Refined and Polished

Spring 2012 Trends ~ Sophisticated Pastels

2012-03-03T11:20:00.000-05:00

Another great trend for this spring from Refinery29 is pastels. I adore pastel polishes, so I'm happy to see so many in spring collections that have been released so far. Here are a few of my new and old picks:

Hopefully the shades from the new Essie and Orly collections have great formulas, as pastels can be somewhat streaky sometime.

Will you be picking up any of these shades?

Barielle Elle's Spell

2012-03-01T16:16:00.002-05:00

Hey dolls, I decided to layer Barielle Elle's Spell over Cotton Candy. Most pictures I've seen of Elle's Spell are over black or red, so I wanted to see if it would look any different over pink. Elle's Spell is a red jelly that's filled with flakies that shift to red, gold, and orange. The formula was not problematic at all and I layered two coats over Cotton Candy.

I previously owned Elle's Spell about a year ago, but I didn't layer it over anything. I really didn't like the way it looked, so I swapped it out. I'm liking this much better the second time around! The flakies really stood out and the base looks more candy red over Cotton Candy.

What have you layered Elle's Spell over?

Barielle polishes can be purchased here and are currently BOGO 50%. They also have contests and special promo codes on their facebook page.

*Products featured in this post were sent by PR for review*

Barielle Cotton Candy

2012-02-29T17:31:00.000-05:00

Happy Pink Wednesday dolls! Today I'm wearing Barielle Cotton Candy, which is described on the site as a blush shimmer. Cotton Candy is a soft pink that's filled with a slightly darker pink shimmer. The formula was a somewhat thin and I experienced a little pooling at the cuticles, but it was easy to clean up. It is also pretty sheer; I used three coats for the pictures below. Cotton Candy is somewhat of a chameleon, as it looks different dependent upon the light.

direct sunlight

indirect sunlight

shade

Cotton Candy looks pretty in all lights! It's a perfect springtime shade, which is what it's feeling like here with temperatures in the mid-high 70s everyday.

Barielle polishes can be purchased here and are currently BOGO 50%. Check out this video for the 90 new shades Barielle recently released. I can't wait to start seeing some of them in person!

*Products featured in this post were sent by PR for review*

Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe

2012-02-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hey dolls, since I showed you I Know What Boys Like yesterday, I figured I'd go ahead and show you the other Deborah Lippmann polish I got from Apothica since they would pair well together. Across the Universe is a navy jelly filled with blue and green hexagonal glitter and smaller blue microglitter. The formula was great and the glitter dispersed evenly on the nail without having to do a lot of work. Dry time was relatively quick and it dried to a somewhat textured finish. I applied one coat over I Know What Boys Like.

I really like the combination of the blue and green hexagonal glitter; I didn't realize how much the green glitter actually stood out until I applied it. After wearing this polish, I now see why so many people go crazy over Deborah Lippmann glitters.

What do you think of this combination?

You can check out Apothica on facebook and polishes by Deborah Lippmann, Essie, SpaRitual and more can be purchased here.

Deborah Lippmann I Know What Boys Like

2012-02-27T09:00:00.000-05:00

Hey dolls, today I'm wearing my first Deborah Lippmann polish that I got from Apothica. I Know What Boys Like, a deep periwinkle blue cream, has been on my DL wish list for some time now, so I was excited to try this one out. The formula was good and applied somewhat like a jelly. The brush is somewhat thinner than what I prefer, but it wasn't difficult to use. I used two coats for full opacity.

I love everything about I Know What Boys Like! I did a little shopping over the weekend while wearing this polish and I got so many compliments. It's a very unique shade of blue and I'm glad to have it in my stash. I must say that I'm impressed with my first Deborah Lippmann and I'm looking forward to trying more of them.

You can check out Apothica on facebook and polishes by Deborah Lippman, Essie, SpaRitual and more can be purchased here.

Spring 2012 Trends ~ Modern Neons

2012-02-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hey dolls, the next spring trend from Refinery29 that I'm excited about is modern neons. Neons just remind me of warm weather and I love to rock them on my fingers and toes. Here are a couple that I have or want to add to my stash.

I'm especially excited for China Glaze's Summer Neons collection to be released. Based on the press release, there are a couple that I'd like to have.

What are some of your favorite neons?

Barielle Amber Sparkler

2012-02-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hey dolls, sometimes I need a palette cleanser after wearing a lot of bright colors and that's exactly what this color was. Barielle Amber Sparkler is one of the shades from the Gem Stone Earth Collection and it is described on the site as a metallic bronze with silver swirl. Amber Sparkler looked like a metallic nude on me. I applied two careful coats of Amber Sparkler to minimize the brushstrokes as much as possible. While it was opaque in one coat, the second is definitely needed to even the polish out.

