KBShimmer Dancing Green and Blinded by the Bright

Tonight's post will be a quick one so I can watch the Avengers with the hubby, so I'm going to wrap up my KBShimmer reviews.  I meant to get these done a few weeks ago, but I ran out of time.  Let's take a look at Dancing Green and Blinded by the Bright.

*I was not financially compensated for this post. I received a sample of Dancing Green and Blinded by the Bright for review purposes.  All other polishes in this review were purchased by me for my own use.  The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.  For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy in the tab above.*

Dancing Green

While looking for Mamma Mia Dancing Queen gifs...  I died.

(Source)

Not sure if there are any other Supernatural fans in the house, but I love me some Dean.  Now that we've gotten a good chuckle, let's take a look at Dancing GREEN, not Dean.

Color: Green jelly with green dots and hexes, fuchsia dots and squares, and dark purple hexes.

Finish: Glitter Jelly – glitter in a colored jelly base.

Bottle / Brush: Mini round 8ml bottle - KBShimmer exclusively uses the mini bottle that has the same proportions as the larger bottle, but just smaller. This means that the cap and wand are a little shorter than the full size bottle, but not nearly as short as the normal mini bottle that's prevalent among indie makers. It's easy to grip and has a decently long wand and thick brush making it easier to grab glitters.

Opacity: Medium – achieves opacity at three to four coats.  Here, however, I've only used one layer over OPI Don't Mess with OPI, a medium green creme.  This gave Dancing Green a bit of a darker hue than if I had worn it alone.  Unfortunately, Don't Mess with OPI stained like crazy.  i still have little dots where the glitter sat on top of the OPI and stained my nails just under the glitter.

Glitter Application: Easy – Spreads evenly without much manipulation.
Consistency: Medium – applies easily and doesn’t flood the cuticles.

Overall Ease of Application: Easy – applies well without pooling, dragging, streaking, or balding.  Spreads evenly and smoothly.

Stampability: Not designed for stamping.

Dry Time: Medium – dry to the touch with minimal smudging in 3-8 minutes.

Overall Thoughts: While greens aren't my favorite, I think Dancing Green would've worked better over lighter undies.  Don't Mess with OPI was a couple shades too dark, which made the whole mani look more springy than summery.  Furthermore, it stained like crazy.  Application was simple and the glitters spread well, so there were no problems there.  Overall, this is a fantastic polish, but even more so if you're a green fan.

Blinded by the Bright

Color: Neon/florescent highlighter yellow with a rainbow of hexes.

Finish: Glitter Jelly – glitter in a colored jelly base.

Bottle / Brush: Mini round 8ml bottle - KBShimmer exclusively uses the mini bottle that has the same proportions as the larger bottle, but just smaller. This means that the cap and wand are a little shorter than the full size bottle, but not nearly as short as the normal mini bottle that's prevalent among indie makers. It's easy to grip and has a decently long wand and thick brush making it easier to grab glitters.

Opacity: Medium – achieves opacity at three coats.

Glitter Application: Easy – Spreads evenly without much manipulation.
Consistency: Medium – applies easily and doesn’t flood the cuticles.

Overall Ease of Application: Easy – applies well without pooling, dragging, streaking, or balding.  Spreads evenly and smoothly.

Stampability: Not designed for stamping.
Dry Time: Medium – dry to the touch with minimal smudging in 3-8 minutes.
Overall Thoughts: Blinded by the Bright is completely accurate.  Holy smokes this polish is insane!  It's so insane that my camera went a little crazy and dulled down the bright about 15 clicks.  In person, though, this shade is legit the same color as a yellow highlighter.  Application was easy, and it lasted me about 3 days with only minimal tip wear from working on my new polish line.  Otherwise, BBtB is a fantastic summer shade.  Or, you know, you can wear it whenever if you don't necessarily care about seasonality when it comes to your polishes.

You can purchase KBShimmers at their online store for US customers and Harlow and Co for international customers.  Follow Christy Rose and the gang on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

*I was not financially compensated for this post. I received a sample of Dancing Green and Blinded by the Bright for review purposes.  All other polishes in this review were purchased by me for my own use.  The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.  For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy in the tab above.*

Friday Fashion Find - 8/16/2013

Image via InStyle.com

Friday Fashion Find: Jaw-Dropping Jumper

Ashley Madekwe is absolutely stunning in this Diane von Furstenberg jumpsuit. Even though a lot of us are already thinking about Fall fashion, this bright dandelion-yellow just screams summer- and it's fabulous!

