Kawaii Watermelons, or How to Make Your Fruit Cute

I love watermelon, but I don't know that I would necessarily think of it as cute. UNTIL today. I've done some summery watermelon nail art before, but I wanted to take it in a different direction this time. In a cute direction. In a SUPER cute direction! And now I want to kawaii-fy ALL the things! All you gotta do is add faces!

I used two of the new KBShimmer summer shades for the classic watermelon pink/green! I did this as a ruffian with the pink over the green, but I think it probably would have been easier to just paint a green band on top of the pink.

KBShimmer Lei It Again
KBShimmer For Sail By Owner

Both polishes were opaque in two smooth, easy coats. I really enjoyed working with them.

I also used black and white polishes for the faces and other detailing.

Formula X Dark Matter
Essie Blanc

I dunno what else to say! I just love their little faces so much! KAWAII FOREVER

Disclosure: This post contains press samples.

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Mani Mania: UberChic Beauty Stamping Plates Review

piCture pOlish Forget Me Not stamped with plate 1-02

Despite not being much of a nail art stamper, I've been playing around with UberChic Beauty stamping plates lately! The manicure above was my biggest success, and maybe one of my best stamping manicures ever. Though I'm not the best stamper, I've been having a blast putting together manicures with these plates. Keep reading to check out more of my results!

Colors by Llarowe Mom Jeans stamped with plate UC 1-03

What really stood out to me about these plates is how beautiful the patterns are. They're modern, well designed, on trend, and just really fun. Many of them have superfine, intricate details, like in the photo above.

I'm not particularly skilled in stamping, but these plates seemed to work well for me! Even the finest of lines picked up each time.

Here's some more info about UberChic plates:
- The plates themselves are pretty large, especially compared to the other ones that I have in my collection.
- The designs are large, and easily covered my nails with room to spare.
- Each plate has a general theme, which includes full nail designs plus coordinated single images.

Gelish I'm Brighter Than You stamped with plate UC 1-01

KBShimmer Summer 2015 neons stamped with plate UC 2-03

Purple rockstar gel manicure stamped with plate UC 1-03

Stop by UberChic Beauty to check out their plate lineup as well as their glitters and pigments! The plates used here can be purchased in plate collections 1 and 2.

I encourage you to go and check out the designs on the plates, because they really are well done. A stamper's dream!

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Is It Spring Yet? This Linework Nail Art Seems to Think So!

Spring is a lovely time, isn't it? I think it may be my favorite season. Besides the gorgeous temperatures and blooming flora, spring brings us PASTEL NAIL POLISH! Pastels are seriously my jam... I think they suit my pale skin but also bring a certain cheerfulness that nudes just can't compete with.

KBShimmer is on the same page, and is coming in strong for spring. Their newest collection includes crellies, holos, and cremes in a color palette sure to make your nails bloom.

Polishes used:
KBShimmer Ins and Sprouts
KBShimmer Thistle Be the Day
White polish

I began by painting my nails with two coats of Ins and Sprouts. I didn't put down a base coat, which proved to be a costly mistake, as it is definitely a stainer on its own.

Then, I used a triangle makeup wedge to sponge on a gradient of Thistle Be the Day. I did four or five rounds of sponging to achieve the opacity you see here. Something to note is that sponging these shades together actually diminished the holo effect; both polishes are ultra mega super holo in their natural state.

The final step was to add the white markings! I painted them freehand with a small nail art brush and sealed the look in with topcoat.

This nail art really got a lot of complements, and it was fairly quick to accomplish. The formulas on the holographic shades were easy to work with, smooth, and quick drying, though be sure you wear a base coat with Ins and Sprouts to avoid staining.

KBShimmer is available for purchase from KBShimmer.com in the US and Harlow & Co for international orders. You can also keep up with the brand on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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KBShimmer 6th Anniversary Collection

A Happy 6th Anniversary to KBShimmer! The brand is celebrating their milestone with a three-piece, beachy themed collection in cute and fun colors. I love the way these go together. Let's check them out...

