Never Unpolished

Giveaway Winner!

2012-06-02T10:13:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to . . .

Maxine Koyanagi

for winning my giveaway! Please respond to my email within 72 hours to claim your prize.

Verve 360 Nail Polish Giveaway

2012-05-25T15:00:00.000-05:00

Hello there! Sorry for the almost month-long break in posts - I was very busy with finals and moving out and all that jazz, and I haven't quite felt like doing much in my first week home. I figure I get a week or so of doing nothing before I start having four hours of class a day, an online class, and a job (hopefully...I'll hear back sometime today) to busy myself with. Don't worry, though, my next post will be up within a week! For now, I want to surprise you lovely readers with a giveaway. Verve 360 hair salons in Pittsburgh kindly contacted me to do a giveaway, and of course I agreed. I'd actually been wanting to do a giveaway for a while, but I haven't had the resources to purchase a really good prize myself. Here are the giveaway details and rules:

Verve 360 is giving one lucky reader two polishes from Zoya Beach & Surf, Tracie and Myrta (pictured above, though in the opposite order - you can read more about them here and here).
EDIT: The giveaway is for those living in the continental US only. Sorry I forgot to post this earlier!
To enter, you must comment on this post answering the first three questions. For each one of the additional questions you answer in your comment, you will gain one additional entry.

What's your name?
What's your email address?
Why do you like Zoya polishes, or why do you want to try them?
Do you like my Facebook page? If so, please leave your Facebook name.
Did you tweet about this giveaway? If so, please leave a link to your tweet.*
What's your favorite Zoya polish?

The giveaway will end June 1, 2012 at 3:00 PM CST (GMT -6).

Good luck!

*You can find the permalink to a tweet by clicking "expand" or "details" if you are on twitter.com, or by clicking the time and date of the tweet if you are in a Twitter app, such as TweetDeck. It is this link that I will be checking - a link to your personal feed will not count.

Preppy Stripes & Tutorial

2012-04-28T11:00:00.000-05:00

Hello there! Today I bring you some nail art I did Thursday night. I ordered some striping tape off of Amazon a couple weeks ago, and I hadn't gotten around to using it yet, so I decided it was time to break it out. I wanted bold colors, and ended up picking China Glaze First Mate, China Glaze Grape Pop, and OPI Red My Fortune Cookie. The overall effect reminds me a bit of a prep school uniform, hence the title.

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Click "read more" to see the tutorial:

Ta-da! I was really happy with the way this turned out, though as you can see, I messed up in a couple of spots. I decided take tutorial pictures as I went along in case anyone is interested in replicating this look, and I then I thought I'd do the cool kid thing and make my first animated GIF. Here goes:

1. Apply base coat and one coat of your base color. It doesn't matter if it's not perfectly opaque since you're going to be covering most of it up.

2. Cut all the striping tape you will need (I did one hand at a time) and put it somewhere that you won't accidentally stick it down in a way that's hard to get up with wet nails. Then, place the tape on your nails in diagonal stripes. I used four stripes for my thumb, three for my middle three fingers, and two for my pinky.

3. Paint the stripes over the tape. Be careful with two things: use as little polish as possible - as you can see, I added a little too much polish on the middle blue stripe, which ended up causing a little bit of blue to go onto the red when I peeled the tape up. The second thing is that you need to make sure you color in the lines, but that's not too hard as long as you're paying attention.

4. Peel up the tape.

5. Clean up your fingers with nail polish remover and an eyeliner brush, then add top coat, and you're done. Congratulations!

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial. Let me know if you decide to try it out!

Milani Rad Purple + Kleancolor Chunky Holo Purple

2012-04-27T11:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday! The end of the week is here at last...at that just means finals are even closer. But for now, I'm glad it's Friday. Today I'm going to show you my most recent layering manicure. Every time I get a new layering polish, I'm always tempted to try it over Milani Rad Purple - it's one of the best jellies I own, and it's purple to boot. Naturally, when I got Kleancolor Chunky Holo Purple in the mail after buying it from Colour Coated's blog sale, I had to slap it on over Rad Purple as soon as possible.

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sunlight

Look at that squishiness! I used three or four coats of Rad Purple Cult Nails Get it On, added a layer of Chunky Holo Purple, and finished it off with Cult Nails Wicked Fast. I'm hoping to find the time to review both of the Cult Nails treatments soon, though top and base coat posts always take me longer for some reason, but in the meantime I will tell you readily that I'm loving them both - so much, in fact, that I may yet say goodbye to my tried-and-true Barielle Clearly Noticeable Nail Thickener, Orly Nailtrition, and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri. Anyway, that discussion's for another post. Enjoy your Friday!

