos above, and while it is not fully opaque, I love the look! You could add a third coat if you would like it to be opaque. Beach Barbie is definitely a unique polish. IDMNT told me that the blue base is to represent the beach, and the pink glitters to represent Barbie. I think that is a really cute idea! Plus, I am a huge Barbie fan, so this polish was made for me. I’m also surprised at how the blue base has a slight duochrome quality to it, and shifts from green to blue depending on the light. Understated yet fun all in one polish!

You can buy Beach Barbie and other polishes from IDMNT on Etsy HERE. Full size bottles are just $5.99 and minis are $3.99. This is a bargain compared to many indie brands! You can also follow IDMNT on Facebook HERE.

 

The product in this post was provided for my unbiased review. All opinions are my own.

Indie Spotlight: Shimmer Polish Part II

Remember a few months back when I posted THIS entry featuring Shimmer Polish?! Well, today I have part two to share with all of you! Shimmer Polish is an amazing indie brand that  has the best glitter polishes I’ve tried yet. Each polish is opaque in 2-3 coats, and can be worn alone or layered over another polish. If you are a glitter girl like me, you should definitely treat yourself to some Shimmer Polish! Let me show you four more of these beauties.

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First up is Cindy, a true red polish with a hint of holographic glitters mixed in. I am not a huge fan of red polish, but Cindy is gorgeous! The holo glitters make the manicure really pop and look multidimensional. I also love that Cindy is opaque in two coats, and that the formula isn’t goopy like some glitters. If you love red, Cindy is a must!

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Up next is Jenny, a blue-based glitter mixed with purple and gold with extra hints of green and red. I love the color combination! I applied three coats of Jenny in the photos above to achieve opacity. Jenny is definitely a unique polish. I think it would look great layered over another polish, too!

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Melissa is the next from Shimmer Polish that I have to show you. This polish is a mix of red and plum purple with hints of gold and teal. Melissa is opaque in two coats and has that same great formula that all of the Shimmers have! The plum purple color makes this polish more understated than the bright red of Cindy, but just as stunning. Plus, the hints of turquoise are a beautiful touch! Melissa is a must for all purple lovers!

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The last polish I have to show you today is Gerry, my favorite of the bunch! Gerry is a mix of dark blue and purple with hints of red mixed throughout. I love both purple and blue polishes, so both of them mixed together is a winner in my book! Just two coats are needed to achieve opacity with this polish. Gerry actually reminds me of a higher quality version of L.A. City Nights from Jordana! I would pick Gerry over that polish any day!

All in all, I love these glitters from Shimmer Polish! You can purchase Shimmer on Etsy HERE and visit the Shimmer Facebook page HERE. Stay tuned, because I have even more of these amazing polishes to show you!

 

Products in this post were provided for my unbiased review. All opinions are my own. 

Sally Hansen Diamond Strength in Lilac Chantilly

If you’ve read my blog for a while you will know that I love Sally Hansen nail polish! Not only is it affordable, but it is typically very good quality. Sally Hansen has many different lines of polish, and today I have one from the Diamond Strength line. This is the first Diamond Strength polish that I’ve tried, and I love it! Let me show you the gorgeous Lilac Chantilly.

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Lilac Chantilly is a metallic purple nail polish with hints of silver reflected throughout. I love the unique purple color! I was also impressed with the formula. It was opaque in two coats, but I did add a third to even out the visible brushstrokes. Like many metallic polishes, the strokes are visible, but to me that just adds dimension to the reflective look the polish has. I also love the brush that came with this Sally Hansen polish. It had a very long stem, which tells me that I will able to use the polish right down to the last drop! Overall, I really like Lilac Chantilly! It is advertised as no chip nail polish, and it stays true to that slogan! I can’t wait to try out other Sally Hansen Diamond Strength polishes in the future.

You can find Sally Hansen Diamond Strength at your local drugstores and department stores for around $5 per bottle, and even cheaper at other stores! Sally Hansen often goes on sale and offers coupons in the Sunday newspaper, so be sure to keep an eye out for additional savings. Have you ever tried the Diamond Strength line? What did you think?

Celebrating the Season with Christmas Tree Nail Art

Happy Friday! Today I have a short post telling you about the Christmas themed nail art I did for a contest on Facebook. Many of my readers have been requesting more nail art, so ask and you shall receive! I am in no way a nail art expert, but I am super proud of my little Christmas trees. Let me show you the manicure!

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Here are my two little Christmas trees! First, I started out with a base of Zoya Ziv. Once Ziv was completely dry, I used scotch tape to block off a triangle on my nails in the shape of the Christmas tree, and painted on Zoya Logan. (See Ziv and Logan alone HERE). Next, I took some yellow polish and carefully added a drop to the top of my Christmas trees for the star. As a final touch, a did some polka dots with red polish for some ornaments! I don’t have any dotting tools, so that’s why my circles aren’t perfect, but I think this manicure still looks really festive! I decided to go with polishes that all had a shimmery, metallic finish, but you can choose any polishes you like. I also did two accent nails just to keep it simple. I love the finished product!

