China Glaze: Worlds Away LE Cirque du Soleil Collection Press Release

Hello lovely readers! This is the press release for an amazing new collection from China Glaze. These polishes are available now, but they are limited edition so don't miss out on these beauties!

China Glaze 

Cirque du Soleil - Worlds Away

Inspired by the upcoming Paramount 3D feature film

This collection features 12 polishes, including bright cremes, almost-neons, soft glitters and chunky indie-esque glitters. I'm really excited about this collection! 

 Bend Over Backwards 

 Creative Fantasy

 Def Defying 

 Escaping Reality

 Get Carried Away

 Hanging in the Balance

 Igniting Love

It's a Trap-eze!

I can't wait for this one especially- the name, and that gorgeous milky white base... ahhh, I die. I'll have several backups of this beauty. 

 Running in Circles

 Surreal Appeal

 Water You Waiting For?

Whirled Away

How beautiful are these? I'm really impressed with China Glaze's branch out into the glitters the polish world has embraced so fully from indie brands. I'm excited to get my hands on a few and get some swatches for you all! Coming soon!

China Glaze nail polish retails for around $7 a bottle and can be found at many retailers, such as Ulta, Beauty Brands, and Sally Beauty supply. This collection is limited edition and will not be around for long!

Love, 

Rachael

China Glaze Holiday Joy 2012 swatches!

 Hello everyone! I know it's only the middle of November, but I've been getting in the Christmas spirit big time lately. I'm wishing for some A TON of snow and delicious holiday noms like buckeyes. I don't know if you've ever tried them, but buckeyes are very simple- peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate and chilled. There's something so special about them though... maybe it's the crack people put in them that make me eat an entire batch in one sitting, 'cause it can't possibly be my lack of self control... nah. Regardless, it isn't Christmas without buckeyes and pants that fit before dinner but certainly not after. And red nail polish of course!

Today I have four polishes from China Glaze's Holiday 2012 collection. There are twelve polishes total and many come in cute little gift sets that would make perfect presents for yourself other polish lovers. :)

First up is Cranberry Splash. This polish is a rich, warm red with gold shimmer. These pictures can't possibly do it justice. It may be the most beautiful red I've ever seen. The shimmer is subtle enough just to make the polish glowy and gorgeous. I got so many compliments on this mani, and everyone said it's the perfect Christmas red!

This is two coats, but it's perfectly opaque in one, and a top coat of SV. It wore for four days with only the most minor tip wear and would have lasted much longer without chipping.

 Look at that glow! Really beautiful. I'm in love with this polish!

Next up is Angel Wings layered over Cranberry Splash. Angel Wings is a perfect gold glitter with a scattered holo. This little lady is a must for Christmas. My nails looked like twinkling ornaments! One coat is pictured (I'm not lying!) and two coats would probably be totally opaque on their own. Truly beautiful.

and a blurry one... look a that holo! No top coat- I kinda like the slight grittiness of this polish.

Note- I've heard this is a dupe of the 2011 Ulta Exclusive Ulta-mate Holiday. So nice they did it twice!

Next up is With Love, a perfect blue based red creme. Perfect application! Two coats are pictured with no top coat. It has a wonderful shine.

And last but surely not least is Pizzazz, a delicious multicolored glitter. I can see red, gold, green, and purple glitter. This is one of those glitters that may look a little like DL Happy Birthday, or Confetti Tasmanian Devil, but it's really rather unique. Bottom line, you need it. I didn't have to dab this on- one coat and it was just right. The formula was a little thicker than the others but still manageable. Pictured is Pizzazz layered over With Love.

Glitter fiends unite!! 

I hope you loved these polishes as much as I did. I'm off to watch some Frosty the Snowman in my cupcake jammie pants and drink some hot chocolate. You're welcome to come join! Mind the cat hair and eau de disdain wafting on the air. <3

There are eight more polishes in this collection, such as a silver microglitter, berry creme, blue foil- all really gorgeous. They are available at Sally Beauty, Ulta, Beauty Brands, and other retailers for around $7 each. 

Love, Rachael

PS- With a pretty nail file and some ribbon, these could be super cute little Christmas gifts or stocking stuffers! 

