Zoya Pixie Dust ... Taking Textured Polish by Storm

My initial reaction to all the talk about texture/sand paper like polish was "really? textured polish?". None of them sounded very appealing to me. My first dive in the texture pool was with the OPI Liquid Sands from the Mariah Carey Collection. I liked them fine but I wasn't totally sold yet on the concept.

I started hearing talk about Zoya coming out with their own textured polish and I was excited to try them since I have been loving and definitely enjoying the colors/formula of recent Zoya releases. When the sneak peeks of the Pixie Dust Collection appeared I was really happy with the colors. They looked very pretty and wearable. Not quite the in your face boldness of the Liquid Sands. Now that I think about it, maybe that is why I wasn't totally in love with the trend at first. It seemed to be a little too much, the bright colors on top of the texture. Zoya's color choices were much more subtle and ultra wearable. There were no swatches available at first, so it was hard to really tell if they were going to be all I had hoped for. The anticipation was crazy as I awaited their arrival.

More after the jump --> click the link to read the rest!

Life and all the things in-between aka An update!

Hello lovelies!

It's been a while I know... Dom & I have had an onslaught of crazy life-itis it seems! Here's my update though :)

Since I saw most of you last (on the regular) I was working through a deployment and all that it entails. Well my husband since came home then deployed again. Haha the life of being government property eh? I feel bad for him being gone so much but I know that he enjoys his job, so that makes it easier I'm sure. But back to the update...

When I was preparing for his previous homecoming I looked like this...

More after the jump!

Zoya - Lovely Collection - Review & Swatches

Until I started really getting into nail polish I always respected pastels but wasn't overly moved to purchase any. As I've watched my collection evolve and be exposed to more and more brands that I never knew about I've also watched my color tastes broaden. Specifically in the direction of pastels. This year there is no shortage of lovely pastels offered up from our favorite brands. I am very happy to have a review of our favorite Ohio based nail polish company, Zoya, and their spring release, the Lovely Collection.

When I saw a photo of the Lovely Collection by Zoya my interested was definitely piqued. The collection as a whole is a nice set of basic spring staple colors. Those of you that aren't into nail art can enjoy the beauty of a lovely color alone. Those of you into nail art will enjoy this collection as it has some deeply pigmented cremes perfect as a base or use in nail art. I love the duality of the color choices they're offering in this collection for that reason alone. I mean to me that's a major reason to pick up the 6 color set immediately. However, if you need more convincing here are my swatches with reviews for each color in the Lovely Collection.

Zoya - Julie
Light box lighting, 2 coats w/top coat

Julie is by far my favorite of the shimmer set. I like shimmers in general but usually find myself reaching for cremes more often than not. However, I really love this soft lavender shimmer. The only downside for me is realizing it is the same shimmer combination/recipe as Zoya - Zuza. I am NOT a fan of Zuza and was disheartened to see that it was the same shimmer. I wish they would re-work the amount or type of shimmer they use. It is not clean up or sloppy painter (ahem, like ME!) friendly.

Zoya - Piaf
Light box lighting, 2 coats w/top coat 

This is Piaf, a lovely yellow that I would call a soft "mustard" yellow. I don't think it works for my skin tone, but I can see a lot of other lovelies wearing it and totally rocking this sweet spring color.

Zoya - Gie Gie
Light box lighting, 3 coats w/top coat

I really love the soft and dainty Gie Gie. I would love it even more if it was just a tad less sheer. I do not like VNL (visible nail line) and unfortunately on me I needed 3 coats of Gie Gie to reach an opacity that I felt comfortable with. I do love the color though, in fact it's currently on my toes! It probably doesn't hurt that the Mr. & I are hoping for a little girl this time around... so I've naturally been gravitating towards pink in all it's shades and variations ha!

The Lovely Collection's cremes are truly the stars of this collection. They are pigmented enough to easily use in nail art, are good color bases for most any occasion, and alone are simply perfect pastel shades.

