KBShimmer Winter 2014 Collection Swatches & Review

Press Sample

It's here!  The release of the new Winter 2014 Collection from KBShimmer is today, Saturday, November 1st.  I've got 9 out of the 17 polishes from the collection to show you.  This post might be a long one, very picture heavy!  Keep reading after the jump to see all the swatches and get my thoughts on the new shades, and a few returning shades from past Winter collections.

I'm going to dive right into the textures to start.  These are the polishes I was probably the most anxious to get my hands on.  First up is one of my favorites of the collection, Too Cold To Hold.

Too Cold To Hold is a sapphire blue base packed full of holographic glitter in multiple sizes and colors.  The bulk of the glitter is a gorgeous blue matching the base, but you'll also find silver and green holographic glitter mixed in, plus some red micro glitter that I think was the perfect final touch to this combo.  

I used 3 thin coats for this one.  Application was fantastic, it has a great formula that is easy to work with.  I ended up wearing this shade for the entire week.  It lasted about 4 days before there was even a hint of a chip.  I had no staining from the blue base and even though it's full of glitter, removal was actually pretty quick and easy.

My second favorite of the collection is another texture, Turnip The Beet.  Christy describes Turnip The Beet as a "rich sangria colored base."  It's also packed full of glitter, this time in shades of red, magenta, and purple.  

Just like the other textures from KBShimmer, the formula was very easy to work with.  I had complete coverage in 2 coats but added a 3rd coat for a bit more texture.

Another new texture polish in this collection is a crazy gold polish called Dressed To Gild.  I don't think my pictures can do this one justice.  There's so much sparkle and, I hate to resort to the term bling, but yes, bling.  It's just complete bling on your nails.

Dressed To Gild is full holographic gold glitters with pops of holographic glitters in shades of lavender and lime.  I don't generally gravitate towards gold polishes, but the lavender and especially the lime glitters really draw me in to this one.  I applied 2 coats for my swatches of Dressed To Gild.

Okay, this last texture I have mixed feelings about.  When I first heard there was going to be a white texture polish in the new collection, I had an immediate idea in my head that it would be similar to previous textures from KBShimmer.  That there'd be some type of bling, sparkle, etc. mixed in.  Maybe not holographic glitter, since it's meant to be a white polish, not silver, but perhaps some iridescent glitters mixed in with matte white glitter.  Basically, take Sonnetarium Snowfall and make it a full coverage texture polish, and that's what was floating around in my brain.  So when I first swatched White Here, White Now, I was a little bummed to see it was completely matte.  But once I got over that initial reaction, I was actually pleasantly surprised to see what 2 coats actually looked like when fully dry.  

I personally felt that 2 coats was enough.  The white base gave full coverage in 2 coats and I found that I didn't mind the look of the matte glitter spaced out a bit.  I thought about a 3rd coat, but was worried that would make it too chunky looking.  I'm sure when you hear "white texture polish" that your mind jumps right to China Glaze There's Snow One Like You, or maybe Nails Inc Belgravia.  White Here, White Now is a million times better than those two.  

Legit.  

A million times better.  

A million and a half. 

I don't necessarily see myself wearing this as a full manicure, aside from these swatches, but I'd easily sport an accent nail or two with it.  And I think it gives you a bunch of options for using it in nail art designs for Christmas and just winter themes in general.  (I've still got my fingers crossed for a matte white/iridescent glitter combo texture polish one day though, lol.)

There's several glitter toppers in the Winter 2014 Collection.  One of them is a holographic snowflake glitter called Flake Dance.  I layered one coat over KBShimmer Stonewashed and topped it off with a thick coat of KBShimmer Clearly On Top quick dry top coat.

Flake Dance is a more winterized version of KBShimmer Ice Queen.  It's a clear base full of holographic silver hex glitters, holographic micro glitter, and some larger holographic silver snowflakes.  I got about half of the snowflakes out on the brush naturally and then decided to place or re-position a few others by hand. 

The snowflake glitters are a nice size.  Not unnecessarily oversized, but not too small where you can't tell what they are.  I do have a pretty drastic C-curve when it comes to the shape of my nails, so a few flakes had edges that sort of poked out.  But if you have a slightly flatter nail bed than I do, you should have no issues at all with the snowflakes.

