Jelly Time

Jelly sandwich time, folks!  I needed a little summer color today, seasons be damned!

Gorgeous!  I love this cantaloupe colored jelly, Zoya's Maya, with Maria Luisa in between.  Gotta love a subtle gold flakie peeking out from a lush jelly!

Artsy Wednesday: Earthquake or Seismograph mani!

This kind of nail art, I like.  I can do it all with brushes in the bottles of my polish, it's simple, and people will probably ooh and ah when I go to the bank or grocery store, which is always a fun little ego boost!

I used two Pretty & Polished colors as my base; Olgite, a shimmering, duochromey blue with pale purpley-pink at certain angles, and Concoction, a deep purple jelly with holo glitter and iridescent flakies and small glitter (I KNOW, IT'S AMAZING).

Here, I have 2 coats of Olgite:

This polish is a nice opacity, and dries quickly to a satiny finish.  It's not matte, but it's not a full shine, probably due to the pigmentation.  I like it!  I did notice that my second coat needed to be a little thick to prevent dragging the first coat and creating bald patches; the polish wasn't hard to work with, it's just worth noting that a thicker second coat is worth it.  Plus, Olgite dries quickly, so no problemo!

Next, I put 2 coats of Concoction on half of each nail:

This polish is sheerer than Olgite, but two coats still provided good coverage (at least of the color of Olgite). This polish is pretty darn gorgeous, these pictures don't do it justice.  It's got a great depth, and the smidgeon of flakies in the polish give it a special twist!  I'll do lone swatches of Concoction soon, so you can really see how it pops!

Finally, paint a wiggly line down the center of your nail.  You can do this a few ways; add strips using the brush of the polish, add strips using a nail art brush, add a wavy line with a nail art brush, add zig-zags.  As long as it kind of looks like a seismograph, you've done your job!

I used GOSH Holographic Hero; I figured my nails were too dark to use black.  These turned out a little more Flash Gordon than Seismograph, but I really like them anyway!

I'm really honored to be able to participate in Artsy Wednesday, and you should all DEFINITELY check out these other, very talented Artsy Wednesday participants.  

Pretty Purple Polish

Lab Muffin

Maria's Nail Art

Valiantly Varnished

Unnaked Nails

Nail & Polish

Beauty Gnome

Lacquered Lunatic

Disclaimer: The Pretty & Polished polishes featured in this blog entry were provided for review.  All opinions are my own and have not been influenced in any way.

Artsy Wednesday: Butterfly Wing

This is take 2 of my butterfly wing manicure.  Take 1 involved this thought process: "Why do butterfly manicures usually have black outlines and white dots?  I bet I could do something different!"  Cue a muddy, hard-to-photograph, messy looking copper-outlined and grey-dotted manicure that I hated.

Thankfully, I did the base colors I wanted to use on BOTH hands, so without further ado, I give you a slightly messy, done with my left hand, but much more conventional and so more appealing looking, butterfly manicure!

I'm really honored to be able to participate in Artsy Wednesday, and you should all DEFINITELY check out these other, very talented Artsy Wednesday participants.  

Pretty Purple Polish

Lab Muffin

Maria's Nail Art

Valiantly Varnished

Unnaked Nails

Nail & Polish

Beauty Gnome

Lacquered Lunatic

Swatchathon: Zoya Cool edition

Well, it's time to wrap up Zoya week here at An Accent Nail, and we'll finish out the color showcase with the cool-toned Zoyas.

First off we have Edyta and Yara, two deep greens with gold shimmer.  Edyta is a blackened forest green, while Yara is a dark khaki-olive green. I'm amazed both of these colors work with my skin, as you'd think one or the other would clash, but I think the shimmer in both softens the base colors enough to make them much more universally wearable  Both have fabulous coverage and very easy-to-work-with formulas.

 Index/Middle: Edyta, Ring/Pinkie: Yara

 Index/Middle: Edyta, Ring/Pinkie: Yara

Next up, Frida and Ki.  While these look slightly similar in the bottle, they're night and day on the nail.  Frida is a teal jelly polish; it's great for layering, but on its own it'd take 4+ coats to become totally opaque.  It also has a fabulous sheen to it when it dries, much shinier than most polishes without a topcoat!

