Puttin' on the (Neutral) Glitz

Nude polishes are always a safe choice, a classy choice, and a simple, clean choice.

I like a little flash with my neutral nails, so I popped Nina Ultra Pro's Holographic Topcoat (ugh, buy this polish asap folks, it's amaaaaaaazing) over China Glaze Fast Track, with an accent of Spoiled's Jewelry Heist, and voila!

Zoya Pixie Dust Review

I bought four of the Zoya Pixie Dust polishes  the second they went on presale; they looked like wonderful soft colors (I got Godiva, Vespa, Nyx and London), and the texture effect was intriguing.   They arrived at my house a few days ago, and have been staring at me, tempting me with their shimmery silver goodness.

These polishes are designed to dry to a textured, slightly gritty texture, a matte finish, with sparkle.  The texture is much like the fine-grit side of an emery board.  They require no basecoat or topcoat, and that's how I swatched them.  They can be topcoated to add a shiny finish and cover up the texture, if that isn't your thing.  Removal was a breeze, way way easier than any other glittery polish I've ever owned.

I love these; I wasn't entirely sure I would, but they're tugging at my rock-loving heartstrings.  They look like little geodes on your nails, and have a subtle, shimmery, crystalline beauty that I am in love with.  Application is a hair tricky, but with a smidgeon more patience than a creme might take, they work just fine.  Their dry-time is pretty quick; not Seche Vite quick, but you won't dent your mani within about 10-ish minutes.

First off, London; a deep foggy grey polish, it dries a touch darker than the bottle color.

The application with this color was flawless, and I used just two coats.  I do recommend wrapping your tips with these polishes, as their base is sheer enough that the white nailtip might stand out a bit, like it does on my ring finger.

Next, Godiva, a pale nude (nice reference, Zoya!):

The sparkle doesn't photograph well with this one, but trust me, it's there.  For this one, I had to add a third coat just to my nailtips, as I had visible nail line with two coats.  I was able to apply the polish just to the top third of my nails, and it blended seamlessly with the rest of the polish, so I bet chips would be easy to touch up with these polishes too!

Third, I have Vespa, a lovely retro sagey green:

This polish applied the best of the four, with two easy breezy coats, one thin, one thicker.  This one is also the sparkliest of the four I bought.  I think it's my favorite shade from this collection, as it's hard for me to find sagey greens that mesh well with my skintone, and Vespa is really flattering.

Finally, Nyx, a faboo periwinkle blue:

I really love this soft blue; I think it compliments my skin fabulously, and is a change of pace from the typical creme finish for periwinkle polishes.  This one is also fairly glittery, like Vespa was.  I did have to watch for bald spots with this one, but this polish is so manipulable that a few extra swipes of my brush didn't damage the manicure at all.

My overall verdict is that as long as you watch your application, these polishes are really something special; unusual in their matte, textured sparkliness, and unique in the burgeoning textured polish market in that they're softer shades instead of the ultra-bright texture polishes you might see from other companies.  I have enough bright glitters, these are a change of pace for my collection that make me really, really glad I bought these!

Disclaimer: I purchased these products with my own money, and all opinions are my own.

Artsy Wednesday: Inspired by the season

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."-George Eliot

I love fall.  The colors, the smells, the cool air, my birthday, fun holidays, good food, cozy clothes, migrating birds.  Fall makes me feel calm, like the world is how it's supposed to be.

To celebrate, I now have a super super cute apple manicure!

It's like back-to-school, pies, changing leaves and a harvest wrapped into one.  Also, since a large portion of the Eastern U.S.'s apple crop was wiped out this year from an April frost, it's something of a memorial (no worries though, trees that are well rested should produce even better than usual next year!).

I don't think I've been happier with a manicure in a long time; every time I look at my nails I get a little surge of delight!   

Hooray for fall!

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
Polished Genius
Valiantly Varnished
Unnaked Nails
Nail & Polish
Beauty Gnome
Kaka Beauty Blog

Zoya Swatchathon: The Neutrals!

Zoya has a pretty fabulous selection of neturals, that range from pale pinks to greys, blues, greens, browns, purples, you name it.  I've got a selection here to share with you of my Zoya neutrals; I'm sure I'll get a lot of mileage out of these this fall!

