Mentality ~ The Metallics Collection

Hey dolls! I have a new indie brand to share with you called Mentality. The first collection from this wife and husband duo is called The Metallics and consists of five shades, described as the colors of the rainbow meet the wealth of gold. All of the pictures below are with top coat.

Envy is described as a bright yellow green with gold undertones and flakes. The formula was very pigmented and was almost opaque in one coat, but two coats were used for depth. I liked Envy in the bottle, but I'm not a fan of it on my skin tone.

Crave is described as a light purple with gold and blue undertones and gold flakes. This shade pulled very pink on me. Crave had the sheerest formula of all of the polishes in the collection, but it wasn't problematic. Two coats were used in the photos below.

Covet is described as a blue green with gold undertones and flakes. I had no issues with the formula and opacity was achieved in two coats. Covet is an interesting color; I like the way it looks on me.

Desire is described as a golden orange with gold undertones and flakes. You all know I like oranges, so  Desire is fine by me. Two coats were used in the photos below.

Lust is described as a coppery red with gold undertones and flakes. Lust is hands down my favorite in this collection! The gold shimmer really stands out, which I adore. Lust reads more orange on me than red, so it's a winner in my book. I took so many pictures of this one! Two coats were used in the photos below and these were taken in my light box due to rainy weather. As a side note, I did have slight staining with Lust, so be sure to use a good base coat.

I like that Mentality is bringing us indie creations that aren't just glitters. If you are interested in learning more about this brand, please check out the facebook page and the online store where you can place your orders now. Full size bottles (15mL) are currently available for $6 each.

*Products featured in this post were provided by PR for review.*

Reader's Choice Monday ~ SpaRitual Shooting Star & Revere

Hey dolls! For the first time, there was a tie in the Reader's Choice poll. Both SpaRitual Shooting Star and Revere received 43% of the votes. I didn't have time to wear them both separately over the weekend, so I decided to incorporate the two with some nail art. Shooting Star is a gorgeous purple that is filled with pink and golden shimmer. The formula was a little runny, so I had some pooling at my cuticles. Revere is a bright orange that is filled with golden shimmer. The formula was thin, but not problematic. Two coats were used of both colors. I saw this super cute pyramid polka dot look on Chalkboard Nails and I had to give it a try with these shades.

This was the perfect week to have a tie because Shooting Star and Revere compliment each other nicely! I love the pyramid dots as well. Dots go so well with my nail art skills. :)

I have three NY Summer jellies for you to vote on this week. I haven't worn a jelly sandwich in a few weeks and I think I'm overdue. Please take a second to vote and as usual, the poll will close on Friday.

Summer Fun, Hot Green, Hush

web polls

Fall Trends ~ Fall Foilage

Hey dolls! The next Refinery29 fall trend for this season is one I really love - Fall Foilage. Since I live in Florida, we don't really experience fall like other parts of the country. One of the things I miss most about my hometown in South Carolina is seeing the leaves change colors. Back to polish...I find that golds, browns, and burnt oranges look so good on my skin tone. Here a few that I'm interested in.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Santa Fe Road & Born Pretty Stickers

Hey dolls! Today I'm wearing a polish that I wanted as soon as I saw pictures of it on Kellie Gonzo and Nails & Noms. Rescue Beauty Lounge Santa Fe Road is a gorgeous dusty orange that is filled with a goldish green shimmer. The formula was absolutely flawless. It was opaque in one coat, but I did another just to increase the depth of the shimmer. Indoors, I have to admit, this did not look terribly unique. As soon as I stepped outside, I knew Santa Fe Road was well worth it!

Santa Fe Road is absolutely stunning in the sunlight! It is definitely one of my most unique oranges and I can see myself gravitating towards this polish during the fall. I didn't want to take Santa Fe Road off after two days, so I added some white floral Born Pretty stickers. The stickers were easy to use and laid flat on the nail. There were two that tore as I tried to pull them from the clear backing, but luckily the sheet comes with 20 stickers. I applied a thick layer of Nubar Diamont to keep the stickers in place.

The floral stickers added a very simple, yet chic look that still allowed me to enjoy Santa Fe Road. I love how effortless the stickers are and they are great for those who want a little nail art without the work. The stickers used can be purchased here. Feel free to use my Born Pretty 10% off code of TPJ61 if you are planning to order.

*Born Pretty products in this post were provided by PR for review*

Summer 2012 Trends ~ Creamsicle

Hey dolls, I can't believe I forgot to post the summer 2012 nail polish trends from Refinery 29! A lot of the country is having 100+ degree weather, so I figured today would be an appropriate time to share these. Here are the trends:

• Creamsicle
• Under the Sea
• Beachy Nudes
• Salmon Pink
• Not So Mellow Yellow
• Pop of Purple
• Golden Girl

Over the next few days I'll share some of my picks for the trends I'll be wearing. Here are a couple of creamsicle polishes that I'm loving at the moment!