Zoya - Blu
Light box lighting, 2 coats w/top coat

Blu is my absolute favorite out of the entire Lovely Collection. It is the most perfect powder blue I've ever seen and is just an easily wearable blue. Some people feel self conscious about wearing blue, but honestly I think even if you're self conscious Blu is a good color to try breaking through those feelings. It is soft enough that it isn't in your face but blue enough to say "Hey! I'm a lovely shade of blue, you should love me!"

Zoya - Neely
Light box lighting, 2 coats w/top coat

I have to say at first I was not excited about Neely. I was afraid that it wouldn't look good on me and might look like a "sick" green not a lovely pastel green against my skin tone. Oddly enough from the first swipe of the brush I knew I was totally wrong. I really like Neely and can see me wearing it this Easter with some cute nail art. Yay! I love when I'm wrong about a color!!

Zoya - Jacqueline
Light box lighting, 2 coats w/top coat

This is another color I was super unhappy about at first. In some of the photos Jacqueline looked like a nude to me. I haaaaaate nudes. I can't stand them, they get on my nerves. I honestly feel like what is the point if you're going to use a nude. However, I know that not everybody feels that way and that's ok too. Either way, once I actually saw the bottle in person I thought, well there's something I like about it but I'm still not convinced. WELL! Let me tell you... I was wrong not only once but twice!! This is soooo not a nude! It is more a very soft yellow or what I'd imagine the nail polish equivalent would be to aged white walls. Very antiqued and soft. It was difficult to truly capture the color accurately but I feel like the above photos are pretty close. This color, oddly enough, lightens up once painted. So don't go by the bottle. I really liked this color and feel like it is a perfect nail art base. It's a very soft spoken and unassuming color. Very lovely for a spring wedding day or maybe a stroll through the park.

I mentioned that these colors are prefect for nail art and here are two quick examples of some nail art only using Zoya - Lovely Collection colors.

Zoya - Julie as a base with Zoya - Blu polka dots
I was feeling very Mod and thought large dots would be cute lol

Zoya - Jacqueline as a base with Zoya - Julie, Blu & Neely fan brush marks
I didn't want to do another polka dot design and felt like adventuring a little with the fan brush in my MASH brush set. This is my first fan brush mani, definitely not great but you can see how pretty the colors look together. 

I hope that you enjoyed my review and swatches of Zoya's Lovely Collection. These colors are available for purchase on Zoya's website or direct link to the collection HERE for $8ea.

xo,

This product was provided to me for free and in no way impacts my review.

 The views and findings expressed are my own and to the best of my ability.

New Indie Love for Chirality

Amanda Duron is a self professed nerd with an amazing husband and a recent diagnosis that changed her life. Starting her new indie line of polish appealed to her creative and intellectual sides as well as filled her time while dealing with life's struggles.  I got a chance to have Amanda answer a few questions about herself and her new line.

Dom: What got you interested in polish and eventually helped you decide to make it? 

Amanda: I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma earlier this year which is a rare form of cancer. I was forced to take a leave of absence from school which pushed any sort of plans of graduation, setting up a practice, or having children back further than I wanted it to. Needless to say, it was a bit depressing. I was also stuck inside a house for many months unable to go anywhere unless it was to get nasty chemo injected into my body.  This sort of unhappy state caused me to revert to some of the hobbies I used to enjoy several years back, particularly nail polish. So much has changed thanks to social networks and the increase in indie nail polish. After awhile, my nerd side kicked in and I found myself intrigued by starting my own indie polish line.  The rest is history!

Dom: Where did the name for the line come from and what does it mean?
Amanda: Since I'm an Optometry student, the first year of school is pretty much nothing but science courses. One of the courses that ended up being fun was Organic Chemistry. Because I'm such a nerd, I would continue reading up on the subject outside of class and learn about various other aspects, like Chirality, which usually refers to molecules that are non-superimposable mirror image.  LOL, very nerdy!  Plus, I think it's a very pretty sounding name.

