Sugar Skull Inspired

This manicure draws inspiration from the Mexican holiday el Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead). This early November celebration somehow makes death and dying a beautiful celebration full of bright colors and flowers. Sugar skulls personify these festivities to me. Here is my festive, colorful rendition...

This manicure was fun and very random. It is one of those things that you probably cannot recreate because you just made it up as you went. The whimsy of this is that no two will be the same (my two hands looked different). While this looks complex, it was rather simple in its execution.

What do you think about this bright, festive manicure?

Barielle Brilliant Colors

Press Samples

This "smart" collection is full of vibrant creme finish polishes. It is a collection that has a bunch of fun summer staples within it. Many of the colors may seem familiar as they are quite popular this year:)

WARNING: short nails ahead (these were taken right after moving & chopping off my tips). Also no swatches are shown with topcoat.

High Marks Purple is a "rich, creamy, neon purple." This bright, plummy purple applied like a dream in 1 even coat. I applied an extra coat for taking pictures. I could tell from the start that this would be a favorite.

Smarty Pants Pink has an inaccurate descriptor on the Barielle website. Despite the website using the same descriptor as High Marks Purple, this is a bright, cool, Barbie pink. The formula was a bit thick but it all evened out in two easy coats.

Straight A Coral is called a green on the website, which I think was a result of copy/paste efforts. This polish is a bright, hot pink/red. This was almost a one coater, but it is two for photographing. It applied smooth and creamy. Many have compared this to Fifth Avenue Boutique, declaring them dupes. I gave Fifth Avenue Boutique to a friend who raved about it every time I'd wear it, or I'd do a comparison post. Maybe I'll see if I can borrow it for you:)

Head of the Class Green is described as "rich, creamy, neon green." This bright, sea green was also almost a one coater. Two coats were used for this thick polish. This polish had a rather stiff brush, which made the first coat difficult to apply. ALSO this polish stains:-\

Magna Cum Laude Turquoise is called a "creamy, light, neon turquoise." Another thick polish with a stiff brush. It took 2 coats to even out this bright blue kissed turquoise. This polish also stained, but barely. It stained less than Head of the Class Green.

The Verdict:

The names are cute & perfect! Excellent timing for graduation season. Aside from two colors that stained, the others were creamy and smooth to apply. There were a few stiff brushes in the mix which made application more difficult. Another frustration was the laziness in description of these on the website. They all basically were copy/pasted with the last word changed. Additionally, it would have been less obvious if a red/coral wasn't described as a green. That aside, the colors are fun and vibrant, perfect for summer! My favorites are High Marks Purple and Head of the Class Green and Magna Cum Laude Turquoise (despite the horrid staining). 

This collection can be found at the Barielle website and retails for $25.00.  You can also purchase the polishes individually for $8.00.