KBShimmer Fall 2015 Collection

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It's that time of the year, lots of brands are starting to release their Fall collections.  This Tuesday, September 15th, you can add KBShimmer to that list when they release their 2015 Fall Collection.  There are 12 new polishes in the collection, and today I've got swatches of 7 of the 12 to show you.

KBShimmer Spring Collection 2015 - Crellies and Cream

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Tomorrow is March 1st and, while I already feel like 2015 is starting to fly by, I'm definitely enjoying the thought that Spring is around the corner!  So on the subject of Spring, here are the rest of the polishes I had swatched from the new KBShimmer Spring 2015 Collection.

KBShimmer Spring Collection 2015 - Holo Swatches

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Where did January go?  Seriously.  Where???  One day it was New Year's, then *POOF* I'm watching the groundhog predict 6 more weeks of Winter.  Since January decided to fast forward on me, let's just fast forward a little bit more, to Spring.  Because today marks the release of the new KBShimmer Spring Collection for 2015.  I have a total of 8 out of the 12 new Spring polishes to show you, and in today's post I'm starting out with 4 of the 8 shades.  Keep reading after the jump for my swatches of the 4 new KBShimmer holo polishes.  

KBShimmer Winter 2014 Collection Swatches & Review

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It's here!  The release of the new Winter 2014 Collection from KBShimmer is today, Saturday, November 1st.  I've got 9 out of the 17 polishes from the collection to show you.  This post might be a long one, very picture heavy!  Keep reading after the jump to see all the swatches and get my thoughts on the new shades, and a few returning shades from past Winter collections.

KBShimmer Fall 2014 Swatches

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KBShimmer is set to release their new Fall 2014 collection on, Monday, September 15th.  I was able to preview 5 of the new polishes and I've got all the swatches for you today, as you get ready for them to go on sale tomorrow.

KBShimmer Summer 2014 Collection

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KBShimmer just released their new Summer 2014 Collection this past Friday and I was able to try out 6 of the 12 polishes in the collection.  If you've been following me on Instagram, you probably already saw a few swatches that I had posted leading up to the release, but today I've got a whole lot more to show you.  Picture heavy post so follow the jump cut below to see all the swatches.

KBShimmer Early Summer Collection 2014 - The Textures

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Today is the launch of the new KBShimmer Early Summer 2014 Collection and I have the last 3 polishes I received for review to show to you.  These are the new textures and I have to say they are pretty cool.  The polishes are not super textured.  They contain quite a bit of glitter so they are chunkier compared to something like Zoya's regular PixieDust polishes, but they are not as chunky as the newer Zoya Magical PixieDust shades.  The textures all have a jelly base and dry to a semi-matte finish.  I got full coverage with all three shades with just 2 coats, but I did dab on a bit more polish in a few spots that seemed to not get as much glitter.  And I wore these without top coat, to keep the textured finish.  First up is my absolute favorite of the entire Early Summer Collection, Partners In Lime.

I love this bright lime jelly base, containing lime green, aqua and gold holographic glitters.  I wore this polish again after swatching but with top coat and some stamping, and the glitter really made the whole design pop.  I'm hoping to get a separate post up on that mani in the next few days.

The 2nd texture polish is a bright turquoise called She Twerks Out.

She Twerks Out is full of holographic glitters in teal, lime green, aqua, and violet.  Really easy application in just 2 coats, with just an extra dab or two near the tips to cover a few spots of visible nail line.

The last of the 3 textures is a bright purple called Too Pop To Handle.  The jelly base in this was more opaque, I applied two coats and didn't feel like there were any spots I needed to touch up.

Too Pop To Handle contains violet, magenta, pink and aqua holographic glitters.  It had a smooth formula, as did all three of the textures.  And all three, when dry, had the same degree of texture to their finish.

I have to say that at first I was a bit worried when I heard KBShimmer was releasing some textured polishes, just because there are so many textured polishes out there already.  But I ended up really liking these three textures a great deal, especially because of the multi-colored glitters mixed in.  I've only tried top coating Partners In Lime, but I had great results so I plan to try it out with the other 2 textures and use them as a base for some nail art in the near future.  The texture polishes retail for $8.75 each.  The textures, as well as the entire Early Summer 2014 Collection, are available for purchase starting today at KBShimmer.com.

