Rainbow Honey August 2014 Mystery Bag Swatch and Review: 488nm

Rainbow Honey 488nm (2 coats)

Don't forget to sign up for my Barielle giveaway....there haven't been a ton of entries, so you have a good chance of winning! Whew, yesterday really wore me out! I'm in Knoxville visiting my family (happy belated blog birthday to my brother) and we went to Boomsday which is an awesome display of fireworks that brings people out from all over Tennessee. This also means a ton of walking so I'm a bit sore today. 

I realize that I haven't shown any of the Rainbow Honey August bag polishes, so here is 488nm (if you're a scientist, you may get this) which is an azure blue creme. I believe this is the first creme I've received from a bag so far. This is such a beautiful color, but the formula was a bit thin which is surprising since all the polishes I've used by them have been thicker. I also applied the Royal Fruits scented topcoat that came with the box this month. It smells good, but the dry time was slightly longer than I'm used to. Speed beats scent any time in my book. 

I hope to get the second part of the Zoya collection out when I get home from my trip. I hope you enjoy the rest of your extended weekend if you're in the US!

Zoya Fall 2013 PixieDust Collection Swatch and Review: Arabella

Zoya Arabella (2 coats)

This is the last Zoya PixieDust to show you, I promise. Arabella only cost me $0.99 at Ulta and is a deep fuchsia with silver shimmer. It's a bit darker on the nail, but brightens up nicely in bright light. The formula was slightly thick like all PixieDusts, but that only makes the application easier. Nice polish to have for a buck, I must say. Happy Friday!

My Perfect Barielle Manicure with GIVEAWAY!

*press samples*

Barielle was kind enough to ask me what products would make the perfect manicure, and in doing so, having a giveaway for these same products! Yay, a giveaway! Here, I will describe what I found to be vital products for healthy nails. Read on for your way to enter the giveaway.

Barielle Jillian's Jammin' (3 coats)

Jillian's Jammin' is a beautiful duchrome of blue and purple, but for the life of me, I couldn't get a picture of the purple. Click on the last picture because you can see the purple in the bottle. Just today I got at least 3 compliments on this one. The only downside is that it's a bit sheer, but builds up in 3 coats. 

Barielle Extra Gentle Cuticle Minimizer

This has actually become my go-to cuticle remover. I've tried Blue Cross and the Sally Hansen ones, but this one actually thickens on the cuticle as it dries, and I feel it actually removes the skin easier. It also comes with a wooden cuticle pusher. 

Barielle Hydrating Rige Filler with Silk Fiber

I believe everyone should own some Barielle nail treatments. They can be a little spendy, but with the sale going on until the end of the month, you can get these for a great price. I picked the Hydrating Ridge Filler and it goes on very smoothly and dries in a flash. No more ridges on my nails! I also need some hydrating for my nails due to all of the acetone I use. 

Barielle No Chip Speed Dry Topcoat

I must be honest, this is not my favorite topcoat. It says speed dry, but unfortunately it's just not speedy enough for me. For most people, this will still be a great product and make a manicure last. 

Barielle Nail Strengthener Cream (1 oz)

And finally, the nail strengthener cream is now a holy grail nail and cuticle cream. I've used this for over a month, and you can barely even notice I've used it. I just scrape a little onto a nail and place some product on each nail before rubbing it in. I use it before bed because it can be a bit greasy, but that's totally ok with me because it honestly works. My cuticles haven't been better in years. 

And now onto the best part-the giveaway! Barielle provided these same products for one lucky winner. Also, they are currently having a sale that has all polishes 50% off and all nail treatments are under $10 until the end of the month. This is definitely the time to buy. To sign up for the giveaway, check out the Rafflecopter. This is only open to US residents (sorry internationals!) and the winner will have 48 hours to contact me after the giveaway ends. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*These products were provided by the company or PR representative for review and giveaway. All reviews are based solely on my opinion. For more information, please see my full disclosure at the bottom of the site*

Zoya Summer 2013 PixieDust Collection Swatch and Review: Solange

Zoya Solange (2 coats)

Yay, guess what happened? I just tore a nail halfway down the middle of it. So it's hurt and ruined and on my swatching hand. What is a girl to do? Any suggestions because this one is bad?Despite this issue, I will try and find a way to make it work. 

So the only Solange I've heard of is Beyonce's sister, and I think Zoya was spot on with this one. It's such a bright gold that has tons of yellow in it. Isn't this one crazy? While I think this would look awesome on darker skintones, I still think it washes me out a bit. It's still a really interesting textured matte polish. That you may find for cheap at Ulta. 

Zoya Fall 2013 PixieDust Collection Swatch and Review: Sunshine

Zoya Sunshine (2 coats, no topcoat)

What a busy Monday! And guess what else. I still haven't seen the new Doctor Who episode. I blame it solely on my husband. I must watch it soon or I will EXTERMINATE!

