OPI Nordic Collection - Fall 2014

Hi there, gentle readers! Thank you so much for all the kind words. <3 We've been doing all right. We're slowly replacing all the essentials we lost, though that's been a bit slow because last month has been insanely busy. I've bought another camera, and I'm borrowing a laptop, so I'm able to finally make progress again with blogging. :) It's really wonderful to be back. I've missed you guys.

Today, I've got the 12-piece OPI Nordic Collection for Fall 2014 to share with you. I was pretty excited when I heard of this collection. I love the idea of all things Nordic, and my one visit to a Nordic location (Stockholm a few years ago) was filled with incredible memories. Also, this is the first year in a long while that I've been this eager for fall and everything that it brings. Just thinking about the cold nights and snuggling in warm sweaters fill me with joy. Ok, onto the collection...

Butter London Brick Lane Collection

Hi, you guys! Hope you're having a great week! The weather here has been mercifully cool for the last few days. After the heatwaves we had, it's wonderful to have this refreshing change, even if it's just for a few days. It's so cool that I even got to wear pants! :D

Today, I've got the new six-piece Butter London Brick Lane Collection to share with you. This collection is an interesting mix of colors, finishes, and textures, so it feels like there's something for everyone. They come in a set with all six colors in 0.2 fl oz fashion sizes (which is what I am showing you), of which two are exclusive to this set.

Zoya Magical Pixie - PixieDust for Summer 2014

Hi, you guys! We're on like day 11 of a heat wave and the house has been so hot for so long that it's hard to get it cooled down. But relief is finally coming this weekend and I can't wait! I keep catching myself daydreaming about cool breezes on my face and sleeping beneath cool sheets. :)

Today, I've got Zoya's PixieDust offering for Summer 2014 to show you. This Magical Pixie trio, Zoya's second Magical Pixie set, offers the matte texture that we've come to expect in PixieDusts plus the amazingly sparkly holographic glitters we saw in the first Magical Pixie set.

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 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.

Nicole by OPI Roughles Collection

Hi, you guys! Hope your week is going well. We had a few days of sunshine, so I totally soaked up the vitamin D. But now it's back to rain and clouds... gotta love the Pacific Northwest. :P

Today, I have the Nicole by OPI Roughles (pronounced "ruffles") Collection to show you. These speckled pastels caught my attention from the moment I first saw the promo pictures. They look so fun and unique, I was just chomping at the bit to try them out. Without any further delay, here they are. :)

China Glaze All Wrapped Up

Hi, you guys! Hope your week is going well. :)

I wanted to close out the China Glaze Happy HoliGlaze Collection today with the last, but definitely not least, of the set. All Wrapped Up is filled with small indigo blurple shimmers and glitters in a sheer base.

The formula is the same as the other two similar glitters in the collection (Put A Bow On It and This Is Tree-mendous). The first coat is a little sheer and patchy, but it builds up nicely to opaque coverage in three coats. I thought this one had an easier application than the other two, but I could just be getting used to the formula. :)

Now that I've tried the whole collection, I must say that I really enjoyed this set. There are colors for everyone, from those who enjoy traditional shades to those who want something a little more original. If I had to pick favorites, I'd say I really love the bright foils, especially So Blue Without You and Elfin' Around. What do you guys think? Which are your must-haves from this collection?

You can find All Wrapped Up 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.

China Glaze Put A Bow On It

Happy weekend, you guys! :)

Today I've got another festive polish from the China Glaze Happy HoliGlaze Collection to share with you. Put A Bow On It is made up of predominantly small pink and purple shimmers and glitters in a sheer base.

The first coat is quite sheer and patchy, but it builds up with additional coats. I think it's because with the first coat, there's nothing already on the nail for the glitters to grab onto, but with the subsequent coats, the glitters will catching onto the existing glitters and fill in the holes and uneven patches, if that makes sense. :) It gets to a nice coverage at three coats, which is what I did for the swatches. It doesn't dry too gritty, though a top coat always helps if that is a concern.

You can find Put A Bow On It 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.

China Glaze Be Merry, Be Bright

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

Today, I wanted to show you another fun glitter from the China Glaze Happy HoliGlaze Collection. Be Merry, Be Bright is a glitter polish filled with magenta and purple small to medium glitters all in a sheer base.

The application is a little tricky, as the glitters have a tendency to clump together. If you apply using traditional strokes, the glitters will stick to each other and all move as a clump from cuticle to free edge. I had better success dabbing the polish onto the nails, as that allowed for good glitter distribution and coverage. The glitters are plentiful, so I did just one coat of it on Santa Red My List for the swatches.

You can find Be Merry, Be Bright 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.