Zoya Beach Comparisons

2012-04-25T08:58:00.000-05:00

Aaaand, here I am again! I have to say, I'm thrilled to have posted three days in a row now when I haven't been able to post consistently for the past while. While I didn't do a comparison post for Surf, simply because I don't own any near dupes that I can think of, there were several out of Beach that I wanted to compare, either because I thought they'd be dupes or simply thought they might be close enough to count.

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First, I compared Zoya Lara to Color Club Overboard. Overboard is on my index and ring fingers, and Lara is on my middle and pinkie fingers. While the two colors are a bit similar, they're not dupes by any means, and since both have good application and opacity, I wouldn't ditch one for the other by any means.

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Next, we have Zoya Shelby and Color Club Yachty, Yachty, Yadda. I apologize for forgetting to turn my macro setting on for this picture, but you can still see how the colors compare. Shelby is on my middle and pinkie fingers, and Yachty, Yachty, Yadda is on my index and ring fingers. Shelby is clearly a bit redder, while Yachty, Yachty, Yadda has more white.

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Zoya Arizona is the only polish out of Beach that I thought would have a true dupe, and I was right - Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Sun Kissed is a very nearly exact duplicate of Arizona. While there are very, very negligible differences when you hold your fingernails right smack dab in front of your eyeballs in excellent lighting (Sun Kissed is maybe very slightly redder and Arizona more yellow), you really can't tell the difference once you get your hand about a foot away from your face. Bottom line: if you have one, you really don't need the other.

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Finally, I compared Zoya Wednesday with China Glaze For Audrey. I didn't think they'd be dupes, and they aren't, but I was curious to see exactly how similar they are, especially after using For Audrey in my Wednesday gradient. They're different, but similar enough that I wouldn't be surprised if I do nail art combining them again at some point.

On one last note, I want to remind you all of what I said in my original Beach post - I think Reagan might be similar to OPI Dim Sum Plum, but as I didn't bring Dim Sum Plum with me to college, I can't be sure. I hope this post is helpful regardless!

P.S. Don't forget to go like my new Facebook page!

Zoya Wednesday Gradient

2012-04-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

Hello there - I just posted yesterday, but here I am again! I'm enjoying the brief respite between last week, when I had a bunch of tests, and finals week, which is in two weeks (starting the day after my birthday! woohoo! </sarcasm>). In the meantime, I'm hoping to be able to do some nail art and other fun stuff when I'm not doing homework...and probably some when I should be doing homework, too, because that's how I do things. Today, I have the sponging gradient I wore on top of Zoya Wednesday. In addition to Wednesday, I used China Glaze For Audrey, Essie Mint Candy Apple, and a tiiiiny bit of Essie As Gold as it Gets.

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Sorry the coloring is a bit weird on the second image - I decided to keep it in the post anyway because it shows the flaky glitter a little better than any of the other pictures. I briefly considered adding a bit of white at the tips before topping it all of with As Gold as it Gets, but I like it perfectly well as it is. The overall effect reminds me of the sky on a bright, but partly cloudy spring or summer afternoon. This can tend to have the effect of making me want to go lie outside and take a nap instead of working, but then again, it doesn't take much to do that. :) Have a great day!

Zoya Beach Swatches & Review

2012-04-23T20:18:00.001-05:00

Greetings! Before I start the polish talk, I have to do a little self-promotion and remind you to go like my Facebook page. (And thanks for doing so!) I hope Monday is going well - or at least tolerably - for everyone. Like I promised, I have swatches of the Zoya Beach collection to show you today, starting with Reagan.

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Zoya describes Reagan as a "deep cerise pink cream," which I think is actually a pretty good description of this gorgeous color. Unfortunately, I couldn't get it to show up very accurately in any of the many photos I took of Reagan. It's a bit more purpley than in the picture, but I think I managed to capture the vividity (which, yes, is a word - Google it) well. It's also very opaque at one coat. I'm going to be posting a comparison post for Beach later, but I'll say now that I think Reagan might be a dupe or close cousin to OPI Dim Sum Plum. Unfortunately, I didn't bring it to college, so it won't be in my comparison post.

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The second polish in Beach, Lara, is what Zoya calls a "vivid cerise pink cream." To me, it's a bit more of a cross between bubblegum pink and cerise, but that's very subjective anyway. Like Reagan, Lara is opaque in one coat. Also like Reagan, I couldn't get it to photograph well, and it's a bit more purple in real life. If you're in need of girly pink to add to your polish stash, Lara would be a great choice, though I honestly don't like it quite as well as Reagan.

