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!

Today on the blog, we have a few colours from the recent butter London collection, Colour Clash. We picked our faves, and gave them a quick swatch. Butter London has consistently represented great quality polish for us, and what we've seen of this line does not disappoint! 

First up, we have Cotton Buds - a pure, creme white. Every nail artist knows that a good white is essential. The worst possible thing that can happen when trying to do a white base is streaking.  Luckily, this polish did not disappoint and gave a perfect creme white finish in two coats. This swatch is without topcoat, and as you can see the finish is still quite shiny. This will definitely make it in to some nail art in the future!

Next up we have Wellies, a dusty lime green that edges on the yellow side. Wellies (or rain boots) are essentials in London and we actually love how unique this colour is! Unfortunately, it was a bit on the patchy side for our taste even with three thin coats. However, we do like this colour and will work with it for some fun designs.

Finally, our last pick was Giddy Kipper. This polish is indigo-blue with a silver shimmer. We love this for fall. Can't. Get. Enough. The formula on this is perfection, and it definitely pulls for our favourite wear-alone shade. Two coats are really all you need with this polish - the formula is up to butter London standards! 

There are three other colours in this collection, Pimms (sunflower yellow creme), Cake Hole (bright pink creme), and Silly Billy (orange creme). We love this fun collection, and hope that Cotton Buds stays in the permanent line up. For an easy nail art look using these polishes, cheek out our instagram, @knailart!

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

Today we have three polishes from the Rainbow Honey Summer of 199X (Part II) Collection! This two-part collection is half glitter bombs, and half pastel shimmers. We can't say no!

First up is Tessie, this is a lilac-y purple polish with blue shimmer. This swatch is two coats, and can we just say that this polish has the perfect formula for a shimmer! We love how this sparkles in the light.

Next up is this beautiful mint polish with silver shimmer, appropriately named Mint Flavor. If you have followed us for any length of time, you may know that Mint is perhaps our favourite pastel, The base colour for this polish is very similar to an ATF (all time fave) of ours, Essie's Mint Candy Apple. The shimmer gives this a nice summery feel in 2 coats and we definitely recommend.

Finally we have this neon glitter topper, Magic Cake. This glitter topper is a mix of pink, neon green, and bright blue glitter in hexagons and small squares. We are definitely going to be trying this out over black and white - the best part? This swatch is one coat. There is tons of glitter in this polish which is perfect for glitter addicts like us!

If you're liking this collection, The Summer of 199X Collection will be available as:

· Complete full-size (15ml, $90) or mini-size (4ml, $40) collection
· Part I or Part II, full-size (15ml, $45ea) or mini-size (4ml, $20ea) sets
· and full-size bottles (15ml, $10ea)

Rainbow Honey will also be offering FREE Shipping and a FREE Limited Edition Lacquer (read: extra secret polish!) on all orders of $50 or more (US & Canada only). 

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

Today we have some more fun summer swatches for you! The Revlon Haute Tropics Collection is limited edition and in stores now until the end of June. This collection is a mix of colours and finishes - it borderlines on cohesive as a collection, but shade by shade it definitely has a polish for everyone!

First up we have Belize, Please - this is a bright pink with a subtle shimmer - a classic summer polish. This polish applied super well (this swatch is three thin coats) and we're happy with the results. This is definitely something we would pick up for a pedicure colour!

Next up is Cabana Queen. This is a pearly white, and the swatch is three thin coats. You really need to wait between layers until the polish is fully dry to avoid balding - but this does build up to mostly opaque pretty well for a white shimmer! This would also look great over a true white polish for a twist on white nails which are currently trending...

This polish looks great in the bottle, but we have to say we were a bit disappointed with the sheerness. It is a jelly with a bit of shimmer, but we wish it built nicely to a full coverage colour (because it's so pretty!) This is Coast is Clear, a shimmery mint polish. This would look great with a layer of glitter in between two coats, called a jelly sandwich (are you hungry?)!

Next up is Hello, Bali which is a purpley-wine jelly. We love how this polish builds and the colour is perfect for a summer to fall transition shade (August is calling our name already!). This swatch is three thin coats and the colour is perfect - not to red and not too purple.

Next up is Lagoon Afternoon, a creme grey-blue polish which is true to its name - we're imagining a lagoon right now (or at least a beach!). This polish applied super well in two thin coats. You could probably get away with one slightly thicker coat, but we like the faster dry times that come with thin coats!

Next up is a mauve-y beige with pink shimmer, called Secluded Beach. This is the perfect colour if you want a laid back mani, but don't want to be too boring! If you're going on vacation and can only bring one polish to touch up your tips - go with this one! This is two thin coats and the coverage on this was great!

Next up is the brightest colour in the collection; if you've been following us, you know we're obsessed with brights right now. This is Mai Tai Ask? and it is an orange crelly (creme jelly), which means that it is fully opaque but still gives that plush jelly polish look! This is probably in competition with the next polish to be our pick of the collection!

Finally, we have Plunge Pool, a royal blue metallic polish which is absolutely gorgeous. Surprisingly, we have nothing like this in our collection and are totally obsessed. This is one of our favourites and applies perfectly in two coats.

Have you seen these out and about, and which of these polishes are you loving? Show us on Facebook, Twitter or Instragram - @knailart or #knailart

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

Fresh off the boat… Essie's Nautical themed Summer collection is ready to go - even if the weather hasn't quite got the memo yet. This collection is half bold brights and half soft shades, (almost) all with a sprinkle of glitter. The shimmer in these is a bit hard to catch with the proper shades, so we used different lighting between pictures to ensure our swatches are colour-accurate. 

First, we have Full Steam Ahead - a dusty lilac with silver shimmer. This polish is definitely a mix of creme and jelly. Three coats to opacity (and in this swatch) really give the shimmer depth, and we love the result.

Next up is our favourite from the collection (and it has the best name!) - Naughty Nautical. This is a teal polish with the same silver shimmer as the last. This swatch took two coats, and it applied beautifully. If you only pick up one from this collection - it should be this one.

Rock the Boat reminded us of a previous Essie summer hit, Bikini So Teeny, however this polish is actually a bit lighter. This one was the most difficult to capture, and to apply. With three coats we had opacity, however there were still some balder spots. Not super impressed with this formula - but we do love how well it pairs with Full Steam Ahead.

A perfect mix of brightness and shimmer lead to this coral masterpiece, Sunday Funday. This applied super easily with two thin coats required for opacity. This polish continues the shimmer-y theme and we love this bold polish paired with a pastel look.

Our second favourite of the collection is The Girls are Out - although the name is a bit awkward! This is a bright berry with the silver shimmer. This applied super well and with two coats looks perfect. We have been wearing this on our toes for the perfect summer pedi.

Last is the oddball of the collection, a chartruese (described by Essie as a lime green - it is not!) with no shimmer. This poor guy got left out when the nail polish people were dumping in the shimmer. It applies well and looks good with just two coats, but we wish it fit in a bit better with the rest of the collection.

Overall, we are loving the brights in this collection, but think its safe to leave the pastels! Have you seen this collection, and which have you picked up?

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