Another new glitter topper for winter is a really cute Christmas tree inspired polish called Pine-ing For Yule.  This is the KBShimmer Toys For Tots Charity polish for 2014.  From November 1st through December 15th, for every bottle of Pine-ing For Yule sold at KBShimmer.com, $4 will be donated to Toys For Tots.  

Pine-ing For Yule is a clear base polish with micro glitter, some small holographic hexes, and holographic triangle "Christmas Trees" and red star tree toppers.  I layered one coat over Milani White On The Spot and finished it with 2 coats of KBShimmer Clearly On Top.  The bottle is full of triangles and stars and application of the glitter was super easy with normal brush strokes.  No extra work was needed to get the glitters spread out evenly.

Besides completely new polishes, Christy has re-released a few fan favorites from previous Winter collections.  One of those returning polishes is another Christmas Tree inspired polish called All Decked Out.  

All Decked Out is a deep forest green jelly polish filled with hex glitters in a rainbow of colors, along with some scattered gold star glitters.  I really love this one.  It's basically a Christmas tree in a bottle, and I love the shade of green used for the jelly base.  I used 2 coats, and the glitter placement is just the way the brush deposited it naturally on the nail with each brush stroke.  I topped it off with one coat of KBShimmer Clearly On Top top coat. 

One more returning shade is Sugar Plum Faerie.  Once again, it's the addition of some lime green glitter that just really draws me in to another KBShimmer polish.  Sugar Plum Faerie is a violet crelly base with holographic glitters in lime, purple, and berry.  I used 3 thin coats plus one coat of top coat for all the swatches.

I think the mix of glitter used is a perfect compliment to the violet base.  This shade would work well during any time of the year.

One last polish to show you is Holly Back Girl.  Holly Back Girl is not technically part of the Winter 2014 Collection, but it is being released tomorrow along with the Winter Collection.  And more importantly, even though it is available for purchase on its own, you can get Holly Back Girl for FREE with a $70 order, using the code HBGFREE.

This is 3 coats of Holly Back Girl topped with one coat of Clearly On Top.  This polish is so simple yet so festive and perfect for Christmas.  The formula was just incredible.  Application was a breeze and there's a ton of red and green glitter packed into the white crelly base.  I just adore this polish.

Whew!  I hope that wasn't too long of a post for you, but I just couldn't leave out any of those pics.  Besides the nail polishes, KBShimmer will also have a few other new goodies being released.  Christy already makes cuticle oil pens in Lemongrass and Pink Sugar, but starting today, there are 4 new scents of cuticle oil pens also available: Chai Tea, Peppermint, Raspberry Vanilla, and an Unscented version.  I was able to pick out two new scents to try and I chose Chai Tea and Raspberry Vanilla.  I was pleasantly surprised by the Chai Tea scent.  It has a hint of spice without being too overpowering.  And the Raspberry Vanilla scent is officially my new addiction!  I was super excited when I saw Raspberry Vanilla, as I love all things raspberry, and the scent was even better than expected.  The oils themselves are very moisturizing, and are quick absorbing, which is fantastic.  And I love that I can pop the pen in my purse without it taking up a lot of space.  The Cuticle Oil Pens retail for $6 each.

Also new today is a holiday themed sheet of nail vinyls, which retails for $5.

Each bottle of polish in the Winter 2014 Collection retails for $8.75 at KBShimmer.com.  And be sure to take advantage of these limited time promotions Christy will have running!

-Free Shipping For All Orders over $40 on KBShimmer.com No code needed. Runs from 11/01-12/31 

-Free With a $70+ Purchase, Holly Back Girl, a white Christmas crelly polish with red and green glitters. Use code HBGFREE to receive free polish and free shipping with $70+ purchase. Runs from 11/01-12/31 

-Free samples! While supplies last, we will be sending out a sample in each order. Samples may include scrubs, lotions, vinyl nail decals, soaps, etc. Orders will also include a branded emery board. 

-Free Snowman Glitter! The first 400 orders will receive a bag of 1000 snowmen glitters perfect for winter nail art.

KBShimmer products can be found at KBShimmer.com.

*Polish sent for honest review.  Review contains only my personal opinions.*