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Speaking of girly pinks, Shelby seems to me like the epitome of Barbie pink, or as Zoya says, a "soft pinky pink creme." While it's not an uncommon color in the least, that doesn't mean it's not pretty, and I can definitely see myself doing some sort of tape mani with Shelby and, say, China Glaze For Audrey or Zoya Wednesday. Shelby is opaque in two coats.

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Moving away from the pinks, Zoya Arizona is a "soft coral orange creme" that goes on easily in two coats. I'm not sure I'd describe it as coral - or soft, for that matter - but it's certainly a great color, especially for summer. Again, it's not terribly unique, but I'll talk more about that in my comparison post. Oh, and as a side note: could someone explain the logic behind naming a child Arizona?

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Tracie is sort of the standout polish in Beach, as it's the only one that's not a creme. Zoya calls it a "sea grass metallic," and while I see the sea grass part of it, I really consider Tracie to have more of a pearlized finish. Normally I don't like that finish much, but while Tracie isn't my favorite, I did actually end up liking it once I put it on. The base color is very pretty, and I think it helps that the pearlescence isn't too awfully streaky. Tracie was opaque in two coats.

flash

Finally, we have Wednesday, a "soft aqua creme" that I ended up wearing as a full manicure. I love dusty cremes like Wednesday, and while I tend to think of them as more spring-y as far as seasonality goes, I will wear just about any color during any time of year. Wednesday (again, I'm not quite sure why someone would actually name their child Wednesday, but whatever) was opaque in two easy coats.

Overall, while I don't feel that any of these polishes, save Tracie, are that unique, they're all very pretty colors that would be well worth adding to a polish stash that doesn't already contain dupes. As the application and opacity was also very good for all of the polishes, I would definitely recommend Zoya Beach.

These polishes were provided by the manufacturer for honest review. However, that has and will never change what I write in a post. For more information, see my disclosure policy.

I'm on Facebook!

2012-04-22T19:02:00.001-05:00

Hey there! This is just a quick little post to let you know that Never Unpolished now has an official Facebook page. I figured it'd be a good way to help people who don't use GFC or Google Reader keep up with the blog, and you never know - I might even have a giveaway on there once in a while. :) Check it out: https://www.facebook.com/NeverUnpolished

Zoya Surf Swatches and Review

2012-04-21T10:22:00.000-05:00

Helllooo there! I'm so glad I finally got these swatched so I can show them off to you all, though I must apologize for the fact that the lighting will be changing throughout the post due to the wildly variant weather we always have in St. Louis during the spring. I should be getting Beach swatched and posted relatively soon, too ... but first, Surf's up! (Sorry. I couldn't resist.)

indoors, with flash

First, we have Carly, a "thalia purple foil metallic." While I don't have the faintest idea what the heck a "thalia purple" is (feel free to inform me in the comments), Carly is certainly a stunner. I wasn't the biggest fan of Carly just looking at the bottle, but I like it a lot better on my nails. I'd almost say it's an amethyst purple, but I think it's a bit too pinkish for that - it does have that lit-from-within glow of a jewel, though. I used two coats in the picture, but the only reason I added a second was because I wanted it to be a bit more vibrant.

indoors, with flash

Second, we have Kimber, what Zoya calls a "magenta pink foil metallic." Zoya, I love your polishes, but I beg to differ. Kimber is not what I think of when I think magenta. If anything, I'd call it a hot pink foil with gold highlights ... or I could just call it gorgeous. Which it is. I used two coats of Kimber, and it was actually the only polish out of Surf that I really needed a second coat on.

indoors, with flash

Rory, a "lotus pink foil metallic," is honestly not my favorite of the collection. I think it's because I tend not to like frosts, and while Rory isn't quiiiite a frost, its lighter shade combined with the foil finish isn't doing it any favors in my opinion. However, that's just my personal taste, and it's quite the pretty pink - ignore the bumpy look it has on my index finger; that's just because I have peeling there that I haven't quite been able to entirely buff out without making my nail as thin as tissue paper. I used one coat of Rory.

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While Myrta is described as a "coral orange foil metallic" by Zoya, and while it does look like a coral orange in the color drop, I really didn't see much, if any, coral in the polish when I wore it. Regardless, Myrta is a lovely bright orange with a golden flash, and it was opaque in two easy coats. In fact, I can just picture myself wearing it once warm weather comes around again.

