Picture Polish Ultra Violence

purchased by me

Happy Friday!  To celebrate, I have another dreamy purple from Picture Polish.  Ultra Violence is a glowing shimmery purple with fuchsia mini-flake glitter.  The formula was stellar--perfect consistency, opaque in two coats, dried shiny and very quickly.  It's also worth noting that the base color looks more blue-toned in strong light and more red-toned in lower light.

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Picture Polish can be purchased directly from the company on their website, and also from Ninja Polish and Llarowe.

Picture Polish Imperial

purchased by me

Nothing like a little neon to brighten up your January!  Imperial is a neon purple with gold and copper glitter.  Because of the neon pigment, it does dry satin matte, but one quick coat of top coat makes it shiny.  The formula was a bit thin, but it didn't try too hard to pool at my cuticles, it was opaque in two coats and it dried in a flash.

Picture Polish can be purchased directly from the company on their website, and also from Ninja Polish and Llarowe.

Picture Polish Frosting

purchased by me

Frosting is a cooler version of Douceur, a white base with pink, white and purple glitters and larger white hearts.  The formula was a little thin and wanted to pool at my cuticles, and it wasn't opaque at two coats, but it dried quickly and is very pretty.  Next time I'll wear it over a white base.

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Picture Polish can be purchased directly from the company on their website, and also from Ninja Polish and Llarowe.

Models Own Half Price Sale!

Picture Polish Douceur

purchased by me

Douceur is one of the 2013 blogger collaboration shades, and it's sweet, feminine and lovely without being cloying or twee.  It has a pink-toned nude base, silver micro-glitter and small pink, red and purple glitter.  Douceur is a natural for Valentine's Day!  The formula was a little thin, but it was opaque in two coats, and it dried very quickly.

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Picture Polish can be purchased directly from the company on their website, and also from Ninja Polish and Llarowe.

Picture Polish Denim

purchased by me

Denim has been on my most-wanted list for quite a while now.  I wasn't willing to shell out for international shipping, and every time I tried for it at one of the US stockists, it was gone!  Finally, I snagged it, and it's so worth the wait.  Denim is a soft periwinkle blue with brighter blue shimmer.  It was opaque in two easy coats, dried quickly and was nicely shiny without top coat.

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Picture Polish can be purchased directly from the company on their website, and also from Ninja Polish and Llarowe.

Sneak peek: 1/27/14-1/31/14

purchased by me

            

                 

Sinful Colors Treasure Chest

purchased by me

Treasure Chest was part of the Crystal Crushes collection last year, and it's the only one I couldn't resist.  It's a bright turquoise with subtle gold glitter.  It was thick but not unworkable, opaque in two coats and dried quickly.   Sadly, these were LE, but you might be able to find one on a blog sale...

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OPI Alcatraz Rocks

purchased by me

Alcatraz Rocks, part of OPI's San Francisco collection, was the polish everyone wanted last year, and no wonder!  It's a phenomenal navy textured glitter, loaded with multicolored sparkles, opaque in two effortless coats and widely available for $10 or less.

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If you don't already have Alcatraz Rocks, you can find it wherever OPI is sold.

L'Oreal Gold Dust Collection: I Like It Chunky

purchased by me

Silly name, great color!  I Like It Chunky is a medium copper textured polish loaded with copper and gold glitter.  The formula is easy to work with, neither too thin nor too thick, it was opaque in two coats, dried quickly and was a snap to remove.  Two thumbs and eight fingers up for this one!

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I've no idea if the Gold Dust polishes are permanent, but if you like textured polishes and copper, grab this one as soon as you see it in a display, or get it online from your favorite drugstore!

L'Oreal Gold Dust Collection: Hidden Gems

purchased by me

Hidden Gems could just as well have been called Hidden Charms, because any charms it has were hidden from me.  It's a black base with small teal glitter and large silver glitter.  In the bottle, it looks like a blackened teal, but on the nail it looks black with silver glitter.  I was underwhelmed to say the least.  The formula was good, easy to work with, opaque in two coats, dried quickly and removed easily.  If you want a textured black with large glitters, this one would work, but don't expect the teal to make more than a fleeting appearance.

