Cuccio Colour Winter Basics Swatch Spam

Hi guys, today I've got for you some Cuccio Colour swatches from various collections that I got from HB Beauty Bar - you already know I love the Cuccio formula and these colors are not only perfect for winter, but great basics to have in your collection for use in nail art.

Like I said, this is a great bunch of basic colors for any serious nail artist, and I love that Cuccio has the wide, flat brushes for easy application. I used a new Essie top coat for these swatches which I didn't like at ALL, but I didn't realize that it translated onto the photos until after I was finished. (I probably should have used the Cuccio Top Coat, which has an incredible shine.) But I will let you know that the cremes were very glossy on their own! Let's take a look!

A Kiss in Paris is the perfect cherry red creme. Everyone needs a shade like this in their collection, and the one-coat formula is fabulous, unsurprisingly. Shown above is two coats and top coat.

Shock Value is a sheer, shimmery iridescent white that sparkles gold in direct light. This is a great color for an elegant winter affair! Shown above is two easy coats with top coat.

Verona Lace is a basic white creme. Oh man, how do I describe this polish? In the endless search for the perfect white creme, I think I've stumbled across a gem in this brand! The formula is not too thick or too thin, easy application, and perfect coverage in two coats. I've already used this polish as a base for nail art! (You'll see the end result of that soon!) I think I'm in love. Shown above is two easy coats with top coat.

And with a perfect white creme comes a perfect black creme, 2am In Hollywood. This basic black has a great formula and applies very smoothly. Shown above is two coats with top coat.

Glasgow Nights is a near-black green creme - no, this isn't the same polish as 2am In Hollywood, although in dim lighting they almost look the same. I wasn't totally sold on this bottle, although I love this dark wintery color, because the formula was patchy. It dried in a weird spotty pattern on the first coat, and there were tiny little spots of pigment visible - all of this was solved with a thick second coat, though, and as you can see in the photo above, the issues aren't visible anymore! It's worth purchasing if you like the color, in my opinion. Shown above is two coats with top coat.

Hong Kong Harbor is a silver foil. Another great basic to have in your collection, and it's fully opaque in just one coat! For the photo above, I used two coats with top coat.

And finally we have Russian Opulence. It's a great basic gold shimmer, and although personally I wouldn't wear it as a full mani because it's a bit yellow for my skin tone, I think this polish will be great for nail art accents and stamping. As is usual for this type of polish, it applied streaky, so you might want to paint one thick coat for full opacity, and a second thin coat to smooth out the streaks. Shown above is two coats with top coat.

Overall, these are some great key colors for your collection, and you can definitely rock them alone all winter long! Cuccio Colour is available from HB Beauty Bar for $8.50 USD per bottle. Don't forget, you can use the code POLISHCHALLENGE at checkout for an additional 15% off your order!

These polishes were provided for my honest review.

China Glaze Neon Swatch Spam and Nail Art

Hi guys! I hope you all enjoyed the holidays this past week - I took a couple days off from blogging to spend time with loved ones, but I'm back in action today with swatches and nail art using some China Glaze neon polishes from Live Love Polish. I've been pretty obsessed with gradients lately, and triangle cutouts, so I figured I'd combine them for today's nail art look:

I started with a base of Cuccio Verona Lace, a white creme, to make the neon colors pop. Once that was dry I sponged on a gradient of China Glaze Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, China Glaze Son of A Peach, and China Glaze Pink Voltage, all from Live Love Polish. Once that was dry, I applied triangle nail vinyls from Vinyl Boutique and painted on Cirque Memento Mori before peeling off the vinyls.. I finished everything off with matte top coat.

Even though this style is nothing new, I have to say, I am digging the gradient with black! I did wait a long time for the gradient to dry before using the vinyls, though, since there were several layers of nail polish - I believe I waited about an hour - and I think I probably should have waited a little bit longer so I could get cleaner lines, but I am still satisfied with the result.

And I know, this totally isn't seasonally appropriate, but I decided to just run with it! I do love seasonal nail polishes, but I don't think our nails necessarily NEED to be defined by the weather. And hey, it's summer in Australia, right? ;)

Here are swatches of the polishes I used:

Pink Voltage is a neon pink with a cool toned shimmer throughout. As is usual for neons, this one dried to a slightly matte finish, but I loved how easy it was to apply! Not chalky or difficult at all. Shown above is two easy coats with top coat.

Son of a Peach is a neon peachy orange creme. It is slightly peachier and brighter than in the photo above, but of course, my camera doesn't like neons! Formula on this one was surprisingly thin, but easy enough to use, and again, it dried to a slightly matte finish. I'm glad I finally got my hands on this popular color, because it's absolutely gorgeous. Shown above is three coats with top coat.

