Pahlish El Topo Petit Swatch And Review

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Hey there! How's you week going?  Mine has been interesting to say the least.  My car is in the autobody shop and my in-laws are still in town.  Luckily, I have LO's birthday party to look forward to at the end of the week, so I've got some light at the end of the long tunnel!

I've got a lovely neutral for you today, and that's Pahlish El Topo Petit, a dark taupey cream with a ton of red microglitter.  The formula was smooth and creamy, and applied with easy fluidity across the nail.  I used two lovely coats and had no issues with pooling or streaking and the microglitter dispersed itself equally throughout.  I finished with a layer of topcoat for added shine.

Pahlish El Topo Petit

Pahlish El Topo Petit

Pahlish El Topo Petit

Pahlish El Topo Petit

The microglitter is easily visible and doesn't get swallowed up by the dark base, and comes off as a beautiful red shimmer.  There's something incredibly sexy about a work appropriate neutral with a pop of vibrant red shimmer.   I feel like I can wear this easily at a business meeting and look professional, but then there's that quiet shimmer that hints at my inner vixen.  There's not too many neutrals out there that have qualities like this, and given that it's a product of Pahlish, I'm not surprised.  Shannon is brilliant and her easily wearable polishes can be found in her Big Cartel shop.  Make sure to stop by and give them a gander!

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Hare Polish Damn Fine Coffee Swatch And Review

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Happy weekend everyone!  Are you a coffee or a tea drinker?  I started out coffee but then moved to green tea.  Once I had LO, I had to stop both.  Fortunately I can now drink coffee again but only decaffeinated since I'm still nursing.  Every morning I order a large hot decaf with three pumps of mocha to make up for the lack of caffeine.  It's like drinking chocolate flavored coffee for breakfast.  Yum! 

Today's polish is very closely related to that delicious beverage, and that's Hare Polish Damn Fine Coffee from the recent Twin Peaks Collection.  It's a dark chocolate brown crelly packed with gold hex glitters and tons of flakies in gold and red.  It has the same improved formula as the other polishes in this collection, needing only two coats for sufficient coverage and glitter.  If there's any issue to mention, that's runaway glitters off the free edge which can be correctly rather easily with some careful manipulation.  I finished it with a layer of Glitter Daze Super Smooth topcoat.

Hare Polish Damn Fine Coffee

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Hare Polish Damn Fine Coffee

Hare Polish Damn Fine Coffee

Hare Polish Damn Fine Coffee

Hare Polish Damn Fine Coffee

I love those red flakies against the warm brown base!  The red, brown, and gold colors give me a warm fuzzy feeling inside, like when I'm curled up next to a toasty fire.  I'm glad that Nikole released this odd colored collection, because it's allowed me to explore some colors that I don't normally wear.  Hare has been pumping out a lot of new shades and recently put out some Jackalope colors in the last restock as well  - did you manage to grab any of those?

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Cirque Mink Swatch And Review

Nothing To Disclose

Hello my dears!  Thank goodness this week flew by fast!  I had a ton of work to do, and the piles of folders keep building up faster on my desk than the speed that I'm clearing them off.  Not to mention that I'm spending all day on the phones - for every call I put out, I'm getting three messages that I need to return.  Luckily we're hiring someone to help me out, but I'm worried that we won't find someone quickly enough!

 To help my day go by quicker and give myself to distract myself from all the craziness at work, I decided to try Cirque Mink, a gorgeous light brown holo that I've been hankering to use ever since I saw my first swatch online.  I don't own any brown holos, and in fact, they've been difficult to find in general.  Lately there's been more, but this particular one caught my eye because firstly it's made by Cirque(have you seen Fascination Street?  'nuf said), and secondly there's a stunning green flash in the holo.  Die!  I used two wonderfully smooth and easy coats, with no streaking or balding during application.  I can't think of a single complaint about this polish, other than it dried to a somewhat dull finish which needed a layer of topcoat.  Luckily it didn't detract from the holo!

Cirque Mink in Light Tent

Cirque Mink

Cirque Mink

Cirque Mink

Cirque Mink

Cirque Mink

Cirque Mink

Whoduthunkit, that a brown holo would be so beautiful?  When I think of holos, I always think of bright vibrant colors, not a  murky brown shade, but the rainbow flare against the brown make this incredibly unique and eye catching.  It's irresistible.   Out of the entire Alchemy Collection, I think Mink may be my personal favorite.  Have you ever been surprised by a holo?  Or is that a redundant question - aren't all holos surprising in their own way?  Thanks Liz, for giving me this beauty - I luuuurve it so hard!

Nothing To Disclose

Hare Polish A Very Kitschy Christmas: Gee, Thanks Grandma Swatch And Review

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Hello my pretty tough ladies!  How is your week going?  Hopefully you've been keeping warm wherever you are.  At work when I have to call an insurance company, I can tell the rest of the country is suffering from this cold blast because the on hold waits are longer or even closed due to inclimate weather.  My parent's flight was affected as well, and after many unsuccessful calls to United, had to postpone their cancelled flight to Thursday.  It's crazy what can happen when extreme weather hits!

