The more I try these Ink brand polishes, the more I love them. They apply like butter – really, no issues with thickness or wrinkling at all. And they seem to soak off very easily. If you watched my recent video about how to remove gel polish, that was an Ink brand polish that I had on and you can see that it came off almost in one sheet with very little scraping needed.

(From left to right: I’m Brighter Than You, Make You Blink Pink, Radiance Is My Middle Name, Sometimes A Girl’s Gotta Glow, You Glare; I Glow, and Brights Have More Fun)

THIS SUMMER LOOKS BRIGHTER THAN EVER

Gelish MINI Presents Six New Eye-Catching Colors for the 2013 Summer Season

BREA, Calif. – (April 2013) –Gelish MINI® is preparing to launch what will be the “brightest collection, yet.” Bold words, for bold colors, now known as the Gelish® MINI All About the Glow Collection.  All About the Glow is expected to be available starting May 2013.

Originally sparked by the idea of big city lights and party glow sticks, the idea was to capture those same bright colors you would see at night, on a summer day.

Women with tan skin, wearing brightly colored swimsuits on the beach gives that excitement of summer, and with this collection, the Gelish® MINI team wanted to bring that same feeling to anyone, any time of year. And besides, what woman doesn’t want to glow?

All About the Glow features six new colors, each appropriately named to match the theme for the collection:

• Sometimes A Girl’s Gotta Glow: Brilliant lime green
• Radiance Is My Middle Name: Vibrant teal
• You Glare, I Glow: Electric purple
• Brights Have More Fun: Hot pink
• Make You Blink Pink: Light pink
• I’m Brighter Than You: Vivid coral

Gelish® MINI products are available exclusively at Sally Beauty Supply stores nationwide and online at sallybeauty.com. Follow Gelish® MINI on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and on Instagram (@GelishMINI).

Gelish® MINI comes in an array of colors, applies like polish, with a twist cap and applicator, but are cured in an LED lamp for 30 seconds or in two minutes with a traditional UV lamps, just like gels. Gelish® MINI stays on the nail for up to three weeks of beautiful wear, with no chipping or peeling. Gelish MINI® soaks off completely in only 15 minutes. For more information, please visit www.gelishminis.com.

You may notice that I created a new category for Ink swatches, and there’s a new link to them in the dropdown menu on the navigation bar above.  I did some shopping online for more Inks yesterday and I had a really hard time finding swatches other than the little color bubbles that the manufacturer shows.  I like seeing colors on someone’s nails before I buy, so I guess I may have to be a guinea pig for everyone and make the swatches!  LOL

I’ve been wearing Ink Calypso for a couple of days, and today I decided to play with Orly Shade Shifter again and turn my teal mani into some cool color changing nail art.  I started with 2 coats of Calypso, then applied 2 coats of Orly Shade Shifter.  I applied one thin coat of Gelish Izzy Wizzy Let’s Get Busy for a blue/purple duochrome glitter effect.  Next, I used a dotting tool to add some flowers and dots on top, and then topped everything off with my Gelish top coat.  What do you think???

You can view my video demo of Orly Shade Shifter here.  To use it, you apply two coats of Shade Shifter over your base color (curing after each coat), and then apply your top coat.  It makes your nails black when they are cold and goes clear when they are warm to show the color underneath.  And sometimes you can see the transition as seen in the photo below.

And here are my photos of Ink Calypso before I applied Shade Shifter.

Last spring Gelish released the Candyland collection, filled with bright, cheerful colors.  I’m swatching this collection and the Rio Neon collection so that I can compare them to the new All About the Glow collection that’s slated to be released in May.

Each of theses swatches is three coats of color.  The formulas in this collection are nice – the colors all apply easily and I didn’t have any issues with thickness or wrinkling.

This is You’re So Sweet You’re Giving Me a Toothache.  It’s a creamy light pink.  Rumor has it this color fades a little after application, so I’ll do a swatch stick comparison of this if I see any fading.  You’re so sweet is very close in color to Pink Smoothie, but it’s slightly darker.

