Silly Bee's Chickadees Chloe's Quince (Glitter for Good)

*I received the following product in exchange for my honest review.

I have a new addition to Silly Bee's Chickadees Glitter for Good campaign. This is a quarterly campaign that Silly Bee's Chickadees does where creates and features a polish where $1 from each bottle sold will be donated to specific charity.

This time the charity is Hogar Cristiano de Puntarenas an orphanage in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. The name of the polish is Chloe's Quince.

Chloe's Quince

Chloe's Quince is a teal crelly mixed with golden flakies.

Color: Beautiful color combination. I absolutely love cool-toned colors paired with warm metals. This is totally up my alley!

Formula: Excellent easy to use and smooth formula. I used 3 coats above. I also really like the balance of base and flakies here. They compliment each other perfectly.

Price: A full size (15ml) bottle will be $10.00. It is available for pre-sale on Silly Bee's Chickadee's site today, and the official release is February 1st.

Overall: Chloe's Quince is a beautiful and creative color. I love the teal base with the gold flakies and the formula is great! The great part is that $1 of each bottle sold goes to a great cause!

This is the background from Melissa of Silly Bee's Chickadees about why she chose  Hogar Cristiano de Puntarenas for Glitter for Good!

"I chose Hogar Cristiano de Puntarenas in honor of my friend's daughter, Chloe, who is having her 15th birthday party in Costa Rica where her extended family lives on Saturday. In Latin American countries, the 15-year celebration, a quinceñera, is very special. My friend's family has long supported the nonprofit, so I thought it was only fitting that I create a nail polish named after Chloe and offer a portion of sales to the orphanage.

Chloe's party colors are teal and coral, so she and I decided to do a teal crelly with gold shimmer. It's a great color to transition from winter to spring!"

 Silly Bee's Chickadees will be restocking Glitter for Good a gold flakie topper too.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Friday! 

Way-Cool Mani Wednesday: Bold & Bright

I've been all over the place with nail polish lately. I tend to gravitate toward seasonal colors, but this past month I've gone from neons, vamps, shimmers, to brights. I've dabbled in the entire color spectrum of nail polish. 

Here is a fun mani bold and bright mani I did recently. 

Polishes Used: KBShimmer Low and Be Bold and Maybelline Wild at Heart

I think I need to do more red and blue manis. I really love the color combination!

Happy Wednesday! 

Thank You For Being A Friend Giveaway!

*All giveaway items were purchased by me

I posted some Golden Girls decals I purchased from Emerging Thoughts on Instagram last night, and it got a massive response! What you didn't know is that was one of three decal packs I had purchased. You know what that means? I have an extra one for one of you!

I put together this little mini Thank You For Being A Friend giveaway for you all today!

Prize

Golden Girls nail decals (water decals), 3 Maybelline Color Show nail polishes (Hibiscus Haven, Green With Envy, and Lust for Lilac), and EOS hand lotion in Berry Blossom

Guidelines:
1. There will be only 1 winner.
2. You must be an USA resident to enter this giveaway or be able to provide an USA shipping address. 
3. You must be 18 or older to enter.
4. Giveaway is open until Saturday 1/31 @11:59PM EST.
5. Winner has 48 hours to claim prize by replying to my email or another winner will be chosen.
6. Enter giveaway by using Rafflecopter widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

China Glaze Pack Lightly

Once Christmas and New Years have come and gone, winter doesn't even exist for me nail polish wise. I'm done with winter polish, and I crave spring colors badly. I was excited after New Years when I went to Ulta they had the spring China Glaze collection already out. I have one of those polishes to share with you today.

Pack Lightly

Pack Lightly is a pastel peachy-pink with a subtle golden-pink shimmer.

Collection: China Glaze Road Trip Spring 2015

Color: I really like this peachy pink color. I think the appearance of pink polish especially interesting and unique pink polish has diminished in nail polish collections lately. I miss them, This is a really beautiful shade, and I love the shimmer. My issue is I wish the shimmer showed up more on the nail. That would make it amazing!

Formula: Meh. This formula was tricky. It was patchy and did not smooth or level evenly, as I'm sure you can tell. I used 3 coats. Not my favorite. Not the worst, but problematic, and disappointing considering I know how nice pastel formulas can be these days.

Price: I purchased this in the $7-$8 range at Ulta.

Overall: I do really like the color of Pack Lightly, but it's issues really take it down a notch. The shimmer is barely visible and the formula is not up to par. I really love this on appearance alone, but everything else just doesn't cut it.

My Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Monday!

Throwback Thursday: China Glaze Atlantis

I have China Glaze 2009 throwback for you today. I must admit this polish had not seen the light of day for awhile, and I can see why. This one was a "it" polish when it came out. Everyone wanted it, it was a favorite from the collection it was part of.

