Mystery Giveaway!!!!!!

   I hope everyone is having a great week.  I have something exciting for you today.  Remember last week when I told you about Rite Aid's Nail Extravaganza?  Well as part of the celebration, they are also sponsoring a mystery giveaway with me.  The mystery is exactly what is in your box.  This is the box I received to giveaway to one lucky reader:

  I'm not sure what all is inside it.  Besides nail polish of course.  The folks at Rite Aid were also kind enough to send me a nice polish gift so I'm betting the mystery box will contain some pretty similar items.  This is what I received:

   Nice set isn't it?  Now I can't guarantee that the giveaway box will contain all of the same products shown, or even the same shades shown, but I'd bet it will be really nice as well.  
   The JulieG polishes on the right side of my photo are from the Frosted Gumdrops texture collection.  I actually purchased the full collection from Groupon a few weeks ago so I'm going to do a mini second prize as well.  It will include the three Frosted Gumdrop polishes and the Fergie star glitter polish in the back of the photo.  Here's a better shot of those polishes:

   I will probably throw a couple other items in as well, but those I'll keep a mystery as that's the theme of this giveaway.  The extras will be items you would find at Rite Aid.  Now for those pesky rules.  You must be a public follower of polished & frosted and 18 years of age.  As I will be shipping out the prizes myself I will have to limit entries to U.S. mailing addresses.  There have been crack downs on shipping regulations lately in several countries and I don't have the necessary permits to ship everywhere.  

   The giveaway will run from today May 15th through Sunday May 26th.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rite Aid Nail Extravaganze Contest

   Happy Friday!!  And Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there.  I have some exciting news for you all today.  Starting Monday Rite Aid is holding a nail art contest.  Please read the following press release for more details.  Don't forget you can click on the image for a larger view.

   This is the second year of the contest and Rite Aid is looking to YOU to participate in the 2013 Search for the Ultimate Rite Aid Nail Enthusiast. The winner will receive a $500 Rite Aid gift card, 20% off storewide as a wellness+ Gold status member for the rest of 2013, a feature in an upcoming Rite Aid email, plus the opportunity to be the Rite Aid 2013 face of nails. There will also be two First Prize winners, as well as 17 Finalist Prizes! Also there will be coupons from all of our sponsors! 
  
Beginning May 13^th, participants can upload their most creative nail designs to our website - http://riteaidnails.com. Public voting and sharing begins immediately. Top three winners are selected by a combination of public vote and celebrity judge scores.  Full rules and eligibility can be found at http://www.riteaidnails.com/rules/

China Glaze Snap My Dragon and Bling It On

   Happy Monday everyone.  This is a special Monday because it's also my birthday.  The boy is working all day today, so we celebrated on Sat with lunch at Cheesecake Factory and seeing Iron Man 3.  GO SEE IRON MAN 3! Not that I've given my public service announcement let's get on with the swatches.
   I'm going to be combing my China Glaze Avant Garden and Glitz- Bitz 'N Pieces reviews.  Why?  Because I swatched the glitters over the Avant Garden colors so it makes sense in my head to share them at the same time.  I believe Glitz came out first, but both collections are from early Spring 2013.  I received my samples at the same time so I know they came out close together.

   Snap My Dragon is a rasperry shimmer from the Avant Garden collection.  The shimmer is a slightly lighter shade of pink than the base color.  The formula and application are both great.  This is almost a 1 coat polish, but I used 2 in these photos to cover some minimal VNL.  I used Finger Paints base coat and no top coat.

Direct Sun

Indoor Natural Light

Indoor with Flash

   Bling It On is an indigo and black glitter mix from the Glitz collection.  There are multiple sizes of hex glitters and some short bar glitters.  Normally I'm not a fan of bar glitter, but the ones in this polish aren't too bad.  The formula is ok- a little on the thin side though.  With application I got better results from dabbing the polish onto my nail and kind of pushing the glitter around where I wanted it.  I found if I used a standard brushing application the glitter wanted to pull towards the tip of my nails or off my nails altogether.  This is one dabbed coat over Snap My Dragon.

Direct Sun

Indoor Natural Light

Indoor with Flash

  

Disclaimer: The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the company for consideration.

Nordstrom Galaxy

   I'm so sorry for the lack of posts lately guys.  My job has been kicking my butt since I got promoted in March.  But I'm going to try to get back on a decent posting schedule.  Back last Fall I was in Nordstrom one day and came across a new line of polish from the store.  So of course I had to pick one up.  

   Galaxy is a medium dark grey crelly, like storm clouds, with silver glitter.  Application was good, but the formula was a little thick.  The thickness might be from the glitter, but a couple drops of thinner should help.  
   Glitter distribution is even across the nail.  However it leaves a bumpy texture on your nail and hides the sparkle.  Adding top coat brings out the sparkle from the glitter.  I used a coat of Gelous and a coat of Seche Vite to give an extra smooth surface.  For the below photos I used 2 coats of Galaxy over a base of Barielle Nail Rebuilding Protein.

