Barielle Mirror, Mirror Collection: Review & Swatches

Hey guys! Today I've got some swatches from Barielle's fall/winter collection, which is called Mirror, Mirror. This is a set of five cremes with some nice shades to bridge the fall-to-winter transitional months. (That may seem far off now, but trust me, it's coming!!) Anywho, let's take a look at 'em!

Feathered Slippers is a dark grey creme. It almost looks like it has a bit of green in it...? Not sure if that's just my imagination, but I dig it. Do you see the green or am I nuts?

Pretty Woman is far and away my favorite shade from this set! My bottle actually says "Pretty Women," but Barielle's website and the little promotional booklet for the collection both say "Woman," so I'm guessing that's just a typo. But whatever it's actually called, it's a very rich shade of Prussian blue. I love how elegant it looks on the nail.

Blushing Beauty is a bright red jelly. It's a very pretty representation of this type of color, even if it's not too unique. Look how squishy and shiny it is--and this is without top coat even!

Ribbon & Lace is a dusty teal creme. This is a perfect example of an autumn-tinged teal. It's got just the right amount of duskiness to it, if that makes sense to anyone other than me!

Silk Stockings was a surprise favorite. It's a nude--and one that I didn't think would go very well with my undertones, at that--but once I put it on, I really liked the taupe-y color it was on my nails. It doesn't go on as dark as it looks in the bottle and it isn't too cool-toned, so I think lots of different skin tones could rock this one.

All of these are two-coaters with nice formulas. No issues to report here--just nice, creamy application!

If you get one shade from this collection, make it Pretty Woman. There is something so chic about that color to me and it netted me quite a few compliments. :) I've got a lot of blue polish and this one is definitely shooting up my list of favorites!

You can purchase Barielle from their website. What's your favorite shade from Mirror, Mirror?


Disclosure: These polishes were sent for my honest review. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

Twinsie Tuesday: Deborah Lippmann Mermaid's Dream

This week's TT theme is ocean-inspired and everyone knows the best thing about the ocean is mermaids, so what better reason to wear one of my all-time favorite polishes, the legendary Mermaid's Dream by Deborah Lippmann! Aside from the name, the colors in Mermaid's Dream also bring the ocean to mind. This ethereal blend of teal, gold and blue glitter slays me every time I wear it!

I feel like Mermaid's Dream truly shines in outdoor lighting, but I painted my nails at night, so I didn't have an outdoor shots this time around. But if you want to see it in its full glory, you can do so by checking out my original review HERE. The fact that post is over three years old is blowing my mind right now, but I digress...

I love how luxe and multi-faceted this polish is. There's a lot going on here and it's all good. The colors are the perfect mix of cohesion and contrast. The formula is equally on point, covering in three easy coats. If you buy just one Lippmann polish in your life, Mermaid's Dream gets my vote!

Tiffany at Polished To Precision

Savannah at Addicted to Polish

Róisín at Cuti-CLUE-les

Marisa at Polish Obsession

Lisa at The Polish Playground

Lakeisha at Refined and Polished

Kristine at Pink and Polished Nails

Jessica at Blue Velvet Lacquer

ChiChi at I'm Just Me...ChiChi

Chelsea at Nailed Blog

Bridget at A Painted Nail

Amber at Nails Like Lace

Amanda at Fashion Footing

Amanda at Amandalandish

Whim Midnight Wink

EDIT: So apparently I was asleep at the wheel and this polish is actually called Midnight Wink, not Midnight Walk as I originally wrote. I think Midnight Walk is a better name, but whatevs.

There's yet another "gel-alternative" polish on the block: a new brand called Whim. Whim is currently an Ulta-exclusive brand and boasts a full line-up of colors, as well as a gel-like top and base coat. Bottles retail for $10 each and clock in at .32 oz, so they're smaller in size than your standard polish.

The packaging is extremely reminiscent of Butter London: rectangular bottle with a rounded cut-out for the polish, then a rectangular top with a round undercap, so you have your choice of which style feels best for polishing.

I skipped the base and top coat, since I've got plenty already, but two of the actual polishes did catch my eye. The launch line-up has a really nice variety of cremes, shimmers and glitters. The one I've got to show you today, Midnight Wink, is a dark teal jelly base packed with iridescent glitter and flakie pieces.

Midnight Wink looked kinda sheer and muddled after the first two coats, so I was a bit worried the sparkle wouldn't come through enough, but they started to pop nicely after the third coat. It took four altogether, as the base is surprisingly sheer given how dark it looks in the bottle, but as you can see, everything came together beautifully! The finished look reminds me of sunbeams glistening on top of ocean waves. It's very dreamy and summer-y.

