Cirque Colors Ultimate Holographic Gift Set Review & Swatches

Hello and how are you my dear? I hope you are well on this fine November day! I am a little under the weather but not too terribly so, thank goodness. Today I would like to show you a really terrific limited edition gift set for the holidays from Cirque Colors. They are an independent brand based in New York. Their Ultimate Holographic gift set comes with eight linear holographic nail polishes in a windowed black gift box.

Press Sample

First up is Alter Ego, a black holographic. This is pretty dark, the black holos I've tried in the past always seem more charcoal colored, but this is nice and inky. Two smooth and easy coats. I used Cirque Colors' base and top coat for all the swatches in this post.

Bejeweled is a bright royal blue holographic. I find blue holos swoon-worthy and this is no exception. So perfect for the winter! Two coats.

Next is Chrysopoeia, which I wasn't expecting to love as much as I do. These really yellow golds can be hard for me to pull off, but this one looked nice with my skin tone. Two coats here also.

Then we have Cypress, which is a little more sheer and thinner than the rest. It's a rose gold coppery holographic with some copper shimmer bits. This was one I anticipated loving, but it doesn't look the greatest with my coloring. Three coats here.

Fascination Street is perfection though, a blueish violet holographic. Really just fabulous, almost a one coater. I used two in my swatch.

I'm also loving Lonesome George, a grassy green holographic. I have seen very few true green holographics so I was happy to see this shade in the box. It's quite lovely. Two coats.

Sani is the only polish in this set that is simultaneously metallic and holographic. I don't know if I have anything similar. It's a chromey silver metallic with true linear holographic pigment, making it incredibly bright, especially in the sunlight. This was kinda hard to photograph, I hope you can see it's uniqueness from my pic. Two coats, a little on the draggy side.

And last is Vesuvius, a medium rose pink holographic. I really love this tone of pink and when you add holo to it, I'm over the moon! Two coats.

The Ultimate Holographic gift set sells for $80. Their polishes normally retail for $13 each so this set gives you a nice discount when buying all 8. It is limited edition so be sure to snap it up while you can! I wanted to mention the great packaging of these polishes, the square bottle looks luxe and is sturdy and I love the caps, they feel like glass!

I mentioned their top and base coats above so I wanted to review them as well. The blue-tinted Holdfast base coat dries quickly and has infused garlic to strengthen nails. I like it very much. The Liquid Laminate top coat is also lovely, it dries really fast and is incredibly shiny. I did notice shrinking at the edges on one manicure I used it with. However that tends to happen with improper application with a lot of quick dry top coats, and my technique could've been off that day. Overall they perform very well and I will continue to use them. They retail for $10 each. They are also included in Cirque's Back to Basics gift set, which also includes their white and black crèmes, for $36.

photo via www.cirquecolors.com

I was also able to try their crystal nail file and tea tree cuticle oil pen. If you know me, you know that I prefer crystal files, they are the BEST for shaping your nails and not damaging. I am also a fan of cuticle oils in general, and this pen is perfect to use on the go. They both sell for $10 each.

photo via www.cirquecolors.com

You can purchase Cirque Colors from their website www.cirquecolors.com or from their assorted stockists. What do you think of the holographic set? Are you buying any polish gifts for friends or family for the holidays? Or maybe treating yourself?

Stay warm and see ya next time!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

China Glaze Halloween 2014 Apocalypse of Color Collection Swatches & Review

Hi friends! Happy day after Thanksgiving (for the USA) and Happy Black Friday! This is kinda funny, since it's the next holiday and all, but today I have the Halloween 2014 collection from China Glaze to show you, Apocalypse of Color. It's got six shades, one of which I've already shown you, and another of which I am not going to show you. Stay with me, there's more ;) I purchased two of these prior to receiving them as press samples, so I actually have three polishes from this collection that I'm not opening to swatch, meaning there'll be a giveaway for those three at the end of the post, so stay tuned for that!

Press Sample | Purchased by Me

First is one of the purchased polishes, Getting to Gnaw You. It's got a black jelly base with tons of copper glitters. This is awesome and perfect for Halloween. I found it easy to apply, but it's got a slight texture, making it very top coat thirsty. I used two coats of polish, then one coat of Nail Pattern Boldness Glitter Food and one coat of Digital Flash from the same brand. This combo of thick top coat wrangled in the texture and made it glass-like. I've seen swatches of it without top coat and it's just as lovely with the natural finish.

