Shimmer...

A little while ago Cindy, the creator of Shimmer Polish generously sent me some of her beautiful glitter bombs to play around with and show you. I have been showing them to you a little at a time along with the nail art I created, but today I would like to show you a few swatches. It should come as no surprise how much I like Shimmer Polish. Although photos never seem to do these beauties justice as they are so hard to capture in a single shot, I gave it my best effort...

Lorene
A mauve tinted base loaded full of small glitter in many different colors. This can probably reach full opacity at three coats in thanks to the tinted base. I do plan to try it alone in the future, but for today's swatch I layered it over the pink OPI Chic From Ears to Tail. This has a lovely formula, easy to apply and loaded with glitter in each brush stroke. I used one generous coat plus at top coat in these swatches...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Shimmer Collection: core Color Name/Number: Lorene Number of coats: 1 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Kim
A mix of mostly blue and some purple glitter in various shapes and sizes suspended in a clear base. The formula is once again very easy to use and the glitter distributes easily. Rather than layer it over a blue base I was feeling daring and paired with a the bright yellow of Barielle Lemondrops. The swatches are just one generous coat over the base...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Shimmer Collection: core Color Name/Number: Kim Number of coats: 1 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Natalie
A clear base with a mix of small blue and gold glitter plus hex orange, gold and iridescent glitter. I have seen this iridescent glitter in a few Shimmer polishes and I just adore it. It gives the whole thing a lovely shifting quality. Nice formula and packed with lots of glitter in each brush stroke. I chose to pair it with Zoya Josie for these swatches. This is one coat plus a top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Shimmer Collection: core Color Name/Number: Number of coats: 1 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Rochelle
A peachy tinted base packed with various sized glitter in red, orange and gold. This glitter reminds me of fall foliage. I can picture it in a lovely fall manicure stamped with leaves. It is definitely on my list of manicures to try. The formula is very nice as the other Shimmer glitters. Swatches are one coat over Zoya Thandie...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Shimmer Collection: core Color Name/Number: Number of coats: 1 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Wendy
A clear base with a mix of purple, orange, teal, iridescent and more glitter. The colors of this glitter remind me of Mardi Gras. My base polish was a poor choice at demonstrating this beauty since the purple glitter blends with the base of Color Secrets My Fair Lady. Otherwise the formula is very nice and easy to apply. Last week I stamped over this with pretty a pretty butterfly pattern that I just loved...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Shimmer Collection: core Color Name/Number: Number of coats: 1 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** Polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

** For more information please see the disclosure policy **

Sunday Stamping: Butterflies...

It has been almost and entire month since the last time I participated in a Sunday Stamping challenge and I feel guilty for not making the time for them. This month the challenge is a stamped manicure with butterflies or dragonflies and I just couldn't resist. I've been wanting to try out this butterfly pattern since I first saw it, but somehow have not had the opportunity or excuse to use it, until now...

For this manicure I started out with a base of Color Secrets My Fair Lady, a rich metallic purple which I posted swatches of a few days ago. I added a coat of Shimmer Wendy glitter on top for some bling. I will show you swatches of Wendy along with a few other Shimmer beauties very soon....

For the stamping I used Sally Hansen Color Quick pen in Pink Chrome. These chrome pens are so amazing for stamping! I really wish they would bottle this stuff as I'm always worried the pens will dry out. The butterfly pattern is from Pueen plate Pueen39. I tried to rotate the pattern and stamp at slightly different angles to get a unique pattern on each nail....

I love the way the way the gorgeous glitters of Wendy still show through the pattern...

Let me know what you think of this manicure!!

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** Polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

** For more information please see the disclosure policy **

Color Secrets Chettah Girl...

In addition to the two lacquers which I showed you yesterday, I received a package of Color Secrets nail appliques for review. Unlike other nail wraps that I have tried, these are clear allowing you to create whatever background you wish underneath. I chose to go with an orange to purple gradient from the two Color Secrets shades...

The gradient is Color Secrets The King and I at the base of the nail and it transitions to Color Secrets My Fair Lady toward the tips. The gradient looked much smoother and gradual in real life. I'm not quite sure why it shows such a sharp change in the photos. I really like the way these colors go together...

The nail appliques that I used are Chettah Girl. As I already mentioned they are clear wraps with a cheetah pattern. Although I love the idea of these, I was a bit disappointed in the wraps. They are rather thick and don't contour well to the nail. While most of my nails are flat and the appliques worked well, my index finger has a slight curve and these were rather inflexible to even the slightest curve. They are made of a rubbery material and don't stretch very much. Also I recommend cutting these down to size rather than filing at the tips since filing left a rather unattractive torn edge....

The package comes with 18 nail appliques and a nail file. The back of the package contains simple instruction for use. Just pick the right size, apply to the nail and smooth out. Then using a downward motion file off the excess at the tips. The directions suggest using downward motion only to avoid fraying of the wrap, however, this didn't completely eliminate the fraying for me....

The package states that there is enough for at least two sets of nails from one sheet, if you cut off the excess and keep it for another time. I beg to disagree with that statement as I had just a few millimeters left from each wrap. Hardly worth saving and certainly not enough for a second full manicure. For my pinkie nail I had to use the fourth smallest wrap, leaving behind three wraps that are too small for me to use at all....

Overall, I love the idea of clear wraps and if these were not so thick, these would be great to achieve a great cheetah pattern with minimal effort...

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** Products in this post were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

** For more information please see the disclosure policy **

Color Secrets My Fair Lady with The King and I

I had the pleasure of trying Color Secrets lacquers, a new to me brand. These polishes are vegan, cruelty free and Big 3 Free (don't contain DBP, toluene or formaldehyde) which is great! I received two lacquers and a set on nail appliques for review. I will start out by showing you the two lacquers today, My Fair Lady and The King and I...

My Fair Lady
A deep metallic purple with a subtle scattered blue and pink shimmer. It has a very nice two coat formula that is easy to apply. It is a bit sheer along the tips, so if you like your tips wrapped as I do, make sure to wrap with each coat for best results. Swatches are with no top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Color Secrets Collection: core Color Name/Number: My Fair Lady, N708 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

The King and I
A burnt reddish orange metallic. It has a bit more red than the photos show. It is slightly more sheer than My Fair Lady and took three coats to build up to full opacity. Application is very good. The brush is soft and easy to use. Swatches are with no top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Collection: Color Name/Number: Number of coats: Top Coat: Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Have you tried Color Secret lacquers before?

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** Polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

** For more information please see the disclosure policy **