Zoya Gems and Jewels Swatches

Good evening, Dear Reader!

What I have on tap for you tonight is swatches of Zoya's Holiday 2011 release, the Gems and Jewels Collection, which Zoya sent for review.  It's six polishes total, three shimmers and three glitters (which they call "glitter glazes"), and although Zoya suggests various layering options, I figured I'd show you swatches of each of the six at two coats so you have an idea of what each looks like before getting into any layering.  I used artificial light for today's pictures because there's no sunlight, which is never my favorite but sometimes shows glitters a little better by not washing them out.

I'll start with glitters, and with generalities about all three in the collection.  They're all a clear base with colored glitter of two types, powdery-fine regular glitter and particularly small bar (stringy) glitter.  I'm really picky about bar glitter, and this is a good one because it is so small - there are no giant stringy bits anywhere.  All three provided good coverage at two coats, and with glitters like this I use slow brush strokes on the first coat to avoid essentially wiping off all the glitter as I go.  Since these are swatches and I have not worn any as a full manicure, I don't know how much top coat they'll need, but it doesn't seem like it would be a lot with how fine the glitter is.  The dry time looks promising as well, and I'll let you know for sure when I wear them.

Kissy might be my favorite of all here.  It's a kind of fuchsia bright pink glitter with holo-y bar glitter.

Zoya Kissy Nail Polish, Two Coats

Twila is a striking vivid blue glitter with matching bar glitter.

Zoya Twila Nail Polish, Two Coats

Rina is a bright evergreen glitter with matching-but-reflective bar glitter.

Zoya Rina Nail Polish, Two Coats

I think these are great holiday glitters - they bring to mind throwing glitter and streamers at a party.  I don't think they'll be of the sandblaster removal variety either, because of how fine the glitter is - I find that the size of glitter tends to make a pretty big difference in how tough it is to take off, but again, I'll confirm that after I wear one for real.

That brings us to the three shimmers, which are also quite good.  All three were completely opaque and even in two coats, were super easy to apply, and they're full of the kind of shimmer I expect Zoyas to have, where it's strong but not too out there.

Noel is a good kind of silvery blue.

Zoya Noel Nail Polish, Two Coats

Holly is the epitome of a holiday green.

Zoya Holly Nail Polish, Two Coats

Izzy is a hot pink glowy shimmer.  I'm kind of hoping bright pink takes off as a permanent holiday color (in general, not just for nail polish!).

Zoya Izzy Nail Polish, Two Coats

I really like each one of these quite a bit individually, and all together I think they make a very cool holiday collection.  If there's only one in your budget, my vote goes for Kissy - it's a New Year's Eve party in a bottle!

Those are my Zoya Gems and Jewels swatches and all I have for you today, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!



All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

Revlon Facets of Fuchsia

Good morning, Dear Reader!

This morning I thought I'd try out Revlon Facets of Fuchsia, which seems to be Revlon's take on Deborah Lippmann's Bad Romance, a black jelly base with fuchsia hex and regular glitter.  In the bottle, the black base of Facets of Fuchsia looked less pigmented than that of Bad Romance (which fell shy of opaque at two coats), so I decided to layer it over a black creme.  My thought was that drying issues would be inevitable with 4+ coats, and I wanted to make this one work.

I started with a base coat, using up what I have on hand, which was NailTek II (so my nails should be orange from the formaldehyde in it in short order).  I let that dry for a minute or two, then applied one coat of Revlon Lunar, the black creme released with a few glitters not too long ago, which is even and almost opaque at one coat.  After giving that a bit of drying time, I applied two thin coats of Facets of Fuchsia, giving each a few minutes to set before moving on to the next.  The glitter's surface was pretty pebbly at this point, so I added one coat of clear polish then one of Seche Vite (my thickest top coat) to even it out.  It's dry and very glassy smooth now, so the hassles involved in ensuring drying issues didn't appear seem to have been worth it.  There's no sunlight today, so this is Facets of Fuchsia in indoor lighting (mixed fluorescent and light bulb).

Revlon Facets of Fuchsia Nail Polish, Two Coats over Black

The consequence of the less pigmented base of Facets of Fuchsia versus Bad Romance is that the glitter shows through it more clearly.  The Lippmann seems to have more glitter, but a third coat of Facets of Fuchsia would even the score, and since this cost me less than $3 versus the $18-$20 for the Lippmann (I didn't look it up to see which it was since my point's the same either way), for me Facets of Fuchsia would be the winner in a showdown against Bad Romance.

