27 Jun

Girlstuff Rave Neon Collection Swatches and Review

Hi folks! I’ve got some fun swatches to share with you today.

Girlstuff Forever recently released their Rave Neon collection and I’ve got 3 out of the 4 polishes from the collection to share with you today. As you can expect with all Girlstuff polishes, these polishes dry very quickly and are vibrant and long-lasting! They are also easy to remove and did not cause any staining on my nails.

Pro tip: Always wear topcoat to prolong the life of your mani. Girlstuff Fast Dry Topcoat is my personal favorite. I can do my nails and go to bed 10 mins. later without waking up to sheet marks. Not even kidding you!

Now on to some swatches!

 Girlstuff Rave Neon Breakbeat Swatch

Breakbeat – This an eye-catching shade of orange that takes 2 coats for opacity. It’s definitely the one to pick if you want your nails to “pop”!

 Girlstuff Rave Neon Lounge Swatch

Lounge – If you like green polishes, I’m sure you will love this one. The color is so fun and out there! This one is opaque in 2-3 coats.

Girlstuff Rave Neon Chill Swatch

Chill – This one is my favorite of the three in the collection that I have. It’s a stand out blue that I’ve already worn twice. 🙂 You can get by with 2 coats of this but I’ve used 3 here since I goofed and nicked my pinky nail after the second coat.

Techno – There is a bright pink shade in this collection but I don’t have it on hand to swatch. But I’m certain you will find it has the same quality as the three I have shared. If you are looking for a collection that will add some color to your digits, you have found it.

Each of these Girlstuff Rave Neon polishes retail for Php 120 and can be purchased at one of the Girlstuff kiosks or directly from Girlstuff Forever. Check out Girlstuff on their website or Facebook to purchase your own Girlstuff polishes.

I hope you have a great day! Don’t forget to make someone smile today!

Hugs,
Rach

21 Dec

Girlstuff Forever Holiday Collection 2015 Swatches

Hello loves!

I have been a bit busy the past few days with some holiday preparations. I’m sure many of you can relate. I spent part of my day doing some last minute shopping with my wonderful sisters. We had a blast hanging out as we usually do. I’ve finished cleaning  the kids room and weeding out the toys and clothes they have outgrown. I have butter set out in preparation for whipping up some cookies later, so I decided to take a moment to write a quick post to share some swatches with you of the Girlstuff Forever Holiday Collection 2015 which I received last week.

This collection is made up of three gorgeous shades that provide quite a bit of variety.

Girlstuff Utopia Swatch

Utopia is a gorgeous icy blue crelly loaded with silver shimmer. Two coats will give you full coverage. I love this one for the holidays and can totally see myself wearing this at other times of the year. Maybe during a beach vacation?

Girlstuff Zenith Swatch

Next up is Zenith, which is kind of a cross between a frosted and chrome polish. It is a two-coater and gives a very festive feel! I promise, any bubbles you see in this swatch were total user error. I was multitasking and running on too little sleep. Please forgive me. It is very pretty, and I’ve been enjoying wearing it the past several days.

IMG_5392

I’ve saved my favorite of the lot for last. At first glance, I thought Temptation was dark blue with a slight color shift. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was a dark purple crelly loaded with blue shimmer. This is two coats and it is SO PRETTY you guys! The picture above really doesn’t do it justice at all. Behold the macro shot! ♥♥♥♥♥

Girlstuff Temptation Macro

Gorgeous isn’t it? I absolutely love polishes like this one.

Well, what do you think of this holiday collection by Girlstuff? Which is your favorite? Let me know in the comments below.

I hope you have plans to enjoy some quality time with the family during the holidays. I am thrilled to have my hubby around for the next two weeks. Have a great night (or day) and keep smiling!

Hugs,
Rach

13 Dec

Girlstuff Solique Gel Collection Swatches and Review

Hello girls!
Are you getting excited about the holidays? I know I am. I’m about to switch to cookie baking mode!

Boy, oh, boy am I excited to share this post with you today!
A couple months ago, Girlstuff released their new Solique line of Gel polishes. These “gel” polishes are meant to be used as a system with the nail color and top coat and they promise the durability and shine of gel polishes without the need of a UV lamp to dry them or special remover or soaking to take it off.  They are supposed to dry within minutes and give you high shine with extended wear. It all sounds too good to be true!

