Zoya Courtney

I noticed while perusing my blog this past year that I really did not feature many red polishes. I love red polishes, but you can only get so original with red. I've been nail polish lover since 2008, so I have 8 years under my belt of collection red polish. I think I've just accumulated favorites and didn't really see a need to venture out. The Zoya Black Friday sale did persuade me otherwise because Zoya has a great collection of reds. I picked out this one in my most recent order.

Courtney

Courtney is a deep red crelly.

Collection: Zoya Urban Grunge Fall 2016

Color: I forgot how much I love deep red shades like this one. This color is so classic and chic I can't get enough. Again, a simple shade that I'm swooning over. I forget how perfectly perfect a classic red or nude can be. This is a winning color!

Formula: The formula on this was good and easy to use. I used 2 coats above.

Price: This is $10 on Zoya's website.

Overall: No, this isn't an original color, but it's stunning. Easy does it sometimes and Courtney proves that point. I love this shade of red. It's perfect for the season and I don't have any complaints!

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

Happy Wednesday!

LevelUP Lacquer Subspace

I have another one of LevelUP Lacquer's Intergalactic polishes to share with you today. It's been awhile since I've posted any from this collection, but this has been one of my favorite collections of the year. I can definitely say that now since we're in November. I love the theme and chameleon flakies! This blue shade is a beauty.

Subspace

Subspace is a blueish teal crelly with gold interference and chameleon flakies.

Collection: LevelUP Lacquer Intergalactic Collection 2016

Color: This is a beautiful soft blue with just the slightest touch of green. What I love about this polish is that gold "interference" a.k.a. shimmer it really gives this shade intensity and glow. I can't complain about those magical multichrome flakies either!

Formula: This has an excellent smooth and easy to apply formula. The formula is sheer on the first coat but builds up in 3 coats. I prefer this formula type of formula on a crelly than a thicker one that doesn't apply as evenly.

Price: You can purchase this polishes in 3 different sizes for 3 different prices. 16.5ml for $10, 11ml for $8.50 or 5ml for $4.50. You can purchase Subspace on LevelUP Lacquer's site.

Overall: This is gorgeous and unique polish. I love the soft color paired with the intense shimmer and flakies. I love the formula and all in all it's a very thoughtfully and well made polish!

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

Happy Tuesday!

DIFFERENT dimension: Pretty Nauti Collection (3 of 8)

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

Cosmoprof 2016 polish reviews have commenced! First off, I have a few polishes from Different Dimension's Pretty Nauti Collection. This collection is now available for purchase on Different Dimension's website. I love the variety of colors and cleve names in this collection.

Pier Pressure

Pier Pressure is a silver holographic glitters mixed with colors reminiscent of broken sea glass in a shimmery holographic base. (3 coats)

Bad Buoy

Bad Buoy is a navy blue jelly polish with added contrasting shimmers. (3 coats)

Ship Happens

Ship Happens is a white based crelly with added shimmer and glitters. (3 coats)

Collection: DIFFERENT dimension Pretty Nauti Collection August 2016

Colors: There are 5 more colors in this collection that I do not have, but I really like these colors. I love the variation of finishes I received in these 3 polishes as well. I love the richness of the blue in Bad Buoy. I'm a sucker for deep blues! I, of course, love a great glitter bomb like Pier Pressure.

Formula: The formulas on these were varied. Bad Buoy had a an excellent smooth and easy to apply formula. Ship Happens had a nice formula as well, but I found when I got to the 3rd coat which I felt it needed it was a little on the thick side on application. Pier Pressure is straight up glitter, so it requires a little more careful application on the 2nd and 3rd coats as it can start to thicken up on certain areas on the nail. That being said, I didn't have any substantial issues with the formula, just some little things I noticed.

Price: The entire 8 piece collection is $70.00. Individually, Pier Pressure is $10.00, Bad Buoy is $8.75, and Ship Happens is $5.00. They all can be purchased on the website.