That's what I know about Revlon Facets of Fuchsia and I don't have a heck of a lot else to tell you about today, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!



All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Pink-y Ring

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I'm working my way through the Sally Hansen Xtreme Wears with today's being Pink-y Ring.  It's smooth fine fuchsia glitter in a clear base, and not quite as much of a hit as the last several.

The glitter in Pink-y Ring is pretty sparse, so I used an opaque base color under it, one coat of Misa's I'm Going to Love Myself (I'm really hoping that name means in the Free to Be... You and Me sense).  Then
I added three coats of Pink-y Ring, and it's all nice and sparkly.  The pictures show the color, glitter size, smoothness, and density, but the focus made the sparkle go away.    On the nail, it's just as sparkly as in the bottle.

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Pink-y Ring Nail Polish, Three Coats over an Opaque Base

The glitter in Pink-y Ring is perfectly smooth with one coat of Diamont, so that's a good thing.  I picked this polish up and put it back a couple of times because I was concerned it wouldn't be opaque, and I got it hoping it was, so overall this one's kind of a disappointment even though I was able to get a manicure I like out of it.

That's Sally Hansen Pink-y Ring and the next installment in the Xtreme Wear Saga, so until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!



Edited to Add: At 11:00 p.m. after wearing this  out and about on a sunny day and running around all evening, I love this manicure.  The glitter just glows throwing off fuchsia light and is flawlessly smooth.  I clicked the picture to see if it could give a sense of that on a 17" freshly calibrated monitor, and am pleased to report that it does.

The whole glitter photography thing drives me nuts, where the combinations of light, focus and shutter speed mean either I can get a picture to show glitter size, smoothness, and color clearly or the sparkle accurately, and the sun was so bright for this picture that out of the twelve I took, not one was the blurred version that would clearly show sparkle.  However, if you click on the picture for the great big version, there are glitter bits visible on my nails that show the fuchsia glow individually.  Since I didn't get the picture, here's the leap to how it looks in real life: see all the non-glowy glitter bits?  In person they do sparkle like the few, even in normal indoor light.  Between the girly color and the smooth, bright glitter, this one has won my heart whether it requires layering or not.

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

Best Nail Treatment - Review and swatches

I was contacted a while back by Lynn, the lovely owner of  BNTabout trying her line of nail products and after my drooling and wavering due to the beautiful selection of nail colors I finally picked a couple and I have been testing these in a serious way!You can check out the shades hereLeft to right: Air Cure system Base coat, Grape Crush, French Twist and Air Cure System fast dry Top CoatNow I

China Glaze Oxidized Aqua Crackle

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I have a picture I haven't shown you yet of China Glaze Oxidized Aqua from the Metal Crackles, so that'll have to do for today.  I wanted to try it out over a contrasting base color, so I picked OPI Ate Berries in the Canaries, and this is what I came up with.

China Glaze Oxidized Aqua Crackle over OPI Ate Berries in the Canaries

Not my worst, not my best... I do think Oxidized Aqua is pretty cool though.

I'll have to scamper off and come up with something better for tomorrow, so until then, love and nail polish to you!

Color Club Raspberry Rush

Good morning, Dear Reader!

The sun is shining on a beautiful warm Spring day and I'm wearing scented neon raspberry nail polish.  Does life get better than this?  I don't think so.  The first Spring days of every year bring me back to being a kid all dressed for school in my hideous plaid uniform, reveling in the fresh air and playing jump rope in the driveway until my dad came out to drive us off to school on his way to work.  A scented neon raspberry nail polish sort of completes that whole mood very well.

Today's manicure is Color Club Raspberry Rush from the Wicked Sweet Collection, and it's also a very good one.  It has that artificial raspberry fragrance, but it's light and not terribly sweet, so I don't think most people would find it offensive at all.  Those Revlon Fruitful Temptations from a couple of years back could be a little much after several hours, but the two Color Club scented neons I've tried have had about half of that intensity of fragrance and nowhere near as sweet.  Raspberry Rush is a neon raspberry that's halfway between a creme and a jelly, almost entirely opaque in three coats, and it was easy to apply.

