Butter London Victoriana

   Hello again Monday.  I haven't really missed you.  I'm sorry if that makes you a little blue.  Speaking of blue, I have a lovely one from Butter London to show you lovelies today.

   Victoriana is a dusty blue with a silver shimmer.  There's just a hint of green in the polish so that it leans towards teal.  The formula is nice and application is generally good.  I did experience some cuticle drag, so I'd recommend waiting a few extra minutes between coats.  2 coats of polish gave me complete coverage.  I used Finger Paints base coat and no top coat in these photos.

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Indoor Natural Light

Indoor with Flash

   Victoriana came out for Fall 2010.  It's been a lemming of mine for a while and I finally picked it up at Ulta several months ago during a 1 day only B1G1 sale.  I am definitely glad I did.  What do you ladies think of this color?  How many of you already have it?  Let me know in the comments.

China Glaze Hologlam Press Release

   TGIF everyone.  I actually have the weekend off for a change and plan to have a swatching spree if the weather cooperates.  Please enjoy the following press release from China Glaze for their upcoming Hologlam collection:

TRAVEL TO A NEW GALAXY WITH CHINA GLAZE®

China Glaze® Introduces 12 Illuminating Holographic Lacquers with Hologlam

Los Angeles, CA – (March 2013): 3…2…1…Blast off! Take your summer manicure out of this world with China Glaze® Hologlam, an all new12-piece collection of shimmering holographic nail lacquers.

China Glaze® established itself as the leader in holographic nail lacquer with the 2007 OMG! collection, one of the most popular collections in the brands’ history. Fueled by that success and back by popular demand, China Glaze® Hologlam uses reflective, holographic particles to capture light and transform nails into amazing, ever-changing visual effects. With a strong linear finish whether indoor or shining bright in the sun, China Glaze® Hologlam bends and changes, creating an illuminated three-dimensional, traveling color effect across the nail.

The China Glaze® Hologlam collection features 12 futuristic shades, including:

Get Outta My Space: powdered violet

Astro-Hot: soft, baby pink

Infra-Red: warm, magenta pink

When Stars Collide: warm maroon

Not In This Galaxy: bright, warm coral

OMG A UFO: warm, moss green

Don’t Be A Luna-Tic: turquoise aqua

Sci-Fly By: light, silver blue

Take A Trek: cool, denim blue

Strap On Your Moonboots: midnight sky blue

Galactic Gray: warm, gunmetal

Cosmic Dust: silver metal

The China Glaze® Hologlam collection will be available in April 2013 at fine salons and beauty supply stores nationwide with an SRP of $14.

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, please visit www.chinaglaze.com or follow China Glaze on Facebook (@ChinaGlaze), Twitter (@ChinaGlazeOfficial) and Pinterest (pinterest.com/chinaglaze).

China Glaze® is a division of American International Industries.

About American International Industries

For 42 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 Andrea, Ardell, Body Drench, Bye Bye Blemish, Checi, China Glaze, Clean + Easy, Clubman/Pinaud, Duo, European Secrets, EzFlow, Fright Night, Gena, GiGi, Gypsy Lash, IBD, It’s So Easy, Jeris-Lustray, LASH BeLONG, Nail Tek, No Tweeze/Micro Tweeze, 'N Rage, Poshe, Prolinc, RAW, Seche, SuperNail, Surgi-Care, Waterworks, Winning Nails, Woltra, Woody’s, and Youthair. For more information, visit our website: www.aiibeauty.com.

Zoya PixieDust Summer Edition Press Release

   Good Morning everyone.  Today for you I have a fun announcement from Zoya about the upcoming Summer Edition of their PixieDust collection.  Please enjoy the following press release:

INFUSED WITH SUMMERY MAGIC AND WONDER

PixieDust - Summer Edition

Because everyone wants more of it... the color experts at Zoya went back to the lab and created six more beautiful, long-wearing textured, matte and sparkling Zoya PixieDust Colors!

This incredible and best-selling formula is sure to captivate with a magical sparkle and sugary finish like no other.

ZOYA PIXIE DUST - SUMMER EDITION

• Solange: EXCLUSIVE PIGMENT!!! Gold Metal sparkle, exclusive Zoya PixieDust Matte  Sparkle formula.
• Beatrix: Tangerine Metal sparkle, exclusive Zoya PixieDust Matte Sparkle formula.
• Destiny: Coral Metal sparkle, exclusive Zoya PixieDust Matte Sparkle formula.
• Miranda: Rose sparkle, exclusive Zoya PixieDust Matte Sparkle formula.
• Stevie: Violet sparkle, exclusive Zoya PixieDust Matte Sparkle formula.
• Liberty: Blue sparkle, exclusive Zoya PixieDust Matte Sparkle formula.