What do you think of my Christmas tree manicure? It’s so simple that anyone can do it! Let me know what you think in the comments, and feel free to share your holiday and winter themed nail art, too!

A England in Holy Grail (Limited Edition)

Today I have a beautiful polish to show you from the brand A England. This is the first polish I have ever tried from this brand, and I couldn’t be more excited. I have seen many gorgeous posts from other nail bloggers featuring A England, but because the company is located overseas (England, duh!), and the prices are a bit high, I didn’t expect to purchase any. I luckily came across a promo on Facebook a few weeks ago that offered the limited edition version of Holy Grail for a discounted price of £5 (around $8) and jumped at the chance to try it! Let me show you this gold polish.
A England – Holy Grail

Let me first explain that there are three different versions of A England Holy Grail. There is the old version, the new version, and this one — the limited edition! Each color varies, so I just want to make sure everyone knows this is the limited edition. Holy Grail is a gold polish with hints of orange shimmer. It is definitely a yellow gold tone. I loved the formula — it was opaque in two coats and dried quickly. Although I have a lot of gold nail polishes in my collection, Holy Grail is quite different from the rest. It is much brighter, and more of a jewel tone than other golds I’ve tried before. Definitely something unique to have in your stash!

If you would like to try A England Holy Grail, the limited edition is still on sale for just £5! This is a big discount from the usual A England price of £9 ($14.50). Here is the direct link to that polish on the company’s website: CLICK ME! You can also follow A England on Facebook HERE to find out about more promotions!

Indie Spotlight: A Rhyming Dictionary Polish in Unc Nunkie

Happy Saturday! Today I am very excited to show you a beautiful polish from the indie brand A Rhyming Dictionary. This brand is owned by a lovely lady named Morgan, and she sent me this polish from her line a few weeks ago as an RAOK (Random Act of Kindness). I was pleasantly surprised at how much I loved Unc Nunkie when I put it on, and wore it for four days! Let me show you this amazing polish.

A Rhyming Dictionary Polish – Unc Nunkie

Unc Nunkie is a glitter polish with pink, red, purple, blue, and turquoise hexagonal glitters in small and large sizes. Plus, the base is filled with blue shimmer! I layered two coats over Julep Jennifer (see Jennifer HERE) and was amazed by the result. I do admit, I had to fish a little bit to get the hexagonal glitters on the nail, but it was definitely worth it. The polish dried very quickly, and the glitters lay perfectly flat. I did finish up with a glossy top coat for some extra shine! Unc Nunkie, like all of the polishes from A Rhyming Dictionary, is named after a character from L. Frank Baum’s Oz series. To me it looks like candy! I loved the outcome of this manicure so much I found myself staring at my nails a lot. I highly recommend it!

You can shop for A Rhyming Dictionary Polish on Etsy HERE. Full size bottles are $7.50. You can also follow on Facebook HERE.

On Wednesdays We Wear Pink!

This post is dedicated to all of the Mean Girls fans out there! If you’ve seen that movie you know that every Wednesday it is mandatory to wear pink. Otherwise, you won’t get to sit at the lunch table with Regina George and the rest of The Plastics. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, make sure to go watch Mean Girls right now!

In honor of Pink Wednesday, I have two nail polishes to show you. Both are, of course, pink! I normally wear bright pink nail polishes a la Barbie, but I tried out two pale pinks recently, and I love the understated look. Today you will see both of these polishes alone, and at some point in the near future you will see what glitter top coats I added on top!

 

 

 

The first pink I have to show you is Pink Wishes from CND Colour. This is a brand that is new to me. This polish was a gift from a fellow nail blogger, but it retails at around $7. Though not the most affordable polish brand on the market, you are certainly getting a good quality product! Pink Wishes has a great formula that is opaque in two coats. I really like the application, and was surprised at how much I enjoy the light pink color. It reminds me of cotton candy! My only gripe with Pink Wishes is that you can see brush strokes a little on the finished manicure. Other than that it is a great polish!

 

 

The other pink polish I have to show you today is Jennifer from Julep, one of my favorite brands! While Julep retails for $14 per bottle, there are many ways to get this amazing polish at discounted rates. You can join the Julep Maven program HERE to get a box of goodies for $20 per month, plus keep a lookout for promo codes on Julep’s Facebook page HERE. I got Jennifer for $5 through a group order with other nail polish fans — quite the bargain! Jennifer is a beautiful pale pink that I expected to have a cream finish, but it is actually quite sheer. I have on two coats in the photos, and as you can see it is not fully opaque. Because I knew I would be layering glitter over it, I didn’t add another coat, but even with just the two I think it looks gorgeous! Jennifer is perfect if you don’t like overstated or “loud” manicures, but still want to be polished.

I hope you enjoyed my Pink Wednesday post! What are your favorite pink nail polishes?

Indie Spotlight: Kelara Lacquers

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Today I have three polishes from the brand new indie brand Kelara Lacquers to show you. These polishes are amazing right down to the cute bottles with professional labels. Let me show you these gorgeous polishes!

