College Polished: November 2012

Monday, November 19, 2012

Different Dimension Sparkle Like Edward Swatch + Review

Good morning dolls! I had originally intended to get this post up Friday but things got crazy & pushed around, including my movie tickets >.<

My friends, it is the end of an era. First it was Harry Potter, now Twilight. I grew up reading the Twilight series and while it may not be everyone's cup of tea, it is for me. I remember reading them all the first day I got each of them and then rereading them over and over. Nostalgic much? Thankfully, I now have this gorgeous little polish to make up for it from the lovely Missi at Different Dimension!

Different Dimension Sparkle Like Edward is a STUNNING white jelly duochrome polish with lots of different colored holographic glitters from pink, teal, purple and more! Sparkle Like Edward also has this great pink shimmer that just glows on the nail in the light.

Isn't it just gorgeous?!?! This polish was probably the easiest glitter application I've ever worked with and for a jelly had great opacity. I honestly could have gotten away with one, thicker coat but there was a slight VNL so I chose to go with two.

Unfortunately, with the premiere of Breaking Dawn Pt 2, Missi has now retired Sparkle Like Edward from her line :( But never fear, I'm sure you might be able to get your hands on a bottle soon enough ;)

Be sure to follow Different Dimension on Facebook for all shop updates & new collection announcements. Also check out the Etsy store where you can find a ton of her other gorgeous creations! Over the next week I'll be having a TON of Different Dimension swatch spam for your viewing pleasure!

Full size retails for $8.50 and she also sells cuticle balms & jewelry!

*Product in this post provided for review. All opinions are 100% my own.*

Thursday, November 15, 2012

R. Hobby Cosmetics Creepy Crawler + The Haul - Swatches + Review Pt. 1

Afternoon loves! I've got another great post for you today with some pretties from the lovely Rachel at R. Hobby Cosmetics - a great Indie brand. I split this post up into two parts because it was getting super pic heavy but these are just so gorgeous I couldn't help myself.

Today I've got Creepy Crawler and The Haul, both from her Halloween line but are gorgeous enough to be worn year round. Before we jump in, the base I used for these is two coats of Milani Just Grayt, my absolute favorite grey & a perfect base for just about anything.

First up we've got Creepy Crawler, an gorgeous mix of purple, black and white glitters ranging from hexes, microglitters and bars in a clear base! Normally I don't like polishes with bars as I can never get them to lay flat, but I had no problems with application with this. I used two coats for the photos below.

There was NO shortage of glitter for this Creepy Crawler! I got a nice, even coat on my first run and could've gone without a second even.

Next up, The Haul - every little girls DREAM polish based on their huge Haul from trick-or-treating. I am absolutely in love with the mix of glitters in this.

Orange, purple, yellow and black glitters are jam packed into The Haul in so many different varieties! It's hard not to find something to love about this polish. I used two, flawless coats for these photos.

Wow just look at all of those glitters! Talk about not your average glitterbomb!

Overall, these polishes are a dream. Usually with glitterbombs like this you have to use the dab technique but there was none of that with these polishes. Rachel truly has a knack for making gorgeous glitter combos you normally wouldn't think of!

You can find these and more at Rachel's R. Hobby Cosmetics Etsy store for $8.00 for a full size. Also, be sure to 'Like' her Facebook page Stay tuned for Part 2 of my swatches tomorrow!

*Products in this post were provided for review. All opinions are 100% my own.*

365 Days of Color Holiday Collection Trio Swatches + Review

GOOD MORNING DOLLS!! Today I have a VERY exciting post for you guys! I'm sure by now you all know good and well how much I love 365 Days of Color polishes. Sunny's entire line is gorgeous and incredibly unique, but her new Holiday Collection blew my freaking mind.

Not only are they gorgeous colors perfect for the holiday season, but THEY'RE SCENTED! Scented you say? What about a topcoat? Don't worry your pretty manicured fingers, they scent is still amazing even with a topcoat. Ooooooh yes. Let's jump right in.

First up, we've got Santa Baby, the most perfect red jelly. Santa Baby is a bright red jelly filled with the perfect amount of small red and white hexes and different sized white squares. This was the lightest of the three scents in my opinion but I could smell the candy canes and a bit of sweetness!

Three coats on my middle and ring, and two on my pointer and pinky just to show that it is buildable without a base!

Next, we've got Gimme Some Bubbly, a sheer gold polish with a STUNNING gold shimmer and different size gold glitters. One word - dead. This is probably one of my Top 3 polishes that Sunny has ever created. Gimme Some Bubbly has a delicious scent that is the twin sister to Victoria's Secret Strawberries and Champagne perfume/sprays which is perfect since I just got a bottle from a sale they had ;)

For the pictures, I chose to go ahead and give you some options. On my pointer and ring fingers is Gimme Some Bubbly shown on it's own with three coats. Then on my middle and pinky fingers is two coats of GSB over two coats of China Glaze Champagne Bubbles. LOL what a perfect base for this polish!

