Showing posts with label colors by llarowe. Show all posts

colors by llarowe Fall In Love With Chicago

Nothing To Disclose

Today's polish is from PolishCon Chicago 2016. This is colors by llarowe Fall In Love With Chicago and it's this shifty red to purple polish with shimmer. Above, you see lots of red, right? Keep reading.

colors by llarowe O Canada

Nothing To Disclose

I was really out of my comfort zone when I flew to Canada for Indie Expo Canada in 2017 but it was such an amazing trip and I loved every minute of it. I paid for the VIP bag and one of the polishes was colors by llarowe O Canada, a cherry red holographic.

colors by llarowe Navy Pier

Nothing To Disclose

This weekend I'm headed to PolishCon NOLA and I'm so excited. Not only am I getting to be around all my polish friends, but I get to hang out with a coworker who I haven't seen in almost 3 years too! (We work for the same company but in different states.) In slight celebration, I grabbed a colors by llarowe polish today from PolishCon Chicago 2016. This is a purple/blue duochrome with scattered holo. Up top with just the polish, the purple is shining through but what happens when I put it on and have my hand in the photo?

The Polish Convention NYC Spring 2017

Nothing To Disclose

Hey everyone! Sorry it's been so quiet on my end. I had been focusing more of my attention to social media, especially Instagram because last month, I went to NYC for PolishCon! While there, I got to watch over 34 brands do their hustle to sell beautiful multichrome, holo, creme, and glittery polishes to over 650 people who walked through the doors of the Grand Prospect Hall.

Colors by Llarowe Summer Skies

Press Sample

It's cold in South Texas (below 40!) which is really rare so I wanted an icy blue to wear today! I decided to grab Colors by Llarowe Summer Skies which was the Polish of the Month for May 2016. This is a icy blue that is both holographic and has pink shimmer. 

PolishGalore: Nails In Real Life

Press Sample 

2015 has been really crazy, really scary, and really awesome all at the same time. I had a baby, I quit a really good job but for an even BETTER job, and I've been really busy on the home front. I'm still attempting to balance home, work, and fun but while I'm figuring that one out, I wanted to show you a few "nails in real life" - polishes that I didn't review for the blog but I actually wore. Some were press samples (which is why I've labeled this post as such) but some I bought myself. I tend to post more to Instagram when it's quick snapshots like this but now I hear that even Instagram is limiting what people see (thanks Facebook for buying Instagram and applying the same 'pay for play' business model).

In July, I went to Cosmoprof North America for less than 24 hours. Not sure that I will ever put my body through that again, but it was still fun. I really wanted something flashy so I knew I was going to wear ILNP "Mega (X)" from the Summer 2015 collection but I wanted some base creme to layer it over, so I went with Love, Angeline "Did You Say Peppercorn?!" which is a matte grey creme.  Add 2 coats of "Mega (X)" and we were in business.



After Cosmoprof I needed something nice but neutral for my job interview so I went with ILNP "Long Walks" from the Summer 2015 collection. It's a dusty purple/taupe with a little bit of bronze shimmer - nothing too flashy but still had something to keep me interested.


A photo posted by PolishGalore (@polishgalore) on

After my neutral color, I wanted something flashy, so I grabbed F.U.N. "Goodness Of The Dawn" from the Summer 2015 collection. Only 2 coats and removal wasn't too terrible despite the glitter overload.


A photo posted by PolishGalore (@polishgalore) on

So I didn't get to see any of my Cosmoprof beauties for a few days because I had to have them shipped to me (THANK YOU SO MUCH THE DAILY NAIL!) but one that wowed me was Fair Maiden Polish - "Just a Mirage". I already love all things purple and holo but this was a nice plum with red base and only 2 coats.



After getting my new job, I knew I wanted to start off with some color. I blindly picked China Glaze "I Brake For Colour" from the Spring 2015 Road Trip collection. I felt like I wimped out a bit by not going crazy neon holo nuts but I didn't want anyone to think I was too crazy (yet).