I bought a few PixieDusts from Ulta on clearance a couple weeks ago. They said they cost $4.99, but ended up ringing up $0.99 or $1.99! Woot! Sunshine is a weird name for this one, but who am I to judge? It's a navy blue matte textured polish with silver shimmer. It's very pretty, and I can't believe I didn't already own it. It's very pigmented and barely needed a second coat. It seems that textured polishes have died down a bit, but I still like them. Are you sick of them?

Zoya Fall 2014 Ignite Collection Swatches and Reviews

*press samples*

Zoya Autumn (2 coats)

Autumn is exactly what you'd expect: fall in a bottle. It is a medium copper with lots of gold shimmer. It's darker and has shimmer unlike Zoya's Penny. This one makes me think of cider and pumpkins. 

Zoya India (2 coats)

Yes, the time has finally come: a red that took my breath away. When a friend saw my nails, he immediately said, "Your nails look like blood," and I think that's a perfect description (well, that and the purple and gold shimmer put in there for good measure). This is also on the must have list. 

Zoya Remy (2 coats)

When I glanced at the bottle, I immediately thought of Charla for some reason. When I got my old bottle out, I was happy to see that Remy was much darker than Charla. Anyway, Remy is a deepened blue with gold shimmer. Better wear a great basecoat with this one, because I was one of the people that experienced some (but not too much) staining. 

Zoya Sansa (2 coats)

Oh Sansa, you are beautiful. This is another must have for the collection if you are a purple fan. It's an extremely dark purple (which never looks black) with lots of copper and gold shimmer. Very royal if you ask me.

Zoya Teigen (2 coats)

Unfortunately Teigen is my least favorite of the collection. While still pretty, it lacks that special oomph that the others have. It's a red with some purple undertones with gold shimmer. 

Zoya Yuna (2 coats)

I knew immediately that Zoya's Yuna was going to be one of my favorites. It has this murky deep grey and some green with copper and gold shimmer (and do I notice some flakes in there?). Big winner here!

Overall, this whole collection is full of win. WIN! My recommendations are Yuna, Autumn, India and Sansa. Ok, basically all of them. I didn't mention formula because they were all the same which is perfect to say the least. They were the right thickness for easy control and almost 1 coaters. If Zoya has a sale soon, I think you should definitely pick some up.

You can purchase these Zoya polishes right now on their website for $9 each or at select salons or Ulta stores. Stay up-to-date with all things Zoya (often including giveaways and sales!) on Twitter or Facebook.

*These polishes were provided by the company or PR representative. All reviews are based solely on my opinion. For more information, please see my full disclosure at the bottom of the site*

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Swatch and Review: Barracuda

Sally Hansen Barracuda (3 coats)

This is just a very quick post tonight, but I first wanted to say that I'm so happy that my father and brother came out of surgery safely the past 2 weeks. They went in for different reasons, but I'm so glad neither had any complications. 

Sally Hansen's Barracuda is part of the permanent Completely Salon Manicure, but first started out as the Tracy Reese 2011 collection. It's a pretty sky blue creme that fits the line perfectly. It is a bit streaky on the first coat, and overall needs 3 coats for full opacity, but it could be worse. Oh, and I must always end a review like this to complain about the mop-like tapered brush that I hate. Please change this Sally Hansen! 

Rainbow Honey June 2014 Mystery Bag Review and Swatch: Ichigo

Rainbow Honey Ichigo (3 coats)

Ok ok, this is a polish from the June Mystery Bag and it also happens to be taken outside. In my defense, I was getting ready to go on vacation. 

In hindsight, Ichigo may have been better with underwear, but I'm not 100% sure that's true. It's a fuchsia jelly with blue and purple flakes that takes 3 extremely thick coats to be mostly opaque. While I love flakies, it just seems like it gets lost in the jelly. Your thoughts?

I Love Nail Polish (ILNP) Review and Swatch: Sweet Serenade

ILNP Sweet Serenade (2 coats)

Happy Friday! Wait, what? It's not Friday? Oh, it's only Wednesday? Ugh. It's not like I have plans this weekend, but do wish it were here. Today is the last of my ILNP polishes, and I'm ending on a bang. Sweet Serenade, be still my beating heart! The pictures just cannot do justice to this polish. It's a multichrome shimmer of green, blue and teal. For some reason I don't have a closeup of the polish (what was I thinking?), but doesn't even need it. Just look at it. Oh, and of course it had a perfect application and formula. Do I recommend ILNP polishes? Of course....that is, if you have a big wallet. 

I Love Nail Polish ILNP Review and Swatch: Princess Diaries

ILNP Princess Diaries (2 coats)

Happy Manic Monday! Today I have the last of the ILNP holo polishes called Princess Diaries (I kept writing Princess Bride) which is a cool toned light pink linear holo. While quite delicate, it sure stands out when you get the right light on it. It's not my favorite of all the holos I bought, but I'm still really happy to have it. If all the polishes I own applied like these holos, I would be an extremely happy person. I also wish I could have all the ILNP (I also wish I had the money to do so, am I right?).