I don’t normally wear polishes for a whole week, but the timing of me receiving these pretties and testing them out was just right as we were neck deep in a MAJOR renovation of our office building. Since October, I have either been helping the hubs with the renovation or working extra hard at keeping things going smoothly at home so that he could focus on the renovation. I put these polishes through some serious testing! Let’s check out the color options before I get into the wordy bit.

Solique Gel Polish By Girlstuff Swatches

Solique Manila Girl Swatch

Manila Girl – is a fabulous red with a fabulous name (For those of you outside the Philippines, Manila is the country’s capital city.). This crelly is a two-coater and very squishy looking. I love a good red, and this did not disappoint! Easy cleanup and no staining! Yay!

Solique Just A Fantasy Swatch

Such A Fantasy – is a girly, pink cream that needs two coats. I guess it is the crowd-pleaser of the lot because I got heaps of compliments while wearing this.

Solique Love Me Like You Do Swatch

Love Me Like You Do – is very chic, light-gray creme that I think is a timeless, classy shade.  With a little care this is a two-coater. I say that because I was watching a movie while applying this one, and I messed up a couple of nails and had to put a third coat on. It still dried super fast!

Solique - Hush Swatch

Hush – is a lovely, almost white creme that has just a whisper of pink to it. It’s perfect for people like me who like the crispness of white nails but don’t like it to look like I used correction fluid on my nail. Hush is a two-coater, which is hard to find with a polish of a delicate tint like this.

Solique Midnight Dreams Swatch

Midnight Dreams– is a dark blue crelly loaded with tiny, shimmery flecks. It has a purple luster that can be seen in certain lighting, but I wasn’t able to capture that, as you can see. It is a two-coater and the only dark shade of the collection.

Solique Baby Blues  Swatch

Baby Blues – is a pastel blue creme that stands out without being too in-your-face. With care, you can get away with two coats of this baby.

The Review

Wow! Wow! Wow! You guys, this system is AMAZING! First, let me remind you that these polishes are meant to be worn with the special Solique topcoat. Also, I have never used or worn regular gel polish myself, but I have heard the pros and cons of them.  I have also removed gel polish for a friend and know the difficulties of gel removal.

Application – The formula on these is a bit thicker than most regular polishes so you may need to take more time and care when applying. I found that using more product on the brush helps as well. Cleanup around the cuticles was no problem.

Drying time – This is a quick drying system, and including the three coats on a couple of nails that I messed up a bit, my nails were dry in a flash. No need for a UV lamp like regular gel polishes.

Removal – When I removed my friend’s gel manicure, it took ages. Lots of soaking (with pure acetone…boo!), waiting, and rubbing on the nail to get it all off. With Solique Gel, I used my favorite non-acetone polish remover on a cotton ball and it came right off.

Wear time – Now to the part that I’m sure you are really curious about. How did Solique Gel Polish hold up over the test of time? Did I get the extended wear promised? Let me answer that by showing you a picture of my extended wear test results of Hush (with a bit of glitter). Keep in mind that this manicure endured a certain number of days of taping, floating, and sanding drywall, and sanding and staining wood panels – in addition to all my regular chores and work at home.

Hush 14-day wear test

How many days old would you guess this manicure is?

Five days old? Nope!

Seven days old? Not even close!

Ten days? Keep guessing!

This is actually FOURTEEN DAYS of wear and tear! Have your nails ever looked like this after wearing the same polish for 14 days? I know mine haven’t!

You can see a bit of wear on the tips but it’s still totally passable for a nice manicure. While I have heard of the amazing strength and wear of gel polishes, I never expected these results from a polish that applies, dries, and removes like a regular polish. The biggest issue I have after 14 days is the gap from the new growth of the nail since I applied the polish

Still not convinced? How about this 10-day wear shot of Love Me Like You Do (with some subtle holo stamping).

Love Me Like You Do 10 Day wear test

Oh yeah! If you want to cut down on your salon visits or how often you do your nails at home, then you will love this new product.

The downside – Really, the only downside to this system is that the color selection is limited. But they just released a new shade so they are already adding to the line. Yay!

 Final thoughts

These would make a great gift for yourself or for a special someone in your life. Keep in mind that the Solique line is meant to be used as a two-part system. These amazing results cannot be guaranteed if you do not use the Solique topcoat.

Solique polishes cost 180Php per bottle and the Solique topcoat is 200Php per bottle. They can be purchased at any Girlstuff kiosk or directly from Girlstuff online. Their customer service is fantastic, so do not hesitate to contact them for any inquiries or shipping. You can also check out their website and contact them about having polishes shipped to you. Check them out on Facebook and follow them on Instagram @girlstufforever to keep up with their news and promotions.

