The Time Has Come...

I have been contemplating writing this post for a while now, and I can't put it off any longer. I have been blogging for a long time, si...

Saturday, December 31, 2016

My Favorite 20 Nail Polishes of 2016

This is it cookies, my last blog post! *tear* In case you missed it, please read this post as it explains my thoughts and feelings regarding retiring from the blog life. For today's post I wanted to share my favorite 20 nail polishes from this year.

There are way more than 20 that I loved of course, but these stood out just a bit more from the rest for one reason or another. The blog post where I reviewed each polish is linked with the shade name if you're interested. In no particular order, see all my picks after the jump!

Friday, December 30, 2016

OPI Holiday 2016 Breakfast At Tiffany's Collection Swatches & Review

Hi there beautiful! I have the Holiday 2016 collection from OPI to show you today, the Breakfast at Tiffany's collection! This has to be one of my all time favorite movies, it's soooo good! There are twelve colors in the regular polish line and six in the Infinite Shine line, so you're in for a long post today because I'm giving them to you all at once, yay!

Breakfast At Tiffany's is a pinky pale pearl with iridescent shimmer. Goes on a bit streaky, but evens out in three coats. This dries very fast because of the matte finish. I covered it with a top coat, I wasn't sure if it was meant to stay matte or not, but either way I prefer it shiny.
OPI Breakfast At Tiffany's

Apartment For Two is a vibrant raspberry pink crème. Very easy, smooth formula and opaque in two coats.
OPI Apartment For Two

Rich & Brazilian is a luxe and lustrous eggplant purple with tons of shifty shimmer and flakie particles. Went on a little uneven at first, but I got full coverage with two layers.
OPI Rich & Brazilian

I Believe In Manicures is a light blue crème, not quite Tiffany blue mind you, but similar. I believe there is a copyright on the exact Tiffany blue shade so no one can use it but them. This was quite thin. I almost got full coverage in two coats, however I needed three for complete opacity.
OPI I Believe In Manicures

Got The Mean Reds is a mid-tone red crème. This has a great formula, a one coater! I used two here like I usually do. This color is not particularly exciting to me personally, but I like the name.
OPI Got The Mean Reds

Black Dress Not Optional is a dark charcoal almost-black with a gossamer glaze of silver microshimmer. This was lovely to apply, thin but easy to manipulate. Slightly brushstrokey due to the shimmer, but these types of colors don't look bad with them in my humble opinion.
OPI Black Dress Not Optional

Meet My "Decorator" is a bright warm red jelly crème, squishy and a little bit streaky, surprisingly. I used three coats to get full coverage on this guy.
OPI Meet My "Decorator"

Sunrise... Bedtime! is a glitter bomb with a slightly pink tinted base filled with pink holographic glitter. Most people will probably layer this but I had to try to build it up to see if I could wear it on its own. Kinda thick and there may be some texture pieces in here, because it eats top coat like crazy. I put on three coats and it looks pretty great, blings so hard you probably wouldn't notice any open spots anyway!
OPI Sunrise... Bedtime!

Can't Read Without My Lipstick is a deep maroon jelly crème. Quite opaque with that shiny squishy quality I adore. Two coats.
OPI Can't Read Without My Lipstick

Five-and-Ten is a pale champagne foil with a pink tinge full of shimmer. I am in love with this, it's classy but still flashy! Makes me think of New Year's. The formula is on the thinner side and I needed three coats here.
OPI Five-and-Ten

Fire Escape Rendezvous is described as a matte glittering ruby. Assorted sizes and shapes of shard glitter pieces punctuate the base and make a chunky problem child. *sigh* I really, really don't understand why they keep trying this "glitter in a metallic base" formula thing. I had to shake this up a lot before I put it on because all the glitter pieces sink to the bottom. Dries matte, but I put on a thick shiny top coat (Pretty Serious Cosmetics Plump Up the Volume for the win!).
OPI Fire Escape Rendezvous

Champagne For Breakfast has a clear base filled with silver holographic glitter and maybe some texture particles, but I can't be sure. I layered one coat over Rich & Brazilian and I love it. I actually did try to get this opaque on its own, but after the fourth coat my nail bed was still peeking through pretty obviously. You could try the sponge method if you really want to wear it alone though.
OPI Champagne For Breakfast

Now on to the Infinite Shine colors! These are the first ones I've tried from OPI so I can't speak to their wear time or the difference in formula. They are a bit more expensive though, and are designed to be used with the Infinite Shine prep and top coat.