And finally, we have Yellow Polka Dot Bikini. Yes, it is that bright! Think "tennis ball" color, only more eye searing! This polish on it's own was too sheer to build to full opacity, so I layered two coats over white for the photo above, along with top coat to shine up the slightly matte finish. Are your eyes burning yet? Haha! This color is perfect for the summer, or if you need to brighten up dull winter days.

The China Glaze polishes are available from Live Love Polish for $7.50 USD each, and you can use the code "INEEDMORENAILPOLISH" at checkout for 10% off your entire order. The triangle nail vinyls are available from the Vinyl Boutique for $5 USD for a sheet of 100.

What do you think of this nail art look? Do you own any of these polishes?

Some products provided for my honest review.

OPI + Gwen Stefani "Don't Speak" 18K Gold Top Coat

Hi guys! Christmas Eve is upon us, but there's still time to grab some stocking stuffers for your loved ones, right? Well, you won't want to miss this one - Gwen Stefani and OPI have teamed up for a new collection this season, which includes a special edition 18K gold top coat. And I was lucky enough to get this topper from HB Beauty Bar to show you all!

This special edition topper comes in a gorgeous gold chrome bottle and of course, some fancy packaging! I found that this polish was different from other gold flakes I have tried, because this one includes some holographic gold shimmer as well. The formula was great (what else would you expect from OPI?!) and it was easy to apply. Let's take a look:

I couldn't decide if I wanted to wear this topper over red or black, so I decided to make a gradient where you could see it over both colors! I started with a base of Essie Jump in My Jumpsuit (which I reviewed here) and then sponged on Nanacoco Love Black. I topped them off with OPI Don't Speak.

I am totally in love with this combination! You can't really see the holographic sparkle unless you are in direct light (you can see it most on my middle nail in the above photo, but also some faint sparkle on my ring finger).

This manicure was originally going to be what I wore for Christmas because I just love how elegant it looks. I actually might just reapply it for tomorrow!

Here is a visual of all the polishes I used. All of them are from HB Beauty Bar. Don't forget, you can use the code POLISHCHALLENGE for 15% off your entire order, even on the gold top coat!

Overall, I do like this gold top coat. I think it's a wonderful less expensive alternative to some of the other gold flake top coats I've seen - it's only $24.95 USD from HB Beauty Bar! - and I think this bottle is a great collector's item for any nail polish lover.

What do you think of this topper?

*Some products provided for my honest review.

China Glaze Holiday 2014 Twinkled Collection Swatches

I know, I know - we are cutting it a bit close here, but I've got some amazing holiday swatches to share with you of the new China Glaze Twinkled Collection from HB Beauty Bar! Of course, these polishes all have cutesy names to go with the holiday theme, but a lot of them can be worn well beyond the season because they are just so gorgeous and wintery!

This collection consists of 12 polishes in a variety of finishes, including several glitter toppers. The formulas are typical of China Glaze - easy to work with and great with color payoff. There are a couple of polishes in this collection that aren't too unique, but a few keepers that I will definitely be wearing all winter. Let's get into it:

I'd Melt for You is a bright silver chrome finish polish. This is one of the standouts in the collection for me, although the color isn't too unique, because the formula was wonderfully easy to work with - which is rare for a chrome polish! I'm sure this color is great for stamping. Of course, since it does have the chrome finish, brushstrokes will be pretty visible and you'll want to buff out any imperfections on your nail before you apply. Shown above is two coats with top coat.

Tip Your Hat is a classic winter red creme. Formula was pretty much opaque in one coat, but I used two for the swatch above, along with top coat. Nothing too new or original here, but always a nice polish to have in the collection!

Define Good... is a gorgeous dark red shimmer. I am so attracted to colors like this during the colder months, because they have such incredible depth. This one was incredibly opaque as well - shown above is one thick coat with top coat.

Dancing and Prancing is a glitter topper with a rainbow of metallic hexes. The base of this one looked slightly pink, but it's not visible over polish. Definitely a great color for New Year's! Shown is one coat over Define Good... with top coat.

No Peeking! is another gorgeous shimmer, this time in a warm purple shade. This one was also opaque in one coat, but I added a second to even out the slight streakiness. Shown above is two coats with top coat.

Out Like A Light is a dark gray creme. Nothing too original here, but the formula was fabulous, and opaque in one coat. Shown above is one coat with top coat. (Excuse the bumpiness on my ring finger, my top coat was running out and getting a bit bubbly. No fault of this polish though!)

Meet Me Under the Stars is one of my favorites in the collection, a fully opaque black jelly packed with twinkling silver microglitters. This polish reminds me of a recent vacation I took with my boyfriend - we went to Delaware, and one night we just sat in the middle of acres of farmland and stared out into the starry night sky. I had never seen so many stars before - really as sparkly as this polish! It was stunning, and quite humbling. Looking at my nails with this polish made me think of that very special night, so it's a standout shade for me!  Shown above is two easy coats with top coat.

