Pretty Serious Cosmetics Holiday 2015 Ghosts of Christmas Future Collection Swatches & Review

Hey kids! I've got the Holiday 2015 collection from Australian indie brand Pretty Serious Cosmetics to show you today! It's called Ghost of Christmas Future. So...happy late Christmas?? For serious though, even though this is last year's holiday collection, the colors are still relevant no matter what the season. There are eight shades in this collection, all in a metallic and/or foil finish! I didn't use a top coat for any of these swatches, they sparkled and shone smoothly enough without one.

Press Sample

Pretty Serious Santa's Sunburn is a red metallic finely milled foil. You can see glimmer bits of silver pop out here and there, so cute! It has an incredible formula, this is only one coat! One looked so good I couldn't bear to put another on, which is very rare for me. This polish color originally came out in 2012 but was retired, then was brought back as inspiration for this collection with all the other colors coming to life in similar finishes!

Pretty Serious Joy to the Overlords is a purple metallic with silver shimmer. This was on the thin side, it appeared to be a little sheer on the first coat, but was totally opaque in two. Purples aren't always my favorite, but this one is warm enough and with just enough glisteny bits to hold my interest.

Pretty Serious Eat, Drink and Assimilate is a burnt orange coppery foil. A heavier particle of metallic than the red shade, less mirror-like but more prismatic. Excellent formula, this is just one coat!

Pretty Serious Hack The Halls is a vibrant green metallic foil with gold and silver sparkly bits. This was pretty opaque, but not quite a one coater. I used two here. I love this so much, it's a fabulous green that works for spring as well as holiday!

Pretty Serious Frosty the Snowborg is a white hot icy silver foil. This is super pale, almost a white, but it's definitely silver. Fine shimmer, close to a chrome type of finish. This is also just one coat! You may see some brushstrokes, but I think that's actually the ridges in my nails showing due to the finish.

Pretty Serious A Christmas Time Paradox is a blue metallic with tiny silver glimmers. The finish of this one seemed the most different from the others, thinner with frosty shimmer that shows more brushstrokes. I used two coats for opacity here.

Pretty Serious The Night Before... has a black base filled with silver foil shimmer. This is another amazing one, opaque in just one coat. I thought this would be more grey/gunmetal in person but it's quite dark!

Pretty Serious Yuletide of the Machines is a brassy antique gold metallic foil. This polish had a super foily finish, the kind that could bunch up on itself if you applied a second coat too quickly. I needed just one coat for full coverage though. This color reminds me of Egyptian jewelry, it's pretty unique in my collection!

These are all available for purchase on the Pretty Serious website now. They are $9.95 AUD per bottle, so with the current exchange rate, they're around $7 USD right now. They do have a direct shipping warehouse in the US so you don't have to wait for them to come from Australia if you're in the States, which is really nice. What do you think of this collection? Are you into metallics? My favorite has to be Santa's Sunburn, but Hack The Halls is a close second!

Be sure to check out the Pretty Serious Facebook and Instagram because they will be coming out with a new collection SUPER soon! They always have an early bird discount on new products, so you'll want to be in the know when they come out! Talk to you again soon :)

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Native War Paints Holiday Sweaters Collection Swatches & Review

So I know the holidays are over, but I have some great holiday nail polishes to show you today! This collection is called the Holiday Sweaters from Native War Paints. You remember their Cozy Sweater collection I showed you a while ago? Well this is its sister collection, awesome gold shimmer mixed in festive shades of the season! Despite being called "holiday" these will work for any time of year, don't worry :)

Press Sample

Holiday Sweater is a rich apple red filled with a strong gold shimmer. The formula on this was excellent, almost opaque in one coat but a second deepened the color a bit. Most of these are thinner than previous NWPs I've tried, and dried a little shinier than their shades usually do, but you'll still probably want a top coat for maximum shine.

Argyle Sweater is a bright blue with gold shimmer. This seemed a bit thicker than the others, but needs at least two coats for opacity. This one dries pretty matte and unfortunately stained my nail beds, even though I only had it on less than 20 minutes (with a base coat). I recommend doubling up on a stain blocking base coat with this guy. Slight brush strokes.

Cardigan Sweater is a warm purple with added gold shimmer. Great formula, same as the red shade, great coverage in two coats. I'm obsessed with purple and gold in combination so I love this!