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I actually completely agree with Zoya's description of Meg, which they call a "mermaid green foil metallic." I wouldn't have gotten to "mermaid" all by myself, but when I saw Meg and read Zoya's description, a mental image of Ariel's tail popped right into my head. *hums Disney songs* I can't quite remember if I used one or two coats of Meg, but I think it was one. Maybe. I should make a note of these things.

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I have to admit, even though I went in the order of how the polishes were in the box, the best (in my opinion) ended up being saved for last. Zuza, an "aquamarine foil metallic," is my absolute favorite of Surf by far. It's not that the others aren't pretty; it's just that Zuza is so, well, Zuza. I even love the name. It's a brilliant turquoise foil that makes me think of going to the pool - or even better, the Greek sea in the summertime. For example:

See where the color starts shifting from green to blue - in the middle, where it's that perfect teal? That's Zuza. I guess the true mark of a good summer color must be that it reminds you of last summer's vacation...at any rate, I'll definitely be wearing Zuza at least a couple more times in the next few months!

Overall, while I'm not always a fan of foils that aren't gold, silver, bronze, or copper (i.e., a metallic color that's actually the color of a metal), I thought Zoya did a good job on Surf, and my three favorites are Zuza (of course), Kimber, and Carly. Which would you pick?

These products were provided to me by the manufacturer for review; however, this will never affect my honest review of a product. For more information, see my disclosure policy.

Cult Nails Small Haul

2012-04-16T19:43:00.001-05:00

Let me qualify my title - I realize that two polishes, for some people, is not a "haul." But I just got Cult Nails Get It On and Wicked Fast in the mail from the $5 sale, and I'm excited. Really, really, really excited. So I'm making a little haul post to share my excitement with all of you.

Look at those little polish burritos! So cute! I really appreciate the care Maria puts into her packaging - not only is the polish bottle cute, they're wrapped cutely - and even better, the paper they're wrapped in is 100% recycled and recyclable, and instead of using environmentally unfriendly packing peanuts, Cult Nails polishes are nestled in cotton balls you can use to take your polish off. Of course, the most important part is what's inside the "burritos" . . .

Ahhh! I can't wait to try these - and while I don't have any more time to do a manicure than I have for the past two weeks I haven't been posting, I'm going to make time just so I can use my new base and top coats. Speaking of not posting for two weeks...I'm sorry about that, I really am. Life has been crazy here, and with classes taking over my life, tests, and three hours of a cappella practice every night last week (our concert was Saturday), I simply haven't had time even to paint my nails, much less post here. In fact, my nails have been bare for over a week. *gasp* Hopefully things will calm down after the three tests I have coming up this week, because I have Zoyas to swatch. I just hope you're not all tired of Beach and Surf already!

Lavender Mint

2012-04-03T10:32:00.000-05:00

Hey there! Today I have a mani that's been sitting in my "Nails" folder for way too long. It's actually from late October last year, and while I had almost started to think I should just not post it, I'm working on the Zoya summer collection right now, and since it's going to take me a little while to get through, I thought it'd be good to post something in the meantime. However, just because it's been sitting on my hard drive for several months doesn't mean I didn't like it - I honestly don't know why I haven't posted it before now. I used Icing Mint 2 Be for the mint green and Zoya Malia with Sephora by OPI Only Gold for Me for the accent nails.

outdoors, sunlight

outdoors, shade

I realize that Malia isn't a lavender, but when I was thinking of what to name this post, I thought of Paul Mitchell's line of lavender mint hair products (they smell wonderful, of course - what of theirs doesn't?) and decided it was about as interesting a title as I was going to come up with. I need to start doing accent nails more often again, I think...I haven't done any lately, and it's one of the easiest ways I can think of to give your nails a little more pizzazz.

Now I have a question for you all - would you rather have me split Zoya Beach and Surf into two parts, or four? I kind of like doing it in four because I feel like I can devote a little more description to each polish and because I can post more often that way, but I've done Zoya collections in two posts before, and I can certainly do it again if that's what you prefer. Please leave a comment telling me if you'd rather have two posts, four, or if you don't care either way. Thanks!

China Glaze Crackle Glitter PR

2012-04-02T22:13:00.000-05:00

SPARK YOUR SUMMER STYLE!

