Last-minute Halloween nails

purchased by me

Incoco has six one-manicure sets available at Walgreens.  I got the cute little ghosts which glow in the dark!

If you're interested in finding a set, you can check the store locator on the Incoco website.

Bonita Nail-O-Ween 2015

purchased by me

I am such a sucker for packaging!  I saw this cute set at Rite Aid for $4.99 + tax and I couldn't resist!  The nail stickers are tiny, but there is tiny green shimmer over the black stickers, and I love little touches like that.  There are two glow in the dark polishes among the four.

The green glows in the dark and it's pretty thin.  I used three coats for my swatch, but could have used a fourth:

The purple is also a glow-in-the dark and also needs four coats (shown with three):

The white was fine with three coats:

The black was perfect in two coats:

If your expectations aren't too high, this is a cute set for $5, and would be wonderful for doing your nails with a small someone special!

Iulia, L’Artiste du Diable

purchased and reviewed by ThoraSTooth

artwork by Julie Dillon for Black Phoenix

Scent of the Day:  Iulia, l'Artiste du Diable (Carnaval Diabolique 2015) --White tea, sugar cane, orange blossom, rockrose, lemon balm, white mint, and honey.

I fell for this new scent at the Bay Area Lunacy event at the end of August.  It's re-engineered from the previous Artiste du Diable scent ("Gennivre") which was named for a previous CD label illustrator.  (The current version is named for Julie Dillon.)  I've never tried Gennivre, so I don't know how this compares to the previous version.

On first sniff it's tea, honey, mint, and a beautiful floral.  Normally I don't like orange blossom, but if that's what this is, then I may have to change my mind.  Wet on my skin, it's everything I love about Embalming Fluid -- the tea, the herbal lemon, the perkiness - plus a really beautiful floral.  If the Lab description didn't say otherwise, I'd think this was white ginger lily instead of orange blossom.

As it matures I get more floral and honey.  But the lemon gets deeper and a bit more sugary, more like preserved lemon peel.  It keeps the floral from collapsing in an excess of indoles.  The result is a happy, sweet, but not too pungent floral with lemony-mint underpinnings.  This is probably the best orange blossom has ever smelled on my skin chemistry.

It's hard to reproduce the original testing ground for this scent -- a warm crowded shop, humid with many bodies -- but the scent still loves me in the relatively cool, dry, airy environs of my house.

Pi nails!

purchased by me

I treated myself to a gorgeous and geeky Pi Infinity scarf from Think Geek.  Then when I was planning to wear it with a blue and white tweed jacket, white shirt and blue slacks, I decided I would do my nails to match.  I started with a base of Zoya Dream, then added a coat of Nubar White Polka Dot and free-handed the Pi symbold in Serum No5 Guiding Light.

Essie Rock at the Top

purchased by me

Rock at the Top is a clear base with multiple sizes of gold glitter.  It has good viscosity, a nice spread and a good ratio of glitter to base.  One coat over Cocktail Bling:

Essie Cocktail Bling

purchased by me

Cocktail Bling is a soft blue-toned grey crème.  It was well-behaved with a nice viscosity and bottle color in two coats.

Essie A-list

purchased by me

A-list is a nice classic red crème, opaque and shiny in two coats.

Essie Mind Your Mittens?

purchased by me

I found a set of four mini Essie polishes at Duane Reade in NYC when I was there, and although the packaging clearly says this pretty little green-leaning dusty blue is "Mind Your Mittens" the original polish with that name was a dark teal and this is probably actually "Parka Perfect"!  Oh well, it's still a pretty color that's opaque in two coats and very wintry-feeling.

Orly Infamous collection: Scandal

purchased by me

Scandal is a basic deep red crème, that is nevertheless quite pretty.  The formula is well-behaved, opaque in two coats and shiny even before top coat.

Orly Infamous collection: Frenemy

purchased by me

Frenemy is a black jelly with holographic glitter.  It's easy to use and pretty, but Zoya did it three years ago with Storm.

Two coats with no top coat:

ZOYA Spooky Glam Trio for Halloween

press release

ZOYA HALLOWEEN PROMO!
Get three Spooky Glam ZOYA NAIL POLISH shades for FREE.

·         Storm (Black Metallic Glam Sparkle Nail Polish)

·         Mimi (Purple Metallic Glam Sparkle Nail Polish)

·         Amy (Orange Metallic Glam Sparkle Nail Polish)

With any purchase of $25 or more, exclusively on zoya.com!