Oversized Sweater is a soft white with gold shimmer. This was a little streaky, as pale shades usually are, but not terribly so. I didn't have any trouble covering streaks and getting full opacity with three coats. Not really thick or thin, and pretty decent to paint with. Much better than I expected for a white.

Hand Knitted Sweater is a cheerful evergreen with bright gold shimmer. This has a similar formula to Holiday Sweater, almost opaque in one coat but two coats deepens the shade to match the color you see in the bottle. This one my be my favorite in this collection!

Ugly Sweater Party is a vibrant pink with gold shimmer. This gal had a nice, normal formula. This is two coats. Dries more matte than the others, probably due to the neon-ish color. I was satisfied with the opacity at two coats, but like some shades in the neon-like range, I can still make out the shadow of my nail line. If that bothers you, I would use a third coat.

The last collection I tried from NWP I noticed I needed to shake the bottles a lot to mix the pigments, but I didn't seem to need to with these ones, except with the blue. The shimmer is a little more subtle than the last collection but is still very present. These are available now on the Native War Paints website for $8.50 each or $45 for all six shades. Let me know what you think about these!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

GlitterDaze Holiday 2015 Glitz & Glam Trio Swatches & Review

Hey again! I have the second trio for Holiday 2015 to show you today from indie brand GlitterDaze, I showed you the Winter Night trio the other day in case you missed it. These three are holographics in metallic shades, great for your holiday parties or New Year's Eve! I did not put a top coat on these so I could show you their total holographic-ness, but I did put try a top coat on them later and it didn't affect the look, which is nice. Let's take a look!

Press Sample

All That Glitters is a metallic gold linear holographic. This has a lovely neutral gold hue, not too yellow. Easy formula to apply. I used two coats here, but I noticed after looking at the photos there was still a bit of see-through-ness on the corners of my nails so I could've used one more coat.

A Pretty Penny is a rich metallic copper linear holographic. A bit on the bronzey side of copper, this is a unique shade to my holo collection. The holo particles look a bit bigger in this one than the other two in this trio. Easy formula, two coats for opacity.

Rosé On Ice is a pale metallic rose gold-y nude linear holographic. I thought this would be the most subdued of the three, but the fire is really strong in the holo, it even shows up indoors in lower lighting. This is two coats, but I might've needed one more to get the sides covered a bit more like the first polish.

These are available for purchase now on the GlitterDaze website for $12 each, or $32 for all three. Tell me what you think of these holo metals! My favorite has to be Rosé On Ice, it's perfect for all occasions!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Virago Varnish Holiday 2015 Ugly Christmas Sweater Collection Swatches & Review

Hi everyone! I have a new holiday polish collection to show you today from indie brand Virago Varnish! They have put out seven glittery lacquers for the season called the Ugly Christmas Sweater collection!

Press Sample

Abstain From Champagne is a holographic champagne full coverage microglitter in a clear base. This wowed me right off the bat, super blingy and the glitters are a little bit flatter than I expected which made it very easy to apply. Great glitter payoff, making it almost a one coater for me! I did use two to totally cover my nail, but I was super surprised at the coverage on this.

Happy Holla Daze is a festive glitter topper with hex, circle, square, and shredded glitters in white, red, green and silver. I layered one coat over OPI Cinnamon Sweet. This is a "typical" holiday glitter mix, but it's a little more unique thanks to the shredded white pieces. I really like this look. It would also look great over black or a dark green!

Lit Ladies Dancing is a microglitter mix of holographic royal blue and white matte small roundish hexes with black shreds in a lightly tinted blue jelly base. This was on the thick side, but not too difficult to manage. I did a normal first coat and dabbed a little on the second coat to get the coverage you see here. This reminds me of baseball for some reason...not sure why haha!

That Sleigh-Doh has a black jelly base with a mix of black and white matte and holographic microglitter and larger grey hex and square glitters. There are also some twinkly bits of iridescence popping out, which makes it more dimensional. This one was also a little thick, a bit tricky to apply evenly. I really like the result though, this is one of my favorites in the collection.

Where the Elf Is Santa? is a holographic deep teal green and blue microglitter in a clear base. This was pretty easy to apply, but there wasn't a ton of glitter payoff on the first coat. I build it up with three coats. This is a nice variation on the traditional holiday green we always see!

Stay Jolly My Friends is a red and white version of Lit Ladies Dancing, except instead of black shreds there are white squares. The red glitter in this one is really reflective, super christmas-y! This was a little easier than the blue version to apply, not sure why. Two coats here.