While this isn't a color I tend to gravitate to, I ended up really liking it and all of its simplicity. Barielle polishes can be purchased here and they are usually have a BOGO 50% off sale going on. They also post cool promos on their facebook page.

How do you feel about these types of shades?

*Products featured in this post were sent by PR for review*

WnW Tangled In My Web

2012-02-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

I wanted to see how ManGlaze Lesbihonest looked glossy (and I'm trying to use more of my untrieds), so I decided to add two coats of WnW Tangled In My Web. Tangled In My Web is a clear base filled with black glitter. This polish was so hard to spread all over the nail. I had to dab the brush in certain areas to get more glitter all over the nail. The clear base was also very thick, so I feel like I have six coats of polish on.

Meh...I'm not crazy over this. It looks okay, but I would prefer it if the glitter wasn't so sparse. It just looks like something is missing. Maybe I need Nubar Black and White Polka Dots to make up for my dislike of Tangled In My Web.

On the otherhand, Lesbihonest looks awesome glossy! I'm so ready to wear this one again (minus Tangled in My Web).

Pink Wednesday ~ ManGlaze Lesbihonest

2012-02-22T16:47:00.001-05:00

Hey dolls, today I'm wearing a brand I've been lusting after for a few months. Thanks to my polish friend Michelle and the awesome folks over at ManGlaze, I'm now the proud owner of 8 of these polishes! Up first is Lesbihonest, a gorgeous pink matte filled with silver shimmer. The formula was awesome; there was no streaking or balding and it was opaque on the first coat. I added a second just for depth.

Gorgeous!!!! I love everything about Lesbihonest. I can't wait to see what this one looks like glossy; I'm thinking the shimmer will be even more pronounced. The other ManGlaze polishes I received are Santorum, ILF, Fuggen Ugly, Matte is Murder, Royal Mattermoaning, Mink Mitten, and F**k Off & Dye.

Which would you like to see next?

P2 Crackling Top Coat ~ Blue Thunder

2012-02-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

I loved Catrice Bird of Paradise so much that I didn't want to take it off after wearing it alone for three days. I decided to try out one of the crackle top coats I received in the Sugar Nails giveaway. Blue Thunder is a light metallic blue that I thought would pair well with Bird of Paradise. I applied one thick coat and it cracked perfectly!

I was right; I love the way these two look together! A lot of people are over crackles/shatters, but I don't mind pulling them out every once in awhile (especially when it looks this cool).

Catrice Bird of Paradise

2012-02-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hey dolls, I can't believe it took me so long to wear the polish I'm showing you today. I received Catrice Bird of Paradise in a swap last summer and I'm just wearing it. Bird of Paradise is a bright purple cream that is absolutely gorgeous! The formula was amazing; it applied very smoothly and was opaque in two coats.

Bird of Paradise is simply a great shade or purple! I got so many compliments on it. While it's just a cream, this color made me smile and I already know I'll be reaching for it again soon. It always makes me feel good when I find a treasure that has been in my stash for awhile.

What are your thoughts on Bird of Paradise?

Spring 2012 Trends ~ Tangerines

2012-02-18T17:24:00.000-05:00

Tangerine, the Pantone color of the year, is the next spring trend mentioned by Refinery29. Although I know lots of people are not fans of orange polish, I happen to love it. Orange nails scream warm weather to me and it's a shade that can just brighten your mood. Here are some oranges I'm looking forward to:

Are you a fan of orange polish?

Zoya Dree & Cult Nails Toxic Seaweed

2012-02-16T15:40:00.000-05:00

Hey dolls, today I'm wearing a gorgeous layering combo. I started with two coats of Zoya Dree, a gorgeous olive green that looks just like camouflage. The formula was very easy to work with and applied very easily.

I really love shades of green like these. I find them to be complimentary to my skin tone. My Cult Nails order of Toxic Seaweed arrived last night, so I layered one coat on top of Dree. Toxic Seaweed is a hunter green jelly that is filled with green glitter and flakies that change from gold to orange.

Simply put, this is gorgeous! It's just the right amount of glitter and flakies and this is only one coat! Maria and her daughter know just how to make colors that are one of a kind. If you're interested in Toxic Seaweed, you may want to hurry and order this limited edition polish. Maria has stated that the flakies needed to make this polish are no longer in stock, so you don't want to miss out on this one like so many did for Unicorn Puke/Clairvoyant. At the time of this post, Toxic Seaweed is still available on the Cult Nails site. Cult Nails will be having a $5 polish sale when they reach 5000 likes on facebook, so make sure you go and like the page.