Color Club Raspberry Rush Nail Polish, Three Coats

I was out grocery shopping really early this morning and stopped to pick up a cup of coffee on the way home, and at both places this polish received compliments, which is always fun.  I didn't want to make the women who noticed it terribly jealous by telling them that in addition to being fabulous looking it smells like raspberries, too, so I didn't mention it.  Ha!

That's just about all that I can think of to tell you this morning, so I'll be off to go about the rest of my day while discreetly sniffing my nails when no one's looking.  Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!  

OPI Burlesque: The Shimmers

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I have swatches of the remaining six colors from OPI Burlesque.  After swatching all of these, I think this is the collection from OPI that I've liked the most in quite a while - I really like these a lot.  They're pretty much what I expect from OPI with respect to application and dry time, but the colors are exceptional.

Rising Star is a kind of brassy gold with a sparkly finish.  I used two coats.

OPI Rising Star Nail Polish, Two Coats

Take the Stage is a slightly burnt orange with the same finish.  I needed three coats of this one.

OPI Take the Stage Nail Polish, Three Coats

The Show Must Go On is an orangey red with a slight duochrome effect.  I used three coats.

OPI The Show Must Go On Nail Polish, Three Coats

Ali's Big Break is an amazing red jelly with the same sparkly bits as the others.  It's like Maraschino cherry juice with sparkle.  This is three coats.

OPI Ali's Big Break Nail Polish, Three Coats

Tease-y Does It is a plum brown shimmer, and I needed three coats.  

OPI Tease-y Does It Nail Polish, Three Coats

Let Me Entertain You is a fantastic fuchsia with the same finish as the others, also a three coater.

OPI Let Me Entertain You Nail Polish, Three Coats

My favorites from this half of OPI Burlesque are Ali's Big Break and Let Me Entertain You.  I'm wearing Let Me Entertain You, and I absolutely love it.  OPI really made me happy with this collection.

That's what I have for you today, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

More Limited Edition Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicures

Good morning, Dear Reader!

There was good sun yesterday, so today I have more swatches of the new limited edition Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure nail polishes, another three.

Before getting to today's, I ought to mention that taking off Problem Child was a huge hassle.  Those little flaky bits were seriously stuck on there - I'd rather remove Starry, Starry Flight twice than remove Problem Child once.

On to new pictures... Golden Ticket is a gold glitter that I thought wouldn't be opaque, but three coats later it was.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Golden Ticket Nail Polish, Three Coats

Feeling Saucy is a fuchsia shimmer that was good in two coats.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Feeling Saucy Nail Polish, Two Coats

Fedora is a really nice brownish beige with a gold shimmer, also a two-coater.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Fedora Nail Polish, Two Coats

You can see the variety in this collection, and that there are quite a few really strong colors.  I hope to one day get past the names.

That's the update for today, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

Nails Inc Diet Coke Nail Polishes

Good very early morning, Dear Reader!

I mentioned yesterday I had some things to swatch for you, and the Nails Inc Diet Coke nail polishes were high on the list.  These were (or are, I'm not sure which), a freebie with purchase of Diet Coke in the UK.  I believe that Diet Coke is the nectar of the gods, so if it were me in the UK, I would have qualified for a zillion of each of the four shades.  Since it's not, I have one of each.

These were all two-coaters and went on well, and are all cremes.  The first three are swatches, the last a manicure with Nails Inc Kensington Caviar base and top coats.  Since there's no sun now, I used artificial light.

London is beige, and a nice one.

Nails Inc Diet Coke Nail Polishes: London, Two Coats

Milan is the Diet Coke red shade.

Nails Inc Diet Coke Nail Polishes: Milan, Two Coats

New York is a muted fuchsia, slightly jelly.

Nails Inc Diet Coke Nail Polishes: New York, Two Coats

Paris is a really nice purpley plum.

Nails Inc Diet Coke Nail Polishes: Paris, Two Coats

Realistically, the only color I see tying directly in with Diet Coke is Milan, but that's just a detail.  With my newfound love of Nails Inc and what a great novelty these are, I had to find a way to get them, and I'm glad I did.

That's all for now, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

Zoya Sparkle Collection

Good evening, Dear Reader!

As I mentioned this morning, I received samples of Zoya's Sparkle Collection for Summer 2010 yesterday, and so I'm back with swatches of them. As the name would suggest, all six are glitters, and I used two coats of each. They're not standard glitters, they're more like a ton of glass fleck bits in a matching base. The applications was about average, I'd say - it took a bit of effort on the first coat to make it thick enough to need only two coats, but it wasn't some giant ordeal or anything. The second coat went on well, the drying time is good, and the dry manicure I did with one is relatively smooth. The official release date of the Sparkle Collection is today.