Oxblood is very on trend for this fall, and would look fabulous with a look similar to Ashley's. Try Zoya Nail Polish in Dakota to add some drama to this bright look.

Keep your accessories simple since the outfit makes such a statement in itself. Try a simple black heel like the Steve Madden's below with a pair of Kate Spade New York Studs. Finally, finish off the look with a simple black clutch like this from Francesca's!

From Left to Right:
Shoes: Steve Madden
Clutch: Francesca's
Studs: Kate Spade NY
Zoya Nail Polish in Dakota

ZOYA IS THE NEW COLOR OF FASHION!

www.zoya.com

Born Pretty Store Dazzling Starry Foils Review

What's more entertaining than two puppies chasing each other around the backyard, frolicking in the dry summer grass and nipping at each others knees and tails?

Nothing. Nothing is more entertaining than that.

BUT! There is something shiny on the blog tonight from Born Pretty Store.

It's called "Dazzling Starry Foil", and it's...well...dazzling. It comes in a long continuous strip of really thin delicate foil that transitions from fuchsia to a hot orange-red. It comes in lots of varieties of colors, but that's the color I was sent for review.

If you know your color wheel, then you know that purple and yellow complement each other, and since this was leaning more on hot purple, I paired it with the yellow Happy Go Lucky (China Glaze). It seemed a little bare like that, so I added stripes. Now it feels kind of Andy Warhol/Betsey Johnson. Neat right?

The foil is really simple to use, but it took some practice to get it right. The technique best used is to paint your color and design on and seal it with a layer of top coat. Let that dry fully. Then, add another layer of topcoat, and when it's about 80% dry, grab your foil. Press it firmly onto your tacky top coat, and rub it with a pretty good amount of pressure. This will transfer the foil onto your nail in random splotches. I don't know of a way to create uniform patches yet. It's also important that when you do this, you have the colorful side up, facing you.

This role can be purchased for $2.99 from Born Pretty Store here. Get 10% off that order with my coupon code C10X31.

These products were sent to me by Born Pretty Store. The reviews are based entirely on my experience with the products and were in no way influenced by anyone.

Azature Polish Review and Swatches

Azature, the creators of the most expensive nail polish in the world, have created a more affordable taste of luxury with polishes that each contain a real diamond in every bottle.

Sorry...WHAT?! A diamond...in a polish...for $25?!

I don't really know what else to say about it. To be honest, I thought the whole idea of polish with a diamond in it was a huge waste of money. The cost of the polishes is still outrageous in terms of polish. No one I know would pay $25 for a single bottle of polish. Who cares...they sparkle...can't you get that sparkle in less expensive, diamondless polishes? 

I'm not so sure you can. Even the thin yellow polish that took 5 coats to reach a decent opacity still sparkled higher than most other polish I own or have seen. So I suppose diamonds really do make the difference in sparklability. 

EDIT: I tweeted Azature to clear up my confusion below, and they confirmed: "There is a floating, fully-cut, and faceted black diamond". 

Now let me clear something up...I think. When I first saw these, I assumed that there were crushed up diamonds in the polish, but now that I think about it more, I think there's just a diamond floating around in the polish. This makes more sense, so I apologize for my stupidity. I'm right in my second assumption, right?


I was lucky enough to be sent not one, but two Azature polishes: Azature Canary and Azature Blue.

Azature Canary is a very yellow yellow. It's not masked by anything, and is truly just a bright yellow. Because of this, it's thin, and requires a lot of build up (5 coats here). I didn't really love that about the yellow, especially knowing it's $25 a pop for the bottle and you need to use a lot of it right off the bat. After it's all built up though it's wonderful, as I'm sure you'll agree.

Azature Blue is more wonderful to me. It's royal blue and absolutely beautiful. Each speck of sparkle (whether it's chunks of diamond or just glitter) brings out the blue that much more, and I can't stop adjusting my hands to catch the light and the sparkle. I only needed 2 coats for this polish.

Both polishes look better with a layer of top coat on them since they are slightly textured from the pieces of glitter...or diamond. I'm still not sure. I used Seche Vite, and no visible texture remained. 

For the nail art, I used Azature Blue, essie's Mesmerized and OPI's Don't Pretzel My Buttons to make a fun rope outlining my half moon. Looking at these swatches again though, I'm not sure it needed nail art, because it really does sparkle.

If you have the spare change, or are looking for a gift idea to give to your boyfriends, then consider this. Again, it's an outrageous amount to spend on polish, diamonds or not, but it is unique and may be worth the price.

You can purchase Azature from their online store. 


