Shimmer Nail Polish Review Part 1: Jennifer, Eva, Sonia, Fanny, & Alessandra

Hi there! I have some new Shimmer polishes to show you today!

First up, there's this beauty- Jennifer. This glitter polish has a clear base with a mix of light blue, gold, pink, orange and black glitters. I layered this over a pale light blue (OPI I Vant To Be A Lone Star). The black hexes make this so different....I love it!

Then there's Alessandra, a glitter mix of red and tealish green  glitters in a clear base. I love the combination of teal and red, so I layered Alessandra over Zoya Wenesday:

And then we have Fanny, a purple mix of glitters. I put this over dark purple (Sation Power To The Purple):

Next, a glitter that can be worn by itself- Eva is a burgundy wine tinted base with burgundy glitteres. 3 layers:

Lastly, this is Sonia, a delicious, girly pastel glitter mix. Shown here over a cool toned pink (Nicole by OPI "Naturally"):

 

Shimmer polishes never disappoint me (see my previous review here). They are consistent in quality and uniqueness, and apply beautifully. Be sure to check out Shimmer Polish's store on Etsy, where these beauties can be purchased for $12 each!

Look for my "Part 2" review of even more Shimmers later this week!

***Disclosure: Polishes provided for review***

Twinsie Tuesday: Birthstone Color (CND Red Hot Polish Duo)

Welcome to another edition of Twinsie Tuesday!!  Today's theme is "Birthstone Color" and since I was born in July, that makes me a ruby.

I chose to use CND's (Creative Nail Design) "Red Hot" polish duo that came out a year or two ago around Valentines Day.  Side story: These CND sets are a favorite thing of mine. I collect them, and this was one that I had not picked up when it first came out.  I found it in one of my favorite ways ever- at a random beauty supply, at LEAST a year after it was released, sitting on a shelf by itself on CLEARANCE! Woohoo!  I'm only missing a few of the CND polish sets, so if you know of any places that carry them, I'd forever be indebted to you ;-)

OK, back to my birthstone color manicure.  I used the first part of the duo, "Just Red" for this.  Now, if you know me, you know that red polish is not my favorite. This one was so shiny and flattering, with a nice jelly-creme texture, that it quickly changed my mind. 2 layers:

Then I added just one layer of "Red Sparkle", a clear based polish with teeny red glitters. It adds just enough sparkle to this:

Red? check; sparkly? check; ruby like? Check!

Don't forget to check out the other Twinsies' birthstone colored manicures:

Amanda at Amandalandish

Anna at Going to the Showing

Anne at Grape Fizz Nails

Ashley at Art Evolve

Brandi at The Collegiate Nail

Chelsea at Nailed Blog

ChiChi at I'm Just Me...ChiChi

Cordia at Seriously Swatched

Elizabeth at Did My Nails

Jenn at All That is Gorgeous...

Jenna at I'm Still Thinking...

Katherine at Haul of Fame

Maribeth at Obsessive Cosmetic Hoarders Unite

Marisa at Polish Obsession

Meredith at Polish and Charms

Nory at Fierce Makeup and Nails

Rachel at Top Coat It

Sarah at See Sarah Swatch

Tara at Polishy of Truth

Whimsical Ideas By Pam - My Friend Carol Nail Polish (Pictures, Swatches, Review)

Woohoo! My very first nail polish by indie sensation Whimsical Ideas by Pam! This one is called "My Friend Carol" and it was given to me by my friend Tara ;-)

A sheer, jelly pink base with rose colored hex glitters, this polish is simple in concept, but absolutely  impactful & FABULOUS! I did 3 layers here and you can still see a smidge of visible nail line, which doesn't bother me, but if that sort of thing isn't for you, you could certainly layer this beauty over an opaque pink base:

Seriously? I love this so much.  I am putting this in my "neutral, yet fun" file.  'Whimsies' are $10 each, and your best bet for ordering is to checkout Pam's Facebook page- all ordering info is there!

Hope your Friday is rockin'!

Nicole by OPI Selena Gomez Collection Nail Polishes (Pictures, Swatches & Review)

Today I have something very cool from Nicole by OPI to show you- this is their "Selena Gomez" collection, new for Spring 2013!

Selena (Source)

I may or may not be a closeted "Wizards of Waverly Place" fan, so I was totally psyched when I heard that Nicole by OPI was creating this Selena themed set of lacquers! Selena is such a cutie and quite talented (and a class act to boot!). I think this collection captures her perfectly, and with 14 different polishes, there is certainly something for everyone.

