We have to admit that we were overly excited when we heard that the O.P.I. Gwen Stefani collection was going to include a chrome shade - Push & Shove. Comparable options such as the Layla Mirror Effect polish ($12 CAD at Nail Polish Canada) and the Formula X for Sephora Foil Look ($30 CAD at Sephora) run a bit unavailable and expensive for our tastes. Not to mention, the O.P.I. set comes with a mini base coat (Lay Down That Base) which should smooth out the nails. Any ridges or bumps can make the chrome polish effect less chrome-y - and will be very visible. 

It is worthwhile noting that this polish is intended to one day wear, which is similar to the other options. Since the chrome finish is more effective without top coat, this is prone to peeling but after testing on two of us, it does seem to last for a solid 24 hours with no terrible issues. The iPhone photo below was taken about 25-26 hours after application, and as you can see there is some tip wear but if you wanted to leave it on 48+ hours and you weren't working with your hands it would likely be okay!

What do you think of this product, would you wear a polish that only promises to last 24 hours? We love this look and can't get over it. 

The Push & Shove set (including mini base coat) retails for the same price as a regular O.P.I. polishes! 

In celebration of the launch of Rainbow Honey, a line of custom blended nail lacquer, at NailPolishCanada.com we have some Rainbow Honey swatches for your viewing pleasure. We have swatched some Rainbow Honey polishes before and while they do have great formulations on all there polishes, we go crazy for any of their glitters. We absolutely love how gorgeous their glitter polishes look and they always get colours and blends spot on... That said, bring on the swatches!

First up is Apple Kid, a super bright shimmery pink or fuchsia from The Summer of 199X Collection. This swatch is two coats with no top coat, and we love how opaque this polish is and how smooth the formulation is. This is definitely one of the brightest colours we have seen and you can't go wrong with a pink. That being said, there are plenty of other polishes that can give you a similar look if you aren't too specific with colour.

Next up from The Summer of 199X Collection is Fire Spring - this is our absolute favourite! We love a good orange, they are totally lacking in most polish lines and the shimmer in this is literally unbelievable. This is a perfect polish to match a summery tan and it reflects light like no other. This swatch is two coats, and its essentially opaque (you can almost see the nail line on the ring finger). This is a fantastic lacquer and we cannot say it enough.









This deep purpley-blue with blue shimmer is from The Final Battle Collection, called Ultimate Weapon. This applied a bit patchy as you can see on the index finger, and is nothing to write home about. If you are in love with the colour we would say go for it, but otherwise leave it on the (online) shelf.

This glitter topped, called I Miss You from The Summer of 199X Collection, is perfection. Butterfly glitter... We love it. This is one coat on top of Ultimate Weapon, and literally there are butterflies on every finger. We imagine it may take two layers of top coat to ensure that no wings are sticking out, so if that puts you off then this polish may not be for you. As mentioned, Rainbow Honey does amazing glitters and this polish is proof.

Finally we have Tidal Wave, from The Final Battle collection. This polish isn't opaque in two coats, but it is absolutely beautiful when the holographic glitter catches the light. This would be great as a topcoat over a brighter turquoise shade and for a glitter gradient. We definitely love this polish and as always, recommend any Rainbow Honey glitter.

Will you be checking out NailPolishCanada.com for any Rainbow Honey glitters? We also recommend them for any Canadians looking for Zoya - particularly the Pixie Dusts! 

Disclaimer: These products were provided by the company/PR in exchange for our honest opinions and review.

Today we have some swatches of the Essie Encrusted Treasures collection. This collection claimed to be a game changer in textured polishes, and while I feel that some of the polishes can't be beat, there are definitely a couple that definitely missed the mark. As Essie-lovers, we are sad to say that this collection didn't live up to our expectations as a whole - however, we have still been using the better formulated polishes on the regular and loving them.

We are missing one swatch from today's line up - Peak of Chic - which is a holographic silver and white bar glitter (in a clear base). This polish applied well, and is similar in finish to the feathers collection by Nails Inc. On to the swatches...

Our first disappointment is the headline shade for the collection, and one of the polishes we were most excited about - Belugaria. This polish is marketed as highly textured - and that it is! However, the thick sandy texture causes highly clumped polish in the bottle which just doesn't translate on the nail. The one saving grace, the holographic glitter, is sadly not quite visible through the thick polish. This is two coats with no topcoat, and as you can see it is quite bumpy. While we are all for the textured polishes, this one just missed the mark. The finish is definitely caviar, and we have used on our nails, however we wish that there was a little less texture, and a little more glitter.

Next up we have a potential favourite, Hors D'Oeuvres is a silver glitter in a gold shimmered clear base. This has super incredible coverage and is literally an obsession of ours. This polish would be perfect for a glitter gradient or accent  nail, and we definitely recommend picking it up.

This charcoal-silver matte glitter is another hit from this collection. Ignite the Night is gorgeous on and would also be a great accent nail. This polish applies well and has great sparkle.  We love this for spring mixed with pastels. Stay tuned for some nail art featuring this shade! This polish is not quite textured, but does dry matte and maintain its shimmery goodness, which is a super cool finish.

Another one of the better polishes from this collection is the sparkly blue jean textured polish named Lots of Lux. This polish is not aggressively textured like Belugaria, but has a slight texture and a gorgeous sparkly finish. We love how this looks on the nails and it will definitely get some wear on all of our nails!

Finally we have the most unusual polish of the bunch. Essie is generally not a risk taker with glitters such as this, but the mix of blue glitter with a silvery gold shimmer base is a fun twist on the norm. This polish applies well, and we may try it out in a glitter gradient over a lighter blue to see how it fares. If this type of polish is your thing, we say go for it - but if you're a little less daring, stick with Hors D'Oeuvres for your silver and gold glitter needs.