Pink Wednesday ~ Guest Post on Sweet Sugar

2012-02-15T16:12:00.000-05:00

Hi dolls, I have a guest post over on Sweet Sugar using Zoya Happi and Gaia. I'd love for you all to check it out. I was more than pleased and excited when Gwenn asked me to provide this post, so I hope you all enjoy it!

See post here

Happy Pink Wednesday!!!

Valentine's Look ~ Zoya Posh

2012-02-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's day dolls! I hope that all of you do something special with the one you love or just for yourself. Today I'm wearing Zoya Posh, a matte red with a slight shimmer. The formula was great for a matte; I only applied one coat. It wasn't the least bit streaky and self-leveled very well.

You all should know by now that I am not a fan of red, but I really like this one. It's kind of a sexy color. Next, I decided to try out the infamous matte with glossy tips as seen on Chloe's Nails.

This was my first scotch tape tips mani and I definitely could use some more practice to ensure that it's properly aligned. I also need to make sure the amount of glossy tip is the same on each nail. Not so bad though. For a final touch, I decided to use Juicy Couture Gold Glitter as an accent because it has that adorable heart glitter.

I love the way this turned out! I hope you all enjoy the day!

Spring 2012 Nail Trends ~ Pistachio

2012-02-13T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hey dolls, as most brands have released their spring collections, I thought this would be a good time to start the spring 2012 trend series, as picked by Refinery29. Spring is one of my favorite seasons for polish because the colors are typically fresh and clean. The first trend for spring is pistachio. I love how clean pistachios and mint greens look on my nails! Here are a few that I'm excited about:

Will you be wearing any pistachio or mint colored polish any time soon?

Barielle Elated

2012-02-12T12:47:00.000-05:00

Hey dolls, Barielle has a Valentine's day contest going on over on their facebook page and I decided to enter a photo. I realized that the only shade I had in the pink/red family is Elated, which is a chameleon of sorts. In some shades it looks pink, in others more red, and at times coral. This color just screams warm summer day to me. The formula was very easy to work with and I applied two coats.

I decided to do a simple dot on dot look. Essie Marshmallow was applied first using a large dotting tool and then Elated was applied on top with smaller dots.

Cute and simple! It's Valentine's themed, without being too literal. If you like this mani, I'd love for you to "like" it over on the Barielle facebook page by clicking here. The person with the most likes receives three polishes. :) Thanks dolls!

Icing Magnetix ~ Blue

2012-02-10T17:06:00.000-05:00

Hey dolls! A few weeks ago when I was in the mall, I stopped by Icing to see if they had any of the Magnetix polishes. The manager told me that they were selling quickly and there was only the blue and green ones left (I grabbed them both). While I've been seeing magnetic polishes all over the blogosphere, I knew this would be one trend that I needed to try for myself to see if I actually liked it.

The Icing Magnetix polishes come with a removable cap that holds the magnet. I kind of liked the way the wavy design looked, so I decided to go with the blue polish first. The formula is thick, but easy to work with, and opaque with one coat. I polished one nail at a time, then immediately put the magnet over the nail while it was still wet. You have to be extremely careful to make sure the magnet doesn't get too close, or the polish will adhere to it. That happened to me several times, so I had to apply another coat of polish and try again. The glue underneath the magnet gave a little, which caused the magnet to fall off. I applied a little bit of super glue and it was as good as new.

The pattern came out the best on my thumb, which was the first nail that I tried. I love the science behind magnetic nail polish because it reminds me of something you would see on Bill Nye the Science Guy. I can't really say I like this though. It looks ok, but not worth the effort in my opinion. Maybe magnetic polish has a learning curve like stamping...I just don't think I'll try more of these.

Earlier in the post I stated that I purchased the green/gold Icing Magnetix polish as well. One fan of Refined and Polished is in luck. Head on over to the Refined and Polished facebook page, "like" it, and leave a comment on the picture of the green Icing Magnetix polish for a chance to win it (one comment per person). I'll accept comments on the post until 8p EST on Sunday, February 12. Hopefully one of you will like this trend a little bit better than I did!

A England Saint George

2012-02-08T16:29:00.002-05:00

Hey dolls, I hope you all won't be disappointed that I'm not wearing pink today when you see this beauty. The two weeks that I waited for my new A Englands to arrive seemed like forever, but I was not disappointed at all when I saw Saint George and Dragon. I decided to wear Saint George first, which is a deep teal with shimmer and scattered holographic particles. Saint George was opaque in one coat, yes, only one coat! It was a dream to apply. I've said this before about Tristam and Avalon, but I must reiterate here that A England has the BEST formula I've ever used!