This is Sugar ‘N Spice & Everything Nice, a bright pink.

This is Don’t Be Such a Sourpuss, yellow with a subtle shimmer.

This is You’re Such a Sweet-Tart, green with a subtle shimmer.

This is Sugar Daddy, a fun, bright blue.

This is Orange Cream Dream.  I took these pictures a while ago, so the format it a little different from the others. 

April has been Beauty Blogger Appreciation Month over at Cosmetics Aficionado, and my spotlight is posted today. Head over to Leticia’s site to read my interview and to meet some other beauty bloggers!

I had fun taking some silly pics in front of my polish shelf so I could provide a head shot to accompany the interview.  I thought they turned out kind of cute, so I put together this little collage to show some of the other shots. 

As you would expect with a neon collection, the colors are bright!!  This is Shake It Til You Samba, a neon pink.  This is a very fun summer color, and it has great coverage with just two coats.

Tiki Tiki Laranga is a neon orange.  This color did have some shrinkage issues and pulled back from the edges a little.

Coco Cabana Banana… the name says it all… hello yellow!

Amazon Flirt is a neon green.  You’ll need a pair of sunglasses when you wear this or Coco Cabana! 

Ooba Ooba Blue… this one doesn’t really seem neon to me.  This color is a bit thin and I had some shrinkage issues.  I’d recommend Sugar Daddy over this blue since the colors are similar and it has much better coverage.

And finally, Carnaval Hangover.  On all of the Gelish swatches this appears to be purple, and when you put it next to the other colors in this collection it is purple-ish… however next to other colors in my collection, this appears to be more on the pink side than purple.  It also doesn’t strike me as being “neon”, but it’s a gorgeous color and I’ve worn it a few times already.  It also has great coverage with just two coats.

I posted the Gelish Rio Neon swatches earlier today, but forgot to post the nail art that I did with these colors! The pink seen here is actually Daisy Classy Pink instead of Shake It Til You Samba because I hadn’t received that color yet when I did this. I started with a base of Sheek White, and applied the neons over top to give the colors more pop! I created a striped rainbow effect on the ring finger and added a stamp on top. Vegas Nights was also applied on top for some sparkle!

Check out what’s new in the beauty world this week!

• Love At First Site!: Breaking News.Korres Summer Fun! Lips & Cheeks. SS13 Limited Edition.
• Mama Fashionista: Clark’s Botanicals has all the juicy color (and luxe formula) you need for your lips this spring!
• Lola’s Secret Beauty Blog: If you have a penchant for hybrid lipsticks that have the feel of a lip balm and the qualities of a lipstick, then you must try Bite Beauty Lush Lip Tints.
• Emily Hudspeth, hair design and makeup artist: DIY Makeup Tips for Prom.
• TheFabZilla: TheFabZilla reviews Korres Mango Butter Lipstick in Coral. Yay or nay? Find out!
• Ishah x Beauty: Ishah gets a Japanese gel manicure at Atlas Studio. Edgy Half Moons, glitter and rhinestones!
• ColorMeSoCrazy: Check out my custom Liquid Lacquer polish I got for my BIRTHDAY!!
• MakeUpMom123: Ivory 2-in-1 Hair & Body Wash.
• Beauty by Arielle: What can you use a bar of Dove soap for? Brush Cleaning!
• Cult of Taupe: Want that Clarisonic clean, without the Clarisonic Price? Check out my review of the Spa Sonic Skin Care System.
• Makeup Demon: Do you know how much $ you have spent on cosmetics?! – participate in Survey!
• Shades Of Beauty, Inc.: Hosting My 1st Giveaway: Salon Perfect Nail Lacquer Giveaway.
• Rachel’s Makeup and Skincare: Rachel reviews the new Nars Larger than Life Barrow Street eyeliner and she approves!
• Hairspray and High Heels: An East Coast vs West Coast Makeup Collab for day & night looks!
• Beauty Professor: Summer is right around the corner and, to help you prepare, the Beauty Professor has swatches of the entire Tom Ford Beauty Summer 2013 Collection!
• Makeup by Kim Porter: Kim Porter Reviews AJ Crimson’s BB Cream, see why it is her favorite.
• Baking Beauty: Baking Beauty shares her favorite drugstore liquid eyeliner.
• The Passenger Element: Makeup Forever Aqua Creams in #2, #15 (swatch/review).