Dom: What made you do holos first?
Amanda: I don't know why but holos really appeal to me. I think they're beautiful, and I really wanted my first line of polish to set the standard for what fans of nail polish can expect from me.

Dom: What are some of your inspirations?
Amanda: This is going to sound corny, but my husband is my inspiration. He pushed me these past six months to fight this cancer. And then, pushed me to start this line. He's been such and inspiration that I now call him my muse. I don't know why but the first couple of times I tried making polish, they were disastrous. But, whenever my husband is around, I wind up making the polish that you now see on my Facebook page and Big Cartel store! Plus, he lets me test them out on his nails, which amuses me.

Now that we know a bit about Amanda, let's move onto the POLISH! The first collection from Chirality Nail Polish consist of four amazing holographic lacquers. When Amanda sent me the set for review I immediately ordered my two favorites! After swatching the collection I realized that I needed them all! For all of my swatches I used Beauty Secrets Base Coat, two coats of polish and Orly Glosser for the top coat.  I was also lucky to get a day of beautiful sunshine so, all the shots were taken outside in full sunlight!

The back story's that Amanda uses to describe her colors are amazing so I will add them for your reading pleasure!

"In the woods, a killer stalks a group of young, nubile women. They've come off as lost, injured, and scared of what goes bump in the night, and the killer could not be happier. Little does he know that these ladies are far from lost, far from injured and very far from scared. Morning is coming quick, but not quick enough, because these ladies are ready to strike. They're ready to turn the tables on this killer and attack just before dawn."

Just Before Dawn is a super pretty fall orange base with a subtle linear holo effect.  I am not generally an orange kinda of girl but this polish is nuts.  It painted like a dream and with two coats I was able to get full opacity.

Just Before Dawn 

Just Before Dawn

"The Symbiote is an alien life-form that came crashing down to Earth in search of female host to ooze over them and bring forth from its newfound owner a devilish and mischievous side she never knew existed. Once the Symbiote takes over, she owns the night."

The Symbiote is an amazing charcoal black holo that I could not stop looking at once I had it on! Again, I had no issues with application.

The Symbiote

The Symbiote

"A lonely scientist is working to compose the ultimate love potion. While working in her laboratory, a freak accident involving copper, or Cu2+, infuses to our heroine to create an electronically charged Siren. Who says elements from the periodic table can't be beautiful?" 

Cu2+ is an ridiculous blue, with a hint of teal, holographic polish. Application was flawless and this one is a favorite for sure!  

Cu2+

Cu2+

"Purified in the waters of Lake Minnetonka, Apollonia is the pure definition of sexuality and beauty. She's a no-nonsense kind of girl who will scratch her way to the top to get what she desires. Her voice is strong and can be heard by everyone, even through the rain."

Apollonia is my favorite of the entire collection. Mostly because I love purple but also, something about wearing a polish with that description makes me feel like a sexy beast! LOL! The application rocked and man oh man, I did not want to take this one off!

Apollonia

Apollonia

Well, there you have it!  Chirality is amazing and I cannot wait to see what Amanda comes up with next!  Tell me what you think.  Which one is your favorite?

You can find Chirality Nail Polish for sale at http://www.chirality.bigcartel.com

You can also like Chirality Facebook Fan Page at https://www.facebook.com/chiralitypolish?fref=ts

Bizarre? Nah! Beautiful! Oh Yeah!!!

October marks one of my favorite times of the year!  Some of the reasons that I love October so much are as follows - fall is officially beginning, my wedding anniversary, awesome hoodie weather and HALLOWEEN!  Oh ... and let's not forget the fact that I LOVE fall polish lines.  I did come to appreciate some of this past summers bright and bold colors but honestly, I am a fall polish girl through and through!  I love the richness of the colors that fall brings.

