I recently had the opportunity to review Barielle's new Ulta line. This line, currently comprised of 16 core colors and 2 seasonal collections, is available at Ulta brick and mortar stores, as well as at Ulta.com. This post is quite long (but you can ignore my jabbering on and just look at the pictures. LOL :P), as I'm putting all 28 colors and reviews in one post. Also, as, save for the Holiday collection, I swatched the entire thing in one fell swoop, so my cuticles are looking very ragged (sorry, I tried to keep them in check). Hopefully, that won't detract too much from the pics, as there are some really beautiful colors in the mix. Additionally, I wanted to mention on the front-end that formula on almost all of these was great, and a big improvement from Barielle's sometimes way-too-thick formula. Many of them, the cremes and the jellies especially, practically flowed on the nail, though I very little difficulty with any of the formulations.
First up, I have one of the 2 seasonal collections in this collection, Barielle's fall offering, Style in Argyle.
Angora Aura - Warm golden mustard. I think of all the colors in this fall collection, this is the one that appealed to me the most, and I think that's mainly because of it's weirdness. You don't normally see colors like this, outside of a few here and there. While it's nowhere near the same color, it's in the same vein as RBL No More War. It's weird, dirty, and definitely different. I think this one would look beautiful this fall with a purple sweater. 2 coats.
Cashmere or Loose Me - Medium pink-based brown with pink and gold microshimmer. The lone shimmer in this collection. It reminds me of Jessica Bittersweet, though the colors are definitely different enough to justify owning both. The name is a little odd, I think it should be Cashmere or Lose Me, but that's neither nor there. 2 coats.
Cowl of the Wild - Dirty, olive-based brown. This, like Angora Aura, is another dirty-weird color. This one would look great with golden shades or even red. 2 coats.
Tight Knit - Nutmeg brown. This one has a fair amount of pink in the bottle, though if doesn't really translate to the nail. 2 coats.
Unraveled Rust - Warm chocolate brown. Looks like melted milk chocolate. Don't let the name fool you, this one is not "rust", but once I realized that the name on this one was a play on Unbridled Lust, I thought it was really cool. LOL. Formula was very smooth. 2 coats.
Wool You Marry Me - Burgundy-based brown. This one is a little different that the other colors in the collection, in that it was slightly cooler. This one would be beautiful paired with navy for fall. 2 coats.
I know this collection as gotten a bit of a bad rap, as it's mainly just a jumble of browns, but I really like it. There is a brown in here for everyone and a weird, dirty mustard color for those of you that like to be outside of the status quo. This collection is currently available at Ulta stores, and at Ulta.com.
Next, is the second seasonal collection, Holiday Hustle...
Coalest Day of the Year - Charcoal grey metallic shimmer. In terms of metallic-y-ness, this one is actually on the more subtle side. The color itself reminds me somewhat of Orly Iron Butterfly with a TC, though Coalest Day of the Year is definitely shinier. This is a very chic color and would look great on short, squared nails. 2 coats.
Elle's Spell - Deep red jelly with gold/green/orange holo flakies. This one went on very sheer, but was buildable. Pic is 3 coats, and you will need that many to reach opacity, but to also give depth to the flakies, which incidentally, I found to be more uniform that other flakies I've tried (i.e. OPI Merry Midnight... I don't have any Nfu-Oh flakies to compare). This is a beautiful color for the holidays.
Gelt Me to the Party - Old gold frosty metallic. In the bottle, this one has subtle ribbons of light gold shimmer, which don't exactly translate to the nail. I'm pretty sure those shimmer ribbons are what add to the frost effect. Unlike the other 2 frosts in this collection (see below), this one had the least issues with brushstrokes, though they were still there, so you will still need to watch your strokes. As for the name, I'm pretty sure this is either supposed to be "Get Me to the Party" or "Gilt Me to the Party". 2 coats.
Snow Day - Silver frosty metallic. And when I say "frosty", I mean FROSTY. This is probably my least favorite from all the Barielles I reviewed in this post. In the bottle, it's beautiful... a pale, icy blue-silver metallic with silver and blue shimmer ribbons. Sadly, it just doesn't translate. I'm not saying to count it out, as the color is pretty, but you will have to use a sticky base coat, and go slow between coats minding your brushstrokes in order to make this one work, IMO. 2 coats.
Wrap Me in Ribbon - Mauve pink frosty metallic. Compared to Snow Day, this one is more like Gelt Me to the Party. The brushstrokes are manageable, and it has a faint golden pink shimmer to set it apart. It's nice to see a paler pink included in a holiday collection. 3 coats.
Jess' Champagne Toast - Lavender-grey foil with pink microglitter. I honestly think this one is my favorite of the Holiday polishes. That's not to say it doesn't have it's down points... the base is a tad too thick to let all the microglitter shine through (though to be fair a good amount of it does peek through). However, when compared to another similar polish, CC Ms. Hautie, this one actually works. Yes, it is more amazing in the bottle than it is on the nail, but I still fell in love with it. I wore this as a mani and I kept parakeeting my nails all day long. You will need several coats of TC as this one has a tendency to eat it up (I think I ended up with 3 coats of TC after all was said and done). 3 coats.