First we have the silvers: Luna, Harley and Trixie.  Luna is a silver glitter in a whitish base, a very very cool take on a glitter polish.  I also didn't have to scrub too badly to remove Luna, which was a relief.  Harley is a cool dove grey with a slight shimmer.  It has a slightly tricky formula, a little thick but sheer at the same time, so it can be challenging to apply even coats.  However, a little extra care gives you a super soft, beautiful look!

Index, Middle: Luna  Ring, Pinky: Harley 

Next we have Trixie, a fantastic silver foil.  If you ever buy a silver foil, this is the one you should buy.  Great for stamping, easy to apply, not patchy, dries quickly, very nice!

 Index/Middle: Luna, Ring/Pinky: Harley, Thumb: Trixie

Next, the nudes.  First, we have Anne, a butterscotchy sheer nude with a hint of shimmer.  This is sheerer than I expected, but could be a really nice base for a french manicure.  Next we have Minka, an almost taupe nude with full coverage in just 2 coats!  I love this polish, it's a fabulous base for just about any nail art, and it looks so very classy.

 Index/Middle: Anne  Ring/Pinky: Minka

  Index/Middle: Anne  Ring/Pinky: Minka

I did 2 coats of Anne above, but wanted to compare 2 coats to 3 coats to show you the difference.

2 coats Anne: a little patchy, visible nail line

3 coats Anne: note that there's much less visible nail line

Next up, we have the neutral-pinks.  I thought these were too close to neutral to be included in the last post, and that they'd be a better fit in this set.  First we have Avril, a very nice pale pink that has a classy look to it.  I am amazed at how well this polish builds on itself; on the first coat you think "Oh no, this will never be opaque!" Then, the second coat covers the nail line and evens everything out immediately.

I also have Dharma here, a very very sheer pink base with a really nice blue flash to it.  I don't know how many coats it'd take to get opacity with this one, but it's a great little addition to other manicure colors, as well as adding a special touch to a French.

 Index/Middle: Avril, Ring/Pinky: Dharma

 Index/Middle: Avril, Ring/Pinky: Dharma

Finally, the browns.  These are totally dissimilar, but I didn't have anything else to pair them with, so they get to be compared to each other.  First is Angelina, a creamy dark brown that is almost a jelly in consistency; it applies like a jelly, but it is opaque in 2 coats, and has such a fantastic shine to it that I'm blown away.  These pictures are without topcoat!  That shine is all in the polish!

I also swatched Jules, a taupe with gold shimmer.  This is a neat take on gold, as it is understated, shimmery and charming without being in-your-face.  It's a gold for people who don't like gold.  It does have a bit of visible nail line after 2 thin coats, but a third one would eliminate it entirely.

 Index/Middle: Angelina, Ring/Pinky:Jules

 Index/Middle: Angelina, Ring/Pinky:Jules

That's all I have for Zoya Neutrals, but stay tuned for the Cool tones next!  I've also got some stamping plates coming in that I want to play around with, so I may test out how well Zoyas stamp!  I'm guessing it's going to be awesome.

Julep June Mystery Box!

I love the Julep mystery boxes; every once in a while (usually around a holiday, or just for fun), Julep offers a box for $19.99 (they provide a link to the box and a code to make sure it is discounted to $19.99) that has between $60 and $200 worth of product.  You don't know what you'll get, but I have yet to be disappointed!

I have bought 4 mystery boxes including this one, but the first three were smaller boxes.  I still loved the colors, and the boxes prompted me to sign up for the Julep Maven program because I liked them so much, but this month I got the big box!!

I got the Pedi Creme (I have never had such soft feet, I swear!), their basecoat, fast dry topcoat, Alyson (a camel colored creme), Amy (a turqoise blue), Sienna (a white-gold that is STUNNING), and Megan (mermaid blue!).

I also got their plumping lip gloss in Arousal (terrible name, nice product, but you definitely feel the burn from the plumper!), the Julep Reveal nail serum, and a pomegranate body creme and scrub.  Not too shabby for $19.99, huh?

You can get the monthly Julep box for just $0.01 by using the code MAVENINTRO when you sign up at Julep.com!

Disclaimer: the links in this post are referral links for my account with Julep.com

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!