I can’t believe it’s been a year already!!  Chickettes.com is one year old today, and to celebrate I’m having the best giveaway a girl could imagine!  I’m absolutely thrilled to announce that my all time favorite gel polish brand has agreed to sponsor a giveaway…  Gelish® MINI is going to send the winner a stash of goodies that will make them GLOW with excitement!

The Prizes -  Over $200 value!!

ONE lucky winner will receive ALL of the following:

1) A complete All About the Glow Gelish MINI collection.  The six colors in the collection are:

• Sometimes A Girl’s Gotta Glow: Brilliant lime green
• Radiance Is My Middle Name: Vibrant teal
• You Glare, I Glow: Electric purple
• Brights Have More Fun: Hot pink
• Make You Blink Pink: Light pink
• I’m Brighter Than You: Vivid coral

2) A Gelish Mini Pro LED Curing Light

3) A Gelish Mini Basix Kit, which includes:

• Mini Gelish Ph Bond
• Mini Gelish Foundation
• Mini Gelish Top It Off
• Mini Gelish Nourish
• Mini Gelish Cleanser
• Mini Gelish Artificial Nail Remover

The Rules

• The giveaway begins today, May 10th and will run through May 19th.
• Entries will be collected via Rafflecopter only.
• The winner will be selected randomly via Rafflecopter and announced on May 20th.
• The winner will be notified via email, and will have 48 hours to claim the prize or a new winner will be selected.
• This giveaway is only open in the United States. The winner must be able to provide a valid US shipping address (no P.O. boxes).
• Entries will be verified.
• The Sponsor will be responsible for product shipment/delivery.

GOOD LUCK!

Gelish® MINI products are available exclusively at Sally Beauty Supply stores nationwide and online at sallybeauty.com. Follow Gelish® MINI on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and on Instagram (@GelishMINI).

Gelish® MINI comes in an array of colors, applies like polish, with a twist cap and applicator, but are cured in an LED lamp for 30 seconds or in two minutes with a traditional UV lamps, just like gels. Gelish® MINI stays on the nail for up to three weeks of beautiful wear, with no chipping or peeling. Gelish MINI® soaks off completely in only 15 minutes. For more information, please visit www.gelishminis.com.

I am happy to tell you that the formula of these polishes is improved from some of the previous collections.  They aren’t thick and I didn’t experience any wrinkling or curing issues… and I actually tried to get them to wrinkle by applying some thicker layers.  I checked my swatches for fading after about 24 hours and didn’t notice any changes in the colors.  My only complaint about the formula is that the colors didn’t apply as evenly as I would have liked and required three coats each for even coverage.  With that said, I think they are all brilliant colors.  I’ve been wearing Radiance Is My Middle Name (teal) today, and LOVE it!

If you love these colors and would like a chance to win the whole collection, check out my giveaway!!

Make You Blink Pink reminds me of a Barbie!  It’s a super bright pink unlike any other by Gelish.

Brights Have More Fun is a darker hot pink.  It’s very similar to Shake It Til You Samba, but it’s slightly lighter & brighter.

I’m Brighter Than You is a vivid coral/peach color.  This one is similar to Sweet Morning Dew, but is also lighter and brighter.

Sometimes A Girl’s Gotta Glow is a brilliant lime green.  I will compare this to Amazon Flirt and You’re Such a Sweet-Tart.