This collection had me torn. I love Jess' Champagne Toast and Elle's Spell, though I thought there was maybe one (or two) too many frosts. I just checked and this collection is currently not available at Ulta.com, though I expect it will pop up within the next few weeks. I've you've spotted it at your local Ulta B&M store let me know and I will update this post. I just don't have an Ulta in my area.
And lastly, I have the 16 core colors (shades the Barielle brought over from the existing collection)...
Belly Dance - Greige base with pink, blue, and silver microshimmer. The shimmer is what keeps this one from being your run-of-the-mill greige polish, though it is more pronounced in the bottle than on the nail. 2 coats.
Berry Blue - Inky blue jelly. Le Sigh. We all know that Megan loves blue, and this color is no exception. It actually looks like blueberry jam. I love everything about this color... the finish, the tone, the application. Well, it does give you smurf fingers, so I don't like
that, but aside from the inherent smurfyness, it's a gorgeous shade, probably my favorite of the core Ulta colors. 2 coats (with a thinner 3rd coat on a couple nails to even it out)
Coco Bar - Deep, rich cocoa brown. This one is deeper in tone, and in richness than Unraveled Rust. It literally looks like cocoa powder. I love this color. 2 coats.
Decadence - Teal green shimmer. This color is amazing. It's along the same vein (in tone, not in finish) as CC Untamed Luxury. 2 coats.
Ecstasy - Bright, clear red jelly. I would call this a pin-up red. It's clear and bright and true, meaning it doesn't clean orange or blue. I love a jelly red that doesn't leave me with VNLs and this one fits the bill. 2 coats.
Euphoric - Orange-based, salmon/cinnamon brown-hybrid creme. How difficult could I make this description? LOL. It's too orange to be a salmon and too light to be classified as a cinnamon brown. I would classify this a "mom" color. It's pretty, but doesn't really work with my skintone. 2 coats.
Expressive - Light lavender-pink creme. Seems like a cross between OPI Lucky, Lucky Lavender and Panda-Monium Pink. 2 coats.
Flirtini - Bright magenta jelly. Another jelly that doesn't leave you with VNLs. 2 coats.
Grape Escape - Medium-toned purple creme. I know we've had a few purple cremes pop up in the last year or so, RBL Mismas, ChG Grape Pop, and OPI Funky Dunkey. However, this one seems more like RBL Purple Haze. Granted, it doesn't have the smokiness of Purple Haze, but the base tone is more similar. If you love purples, you will love this one. I think it would look amazing with yellow. 2 coats.
Lust - Deep red jelly. This one is Ecstasy's older sister. Definitely darker and sexier, but still bright and clear. This one leans a little blue. It looks much darker in the bottle. 2 coats.
Misbehaving Mistress - Grey-brown shimmer with silver ribbons. I found this color to be a bit odd. I don't think it worked with my skintone. Also, the silver ribbons made it a tad frosty on the nail. 2 coats.
Out-grey-geous - Light grey metallic shimmer with golden shimmer particles. This one reminded me of a grey version of CC Snakeskin. The color is pretty, but I found the formula to be a little hard to work with (it's thin) and because of that, it has a tendency to be brushstrokey if you don't let it dry between coats. Pic is 3 coats.
Pink Sherbert - Pale shell pink shimmer. I like this one because it's a pale polish that is opaque in 2 coats. You don't have to baby it and you don't have to apply it over white or apply a 1000 coats in order for it took look great. This is a great work-safe color.
Sailors Delight - Light, warm, creamy pink. Like ChG Sugar High and OPI ElePhantasic Pink's baby sister. This one seems like it would have the ability to compliment every skintone. Also, like Pink Sherbert, the formula was thick enough to be perfectly opaque at 2 coats. I can't say how much I love that in a light polish. Plus, I adore the name... "pink sky at night... sailor's delight".
Slate of Affairs - Grey-blue shimmer with purple/blue flash. Maybe it's the purple/blue flash in this, but a part of me wants to call this a deep
periwinkle shimmer. It definitely doesn't seem like a slate blue, IMO. But at any rate, it's a gorgeous color. I can't wait to wear this one as a full mani. 2 coats.
U-Concrete-Me - Medium grey creme. This one is pretty straight-forward. It's a grey creme. Not too much to say about it, though the formula was nice. Also, I think it would look gorgeous with icy and pale blues. 2 coats.
Whew. If you stuck around that long... Thanks! :) This is a great line. I kind of wish that Date Night and Swizzle Stick had been included, but I think they hit all the main points with this collection of polishes. Also, I know the majority of us don't have a problem with ordering polishes off the internet, but if you do, I think this is perfect for you. It makes Barielle much more accessible (provided you aren't like me and don't live in the land Ulta forgot) and gives you to see the polishes up close and personal. Of course, if you do want to order them online, save for the Holiday line, which I would expect to see soon, all the polishes are available at
Ulta.com (though they don't have Barielle in their Brand drop-down, so you will need to search). Also, they are B2G1F through the month of October. Retail price at Ulta is $6.
These were sent to me for review
