Friday 31 May 2013

Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol Swatch (Over OPI Black Onyx, Rainbow Honey Be Mine)

As FAB Summer Set week comes to a close, Rainbow Honey is teasing its fans over at their Facebook page with previews of their new set called "The Summer of 199X". If you're a fan, you don't want to be missing out on this. But anyway, I'm still on with the FAB Summer Set - last one! I saved this sparkle monster for last to end the week.

Here's Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol. From the press release, it's described as "a shimmery lacquer full of iridescent and holographic glitters ready to add some sun and sparkle to your manicure". I would say that's accurate but to be specific, Costa Del Sol is comprised of a saturated mix of gold shimmer, with holographic gold hex and bar glitter. I know, I know - BAR GLITTER RIGHT? Well, this one fights back against that nasty reputation that bar glitter has.

Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol Macro

The formula for this is great - just one coat is needed for that extra sparkle and there's no problems with glitter placement on the natural stroke, no sticky suspension base. A perfect glitter topper (and with bar glitter, who would have thought huh?). Here's Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol over two coats of OPI Black Onyx with no top coat:

Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol Swatch (Over OPI Black Onyx)

Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol Swatch (Over OPI Black Onyx)

Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol Swatch (Over OPI Black Onyx)

And if you've been following along this week - you'll be aware of my latest OPI Matte Top Coat obsession. Obviously I had to see what this looks like with a matte finish!:

Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol Swatch (Over OPI Black Onyx with OPI Matte Top Coat)

Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol Swatch (Over OPI Black Onyx with OPI Matte Top Coat)

Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol Swatch (Over OPI Black Onyx with OPI Matte Top Coat)

I don't know guys, I think this glitter is super gorgeous. I love it over a black for a real stark contrast. On the flip side, how does Costa Del Sol fair against a lighter colour? I chose Rainbow Honey Be Mine from the Sweet Talk collection, which is what I was reminded of with Schrammi and Tenda due to the similarities with tone and gold shimmer. Here's one coat of Costa Del Sol over two coats of Be Mine:

Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol Swatch (Over Rainbow Honey Be Mine)

Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol Swatch (Over Rainbow Honey Be Mine)

Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol Swatch (Over Rainbow Honey Be Mine)

And again with the OPI Matte Top Coat... I seriously can't get enough of this top coat. I am going to take a break from it next week because I know I'll just gush again... But seriously, this is GORGEOUS:

Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol Swatch (Over Rainbow Honey Be Mine  with OPI Matte Top Coat)

Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol Swatch (Over Rainbow Honey Be Mine  with OPI Matte Top Coat)

Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol Swatch (Over Rainbow Honey Be Mine  with OPI Matte Top Coat)

And just to get as much coverage on Costa Del Sol as I can. Here it is again over Schrammi and Tenda:

Rainbow Honey Schrammi Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol)

Rainbow Honey Schrammi Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol)

Rainbow Honey Schrammi Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol)

Rainbow Honey Schrammi Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol)

Rainbow Honey Schrammi Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol)

Rainbow Honey Schrammi Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol)

Rainbow Honey Tenda Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol)

Rainbow Honey Tenda Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol)

Rainbow Honey Tenda Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol)

Rainbow Honey Tenda Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol and OPI Matte Top Coat)

Rainbow Honey Tenda Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol and OPI Matte Top Coat)

Rainbow Honey Tenda Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol and OPI Matte Top Coat)

I have to be honest and say that I thought I owned something similar to this. (In fact, my avatar nails are sporting a glitter topper very similar to this!) But this is a one coat, no fuss sparkle - and I love that extra gold shimmer. Sometimes it just makes a world of difference with the extra bang! I wish you could purchase just the glitter topper alone, but I think it just makes the set that much worth it.

From the press release:

The FAB Summer Set is now available through fab.com for a limited time only. Each set contains 3 full size 15ml nail lacquers designed exclusively for FAB by Rainbow Honey. $25. While supplies last. For more information visit http://fab.com/designer/rainbow-honey/

I hope all of you have something fun or relaxing planned for your weekend! I am going to try and walk in my new Jeffery Campbell Litas, hahaha. I haven't worn heels in aaaaages! What do you think of BAR GLITTER? Is this one tolerable enough or are you still on the bar glitter hate train?