*Polish sent for honest review.  Review contains only my personal opinions.*

KBShimmer Early Summer Collection 2014 - The Holos

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Today I have some of the new holographic polishes that KBShimmer will be releasing this Friday, May 23rd, as part of the Early Summer Collection 2014.  There are 6 holo polishes in all.  I have the 3 more neutral colors to review for you.  For each shade, I am showing 3 coats of polish without top coat.  All 3 of the holos had quite smooth formulas, and I had no issues with application.  First up is In Bare Form.

This post will be a bit more picture heavy than the previous post, so follow the jump for the rest of the swatches.   

KBShimmer Early Summer Collection 2014 - The Creams

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This coming Friday, May 23rd, KBShimmer will be releasing their new Early Summer 2014 Collection.  There will be 12 polishes in this new collection, and throughout the next several days, I'll be previewing 8 out of the 12 shades for you.  Let's start with 2 of the creams in the new collection.  First up is Low & Be Bold, an extremely bright blue, slightly jelly polish.  Shown is 3 thin coats of Low & Be Bold without top coat.

Application was a breeze.  It covered completely in 3 coats.  There is just a hint of visible nail line showing up in the pictures, but in real life I actually didn't even notice it.  You might even be able to get away with full coverage in 2 thicker coats. 

The second cream I have to show you is called Right As Reign, which is a deep, bold purple.  It also has a bit of a jelly finish to it, but it is far more pigmented compared to Low & Be Bold, so it doesn't come across as squishy as its blue counterpart.  Right As Reign covered completely with just 2 coats.  The swatches below are also shown without top coat.

Low & Be Bold and Right As Reign, as well as the 3rd cream in the collection, Let's Not Coral, will retail for $7.50 each when released on May 23rd at KBShimmer.com.  You can also follow KBShimmer's Facebook page for more blogger swatches from the collection.

*Polish sent for honest review.  Review contains only my personal opinions.*

KBShimmer Spring 2014 collection

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The new KBShimmer Spring Collection for 2014 has been announced and is set to go on sale later this week, on March 14th.  There will be two parts to this new Spring collection, The Glitters & Holos, and The Creams.  Christy will be releasing 16 new shades in all and I have 4 of them for you to preview today.  Follow the jump for swatches of all 4.

KBShimmer Swatch Spam

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Along with the new KBShimmer polishes I was sent to review back in August, I also received several mini bottles of core collection colors.  I've had these swatched since August but just never got around to posting them.  Bad Sarah!  However, if you follow KBShimmer on Facebook, then you may have seen the new Trick or Treat promotion that Christy is running.  If you happened to have missed the announcement, check out the details here.  With the new promotion running, this seems like a great time to finally get these swatches up!  

Be prepared, this is going to be a bit picture heavy.  Check out all the swatches after the break.

NerdLacquer - All of Time and Space

At some point this past weekend, the plan was for this to become my base for some type of stamping manicure.  But it's so epic on its own, I couldn't bear to cover it up just yet so stamping has been put on hold.  Since NerdLacquers are basically an endangered species now, I wanted to layer it over something to help make the bottle last longer but, at the same time, not affect the basic color of what it should look like on its own.  So I googled swatches to see what others had used and I kept coming across Zoya Bevin.  And as you can tell from comparing it on my nails to the bottle shot, it really is the perfect choice.

I love the combination of the green base and fuchsia and silver micro glitter plus the larger fuchsia and silver hex glitters, but I really can't get over the silver shimmer.  I think the silver shimmer is what brings everything together and just makes it so amazing.  I've been staring at my nails all weekend.

I only have 4 NerdLacquer polishes right now, which I was lucky enough to be able to buy off of another blogger, and they're probably my most prized possessions when it comes to my polish collection.  They're little bottles of awesome.

KBShimmer Orange-A-Peel

Recently, KBShimmer moved the sale of their nail polishes to their regular retail web site, KBShimmer.com.  Even though the polishes are going to be listed online at all times for ordering, rather than dealing with the Etsy free-for-all, you better believe I was there to place my order the second the polish went live!  I could have easily bought a mountain of polish, but I decided to limit myself to the two I wanted most.  I ordered Proud Peacock, which I was too slow to grab on the last Etsy-go-round, and Orange-A-Peel, which is part of the new neon collection.  I was a little torn between Orange-A-Peel and Orange Pop, but after comparing swatches of the two online, I went with Orange-A-Peel because I found the glitter combination in Orange-A-Peel more interesting.  A few days later when my order arrived, I knew I had made the right choice!

