Hi Everyone! It's been quiet on MLIT for the last few weeks but I am back and have a couple things lined up for all of you! It's March, which means it is almost Spring and that naturally means every nail polish brand has released a spring collection! But of course that is terrible for my wallet.

Today I have my picks from the new Spring 2015 Collection by KBShimmer... one of my favourite indie brands! The entire collection consists of 12 polishes but I didn't want three of the four holos in this collection. I still have 9 others though and continue reading for my thoughts on the collection! You can purchase any of these beautiful polishes from Harlow & Co, the only international stockist!

Overall Comments: I loved that this collection had so many glitter crellies... gorgeous! And they come in so many different shades of pastel and many of them even had tiny holo glitters! KBShimmer finally added a basic white to their line of creme polishes, many of which were released last year.

Stamping Plate Review - Hearts Nail Art

Hi Everyone! I have not one but TWO nail art looks for you today featuring the Pueen 41 stamping plate. I kept the concept very simple... a pink base and with stamped designs in a white polish. Since it's February and Valentine's Day is tomorrow, I figured hearts were the best option to go with!

The base colour in both nail art looks is Pinking Out the Window from the new China Glaze Road Trip (Spring 2015) Collection. And remember I am giving away this entire collection right here!



I pulled up Pueen 41 and couldn't decide which particular image I liked so I ended up picking two! To stamp the designs I used my newly purchased Whiteout by Rica... let me tell you that it is an amazing white polish that stamps perfectly opaque! I would recommend investing in a bottle if you enjoy stamping. Both the Pueen stamping plates and the Rica polishes are available for purchase at Harlow & Co.

Nail Polish Review - KBShimmer Falling For Hue

Hi Everyone! With Valentine's Day so close, it's fitting to sport a themed manicure this week. Now if cheesy nail art with hearts and kisses and lots of pink and red is not your "thing" then this is the perfect polish for you! It allows you to pay homage to the theme without shouting to the world that it's a Valentine's Day manicure. KBShimmer's Falling For Hue was released in 2014 as part of the Valentine's Day Trio. You can purchase this beauty and other KBShimmer polishes at Harlow & Co.

Nail Polish Review - OPI Fifty Shades of Grey Collection

Hi everyone! Today, I have swatches of the new OPI collaboration collection... the Fifty Shades of Grey Collection! And the best part is that the entire collection comes in a mini set with all 6 polishes in this collection. That is such good value because we can own the entire collection without murdering our wallets.

Overall Comments: OMG! Grey polishes... so awesome! The creme polishes in this collection are just perfect as expected from OPI. They have a very pigmented and buttery formula and dry to a glossy finish. The silver foil is not that original and lately OPI has released too many silver foils... so it's not that exciting! And there's a pretty okay glitter polish in the mix too.

Nail Polish Review - China Glaze Road Trip (Spring 2015) Collection

Hi everyone! Today, I have swatches of the entire China Glaze Road Trip Collection. I am really loving every single polish in this entire set. I am also really loving the new nail shape... they look so elegant! I think this is the first time I am swatching an entire collection that is bigger than 6 polishes. It's a lot of work but so worth it!

Remember that you can also have this collection by entering my Blog Birthday/Anniversary GIVE AWAY!

Overall Comments: Although most of these polishes required 3 coats, the formula was generally very good. They all dried to a glossy finish and some of them are amazing creme polishes! The collection as a whole is so pretty and it will be perfect for nail art! Four polishes in this collection have a beautiful rose gold micro shimmer that is very subtle and only shows itself in certain lighting conditions and angles. You wouldn't purchase these polishes for the shimmer since it's very subtle. They are more like an elevated creme with something special about them.

Nail Polish Review - China Glaze All Aboard Collection (My Picks) - Fall 2014

Hi Everyone! As you might as have read in yesterday's post, I have changed my nail shape for 2015... or at least for the time being. These were swatched in November and have been sitting in my Drafts folder so I thought I should share them instead of letting them go to waste.