I was convinced this was going to stain like a mother, so I was shocked when it came off without a hitch! It didn't take any scrubbing to remove, either. Ya gotta love that. I used OPI Infinite Shine base and top coat, so I can't really comment on the wear-time promises, but for what it's worth, this polish seemed to hold up just fine over the three days I wore it--no chips or scuffs.

So far, Whim gets a thumbs-up from me. The other polish I bought is a glitter, so I look forward to trying that out soon. I don't know if I'd pay $10 for a .32 oz creme, but for a standout shade like Midnight Wink, I'm willing to invest a bit more. I'm curious to see where this line goes and what types of colors they come out with next!

Have you tried anything from Whim yet? I haven't seen any online buzz for this brand, so I'm curious to hear what everyone else's thoughts are!

Barielle Glitter Mania Collection: Review & Swatches

Fellow glitter groupies, you've come to the right place, because today I've got five awesome new glitters from the Barielle Glitter Mania Collection to show you!

Up first we have Orange Flame, a clear base with medium metallic orange hexes. This one's really eye-catching and pops especially well over darker bases. This is one coat over OPI Road House Blues.

 

Confetti has medium matte hexes in a variety of colors: off-white, grey, black, blue and magenta. I have to say, I got a ton of compliments on this mani! Even strangers would comment on it and it seemed like everyone wanted to know "how I did it," so it was cool to be able to tell them it was just a glitter topper. My co-workers said my nails looked like a little garden. :) This is one coat of Confetti over Butter London Slapper. (As an aside, this is probably the closest I've ever come to a color-accurate photo of Slapper, which is a serious pain in the ass to capture on camera.)

Mermaid Fin is a mix of pastel blue hexes and silver holo micro-glitter. This is one of my favorites from the collection! It's very unique and that extra touch of sparkle from the holo is everything! Here's one coat over OPI I Vant To Be A-Lone Star.

Princess Pink is a mix of small and medium metallic pink hexes. This is sooo cute! I have to admit I wasn't too intrigued by it in the bottle, but it's so shamelessly girly on the nails that I couldn't help but love it. I thought it'd be fun to do a pink-on-pink layering for this one, so here is one coat over one of my very favorite pink cremes, Essie French Affair.

Gemstones is probably the most complex glitter of the bunch. It's got steel grey microglitter with small purple hexes and medium silver holo hexes. To give you a really obscure polish reference, this reminds me of a less opaque version of Studio M Firecracker. This is one coat over Essie Spun In Luxe.

Overall, this is a really solid collection. The formulas are all wonderful and as for the polishes themselves, I don't think there's a single clunker in the bunch! My favorites are Confetti and Mermaid Fin. What about you? :)

You can purchase Barielle from their website.


Disclosure: These polishes were provided for my honest review. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

Sinful Colors Sweet Dreams

When it comes to cheap beauty thrills, you can't get a much better bang for your buck than Sinful Colors. I usually wind up buying way too many of them whenever they have a 99-cent sale at Walgreens! At that price, how can you not?!

The Sinful Colors shade I'll be showing you today, Sweet Dreams, actually came from the ever-generous Amanda and it is a beauty! Sweet Dreams is an aqua blue glassfleck. I often say that China Glaze is my gold standard for glassflecks but damn if Sinful Colors doesn't give them a run for their money!

The formulas on Sinful Colors can be hit or miss in my experience, but I'm happy to say this one was spot on. This was two easy coats.

Unfortunately, I'm not super thrilled with how my swatches of this came out. They looked fine when I was taking pictures, so I went ahead and covered this polish with glitter (of course). But then when I looked at the swatches on my computer, they came out kinda crappy. My camera always has a really hard time with teals. They either make my hands look weirdly red on camera or the color photographs completely inaccurately. Ugh...

So I apologize if this isn't the best quality, but it is color accurate, at least! Yay! Sweet Dreams is too pretty not to try and share, so I hope you enjoyed taking a look at it with me. :)

Twinsie Tuesday: Zoya Zuza

This week we're doing teal nails, in recognition of September being ovarian cancer awareness month. There's currently no simple screening test for ovarian cancer, so early detection and diagnosis are key. Next time you're at the doctor, take a few minutes to ask them about early signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer. Hopefully it is information you and your loved ones will never need to actually use, but it's important to be informed and aware.

Okay, so that's my little speech. Let's look at some nails, yeah? :) For my teal mani, I opted for Zoya Zuza, a bright, summer-y teal with silver shimmer. It kinda reminds me of a more saturated Butter London Victoriana, an old favorite of mine.

