Madam Glam has awesome gels!

Hi all!
Recently, I acquired a couple of Madam Glam gels polishes! I love gel. Like, so much! I've been wanting to post this review for some time, but I've had 2 exams this past week. Oh boy, school.

Madam Glam has a lot of beautiful colors or gel, as well as some ridiculously awesome Chameleon Gels. Yes, a thermal gel! And it works super awesome! My nails are changing color all day long with this stuff!

Enough chits, here are pictures!

This is Madam Glam Girls Night Out Chameleon Gel. Is this not AMAZING?! I was having so much fun playing with hot and cold temps (lights, cold windows, cold glasses, hot mugs, etc) too see this super fun effect. I Maaaayyyy have very well found my new favorite nail polish EVER with this gel. =D This formula was the absolute perfect consistency. the cuticle line was perfect without really trying. Love.

 

Here is Madam Glam Princess Jasmine Chameleon Gel. The color change on this one is quite a bit more subtle than the other, but it's still so fun! Chunky glitters usually aren't my thing, but let's be fair, they are much more awesome when they change color! This formula was just slightly too thick for my liking. I believe that caused the color change to be more...'splotchy'? But the effect produced is still lovely.

Overall, I think the Chameleon Gels are super awesome! Thermal polish has always been a fun thing to have, but now having thermal gels is even cooler!! Both cured with a rubbery matte finish, so I popped on a nice gel topcoat for ultimate shine and awesomeness.

This is just one of their regular, albeit beautiful, gels. Madam Glam Sparkly Autumn is so pretty! I have the hardest time taking photos of shimmer finish polishes, and even more so when they are duochrome! However, I do believe these pictures accurately depict the color morph in different lighting and angles. You'll mostly see the nice purple o the right, but catch your nails in the right angle, and this super cool green, copper, orangey color pops out. I love it. It's on my toes right now! =D This has a clear gel topcoat on it.

Having tried these neato gels, I can safely say I kind of love Madam Glam, and recommend these gels (especially the Chameleon!) to anybody! Got a lamp? Get these gels! Don't have a lamp? That's ok, they sell that too. =)

If you are interested in purchasing anything from Madam Glam, be sure to save some dollars, yeah!? Use my coupon code, jo30, and link to save 30% off your order. =D

I have another Madam Glam polish to show you... Next time!!
Thanks for reading!
♥Jo

Madam Glam gel polish and Chameleon Gels were sent for honest review. Please see my disclosure policy here.

Jenna Hipp - What's Hot Now The New Candies

Hello my friends!
I was out shopping with my brother for waffle mix and irons when I ran into this collection at Costco. I vaguely remember seeing it (or a similar one) a year or so ago and just walked right on. Oh how my wallet liked my polish hiatus. ;)

  I thought I'd grab this collection because "they must know about these!". The bottles are all 5ML, or .16 oz. Cute little square minis in a super cute package. I got home and immediately started swatching, of course!

Marshmallow Fondont. A yellow-ivory shade. Creme finish. This took 3 coats to perfect, but I could have gotten away with just two. This will be true for the majority of these polishes.
THis color is ALMOST the ivory I've been looking for for years. Someday...

Crème The Cantaloupe. This pastel orange, creme finish is a really great spring/summer color. Another good in two coats, but I ended up with three to be sure.

Pink Lady Finger. I kind of love this pink. This is a creme finish was beautiful in 2 coats. This is one of the colors I think will be in my next arts. =)

Voilet Eclair is the only finish in this collection that isn't a creme. As you can see its a shimmer/duochrome. Kind of. I mean it's pretty much a duochome, just not as 'duo' as many others out there. This was the worst formula of all of the polishes (the rest were all the same at just fine!). It was a bit more tricky, but very much turned out fine. this is 3 coats!

Très  Parfait. My absolute favorite in this set. The formula was pretty much a one-coater, but definitely needed two for swatches. However, it could easily be a polish to apply quickly before heading out and have it look just fine. My apologies the very slight color difference in these two shots. Still learning lightine!

Thin Mint. I have a bunch of mint shades already, but every time I see a new one I want it. I don't need it, but mint is so lovely I want them all! This is the only one with a name I want to criticize. Thin mints are supposed to be chocolatey!

Rose Tart is a bright creme that applied nicely in two coats. I used to hate these bright pink shades, but they are now my favorite pedi color!

American Pie was the hardest to photograph my my re-learning of skills. It was also the hardest to edit to be sure the color stayed true! I think I did okay, though. =)

Overall, this collection is super awesome! I picked it up at Costco for only $9.99! Very great deal for some super awesome colors. I am kicking myself now for ignoring it before, but I am glad I have it now.
Please, if anyone has any super secret special advise on lighting (besides outside, because I am never taking pictures when the sun is out =P), or editing, I'd love to hear it!
Also, 16 pictures takes foreeeever to edit! But so worth it.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you can all get out and get this collection!
♥Jo

Venique Sweet Little Addictions Swatches and Reviews

Hello everyone!
This collection that I have today has been out for a little over a month now, but I'm just getting my hands on it and reviewing it.

