A blog about a girl, her nail polish, and some delicious noms.
Posts tagged Spring 2012
Zoya Blogger Collection by Birchbox Swatches and Review
10
Morning Lovelies!
Today I’ve got the Zoya Blogger Collection by Birchbox to share with you fine people. This collection snuck up on me, the first I’d ever heard of it was randomly seeing swatches of it from another blogger on Twitter! 
This collaboration between Birchbox and Zoya was created by three different bloggers and voted on by fans. I don’t know where the heck I was during this whole process because I only heard of it after it was already on sale at the Birchbox website, hah!
Anyway, as soon as I saw the collection of bright summer jellies I just knew it had to be mine! Let’s take a look at these beauties. ^_^
I used Models Own 3-In-1 topcoat/basecoat for all my swatches today unless otherwise stated.
Zoya Belle
Zoya Belle is described as a coppery pink with flecks of iridescent glitter. I love the pinkish-golden glitter that is present in this one! I used 3 coats.
Zoya Kate
Zoya Kate makes me feel like I’m taking crazy pills. On the Birchbox site this polish is described as being a grapefruit pink coral. This polish is totally leaning on the orange side of coral for me. O_O Every other swatch I’d seen for this one shows it as being more pink, but every single other swatch I’ve seen has also been on someone with a much cooler skin tone than mine. Maybe it’s my monitor? I don’t effing know, lmao.
So I guess Kate is just orange-ish pink on me. It’s still gorgeous, just not really all that pink on me. 
I used 3 coats here, no topcoat and it’s still super glossy! You can see what Kate looks like on a cooler skin tone on Scrangie’s blog.
Coraline
Zoya Coraline is hands down my favorite in the trio. Coraline is a bright tangerine orange and we’re in love. 
I used 4 coats here, and the VNL isn’t super visible in person. Again no topcoat here.
Zoya Kate + Zoya Belle
This is 1 coat of Zoya Belle over Zoya Kate. I love this combination and how Belle just pops when layered on top of Kate. This combination brings out a little more of the pink coral hue in Kate that I normally don’t see when it’s by itself on my nails.
Zoya Coraline + Zoya Belle
And here is 1 coat of Zoya Belle over Zoya Coraline! This layering just glows! I think I’ll have to try this combination for my next pedicure. All I need it for the dang sun to come out for more than 20 minutes and I’ll hit the beach running. 
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Final Thoughts:
I’m really quite happy with this little trio of polishes! I’m a sucker for jellies, so add coral and orange to the mix and it was pretty much a given that the Zoya Blogger Collection had to be mine. The formulas for the jellies were medium thick, but easy to apply and quite buildable. You’ll want to wait a few minutes between coats to prevent cuticle drag though. I think it would be fun to do a jelly gradient with these three polishes, so I’ll have to keep that in mind for a future project. 
Purchase Info:
The Zoya Blogger Collection is a limited edition trio that can be purchased exclusively from Birchbox. It retails at $22.00 for the set of three.
Review: My Picks From The Essie Spring 2012 Navigate Her Collection
6
Morning Everyone!
Today I’ve got my picks from the Spring 2012 Essie Navigate Her Collection. As soon as I saw these polishes I knew I had to have them. I’ve featured my 3 picks here and there online but I realized that I hadn’t show you all true swatches of the collection. So just in case you missed the swatches on 9304834.3 other blogs by now, I’ll add mine to the mix.
Orange, It’s Obvious!
Orange, It’s Obvious! is a vivid tangerine orange creme and we’re in love. This is definitely one of the colors that made me fall in love with the Essie Spring 2012 collection.
This is the color orange. This is me. We’re married.
I used 2 coats here. Orange, It’s Obvious! is very pigmented. But it also stains, so double up on your base coat and be careful with removal if you don’t want ‘cheetos fingers‘.
