Salon Perfect Neon POP Skittles Mani

Hi, you guys! :)

One of the quandaries I have with neon colors is deciding which color to wear when I love them all so much. If only I had more hands... But since I don't, and I want my cake and eat it too, wearing them in a skittles mani is the perfect fun solution. The Salon Perfect Neon POP Collection contains 12 bold shades, and I combined four of my favorites for the mani below.

Left to right: Tickled Pink, Loopy Lime, Traffic Cone, Fired Up Fuchsia

Tickled Pink (index finger) is a neon barbie pink with a creme finish. The formula is a little on the runny side, though nothing too bad. It's also a little streaky, but is mostly even by three coats.

Loopy Lime (middle finger) is a neon lime green with shimmers. This color is stunning, so bold and vibrant on the nails. It's easy to apply, and isn't too streaky by neon polish standard. It's opaque at two coats though I did three for the swatches.

Traffic Cone (ring finger) is an aptly named neon show-stopping orange with a creme finish. This is the brightest orange I've ever put on my nails, and I love it! I used three coats for the swatches.

Fired Up Fuchsia (pinky) is a bright magenta pink with fine shimmers. It's another really stunning color from the collection. The formula's pretty good and easy to apply. I used three coats for the swatches.

I tried a few of the other colors from this collection too, and all of them are super bright. Though there is a white base that you can use with the colors, the intensity and brightness of the shades shines through even without it, so it's not really necessary. The formulas can be a little streaky, pretty on par with neons. In general, the cremes are more uneven, while the shimmers apply more evenly and easily across the nails.

What do you think of this collection and of neons in general? Will you be picking any up to add to your collection? And do you wear neons only in the summer or all year-round?

You can find the Neon POP shades exclusively at Walmart stores for a retail price of $3.98 for each 0.5 fl oz bottle.

** This post contains product(s) provided for honest consideration.

FingerPaints Enchanted Mermaid Collection

Hi, you guys! I'm writing this as I'm watching The Strain (on FX) with my husband. It's a gory vampire tv show, and I'm totally chicken when it comes to anything scary, so I'm half hiding behind my laptop as it's on lol.

Today, I've got a collection with an interesting concept to show you. The FingerPaints Enchanted Mermaid Collection is made up of four shimmery shades with fish scale textures. When I first heard of this, I was so excited. The idea sounded amazing and I'm always up for trying a new texture, especially one with a novel concept. But it didn't quite turn out the way I had thought. You can see for yourself...

Priti NYC Australia Summer 2014 Collection

Ah ha, so I haven't been imagining it! This summer has indeed been hotter than usual. On average, we've been running about five degrees warmer every day for the month of July. Yikes! And the trend's continuing so far for August. You can be sure I am counting down the days to fall. :P

In the meantime, I'm taking full advantage by wearing tons of brights and neons, which is one of my favorite nail polish trends. And today, I've got one such collection I've really been enjoying to show you. Priti NYC's Australia Summer Collection is comprised of four intense, bright colors, perfect for this sweltering weather. :)

OPI Neons Collection - Summer 2014

Hi, you guys! Hope you're in the midst of a great week! :) I had a long holiday weekend, which went by way too fast as usual, and I made the mistake of doing too much. So I came out of it really exhausted and just spent yesterday in a daze trying to recover and mentally get back to work. :P

Today, I've got the new Neons by OPI Collection to share with you. This set of six bright shades are the first full-size neons that OPI is adding to its permanent collection. (About time, yep!) If you guys know me, you know I love neons, so you can imagine my sheer excitement here. Just a quick note: a white base was released with this collection, but all the swatches below are without it (more on that below). But enough jibber jabber... here are the colors! :D

FingerPaints Poolside Paradise Collection

Happy Saturday, you guys! This week has been super busy, and I'm glad it's finally the weekend. I look forward to much relaxation and the time to read J. K. Rowling's new mystery The Silkworm. I loved the first book in her mystery series and have been eagerly awaiting this second one. Nothing makes me happier than curling up with a great book. :)

Today, I've got a fantastic collection to show you. FingerPaints' Poolside Paradise Collection is comprised of six bright shades in shimmery, glass fleck finishes. (Glass fleck, I say!) As soon as I saw this collection, I knew it was made for me, and it does not disappoint!

OPI Coca-Cola Collection

Hi, you guys! Happy Sunday! Do you have any plans for Father's Day? We have a fur baby (Dan the chinchilla), so we'll be celebrating Chin Father's Day haha. I have a small surprise for the hubby, but I can't say what because he's proof-reading this post for me. :)

OPI collaborated with Coca-Cola to come up with polishes inspired by their beverages, and I have the resulting nine-piece Coca-Cola by OPI Collection to share with you today.

