Review - Butter London: The Full Monty

The folks at Butter London were kind enough to provide me with this polish to review for you.  It is called *The Full Monty.  It is a pale gold shimmer and I have to say, I LOVE the name!  The color, however, I'm more on the fence about.  Application was a dream and the color was perfectly opaque in two coats, as pictured.  If I was a "gold polish kind of girl", I would be all over this one.  However, as I said, I'm still on the fence as to how I feel about it on me.  When given the choice in jewelry, I'd choose white gold or silver over yellow gold any day.  It's just a personal preference.  The quality of this polish is quite great. However, I don't really feel it is SO much better than any other brand that I've tried that I can justify its high price tag (it retails for $14.00).  Perhaps I would buy this brand in another color if there was a stupendous sale or coupon but overall, it's a really nice polish but not worth the price, in my opinion.  If you have tried this brand, I'd love to hear your thoughts and favorite colors!

*Disclosure: Where indicated by an asterisk, the product(s) in this post were provided to me by the company for review. Please click my disclosure tab for further information.

Press Release - Sally Hansen and White + Warren Winter Promo

SALLY HANSEN TEAMS UP WITH WHITE + WARREN
TO PAMPER AND PROTECT YOUR HANDS THIS WINTER

Frigid weather doesn’t mean you have to say goodbye to flawless hands. Nail authority Sally Hansen is teaming up with luxury cashmere designer White + Warren to offer consumers the warmth of beautiful gloves that they can slide their perfectly primped hands into. For a limited time, every consumer who purchases a pair of White + Warren Fingerless Gloves from the White + Warren website will receive a complimentary Sally Hansen Manicure Set filled with manicure must-haves.

Protect your hands against the drying effects of cold winter weather with White + Warren’s luxe cashmere fingerless gloves, and beautify your nails with Sally Hansen’s ultimate manicure kit. The nail essentials set includes:

• Expert Nail File – to help you achieve the perfect shape for your nails;

• Nailgrowth Miracle Serum – for instantly softened and smoothed cuticles that resist dryness and damage as they grow;

• Complete Salon Manicure in Right Said Red – an all-in-one formula that delivers base coat, vivid color, growth treatment, strengthener and top coat in one smooth polish;

• Dry, Chapped Hand Cream – an ultra-moisturizing, gentle lotion that leaves hands touchably soft all season long

A nice offer for those of you in cool climates!  

Review: The Balm - Petunia and Confetti - All That Glitters

Hi ho, kittens! Today I'd like to present The Balm's Hot Ticket polish in Petunia and Confetti's All That Glitters. I recently received Petunia as a gift from a friend. I had never heard of The Balm or their Hot Ticket line of polishes so I was intrigued, not to mention that this neon pinky-orangey color was not one I typically would have chosen for myself. The next day, I found myself with $2.00 in CVS Extra Care Bucks waiting for me in my e-mail so, of course, I immediately printed them out and was off to the races. (I am still, mostly, in "no buy" mode but if I'm buying on someone else's, in this case, CVS's, dime, I am ALL over it!) I chose Confetti's All That Glitters, a really pretty sheer pink holo glitter topcoat. It retails for $1.99 and this particular CVS did not charge me sales tax, as some do, so SCORE...FREE!

The bottles

Base coat of Avon Nail Expert Nutri-Boost Nutri-Plus and two coats of Petunia

Same as above topped with one coat of All That Glitters, shot outside, where holos look best

I found Petunia to a little bit thick, at times, but overall, pretty easy to apply. I really liked it a lot after two coats. It was opaque and dried relatively quickly, considering that it was a little on the thick side. I did NOT expect to like this color as much as I did but I was really pleasantly surprised. Polishes that are even remotely orange generally do not look good on me but this one had enough pink in it to be really flattering on my cool skin tone. My husband really liked it, too!

All That Glitters applied REALLY well and provided an excellent amount of glitter. It is definitely not one of those holo glitters where you feel you need two coats because the glitter is sparse. It also dried really smoothly, which was surprising, considering the amount of glitter in it. LOVE that! I am not a fan of gritty polish and this one wasn't at all gritty.

So, yeah, a winning combination, I think. As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Press Release - Sally Hansen Limited Edition Valentine's Day Salon Effects

LIMITED EDITION VALENTINE’S DAY PRINTS
A ROMANTIC TWIST ON SALON EFFECTS REAL NAIL POLISH STRIPS
FROM SALLY HANSEN

THINK: The look of love on your nails.