Olé Caliente
Olé Caliente is a bright red coral creme that leans orange on my skintone. I love it! The name is perfect because it reminds me of red chilis and Sriracha hot sauce. I used 2 coats here, another super pigmented and easy formula. No staining with this one though. ^_^
Navigate Her
Navigate Her was the one that I NEEDED. Even if I couldn’t find the other two on my wishlist, owning Navigate Her was a necessity for me. This is the perfect non-pastel pistachio green creme that I was missing from my collection. I love it! The formula was thin and a little streaky, so 3 coats were necessary in order to level everything out. WORTH IT!
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Final Thoughts:
I positively love all 3 of my picks from the Navigate Her Collection. If you want to see the entire 6 polish set, you can check out great swatches by Ommorphia Beauty Bar, Scrangie, and The PolishAholic.
Purchase Info:
I found the Navigate Her Collection at my local Target store. They usually retail at $8.00 per .46 fl oz bottle of polish (I paid $7.49).
OPI NYC Ballet Soft Shades 2012 Collection – Swatches & Review
20Morning Lovelies!
I hope you’re all having a great Thursday so far. Mine is already great for several reasons.
- I’m going to see Big Gigantic in concert with my boyfriend and co. tonight!
- No more midnight shifts until Tuesday of next week for this girl! I still have the nail tech apprenticeship at the salon today and Saturday, but I’ll take what I can get.
- The first Guild Wars 2 Beta Weekend Event starts on Friday!!
I don’t know if any of you have played the original Guild Wars, but I was mildly obsessed with that game when it first came out. I’ve been waiting patiently for GW2 for years and I’m so excited to be able to try it out early (the game releases in late July). Are any of you fine folks taking part of the beta weekend as well? If so, find me in-game! My Guild Wars 2 User ID is Nymeria.4326 (if you get the reference on the name you win 100 internets )
But I digress, let’s get back to the topic of nail polish shall we?
I’m happy to show you the beautiful OPI NYC Ballet Soft Shades Collection for 2012! I initially wasn’t too interested in this 6 polish collection because I just really don’t wear a lot of sheers or neutrals. But once I realized that 5 out of the 6 had milky jelly finishes I was all in.
I used Cult Nails Get It On Base Coat for all swatches shown today. All polish swatches without Pirouette My Whistle have Essie Good To Go Top Coat. All swatches shown with Pirouette My Whistle DO NOT have top coat.
Care To Danse?
Care To Danse? is a pale lavender jelly with a milky base. It looks a bit more purple in the bottle than it did on my nails, perhaps I needed a 4th coat to bring out the color a little more.
You Callin’ Me A Lyre?
You Callin’ Me A Lyre? is probably one of my favorites in the collection. Yes, you heard me correctly. I said that a sheer neutral pink polish is a favorite of mine! I used 3 coats here as well.
Barre My Soul
Barre My Soul is a white based very light beige and another one that I really enjoyed. If I ever do wear neutral polishes I gravitate toward beige and a jelly beige is just… Love. Again, 3 coats.
Don’t Touch My Tutu!
Don’t Touch My Tutu! is a milky white polish that I really love! It has a thicker consistency (unlike my other go-to white jelly, Essie Marshmallow) and it’s really easy to apply. This is 3 coats.
My Pointe Exactly
My Pointe Exactly is…. FANTASTIC. I already love grey polishes, and any day I can get my hands on a grey jelly is a good day. This is (take a guess!) 3 coats.
Pirouette My Whistle
Pirouette My Whistle has a clear base that’s filled with teeny tiny silver glitter and larger white hex glitter pieces. I didn’t swatch it alone because my pointer finger is still rocking a stain from whatever hell-beast green polish I was wearing on that finger for my St. Patrick’s Day mani, and I was wearing a base coat! I did layer 1 coat of Pirouette My Whistle over the other 5 polishes from this collection and it’s a lovely combo folks!
It’s so shiny on its own that I decided not to use top coat over it in the following swatches, though you should definitely add top coat when you’re wearing this to make your manicure last longer.
Care To Danse? with Pirouette My Whistle.
You Callin’ Me A Lyre? with Pirouette My Whistle.
Barre My Soul with Pirouette My Whistle.
Don’t Touch My Tutu! with Pirouette My Whistle.