Atlantis

Atlantis is a teal jelly base packed with silver holographic glitters.

Collection: Specialty Glitters Fall 2009

Color: This deep teal base that leans more toward the green side. I don't know if was always like this or if maybe the polish has aged a bit, but I really could use more punch of the base color. It doesn't pop as much as I'd like. 

Formula: This formula is on the sheer side and still after 3 coats you can see my nail a bit underneath. The formula was easy to use though.

Price: This is easy to find on many e-tailers in the $5-$8 range.

Overall: This really doesn't do anything for me anymore. I have a feeling this polish may have aged too. I really think the based has yellowed a bit, and I remember the glitter really sparkled. This just kind of looks dull to me? I'm not sure this really holds a candle to what is out there now especially with indies. Jelly glitters and glitter polishes have advanced so much that Atlantis just doesn't measure up in my opinion. I don't hate it and it's not terrible, but it's not something I see myself revisiting again.

I feel bad because maybe age did a number on this formula? Scrangie's swatch from 2009 is how I remember this one. It looks really nice there, but mine doesn't look like that anymore.  If you have this color let me know in the comments if you've noticed yours looking a little sad? 

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Thursday! 

a-england Virgin Queen

I have a fairly new a-england polish to share with you today. I'm always late to the game in purchasing a-england polishes, and I regret it every time. They are some of the highest quality and nicest polishes in my collection. This one comes from the recent Elizabeth & Mary collection.

Virgin Queen

Virgin Queen is a pewter shade with pink and copper undertones and a scattered holographic shimmer.

Collection: Elizabeth & Mary 2014

Color: This is a beautiful and complex color. This has a silvery/pewter base that has these beautiful golden/coppery glimpses and undertones to it. It's really a very unique and striking color that is unlike anything I've seen before. The holo is a beautiful touch too.

Formula: Excellent easy to use 2 coat formula. This does have an intense metallic shimmer, so some brush-strokes can be visible, but I don't find this detracts from the overall look of the polish.

Price: I purchased this on Color 4 Nails for $10.00.

Overall: This is a standout high quality color and nail polish. The color is unique, it's thoughtfully and well made. The formula is great. It's a-england! That's exactly what I'd expect. Excellent polish!

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Tuesday!

SpaRitual Arroyo

Here's a first on Imperfectly Painted. This is my first SpaRitual polish. This one I had on my wishlist, and received as part of my Secret Santa gift. This is the type of color I rarely see, and immediately needed to have!

Arroyo

Arroyo w/ top coat

Arroyo is a dusty rose with a golden glass fleck shimmer.

Collection: Wander Fall 2014 Collection

Color: This is one of those colors if you're looking for a natural/neutral shade and are cooler toned, this color is perfect for you. This is a definite conservative and office appropriate nail polish color. I absolutely love it because I struggle to find colors like this that are not too warm or yellow against my skin tone. The color is perfect, and the shimmer is what makes Arroyo for me. It such a beautifully added touch.

Formula: This is actually matte formula. I showed you it matte and with top coat. I think they look beautiful both ways. This was 2 coat easy to use formula.

Price: This is $12 on the SpaRitual website.

Overall: I've been wearing this the past few days, and I don't want to take it off. It goes with everything. It's soft and flattering, while being unique at the same time. The formula was great. I love this one, and I think it will be a definite go-to color for me when I'm looking for a palette cleanser or craving a more neutral look.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 *Golden* Paint Splatters

Happy Monday!

ILNP My Little Glacier (H)

I'm sorry for my lack of posts the beginning of this year. I've had some unexpected challenges that have prevented me from spending the time I'd like on my blog. I know I don't have to apologize to you, but I really would of rather been working on blog things than dealing with life inconveniences that's for sure! I'm hoping tomorrow things will be back on an even-keel. 

On a lighter note I do have a polish to share for you form ILNP. This one caught my eye because of the color. 

My Little Glacier (Holo)

 My Little Glacier (H) is a steely icy blue metallic holo with slight grey color shift.

Collection: Ultra Chrome

Color: This doesn't have the color shift that the others in the Ultra Chrome collection have. That being said, I really love this color. I'm not big on ultachromes or multichromes. I know that may sound crazy to many of you. I just really love the complexity and dimension of this color. Colors like this can come off kind of dull and muddled, but this with the holo and that slight color shift make it stand out.

Formula: The formula on this was nice and easy to use. I used 3 coats above.

Price: This is $12.50 on the ILNP website.

Overall: I love My Little Glacier. It's wintery and it has depth unlike other colors I've seen similar to it. I like the holo effect, and adore this shade of blue. I'm not disappointed by the very little color shift effect, but it could of been amped up just a smidge.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Wednesday!