Once Upon a Polish Queen of Hearts

Hello loves, how's your week been? It's Friday! I have absolutely nothing planned, except maybe a shower and I might be threatened into putting away a stack of laundry. I live a wild life.

Today's super belated (I'm sosorrysosorry) post features a polish I'm super in love with. These pictures are a few months old, but I'm actually glad I've waited to post. Now I can let you know how the glitters have lasted in their suspension base over time!

Once Upon a Polish Queen of Hearts is a mix of tiny white glitter, little gold and black hex glitter, large white hex glitter and black and red hearts.

From L-R: one coat of QoH over Wet n Wild Black Creme, two coats of QoH over Sinful Colors White on White, one coat of QoH over China Glaze Kalahari Kiss, and one coat of QoH over Zoya America.

I used two coats over white to sorta demonstrate that one coat really looks best! I did have to use a bit of the dabbing method but I didn't have to fish for hearts, which was awesome. This polish is so much fun. I'm a huge Disney fan, if you haven't noticed, and I think this sums ol' Queenie up so well.

To wear as a whole mani I used Queen of Hearts over China Glaze Kalahari Kiss. I friggin love this weird taupe-yellow-whatever color. It's the perfect neutral to make those gold glitters stand out!

Of course my Seche bubbled a little, so annoying.

Anyway, what do you guys think?? This polish has been on my shelf for months with no curling glitters, no bleeding glitters, and only a slight difference in thickness from when I first received it. It's really a gorgeous, unique polish with so much character.

Here's a picture of Her Highness for your viewing pleasure :)

Fabulous!

Once Upon a Polish can be found at Kimberly's Etsy shop. Queen of Hearts retails for $8.50 for 15 mL  (.5 oz) and is available right now, so don't miss out!

<3 Rachael

China Glaze Holiday Joy 2012 Press Release

China Glaze Holiday Joy 2012 Collection!

                           MAKE YOUR MANI MERRY AND BRIGHT

China Glaze® Debuts 12 Glittering, Shimmering, Ravishing Colours for Holiday 2012

The holiday season: it is truly the most wonderful time of the year – for nails!  From gorgeous glitters to rich crèmes, ‘tis the season to add sparkle and shine to any manicure and pedicure.  Celebrate the season in colour with the new China Glaze® Holiday Joy collection!

Bringing tidings of good cheer, the China Glaze® Holiday Joy collection features 12 merry crèmes, glitters and shimmers including:

·      Glistening Snow – Fine diamond-like silver glitter

·       Champagne Kisses – Bubbly rose gold glitter

·       Angel Wings – Delicate gold dust glitter

·       Winter Holly – Gold-flecked dazzling green glitter

·       Glitter All The Way – Exciting multi-color glitter

·       Pizzazz – Twinkling multi-dimensional glitter blend

·       Blue Bells Ring – Icy blue shimmer

·       Pure Joy – Fiery red glitter with gold particles

·       Red Satin – Silky blue-based red crème

·       With Love – Classic red crème with a hint of orange undertones

·       Merry Berry – Rich berry red crème

·       Cranberry Splash – Ruby red shimmer

The China Glaze® Holiday Joy collection also features 13 seasonally-inspired gift sets perfect for stocking stuffers, Hanukah gifts, Secret Santa, co-workers and Teacher’s gifts.  Gift sets include:

·     Ho Ho Ho: Merry Berry, Cranberry Splash, Red Satin, With Love, Pure Joy with First & Last base/top coat. MSRP $35.00

·       Holiday Charms: Mini bottles of Merry Berry, Red Satin, Winter Holly and Glitter All The Way. MSRP $16.00

·       Puttin’ On The Glitz: Cranberry Splash, With Love and Pizzazz. MSRP $14.00

·       Keepin’ Cozy: Merry Berry, Glistening Snow and Cranberry Splash with fingerless gloves. MSRP $21.00

·       Let It Glow: Champagne Kisses, Red Satin and Winter Holly with a pine scented candle. MSRP $21.00

·       Brrr…It’s Chilly: With Love, Angel Wings, Pure Joy and a mini snow globe. MSRP $21.00

·      Wings of Wonder: Blue Bells Ring, Champagne Kisses and Cranberry Splash with an angel key chain. MSRP $21.00

