Dreams by Neihule Swatches

I recently had a chance to try a pretty new nail polish brand: Dreams by Neihule. The nail polish shades have inspiring names like "I Believe" and "Dreamz of Hope". They come individually boxed and when you open the box you find a rainbow ribbon with a little message like "It's not over 'til it's over" and "You are loved and needed".



Dreams by Neihule Nail Lacquer is a new nail polish line that was launched early this year. Since the launch of our line, we have been apart of some of the biggest events in Hollywood, events such as The Oscars, The Grammy’s and an event for mother’s day titled “Mother’s day in Hollywood”.

Dreams by Neihule Mission Statement

Heavenly - This is a dreamy, creamy, baby blue creme. The formula on this was one of the best I have seen for a pastel blue. I don't find it terribly unique, but it is super beautiful and this type of bright, sky blue/baby blue/pastel blue is one of my favorite polish shades so I love this.

Glamtastic - Aw yeah! When I first opened this up I thought it was a gold glitter in a black base and I thought it looked awesome. Then I put it on and realized it was gold AND black glitter in a clear base and I thought it was even more awesome! This is mega-hott and ridiculously awesome and probably going to make my Best of 2011.

Prayze - This is a fine pink, full coverage glitter. Very pretty and delicate, but super sparkly and fun at the same time.

Crown Jewels - This is an awesome glitter. It is a full coverage shade, made up of small glitter pieces but the thing I like the most is that the overall color is achieved using silver, gold and copper glitter.

Overall, I am pleased with these shades! The formula is fantastic. The glitters are full coverage and the creme, although being pastel was well pigmented but still easy to apply. I don't doubt you can expect the same from the other shades they have to offer.

Dreams by Neihule shades can be purchased here and they retail for $12 a bottle. One thing I was thinking is that they would be great for a gift for a special occasion since they come in pretty boxes and have the inspiring little message ribbon. There are also some other gorgeous looking shades I want to get for myself!!

Disclosure: The products featured in this post were furnished to me by the manufacturer or PR company for review. For more information please visit my disclosure policy.

Glam Slam France

In conjunction with the French Open (currently happening) OPI has released some new shatter shades inspired by Serena Williams. The first set I am showing you is the white shatter/delicious glitter combo>>>

Spark de Triomphe - I was really excited to see this one because I had a feeling from pictures it was more special than a regular silver glitter and I was right! It's actually a mix of silver and gold glitter in varying sizes! SOOOO PRETTY! My pic really doesn't do it justice.

White Shatter (Shown over Spark de Triomphe) - This is a standard crackle in white creme. Cracks quick and is easy to apply. I was concerned that I wouldn't like this combo because I didn't want to cover up the pretty glitter and I actually love it! To vary the cracks, as I applied I moved the brush back and forth while moving closer to the tip. Love it.

The Glam Slam sets are out now. What do you think?!
-Elaine
:c)

China Glaze - Island Escape Summer 2011

Take an exotic island escape with China Glaze this summer with a tropical, shimmering rainbow of brilliant bright colors! Mix and match these hot hues to add a candy-like pop to that summer manicure and pedicure.

108 Degrees - This is a beautiful, hot pink, glass-fleck shimmer. This is one of those "pinks-I-love". Very sparkly and flashy and hot hot pink!

Papaya Punch - This is an orange I love! This is a super pigmented, creamy orange. This reminds me of pumpkins, which isn't very summery, but it is still summer appropriate. The formula is a bit thick, but in a good way.

Electric Pineapple - This is fantastic! This is so weird. I really don't think calling it "pineapple" is terribly appropriate, because it's a very, very green yellow. It's definitely more green than OPI - Fiercely Fiona but more yellow than any other green in the same realm. So it's definitely unique. I did a cool mani with this plus China Glaze - Crushed Candy Crackle Polish.

Cha Cha Cha - This is a striking olivey green with strong gold shimmer. I'm sure you have all figured out by now that this is close to China Glaze - Moonpool, but not a dupe. Whether close or not it is beautiful in its own right and I love it.

Blue Iguana - Now I do not know any iguanas that look like this but if I did I would have a stash of blue iguanas. This is a sparkly, shimmery, deep pool blue. The shimmer is an intense glass fleck. It's very watery and the sparkle reminds me of sparkling water in the sunshine :c)

Señorita Bonita - This is a red toned, glass-flecked purple. Very pretty and not like anything I have. The picture really does not do this one justice.

These are out now! What do you think?!
Elaine
:c)

Disclosure: The products featured in this post were furnished to me by the manufacturer or PR company for review. For more information please visit my disclosure policy.