These products were sent to me by Azature. The reviews are based entirely on my experience with the products and were in no way influenced by anyone.

Fashion Polish: Zoya Stunning and Irresistible Skittles!

Image via Fashion Polish

Zoya Skittles Manicure

How yummy does this manicure look? Fashion Polish shows us how to make a simply  
sweet Skittles gradient mani using Zoya Nail Polish Stunning Collection and Zoya Nail Polish Irresistible Collection.

"I applied a very small drop of polish near my cuticles, completely wiped off the brush and then gently dragged the polish, brushing it down irregularly and linearly." 

See all of the Zoya colors used by Fashion Polish on her blog here.

ZOYA IS THE NEW COLOR OF FASHION!
www.zoya.com

ZOYA IS THE NEW COLOR OF FASHION!
www.zoya.com

Movie Mania with Zoya!

It's the weekend! One of everyone's favorite activities during a relaxing weekend is to see a movie. Why not carry popular movie color themes to your manis!? Here are 3 New Release movies to pair up with Zoya Nail Polish colors:

        Image via IMDB

Mike and Sully are the front runners in the two Monster’s movies. So what better colors to sport on your nails than Zoya Nail Polish in Mitzi and Zoya Nail Polish in Phoebe? 

            Image via IMDB

Who doesn’t love the mignons in Despicable Me, they are just so cute! Carry the cute theme to your nails using Zoya Nail Polish in Darcy and Zoya Nail Polish in Skylar. If you’re feeling super creative, you could give your nails little googly eyes, now THAT’s cute. 

        Image via IMDB

It's all about the super hero movies lately, and Man of Steel is just another one to add to the list! Feeling strong and powerful today? Sport Zoya Nail Polish in America, Zoya Nail Polish in Tart, and Zoya Nail Polish in Pippa as your mani. You’ll accomplish anything! 

ZOYA IS THE NEW COLOR OF FASHION! 
www.zoya.com

ZOYA IS THE NEW COLOR OF FASHION!
www.zoya.com

ZOYA IS THE NEW COLOR OF FASHION!
www.zoya.com

ZOYA IS THE NEW COLOR OF FASHION! 
www.zoya.com

Pop, Lock, and Drip It

Pop art, as it turns out, isn't given that genre name because the work usually 'pops' out at you. It's an abbreviation for "popular".

I like my more naive, childhood interpretation though, and took it quite literally here, with these 3D-looking pop art inspired drip nails!

This was fun to do. The base color is My Boyfriend Scales Walls (OPI). Then, I used Snap Happy (Essie), Carribean (Savina), and Almost Famous (Color Club).

If you're following me on Instagram, or you saw the colors in my feed to the right, then you knew what was coming. Is this what you were expecting? It's like the pop artist simply spilled all his paints, ruining the perfect dots underneath in a sort of perfect way.

DailyCandy’s Pedicure Picks Include Zoya Nail Polish in Darcy!

Pretty Summer Pedicure Shades

Nothing says summer like a bright, sunny lacquer shade! The DailyCandy recommends painting on a mellow yellow shade like Zoya Nail Polish in Darcy to heat up your summer pedicure.

Brighten up, buttercup! For even more great manicure and pedicure shades, check out the Summer 2013 Zoya Stunning & Irresistible Collections. 

ZOYA IS THE NEW COLOR OF FASHION!
www.zoya.com

Limes for Cinco de Drinko

What a fun day! Drinks, delicious Mexican food, hilarious conversations, and more delicious drinks!

A classic drink...Coronas with lime!

My little limes are done with Mint Ice Cream Cone (Barielle), Def Defying (China Glaze) and Green (Color Madric). The base is the jellylicious Abbacadazzle (Sation).

I hope your 'holiday' was as celebratory and fun as mine!

Summer Vegas Nails

This weekend was a whirlwind. I spent it in the warm summer Vegas sun with good friends. Knowing I would be in my bikini all weekend, I wanted some super bright summer nails.

I snapped an Instagram picture before the chlorinated pools destroyed most of the look.

I used Funky Yellow (Kleancolor) and Jackie Oh! (Color Club) on top of My Boyfriend Scales Walls (OPI). Then I striped with a black striping polish.

Now I just have to track down the sandman, I'm sure he's mad at me for this weekend's lack of sleep!

Budding Spring

Ah Spring! You're supposed to be here. There are supposed to be buds forming on the trees. But so far, it's just gotten a little colder since the official start of you. Maybe you're confused, and you need a little reminder of what you're supposed to be all about.

