[Press Samples/Commissioned, affiliate links used]
Hey friends! As someone who in general doesn’t love love spring collections, this was a collection that I was very excited about. Look at the rainbow in that collage and try not to feel excited haha.
For Spring 2023 KBShimmer is giving us ALL of the rainbow vibes with Plant One On Me. This collection is inspired by all of the beautiful flowers/plants that pop up come spring. It will be available on the KBShimmer website as well as on their stockist pages starting on March 15th.
If you would like to snag this collection at a discount, I would recommend checking out Beyond Polish. Use my affiliate code NicoleLovesNails to save an extra 10%.
Live Swatch Video
My live swatch video for this release will go live Saturday March 11th at 2PM Eastern time. The video is currently live for members of my YouTube channel. If you would like to join the channel memberships to access videos early as well as other perks, click here
KBShimmer is a US based indie brand. Their polishes are in 15ml bottles, 5 free, vegan and cruelty free.
Before & Aster
Description: a deep cornflower blue-leaning periwinkle with pink, copper, green, gold color shifting shimmer and loaded with holo glow flakes
Before & Aster had a fantastic formula. It started off fairly sheer but it built up wonderfully. It is no secret that I always love a strong pinky color shifty shimmer and this made me very happy.
The shimmer effect was as described and looked so pretty in the blue base. As per usual, the flakies were so sparkly and in-your-face- holographic.
My photos show Before & Aster in 2 coats plus glossy top coat. Longer nails will likely need a third coat to cover up VNL. Removal won’t be overly difficult but it will be messy. No issues with staining.
Change Of Plants
Description: A shimmery base shows off hues of lemon yellow, gold, lime, and leaf green. A hint of micro holographic glitter adds a dew-like twinkle like freshly watered plants catching the sunlight
Change Of Plants had an amazing formula. It starts off a little sheer but builds up really nicely. The shimmer in here is STRONG. There are some very slight brush strokes if you look for them but they aren’t super noticeable. I was seeing a yellow, green to blue color shift.
The holographic here is very subtle. I was able to see the twinkles in both my indoor lighting and regular room lighting but it is not an in your face level of holo. The glitters are really small so you won’t get any texture from them.
My photos show Change Of Plants in 3 coats plus glossy top coat.This will be a 2-3 coater depending on personal preference. The third coat adds a bit more depth to the color.
Daffodil With It
Description: a vibrant yellow linear holographic nail polish
Daffodil With It had a great formula. It felt on the thicker side but the kind of thickness that adds to opacity but not a difficult application.
As with all of this brand’s linear holos, the holographic flame is STRONG. In most light sources around my home, I was able to see some holo but of course, the most in your face was out in direct sunlight.
I would say the shade of yellow leans to the chartreuse-y side depending on the lighting. Next to a true yellow, you can see more of the greenish tones. With the exception of highlighter neon yellow, I tend to prefer true yellow shades but I did love this color anyway.
My photos show Daffodil With It in 2 coats plus glossy top coat. Coverage was surprisingly good but not quite a one coater. Since this isn’t a glitter, removal will be very easy. I didn’t experience any staining upon removal.
For comparisons, I couldn’t find another yellow linear holo by this brand. I ended up pulling out Holo Taco‘s Lemon Sucker and KBShimmer’s Perfectly Suited.
Lilac It Or Not
Description: A cool blue base offers up a bed for holo glow flakes to twinkle and shine. Subtle lighting or shade, along with different viewing angles, bring out lavender and purple hues, while brighter lighting amps up an icy blue shimmer and those holo sparkles
Lilac It Or Not had a fantastic formula. The base didn’t feel overly thick or thin and I didn’t have any application issues.
As you can tell by how this looks in natural lighting vs my studio light, this is going to be one of those polishes that will look DRASTICALLY different depending on your light source. I found in more natural lighting, the base color looked icier.
I was so confused when I went back to look over my footage and saw how different this polish looked in natural light.
My photos show Lilac It Or Not in 2 coats plus glossy top coat. This is another one that longer nails will likely need a third coat to cover up VNL.
Simply Iris-istible
Description: a muted royal purple hue loaded with glowing holo flakes and a near rainbow of color shifts
Simply Iris-istible had a fantastic formula. As a rainbow lover, this polish made me very happy. You get a strong red, gold, green, blue with a hint of purple at extreme angles.
The holo flakies as always were so holographic both in natural light as well as indoors. They do not dry textured.
My photos show Simply Iris-istible in 2 coats plus glossy top coat. Longer nails will likely need a third coat. I fully expected this to be a stainer but I didn’t experience any staining with it.
For comparisons I pulled out some of KBShimmers’ other purple shimmers with holographic, L-R I did Simply Iris-istible, Awfully Frond Of You, Northern Exposure and Paired Up. The most similar in formulation was Paired Up but the base color and shimmer were both different.
So Impatiens
Description: a vibrant and punchy pink shade loaded with shifty orange, red and gold shimmer and holo glow flakes
So Impatiens had a fantastic formula. Oh my gosh, the base color paired with this color shifty shimmer?? PERFECTION!!