Orange-A-Peel is kind of a deceiving polish.  When I was looking at the bottle in person, I was thinking it didn't seem as neon as I had expected.  It almost looked like it was leaning more towards pastel orange.  But then I put it on my nails and the color really started to pop.  It's a super bright neon and I don't think the pictures really can capture the glow that comes off your nails wearing this.  I'm not sure if it's the POUNDS of glitter packed into the polish that makes the color look more washed out in the bottle, but even in a dim light, the neon on your nails is really strong and noticeable!  As stupid as it may sound, if I was anywhere near a mirror while wearing it, I would catch glimpses of my nails reflected in the mirror out of the corner of my eye and totally distracted.  All pictures are of 3 coats of Orange-A-Peel, 1 coat of Gelous and 1 coat Seche Vite.

I'm really loving KBShimmer's polishes.  I've worn two so far and cannot wait to try out the other two I own.  Be sure to check out all the polishes currently on their site as well as all the handmade soaps, lotions and other goodies they have available.  Besides the polish, this time I made sure to buy one of the soap samplers.  I hadn't even unwrapped the soaps yet and I could smell them throughout my house.  They are awesome.  They currently have 23 different scents available and will be adding several more soon.  So if you're at all like me and hate trying to just pick one of anything, the sampler is a great and inexpensive way to test out 6 different scents at a time before you decide to order any in the full size bars.

Peanut Butter and Jelly

When I received my order from Whimsical Ideas by Pam, it was the most excited I think I have ever been about new polish.  I looked at the bottles and thought, "I need at least one of these on my nails IMMEDIATELY!"  I decided to start with Peanut Butter and Jelly, a purple/raspberry jelly polish packed with gold micro glitter and larger hex glitter.

I wore Peanut Butter and Jelly by itself, three coats total, and I topped it off with a coat of Seche Vite.  There's not really much else that needs to be said, the pictures tell it all.  It's simply a great polish...great color combination and the name is just genius.

I'm so glad I finally bought this polish.  I loved looking at the glitter and how it was layered in between all that jelly polish.  And let's not even discuss how dorky I was acting at work when I realized I was wearing Peanut Butter and Jelly while eating lunch, which was...yup, you guessed it, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!  It took all I had to refrain myself from taking a picture on my cell phone.   Maybe next time...!

Connect The Dots

Connect the dots, la la la la...connect the dots, la la la la...  Seriously, am I the only one who hears Pee Wee Herman singing that every time they think about Lynnderella's Connect The Dots???  I used to love Pee Wee's Playhouse.  Ok, moving on...ha ha ha.

Friday was my birthday, so I had decided Thursday night that my Spring mani was coming off and I was going to do something new for my b-day.  I considered doing a glitter sandwich using Deborah Lippmann's Happy Birthday...oh so corny, I know!  But I resisted that urge and decided that I wanted to use Connect The Dots instead.  I had received it about 2 weeks earlier but had yet to use it.  I was completely dying to wear it but hadn't yet due to St. Patrick's Day and also the Spring Stamping contest I entered on Enamel Girl's blog.  I wore CTD over Zoya Lolly.  This is the same pink I used in my swatches of CTD back when I posted about my Lynnderella order.  But I liked the way it looked so much on the nail wheel, that I decided to use it as the base color on my nails as well, rather than picking out something else.  This was one coat of Connect The Dots over three coats of Zoya Lolly and then a coat of Seche Vite top coat.

Zoya Lolly ends up looking darker than the bottle color once you add top coat.  If you leave it matte, it does more or less look just like the bottle color.  Even with the Zoya matte polishes coming in the frosted glass bottles, it's a pretty close match to the bottle color without top coat.

I've read on some blogs that a few people had trouble applying Connect The Dots and getting the glitter to distribute evenly.  With the first brush stroke, I did seem to get mostly clear polish and just the small micro glitter.  But what seemed to work well for me was that I would wait a second or two after the first brush stroke and that made the polish just a bit tacky.  When I went in with the second brush stroke, that helped make the bigger glitter stick.  I also would try to lay the brush as flat as possible during the brush stroke and that seemed to make all the black and white glitter transfer from the brush to the nail in one big blob of glitter glory.  Then with one or two more regular brush strokes, the glitter would spread out perfectly.  Hopefully that's not totally confusing.  It's hard to put into words exactly what I mean.