Overall: I like the theme of this collection, the color selection, and the variety of finishes. Bad Buoy is a great blue that I think will be universally loved. There were a few minor formulation issues, but nothing that I wouldn't expect from polish formulas like that. I also like that there is a variety in pricing dependent on the finish. There is something for everyone.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Monday!

LevelUp Lacquer Temporal Flux

It's rare I buy a full nail polish collection these days. When I saw LevelUp Lacquer's Intergalactic Flakie collection pop up on her Instagram I knew I was in trouble. I've come to realize I'm really into these crelly-flakie-holo combinations. I think they're definitely my favorite finish of the moment. I snatched up this collection on its release date and I have one of them to share with you today.

Temporal Flux

Temporal Flux is an fff white almost grey crelly polish with holo micro glitter and chameleon flakies!

Collection: LevelUp Lacquer Intergalactic Flakie Collection 2016

Color: I really am not a fan of white crellies. I find they look way too harsh against my skin tone. I love that this crellie is grey. It is so much more friendly against my skin. What I really love about this color are those chameleon flakies and that holo sparkle. This is like a space version of Funfetti cake!

Formula: I really enjoyed this formula, but I was worried at first. I used 3 coats above. This formula is sheer and thin on first application, but I really prefer that with crellies. I find I have more control over the formula when it is thinner with crellies. Formulas like these spread out more evenly on the nail and don't bulk up or get goopy like thicker formulas. This was fully opaque in 3 coats.

Price: You can purchase Temporal Flux at a 16.5ml size for $10.00, 11ml size for $8.50, or 5ml size for $4.50 on their website. I have the 11ml size and I think that is perfect.

Overall: I love this polish! I love the color and all of those added magical flakie and holo bits that make this polish so special. The formula is excellent and the price is a steal too. This is one is definitely up there as a favorite polish for this year.

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

Happy Friday!

HPB Presents: Neutrals & Neons Mani

I have another Hobby Polish Bloggers blog link-up to share with you today. This month's theme was "Neutrals & Neons". I love pairing neutrals and neons during the warmer months, so I was definitely on board for this theme. I ended up using some new polishes from KBShimmer's summer collection too. I will have a full review on those next week!

Polishes Used: KBShimmer How Low Can You Flamingo?, KBShimmer One Night Sand, and Noodles Nail Polish Beach Baby.

I love these colors together. You can never go wrong with hot pink! I love Noodles Beach Baby because of the nude crelly base. It's the nude crelly I own and I wish there were more out there. KBShimmer's glitter shimmer bomb One Night Sand is my new favorite nail polish for the upcoming season. It's the perfect metallic nude. Again, those KBShimmer colors I'll have a review on next week!

Check out my fellow HPB friend's manis below!

   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   


Happy Saturday!

Noodles Nail Polish Mint For Each Other

I'm a little late to the game sharing a Valentine's polish, but it still looks pretty springy! This one is from Noodles Nail Polish a indie I recently fell in love with for their amazing crellies. The polish I'm going to share with you today is meant to be a Valentine's version of their Peppermint Twist polish (which was in my Top 25 of 2015) from the holidays. This one unlike the other Noodles Nail Polishes did fall a little flat for me, but I'll explain that later.

Mint For Each Other

Mint For Each Other is a white based crelly full of mint, aqua, silver, magenta, and pink glitters as well as mini pink hearts.

Collection: Noodles Nail Polish Valentine's 2016

Color: I absolutely love this color. I adored Peppermint Twist, so I love this Valentine's version as well. I love the pairing of the pink and mint. It's really a cute and great color combination. I also love that this a crelly polish. Noodles nails crelly polishes.

Formula: I wish this polish did not have pink heart glitters in it otherwise I would give it a glowing review. These pink hearts were a PITA to get out as evidenced by my swatch. I could only manage to get one heart out. It was frustrating me beyond belief trying to get these hearts out. The formula itself sans the hearts was good. It was on the thick side, but it applied smoothly and opaquely in 3 coats. This polish didn't need the hearts in it. I think the polish looks great without them. The hearts really tarnished my view on this polish because how frustrating they were. Plus, they were in a white crelly base which made them hard to see.