Venique's new collection is called Sweet Little Addictions. It's a candy coated collection of bright neons! They are all UV reactant, too! Some way more than others.

A few characteristics of all of these colors (so I don't say it six times!) is that they dry with a rubbery finish. Not exactly matte, but definitely not super shiny. You may see some shine in the pics, but that has a bit to do with the fact that I take my pics before they are set and dry. They are all a creme to jelly formula. I say both because it's almost somewhere in the middle. Each is opaque within 2 coats, unless specified. I'm kind of very in love with this collection!

Sugar Hi-Heeled is probably the blue that I've been looking for. I don't know why I wanted it, but this is it! 2 coats. The color is very bright, but not blinding. The first application was almost watery, but this may be my fault for lack of shaking. The second coat was opaque and thick as it should be.

 Give a Girl a Heel Breaker. This almost minty green is the only one that needed 3 coats. The formula seems to be a bit thinner than the others. The color is very nice. It's much more pastel than neon, but still calls for a "wow, that's a bright nail color!"

 Kara-Melt Chews was incredibly hard to photograph. The camera said it was more deep purple than it really is. I won't lie, I had to color manipulate this one to get the color closer to what it really is. It is a bright fuchsia color. Of the collection, this is the least UV reactant.

I'm a Sucker For Wedges. This bright pink almost needed 3 coats, but I let it slide. It is incredibly similar to the color listed below. I almost had a hard time remembering which one was which when I began to edit the photos.

Sugar on Hi-Platforms. You've seen this one before! This pic is so much better, though. It actually shows the color! It's more bubble-gum colored than the one listed above, but very similar. I think that one of these colors should have been replaced by a yellow or red to complete this rainbow of colors a bit more. Both pinks are lovely shades, but very similar for the same collection.

Orange Strap Wedges. Think of that bright orange hat and jacket that hunters wear. Yep, this is it. This photo tones down the vibrance of this color quite a bit, but I think you'll thank me for that! This orange is so bright that I swear I didn't need a UV light to give it the same effect! Outside, in the sunlight with everything else bright, this may look lovely. But indoors with only artificial light it is incredibly distracting! I'm not knocking the color at all, I'm just giving a fair warning! Had I given this pic the full brightness of the color, it would have looked terrible on even the most perfect of calibrated monitors!

That being said, a few of these pics may look bad on some monitors. They seem to be fine on my system(which is by no means calibrated, so here's hoping!), as well as a few others I've looked with. They are bright. Hopefully they won't blind you! I'll tone down the contrast if I need to. Let me know!

Here is a bonus picture. I set them up to my blacklight just to show you how vibrant they can be. Check out that orange!!

Very slow shutter speed with this. They are in the order listed in the post. I love how the floor is illuminated by the polishes! As you can see, Kara-Melt Chews hardly has any brightness to it under the blacklight. Definitely has some, however! Orange Strap Wedges just blows me away in this light! I think it will be my new clubbing polish. =)

PS - YAY I built a new lightbox! It's not quite everything I want yet, but it's so much better! I'm actually pleased with the pictures. =D


See you next time!♥

All polishes in this review were purchased by me. This post is in no way endorsed by Venique.

Venique Glitters: Swatches and Reviews

Hey everyone!
Here are some Venique swatches for you! Be warned: All of these pics could use a bit of focusing. Glitter is hard to shoot! And, as we all know is my least favorite polish ever!!But it's been a while since I've done swatches, so i am up for the challenge. Here we have it!

Here we have Hurray Huarache. I think that's a food?? I am not sure how to pronounce it... This blue and the two to follow are a part of the Hells of Glitz collection. The dry almost textured. Which would make sense because of the amount of glitter! This is 2 coats. The base is clear, and would look better over a blue of similar shade. It's match in the collection is Heavy Metal Tapping (see a swatch on this post). Of course that would be the best match!

This is Slingback Fun. I only have one pic because it was incredibly hard to get any in focus! This one kinda works. 2 coats. Like the blue of the collection, the base is clear and would look far better over a pink of similar shade. If the Shoe Fits? is the match in the collection. Sadly, I don't own that one.

 Shoe Allure is the final glitter in the Heels of Glitz collection. Clear base as well on this one. Also 2 coats in these pictures. I'm so much more drawn to purple than the other two colors of the collection. So this is my favorite of the the 3! The match is Strapped and Concealed. Again, I don't own that color either. Sad face.

This is a WONDERFUL purple glitter! Crushed Icicle is the name. The first pic is just ONE COAT! I almost thought that was good enough to post, but I took a second shot of two coats. It's super lovely, and very solid in color. Maybe that's just because I didn't shake it well enough? Ha, just kidding. It's just a great polish! It dries textured (as it is advertised), but not quite much compared to Zoya Pixi Dust, or OPI Liquid Sand. I am falling more and more in love with textures, however! Unless they aren't sparkly. Which is strange for me...

