Zoya Beach and Surf: Accent Nails

The first thing I noticed about the Zoya Beach and Surf collections was that they all seem to have a "match" in the other collection. There are plenty of swatches out there for Beach and Surf already, so I wanted to give it a twist and show how wonderfully these work for multi-finger accent manicures! I like more contrast for single-finger accents, but prefer the colors to be more closely related for the multi-finger accents.

Check out how well these go together!

Zoya - Wednesday and Zuza

Zoya - Tracie and Meg

Zoya - Arizona and Myrta

Zoya - Shelby and Rory

Zoya - Lara and Kimber

Zoya - Reagan and Carly

Of course, you don't have to pair them up with the most matching color. You can also pair random ones together. For instance, I loved the look of the orange and teal together so I paired Arizona with Zuza for this single-accent:

Zoya - Arizona and Zuza

Overall, while the colors are quite pretty and beach-y and summery, I have to admit that I was disappointed in the collections.  After the killer Sparkle (Summer 2010) and Sunshine (Summer 2011) collections, I was REALLY hoping for more spectacular bling from Zoya for this year.  I know that many others love shimmers and cremes and will be delighted with this collection, but I can't help but feel let down a bit.

I think Arizona was my favorite even though I don't own or like very many orange polishes.  It is the perfect soft, yet bright creamsicle orange that I think would be perfect on finger or toes at the beach!  Carly was also a standout.  It's a rich, intense purple foil that I have nothing even close to in my collection, and it's nearly a one-coater!  Some of the others I liked, some I didn't, but all had excellent formula.  Most are slightly thick and cover in two coats.

The Zoya Beach and Surf collections are both available now at the Zoya website.  They retail for $8 each or $48 for each sampler set.


(These products were sent for review.)

HITS No Olimpo - Hermes

This is the only HITS No Olimpo polish I've tried so far. I've been looking for the perfect gold holo, but still don't feel like I've found one.

HITS - Hermes

These pictures show three coats, but in my opinion, it was prettier at two. When I added the third coat it became more grey/green-ish instead of the warm light gold it was at two coats. It still looks neat, and I like the finish it has. It hovers between a metallic and a pearl finish, with a subtle, linear holo effect. Here is what it looks like in indirect sunlight. You can see that the holo is very subdued. This is very much a work appropriate color, and it does look quite elegant.

For some reason I haven't been feeling the need to get the HITS No Olimpo collection. Maybe it's because I have a bunch of Spectraflair that I should probably use to create my own new colors (including my perfect gold)?

EDIT: I forgot to add that I got my HITS No Olimpo from Llarowe. They're a little pricey at $10 for 6mL (normal bottle of polish is 15mL), and they're in and out of stock a lot, so you just have to get them whenever you find them available.

Jessica Cosmetics Peacock Queen Collection (Chanel dupes!)

Jessica Iridescent Eye

Chanel Peridot (index and ring) and Jessica Iridescent Eye (middle and pinky)

I had been starting to panic just a little recently because I was wondering if anybody really WOULD be duping Chanel Peridot, and I hadn't gotten a backup bottle (I'm reluctant to buy ONE bottle of $25 nail polish, but Peridot was just so special to me...). So when I saw this comparison over on Body and Soul, I was SO thrilled, hopped right on the Jessica Cosmetics site and ordered them all!

I would pretty much call Iridescent Eye a dupe for Peridot. If I didn't KNOW I had two different polishes on, then I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Sometimes in particular light I think that Peridot might be the tiniest bit more vibrant than Iridescent Eye, but then I think it might be my eyes playing tricks on me or my mind trying to justify the $25 for Peridot, haha. Either way, if there IS any difference, it's NOT worth the $17.50 difference (AND the fact that the Chanel bottle contains less volume). I'm SOOOO happy to have my Peridot backup!! Here's another pic to remind you of the awesome color shift in this one:

Next up is Smoky Feather:

Jessica Smoky Feather

Chanel Graphite (index and ring) and Jessica Smoky Feather (middle and pinky)

Now this one I see a tiny bit more difference. To me, Graphite seems a little bit more sparkly or mirror-like, while the foil effect on Smoky Feather seems just the tiniest bit dulled. Not TOO noticeable, but I would probably be able to tell which was which pretty easily on a "blind" test. Still, is it worth the $17.50 difference? I don't really think so.

Jessica Bronze Tailed

Last up is Bronze Tailed. I don't have Chanel Quartz to compare it to because I was never even remotely interested in it from the swatches I saw. Now I've sort of changed my mind, and I'm REALLY happy I ended up ordering Bronze Tailed. Let's get this straight first: I HATE frosty finishes, but I LOVE pearl finishes (provided the brushstrokes aren't horrendous), and there is a fine line between the two. I would call this a pearl finish, and in my opinion, it's gorgeous if you can keep the brushstrokes to a minimum. I'm not sure why I didn't like any swatches I saw of it - maybe I thought it was more of a pink-brown? I dunno, but it reminds me of another favorite of mine that I should re-swatch: Misbehaving Mistress.

These all had nice formula, covering in two thin coats, although they seemed to be a bit more thick that their Chanel counterparts.