Indies Do It Sweater is a multicolored holographic glitter topper with hex, square and triangle glitters in a clear base. I layered one coat over Sally Hansen Pacific Blue (original). This is a nice departure from the type of glitters we normally see in holiday collections, very party appropriate. Great glitter payoff!

These all dry to a more matte finish so a top coat is recommended for all shades. The heavier glitters may need two coats to be completely smooth. The normal cap for Virago Varnish polishes is black matte, but for this collection they all come with a white matte cap. If you prefer the original black, just leave them a note at checkout. My friend Phoebe has a live application video review on this collection on her YouTube channel if you want to see these in action!

These are on sale now on the Virago Varnish website. The two microglitters, Abstain From Champagne and Where the Elf Is Santa?, retail for $11 each while the rest go for $10. The full collection sells for a special price of $68.50. They always offer free shipping over $50 using the code 50FREESHIP. (They ship to the US & Canada, email them for international orders.) And luckily, they are holding a sale right now through tomorrow Friday, Dec. 11 at 11:59 pm PST giving you 20% off your entire purchase using the code 3DAYSALE - wow! So run over if you want to pick these up in time to use for the holidays!

See you again soon!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

China Glaze Holiday 2015 Cheers Collection Swatches & Review

Happy Monday everyone! China Glaze has put out a twelve piece holiday collection for 2015 called Cheers! This collection is filled with festive colors perfect for creating party-ready manicures! Or even if you're a homebody like me, you can still enjoy your holiday nails in the comfort of your own home haha.

Press Sample

Image via China Glaze

Don't Get Elfed Up has a black jelly base filled with large metallic shimmer bits in deep teal that has a slight duochrome to blue and purple. This applied a little sheer on the first coat but build up on itself nicely in only two coats. This is the type of China Glaze polish that give me heart flutters, such an excellent shade!

Ugly Sweater Party is a pinky-red jelly with tons of metallic and holographic hex glitters in varying sizes in silver, purple, and pink. This had a good formula. It was a little thick but not as much as the other two jelly glitters in this collection. A little light on coverage though, this is three coats. You will need a thick top coat to smooth out the glitters in this. I didn't know if I would dig this at first glance, but I really like it!

Mix And Mingle is a warm purple. The consistency of this one is somewhere between a crème and a jelly; it was thin and unfortunately runny. This is three coats. It dried very shiny and is a lovely color, but I bet there is something similar in the China Glaze line that has a better formula. You can see on the side of my nail where it's sheerer than the other because of the runny consistency.

Coal Hands, Warm Heart is a black jelly with medium holographic silver hex glitters, smaller indigo metallic hexes and a sprinkle of silver bits. This one was quite tricky to apply. I found it very thick but runny at the same time. It needed three coats and it was bumpy and lumpy looking. I needed two coats of thick top coat to make it smooth. I would definitely layer this over an opaque black crème if I wore it again.

Wine Down For What? is a muted deep wine red crème. Good formula, a tiny bit runny but not as bad as the purple. I needed three coats for full coverage. This is also very shiny! I am loving this shade lately and the shade name cracks me up.

Brand Sparkin' New Year has a purple jelly base packed to the brim with holographic and metallic glitters in large, medium and small sizes. Talk about a party in a bottle! I love the finished look of this but found the formula thick and gummy. I had to dab it on in places to get it to apply evenly. This is two coats with a thick layer of top coat.

Son Of A Nutcracker is a orangey pinky vibrant red shimmer with a pearlized finish. I wasn't sure what to think of this from pictures, but when I saw it in real life I actually really like it. Seems much more orange indoors than out in bright light. This had a thin consistency and was a touch brushstrokey, but definitely not terrible. Three coats.

Break The Ice is a super cool holographic silver shard glitter in a clear base. I was blown away by the look of this baby in the bottle. I've been wanting something like this for a while now. I layered it over Mix and Mingle. This is very heavy on the base so I got minimal flakes out on the first layer. I went in with a heavier hand for another and ended up with a lot of clear base on my nail, which bubbled. I might try to sponge this on the next time I wear it, I hear the sponge helps absorb some of the liquid to get a nicer result.

Peppermint To Be is a pretty holiday red shimmer. This has a sprinkle of glistening glass fleck shimmer bits in it which really pumps up the wow factor. A lovely formula, one of the best in the collection. Two coats here.

