Thursday 4 September 2014

Colors by Llarowe (CbL) Summer 2014 - Glitters

Hey guys!  Today's post is a review of my the Colors by Lllarowe (CbL) Summer 2014 - Glitter Collection.  I purchased the whole set from the pre-order and I love the variety in this collection.  Not shown is Aliens & Outlaws which went to a different home.  All photos are shown with one coat of HK Girl topcoat to give a smoother finish unless otherwise noted.  Depending on your preference you may want to use two, but with one they were mostly smooth.  As these are all glitters, I highly recommend using a peel-off base or preparing for the foil method, especially for the denser microglitters.  I used Nail Pattern Boldness Glitter A-Peel as my base for these and even though I didn't peel up the polish it still makes removal a lot easier.

Swatch and Review Beautiful Disaster I'm Seeing Spots Independence Day My Own Reality and Mystery & Mayhem Opals & Lace Purple is My Crack Soccer Mom and Subtle Little Number Glitter Holo HK Girl
Colors by Llarowe (CbL) - Mystery & Mayhem

Swatch and Review Beautiful Disaster I'm Seeing Spots Independence Day My Own Reality and Mystery & Mayhem Opals & Lace Purple is My Crack Soccer Mom and Subtle Little Number Glitter Holo HK Girl
Colors by Llarowe (CbL) - Mystery & Mayhem
Mystery & Mayhem is a teal jelly base with holo micro glitters.

This is two coat of Mystery & Mayhem.  The formula on this is awesome.  I find sometimes jellies can be difficult to work with, but it was smooth and buttery.  The pigmentation is great and I used two thicker coats, but if you're less heavy-handed then me you may need three thin coats.  The sparkle in this one is stunning.  I did have a hard time capturing this one again as the teal shows up as darker and more blue when it leans more green in person.  There is a heavy concentration of microglitters, so removal is a bit more difficult. 

Swatch and Review Beautiful Disaster I'm Seeing Spots Independence Day My Own Reality and Mystery & Mayhem Opals & Lace Purple is My Crack Soccer Mom and Subtle Little Number Glitter Holo HK Girl
Colors by Llarowe (CbL) - Soccer Mom
Swatch and Review Beautiful Disaster I'm Seeing Spots Independence Day My Own Reality and Mystery & Mayhem Opals & Lace Purple is My Crack Soccer Mom and Subtle Little Number Glitter Holo HK Girl
Colors by Llarowe (CbL) - Soccer Mom
 Soccer Mom is a greyed baby blue crelly base with holographic micro glitters.
 
This is two coats of Soccer Mom.  The formula on this is good, but the first coat was a bit patchy.  The second coat went on nicely and smoothed everything out.  This dries matte with a slight texture.   I found it looked muted and dull, so I definitely prefer it glossy as shown in my pictures.  The holo in this one is scattered and subtle, but it's still beautiful.

Swatch and Review Beautiful Disaster I'm Seeing Spots Independence Day My Own Reality and Mystery & Mayhem Opals & Lace Purple is My Crack Soccer Mom and Subtle Little Number Glitter Holo HK Girl
Colors by Llarowe (CbL) - Opals & Lace
Swatch and Review Beautiful Disaster I'm Seeing Spots Independence Day My Own Reality and Mystery & Mayhem Opals & Lace Purple is My Crack Soccer Mom and Subtle Little Number Glitter Holo HK Girl
Colors by Llarowe (CbL) - Opals & Lace
Opals & Lace is a clear base topper with white hex and assorted iridescent glitters

This is two coats of Opals & Lace over Soccer Mom and three coats on it's own on my middle finger.  I love the glitter combination, but glitter toppers are always hit and miss for me. I used two coats and had issues with some of the glitters staying put so I did the dab method and only got one of the larger glitters.  The clear base is really thick, so to really get a good layer of glitter it was a bit lumpy.  Upon reflection, I would probably use the sponge method with this to soak up as much of the base as possible and then just dab it on.  I do really like how it looks on it's own and think it would look gorgeous over french tips.  The glitters do lay nicely flat.

Swatch and Review Beautiful Disaster I'm Seeing Spots Independence Day My Own Reality and Mystery & Mayhem Opals & Lace Purple is My Crack Soccer Mom and Subtle Little Number Glitter Holo HK Girl
Colors by Llarowe (CbL) - Subtle Little Number
Swatch and Review Beautiful Disaster I'm Seeing Spots Independence Day My Own Reality and Mystery & Mayhem Opals & Lace Purple is My Crack Soccer Mom and Subtle Little Number Glitter Holo HK Girl
Colors by Llarowe (CbL) - Subtle Little Number
Subtle Little Number is a white jelly base with assorted pink, purple, grape and yellow glitter.

This is three thin coats of Subtle Little Number.  No undies, just on it's own.  I'm heavy-handed when it comes to polishing, so I normally use thicker coats.  This one was a bit tricky for me because I had to use a lot thinner coats so it didn't look bulky.  I did have to fish for some of the larger glitters as they were sticking to the sides of the bottle. The glitters stayed flat against the nail.

