Monday, July 29, 2013

Essie The Girls Are Out

   How's everyone's Monday going so far?  Today I have another polish from the Essie Naughty Nautical Summer 2013 collection to show you.



   The Girls Are Out is a plum crelly with silver microshimmer.  The shimmer is more noticeable in this polish than in Sunday Funday.  I found the formula to be thin and that it likes to pool and drag on the nail if you have too much on the brush.  I definitely recommend thinner coats to avoid this.  Otherwise though application is good.
   I used 2 coats in the photos below over Finger Paints base coat.  I was good with two coats, but some of you might prefer 3.


Direct Sun

Indoor Natural Light

Indoor with Flash

Friday, July 26, 2013

Essie Sunday Funday

PRESS SAMPLE



   We've made it to Friday again.  Which for a lot of you means time off for the next two days.  Who has plans?  I'll be working so think of me as you're out having fun.
   Today I have Sunday Funday from the Essie Naughty Naughtical collection for Summer 2013.


   Sunday Funday is a pinkish coral crelly with silver and pink microflecks.  The color leans heavy towards the pink side, but you can tell it's not a straight pink.  Formula and application were good, but I had horrible wear time.  I applied this in the evening and it started chipping the next day.  Granted, I'm hard on my hands at work, but this wore especially badly for me.  I don't normally have this issue with Essie polishes, so I'm not sure what the exact cause was.  
   I used 2 coats of Sunday Funday, but those of you with longer nails or who do not like any VNL I would recommend 3 coats instead.  I used Duri Rejuvacote and NYC Grand Central Station for my top coat.  

Direct Sun

Indoor Natural Light

Indoor with Flash


  As you can tell from my photos, the shimmer/microflecks are almost completely hidden on the nail.  The color is very vibrant, which I like, I just wish the shimmer showed more and that I had gotten better wear time.


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

Friday, July 19, 2013

Ninja Polish Nebula

   Happy Friday all.  I hope you all have had a good week.  Aside from a migraine early in the week mine's been pretty good, just busy.  Today I have a gorgeous polish from Ninja Polish to show you.  For those of you not familiar with Ninja Polish they carry not only their own brand of polish, but also some other indie polish brands and brands from other countries that are harder to get in the US.


   Nebula is a multi-chrome holographic glitter polish.  The base is clear and jam packed with tiny glitters that shift from green to teal to purple and some holographic glitters.  It's sheer enough that you can use it as a glitter top coat over another polish but can also be built up and worn on its own.  If you want to wear it alone I would suggest thicker coats to keep down the number of layers.  You will still have a few sparse spots, but this polish is so sparkly and blingy that you won't notice them for the most part.  
   I found the formula to be good and application was easy, especially for a glitter polish.  For the photos below I used 3 coats of Nebula over a base of Orly Bonder and Duri Rejuvacote.  For my topcoat I did one layer of Gelous to help smooth out everything and a final layer of NYC Grand Central Station for a quick dry time.

Indirect Sun

Indoor Blurred


    I did a blurred shot to show you the holographic glitters.  Please click on the photos above for an enlarged view to see the color shift better.  I wore this as my Fourth of July mani to give a fireworks effect to my nails.  I loved the color shift and rainbows that showed up in all different types of lighting.  The biggest issue I had was how distracting it was, especially when I was driving.  The colors are extremely hard to capture in photos and trust me this is much more beautiful in person.  If you like multi-chromos or holographic glitters, I highly recommend Nebula.  The price was $9 plus a few dollars for shipping, which I found very reasonable for an indie polish.

Friday, July 12, 2013

Zoya Cashmeres & Satins Press Release

   I have another Fall 2013 collection, well 2 really, to tell you about today.  I am really looking forward to several of these polishes.  Please enjoy the following press release from Zoya:

CASHMERES & SATINS
          Twelve sultry new ZOYA Nail Polish colors for Fall 2013.


Six new long-wearing decadent, cashmere creams - five silky, satin metallics - one super luxe gold topper! All created to work together with this seasons most stylish runway designs and luxurious fabric blends. Try the topper as an accent or gild each nail - no matter what this Fall duo has you covered.
  
CASHMERES
Livingston (ZP697) - Fall Red Cream - Full Coverage.

Pepper (ZP685) - Brick Red Cream - Full Coverage (Originally designed for Peter Som/AW13).




