Barielle Do Unto Others and Buddha-ful

I was honored to be one of the bloggers chosen to review selections from Barielle's Summer 2011 Karma Kollection of Shades as well as their Nail Strengthener Cream. I was able to select three polishes from the collection and I chose *Do Unto Others, which they describe as a "blue/green jelly cream", *Buddha-ful, a "beige with soft baby pink, blue and light gray foil" and Positive ZEN-ergy, a "warm mossy green with silver shimmer." Today I will be featuring the first two colors (*Positive ZEN-ergy and *Nail Strengthener Cream reviews will be coming soon). I began by applying a base coat of Duri Rejuvacote. Next, I applied two coats of Do Unto Others. Here it is indoors with flash:

and outdoors:

Next, I applied a coat of Buddha-ful to my thumb. I guess I expected it to be more sheer than it was but it was exactly as described, definitely a strong beige. I removed Do Unto Others from my ring finger, re-applied the Rejuvacote, and followed with three coats of Buddha-ful. Here you can see how it looks layered over my thumb and by itself over my ring finger both indoors:

and outdoors:

This was my first experience with Barielle and I found the formulas easy to work with. As I said, I used two coats of Do Unto Others, which was plenty for nice opacity, and three coats of Buddha-ful, which is much more sheer, though certainly pigmented. I know I will wear the heck out of Do Unto Others. It's SO my style, being a huge fan of blues and greens. I definitely would NOT categorize it as a jelly though. For me, this is a true cream. I really love it! Buddha-ful, on the other hand, is quite lovely but I'm not particularly a "neutral" kind of girl where polish is concerned. I can see others loving it, though. This was also my first experience with a flakie and I can see why so many people love them. I just wish the "flakiness" read better on camera. (My photography skills WILL improve, I hope.) I'm really looking forward to reviewing Positive ZEN-ergy and the Nail Strengthener Cream in the days to come and, of course, trying more Barielle goodies.

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

Hard Candy Mushroom

Hi ho, kittens! The star of my current mani is *Mushroom by Hard Candy. I started with a base coat of Duri Rejuvacote, followed by one coat of Mushroom, as seen here: Clearly, this polish is not a one-coater. I was a bit concerned about the patchiness but I had a sneaking suspicion that the second coat would even things out nicely, which it did, as evidenced here: I so wish I was a better photographer because honestly, after the second coat, this polish looked really terrific. It was a slightly difficult formula to work with, a bit thick and challenging to manage, but with results like these, it's worth a little bit of extra effort. When I showed this mani to my hubby, he said it looked "rich" and reminded him of chocolate pudding. (Again, I wish I could take better pics to reflect this. I'm hoping that my photography skills will continue to improve over time.) I found it a little bit "cooler" than pudding-colored, like there was a touch of gray mixed in with the brown, and it is definitely unlike anything else I own. A pleasant surprise, for sure.

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

New York Mani

Meow, kittens! Here is the mani I received during my trip to New York. I met up with a friend and she was kind enough to treat me to a girl's day consisting of manis, shopping and lunch. I chose a Color Club blue glitter as I had never tried the brand before. I forgot to take note of the name but from what I could surmise from their website, I'm pretty sure it's Sexy Siren from the Glitter Vixen Collection. Feast your eyes: This was two coats. They put on a base coat (no idea what brand) and honestly, I don't recall if the manicurist top-coated it or not but I added a coat of Rejuvacote when I got back to my mom's place. This color appeared more holo in the bottle but it's still quite nice, especially in the sunlight. It does have the gritty texture that I am growing to slightly despise but alas, that is the price I must pay, on occasion, for super-sparkle. Of course, being a blue addict, I am pretty happy with this color. I would definitely venture into trying more Color Club polishes in the future. What do you think? Are you familiar with their products? If so, which colors do you love best?

My First Ombre

Hello, kittens! Happy June! Today features me jumping on another nail trend, the ombre mani. To the best of my knowledge, an ombre is like a skittle mani but features all shades in one color graduating from lighter to darker (or vice-versa). Of course, I decided to try it in blue, quelle surprise. ;) For this mani I used Essence Denim Wanted in My Boyfriend's Jeans (thumb), Sally Hansen Blue Me Away (index), Zoya Breezi (middle), Zoya Yummy (ring) and a light blue franken I whipped up (pinky). Though, in retrospect, I wish I had reversed the order of Blue Me Away and Breezi, I'm pretty happy with the look, otherwise. This just goes to show that it's not a bad idea to swatch your colors onto a piece of paper before applying your polish to make sure you're happy with the color order (a lesson I certainly learned). I applied a base of Duri Rejuvacote followed by two coats of each color. I will eventually apply a top coat, too (hopefully before they chip) but haven't yet because I'm too lazy, lol.
Here's another look: If you've followed me for a while, you're aware that I am madly in love with the color sky blue so you can bet I'll be wearing this mani again, perhaps with a few tweaks, in the future. :)

Accent Nail? Yes, Please

Hello, kittens! I must admit that, at times, I'm guilty of jumping on bandwagons and with polish, that is no exception. However, until last night I stayed away from the accent nail trend. For those who don't know, it has become quite popular to polish one nail on each hand differently than the rest of the fingers. Though, as you may know from past entries, I'm quite fond of the skittle mani, I didn't really get "the point" of just one finger being different. Last night, I decided to give this look a try and was pleasantly surprised with the results. I did a base coat of Duri Rejuvacote followed by two coats of Ulta Material Girl on all fingers. I'd heard great things about Material Girl from polish friends and fellow nail bloggers so I decided to pick it up during Ulta's buy two get two free promo. I have to say, I was STUNNED by how gritty it was. I guess I've been spoiled by nice smooth finishes on the other glitter polishes I own. I was really bummed but this color does look awfully pretty in direct sunlight, the holo glitter sparkling nicely. My friend and fellow blogger, Neeka, was kind enough to inform me that many glitter polishes lean towards the grit and suggested I try a product called Gelous, which smooths out the finish. I can't wait to find a bottle and try it. But I digress. I topped Material Girl with one coat of NYC New York Color Extra Shiny Top Coat. The mani looked okay but I wanted it to "pop" a little more so I took the plunge and added a coat of Ulta Little Black Dress to my ring fingers. This polish seemed to go on MUCH smoother and I was quite a bit happier. I will definitely dabble in this nail trend again, maybe mixing it up a bit by choosing a different finger to accent in the future. So, in summary, gritty polish = bad, smooth and shiny = good, at least until I decide to try out a matte polish and probably end up liking that too. *eye roll* ;)