KBShimmer Swatch and Review

Hey everyone! It's almost the weekend :) Got any fun plans? Apparently it's supposed to snow 6-12 inches here in Indy >_< I bought some KBShimmers recently and decided you guys needed to see them ASAP! Some are older and some are new(ish) from the 2013 Fall and Winter collections. Enjoy!

First up is Teal Another Tail from the Fall 2013 collection. This is a stunning polish with a teal base and a strong duochrome shimmer that shifts from pink to yellow. It also has small holographic hexes that add to the sparkle. This polish is so unique. I've never come across anything like it before and I absolutely love it. The formula was perfect - two smooth, even coats were used for the picture below.

Next up is Toast-ess With the Mostest, a clear glitter topper with pink, silver, gold and holographic glitters. This is from KBShimmer's Winter/Blogger Collaboration 2013 collection. Valesha from Peachy Polish helped create this beauty. The glitter payoff was great with one "coat" dabbed on over Sinful Colors Easy Going.

No Whine Left is one of KBShimmer's older shades that I've had my eye on for a while. It has a mulberry jelly base with blue, purple and pink hex glitters. I'm so happy I finally bought this polish! I love the way the glitters sparkle and shine through the jelly base. The formula was easy to work with and dries to a chunky, dull finish, so top coat is essential to bring out it's beauty. I used three coats plus top coat for the photos below.

Last is Shade Shifter, a multichrome topper that shifts from teal to purple to pink/orange/yellow at very extreme angles. This is the first true multichrome I've ever owned and let me tell you, it is something to behold. I love this polish! It's so stunning. The formula was great. I'm not a big fan of brushstrokes, which were apparent when I was applying the polish, but they diminished significantly after it dried. I didn't apply top coat but I assume it would make the brushstrokes almost nonexistent. I applied one coat over black in the photos below.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, KBShimmer is an amazing brand of polish and I can't wait to get my hands on more!

Thanks for reading!
Maggie xoxo

Zoya Holographics

Hey everyone - amazing news! I am now officially a registered nurse licensed in the state of Indiana! I've been working towards this goal for 6 years and it's finally here! So, to celebrate, here's a Zoya blog post :) Last week, I wrote a post about my first three Zoya polishes and it prompted me to do some more!

Today I have swatches of the holographic polishes from Zoya's Ornate collection. These beauties all have the same formula, so I'll talk about it here. I used three thin coats for full coverage and they applied like butter. They all have holographic glass flecks that are absolutely stunning, especially in the sunlight.

First up is Blaze, a juicy dark red holographic polish with blue and purple undertones. The holographic effect isn't as strong in this one as the other two, but it glows like embers.

Next is Storm, a beautiful black holographic polish. The holographic effect is a little stronger here than Blaze, but very hard to capture in pictures.

Last we have Aurora, a stunning purple holographic polish with red undertones. This baby has the strongest holographic effect of all and is easily one of the prettiest polishes I own.

I adore these polishes. They are all so gorgeous and I think everyone should own them!

Thanks for reading!
xoxo Maggie

My First Three Zoyas

Hey everyone! Today I have something simple for you - a review of the first three Zoyas I ever owned. I bought them maybe a year an a half to two years ago, but they seem to go together and I thought I'd show you the three polishes that made me fall hard for the lovely Zoya brand.

First up is Ivanka, a simply stunning shade of emerald green. It has beautiful gold glass flecks that sparkle in the sun and shift to a lovely teal in the shade. The formula was a bit watery and tended to want to flood my cuticles, but because I was already prepared for it, swatching it wasn't difficult. Because the formula is a little thin, I used three coats to get this opacity, however I could see it looking just fine in two.

 



Next is Charla, a beautiful teal polish with the same gold glass flecks as Ivanka. If the ocean was a Zoya polish, this would be it. This is one of my favorite blues ever. The consistency of the formula was spot on; definitely not as watery as Ivanka and very easy to work with. I used three coats to achieve this opacity. This polish does stain, so double up on base coat.

 

 

 

Finally we have Alegra, a magenta polish with pink glass flecks and a gorgeous purple and blue sparkle. The formula was exactly like Charla, very easy to work with. Again, I used three coats for this swatch.

 

 

 

 

I hope you can see why these three polishes jump started my deep love for Zoya nail polishes. Every polish I've ever owned from them has been absolutely fabulous!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

xox Maggie

Spring Floral Nails

Hey everyone! I'll be up front and tell you exactly what this post is all about - I am so ready for spring! Usually by this time in Indiana it's still cold and a bit slushy and gray out but at least there isn't so much darn snow! I haven't seen grass in over a month and I am getting really depressed about it. So, I figured what's a better way to cheer myself up than with a floral, springtime manicure?

So bright and happy! Here are the colors I used:

The base color is OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls
The pink is OPI Strawberry Margarita
The orange is Zoya Arizona
And the copper is Essie Penny Talk

I used a big dotting tool to make the colorful outlines of the flowers and a small dotting tool to make the coppery insides and black centers. Then I used my small dotting tool again for the dots!

Manicures like this are so easy and fun to do! I got the idea for these flowers from @thecraftyninja on Instagram.

Thanks for stopping by!

x x Maggie