My second week of work seemed to be a bit more demanding on my hands, so I opted for Gelish MINI "From Rodeo to Rodeo Drive" from the Fall 2015 Urban Cowgirl collection. It reminded me a little of ILNP "Long Walks" minus the bronze shimmer. This was only 2 coats but I should have used 3.



Then I snapped a few nails so I decided to cut them down to super nubbins - absolutely no free edge. I forgot how liberating they can be, especially when typing! To show off, I used ILNP "Missed Calls" which is a fantastic charcoal black holo that I am obsessed with.



Next I decided to go with Colors by Llarowe "As Rome Burned" from the August 2015 A Box, Indied collection. I seriously want to wear this all the time. NO staining either which is something I was really worried about. Only 2 coats but it did dry matte so I needed a good top coat to bring out the shine.



I decided to go for another Gelish MINI after that - this is "Brights Have More Fun". I was nervous about trying a neon without a white base coat, but you can see it did pretty well on its own.


A photo posted by PolishGalore (@polishgalore) on

Two weeks later and my nubs got out of control as well as my cuticles. I also tend to get hangnails on my index and middle fingers and I really try to leave them alone. But to feel pretty, I put on Glam Polish "Bohemian Rhapsody".



But then I decided to go dark blue to match my outfit when we were headed to a wedding. This is ILNP "After Midnight" from the Fall 2015 Collection.



Just one day later, I was moving to ILNP "Money Bin" to coordinate with the La Palmera #ReadySetGold Fashion Show that I attended.

Just a short time later, I was heading to Florida for training at my new job. I was super excited to go on a trip so I decided to bring a little ILNP with me. This is "Walking Home" and the purple holo is SO in your face. I was obsessed.


A photo posted by PolishGalore (@polishgalore) on

Despite owning tons of ILNP, I hadn't worn any of the multichrome crazy polishes yet so I decided I was going to wear ILNP "Cameo". I ended up going almost a whole week in this polish and couldn't stop playing with the color shift from purple to green to gold. Loved it!



Last week, a friend was eloping, so a bunch of us did manis to surprise her. I wanted something red and holo-y so I used both Morgan Taylor "Ruby Two-Shoes" with Starrily "Poisoned Apple" for this beautiful combination.



And now on my hands I have Polished by KPT "No Makeup Needed" which is a nude holo. After all the red and purple I had been wearing, I felt like wearing something a little neutral. I'm on Day 5 of this mani and while I need to remove it before Saturday (family photos!), it's held up very well.


A photo posted by PolishGalore (@polishgalore) on

And there you have it! That's been my "Nails In Real Life" and while I wished I had properly photographed and written a review for the blog, I'm glad that I at least documented them on Instagram. Do you have any favorites from what I wore?

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

colors by llarowe At Last

Press Sample 

Today I have colors by llarowe At Last to share with you. I feel like the polish name describes me a lot right now because I feel like "At Last" some things are falling into place. Back in March, Mr. PG and I found out we were expecting a little girl. Sadly, in April, she was gone and I was filled with lots of sadness. We currently have a 7 year old and while we love him dearly, we were looking forward to expanding our family. Well, last month I found out that we are expecting again. I had quite a scare on my way to NYC for Fashion Week (official term was "threatened miscarriage") and while I'm not totally out of the woods yet, I did have some needed doctor's ordered bed rest to help my body try and reorient itself. Baby Emery is due May 2, 2015 and we are cautiously, happily awaiting his or her arrival.

But back to the polish. While at Cosmoprof North America, Leah Ann LaRowe, the owner of colors by llarowe gave out great gift bags with her newest collections - The Show Me Collection and Emily's Imagination. At Last is from Emily's Imagination and it's this crazy awesome purple blue teal multichrome holographic polish.