Feeling Twinkly is a bright blue metallic microglitter. This polish would look great layered over a colored base, but I decided to wear it on it's own, and I love the result. Another great winter shade! Shown above is three easy coats with top coat.

Pine-ing For Glitter is a gorgeous glitter topper featuring green metallic hexes in various sizes. I love the shade of green that these glitters are, and I think they look absolutely gorgeous paired with the dark gray. Shown above is one coat over Out Like a Light with top coat.

De-Light is a sparkly glitter topper packed with holographic gold hexes in various sizes, as well as mini holographic bar glitters. I didn't think I would like this shade too much, but I was pleasantly surprised! I could have packed on the glitter more densely, but I love this subtle glitter look. Shown above is one light coat over No Peeking! with top coat.

December to Remember is a gorgeous icy blue packed with pink and gold shimmer. This is definitely a unique color! I absolutely love all the different flashes of color in this shade, and I think it's perfect for winter. It was a tad streaky, though! Shown above is two coats with top coat.

And finally, we have Chillin' With My Snow-mies, a glitter topper packed with white satin hexes in various larger sizes. I love the end result of this glitter, but application was kind of a pain! I placed some glitters, and then applied a regular coat over them, and it ended up being pretty thick because of the thick glitter base. Either way, it's a pretty funky glitter and it could make for some exciting winter nail art. Shown above over Tip Your Hat, with top coat to smooth everything out.

Overall, there are some serious winners in this collection! I actually ended up really liking most, if not all of these shades, and I definitely want to wear them even after the holidays are over. My top picks are I'd Melt For You, Define Good... , Meet Me Under the Stars, and Pine-ing for Glitter.

These polishes are available from HB Beauty Bar for $5.50 USD each, and you can use the discount code POLISHCHALLENGE at checkout for 15% off your entire order!

Did you purchase any of these shades? Which one do you like best?

These polishes were provided for my honest review.

HB Beauty Bar: Nanacoco Holiday Swatch Spam

Wow, I can't believe Christmas is right around the corner! (And I still have a lot of holiday nail polishes and nail art looks to show you guys, haha!) Anyway, today I have four Nanacoco polishes from HB Beauty Bar that I picked out for the holiday season. These shades come in a variety of exciting finishes, but the colors are classy and perfect to celebrate with! I totally forgot to take a title photo for this blog post, so let's jump right into it:

Irresistable is a gorgeous dark red shimmer that's practically opaque in one coat. This is a great classic shade of red that you can wear all year long, but I just love colors like this during the holidays. Application was a tad brush-strokey, as is normal for this type of polish, but a careful second coat definitely kept everything looking nice. Shown above is two easy coats with top coat.

Lime Time is a bright lime green with some serious gold shimmer. I know, I know - this is totally a summer color. But I couldn't resist picking out such a cheerful shade of green! Okay, but seriously - this is a great color to have in your collection, especially for the summer months. Brush strokes were slightly visible on this one, but again, a careful second coat evened it out. Shown above is two coats with top coat.

Mermaid Lake is an insanely gorgeous aqua foil. This one had a crazy sparkle, and I just loved it! Again, this is a great summer color, but I also think it's a cheerful color to wear in the winter, especially during Chanukah. Shown above is two easy coats with top coat.

Finally, we have Surfer's Dream, a beautiful blue creme. (I think at this point we've established that I like wearing summery colors in the winter. Whatever!) This is a gorgeous color to wear year round. Blue cremes are one of my go-tos for nail polish on any given day, so I love having a shade like this, especially with an easy formula. My only issue with this polish is that it came with a wonky brush - but it was easy enough to work with. Shown above is two coats with top coat.

At $3 USD per bottle from HB Beauty Bar, these polishes are practically a steal! And as always, you can use the code POLISHCHALLENGE at checkout for 15% off your entire order.

What do you think of my holiday picks? Which is your favorite?

* These polishes were provided for my honest review.

Renaissance Cosmetics: The Modern Vamp Collection Swatches + Review

Hi guys, today I have for you some amazing new polishes from Renaissance Cosmetics. They've actually released two new collections this fall/winter, and both of them are incredible - I'll be sharing the Anniversary Collection soon. But for today, we're looking at The Modern Vamp Collection, a collection of six gorgeous and unique polishes inspired by vampires from recent television shows and films. (And I even have a discount code to share with you! Read on for more information.)

I love vampire movies and TV shows, so I was already in love with this collection before I even tried it. But I do think that this collection will be great for people who don't know any of the references as well because the polishes are pretty gorgeous.

As I've come to expect from Renaissance Cosmetics, these polishes are unlike anything I have in my collection. Meghan does an incredible job of combining colors and finishes to create a completely new product. Anyway, all of the formulas on these polishes are fabulous and they feature the wide, flat brush that I love for easy application. As I always say with Renaissance, I think the true beauty of these polishes can be seen in the macro shots, so you'll see close ups of each polish in today's post. Let's get started, shall we?

