SkinCareRx Sale!!

This is the last day to take advantage of this deal! Get some shopping done at Skincarerx.com or Apothica.com!

Color Club Angel Kiss OMG SO HOLO!!!

Base: none

Color: three coats Color Club Angel Kiss

Top: none

Application: good (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

I don't know about you, but my polish loving brain kind of explodes when I look at these pictures. Color Club Angel Kiss, from the Halo Hues collection, IS SO DANG HOLO!!!!! I only bought one polish from Halo Hues because I wasn't sure how holographic they would really be, but I definitely need to go back for more! Angel Kiss is a silvery seafoam green holo that sometimes leans a little baby blue, depending on the light.

 I did not use a base coat with Angel Kiss because I find that base coats actually make holo polishes apply kind of patchy and uneven. Angel Kiss applied really nicely with no base coat. There was no patchiness, it went on smoothly and evenly. I did three coats, but it was opaque in two. I did the third because I wasn't sure how my camera would see the two coats. The holo-ness of this polish is just incredible!! I would say it's even a bit MORE holo than my pictures show!

The Color Club Halo Hues collection is available now, although certain polishes do seem to be selling out at some stores, so grab them quickly. Color Club's website has a store locator if you don't know where to buy them!

News to Me: Jamberry Nails

I got this announcement in my email today from a PR company about their new client, Jamberry Nails. Having never heard of Jamberry Nails, I had to go check out their website. It turns out, they sell polish stickers that you apply with the heat from a hair dryer. They say they can last 10 days or more. The sell for $15, a bit on the pricey side, and I guess you can host a Jamberry Nails party to sell these to your friends. Interesting concept. I really love the peacock design, so that's what got me interested in checking out their site! They have amazing looking Halloween designs too. Learn more about Jamberry Nails here.

A Vampy Glittah Combo: Lynnderella VamPink

Base: one coat Zoya Get Even
Color: two coats Zoya Katherine, two coats Lynnderella VamPink
Top: three (!) coats Gelous, one coat NYC Grand Central Station
Application: good (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

I figured I should try to swatch my untried Lynnderellas from Early Halloween Resurrected and Sweet Somethings for a Summer Solstice before my new Season's Glitterings preciouses arrive! I've been seeing a bunch of pretty manis with Lynnderella VamPink (from Early Halloween Resurrected) lately, so I decided to wear that today. For this look, I layered two coats of VamPink over two coats of Zoya Katherine, a vampy purple jelly. Lynnderella VamPink has a berry purple tinted base, so I'm pretty sure you could actually wear it alone pretty easily. It also contains a TON of magenta, burgundy and small holo glitter, so it could probably be full coverage in 2-3 coats. I thought those large dark square glitters were black by the way, but from Lynn's description, they're probably actually deep burgundy.

I love that giant bright pink square on my ring finger!! VamPink was nice and easy to apply. There's so much glitter in there, it's quite easy to get it all on the nail. This is two thin coats of VamPink. This is a top coat eater though, and I found two coats of Gelous still left it looking a little dull and didn't let the holo glitter shine through to it's full potential. So I added a third coat of Gelous and then a coat of NYC Grand Central Station just to dry the coats of Gelous. The third coat made this a super shiny and smooth mani and really brought out the holo glitter.

I was expecting to like VamPink, but for some reason I didn't think I'd love it. Now that I'm wearing it, I LOVE it. It's so gorgeous!! I almost didn't buy this one and I'm so glad I did. If you haven't seen Lynnderella's new holiday collection, Season's Glitterings, check it out here. I will, of course, have some of those to show you soon!

Lynnderella polishes are available on eBay. Remember, you can message her brother Paul on eBay and set up a custom set if you don't see the selection of polishes you're looking for!

Nicole by OPI Kardashian Kolor Holiday 2012, The Glitters!

Base: one coat Zoya Get Even

Color: two coats Nicole by OPI All Is Glam, All Is Bright

Top: one coat Gelous

Application: OMG SO EXCELLENT!!!! (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

*passes out from love of this polish* OK, so remember in my first post about the Nicole by OPI Kardashian Kolor Holiday collection when I said I don't always keep the polishes I am sent for review? But I had decided to keep the first three polishes from this collection? Yea, well Nicole by OPI All Is Glam, All Is Bright stepped this up a notch, because not only am I keeping it, BUT I'M GOING TO BUY A BACK-UP OF IT!!! This clear base LOADED with super fine sugary silver and red glitter is now my number one favorite Nicole by OPI polish EVER and one of my favorite holiday 2012 polishes as well!