I reeeaaaalllyyy hope this doesn't stain. I've always had bad luck with Zoya teals.  One thing I do know already though is that Zuza's actual formula is pretty "meh." There's a lotta drag to it and it can get lumpy at spots if you're not careful. I needed three coats in total.

The color itself is lovely though! The shimmer is beautifully intense and a prime example of why Zoya shimmers are such a reliable favorite in the polish world.

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Alaina at The Little Canvas

Amanda at Amandalandish

Amber at Nails Like Lace
Anna at Going to the Showing
Bridget at A Painted Nail

Casey at CaseyLane Loves Polish

Chelsea at Nailed Blog

ChiChi at I'm Just Me...ChiChi

Cordia at Seriously Swatched

Elizabeth at Did My Nails

Erin at Paint Those Piggies

Jessica at Blue Velvet Lacquer

Kelly at Tuxarina

Lakeisha at Refined and Polished

​Lisa at The Polish Playground

​Marisa at Polish Obsession

Róisín at Cuti-CLUE-les

Stephanie at A Little Polish

Tiffany at Polished To Precision​

Twinsie Tuesday: Rescue Beauty Lounge Aqua Lily

This week's Twinsie Tuesday theme challenged us to do a mani inspired by nature. Now, I'll be the first to admit that I'm "indoors-y." I have ridiculously terrible allergies so it's tough for me to be outside for long periods of time. But I do love being by the water. So for my nature mani, I chose Rescue Beauty Lounge Aqua Lily. This vibrant teal with a haze of delicate pink microshimmer makes me think of water gardens and blue tropical waters.

It's easy to see why this polish created such a stir when it first came out. Simply put, it's possibly the most beautiful teal I own. The formula is equally fantastic, reaching opacity in three smooth and easy coats.

I hope you enjoyed taking a look at this RBL gem with me today! Be sure to head on over to my Twinsies' sites to see what they did for their nature manis!

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Alaina at The Little Canvas

Amanda at Amandalandish

Amber at Nails Like Lace
Anna at Going to the Showing
Bridget at A Painted Nail

Casey at CaseyLane Loves Polish

Chelsea at Nailed Blog

ChiChi at I'm Just Me...ChiChi

Cordia at Seriously Swatched

Elizabeth at Did My Nails

Erin at Paint Those Piggies

Jessica at Blue Velvet Lacquer

Kelly at Tuxarina

Lakeisha at Refined and Polished

​Lisa at The Polish Playground

​Marisa at Polish Obsession

Róisín at Cuti-CLUE-les

Stephanie at A Little Polish

Tiffany at Polished To Precision​

SuperChic Lacquer Morphamas

SuperChic Lacquer Morphamas is a bright teal jelly filled with blue and chartreuse glitter pieces (primarily hexes). It's blue, green and glittery. For me, this is pretty much the recipe of a successful polish, so you know I love this one! I got Morphamas from the always generous Amanda, who always introduces me to awesome new brands!

The formula is excellent, albeit a touch sheer--this is a jelly, after all. But I managed to bring it to near-opacity at three coats. Morphamas was actually a holiday polish, but what it really makes me think of, with its mix of blue and green, is the ocean. So it makes a fantastic summer polish as well!

You can purchase SuperChic Lacquer on Etsy.

Barielle Blackened Bleu

Barielle Blackened Bleu is a black base with a dense, rich teal shimmer. If you're a fan of "night sky" shades, then chances are you will love Blackened Bleu. It reminds me of the VHTF OPI Unripened, except I actually like Blackened Bleu better, because the shimmer is so much more noticeable and vibrant!

For such a dark shade, the formula was surprisingly sheer. I thought it'd be a two-coater but it took four in all to get Blackened Bleu completely opaque. One plus to the sheerer formula though is, as I mentioned above, the shimmer stays nice and bright and doesn't get swallowed up by the black base.

You can purchase Barielle from their website.


Disclosure: This polish was sent to me for my honest review. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

A Rhyming Dictionary Review & Swatches: Part Two

So after a bit of a break, I've got part two of my review of polishes from the indie line A Rhyming Dictionary! If you missed part one of my review last week, you can check it out HERE to learn more about the line and see additional swatches!

Kicking things off this time is Kaliko, a shredded topper with silver, black, white and purple bits. Sometimes these shredded polishes can have sharp edges that stick out but that wasn't the case with Kaliko! This is one coat over China Glaze Sweet Hook. I enjoyed this combo a lot and it reminded me of something that I couldn't quite put my finger on... Graffiti? Candy? Whatever it is, I like it!