China Glaze has come correct this season with the 2012 Wicked Collection.  There are six really pretty Halloween inspired colors with names like Cast a Spell and Immortal in this collection.  You can buy the collection at Ulta right now and they will be available at Sally Beauty Supply this coming Monday, October 1, 2012.

I was on a trip to Ulta last week when I spotted an entire rack of Halloween goodies.  As I got closer and closer I realized that they had put out the Wicked collection a bit early and without hesitation I grabbed the one color that I knew I needed to have!  Bizarre Blurple is an amazing purple base with loads of blue shimmer.

I DIE!!!  Bizarre Blurple! 

In the bottle, this polish looks ridiculous and it does not disappoint on the nail!  When I brought it home I made my hubby let me test it, with some other newbies, on his nails!  Bizarre Blurple was by far his favorite of the haul.  (YES, I make my husband let me test colors on his nails!)

Now let's see what it looks like on lady hands, shall we?  

w/Flash 

w/o Flash

w/o Flash

SO PRETTY!  Bizarre Blurple has a really nice formula and with two coats I got full opacity.  This color is gorgeous and I didn't even need a top coat.  I have several similar colors in my collection but nothing quite like Bizarre Blurple.  The two colors that came to mind immediately when I bought BB were Orly Mysterious Curse and Royal Velvet.  They look really similar in the bottle so I decided to do a quick comparison to see how similar they really are.

Don't they look the same in the bottle?

But, they are not the same at all!

Well, there ya have it!  In my opinion Bizarre Blurple is the must own of the Wicked Collection.  Let me know what you think?  Do you have any other favorites from this collection?  

Going On Safari... Maybe!

Sally Beauty Supply is one of my go to polish stores and on one of my recent trips I came across the China Glaze On Safari Collection.  I have to be honest and say that I really wasn't terribly excited about this collection.  I was feeling a bit like I had seen these colors before.  They are all beautiful colors however, I have several similar colors in my collection.  With that said, I can't seem to pass up on a nice purple or pretty blue no matter what.

While at Sally's I noticed the latest sale on China Glaze.  If you purchased two colors from the new collection you got a bottle of Diamond Dry for free.  Talk about helping me make a decision!  LOL!  I left the store with the Jungle Queen and Man Hunt (plus my free bottle of Diamond Dry).  The most unique of the two is Jungle Queen.

Jungle Queen is a really earthy taupe/dusty purple color with a really nice light purple shimmer in certain light.  I love this color!  As usual, this polish applied really well.  It is a really nice formula and nearly a one and done.  I applied a nice coat and then went over with a really thin coat just out of habit. At first it looked really flat but when I started taking pictures the shimmer really came through!  

Flash

Manhunt is a really pretty deep blue creme.  The formula is great and the color is ridiculous.  It really is a sort of mix between a navy blue and a cobalt blue.  This a great polish to wear alone and would look great with a nice pair of jeans!

Sunlight

Flash

I am not sure at this point if I am going to pick up any of the other colors in this collection but you will be the first to know if I do!  LOL!  Let me know what you think and if you have any of the other colors in this collection.  What are your favorites?  

I'M BACK!!! (proof of my A.D.D enclosed)

It has been a while and I really feel like I am so far out of the loop it is not even funny!  Anyone who reads this blog knows that I live in Ohio.  Beautiful Ohio, the home of the Buckeyes and... oh God, that's pretty much where it ends! LOL! Anywho... if you know anyone in Ohio then you know that we got hit with a pretty random, pretty ridiculous storm recently.  Power lines down all over town, food gone bad, no cable, no cell service, no internet and NO AIR CONDITIONING!!!  Ohio was like the foreshadowing armageddon experience that I never wanted!!!  Needless to say, my life has slowly gotten back to "normal".  OH WAIT... I also started a new job.