·       Santa Paws: Red Satin and Pure Joy with your very own plush puppy – “Joy”. MSRP $14.00

·  Trimmin’ The Tree: With Love and Glistening Snow with a festive snowflake-embellished ornament. MSRP $14.00

·      Cheers!: Angel Wings and Glistening Snow with a frosted shot glass. MSRP $14.00

·      Jingle All The Way: Pizzazz and Merry Berry with an adjustable Jingle Bell ring. MSRP $14.00

·       Makin’ Memories: Red Satin and Winter Holly with a “JOY” picture frame. MSRP $14.00

·       Stocking Stuffers: Pure Joy and Champagne Kisses with a mini stocking. MSRP $14.00

The China Glaze® Holiday Joy collection will be available in November 2012 at fine salons and beauty supply stores nationwide.  The collection will be available in 24- and 36-piece counter displays, a 36-piece rack and 36-piece prepack.

China Glaze is free of DBP, toluene, and added formaldehyde.

China Glaze nail lacquers are available through salons and professional beauty supply stores nationwide. For more information, please visit www.chinaglaze.com or follow China Glaze on Facebook (@ChinaGlaze), Twitter (@ChinaGlazeOfficial) and Pinterest (pinterest.com/chinaglaze).

China Glaze® is a division of American International Industries.

China Glaze Secret Peri-Wink-le and Candy Lacquer Frozen Treats!

 Hello hello!! Today is my 2 year dating anniversary with my sweet boyfriend. I'm all glammed out (I look fabulous!) and he's taking me to dinner in just a little bit. I am such a lucky girl :)

I've had this post ready to go for ages, wondering if I should post it. This is one coat of China Glaze Secret Peri-wink-le with one coat of Candy Lacquer Frozen Treats. Do you see that crazy bubbling?? That would be my awful Seche Vite, the bastard. He failed me miserably! Neither polish bubbled at all, so don't blame them, poor things.

Frozen Treats is chock full of glitter, mainly white shredded. It looks sooo cool in the bottle. I love the little pops of colored glitter! This polish was pretty thick, but I shook it half to death and that helped. Sorry about the bubbles... uuugh, Seche, Y U SUCK SOMETIMES.

It's beautiful!!

What do you think??

Cupcakes for everyone :)

Rachael

China Glaze Sweet Hook- Stamped!

Hi everyone!! How ya doing? I've been buying too much polish lately... HARE Midsummer's Midnight, Candy Lacquer Frozen Treats and Summer Sweets... yeah. Lots. It's been SO FUN. Can't wait for them to come in so I can show you!

Okay, onto the mani!

Two coats of China Glaze Sweet Hook, a light pastel purple from their Electropop collection. I'm in love with this polish. Application is smooth, no cuticle drag or bubbling. I am such a sucker for these pale colors. I love brights almost as much, but pastels are just so soft and delicate... 

purpley... purple...

STAMPED. :) Bundlemonster plate 317 from their new 2012 set. I used Kleancolor "It Purple" for the stamps. Kleancolor metallics are excellent for stamping. It's not perfect, but I love that the new BM images are wide enough to fit the whole nail. I had no trouble at all!

This adorable little guy is a cupcake full of strawberry cupcake scented lotion. It was a gift from my friend Jade from Jetleymess. You should check her out! 

 Purple on purple... rawr.

What do you think?

Cupcakes for everyone!

Rachael

OPI Nothin' Mousie 'Bout It

Hi everyone! Today's mani is from earlier this week. First I started with one coat of CND Stickey Base Coat, then two coats of China Glaze Hang-Ten Toes. HTT is a vibrant blue-based pink with a gorgeous shimmer. It dried to a satin finish, so shown below is one coat of Out the Door to make it shine. Application was effortless and dry time was surprisingly fast.

To jazz it up I added a coat of OPI Nothin' Mousie Bout It, from the Minne Mouse collection earlier this summer. NMBI is a sheer pink base filled with iridescent pink glass flecks and heart shaped glitters. The hearts are a pain in the ass to apply if you like uniformity, but I didn't have to fish too much. I stamped a bow on my ring finger with a random plate from bornpretty.com and Kleancolor Metallic Black. Out the Door topped it all off.