Next is another texture but this one is more pronounced, it's I Love Your Guts. This is a bright pinky red matte with a gossamer layer of silver shimmer and little black bits of microglitter. I have heard others have had trouble with applying this one and the next one I'm going to show you, but I found it really easy to put on. I usually don't like mattes because the application can be so temperamental, but this one was a cinch for me. I used two coats here, no top coat.

Kin to I Love Your Guts is But of Corpse. This is a green version with the same black microglitter, silver shimmer and texture. This reminds me of Frankenstein so much! I found this one equally easy to paint with. I didn't buy this or the previous one, but I'm glad I got them as samples, because I ended up loving them! Two coats, no top coat.

The glitter bomb of the collection is called Rest in Pieces. Could these names be any better? It's got holographic and metallic gold, bronze and black hexes and string glitters in varying sizes in a clear base. I wanted this one a lot but resisted buying it, and it's another one I'm glad I ended up receiving for review because it's awesome! This is two coats over pale nude crème OPI My Vampire is Buff. A bit of placing and dabbing is required for this.

And last is the polish I showed you on actual Halloween haha, Don't Let the Dead Bite. I was going to leave it out because you already saw it on me, but I had to include it because it's just that good! This has a fleshy pink crelly base with multisized red hexes and bar glitters. I used two coats here. I love this.

This collection also includes a glow-in-the-dark top coat called Ghoulish Glow that China Glaze releases every year with their Halloween collection. I've already got a bottle of it from a few years ago so I don't need to keep this one. You can purchase China Glaze from Sally Beauty Supply or Ulta stores, or at a lot of online shops like Transdesign and Head2Toe Beauty.

The polishes I'm giving away are the unopened sample bottles of Ghoulish Glow, Don't Let the Dead Bite and Getting to Gnaw You. Please read all terms and conditions detailed in the Rafflecopter widget below, but in a nutshell this is open to all USA residents aged 18 or older. The giveaway will be open until 12/6/2014.

**CLOSED**
The winners have been chosen and emailed! Congrats to Samantha F. :) Thank you everyone for entering!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review. I also purchased some of these products myself.

HARE polish Flesh World Swatch & Review

Hello and welcome my dears! Today I have a crazy "ugly pretty" polish to show you. It's HARE polish Flesh World. This is part of the Welcome to Twin Peaks collection that came out last winter, but I just barely picked it up. It's kinda zombie-esque and I decided I just had to have it for this Halloween.

It's a yellowish nude jelly with gold shimmer, gold circles and hexes, small black hexes and squares, and translucent pink hexes. I. FREAKING. LOVE. THIS! Ridiculous and odd and not everyone's cup of tea, but I just adore it. I used three thin coats here with top coat. Not as thick as I expected, it had quite a nice formula and was easy to apply.

I purchased this from the HARE polish Etsy store for $10 (she may be closed right now to restock, not sure). They are also sold at stockists like Llarowe. What do you think of this polish? Do you like offbeat colors like I do?

Later babes!

❤ Kellie

Takko Lacquer Jabberwocky and Physical Graffiti Swatches & Review

Hi there friends! How has your November been going? I've been having a stressful few weeks at work, but things should be going smoother soon. I'm definitely looking forward to Thanksgiving next week and having a few extra days off.

Today I wanted to show you two new polishes from Takko Lacquer, my first ones from the brand. These were released in late October as half of their Fall collection. First up is Jabberwocky, a light tealy turquoise jelly with coppery shimmer that shifts green. It was a little more sheer than I expected, I used three coats here. It dries a bit matte so you'll need a shiny top coat.

The reason I decided to take the plunge on Takko finally is for Physical Graffiti, the promo images just made me swoon! It's a mushroomy grey crelly with platinum metallic flake shards. There might be some black bits in there too, I couldn't really tell. They might be unmixed pigment or some of the flakes reflecting weirdly. Whatever the case, I'd rather there was more of them or if they were left out altogether. It looks like a mistake to have them appear so sporadically. This was also on the sheer side, I used three coats here.

I purchased these for $13 each from their website, but they are sold out at the moment. Takko Lacquers are also sold at stockists Llarowe, Mei Mei's Signatures & Femme Fatale. Overall I liked these two colors, but they were different than I expected them to be. Have you tried anything from this brand?

Have an awesome day folks!

❤ Kellie

A Few Comparisons - Cobalt Blues and Sage Greens

What's up friends? I had a few requests to do some comparisons on a couple polishes I've reviewed recently so I thought I'd throw 'em at ya today!