Full disclosure: This sample was provided for an unbiased review.

Thursday 30 May 2013

Rainbow Honey Tenda Swatch and Review (Bonus: Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol, Rainbow Honey My Love)

A bit of a late post here due to an appointment in the afternoon but alas, the show must go on with this week's Rainbow Honey FAB Summer Set. I swear we're almost done here and next week we'll be back on track with the regular fluff and swatching my personal nail polish collection, which doesn't seem to end ever! Ready? Well, here we go -

Today I've got Rainbow Honey Tenda from the FAB Summer Set. From the press release, Tenda is described as a bright kelly green lacquer with golden shimmer. On par with the course - that's exactly how I would describe Tenda. Spoiler alert: it's gorgeous.

Rainbow Honey Tenda Macro

Formula wise, Rainbow Honey Tenda hits the mark. Just as I described with Schrammi that these cremes seem to be created in the same vein as Be Mine from the Sweet Talk collection, complete with gold shimmer - I think the formula is vastly improved with better coverage. No need for any patching. No fuss and very quick drying. My swatch is two easy coats with no top coat:

Rainbow Honey Tenda Swatch

Rainbow Honey Tenda Swatch

Rainbow Honey Tenda Swatch

Here's Rainbow Honey Tenda with the feature glitter topper from the FAB Summer Set - Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol. I've always been a sucker for green and gold combinations so naturally, I loved this. I only needed one coat of Costa Del Sol to get this level of effect:

Rainbow Honey Tenda Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol)

Rainbow Honey Tenda Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol)

Rainbow Honey Tenda Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol)

And because I was SO floored by how OPI Matte Top Coat looked over my swatches with Schrammi, I just had to go for it again with Tenda and Costa Del Sol. OPI Matte Top Coat just KILLS IT! I am loving the gold shimmer turning into really beautiful gold flecks:

Rainbow Honey Tenda Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol and OPI Matte Top Coat)

Rainbow Honey Tenda Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol and OPI Matte Top Coat)

Rainbow Honey Tenda Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol and OPI Matte Top Coat)

Now this might seem... Pretty unorthodox, but I wanted to see what else I could put over Rainbow Honey Tenda. I could have used Yoshimi but I didn't want to do the same thing twice, and I just know that it would look good. That's just a given granted the bold nature of both polishes... So I decided to take a risk here... What would Rainbow Honey My Love look like over Rainbow Honey Tenda? Well, it looked awkward but you know what it reminded me of? Sailor Jupiter. And I love Sailor Jupiter so I am just going to roll with it. Here's one coat of Rainbow Honey My Love over two coats of Rainbow Honey Tenda:

Rainbow Honey Tenda Swatch (With Rainbow Honey My Love)

Rainbow Honey Tenda Swatch (With Rainbow Honey My Love)

I definitely like this combination matted with OPI Matte Top Coat - I feel like it's a little confusing on its own but you definitely get the shimmer and pink hearts to stand out when matted:

Rainbow Honey Tenda Swatch (With Rainbow Honey My Love and OPI Matte Top Coat)

Rainbow Honey Tenda Swatch (With Rainbow Honey My Love and OPI Matte Top Coat)

Rainbow Honey Tenda Swatch (With Rainbow Honey My Love and OPI Matte Top Coat)

So again, it's a weird awkward combination but due to my love for Sailor Jupiter - I am just going to roll with it. Gotta hand it to my sailor scouts!!! Maybe I'll have to do a weird one with Dearly Beloved for Sailor Mars to match my tattoo? Well soon enough maybe!

That's Rainbow Honey Tenda for you and again from the press release:

The FAB Summer Set is now available through fab.com for a limited time only. Each set contains 3 full size 15ml nail lacquers designed exclusively for FAB by Rainbow Honey. $25. While supplies last. For more information visit http://fab.com/designer/rainbow-honey/

How do you like Tenda? Is Sailor Jupiter a good enough excuse for that weird awkward combination up there? (I hope so!) Jeeez, any of you grow up with Sailor Moon? Tomorrow I've got one last polish from the FAB Summer Set!

