Shimmer Polish: Katherine, Rochelle and Mary – swatches and review

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Shimmer-Polish-1Press Sample

One of the problems that comes with being a nail polish nerd is finding colors that you love, but that can also lean more grown-up. Don’t get me wrong, I would still rock a neon purple jelly with black bar glitter and silver sparkles, but sometimes you need something that is a little more office appropriate.

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Our latest indie favorite has just such colors for your dilemma; chock full of microglitter with nary a creme or jelly in sight, the Shimmer Polish line is heavy on the shimmery and shiny. However, shiny does not always have to mean adolescent, the following polishes could work with your LBD or your power suit.

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First up, Katherine ($12) may not be officially named after the elegant Katharine Hepburn, but this is a color I could easily see her wearing. A bronze glitter, Katherine sparkles with warmth. Ms. Katherine wears well and is not at all chunky; I was able to just wear a topcoat to smooth out to a mirror shine.

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Rochelle ($12), a berry base with pink and gold glitter, is a lovely sister to Katherine. This beauty applied smoothly and was barely bumpy, despite being so full of glitter that I only needed two coats! I once had a necklace that was rose gold and Rochelle reminds me of it—feminine, shiny and gorgeous.

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Described as a “red mixture with black and silver glitter”, Mary ($12) is a stunner, and the loudest of my “subtle” picks. Despite the red description, my two coats came across as a bright, almost neon, pink! More coats would deepen the color, but I really love the fun and flirty hue, with the black and silver to temper it and keep the polish from being too wild.

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If Mary is still too bright for you, it would look great as a top coat over a complementary shade that tones down the red/pink base. The silver glitter appears to be holographic, so occasionally Mary will flash a hint of purple or blue, making this color even more multi-dimensional and despite the bigger glitter, I only used a top coat to smooth it out.

Shimmer-Polish-Rochelle-3Wearing Rochelle and checking my To Do List!

I will admit, maybe my idea of grown-up or subtle is a little more flexible than most. But hey, you’re wearing glitter, so you’re not truly looking for Mom nails. Plus, you’re a wht reader – you gotta bend the rules a little bit, you wild woman you. (Just don’t let HR catch you.)

I have a ton more Shimmer Polish to show you in the coming months, and these three are just a glimpse of what’s to come. I’m a huge fan, and cannot wait to show our readers more glitterbombs and pure sparkle!

we heartsters – What is your favorite office manicure? And would you rock a glitter mani at your 9 to 5?

photos: Alyssa for we heart this

Alyssa is kinda geeky, kinda girly and all the way in love with her cowboy husband who can say words like, “ornery” with a straight face. She live in Texas and is working on her Masters, being a good cook and the art of looking cute in the morning AND being on time for work. Visit her blog Kind of a Mess.

Author

  • lyssachelle

    Alyssa is kinda geeky, kinda girly and all the way in love with her cowboy husband who can say words like, “ornery” with a straight face. She live in Texas and is working on her Masters, being a good cook and the art of looking cute in the morning AND being on time for work. skin tone: NC42 skin type: oily to normal favorite beauty product: nail polish and mascara

14 Comments

  1. I love your To Do List, @lyssachelle , and I really love your take on these colors. I’ve been a little obsessed with rose gold lately, so Rochelle is especially interesting. Yes, I would rock a glitter mani at work any day, especially “grown up” glitter shades like these! Can’t wait to see what else you have in store for us!

    1. Thanks, @turboterp! As much as I love the colors, I love the formula just as much; SO glittery, but not rough or chunky at all! Plus, they are double duty—top coat or as a standalone polish!

  2. That Rochelle polish is tempting me. It’s so magically sparkly!

    I have a confession: While I love the look of a glitter top coat, I hate how tedious it is to remove. Plus, only acetone polish remover really takes it off and that is hell on my nails. Does anybody have any better tips for getting glitter polishes off?

    1. YES!!! The foil method!! You take a bit of cotton, not even a full ball but enough to cover your nail, wet it with remover (something with acetone, but it doesn’t have to be straight acetone) and then lay it on your fingernail and cover it with enough foil to cover your fingertip. Let it set for a minute or two, and the polish should slide right off, glitter and all! I usually slather my cuticles in lotion or cuticle oil, just to protect them while the remover sits. Sometimes if I take it off too soon, or don’t get it wet enough, I might have to repeat, but usually I can get by with one cotton ball per hand.

      Also, Shimmer polish seems to remove a lot easier than other glitters I’ve used, probably because it’s so teeny tiny. But the foil method will even keep you from getting glitter all over your finger, which is another pet peeve of mine.

      It will CHANGE. YOUR. LIFE.

    2. I’m such a weirdo, foil on my fingertips, sliding off with glitter, is like nails on a chalkboard to me! I really miss out on this with my weird “feels.”

    3. BUT, I have meaning for ever to try putting vaseline on my cuticles before I remove polish, so thanks for the reminder on that!

    4. @stef – I don’t mean to giggle at your neuroses, but this made me laugh! I would have never thought that it might be irritating to have foil on your fingers…
      Then again, just the thought of those “sugar” and “pixie dust” textured polishes make me want to throw something, so I’m right next to you on the weirdo bus… :-)

  3. @Lyssachelle, these are festive and sexy! Thanks much for the “foil” method of polish removal.

  4. You had me at “Katharine!”

  5. Katherine is gorgeous! My favorite 9-5 polish tend to be glitter or shimmer based. Luckily I work with a fair amount of young women who appreciate flashy nails.

    1. My workplace is fairly conservative, but at this point I think my coworkers are a little sad when I’m wearing basic red polish! I’ve got them a bit trained to accept crazy nails. :-)

  6. Ooooh so pretty! My workplace is pretty cool, so I can get away with any kind of nail polish. I love glitter–ManGlaze in Hot Mess. It’s matte, and totally covers your nails in two quick drying coats. Sophisticated glitter ;)

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