Bring On The Bubbly is mix of various sizes of bright metallic and holographic light gold hex glitters in a clear base. I layered one coat over Wine Down For What? and it had excellent glitter payoff. The base seemed very thin and a little runny, but other than that I didn't have an issue with this. I love the combo of these polishes, perfect for the holiday season!

I Soirée I Didn't Do It is a blue-green glitter in a slightly tinted teal base. I thought this would build up easily but it really didn't. Pretty sparse because of the thin formula. This is three coats and you can still see the spots without glitter around the edges. Another one I would layer over an opaque color next time.

Better Not Pout is a vivid berry magenta lustrous pearl. Comes off a little metallic but without super noticeable brushstrokes, unless you overload your brush. Another one that was on the runny side. This is two coats.

You can pick these up now at your local Sally Beauty Supply or Ulta store. They are also sold online at various retailers. Tell me what you think about these party worthy colors! My favorite has to be Don't Get Elfed Up, followed by Son Of A Nutcracker and Ugly Sweater Party. I think I would've like most of the colors more if they had better formulas though. Are you picking any up of these for the holidays? Do you have any special holiday parties to go to this year?

Talk to you again soon!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Different Dimension Winter 2015 Babes In Toyland Collection Swatches & Review

Hey friends! I have the second winter/holiday collection from Different Dimension to show you today. This is an eleven shade collection called Babes in Toyland. There are some glitters, holographics, and shimmers in this bunch, and none of them disappoint! This is a great collection and I'm so happy to be able to share it with you!

Press Sample

Tom Piper is a soft yet bright money green holographic with gold undertones, gold flakies and shimmers. This had an effortless formula, very easy to apply. I was able to get full coverage on two coats. I am so in love with these holo + metallic flakie combos!

Jack is a very delicate palest blue holographic crelly with darker blue shimmer bits. This was easy to apply and not streaky like I thought it might be. It was also pretty opaque for such a light color, I was surprised at the coverage. This is two coats.

Toyland is a full coverage glitter polish in bright angel gold with larger bits of holiday red and green. So sparkly and a great choice for the holiday season! As Different Dimension creator Missi says "perfect for Christmas without being over the top." I also only needed two coats for this guy. You may need a second layer of top coat to smooth this completely.

Jill is a lavender purple holographic with added microglitters. This has a great formula, no issues. Opaque in two coats. This has a great fire quality to the holo.

Forest Of No Return is a brown holographic full coverage microglitter. This reminds me of bits of sandy earth, but crazy sparkly! Nice coverage with only two coats. Dries gritty so use an extra layer of top coat for smoothness.

Mary Contrary is made up of holographic hex glitters in peacock blue, deep indigo, muted chartreuse green, and deep magenta with holographic silver shard bits in a clear base. This is one coat of glitter over Jack. I didn't have any problems placing the glitter, you get a good amount out at once. (If you're interested, I always use this method to spread out chunky layering glitters.)

Mother Goose is a deep burgundy linear holographic. Pretty straightforward and really smooth. It was opaque in one coat, but I used two here.

Barnaby is another one of the holographic shades with flakies, this time in a sunny bronze gold with silver flakies. Epic! I felt like Apollo the Sun God when I had this on! This is two easy coats.

Boy Blue has a white crelly base with silver and blue glitters in hexes, squares and stars. The base on this was a little thick and it didn't self-level very well. This is three coats. I wish the base was a little thinner so you could see the glitters pop a bit more. I might try layering one coat over an opaque white crème next time.

Bo Peep is the third holographic with flakies in the collection, this time in a lovely pink/rose gold with gold undertones and silver flakes and a bit of shimmer. Also opaque in just two coats. I've already professed my love for rose gold to you, so you know I love this!

Kiss Me At Midnight is a full coverage glitter polish in holographic silver with black multi sized hex pieces scattered throughout. Full coverage in two coats. This one really impressed me, I don't have anything like it and it really sparkles. This would be a great New Year's Eve polish! Another one that dries with a glittery texture, so you may need an extra layer of top coat.

This collection, and the Dream Team trio that I posted previously, will be released on Friday, Dec. 4th at 9 pm EST on the Different Dimension website. They will range in cost from $8.75 - $12, with Boy Blue specially priced at $5. There will be a discounted price for purchasing the entire collection. Also releasing are new cuticle oil scents, to include Very Merry Cranberry, Cinnamon Candies, White Chocolate, and Caramel Popcorn. I've never tried their oils, but those scents sound divine!