You get a strong orangey/yellow/golden glow and the holo flakies are just stunning. The shimmer doesn’t show any brush strokes and the holo is so strong.
My photos show So Impatiens in 2 coats plus glossy top coat. Longer nails will likely want to go in for 3 coats to cover up VNL. Nothing will be difficult to remove and no problems with staining.
Spring Theory
Description: a snowy white crelly base. Tiny glitters in shades of blue, purple, yellow, green, and pink swim within the creamy white like a bed of flowers popping through that last snow of the season
Spring Theory had a fantastic crelly formula. All of the glitters spread out very evenly with minimal texture.
I was so happy to see KBShimmer release a new glitter crelly with this collection. I feel like they haven’t done one in a really long time. You do not need to hold the bottle upside down or do any fishing to get great coverage with these.
Depending on personal preference, this will be a 2-3 coater. I found with very thin coats, on the second coat the base will have some dark spots. With thicker coats, coverage was great in two. As a glitter lover, I always do 3 coats for glitter crellies. If you usually do 2 coats with white crellies, this will likely be a two coater for you.
For my swatches, I did pair this polish with the KBShimmer glitter smoothing top coat, I don’t think that is 100% necessary though. On my thumb, I just used one coat of top coat and it was still smooth an hour after swatching.
My photos show Spring Theory in 3 coats with 2 coats of top coat. Removal will of course be difficult if you scrub this one off. I would recommend the soak off method or a peel off base coat for easy removal.
And I know someone is going to ask, Spring Theory is NOT a dupe for Oh Splat!. Oh Splat has like 3 sizes of rainbow glitters and this one only has one. It also dries smoother due to not having larger glitter.
That’s Ranunculus
Description: A burnt orange background shimmers with sparks of red, magenta, and tangerine. In bold lighting or under flash, gold reflective glitters twinkle, bringing out a pinker shade of shimmer.
That’s Ranunculus had a fantastic formula. I really expected this polish to have a thick and wet sand like application (ie a lot of KBShimmer’s previous reflective polishes) but it wasn’t! It was on the thicker side for a jelly but not at all in the wet sand territory. I found application very easy.
I love love LOVE the base color of this polish! The shimmer gives a redder appearance which I also loved and the color shifts were s described.
The reflective glitters give this a ton of sparkle. I was able to see both silver and gold reflects without a flash. Because this is a reflective glitter polish, there is some significant texture. I paired this with the KBShimmer Smooth Moves glitter top coat before my quick dry top coat.
My photos show That’s Ranunculus in 2 coats with 2 coats of top coat. Do NOT scrub this polish off. Use the soak off method or a peel off base coat.
Ultra-Violet
Description: a purple reflective shade boldly colored to usher in warm weather. In low light, purple reflective glitters subtly twinkle, setting off a deep purple violet hue. In brighter light, the purple reflective glitters burst forth, giving off a near ultraviolet color.
Ultra-Violet had a fantastic formula. I was really happy to see the formula and application on this polish were similar to That’s Ranunculus. So it was on the thinner side for being a reflective (especially by this brand) and has a jelly like base. No wet sand in sight!!
While I do love how sparkly this polish is both indoors and out in direct light, it was a little underwhelming likely because I swatched it immediately after That’s Ranunculus.
The reflective glitters do dry down textured. I would recommend either doubling up on a thicker top coat, or use a glitter smoothing top coat before your quick dry top coat for a glossy finish.
My photos show Ultra-Violet in 2 coats with 2 coats of top coat. Do NOT scrub this polish off. Soak off method or a peel off base for the easiest removal.
I forgot to take an official comparison for this one so here is a still from my video. All of the other purple KBShimmer reflective polishes have different base colors as well as shimmer. Love You Bunches and Novel Idea were both in the Longue collection.
Final Thoughts
I loved this collection! This doesn’t feel at ALL like a spring collection, which is likely another reason why I loved it. I don’t feel like any of the polishes really scream seasonal in any way to me.
We have a full on rainbow, although I suppose technically we are missing a true red tone but I am not mad about that. I loved that we had a variety of finishes and I especially loved that there is a glitter crelly!
For me, the most exciting part about this collection is that we reflective polishes were NOT thick. I didn’t dislike the previous reflective polishes by this brand. But the thickness of reflective polishes tends to be my least favorite aspect (the first being I hate photographing them when I don’t have natural light to work with) of the finish itself.
Everything about this release was great and I can’t think of any complaints. My top picks are That’s Ranunculus, Spring Theory and So Impatiens.
KBShimmer
15ml, 5 free, Vegan & Cruelty Free
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Sale Information
The Plant One On Me collection will be available starting on March 15 on the KBShimmer website and stockist pages. Each polish is priced at $12 for 15ml bottles.
If you would like to pick this collection up at a discount, do check out BeyondPolish.com. Use code NicoleLovesNails to save an extra 10%.
If you are outside of the US, fear not. KBShimmer has a ton of stockist pages that ship worldwide. For a full list, check out this page on their website