If you know me well enough, you know that I'm a fan of all things Hare Polish.  When she announced a collaboration with Superchic Lacquers called A Very Kitschy Christmas, you best bet that I was first in line to get my order in!  There's something special about her polish recipes - maybe it's the glitter density or the color coordination, but whatever it is, it's simply magical.  Gee, Thanks Grandma is a gorgeous combination of red, pink, and gold glitters in a milk chocolate brown crelly base with gold microglitter.  There's an improvement in the formula this time around, previously the bases weren't pigmented enough which resulted in sheer application and heavy glitter, now the polish becomes easily opaque in two coats with the perfect amount of glitter.  The glitter did not clump or drag during application either, but you do have to be careful with runaway glitters coming off the free edge of the nail.  I finished this with a layer of Gelous and topcoat.

Hare Polish Gee, Thanks Grandma

Hare Polish Gee, Thanks Grandma

Hare Polish Gee, Thanks Grandma

Hare Polish Gee, Thanks Grandma

Hare Polish Gee, Thanks Grandma

Hare Polish Gee, Thanks Grandma

I have to whole heartedly disagree with the name of this polish - Gee, Thanks Grandma gives the impression that whatever the gift grandma gave for Christmas was received without much enthusiasm, however IMO, if the gift was made of these colors, I'd have to say it must be pretty awesome!  I love how all the colors come together deliciously and I get visions of chocolate covered cherries, or a cherry pie with a golden crust and chocolate ice cream.  Maybe that's because I always have food on the brain.  In any case, this has become one of my favorite holiday polishes for that very reason and I want to get as much use out of it as I can for the season.  What comes to your mind when you see this polish?

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KBShimmer Myth You Lots Swatch And Review

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Fall tv is in full effect, and I'm catching up and discovering a couple shows in my very little spare time.  I always have to watch my Top Chef competition, and of course Vampire Diaries and now The Originals.  I've also been watching some Dracula and Reign.  What shows have you been watching?

In one of my binges hauls, I may have let some of the new KBShimmers into my shopping cart.  The ones that interested me most were the holographic multichromes as these types of polishes always seemed to elude me with other brands.   Myth You Lots is a brown to silver and violet multichrome with a linear holo that applied with a nice fluid formula.  It did run a bit sheer though, and needed three coats to build up coverage.  I had no patchiness or streaking during application, and it dried to a nice shine on its own.  No topcoat in these pics, with the first one in the light tent, the rest under direct light.  And warning - lots of pics and weird hand poses!

KBShimmer Myth You Lots

KBShimmer Myth You Lots

KBShimmer Myth You Lots

KBShimmer Myth You Lots

KBShimmer Myth You Lots

KBShimmer Myth You Lots

KBShimmer Myth You Lots

KBShimmer Myth You Lots

KBShimmer Myth You Lots

It's not as multichrome as I was hoping, but it's definitely got some great duochrome color play.  The violet is the most prominent, with the brown peeking out at odd angles.  The linear holo is a sweet bonus, and makes this polish great eye candy throughout the day.  The price point in comparison to other similar polishes is amazing too, an affordable $8.50 versus $12 and up amongst other brands.  Overall, I'm very pleased with this polish and I'm looking forward to trying the others that I snagged.  What colors do you know of that have a similar finish?

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Enchanted Polish Vampire Suck Swatch And Review With Blood Drip Nail Art

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Good morning loves!  It's still warm here in LA so it doesn't quite feel like fall has taken into full effect yet, but if it's like past years, we'll skip fall and go straight into winter which is shorter days and cold nights.  I'm not looking forward to our rainy season either - I always worry that the roof will leak!  Aside from roof worries, I find that I've been trying to keep up with the clothing trends this season, which I totally have slacked in the past year because of the pregnancy and weight gain.  Have you been bustling up with your fall wardrobe?  What fall staples have you added for this season? 

I've got an exciting post for you today, and that's another Enchanted Polish LE called Vampire Sucks.  With a name like that, you know that I couldn't resist trying to capture this elusive beauty during the last restock.  This being the only polish on my wishlist, it wasn't too difficult to get it when the site went live.  Upon arrival, I was delighted to see that the traditional white box Enchanted Polish was replaced with a black box, perfect for this Halloween beauty.  As you'll see, this is a gorgeous brown super strong holo that flashes teal and gold to give it a true oil slick appearance.  It's really mesmerizing to watch the holo rainbows flash across the nail.  Formula was stellar, and probably the best that I've seen from all the Enchanteds I've tried to date.  It flowed effortlessly onto the nail with no pooling or streaking and was nearly opaque in one coat.  I used two coats here with no topcoat.

Enchanted Polish Vampire Suck

Enchanted Polish Vampire Suck

Enchanted Polish Vampire Suck

Enchanted Polish Vampire Suck

Enchanted Polish Vampire Suck

Enchanted Polish Vampire Suck

Enchanted Polish Vampire Suck

 Gah, that teal flash is killer!  I adore this holo more than anything I have in my holo drawer of polishes.  I'm so glad that I beelined to this polish during the last restock.  I don't have any brown holos and I'm a sucker(no pun intended) for dark holos.  Love this so hard!

