Essie Resort 2016 Collection Swatches & Review

Hey, what's up, hello :) I hope you've been having a nice weekend my friends! I bought this mini set from Essie a while ago, their Resort collection for 2016, and I figured I would show them to you today! There are four colors in the set, influenced by "the magnificent fashion, diverse culture and sheer beauty of India."

Delhi Dance is a slightly dusty bubblegum pink crème. I usually seem to struggle with shades like this but it went on really easily and was streak-free! I needed just two coats.

Going Guru is a warm spring mint green crème. There's a lot of yellow in this, different from most of the "mint" polishes in my collection. This is so my type of color, swoon! Another surprisingly great formula, though I needed three coats for this guy to cover 100%.

Taj-Ma-Haul is a unique shade of orange, more of a pale terracotta clay. I was in love with this in the bottle and fell even harder for it when I put it on my nails. Amazing application for this one, it was almost a one coater, but I opted for two to get a little richer color payoff.

Nama-Stay The Night is that sexy bright pigmented blue that everyone goes gaga for, I know I did! Absolutely wonderful to apply, almost a one coater again but I chose to do two to get the color in the bottle. I didn't wear this for long, but I didn't have any staining to speak of. However, I would recommend two coats of base and careful removal anyway just to be safe.

I purchased this mini set from Transdesign online, but you can also find Essie polishes in drugstores like CVS and Target, as well as Ulta. What do you think of this set? I am honestly in love! I'm looking forward to trying more Essies soon, as my tiny town is finally getting an Ulta store so the new colors will be more accessible, wahoo! Have a great day!

❤ Kellie

Lilypad Lacquer Pinks & Color4Nails Exclusives Swatches & Review

Howdy there! I don't know about the weather where you're at, but we've had snow all week and it's Spring Break! How crazy is that? I'm glad for the moisture but I'm a little over it by now because it's been such a tough winter! Anyway, how are you doing? I've got my first polishes from Lilypad Lacquer to show you today. They are based in Australia and are sold at US based stockist Color4Nails, who provided these to me for review. Let's take a look!

Press Sample

Cheeky is a salmon pink jelly bordering on a crelly. It's pretty sheer and I found it to be pretty streaky. This is four coats, only because I wanted to see it as opaque as possible. You could probably get away with three, or leave it at two coats for a more translucent look.

Flirt is a light pink crelly. I found this to be a little more opaque than Cheeky but still streaky, it didn't really want to self-level. I used three coats here. Cherubic!

Dollface is a light pink with a slight magenta tone. This was my favorite of the pinks I tried, but still a little streaky. Three coats.

Peachface is a light peachy pink crelly. Same formula as Flirt and Dollface, three coats. All of the pinks seemed to dry really quickly despite having to use multiple coats. And I thought I detected some hidden shimmer in them when I was putting them on, but didn't see any once on my nail.

Break The Rules is one of the Color4Nails exclusive shades. It has a violet/teal color shifting base with multichrome and colorshifting flakies. This was super easy to apply, but not as opaque as I'd prefer. I chose to build it up in three coats for maximum depth.

Love Me Or Leave Me is another exclusive color. It has a brown/red color shifting base with multichrome and shifting flakies. Same formula as Break The Rules but I only needed two coats here.

Guilty Pleasures has a green/copper color shifting base with multichrome and colorshifting flakies. Also a great formula, very easy to polish with. I used three coats on this guy. This is another exclusive polish shade to Color4Nails and is my favorite of the three flakies because it reminds me of a crocodile!

Fresh is kind of the odd man out of the group, but a great kind of odd. Cloudy sky blue with brighter blue microglitter and a soft subtle holographic shimmer. Applies as if by magic, opaque in two coats. Dries satiny though, so you'll want a shiny top coat to make that holo pop.

I've got the mini bottles of all of these, and I found them to be pretty nice to work with. Some minis are difficult due to smaller brushes but these have longer handles and normal sized brushes which make application easier. However, they are only sold as full size bottles on the Color4Nails website right now. All the pinks and the blue are $13 each for a 15 mL bottle and the flakie exclusives are $14 each for a full size. Let me know what you think of these! Have you ever tried Lilypad Lacquer before? Talk to you again soon!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Baroness X Nail Lacquer Ex Libris Collection Swatches & Review

Hi everyone! I have a post today from a new-to-me indie brand, Baroness X Nail Lacquer. I have heard tales of wonder and excellence for this unique brand before but haven't tried them until now. This is a four piece collection called Ex Libris and I received the mini sized 8ml bottles for review. I like their minis because they are tall instead of the short and squat ones you usually see, so they're easier to apply. Let's take a look!

