China Glaze Sally Beauty Supply Exclusive 2015

Nothing To Disclose
A couple of weeks ago on Facebook, someone posted about finding new glitters at Sally Beauty Supply so of course, I had to find out more! So last year, you may remember that China Glaze quietly released a set of 6 polishes that were Ulta exclusive: Ultra-Violet, Be Bright Back, Sweet Talk To Me, Cons-Ulta my Manicurist, Diamond In The Rough, and Golden Seal. 

This year, China Glaze has released a set of 8 glitters that are Sally Beauty Supply exclusive! They were quietly added into the China Glaze core line when Sally Beauty Supply remodeled their nails section into the "Nail Studio". They are not limited edition, so feel free to snatch them when you can.

The colors are:

You're Too Sweet

Light pink microglitter in a clear base with rainbow reflective microglitter.

Turn Up The Heat

Magenta, light pink and purple small glitter in a slightly tinted base.

Counting Carats

Gold microglitter with small gold glitter and rainbow reflective microglitter in a clear base.

Pick Me Up Purple

Small lilac glitter with rainbow reflective microglitter in a clear base.

Can You Sea Me?

Light blue microglitter with small rainbow reflective glitter in a slightly tinted base.

Give Me The Green Light!

Aqua and grass green microglitter in a slightly tinted base. Dries matte. Swatch stick has top coat but this is a hungry glitter that eats top coat.

Star Hopping

Dark navy blue and silver microglitter with rainbow reflective microglitter in slightly dark tinted base.

Silver of Sorts

Small and medium silver glitter in a clear base.

Obviously, these aren't the official polish descriptions and rather what I just see with my eyes. I also swatched all polishes on sticks for my Cup O Sticks - 2 coats each with a top coat. I'm still not sure how I want to wear some of these - with a pretty nude undie? By themselves? All polishes were pretty much opaque in just 2 coats, so you can wear them alone but removal might not be as much fun.

What colors stand out to you the most? I really liked You're Too Sweet, Give Me The Green Light! and Silver of Sorts.

China Glaze [Website] [Facebook] [Twitter] can be found online through several etailers, however, this collection is exclusive to Sally's Beauty Supply.

NCLA An L.A. Fairtytale

This Spring, NCLA launched a new 4 piece collection of matte glitters called An L.A. Fairytale.

LVX Winter-Resort 2015

LVX has a soft spot in my heart since the day I met them at Cosmoprof North America. On top of always being fashion forward, it's been fun to watch their brand grow!

KBShimmer Funky Cold Patina

Press Sample 
The last polish that I was given to review from the 2015 Spring collection by KBShimmer was Funky Cold Patina. This is another crelly with a turquoise base and glitter in metallic copper, blue and purple ranging from small to large sized.

I used a base coat of Duri Rejuvacote, 2 coats of polish and finished with KBShimmer Clearly On Top. I inverted my bottle 30 minutes before application to help the glitters float around. Application was easy, no pooling or dragging.

In my light box, you can see the nice mix of glitters suspended in the polish. This is a very good representation of a crelly - it's not a creme, it's not a jelly, it has glitter... It's all here! 

Same goes in the sun. Despite how it may look, I really didn't have any issues with glitter sticking up or curling. That can be an issue with curved nails and large glitter, but I didn't have any issues.

In the shade, you can really see the purple glitter popping out where the blue stays more muted.

Finally in indirect light, you can see a build up of glitter, especially in my pinkie finger but again, I didn't have any issues. Also, in my bottle, you can see a bit of white build up near the bottom. This is normal and does not affect application. 

Overall, this is probably my least favorite shade in terms of color. I've never been the largest fan of turquoise polishes to begin with - I really have to be in the mood to want to wear them. That being said, it is a unique and pretty polish and I really didn't have any issues with application so if funky is your color, the Funky Cold Patina is your polish!

KBShimmer [website] can be purchased through their website for those in the United States and through Harlow and Co for international sales. Prices range from $5.50 to $8.75. Connect with KBShimmer through their social media networks: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

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

KBShimmer Cool Hand Cuke

Press Sample 
Do you celebrate Easter? We went to see family since this is probably one of the last trips I'll get to make before my son is born. A perfect polish to wear for this spring holiday is KBShimmer Cool Hand Cuke, a pale minty green polish with pastel glitters in circle, triangle, stars and hexes ranging from extra small to large.

I used a base coat of Duri Rejuvacote, 3 coats of polish and finished with KBShimmer Clearly on Top. I inverted the bottle 30 minutes before application in order to help the glitters float to the top.