China Glaze® Introduces Four New Crackle Glitter Polishes for May 2012

Los Angeles, CA – (March 2012): Sparkle all summer long with China Glaze®’s new Crackle Glitters collection. Once again taking crackle technology to the next level, this third-generation polish pairs the edgy innovation of crackling nail lacquer with glamorous glitters. The China Glaze® Crackle Glitters features four shimmering shades including:

· Luminous Lavender: Luscious light purple

· Jade-d: Radiant bright green

· Glam-More: Bold fuchsia

· Gleam Me Up: Bright sky blue

Create glamorously different looks with just one sweep of China Glaze® Crackle Glitters. Layer over different base colors to create bold styles. Use a lighter coat to create a fine crackle, a thicker coat for a deep shatter effect. Brush sideways or on an angle to create different looks. As versatile and edgy as China Glaze®’s biggest celebrity fans (Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Nicole Ritchie and Kelly Osbourne, to name a few), China Glaze® Crackle Glitters add a spark(le) to one of the hottest nail art trends!

The China Glaze® Crackle Glitters collection will be available as open stock colors and four-piece counter display. Individual polishes retail for $9 MSRP and will be available at fine salons and beauty supply stores nationwide in May 2012.

China Glaze is free of DBP, toluene, and added formaldehyde. China Glaze nail lacquers are available through salons and professional beauty supply stores nationwide. For more information, visit: www.chinaglaze.com or follow China Glaze on Facebook and Twitter: http://twitter.com/ChinaGlaze

China Glaze is a division of American International Industries.

About American International Industries

For nearly 40 years, AII has been the leading manufacturer and worldwide distributor of innovative, quality beauty and skin care products for men and women. Our product lines include Ardell, Andrea, Body Drench, Bye Bye Blemish, Checi, China Glaze, Clean + Easy, Clubman/Pinaud, Duo, European Secrets, EzFlow, Fright Night, Gena, GiGi, Gypsy Lash, IBD, Jeris-Lustray, No Tweeze/Micro Tweeze, 'N Rage, Prolinc, RAW, Seche, SuperNail, Surgi-Care, Waterworks, Winning Nails, Woltra, Woody’s, and Youthair. For more information, visit our website: www.aiibeauty.com.

China Glaze Capitol Colours: Riveting

2012-03-25T13:50:00.000-05:00

Hello again! Today I have the color I wore to go see The Hunger Games movie Friday night, China Glaze Riveting. I was going to do some kind of nail art on top, but Riveting was so gorgeous on its own that I couldn't think of anything that would improve it. I actually used one coat of Riveting over one coat of OPI A Good Man-darin is Hard to Find, but it came out looking like the bottle color anyway.

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Isn't it gorgeous? I wish my nails were just a little longer so Riveting could be shown off best, but c'est la vie. Unfortunately, my nails are now very chipped after playing lap tag last night (Google it - best game ever), so I'll be changing my mani soon. I'm thinking something light and springy...

Revlon Whimsical

2012-03-24T16:27:00.000-05:00

Hello there! I hope the weather is as nice wherever you are as it is here in St. Louis. Now if only it could just stay in the low- to mid-70s for the rest of the spring and summer, that would be just fine with me! I really don't like the heat, but I suppose it's at least a good opportunity to wear shorts and cute skirts and dresses, right? Anyway, the polish I'm showing you today is one I'm sure you've all seen before: Revlon Whimsical, a.k.a. a dupe for Deborah Lippmann Glitter in the Air.

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I have to say, this is not a polish to get if you're one of those who doesn't like to use more than two coats unless you're prepared to layer. I'm not absolutely sure, as I wore this in early March, but if my memory serves me correctly, this was five coats. I probably would've been better off to layer Whimsical over a light blue, but I didn't have any that were pale enough - Sally Hansen Blue Away is the lightest blue I have, and I wanted the base color of my mani to be the actual base color of Whimsical. However, I must say that I think all those coats paid off. I really liked how the glitter was sort of embedded in the jelly, and I think Revlon did a pretty good job naming Whimsical (though I think Glitter in the Air is cleverer, but I'm not willing to pay that much for a cuter name). It's kind of a sweet look, which isn't always what I go for, but it's definitely a polish I'm glad to have in my collection.

What do you think about Whimsical - do you like it, do you prefer GitA, or are you passing them up entirely?

Teal and Purple Ruffian

2012-03-20T16:13:00.000-05:00

Hi! It's been a while...I didn't realize until I thought "Oh, I should probably do a post" and logged on to Blogger that it'd been a week and a half since my last non-PR post. Whoops. I guess I wasn't too motivated to do anything but read and see friends over spring break, which I suppose is understandable. Anyway, today I have my first attempt at a ruffian manicure. I used Orly Purple Pleather and and Viridian Vinyl. I wore Purple Pleather on its own for a couple days, then added Viridian Vinyl and top coat. Unfortunately, I broke my ring nail fairly badly right before I was going to take pictures, so I decided to leave it be and cut it after I took the pictures so you could get a better idea of what it looked like originally.