Some history... I have not worked a real job in over two years.   I have been blessed to be OK financially with my husband working.  Thank God that I was able to take that time because I took care of some pretty serious medical issues as well.  With all of that said, going back to work has been a super huge life transition.  I also left corporate america and am now working with inner city youth!  Talk about shell shock... but, I love it.  What I don't like is waking up at 6am every morning and having to get ready to be pleasant by 8am but, other than that it has been really great!  I never really saw myself working with kids but I love them all and really feel like I am making a difference.  

My kids at work!  Aren't they cute?

With all of that said, I am happy to be back in the land of the living and the world of polish that I love so much!  With all that has been going on I went nearly two whole weeks without polish on my nails!  Last night, however, I couldn't wait to get something fun on them and below is a quick pic of my first real mani in weeks!  I used two coats of OPI Fly and finally used my Sally Hansen Salon effects Polish Strips Zip It!  Hope you like it.

Sally Hansen Salon effects, Zip It! 

Love that OPI Fly!  

Sorry for the A.D.D. post but I had so much to catch you up on!  Let me know what you think about all my crazy!  I love the comments. : )

P.S. There are only a few days left for the insane sale that is going on at Ulta right now!  Don't miss it!  

P.S.S. Don't forget to enter our giveaway!!!!

Purple Ombre tips with a side of matted NARS, please.

For my birthday I ordered a little bit of stuff from Sephora. Initially I was thinking of getting a couple Sephora by OPI colors but then I did some such random color search and came across the NARS Thakoon Collection. My eyeballs fell out onto my laptop. Seriously the amazingly beautiful and vibrant colors were show stoppers. Of course once I popped my eyeballs back in and rolled my tongue back up at the slightly steep $18/bottle cost my inner negative Nelly popped off with "they only look that pretty because they want you to fork over that $18! They won't be as nice in person..." She's such a bitch, I hate that damn negative Nelly... but she DID have a point...

NARS - Koliary (matte) with Ombre Purple Tips

However, let me just cut to the chase and say that I added and removed NARS - Koliary from my cart probably half a dozen times. I knew I only had so much money to spend and truly spending a decent amount on 1 bottle of polish was just kind of silly. But every time I saw the color it was like it sucked me in with it's mind control and bam! The bottle would be back in the cart!

NARS - Koliary 2 coats with base coat

Well, once my Sephora order came, my joy at finally receiving Nails Inc - Baker Street was quickly eclipsed when I saw the beautiful black NARS box. I thought "holy hell! I guess $18 buys my polish it's own little holder!" Then I opened the box... all the sounds around me faded away and I had tunnel vision. All I could see was this amazing vibrant shade of blue. I really and truly did make the bug-eyed-jaw-dropped face. The website described it as "cyan blue". My description? Happiness. Seriously if you love the blue family and all it's amazing hues this little gem will make you feel pure, unadulterated happiness.

NARS - Koliary made Matte with NYC Color - Matte Me Crazy

I wore this color for 3 different manicures in one week. No lie. I haven't done that in over 5 months. Below is one of those 3 manis. I love purple just as much as blue and thought I'd try to combine them. I still have mixed feelings about this particular mani though. I liked it but I didn't. I dunno. It's sorta like that feeling you get when falling in love with an outfit on the hanger... then you try it on and feel like some vital bit of you is hanging out in an unflattering way... but you cant FIND that bit. Yeah. THAT feeling :/

NARS - Koliary, NYC Color - Matte Me Crazy, Essie - Play Date, piCture pOlish - Wisteria,
Julep - Anne, Ulta - Celebutante, piCture pOlish - Grape

First I painted 2 coats of NARS - Koliary. Then I used NYC Color - Matte Me Crazy to turn the finish matte. Using my reinforcement circles I created a crisp edge, and from there I just used each purple polish in descending darkening shade on each nail to create the ombre tips.

My Instagram shot! Follow me @enjeliq

Hopefully you fall in love with this color like I did... and if you don't... well I guess that'll be just that many more back-ups I'll have access to! ;)

xo,

What about you? Have you ever had this love/hate feeling for a mani?