WHAT THEY ARE: Limited-edition Valentine’s Day prints of Sally Hansen’s hit, Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips. The manicure breakthrough from Sally Hansen will get you ready for romance this Valentine’s Day. Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips, the revolutionary peel-and-apply strips, are now available in limited edition Valentine’s Day patterns. These five flirty prints let you peel, apply, file and go, delivering a flawless real-polish manicure without the fuss.

Guaranteed to last through your Valentine’s Day hugs and kisses, Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips are developed with an innovative DBP, Toluene and Formaldehyde-free formula that offers trendsetting, no dry-time nail looks which last up to ten days. Dress up your nails with these new prints, featuring date-night approved intricate designs.

The new patterns include: Are You Single? (a pink swirl of hearts and arabesques); Speed Dating (multi-sized pink hearts against a white background); Love Always (a print of love phrases and hearts); How Romantic! (pink, purple and red plaid); and Cross My Heart (pink x’s and hearts). The ultimate accessory for an unforgettable Valentine’s Day, Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips put the sweetest prints at your fingertips.

Each Salon Effect Real Nail Polish Strips kit includes 16 nail polish strips, a cuticle stick, mini file/ buffer and instructions for easy at-home application. When you’re ready to change your nail strips, simply swipe nails with your favorite Sally Hansen polish remover for an instantly clean slate.

WHAT THEY COST: $9.99 each

WHERE TO FIND THEM: Beginning February 2012, Sally Hansen products are available at chain drug stores, food stores and mass merchandisers nationally.

Review: Sally Hansen Deep Blue Sea and In the Spotlight

Today I'd like to share with you my review of two Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear polishes, *Deep Blue Sea and *In the Spotlight. Once again, I'm going to subject you to my "lovely" feet, forgive me, but these toes were crying out for a pedi. Here are your pics:

The bottles (as these were review samples, sent to me by the company, Deep Blue Sea does not have the typical Sally Hansen label).

My toes, shot outside my apartment.

First off, let me apologize for not having pics of Deep Blue Sea before I topcoated it with In the Spotlight. This was an example of Kari being a dunderhead. I polished my toes with two coats of Deep Blue Sea, a stunning metallic blue blended with silver, a few days ago and thought, for sure, that I had snapped a few pics. I added a third coat of Deep Blue Sea last night, not because it was necessary, at all, as this is fabulously opaque in two coats, just to "brighten" up my pedi. Again, I thought I had already snapped pics so I neglected to, once more. Then, moments ago, I decided to topcoat with In the Spotlight, a holo bar glitter. At least this time, I remembered the pictures. (Seriously, I'm in the midst of a "d'oh" moment.) As I said, Deep Blue Sea is fabulous in two coats. It applied with ease, nice and smooth, and I absolutely LOVE this color. In the Spotlight, I have to say, I was less impressed with than I expected. Now, I am a girl who LOVES glitter and LOVES holo. That having been said, I found the bar glitter a bit difficult to apply. In all fairness, my toes were probably not the best place to try bar glitter for the first time as application is a bit more difficult on toenails, in general, at least for me. I was quite pleased with the look on my big toe, less so on my other toes, but I do believe that is strictly a result of the big toe being a "larger canvas." I suspect that I'll like this polish a lot more on my fingernails. The holo effect is lovely. I will definitely try it on my fingernails next time and get back to you on my results.

If you have tried either of these polishes, I'd love to hear your thoughts. If you haven't, I highly recommend Deep Blue Sea. The jury's out on In the Spotlight but, again, that is a story to be continued on another day.

As always, thanks for looking!

*Disclosure: Where indicated by an asterisk, the product(s) in this post were provided to me by the company for review. Please click my disclosure tab for further information.

Press Release - China Glaze ElectroPop

Los Angeles, CA - (January 2012): Where heavy metal meets rocker chic, China Glaze® introduces the Spring 2012 collection, ElectroPop. Inspired by all things girly, edgy and fun, the 12 shades of ElectroPop bring out the inner rock star in all. For flash and glam this spring, China Glaze® hits the stage in style!