Next to make this a holiday themed mani, I added some blood drips to the tips with L'Oreal Breaking Curfew, a deep dark brownish red creme with the perfect name to go with this vampirish mani.  I used my largest dotting tool to create the drips and then to connect them together along the tips.

Enchanted Polish Vampire Suck With Blood Drip Nail Art

Enchanted Polish Vampire Suck With Blood Drip Nail Art

Enchanted Polish Vampire Suck With Blood Drip Nail Art

How perfectly vampy is this mani?  I love how the creme contrasts with the holo of Vampire Sucks.  I definitely plan on getting lots of wear with this gorgeous brown holo in the future.  Enchanted hit this one out of the park, and if you're lucky, she'll restock this one again -  I hope!  What's you're favorite holo of all time?

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#31DC2013 Inspired By A Pattern - Fall Camouflage

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Today's last minute submission for the pattern challenge is my take on a a fall colored camouflage print.  I love mixing camouflage prints with my regular wardrobe, and I've always wanted to try a camouflage mani.  I didn't use a tutorial, instead I randomly painted thin squiggly lines across my nails.  I used Revlon Emerald City and Ruby Ribbon, Essence Color And GobGorgeous Bling Bling, and Barielle I Got A Headache over a base of Skin Food Cappucino.  To help enhance the camouflage print, I used Essie Matte About You.

#31DC2013 Inspired By A Pattern - Fall Camouflage

#31DC2013 Inspired By A Pattern - Fall Camouflage

#31DC2013 Inspired By A Pattern - Fall Camouflage

#31DC2013 Inspired By A Pattern - Fall Camouflage

I really like how the colors scream fall together.  It helps me feel like fall is finally here, despite the hot weather outside here in SoCal.

Let's pop on over and see what the other ladies are cooking up!

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Barielle Nude And Naughty Collection For Fall 2013

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Great news!!  Barielle is hosting a giveaway of ten prizes consisting of both their fall collections as well as a Cole Haan handbag as their grand prize.  All you have to do is enter below.  It's open from September 12th through the 26th, so enter now before you forget!

Barielle released two collections for fall this year, and today I have for you the second collection called Nude And Naughty.  This is comprised of subtle yet sexy nudes that are great for days when you need a palette cleanser or something work appropriate.  The colors range from light to dark, cream to shimmery and will be a great addition to anyone's collection.

Starting from the lightest shade is Very Bare, a nearly white nude cream with a touch of pink color.   Application was a little streaky and needed three coats to become even.  No topcoat here.

Barielle Very Bare

Barielle Very Bare

Pillow Talk is a traditional peachy nude cream that would probably be a good nude for fair colored skin tones.  It has a similar application as Very Bare meaning it was a tad patchy and needed three coats to even out.  No topcoat here.

Barielle Pillow Talk

Barielle Pillow Talk

No Not Now is a shimmery barely there pink nude.  This one is very pretty and the silver shimmer is fairly visible on the nail.  I used two coats here with no topcoat.

Barielle No Not Now

Barielle No Not Now

My favorite of the bunch is I Got A Headache, which is a darker nude shimmer, almost like a cafe au lait shade.  The gold shimmer really pops and I added a picture of it in low light so you can see it better.  No topcoat here.

Barielle I Got A Headache

Barielle I Got A Headache

Barielle I Got A Headache

And finally the darkest shade of the collection, In Good Taste, which is a dark milk chocolate cream that has some green undertones to it.  I used two coats here and it had perfect pigmentation and consistency.  I did finish this with topcoat because I planned to wear it for the next day.

Barielle In Good Taste

Barielle In Good Taste

Overall, Barielle managed to come out with a lovely collection that isn't your typical boring nudes by combining shimmer and hints of untraditional undertones.  Application overall was good considering that nudes are frequently streaky.  I loved all the names of the polishes in the collection as well, with some bordering on hilarious.

Barielle is available at some retail outlets as well as their website barielle.com.  Remember to sign up for the emails because they frequently send out promotions that make their polishes very affordable.

As mentioned above, their having another sweepstakes and here is a what the prizes will be:

The September Sweepstakes will start on September 12^th and end on September 26^th.   There will be 10 prizes given out and one Grand Prize of a Cole Haan Silver Satchel, RSP of $175.00. The Barielle kit will consist of:

1                     Two of the Fall Collections 5 Packs (Sophisticated Lady and Nude & Naughty) - $50

2                     One Nail Rebuilding Protein Base Coat - $17.50

3                     One No Chip Speed Dry Top Coat - $12.50

4                     One Nail Strengthener Cream - $17.00

The value of the total Grand Prize is more than $200.00

The Grand Prize will include the fashion accessory plus the Barielle Kit.

Visit the Barielle facebook page to enter now!

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