I love this polish!  It's as great as I imagined it would be when I first saw it online and I'm glad I bought two bottles.  I'm a little sad to be taking it off but I've got something equally awesome coming up.

Lynnderella Order

I've finally got my hands on some Lynnderella polishes, especially Connect the Dots, which is the main one I've been wanting since I first saw them.  I've seen them online for a long time now and considered buying them through Llarowe.  I had bought Hits and Glitter Gal polishes from Llarowe before, but never Lynnderella because they were usually out of stock.  Recently, due to the high demand for them, Llarowe developed a wish list system for ordering Lynnderella.  I was lucky enough to get my invoice during the very beginning of the process and all of the polishes I had put on my wish list were available.  I didn't want to go crazy with my wish list, my main goal was to get Connect the Dots.  I did have a few other polishes that I decided to put on my wish list though.  My order consisted of Chocolotta Love, Snow Angel, Very Pretty Vampire and Connect the Dots.  I ordered one bottle of each, except for Connect the Dots, which I ordered the maximum allowed, two bottles.

I can't wait to wear Connect the Dots!  If it wasn't for the fact that I'm planning some more St. Patrick's Day themed designs, I'd be sporting CTD right now.  I did do some swatches on Saturday though, because I just couldn't resist testing each polish out.  I'll start by apologizing for the quality of the images.  I'm still in the process of deciding on a new camera and while my old camera does have a macro setting, it's not as good as what's available in newer cameras.  The CTD and Snow Angel pics look ok, but my camera does not come close to doing justice to the glitter in Chocolotta Love and Very Pretty Vampire.  But crappy macro pics or not, I still have to share these.  I did each Lynnderella over two different base colors, as labeled in the pictures.

Now I just have to decide what other Lynnderella polishes to pick, once we can start submitting wish lists again!  Visit Llarowe's site at http://shop.llarowe.com/main.sc.

Zoya Peter Som NYFW 2012 Fall/Winter Colors

Today, I have on Zoya Evvie.  Zoya describes it on their site as "a rich, decadent, smoky, eucalyptus cream."  I describe it simply as awesome.  I love all different shades of green and this is no exception.

Zoya Evvie is part of the limited edition Zoya - Peter Som Color Box from New York Fashion Week 2012.  Zoya, along with several other polish brands, is pretty active during fashion week, working with different designers to create nail looks to compliment their clothing collections.  Most designers utilizing Zoya picked existing colors from the Zoya line.  But two designers, Peter Som and Bibhu Mohapatra, actually worked with Zoya to create brand new colors to be used during their shows.  The Peter Som collection was announced for sale on February 10th and I jumped on it.  I usually don't buy polish without having either seen it in person first or having searched online for as many swatches as I can find.  But swatches of the colors didn't exist yet online, so I'm not sure if it was the whole "limited edition" part of it or that they were offering free shipping, but as soon as I saw the announcement on Zoya's Twitter feed and saw the bottle pictures on Zoya's site, I placed my order.  And having received the set yesterday, I'm so glad I did.

Besides Evvie, the Peter Som Color Box includes a pale pink cream called Audrey and a plum "nail gloss" called Katherine.  Katherine is a sheer gloss with "double the shine" that is meant to be worn either as a single coat or can be worn in multiple coats to build the intensity.  Adding a clear topcoat is supposed to create a gel like look.

In a video Zoya posted from the Peter Som show itself, their nail techs suggested that it can also be layered over other softer colors to give them an updated, fall look.  I decided to swatch the colors on a nail wheel and then experiment with layering Katherine over them.  Evvie is not exactly a "soft shade" like Zoya suggests to layer Katherine over, but since it's part of the set, I figured I'd try it and not just swatch Katherine over Audrey alone.

Overall, I'm very happy I decided to purchase this collection.  It sold out completely in about 3 days.  I did not purchase the other limited edition color box that followed, which was the Bibhu Mohapatra Color Box.  The colors in the Bibhu Mohapatra box just did not interest me much.  I'll be curious to see swatches of those colors though, once they start popping up online.  As of right now, both color boxes are listed on Zoya.com, but marked as Sold Out.  I could have sworn that I saw dates listed for restock when I checked the site Thursday, but as of Friday the dates were gone and replaced with the Sold Out message again.  So I guess we'll just have to wait and see if Zoya decides to make these available again or not.