ElectroPop Shades include:

• Kinetic Candy – Touch the sky in light blue crème
• Electric Beat – Periwinkle nails for a wink worthy performance
• Aquadelic – Pool blue for nighttime gigs and daytime fun in the sun
• Gaga For Green – Green lacquer for the girl craving the limelight
• Sunshine Pop – Shine in the spotlight in bold yellow
• Make Some Noise – Rock the mic in tangerine
• Wicked Style – Party cocktail tropical punch
• Fuchsia Fanatic – Fuchsia pink for the rocker diva in us all
• Gothic Lolita – Steal the show on girls night out in seductive purple
• Dance Baby – Hit center stage in cotton candy pink
• Sweet Hook – Blow a kiss in dreamy lilac
• Techno – Glitter confetti polish for a dazzling topcoat finish or all over finger tip bling

ElectroPop is also available in:

      · 6 Piece Collection of “Brights”: Techno, Aquadelic, Sunshine Pop, Gaga for Green, Make Some Noise and Wicked Style

· 6 Piece Collection of “Lights”: Fuchsia Fanatic, Dance Baby, Electric Beat, Kinetic Candy, Sweet Hook and Gothic Lolita

· 12 Piece 3D Counter Display

· 36 Piece Rack

ElectroPop will be available February 2012. Individual shades retail for $7; 6 piece collections retail for $42.

China Glaze is free of DBP, toluene, and added formaldehyde. China Glaze nail lacquers are available through salons and professional beauty supply stores nationwide. For more information, visit: www.chinaglaze.com or follow China Glaze on Facebook and Twitter: http://twitter.com/ChinaGlaze

China Glaze is a division of American International Industries.

About American International Industries

For nearly 40 years, AII has been the leading manufacturer and worldwide distributor of innovative, quality beauty and skin care products for men and women. Our product lines include Ardell, Andrea, Body Drench, Bye Bye Blemish, Checi, China Glaze, Clean + Easy, Clubman/Pinaud, Duo, European Secrets, EzFlow, Fright Night, Gena, GiGi, Gypsy Lash, IBD, Jeris-Lustray, No Tweeze/Micro Tweeze, 'N Rage, Prolinc, RAW, Seche, SuperNail, Surgi-Care, Waterworks, Winning Nails, Woltra, Woody’s, and Youthair. For more information, visit our website: www.aiibeauty.com. 

Can't wait to see these! Not a neutral in the bunch, yay!

Review: Girly Bits - Street Magic

It is my great pleasure to introduce you to an upstart new polish brand, Girly Bits.  It was started not long ago by Pam, a friend I made through a facebook nail polish group.  She was kind enough to let me choose one of her polishes to review for you and I chose *Street Magic.  Here are some pics for you!

The bottle (how cute is the little bit of "bling"?)

Two coats of Street Magic, worn alone

One coat of Street Magic layered over NYC New York Color French White Tip (middle finger) and one coat of Street Magic over one coat of Wet n Wild Black Creme (index finger) - indoors with flash

One coat of Street Magic over Wet n Wild Black Creme - outdoors, where it truly shines!

Street Magic may best be described as a sheer multi chrome.  Depending on the light and the angle, it reads green, red, gold, etc.  I feel that this color works best layered over a dark color (if you haven't guessed, I LOVED it over black), though it also added a pretty, yet subtle, shimmer over the white.  I would not, personally, wear it alone as it is very sheer.  I certainly don't have anything even remotely like it in my collection and I know that I will wear it over black quite often.  I'm eager to try it out over other dark colors!

Right now, Girly Bits orders are on hold but to find out more information about colors, prices and when orders will once again be taken, please click HERE.

I am REALLY excited to try some more Girly Bits in the future!

*Disclosure: Where indicated by an asterisk, the product(s) in this post were provided to me by the company for review. Please click my disclosure tab for further information.

Zoya True Collection and Fleck Effects

I'm so excited to be able to share with you my review of the Zoya *True Collection and Zoya *Fleck Effect Mylar Fleck Topcoats.  I will begin by sharing Zoya's press release on these new colors.

2012 SPRING NAIL COLOR by ZOYA

TRUE

HONESTLY, BEAUTIFUL COLOR

A fresh bloom of dewy color. Inspired by the runway looks of top designers

this collection features slightly muted and unexpected spring shades in six easy to wear,

full-coverage creams and metallics.

· Cho (ZP585): Full coverage, vanilla shimmer metallic

· Farah (ZP586): Full coverage, latte beige cream

· Bevin (ZP587): Full coverage, pale sage green cream

· Skylar (ZP588): Full coverage, silvered slate blue metallic

· Tru (ZP589): Full coverage, gilded purple orchid metallic

· Lotus (ZP590): Full coverage, light lotus purple metallic

and

FLECK EFFECT

MYLAR FLECK TOPCOATS

Zoya Nail Polish presents - three new mylar fleck glazes that can be worn alone or layered

over the new ZOYA TRUE collection colors for a unique and beautiful nail look!

· Maisie (ZP582): Blue tint with mylar green fleck effect

· Opal (ZP583): Green tint with mylar green fleck effect

· Chloe (ZP584): Pink tint with mylar green and gold fleck effect

Zoya is the new color of fashion...

