Pahlish El Topo Petit Swatch And Review

Purchased

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!

Purchased

Revlon Colorstay Red Carpet Review With Dotticure Nail Art

Purchased

Happy Humpday!  Hopefully this week is going by quickly for you!  I've been trying to stay away from carbs lately because my DH is on a no carb diet, and so far I've been ok but not as strict as I want to be.  For example, right now I'd love to have a nice crusty sandwich but I know it'll be a huge cheat.  Diets are no fun!  Well, if somehow I happen to come across a sandwich today, I'll try to spend some extra time at the gym today.

Don't be mad at me but today's swatch is from a line of polishes that aren't available anymore, and that's Revlon Colorstay Red Carpet.  The Colorstay line recently was discontinued and replaced by the Colorstay Gel Envy line.  Honestly I don't know what the difference is, other than a higher price tag.  The colors are the same and they both dry to a high gloss shine. Red Carpet is the bold red of this collection and uses only two coats for full opacity.  Unlike typical red polishes, this did not have a strong jelly finish, but rather a crelly finish which I appreciate more(crelly means less VNL).  Below I finished with a topcoat, but in all reality it didn't need it - I needed to camouflage some minor dings.

Revlon Colorstay Red Carpet

Revlon Colorstay Red Carpet

Revlon Colorstay Red Carpet

Revlon Colorstay Red Carpet

 A while back I came across a unique dotticure on Instagram, and ever since I've been wanting to try it out.  I'm not sure if I did a good job of replicating it, but my hands are too shaky to get those perfectly sized and spaced dots. First I used a large dotting tool to make some black dots down the center of my nail, then connected them with a thin black line using a striping brush.  Next I dotted with a smaller tool using GOSH Holographic Hero over the black dots.  For these pics, I didn't finish with topcoat in fear that the black would smear, but luckily the nail art did not suffer from any streaks post photos.

Revlon Colorstay Red Carpet Dotticure

Revlon Colorstay Red Carpet Dotticure

Revlon Colorstay Red Carpet Dotticure

If you don't look too closely, you won't see all my imperfections.  From afar, it looks like a black chain necklace embedded with diamonds.  I like how the black and holographic silver accent the bold red color of Red Carpet.  It's been a long while since I've done a dotticure, and I have no excuse because they're so easy to do and very quick to finish.  I'm liking the shorter red nails for the summer, something I don't often do for some inexplicable reason.  Have you grabbed a not so summery color to wear lately?

Purchased

Barielle Summer 2014 Keys Collection Swatch And Review

Press Sample

Hooray I'm back from vacation!  It was great seeing friends and family while eating lots of yummy food.  In New Orleans, we did(ate) as much as possible that was recommended, such as eating oysters at the Acme restaurant, beignets from the Beignet Cafe, fried chicken at multiple places late night, a crawfish boil at the wedding, and shrimp and grits from John Besh's restaurant Luke.  My favorites were of course the delicious large oysters(helps when your BFF inadvertently meets the master oyster shucker while out the night before) and the fried chicken - oh the friend chicken - I can only dream of the spicy crispy breading and the moist succulent meat within.  Why oh why can I not find anything nearly comparable here in SoCal?  I also enjoyed walking along Royal St and browsing the numerous art galleries and enjoying the view of the Mississippi river, and listening to live music over on Frenchman street.  My favorite activity was meeting random locals from NoLa, such as the master oyster shucker, the band that hung out with us all night, and the art gallery host also LA transplant who spent a fair amount of time expounding on his joys of living in Nola while LO played with the beads in the water fountain.  The city has come a long way from the last time I was there, which was two years after Katrina, and has rebuilt a fair amount of the city up again and made it into a lively metropolis with great music, delicious food, and friendly residents who love their home city.  I'll have to stop my yammering for now, and maybe follow up another time with the other half of my vacation in Virginia Beach.

Speaking of summer vacation places, I have a lovely summer collection for your viewing pleasure today and that's Barielle's Key Collection for Summer 2014.  These are all based on the hot tropical colors of the Caribbean and range from creams, shimmers, and a jelly.  I enjoyed all of these colors and think they go perfectly with the season, especially for those summer pedicures and open sandals.  Most of these applied with two easy fluid coats with no issues, making the overall experience a pleasure.

First up is Barefoot In Bermuda, a bright fuchsia pink cream that's perfect for summer.  Two coats here followed with topcoat for shine.

