Zoya Gemma

It's my first Zoya! And it won't be my last. The formula was dream-worthy (if a bit thin).

Gemma is a green creme with a blue shimmer running through it. I will say said shimmer is far more apparent int he bottle than it is on the nail, but in light you definitely see it.

The color did not stay nicely on my nail very long; however, this was during that dark period where I was without my base and top coats. Since found, so I'm hoping to do another Zoya run with their new Smoke & Mirrors collection... and full mani madness.

Perfect Pink Quest Part 2: Sinful Colors Glass Pink

My quest for the perfect baby pink continues with Sinful Colors' Glass Pink.

Sinful Colors is a delightfully inexpensive polish brand that can be found in myriad drugstores and your nearest Target. I picked this up for less than 2 dollars and figured it would be worth a try in my hunt for a sparkly (not shimmery), opaque baby pink.

The bottle is rounded and the brush was easy to maneuver for coverage. The formula was nice enough for what it was... a sheer pink with micro glitter. The color was nice. But it was very, very sheer. The pictures below are four coats and there is some SERIOUS VNL.

Close... SO close. And perhaps if I layered it over an opaque white, it would've been exactly what I'm looking for. But this quest is not about shorcuts. This quest is for the perfect stand alone pink. I know you're out there...

Hard Candy Beetle

At my heart, I love sparkles...and shininess. Also? Duochrome.

Thus, it was only a matter of time until I stumbled across Beetle. I'd seen pictures and eventually darkened Walmart's doors just to go get the stuff. It was totally worth it. This stuff flips in every kind of light and it's gorgeous.

It has my newly-discovered love of the square bottle with a decent, easy-to-control brush. The formula is thin and sheer. The pictures below are four coats (no top coat because my Seche was temporarily lost). I should've taken video because the pictures cannot begin to capture how flippy the colors are.

Warning: Seche Shrinks Cashmere

Late last week, my nails were Orly Rage. I didn't get a picture before I destroyed them with painting and manual labor. Whoopsy. It was sparkly foiled deliciousness, and I will certainly wear it again. And shoot pictures immediately upon completion...

I decided I was digging the more neutral color and replaced my ravaged mani with Soft as Cashmere from Color Club's Untamed Luxury collection. This was my first Color Club color and I was generally pleased.

First off, I have decided that I really love square bottles. I feel like I can get a better grip on them than the round ones. This probably is partially why I'm lately obsessed with Misa and Essie. The brush felt thinner, stiffer and slightly more difficult to control than what I'm used to, but it wasn't severely detrimental. The formula itself was watery/thin, but built to opacity in three thin coats.

The color itself is a lovely taupe with green undertones. It is what I would call "Office Edgy." Nobody is going to ever give you a hard time for wearing this neutral, but it's a lot more fashion-forward than mannequin hands or a sheer pink.

I used OPI Natural base coat and Seche Vite top coat. The Seche seemed to have shrunk beneath my tips in an unappealing way. I think I'm finally going to have to cave and buy another good top coat (I have a Sally Hanson quick dry that seems to have no protective qualities to it).


With flash!


Without!

Smooth Sailing

So, for as long as I can remember, I've been a fan of nail polish. I saved my allowance for weeks and bought three shades of Wet & Wild when I was seven, and I configured them into different designs over and over (my mom thought more than three was unnecessary). When I was a teenager, the first inexpensive nail salon came to town and I was forever getting acrylic nails with fun new colors on. What I'm sayin' is... despite my recent addiction to the collecting of nail polishes, I've loved nail polish the overwhelming majority of my life.

Along the way, I've had specific colors I've loved! Midnight in Moscow immediately springs to mind... as does Chanel's Vamp. If it's deep and sparkly, there's a better than even chance that I've given it an "oooh!" whilst it's applied to my nails, and vainly preen my fingers to glance at it myriad times once it's on.

But I only thought I knew love.

Because when I saw Essie's Smooth Sailing (from their 2011 Summer Braziliant line) applied to my nails, I knew I'd found the one. The polish that, were I forced to monogamously wear one color for the rest of my life, I would commit to. This is my would-be nail hubs.

Examine the awesome:
1. It's a gorgeous color of periwinkle (honestly, the color itself is my most favorite color in the entire known universe).
2. It has gorgeous, gorgeous silver sparkly bits in it.
3. The application is a dream.


With some flash.


In the fading natural light of the day. Apparently sunset makes my hands all pink. That part's not cute... but the color of my nails certainly is!


Close Up. Look at that sparkly!

Binging, Orly Girly... and My New Quest

So despite not having worn quite a few of my polishes from the last few hauls, I went on a bit of an in-store binge at Walmart (Hard Candy called), Sally's and Ulta last week. I picked up the following:
Hard Candy - Beetle
Essie - Da Bush, Smooth Sailing & Steel-ing the Scene (wearing Smooth Sailing today and it's magical)
Orly - Girly (to be shown below!), Rage, Meet Me Under the Mistletoe & Toast the Couple
Zoya - Gemma

Behold the beauty:


Today, I have a swatch for Orly Girly. It's a light pink foil finish with pretty silver sparkles in it. The picture below is two coats, no base or top coat (because they were temporarily MIA after being displaced during a recent trip to Florida). It's still fairly sheer at two coats, but I think a third would've made it opaque. The formula is amazing. This was my very first ever Orly. And these four from this haul will certainly not be the last. It was a joy to apply.


I am, however, on the quest for my IDEAL LIGHT PINK. In my head I feel like I'm looking for a light pink full coverage glitter or opaque creme with a micro glitter of some kind. I feel like I've seen a lot of shimmers, straight cremes and metallic looks. If anyone reading has any ideas, I would LOVE to hear them.

Thanks for reading and for any suggestions!

Happy Canada Day!

I've always been a big, big fan of our neighbors to the north (or south, if you're from Metro Detroit). So in honor of their birthday, I did a Canada Day manicure.




The red nails are done with China Glaze Ruby Pumps (two coats) and the white nails are China Glaze Frosty (four coats). My Seche Vite has gone missing, so these are sans top coat... and still with an insane depth of sparkle!

So happy birthday, Canada! And happy Canada Day to my beloved Canadian.