Now thru Halloween (10/31/15)

USE CODE: GLAM3

# # #

NOTE: MEDIA SAMPLES NOT AVAILABLE. DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL

Erin GiddingsMedia Relations & Design
Art of Beauty Inc. (makers of Zoya, Qtica & Smart Spa) 

Orly Infamous collection: Gossip Girl

purchased by me

Gossip Girl is a barely pink-tinted base stuffed with gold and pink and holographic glitter.  It's a wonderful top coat, not too thick and drying quickly.  It does need a thick top coat so it doesn't feel textured.  I layered one coat over Front Page and loved the result.

Orly Infamous collection: Makeup to Breakup

purchased by me

Makeup to Breakup is a gorgeous teal crème with a perfect one-coat formula that dries quickly and very shiny.  Those with longer nails may need two coats.

Orly Infamous collection: 15 Minutes of Fame

purchased by me

15 Minutes of Fame is a pinky-red jelly filled with holographic and pinky-red glitter.  I've shown one coat over Front Page and two coats on its own.  It looks beautiful either way, and the formula is easy to work with and quick-drying.

Orly Infamous collection: Front Page

purchased by me

Front Page is a slightly frosty gold shimmer, saved from being a disaster by how very shiny it is.  It's opaque in two coats and dried quickly.  It is a bit brush-strokey, but it's a solid holiday polish.

Zoya's new MatteVelvets for Winter/Holiday 2015

press release

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!!! 
ZOYA MATTEVELVET 

Six new MATTEVELVET Nail Colors to slip into this WINTER/HOLIDAY season.

The best-selling, MATTEVELVET finish returns this holiday season with six new shades. Each nail polish perfectly opaque, matte color with that extra special ZOYA MATTEVELVET fleck finish everyone loves.

·         Aspen (ZP814) - a sparkling artic white with a micronized diamond pearl fleck.

·         Sue (ZP815) - a soft champagne gold with a multi-hued oyster shell pearl fleck.

·         Amal (ZP816) – a classic crimson red with a ruby red pearl fleck.

·         Iris (ZP817) - a deep amethyst with a fuchsia pearl fleck.

·         Yves (ZP818) - a deep sapphire that's midway in between indigo and royal blue with a blue pearl fleck.

·         Honor (ZP819) - a true emerald green with a tone on tone emerald pearl fleck.

NOTE: MATTEVELVET nail color by Zoya is not intended to be worn with a base coat, glossy top coat or speed dryer. Due to the unique matte formulation, color is not as long-wearing as traditional nail color. A completely clean, dry surface yields the best results for matte nail color wear. To extend wear, apply one coat of the Zoya Matte Velvet Topcoat over your favorite matte shades after polish is completely dry.

AVAILABLE NOW!
ZOYA IS THE HEALTHY COLOR OF FASHION!Zoya MATTEVELVET Colors, 0.5 oz. -  $10 (US) ea.
Zoya MATTEVELVET Color Sampler, 6 – 0.5 oz. bottles -  $60 (US)

Available in top salons, spas and on zoya.com

* **BIG5FREE, TOXIN FREE: Zoya Nail Polish Formula contains no formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, dibutyl phthalate, toluene or camphor.

_ _ _

 ZOYA NAIL POLISH is now on PERISCOPE!

Watch LIVE as Zoya Nail Polish on Periscope.
Follow Zoya on Periscope: @ZoyaNailPolish

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 31, Inspired by nails you love

purchased by me

 Not only are my mermaid nails inspired by a look I love from The Crumpet, they were made possible by vinyls from a company I love, KB Shimmer!

I learned a lot about how to use the vinyl guides properly (by doing it wrong, lol) but overall I was pleased with this manicure and got a ton of compliments.  I used a base of Color Club Cherubic, Dandy Nails Queen of the Night, Literary Lacquer Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster and I Love Nail Polish A Fresh Evergreen.

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 30, Inspired by a tutorial

purchased by me

Over the years, I have seen lots of precise and helpful tutorials on dotticures.  Sadly, I'm still not very good.  Here's my most recent effort, with Zoya Peyton dots over Milani Dolci.

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 29, Inspired by the supernatural

purchased by me

I went a little bit sideways on my supernatural manicure*.  I couldn't decide between ghosts and seances and werewolves and vampires, so I did one thing they all have in common.  I used Zoya Storm and Serum No5 Guiding Light to depict the phases of the moon.

*I originally typed manitou--there's some supernatural for you, lol.