My Pointe Exactly with Pirouette My Whistle.
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Final Thoughts:
OPI is kicking butt and taking names in the jelly polish department. The formula on each and every one of these was AMAZING. They were thicker than your normal sheer polishes but not so thick that it caused leveling issues. I actually preferred doing thicker coats with these polishes for more color payoff. The dry time was incredibly fast on all 6 polishes, and they were all so shiny that top coat wasn’t even necessary.
I can’t really name a favorite because I loved them all! And I can’t wait to try using these for ‘glitter sandwich’ manicures! I also see this collection being great for the wedding season. ^_^
Purchase Info
The NYC Ballet Soft Shades 2012 Collection by OPI retails for around $8.50 per .5 fl oz bottle of polish. They can be purchased at your local professional salons and spas nationwide. You an also purchase them at larger chain salons, including (but not limited to) JCPenny, Dillards, Regis, Pure Beauty, Trade Secret, and Ulta.
* The product(s) in this post were sent to me for unbiased review consideration.
For more information, check out my Disclosure Policy.
OPI Nicki Minaj Collection Swatches & Review!!
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Morning Everyone!
I know quite a few of my twitter pals have been waiting patiently since I posted a quick pic of this collection, and the wait is over. Thanks to my boyfriend’s mom I finally got my hands on the OPI Nicki Minaj Collection, and I’m excited to be able to share these swatches with you all today! She owns a salon here in town and ordered several sets of the collection to sell, as well as another set for their manicurist to use. She let me borrow the manicurist set so I could swatch it for my blog, thanks Carol! After borrowing these to swatch for my blog I now know I’ll definitely need a set of this collection to call my own.
This 6-piece collection consists of 3 cremes, 2 glitters and 1 shatter (crackle) finish polish. Let’s get right to the swatches!
Pink Friday
Pink Friday is a bright bubblegum pink creme. It looks a little muted in the bottle but comes alive on the nail. It’s a little streaky, but it evened itself out for me after 3 coats. You could probably get away with 2 coats if you’re careful.
Metallic 4 Life
Metallic 4 Life is a charcoal/black jelly based polish filled to the brim with large and small silver hex glitter, and silver square glitter. I initially thought this one would be just another run-of-the-mill black/silver glitter combo but I was floored by this polish! It’s like having a miniature rock star on your nails! Click on that macro shot to enlarge the picture, you won’t regret it when you’re smacked in the face by all that amazing silver glitter!
I used 3 coats of Metallic 4 Life on its own, no base color. It builds up to a nice opacity and the look reminds me of ice chips floating in a black sea. Does that make sense?
Did It On ‘Em
Did It On ‘Em is easily my favorite from the entire collection. This in-your-face polish is such a gorgeous shade of chartreuse, it’s bright without being neon! I thought it would be a pain to apply with so much yellow in its base, but this jelly/creme hybrid formula was a breeze. I used 3 coats to reach opacity and it was a streak free dream come true. ♥
Save Me
Save Me once again has me back on Team Bar Glitter. This polish is pretty fantabulous. Save Me has a clear suspension base that’s filled with silver micro glitter and holographic bar glitter pieces. I’m sure you could make Save Me opaque with 2-3 coats on its own. I chose to layer it, this is 2 coats of Save Me over Did It On ‘Em and I’m in love.
You’re also gonna want to enlarge that macro shot, trust me.
Fly
Fly is a vibrant teal blue creme and my 2nd favorite from this collection. While it doesn’t look very unique I honestly don’t have anything quite like this polish in my stash! I used 2 coats here, and just like Did It On ‘Em this one had the same jelly/creme hybrid formula that I love.
Super Bass Shatter
Super Bass Shatter is the special effects polish in the bunch. I’m pretty burned out on the shatter/crackle fad but this one is really interesting! It’s a jellyish magenta shimmer crackle, and the color of it varies depending on what shade you’re layering over. I used 1 medium coat over Fly and it looks like a dark purple color. But if you layer Super Bass Shatter over Pink Friday you’ve got a different dark magenta shattered effect! I initially wanted to pass this one up but now I think I need it.
