Breast Cancer Awareness - Skittles

Hey dolls! Today I have for you the BCA mani that I wore to my local Making Strides walk. This look was inspired by Marta of ChitChat Nails. She always does the cutest skittles looks (where each nail is different) and I wanted to give it a try. I pulled out Barielle Eli's Magic, Barielle Cotton Candy, Zoya Kimber, and OPI Excuse Moi. I received Excuse Moi as a surprise gift from my polish friend Lola over at Burb Beauty (thanks doll). Two coats of Excuse Moi was used over one coat of Eli's Magic while two coats were used of the remaining polishes.

As Marta inspired this look, I had to take a few pictures with some BCA jewelry!

I loved the way this turned out! I finally got a chance to do the "saran wrap" marbled look. I started with a base of Cotton Candy, added stripes of Kimber and Eli's Magic, then dabbed with the saran wrap. I'm ready to try this look with other colors!

Here are a few pictures from the BCA walk. I have more, but they are with my high school mentoring group and I don't want to put them on the net all willy nilly. :)

Happy hump day dolls!

Barielle Facebook Sweepstakes!

Hey dolls! I've just been informed that Barielle is hosting an awesome sweepstakes starting today at 3p EST on their facebook page. You all know this is one of my favorite brands, so I'm always happy to share the Barielle love! Click the picture to enter!

Ten random winners will be selected for a prize package worth over $100.00. 

The prize package includes:

Any two of our 5 pack Nail Polish collections

One piece of Barielle’s Nail Strengthener Cream (full size)

One piece of Nail Rebuilding Protein Base Coat

One piece of Ultra Speed Dry Manicure Extender Top Coat

This is an awesome prize package, so make sure you head on over to their page! The sweepstakes ends on 10/31/12 at 7a EST. Happy hump day dolls!

Fail ~ V-Gap Nails

Hey dolls! I told you all in my geometric stamping post that I failed at several other nail art attempts. Below you will see the only fail that I took pictures of. I started with two coats of Barielle Blossom. The formula was somewhat thick and didn't self-level well at all. I used three coats of Essie Turquoise and Caicos. I can't believe I've had this polish for over a year without wearing it! The formula on Turquoise and Caicos was sheerer than I thought it would be, but it wasn't problematic at all.

Using Nailside's tutorial, I wanted to do a V-gap/chevron look. This is what would be described as a Monet;  looks good from far away, but it's a total mess up close (two points for all my Clueless fans)!

Total fail. The lines were not clean at all. My gap also appears to be too small. I think my long nail beds made the space between the tape look deceptive. I even went to the store specifically to buy stationery tape because I tried cutting different designs with my craft scissors. I added Barielle Stardust to try and make the look cohesive, but overall, I'm just not a fan of this one. The only good thing about this look is that the colors are fab together. Oh well, we can't win them all, nor do I try to.

Polish Days ~ Geometry

Hey dolls! I was so excited when the theme for this month's Polish Days was released. I had so many great ideas...unfortunately, none of them worked the way I wanted it to. I'll probably show you those fails at a later time. Yesterday I decided to take the easy route of stamping, which in actuality isn't that easy for me since I don't do it often. I started with two coats of Barielle Blossom, a gorgeous peach creme. After Blossom was dry, I stamped on geometrical patterns using Bundle Monster image plate #208 and a-England Saint George.

I'm pleased with the way this turned out even though it wasn't my initial goal. Sometimes you just have to roll with it. I love this color combo and Saint George compliments Blossom well. Make sure you take a look below at what all of the other ladies have come up with!

Barielle Decadence

Hey dolls! Today I'm sharing pictures of Barielle Decadence, a turquoise shimmer. I wore Decadence underneath Barielle Stardust last week. The formula was really great and it was opaque in two coats.

shade

This polish has been in my untrieds for way too long; almost a year! I'm glad I finally decided to pull Decadence out, because it's gorgeous.

Have you been surprised by any oldies lately?

Barielle Dazzling Diamonds Collection

Hey dolls! As promised, today I'm showing you the Barielle Dazzling Diamonds collection. This collection consists of four different glitter top coats and one glitter that could be worn alone.

Purple Hearts is a glitter top coat that is filled with different sized purple, silver, and fuchsia glitter. The formula was easy to use and one coat was used over Barielle Pink Flip-Flops. Hands down, Purple Hearts was my favorite from the collection.

Stardust is filled with silver and blue glitter in a clear base. This one is not as dense as Purple Hearts, but adequate coverage was achieved with one coat. I layered Stardust over Barielle Decadence.

Pink Diamond is a dense rose pink glitter in a clear base. If you are patient, this one is probably dense enough to wear on its own at three coats. I chose to layer one coat of Pink Diamond over Barielle Peach Popsicle, but I wish I would've chosen a more contrasting color.

Ebony Rainbow is a sparse multi-colored glitter top coat in a clear base. I layered two coats of Ebony Rainbow over Barielle Ocean Breeze. I'm going to apologize now for the quality of these pictures. Out of the 40  or so that were taken, they were all blurry! I'll have to wear this again at a later date to take better pictures.

Cherry Blossom Sparkler is the only shade from this collection that is not in a clear base and can be worn alone. It is a red jelly filled with different shades of red glitter. Most of you know that I'm not a fan of reds, but surprisingly I sort of like this one. Three coats were used in the pictures below.

Dazzling Diamonds is a fun collection if you are into layering polishes! My favorites were Purple Hearts and Stardust. Unfortunately, I would advise any one to google swatches before purchasing these colors because they look nothing like the graphic images that are on the Barielle website. Barielle polishes can are $8 and are typically BOGO 50% off. 

For those who like to pin!

What is your favorite from this collection?

*Products featured in this post were sent by PR for review*

Barielle Summer Fun Collection

Hey dolls! Today I have for you pictures of one of Barielle's newest collections called Summer Fun. The collection consists of five creme polishes that are perfect for the warm weather. All five had the typical Barielle creme formula, were easy to apply, and were opaque in two coats. The photos below were taken in my light box or in the sunlight.

Berry Go 'Round is described as a creamy coral red. While the description is accurate, Berry Go 'Round is much lighter in person than what the graphic image displays on the website.

Mint Ice Cream Cone is a creamy light mint green. I really like this one because it's not too pastel or too chalky looking.

Ocean Breeze is described as a creamy seafoam aqua green. This shade may remind you of Barielle Swizzle Stix, but Ocean Breeze is a little more dusty.

Peach Popsicle is a creamy coral peach. This one is much lighter and less red than Berry Go 'Round. I absolutely love the way peach polishes compliment my skin tone.

Pink Flip-Flops is a creamy baby pink. It has blue undertones so this may work well on those who prefer cooler polishes.

Overall, I think this is a great set for those looking to build a nail polish collection. While you may have colors that are similar to these, if you prefer the Barielle formula to others, you'll want to try a few of these out. My favorites from the Summer Fun collection were Peach Popsicle and Mint Ice Cream Cone. Barielle polishes can be purchased for $8 per bottle and they are typically BOGO 50% off.

For those who like to pin :)

Tomorrow I'll have pictures of the other new collection, Dazzling Diamonds, for you!

*Products featured in this post were sent by PR for review*