China Glaze Your Present Required

Hi, you guys! Happy weekend! We've been having a string of sunny days here (really unusual for this time of the year when it's usually rainy), so I've been out and about soaking up the sun. :D

Today, I've got a fun glitter from the China Glaze Happy HoliGlaze Collection to share with you. Your Present Required is a colorful mix of small to medium hex glitters in the colors blue, purple, peach, white, and gold all in a sheer base.

I really like the combination of colors in this glitters. It's a little unusual, but they look really great together. The application is a little odd. It's hard to get the glitters to stay in place on the nails as you stroke from cuticle to free edge. They kind of clump together and have a tendency to get dragged along with the brush. I ended up using short dabbling motions, which really helped in getting the glitters to stay in place. I did one coat over Mingle With Kringle, and I just love the way they look together. The gold base really sets off the colors in this glitter. :)

You can find Your Present Required 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 Maybe Navy

Hi, you guys! :-)

Today, I wanted to close out what I have to show you from the KBShimmer Winter Collection with another favorite of mine! Maybe Navy is a teal navy blue with tons of blue and purple shimmers and a scattering of small teal glitters.

Isn't this polish just totally amazing?! I wish I could describe it better, but it's like a mixture of different colors that flash all at once, kind of like fish scales. It's so gorgeous in the bottle, and it does not disappoint at all once on the nails. I love that the shimmers are a little bigger, so they give off a slightly chunky look on the nails. Two medium coats on the nails gets you total coverage, or three thin ones if you are more patient than me. :-)

You can find Maybe Navy 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.

OPI Baby Please Come Home

Hi, you guys! Yay for it being the weekend! Gosh, this past week has just been absolutely crazy. I'm so thankful and relieved that the weekend is finally here. Hope yours is off to a fun and relaxing start! :-)

Today, I've got another beautiful liquid sand from the OPI Mariah Carey Holiday Collection to share with you. Baby Please Come Home is a subtly purplish silver with lots of shimmers and larger silver glitters that all dries down to a textured matte glitter finish.

This is another lovely liquid sand, scattered with the larger silver glitters that I've really come to love from OPI. While it appears to have a good amount of purple in the bottle, I feel like once it's on the nails, the purple seems more subtle and the overall polish leans more silver, probably due to its large amount of silver shimmers and glitters. The formula is everything you can ask for, making application super easy. Each coat comes out smoothly and with even distribution of the glitters and sand particles, and two coats is all you need for full coverage. :-)

You can find Baby Please Come Home at your local nail salons and beauty stores such as Ulta and Dillard's for a retail price of $9 for 0.5 fl oz.

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

OPI Miss You-niverse

Hi, you guys! I love Thursdays because it means the week is starting to wind down. Today is extra awesome because it's the last day of the work week for me. The hubby and I are taking Friday and Monday off to make it a long weekend, and I just cannot wait. I'm always ready for some days off from work hehe. :-)

Today, I've got another color from the OPI Miss Universe 2013 trio to share with you. Miss You-niverse is a dark, almost black, eggplant purple with a creme finish.

The darkness of this polish surprised me. I thought more of the purple would come through, but it really is mostly black on the nails. The camera even had a little bit of trouble picking up the purple color in there. The formula is smooth and easy to apply. It's also really pigmented, so I did just one coat for the swatches and it's pretty much totally opaque at that.

You can find Miss You-niverse at your local nail salons and beauty stores such as Ulta and Dillard's for a retail price of $9 for 0.5 fl oz.

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

OPI I'm Feeling Sashy

Hi, you guys! Hope it's a good week for you so far! :-)

OPI has released their Miss Universe 2013 Collection, a trio of polishes inspired by the women in this year's Miss Universe competition, and I've got the set to show you. Starting off today is I'm Feeling Sashy, a medium muted mauve purple with a creme finish.

It's an interesting purple and unique to my collection. :-) I had no trouble at all with application. The formula is typical OPI creme, smooth and even. Each coat flows onto the nails like butter, with enough control for good precision. It has good color payoff, so I needed just the two standard coats for total coverage. And it dries to a nice glossy shine.

You can find I'm Feeling Sashy at your local nail salons and beauty stores such as Ulta and Dillard's for a retail price of $9 for 0.5 fl oz.

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

Zoya Belinda

Hi, you guys! Happy hump day, favorite day for camels! :-)

Today, I've got another pretty color from the Zoya Zenith Collection to share with you. Belinda is a dark cool-toned royal purple with lots of shimmers in a metallic finish.

Belinda was originally released under the name Imperial Russia as part of the limited edition Zang Toi NYFW Fall 2013 trio earlier this year. It's such a gorgeously intense and rich shade of purple, and I'm really happy to see Zoya bring this color back and add it to their permanent collection. Application is quite nice, as is typical for most Zoya metallics. Each coat applies smoothly without streaks and dries quickly to a glossy shine. And you need just two coats for totally even coverage.

You can find Belinda 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.