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Final Thoughts:
This is the kind of spring collection I go gaga over! I will pass up all the pastel polishes in the world for the bright, fun, vibrant colors shown in the Nicki Minaj Collection. Like I mentioned above, the stand out shades for me are Did It On ‘Em, Fly, and Save Me. Love those three to death, wanna put them under my pillow and dream about them every night. And if you’ve never tried a shatter/crackle polish before then I highly suggest you pick up Super Bass Shatter, it’s easy to work with and the color is gorgeous!
All 6 of these polishes can easily transfer over into the summer months as well, which I think is another perk. I can totally see myself sporting these bold hues on my fingers and toes during all those semi-hot summer days on Lake Superior.
Purchase Info:
The limited edition Nicki Minaj Collection by OPI retails for around $8.50 per .5 fl oz bottle of polish. They can be purchased at your local professional salons and spas nationwide. You an also purchase them at larger chain salons, including JCPenny, Dillards, Regis, Pure Beauty, Trade Secret, and Ulta.
Essie Spring 2012 – Go Overboard Collection (swatches & review)
32
Morning Everyone!
I’m finally back with some nail polish swatches to share with you today, it’s been a while! Honestly I feel a little bit rusty as I haven’t done any polish swatching before this in weeks. But I’m getting back into the swing of things and I’m really excited to share these new polishes with you today!
I was actually at Target trying to see if they had a new Revlon polish I’d been hunting for when I came across a green and a blue polish by Essie that I’d never seen before! They were on the same display with the Luxeffects and a few other older polishes that were re-released to the public (non-salon line) as part of Essie’s 30th anniversary. I snatched them up immediately and later found out that they are part of the Essie Spring 2012 Go Overboard Collection trio… SCORE!! The only one I didn’t grab was Play Date (a dusty lavender creme) because honestly I have quite a few of those in my collection already.
Onto the swatches! All of my swatches today are shown with Seche Vite Top Coat and Sally Hansen Nail Quencher Base Coat. Clicking each picture will enlarge the photo to its original size.
Armed And Ready
Armed And Ready is an olive green creme filled with very fine gold and pink shimmer. So basically we’re in love. This polish is super pigmented and I almost got away with 1 coat! Shown here is 2 coats.
The subtle shimmer really comes alive in direct sunlight or under camera flash.
And your favorite macro shots are back with a vengeance! You know you want to enlarge this picture to see Armed And Ready in all its glory. I really love the little hint of pink mixed in with the golden micro shimmer. It took me by surprise because I didn’t even see it until I had the polish on my nails!
Go Overboard
Go Overboard is an absolutely BEAUTIFUL dark teal creme. This baby is smooooooth and such a breeze to apply. Again this polish could easily be a “1 Coat Wonder” if you’re careful with application. Shown here is 2 coats because I wasn’t.
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Final Thoughts:
I am so happy that I came across these two polishes! My local Target store is really stepping up their game with getting the newest Essie collections out in record time. Heck, I grabbed these before I even knew about the collection they belonged to! Though it would have been nice if the Target display had listed the name of the collection with these polishes.
If you’re a fan of blues and greens then you definitely need Armed And Ready and Go Overboard in your stash! Both have dream creme formulas and the pigmentation is flawless. I think I’ll have fun stamping with these two polishes. I really hope Essie continues to produce these killer greens and blues that they’ve been cranking out lately! ^_^
My only annoyance with Essie is that they changed the size of their bottles but they kept the hefty price the same! Full sized Essie polishes used to be .5 fl oz, now they’re .46 fl oz. Not cool Essie. NOT COOL. 
UPDATE: According to one of my lovely fellow bloggers (Susan of The Subtle Shimmer), the size/volume of the Essie bottles has NOT changed, but they are now required to state the volume to 2 decimal places. Makes perfect sense now, so I detract my previous outrage.
Purchase Info:
I found the Go Overboard Collection at my local Target store. They usually retail at $8.00 per .46 fl oz bottle of polish (I paid $7.49).