Cult Nails Sublime

I'm sure most all of us are aware of the sad Cult Nails news. Cult Nails is liquidating. I'm very sad to hear about this. Cult Nails always made such high quality products, and I don't think I owned a bad one in the bunch. Maria, the owner, was a personal local friend of mine, and she really put herself fully into the brand. I have so much respect for her as a business owner. I will miss her polishes, but I understand her reasoning. All Cult Nails polishes are 60% off now.

I do have a more recent released color to show you today. This one is still available for purchase at the discounted price.

Sublime

Sublime is a bright orange based red creme.

Color: This is the brightest red creme I own. This does lean toward the orange side a touch, but most definitely reads red. I love the vibrancy and creaminess of this color.

Formula: This was an excellent 2 coat easy use formula.

Price: This is now 60% off $12.00 on the Cult Nails site.

Overall: This is a bright and beautiful shade of red. Red can get boring in nail polish, but this one definitely stands out as different. The formula is a great and the price is great now too. You must get it before it's gone forever though!

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Monday!

Throwback Thursday: JulieG Oh Em Gee!

I've been using bright pink as a palette cleanser for the past few weeks. I don't think pink would typically constitute as a palette cleanser, but it's exactly what I've needed. The holiday colors and glitters got overwhelming, and I've been craving bright and cheerful pinks. This JulieG polish did the trick. This JulieG was part of their original release.

Oh Em Gee

Oh Em Gee! is a neon highlighter pink crelly.

Collection: JuileG Core Line 2012

Color: This one is pretty self explanatory. There is no doubt this is neon, and this will definitely make a statement. I love it.

Formula: This has one of those typical neon formulas. You will need about 3 coats for full coverage, and this does dry that funky matte finish. Top coat is a must here. I call this a crelly because it's in between a creme and a jelly.

Price: This is $3.99 at Rite Aid stores or Jesse's Girl website.

Overall: You can never go wrong with a neon pink, and this one is a great one to have. I love the intensity of the color. I also really like JulieG formulas overall. Nice polish.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Thursday!

OPI DS Tourmaline

I have something different to share with you today. I have one of the newer OPI Designer Series polishes. I haven't owned any recent ones of these, so this a nice little addition to my collection. I received this as gift in my Secret Santa gift exchange, and it was a nice surprise.

DS Tourmaline

DS Tourmaline is a medium bright pink base with iridescent shimmer and glitter.

 OPI DS Fall 2014

Color: This makes me miss great pink nail polish, because this is one. This color is bright and super sparkly. I love this, and it makes me wish there were more current pink nail polishes out there.

Formula: This is on the sheer side, but built up nicely in 3 coats.

Price: This is $12.50 at Ulta.

Overall: I like Tourmaline a lot.  The color is pretty and the added sparkle makes it special and unique. The price is a little steep, so I'm happy to have received it as a gift. Tourmaline does leave me longing for better pink nail polish though! Pinks don't have to be boring!

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Monday!

New Year Reflections and Nails

Welcome to 2015! I'll be celebrating my 5th blog anniversary in April. I really cannot believe I've been blogging this long. I always think at the beginning of every year will I still be doing this at the end of the year? 

I'm always surprised that I still am. I know that probably sounds odd. I'm someone who couldn't keep a diary more than 2 days, or loses interests in some hobbies quickly. My love for nail polish hasn't dulled. I think once you've hit the 5 year mark, you're in it for the long haul. I'm not sure how long I'll be blogging. I still love it, and will continue until that love isn't there anymore or life throws me something that needs to be a bigger priority.

I'm not setting any blogging resolutions. I never have. I know I'm not the best, coolest, hippest, or even a relevant nail blogger these days. I review mostly individual nail polishes I've purchased. That is pretty much an outdated style of nail blogging now. It isn't remotely comparable to the bloggers who review full brand new collections or are talented nail artists.

I'm not either one of those bloggers. I will never be, nor do I want to be. I enjoy my little space on the internet where I can document my nail polish purchases and share with you my thoughts on them. I appreciate that many of you still support me as a blogger and enjoy reading Imperfectly Painted. 

If I were to set any type of blogging resolution it would be to continue to be true myself as a blogger. It's hard not to feel inadequate when your peers are always striving for the best and have lofty blog goals. That's great for them, but I never want to feel that pressure. I have felt the pressure at times though, and I'm clearly feeling it now. 

I always saw blogging as fun outlet for me to share my opinions and make connections with others, nothing more. My personal blogging style is a lonely one, as I do not know really any other bloggers who share a similar experience. I have enough things in my personal life that I always need to work on or strive for better. Blogging and nail polish are my break from that, my refuge. I'm going to keep it that way! 

On to my New Year's nails!

Polishes Used: China Glaze My Way or the Highway (new Spring 2015 color), OPI Comet in the Sky, and KBShimmer Ecplise. 

Happy Thursday!

P.S. Throwback Thursday will resume either next week or the week after!