Pretty Serious Cosmetics Nail Polish & Treatments Swatches & Review

I've got some awesome polish shades and treatments from Pretty Serious Cosmetics to show you today! These have been available for a while, but I just got them a while ago and wanted to share my thoughts on them with you.

Press Sample

Type 40 is a Dr. Who type shade, specifically a TARDIS inspired blue crème. I've wanted this since it came out so I was stoked to get to try it. This is a 100% one coat wonder, no muss, no fuss, and no staining! I do always wear a stain-blocking base coat with blues but sometimes tricky ones can get through, not the case with this babe!

Breathless is a limited edition kelly green with gorgeous soft flake shimmer. This was created for friend of Pretty Serious, Hannah from Polly Polish to celebrate her wedding. Excellent two coat formula, really a head-turner! Super low quantity available so grab this one while you can!

Mummy Mush is a golden glass fleck multichrome shimmer shade that shifts through green to baby blue and pink in various lighting. I used two coats for a delicate look but you can also built it up more for total opacity or even layer it over colored base shades for a different look! Sadly this is sold out right now, so keep your eyes peeled for restocks.

Cuticle Hero Super Hydrating Cuticle Oil is one of their treatments that I've had my eye on for a while, it's a more heavy duty moisturizing formula than their other oils. It's "created from a blend of spa quality massage oils" and has a robust orange scent. This one does contain a nut oil, which I know some can be sensitive to. I found this mega therapeutic and nicely hydrating for my cuticles. The scent wasn't my favorite, so I don't know if I'd order this again unless they came out with it in another scent. They do have lighters oils in yummy scents like cupcake and bubblegum so I might try those next.

image via Pretty Serious Cosmetics

Plump Up the Volume Gel Effect Top Coat is a glossy, thick gel-like top coat that is perfect for smoothing out bumpy glitters. I have their Aqua Coat top coat which is sort of the same idea, but this is that type of formula "on steroids". It has a lot more body if that makes sense. Dries a bit slower than quick-dry top coats, but it's worth it. I find this works best when I apply quickly and with purpose as it can pull up off the nail if you go over your strokes multiple times.

image via Pretty Serious Cosmetics

These products (except Mummy Mush) are available on the Pretty Serious website now for $8.95-9.95 AUD each. One thing I love about the Pretty Serious website is it automatically detects the currency for your region, so when I log on, it automatically shows me the prices in US dollars which is super helpful. Let me know what you think about these colors and treatments!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Powder Perfect Halloween Duo 2016 Swatches & Review

Inspired by the three witch’s poem from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the Halloween duo from Australian indie brand Powder Perfect is ready for the season of the witch! These two new shades feature unusual color combinations that totally capture the Halloween spirit. Let's take a look!

Press Sample

Cauldron Bubble has a dark purpley almost-black base filled with multichromatic shimmer that shifts from purple to green and chameleon chrome flakies that flex in tones of copper/fuchsia/green. This was pretty sheer on the first coat, but it built up on itself really nicely. I did use three coats, but it was super close to being opaque in two. Dries a bit dull so you'll want a glossy top coat.

Toil & Trouble has a murky olive green crème base with added pink iridescent flakies and gold holographic microglitter. I found this to be a bit runny so be sure not to overload your brush. I used two coats here for full opacity. A glossy top coat really brought this to life, it is just the type of shade I will be sporting the entire fall season!

The duo is available on the Powder Perfect website and their US site now for $13 AUD/USD each or $24 for the duo. Let me know what you think about these two polishes! Are you ready for October and Halloween? Because I sure am!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Fair Maiden Polish Fall Into Delirium Collection Swatches & Review

Hi everyone! This week has been super crazy at work, like major busy, so I am decidedly exhausted. Hopefully it will ease up a little soon haha. I have some beautiful new polishes from Fair Maiden Polish though to lift my spirit! It comes in two parts, a fall collection called Fall Into Delirium. I have parts 1 & 2 for you today, 10 polishes in total

Press Sample

Part 1 is the "warm" half of the collection. It begins with Acorns & Ashes, a thermal change polish that is soft nude in warm temperatures and transitions to taupe in cooler temperatures, then goes to ashy charcoal when in its coldest state. Filled with golden green shimmer which shows more golden tones when nude, and greener tones when in the darker, cold state. A bit sheer at first, but nice formula, very manageable. This is three coats in it's warm state.

This is a cold sensitive thermal, different than most thermals which are heat sensitive. Best results are seen at 18 degrees C/64 degrees F. I am a naturally warm-bodied person and I live in the high desert in Nevada, which is still experiencing nice temperatures in the 80 degree range during the day. I could only partially achieve color transition for this photo by putting my fingertips in a bowl of ice water, and even then they seemed to revert back to gold a few seconds after I took them out! If you are a "cooler" person than I, you'll probably have no trouble though haha.