Press Sample

Dulcinea is a violet jelly with red to green color shifting shimmer and large iridescent flakies. This one is quite sheer, and is a little thick, so let it dry between coats to avoid the gummy-ness that some jellies can get. I built it up in three coats but you can still see the nail line pretty significantly. I know some people will like that look, but if you don't, this would look killer layered over a purple crème or a more opaque jelly. I couldn't capture the green shift, but it's definitely there.

Quixotica is a blue-toned green jelly with gold to blue shifting shimmer, silver holographic micro-shards and green & blue metallic flakies. This had the same formula as Dulcinea but was a little less thick and doesn't have that "gummy" jelly quality at all. This is also three coats, still a bit transparent, so again you can layer it over a solid shade for a more opaque look. I love to see multichrome flakes being used in different ways and they are right at home in this jelly base. Amazing shimmer in this too, so hard to do it justice in a picture!

Molino is a juicy berry red jelly with gold to blue shifting shimmer and a mix of rainbow multichrome metallic flakies. I had an easy time with this guy, smooth and effortless to apply. More full coverage than the first two, this is opaque in three coats so it can stand on its own. This would be so beautiful layered over a black though!

Alhambra is a cobalt blue jelly with red to green shifting shimmer, mixed sizes of iridescent flakies and silver holographic micro-shards. This is so stellar and very pigmented! It is also more opaque than the first two shades, but I still used three coats. I would say this is the only one I wouldn't layer over another color though, there is just so much depth that comes through when it's built up, I love it.

These will be available for purchase on November 4th on the Baroness X website and their Etsy store. The full size 15ml bottles will be $12.75 each. The full size set of four will be $46 and the mini 8ml set will be priced at $28. What do you think of these shades? Have you ever tried this brand before? I will have a review of their new cuticle moisturizer up soon, it's a matte formula dubbed the "swatcher's balm", so stay tuned for that!

❤ Kellie

Products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Orly Summer 2015 Adrenaline Rush Collection [Partial] Swatches & Review

Hi everyone! Today I have four minis from the Orly Adrenaline Rush collection to show you. This is their 2015 Summer collection, it has six shades in it but I opted for the mini set of four. I found this guy at my local discount store for a good price so I had to pick it up.

Fireball is a super vivid red with a touch of hidden shimmer. This had a good formula, on the thin side but I didn't have any issues with it. I had full opacity on two coats. It dried satiny matte so use a top coat for maximum shine. I don't think I have a dupe for this, it's so cool!

On The Edge is a blurple, more blue than purple but it's still there. This had a great formula, two coats. I never used to like blurple colors, but I have come around so I definitely appreciate this one. It also dries semi-matte.

Push The Limit seems to be the popular favorite from this collection from what I've heard, and for good reason. It's a beautiful bright orangey coral crème with neon properties but not totally neon. It went on a little streaky for me, not terrible but not awesome. It also dries more matte.

Risky Behavior is the last in the mini bunch, a really bright gorgeous fuchsia pink, another almost neon crème. This one went on very easy and covered in two coats, almost opaque in one though. Also dries kinda satiny. This one is super flattering, I love it!

The other two shades in the full collection are a highlighter yellow crème and a vivid purple crème, which I'm sure are lovely but I don't think I necessarily need them. I wasn't sure at first, but I think my favorite of these four is Fireball! That unexpected shimmer just really wowed me! Also, I enjoyed these mini bottles. Some mini sizes just don't work well for application, but these were nice and easy to use. They are .18 fl oz with nicely sized handles and brushes.

You can purchase Orly polishes from stores like Sally Beauty Supply and Ulta for around $8 for a 0.6 fl oz bottle. I got this set for around $5 at Marshalls. Did you pick up any colors from this collection?

❤ Kellie

China Glaze Road Trip Collection Travel Sized Swatches & Review

Hey! I'm back from vacation and still kinda exhausted haha, but I had a good time. I have a mini version of the China Glaze Road Trip collection to show you today! The collection has twelve shades all together, but I found this set called "Travel Sized" with six of the colors in a "micro mini" size for sale so I purchased it. I wasn't sure if I needed the entire collection, so this was a nice compromise for me.

image source

I Brake For Colour is a bright orangey coraly red crème. My brush had a lot of wonky bristles so it was difficult to put on, but under regular circumstances I'm sure the formula would've been great. I used three coats here but you'd probably only need two with a non-messed up brush.

This is Dashboard Dreamer, a powder blue crelly with coppery pink shimmer. This one was streaky and patchy, but it's so pretty I almost don't care haha! This is three coats.

Next is Pinking Out The Window, a bright salmon crème. This one was a little streaky and thick. Three coats here.

Now Boho Blues is a must have for sure, a soft periwinkle blue jelly crème (more crème than jelly). It's got a pretty good formula, but this was another one where the brush was all wonky so it was more challenging. This is three coats, but with a normal brush I'm sure you could make do with only two.

My Way Or The Highway is a green-y tealish turquoise jelly crème. I love shades like this. It's fabulous and very shiny, pretty good formula. Two coats.