I hope you found this review helpful. I love sharing great products with you and I try my best to be thorough and to include information that I personally find helpful when choosing products. Do let me know in the comments if you have any questions.

Enjoy the holiday rush but don’t forget to stop and smell the roses (or in my case stop and hug the kiddos). Have a lovely day and keep smiling!

Hugs,
Rach

26 Aug

Zentangled Nail Art (Ft. Girlstuff Sophia) 

Hello!

Two posts from me within a week? It’s like old times again! I’m sharing a look I wore a while back. I have recently been on a Zentangle kick and, after making cards and borders for projects, of course the next step was to bring the tangling to my nails!

Girlstuff Sophia with Zentangle Nail art

I started with two easy coats of Girlstuff Sophia. Sophia is a very pretty beige shade with pink undertones. Looking at the bottle, I honestly wasn’t 100% sure it would be very flattering on my skin tone but I was pleasantly surprised. I LOVE it! I was also happy to find that I only needed 2 coats for full opacity and it dried quickly. The Zentangled designs are done with black acrylic paint and a teeny tiny brush. Aren’t they awesome!?!?  Here is a shot of Sophia on its own.

Girlstuff Sophia Swatch

I love that I’ve been finding some neutral colors that I like on my skin tone. By looking at my polish collection I can see that I really favor dark colors. I find it very refreshing to have a clean neutral tone on my nails from time to time. Neutrals also make  great base for nail art.

What is your favorite neutral shade to sport on your nails? And have you ever done any Zentangling? Please take a moment to share in the comments. I hope you have a zentastic day!

Hugs,
Rach

 

22 Aug

Nailaholics SM Cebu – Salon Review

Hi gals!

I’ve got a little something different for you today. I had the opportunity last week to visit Nail-a-holics at SM Cebu and try out one of their wide variety of services . This service was offered to me free of charge and, as always, I’m sharing my honest opinion with you today. I hope you find it helpful.

Nailaholics Exclusive room

 

I’ve always wanted to try a paraffin treatment, so the service I chose was their Atlantic Sea Moist Paraffin Pedicure. I made an appointment and they were ready for me as soon as I walked in (a few minutes early even!).  The ambiance of the salon is very nice and has a beachy feel to it. It was clean and the staff was friendly and willing to put up with my interrogation many questions. (Insert rare photo of me)


Rachael Getting Her Nails Done

 

Marie and Jenna were the lovely ladies who prettified my feet.  The Atlantic Sea Moist Paraffin Pedicure starts with filing away dead skin followed by a sea salt foot scrub. Next comes the pedicure which is done with sterilized tools. Finally, it was time for the paraffin which is a layer of paraffin wax applied over the whole foot, wrapped in plastic wrap and left for 15 minutes. After peeling off the wax, apply your polish of choice, quick dry, and you are done! I picked Ruby Wing Festival. I left with my feet feeling soft and my nails very sparkly!

Ruby Wing Festival

 

While I wasn’t “wowed” with their selection of local polishes, they do have a nice selection of imported polishes to choose from (which they charge a bit extra to use).  They also have a selection of gel polishes. If you have been wanting to try out gel polish, then this is the perfect time to do so. They are offering 20% off their gel polish services until the end of August. Gel polish is best removed at a salon by a professional so, after your gel mani/pedi, Nail-a-holics offers free gel polish removal for when you are ready for a change.

 

Nailaholics Imported Polishes

 

Would I recommend this salon to you? Yes! In addition to the fact that they are very strict about hygiene, I found their staff very knowledgeable about their services and proper manicure procedure. They offer other services like waxing, back massage, and basic nail art. You can even book a private spa party! I was told that every member on their staff is trained to do all of the services their salon offers. Impressive! I also like that they accept walk-in customers, but for those of us who might be pressed for time, they also accept appointments.

View of inside main salon area

 

Thanks again to Nail-a-holics SM Cebu for the pampering. I truly enjoyed myself and was very impressed with your salon!

For my followers in the Philippines, Nail-a-holics has branches all over the place. You can follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to keep up with their latest promos and sales.

I hope you found this helpful review helpful. I know I haven’t been posting much lately but we are getting into a groove now for the new school year and I hope to be able to share more fun nails in the coming months. I hope you had a great week and that your weekend rocks! Make someone smile today!

Hugs,
Rach

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