Ultra long-wearing, glossy nail lacquers by Zoya are free of harmful industrial

chemicals like toluene, camphor, formaldehyde, resin, dibutyl phthalate (DBP)

that are known to cause cancer and birth defects.

Sug. Retail $8.00 per 0.5 fl.oz. bottle (US)

Available January 13, 2012

Find Zoya TRUE & FLECK EFFECT as well as over 300 other ultra high-fashion Zoya shades at www.zoya.com.

As always, each and every Zoya color is made for women so we name them after women.

Now, my thoughts and reviews of these collections. I will begin with Cho and Farah.

The bottles

Two coats of each color. Please note, Cho is on my thumb, middle and pinky fingers. Farah is on my index and ring fingers.

I must begin by saying, I'm not really a neutral kind of girl. It has nothing to do with these colors, in particular, I just prefer more color to my polishes and find that neutrals generally don't work well with my fair, cool complexion. As neutrals go, these both applied smoothly, providing opaque coverage in two coats. Cho read a bit "warmer" for me, with Farah being perhaps the "cooler" of the two neutrals. On the rare occasions that I choose to wear neutral colors, I tend to go for pinker ones. However, that is just a matter of my personal taste. If neutrals are your thing, these both provided nice coverage.

On to the rest of the True collection, the ones that appealed more to me, personally.

The bottles

Two coats of each color. Skylar is on my thumb and pinky, Tru on my index finger, Lotus on my middle finger and Bevin on my ring finger.

As you might expect if you're a regular reader of this blog, Skylar is the standout of this collection for me. I ADORE blue and this one, a lovely slate blue with a gorgeous metallic shimmer is absolutely amazing. It applied so smoothly and two coats gave the perfect amount of opaque coverage. I love LOVE L-O-V-E this color! Next up, Tru, a deep plum with a pinkish metallic shimmer, and Lotus, a smoky purple, also with pinkish metallic shimmer. Unfortunately, for both Tru and Lotus, the shimmer did not photograph well for me but trust me, it's there and it's really pretty! Even without being able to see much of the shimmer in my picture, these colors are quite beautiful and quite different from each other, though that is less obvious in the bottles, in my opinion. They are each unique to my collection. I expected that Lotus would be quite similar to another Zoya shade, Neeka, but they are completely different, which made me really happy. Last up in the True collection, Bevin. Bevin is a true cream and, as was the case with the other shades, provided great opaque coverage in two coats.

I suppose the only drawback to this collection (or, one of it's greatest perks, depending on your perspective) is that the colors don't really "gel" as a collection. By that I mean, you've got three creams, three shimmers - two neutrals, four anything but neutrals. It just seemed a bit disjointed to me as a collection - I personally would have preferred all shimmers - but if you want a well-rounded introduction to Zoya, this collection provides great variety, so it's sort of a pick and mix of colors. As I said, my favorite is Skylar, my least favorites, Cho and Farah, but overall, it's definitely a winning collection!

Now, I would like to share the Fleck Effects.

The bottles

Two coats of each, outdoors, where flakies can best be appreciated. Thumb and ring finger are Maisie, index finger and pinky are Opal and middle finger is Chloe.

Layered, one coat, over colors from the True Collection. Thumb is Maisie over Skylar, index finger is Opal over Tru, middle finger is Chloe over Lotus, ring finger is Opal over Bevin and pinky is Chloe over Skylar.

Maisie is a blue flakie, Opal is a green flakie and Chloe, perhaps the most unique in the collection, is a pink and green flakie, at least, that is how they came across to me.  Zoya describes them differently in their press release but to my eye, that is how they appeared.  In my opinion, these colors were not really designed to be worn alone.  I guess they could be if you applied multiple coats but that is not something I personally would be likely to do.  They are slightly pigmented but very sheer. They are, however, fabulous layering polishes. They are all very different from each other and, as is the case with flakies, they "read" different colors, depending on the angle. They are best showcased outdoors, under direct sunlight, though they can also take on interesting shadings in low light. I think they are among the best quality flakies I've ever used. The application was very smooth and they also felt quite smooth on the nail, not bumpy like some other flakies I've tried. I am really looking forward to trying them out over other colors, especially black.

I hope you've enjoyed getting a peek at these collections. I certainly enjoyed sharing them with you. Again, they will be available on January 13th. As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

xoxo,
K

*Disclosure: Where indicated by an asterisk, the product(s) in this post were provided to me by the company for review. Please click my disclosure tab for further information.