shimmer

CND Additives “Gilded Dreams” Collection Holiday 2014- Swatches + Review

CND Additives “Gilded Dreams” Collection Holiday 2014- Swatches + Review 0

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Hey guys! I hope everyone had a fun and relaxing weekend. 

Today I have the latest Additives Collection "Gilded Dreams" from CND for Holiday 2014 to share with you all. Three new pigment effects and one new glitter, this limited edition kit will have your nails sparkling and shinning well into the New Year.

The Additives Gilded Dreams collection includes:

Gold Adorned (pigment effect): a glistening gilded yellow gold shimmer. 

Lavishly Rose (glitter): a small rose gold particle glitter.  Rose gold glitter is very hard to come by, so this is an absolute must in my book! 

Pave Diamonds (pigment effect): a gorgeous gleaming foil silver.  This shines and sparkles like no other in person! 

Sapphire Hope (pigment effect): a sparkling cerulean sea blue shimmer. 

 (all swatches shown here were layered over a white gel polish.  The images were taken outdoors in natural sunlight.)

The Additives are very easy to use.  They can be blended into CND's weekly polish Vinylux, any sculpting or gel, or layered over CND's Shellac.  I personally love to burnish the Additives onto the sticky layer of a gel manicure with a brush.  Nonetheless, the creative possibilities one can come up with using Additives are endless. 

I am always a huge fan of CND's Additives collections and this latest one is no different.  CND is always so innovative with all of their products, but I feel they hit the nail on the head with their Additives line.  They are always coming up with amazing new hues and effects that all manicurists could really use in their arsenal- take the rose gold glitter "Lavishly Rose" for instance. I have scoured the internet and craft stores high and low for a good rose gold glitter, and I hadn't found one until now. 

The Gilded Dreams Additives Collection is only available for a limited time, so you better act fast and pick yours up soon.

For more information on CND, check them out online here: http://www.cnd.com/






Have your “Dessert First” with Venique

Have your “Dessert First” with Venique 0

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I'm excited to introduce part of the latest collection from Venique Nail Lacquer- Dessert First.  6 decadently delicious shades that are perfect for layering, or can be worn on their own.  The shades are said to be "illuminated micro-crystals, long wearing, rich, layering pigments." I have to agree with that statement after trying them out myself.

What sets Venique Nail Lacquer apart from its competitors? Well, a few things: "Venique's unique ergonomic bottle makes it easy to give a perfect manicure every time. Its luxuriously heavy, custom design makes it supremely stable and comfortable to hold. A slightly flared cap allows for precision control. And premium, ultra-soft bristles contour to the nail for the smoothest possible application."

The 3 shades I tried include:

Tarte It Up: a glistening red/pink hybrid shimmer.  This shade covered beautifully in one coat.  I could not believe it.  Although in the swatches shown here, I used 2 coats,  you can totally get away with painting only one coat for this shade.  Beautifully highly pigmented.  

Forever Fritters: a tantalizing tangerine with gold shimmer.  I had to layer this shade to build up the color to become as opaque as I wanted it, 3 coats.

Cupcake Me Away: an incredible blue/purple hybrid shimmer.  My personal favorite out of these 3.  This color too took 3 coats to become fully opaque, but the end result was simply stunning and well worth the build up.  

All in all I am very pleased with Venique Nail Lacquer.  I found the formula to be very smooth and easy to work with.  The design of the bottle and the extended handle also aided in the smooth application.

For more information on Venique Nail Lacquer,  check them out here: http://www.veniquenails.com/

 





Zoya- Spring 2014 “Awaken”

Zoya- Spring 2014 “Awaken” 0

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For Spring 2014 Zoya came out with a beautiful slightly pastel shimmery collection entitled “Awaken”. There are 6 shades in total, and they are the perfect transitional shades to the coming warm summer months.

The “Awaken” collection includes:

Dot: a pretty pale pink. Was initially released for fashion designer Zang Toi’s SS 2014 collection.

Brooklyn: a metallic sun kissed yellow gold. As with most metallic polishes, I found the formula to be a little streaky, so I would recommend using a ridge filler as a base coat.

Cole: a creamy peach. Was initially released during New York Fashion Week for Peter Som’s SS14 collection.

Dillon: a shimmering light sea foam minty green.

Rebel: a shimmering azure blue.

Hudson: a shimmering orchid purple.

Each coat shown here was 2 coats for full opactiy.

Each shade retails for $9

For more information on Zoya, or to purchase: http://www.zoya.com/

JINsoon + tibi Fall/Winter 2013 “A La Mode Collection”

JINsoon + tibi Fall/Winter 2013 “A La Mode Collection” 0

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I recently got to try the awesome collaboration collection of celebrity manicurist Jin Soon Choi with hip fashion label tibi.  The collection consists of 5 mineral shimmering shades, along with a quick dry matte top coat.

As a whole, each color is so beautiful and unique.  I can’t even begin to compare them to any of the 500+ polishes in my collection.  These truly take the cake!!

Not only are the shades beautiful, but they a applied perfectly smooth and covered completely in 2 coats.

Jasper: a shimmering deep burgundy red.

Mica: a holographic black.  Reminds me of a 90’s hologram!! This is my personal favorite color in the collection. A MUST for any polish lover.

Obsidian: a creamy black chalked full or micro fine iridescent glitter particles.

Azurite: a shimmering navy blue.

Epidote: a shimmering deep dark olive green.

Matte Maker: a quick drying top coat that also applied very smoothly.  Gave each of the colors a satin finish.

The polishes retail for $18 each.

To find out more on JINsoon or to purchase, check out her website at: http://www.jinsoon.com/

Color Effects Gel Top Coats from LUXIO by Akzentz Swatches

Color Effects Gel Top Coats from LUXIO by Akzentz Swatches 0

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I recently had the privilege of trying 2 of the awesome “Effects Top Coat Gels” from LUXIO by Akzentz.

These top coats can be used as the final step in your manicure to give a whole new look to your base gel color. For the swatches shown here, I used both Effects Top Coat shades over a Black base (Noir– from Luxio) and a White base (Polar from Luxio).

Purple Effects: micro fine irridescent purple shimmer suspended in a clear base. Takes me back to my youth! Over Noir (a black base), it creates a spectacular dark sparkly fine glitter purple.  Over Polar (a white base), it casts a sparkly pinkish purple glow.

Copper Effects: micro fine light copper shimmer suspended in a clear base. Over Noir (a black base), it creates a sort of “galactic space” effect.  Over Polar (a white base), it casts a soft golden coppery glow.

To find out more about LUXIO or where to buy, please check them out at: http://www.akzentz.com/index.php

That’s It? Instant Nail Art Crystal Clear Nail Glitter/Shimmer Swatches

That’s It? Instant Nail Art Crystal Clear Nail Glitter/Shimmer Swatches 0

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I am obsessing over these That’s It? opalescent nail glitters and shimmers. They take me back to my youth when everything seemed fairy like, fanciful, and purely magic.  These could each make an excellent shimmer top coat gel for any base color, especially a dark color; or the 3 could be mixed together to create a beautiful crystal opalescent iridescent color.

For the swatches shown here, I mixed equal parts nail glitter with clear gel. Each was 3 thin coats.

Shimmer Large #92241– has a lot of micro fine blue shimmer.

Opal Hex Large #92226– micro iridescent fine glitter particles, with a fine green glow tint to them.

Iridescent Hex Small #92219– small iridescent round glitter pieces. 

For more information on these awesome That’s It? Instant Nail Art shimmers/ glitters, check out: http://instantnailart.com/