Rainbow Honey : Keep Believing Collection swatches {October Limited Edition for Breast Cancer Awareness Month}

Happy Monday, mes belles!!  Well into October we may be, but Oregon has no inkling of it.  In fact, the rosebush in front of my house is now blooming!  Look how happy it is, with absolutely no perception that it is, in fact, autumn.  Any rose connoisseurs out there who know the name of this beauty, all dappled in gold?  It is fantastically fragrant; I sniff a lot of roses (I take the phrase super literally) and this one is very strong, and honey sweet.  On Saturday morning I was out front, blissed out, smelling this rose and thinking how I would like a fragrance to capture this exactly.  A fateful thought, that, because only a few hours later my Rainbow Honey package arrived, and tucked in with my mystery bag was the entire Keep Believing Collection... and the Rainbow Honey Lab had already done it.  <3

Rainbow Honey "Keep Believing" Collection - roses and pink and sparkles, oh my!

Keep Believing: Nail Lacquer

"Keep Believing" nail lacquer is a beautiful ballerina pink crème glimmering with metallic white gold and iridescent pink microflakes.  I about fell out of my chair when I saw this in the bottle.  Delicate as a fluff of bunny fur and sweet as sugar, this is so far from just another pale pink polish.  I do wish the gorgeous flakie shimmers were more assertive on the nail; the iridescent pink all but disappeared, and the sterling flecks make a most gentle dusting, which is very lovely though quite subtle.  I think it must be difficult to balance between having these heavier sparkle shards express themselves, and conversely making the polish opaque enough to be sufficient on its own, no mean feat with such a light color.  The flecks seem to have some dimension to them, or in any case they have an odd effect on the application of the polish.  It appears to apply lumpy and granular, somehow, but I assure you that "Keep Believing" levels itself out nicely, and actually dries quite quickly!  (Just believe, okay? ;) )  I used three coats for the swatches below.

Rainbow Honey "Keep Believing" nail lacquer

Rainbow Honey "Keep Believing" nail lacquer

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Keep Believing: Glitter Topper

"Keep Believing" glitter topper is a sugary confection of peony pink, wisteria purple, and lily white glitters, both circles and hexes, drifting in a shimmering mist of iridescent microflakies flashing every magical color of the rainbow.  Naturally, I layered it over "Keep Believing" the glitter over "Keep Believing" the lacquer, and naturally they were charming together.  It's like they were made for each other!  Oh, wait... :)  All the suspension of the glitter and shimmer dries slower than you think, so careful of getting your fingers into things (like UNZIPPING PANTS, god forbid) for some time after you've painted this on.  Maybe try some quick-dry gadgets, like spray or drops or topcoat.  This is two easy coats of glitter topper.

Rainbow Honey "Keep Believing" glitter topper

If "Keep Believing" the glitter looks familiar to you, then you really know your Rainbow Honey!  It's a close relative to "Foxglove Foxtrot" from the Spring 2014 Midnight Garden Collection, with some very distinct differences.  While "Keep Believing" is primarily a pink glitter with purple accents, "Foxglove Foxtrot" reads largely as a lavender glitter speckled with strawberry pink; these pinks and purples are the same hues/glitters, just in different concentrations.  "Keep Believing" is punctuated by white glitters, while "Foxglove Foxtrot" is anchored by palest lady slipper pink glitters (which do not layer so well/disappear over other pale pinks, such as "Keep Believing" the lacquer).  "Keep Believing" is densely veiled in iridescent microflakies; meanwhile, the glitters of "Foxglove Foxtrot" swim in a clear base occasionally sparkling with the tiniest holographic sparkles.  And finally, "Keep Believing" is rather more dense than "Foxglove Foxtrot".  Got all that?? 

"Foxglove Foxtrot" <{}> "Keep Believing"

I dug back through some forgotten pictures for a swatch of "Foxglove Foxtrot" from August (beginning of blog!), layered over Rainbow Honey "Stolen Dance" from the Summer Mixtape collection.  They're in love.  Just look how happy they are together!

Rainbow Honey "Foxglove Foxtrot" + "Stolen Dance"

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Keep Believing: Scented Cuticle Oil + Balm + Topcoat

"Keep Believing" is a rose nectar fragrance, and oh my, it is so poignantly beautiful.  The bright sparkling floral pitch is almost like that of a gardenia, but honeyed with the signature sweetness of a golden rose in bloom.  This isn't your mother's rose perfume, or her mother's either; it's fresh and modern and ultra feminine, and of course, oh so romantic.  It's so pretty that for over 24 hours now I've been sniffing at in compulsively, constantly.  I've been applying the cuticle oil, balm, and even the topcoat so often that the fragrance of sugared rose has permeated my entire room, and it's like living in a pink cloud <3  Or in this painted rose!

I lurv the Rainbow Honey scented topcoats; they really do smell amazing (no chemical stench whatsoever, as I initially feared) and the scent easily lasts two days (the longest I've ever tested one).  My "Royal Fruits" topcoat dries in a snap, but this one takes a bit more time; Rainbow Honey states that these have a normal dry time.  The balm and cuticle oil are both fabulous, as usual; at home I use them interchangeably, though I find the balm to be particularly convenient for going out and about.  The cuticle oil is applied with a normal topcoat/nail polish bottle, like the Essie Apricot Cuticle Oil, which is a scheme that I really love for its precision and efficiency.  And I'll just keep saying it: these smell INCREDIBLE.  Like, I might have to pick up a whole backup collection, just for the "Keep Believing" scent.  Love love.  Love love love love.  More loves.  The loves continue.

Okay, I'm done now.
 

It's PINK!!  Rainbow Honey "Keep Believing" Scented Topcoat

Rainbow Honey Limited Edition "Keep Believing" Collection

Ha-HA, not a chance!!  LOOOOOOVVVVVVEEE.....

The "Keep Believing" Collection is a limited edition for October and Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and is part of a Rainbow Honey tradition of marking this cause with beautiful colors full of hope and inspiration.  At $30, this set is a great deal, considering the polishes are each $10, the cuticle oil $12, cuticle balm $5, and scented topcoat $8, for a retail value of $45.  And with a $50 purchase through the end of the month, you also choose one either the lacquer or glitter topper, free!!  Wheee!!!  This set may be purchased at Rainbow Honey, and don't forget to pick up this month's Mystery Bag!!  (Or even September's, if you can manage!)

Love,
Marisa + Sprinklepuff

**Part of this set I purchased, and part was a surprise gift from the exceptional Rainbow Honey customer service crew!!  Carolyn, you're the best ever!!  However, my statements, opinions, and boundless enthusiasm are entirely my own, as was my volition to review this collection for you.  I hope you found it helpful and informative!!**