Party At Holly's is a vampy, deep oxblood jelly crème. Quite opaque, I found this to be lovely and plush, and very shiny. Two coats.
OPI Infinite Shine Party At Holly's

Girls Love Pearls is a pearl white metallic. This is the shimmery, silk type of metallic, not a foil and not a frost. Very brushstroky, but surprisingly easy to apply. With two coats you can still kind of see my nail line but these type of colors look ok like that to me. I thought I was going to hate this, but I actually think it looks pretty good on me.
OPI Infinite Shine Girls Love Pearls

I Believe In Manicures is the only color that overlaps both polish and Infinite Shine. Almost identical to the polish version, it's a light blue crème but this one was a touch lighter and shinier. Seemed less streaky too, but I still needed three coats.
OPI Infinite Shine I Believe In Manicures

Can't Tame a Wild Thing is an orangey red jelly crème. Thin but easy to control, which I appreciate in a shade like this because no one wants to have to clean it out from under their cuticles, am I right? I used three coats for full opacity.
OPI Infinite Shine Can't Tame a Wild Thing

I'll Have a Manhattan is a midnight purple jelly crème. Another nice opaque formula, easy to apply and dries nice and shiny at two coats.
OPI Infinite Shine I'll Have a Manhattan

Ring The Buzzer Again is a scarlet jelly crème. On the thick side, but in a good way. I used three coats here because I could still see my nail line a little bit, but you may be able to get away with two.
OPI Infinite Shine Ring The Buzzer Again

OPI polishes can be purchased at professional salons and retailers like Trade Secret, Sally Beauty, and Ulta. Let me know what you think of this collection! I get what OPI was going for, classic colors for a classic movie, but I still wish they would've thrown in a few adventurous shades. Do we really need soooo many such similar reds?? I think not. Anywhoooo, my favorites are Breakfast At Tiffany's, Black Dress Not Optional, Party At Holly's, and Five-and-Ten. Tell me yours! Are you a fan of the movie too?

❤ Kellie
The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

KBShimmer Office Space Collection Swatches & Review

Hey folks, I'm here today to show you the next KBShimmer collection coming soon in January, the Office Space collection! “Sometimes you want to be a bit naughty, but stay within the professional lines. The Office Space collection consists of eight naughty and neutral shade ideas for the office. These shades add a pop of color and sparkle to your nails, while still keeping the boss happy." My job doesn't discriminate against any nail polish colors, thank goodness, but if they did, these colors would be a revelation!

Take Back CTRL is a dusty rose mauve crème. Leans purple but is on the border of the pink family I think. Excellent formula, buttery and smooth. Opaque in two coats.
KBShimmer Take Back CTRL

A Hint Of Manila is in the famous KBShimmer mega flame finish, this has a light tan base loaded with tons of holographic sparkle. A touch thick but not difficult to apply. This is two coats. Dries with a glitter texture so you'll want a thick layer of top coat or two for a smooth finish.
KBShimmer A Hint Of Manila

Staple Relationship is a deepened gray with slight purple undertones full of metallic silver flakes and holographic sparkle. This is in the KBShimmer birthstone finish, a favorite of mine. Super opaque, a one coater! I used two anyway though.The flakies dry flat so there is no texture to this one.
KBShimmer Staple Relationship

Caught On Tape is a pale pink mauve crème. This is simple and pretty, really classic. Lovely formula, really excellent for such a light color! And quite opaque, I only needed two coats.
KBShimmer Caught On Tape

Fax Of Life is a dark platinum grey linear holographic shade. I was pretty floored at how opaque this guy was, almost a one coater but I used two for 100% coverage. Easy and breezy and great!
KBShimmer Fax Of Life

Supplies Party has a warm vanilla cream base loaded with metallic flakes and holographic sparkle. Another birthstone finish shade with a great formula. An unexpected favorite, two coats.
KBShimmer Supplies Party

Cubicle Pusher is a muted dusty grape holographic. Great formula, just a little on the thinner side. I used three coats here but you could probably get away with just two, I think I was being cautious haha.
KBShimmer Cubicle Pusher

Makin’ Copies is a pale silver filled with white shimmer and holographic pigment. The holo in this is subtle, but it's definitely there. A bit more sheer, but being an almost white, that isn't really unexpected. I used three coats here.
KBShimmer Makin' Copies

This collection will launch on Wednesday, January 4th on the KBShimmer website. The polishes will sell for $9.25 each. For international folks, check out Harlow & Co., though I'm not sure what date they will be available there. Let me know what you think about these neutral beauties!