Here in the light box, you can see the different glitters really applied well. I was able to get a little bit of everything without any issues.

Same with the sun. I did feel like I got a bit TOO many glitters on my index and middle fingers but nothing was sticking up or poking up so we're good.

Meanwhile in the shade? Well - I'm really not loving it with this photo. I don't know if it's the color or the glitter or what but either way this just doesn't do it for me when I see it in the shade.

Finally I have a photo in indirect light. I really do like how unique this polish is but I'm not sure that I'll pull for it more than just spring time. That being said, I'm glad I have it because the different glitters is awesome.

KBShimmer [website] can be purchased through their website for those in the United States and through Harlow and Co for international sales. Prices range from $5.50 to $8.75. Connect with KBShimmer through their social media networks: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

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

KBShimmer Meow or Never

Press Sample
I'm quite close to being a crazy cat lady (we have 6 cats - ages 14 years to 4 years old) so when I heard that KBShimmer had a color called Meow or Never, I knew it was the one for me. This polish from the 2015 Spring collection is based on the Pantone spring color Glacier Gray and has purple, gray, periwinkle and sky blue glitter ranging in size from small to large. This is also a crelly and 3 thin coats is recommended.

I used a base coat of Duri Rejuvacote, 3 coats of polish and finished with KBShimmer Clearly on Top. 30 minutes prior to application, I turned my bottle upside down in order to help get more glitter to the top of the bottle.

No sun again, so here's a photo in my light box. You can see that the glitters really show up well - especially the periwinkle blue glitter which I love.

Meanwhile in the shade, you can really see how crelly this is - glitters are suspended in the grey base color.

Finally in indirect light, the polish just looks lovely. I really didn't have any issues with glitter sticking up or curling up, which is always a plus.

KBShimmer [website] can be purchased through their website for those in the United States and through Harlow and Co for international sales. Prices range from $5.50 to $8.75. Connect with KBShimmer through their social media networks: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

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 Summer 2015 Electric Nights

Are you ready for summer? China Glaze has released nine enhanced neon lacquers that glow under black light and three first-of-its-kind splatter paint effect top coats in their Summer 2014 Electric Nights collection.

China Glaze Spring 2015 Road Trip

This spring, China Glaze launched their Road Trip collection - a 12 piece set that had everything for you to get ready for the road.

KBShimmer To Peach His Own

Press Sample 
I have another KBShimmer crelly from the 2015 Spring Collection today - this is To Peach His Own and is a pale peach crelly with green, gold, magenta and purple glitters ranging in small to large. 

I used a base coat of Duri Rejuvacote, 2 coats of polish and finished with KBShimmer Clearly On Top. I honestly should have used 3 coats but because this base coat is so close to my skin color, I didn't realize the opaqueness until I was done polishing. I also inverted this polish 30 minutes before application to help the glitters float to the top.

This photo was taken in my light box. You can see how the peachy base is really close to my skin tone - so I'm not totally how I feel about that. Another KBShimmer lover mentioned that it reminded her of fruity pebbles in the polish. I can see that!

Meanwhile in the sun, you can start to see a little bit of the VNL (visible nail line) especially on my pinkie.

Finally in indirect light, you have a hard time telling my skin from the polish. I can't say that I love this polish but it's most definitely unique to my collection.

KBShimmer [website] can be purchased through their website for those in the United States and through Harlow and Co for international sales. Prices range from $5.50 to $8.75. Connect with KBShimmer through their social media networks: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

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

Oil Essentials: Lavender & Rose Hip

Press Sample 
It's been awhile since I did any type of posting on my nail care routines but this new product from Oil Essentials provided a great chance to introduce you to another way to keep your hands soft and protected! Cuticle oils have been the rage for awhile now, and I was finding myself buying more and more of them but not always using them. Either I wasn't a big fan of the smell or how they applied or how they soaked into the skin.

Oil Essentials is a collection of beauty oils that is made with natural and sustainable blends of essential oils and fortified with an advancing anti-aging Luxmeadow E Complex along with powerful yet gentle extracts. They are free from parabens, sulfatez, phthalates and synthetic colors and are safe for most people with sensitive skin.

There are currently 6 different oils out there - Seabuckthorn Berry and Borage, Omega 3/6/9 and Evening Primrose, Neroli and Avocado, Argan and Wheat Germ, Sweet Almond and Macadamia and the product I am using, Lavender and Rose Hip. Each oil helps your skin and hair in different ways.