Now, if you weren't dying from the sparklies, let me tell you that this is only two coats and it is 100% opaque. In fact, if you were lazy/doing your mani while running out the door to a Christmas party (me all holiday season), you could do ONE COAT of this polish!!!! One thick coat was opaque with no VNL!! This was also the easiest glitter polish to apply! I'm not sure if you can tell, but I LOVE THIS and highly recommend it to you.

Base: one coat Zoya Get Even
Color: three coats Kardashing Through The Snow
Top: one coat Gelous, one coat Seche Vite
Application: good (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

Nicole by OPI Kardashing Through The Snow is a lovely multi-glitter in a clear base. These glitters are small, but larger than the sugary glitter in All Is Glam. I see lots of red, gold, blue, silver and green glitters in Kardashing Through The Snow. (By the way, every time I read that name, I sing it *kardashing through the snoowwww*.) This polish would make a lovely topper over another polish, but it's easy enough to wear alone in three coats as well.

This was three coats and it looked quite opaque in person, with no VNL. My camera always likes to make these kinds of glitters look sparse, but it really wasn't. I'd wear this alone or maybe over white/silver. It was pretty easy to apply, just not as effortless as All Is Glam.

Base: one coat Zoya Get Even
Color: two coats Nicole by OPI Here We Kome A-Karoling, one coat Nicole by OPI A Gold Winter's Night
Top: one coat Seche Vite
Application: excellent (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

Stop the presses!!! I found a bar glitter polish that I don't hate!!!! To be honest, I didn't realize Nicole by OPI A Gold Winter's Night was a bar glitter until I went to swatch it for these pictures. When I realized it was gold and holo bar glitter in a clear base, I was a little sad because I thought I'd hate it. I also thought it would need to be layered over something, so I grabbed Here We Kome A-Karoling to put under it. HOWEVER, I actually like this!!! I think I like it because the base also has a ton of small gold glitter, so the bars do not show up as much. The base is also super packed with glitter, so you have to be really up close to even see that it has bar glitter.

This is just one coat of A Gold Winter's Night over two coats of Here We Kome A-Karoling. You absolutely could wear A Gold Winter's Night alone in two, maybe three, coats. It is really packed with glitter. The blue-green holo bars pop really nicely against the gold too. I am surprised at myself, but I am keeping this polish and I am actually going to wear it this holiday season!!

Overall, I really enjoyed swatching this holiday collection and I'm happy to be adding all six of these polishes to my permanent collection. The shimmers may seem like you've seen them before, but they have some unique qualities and great formulas too. The glitters are amazing. A Gold Winter's Night is a must for any bar glitter fans and All Is Glam, All Is Bright is a must for every human being who likes nail polish.

Limited edition Kardashian Kolor Holiday shades are available now for $7.99 each in the U.S. at select Target, KMart, ULTA, CVS, Meijer, Sears, Kroger, H-E-B, Duane Reade, Fred Meyer, Giant Eagle, Harmon, and Winn-Dixie locations.  In Canada, these lacquers will be retailed for $10.99 each in Shoppers Drug Mart, Loblaw, and Jean Coutu.

For more information, visit nicolebyopi.com. Follow Nicole by OPI on Twitter @NicoleByOPI and become a Facebook fan!

Products sent for review. For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy.

Nicole by OPI Kardashian Kolor Holiday 2012, The Shimmers!

Base: one coat Zoya Get Even
Color: two coats Nicole by OPI Here We Kome A-Karoling
Top: one coat Seche Vite
Application: good (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

Nicole by OPI partnered with the Kardashians again for their holiday 2012 collection. Now, in the past, even Kardashian haters have had to admit that the Nicole by OPI Kardashian Kolors polishes have been excellent. I think this will have to happen again with the latest offerings. The three polishes in this post surprised me a bit, more on that later! I tried Nicole by OPI Here We Kome A-Karoling first out of the six polishes in the collection. Here We Kome A-Karoling is a vampy deep purple shimmer. This is a very deep purple, and sometimes the shimmer gets lost with a purple this dark, but not here! The shimmer is really visible an pretty!

This is two coats of Here We Kome A-Karoling. The formula was good, no problems to speak of. Nice coverage and pretty easy to apply.