Although these polishes are from the China Glaze Fall 2014 Collection, these colours are still perfect for the last stretch of winter before we transition into neutrals and super sweet pastels!!!

Overall Comments: I really loved all 6 polishes I picked from this collection. The formula for each and every single polish was spot on and each presented a unique twist to some classic colours. Even though they are all dark polishes, I really like that they don't look black and that you can identify its colour and uniqueness!

MLIT's 2nd Birthday - Nail Art + NEW Nail Shape + GIVE AWAY

Yes, you read that right! My Life in Turquoise (MLIT) turns 2 today and that is definitely a reason to celebrate. As the title suggests, I have a nail art look to celebrate the blog's birthday, a fresh new nail shape AND a giveaway at the end of this post! I think it is also good time to relfect on the last 2 years and appreciate all the wonderful things that have happened since I started this blog.

PS. I am going to start referring to my blog as MLIT going forward... hope the acronym catches on!

Reflecting on 2013 + 2014

I don't often share details about my personal life on this blog or spend too much time delving into my feelings. The start of a new year, however, feels like the right time to start! I feel like I accomplished a lot for MLIT these past two years but at the same time, I know I want more. Here's a quick list of all the good things that have happened to MLIT:

• I successfully completed the 31 Day Challenge for the first time in 2014!
• 2 of my designs were selected in the Bundle Monster Create Your Own 2014 stamping set!
• I have swatched and reviewed quite a few nail polishes/collections (some purchased by me, some sent to me for review)
• Some of my favourite brands chose to share some press samples for me to review!
• I hosted my very first giveaway
• I finally learnt the stamping nail art technique
• I made new friends in the nail art community (Some even created guest posts for MLIT!)
• My nail art skills and photography have improved so much sinve my first nail art post (if you don't believe me... click here to see how I started)
• AND best of all, so many of you chose to start following MLIT through various social media

Outlook for 2015

Like I said... I want more! I don't have anything defined but I do know that sharing what I would like to achieve in 2015 will help me stay accountable and achieve the goals I set out for the year. So here's a shortlist of everything I want to achieve in 2015:

• Review more nail polishes and collections to keep this blog relevant
• Create regular nail art posts! (I may need to join a challenge to find the inspiration)
• Improve my photography skills
• Create a new blog design/layout and update the graphic elements
• Post a weekly/monthly/seasonal feature or series
• Maintain my nail health by regularly caring for my nails (too make breaks and chips in 2014)
• Host more giveaway(s)
• AND Make more friends and meet other nail art/polish enthusiasts!

Nail Art

What better way to celebrate a nail art blog's birthday than create a celebratory nail art?!

Nail Polish Review - Gwen Stefani for OPI Holiday Collection (My Picks) - Winter 2014

The Gwen Stefani for OPI Holiday Collection consists of 12 nail polishes plus a 6 piece nail effects collections (mainly glitter toppers) AND a special 18k Gold Top Coat. Now that is a lot of money to buy all of those polishes! The overall collection is quite boring with a few that are similar to other OPI shades (released in 2014) plus a lot of reds. I picked my 6 favourites that I believe to be unique... at least to my collection!

Overall Comments: My Picks include a mix of shimmers, cremes and even a glitter topper! Like most OPI polishes, the formulas were amazing and fully opaque in just 2 coats! I like to think that I picked some of the unique shades in this collection. Surprisingly the glitter topper was my favourite... I usually hate wearing glitter!

Nail Polish Review - piCture pOlish October 2014 Collaborations (My Picks)

Today I have swatches and a review of the piCture pOlish October 2014 collaboration shades... well only 3 out of the 7 that were released. I love how piCture pOlish gives bloggers a chance to create their own shade and of course every single blogger is so creative in coming up with a beautiful concept!

Overall Comments: I really love the signature scatter holographic nail polishes by piCture pOlish and I was happy to see that formula used for cyan and Paris! I also love a good glitter crelly and I was happy to see a beautiful mint green version.

Stamping Plate Review - Bundle Monster CYO 2014

Hi Everyone!