Ki is a purple/sage duochrome that is metallic in finish.  The color shift is noticeable both on the nail and in the bottle, and this polish is an awful lot of fun to wear.  I love a duochrome, as it makes gazing at my manicure (which I often do when bored) much more interesting.

Index/Middle: Frida Ring/Pinky: Ki

 

Index/Middle: Frida Ring/Pinky: Ki

Our next head-to-head is Skylar vs. Tallulah.  Skylar really surprised me when I got it; I was expecting a dusty blue with a hint of shimmer, but this polish really sparkles!  It's not glittery, more of a glassfleck-like shimmer, but it definitely packs more of a punch than meets the eye.  Tallulah is a wonderful saturated blue raspberry color; it's a great color for nail art, and really pops.

 Index/Middle: Skylar  Ring/Pinky: Tallulah

 Index/Middle: Skylar  Ring/Pinky: Tallulah

These next polishes are some real gems.  Kotori is a sheer-ish blue shimmer with a blackened base; the depth to this polish is just incredible.  I did need 3 thin coats to get rid of visible nail line, but the dry time isn't too bad and the punch this polish packs is worth it.  Akyra is a teal shimmer, with smaller shimmer particles, in a blackened base.  It's also sheer, took 3 coats, but is such an unusual color that I again think it's totally worth it.  It's like a robins egg at night!

Index/Middle: Kotori  Ring/Pinky: Akyra

 Index/Middle: Kotori  Ring/Pinky: Akyra

Let's look at the green shimmer twins in Zoya's retinue, shall we?  Ivanka and Apple look super similar in the bottle, and while they're "similar" on the nail, they're definitely not duplicate colors.  Ivanka is an emerald or jungle green with a fair amount of gold shimmer involved, while Apple is more of a lime green with more gold shimmer than Ivanka.  Apple had fuller coverage at 2 coats, but I think Ivanka has more depth of color.  I'm glad I ended up getting both; this is similar to the Tiffany/Rica duo where one color (Ivanka) would be better for fall/winter, and another (Apple) for spring/summer.  

 Index/Middle: Ivanka  Ring/Pinky: Apple

 Index/Middle: Ivanka  Ring/Pinky: Apple

Purple time!  Neeka and Dannii have similar finishes, a metallic shimmer, but are totally different color-wise.  Neeka is a dusty plum with gold and micro-purple shimmer, while Dannii is a light metallic violet-lavender with gold and silver shimmer.  I liked Neeka so much with my skin that I promptly did a full manicure with it once I was done swatching!  

 Index/Middle: Neeka, Ring/Pinky: Dannii

 Index/Middle: Neeka, Ring/Pinky: Dannii

Next, our summer duo.  These two are nothing alike, and technically Creamy is a warm tone, but I had nothing comparable to either of these so I slapped them together.  I think they're fairly complimentary, actually.  First we have Creamy, a yellow polish.  This one has a tricky formula, with patchiness even at 2 coats, but a third would fix that up.  Zuza is a metallic turquoise that people blew their stacks over this summer! It is a very nice color, but I found that application required a gentle hand to prevent dragging and bald spots.  However, the color payoff in both of these is great, so I'm overall glad I have them both in my collection.

 Index/Middle: Creamy, Ring/Pinky: Zuza

 Index/Middle: Creamy, Ring/Pinky: Zuza

That's all folks!  That's all the Zoyas I own (for now, hah!), I hope you enjoyed Zoya week as much as I did!

Happy Labor Day! 39 Followers Giveaway!

To celebrate my little blog hitting 39 followers, I'm throwing a giveaway! Yay!

Why 39?  Three reasons.  First, I like prime numbers.  Second, I feel like having a giveaway; I love sharing the love of polish with other people :).  Third, I'm really grateful to have been able to build up such a following in a short time, and I wanted to express my gratitude!

I'm giving away three prizes:  First prize is brand new bottles of Finger Paints Special Effects topcoats in Flashy and Flecked going to one person.