Here is Raging Crimson, also sold a a Textured polish. Yes, It compares to the textures of other brands, and is very visible in the swatch! The purple, pink, and red glitters are super cute. This is two coats. I am pretty sure I have a new favorite. Even though I say that after nearly every polish I try. I just can't believe how much I an loving textures! For fun, lets add a top coat:

Blown out much?

(For fun, let's add focus? Thanks camera, that'd be great!)

Last but not least is one I've had for a looong time now. Deviant Little Sneaker is a purple based glitter with silver and red. Given the nature of glitter, it's a bit textured, but it wasn't advertised that way. The first pic here is 2 coats, and the second and third are 3 with topcoat! I needed this one shiny!
So I think I'm going insane about this polish. My mind and the bottle tell me I've used it before, but by blog says otherwise. Looking at these pics I think I know what it was: I wanted to swatch it, but it's horrible to shoot! I must have swatched, shot and scrapped it because the pics didn't turn out. Not this time, though! I'm sticking it out so you can see the pretties.

OH NOO!!! I've completely wasted these polishes! Now I can't use them for the Untried Challenge!!! Oh well, they got their love elsewhere. =)

Overall, Raging Crimson is my fave in this post. Slingback Fun is my least. This isn't to say it won't have a purpose, but the 3 from the Glitz collection just aren't appealing on their own. So maybe I should blame myself for not owning the whole thing. But you will most likely see all of these polishes in the future. =D

Quick note about the pics: I'm not really professing to be a photographer here. I took all of these pics in the exact same light, same camera, same place etc. I have yet to figure out why my skin can't pick a tone and stay with it. Oh well!
Also if you were questioning it, yes I did lose my other glitter swatch post. It only had 17 views, so no big deal. Also it was missing some glitters.

All polishes in this review were purchased by me. This post is in no way endorsed by Venique.

Black Friday Shopping Results - Venique!!!

The only store I went to on Friday was CosmoProf. Why?? 2$ Venique!! I couldn't have been happier to get up early before work to shop. Kinda went rainbows in this haul, love it!

Here's yet more amazing Venique swatches. Can never have enough of those!! Warning: Picture heavy! Each swatch is about 2 - 3 coats unless specified otherwise!

 My Heart Flip-Flops is a fun red! I wasn't sure about it at first, but that may be because I rarely paint my nails red and was skeptical. I like this one a lot, however! I'll find something to use this with soon!

Mary Jane Pump. Kind of a coral red color. Totally wish it were spring/summer already looking at this.

Clods A Hoppin'. I love orange cremes. I hardly ever use them, but I want them!!

Haute Meet Flats is almost the same shade as Clods A Hoppin, but it is a bit lighter. It has a nice shimmer to it. I want to use this with glitter!

 Golashes Glow. Yes they do, if they are this color! This yellow / green is super bright. I'm realizing as I look back at these colors, I must have been in a very springy mood.

Rainy Day Boots has a pearl finish. I have never liked this finish, but that's no reason not to swatch it! Application of this finish is difficult. I can't seem to get it how I like often enough. Beautiful green, however!

Heavy Metal Tapping. I'm liking the finish of this one even less. I love the color, it's so lovely! I just can't seem to fall in love with the way it looks. . Taking pictures of this finish never help it look better. Doesn't matter hoe in focus it is, the blend just doesn't look appealing to me.

Mistletoe Bliss. One coat did it! This one dried a satin/suede finish. I thought about throwing a topcoat on it, but decided I liked it without just fine. I am so in love with this color, and will most likely use it as  a 'go to' quite a bit!

Platform Wild. Any berry colored creme polish wins my heart. I stare at them the whole time and just want to keep them as shiny as possible. The application is always so amazing for Venique Cremes, I'd just like to say that! =)

 Jammin' In Jellies. The polish in the bottle doesn't mix super well. You can see the blue in it. However, I'm sure with enough patience and shaking it would go away! It applies just perfect,though.

 Pump Up the Jam. I still haven't decided if I like this color yet. It has a pretty blue undertone. While that sounds awesome, it's just not me. The color and application are great, just not totally me.

Ga-Loshing in the Rain. I took this picture much different than the others as far as lighting. Oh well, still works! This pink is so pretty and light! 3 coats was great to get this, but if you leave it a coat or two and layer it it would be just as lovely!

 Boat Shoe Castaway. I was in need of a new gold metallic polish! I like it. Not much more I can say! =D

 Night Walker. There are applications that are great, and then there are applications I LOVE! Other than this needed 3 coats to be opaque(it's kind of jelly), this is almost my new fave. This color was in the clearance box, so it wasn't apart of the sale. I guess that means it is discontinued. Sad day.

Straight Up Laced. After 2 or 3 coats, it's a deep browninsh color. However just one coat is deep purple. It's kind of jelly, as well.

3, 2, 1 coats from left to right here. Not a huge difference at all in 2 and 3, but one coat is quite different!!

Please enjoy! Hope you had an amazing Thanksgiving!

All polishes in this review were purchased by me. This post is in no way endorsed by Venique.