Base: one coat Zoya Get Even
Color: two coats Nicole by OPI Keeping Up With Santa
Top: one coat Seche Vite
Application: excellent (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

Nicole by OPI Keeping Up With Santa is a gorgeous glossy red with subtle shimmer flecks. I never wear red polish, but I think I'll be wearing this one. I really fell in love with this polish! It's so juicy and glossy looking! I know I probably have something similar, but it looks different somehow! Plus, I am rather fond of the name, I think it's one of the better names in the collection!

The formula of Keeping Up With Santa was absolutely superb. This is two coats. It was nearly opaque in one! It basically flowed onto my nail looking perfect with no effort on my part. Love it!!

Base: one coat Zoya Get Even
Color: two coats Nicole by OPI Deck the Dolls
Top: one coat Seche Vite
Application: excellent (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

 Lastly in this post, we have Nicole by OPI Deck the Dolls. Deck the Dolls is a stunning shimmering teal. I thought this looked so familiar and already done in the bottle, but once I got it on the nail, I was SO surprised and in love with it! My pictures make it look more blue, there is a strong green tone in this. I think the green is what makes Deck the Dolls stand out from other blue shimmers we've seen lately.

Deck the Dolls also has a stand out formula compared to other recent blue shimmers. This is two coats and again, it was almost opaque in one. It was so easy to control and get nice and close to the cuticle. Really lovely formula!

Now let me tell you why these polishes surprised me. Confession: I do not keep every polish I am sent for review. I don't want to be featured on Hoarders, so I often give polishes away to my friends. When I saw these three polishes in their bottles, I thought I'd give at least two of them away. However, after putting them on my nails, I am keeping all three! Deck the Dolls and Keeping Up With Santa have such incredible formulas that if I already have similar polishes, I'll get rid of the other ones and keep these! Here We Kome A-Karoling stands out because it's shimmer shows up so well. I already know I'm keeping the three glitters from this collection too (post coming soon!). If Nicole by OPI keeps this up, someone will be nominating me for Hoarders very soon.

Limited edition Kardashian Kolor Holiday shades will be available November 2012 for $7.99 each in the U.S. at select Target, KMart, ULTA, CVS, Meijer, Sears, Kroger, H-E-B, Duane Reade, Fred Meyer, Giant Eagle, Harmon, and Winn-Dixie locations.  In Canada, these lacquers will be retailed for $10.99 each in Shoppers Drug Mart, Loblaw, and Jean Coutu.

For more information, visit nicolebyopi.com. Follow Nicole by OPI on Twitter @NicoleByOPI and become a Facebook fan!

Products sent for review. For more information, please read my Disclosure Policy.

Thanksgiving Ombre/Skittles mani

This isn't a real post today, but I just wanted to find out how everyone's Thanksgiving was!! Did you eat a lot?? (What kind of question is that?? DUH!). My family had TWO turkeys, a ham, two kinds of mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry, roasted brussel sprouts with butternut squash, pumpkin pie, apple pie, rum cake, cookies and MORE! YUM! I ended up wearing an ombre-ish mani with all OPI fall color polishes. I say ombre-ish because the colors are not quite a perfect ombre, but I loved how they went together! From thumb to pinkie: OPI Black Cherry Chutney, OPI German-icure by OPI, OPI Danke-Shiny Red, OPI Deutsche You Want Me Baby?, and OPI Goldeneye.

Who already has the Christmas songs rockin??

Some products sent for review. For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy.

Happy Thanksgiving!!! Smitten Polish Spice Cake

Base: one coat Zoya Get Even
Color: three coats Smitten Polish Spice Cake
Top: one coat NYC Grand Central Station, one coat Gelous
Application: average (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

Happy Thanksgiving to my US readers! I hope you are about to enjoy a relaxing day filled with family fun and delicious food! I'm currently wearing Smitten Polish Spice Cake on my polish, a polish I bought a few weeks ago, but wanted to save for Thanksgiving! Spice Cake is an orangey-brown creme base with orange, gold and brown glitters. There are teeny glitters, as well as larger hex glitters. This polish really screams "holiday food" to me!!

I did find the formula of Spice Cake to be a little challenging. It was a bit thick and also somehow applied a little patchy/streaky in the first coat. That's really why I had to use three coats to even it out. I also felt like some of the glitter got lost in the opaque base. My other Smitten polishes have absolutely dreamy formulas, so I was a little surprised at this one. It wasn't terrible, just more difficult to work with than the others I've tried. I also discovered that Spice Cake really requires two coats of top coat to be smooth. It was kind of lumpy after the first one, so I added the coat of Gelous. It's a really unique polish though, so I think it's worth a little effort!!