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.

PixieDust Application: For BEST RESULTS apply 1-3 (for full coverage) thin coats of polish. Allow product to dry completely for full effect. Do not use a base coat or top coat.

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!
$9.00 ea. (US)
Available on Zoya.com

SHIPPING APRIL 1, 2013 (no joke)

China Glaze Altered Reality

   The third and final China Glaze Tranzitions shade I have to show you is Altered Reality.

   Altered Reality is a teal metallic shade without top coat.  I get a bit of a frosty feel on the nail.  I had several issues with this polish.  The formula was a little runny and needs thinner coats for best application.  But, if you use too thin of coats because then you get lumps and streaking.  I used 2 coats of Altered Reality over Finger Paints base coat.

Direct Sun

Indoor Natural Light

Indoor with Flash

   Adding top coat causes much less streaking with Altered Reality, however there is very little color changing.  If you use a thicker coat of top coat you get a bit more color difference which you should be able to see on my thumb.  I used China Glaze Fast Forward top coat and did the same patterns as the other 2 polishes in this collection.

Direct Sun

Indoor Natural Light

Indoor with Flash

   Altered Reality was a big disappointment.  I loved the color in the bottle, but once I had it on, the slight frostiness turned me off.  The minimal color change was sad as well, this one could have had lots of potential.  I only wore this for maybe 30 minutes, and on removal I already started noticing signs of staining.  I would definitely pass on this one.

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

China Glaze Modify Me

   The second polish from the China Glaze Tranzitions collection I have to show you is Modify Me.

   Modify Me is a light blurple, not quite periwinkle, with a silver/pearl shimmer without top coat.  Formula and application were pretty good, but you will see a few brush strokes.  I used 2 coats of Modify Me over Finger Paints base coat.

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Indoor Natural Light

Indoor with Flash

   Once you add top coat, Modify Me becomes more purple.  The color difference is pretty noticeable with top coat, but again the polish becomes more streaky with the addition.  I used China Glaze Fast Forward top coat and used different techniques on each finger.

Direct Sun

Indoor Natural Light

Indoor with Flash

   I like both colors of Modify Me, with and without top coat.  I would like it better if top coat didn't add streaks.  

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

China Glaze Split Perso-Nail-ity

   Welcome to March everyone.  I have the first of 3 polishes from the China Glaze Tranzitions collection to show you today.  This collection is interesting because the polishes go on one color, but change colors when you add top coat.  This gives lots of options and can make for some easy nail art/designs.

   Split Perso-Nail-ity is a light rose with a hidden shimmer and a slight purple/lavender tinge.  The formula is a little thick, but application is good and you could almost get away with just 1 coat of polish.  I used 2 for these photos over Finger Paints base coat.  Here's the polish without top coat:

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Indoor Natural Light

Indoor with Flash

   Once you add top coat, Split Perso-Nail-ity becomes a darker rose, but the top coat makes the polish look streaky.  There is a distinct color difference with the top coat.  I did each nail differently to show some ideas on how wear this polish.  I used China Glaze Fast Forward top coat.

Direct Sun

Indoor Natural Light

Indoor with Flash

   If you look at my pinky you can really see how streaky the polish looks once you add top coat.  I'm disappointed by that because I think the color with top coat would be really pretty if it didn't streak.  My favorite design is the polka dots.

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

Zoya Lovely Part 2

   The second part of the Zoya Lovely collection for Spring 2013 consists of 3 pastel metallic shimmers.  The formula and application was good for all 3 shades though dry time was a bit slow.  There is a small silver shimmer in all 3 shades which likes to stick to your skin after cleanup until you can wash your hands.  I used Finger Paints base coat, 2 coats of polish, and no top coat for all of these photos.

Piaf

   Piaf is a creamy yellow.  I experienced some cuticle drag during application.

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Indoor Natural Light

Gei Gei

   Gei Gei is a light pink.  When I put this on I immediately had the feeling of having princess nails.  

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Indoor Natural Light

Julie

   Julie is a light purple close to a lilac.  

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Indoor Natural Light

   Julie is of course my favorite of this collection.  But I was surprised by how much I liked Gei Gei as well.  The metallic half of the Lovely collection overall has the better formula and application, but I think Blu is a good option if you are looking for a pastel blue.

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