Press Sample | Purchased by Me

First is a comparison of some cobalt blue crèmes, motivated by my latest Rescue Beauty Lounge post. On my pointer finger is two coats of Nails Inc. Baker Street, on my middle finger is one coat of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Pacific Blue (original formula), on my ring finger is two coats of Rescue Beauty Lounge All About Yves, and on my pinky is two coats of KBShimmer Low and Be Bold. If I was smart I should've switched my pointer and middle so this would've been an ombre ;) The closest color to All About Yves is probably Baker Street, but it's more of a crème and AAY is more jellyish. These all have amazing formulas. I can't pick one, I am glad I have them all.

Next is comparisons of some sage green shimmery/glittery polishes, prompted by my post on Illamasqua Melange. It's harder to get in the US now so people were asking about possible dupes. Sadly, there are none to be found here. On my pointer and pinky nails I have two coats of Illamasqua Melange, on my middle finger is two coats of discontinued Rescue Beauty Lounge Halcyon, and on my ring finger is two coats of Butter London Two Fingered Salute. I was actually surprised by how different these all are! I, again, love them all and can't pick a favorite.

If you were wondering about dupe possibilities or how these polishes compared to each other, I hope these helped you out! Love ya and we'll be together again soon :)

❤ Kellie

Some of the products mentioned were provided for an honest review, some were purchased by me.

KBShimmer Snow Flaking Way! Swatch & Review

Hey hey hey there! I've had this polish in my possession since last winter but that I haven't tried it yet (honestly, not that shocking for me but might be to others haha!). It's KBShimmer Snow Flaking Way!, and I think I bought it mostly for the name. I remember when I went to buy it I didn't have a lot of their polishes yet and I wanted to get some more right then. The name pushed me over the edge.

I didn't think it was a blurple, I thought it was more blue, so when I got it and saw it was blurpley I didn't want to wear it. :( I used to be blurple-phobic! But I've come around, there's been some awesome ones I've tried lately that I've liked a lot, so I decided now was the time to put this guy on. This has an indigo-purpley jelly base with holographic hex glitters, circles and short bar glitter. There are also large holographic snowflake glitter pieces, though I think mine have been stained purple and aren't silver anymore, which is interesting. This is three coats of polish and a thick top coat.

I bought this from the KBShimmer website for $8.75. It's still available so you can pick it up for this winter! What do you think of this glittery jelly? How do you feel about blurple polishes?

Talk to you again soon!

❤ Kellie

Black Luna Lacquer Auroras Swatch & Review

Howdy good folks! Awhile ago I saw an awesome photo of a opalescent pearl glitter polish on instagram a while ago and I knew I had to have it. It's actually the type of glitter I'd been looking for for a long time, but you usually can only find it loose and not in a nail polish. The polish is called Auroras from the indie brand Black Luna Lacquers. I layered two coats here over a white crème.

I love this glitter, it looks so ethereal and I love the color shift it gives at different angles. I can't wait to layer it over more colors. This is the first polish I've tried from this brand. I don't care much for the bottle shape and the clear base smelled quite strong. Not a deal breaker for me, but worth mentioning. I bought this from the Black Luna Lacquer website for $8.50. What do you think of this angelic glitter polish? Would you rock it?

I'll see you again soon!

❤ Kellie

R29 + Rescue Beauty Lounge Collection Swatches & Review

This is a very exciting day my friends, because today I get to show you the newest collection from Rescue Beauty Lounge. It's a special one because it's a collaboration with none other than Refinery29! If you haven't heard, Refinery29 is an incredible fashion and style website that covers shopping, beauty, wellness and celebrities! The collection is called R29 + Rescue Beauty Lounge and it contains 7 new polishes created with the different teams from Refinery29.

Press Sample

Bubblegum Punk was created with R29 News team. This is a iridescent rainbowy silver white shimmer/flakes. I find this insanely gorgeous. It's got a cellophane effect that is really cool. I used three coats here. This would be really great layered as well.

It looks a bit different in the shade/low light so here's another shot for you.

Sunny Skies comes from the R29 Health and Wellness team. When I saw the name of this polish I expected to find a bright yellow in the box, but to my surprise and delight I saw a slightly dusty turquoisey blue-green crème. I can't believe we didn't already have this color in the RBL family, it feels essential and like it's been with me for years. I love it, but I have inklings that this might be a stainer so protect your nails with a double layer of base coat. Two coats.

Pretty Gritty was imagined by the R29 Beauty team. This was the one I was immediately in love with when I saw it. It's a bruised mauvey moody purple with tiny gold microshimmer flakes. I really like this and the formula is seriously terrific. Two coats but you might be able to get away with one.