Beach Please is a hot pink creme that covered perfectly and evenly in two coats. I...love...this. It's so shiny and pretty. It has a bit of a "squishy" jellylike finish, but without the visible nail line. Winning.

Hexy Bikini is a sparklebomb silver textured polish with fuchsia and aqua glitters. It applied surprisingly nicely, and I needed two coats for the coverage shown here. No top coat, since this is a textured shade, but you could probably do a few thick coats of topcoat for a smoother effect.

Shore Thing is an bright mint green shade. Very flattering and a super cheerful color. I used three coats here but it was very close at two.

Though I'm not usually a pink gal, I have to say that Beach Please is my favorite of this collection. It's so lovely, the formula is wonderful, and the name is hilarious. Of course, the other shades are nice as well, and I have no complaints! Which one do you like best?

KBShimmer is available for purchase from KBShimmer.com in the US and Harlow & Co for international orders. You can also keep up with the brand on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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KBShimmer Blogger Collection for Winter 2013 Swatch and Review

I'm extremely excited to share this collection with you today. KBShimmer has teamed up with 11 fantastic bloggers this winter to create a collaborative holiday collection, and I was lucky enough to be included! We all got to dream up our own holiday polish, including the name, and Christy brought them to life. I have to say I was really impressed with her understanding of my vision. She was able to get exactly what I was envisioning on basically the first try!

I Only Have Ice For You is my collaboration shade! This clear-based topper polish has small holographic glitters and icy white flakes for a quick and easy winter wonderland effect. It reminds me of a snow globe. This is just one coat over OPI...Eurso Euro. I think it has the perfect amount of coverage.

Here is a quick Instavideo of the shade so you can see the holographic sparkle.


Christmas Now is a collaboration with Crystal's Crazy Combos. This green jelly is positively packed with round glitter "ornaments" and square glitter "presents," and what's a Christmas tree without a star on top? There is a lot of glitter in this one, so take your time while applying to keep the pieces from sticking together. This is three coats.

Green Hex and Glam is a collaboration with Nails by Kayla Shevonne. This one was a surprise favorite for me. I knew it was gonna be gorgeous when I looked at it in the bottle but nothing could have prepared me for the way it would look on my nails. Definitely a must-have. Three coats here.

I'd Rather Be With Blue is a collaboration with Cosmetic Sanctuary. This shade is a bright sky blue with an iridescent shimmer and a matte finish. It's not gritty in the least. I am always happy to see indie mattes and this one is a treat! Three coats.

Merry Pinkmas is a collaboration with Let Them Have Polish! Cris has a tradition of doing pink themed holiday posts on her blog and this polish is a celebration of that. It really reminds me of peppermint -- somehow despite being pink it is still very holiday. The glitter on this one can also stick together a little bit so definitely give your manicure a few extra moments to dry between coats. Three coats shown.

Plum Tuckered Out is a collaboration with Pointless Cafe. This gorgeous deep plum color is accented by electric blue shimmer. The shimmer seems really alive and catches the light brilliantly. Perfect for those of you that love deep, vampy shades! Three coats.

Sand In My Stocking is a collaboration with The Polishaholic. This is inspired by Jen's holidays making sand-snowmen in California! Honestly this looks just like sand to me, it's brilliant. There are also orange carrot nose glitters, starfish, and aqua ocean-inspired glitters. It's totally packed with glitter. Here is one coat over OPI Did You Ear About Van Gogh?.

Snow Much Fun is a collaboration with Manicurator. This crisp and icy sky blue is filled with glitters inspired by falling snow, including snowflake shaped white matte glitters. The snowflakes are SO adorable, but they are also pretty large and didn't sit flat on my nail. Just something to consider if you have curvy nails like I do! Three coats shown.

Strung Out is a collaboration with Candy Coated Tips. This black jelly polish contains circle glitter in a number of different sizes and colors as well as a sprinkling of holographic microglitter. I've shown three coats of the polish by itself here, but did end up with a TON of glitter on my nails. It would probably work best as recommended -- with one or two coats layered over black.