Nubar Spring Garden

For Spring this year Nubar has created a collection of pastels. Now, usually that is everyone's Spring collection, and usually that is disappointing because there isn't too many ways to change up pastels, but these are actually different. They all have a softness to them, mostly due to the silver, pearly shimmer in them.

Pink Lily - This is a soft pink creme that leans on the peach side. The shimmer is pretty hidden in this one, but it's contribution makes a difference.

Earthen - This is a "greige" creme, that is more on the gray side than beige side. The pearly shimmer really stands out in this one and makes it look less like mud than most greige cremes.

Baby Sprout - Super cool, soft green pastel green. It's not so much a mint... it's like a ... baby sprout, I guess. It reminds me of mint gum. This one is a bit more white and stark that some of the softer colors in this set.

Blue Hydrangea - This is a bright, baby blue with strong, pearly, silver shimmer.

White Peony - This is a super soft white creme that is soft in texture: it's sort of squishy, and it is also soft in color as it is slightly off white, or maybe a smidge yellow or ivory. It's a bit difficult to explain but it's beautiful. It also had an amazing formula for being white. Very easy to apply.

Yellow Primrose - This is a very, very soft yellow with pearl finish. It is so soft of a yellow it is almost wrong to call it yellow. It' s more like a cream shade.

Purple Aster - I love this one. This is a gorgeous shade of lavender. This is one of the ones in this set that has more shimmer than others. I looooved wearing this. It's very pretty and delicate, but interesting and not boring, but not flashy and too noticeable. Good work shade.

Honeysuckle - If you have been searching for a polish in Honeysuckle to satisfy your need of the Pantone color of the year in a polish form, here it is! It is a creme with a slight jelly finish. Very pretty and flattering.

Dewdrop (over Purple Aster) - To complement all the shades in this collection, Nubar released this iridescent glitter in a clear base.

These are available now for $49.95.

What do you think?
:c)

Disclosure: The products featured in this post were furnished to me by the manufacturer or PR company for review. For more information please visit my disclosure policy.

Dr. Remedy Swatches and Review

Dr. Remedy is a new line of doctor inspired cosmetics dedicated to using clean, hypo-allergenic, anti-fungal ingredients. The birth child of two New-York based podiatrists, Dr. Adam Cirlincione and Dr. William Spielfogel, Dr Remedy's proves quintessentially perfect for any person looking to better the condition of her skin and nails.

Healing Heather Gray - This is a gray creme. This shade of gray is nice and neutral. Not too dark or light, not too warm or cool, it's very flattering and soothing.

Revive Ruby Red - This is a pretty, ruby red shimmer. This is pretty, but I felt like I probably had enough red shimmers so I gave this to my sister.

Desire Dark Brown - Yummy. This is a dark chocolate brown creme. This reminds me a lot of OPI - Suzi Loves Cowboys but it's a bit darker.

Dr. Remedy polishes are available on remedynails.com and are $16. There are other colors including blues and purples and they also have a base coat and cuticle treatment.

What do you think?
Elaine :c)

Disclosure: The products featured in this post were furnished to me by the manufacturer or PR company for review. For more information please visit my disclosure policy.

Flower Mani

HI! This is a quickie post. I wanted to show you a mani I did a couple weeks ago.

This is a white creme base (I think I used OPI - Alpine Snow) then I stamped the flowers with a Bundle Monster plate and Nicole - My Lifesaver. And to finish it off I dotted black polish to the middle of the flowers.

Have a great weekend!

Nicole by OPI - One Less Lonely Girl Collection

The One Less Lonely Girl was conceived to raise awareness for Pencils of Promise, and organization that builds sustainable schools for underserved children in the developing world. In addition to educating consumers about this non-profit, Nicole by OPI has committed to building two such schools.

Not A Gold Bigger - This is a gold foil. Is it pretty? Yes. Is it unique? No.

I've Got Bieber Fever - This is a dark plummy purple with a subtle shimmer. This is very beautiful and I want to believe I have other shades like this, but I still have a spot for this one in my heart.

Make U Smile - This is a chunky silver/blue glitter in a clear base. It is shown over My Lifesaver. At first glance I thought maybe this was a dupe to Deborah Lippmann - Today Was A Fairytale, but it's not. TWAF has a blue base and although this looks blue in the bottle, it's clear on the nail. Also the glitter in TWAF is more dense.