Full disclosure: This sample was provided for an unbiased review.

Wednesday 29 May 2013

Rainbow Honey Schrammi Swatch and Review (Bonus: Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol, Rainbow Honey Yoshimi)

And Rainbow Honey FAB Summer Set week is still going! Sick of these yet? I hope not. I'm Canadian so these polishes took a lifetime getting to me on the west coast (I believe Rainbow Honey is based on the American east coast), so while everyone has their swatches up and posted, I'll try and kick it up a notch. We'll see! Hope you like what I've done!

Today I've got Rainbow Honey Schrammi on deck. Taken from the press release, Schrammi is described as a deep coral lacquer with golden shimmer.

Rainbow Honey Schrammi Macro

Formula-wise, I found Schrammi really workable. I felt like these FAB Summer Set cremes were created in the same vein as Be Mine from the Sweet Talk collection - a nice vibrant creme base with subtle gold shimmer - However, I felt like the summer set formula was a vast improvement. Rainbow Honey Schrammi had full coverage after 2 coats, no need for patch work. I'm really happy with the formula! My swatch is two coats, with no top coat:

Rainbow Honey Schrammi Swatch

Rainbow Honey Schrammi Swatch

Rainbow Honey Schrammi Swatch

Here's Rainbow Honey Schrammi, topped with Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol - the glitter topper from the FAB Summer Set. It definitely adds some summer flare! Reminds me of a hot sunset on a beach. I used one coat of Costa Del Sol:

Rainbow Honey Schrammi Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol)

Rainbow Honey Schrammi Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol)

Rainbow Honey Schrammi Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol)

And I can't believe this happened but swatching and reviewing this set prompted me to try out (and I mean REALLY try out) OPI Matte Top Coat. Holy crap, I don't know what happened but I just fell in love. This is now my favourite matte top coat. So, I apologize in advance for OPI being such a glory hog in this post. I just love OPI Matte Top Coat over Rainbow Honey, each piece of shimmer, every hex glitter just stands out on its own. A real head turner for me! Here's a matted Rainbow Honey Schrammi with Costa Del Sol:

Rainbow Honey Schrammi Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol)

Rainbow Honey Schrammi Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol)

Rainbow Honey Schrammi Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Costa Del Sol)

Well, I won't stop here. I'm going to keep going. We've seen Rainbow Honey Schrammi and Costa Del Sol a million times already on the Interwebs... But how does Rainbow Honey Schrammi do as a base colour? Spoiler alert: REALLY well! Here's Rainbow Honey Yoshimi from the Robot Collection. I just love how bold each colour is - the solid black and white squares are super stand out from the bold coral base creme. Splendid. I am pleased! One coat of Yoshimi, again over two coats of Schrammi:

Rainbow Honey Schrammi Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Yoshimi)

Rainbow Honey Schrammi Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Yoshimi)

Rainbow Honey Schrammi Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Yoshimi)

And because you know I won't stop there, I went one step further - again, with OPI Matte Top Coat:

Rainbow Honey Schrammi Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Yoshimi)

Rainbow Honey Schrammi Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Yoshimi)

Rainbow Honey Schrammi Swatch (With Rainbow Honey Yoshimi)

So as you can see, there's so many possibilities with these polishes - plain or with a glitter topper, glitter with matte, glitter and gloss - I hope that if you pick up this polish, you'll find a decent combination for yourself! Again from the press release:

The FAB Summer Set is now available through fab.com for a limited time only. Each set contains 3 full size 15ml nail lacquers designed exclusively for FAB by Rainbow Honey. $25. While supplies last. For more information visit http://fab.com/designer/rainbow-honey/

What do you think of Rainbow Honey's improving formulas? I am finding they are just getting better and better with each release. Do you prefer your glitters with a gloss touch or matte finish? What's your favourite matte top coat? OPI really won me over here. Also: How do you feel about this amount of coverage on a single polish? Too much? Less photos? MOAR photos? I'm always trying to improve as I develop Claw of Cthulhu so let me know!

Full disclosure: This sample was provided for an unbiased review.