Toast-ess With the Mostest is a collaboration with Peachy Polish. This clear based glitter topper has pinks, silvers, and golds, and is inspired by a champagne toast. For some reason this one seemed the most suited to it's blogger, in my eyes. It's effervescent and fun! I layered it over Deborah Lippmann PYT.

Will Yule Marry Me? is a collaboration with The Nail Network. This dusty navy sparkles with silver glitter. It's really beautiful and I only needed two coats for the opacity shown here. I liked that the glitters were all small to medium sized. It worked really nicely with my curved nails.

I'm so in love with all of these polishes and was so thrilled to be able to participate. Besides my shade, I Only Have Ice For You, my official most favorite picks would have to be Green Hex and Glam, Sand In My Stocking, Plum Tuckered Out, and Will Yule Marry Me?. It's tough to pick, though! Which ones are catching your eye?

KBShimmer is available for purchase from KBShimmer.com in the US and Harlow & Co for international orders. You can also keep up with the brand on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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KBShimmer Summer 2013 Collection

I'm always excited when KBShimmer releases a new collection. The formulas are always exceptional and the colors are always delicious. The Summer 2013 collection is no exception! This group of nine is just begging to come home with you, so let's take a look at the shades.

Press Sample

24 Carrot Bold is one of my favorites in the collection. First of all, the name is awesome. Second of all, it's matte! Third of all, the gold shimmer is totally prominent and great! This is three coats, and while you can see a little bit of nail line in the photo, it was invisible in person. It dried fairly quickly, which is important to me in a polish that I won't be using Seche Vite with.

Blinded by the Bright is a green-leaning yellow neon with assorted glitters. It's nice and bright at three coats, and the glitter density is just right.

Don't Pink Twice is the second matte in the collection. This bright pink is accented by iridescent blue shimmer (which I had a tough time capturing in a photo). I love that KBShimmer is embracing mattes! This is three coats. Like 24 Carrot Bold, it dried pretty fast!

Grayscale is a delightful black, white, and grey glitter topper. It's nicely dense, this is just one coat here over China Glaze Are You Jelly?. The glitter applied evenly and easily. I love the short white bars, in particular.

It's Razz-ical is a lovely berry shade with tons of sparkly holographic bits. Definitely gorgeous and totally razzical. Two coats shown.

Pimp My Pride -- seriously KBShimmer is killing me with these names. This one is a white jelly base with red and blue glitters of different sizes and shapes. The formula was lovely and easy to use, which is extremely important in these white based polishes! Three coats.

The Dancing Green is a gorgeous green with fuchsia, blue, and green glitters. I had to do a lot of work to get this photo even remotely accurate -- the original photo was SO TEAL! CAMERA FAIL! Anyway, I like this one a lot. Three coats.

Totally Tubular is a swimming pool blue-green with fuchsia, aqua, and blue glitters. Note the circle glitters -- you know you love them! Three coats shown.

What's Your Damage is a squishy white based polish with black, neon pink, and neon green glitters. There are also irregular black shards in the mix! The consistency of the white polish is nice, like Pimp My Pride, and I also used three coats here.

Overall another great release from KBShimmer. My favorites include 24 Carrot Bold, Grayscale, and Pimp My Pride. I'm always impressed with the quality of formula and the thoughtfulness of the polish compositions, though by now I don't expect any less!

KBShimmer is available for purchase from KBShimmer.com in the US and Harlow & Co for international orders. You can also keep up with the brand on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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KBShimmer Spring 2013 Collection

KBShimmer is back at it again with a fantastic Spring Collection! I really love these polishes, and think you guys will enjoy them too. Be sure to sound off at the end and let me know which ones you're lusting after.

I Got a Crush On Blue is deeeeeeeep and super sparkly. It's rich blue base has an abundance of silver holographic glitter. I found I needed three coats. The final effect of this polish reminds me of bokeh or a twilight rainstorm. Lovely!

A Dot Mess is a hot pink and black glitter topper in a clear base. Gotta love those circle glitters, and I like the short bars, too. They add just enough visual interest without being a deterrent to people that dislike bars (I think, anyway!). Shown here over China Glaze Tart-y For the Party.

