Falling Forward Challenge: Day 1 - Neons

Good morning, polishaholics! Today, I'm beginning the Falling Forward Nail Art Challenge and am very excited. This is my first nail art challenge!

As you can see above, today's theme is neons!

I'm not a big fan of neons, so I had to do something that I would be willing to rock on a daily basis.

I went with a pale green base in Julep Courteney and used It's So Easy Stripe Rite paints in neon colors to make a stringy French manicure.

I really like how it turned out. The stripes remind me a bit of ocean ripples. And the muted green of Julep Courteney makes it a little less in-your-face.

Before we bid farewell, to summer neons, be sure to check out the posts of my fellow bloggers who are undertaking the challenge!

College Polished
Tall Girl in Heels
Nail Polish Anonymous
Peace Love Lacquer
DIY Polish
XO, Noelle
Galactic Lacquer
Princess Polish
Munchy's Nails
Pishposh and Polish
Beyond Beauty Lounge
Beauty Dish
Jilltastic Nail Design

Have a great rest of your Monday!
Princess Polish

Swatch and Review: It's So Easy Saturday - Hypnotic Swirls

Hope everyone is having a lovely Saturday!

Here's another installment of It's So Easy Saturday. Last week's theme was Miami Stripes and this week is Hypnotic Swirls!

I used the neon Stripe Rite colors to make curves that remind me of op art.

I definitely LOVED the fact that I could make curves with the brushes relatively easier than I thought. These would be really easy to use for french tips, in my opinion.

I thought this was bright and summery and loved wearing it to work! I got tons of compliments.

Visit the It's So Easy website at www.itssoeasynails.com for more information on the variety of products and retailers near you. Be sure to also check out their Facebook, Instagram at @ItsSoEasyNails, Twitter, and Pinterest pages!

Disclaimer: The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR company for consideration. For more information please visit my Disclaimer page.

Swatch and Review: The New Black Day 4 - Runway Collection Part 1

Hello again, all! The New Black week presses on with part one of the AWESOME Color Barometer 8-piece Runway Collection.

When evaluating how to write about this collection, I realized that while I could definitely wear a different color on each finger, the first four and last four kind of went together. It's a very tropical feel for the first four shades, which are a pinky coral frost, tomato red creme, tangerine frost, and a bright sunny yellow creme.

This was entirely confirmed when I put them on my nails. Not only are the shades gorgeous, but they scream tropical vacation to me! I felt like an island girl with these nails.

Only the red needed two coats, the others I used three to even out the color and make it more opaque. But with a top coat, it came out perfect.

But was I done? No. When am I ever?

I realized that these four were a gradient waiting to happen and that in the spirit of TNB, what I needed was an ombre on each nail. So I got to work and here is the end result:

Oh MAN, I love this! It's like my nails are on fire... and it almost has a watercolor-like effect. You can't make me take this off!

For those of you who had emailed me or commented on the Facebook page to ask if the whole bottle is gone in one mani, I assure you that it's not. The bottle usage in the picture is from TWO full manicures at three coats per nail. You can easily get somewhere between 8-10 manicures out of a TNB bottle of nail polish from any set.

All of The New Black sets are available at Sephora, Nordstrom, and Beauty.com. However, this collection is currently exclusive to Beauty.com. All of the sets, like Graffiti, Haze, Waves, and Runway include five 0.125 fl oz. bottles of polish. Polishes by TNB are 3-free, cruelty-free, and vegan friendly! The sets range from $10 to $32, with the Runway Collection retailing for $32.

Overall, I LOVED the range of nail polish shades in this half of collection and for a cost of $4 a bottle, I think it's worth it.

Stay tuned for part two tomorrow!
Princess Polish

Disclaimer: The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR company for consideration. For more information please visit my Disclaimer page. Product photos provided by The New Black.

ANNOUNCING: China Glaze Summer Neons

Heat Up Your Summer with China Glaze® Summer Collection

Los Angeles, CA – (March 2012):  The sun has nothing on you this summer!  Rival its brightness and heat with China Glaze® Summer 2012 collection, Summer Neons.  Featuring 12 new sizzling shades perfect for surf, sand and nightlife, the all new hot hues in China Glaze® Summer Neons include:

·         Pink Plumeria: Light pink with gold shimmer

·         Under the Boardwalk: Fluorescent raspberry

·         Splish Splash: Bright sky blue shimmer

·         Love’s A Beach: Sizzling hot pink

·         Hang-Ten Toes: Bubblegum neon with iridescent purple shimmer

·         Beach Cruise-r: Glimmering fuchsia grape

·         Orange You Hot?: Bright orange with attention-grabbing gold glimmer

·         Surfin’ For Boys: Glistening bright coral

·         Flirty Tankini: Shimmery strawberry smoothie pink

·         Ride the Waves: Dark ocean blue

·         I’m With the Lifeguard: Glimmering lime green

·         Sun-Kissed: Hot highlighter yellow

Also available 8-piece box collection featuring Under The Boardwalk, Ride The Waves, I’m With The Lifeguard, Sun-Kissed, Orange You Hot?, Surfin’ For Boys, Flirty Tankini and Pink Plumeria.

Here are the bottle shots:

Swatch and Review: Hot Ticket Petunia

While it may be gray out today in the northeast, this color is anything but.

Back in January, popular cosmetic company TheBalm launched its nail polish line with a collection for Spring 2012. The polish I'm showing you is called Petunia. Now while its namesake is the flower, it reminds me more so of Little Pete's tattoo from the old Nickelodeon show, The Adventures of Pete and Pete!

Here's a picture of petunias from my garden last season:

And here's a picture of Little Pete's Petunia:

Here's the swatch of Hot Ticket Petunia:

Hot Ticket Petunia is a gorgeous coral creme shade of nail polish. It was hard to photograph because it was so bright that my camera went into overdrive. The application was very smooth and opaque in two coats. This is without a top coat.

The finish on Petunia is very interesting. I wouldn't say that it's matte because it's definitely not, but it's not glossy either. It's kind of in-between.

Hot Ticket nail polish is $10 for .5 fl oz. and is available from The-Balm.com.