China Glaze Wish On A Starfish

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It may have been the biggest trend of 2013, but it appears that texture isn't going anywhere. The China Glaze Sea Goddess collection is much like the "texture" collection they came out with last year. The texture is more like stucco or popcorn ceilings which I have an absolute love/hate with. When this collection arrived, I really, really, REALLY wanted to love it. I immediately wanted to try this lovely bubblegum pink with gold and light green shimmer - Wish On A Starfish.

I used a base coat of Seche Natural, two coats of polish and no top coat. This texture polish can be a bit of a drag. Literally. First, I didn't find it to be as opaque as I'd prefer. When I wear this polish again, I will have to use a base color coat of either white or pink in order to make sure none of my natural nail shows. Secondly, you have to let your first layer dry pretty well before applying a second or the polish with drag off with the brush. Despite all those, I really did enjoy wearing the polish.

Here in the sun you can see what I mean about the whole visible nail line thing. It's not to the point where I'd remove the manicure before going out, but it's one of those little things that as a nail fanatic, I can pick out immediately.

In the indirect light, the gold/light green shimmer shows through better and so does the whole nail line... Oy. Like I said, I really wanted to LOVE this polish but instead I just like it. I kept thinking it would be a texture version of Strawberry Fields, which is one of my favorite polishes. Here is my super old swatch of it - I need to update this old post!

Anyway, I'm excited to play more with this collection because they are really beautiful colors!

China Glaze [Website] [Facebook] [Twitter] can be found online through several etailers, including my favorite Head2Toe Beauty, Sally's Beauty Supply as well as TransDesign.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

China Glaze Sea Goddess

HEAR THE SIREN’S SONG WITH CHINA GLAZE® SEA GODDESS 

Swim into Spring with Six Sparkling Shades Discover the hidden treasures of the ocean this spring with China Glaze® Sea Goddess. 

Valentine's Day Nails for Nail It!

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Valentine's Day is coming to a close but in case you're getting ready for a night out, here's a quick DIY for some stylish nails!

Step 1: Start with clean hands and nails painted with your choose of base coat. 

Cult Nails Get It On ($10 http://www.cultnails.com/get-it-on-perfecting-base-coat/)

Step 2: Apply two thin coats of Cult Nails Kiss, a primary red crème with a wax finish – no need for a matte coat!

Cult Nails Kiss ($12 http://www.cultnails.com/kiss/)

Step 3: Using ORLY Instant Artist in black and white, paint the letters “LOVE” on your nails. No worries if you mess up – the ORLY Instant Artist paints are water based so you can rinse your nails and start again! 

ORLY Instant Artist Water Based in Crisp White & Jet Black ($6.50 https://www.orlybeauty.com/nail-color/nail-color-by-collection/instant-artist.html)

Feeling the love? Paint the letters “TRUE” on your left hand for a truly lovely manicure! 

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

Gelish MINI Nail Art Kits

For some, nail art comes naturally. For me, it's a bit harder. I constantly feel like I need a guide book. Gelish MINI has made it a little easier with 3 new nail art kits.

Mineral Fusion Polishes

Mineral Fusion began as a mineral cosmetics brand in 2007 and has a large range of shampoos, conditioners, body lotions, body washes and a full skin care line. But what am I excited about? Their line of nail polishes. 100% vegan, big 4 free (to include camphor) and over 60 shades are available to make sure you have a little something for everyone.

LVX Dahlia

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Hello LVX Dahlia. This dark vampy crimson red creme from the Fall 2013 collection was not on my favorites list by any means. Why I do like vampy colors from time to time, I feel that they can sometimes be a pain to apply.

I used a base of Cult Nails Get It On, 2 coats of polish and a top of Cult Nails Wicked Fast. 

 Sure enough, I had some application issues with this polish. You need to make sure you have thin, even coats of polish or else you see streakiness like I have above. One more coat may have evened this out or using a light "undies" coat like a white or pale pink.

This polish looked a bit better in the shade but overall I wouldn't be able to wear this out the way it is. I also should have tried using the LVX 3-1 Treatment to see if it made a difference. Let each coat dry fully so you won't have any issues with pulling.

LVX [Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Instagram] is available on their website. It is 10-free to include Toluene and Camphor, vegan and cruelty free. Use promo code POLISHGALORE for 20% off your purchase!

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

Crabtree & Evelyn's Nail Lacquer

Last year, I wrote about Crabtree & Evelyn's hand soap (which is still, by far, the best hand soap ever) and now I have their nail polish to talk about!

Mischo Beauty Nail Polish

All images provided by Mischo Beauty

Another brand that launched in 2013 was Mischo Beauty by chemist-cosmetologist Kitiya King on November 1st. Her first collection "Fall 2013" is a homage to Fashion Week.

KBShimmer Fall 2013 Press Release

All images provided by KBShimmer

Last year, I fell off the blogging wagon. Surgeries, sickness, my mom's passing... there was a lot. But now I'm determined to make 2014 my year so to start, I'm going to work on this backlog of emails that I have and share the wealth. I'm waiting for daylight savings time to start again so I have more hours of daylight but I will work on swatches when I can.

A good place to start would be talking about the KBShimmer Fall polishes. I do have two of these in my stash that I will be able to show you.

PolishGalore is on work/play/polish!

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Happy New Year! I'm excited for 2014 - I have some new blogging goals and fun stuff coming up this year starting with my participation in the Blogging for a Cause series over at work/play/polish.

Photo Credit: work/play/polish Instagram
(l to r: PolishGalore, Beauty Judy, Jesse from Jesse's Girl Cosmetics, work/play/polish)

You'll have to visit wpp to see the full manicure and read more about how I found out about Polished Girlz, an organization that I highly encourage you take a second look at. My goal this year is to donate quarterly, mostly monetarily, because polish is something that I love and I want to share the love back.