Shadow of Your Heart is a dark, vampy blood red holographic. This is super pigmented, maybe even a one coater if you're generous with your layers. I used two here. Makes me think of a glistening garnet.

Roaming Fire is a fiery reddish orange holographic with a golden flame. This applied effortlessly in two coats. This seriously glows!

The Road Less Traveled is an earthy, dark mossy brownish grey-green holographic with color shifting violet shimmer. This is a soft roar, a sleeper hit. I wasn't expecting to be as knocked out by this as I am, it's so gorgeous! Great formula, two coats.

Wanderlusting is a golden bronze metallic flakie polish, loaded with 5 different holographic pigments, glass flecks, and a subtle golden green shift. The flakes lay flatter than glitter so there's minimal texture. Super easy to apply, easy to spread over the nail. This is two coats, awesome coverage on this one!

And here is part 2, the "cool" shades. Autumn’s Reign is a rich, slightly metallic purple that shifts slightly to reddish gold, with a violet-green shimmer and color shifting chroma flakes that flash red-orange-gold. Slightly thick, opaque in two coats.

Cosmic Muse is a rich teal with an intense glow of pink-gold shimmer and color shifting chroma flakes that shift in purple-red-gold. This is a bit sheer at first, but builds up in three coats to the color you see here. Slight brushstrokes, but the intense shimmer is so flashy you almost don't see them in real life.

Walking in Silence is a bright periwinkle blue holographic with a subtle red flash and color shifting shimmer. This was a little thick and didn't flow on my nails as easily as the other holos, but not bad. Two coats here, but you may need a third if you do thin layers.

Bright Eyed Mourning is a dark, moody midnight blue holographic with a tealy green glow. This by comparison with the previous polish, was decidedly thinner, maybe a teeny bit runny. This is two coats though, it has good pigmentation.

Time Stands Still is a sparkly cement grey holographic with a violet flash and shimmer flakes that shift blue-violet-red. This applies nicely, but is a little sheer. I used three coats but it was super close to being opaque in two. I really liked how this looked in person, my photo doesn't do the shifty-sparkle quality justice.

The pre-order for these polishes starts 9/17 at 11am CST on the Fair Maiden Polish website. The pre-order period will last one week, with the polishes shipping out 2-3 weeks after that. They will be available for regular purchase later on on the website too. Individually all the polishes are $10, except for Ashes & Acorns which is $9. Each half of five is priced at $45 as a group. Purchase all 10 for $85. Minis will be sold in both sets of 5 for $25 per set, but minis will not be sold individually. What do you think of these fall beauties? I'm obsessed with Wanderlusting and The Road Less Traveled!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Girly Bits Cosmetics A Little Madness Collection Swatches & Review

I've got a new collection from Canadian based indie brand Girly Bits Cosmetics to share with you today dear friends! This 6 piece collection was inspired by Alice Through the Looking Glass, and two of them (White Rabbit and Hookah-Smoking Caterpillar) are dedicated to Girly Bits maker Pam's daughter Jen Knight for the release of her music video for White Rabbit. Let's take a look!

Press Sample

Hookah-Smoking Caterpillar is a dark multichrome that shifts from purple to blue and teal, with added gold holographic microglitter.This was thin but applied easily. I used three coats here because my eyes were playing tricks on me, it looks much lighter indoors than outside, so you might only need two for full coverage. A tiny bit gritty with glitter but it became smooth with one layer of top coat.

I took a photo in the shade too so you can see the shifting color a little more. It is much lighter in indirect lighting, as you can see.

White Rabbit is an off-white/nude-ish crelly, filled with silver flakes and sparkling iridescent microglitter that shimmer slightly gold. This was thick, but not difficult. I used three coats here. I used one layer of Girly Bits' thick, plump top coat Glitter Glaze to cover the texture of the glitter.

Go Ask Alice is a mid-tone aqua blue crème. This was nicely pigmented and applied very buttery. I used two coats here, and it dried nice and shiny. This is darker and more blue than Here's Lagoon Atcha, the COTM for June that came out recently if you are interested.

A Little Madness is a summery orange low density holographic, with a subtle red flash and violet shimmer. This is pretty gorgeous, and a unique holo to my collection. Great formula, easy with two coat coverage.

Believe the Impossible is a light lavender intense holographic, filled with stunning gold shimmer. This was a little sheer and the glitter particles seem more prominent than I expected looking at it in the bottle. I only needed two coats though, surprisingly. This was thin but went on easily.

Heads Will Roll is a garnet red jelly filled with gold/green glass fleck shimmer. Insanely beautiful, not really a summer color, but I'm ok with it. Pretty great formula as well. I used two coats here but you may need three if you use thinner coats.

