Zoya Zenith Collection

Press Samples

Will I have the right words to express the wonder and beauty contained in these elegant glass bottles? Probably not, but I will try...

Zoya created another Winter/Holiday collection that contains a variety of finishes/formulas. There are jelly polishes with holographic flecks, a metallic, polishes with fine metallic glitter flecks, and even a tinted jelly packed with color-shifting bar and teeny glitter pieces. It is a collection that is sure to wow everyone, despite the lack of a red for a holiday collection. 

Many other bloggers said it is nice to see barely any trace of red or green in the Zenith Collection. I agree to a certain extent, but I also always love a new red or green polish with a new twist. On the other hand, it is nice for those who celebrate Hanukkah to have a collection that falls into the color wheel of the holiday celebration. Without further delay, let's browse the beauties...

Seraphina is a "Polaris silver metallic." She is an ethereal platinum hue with fine glittery, foil flecks that are more of a white gold color than silver. It took 2-3 coats to reach opacity with Seraphina, some areas were patchy. 

Cassedy, described as a "celestial pewter metallic," is packed with fine glittery, silver, foil flecks. This pewter shade has the slightest tinge of green in its dark, metallic charcoal base. The above photo shows 2 easy coats.

Belinda, a "cosmic purple metallic," is the only true metallic in the collection. She is a rich, dark, royal purple hue with fine metallic flecks of cobalt and magenta. The above swatch shows 2 streak-free, easy coats.

Payton is a "galactic cranberry with holographic glitter." Cranberry really is the perfect descriptor of this polish. This jelly polish is packed with holographic glitter pieces that are prismatic in almost any lighting. The above photographs feature 2 coats. I let the polish dry between coats due to its squishy nature.

Dream, a "deep space blue with holographic glitter," is one of the most raved about and anticipated colors from this collection. This bright, navy blue, jelly has holographic glitter that likes to appear as icy shards unless they are kissed by sunlight. The above swatch shows two coats (you must let the polish dry between coats to avoid dragging) and left NO staining on my nails!

Mosheen is described by Zoya as an "astro ice blue topper." This clear, light blue base is packed full of miniature bar and glitter in a beautiful iridescent iciness. Above it is shown as an accent nail with Dream. The accent nail is one coat of Dream with two easy coats of Mosheen.

The Verdict:

I adore the nod to astronomy in this collection. I took an astronomy course in college and loved it (probably the only physics class I would ever willingly take). The variety of finishes in this collection, along with the colors, make it something special. I love the flawless application of these and the rich pigmentation. My favorites are Payton, Seraphina, and Belinda. I think everyone should be able to find at least a little something to tickle their fancy in this collection.

Zoya nail polish is available for purchase through their website and retail for $8.00 each.  Sign up for a Zoya account today and receive points that can be redeemed for promotions and discounts.

Valentine's Manicure--Take 3

Bouquets of beautiful fragrant flowers, shades of pink, a hint of sparkle, and romantic prints all characterize Valentine's Day.  I tried to pull all of these together in my next themed manicure.

Valentine's Manicure #3

I love a good watercolor manicure.  Unfortunately this one almost did not happen because I kept messing up! I saved this manicure by starting all over and creating an accent nail (a Kate-Belle-Kate jelly sandwich).  In the end I like how this turned out.  I love how soft and floral this manicure feels.  Watercolor manicures are perfect for spring and lovely enough for the upcoming holiday.  

Nail polishes used to create this manicure: Zoya Blogger Collection (Belle, Coraline, Kate) and SinfulColors Easy Going

SUMMER FAVORITES--Zoya Blogger Collection by Birchbox

This week I will be sharing some of my summer favorites from this year.  I am excited to share some of these products with you.  Many of them you have seen or heard of repeatedly here or on facebook or twitter.  Others will be new mentions although I have been reaching for them since June!

It is no secret that I love corals and pinks for summer.  In fact, I am currently on a coral, orange, and pink no buy:)  With this in mind, it should be no surprise to you that I fell, and fell hard for Zoya's Blogger Collection by Birchbox.  With a bunch of citrus, summery, bright, jelly polishes could I go wrong.  Not to mention that one was named Kate:)

My namesake polish in this collection with a bracelet saying my name:)

I posted initial swatches of this upon receiving them, but I have been saving these full swatches for you.  Enjoy the juicy goodness...  (click on the photos for a larger view)

Coraline (2 coats) is a juicy tangerine.  

  Coraline with one coat of Belle on top as an accent nail.

 Kate (2 coats) is a squishy ruby red grapefruit pink.

Kate topped with one coat of Belle.

Belle (2 coats) is an ethereal pink with coppery and rosy gold shimmer.

 Shimmer shot:)


The Verdict:
I adore this collection.  I love how versatile these polishes are and making jelly sandwiches with them is so much fun:) I have layered Belle over my pedicures so often this summer.  These all had great application, drying time, and wear.  I love how glossy and squishy these look.  These are definitely my favorites jellies ever!

This collection can be purchased from birchbox for $22.00 with free shipping.

NEW Shades from Barielle

Press Samples

Recently Barielle announced their release of 90 NEW shades.  Here is a video showcasing their newest shades with an artist's rendition of how the shade will look on the nail.

Barielle sent me 4 of their new shades with a top and base coat.  The packaging was cute and they sent a little key chain as well.  Take a peek:

The four shades I was sent were Shannon's Attitude, Eli's Magic, End of the Rainbow, and Starry Sky.  Now for the swatches...