Better Than Boyfriend Jeans is the R29 Shopping team's color. This is an uber pale baby blue jelly crème that is really lovely and comforting. It is a tad greyed and sooo soft feeling, just like the perfect worn in pair of jeans! I love this way more than I expected to. Three coats.

Elvis In The Cloud came from the minds of the R29 Technology team. This might be the color I never thought I'd see from RBL, it's so different from what we usually see from them. It's a mid-tone orange copper metallic with a touch of subtle duochrome iridescence. I keep reading this name as "elves" haha, which made sense because this leans a little on the christmas-y side for me. Two coats, a little brushstrokey.

All About Yves is the R29 Fashion team's contribution. They chose a ridiculously beautiful cobalt blue creme that would look amazing on anyone. Lovely jelly crème formula with incredible pigmentation. I immediately thought of retired IKB:2012 when I saw this blue but it's a bit brighter with a better formula. Two coats gives you perfect opacity.

Galaxy Glue is the last shade and it comes from the R29 Creative team. It's a green metallic, same kind of finish as Elvis but less opaque. Reminds me a bit of that greeny blue duochrome that was really popular last year that lots of brands were coming out with, but it's pretty different. There's a hint of grey brown to it that makes it more complex and soft. Three coats, kinda brushstrokey.

Be sure to check out the RBL blog and Refinery29 for more insight into how these colors came to life. Also, as always, please check out and enjoy the reviews from the other RBL bloggers: Peachy Polish, NailsandNoms, Manicurator, Polish Police, Refined and Polished, Fashion Polish, Makeup Withdrawal, Warm Vanilla Sugar and newcomer The Beauty Look Book. Scrangie may or may not be putting her post up at the same time, just an FYI.

These are available for purchase exclusively on RescueBeauty.com now for $20 per bottle. What do you think of these colors? I think the Refinery29 folks did an exceptional job on their color ideas and Ji brought them to life beautifully. My favorites are All About Yves, Bubblegum Punk and Better Than Boyfriend Jeans.

Thanks for stopping by!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

My Picks from the SuperChic Lacquer Into the Woods Collection Swatches & Review

Hey superfriends! I'm excited to be showing you some awesome polishes today from indie brand SuperChic Lacquer. They are my first colors from the brand and I'm quite impressed. The collection is called Into the Woods, inspired by the upcoming fairytale movie starring Meryl Streep and Anna Kendrick. The collection has 10 shades but I only purchased four, the ones that looked most exciting to me. Although, I'm kind of thinking I might need some others!

First up is Baker's Hunger for a Bun in the Oven. Just so you know the names of these polishes are outrageous haha. It's described as "a muted deep lush blue-gray with contrasting fiery-copper iridescent shimmer and holographic effects". This is kinda sheer, but I think that's the nature of this collection, just the way they're composed. You might get away with two coats if you don't mind visible nail line, but I recommend three or maybe four if you have long nails. I don't really mind that, but thought it was important to note. I find this magically beautiful. It's breathtaking in the sunlight. Dries satiny so you'll need a top coat.

Next is Let Your Hair Down and Take a Selfie. The creator says this is a "vibrant golden yellow base with strong fiery-copper iridescent, subtle holographic and brilliant red shimmer effects". I wasn't sure I wanted this one at first, but after seeing lots of photos of it I knew I'd regret it if I didn't. The red bits make it a total unique must have for me. It's sheer again, but the pigment is hefty. I needed three coats. It also dried matte/satin.

Here is You Don't Know Jack About My Beans, a "a lush artichoke green with strong contrasting fiery iridescent, holographic and green shimmer effects". That sounds amazing to me and the color itself is even better. Pictures don't do it justice. It's the sheerest of the ones I tried, I used three coats here but I think I'd recommend doing four or to layer it. I showed on instagram a while ago and I had layered it over swampy green crème China Glaze Westside Warrior, and it was dope! It really showed the copper shimmer.

And last is Nightshade Serum to Youth, Like Actually!, the reason I fell in love with this collection and took the plunge to try them in the first place. It's described as "a lush eggplant purple base with contrasting green iridescent shimmer, vibrant green chrome flash and holographic effects". This leans surprisingly on the frosty side of shimmery, but I think it still works really well. It could get a little brushstroke-y if you push too firmly on your brush upon application. Love, just pure love. Dries shinier than the others but it still needs a top coat.

The bottle design from this brand is quite different, it's square on the bottom but on two opposite sides it slants in diagonally in towards the handle. Its kind of got an optical illusion thing going on. I like it to look at, but to hold for photos is quite awkward haha, as you can see by my non-uniformly posed pictures. The brush worked really well for me, it's like a more petite version of the OPI pro-wide brush, although the stem seemed a little short to me.