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I was pretty happy with how I did, especially considering I did the ruffian part of the manicure in an Arby's on my way back to college. Yeah...it happened. I'm also definitely excited to do more ruffian manicures, perhaps including some spring-themed ones, since it is now officially spring. I'm also interested in adding other nail art to ruffians - have any of you experimented with that? I'm not sure if it would look good or be a nail fail, though I suppose it would depend on what design I did. Anyway, happy spring!

Zoya Beach & Surf PR

2012-03-17T00:50:00.002-05:00

New nail color - coming soon to a salon near you and Zoya.com!

Summer 2012 is going to be a super stylish season for nails with the latest offering of nail polish collections, Beach and Surf, from the new color of fashion, Zoya! This new splash of color, designed by the Zoya color experts, is kissed by sea and sand translating beautifully onto the nail in the famous, full-coverage Zoya formula.

Dive into the creamy shades of the Zoya Beach Collection or the shimmering sea foils of the Zoya Surf Collection. The choice is yours – this color palette is sure to be a splash!

Zoya BEACH Collection

Reagan (ZP614) - deep cerise pink cream
Lara (ZP615) - vivid cerise pink cream
Shelby (ZP616) - soft pinky pink cream
Arizona (ZP617) - soft coral orange cream
Tracie (ZP618) - sea grass metallic
Wednesday (ZP619) - soft aqua cream

Zoya SURF Collection

Rory (ZP620) - lotus pink foil metallic
Carly (ZP621) - thalia purple foil metallic
Kimber (ZP622) - magenta pink foil metallic
Myrta (ZP623) - coral orange foil metallic
Meg (ZP624) - mermaid green foil metallic
Zuza (ZP625) - aquamarine foil metallic

Zoya is the new color of fashion...

The Zoya BEACH and SURF collection was designed and inspired by resort runways and tropical get-a-ways.

Ultra long-wearing, glossy nail lacquers by Zoya are free of harmful industrial chemicals like toluene, camphor, formaldehyde, resin, dibutyl phthalate (DBP) that are known to cause cancer and birth defects.

Find Zoya BEACH and SURF as well as over 300 other ultra high-fashion Zoya shades at www.zoya.com. As always, each and every Zoya color is made for women so we name them after women.

BEACH and SURF by Zoya Nail Polish - 12 new colors:
Available April 1, 2012 (USA)

Sponging with Skylar

2012-03-09T11:40:00.001-06:00

Good morning! I took my last midterm this morning, and I think they all went pretty well, so now I'm ready for spring break! Unfortunately, that means I have to pack first, but...I'll do that later. Today I have a manicure from early February. I did this after I wore Zoya Skylar, a gorgeous blue that I didn't want to take off when I started getting tipwear. The solution? Sponging. I used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Bronze Ablaze, Orly Luxe, and a regular kitchen sponge that I keep specifically for nail art.

sunlight

indoors, natural light

I was really happy with this - I think it looked particularly nice because of the depth I got from using two colors that are sort of different tints of the same color. I'm not sure if that makes any sense the way I worded it, but to clarify, I think you'd get a similar effect using, say, a dark purple and a light purple over another color. Plus, the great thing about sponging is that it looks fabulous, is very easy, and can be used as a mani refresher for when you don't have time (or the heart) to redo your whole manicure. I'm also thinking that I should try using sponging as a base for some other nail art, but I'm not sure what I'll do yet...like I said, though, it's spring break now, so I'll have plenty of time to think about it!

Mustachioed

2012-03-06T08:10:00.000-06:00

Hey there! Look, it's only been two days since my last post, even though it's midterm - wait, let's not talk about the fact that it's midterm week. *ahem* Moving on...during The Week That Shall Not Be Named (am I the only one who thinks midterms are worse than finals?), sometimes one needs a little something to cheer oneself up. I did this manicure a couple weeks ago, but I'm posting it now because I think it's just about time for something a little silly. And what might that be? Mustachioed nails, of course.

indoors, natural light

There - I told you it was silly. And before anyone asks, yes, I did wear this out in public, and yes, people did comment on it, and no, no one told me I was bonkers. I have to say, I did mess up the pinkie a bit, but it certainly didn't detract from the fun I had wearing it, and other than that, I think it turned out quite well. You see, facial hair is not just for the face! Um. Yeah. I just said that. It's possible that it miiight be a little past midnight while I'm writing this and maaaybe I should be studying for my international studies exam tomorrow and maaaybe I'm just a little tired and it's making me slightly nuts...so. Yup. *whistles* Au revoir!