Barielle Eli's Magic

Eli's Magic is simply called "hot pink."  This bright glossy medium pink cream polish took only 2 coats.  This polish was a tad thicker than other Barielle cream polishes I have, but it was not goopy or hard to work with.  The finish was quite glossy, even before a topcoat.  Although this polish is not a neon shade is is bright, with a slight hint of a coral undertone.  While not extremely unique, it is an essential color to have and is perfect for summer!

Barielle Starry Sky

Starry Sky is described as "jelly clear w/ silver foil flakes."  This polish does indeed have a clear  base with sparse, silver, hexagonal glitter.  This glitter built up easily as you can see 4, 3, 2, and 1 coat on my index, middle, ring, and little finger respectively.  This polish, though it may not be unique, is also an essential.  The layering possibilities are endless.

Barielle End of the Rainbow

End of the Rainbow is rightly called a "sheer aqua green w/ shimmer."  This polish is rather sheer.  I showed you how the polish can be built up, and by the fourth coat there are no more visible nail lines.  Once again you can see 4, 3, 2, and 1 coat on my index, middle, ring, and little finger.  The application of this beauty was a tad thin (not streaky or watery), and did not prove to be difficult to work with.  This polish glowed and was quite mermaid-like.  I had trouble capturing a picture of this lovely polish without my camera throwing a fit.  I cannot wait to see how this polish looks layered over different polishes.  This is definitely my favorite polish of the bunch.

Barielle Shannon's Attitude

Shannon's Attitude is said to be a "jelly purple w/ foil flakes."  This magenta purple jelly has holographic microglitter and holographic bar glitter.  It was slightly thick to apply, but not difficult.  When applying this polish it is very important to wait until the first coat is completely dry before adding a second.  This shows a picture of this lovely in the shade (my camera freaked out because of the glitter) and 4, 3, 2, & 1 coat from left to right.  It IS possible to build this polish up enough to get rid of the nail line, but it takes patience.  Here's a sunny shot of this beauty...

Barielle Shannon's Attitude (sunlight)

(Sorry about the weird glare on the nail.) Look at that glitter sparkle:)  I think it looks like the bar glitter is swimming in a purple pool on my nail, LOVE it!  This is clearly the most unique polish of the bunch.  And given the name, Shannon must be a crazy awesome person.  I am dying to meet her or know the back-story to this beauty;)

***Every swatch is shown with a basecoat of Barielle's Nail Rebuilding Protein and a topcoat of Barielle's Ultra Speed Dry Manicure Extender***


The Verdict:
Barielle is definitely bringing their "a" game with their newest polish additions.  The first two, Eli's Magic and Starry Sky aren't the most unique polishes in the wide world of polish, but they are great staples to have in your collection.  My favorites in this collection are Shannon's Attitude and End of the Rainbow because I do not have any other colors like them.  I'm planning on wearing End of the Rainbow for St. Patrick's Day...the name is wonderful for it.  Now I just need to figure out what to do to showcase it!  

I hope you'll check out their new shades.  And while you're at it, sign up for Barielle's email list then you'll know when special offers occur:)

These new shades can be found at the Barielle website and retails for $8.00 each.  

Disclosure: The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR company for consideration.  For more information please visit the tabs below the header.

Valentine's Day Nails #1

Press Samples

Welcome to Valentine's Day inspired manicure week!

I will showcase my favorite valentine's day polishes, nail art, etc.

Valentine's Day Nails #1

Valentine's Day manicure #1's inspiration is...

FLAKIES

Today we have a beautiful, on-trend, stylish polish full of FLAKIES!  I used Barielle Elle's Spell to create this beautiful manicure.  Elle's Spell is best described as a "jelly red with multicolored foil flakes."  This red jelly polish goes on so incredibly smoothly and is absolutely stunning.  This picture is the best shot I could get of the flakie goodness in this polish.  The jelly finish makes it SO shiny that you can't capture the flakies without a glare!  I love it!  I also noticed that the flakies are the most stunning in indirect sunlight as they flash everywhere from gold and green to purple (as you can see in the bottle).  This is 3 coats, but if you prefer to reduce the visible nail lines (VNL) from this jelly polish, you can layer it over a creamy opaque polish.  

The Verdict:

This is a must-have polish for anyone who loves either jelly finishes or flakies.  It is a beautiful twist on the traditional red nail polish.  AND this makes a beautiful manicure for Valentine's Day:)

You can also purchase this polish from the Barielle website for $8.00.

Disclosure: The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR company for consideration.  For more information please visit the tabs below the header.

Monday Manicure

This week's Monday Manicure theme is:

Creative Layering

This is one of the themes that is more open to interpretation.  All of the manicures I saw were different & gorgeous in their own right.  There were gradients, sponging, stamping, crackles, glitters, fun layering polishes, and some layering of more sheer and jelly polishes. Everyone did a phenomenal job.

Looking at the submissions always stuns me and has me in complete awe of the others in the Polish-aholics Anonymous fb group.  And as usual I was stumped on what to submit.  I sat there staring at my polishes for a while creating layering combos in my head.  I finally decided to give the "syrup" manicure a try.  This is not exactly CREATIVE layering, but it sure is layering:)

***Sorry I'm so boring guys:-\ I'll eventually get bolder with my color choices & manicures. I just don't like the look of having nail art & bright colors on all of my fingernails yet. It just isn't me & overwhelms my small fingers and nails. I have VERY small fingers, like I can't wear gorgeous statement rings because even the adjustable ones are usually too big.

FUN FACT: my wedding band & engagement ring are a whopping size 3.75 and they slip on and off quite easily***

Let me know if you've ever tried a creative layering manicure.  Feel free to leave the link so I can check it out.  I love looking at manicures & getting new ideas:)