Zoya Tickled Collection - Summer 2014

Hi, you guys! Happy weekend! This week has been really busy, so I'm glad to finally have some time for relaxation. There's this new Chinese restaurant that opened near us last week, and it's so good! The hubby and I have been there five times already haha. More and more, I've realized that the quality of my life correlates directly to my access to yummy food. Food is definitely most important in my life lol. :D

Today, I've got Zoya's summer creme collection to share with you. The Zoya Tickled Collection features six new cremes in a variety of colorful, exuberant summer hues.

Zoya Bubbly Collection - Summer 2014

Hi, you guys! Hope your weekend's fantastic and full of sunshine! :)

Zoya has some of my favorite summer-time collections with their bright shades and interesting finishes, so I was really looking forward to what they have up their sleeves this year, and they did not disappoint. This year's Bubbly Collection features six dazzling shades with tons of shimmers and holographic glitter particles in squishy, jelly-like, glass fleck finishes.

Zoya Awaken Collection & Monet - Spring 2014

Hi, you guys! Hope your week is going well. :) Is it me or is this month just flying by so fast? I love this time of the year, with all the flowers and trees blooming, and the extended amount of day light every day. I think my hubby, who does all the mowing, disagrees with my love of spring. We get just the perfect mixture of rain and sun so that the grass is growing like crazy weeds this time of the year lol.

Today, I've got Zoya's Spring 2014 offerings—the Awaken Collection and Monet special effects topper—to share with you. I always look forward to Zoya's spring collections with their fresh, understated colors and soft finishes, so I was super excited for this.

KBShimmer Spring 2014 Collection - My Picks!

Hi, you guys! Hope your week is going well! :) It's finally starting to feel like spring over here. It was actually sunny yesterday, with blue skies! Of course I was stuck inside at work because it was a weekday, but beggars can't be choosers. I'm just getting over a pretty miserable cold. It had me good for two weeks and I'm still coughing a little, but I'm thankful to be back to feeling mostly normal and sleeping through the night again. :)

Today, I've got my picks from the new KBShimmer Spring 2014 Collection. It's a large collection of 16 polishes consisting of a variety of finishes—glitters, holos, and cremes. It's a fun set of colors and finishes, sure to have something to satisfy whatever you love. For me, four totally stood out and made my heart sing, so I wanted to share those with you.

NOTD: Zoya Holly & Zoya Opal

Hi, you guys! How was your weekend? Mine was pretty uneventful. It was raining and gray the whole weekend, so I mostly holed up inside and caught up on tv shows and movies, emerging outside only in search of food. :)

In the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, I thought I'd show you a recent gorgeous green mani of mine:

This is one coat of Zoya Opal over two coats of Zoya Holly. Holly by itself is already one of my favorite green looks, but adding Opal on top made it catch the light from every angle and just glow from within. Up close, you can see the individual flakes in the green, but from an arm's length, it gives the impression of dancing green fire on the nails... totally amazing! :D

Do you guys like flakies as much as I do? If so, what's your favorite combination? :)

** Zoya Opal is a press sample.

China Glaze This Is Tree-mendous

Hi, you guys! Happy middle of the week! :)

Today, I've got another of the glitters from the China Glaze Happy HoliGlaze Collection to show you. This Is Tree-mendous is made of predominantly small forest green shimmers and glitters in a sheer base.

I love wearing greens during the holiday season, so this is right up my alley. The smattering of yellow among the green makes the whole polish look so bright, fresh, and sparkly. The first coat is a little sheer, but the coverage builds up nicely with additional coats. Three coats is what I did for the swatches, and it's totally opaque at that. I would have liked to see a little more glitter density for easier application, but it's not too bad as is. :)

You can find This Is Tree-mendous at your local nail salons and at beauty stores such as Ulta and Sally Beauty for a retail price of $7.50 for 0.5 fl oz.

** This post contains product(s) provided for honest consideration.

KBShimmer Christmas Now

Happy hump day, you guys! :-)

Today, I've got another color from the KBShimmer Winter Collection to show you. Christmas Now—a blogger collaboration with Crystal's Crazy Combos—is a green jelly filled with lots of colorful glitters, including small and medium white square glitters, small and medium pink, gold, and blue round glitters, and larger gold star glitters.

This is such a fun mix of colors and glitter shapes, and highlights the playful side of the holidays. Application is relatively easy. Even though there are medium and larger glitters in here, there's enough glitter density that I didn't have to go fishing. I was easily able to get a good mix of the different glitters, including the big gold stars, to right where I want them. Since this is a jelly, each coat goes on a little more sheer, so you'll need three coats or you can apply it over a base.