These are available now on the Girly Bits website for $16.50 CAD each, except for Hookah-Smoking Caterpillar which is $18.50 CAD. If you purchase the entire collection before July 19th, you can save a $1 per bottle and get the lot for $108.50 (regular price $115.50). What do you think of these shades? I like them all but A Little Madness and Heads Will Roll have turned my world topsy-turvy and I love it!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Native War Paints Labyrinth Collection Swatches & Review

Hey friends! I hope your week is going well! I've been a little under the weather, boo. Summer sickness might be the worst, because it's so damn hot! Today I have the Native War Paints Labyrinth collection to show you. Labyrinth is totally childhood nostalgia for me, I can remember watching it over and over with my siblings as a kid. So naturally I was excited to see colors inspired by the movie! And David Bowie is in it, so it's of course a win. Also, this year marks the 30th anniversary of the film, so it's as old as I am, yay!

Press Sample

You Have No Power Over Me has a silver holographic base with silver flakie shards, holo bits, and a purpley-red duochrome flash. This is pretty gorgeous, it has a very strong color flash in real life, harder to capture in a photo. Applied easily, seemed sheer on the first coat but I only needed two for full coverage.

I Will Be There For You has a scattered holographic teal base with a pinky orangey purple duochrome flash and tiny baby microglitter. This was on the thinner side and a bit sheer, but not difficult to apply. I used three coats here but you might get away with two.

Dance Magic has a scattered holographic metallic purple base with large silver flakie shards, purple flakies, and micro holo shreds. This applied nicely, it was a little thicker than the previous shades. Two coats.

Chilly Down With The Fire Gang is a vibrant fuchsia pink metallic with pink flakies and a slight red to gold duochrome. This one felt a teeny bit gummy, but applied pretty well overall. I used two coats here. Fun fact, the song the Fire Gang sings is my favorite in the movie, and I actually knew a girl in school who looked exactly like one of them. O_O

Bog Of Eternal Stench has a murky green gold metallic base, microglitters in various colors, and a gold-green duochrome flash. This one is the sparkliest in the collection and I love it! Easy application and opaque in two coats.

Sir Didymus has a vibrant blue metallic base with red, blue, and gold multichrome flakies and a slight red to blue duochrome flash. This seemed a bit runny to me, I had to make sure not to overload my brush. This is two coats.

Hoggle and Ludo, Friends has a glassy red base filled with multichrome flakies as well as red and bronze flakies. I found this one a little runny as well, but not terribly so. Two coats.

Goblin King has a black base filled with shifting purple flakies, multichrome flakies and a purple to blue to red duochrome flash. This obviously has the strongest duochrome effect in the collection, as they show up best against black. Easy application, two coats!

These are all available for pre-order on the Native War Paints website now for $9.50 each until July 2nd, then the price will increase a bit to $10 each when they go up as regular stock. Let me know what you think about this collection! I liked that these didn't dry as matte as most of the shades I've tried from NWP, but I'd still say you'd need top coat for them. Are you a Labyrinth fan? How about a shimmer/duochrome fan? Talk to you again soon!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

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.

GlitterDaze Halloween 2015 The Witching Hour Collection Swatches & Review

Happy Halloween all you spooks and kooks! I have a wonderful Halloween trio to show you today from indie brand GlitterDaze.These glittery shades are inspired and named after famous witches. I myself am a rather witchy woman so I am fully on board with this theme!

Press Sample

Bellatrix has a black jelly base that is full of holographic shimmer, magenta microglitter, and iridescent shimmer that twinkles out rainbows. This was almost fully opaque on two coats, but there were a few uneven spots so I layered on a third. This polish is named for super evil witch Bellatrix Lestrange from the Harry Potter books/movies, and I hate her! But I love this polish. :)

The Sanderson Sisters is a warm toned medium purple jelly with holographic shimmer, magenta micro glitter, and bronze multichrome metallic flakies. Lovely formula, great coverage and easy to control. Two coats. However, I wore this for a full manicure with just a peel-off base coat and I had some pink staining on my nail beds after I took it off, so double up on your base coat! Named for the trio of witch sisters from the quintessential childhood Halloween movie, Hocus Pocus!

The Wicked Witch of the West is a deep teal jelly with multi-dimensional holographic shimmer and bronze/green multichrome metallic flakies. This had the same type of formula as The Sanderson Sisters, maybe a touch less opaque, but I still only needed two coats. This is of course named for the green witch from the Wizard of Oz. That movie gives me the creeps haha!

All of these dry dull with a slightly bumpy texture, so use a thick top coat for a smooth, glossy finish. These are on sale now for $12 each on the GlitterDaze website. Are you doing anything especially exciting for this Halloween night? What is on your nails today?? Be safe and have fun tonight everyone!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Pretty Jelly 3rd Anniversary Trio Swatches & Review

Hey everyone! Today I have the Pretty Jelly 3rd Anniversary trio to share for your enjoyment! Even though I just got around to trying Pretty Jelly, they have been making their mark on the indie polish world for three years already! To celebrate they've created three new glitter polishes made with vibrant holographic glitters and metallic multichrome flakies.