Footprints in the Snow is a white crelly, almost opaque with one coat (almost all of the colors were practically opaque in one coat, much like creme finishes, but I'm going to refer to them as crellies because they include the added glitters) that features black, red, and blue microglitters as well as a fuchsia and gold shimmer. Seriously, have you ever seen a white crelly like this?! It really is delicate and beautiful like snow. This polish was inspired by Eli from the film Let the Right One In. I haven't seen it, but this gorgeous polish is making me want to! Shown above is two easy coats and top coat.

Here is a close up in the bottle and on the nail. You can really see all the variations in glitter when you look up close. What a complex polish!

Next we have An Eternal Doll, a creamy nude crelly packed with red and gold glitters in various sizes, as well as a gold shimmer. Again, this was practically a one coater, but the true glitter depth comes from the second coat. This polish was inspired by Claudia from Interview With A Vampire. Again, I haven't seen this film, but this polish is so warm and beautiful! It almost has a Christmassy vibe to it, and I'm definitely considering wearing it for the holiday! Shown above is two coats with top coat.

Here is a closeup in the bottle and on the nail. I made the mistake of using a really thin top coat (by Essie) for these swatches, and it didn't do a great job of smoothing out the glitters in this collection. I would recommend using a nice thick top coat like Seche Vite or KBShimmer for these polishes to smooth them out easily!

Next we have Cursed, a dusty medium blue packed with red hexes and iridescent flakes, as well as an intense fuchsia shimmer. Seriously, have you ever seen a shade like this?! It's absolutely beautiful and so unique. This polish is inspired by Aidan from Being Human, which is probably one of my favorite television shows of all time, and it captures him perfectly! Again, this polish was practically a one coater, but you're looking at two coats with top coat.

Here is a closeup in the bottle and on the nail. I think the combination of red and blue is so gorgeous here, and a combination I wouldn't expect to see in a polish.

Next up is Blood/Lust, a super sparkly red jelly polish packed with red and gold shimmer. This is the closest that Renaissance will probably be to a "classic" polish, but I do think that colors like this are just great to have in my collection for a classy and elegant look. Again, I could definitely see this being a Christmas polish! This polish was inspired by vampire Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and it's a great representation of her character. Shown above is two coats with top coat, but you might want to add a third coat for deeper color and more sparkle.

I don't think my swatch photo accurately shows off the shimmer in this polish, but you can see how wild it is in the bottle shot! Seriously, this polish shimmered so beautifully on the nail!

Out of the Darkness is a black crelly with a seriously strong linear holo finish, as well as blue and fuchsia flakes. I know I'm repeating myself here, but I have never seen a polish like this - it's absolutely gorgeous, and I don't think photos do it justice. The pink and blue flakes shimmer beautifully, even though the black base is completely opaque, and the holographic finish just sparkles! This polish is inspired by Angel from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and it represents his struggle with good and evil. Personally, I think this polish looks totally badass! It makes me want to rock a leather jacket and some spiky boots. Shown above is two coats with top coat.

Seriously, can we drool now?! Here is a photo in the bottle and on the nail - this polish clearly loves to pick up light, and my camera almost had a meltdown trying to capture the holographic finish.

Last but definitely not least, we have Sex, Death, & Rock 'n' Roll. I honestly wasn't even sure how to describe this incredibly unique polish - gray? gold? blue? - so I checked out Meghan's review, and decided it's a black base packed with gold shimmer and a strong linear holo, as well as holographic hex glitters. Can we just take a second to look at the bottle in the above photo? It seriously looks like the galaxy exploded! The polish itself was practically opaque in one coat, but I just had to add a second for more depth. This polish is inspired by Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (is anyone else seeing a theme here? I think it's safe to say Meghan loves Buffy!), and again, I think is describes him perfectly. Shown above is two coats with top coat.

Here is a closeup in the bottle and on the nail. Incredible!

Overall, I'm totally in love with this collection. I honestly couldn't pick a favorite - even the polishes that I didn't understand the references to are amazing! I also want to point out that these polishes could be perfect for any male polish lover, especially the last two - even the inclusion of sparkle and holo doesn't make them distinctly feminine, and I love that, since they are inspired by male characters. (And hey, Oz from Buffy wore nail polish, and he was pretty badass!)

This collection is available from Renaissance Cosmetics for $9.50 USD each or $51.30 USD for the entire collection. Make sure you use the code "nailpolishchallenge15" for 15% off your order of $10 or more! I believe some of these colors are currently out of stock (and they sell out pretty quickly in general), so you'll want to follow Renaissance on Facebook for restock information.

What do you think of this collection? Do you recognize any of the vamps?

*These polishes were provided for my honest review.