Red-y To Runaway Love? - This is awesome. How could a plain red creme be so awesome you say? First thing is the formula. It's thin but pigmented. It glides on effortlessly in two coats. Next the color is so bright and amazing. I know, I know. This is a red creme. That is what I thought too until I put it on. I was actually going to wear this to work because I thought it would be boring, and I quickly realized I had to take it off because it is just SO DAMN BRIGHT!

I'm A Belieber - Hott damn. This a bright purple creme. It has the slightest bit of jelly finish. It is so bright a purple it makes me real happy. It makes me think of grapes. I feel like it should smell like grapes. I don't have anything like this.

My Lifesaver - This is a bright mint creme. Another winner. At first I wasn't excited because I assumed I had a dupe but its honestly not like any other mint cremes I have. It is more blue than most mints. The bluest mint I have is Essie - Mint Candy Apple but My Lifesaver isn't at all like it because it is more saturated and not pastel like MCA. It is awesome.

One Time Lime - This is another winner from this collection. This is a bold, saturated lime creme. I don't have anything like this in my collection.

"Baby" Blue - Cute name. And yet another winner. This is a bright sky blue creme. Another saturated, rich creme in a beautiful shade.

Overall this is a very fun collection. I feel a bit luke-warm about the non-creme polishes in this set but the creme shades: Oh my. I love every one of them. They are all incredible on and have great formulas, especially Red-y To Runaway.

These are all available now at Wal-Marts, select Targets, Sears and Ulta.

Disclosure: The products featured in this post were furnished to me by the manufacturer or PR company for review. For more information please visit my disclosure policy.

Striping Tape Review

Hi! I recently had a chance to review some products from bornprettystore.com and the product I am showing you today is the striping tapes.

Striping tapes are thin, colored/metallic/glittery tapes that are used for nail art. These supposedly come as a set of 12, but I only have 10: black, coppery-brown, purple, blue, green, silver, white, pink, yellow and red. From their picture online it looks like there may also be a sky blue and magenta? It's hard to tell.

This is the first time I have ever used striping tapes but I think they were very easy to use and I like the mani that I did with them:

I started by painted my nails as usual. For this design I did half white creme and half China Glaze - Jolly Holly. Once that was all dry I started with the roll of red, taped it onto my nail from the diagonal corner near the cuticle, pressed it along the nail and cut the end. Simple! I did that to all 10, trimmed and excess and topped it with top coat.

There really weren't any issues with using these except that a couple nails did have some lifting at the free edge but to remedy that I just added more top coat.

The set of 12 tapes is sold for $8.99 and decreases in price the more sets you buy. Bornprettystore.com is located in China but ships internationally.

The store also sells plenty of other nail art products including rhinestones, filmo and stickers. They also sell polish (I have some to show you) tools, acrylic equipment, false eyelashes and other things. I have some nail stamping kits to review for you but so far I haven't had success with them. More to come...

Nubar Finest Silks

Nubar Finest Silks is a collection of eight feminine, "work appropriate" shades. Mostly creme finishes with the exception of one shimmer.

Taffata - Brownish pink creme. When I was wearing this it made me think that this would be what it would look like if you mixed chocolate milk and strawberry milk.

Marabout - This is a dark gray-brown creme. Really interesting and stylish. It reminds me of mud which I know doesn't sound stylish but that is the kind of colors I like.

Chiffon - This is just like Marabout but lighter. Lighter mud. Nice, but I wore this right after Marabout and really didn't feel like I changed my polish.

Organza - This is a shimmery, sheer white. Not bad alone, but if you don't like sheers I'd say to layer this. This is three coats.

Moire - Light, soft tan creme with a hint of pink. Delicate and pretty.

Charmeuse - Mauve creme. Not a boring mauve; it's bright and bold. I like this. And the formula! All of these have a nice formula but this one was especially nice.

Pekin - Bright red creme. Nice, bold, smooth and sexy.

Sateen - Dark red, blood creme.

These are beautiful shades and I greatly appreciate colors like this being a working professional for when I can't wear my usual blues, greens and glitters. I really enjoy adding shades like this to my collection because I am so used to unusual shades being my norm, that these feel outrageous! But my gripe with this collection is that I feel like there are too many repeats! I like these shades for their sophistication but I don't want the same ones over and over. For example, Marabout and Chiffon really seemed like the same color to me. But anyway, they are nice and beautiful and have a fantastic formula.

Nubar Finest Silks is available now on bynubar.com and retail for $7.49 per bottle or $49.95 for the entire collection.

What do you think?
-Elaine
:c)

Disclosure: The products featured in this post were furnished to me by the manufacturer or PR company for review. For more information please visit my disclosure policy.