Wednesday, October 29, 2014

KBShimmer - Winter 2014: Swatches, Review & Nail Art


Hello, all! I have another set of exciting polishes to share with you today! KBShimmer will be releasing their STUNNING Winter collection this Saturday, November 1st, and I've got swatches of 9 of the 17 polishes from this collection to share today! I've also managed to do a few nail art looks to go along with these, so fair warning, this is a VERY picture heavy post...but I think it's worth it!

While some of them are very much "winter" shades, there are a few that will easily work for you year round. And be sure to read through to the end of the post to see all the great promotions that KBShimmer is offering with the release of this collection :)
Holly Back Girl is a white crelly with an even mix of red and green glitters. This reminds me of delicious peppermint bark! I really love this one. It's subtle but still has enough interest that you feel festive while wearing it. The formula on this was lovely and applying the 3 thin coats shown below was super quick and easy.
And, because the name was begging for it (and I can't quite paint an homage to Gwen Stefani yet), I've painted some simple holly berries over this :)
Snow Way is a returning holiday favorite and I'm glad it's back! This is a light sky blue crelly with small to medium white glitters. There is the slightest bit of white iridescent shimmer to this that gives it a 'snow shining in the sun' look to it. This one was on the thicker side, but 3 thin coats got the job done nicely.
This polish reminds me so much of snowflakes, that I decided to do some quick and dirty fair isle flakes over this with white acrylic paint.
Whimsical and fun, Sugar Plum Faerie definitely lives up to it's name. This is another re-release and it's a violet crelly (on the border of a jelly) with fuchsia, purple and lime green glitters in varying sizes. While I know this is a winter polish, I can't help but feeling reminded of Halloween when I look at this? Perhaps it's the mix of the bright green. Regardless, I really liked how this looked on the nail! The formula was easy enough to work with, though at 3 thin coats, you can still see a bit of my nail at the tips.
Deja Brew is a warm reddish cognac linear holo that is reminiscent of a great cup of coffee. I really like how unique this one is and think it's a great for fall and winter. Like Up and Cunning, the formula on this one was spectacular. Shown is 2 quick and painless coats.
And, since this reminded me of a cup of joe, I decided to do some abstract nail art inspired by a piping hot cup of your favorite wintery treat...or, if you look at them upside-down, they could be some wobbly icicles ;)
Pine-ing For Yule is the first glitter topper I have to share and it's packed full of holographic triangle 'Christmas Trees' and red star tree toppers. This is quite a fun polish and definitely one of the more festive shades of the bunch. Shown is 1 coat with placement over China Glaze's Def Defying.

This is also 2014's Toys For Tots ® charity polish! For each bottle sold at KBShimmer.com from November 1st (11/01) to December 15th (12/15), $4 will be donated to Toys for Tots ® :)
I wanted to pair some nail art with this look and went for a sort of abstract Christmas tree...the yellow is supposed to be a glowing tree topper star...not sure if it works or not, but figured I would share.
Flake Dance is a fun glitter topper packed full of holographic snowflakes and smaller silver holo glitters. This is one that could work through to the new year (maybe even ring in the new year wearing a gradient with this??). There was some slight fishing for the larger snowflakes, though that is to be expected with glitters like this. Shown is 1-2 coats over American Apparel's Hassid.
One of my favorite bases for glitter toppers is a fun gradient so I created a wintery looking one as a base for Flake Dance using  tan, light blue and dark blue acrylic paints.
Next up is the first of the textured polishes I have to share. Turnip the Beet is a STUNNING raspberry texture, packed with magenta, purple and red glitters. This is super sparkly and super pretty. I like the mix of larger hex glitters - I think it add much needed dimension and I can see this being worn for the holidays and beyond. Shown is 2 easy coats with no top coat.
I am beyond obsessed with Dressed to Gild. It's such a stunning gold texture with hints of lavender and lime glitters mixed in with the chunky gold holo glitters. This is a beauty on the nail. The application was easy enough and shown is 2 coats sans top coat.
Finally, White Here, White Now is the last texture (and last polish) to share today. It's a snow inspired white texture with white small to medium glitters. This one was a bit of a pain to photograph as the white base and the white glitters are so similar, they kept getting lost in the photo. I'm not sure that my photos do this polish justice. I was pleasantly surprised by this shade as I was worried that it would look lumpy and a bit odd on the nail, but I really liked it once it was on and fully dry. Shown is 2 coats, no top coat.
Additionally, when this collection goes live on Saturday (11/01), you'll get a few extra perks listed below:

-Free Shipping on all orders over $40 on KBShimmer.com, no code needed. Runs from 11/01-12/31
-Free with a $70+ purchase, Holly Back Girl. Use code HBGFREE to receive this free polish and free shipping with your $70+ purchase. Runs from 11/01-12/31.
-Free Samples, while supplies last! A sample will be sent out in each order. Samples may include scrubs, lotions, vinyl nail decals, soaps, etc. Orders will also include a branded emery board.
-Free Snowman Glitter will be included with the first 400 orders. This bag of 1000 snowmen glitters will be perfect for winter nail art!

New cuticles oils will be available in Lemongrass, Pink Sugar, Raspberry Vanilla, Chai Tea, Peppermint and Unscented. Finally, new holiday themed nail vinyls will be available on KBShimmer.com. Read more about all these deals in their blog post, here

So what do you think? Overall, I'm totally pleased with this Winter collection. If you enjoy grabbing themed shades, there are plenty here to pick from, but fortunately, there are also quite a few polishes in the full winter collection that can easily work for you year round.

The entire winter 2014 collection will be available on KBShimmer.com this Saturday, 11/01 for $8.75/bottle. Be sure to follow KBShimmer on your favorite social media site to keep up to date with the latest collections and promotions. 

Happy Polishing :)