What do you think of this collection? Have you tried any of these polishes and had a different experience? 

Disclaimer: These products were provided to us by the company/PR for our honest consideration and review

We were so excited to review the Revlon by Marchesa 3D Jewel Appliqués, and we are happy to report that we love them! The full selection of designs in this limited edition release can be found on the Revlon website.

We tried out the Evening Garnet appliqués, and although we sometimes struggle with nail stickers, these are surprisingly easy to pull around your nail to ensure that there are no bubbles or folds (our biggest pet peeve!). The kits come with a small file and plastic pushing tool, as pictured below.

To place the stickers, just select the appropriate size, peel off and stick on your nail. While these are sticky, if you place them wrong, you can always reposition without ripping which is helpful if you have unsteady hands! We bent the edges over the tips and filed away excess sticker, before sealing with some top coat. We love the intricate designs (and the 3D gems don't hurt!) and overall we would totally recommend these if you can get your hands on them!

These wear for a few days at the minimum and have a great 3D jewelled effect! We totally recommend these for a night out or a special event!

Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Disclaimer: These products were provided to us by the company/PR for our honest consideration and review

This years Essie Winter collection - named Shearling Darling - was on point with some great deep creme shades (which we're in love with) as well as some great pastels and a browny shimmer. The collection also features a red glitter shade which screams holiday to us, however wouldn't fit in with the Encrusted Treasures collection released for holiday time! Some of the photos have been faded to ensure the photo matches the true colour!

First up is 'Toggle to the Top' a rich red packed with sparkle. This is the perfect polish addition to a holiday ensemble and applies smoothly. 

Next up is what Essie calls an ebony red - 'Sherling Darling'. While we love how deep and rich the colour is, it is a super-stainer (note the cuticles...). Make sure you use a base coat with this polish!

This polish looks like a pastel-y purple, but it is actually quite a rich colour. This creamy pink-purple, called 'Warm & Toasty Turtleneck' is absolutely beautiful on the nails! This is definitely one of our favourites from this collection.

Next up is this rich brown cocoa - 'Sable Collar' has a hint of purple and shimmers beautifully. This polish is absolutely gorgeous and will definitely be getting some winter wear!

This grey-teal is somehow muted and bright at the same time, and we're in love. With the tiniest hint of shimmer, 'Parka Perfect' applies beautifully and somehow works for winter as a 'pastel'.

The final polish from this collection is 'Mind Your Mittens' an ultra deep blue-green polish. We love how this looks on and it applies well - recommend!

Overall, we're loving how this collection looks, even though the glitzy red doesn't seem to fit. If we had to pick just one, we'd go with 'Parka Perfect'. Happy Polishing!

Disclaimer: These products were provided to us by the company/PR for our honest consideration and review.

OPI has recently released two new additions to their Designer Series, both with a new finish called 'Granite' - a less sandy matte liquid sand! The two polishes are Pewter (a sparkly grey) and Lapis (a deep indigo shimmer). We are in love with the look of these polishes, and are super happy to review one of the shades, DS Lapis!

The texture of the polish really is a smoother version of the liquid sand, the matte effect really shows the glitter off in a cool way! This polish looks sort of like a sparkly jean, and we are in love... We might use this for a jean inspired nail art in the future. The swatch is two coats, and we have to say that we are super impressed with the formula. While the liquid sands can get a bit gritty, this formula applies super smooth - we definitely recommend! 

These polishes retail a bit above the price of a regular OPI, for $14.95. Let us know what you think of these new ones in the comments - happy polishing! 

Today we have something interesting on the blog - gel polish. As nail art lovers, we generally shy from anything that will stay on our nails longer than a few days. Who doesn't love to change it up? However, we have tried Shellac and Gelish systems for those times when you just need no-chip colour. We also use Shellac at home on our toes and it stays on for a few weeks problem-free. Gel polish can be a great base for nail art, since you can wipe off any mistakes with nail polish remover and maintain the perfect base!

We received two colours to review, Candy Apple and Raspberry Ice. Unfortunately, Raspberry Ice (which is a gorgeous sheer pink glitter) was a bit clumpy and wouldn't apply smoothly. It may have been exposed to light a bit or gotten a bit hard somehow… anyways we applied Candy Apple to test it out as a nail art base on our fingers.

The polish cures (like a regular gel polish), however you don't need any extra apparatus or items - all you need is the sun - which is free! The instructions say that it may take up to two minutes to cure - but we felt that ours cured in about a minute in high sunlight. The whole painting process took about fifteen minutes and it was totally dry at the end. We topped it off with a coat of the topcoat to ensure it stayed shiny. 

We tried a variety of looks on top of this red - and this is our favourite. We were a bit weary of removing it after but as long as you aren't using pure acetone (or a mostly acetone mix), you should be a-ok. We did feel like a bit of shine was lost when removing, but it still looks great. Overall - these polishes are a great base for nail art, however if you are obsessive about changing it up, these may not be for you. 

Since we do fall a bit on the obsessive polish-changer side, we opted to test the length of wear for these on our toes. Don't worry - there are no toe pictures coming, just some explaining! This polish wore perfectly for about a week and a half, and by two weeks there was definitely some tip wear and a few chips. By three weeks, almost every nail had visible chipping. That is pretty impressive wear for an at-home gel product. We are impressed! 

Let us know if you've tried Bio Seaweed Gel, or another gel product as a nail art base. If you're interested in Bio Seaweed Gel, you can use the code ILOVEBSG to get $10 off on their website http://bioseaweedgel.com. Happy polishing!