The Second and Third Prizes are a single brand new bottle of Finger Paints Special Effects topcoats in Flashy to each winner.  I happened to stumble upon a jackpot of these topcoats at my local Sally's, and I wanted to share the wealth!

On to the rafflecopter!  This is open to U.S. Residents only (sorry International followers, money's a bit tight since classes start soon, someday I'll have an international giveaway!).  Good Luck!  Ends in one week.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

NOTD: Flakies!

Lab Muffin recently did an excellent article breaking down why flakies look a lot better over dark colors.  I did a darker manicure yesterday, and felt the need to jazz it up to make it a little less fall-like, so I threw some flakies over Zoya's Valerie and Edyta, and came up with this gorgeous manicure!

Flakies add so much depth to a plain manicure, I just LOVE them!

Nail of the Day: Zoya Anne, Dharma, and Fingerpaints Motley!

Seashell nails!  I used 2 coats of Zoya Anne, 1 coat of Dharma, and the 1 coat of Motley to get this look.

I should have done another coat of Anne, as it's a pretty sheer polish (slightly streaky application too) and I still have a little bit of visible nail line, but the effect is pretty charming anyway.  Anne is a "My Nails But Better", or NBB color, if you will.  Adding a coat of Dharma and a coat of Motley gave my nails a pearly blue iridescence that I just love.

First Post: Nail Mail!!

What better way to kick off a blog than to show off some recent nail mail!  These polishes are from some awesome swappers.  I love swapping nail polish; it's a great way to get a hold of unusual polishes you can't find yourself.

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Spring Green:

This is a very Kermit-ey green creme.  It will be an awesome background for glitter and stamping.  I was able to get rid of a duplicate polish I had in order to get my hands on this one; it's always nice to be able to expand my polish collection!

I love the Sally Hansen Insta-Dri line of polish; it dries quickly, and every one that I've tried has been a one-coat polish.  Some people are on the fence about the fat brush trend that brands like Sally Hansen, Wet n' Wild and OPI are embracing, and some people flat-out hate them, but I love them (if they're well made). It makes applying polish quick, with far fewer passes per nail.  However, if the brush isn't well cut and has funky, mop-like bristles, it can be nightmarish (I'm looking at you, Wet n' Wild).

Sally Hansen Gem Crush in Lady Luck:

A clear base with small fuscia glitter and larger silver holo glitter.  This is a packed glitter polish; it was nearly opaque with 2 coats on my wheel, and for a glitter polish that's pretty crazy. 

 This will be great for glitter gradients.  It also dries with an almost matte finish, which is pretty interesting to look at, but the shiny punch of the glitter is brought back to front-and-center with a topcoat.

China Glaze Virtual Violet:

This is a super grapey, scattered holo polish. It really comes to life in the sun, but it's a pretty interesting shimmer indoors as well.

I tend to prefer scattered holos to linear holos, for two reasons; first off, they're waaaaaaay less expensive.  Second, the highly linear holos remind me of Lisa Frank folders.  They're stunningly beautiful, but I worry about being able to wear them to a lot of occasions.  I may be overthinking it, but since scattered and weaker linear holo polishes are way more accessible, I'm not too worried about my preference!

OPI Y'all Come Back Now, Hear?:

OPI has the goofiest polish names.  This polish is a bright orange jelly; I've recently discovered that I really like orange polishes, so it's been fun to find ones that I can pull off.

This is a dupe for Zoya's Coraline, which is awesome because out of the Birchbox trio they recently released, Coraline was the only one I was particularly interested in, but it isn't for sale on its own.

Essie Luxeffects in Shine of the Times:

The flakie polish trend is pretty interesting, as they're just SO very different from the typical glitter.  This flakie polish is probably the densest available, with a beautiful orange/green duochrome.  I'm excited to layer this one and see how well it plays with other colors.

Zoya Anne:

Along with orange nail polish, I've recently discovered I enjoy nude polishes a lot.  Anne is a somewhat sheer warm-toned nude with a slight shimmer. I have very cool-toned skin, so I can't pull all nude shades off, but the warmer ones work with me.  I'm so excited to wear this one, maybe with Shine of the Times over it!