As adorable as the glitter is, I picked at the hearts all day. Maybe if I had a coat of Gelous or something on top it wouldn't have bothered me so much, but those little free edges.. grrr! MUST PICK 

What do you think?? This mani was fun but I got tired of it a little faster than I thought. I'm a little more impatient now!

What bothers you most about glitter?

Cupcakes for everyone

<3 Rachael

China Glaze I'm with the Lifeguard

HI! Welcome to The First Post After The Hiatus!

I'm so excited to be back. This week will be full of fun polish swatches I've been dying to show you. They may not be the most recent collections but they're bright and shiny and full of YAY. 

First up is... I'm with the Lifeguard- China Glaze. This green beauty is part of the 2012 Summer Neons collection. I feel slightly like an emcee at a date auction..

IWTL is a perfect springy lime green with a subtle shimmer. Shown is two effortless coats. I love that these neons don't need a white base coat to really pop. One coat of Out the Door topcoat and voila!

I couldn't do my nails for two weeks, so lately I've been on a stamp-ede... get it?

I have no recollection of which plate this is, but when I find out I'll edit this. I used Kleancolor Metallic Black, my faaavorite stamping polish, and stamped some adorable little suns! Can you see the shimmer in the Kleancolor? I love the metallic flecks in my stamps- just gives them a little somethin' somethin'.

In hindsight this would have looked better with the index and middle finger designs switched, but whatev. It was hardly noticeable on the nail.

OMG MY FIRST MACRO. Can you see the shimmer sorta? Okay, kinda lame for a macro but I was so stoked to have figured it out!! YAY

What do you guys think of I'm with the Lifeguard? These were mostly out of stock at my local Sally's, but they are available other places, like Beauty Brands and Ulta, so you may still be able to snag it!

Hope you're having a great week! <3

Rachael

HAUL.. PIC (AND SHAME) HEAVY

Hello darlings :) This post is long overdue. I've finally gotten my act together and took pictures of everything beauty-related that I purchased (or received) in the month of April.

Rachael has been a very bad girl.

Pantene conditioner, Simple cleansing wipes, Neutrogena facial wash, and Nivea lotion

First up, Target spring beauty bag! This was free so it doesn't count. 

OPI Nail Envy, Seche Restore, Mary Kay moisturizer, eos lip balm in Summer Fruit

Nail Envy... I hadta. This stuff is a miracle worker. Seche Restore for those old half-bottles of top coat that I refuse to throw away. Moisturizer because I'm obsessed with how soft this stuff makes muh face. And eos balm because... OMG no more explanations, I JUST NEEDED IT 

Fingerpaints- Flashy, Flecked, Inkblot Blue, 15 Minutes of Frame, Pink Perspective

Models Own Hed Kandi Disco Heaven, OPI Houston We Have a Purple, OPI Cool in the Pool, OPI Rainbow Connection, Cult Nails My Kind of Cool-Aid and Manipulative. 

need, need, need, need, need, need. nuff said.

OPI Austin-tatious Turquoise, MAC Ice Cream Cake, Jesse's girl... can't remember the name, Lacquer Convention Elphaba

YES. SO MUCH YES

Zoya Breezi, Petra, Dove, Perrie, Kieko, Jem

This is not color accurate. Wtf camera

Zoya Wednesday, Zuza, Kate, Belle, Coraline

 again, not color accurate. I swear the Blogger collection has three different colors, unlike the pic- they look identical! lame

Julep Portia, Hayden, Helena, Taylor, Demi, Melissa, Penelope

OPI Crown Me Already, DS Shimmer, Pirouette My Whistle, Don't Mess With OPI

 found Shimmer at a dusty... no silver cap. "I changed it, it was dirty." Still gorgeous, but I wish it had the cap!

Orly Decades of Dysfunction, Royal Navy, Revlon... something... and Cloud

China Glaze Stella, Royal Tease, International Flare, Golden Enchantment

 found at a dinky little nail supply. It was so messy, I asked if they'd just moved in... "No, we've been here for three years." MY bad

Deborah Moneysucking Lippmann Mermaid's Dream, butterLONDON The Black Knight


FOR SHAME, FOR SHAME...

I'm in trouble.