❤ Kellie
The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Monday, December 26, 2016

Takko Lacquer Fall 2016 Collection [Partial] Swatches & Review

Hello dear friend of mine! How was/has been your holiday season this year so far? I literally cannot fathom how this is the last week of the year, it's so nutty to me. But out with the old, in with new I guess! Today I have some shimmers and glitters from indie brand Takko Lacquer's Fall 2016 collection to show you. I got these a bit late so pardon my tardiness, however there are a few restocks coming up if you're itching to get some. Let's take a look!

Winter Succulents is a cool, dusty sage green crème filled with gold micro flecks and actual silver dust. This leaves me breathless, so gorgeous and dainty and perfect for any time of year. Great, easy to apply formula, very opaque. I used two coats here.
Takko Lacquer Winter Succulents

Boyfriend Jeans is just like a deep dark pair of denim blue jeans, complimented with coppery red iridescent shimmer. Stunning and striking! This is two coats. Dries dull so you'll want a shiny top coat.
Takko Lacquer Boyfriend Jeans

Stoned was created to look like crushed marble quartz, it has a very light beige-grey base filled with black and gold micro flakies and a ton of golden shimmer flecks. This is another excellent polish, goes on like a dream and I got full coverage in two coats. The finish is dull and just the teensiest bit gritty upon dry down, but a top coat gives it a jolt of shine and smoothness.
Takko Lacquer Stoned

Queen Of Hearts is a cherry red jelly filled with a generous helping of different sizes of translucent gold flakies. Surprisingly not difficult, sometimes jellies like this filled with chunky accents can be, well...chunky, but this was just fine. A touch thick maybe, but very easy to handle. I used two coats. This looks darker indoors, but the sun kinda shines through the jelly to give it an inner glow.
Takko Lacquer Queen of Hearts

Starships is a greyed silver duochrome polish that flips to bright green and then to warm brownish copper, filled with holographic flakes to give a galaxy-esque look. Another great formula, went on effortlessly and opaque in two coats.
Takko Lacquer Starships

I had to give you a shade photo too, to show the duochrome better. I really love this!
Takko Lacquer Starships

Mariposa is a hearty pumpkin orange filled with golden shimmer and gold and pink glimmering flecks. This totally reminds me of Rescue Beauty Lounge NailsandNoms, only that one has blue shimmer and is a slightly more vibrant orange. Really nice formula, glides on the nail with ease. Very good coverage, you could almost get away with one coat, but I used two.
Takko Lacquer Mariposa

Narwhals is an icy periwinkle blue crème filled with tiny silver micro flakies. This was super buttery and crazy opaque! A one coater, but I did two like usual. The name of this makes me happy, so cute!
Takko Lacquer Narwhals

Merbunny is a sweet porcelain baby pink jelly filled with iridescent green and gold flakies. This can be built up on it's own or layered over darker colors for a different look. This one was on the thicker side but sheer. It was a touch streaky on two coats and my nail line was still visible, so I did three. I adore the look of the finished color, very princess-like.
Takko Lacquer Merbunny

You can purchase their products on the Takko Lacquer website; these are sold out now but will be restocked sometime in January. They range in price from $12-13 each. They will also be restocked at Color4Nails in January, no exact date yet. Let me know what you think of these shades! My favorite has to be Winter Succulents, but I really enjoyed them all! This may be my favorite group of Takkos I've tried from them yet!

❤ Kellie
The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Friday, December 23, 2016

Pretty Serious Cosmetics Holiday 2016 Ghosts of Christmas Past Collection Swatches & Review

I'm back today with another bunch of gorgeous shades from Pretty Serious Cosmetics, their Holiday collection for 2016, Ghosts of Christmas Past! Last year we got the Ghosts of Christmas Future, so maybe next year we'll get the Ghosts of Christmas Present? Haha on to the pretties!