You can find Christmas Now at KBShimmer.com for $8.75 and HarlowandCo.org for $9 for 0.5 fl oz.

** This post contains product(s) provided for honest consideration.

Zoya Cassedy

Hi, you guys! Hope your week is off to a great start! :-)

Today I've got another festive shade from the Zoya Zenith Collection to share with you. Cassedy is a green-tinged dark steel silver with a shimmery foil finish.

The green tint in here is so interesting; it makes the silver look unique and edgy. And you guys know I'm a big fan of Zoya's foil finishes. I loved that finish in the summer colors, and I'm really loving it in this winter color too. Cassedy has a great formula that makes for an effortless application. Each coat goes on smoothly and easily, and two quick coats is all you need for opacity.

You can find Cassedy on Zoya.com for $8 for 0.5 fl oz. If you are new to Zoya, you can get your first two bottles of Zoya for $8 - $9 total and free shipping! More info HERE.

** This post contains product(s) provided for honest consideration.

Salon Perfect Ivy League

Hi, you guys! Hope you had a great weekend, and your week is off to a good start. My weekend was incredibly lazy. It's been rainy and gloomy and dark, so I haven't felt like doing much at all. I need to move somewhere sunnier lol. :D

Today, I'm going to continue with another color from the Salon Perfect First Look Fall Collection. Ivy League is a dark mossy green with fine olive green shimmers in a metallic finish.

With Salon Perfect Matte Fx Top Coat

It's one of those naturesque colors that makes me think of tall mature trees in a forest with the canopy shielding out most of the sunlight. This is quite dark on the nails; not yet black, but it's getting close for me. The shimmers are subdued by the dark base and show up best under direct light. The formula is good for the most part. It's a little on the thinner side, but still easy and smooth to apply, and two coats gets the job done.

You can find Ivy League exclusively at Walmart stores for a retail price of $3.98 for 0.5 fl oz.

** This post contains product(s) provided for honest consideration.

Butter London Jaded Jack

Happy Monday, you guys! Gosh, the weekend sure went by fast, didn't it? It's starting to feel like fall here. For the first time in a long time, both Saturday and Sunday were dark, cloudy, and rainy. Come back, summer! I'm not done with you yet lol.

Recently, Butter London came out with their Rock Your Colour Collection, and I have a few of the beautiful polishes to share with you. First up today is Jaded Jack, a citrus-y lime green creme.

What a fun color! I think it's a great transition from summer to fall, when you still want a little bit of brightness without going all out. This has great application, very smooth and even. I just needed the standard two coats and it was totally opaque. It dries to this interesting satiny rubber-like finish that I really like, but you'll need a top coat if you prefer a glossy shine.

You can find Jaded Jack on butterlondon.com and at select retailers such as Nordstrom and Ulta for $15 for 0.4 fl oz.

** This post contains product(s) provided for honest consideration.

China Glaze Tongue & Chic

Hi, you guys! :) Is it really only Thursday? It feels like it should have been Friday like two days ago lol.

Today, I've got another of my picks from the China Glaze Autumn Nights Collection to share with you. Tongue & Chic is a dark, cool-toned, teal green with a metallic finish.

This is another one of those blackened-around-the-edges colors that manages to look both rich and dark at the same time. The formula is great. It's thin enough to afford lots of control, making application easy. It's also pigmented, so you need just one coat for total coverage. And since the shimmers are subtle, it dries without any streak marks. The only negative is that, as usual with colors this dark, you can get a little bit of staining upon removal, but it's gone after a few hand washings.

You can find Tongue & Chic at your local nail salons and at beauty stores such as Ulta and Sally Beauty for a retail price of $7 for 0.5 fl oz.

** This post contains product(s) provided for honest consideration.

Girly Bits enJOYmint

Hi there, gentle readers! :-)

I have a really special polish to share with you today. In July, the beauty blogging community lost one of our own when Talia Joy Castellano passed away after a long battle with cancer. She was only 13 years old, but she touched so many people with her passion and her energy.

In Talia's memory, Girly Bits created enJOYmint, and I was so happy to snag one of the bottles from Girly Bits' site (after much stalking). enJOYmint is a slight muted minty green polish with loads of scattered holographic shimmers.

This is such an exquisite polish, from its hint of dustiness to the fine shimmers that give off little flashes of rainbow colors as you move your hands. I had no application issues with this. It goes on smoothly, with all the shimmers distributing evenly onto the nails. The first coat is a little thin, but it builds up to perfect coverage by the third coat.

A limited number of bottles of enJOYmint has and will be made available, and Girly Bits is donating 100% of the proceeds to BASE Camp Children's Cancer Foundation. You can follow Girly Bits' Facebook page for all the information.