I saved my absolute favorite for last. Usually I put my favorites first, but I wanted you to have these stunning images in your head when you purchase them! Trimming the Tree is the most amazing green crelly (jelly polish that builds into a cream) that fills the air with the smell of pine needles. Seriously, you won't find a polish that reminds you of a Christmas tree like this unless you buy a real one.

Like I said, Trimming the Tree is a beautiful forest green, crelly base sprinkled with tan/bronze, brown and green hex glitter to finish it off. I couldn't stop sniffing my fingers and I made all the girls in my nail tech class smell them too, like a total creep LOL. They loved it though!

The best part of this post is that Sunny is planning on opening up shop with these beauties THIIIIIIIIS Friday November 16th where you can grab a full size for $8.00 or a mini for $4.50!

Overall, this is an outstanding collection and Sunny really knocked this one out of the park. If you were only going to choose one, I would say go with Gimme Some Bubbly because it's perfect all year long and you can never go wrong with a good gold!

Stay up to date at the 365 Days of Color Facebook to get a for sure time when these will be live on Friday & bookmark 365 Days of Color Store ahead of time!

*Products in this post were provided for review. All opinions are my own.*

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Vivid Lacquer Don't Forget the Rum + Paint Me Patriotic Swatches + Review

Good morning everyone! Today I've got a longgggg overdue post of some gorgeous polishes from Anni at Vivid Lacquer. I got these a few months back right before I was about to move so they got thrown into a box, original bubble wrap and all. Lo and behold, I went to grab for that box yesterday (the only one I hadn't unpacked and there they were (along with some other untrieds)!!

The two polishes I have for you today are Don't Forget the Rum and Paint Me Patriotic.

First up, we've got Don't Forget the Rum, a STUNNING translucent grey jelly jam packed with pink, black and white hexes, as well as white square and bar glitter.

This is 3 coats on all fingers except on my ring finger which has 2 coats just to show that it is buildable! There is a slight VNL so I went ahead and added a third coat after I took the pics.

Next up we've got Paint Me Patriotic, a PHENOMENAL patriotic polish that is perfect for the end of the recent election and it was the perfect mani for Veteran's Day this weekend.

Paint Me Patriotic is a red, white and blue glitter top coat with holographic (!!!!) stars in a clear base. There's small red squares & microglitter, blue hexes, and smaller white hexes. I think my favorite part about this polish out of ALL of the patriotic polishes I've seen is that it doesn't have ANY bar glitter. And honestly, I hate bars.

The glitter laid perfectly and there wasn't any patching. I did have a little difficulty getting the stars out of the bottle, but it's most likely only because it is a mini bottle. When I did get them out though, it was like the icing on the cake for the perfect Veteran's Day mani!

Be sure to check out Vivid Lacquer on Facebook for all sale updates, polish previews and stamping plates! And you can also check out her Etsy shop here!

*The products in this post were sent for review. All opinions are 100% my own.*

Thursday, November 8, 2012

November 8th for No H8!

Bullying is not funny. It is not cool. It is not right. And more importantly, it is not okay.

Most of us are, thankfully, residents of countries that support tolerance and many of our families have settled in these places simply for that reason. Generations later, it is our responsibility to perpetuate that message of tolerance across our new social platforms, including the internet.

As members of the nail polish blogging community, we all share a love of beauty, color, and lacquer. Other than that, we are remarkably different: from our race to our religion to our hair color...even to our polish application techniques. To marginalize anyone because of those differences is completely unacceptable and today I take a stand against that. I refuse to allow other people's view of "normal" dictate how I behave, believe, and blog.

In solidarity with a multitude of bloggers linked below, my purple manicure represents my proud commitment to the No H8 movement. Today, November 8, I dedicate my post to ending bullying of any kind and to encouraging diversity and imperfection among our colorful community.

(EradicateH8)

This post truly means a lot to me. As someone who does blogging purely as a hobby, it truly sickens and saddens me to see some of the hateful things that people say to one another. The nail polish community is meant to be a fun, expressive way to show off your polish/art/skillz/WHATEVER. But lately, all I've been seeing is a bunch of grown women acting like 12 year olds, name calling and talking down to others. This has to stop. For today's mani I used Confetti Belle of the Ball and a Pixi nail stripping pen for the No H8 symbol.

The fact that I burned and cut my pinky is just too perfect for words for this post. This manicure is nowhere near what I would deem as perfect and I love every bit of it.

Think before you speak.

Be sure to check out the TONS of amazing other bloggers standing together to support the No H8 movement!

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Falling into Fall Multi-Blogger Giveaway!!

Happy Saturday dolls! I'm super late on this but it's been a busy last few days but thank you to the AMAZING Sandra from Pretty and Polished Pointers for setting this all up and letting me join in on the fun! There's 11 amazeballs prizes for 11 amazing winners!

Jump right in and enter via the Rafflecopter widget below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor xo!

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