Sailor (ZP696) - Dark Navy Cream - Full Coverage.

Hunter (ZP695) - Dark Sea Cream - Full Coverage.
  

 Louise (ZP694) - Chocolate Brown Cream - Full Coverage.  

 Flynn (ZP693) - Camel Brown Nude Cream - Full Coverage.





SATINS
Channing (ZP691) - Rust Red Copper Metallic - Full Coverage.



Mason (ZP692) - Red Violet “Fandango Pink” Metallic - Full Coverage (Originally designed for Zang Toi/SS13).



Claudine (ZP690) - Meteorite Gray Metallic - Full Coverage.



Neve (ZP679) - Sapphire Blue Metallic - Full Coverage (Originally designed for Zang Toi/AW13).



Giovanna (ZP680) - Lush Emerald Green Metallic - Full Coverage (Originally designed for Zang Toi/AW13).



SPECIAL EDITION - SATINS TOPPER Maria - Luisa (ZP662) - Sparkling Cellophane Gold Topper (Originally designed for Rafael Cennamo/AW13).
Photo credits: Zoya Nail Polish

Ultra long-wearing, nail lacquers by Zoya are BIG5FREE - all formulas are completely free of harmful industrial chemicals such as toluene, camphor, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) that are known to cause cancer and birth defects.

Find over 300 stunning Zoya colors on www.zoya.com.
Each and every color has a name as unique as the women who inspired it.
 

ZOYA IS THE NEW COLOR OF FASHION!
Zoya Nail Polish – Fall
$8.00 ea. (US)
 

AVAILABLE JULY 15, 2013
Zoya.com 
 
 

         

Monday, July 8, 2013

2nd Annual It's So Easy Summer Nail Art Contest

   Who's ready for another nail art contest?  My skills are not up to the task, but I know some of yours are.  Please enjoy the following press release from It's So Easy for their 2nd annual summer nail art contest:







Los Angeles (June 2013) – Catch a wave and surf on over to the It’s So Easy® Summer Fun Nail Art contest. The nail art brand invites fingertip fanatics from across the United States to share their best summer-themed nail creations, and enter to win cash or gift cards.

The prizes are:
1st: $1,000 cash
2nd: $500 cash
3rd: $250 cash

Twenty congratulations prizes will also be awarded, offering $25 gift cards to shop at Sally Beauty Supply®, the largest retailer of professional beauty products in the world.

To enter, participants must visit www.itssoeasynails.com and upload one nail art look. The deadline
to enter is Wednesday, July 31 favorite design win. Voting ends on August 15 be conducted by the It’s So Easy® Professional Nail Art Team, and winners will be announced shortly after.

Participants must be 16 and older to enter, and entries are limited to nail lacquer and nail art paint only - no embellishments allowed.

Tag the It’s So Easy® contest on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter using #ISENailArtContest2013.

About It’s So Easy®
It’s So Easy® provides the highest quality nail art products for nail art applications. The line includes
loose glitters, cracked ice flakes, sealer and dryer, rhinestones, brushes, and more. It’s So Easy® products are available now at Sally Beauty Supply®. To find a store near you, visit www.sallybeauty.com.

Like It’s So Easy® on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ItsSoEasyNailArt
Follow It’s So Easy® on Instagram: @ItsSoEasyNails
Follow It’s So Easy® on Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/ItSoEasyNails

Monday, July 1, 2013

Zoya Nyx

  PRESS SAMPLE


   Happy July everyone.  Today I have Nyx from the Zoya Spring '13 PixieDust collection to show you.



   Nyx is a blurple/dark periwinkle shade with silver glitter.  The base is somewhere between a crelly and full jelly.  The sheerness of the base means it will require at least 3 coats for opacity, which is what I used in the photos below, but also means you can layer the shades together for gradients and new colors.
   The formula and application were amazing.  It felt like the polish was applying itself almost.  I wore this for several days with no top coat and wear was great.  Minimal chips or tip wear.  I used Duri Rejuvacote as my base.

Direct Sun

Indoor Natural Light

Indoor with Flash



   So far I have really enjoyed all of the textured polishes I've tried.  The texture doesn't bother me like I feared it would at first.  I really like the color of Nyx.  It's not quite denim, but not really purple either.  There's a bit of grey that gives the polish a muted quality.


Disclaimer: The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the company for consideration.
 
polished & frosted title image brushes by Obsidian Dawn