I used a base coat of Cult Nails Get It On, 2 coats of polish and finished with Digital Nails Ain't Nobody Got Time For That. Top coat did not dull the polish at all. The first coat of polish was a little thin but the second coat made it nicely opaque.


See what I mean in the sun? The purple comes out to play along with the holographic goodness.


Meanwhile in the shade, you lose the holo but this lovely blue starts to peek out and give it this lovely duochrome look. Best part - no need to wear a base color under... again this is just 2 coats of polish!

Finally inside with the flash, you can see the teal coming through strongly. It's a gorgeous color to wear and I can't wait to put it on again and play with some nail vinyls.

Colors by Llarowe are available through the Llarowe website and range in price from $6 to $12. You can also like it on Facebook, follow on Pinterest, and follow on Instagram.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

Sparkle and Wine 2014

Press Sample 

During Cosmoprof North America, indie brands KBShimmer and Girly Bits organized an after hours events for indie brands and media to come together AND IT WAS AMAZING. Representatives from NAILPRO Magazine, Nail It! Magazine and Nails Magazine were in attendance along with various bloggers from around the United States. There was so much to see and I hope I got most of it photographed accurately.


Pam from Girly Bits, me, Melissa from The Daily Nail
Photo by mackenzieheil
This event was truly amazing. My first year at Cosmoprof, indies were pretty much unheard of. My second year, we had a very impromptu dinner at the Tropicana where a few indies handed out some polishes. Last year there were two dinners (one at Tropicana again which I attended) where indies were able to hand out polishes but this?! This was a great concentrated area that was meticulously set up by KBShimmer and Girly Bits with displays and the most amazing gift bags but all that will be coming soon.


Girly Bits had a nice display of their polishes and rings of nail swatches for our viewing pleasure. Additionally, we received a bottle of her new What Happens In Vegas... Ends Up On Instagram polish. This will become a limited run polish on her website, so stay tuned for that. This was also the 2nd in her series - last year was "What Happens in Vegas... Ends Up On Facebook" which I have a mini bottle of in my stash.


KBShimmer also had a sweet set up including her new nail vinyls! I received some sheets from her that I'm excited to use - I hadn't tried nail vinyls yet so this is fun. She also had the nicest media kit I've received to date that included a branded USB with product information, press releases and high res photos; the Beach Themed 6th Anniversary Trio, nail vinyls, SOMETHING EMBARGOED THAT I'M NOT GOING TO TALK ABOUT, a bottle of her Clearly On Top quick dry top coat AND a 2 oz refill bottle (!), a 2 oz pink sugar scrub and the coolest 4 oz bottle of pink sugar moisturizing nail polish remover. Perfect items for Vegas but also just for a great starter kit into KBShimmer. I seriously hope she offers those kits on her website some day soon because they would be a fantastic gift for friends and family. I also got to see some photos of her warehouse and her wall of glitter containers which literally made me squeal like a 12 year old girl. It was fantastic looking. This husband and wife team are extremely sweet and have really helped change my mind on indies in general. They are doing everything right.


Victoria of Serum No 5 and myself
Photo by Victoria
Serum No 5 has GROWN since the last time I saw her polishes! Last year I received a bottle of Day Glow but then I misplaced it and it slipped my mind. This year, she had so many polishes that I literally did a jaw drop and double take! In addition to polishes, she is also coming out with nail vinyls. Victoria is so sweet as well - she hugged me and asked for a photo (which I was such a fan girl all night). She gave us this cute cube that included Flashing Lights, Another Year, Let's Cheer which just launched last week, another of her polishes, a cuticle serum pen and a sugar scrub cube (to be released later this year). 


I grabbed a photo of Alter Ego Nail Enamel before she had finished setting up her display - oops! Cynthia is a sweetheart and young at heart even though she has been doing her nails longer than I've been alive. She included two of her shades including best selling Penny Pincher in my bag.