Yes, I had to include all of these pictures because Saint George is just that amazing! Now I'm wishing I would have gotten more from this collection. I just may have to do that.

For beautifully written and in-depth stories about all of the polishes in The Legends collection and what they were inspired by, please check out these posts by Ommorphia Beauty Bar and Fashion Polish.

Zoya Tallulah

2012-02-06T20:14:00.000-05:00

Hey dolls, after using Zoya Tallulah as an accent in my cloud mani, I just knew I had to wear this shade as a full mani. Tallulah is a bright, cobalt blue that's filled with an awesome light blue shimmer. The formula was amazing and was completely opaque with two coats.

This is a gorgeous shade of blue that is surprisingly unique to my collection! I really can't believe it took me so long to buy this one, but I'm glad I was able to get it during the holiday flash promos. Hope your Monday was great!

Orly Au Champagne

2012-02-04T23:07:00.000-05:00

Hey dolls, I have been wanting a white shimmer polish for awhile and I was gifted one during the holidays in a secret santa exchange. Orly Au Champagne is a white polish that is filled with silver shimmer. The formula is relatively sheer, but went on nicely. I used two coats, but three probably would have been better. Au Champagne dries to a satin-like, matte finish, so I applied top coat.

Au Champagne was exactly what I wanted it to be! It isn't too stark for my skin, so I love it. I was going to add some nail art to this mani, but I decided to keep it simple and chic with just Au Champagne.

Pink Wednesday ~ Classics 3D Effects Pink #57

2012-02-01T19:37:00.001-05:00

Hey dolls, today I'm wearing Pink #57 from Classics 3D Effects. This is one of the international polishes I received from Gwenn over at Sweet Sugar. Pink #57 (these polishes only have numbers, no names) is a very unique polish; its a light pink glitter that's filled with holographic particles and flakies. The bottle spilled on its way from Belgium, but luckily I was able to save most of the polish and clean it up the bottle. I added some thinner and the polish was ready for use. Here is two coats (you'll want to click to enlarge these photos):

It was really hard to capture the complexity of Pink #57, so you'll have to excuse the odd photo angles. While most times this look has to be achieved through layering several polishes, it is all accomplished through these Classics polishes. I really like the look of Pink #57 and I wish I would have been able to get some pictures in the sunlight. Maybe I'll try to do that tomorrow.

Clouds with Zoya Jacy

2012-01-30T20:59:00.000-05:00

Hey dolls, today I'm wearing Zoya Jacy, one of the shades I got during the last Zoya promo. This is a magenta polish with red undertones that has a blue shimmer. It's a super gorgeous shade that went on flawlessly. I used two coats for full opacity.

I love everything about this! I don't have many polishes in the berry family, so I'm glad I picked this one up. To jazz it up, I decided to try one of Nailside's gorgeous clouds as an accent using this tutorial. I chose Zoyas Carey and Tallulah for the cloud colors.

This combo is so adorable! The clouds were super easy to make using the tutorial. Tallulah is a bright, shimmery blue that I can't wait to wear as a full mani.

Do you think you'll try a cloud mani?

SpaRitual Sacred Ground

2012-01-28T18:59:00.000-05:00

Hey dolls, I just put on a polish that I'm in love with and I'm regretting that I only have a mini bottle of it. SpaRitual Sacred Ground is such a unique color. Sacred Ground has a gray base that is filled with gold, blue, and copper shimmer. It flashes so many different colors in the sunlight! The formula was easy to work with and I used two coats for full opacity. You will definitely want to click to enlarge these photos!

I took so many pictures of this polish! I love everything about Sacred Ground. It's definitely unique to my stash. I think I need a full bottle of this one!

Pink Wednesday ~ Essence Time for Romance

2012-01-25T19:21:00.000-05:00

Hey dolls, I was in the mood for something cute and just a little girly after my last mani. I decided to go with gray and pink because I love how those colors compliment each other. I started with two coats of Barielle Coalest Day of the Year. This is a gorgeous gunmetal gray that is filled with silver shimmer. The formula was good and flowed smoothly onto the nail.

I then sponged Essence Time for Romance onto the tips and as an accent nail. Time for Romance is filled with fine and hexagonal glitter. I had no difficulties getting the hexagonal glitter dispersed over the nail.

This is much, much better! I'm loving all of my goodies from the Sweet Sugar giveaway!