Radiance is My Middle Name is a bright teal color.  As I mentioned, I’ve been wearing this all day and absolutely love it.  I will compare this with Garden Teal Party, though it’s visibly brighter.

You Glare, I Glow is an electric shade of purple unlike any other by Gelish.

What do you think!? Are you as in love with these bright colors as I am?

Brights Have More Fun vs. Shake It Til You Samba… not much difference here.  Brights Have More Fun is just slightly lighter/brighter, but I don’t see the need for owning both of these since they’re so close.  Shake It Til You Samba is probably my pick of the two because it has a great formula and offers full coverage with just two coats.

Sometimes A Girl’s Gotta Glow is seen here on the index finger and pinky… it’s pretty different from the other greens in the Rio Neon and Candyland collections.  It’s my fav of the three.

Sorry, I cheated on this one since my nails need a little break after all of the swatching.    Radiance is My Middle Name is closest to Garden Teal Party, but again is a few shades lighter.  Garden Teal Party has better coverage with no visible nail line, but Radiance has a better formula…. it’s a toss up.  I love blues, and really like these both.  Radiance is so bright and fun.  I’ve been wearing it for 2 days now and plan to keep it on the rest of the week (that’s a long time for me).

Are there any other comparisons you’d like to see?  I can take a few photos with my swatch sticks if I have the colors you’re curious about.

I was going to leave my nails alone for a week to give them a break, but I caved!  I’ve been trying to think of ways to use the entire Gelish All About the Glow collection in some nail art and I have so many ideas running through my head.  My first thought was to do a colorful french manicure using a different color for each finger, but I only have 5 fingers and there are 6 colors… that won’t work.  So I decided to do a few French tips, and two rainbow nails using every color in the collection!

On my ring finger and thumb I started with two coats of Sheek White and used a dotting tool to draw on the different colored stripes (only one coat for the stripes).  For the French tips, I applied two coats of white, but only on the tips this time.  I applied two coats of color to the tips leaving some space to give the appearance of a white outline.  I applied one coat of Emerald Dust to each nail, and used a dotting tool to draw on a couple of small hearts.  I applied one thin coat of Gelish Top It Off, and viola!

I really love how this turned out… they’re bright and fun, and sparkly too!  The official Gelish FB page announced that they are having a “Summer Brights” nail art challenge.  Post your best “bright” manicure using Gelish polish to their FB feed by May 21st and they will feature their top 5 picks!  I’m definitely going to submit this one, and I can’t wait to see what other creations people come up with.

• MakeUpMom123: Huge Spring Fling Giveaway – 44 Winners!
• Mama Fashionista: Even though Mother’s Day has come and gone, Mama Fashionista still thinks these fragrances are worth a try!
• Love At First Site!: Reviewing and Swatching KORRES SS13 Colour Pop Collection nail colours.
• Beauty Fiends: Julia at Beauty Fiends is co-hosting a multi-blogger and indie giveaway!
• Ishah x Beauty: Check out how RiRi Woo, the lipstick that sold out in 3 hours, looks on warm/yellow toned skin!
• Lola’s Secret Beauty Blog: Looking for a gorgeously glowing cool mid-tone pink blush? Meet Tom Ford Cheek Color in Wicked- it’s stunning!
• TheFabZilla: So which pink are you? TheFabZilla gets her hands on Victoria’s Secret Pink luminous body butter.
• ColorMeSoCrazy: Stamping with Holo!!
• Beauty by Miss L: Miss L showed Wild&Mild bright yellow nail polish.
• Chickettes.com: NEW! Gelish All About the Glow collection swatches. Check out these summer brights!
• Shades Of Beauty, Inc.: Some Mary Kay Products to Combat Allergy Symptoms!
• Beauty by Arielle: Why BB Creams Are a Gimmick.
• Beauty Professor: Summer is almost here and the Beauty Professor has swatches and a video review of the soon-to-be-released Youngblood Summer 2013 Collection!
• The Passenger Element: Tiny Purchase at Ulta.
• Peace Love and Glitter: Two words: Glitter sunglasses. An easy DIY tutorial to add some sparkle to your sunnies!

