I'm wearing Gray for Diabetes Awareness...

October well known as Breast Cancer Awareness month and receives tremendous support and although I've been blessed enough not to have had any of my immediate family or friends impacted, I, also show my support. But November is Diabetes Awareness Month and this hits very close to home.

It is estimated that Diabetes affects 25.8 million people of all ages, that’s 8.3 % of the U.S. Population. It is the leading cause of kidney failure, new cases of blindness among adults, non-traumatic amputations, a major cause of heart disease and stroke. Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in the U.S. (U.S. Dept of HHS)

Glitter Galore: Barielle Bling-Purple Hearts & Starchild

Recently, I was given the opportunity to review some of the Barielle Nail Lacquers and Nail products.  I was excited because I have always thought of Barielle as a high-end, high quality brand. This may sound odd, but I still remember the sense of pride I felt when I purchased my first Barielle nail lacquer.

So being that I am currently going through a serious glitter craze, two of the polishes I selected were Barielle's Purple Hearts and Starchild. 

Purple Hearts

Barielle Purple Hearts is a gorgeous clear based glitter with purple, silver, & holo glitters in addition to larger purple hexagonals.  The glitters are densely packed so the application was easier than many glitters I have dealt with. There was not need to "place" the glitters.

Purple Hearts is great for layering. You are only limited by your creativity.  The first base I chose was the vibrant royal purple-China Glaze Creative Fantasy.  I love how the holo glitters pop with this manicure combination. 

Another color combination I decided to try was a lighter pale purple to show all the detail of the Barielle Purple Hearts; for that, I chose China Glaze Sweet Hook. With this lighter base, the micro glitters are more evident and the ease of application is understandable. You can see the even spread of the glitters.

Starchild

The next glitter I chose was Barielle Starchild. It's an absolutely gorgeous silver, densely packed, holographic glitter, with both micro and hexagonal glitters.  I have seen many other holo glitters, but this has an awesome holo effect.  

So far, I am loving the Barielle glitters. They spread evenly and don't require placing the glitters, like so many of the other glitters need. Starchild will complement any base color.  But one of the first colors I selected was China Glaze Grape Juice. This darker base, helped to bring out the various particles in Barielle Starchild. Whether I was using flash lighting or natural light, the holographic glitters popped!

The last for this post I decided to combine with Barielle Starchild is a silver base. I chose Nfu-Oh 61 (silver holographic). This combination was one of those I just couldn't stop staring at. I realize that it is just May 3rd, but I have already claimed this as a New Years Eve manicure. This very well may be my favorite silver holograpic glitter.  It will definitely need to do a comparison of those that I own.

Barielle is a brand that I have been aware of for many years, and I prior to this opportunity, I did own a couple shades. I look forward to wearing the other Barielle polishes now in my collection.  As I mentioned earlier, I still remember the first Barielle I purchased-Berry Blue, big surprise! I just wish they were more readily available. For me, products like nail polish are those that I like to see in person.  What are some of your favorite Barielle Nail Lacquers and/or Nail Products?

Grace, Peace, & Blessings.

* This product was sent to me for review consideration by either the manufacturer or the PR firm representing the manufacturer. These however are my honest opinions. I am not employed by nor was I paid by this company.

Barielle Nail Mail!!!

NOTD: Blue plus some Shimmer & Sparkle...

I was recently having a manicure block. I just could not decide on the color or colors for my next manicure. So I went to one of the make-up Facebook groups to which I belong for suggestions.  I got some really good suggestions so I should be good for the next couple of manicures. So for this NOTD I went with the first color combination idea received.  Torreys suggested "Navy Blue with Silver Accents and Shimmer".  Blue being my favorite manicure color, this was easily doable. 

So this NOTD consists of China Glaze Blue Year's Eve (Let It Snow Collection of 2011), OPI DS Coronation (Designer Series 2008), and OPI Servin' Up Sparkle (OPI/Serena Williams Glam Slam! England-Summer, 2011).  These are each older polishes but if you can still find them, they are worthy to be in your collection. 

The China Glaze Blue Year's Eve is a bright cobalt blue glass flecky with a blue/turquoise/purple duochrome.  The application was smooth and to achieve the pictured opacity level required 2 coats. This collection as a whole was good. I own several.  While it is no longer available in stores, it can still be found in many of the online retail websites. 

The Silver Shimmer accent used as mentioned was first, OPI DS Coronation which is a silver scattered holographic polish. This is one from the beloved Designer Series collection.  I really wish OPI would release more in this family. The recent DS polishes are glitter rather than holographic.

Layered over DS Coronation, I selected OPI Servin' Up Sparkle. Servin' Up Sparkle is a clear-based holographic glitter, that has multi-sized and multi-shaped holo & silver glitters. Layering these two polishes, which alone have holographic characteristics, the results is a gorgeous sparkly, shimmery, holographic accent nail.

How do you decide on a manicure when you are suffering from manicure block?

Grace, Peace, & Blessings.

* FTC: These products were bought with my own monies. These are my honest opinions. I am not employed by nor was I paid by and of these companies. This is not a sponsored post.