The bright greens of the baby buds, and the little petals forming at the tips of the leaves is what it's really all about. So take a lesson from China Glaze, with a Lemon Fizz and Electric Pineapple gradient for Budding Romance to blossom on.

It's ok Spring, we're not mad, we're just a little disappointed. You can do better next time!

Lemon Concrete

This geometric design was done using Malibu Green (American Apparel), Lemon Fizz (China Glaze) and Concrete Grey (Kleancolor).

This quick post was brought to you by: Life, Always There.

I really wish I could be posting every night, but there's a lot going on behind the scenes that requires special attention and deadlines have to be met, so unfortunately, the routine post schedule will suffer. Trust me though, it's all exciting stuff I will share with you all soon.

Muse!!!

Tonight I'm going to the Muse concert in Orlando!!!!  I'm sooooo beyond excited.  To celebrate, I decided to try a little nail art.  I settled on doing gradients as base colors, then taping them off to do a peekaboo styled mani with the gradients popping through the black.  I also decided to attempt to recreate the album art for Muse's last album, the Second Law, on my accent nail.  It may come as a surprise, but I've never done a legitimate gradient, so I used this tutorial from Lissa's Polish Addiction.  I think that came out well.  Here is my first step.

Here are macros of the gradients.

Next, I taped off my mani using some striping tape.

Yeah, I may've been over ambitious with the taping...

Then, I topped the gradients with Wet 'n Wild Black Out.

Next, I removed the tape.

Once the polish is tacky, you can push down the parts that are sticking up, and take a  manicure stick and clear off the bits that fell back into the gradient parts.

Here they are without any topcoat.

Next, I applied a topcoat and did the album art on my accent nail.  

Here's the album cover for your reference.

It's not 100% accurate, but I think it looks pretty good.

Here's another shot of the final product!

I used polishes from Color Club, OPI, Kiss Nail Art, and Sally Hansen to create this look.  I decided to split it up into two nights work, so that I wouldn't spend too much time at once, which worked out pretty well.  I'm so super excited about this concert!!!  I'll be adding photos all night with my Instagram, so if you aren't a follower, you can find me here.  I'm set as private, but I will add you if you request.

Have you ever done a striping tape mani?  What about an album art mani?

Megabright Megapixels

Have you ever heard of Jindie Nails? There's some awesome glitter in this Etsy store, and I picked up a rather large shipment a while ago.

One of the colors I liked most from the pictures in the store was a polish called Megapixels.

I thought I'd pixelate the look further by zooming in on the pixels as accent nails.

The colors I used include Megapixels from Jindie Nails of course, Hanging in the Balance (China Glaze), Sunshine and Pink Flip-Flops (Barielle).

Reminds me of sitting right up next to the TV just so I could look at the tiny squares that were forming the magical images on the TV.

Man it feels good to be doing nail art again!

Color Wheel Collision

Tonight I was going to put together some swatches of one of the two glitter polish swatches I owe you and their creators, but time slipped away more quickly than anticipated. Those are coming soon though, and trust me, you'll be excited! Halloween and fall colored glitters...hell yes!

In the meantime, here's a really fun manicure that everyone can do. It's so easy and so striking. I love this. Ingenious in its simplicity!

To begin, I painted my pinkie, index finger and thumb with Happy Go Lucky (China Glaze). I painted my ring finger with Lavendairy (Lime Crime) and my middle finger with Keiko (Zoya). Then, I added some thicker striping tape over the yellow on the pinkies and index fingers in two evenly spaced lines. Then, it was just a matter of filling in the empty spaces with Lavendairy, Keiko, and Grape Pop (China Glaze).

How fun and easy is this? Try it yourself with some contrasting colors on the color wheel. Orange and blue, red and green. Or mix it up entirely!

Inverted Dots

Polish disorganization is a terrible thing. Bottles get shoved in awkward places, and they get lost in the shuffle of glitter and bottle sizing. I'm suffering from this malady right now and it's unbelievably frustrating. My visits to Micheal's aren't paying off, and I keep coming up without Melmers, as much as I'm dying for one. We don't have the space for a Helmer, so a Melmer would do just fine.

One good thing did come from this unorganized mess though. I rediscovered the cuties from Lime Crime, and paired Crema de Limon, the yellow from the collection, with Calypso Breeze (ORLY). Nothin' fancy, just some interesting dots.

Shoving such beautiful bottles into a plastic container beneath the entertainment center is a far cry from the beautiful polish rooms of girls like Cristina and Caitlin. So if anyone sees a Melmer at their local Micheal's, let's talk.