Price: This one is no longer available. I'm not sure if it will be remade, but Noodles does have other excellent polishes on her etsy site.

Overall: This polish really pushed my buttons. Those darn hearts! That being said, hearts out of the picture I'm in love with this polish. I don't want this to deter anyone from purchasing this brand. I've reviewed a handful of other Noodles Nail Polishes I absolutely loved and some even made my Top 25 list from last year. This one just didn't work out for me based on stupid heart glitter. I didn't feel the polish needed them because it's great on its own and they really tested my patience. This would of been a golden 5 paint splatter polish without the hearts!

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Wednesday!

KBShimmer Spring 2016 (4 of 7)

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

I have a few of the new KBShimmer Spring 2016 Collection polishes to share with you today. The spring collection comes in two parts, the spring collection itself and the Mega Flame collection. I'll have the Mega Flame polishes to share with you on Friday. This collection will be available for purchase on Tuesday March 15th.

Let's get started!

Peony Pincher

 Peony Pincher is a pastel pink with lavender undertones linear holo.

I Wet My Plants

I Wet My Plants is a pastel periwinkle crelly features a garden full of colorful glitters in pink, sapphire, silver and purple. Based on the Pantone 2016 Spring/Summer shade Serenity.

Purr-fectly Paw-some

Purr-fectly Paw-some is a pastel moody blue linear holographic polish with steel gray and lavender undertones.

Pool Paradise

Pool Paradise is an aqua with neon pink, periwinkle, and aqua glitters based on Pantone 2016 Spring/Summer shade Limpet Shell.

Collection: KBShimmer Spring 2016 Collection

Colors: I love these colors for spring! They're soft and pretty shades, but do vary from the run of the mill pastel colors. I'd have to say Peony Pincher and Pool Paradise are my favorite of this bunch. I will say these crellies do pack a lighter punch in regards to glitter than other KBShimmer crellies than I'm used to. The glitter in these are more subtle. They're still great colors, but I prefer more of a glitter bomb with my crellies. Be sure to check out all the shades in this collection over at Cosmetic Sanctuary.

Formulas: The formulas on all of these were excellent. I didn't have any application issues and they all applied beautifully. I only needed two coats for each of these swatches.

Price: These will be $9.25 individually and will be released on Tuesday March 15th on KBShimmer's site and Harlow & Co.

Overall: I really like this collection. The holos in this are on point. They're beautiful colors with a strong holo effect and a great formula. I love the crellies especially Pool Paradise. This is a solid spring collection and I definitely worth the second look!

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Monday!

Noodles Nail Polish Beach Baby

I have another Noodles polish to share with you today. I'm sure by now you've come to realize I'm a fan of Noodles! I love discovering indie brands I really like and stick to. When Noodles released their recent winter collection, I decided to look back and try some polishes from previous collections. I came across this summer-themed polish that I knew I wanted to try.

Beach Baby

Beach Baby is a nude crelly base mixed with neon glitters.

Collection: Noodles Nail Polish Summer 2015

Color: What a great crelly! I LOVE the use of a nude crelly as the base here. I must admit white crellies tend to look very stark against my skin, and while I love them, they don't always love me. This nude crelly though is where it's at! It is so much more forgiving and I love how with the beach theme it emulates the color of sand. Its perfect for this color. The neon glitters in this are so fun and perfect match to this crelly base.

Formula: The formula on this was alright. I used 3 coats above. The glitters apply easily, but they do have tendency to stick to one another which can lead to some uneven application. This wasn't a deal breaker at all, but it does require some extra care.

Price: This is $8.50 on Noodles Nail Polish's etsy site.

Overall: This is an awesome polish and so perfect for summer. I love this crelly base and the whole theme and idea of this polish. It's so fun and I love those colorful glitters. The glitters in the formula do take some extra care, but it doesn't detract from my love of this polish.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Friday!