Get Clover It has a rich emerald green base as well as green, gold, and turquoise circle glitters. There is also a wonderful microshimmer that really bridges the gap between the translucent jelly base and the bold glitters. This is three coats. Obviously a perfect St. Patrick's Day polish, but I think this one would also be super wearable all year round.

Lottie Dottie is a soft white based polish with fuchsia and turquoise glitters. It's an adorable color combo! The formula was great, it was really close to being opaque at two coats but I went with three to be safe.

Pastel Me More is a pastel metallic glitter topper in a clear base. As you can see there is a little bit of reflective curling but the glitters seemed to lay flat on my nail. Shown over OPI My Vampire is Buff.

Iris My Case is one of my absolute favorites in this collection! I wore this one for two whole days before I had to remove it to get some blog work done. Iris' sweet lavender base is accented with white, blue, pink, purple, and silver glitters, all in smaller sizes. This had excellent coverage, needing just two coats.

Spring Training has a delicate pastel green base and is sprinkled with sweet flowery-colored glitters. This one is scented with freesia. I like the scent personally, but I wear perfumes and am not bothered by strong scents. (Of course, nothing will beat the scent of Candy Cane Crush for me... DIVINE.) If you have a sensitive nose, you may want to wait and see if this one is eventually released in an unscented version. This is two coats.

Squared Away has loads of square glitters in a clear base. Some of them are holographic and some are metallic. It's a lot of fun and looks like falling confetti. I think I may prefer square glitters over dot glitters, actually! Shown over OPI I Saw...U Saw...We Saw...Warsaw.

Where My Peeps At?. I was actually expecting that this one wouldn't be my cup of tea but I ended up absolutely LOVING IT! Shows you what I know! It is just the sweetest shade of light yellow. It was beautiful and soft at two coats, but I ended up using three for this swatch. This may be one of the most well formulated yellows I own.

I wanna know -- which ones are you loving? My favorites are Iris My Case and Where My Peeps At?, but these were all so lovely and easy to use.

KBShimmer polishes are available on the KBShimmer website and internationally through Harlow & Co. You can also keep up with KBShimmer on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Products sent for review.

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KBShimmer Winter Collection Selections

Good afternoon! Today we're going to be looking at three of the polishes from the new KBShimmer Winter Collection! I don't wanna make you wait any longer, so let's get started...

Candy Cane Crush is fantastic. That's it. It's great. With it's multiple sizes of red and white glitter, this polish could be worn year round without raising any eyebrows. It's very very dense and is scented like vanilla peppermint. I'm not normally one for scented polish but this one is divine. I kind of wish every polish smelled like it. The peppermint cuts the vanilla's sweetness without being too minty. I've shown it here over OPI Goldeneye for a majorly blingy holiday look.

Next up is Cocoa Nut! A delightful brown polish with reddish pink glitters, Cocoa Nut will make you hungry for cherry cordials. There's also a lovely gold microglitter for a bit of extra oomph. This polish has great coverage, too, needing only two coats for the photos below.

Finally we have Snow Way!, a cool sky blue base sprinkled with white glitters that mimic falling snow. This one can be a bit tricky to apply, so give it a good shake a few minutes before you start using it, apply your coats slowly, and let them dry in between. Even still, the base seems to settle down around the glitters, so you may need two coats of topcoat to smooth it out. I've shown three coats here with two coats of topcoat. I want to go twirling through the falling snow when I look at this polish. We don't have any snow in my city though so maybe that's an abnormal reaction...? ;)

Something else worth noting is that Christy has recently started using a new brush style in KBShimmer polishes. The brush is a bit wider, but not too wide! It made it easier to grab good amounts of polish and made the whole painting experience go more smoothly.

So there you have it! Which ones are calling your name?

KBShimmer is sold on the KBShimmer website and on Etsy. International polish lovers can check Harlow & Co and follow KBS on Facebook for restock news.

Products in this post were sent for review.

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