You may remember that I recently shared some amazing news... 2 of my submissions were selected by Bundle Monster for the 'Create Your Own' 2014 stamping plate set. Bundle Monster sent me two sets and so I am hosting my very first giveaway at the end of this post!

Golden Bows Nail Art

Another look featuring the essie Winter 2014 Collection?! Yes, because I am really loving these pink-red girly shades paired with the white gold foil. I am loving the gradient that is the base for this otherwise simple stamped nail art.

Princess Roses Nail Art

For today's nail art post, I tried a new-to-me technique! I have really been working on improving my stamping skills and for this look I decided to try stamping with more than just 1 colour! I selected polishes that were similar in colour but ranged in terms of lightness to darkness to create the gradient stamping.

I knew right away that I wanted to use polishes from the essie Winter 2014 Collection as they are perfect for creating a beautiful gradient! And the white crelly from the same collection is the perfect base for my gradient stamping.

Nail Polish Review - Essie Winter 2014 Collection (Part 2)

PART 1: Click HERE for Part 1 of the Essie Winter 2014 Collection.

I am really excited to post these swatches today! I have been waiting for the second half of this collection for a few weeks and I have also prepared a few nail art looks using this collection, which I will be posting later this week! Part 1 contained all the lighter crèmes and the one foil shade in this collection. This half focuses on the brighter and darker crèmes.

Overall Comments:

I am going to repeat what I said in Part 1... I don't immediately think of Winter when I look at this collection. However, I think that it is a beautiful collection of crèmes and very chic! These shades can be used not only during the holiday season, but whenever you are dressing up for any occasion. There is a shade of peach/pink for everyone, ranging from a barely-pink white to a dark-red with strong pink undertones. In terms of formula, all three crème shades had the perfect buttery-smooth formula with easy application, great self-levelling properties and a glossy finish.

Nail Polish Review - Essie Luxeffects 2014 - Summit of Style

The luxeffects line is a collection of glitter top coats that can be worn over any essie nail colour to add some sparkle and dazzle! This holiday season (2014), essie is releasing 2 new luxeffects shades (press release here)... 1 that is yellow gold and another in bronze.

Click HERE to see my swatch and review of rock at the top, the other 2014 Luxeffects shade.

summit of style: a bronze glitter top coat

Colour: Bronze | Finish: Glitter | # of Coats: 1 | Topcoat: No | Rating: 10/10

Layered Over: tuck it in my tux (swatch and review) from the essie Winter 2014 Collection

Comments: I have always loved the luxeffects glitter topcoats and I am super excited to add this bronze version to my collection. I only applied a single coat and you can see that the glitter payoff is great. I can see myself layering this over other shades to bring some sparkle and interest especially with the upcoming holiday season. I wish I had swatched it over black... I think it would have been easier to see the contrast in colour.

The glitter top coats in the luxeffects line all have the same formula and glitter composition in terms of shapes and size and what I love most about these is that they usually just feature one glitter colour.

What do you think of this beautiful bronze glitter? Will you picking up a bottle? I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments!

- Hetal

Nail Polish Review Essie Fall 2014 Collection - Dress to Kilt

This is the perfect collection for fall... beautiful, cosy, deep, dark shades balanced with a gorgeous neutral. We first about this collection here in early August and since then I have featured the namesake shade in my Top 5 Polish Choices for Fall 2014 and created a Half Moon + Leopard Print nail art look with some of the polishes from this collection. 

Overall Comments:
Like I mentioned... perfect collection for fall. I also love the split between warmer and cooler shades, ranging from light to dark. Every single shade had a perfectly creamy formula, pigmented and dried very glossy! Every shade only needed 2 coats for opacity except for one... it was a one coater!

Pink Nail Art for Breast Cancer Awareness

Although October is almost over, as I'm sure many of you know, it is still Breast Cancer Awareness month. I wanted to help spread awareness in my little corner of the internet by sporting some pink nail art. The most shocking statistic I have read is that 1 in 9 women in Canada is expected to develop breast cancer during her lifetime (by the age of 90). This is definitely a touch subject that affects people in different ways so I will keep this post short and sweet.