Very Merry Berry is a deep neutral red jelly crème. This applied easily and was nice and opaque in just two coats.
Pretty Serious Cosmetics Very Merry Berry

Fairy Lights is a pale pearly frosted grey with pink and purple shimmer. This is ethereal and glowy, not a frost so there are no brush strokes to be seen! Lovely to apply, three coats.
Pretty Serious Cosmetics Fairy Lights

Enchanting Evergreen is a deep evergreen with flat green shimmer laced throughout. Fabulous, effortless formula. This is two coats.
Pretty Serious Cosmetics Enchanting Evergreen

Tarnished Tinsel is a full coverage gold glitter with sneaky bits of red and silver twinkle here and there. The gold glitter pieces are actually very small, short bar pieces, my friend Peachy Polish has an excellent macro on her review in case you want to see the splendor! I used two coats.
Pretty Serious Cosmetics Tarnished Tinsel

Velvet Bow is a dark buttery smooth metallic red, one of those shades with an internal glow. Insane formula, a one coat wonder but I used two here.
Pretty Serious Cosmetics Velvet Bow

Peace On Earth is a pale minty green with a soft but robust pink shimmer. An almost on the nose dupe for YSL Peace Green, if you've been lusting after that one. The strong shimmer and pigmented base lend to an easy two coat formula.
Pretty Serious Cosmetics Peace On Earth

Mojito is a color shifting topper that flexes from gold to green to subtle blue. I layered one coat over Very Merry Berry. This looks so rad! I bet it would be even extra with a matte top coat, I'm kicking myself for not trying that out and taking a photo.
Pretty Serious Cosmetics Mojito over Very Merry Berry

Jack Frost is an icy shimmer topper with added iridescent glitters that positively glow! I layered one coat over Enchanting Evergreen for a glistening winter look.
Pretty Serious Cosmetics Jack Frost over Enchanting Evergreen

This collection is available on the Pretty Serious Cosmetics website now for $9.95 AUD, which is about $7.20 USD with the current exchange rate. I'm very pleased with this collection, we get some traditional holiday colors in unique finishes and some out of the box shades too! Let me know your thoughts!

❤ Kellie
The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Shleee Polish New Shades Swatches & Review

Hi there again! I wanted to thank everyone so much for the incredibly kind sentiments on my last blog post. In case you missed it, it's kind of important and I'd love if everyone gave it a glance. Now on to more polish! Today I wanted to show you some fun shades from indie brand Shleee Polish!

Mean Girl is a sweet baby pink polish loaded with blue/teal glass fleck shimmer. This formula was a touch thick, but that helps with it's opacity. I used three coats here. This reminds me of the movie Clueless, but I'm guessing the name is probably a reference to Mean Girls haha.
Shleee Polish Mean Girl

Salazar Slytherin 3.0 is a deep green holographic polish accented with silver holographic micro glitters. This applied effortlessly and was opaque in two coats. Named after a character in the Harry Potter universe, the founder of the Slytherin house at Hogwarts. I am a Ravenclaw, but I'm pretty sure I have some Slytherin tendencies, so maybe you could call me a Slytherclaw ;)
Shleee Polish Salazar Slytherin 3.0

Mystic Jadeite is a pale, faded mint shade with purple shimmer, holo flakes, and iridescent glitter pieces. This is kind of a shade shifter, it leans more blue on me but it looks kind of greenish in different lighting. It's a little sheer but not as much as I expected. Three coats.
Shleee Polish Mystic Jadeite

Jakku is a blend of glitters and mica shimmer in a clear base that creates a gorgeous reflective copper/bronze shade. Nice and opaque in just two coats. A real stunner, I am in love with this! Named for a desert planet featured in Star Wars. This dries flat, the glitter pieces don't stick up which is nice.
Shleee Polish Jakku

Sectumsempra is a blackened polish with strong green shimmer and silver holographic microglitter and shimmer. This was very opaque and goes on like butter. I used two coats here. Another Harry Potter reference, this is the name of a dangerous spell, certainly not to be messed with!
Shleee Polish Sectumsempra

Moon Crystal Power is a mix of ultra holographic flake glitter pieces in purple, blue, and pink in a clear base. I built this up in three coats, but it can also be used as a layering polish. I believe the name is referencing Sailor Moon, one of the maker Ashley's favorites. Dries gritty so you'll want a thick top coat.
Shleee Polish Moon Crystal Power

Emerald Candy is a vivid emerald green jelly with silver holographic microglitter and flakes. This applies easily, nice and even. It is a jelly so it lends to being a bit transparent. Despite that I was able to get full coverage with just two coats!
Shleee Polish Emerald Candy

Invocation is a blend of purple and dark grey holographic microglitters in a clear base. This is another one that you can build up or layer; I put on three coats here. Dries gritty so I recommend a thick top coat for a smooth finish.
Shleee Polish Invocation

These shades and more can be purchased on the Shleee Polish website for $10-11 each. Let me know what you think of these polishes! Any catch your eye in particular? My favorite has to be Salazar but Jakku is a close second!

❤ Kellie
The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.
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