Deep Sea Flakies

2012-03-04T08:49:00.000-06:00

Happy Saturday! I'm writing this on Thursday, but by the time this is posted, hopefully we'll all be having a great weekend. I did this manicure about a month ago and am just now getting around to posting it. At the time, I was going through one of those phases where you wear the same sort of polish for about five manicures, and at the time, I was in a dark polish phase. One of the manicures I wore during that phase was Essence Just Rock It layered with one coat each of FingerPaints Flecked and FingerPaints Motley. This was one of the first manicures I did with Flecked and Motley, and I have to say, I think it turned out quite well.

indoors, artificial light

Now this is why I love flakies. The shifting colors of greenish, bluish, and purplish flakies mixed together over a dark blue creme? Gorgeous. I really need to do some more complicated layering soon - it's so much fun! I just haven't had much time or motivation to do more complex nail designs lately, though I enjoy it when I do. Maybe once midterms are over I'll have more time...or, more likely, I'll be even busier. Oh well - I can't complain! I'm having fun, and I hope you all are too. Until next time!

China Glaze Capitol Colours: Dress Me Up

2012-03-01T12:12:00.001-06:00

Hello again! Today I have the second color I received from China Glaze Capitol Colours, Dress Me Up, which is described by China Glaze as "a stripped down dark rose pink creme." To be honest, I didn't think this would suit me when I saw it in the bottle. I thought it was kind of a "meh" color, and I was far more excited about some of the other colors in the collection. Now? I've changed my mind. While it's not the most amazing awesome unbelievable color in existence, Dress Me Up is quite the classy neutral.

indoors, natural light

sunlight

Pretty, no? I can just see a satiny formal dress in this color. But it's not just a pretty shade - Dress Me Up had a great formula and was opaque in two smooth, easy coats. I'm definitely happy to have Dress Me Up in my collection, and while it's not any sort of groundbreaking color, I think it'd be a great addition (almost typed 'addiction'...Freudian slip?) to the collection of any polish lover who's looking for a great pinky nude. (And note that I do consider this a nude, not a pink.) What do you think - will you be getting your hands on Dress Me Up?

P.S. Who else is super excited to go polish hunting for Capitol Colours this weekend? I'm hoping I can convince Aly to take me since she has her car up here now. :)

China Glaze Capitol Colours: Stone Cold

2012-02-28T19:37:00.001-06:00

Helllooo! Today I'm reviewing Stone Cold, one of the colors I received from the China Glaze Capitol Colours collection. Stone Cold is a matte, metallic gunmetal-colored polish, and I have to say, I'm a huge fan. I wish my nails were less nubbiny so they could show off the polish more, but c'est la vie, so here are the nubbiny pictures I have:

sunlight

indoors, natural light

Isn't she gorgeous? I'm really keen to do some kind of sponge like this...I feel like it would be a really good color to sponge. Then again, I've been on a sponging kick lately, so maybe it's just me. Anyway, to get off my tangent, let me tell you some more about Stone Cold. Not only it is an awesome color with an awesome finish, it's really easy to apply and is perfectly opaque in one coat. ONE coat, people! What can I say, I'm impressed.

The next color I have from Capitol Colours is Dress Me Up, so you'll be seeing that soon (though I hope to get a few more when they come out for sale - *cough* Riveting *cough*), though I may have a post or two in between. Also, midterms are next week, so I may have to slack off a bit on the blogging. I'm determined to get good scores on my midterms, so I'll be hitting the books hard (at least, that's what I think now). Until next time, have a good day!

Stone Cold was received by me from China Glaze for review. For more information, see my disclosure policy.

A Royal Nail Junkie

2012-02-23T16:19:00.000-06:00

Oh, hey, look! It's me! And it hasn't be a week since my last post! Whaaat?! Sure, it's true that I should be doing Arabic homework, but...I'll do that later. Right? Sure. Anyway, today's post is actually a long time overdue. I think I did this manicure sometime in December, but I'm not sure, and it's been sitting in the "Nails" folder on my Mac for far too long, especially for how gorgeous it is (well, in my opinion). Ta-da!

natural light

As you can probably tell from my cheesy title, I used Revlon Royal topped with Sinful Colors Nail Junkie, and I absolutely love how it turned out. Nail Junkie is one of my favorite glitters just because it has such depth, and I think it would look great as part of a blue jelly sandwich. Unfortunately, I don't have any that would do, but I'll keep looking. And now I am really doing to go do Arabic. Probably. Maybe. Or maybe later. ;)

Have a great day - and remember, tomorrow's Friday!

