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.
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| Barielle Barefoot In Bermuda |
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| Barielle Barefoot In Bermuda |
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| 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.
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| Barielle Hawaiian Sunset |
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| Barielle Hawaiian Sunset |
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| Barielle Hawaiian Sunset |
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| 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.
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| Barielle Miami Heat |
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| Barielle Miami Heat |
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| 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.
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| Barielle Panama Pina Colada |
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| Barielle Panama Pina Colada |
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| 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.
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| Barielle Paradise In The Tropics |
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| Barielle Paradise In The Tropics |
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| 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.
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| Barielle Topless In St Tropez |
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| Barielle Topless In St Tropez |
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| Barielle Topless In St Tropez |
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| 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!