Press Sample

Transcendent Triennium is a mix of gold holographic glitter and a rainbow of multichrome metallic flakies with an emphasis on pink and purple. This was a tiny bit thick only because of the incredible amount of glitter it contains. No problems though, I found it easy to apply and it was opaque in two coats.

Celestial is a mix of silver holographic glitter with rainbow multichrome metallic flakies. I noticed the base seemed a little thinner on this one so the first coat was a little less dense than the gold one, but it still only took two coats to cover my nail completely. This is so sparkly in person, it was hard to capture its brilliance on camera.

Amore is a mix of pinky bronze glitter with pink, red, gold, and blue metallic flakies. The base on this one is tinted a warm orange, giving it a slightly different look than the others, more of a glitter-in-jelly than straight glitter look. Also two coats on this one. Perfect for Fall!

I thought I was off the multichrome flakie train, but this is a bit of different spin on them so it feels new and fresh again! The pre-sale for the trio is available now, going through to November 2nd, selling for $32.40 (a 10% discount) on their Etsy site. They will be released individually for $12 each on November 10th, Pretty Jelly's anniversary date. These three are beautiful polishes and I am really happy to be a part of celebrating three years of Pretty Jelly! Let me know which one is your favorite!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

ILNP Summer 2015 Collection Swatches & Review

Hi there friends! How are you doing? I'm down for the count with a real nasty summer cold, or possibly bronchitis, but I've still got swatches to show ya! Today I am bringing you the ILNP Summer 2015 collection. There are eleven shades of amazingness in this bunch. They also put out a nine shade collection of Ultra Holos I will be showing you next, so stay tuned!

Press Sample

First is Mega (X), the fourth incarnation of Mega in the ILNP family. This is labeled 'X' for "xtreme" holo because it has an extra large holographic pigment size. It was on the thin side; I used three coats here. I was basically blinded by this polish. A must-have for holo lovers because it's very obviously holographic even indoors. If you're interested, my friend Jess did a comparison on all four versions of Mega on her YouTube channel.

Summer Crush is a bright hot pink crelly with holographic flake shimmer throughout. The shimmer really is quite rainbowy and doesn't appear just silver, which I love. Photos do not do this justice. You can still slightly see nail line at two coats, but I think that's all it needs personally. Dries just a tad satiny so use a top coat for shine.

Next is Long Walks, a grey taupe with a nice hearthy warmth to it from bronzey shimmer and soft gold flakes, with a dose of holographic glitter particles. This polish is nicely subtle, classy, and oh so chic. Three coats with a slightly thin formula.

Super Juiced is a bright blurple crelly with gallons of pink shimmer. This is an awesome color and it is so vibrant! Two coats. Needs a top coat for maximum shine.

Here comes Money Bin! This is a stunning gold holographic polish with added gold holo flakes. It's like your nails are made of doubloons! It has great coverage, opaque in two coats. The flakes can get messy upon removal, but it's worth it.

So Coral is a crazy bright neon coral crelly. It's more orange than the original China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy, for comparison. This is an ultimate summer polish. It was streaky on the first two coats, I needed a third to even it out completely. I wouldn't even care if it needed another one, it's so gorgeous!

Next is Harbour Island, a greeny blue teal jelly holographic. It is sheerer than a straight holo and can be worn over other polishes. I wanted to build it up, so here is three coats. It's still on the translucent side but very juicy looking.

Kaleidoscope is another one of ILNP's ultrachrome metallic flakie polishes. This one is a combination of all the multichromes she's done, basically a rainbow of flakies. I wore one coat over Super Juiced. It has great glitter payoff so you can also build it up if you want.

Pink Mimosa is another crazy holographic with holo flakies like Money Bin, this time it's coming to you in a pale rose pink. Awesome formula, two coats here. I am in love with this polish!

Cameo is a multichrome polish that is kin to ILNP's metallic flake topper Neon Rosebud that I showed you a while ago. It shifts from a dark purpley rose to a bright greeny gold, and a few other places in between. Thin but easy to use. Three coats.

And last of this bunch is Shoreline, a soft aqua blue version of the holographic with holo flakies finish they did with Money Bin and Pink Mimosa. There is actually a purple version available too, from their Spring collection called Happily Ever After. This is two coats. It was hard to capture the flakes with my camera, but my friend Emily has some great shots of it, and the rest of the collection, here.

If you missed the presale for this collection, they will be back in stock on the ILNP website today! They are $10 per bottle, except Kaleidoscope & Cameo, which are $12.50 each. What do you think of this fun gathering of color for summer? My favorites are the foil flakie holos, but they're all quite lovely. Tell me your favorites!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.