Misfits on 8th is a supplier for those who want to start making their own polish. She included a starter kit for us to create our own colors, as well some extra glitter, her top coat, and 2 of her mini polishes to try. If you're looking into starting your own line, check her shop out!


Jaded Nail Co was also there with her line of unique polishes. I got to speak to her a bit the day prior and she's a blast.


Polish TBH is a girl after my own heart. Her polish line started out of an obsession for Britney Spears Fantasy line of perfumes and we all know that I'm a Britney fan forever. She included a few colors including a neat color changing glitter polish.


Linda from Nail Vinyls had a great station set up for us to play with. Her tagline is simple but perfect - Place. Polish. Peel. I had received a sample with my Cult Nails order earlier this year but hadn't used them yet but now I have LOTS to play with and that makes me happy. I'm going to step up my nail art game! Nail Vinyls are now available in a variety of shapes and have made its way into over 10,000 homes so far. She's also moved into decals for your every day life including ENOUGH HOLOGRAPHIC VINYL TO COVER A HELMER. Hello sparkles.


I knew Glisten & Glow made balms and top coat but did you know they also have creams, lotions, hand sanitizer and NOW POLISH?! She had goodies for us to play with and just for you! Take 10% off your order from now until 1 September 2014 using the code Cosmoprof14.


I literally squealed (again) when I saw Chaos & Crocodiles. I had preordered the entire "Secret Agent" collection (the 10 out of focus polishes in the back) last month on a whim and turns out it was the best decision ever. Then, like a real secret agent would, owner Sarey slipped me a bottle of Operation Vegas.


IT'S PURPLE. IT'S HOLOGRAPHIC. SHE KNOWS ME. SHE GETS ME. Ahem.  I feel really bad that we didn't get to hang out more - we had made semi-plans and then it just fell apart on me. Blah. But she is so sweet and her polish is SO awesome.


Elevation Polish had this cute set up on the end table and I was taking photos when she put up a sign that said "Take One." Due to the sun setting, I decided to use my iPhone light to check out the polishes when I found out that she has some amazing holos in her collection! I snuck up and asked her how many could I "REALLY" take because I fell in love and she held up some fingers and I ran away like a little kid. And now I have some awesome polishes to wear for you later to come.


Sweet Heart Polish had the most adorable thrones for her polish set up! I hadn't tried her polish before but she included a couple of bottles inside a cute packaged box with cut out window that made me smile.


Llarowe started as an e-tailer in the United States that offered amazing indie brands and international brands that were hard for us to obtain otherwise. Now she has her own line - Colors by Llarowe that has over 60 colors! She debuted her Show Me and Emily's Imagination collections and gave us several shades to try. Even more amazing, she will be opening a brick and mortar store in Colorado later this year and will be offering things like "Polish Making Parties!"
Now, Leah Ann had recently announced a new logo change which was not well received. I asked her what her final decision was and she surprised me with her answer. "We are keeping our original logo for now and will be going back to the drawing board for a new logo. If my customers don't like it, I'm not going to do it." That was awesome to hear - a company actually listening to her customers. I look forward to the new design to come.


Glitter Daze is another company that has grown quite a bit! A fellow Texan, she has all new packaging now and a new website! Apparently there was a Cosmoprof exclusive polish given out but somehow I missed it and I'm kicking myself for it. She has also gotten rid of her mini bottles, which I had reviewed previously.


Cupcake Polish was another new-to-me company with a sweet showing. Sadly, the USPS didn't deliver her boxes in time for the event so all she had was what she carried on the plane with her but it was still a sweet showing!

We also received information and samples from Emerald & Ash (who now has my favorite polish name ever - see Instagram AND probably the best bottle of cuticle oil I own - photos to come); Model City Polish whom I've been wanting to try and now get to; Pahlish's own Cosmoprof exclusive and I THINK that is all!

Again, tremendous thanks to all the indies that made this event possible. I wish every single one of you the best of luck and I'm so honored to have been apart of this event!

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.