Beautopia Nails

20% Off plus Free Shipping at Barielle Today Only!

beautopia — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 14:51:41 EDT

Barielle is offering 20% off plus free shipping on their site today only! Don't forget to check out their pretty new Fall colors!

Two More Leopard Manicures - One's a French!

beautopia — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 22:29:24 EDT

It's official, I'm obsessed with leopard. It shouldn't be news to you... I am also in love with Migi Nail Art Pens. I received a sample of the black and white pen, and will review it soon, but I've been using the hell out of it. I plan to purchase a couple sets soon. Anyway, they happen to make doing leopard print really fast and easy so I did a couple more leopard designs this past week.

The first one is a base of Barielle Cowl of the Wild and then dots of OPI Who the Shrek Are You? I loved this combo so much. The neutral creamy brown really popped the citron color.

The second one is a french tip of China Glaze Classic Camel, then dots with China Glaze Goin' My Way (These are both from Vintage Vixens)

Both designs are pretty simple and standard, especially with the Migi pen. Not much copy this time guys because I'm so incredibly busy getting ready for the wedding on Sunday. I have a few posts saved and though it's only a couple random swatches and one how-to video I hope it doesn't bore you till I get back in town next week. I probably won't be available to answer comments or emails for the next few days, but I promise I'll respond to everyone as soon as I get back :D Thanks for reading, guys!

Click for more photos...

Barielle Style in Argyle Collection for Fall 2010

beautopia — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:37:06 EDT

Barielle Style in Argyle - $8 each at Barielle.com

Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year. I know it's a lot of people's favorite season, but the first sniff of that crisp air and my sense of well-being and mood shoot through the roof. I like to take joyrides with the windows down a lot in the Fall, to look at the rolling hills bursting with the colors of changing leaves, feel the bite of the air; everything is right with the world when Autumn is on the way. One of my favorite things about Fall is the clothes. I love warm colors, cozy fabrics, and the excuse to wear dark lipstick! This sweater-themed collection from Barielle pretty much screams Fall and I'm really excited about it. There are a couple shades that might leave you scratching your head, but that's sort of the beauty of it. If you'd like to see swatches and read my review of them, keep reading!

Click to see more Barielle Style in Argyle

Nubar Pastel Fever Collection Comparisons

beautopia — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 13:00:00 EDT

A couple days ago I posted swatches of the Nubar Pastel Fever collection with the promise to do some comparisons... Well here they are. I had a difficult time finding polishes in my stash that are similar to Green Tea and Pink Cream, but otherwise there are pretty close polishes for each of them, though none had dupes (in my collection anyway). So If you'd like to see the comparisons, keep on reading!

Click to view the comparisons!

Comparison Photos - Light Greyed Taupes Featuring Petites Color Fever, Barielle, Color Club, and Sally Hansen

beautopia — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:00:28 EDT

Index to Pinkie (top to bottom): Sally Hansen Wet Cement, Petites Color Fever VIntage Gray, Color Club High Society, Barielle Belly Dance

I wanted to see which polishes were closest to the new Petites Color Fever in Vintage Gray that I got the other day. So I pulled out the closest polishes in my stash, and swatched them together. Hope this helps someone out!

Sally Hansen Wet Cement: This obviously isn't taupe, but I thought it might be similar to Vintage Gray since it's got that white-based grey thing going on. It's on the neutral side when worn alone, but here among taupes it's cool as a cucumber.

Petites Color Fever Vintage Gray: I think this is my favorite of the bunch. It's both grey and taupe, and it's got a very creamy base that makes it delicate and ladylike. I don't like the bottle or the price, but alas...

Color Club High Society: This was my favorite lighter taupe till Vintage Gray, and it still holds a special place in my heart because it's beautiful, applies well, and is cheap and long-wearing. As you can see, it's very similar to Vintage Gray, but darkened slightly. Otherwise the tone and the grey-to-brown ratio is much the same.

Barielle Belly Dance: This is the darkest and warmest of the bunch, and it's got shimmer! It's very pretty, I'll give it that, but the lack of grey makes it appear almost wishy-washy against my skin when compared with the others because it doesn't give as much of a flattering contrast, instead just blending into my skin a bit.