Smitten Polish Spice Cake is still available at the Smitten Polish Etsy store. Noelie is also going to be selling her holiday collection soon and it looks amazing! There are some preview pictures on her Facebook page. The Holly And The Ivy and Adeste Fidelis are definitely going to jump in my Etsy cart as soon as they're in stock!

Winter Wonderland Nails with Born Pretty Store Glitter

I know we haven't even gotten to Thanksgiving yet, but I was eyeing the decorations in the mall the other day and felt like doing a wintry looking nail!! The icy blue glitter in the Born Pretty Store glitter set was calling my name too. Born Pretty Store really does have the best selection of various nail art products that make it kinda fun to just experiment (like I did with this look LOL).

I started with two coats of Sally Hansen Insta Dri in Silver Sweep, my favorite silver polish. Then, I really should have used a make-up sponge, since I started out trying to go for a gradient look. But I was too lazy to stand up a get a sponge, so I kind of just stuck the tips of my nails into the pot of glitter. Then my middle nail was looking a little sparse, so I tried to add some more glitter. In reality though, I just dumped a bunch of blue glitter on my nail. So, I really like the combination of blue glitter and silver polish, but next time I need to get out that make-up sponge.

This Born Pretty Store glitter set is really good for all kinds of fun looks though. I already showed you the orange, red, yellow, and gold in my Thanksgiving look. I can't wait to try the black glitter next!! Plus, there's a pale yellow glitter! How different and awesome is that? I haven't figured out what to do with it yet, but I will.

This loose glitter set is available online at Born Pretty Store. Don't forget to use the code ERJ61 for 10% off of your order!!

Product sent for review. For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy.

A Thanksgiving Mani with Born Pretty Store Loose Glitter!

Ahhhhh! It's Thanksgiving week in the U.S. already! Thanksgiving is one of my personal favorite holidays. It comes right after a HUGE stressful dance competition (I got 3rd this year!), and I feel like I get to really de-stress and relax. I haven't decided what I'm going to wear on my nails this Thanksgiving, but this nail art glitter gradient using Born Pretty Store loose glitter is a top contender. This loose glitter comes in a set of 12 different colors!! I picked four of them to use in this mani.

 I started with three coats of Zoya Penny, a soft metallic copper, as my base. Then, using a make-up sponge, I dabbed on the gold, orange, yellow, and red glitters from the set. I concentrated a bit more glitter at the base of my nails and used less towards the tips.

The glitter colors I used are kind of subtle against the copper, but I still really like the effect. It's very fall-like and Thanksgiving appropriate!

Yet another picture that Blogger decided to flip on it's side ^. I really hate that.

What will you be rocking on your nails this Thanksgiving? More importantly, what will you be eating??? I plan on shoveling large quantities of mashed potatoes, turkey, cranberry, and apple pie into my mouth.

This set of 12 loose glitters is available online at Born Pretty Store. Don't forget to use the code ERJ61 for 10% off of your order!!

Product sent for review. For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy.

Zoya Storm

Base: one coat Zoya Get Even
Color: three coats Zoya Storm
Top: one coat Poshe
Application: good (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

The last polish from the Zoya Ornate collection I have to show you is Zoya Storm. Storm is a shiny black base filled with smooth holo particles. I think this is a REALLY cool and creative polish to put in a holiday collection. Kudos to Zoya for thinking outside the red and green shimmer box! In the above picture, you can see the holo effect best on my pinkie nail. It shows up best in direct light, not so much indoors/in low light.

I was a little surprised that I needed three coats of Storm though. I figured I would only need two, but I definitely still had VNL and not great coverage with two coats.  The first coat was especially patchy and uneven, but it did smooth out by the second, and it looked perfect with three.

Overall, I really like the Zoya Ornate polishes I bought. I did end up giving away Electra already, but that's my fault, because I know I dislike bar glitter. Storm, Blaze and Aurora will be getting a lot of attention from me, and not just over the holidays. I do really appreciate seeing something different than red shimmers for the holidays!

Zoya Storm is available at Zoya.com.

*The link above is my Zoya Share the Love link. I get points towards discounts, etc. if you click this link and make a purchase. For more information about the Share the Love program, go here.*