As I mentioned before this collection has 10 shades in total and if you're curious, you can see the entire collection on my friends' blogs: MissHollyBerries and Sparkly Tips. These polishes can be purchased on the SuperChic Lacquer Etsy store for $10 each. What do you think of these? I'm smitten! I'm also very excited to see the movie when it comes out! :)

See you soon friends!

❤ Kellie

KBShimmer Holly Back Girl Swatch & Review

Hey folks! Today I wanted to show you another KBShimmer polish meant to be a bonus to their winter collection. Holly Back Girl is a white crelly polish with metallic red and green hex glitters in different sizes. Totally holiday and totally cute. I love the name too! This is three coats on my super shorty nails. 

Press Sample

You can purchase this on it's own for $8.75, but you can get it free if you spend $70+ on KBShimmer.com using code HBGFREE from now until 12/31. It's also available on Harlow & Co. for international folks. What do you think of this polish? It reminds me of christmas sugar cookies with sprinkles :)

Talk to you again soon!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

OPI Fall 2014 Nordic Collection Swatches & Review

Salutations and happy day to you! Since we're a little more than knee deep in the fall season, I thought it was about time that I show you OPI's fall nail polish collection, the Nordic collection. This collection is of course inspired by the Nordic countries of Europe & the North Atlantic. The food, music, art, landscape, and style of the area influenced OPI to create these colors. There are 12 colors in this collection, 9 crèmes, 2 shimmers, and a glitter. Let's see them!

Press Sample

This is My Dogsled Is A Hybrid, a bright pop of green that is a little unexpected for a fall collection. It's a slightly dusty yet bright sea green with blue leanings. Similar to (but not a dupe for) Mermaid's Tears from the Stranger Tides collection. This had a lovely creamy formula. Two coats.

Here we have Thank Glogg It's Friday!, a berry fuchsia wine shade with a smooth shimmer finish. This was thin but incredibly opaque and could be a one coater, although I used two here. I liked this a lot more than I expected to. It glows!

Going My Way or Norway? is a camel brown crème. This is a lovely warm nudey brown, and it kinda matches my skin tone really well haha! Thin formula, but pretty opaque, two coats.

Next is Skating On Thin Ice-Land, a jellyish black cherry purple crème. This is a lovely color for fall/winter. I found this to be less opaque than all the other crèmes, it was a little patchy on the second coat so I did three here.

Can't Afjörd Not To is a dreamy orange crème, muted yet still bright like Dogsled was. I enjoy oranges so this one is definitely a keeper for me. Two creamy coats.

My surprise favorite of the bunch is Do You Have this Color In Stock-holm?, a bright blurple! Unheard of, we all know I usually detest blurples! This one leans more on the purpley side though so maybe that's why I like it? It's one of those colors that is quite difficult to photograph accurately. Two fabulous coats.

This guy is called OPI With A Nice Finn-ish, a goldy bronzey metallic shimmer. This one is brushstrokey, but it's not as noticeable after it dries completely. Opaque in one coat but looks better with two in my opinion.

How Great Is You Dane? is a greyed deep chocolate brown crème. I love dark browns and this is very chic and warm. It has a thin formula but was very opaque. This is two coats. For some crazy reason this enchanted me enough to make me forget to put top coat over it and you can see the ridges in my nails :P ugh.

Suzi Has A Swede Tooth is another unpredictable color for a fall collection, a bright but muted medium pink crème. Another thin but opaque one, two coats.

This name makes me laugh, Ice-Bergers & Fries is a reddish yellowish toned milk chocolate brown. Thin, but creamy, and quite opaque. Two coats.

Viking In A Vinter Vonderland is a deep slightly blueish eggplant purple jelly crème. This is similar in formula to Ice-land but with a more opaque finish. Two coats. Another one I think I neglected to put top coat on :(

And last is My Voice Is A Little Norse, the only glitter in the collection. It has a light grey jelly base with very small square holographic glitters and micro holo bits. I really love this, it's kinda nicely unique! I think it's the grey base that changes it up a little. It applies very smooth and easy. I love this layered and on its own. Dries matte so you need a top coat. Three coats by itself.

This is one coat over Stock-holm. This looks great over a lot of colors!

Each polish retails for $9.50 ($11.50 CAN). OPI is sold at professional salons as well as beauty supply stores like Ulta and Sally Beauty. What do you think of this collection? Have you picked any up? I really enjoyed formulas and think it has a lot of great fall colors as well as fun pops of color to brighten the season. Tell me which one is a must have for you!

Have a great one!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.