All three of these can be purchased on Jessica Cosmetics' site here, and I'm not sure if they are limited edition.

Did you get any of the Chanel Fall 2011 Collection? Will you be picking these up instead?

The 12 Days of Christmas: Day 9 - Night Snow

This is a variation of some nails I did a while ago, for the first snow.

Night Snow: China Glaze Up All Night with Nubar White Polka Dot

I liked it so much over grey that I had to try White Polka Dot over a navy blue. China Glaze Up All Night is one of my FAVORITE dark blue polishes because it always looks blue and not black, but it's nice and deep and dark. This reminded me of when it snows at night and you can see all the snowflakes against the dark night sky. I prefer it with only one coat of glitter (shown), but two looks nice as well.

I know a lot of nail bloggers are obsessed with black glitter, and I wanted to be too (as it turns out, I don't really like it much... but I love the new charcoal grey glitter from Deborah Lippmann... i think that's what I always WANT black glitter to look like). Instead, I'm so in love with white glitter. All of the white glitter I've seen is a silvery pearl white, and it's SO pretty. This one and Lynnderella's Snow Angel are perfect examples of awesome white glitters!

Some fun Valentine's Day colors from Del Sol

Let me start by saying that I'm a BIG fan of Del Sol polishes, and it's probably because there is SO much sun in Arizona. Since many of the polishes change to a pink, red, or maroon in the sun, they make great Valentine's Day colors.

The first one up is Heartbreaker. It's a pretty red glitter indoors - more cool, berry-toned than China Glaze Ruby Pumps (which I actually do not own... can you believe it?! Probably 500+ polishes and I don't even have this cult favorite). In the sun, the color really deepens to a dark berry maroon or burgundy. I would almost call it a dark red grape, but it's not QUITE that purple. Either way it's stunning!

Del Sol - Heartbreaker (shade)

Del Sol - Heartbreaker (sun)

The next one is called Girls Night Out. It starts out as a rosy bright pink with gold shimmer. In the sun it gets very purple, but keeps the gold shimmer.

Del Sol - Girls Night Out (shade)

Del Sol - Girls Night Out (sun)

Next is Pretty in Pink. Indoors it's a white base with HEAVY pink flash. The pink flash really dominates this one, and makes it appear like a pearly cool-toned baby pink. This is three coats, and there is still VNL, but I don't really mind it. Outside it all turns to a soft mid-toned pink. VERY girly!

Del Sol - Pretty in Pink (shade)

Del Sol - Pretty in Pink (sun)

Last but not least, is Secret Crush. It's not really a traditional Valentine's Day polish, but it's my favorite Del Sol polish, so I had to include it. It's such a pretty soft orange coral with a strong blue pearl to it (yes, up close and in the pictures you can see brushstrokes, but I assure you they are not at all noticeable in person - doing three thin coats instead of two thick coats keeps the brushstrokes at bay). Then outside... WOW. It changes to a dusty purple base with that same electric blue pearl, and it's absolutely amazing. I love how much the color changes in this one, and I just adore both "versions" (inside and outside).

Del Sol - Secret Crush (shade)

Del Sol - Secret Crush (sun)

Like I said, I just LOVE Del Sol polishes, but I do have one thing to say about them...

I've heard rumors of "bottles that didn't change color much." I think that this is actually due to the sun available, not the formulation itself. In Arizona, these are wonderful - they change almost instantly and very drastically. However, if you live in a place that's mostly cloudy, you may see little to no change whatsoever. Another thing to note is that if you use any sort of sunscreen (even putting moisturizer with SPF 15 in it on your face using your fingers), there will be NO color change at all. The polishes rely on the UV rays from the sun to change the color, so be sure to try them on days with a high UV index for maximum change.

Also, what do you think of the new larger picture size?

CoverGirl Midnight Forest - Chanel Black Pearl dupe?

I decided to check out my local Dollar Tree yesterday, and happened to find some cool Cover Girl Nail Slicks duos for $1 each. One of them contained this beauty, which I think looks an AWFUL lot like Chanel Black Pearl.

Cover Girl - Midnight Forest

I don't like spending $25 on polishes (I only made one exception for Paradoxal because I found it unique and beautiful enough to justify the price), so I don't have Black Pearl to compare it to. I was using Michelle's photo here on All Lacquered Up for comparison purposes, and I think they are very close!

Another thing to note is that this is NOT big 3 free. It contains Dibutyl Phthalate.

Barielle Misbehaving Mistress

Today I have for you some pictures of Barielle Misbehaving Mistress. This has to be one of the most awesome colors I own. In some lights it looks just like beautiful dark pearls, while in other lights it looks more brown, and other times is looks more like a dark metallic charcoal. No matter what, it's AMAZING. Check it out!

Barielle Misbehaving Mistress

You can see in the second picture that it shows brushstrokes just a tid bit, but really, it's only SLIGHTLY noticable in certain types of lighting (like direct sun). Otherwise it just looks mostly like a smooth pearly or metallic finish. Such a unique color, and I own nothing even remotely close to either the base color or the finish of this polish, not to mention that it's very flattering on as well! I think this has definitely made it into my collection of absolute favorites!