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I'm not sure if the Gold Dust polishes are permanent, but they are currently available at Ulta, CVS, Walgreens and other drugstores for around $6 US.

Cult Nails Passionate Dreams pre-sale!

press release

Passionate Dreams is a new 4 piece collection from Cult Nails, for Winter 2014.  This collection includes four new full size Cult Nails shades:  (from left to right in image)  Lethal, Ignite, Angel Whispers, and Kiss. 

Lethal:  Like staring into your lovers eyes, you wont be able to take your gaze away from Cult Nails take on the silver foil.

Ignite:  Blending a black jelly base with silver glitter, it's like closing your eyes for that first kiss, and seeing stars.  Ignite is pure passion fuel.

Angel Whispers:  A soft, pale pink creme provides the base color for this texture polish.  Even thought the finish may feel slightly gritty, its color and signature Cult Nails shimmer create a softening effect reminiscent of an Angel's wings.

Kiss:  No love story is complete without a kiss.  Crafted to invoke emotions of lust and desire, Kiss is a vibrant red that dries to a wax-like finish. 

Each bottle is 0.5 fluid ounces / approximately 15 ml.  

PRE-SALE ONLY:  Collections will ship after pre-sale ends (Jan 31, 2014)

Sneak peak: 1/20/14-1/24/14

purchased by me

  

      

Butter London Last Chance Sale!

Our Big Tidy-Up Event begins today! Save 50% on exclusive lacquers, cosmetics, and must-have gift sets. Offer expires at 11:59 PM PST 1-23-14. While supplies last. Prices as marked. Free shipping on orders $50+. Us only.

Spa Ritual Close Your Eyes set

purchased by me

Like the Butter London set, this set of two Spa Ritual polishes and one mini lip gloss was on sale at Ulta, so I grabbed it.  The lip gloss is shiny but colorless, neither drying nor hydrating and smells and tastes of lemon.  It's also so mini that I keep losing track of it. :D

Crystal Waters is a turquoise foil, very close to OPI Catch Me in Your Net and Zoya Charla.  It was opaque in two coats, easy to work with but brush-stroke-y and definitely showed every ridge!  Crystal Waters is part of Spa Ritual's core line.

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Close Your Eyes is a glitter topper with blue, gold, and silver holo glitter.  It's lovely and unique--I have nothing like this in my entire collection.  The formula was not too thick and the glitter spread perfectly and lavishly with no fishing.  Close Your Eyes is only available in this set as far as I can tell.

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This set is sold out at Ulta, but can still be found at Beauty.com.

Butter London Double Take Duo in Fire

purchased by me

When I saw that this set was on sale at Ulta, I couldn't resist--a gorgeous oxblood red plus COPPER flaky glitter?  Had. To. Own.  Fortunately for me, the polishes lived up to their promise, and were simply beautiful and perfectly well-behaved.  The set of two retails for $24, which is a $6 savings, and I got the duo on sale at Ulta for $19, so I was really super-happy!

Rebel Fox is a deep oxblood red with gold shimmer.  The shimmer is more apparent in the bottle than on the nail.  Although the formula was lovely, it looked patchy at two coats and I should have done three.

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Brass Monkey is a top coat I adore, with copper/iridescent flaky glitter.  The base wasn't overly thick, there was a good amount of glitter and a nice spread without any fishing.

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The Double Take Duo in Fire is sold out at Ulta, but it's still available at Butter London's website.

F.U.N. Lacquer Love 2014 Collection

purchased by me

F.U.N. (Fabulously Unique Nail) Lacquer is a new-to-me indie polish maker from Singapore.  I missed out on the fabulously holo Disney princess-inspired shades, so I was determined not to miss out on the Valentine's Day collection.

Spring 2014: Zoya Magical Pixie

press release

Believe in it...