China Glaze Riveting & Cover Band Sticks 'n Stones

Hey dolls! Have you guys missed seeing my nails? I've definitely been missing you all. I've submitted my completed dissertation to my committee and now the wait is on for my defense next Tuesday. Everyone around me has been noticing that I haven't been changing my nails as often. I have a friend that I saw on Friday and I was wearing Picture Polish Denim (blog post to come soon). I saw her again last night and she could not believe I was still wearing the same polish. She proceeded to make me change my nails at 11p last night because "I was disappointing her."

She chose China Glaze Riveting for me to wear. I've been wanting this polish since it was released with the Hunger Game series, but I could never find it locally. I was able to get Riveting in Enamel Girl's blog sale (she's super cool). Riveting is a warm orange that is packed with gold shimmer. I used two coats and the formula was great.

shade

This orange polish is so fiery! I stared at my nails all night and then stared again the next day in the sunlight.  I'm so glad to finally have Riveting in my possession. I wonder how close this is to Zoya Myrta???

In light of all the Lynderella craziness, I thought it was only fitting to add a layer of Cover Band Sticks 'n Stones to this mani the next day. A polish friend decanted some in a mini bottle for me in a swap. I added one coat to Riveting.

I like this pairing, but I'm not overly crazy about the bar glitter. I much prefer the look on my pinky where no bar glitter happened to come out. I was able to get Pretty and Polished Valentino (a black and white glitter without bars) in a swap last month, so now I'm looking forward to wearing that one.

There are a couple more amazing guests posts scheduled to round out the week. I may try to post again this weekend in between practicing my presentation. If not, I'll be back next Wednesday to share my defense nails. Take care dolls!

Pure Ice Vinyl Remix Polishes

Hey dolls, today I have for you a review of the Pure Ice Vinyl Remix Art in Motion crackles. A few months ago, Bari Cosmetics sent out a request for bloggers who would like to review these polishes and I signed up. While I know most people are over crackles, these are not the norm. The Pure Ice Vinyl Remix  crackles come as a duo set with a Platinum Magic white base coat and the colored crackles. All of the crackles look black in the bottle; you can only tell the difference by the color of the label. First, you have to apply a coat of the Platinum Magic white base. The magic actually occurs when the crackle is applied, as the base changes colors. The formula on all of the polishes was thick, but manageable. I applied one coat of the white base and a relatively thick coat of the crackles for each photo below. The crackles dry to a matte finish, so I applied a top coat. Unfortunately, the Color Club top coat made the crackles bleed a little bit.

Up first is Rave, the orange crackle.

DJ Spinner is the green crackle.

Vintage Remix is the purple crackle. This photo was taken quickly in my light box, so it's not as good as the others.

Emcee Me is the yellow crackle. I wore this one for several days and got lots of compliments. I always forget that everyone isn't engrossed in the nail community, so some people still really love crackles or aren't that familiar with them.

To close this post out with a bang, I wanted to do a rainbow crackle mani. I didn't think I would like this nearly as much as I did. I ended up doing this on both hands and I'm still wearing it as I type this post.

Overall, I think the Pure Ice Vinyl Remix polishes are pretty cool. They were easy to use and cracked well, no matter how I applied it. These polishes are available at Walmart. The only downfall is that they come in duo sets with the white base coat and a crackle. Therefore, you would have multiple bottles of the base coat if you wanted all of the crackles. I'm not sure of the price because I didn't see these on Walmart's website, but Pure Ice polishes are usually pretty inexpensive.
*Update...I've heard from some polish friends that these are $6.97 per duo.*

Have these polishes made you rethink crackles?

*Products in the post were provided by PR for review*

Zoya Blogger Collection ~ Jelly Sandwiches

Hi dolls, today I have for you 3 jelly sandwich combinations that I did with the Zoya Blogger collection. I've used all of the glitters in previous posts, so you can just click the name for a description of the polish. Up first is Coraline and Essence Circus Confetti. I applied three coats of Coraline, one coat of Circus Confetti, and then another coat of Coraline. This combination was extremely fun and it looked like a party on my nails!

Next we have Kate and OPI Servin' Up Sparkle. This combination was my absolute favorite! I love how the glitter was subtle, but still stood out. I applied three coats of Kate, one coat of Servin' Up Sparkle, and another coat of Kate.

Finally, I paired Belle with Funky Fingers Golden Coast. This combination was soft and feminine. It looked as if I dipped my fingertips in gold dust, as I applied Golden Coast in a gradient manner. I used three coats of Belle, one coat of Golden Coast, and another coat of Belle. This one may have been even better with another coat of Golden Coast.

This collection is absolutely perfect for jelly sandwiches, so I hope you all enjoyed the pictures and are inspired to do your own sandwiches. I have some more glitters on the way from several indie brands, so I can't way to try other combinations.

By the way, today is my one year wedding anniversary so I can't wait for hubby to get home from work so we can celebrate. Here is a picture of my wedding nails! You can click the picture for my wedding day post and other pictures.