Third Week Throwbacks: China Glaze Cloud Nine

It's throwbacks week! I'm starting to think I need to do either another week of these or add Throwback Thursday polish every week. I have so many older polishes to go through. This polish came out with China Glaze's Specialty Glitter collection almost 7 years ago! This was a polish before its time, and the formula most definitely suggests that.

Cloud Nine

Cloud Nine is a white crelly base with golden iridescent glitter.

Collection: China Glaze Specialty Glitters 2009

Color: This is a beautiful polish. I think it has the perfect name. That perfect white paired with that beautiful iridescent glitter is stunning. I don't think I've seen a polish like it before then and even now. You know what it reminds me of? That Beanie Baby dragon called Magic. This color is magical.

Formula: Well that is where the magic ends. This has the absolute worst formula in my history of nail polish. I can't really blame it though. This was a crelly before there were crellies. The problem with this polish isn't the glitter in the base, it's the base itself. The base is has the consistency of watered down glue with clumps of white pigment floating about. It's gloopy, patchy, thick, sheer, and everything else that could be wrong with a formula. You can tell by the photo it was a struggle. I used 4 coats to get that coverage and I still had patches, so I just dabbed the polish over them. It is an absolute mess. I would love to say the age of the polish is what caused this to happen, but no I remember being just as bad 7 years ago.

Price: You can find this in the $4-$5 on eBay.

Overall: As terrible as this polish's formula is I cannot part with it. It is just so pretty. Will I ever wear it? No. It doesn't dry fully and it's just such a PITA. This is staying around for it's looks and nostalgia. I am curious though if there is an indie out there like this or if one can be created I'm sure with the materials these days there would be a much better result?

My Rating: 1 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Monday!

Noodles Nail Polish Winter Daze

The indie market is absolutely overwhelming for me. I feel like it's just nail polish overload on social media with all the indies out there. I cannot keep up especially now with so many small releases, specialty collection, indie boxes. Literally, my brain cannot compute. It's just too much.

I really try zone in one brands I love and honestly I have to tune the rest out. Every so often, a brand pops on my radar and I have a new much loved brand. That brand for me now is Noodles Nail Polish. I came across their holiday collection and fell in love. I then came across their winter collection and fell harder. This was one of the colors I feel for. 

Winter Daze

Winter Dazes is a deep cornflower blue crelly that's full of gold holo glitters, blue/gold flakies, and aqua micro glitter.

Collection: Noodles Nail Polish Winter 2016

Color: You know me. I love my cool-toned colors paired with warm metals. I love this shade of blue paired this mix of glitters. It's gorgeous and unique. I adore it when indie makers do color combinations like this, they're my absolute favorite. 

Formula: Excellent formula. I used 2 coats above. This applies beautifully, smoothly, and opaquely. 

Price: This is $8.50 on Noodles Nail Polish etsy site. This one is limited edition! There are only 8 bottles left! Get one! 

Overall: This is an all star polish. I love the color combination. The formula is excellent and probably one of the best crelly formulas I've tried. I think this is must have, so for the 8 of you left who get it you're lucky! 

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

Happy Wednesday! 

Silly Bee's Chickadees Steph's Sugarplum Suite + Giveaway

*The following products were received in exchange for my honest review.

The past two winters I have been fortunate enough to work with Melissa from Silly Bee's Chickadees for The Gift of Melly. The Gift of Melly is blogger collaboration Melissa does where she creates polishes inspired by bloggers where a portion of the sales from those polishes go to charity of that bloggers choice. The launch of these polishes is usually around the holidays, but it got pushed back this year. I participated again this year and Melissa created Steph's Sugarplum Suite for me inspired by The Nutcracker. My charity of choice is again the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando the animal shelter where I volunteer weekly. Stay tuned below because there is a giveaway!

Steph's Sugarplum Suite

Steph's Sugarplum Suite is a pale mauve crelly with magenta glitters in various sizes.