First, let's start with "Love Song", a beautiful, medium purple creme. This was 3 layers:

Then, I topped "Love Song" with "Sweet Dreams", a clear base with large silver, medium teal hex glitters, and teeny purple glitters:

Close up- "Love Song"

Next we have "Hit The Lights", a bright sunshine/egg yolk yellow creme polish.  This was very easy to apply (for a yellow!). I probably could have gotten away with just 2 layers, but I did 3 here for this photo:

I then topped "Hit The Lights" with the glitter polish "Confetti Fun".  This polish is a rainbow glitter similar to the likes of Nicole by OPI "Rainbow In The Sky-lie" or OPI "Rainbow Connection". I believe the main difference is that "Confetti Fun" not only has the multi-colored hex glitters in different sizes, but also a super fine silver glitter mixed in:

Close up- Confetti Fun

Next up is "Spring Break". They describe this as the "perfect hot pink", and I agree 100%.  Not only is the color beautiful, but the formula was EXCELLENT- that jelly-creme type finish, and a 'bouncy' application (yes, I use this to describe polish often; while it really makes no sense, I am actually referring to the way that the brush behaves with the polish formula- it just sort 'bounces' right onto your nail without much effort, almost painting itself :)  2 layers:

Then, I topped "Spring Break" with a slight holographic, silver-bar glitter named, "Stars At Night". Dudes. I usually have an aversion to bar glitters, but this combination was really cool. Very 'Barbie & The Rockers' (please tell me I am not totally dating myself here).  This combination made the bar glitter very palatable for me:

Close up-Stars At Night

Then we have "Scarlett", a shimmery red-violet polish with a very 'glass fleck' type finish.  3 layers shown:

 And I had to include a second shot of this polish with the flash- you can really see the gorgeous violet peeking through:

I topped "Scarlet" with the perfect gold glitter- "Kissed At Midnight".  It may be difficult to make out, but the gold hexes and the small gold particles are very slightly varied in tone- some are more yellow-gold than others, making this pretty and multidimensional:

Close up- Kissed At Midnight

This beauty is called "Naturally" , a sweet, cool toned pink. This is 99% creme with a super subtle hidden shimmer (see second picture with flash for that shimmer glinting through).  3 layers:

I topped "Naturally" with my favorite glitter from the entire collection- "Inner Sparkle". This glitter has a clear base with light lavender and pink hex glitters, along with teeny gold particles. So soft and feminine!

Close up- Inner Sparkle

Next is a super saturated, deep plum purple appropriately named, "Pretty In Plum". This shimmery polish covered nicely in just 2 layers:

I paired "Pretty In Plum" up with this glittery beauty- "Mi Fantasia", a bar glitter & tiny hex glitter combo of periwinkle, teal, silver & gold:

Close up- Mi Fantasia

Then we have the namesake polish of the collection, "Selena".  Sigh. I cannot tell you enough how much I love this. If you know me, you know of my absolute obsession with neutral polish. They call this one, "fresh young peach", and its just so pretty. A peach that leans a little bit to the pink side, it's not quite bright enough to label 'coral'...but it is almost coral.  There's a super fine shimmer in this one as well. The formula was a tad bit on the thicker side, but it would still not stop me from picking this as my "chose only one polish to wear for the rest of your life" polish. I think they chose the perfect shade to name after the Starlet.  3 layers:

Last but not least, I topped "Selena" with "Heavenly Angel", an iridescent, glass-shard type glitter. This was just one layer:

Close up- Heavenly Angel

Bottom Line- This is such a great Spring collection.  There's brights, neutrals, shimmers, and let's not forget those glitters. They are awesome (especially "Inner Sparkle"..definitely my fav).  The formulas were great, with not a dud in the bunch. This was my first time ever trying OPI's Nicole brand (can you believe it!?), and I was very pleased with my experience.

Here's some more details about Nicole by OPI:

Nicole by OPI Nail Lacquers and Nail Treatments contain no DBP, Toluene, or Formaldehyde. Nicole by OPI formulas are long-lasting, fast-drying, and salon-quality. Selena Gomez lacquers will be available January 2013 for $7.99 each at retailers including select Target, Walmart, CVS, K-mart, Rite Aid, ULTA, Sears, Meijer, Fred Meyer, Kroger and H-E-B locations. In Canada, this line will be available for $10.99 each at Shoppers Drug Mart, Walmart Canada, Jean Coutu, Loblaw, and London Drug.

For more information, visit nicolebyopi.com. Follow Nicole by OPI on Twitter @NicoleByOPI and become a Facebook fan!

 



Which 'Selena' polish is your favorite?

***Disclosure: Products in this post provided for review***