KBShimmer Pastel Neon Tie Dye Nail Art

- PRESS SAMPLE -

Hey guys! I am so excited about this warm weather - it's inspiring me to do all sorts of summery nail art. When I saw this super bright tie dye look from @lifeisbetterpolished on Instagram, I knew I had to recreate it. And since I have been dying to use my new KBShimmer pastel neon cremes in nail art, I decided to combine the two!

KBShimmer Men Are From Mars-ala Swatch and Nail Art

Happy New Year, friends! What better way to start off the year 2015 than by showing you the latest creation from KBShimmer, inspired by Pantone's 2015 Color of the Year! Many of you involved in fashion and beauty probably already know that the color of the year is Marsala, which is described as a "naturally robust and earthy wine red." Well, KBShimmer is on top of the trend with their new release, a linear holographic shade called Men Are From Mars-ala:

Men Are From Mars-ala is a brick red (or marsala!) linear holographic shade. Application is incredibly easy, as I've come to expect from KBShimmer, and it's fully opaque in two coats. The holographic shimmer is very present and looks lovely on the nail! Shown above is two coats with KBShimmer Clearly on Top quick dry top coat.

I decided to see how it looked with matte top coat as well:

...And I absolutely loved it! In fact, I think I prefer this shade matte. Although the holographic shimmer is much more muted, the shade has a softer and more elegant feel to it. (Plus, you all know how much I love matte top coat!)

I wasn't ready to take this shade off just yet, so I decided to paint on some simple roses using Cirque Empire State of Mind, which is a rich reddish brown that I think qualifies as a marsala tone! Of course, I mattified the roses as well ;)

KBShimmer Men Are From Mars-ala is available online for $8.75 USD per bottle. Keep up with KBShimmer by following them on Facebook!

What do you think of the color Marsala for 2015?

PRODUCTS USED:
Base: Duri Rejuvacote
Polishes: KBShimmer Men Are From Mars-ala, $8.75 USD; Cirque Colors Empire State of Mind, $13 USD
Top: KBShimmer Clearly on Top; OPI Matte Top Coat

Some products provided for my honest review.

Zoya Matte Velvet Collection Swatches

Hi guys! Today I have swatches of the Zoya Matte Velvet Collection - these best-selling polishes have been around for a few years, and they get re-released every so often. I've always thought these colors were gorgeous, and I finally got my hands on them! Let me tell you, they did not disappoint.

This collection consists of six matte polishes with a subtle shimmer that are perfect for winter! They had flawless formulas, and I loved the velvety matte finish on all of these, but the shimmer in them was gorgeous, so I had to try them with top coat too. Let's look at them individually:

Veruschka is a deep forest green shimmer with a matte finish. This was the first matte velvet I tried, and I instantly fell in love! This color is so rich and beautiful, and the formula was perfection. Shown above is two coats, no top coat.

Of course I had to see what this color looked like with top coat! It looks so beautiful both ways.

Posh is a stunning berry red shimmer with a matte finish. Another beautiful color! I think this one is perfect for the upcoming months, especially Christmas time! Again, the formula was incredible (I'm sure I will be repeating myself a lot in this post, but these polishes are just impressive!). Shown above is two coats without top coat.

Here is Posh with top coat. The glitters in this polish really come to life with a shiny finish!

Harlow is a vibrant orchid matte with a ton of silver sparkle. I thought it was interesting to see that this color had so much more shimmer than the others, but I think the effect is really nice! Just like the others, the formula was perfection. Shown above is two coats without top coat.

And here it is with top coat! I didn't think this polish actually looked much different with top coat, unlike some of the others, but the sparkle definitely becomes deeper and more vibrant!

Savita is a breathtaking cool toned rich purple matte with red and gold shimmer. This color is just amazing! I love the addition of the different colored shimmer in this polish, it really makes it so mysterious and rich. Shown above is two coats without top coat.

And here it is with top coat! Wow! Doesn't this color look like it belongs to royalty? It's perfect!

Next, we have Dovima, a beautiful smoky black with a matte finish. With the silver shimmer in this, it reminds me of a dark night sky! I love this one, and I can see myself wearing it for a classy but elegant look. Shown above is two coats without top coat.

Here it is with top coat, which makes it look even more like the night sky! Can anyone say "galaxy nails"?!

And finally, we have Loredana, a gorgeous gunmetal gray with a matte finish. This polish had a similar finish as Harlow - it featured much more sparkle than the other polishes. I think it works perfectly with this shade of gray! Shown above is two easy coats without top coat.

Here it is with top coat. With the vibrant shimmer, I didn't think it looked too different with top coat, but I love it both ways!

Overall, I think it's safe to say I'm in love with this collection. No wonder Zoya keeps bringing them back! Matte polishes aren't generally that easy to work with, but these were smooth and flawless. And the colors were just wonderful. I just started typing out my favorites, but then I realized I was listing the entire collection... Basically, you need them all!

The Matte Velvet polishes are available from Zoya's website for $9 USD per bottle, or $54 for the entire collection. You can follow Zoya on Facebook and Twitter for updates and photos!

Do you own any Zoya Matte Velvets? Which one is your favorite?

These polishes were provided for my honest review.

Julep November Box - Suedes!

Happy holidays, everyone! I finally went home for Thanksgiving and picked up my Julep maven box. This month is all about matte suedes, and I got the It Girl box, so mine came with Minka and Brit.

Minka is a copper matte suede with a silver shimmer. This is two coats, no top coat.

The color looks great! Almost a brownish, if it weren't for the silver shimmer.

Here's a macro shot of that color.

Next we have Brit, a gunmetal silver with a matte suede finish.

I love this color also - but it's nothing I haven't seen before.

Here's a macro of Brit. Love how it looks gritty but feels super smooth.

This month's box also came with body frosting that smelled delicious -

Photo courtesy of Julep.com

Did you guys get this month's box? What do you think?

Matte Polka Dots

This manicure isn't too great but I figured I'd post it anyway -

Base: OPI Nein! Nein! Nein! OK Fine

Dots: China Glaze For Audrey

Top Coat: Hard Candy Matte-ly In Love

My New A-England Polishes: Avalon with King Arthur Stamping

My a-England nail polishes finally arrived in the mail and I could not be more excited! I got two polishes from the Mythicals collection during the recent sale - Avalon and King Arthur.

I started with Avalon, a cool-toned purple shimmer with an incredibly royal looking shine!
I then stamped with my new Bundle Monster plate, King Arthur, which is another cool toned color, a dark steel gray with a shimmer as well.
I topped it all off with Matte-ly in Love by Hard Candy.

I know this stamp is being so overused right now but I totally love it. I love how subtle the stamp came out.

What do you think of this nail art?