Collection: Silly Bee's Chickadees The Gift of Melly Winter 2016

Color: I can't dislike a color I created. I love this color. I feel unique and fun pink shades do not get the attention they deserve, so I wanted one! I like the softness of the base paired with the deeper glitters. It's a feminine and pretty color, but it also has a bit of pizzazz. I like that this color can transcend seasons. Yes, it's a holiday inspired polish, but this is perfect color for Valentine's and the spring season.

Formula: This had an excellent smooth and easy to use crelly formula. I used 2 coats above, and found that this applied evenly and opaquely.

Price: Steph's Sugarplum Suite is $10 on Silly Bee's Chickadees etsy site. $2 from each bottle sold will be donated to the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando.

Overall: Of course, I love Steph's Sugarplum Suite! I do really think it's an excellent color with a great formula. I also really appreciate being part of Melissa's collab again this year and her generosity in supporting various charities. Please check out Emily/Casual Contrast's and Jacki/Adventures in Acetone polishes and giveaways and stay tuned for Mishka/Accio Lacquer's post!

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

Giveaway Time!
If you would like your own bottle of Steph's Sugarplum Suite please enter the Rafflecopter below. This bottle was provided by Silly Bee's Chickadees for this giveaway. USA ONLY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Happy Friday!

Noodles Nail Polish Believe

Happy Christmas week! I have a bunch of festive polishes to show you throughout this week. I'm going to start with a favorite indie brand of mine for the holiday, Noodles Nail Polish. I can definitely say after seeing all the holiday collections out there, Noodles is my favorite by far. This is a fun crelly polish perfect for Christmas.

Believe

Believe is a cream colored crelly base with red, gold, green, and gold star glitters.

Collection: Noodles Nail Polish Holiday 2015

Color: I love Christmas crellies and this one is perfect. I also love this is not a true white crelly. I can find some white crellies to be really harsh on my skin tone, but this more of a cream or off white colored base. I find it more forgiving on my skin. I love the festive colored glitters in this as well as the gold stars.

Formula: This had a nice formula. I used 3 coats above. I did not have trouble applying this formula or the small glitters. I will say the gold glitters were not cooperative. They were hard to find in the bottle and when I did find them on I had to place them on my nail.

Price: This is $8.50 on Noodles Nail Polish's etsy site.

Overall: I really like Believe! I love the off white crelly base and the glitter combination. I do wish the stars were easier to get out and apply. I did not have any trouble with the stars in Winter Wishes, but this one was a bit more troublesome. I think this crelly base is more opaque than Winter Wishes. This still is a great polish to me though.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Monday!

Noodles Nail Polish Winter Wishes

I have another Noodles Nail Polish to share with you today from the winter collection. I stocked up on a few of these when these came out. This is probably my favorite holiday collection from indies I've seen so far. This is blasphemous, but to be honest I'm a bit holo-ed out. So many indie collections are all just holos or mainly holos for the holiday season. I love some variety with crellies, jellies, and toppers when it comes to the holidays. Noodles Nail Polish nailed it (pun intended) in a holiday collection for me! I have the color Winter Wishes to share with you today.

Winter Wishes 

Winter Wishes a pale blue crelly with various shades of blue hexes that are metallic, holo, and matte with blue stars and white matte hexes too.

Collection: Noodles Nail Polish Holiday 2015

Color: This is such a fun blue crelly! I love even though this a pale blue it's still vibrant. The bright glitters in this crelly really pop. I love the varying shades of blue in the glitter as well as the different finishes.

Formula: Excellent formula. I used 3 coats here. This applied smoothly and evenly. I didn't have trouble apply the glitters and even the star glitters applied easily to my nail.

Price: This is $8.50 on Noodles Nail Polish's etsy site.

Overall: Winter Wishes is the type of nail polish that puts a smile to my face. It's a beautiful, happy, and festive color. I love the shades of blue in this and all the fun glitter. The formula on this polish is great. This color has the spirit of the holidays wrapped up in it. I'm very happy with Winter Wishes and I think it's a definite must have and Top 25 of 2015 contender.

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

Happy Wednesday!