Nail Polish Canada sent me some NCLA Designer Nail Wraps to try.  The two designs that I chose are called It Doesn’t Matter and So L.A.  You can view all of the different designs on the Nail Polish Canada website.  Each package includes 44 nail wraps of various sizes.  I think the concept of nail wraps is great because they allow anyone to add intricate art to their nails with minimal time and skill.

Today I decided to try out the random black and white patterns in the It Doesn’t Matter set.  This was only my second time trying nail wraps, so I’m still an amateur.  I consulted the instructions and it certainly sounded easy…

… and it was! These strips were great to work with!   I cleaned my nails with an alcohol wipe and then applied a clear base coat and let it dry.  I studied the wraps to determine which sizes might work best with each of my nails.  My nails are a bit narrow, but there was such a wide variety of sizes that I was able to find a wrap to fit each of them without having to do any trimming around the edges.  BONUS… NO TRIMMING!!!  I applied the wraps to each nail, carefully smoothing them out to eliminate any air bubbles.  (In the photos you can see some bubbling on my index finger, but it’s not noticeable in person unless you look very closely.) My nails are also very curvy, and these wraps stuck from edge to edge without any lifting.  The wraps are also long enough to accommodate pretty long nails. I had a lot of excess hanging off the tip, which I filed off with the nail file that came in the package.  And finally, I topped each nail off with a clear top coat.

I’m very pleased with the final result… what do you think?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Christy Rose

Email: Sales@KBShimmer.com

 KBSHIMMER ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF NINE NEW POLISHES
KBShimmer Summer Polish Line Set For Release June 1^st, 2013

Visit https://www.kbshimmer.com/press-release/ for an online version of this press release that includes pictures suitable for web use.

KBShimmer is excited to announce the addition of 9 new colors to their 3-Free glitter polish line and an expansion to their nail prep line.  Owner Christy Rose says “With warm weather and sandals popping up, June is the perfect time for bright, bold colors and patriotic themes to celebrate a fun and exciting summer.”

The summer lineup includes one glitter top coat, two glitter crellys in a white base and six bright, bold polishes, two in a matte finish.  KBShimmer will also be expanding their nail care line to include two scented cuticle oils and liquid nail prep. “Our new line was created to play off the bolder palette of summer, some inspired by the 80’s and 90s, but also to celebrate the patriotic season. One of our polishes plays off the color of the year, Emerald Green, and will ease people into the summer while two others were inspired by the fall 2013 Pantone colors Koi and Vivacious. Both will make for an easy transition through the summer and into the fall.  We are also excited to unveil two scented cuticle oils in an easy-applicator pen.  We hope to inspire and motivate people to go out in the sun and show off their nails!” says Rose.

KBShimmer– SUMMER 2013 COLLECTION

What’s Your Damage? – White crelly polish with neon green, neon pink, and black glitters.

Don’t Pink Twice –Bright near magenta pink with subtle blue shimmer – matte

24 Carrot Bold –Orange red polish with gold shimmer – matte

Blinded By The Bright – Neon yellow polish with a scattering of hex glitters in the 6 primary and secondary colors

The Dancing Green –A almost neon green with blue undertones, accented by fuchsia, sapphire,  green and chartreuse glitters in different shapes and sizes

Totally Tubular – A blue-green crelly polish with fuchsia circle glitters in two sizes and fuchsia micro slices, aqua circle glitters and sapphire hex glitters.

Totally Razzical – A red-violet shade leaning towards the purple side of raspberry. Loaded with holographic hex glitters in magenta, silver and pink.

Grayscale – Black, White, and Gray glitters are suspended in a clear base. Circles, hexes, rectangles, and squares in so many sizes complete this glitter top coat.