Swatch and Review Beautiful Disaster I'm Seeing Spots Independence Day My Own Reality and Mystery & Mayhem Opals & Lace Purple is My Crack Soccer Mom and Subtle Little Number Glitter Holo HK Girl
Colors by Llarowe (CbL) - I'm Seeing Spots
Swatch and Review Beautiful Disaster I'm Seeing Spots Independence Day My Own Reality and Mystery & Mayhem Opals & Lace Purple is My Crack Soccer Mom and Subtle Little Number Glitter Holo HK Girl
Colors by Llarowe (CbL) - I'm Seeing Spots
Clear base topper with tiny black and white hex glitters

This is one coat of I'm Seeing Spots over CbL Neon Punk.  Formula is spot on, just one easy coat and I got perfect coverage.  The base is also perfect consistency so it goes on smooth and not gloopy at all.  This glitter topper is fantastic!  Originally I overlooked it and wasn't that interested, but it is really pretty.  I love the tiny little black and white glitters and think it would look excellent over so many colours.  I could actually see myself using this to jazz up cremes or for fun accents nails.  The macro shows I'm Seeing Spots with two coats.

Swatch and Review Beautiful Disaster I'm Seeing Spots Independence Day My Own Reality and Mystery & Mayhem Opals & Lace Purple is My Crack Soccer Mom and Subtle Little Number Glitter Holo HK Girl
Colors by Llarowe (CbL) - Independence Day
Swatch and Review Beautiful Disaster I'm Seeing Spots Independence Day My Own Reality and Mystery & Mayhem Opals & Lace Purple is My Crack Soccer Mom and Subtle Little Number Glitter Holo HK Girl
Colors by Llarowe (CbL) - Independence Day
 Deep royal blue jelly base with holographic micro glitters

This is two coats of Independence Day.  Formula is good and depending on your polishing method you may need two or three coats, but I found two built up to opacity just fine.  It dries semi-glossy and with a subtle texture.  Topcoat really brings out the glitters.  This polish is gorgeous in the sun or in lower lighting as the holo microglitters twinkle from the base. Removal was pretty quick even with the microglitters.  Even though it's highly pigmented I didn't experience any staining.

Swatch and Review Beautiful Disaster I'm Seeing Spots Independence Day My Own Reality and Mystery & Mayhem Opals & Lace Purple is My Crack Soccer Mom and Subtle Little Number Glitter Holo HK Girl
Colors by Llarowe (CbL) - Purple Is My Crack
Swatch and Review Beautiful Disaster I'm Seeing Spots Independence Day My Own Reality and Mystery & Mayhem Opals & Lace Purple is My Crack Soccer Mom and Subtle Little Number Glitter Holo HK Girl
Colors by Llarowe (CbL) - Purple Is My Crack
Blurple jelly base with holo micro glitters

This is three coats of Purple Is My Crack.  It's a little bit on the sheer side to really let all the micro glitters really stand out.  Three thin coats do bring it up to pretty much full opacity, but at some angles I did see a hint of visible nail line. Depending on your monitor, it may be a little bit bluer than I see in person.  The micro glitters in this one really stand out.  It dries shiny and with no discernible texture unlike Independence Day.  Topcoat does give it more of a glass-like appearance.  Removal of this one is a bit more difficult as well because of the microglitters, but I didn't need to use the foil method.

Swatch and Review Beautiful Disaster I'm Seeing Spots Independence Day My Own Reality and Mystery & Mayhem Opals & Lace Purple is My Crack Soccer Mom and Subtle Little Number Glitter Holo HK Girl
Colors by Llarowe (CbL) - Beautiful Disaster
Swatch and Review Beautiful Disaster I'm Seeing Spots Independence Day My Own Reality and Mystery & Mayhem Opals & Lace Purple is My Crack Soccer Mom and Subtle Little Number Glitter Holo HK Girl
Colors by Llarowe (CbL) - Beautiful Disaster
Clear base with assorted micro and holographic micro glitter

This is three coats of Beautiful Disaster.  I needed three to get an even finish where I was happy with the glitter coverage, but some might get away with two coats.  This one is a full glitter, so it dries very gritty  I used two coats of HK Girl topcoat and it didn't completely make it smooth.  Removal is like any other glitter.  It is best to use the foil method or a peel up base coat.

Swatch and Review Beautiful Disaster I'm Seeing Spots Independence Day My Own Reality and Mystery & Mayhem Opals & Lace Purple is My Crack Soccer Mom and Subtle Little Number Glitter Holo HK Girl
Colors by Llarowe (CbL) - My Own Reality
Swatch and Review Beautiful Disaster I'm Seeing Spots Independence Day My Own Reality and Mystery & Mayhem Opals & Lace Purple is My Crack Soccer Mom and Subtle Little Number Glitter Holo HK Girl
Colors by Llarowe (CbL) - My Own Reality
 Deep royal jelly base with assorted shape and size glitters

This is two coats of My Own RealityThis polish is super squishy and self levels nicely.  I could have gone with three coats, but I was fine with the level of opacity at two.  I only got out one of the larger glitters, but I didn't have to fish for what I did get and the glitters peek through the jelly nicely.  It dries matte, so topcoat is necessary to really bring out the squishy goodness.  I used two coats of topcoat and the finish is mostly smooth.

And those are my picks from the Colors by Llarowe Summer Glitters collection! My top three in random order are Independence Day, Mystery & Mayhem and Purple Is My Crack.  Are any of these on your wishlist?  Let me know which ones are your favourites in the comments below!  If you have already you can also check out my reviews for my picks from the Colors by Llarowe Holo/Holo Glitters and The Shimmers collections.

At the time of the blog post, all of these polishes are currently in stock on the

 Llarowe site.  A few are also available at Harlow & Co.  Keep an eye out on Llarowe's Facebook page and Harlow & Co's Facebook Page for restock information or subscribe to their newsletters.