 

 

 

First up is my favorite of the polishes. It is Uranus from the Planetary Collection! Yes, the name is silly, but I just love this color. Uranus is a gorgeous teal polish with holographic micro glitters mixed in. It has a textured finish, which I love. The formula is spot on for this one, as it is opaque in just two coats. It is also chip proof! I had this one on for days without any signs of wear. I absolutely love Uranus and hope to wear it often.

 

 

 

Up next is Seaside from the Fantasy Collection. This polish is a gorgeous sea blue with hints turquoise glitter. It really does look like an ocean on your fingers! Seaside was opaque in just two coats, and has a jelly texture to it. This is a great blue nail polish, especially with the green glitters thrown in. I recommend it to any blue lovers!

 

 

 

The final polish from Kelara Lacquers that I have to show you is Butterfly Kisses, also from the Fantasy Collection. Butterfly Kisses is a slightly tinted purple base filled with fine purple and turquoise glitters and pink butterfly glitters! This is definitely a unique polish! The first photo shows three coats of Butterfly Kisses on its own, and the next two show one coat over Seaside. While you can build opacity in three coats, I definitely suggest using Butterfly Kisses as a layering polish. Three coats was too bumpy, but one coat looks great as a topper! Although I am not a huge butterfly fan, this polish is adorable! I can guarantee you don’t have anything like Butterfly Kisses in your collection yet.

All in all, I love Kelara Lacquers! The polishes are really good quality, and I love that the brand offers a variety of colors and finishes. You can shop Kelara Lacquers on Etsy HERE. Full size bottles are $9 and minis are $4.50. You can also follow Kelara on Facebook HERE.

The products in this post were provided for my unbiased review. All opinions are my own.

Favorite Friday (One Day Late): Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Blue Me Away!

Happy Saturday! I fully intended to have this post up yesterday, but today will do! I wanted to continue on with my Favorite Friday series. Favorite Friday is when I use a polish from my collection that I love, but that hasn’t been used in a while. I have so many new and untried polishes, that it’s nice to have a reason to use one of my old favorites once in a while. Today I will show you Blue Me Away! from Sally Hansen that I used as a base for Different Dimension’s Think of All the Fellas That I Haven’t Kissed. You can see that entry HERE.

 

 

Blue Me Away! is another great polish from the very affordable line by Sally Hansen called Xtreme Wear. The formula is sometimes hit or miss with this brand, but I give Blue Me Away! two thumbs up. I applied two coats of polish to get the look in the photos. The formula was a little streaky, but two coats evened it up just fine. This polish does require some extra drying time, too. Other than that, it is a great blue polish! It is not neon, but it is definitely bright. This is a must have for anyone that loves blue!

You can find Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear at drugstores and department stores for around $3.

 

 

Indie Spotlight: Santa Baby Holiday Collection from Different Dimension

Today I have a really exciting post for all of you! The indie brand Different Dimension just released her Santa Baby collection, and I have four of the eight polishes to show you. I just love the idea behind this collection! Each polish is named after a lyric from the classic, Christmas tune Santa Baby. What I think is great about this collection is that many of the polishes can be worn not only for the holidays, but all year round! Let me show you these gorgeous polishes!

 

 

 

First up is the polish named after the song — Santa Baby! Santa Baby is a glitter top coat in a clear base filled with red, white, and pink hexagonal glitters. Plus there is a sprinkling of  fine holographic glitter throughout. I layered two coats over a fun, neon green polish from Wet ‘n Wild called Nerd Alert Screech. It is such a fun manicure, and very festive! I love the different size glitters, and that pink is on the color palette. Santa Baby would be great as a Valentine’s Day manicure as well — just use a different base color!

Next up is Out of Space Convertible. This is a black based polish with fine glitters mixed throughout in the colors pink, purple, and blue. Out of Space Convertible is opaque in just two coats, and has a textured finish. It really does look like the cosmos on your nails! I absolutely love this polish. It is not what I would expect to find in a holiday collection, but it works perfectly here. I can’t wait to wear this polish again!

The next polish from the Santa Baby collection that I have to show you is Think of All the Fellas That I Haven’t Kissed. Similar to Santa Baby, this is a glitter polish in a clear base. The glitters are a mix of purples, blues, and teals. I layered two coats of Think of All the Fellas over a bright blue from Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear called Blue Me Away! I decided to go with a blue to really show you how versatile this collection is. This polish is really fun!

Last but not least is I’ve Been an Angel All Year. This is a gorgeous glitter polish in a white base filled with white, blue, and silver glitters. There is also a hint of blue shimmer as well. This polish was also opaque in two coats, which I really appreciated! I’ve Been an Angel All Year reminds me of snowfall, and I wore it on the first day that it snowed here in NYC! This is another of my new favorite polishes!

I hope you enjoyed these polishes from the Santa Baby Collection! Don’t forget, there are four more beautiful polishes in this line. Be sure to check out Different Dimension’s Etsy store HERE and “like” the Facebook page HERE. Full size polishes are $8.50 each.

The products in the post were provided for my unbiased review. All opinions are my own.