Barielle Barefoot In Bermuda

Barielle Barefoot In Bermuda

Barielle Barefoot In Bermuda

Next is a surprise favorite for me, and that's Hawaiian Sunset a rusty orange with gold shimmer.  Gold shimmer is always a winner for me, so I guess it shouldn't have been a surprise, but there you go.  The shimmer is like a delicate gold dust embedded within the sunset orange.  Two coats here followed with topcoat.

Barielle Hawaiian Sunset

Barielle Hawaiian Sunset

Barielle Hawaiian Sunset

Barielle Hawaiian Sunset

The jelly of this collection is Miami Heat, a red that has orange undertones.  I'm not a fan of red jellies, but this one is not difficult to apply and didn't have any streaking.  It had plenty of pigmentation for a jelly and only needed three coats for opacity and dried in good time.  I finished with a layer of topcoat for added shine.

Barielle Miami Heat

Barielle Miami Heat

Barielle Miami Heat

What is a summer collection without a sunny yellow?  This is Panama Pina Colada, a creamy pale yellow that didn't apply with any streaks but needs three coats for full opacity.  This is finished with topcoat.

Barielle Panama Pina Colada

Barielle Panama Pina Colada

Barielle Panama Pina Colada

Paradise in the Tropics is another pink cream of the collection, but unlike Barefoot In Bermuda it is a tad pinker and cooler.  Formula is the same as Barefoot and needed only two coats and topcoat for shine.

Barielle Paradise In The Tropics

Barielle Paradise In The Tropics

Barielle Paradise In The Tropics

Lastly is Topless In St Tropez, a light coral pink with a slight silver shimmer.  I was wary of this shade because light pinks and I don't get along, but it actually has enough pink in it to not wash out my skintone.  I used three coats with topcoat here.

Barielle Topless In St Tropez

Barielle Topless In St Tropez

Barielle Topless In St Tropez

Barielle Topless In St Tropez

I gotta say, the colors in this collection all work well together, and are a balanced mix of finishes from jelly to shimmers.  My surprise favorite was Hawaiian Sunset, followed with Barefoot In Bermuda.  These can all be found on the Barielle.com website - make sure to sign up for the email list so you can get updates on their regular sales(I love the % off sales with free shipping on top of the regular BOGO 1/2 off), although you may not want to wait for a sale to pick these up for the summer!

Press Sample

Barielle Spring 2014 Vibrants Swatch And Review

Today I have the gorgeous Spring 2014 collection by Barielle called the Vibrants.  These are all bright saturated colors that range from pastel to almost neon.  Every shade in this collection is a trending color for this season, and I have to say, I love each and every one of them.  The collection consists of all creams, and all needed only two coats for full opacity.  The application was liquidy smooth and easy to apply, but make sure to not overload your brush to avoid pooling.  The only one that didn't self level well was Money Talks, which coincidentally is also the most pastel of the collection.  None of the swatches below are with topcoat so you can see each actual finish on its own.

First is Designer's Shoe, a cornflower blue cream. I love dusty blues like this!  I can't seem to find enough of them.

Barielle Designer's Shoe

Barielle Designer's Shoe

Barielle Designer's Shoe

 Next is a bright orangey red shade that leans a bit jelly in finish.  See how squishy it is??

Barielle Fire Me Up

Barielle Fire Me Up

Barielle Fire Me Up

 Money Talks is a lovely light mint cream.  This color is always a winner!

Barielle Money Talks

Barielle Money Talks

Barielle Money Talks

 Next is My City Apartment, a light concrete grey cream.  I've forgotten how lovely light greys are.  This would look great with some nail art.

Barielle My City Apartment

Barielle My City Apartment

Barielle My City Apartment

 Another blue shade in the collection is My First Class Ticket, a sky blue cream that is the epitome of a spring blue.  I think Easter Eggs and a clear blue sky.

Barielle First Class Ticket

Barielle First Class Ticket

Barielle First Class Ticket

Finally I have Take Me Shopping, a beautiful pink leaning coral.  I can't seem to get enough of this color now that I've discovered it.

Barielle Take Me Shopping

Barielle Take Me Shopping

Barielle Take Me Shopping

I think Take Me Shopping and Fire Me Up are my favorite shades of this collection, most likely because I've been gravitating towards warmer shades lately.  I love that this collection ranges from blue to red, with a beautiful grey and mint green in the middle.  These are colors that I would be comfortable reaching for regardless of the occasion.  Barielle is a nail fanatic staple, and luckily the barielle.com website regularly runs specials, like 30% on top of the normal BOGO 1/2 off.  Make sure you sign up for emails so you can be alerted of their sales.  This collection is definitely collection worthy!