I took the pictures in sunlight, and five are swatches, one is a complete manicure with top coat. I'll again use alphabetical order because there are just too many cool ones here to rank them by preference.

I'm leaving out the fact that they're glitters in describing the colors since I told you all six are the same and described the glitter above - I have faith that you can retain that information for the time required to read one page. Zoya calls all of these metallic in their descriptions, I would not. The base nail polish seems to have some shimmer (I just took one out and opened it to check), but it's hard to see clearly through all the glitter bits. I definitely wouldn't call these metallic though. You can decide for yourself what you think.

Alegra is a vivid fuchsia described by Zoya as "fuchsia pink sparkling metallic" (I almost matched the press release on that one!).

Zoya Alegra Nail Polish from the Zoya Sparkle Collection

Zoya Alegra Nail Polish, Two Coats

Charla is a real stunner, a bright teal which Zoya calls "tropical blue sparkling metallic."

Zoya Charla Nail Polish from the Zoya Sparkle Collection

Zoya Charla Nail Polish, Two Coats

Gilda is a striking hot pink which Zoya calls "fashion pink sparkling metallic" (another near match!).

Zoya Gilda Nail Polish from the Zoya Sparkle Collection

Zoya Gilda Nail Polish, Two Coats

Ivanka is another standout, a bright green described by Zoya as "mermaid green sparkling metallic."

Zoya Ivanka Nail Polish from the Zoya Sparkle Collection

Zoya Ivanka Nail Polish, Two Coats

Mimi, a royal purple, is the complete manicure with top coat. Zoya also calls this "royal purple..."

Zoya Mimi Nail Polish from the Zoya Sparkle Collection

Zoya Mimi Nail Polish, Two Coats

The last one, Nidhi, is a great red that Zoya calls a "rich red..."

Zoya Nidhi Nail Polish from the Zoya Sparkle Collection

Zoya Nidhi Nail Polish, Two Coats

Today you've seen both Sparkle and Flash from Zoya, and there's not a loser in the bunch. Sparkle, like Flash, is made up of a good variety of bold shades that still look like a collection when put together, and the finish of the Flash colors is unique. The official release date for both is today, and they're available on Zoya's site.

That's all for today, Dear Reader. Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!

Zoya Flash Collection

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Yesterday I received samples from Zoya of their Flash Collection for Summer 2010, and I have swatches of them for you today, which is, as luck would have it, the official release date of the collection. Flash consists of six cremes, and all required two moderate coats to be opaque and even. Their application was nice - the formula is a bit thick, but not in a way that makes it hard to work with at all, and the dry time was good. Even though these are just swatches, I waited for the first coat to dry before applying the second, and the wait was short.

I took the pictures in sunlight, and I'll just use alphabetical order to present them to you - each is a good, solid color, so ranking them by preference would be a real challenge.

Dana is a vivid deep pink bordering of fuchsia, described by Zoya as "American rose cream." It's a bold color, definitely a shade I like, but at the same time is very wearable.

Zoya Dana Nail Polish from Zoya's Flash Collection

Zoya Dana Nail Polish, Two Coats

Jancyn is a medium orange leaning just a tiny bit toward yellow, like the color of a Sunkist orange. Zoya calls it "soft tangerine cream." It's an unusual shade of orange in a good way.

Zoya Jancyn Nail Polish from Zoya's Flash Collection

Zoya Jancyn Nail Polish, Two Coats

Zoya calls Jolene "summer pink cream," but I see it as a fabulous pink just a hair darker than Barbie pink, and is a very wearable color. Lately, I'm becoming more aware of how "wearable" colors are, for some reason - as a programmer, I don't work with the public, have generally been the only woman in my department (which made me the standard setter for what was appropriate) or worked from home, so it's always been "anything goes" for me. I'm beginning to give consideration to those for whom that is not true, and look at whether in a standard setting a nail polish would work, and for even the conservative, Jolene would fit the bill.

Zoya Jolene Nail Polish from Zoya's Flash Collection

Zoya Jolene Nail Polish, Two Coats

Maura is one heck of a tomato red with just a hint of orange, describe by Zoya as "electric crimson cream." This is the kind of red to which even I would have a hard time adding any kind of nail art, it's so strong on its own.