Direct Sun

Indoor Natural Light

Indoor with Flash

   I'm not sure you can tell but I smudged my thumb a bit before taking these photos.  I was trying to see if the square cap was a removable outer cap.  As far as I can tell it is not.  Retail price for the Nordstrom line is $8.50.  If you don't live near a Nordstrom, they usually offer free shipping through the website with no minimum purchase.  I like Galaxy and will probably purchase more polishes from the line as they catch my eye.

China Glaze Texture Collection

   Please enjoy the following press release from China Glaze for their upcoming Summer 2013 Texture collection.

 

Color Club Eternal Beauty

   I have one last polish from the Color Club Halo Hues collection to show you today.  At least for now.  I'm sure I'll pick up more in the future.  I really am a sucker for a good holo polish.

   Eternal Beauty is a medium purple linear holo.  Once again, the holo flame is very strong.  Formula and application were both really good.  I had no streaking or cuticle drag.  I used 3 coats in the bellow photos, but I probably would have been fine with just 2.  My base coat was Nail Tek Foundation II and I did not use a top coat.  

Direct Sun

Indoor Natural Light

Indoor with Flash

Kitchen Lighting

   Purple and holo, of course I'm in love.  I have several other similar shades of purple holo, but this is definitely the strongest.  

   All three of the Halo Hues colors I bought dry very quickly.  This comes in handy if you don't like using a top coat over holo polishes since some top coats can dull the holo effect.

Zoya Earth Day Promo 2013

   It's back!  The Zoya Earth Day promo that is.  Please read the following press release for all the details.

Announcing the 2013 Zoya Nail Polish Exchange*

 Hooray for Earth Day! Once again, Zoya is helping you do a little spring cleaning with the return of the Earth Day Zoya Nail Polish Exchange* for 2013. Clean out your nail polish wardrobe and get rid of old nail polish that may not be BIG5FREE (Free of Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin, Toluene, DBP and Camphor) and exchange it for a greener alternative - long lasting, award winning, healthy Zoya Nail Polish bottles!

 Now's the perfect time to make the switch to an eco-chic beauty routine! From April 19, 2013 - April 26, 2013 (11:59PM EST), exchange your old, unwanted nail color for toxin-free ZOYA Nail Polish for only $4 per bottle plus shipping and handling fees. Rest assured - ZOYA will properly dispose of your old polish. 

Here's all you need to do!

1.  Go to www.zoya.com and pick out the polishes you would like (excludes all Zoya PixieDust™ Collection shades) and add them to your cart. You must select at least 6 bottles and no more than 24 bottles of polish (Salon accounts minimum 12 maximum 48 bottles.)

2. Apply the code (copy and paste for best results):
ZOYAEARTH2013

3. Your order value will be adjusted to reflect a 50% discount (we use these funds to properly dispose of the old nail polish).

4. SUBMIT your order!

Then Zoya will ship out your NEW polish! HOORAY! This is how your order should look like...

Once you get your order
Here's where the exchanging* happens...

1.     Ship back the equivalent number of bottles you received to the return address below (ie. If you ordered 6 bottles of Zoya – you would send us 6 NON-ZOYA polishes). Please check with your carrier on the proper way to ship nail polish.

2.     Include a copy of your order. 

To clarify the exchange: You do not have to send us the exact amount of bottles that you are ordering. You can send any quantity up to that amount. You can also donate. If you decide you don't want to do either, it's ok "Offer is not contingent on customer returning polish" we will still love you and will send the Zoya polishes... we'll just send you on a guilt trip for a while :)

Ship Your Old Nail Polish To:

Art of Beauty, Inc.
c/o Polish Exchange
5060 Taylor Rd, Unit D
Cleveland, Ohio, 44128, USA

Once we receive your polish, we do the rest! It’s that simple!

IMPORTANT!
The bottles you send in cannot be Zoya, Qtica or Nocti polishes (but they can be any other brand). We are using the honor code here folks! We want to make sure you get your Zoya Nail Polish! We send you the polish first then you send your old polish back to us! If you do choose to send us your old polish we promise to properly dispose of it according to EPA guidelines. This offer is only good for 1 week so hurry – Don’t Wait!

*Offer valid online at www.zoya.com only. Offer expires on 4/26/2012 at 11:59PM EST. Continental US ONLY. Not valid with any other codes, coupons or promotions. Shipping and handling fees apply. Consumer accounts must exchange a minimum of 6 polishes with a 24 bottle maximum. Salon accounts must exchange at least 12 with a maximum of 48 bottles. Polish can be from any brand EXCEPT Zoya, Qtica or Nocti and can be exchanged for in-stock .5oz Zoya Nail Polish. Excludes all Zoya PixieDust™ Collection shades. Offer is not contingent on customer returning polish. Zoya Exchange code is unique and non-transferable. One code per account. Art of Beauty is not responsible for incorrect addresses, credit card entry errors or errors associated with declined credit cards. Please allow standard time for processing and shipping, however if volume is higher than expected please allow up to 6 weeks for shipping and processing. Art of Beauty, Inc. reserves the right to remove any polish that is out of stock from your order. You will not be charged for this polish. Backordered polish is not included in this promotion.