What do you think of these whimsical glitzy shades? My favorites are the metallic holos and Kiss Me At Midnight, but they are all great. This collection really delighted me! Tell me your thoughts in the comments and have an awesome day!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

SuperChic Lacquer Winter/Holiday 2015 Collections Swatches & Review

Hi folks! I have another indie collection to show you today, in fact, I have two! SuperChic Lacquer has come out with two fun collections for the Winter/Holiday season. The first is their Once Upon a Diamond collection of seven sparkly texture glitters with genuine diamond crystals. The second is a trio of glitters called the Ugly Sweater Party.

Before we look at the polish, I would like to apologize for the weirdness of my hand pose in these swatches. The new SuperChic Lacquer bottle shape threw me off my game. (This isn't even how I imagined them being cropped. *le sigh*) I believe their old bottles were discontinued; the new bottles are round globes with tapered white caps with grooves. They are super retro and pretty cute, but I obviously didn't figure out how to hold them for photos yet haha. Here's hoping for a better job next time :P

Press Sample

Captured Teardrop has a sky blue jelly base with a mix of shiny and holographic glitters. All the Once Upon a Diamond textures had the same formula (except one), they're easy to apply with a ton of glitter payoff and are opaque in two coats. Since they are textured, I did not apply a top coat. If you wanted them glossy, you'd need a layer or two of thick top coat.

Chronicles of the Dreamcatcher has a nudey gold base packed full of silver and gold glitters. There are a variety of metallic and holographic pieces, even some triangles and shards. Two coats here. This has a lighter base, so you may want to do three coats, or even layer it over a solid color, but I liked the way it looked with two.

Crown Jewels of Enchantment has a clear base with metallic and holographic silver glitters, along with the diamond crystals. This one is meant to be a topper, it can be layered over any color. I put one coat on top of a deep burgundy purple, FingerPaints Film Noir.

Embellishing Regina has an opaque black jelly base packed with silver and red glitters in various shapes and sizes. I spy lots of squares in this! Two coats for her as well.

Notions of Ariel has a mermaid-y teal jelly base with silver glitters and blue/purple microshimmer bits. Squares, triangles in this one as well! Two coats.

Swan of Adorned Darkness has an opaque black jelly base with silver and gold glitters. This has a gorgeous mix of the two metals, looking more gold or silver depending on the lighting. Two coats.

Wish Upon A Wisp has a dark blue that leans slightly purple jelly base with silver glitters and a bit of violet iridescence. This was also two coats.

That's all for the Once Upon a Diamond collection, so next we have the Ugly Sweater Party!

All Flocked Up has got a sheer milky white base packed with matte white, grey, metallic silver and holographic glitters in various shapes and sizes and some shimmer flakes. I layered one coat over a white crème, Pretty Serious Presence. You can build this up by itself, but I found it was a little thick by itself, so I preferred using it as a topper.

Bright Shiny Sweater Balls is a mix of matte white, grey, red, pink, pale yellow, orange, metallic and holographic silver glitters in squares and hexes in a various sizes in a clear base. I wore one coat over a dark green crème, OPI Christmas Gone Plaid.  Excellent glitter payoff. I had to do some manipulation to place the glitter where I wanted, but nothing out of the ordinary.

"Mr. Hankey" Every Party Needs A Pooper has a sheer brown jelly base packed with matte white, black, red, dark green, light green glitters in various shapes and sizes and metallic copper microglitter. I heard this was meant to be a stand alone polish, but it seemed too sheer to be opaque on its own, so I layered two coats over a dark brown crème, OPI Suzi Loves Cowboys. I didn't think I'd like this that much, but it is actually really pretty! And the name is hilarious.

I wanted to mention that I noticed all of these seemed to separate very easily so I need to shake them up pretty well before I applied them. You can see a really great live swatch and review video on YouTube by my friend Jess of all these shades to see them in action if you are interested.

All of these polishes will be released on Wednesday, Dec. 2nd at 4pm PST on the SuperChic Lacquer website and their Etsy store. The Diamond polishes are priced at $12 and I think the Ugly Sweater trio should be $10 each. Tell me what you think about these shades! Are you thinking of picking any of them up?

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.