Digit-al Dozen: Colour Contrasts Pink and Green

Greetings and Nailutations,

It is day 2 of the Digital Dozen does Colour Contrasts.  Bright pink and bright green go together like peanut nut butter and jelly!  :)

Now let's get to the mani!

It Girl IG101 Stamping Plate Review Part 2

Greetings and Nailutations,

Today I have the second installment of reviewing IG10 stamping plate from It Girl.  It Girl is based out of Tacoma, Washingtong (my home state!) and has the 3 available plates, with new ones on the way.  I really love the repeating patterns in this plate.  They work great as a full mani or an accent or a skittle!

Now let's get to some manis!

November Mani Of The Month Box Swatch and Review

Greetings and Nailutations,

Today I have the November Mani Of The Month box which features products from Heather's Hues, Dream Polish and Nails Redesigned.  Novembers's box had the theme of Thanks, Gracias, Merci and also had two guest contributors, Ever After Polish and Alter Ego Body Care Products.  Each box features a full size polish, a mini polish and assorted extra glitter all from Heather's Hues, a base coat, top coat in mini size and a nail care item from Dream Polish and an assortment of nail vinyl decals and Swarovski crystals from Nails Redesigned.  (Although this is the last month that Dream Polish will be a main contributor.  Dream Polish will still be around, but she has gotten so busy with her business she wants to place more focus on the expansion.)

This box came with brown feather vinyl decals, stripes and houndstooth designs and tan crystals all from Nails Redesigned, and Gem Stick base coat, Gem Glam top coat and Gem Glam Cuticle Oil in the scent of Grammy's Treats from Dream Polish.  The special guest contributors both included mini polishes.

Now let's get to some swatches!

All Mixed Up Lacquers Characters of Tim Burton Collection Swatch and Review Part 4

Greetings and Nailutations!

*Blogger Package*
This is the last installment of the Characters of Tim Burton Collection from All Mixed Up Lacquers.  The Characters of Tim Burton Collection contains 16 glitter toppers and they are all inspired from characters from Tim Burton movies.  My previous posts (first, second, third) all contained an array of beautiful glitter toppers.

Photo courtesy of All Mixed Up Lacquers:

Now let's get to some swatches!

Jamberry Jammin' Swatch, Review and Nail Art

Greetings and Nailutations,

*Gift*
Today I am going to review a polish made by Jamberry.  Jamberry is known for making nail wraps, but also make polish too.  I was invited to a Jamberry party and ended up purchasing some as a gift to one of my sisters (she loves them).  I personally paint my nails too often to make it worth the cost of using nail wraps.  The Jamberry consultant provided this polish as a gift to me, so I decided I would review it since I had not tried this brand before.  Jamberry polish is 5-free so it doesn't contain the harsh chemicals that can be found in some polish.

Now let's get to some manis!

Jammin' is a metallic purple that takes on a completely different look in filtered light vs natural daylight.  I did have to be soft with the brush as it is the type of polish that leaves brush marks.  Photos show 2 coats with shiny top coat (1st, 3rd and 4th photos in filtered light).

When I acquire a new polish there are always things I check for...stamping ability and if it can water marble.  The first test I did was stamping.  Jammin' stamped perfectly and I was impressed with how well is stamped.  Photos show 2 coats of Jenna and the Giant Peach from Jenna Hipp as a base stamped with Jammin' from Jamberry using What's Up Nails Creative Shop Stamper and FUN05 Stamping Plate all topped with a GirlyBits Cosmetics Polish Matte'rs Top Coat.

The last test is water marbling.  I started off with a neon yellow base (Citrus Dream from Kandi Lacquer) and wrapped my skin in Lickity Split Latex Mani Mask by Ellagee, then used Gem Glam Top Coat from Dream Polish and Jamberry's Jammin' to water marble.  It worked really well and I love how the look ended up.  Top coat is Gem Glam Top Coat from Dream Polish.

Loves: I love that Jamberry polishes can stamp and water marble.  Not all polishes work well with those types of techniques.  The formula was easy to work with and I also love that it is 5-free so it doesn't contain some of the harsh chemicals that can be found in polish.

Wishes:  I wish Jamberry polish was a little more wallet friendly.  They retail for $15 for a 12mL  (typical bottles carry 15mL) while most indies are anywhere from $7-16 for a 15mL.

Have you ever tried Jamerry?  Were you happy with the experience?

Happy Polishing,
Kristi aka @BeginNails

Liquid Kandi Summer Neon Comparison 2014 vs 2015

Greetings and Nailutations,

Today I'm doing a different kind of post.  About two weeks ago I reviewed Liquid Kandi's 2015 Happy Hour Collection and I wanted to compare a few of them to her 2014 Collection.  I swatched them on swatch sticks to get a clear comparison.

Now let's get to some swatches.

June Mani of The Month Box Swatch and Review

Greetings and Nailutations,

Today I have the June Mani Of The Month box which features products from Heather's Hues, Dream Polish and Nails Redesigned.  June's box had the theme of Life's A Beach and also had a guest contributor, Little Sparrow Emporium.  Each box features a full size polish, a mini glitter topper and assorted extra glitter all from Heather's Hues, a base coat, top coat in mini size and a nail care item from Dream Polish and an assortment of nail vinyl decals and Swarovski crystals from Nails Redesigned.