Shades by Barielle - High Steppin' Collection for Summer Photos and Review

beautopia — Sat, 15 May 2010 07:53:37 EDT

Shades by Barielle - High Steppin' Collection polishes - $8 each at Barielle.com

My introduction to Shades by Barielle is fairly recent, but I like what I've tried so far. I'm a longtime fan of the various treatments, but the colored polishes are starting to become favorites as well. This collection for Summer; High Steppin', is full of polishes that range widely in color and texture, and there's something for everyone. If you'd like to take a closer look at each of the shades, keep on reading...

Click to see the swatches!

Peach and Coral Graphic Daisies Konad Manicure

beautopia — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:00:01 EST

For this Springy manicure I used a base of Barielle Blossom, which is the perfect mix of peach and pink. Then I used Konad plate m74 and China Glaze High Hopes to put this happy graphic floral design on it. The two colors are just a few shades apart making it quite a subtle effect. I loved the look of this one. High Hopes is a bright mango shade that looks amazing on it's own as well. If you're new to Konad, here's a video tutorial on how to use it. I buy my Konad supplies from wowsocool.com, which I definitely recommend as the shipping is shipping is fast and cheap (or free for orders over $20) and the service is great.

Click for another photo

Peach Nail Polish Comparisons

beautopia — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 15:00:10 EST

Here are four different peaches for you, they're all vastly different but are all four the best peach I've seen from their respective brands. I love all four, some more than others. Hopefully this helps someone out.

Index to pinkie: China Glaze Peachy Keen, Essie Van D'Go, Barielle Blossom, OPI Back to the Beach Peach

China Glaze Peachy Keen - This is the creamiest pastel of the bunch. It's also the most opaque and has the most orange of all four.
Essie Van D'Go - This one's a lot lighter and a lot pinker when you put it up against the others.
Barielle Blossom - I love the little bit of jelly in this finish, it applies the easiest after the ChG and the color is the perfect mix of orange and pink.
OPI Back to the Beach Peach - This was my favorite peach until the other three came out recently. Now I'm looking, it doesn't really seem peach at all, does it?

Shades by Barielle - Blossom

beautopia — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST

Shades by Barielle - Blossom - $8 at barielle.com

Here's another creme finish Barielle! Love these. Blossom is from the new Wildflower collection, and it's a vibrant pinky peach! I compared this to China Glaze Peachy Keen (which is much more orange) and Essie Van D'Go (which is a tiny bit more orange and slightly washed out next to Blossom). I'll do a comparison post on these polishes along with a couple others I haven't mentioned next week so watch for that. As far as Blossom is concerned, this is the most vibrant peach I've tried that doesn't cross the line into coral territory (think Lippmann Daytripper). I love the pop it gives against my skin and I can only imagine how amazing it would look on olive skin. I truly love this shade. The other creme finish polish I'm reviewing is U-Concrete-Me whose application by comparison is flawless and like butter, applies a bit better than Blossom. This pastel shade applies better than, say, Essie pastels, even OPI, but not quite as flawlessly as China Glaze. I thought that perhaps I would be bored by this shade but it turns out to be quite amazing. Check out the B2G1Free sale at barielle.com right now, guys, I'm super impressed with the polishes I'm trying from them, and I highly and wholeheartedly recommend them.

Disclosures: The product samples reviewed in this post were received by PR for review consideration. Everything I review is put through the same types of testing, and is reviewed fairly, no matter how I come by the products. I don't "sell" products to my readers or viewers, I just want to help you make informed decisions when you research your beauty choices, and share my views on products I like and dislike with you. See the Disclosures page at the top of the page for more.

Shades by Barielle - Slate of Affairs

beautopia — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST

Shades by Barielle Slate of Affairs - $8 at barielle.com

Another gorgeous shade from the All Lacquered Up collaboration, Slate of Affairs is a medium denim blue with a sky blue sheen. The formula is the sheerest of the five polishes I'm reviewing, but it gives it a lot of depth, in my opinion. I used three coats here, and topped it off with Seche Vite though the finish was quite glossy alone. It applied beautifully, I'm loving the way these go on the nail. The bottle is no-frills and utilitarian, but minimalistic and lovely. Barielle has a B2G1Free deal going now, so check it out!