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.

FingerPaints Enchanted Mermaid Collection

How are you feeling about textured polishes? Still loving it?
FingerPaints came out with a small textured collection that is will help you think under the sea.

deborah lippmann Whip It

Press Sample 
As I mentioned this morning, deborah lippmann came out with a rainbow collection of cremes this summer, dedicated to the 80s. As an 80s baby, I feel a great obligation to rock these while singing. I won't sing on the blog though - I'll spare you that one. This is Whip It - a bubble gum pink creme.

I used a base of Cult Nails Get It On, 2 coats of polish and finished with Digital Nails Ain't Nobody Got Time For That.

This is a pretty accurate color photos of how this polish wears. Perfect applications, no pooling, and no streaks.

It looks a little dusty rose in the shade, but still has a great coverage and durability that is known to deborah lippmann polishes.

Indoors with some indirect light - happy pretty pink. Not much else to say - good color, wears well, applies perfectly. And you get a great Devo song to hum ALL DAY LONG.

deborah lippmann [official website] sells for $18 a bottle.  You can also Like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

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

deborah lippmann 80s Rewind & The Cure

2014 seemed to be the year of rainbows but that's fine by me. I can't get enough of rainbow collections and deborah lippmann took that route for her Summer 2014 Collection "80s Rewind"

CPNA: ORLY 2014

Earlier this month, I got to meet with ORLY during Cosmoprof North America to talk about what's coming up new for ORLY this year.

This fall, ORLY is launching "Smoky", a 6 piece collection of dusty hues and shimmers. Shades include Highlight (Grey Crème), Edgy (Antique Bronze Shimmer), Darkest Shadow (Black w/ Red Shimmer), Brush It On (Rose Bronze Duo Chrome Shimmer), Blend (Warm Taupe Crème), Smoked Out (Dark Green Matte Shimmer). It will available starting in September 2014.

ORLY Brush It On

Another thing coming out from ORLY is their new BB Cream.

Similar to the beauty benefits of a traditional BB for the face, ORLY’s BB Crème offers an all-in-one topical cosmetic treatment that perfects the look of natural nails for a healthy, flawless finish. The unique formula smooths the surface of the natural nail, hydrates to prevent breakage, brightens the surface and protects from damaging UV rays, while glass microspheres provide a brilliant chip-resistant finish with a sheer peach tint for natural nails perfected. 

TO USE: Apply one or two coats for desired opacity onto bare nails. Not meant to be used as a basecoat, topcoat, or with nail color. ORLY BB Crème will be available July 2014 and retails for $15.00. ORLY Nail Lacquers and Treatment products are available at orlybeauty.com.

I fell in love with the ORLY Instant Artists line when I got one in my Nail Art Society kit. Turns out, there is a WHOLE LINE dedicated to it. Not only that - it's TWO LINES! One is water based (the one I've tried) which is great for the error proned artist (like myself) because you can wash your mistakes off with water before sealing it with top coat. ORLY also makes a lacquer based line for those with more steady hands. Both can be purchased at orlybeauty.com.

ORLY also had their line of Rich Renewal on display.

For consumers, ORLY had their smartGELS line available to look at as well. Easy to apply, 2 weeks of wear, high shine and the ability to apply at home gives you the opportunity to make your ORLY last longer.

The Halloween collection and Winter collection were embargoed so I wasn't able to take photos but holy cow, Winter especially was amazing so stay tuned to PolishGalore!