Mardi Gras Nails

2012-02-21T16:18:00.000-06:00

Happy Mardi Gras! It's a day of indulgence, and while I haven't been indulging myself too much today, I did give my nails a special Mardi Gras manicure this past weekend. I wasn't even really planning on doing Mardi Gras nails until I thought of this and decided it was too good to resist. Who could resist having their nails dripping with gold?

indoors, artificial light

For this manicure, I used Zoya Veruschka on most of my nails, Zoya Savita on the ring fingers, and Orly Luxe for the dripping gold. Though my left pinkie nail was a bit of a mess-up, as you can see, I was really happy with the way the rest of them turned out. In fact, I actually got a "that's really cool" from a straight male, so perhaps that's one way to define manicure success. I meant to add top coat and see how it looked after some wear, but after a couple of days one whole nail peeled off before I had time to do so. I have to say, though, I was impressed with how long it stayed on! I'm really going to have to try to use drip nail art more often.

Again, have a great Mardi Gras - and let me know if you're doing a Mardi Gras manicure!

China Glaze Capitol Colors - PR

2012-02-15T17:10:00.000-06:00

*dies* FINALLY! Now I just can't wait for them to come out....

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With THE HUNGER GAMES about to begin, Capitol citizens can show their support for their chosen district through China Glaze®’s exclusive Capitol Colours nail polish collection. The collection combines rich crèmes, soft shimmers and bold glitters to create the limited edition 12 shade nail polish collection inspired by the most anticipated movie release of the year.

The China Glaze® Capitol Colours collection includes the following shades:

· Dress Me Up – A stripped down dark rose pink crème

· Foie Gras – Decadent dark crème taupe

· Fast Track – Soft sandy brown with a gold metallic shimmer

· Hook and Line –Pearlescent light grey

· Stone Cold – Matte slate grey with shimmer

· Smoke and Ashes – Black-based teal with multicolored shimmer

· Agro – Moss green with gold shimmer

· Mahogany Magic – Reddish-brown crème

· Harvest Moon – Crystalized copper shimmer

· Riveting – Bright orange shimmer

· Electrify – High-wattage gold and ruby red glitter blend

· Luxe and Lush – A high octane flaky overcoat

The release of the collection follows the debut of the China Glaze® Capitol Colours consumer and beauty trade advertising campaign featuring the story’s Effie Trinket, who is assigned by the Capitol to escort and prepare the Tributes from District 12 for the 74^th Annual Hunger Games. The ad features the tagline, “What will you be wearing to the opening ceremonies?,” encouraging fans of THE HUNGER GAMES to support their favorite tribute and district by wearing a corresponding shade. Full-page ads will run in the March issues of teenVOGUE, People Style Watch and InStyle.

China Glaze® Capitol Colours will be available in early March 2012 at salons and specialty beauty retailers including Sally Beauty Supply and ULTA stores, coinciding with the release of THE HUNGER GAMES in theatres March 23, 2012. Individual shades retail for $7. The collection will be available in a 12-piece counter display as well as open stock colors.

China Glaze® is free of DBP, toluene, and added formaldehyde. China Glaze® nail lacquers are available through salons and professional beauty supply stores nationwide. For more information, visit: www.chinaglaze.com or follow China Glaze on Facebook and Twitter: http://twitter.com/ChinaGlaze

China Glaze® is a division of American International Industries.

Zoya True Part 2: Swatches and Review

2012-02-12T21:16:00.000-06:00

Hello there! I've finally worn all of the colors in True, and I have to say, I'm impressed! I love these kinds of colors anyway, and Zoya does them really well. Unfortunately, not all of my pictures are the best - the weather turned cloudy just in time for me to wear Lotus. Anyway, here they are!

sunlight

natural light

Skylar is probably the one of the three that represented itself best in pictures - it's a dusty blue filled with gold metallic particles, and it's absolutely gorgeous. I was really happy with this both in the bottle and on my nails, and I'd definitely recommend it, especially for spring. This was two coats.

sunlight

natural light

For some reason, the sparkle in Tru wasn't as willing to come out for the camera. The purple color is fairly accurate (and gorgeous!), but the gold shimmer is much more evident in real life. As a lover of purples, especially rich purples, I loved Tru (though, to be honest, I could do with a different name), and it's a great addition to the many purples in my stash, especially since it's an easy-application two-coater.

natural light

Finally, we have Lotus, a prim dusty purple with purple and gold shimmer. Though I didn't like it as much as Tru, it's still an absolutely gorgeous purple and, again, one I'm more than happy to add to my collection. Like Tru and Skylar, Lotus was also opaque in two coats.

These polishes were provided to me by Zoya for an honest review.