Next up is The Foolish Owl, a collage of matte pink hexes and squares, white hearts, silver holo stars and black circles. I love the graphic effect the black circles create and the interesting contrast they provide to the sugary, sparkly pink elements in this polish. My motto is that circle glitter is always a good thing. This is two coats over China Glaze Spontaneous.

Then we have Kite Island, which has a rainbow of hexes in orange, blue, pink and magenta, plus white and emerald green squares. I love all the different colors in this one, so summer-y! Plus some of the hexes are holo, so you get a disco ball-like effect with tons of sparkle and shine! This is two coats of Barielle Blackened Bleu.

All three polishes had fantastic formulas and were a breeze to apply. The glitters are all mixed well, ensuring you get a nice variety of colors with each swipe across the nail. The polishes with larger pieces, like Foolish Owl, didn't require any fishing. One of the things I enjoyed most about trying these polishes was the sheer variety of shapes and colors in each bottle. You never knew what was going to pop out next!

You can purchase A Rhyming Dictionary polishes from Etsy. Their polishes retail for $7.50 each, making them some of the most affordable indies on the market, but the quality of the polishes themselves as well as the creative inspiration behind them are both top notch!


Disclosure: These polishes were sent to me for my honest review. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

Rainbow Honey The Kraken

Rainbow Honey The Kraken is a teal jelly filled with blue and green glittery goodness and a smattering of chartreuse holo hexes to sweeten the deal. I would have an extremely difficult time choosing my all-time favorite Rainbow Honey polish, but this is definitely a contender. With blue, green and glitter all together in one polish, it's a good bet I'm gonna love it!

The Kraken is not quite as light in person as my pictures show. It's a very rich teal, almost like a jewel tone, and it absolutely gleams in the light! I was staring at my hands all day long.

The formula is on the thicker side, but not to the point that it felt goopy to apply. I used two coats here.

I really can't rave enough about the gorgeousness that it The Kraken. Plus it's just such a fun polish name to say. I had a couple co-workers ask me what I had on and I always had to announce "The Kraken!" in my most dramatic voice.

You can purchase Rainbow Honey from their website.


Disclosure: This polish was sent to me for my honest review. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

KBShimmer Totally Tubular

KBShimmer Totally Tubular is a bright teal base with blue, indigo and magenta glitter pieces. I received this polish from my polish fairy godmother, Amanda. Thanks girlie!

The first thing that came to mind when I put this polish on was how much I absolutely love the shade of teal used for the base. It conjures up memories of days at the beach and swimming in the ocean. I'm definitely longing for some beach weather right about now! And of course the sprinkling of glitter in top only makes the teal that much prettier. ;)

The formula is wonderful and reaches opacity in two coats. Plus, no staining!

You can purchase KBShimmer from their website.

OPI Peace & Love & OPI

Peace & Love & OPI is one of two polishes I snagged from OPI's San Francisco Collection. (You can read my thoughts on the other, Alcatraz...Rocks, HERE.) Peace & Love & OPI is a beautiful duochrome that shifts from a burgundy-type shade to teal. The duochrome is nice and intense; no having to tilt your nails to weird angles just to see the shift.

The formula is decent, although maybe a little on the brushstroke-y side. I used three coats here. From photos I've seen, Peace & Love & OPI seems to be a spot-on dupe for Essie For The Twill Of It, so you likely will not need one if you already have the other.

To me, this is one of the standout shades from the San Francisco Collection. I love how strong the duochrome is and how you can see both the purple and the teal at the same time. I found the San Francisco Collection on the whole to be a little disappointing but Peace & Love & OPI is an absolute winner.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Aqua Lily

Rescue Beauty Lounge Aqua Lily instantly became one of the brand's most sought after polishes and really, it's easy to see why: the pink shimmers swimming in a rich sea of turquoise instantly puts visions of crystal-clear waters and pristine beaches in your head. This polish is like summer in a bottle!

The aqua and pink in Aqua Lily are truly a magical combination. It's been rainy here the past several days, so I didn't have the benefit of natural sunlight, but hopefully these shots under a hot lamp will give you an idea of how pretty the two colors are together. The shimmer is not super bold, but rather it casts a soft haze over the polish, like sunlight across the water. It's absolutely gorgeous and goes on glossy smooth in three coats.

RBL may be on the pricier side, but in my experience, their polishes consistently look and perform like the luxury products they are, which I think makes them worth the splurge, especially when you find a shade as beautifully unique and captivating as Aqua Lily. If money was no object, I'd own the entire line; they are that nice. Aqua Lily has come and gone--two times now, in fact--but hopefully RBL will bring it back once more.