This box came with grey dolphin vinyl decals/stencils, blue wave vinyls, flower stencils and light peach crystals all from Nails Redesigned, and base coat, top coat and Gem Glow Cuticle Balm in the scent of Hawaiian Paradise from Dream Polish.  There was also a Polish Pocket from Little Sparrow Emporium.

Now let's get to some swatches!

Liquid Kandi Happy Hour Collection Swatch and Review

Greetings and Nailutations,

*Press Sample*
Today I have the Happy Hour Collection from Liquid Kandi to share.  Kim, the owner of Liquid Kandi used her favorite happy hour drinks as inspiration for this summer neon collection.  The Liquid Kandi line is 5-free so they don't contain any of the 5 harsh chemicals that can be found in polish.

Now let's get to some swatches!

Bellaluna Cosmetics Birthstone Collection January-April

Greetings and Nailutations,

*Blogger Package*

Today I have the first 4 months of the Bellaluna Cosmetics Birthstone Collection.  Bellaluna Cosmetics carries 5-free indie nail polish that doesn't contain 5 of the harsh chemicals that can be found in polish.  This collection contains a variety of colors and finishes that everyone should be able to find a favorite!

Now let's get to some swatches!

Let's start with January's polish called Garnet Fever.  Garnet Fever is a red-plum jewel toned glitter jelly.  The red plum jelly contains magenta small hexes and micro glitter.  It applied perfectly and is my favorite of the 4 - I have a thing for maroons.  Photos show 2 coats with shiny top coat (1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th photos) and matte top coat (6th, 7th and 8th photos).

Next is Amethyst Dream, for February.  It is a purple jelly that contains little flakes of purple and iridescent glitters.  This was a close second for favorite.  It applied easy and photos show 2 coats with shiny top coat (1st, 2nd 3rd and 4th photos) and matte top coat (6th, 7th and 8th photos).

Aquamarine Queen is the polish for March.  Aquamarine Queen is a pale light blue creme with just a hint of blue shimmer that peeks out when it hits the light.  Photos show 2 coats with shiny top coat.

April's polish is a holographic top coat, called April Showers, which can turn any color polish into twinkling holo goodness!  I selected a neon blue (Beach Ball from Liquid Kandi) to holo-ize.  Photos show 1 coat of April Showers over Beach Ball topped with shiny top coat.

May's polish was just recently released and it is a green holo glitter bomb!

Shiny top coat: Gem Glam Top Coat from www.dreampolish.com
Matte top coat: Polish Matte'rs from www.girlybitscosmetics.com

Loves:  I love that each month has a completely different finish!  It is making for a very diverse, yet cohesive collection because the quality of the polish is what pulls it all together.  My favorites are the glitter jellies....I can't resist them!  Another added plus is that all Bellaluna Cosmetics products are 5-free so they don't contain 5 of the harsh chemicals that can be found in polish.

Wishes: So far, I am in love with this collection and I can't wait to see what my birthday month brings...December!  I hope more jellies are in store for the collection!

Do you have a favorite of these 4?  What is your dream polish that would be inspired by your birthstone?

Happy Polishing,
Kristi aka @BeginNails

Liquid Kandi Spring Break Collection Swatch and Review

Greetings and Nailutations,

*Press Sample*
Today I have the Spring Break Collection from Liquid Kandi to share.  Kim's Liquid Kandi line is 5-free so they don't contain any of the 5 chemicals that can be found in polish.  I have always loved her formula (especially the cremes!).  This collection is inspired by the crazy behavior that may occur on spring breaks!

Now let's get to some swatches!

First up is a white glitter crelly called Well, Hello Booze.  Well, Hello Booze contains pastel hex glitters in a few sizes in lavender, mint, light pink, soft yellow and light green.  Kim sent me minis and typically with minis glitters are difficult to retrieve from the bottles, but with Kim's polishes there was no glitter fishing and they spread evenly across my nails.  Photos show 2 coats with shiny top coat (1st and 2nd photos) and matte top coat (3rd and 4th photos).

Next is Hide or Go Drink, a bubbly barbie pink creme.  The formula is creamy and applied nicely.  Photos show 2 coats with shiny top coat.

Spring Fling is the next polish, a soft yellow creme.  I had difficulty capturing the true color of this polish, as my camera and lighting kept making it more neon than it really is.  Perfect formula on this creme as well.  Photos show 2 coats with shiny top coat.

A mint creme is also included in the collection and is called Past Curfew.  This is my favorite of the collection, because the mint is gorgeous and really pops on your nails.  Photos show 2 coats with shiny top coat.

And we will end the collection with One Nite Stand!  (Haha!)  One Nite Stand is a bright lavender pink creme.  This one also is a favorite of the collection.  Photos show 2 coats with shiny top coat.

Shiny Top Coat: Gem Glam Top Coat from www.dreampolish.com
Matte Top Coat: O.P.I. Matte Top Coat

Loves:  Gorgeous spring colors.  It is nice to see spring colors arriving in collections.  Perfect creamy formula on her creams and easy to apply glitter crelly with no glitter fishing.  Liquid Kandi polish is also 5-free, so it doesn't contain 5 nasties that can be found in polish.  The bows (no pictures showing the black and white bow) are also easy to use and add a little fun to manis.

Wishes:   Great collection!  I wouldn't change a thing!

Information:
Store: Liquid Kandi
Instagram: @liquidkandi

Happy Polishing,
Kristi aka @beginnails