The Lavender and Rose Hip oil is a soothing blend of lavender and rose hip oils, with the added nourishing effects of coconut, sunflower and meadowfoam seed oils.

As you can see, the bottle comes with a long eyedropper top or you can just use the oil that collects along the tube of the dropper. On top of being used for my cuticles, you can also add a drop of the oil to your favorite skin or hair-care products but I haven't gone to those lengths yet.

I took one drop of the oil and spread it on all my fingers and gently rubbed the oil into my skin. This photo was taken about 5 minutes after the oil was applied and as you can see, my hands are still super moisturized. I have absolutely nothing on my naked nails - not even base coat (and it's RARE that I don't have base coat on - this was after a swatching session). You can see that my hands appear healthy, and very moisturized. About 30 minutes after applying, the oil was completely soaked into my skin. Before that point, anything I touched left an oily residue (like my camera) so be aware of that when applying.

I have been using this oil weekly now and I'm happy to say my cuticles are pretty happy with me. The scent is very pleasing to me being a mix of lavender and rose (my two favorites) but isn't so overpowering that I get a headache. Also, you can see that this bottle is large - 50 mL. In comparison, a bottle of China Glaze is only 14 mL.

The best part for me is the price and the location to buy. Oil Essentials launched this spring in Rite Aid, Target, H-E-B and Walmart. While I don't have a Rite Aid nearby and the nearest Target is an hour away, I live within minutes from H-E-B and Walmart so I can easily go pick up another bottle when I run out, and I plan to. Then there's the price... Each bottle of Oil Essentials is only $12.99. YAY. Considering I only used one drop per oiling session, it may be awhile before I run out, but it's so great to know that it's nearby and affordable.

Oil Essentials [website] is available for $12,99 at Rite Aid, Target, H-E-B and Walmart. Join the conversation with them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.

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

KBShimmer I'm So Sweet Pea

Press Sample 
How do you like your crelly? Part of the KBShimmer 2015 Spring collection was a line of crelly polishes. KBShimmer defines a crelly as a polish finish that can be layered to cover the nail line, but still has sheerness to allow glitters to show through. People have a million ways they like to wear crellies. Some like to use a base color that is similar to the crelly so they don't have to use many coats. Others like to invert their bottles upside down to allow the glitters to fall closer to the brush. Still others like to just layer coat after coat until opaque (KBShimmer recommends 3 thin coats for her crellies).

Today I have KBShimmer I'm So Sweet Pea from the Spring 2015 collection. This is a pale purple base with glitters in pink, mint, purple and turquoise. The glitter ranges in small to large. I used a base coat of Duri Rejuvacote, 3 thin coats of polish and finished with KBShimmer Clearly On Top.

I follow the "invert your bottle" train of theory so 30 minutes prior to applying, I put my bottle upside down to allow the glitters to fall towards the top of the bottle. Does it really work? Well, I'm not a scientist, but I prefer it.

So I didn't have ANY sun, so this photos is from my light box. You can see that I don't have many large glitters on my pinkie but they are showing up on the other nails. I paint my nails from pinkie to thumb so it took a bit for my brush to get loaded properly with glitter.

Outside in the shade and the light purple base really looks more milky white to me. I still like it but it's not nearly as purple as I would have preferred.

In indirect light, you can see the pale lavender base a little better. Crellies take patience, so don't just glop your polish on. I do think it's quite pretty but I may prefer for this to be more of an accent nail than a full manicure.

KBShimmer [website] can be purchased through their website for those in the United States and through Harlow and Co for international sales. Prices range from $5.50 to $8.75. Connect with KBShimmer through their social media networks: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

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

KBShimmer Blue-d Lines

Press Sample 
Since I'm having another boy soon, I've been trying to wear more blue polishes in celebration. KBShimmer Blue-d Lines from the Spring 2015 collection is a perfect blue holo to add to my collection.

I used a base coat of Duri Rejuvacote, 2 coats of polish and finished with KBShimmer Clearly On Top. The formula was good and even and this holo is pretty on point.

Check it out! Look how holo this is! Full sun is always the best with holos and thankfully my Texas sun helps.

Well, shade kind of takes my fun away but it's still a good base blue - not too dark, not too light.

Finally in indirect light, you can see a little bit of the holo but really, full sun is where this is all at. Great for spring and summer!

KBShimmer [website] can be purchased through their website for those in the United States and through Harlow and Co for international sales. Prices range from $5.50 to $8.75. Connect with KBShimmer through their social media networks: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

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