Almost every nail polish brand releases special pink polishes in support of Breast Cancer Awareness and donate money for research. Although I didn't pick up any polishes from the 2014 collections, I did pick some up last year and used those to create this simple look.

Nail Polish Review - KBShimmer Fall 2014 Collection (My Picks)

Earlier this week, when I posted my swatch, review and nail art using You Autumn Know from the KBShimmer Fall 2013 Collection, I mentioned that I had purchased a few from this year's fall collection.

I picked 4 shades from the KBShimmer Fall 2014 Collection and they all just happened to be cool colours. I am in love with their creme formula and just had to pick up all three creme shades and I have always been a fan of KBShimmer's glitter-crellies, so I had to get one of those as well.

Overall Comments:

These aren't your traditional fall colours but somehow they just feel so right... I just love the soft, dusty quality of these colours. Although creme formulas are fairly new for KBShimmer, they have maintained an amazing formula over the last 3 collections. Each and every single creme polish is buttery smooth, super pigmented and very glossy. The one glitter-crelly that I picked is also a beautiful pairing of a dusty blue with bright pops of glitter. As expected the crelly formula was amazing too.

Diwali Nail Art

As many of you may be aware, today is Diwali and I would like to wish all of you a Happy Diwali and a Prosperous New Year.

Diwali also known as the "festival of lights" is an ancient Hindu festival celebrated in autumn every year usually between mid-October and mid-November. The date changes every year because the Hindus follow a different calendar based on the lunar cycle. The festival spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil, and hope over despair. It is celebrated by lighting diyas (lamps and candles), prayers and enjoying mithai (sweets) with family and friends.

Nail Polish Review - Essie Luxeffects 2014 - Rock at the Top

Essie has been releasing a few luxeffects shades during the holiday season over the past few years.

The luxeffects line is a collection of glitter top coats that can be worn over any essie nail colour to add some sparkle and dazzle! This holiday season (2014), essie is releasing 2 new luxeffects shades (press release here)... 1 in yellow gold and 1 in bronze. Essie's PR firm sent me rock at the top, the yellow-gold glitter top coat.

rock at the top: a gold glitter top coat

Colour: Gold | Finish: Glitter | # of Coats: 1 | Topcoat: No | Rating: 10/10

Layered Over: tuck it in my tux (swatch and review) from the essie Winter 2014 Collection

Comments: I have always loved the luxeffects glitter topcoats and I am super excited to add this gold version to my collection. This beautiful yellow-gold glitter transforms the simple and plain marshmallow white crelly base into a pretty and sparkly holiday look! I only applied a single coat and you can see that the glitter payoff is great. I can see myself layering this over shades of red and pink for a simple but fun holiday manicure!

The glitter top coats in the luxeffects line have the same formula and glitter composition in terms of shapes and size and what I love most about these is that they usually just feature one glitter colour. I can't wait till the bronze version, summit of style, is available online... you can be sure I will be purchasing it right away!

What do you think of this beautiful gold glitter? Will you picking up a bottle of this beautiful gold glitter? I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments!

- Hetal

Nail Polish Review - Essie Winter 2014 Collection (Part 1) - Jiggle Hi, Jiggle Lo

PART 2: Click HERE for Part 2 of the essie Winter 2014 Collection.

Remember when I posted the press release for the essie Winter 2014 Collection? Essie's PR firm was kind enough to send me 3 of the 6 shades to swatch and review! And I just placed my order for the remaining 3 shades from nailpolishcanada.com so I will update this post once I receive my order. 

 

Overall Comments:

I don't immediately think of Winter when I look at this collection but once I swatched them, I fell in love! These shades look so chic and I couldn't stop staring at my nails! I can totally see myself wearing these during the holiday/winter season to parties and to get a break from the traditional reds and dark vampy colours. In terms of formula, the creme shades had a crelly type formula that looked so glossy and squishy and beautiful... but it did need a few coats for opacity.