Zoya Maura Nail Polish from Zoya's Flash Collection

Zoya Maura Nail Polish, Two Coats

Perrie is a delicate lavender, and Zoya calls it "soft lavender cream." Hey, I matched one! I'm looking at the bottle and the picture to write my description first, one at a time, then getting the "official" description off the press release. Zoya and I are in complete agreement on Perrie!

Zoya Perrie Nail Polish from Zoya's Flash Collection

Zoya Perrie Nail Polish, Two Coats

The last color is Robyn, which is a vivid sky blue, a really gorgeous shade. Zoya calls it "perfect turquoise cream."

Zoya Robyn Nail Polish from Zoya's Flash Collection

Zoya Robyn Nail Polish, Two Coats

In general, I think that cremes are the hardest finish to apply nice and evenly, and all six in the Flash Collection applied with ease. As you can see, in two coats I did not have uneven patches or streaks, which is a huge plus. Additionally, although I enjoy pastels, I like the fact that all six shades in Flash are bold, and that there's tremendous variety within the collection, yet the colors still hang together as a collection well. I give Zoya's Flash Collection two well-manicured thumbs up.

That's what I have for you this morning, Dear Reader. I'll have more for you later - Zoya's Sparkle collection arrived as well, also with today as the release date, so I'll give you a peek at those too. Until then, love and nail polish to you!

CHI Secret Fantasy Collection for Summer 2010

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

Another post, another collection, this time CHI's Secret Fantasy Collection for Summer 2010. This one, I bought from sparkling*nails on ebay, and they've been spotted at Ulta as well. I only have six of the eight colors here because it's kind of a weird collection: one re-release from Summer 2009's Tropical Paradise Collection (Sunny Romance of Saint Tropez, a yellow shimmer, which you can see in the original post I just linked), two core colors, Double Fisted Fuchsia, which I do have here, and Salsalita y Margarita, an orangey red creme I don't have, then five new ones. You can tell the re-releases by the names, too - they don't fit in with the collection theme.

Of the six I swatched here, all were two coaters. The applied easily, and the polish was easy to control. The first coat looked thin for most, but the second made them all opaque and even. The pictures were taken in sunlight.

My Secret Fetish is a new one, and is a vivid fuchsia with the same kind of almost flaky glitter as Mistletoe Kisses.

CHI My Secret Fetish from The Secret Fantasy Collection

CHI My Secret Fetish Nail Polish, Two Coats

Passionate Kiss, another new one, is a slightly muted purple with a subtle shimmer. It's a near dupe for Nicole by OPI's Bah Plum-Bug, but the shimmer in Passionate Kiss is more pronounced.

CHI Passionate Kiss from The Secret Fantasy Collection

CHI Passionate Kiss Nail Polish, Two Coats

Midnight Rendezvous, also a new one as far as I know, is a bright primary blue with a great shimmer.

CHI Midnight Rendezvous from The Secret Fantasy Collection

CHI Midnight Rendezvous Nail Polish, Two Coats

Picnic in Central Park is a pale green that I'd call a creme, although there's just the slightest secret shimmer in direct light. It's also is a new one as far as I know, but the name doesn't fit in with the others so I'm not sure. In any case, it's a good color.

CHI Picnic in Central Park from The Secret Fantasy Collection

CHI Picnic in Central Park Nail Polish, Two Coats

The last new shade (assuming I'm right on the ones above) is In Between the Sheets, a muted slightly grey purple creme. It's one of my favorites from the collection.

CHI In Between the Sheets from The Secret Fantasy Collection

CHI In Between the Sheets Nail Polish, Two Coats

The only re-release (or core color, I think) I have is Double Fisted Fuchsia, which is more of a bright pink that a fuchsia and has a strong shimmer and a bit of a flash.

CHI Double Fisted Fuchsia Nail Polish from The Secret Fantasy Collection

CHI Double Fisted Fuchsia Nail Polish, Two Coats

So that's CHI's Secret Fantasy Collection for Summer 2010, and probably the weirdest collection I've seen with mixing in core and re-released colors. I'm happy with the ones I got, and I do like the yellow from last year. Salsalita y Margarita shall remain a mystery to me, as I'm not sold on the idea that it's my kind of color.

Until tomorrow, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!