And last is Trip Of A Lime Time, which is the shade I was least in love with in seeing promo shots for this collection, but in real life it's pretty cool. Chartreuse is a hard color to pull off, but this is almost kinda delicate which makes it prettier to me. It is a jelly crème and was on the streaky side, so I needed three coats.

I purchased this set of minis from Ulta.com for $12. I love that these were offered in a mini size, but I think I prefer their regular minis sized at 0.325 fl oz  instead of these micro mini bottles at 0.125 fl oz, just for ease of application. Especially considering two of the bottles had bad brushes in them. I honestly probably would've returned them if I hadn't purchased these online and/or had an Ulta near me. Did you pick up any of the colors from this collection? If so, what was your favorite?

See ya later!

❤ Kellie

Zoya Mystery Trio Swatches & Review

Hello my dears, how's it going? I wanted to show you a fun little set from Zoya today. It was part of a promotion they did a while ago where you could get any three full-size polishes for $15 (which included shipping) plus an exclusive mini trio of shades that hadn't been available for purchase previously. I obviously jumped at that opportunity. I picked up a few shades I had previously purged from my stash and one new to me, but you'll see those another day. This post is about the mystery shades!

These three shades were created for Peter Som A/W 2014. I actually quite liked them when I saw them in posts back then, but I have to admit when I saw them in real life I was less than enthused. I suppose I (and a lot of other folks) had expected something more bright and exciting? I don't know, but definitely something we had never seen before from Zoya. Since I've tried them however, I have come around again and I actually really enjoyed them.

First is Charlotte, a camel toned nude crème with a slight green undertone. It was thin but creamy, and opaque in two coats. I don't know if it's the best nude shade against my skin tone but I like its simplicity.

This is Anais, one of my favorite names, a motor oil kinda color. It's almost black, but slightly brown and charcoal-y with a vein of silvery shimmer and super micro teeny copper bits. It's similar to OPI Queen of the Road. This had a thin formula too, but was easy to apply and opaque in two coats.

Severine is the last shade, it's a pewterish pale gold metallic that is slightly brush-strokey, but I actually don't mind that. This went on like a dream, also opaque in two coats. I liked this much more than i expected to.

I don't think I've ever tried Zoya mini bottles but I quite like them! They have a good amount of polish in them (0.25 fl oz) and the brush is not too small to get a good application. Unfortunately these three shades are not available for purchase on the Zoya website right now, I'm not sure if they ever will be. However, you may be able to find them on blog sales or places like Storenvy. Were you one of the many folks who took advantage of this promotion? Regardless, what do you think of these minis?

Have an awesome weekend!

❤ Kellie

Color Club Ticket to Paradise Mini Kit Swatches & Review

Hey there! Are you enjoying your day so far? I hope so :) Today I wanted to show you a new-ish collection from Color Club called Ticket to Paradise. I received the "mini kit", which includes four of the seven from the collection in a small size. I was happy to see them because Color Club minis are seriously my favorites, next to China Glaze's. The bottle is substantial and the brush is really nice for it being small.

Press Sample

First in the set is Frozen Daiquiri, a fruity red crème. This had an amazing formula, it was almost opaque in one coat but needed two to cover the nail line completely. This isn't super summery, but maybe it's the name that makes me think of sitting on the beach in the summer sun!

Next is Sea-ing Blue, a vivid sky blue crelly with turquoise shimmer. This is on the sheer side. I read that the sheer-er colors in this collection are meant to be worn that way or used in a gradient. I know a lot of people, including me, prefer a more solid look so that's the way I applied them. I used three coats here.

This is The Islands, a very sheer limey green with subtle crystal-y shimmer. This was the least opaque of the four I received, but still a fun unique color. I used four coats here and you can still see through to my nail in some spots.

And last is Tiny Umbrella, a cutie crelly peach with sunny gold shimmer. I love this shade, it's very Spring-y! Even though it's more opaque than I expected, I still needed three coats.

You can purchase Color Club from their website www.colorclub.com for $8.50 for a full size bottle or you can get this set of four minis for $12.95. I am glad I got to try this collection, it makes me crave summer! Or, at least a vacation ;) What do you think of these? I have a few more Color Club collections to show you soon so stay tuned for those!

Have a great week!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

OPI Boo-Berry

Hi friends! I wanted to show you a close to my heart polish today, OPI Boo-Berry. This is a glow in the dark polish that was released for Halloween in 2007 (I think). This is similar to last years Zom-body to Love from OPI, a kind of grainy looking sheer. The blue color is so slammin' and I've wanted this polish forever. This is three coats. I tried to get a pic showing it glow in the dark but that mission failed.

This polish has lots of my favorite characteristics, it's vintage, it's for Halloween, it has the cutest name, and it's a gift from my favorite gingey, Ang. Thanks sweetie, I love it!