Zoya Magical Pixie - a new PixieDust formulation, amped up with spectacular sparkle creating the most magical, Zoya PixieDust ever! Three new never before imagined textured, holographic beauties for spring 2014... 

ZOYA MAGICAL PIXIE

• ZP717 - Cosmo: Silver Crystal Sparkle, Textured PixieDust with Mega Hex Iridescent Particles, Full Coverage Formula.
• ZP718 - Vega: Blue Opal Sparkle, Textured PixieDust with Mega Hex Iridescent Particles, Full Coverage Formula.
• ZP719 - Lux: Rose Quartz Sparkle Textured PixieDust with Mega Hex Iridescent Particles, Full Coverage Formula.

$10.00 ea. (US)

For BEST RESULTS when applying Zoya PixieDust: apply 2-3 thin coats of polish for full coverage to a clean oil free nail surface. Allow product to dry completely for full effect. Do not use a base coat or top coat. Top coat can be applied for additional glossy effects. 

*BIG5FREE: Zoya Nail Polish and Treatment Formulas are free of formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, dibutyl phthalate, toluene and camphor.

Find over 300 long-wearing, beautiful Zoya colors on www.zoya.com. Each and every color has a name as unique as the women who inspired it.

SHIPPING FEBRUARY 2014

ZOYA IS THE COLOR OF FASHION!Available on Zoya.com

Sneak peek: 1/13/14-1/17/14

purchased by me

Glam Polish Bubble Berry

purchased by me

Bubble Berry is an absolutely adorable polish, a bubblegum pink with small holographic glitter and pink circle glitter.  Storing it upside down the night before I applied it eliminated any need for fishing for the circle glitters.  The formula was not at all thick and very well-behaved.  It could probably be opaque on its own in two or three coats, but I layered one coat over Spa Ritual's Strawberry Fields Forever.

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Glam Polish is an Aussie brand, and you can buy it at Etsy or from Color 4 Nails.

New for Spring 2014: Zoya Awaken

press release

Just as Spring emerges from a natural Winter slumber, Zoya Awakens to a fresh season of BIG5FREE* color...

Open your mind to the beauty of color discovery; the new, the unexplored, the excitement! Awaken by Zoya - Six new, full-coverage, dew-drenched creams and gold-kissed metallic nail polish colors for Spring 2014. Full of pure pigment, intense color and modern complexity that will take you far beyond the hazy, barely there hues of seasons past into a new world of chromatic joy.

ZOYA AWAKEN - 2014 SPRING

• ZP723 - Dillon: Green Mint Shimmer Metallic Full Coverage Formula.
• ZP724 - Rebel: Blue Sky Shimmer Metallic, Full Coverage Formula.
• ZP722 - Hudson: Purple Orchid Shimmer Metallic, Full Coverage Formula (Yes, it's a Radiant Orchid!)
• ZP720 - Dot: Pink Petal Cream, Full Coverage Formula
  (originally created for fashion designer Zang Toi’s SS14 collection).
• ZP721 - Cole: Peach Whisper Cream, Full Coverage Formula
  (originally created for fashion designer Peter Som’s SS14 collection).
• ZP725 - Brooklyn: White-Gold Shimmer Metallic, Full Coverage Formula.

$9.00 ea. (US)

PLUS, A SPECIAL EDITION TOPPER
Create a nail color masterpiece. The multi-colored, holographic flakes of Zoya Monet lend an impressionistic color change option to existing color palettes. Never boring, this artistic topper can be applied as an accent or used as an overall color changer.

• ZP726 - Monet: Multi-Color, Cellophane Holographic Topper.
$10.00 ea. (US)

*BIG5FREE: Zoya Nail Polish and Treatment Formulas are free of formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, dibutyl phthalate, toluene and camphor.
Find over 300 long-wearing, beautiful Zoya colors on www.zoya.com. Each and every color has a name as unique as the women who inspired it.

ZOYA IS THE COLOR OF FASHION!Available on Zoya.com