Pimp My Pride – This white based polish features metallic red and blue glitters. Best worn in three coats, or 1-2 coats over your favorite white.

Shipping June 1, 2013

KBShimmer products can be found at Http://www.KBShimmer.com.  For sales outside of the US visit http://www.HarlowandCo.org.

KBShimmer was founded in 2008 by the husband and wife team of Jason and Christy Rose.  KBShimmer offers unique and colorful nail glitter nail polishes that are Big 3 Free, with all glitter formulas being completely free of chemicals such as toluene, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin and dibutyl phthalate (DBP).  KBShimmer glitter polishes feature a flat glitter grabbing brush for easy application.  KBShimmer also offers a 2-free quick dry polish top coat, olive oil lotion, sugar scrubs, lip balms, cold process soaps and other skin care products.

###

If you would like more information about KBShimmer, contact Christy Rose by emailing sales@kbshimmer.com or visting Http://www.KBShimmer.com.

© 2013 KBShimmer. All rights reserved

It’s been a busy week. My daughter’s HS prom is this weekend, and I have a friend coming in town and a wedding to attend on Sunday so I won’t have much time for swatching. I will be doing a French manicure for my daughter and I have some nail art planned to match the dress I’m wearing to the wedding, so you can expect some pictures of those next week.

In the meantime, I have a couple of Couture Gel Nail Polish swatches to share with you.  Couture is a DIY brand meant for at-home use.  I found that their starter kit is available on Amazon.com at a discount, though I don’t see the individual colors sold there.

These colors are from the Couture Spring 2013 collection.  Application and soak-off were a breeze. The shimmery silver one is called High Maintenance. I wore this for a few days and loved it. It goes with everything and has just the right amount of sparkle for me.

The color below is Glam Squad. This one is the perfect combination of purple and pink. It looks pink next to purples, and purple next to pinks. I really like the uniqueness of the color. My lightbox washed the color out of these photos a bit, and it looks a little more pink than it actually was. I snapped a quick pic of this in regular lighting to try to capture the color a little better.

The colors used in this manicure are Couture Tres Chic, Gelish Cashmere Kind of Gal and Gelish Emerald Dust.

• My index finger has three coats of Tres Chic, and I used nail art striping tape and Cashmere Kind of Gal to create some diagonal stripes.
• My middle finger has two coats of Cashmere Kind of Gal, and a stamped design using Bundle Monster plate BM314 and Konad white stamping polish.  I topped it off with one coat of Emerald Dust for some sparkle.
• My ring finger also has two coats of Cashmere Kind of Gal, and then I applied a feather on top.  To do this I applied a layer of Gelish Top It Off, and then stuck the feather on top and pressed it down so that it was flush with my nail.  I cured it in my LED light for 45 seconds then used scissors to trim off the bulk of the excess feather and a nail file to clean up the edges.  I applied one more coat of Top It Off and cured again.
• My pinky finger just has three coats of Tres Chic and one coat of Emerald Dust, and my thumb has two coats of Cashmere Kind of Gal and one coat of Emerald Dust.

Here is a quick shot of my dress pattern and the ribbon.

I have a simple mani today… a teal and silver combo. The gorgeous minty teal blue color is Ink Cameo, and the silver accent is Ink Chrome Silver.  I’m totally loving Cameo… it has a nice subtle shimmer.  I didn’t put a base color under Chrome Silver and you can see a bit of natural nail underneath, but I think the coverage is good enough that it’s not too noticeable.

I hope to be able to do more swatching soon, but this is likely going to be a very busy month for me since my daughter is graduating high school and getting ready to go to Ohio State!  We’re having a big party at the house and I have family flying in from a few different places.  I’m trying to get some work on my house done AND it’s now gardening season too.  So there’s just a lot going on!  I’m hoping to make it up to you by having a few guest posts from some other talented ladies.