Nicole by OPI Cinna-Man of My Dreams

purchased by me

Cinna-Man of My Dreams is from the 2013 Nicole by OPI Gumdrops collection.  It's the only one I bought, and it's gorgeous!  It needed three thin coats for opacity, but for a shimmering pink-copper-bronze textured polish, I was willing to do an extra coat.  The formula was a bit on the thin side but not runny.  Both photos are three coats, the second blurred to show off the range of colors.

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The Gumdrops collection are now available at CVS stores, CVS.com and drugstore.com.  Prices vary, but since these are limited edition, grab the ones you want as soon as you see them!

Zoya Avril

purchased by me

In contrast to yesterday's brights from Cult Nails, here's a soft, flattering nude from Zoya.  Avril is a pink nude with brown undertones, very work-appropriate and clean.  The formula was a bit thin, but I got complete coverage in three coats, and Avril dries quickly enough that the third coat didn't take any extra time.  It doesn't hurt that the polish is shiny enough to skip top coat!

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Avril is available on Zoya's website for $8.00 + shipping (and tax if you live in Ohio).

Road Trip, Anyone? collection from Cult Nails

purchased by me

Maria says, "Road Trips are full of amazing adventures and great times!  We thought these 3 formaldehyde free brights and 2 effect top coats captured that vibe pretty well!" and I agree with her.   As usual with Cult Nails, the formula is top-notch, smooth, self-leveling, shiny even without top coat and quick-drying.

Be Loco is a bright medium orange crème, and the only bright which took three coats for opacity.

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Party Tim is a bright medium blue crème, opaque in two coats.

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Riot is a bright medium green crème, opaque in two coats.

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All Out is a yellow jelly loaded with green-to-yellow duochrome shimmer.  The jelly is so pigmented that although this is sold as a layering polish, it might reach the jelly equivalent of opacity on its own.  I intend to try that and will report back!  My swatch is one coat of All Out over black and white.

Mayhem is a holographic top coat which throws a ton of rainbows.  One coat shown over black and white polishes.

The colors are bright without being neon, the top coats are beautiful and versatile, and I recommend the whole collection!

The Road Trip, Anyone? collection is available now for $62.00 at Cult Nails.  The polishes are also sold separately for $12.00, with the exception of Mayhem, which is $14.00.

Zoya Pixie Dust Collection Fall 2013: Carter

press sample

I saved the very best for last!  Carter is a black base with a ton of purple glitter with pinky-purple glitter highlights.  It was a dream to work with--pigmented, flowy, forgiving of mistakes and not prone to staining, which is a blessing with a black base!  The Pixie Dusts typically wear about four to five days on me.  The without flash shows the pink glitter better.  All swatches are two coats, although I really could have stopped at one.

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If you love Carter as much as I do, it's available on Zoya's website for $9 + shipping (and tax if you live in Ohio) and they're also sold in Ulta stores and select salons.

Zoya Pixie Dust Collection Fall 2013: Tomoko

press sample

Tomoko is a pale white gold, easy to work with and opaque in three thin coats.  It is also, to my eyes, indistinguishable from OPI's Honey Ryder.  All swatches are three coats.

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If you already have Honey Ryder, you don't need Tomoko.  But if you do want a lovely white gold textured polish, Tomoko is  available on Zoya's website for $9 + shipping (and tax if you live in Ohio) and they're also sold in Ulta stores and select salons.

Zoya Pixie Dust Collection Fall 2013: Sunshine

press sample

Zoya describes Sunshine as "Van Gogh Blue," and it definitely looks like the background to Starry, Starry Night.  Sunshine was easy to work with, forgiving of mistakes and not prone to staining, which is a blessing with a blue this deep!  The Pixie Dusts typically wear about four to five days on me.  Sunshine is a dustier blue than Zoya Liberty and darker than OPI Get Your Number.All swatches are two coats, although I really could have stopped at one.

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Sunshine and the rest of the Pixie Dust collection are available on Zoya's website for $9 + shipping (and tax if you live in Ohio) and they're also sold in Ulta stores and select salons.

Zoya Pixie Dust Collection Fall 2013: Dhara

press sample

One of my two favorites from this collection is Dhara, which is no surprise given my love of copper polish.  Dharma is easy to work with, forgiving of mistakes and not prone to staining.  It's darker than Zoya Beatrix and less red-toned than Zoya Destiny. The Pixie Dusts typically wear about four to five days on me.  I used two coats of Dhara for my swatches.  The color is truest in the low-light picture, but the sparkles show up better with the brighter light views.

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The Fall Pixie Dust colors are available on Zoya's website for $9 + shipping (and tax if you live in Ohio) and sold in Ulta stores and select salons.

Zoya Pixie Dust Collection Fall 2013: Chita

press sample

Next in the Autumn Pixie Dust Collection is Chita, which imo should be Chia, because it's a perfect Chia Pet green. :) The formula on these Pixie Dusts is easy to work with, forgiving of mistakes and not prone to staining, which is a blessing considering how dark some of the colors are!  The Pixie Dusts typically wear about four to five days on me.  All swatches are two coats.

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Chita is available on Zoya's website for $9 + shipping (and tax if you live in Ohio) and it's also sold in Ulta stores and select salons.

Zoya Pixie Dust Collection Fall 2013: Arabella

press sample

Zoya's Fall Pixie Dust collection is now available, and I'll be showing you all six of these beauties this week.  First up is Arabella, a gorgeous deep fuchsia, a perfect fall color.  The formula on these Pixie Dusts is easy to work with, forgiving of mistakes and not prone to staining, which is a blessing considering how dark some of the colors are!  The Pixie Dusts typically wear about four to five days on me.  I used two coats of Arabella for my swatches.

If Arabella looks familiar, it's not because of a similar textured color, but because Arabella is the same base color as the lovely Zoya Aurora from last year's Ornate collection.  I foresee future attempts at nail art! :)

If you want Arabella, it's available on Zoya's website for $9 + shipping (and tax if you live in Ohio) and it's also sold in Ulta stores and select salons.

Summer bundles from Incoco!

The Incoco summer collection, centered around the beauty of Barcelona, is filled with a fabulous and extensive array of enticing shades! We've created 12 discounted bundles with 4 shades in each so that you don't have to choose your favorite! Check out all the different shade combos here!

Blue Cross Summer Brights George (neon coral)

purchased by me

Blue Cross is the company that makes those cute little snowman bottles of glitter polish available at Christmastime and the little pumpkin bottles at Halloween.  They came out with a collection of summer colors this year, called Summer Brights.  None of the polishes had names, so I'm just calling this one George, because I shall hug him and squeeze him and pet him and love him.

George is a beautiful, slightly sheer neon coral with blue shimmer that dries to a satin matte finish.  My swatches are three coats without top coat, and I'd have been willing to do four.  Not only is the color gorgeous, but it makes even fish-belly-white me look tan! :)

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 I found George at my local Rite-Aid for$2.99 plus tax, and he's worth every penny!

Incoco Pink Parasols

purchased by me

I guess it had to come some time--a set of polish strips from Incoco disappointed me.  When I saw the 2013 Spring collection, I knew I was going to get Pink Parasols.  What I didn't know until I tried them was that this particular pattern is super sheer.  Like VNL all over the place sheer.  *sigh*  The strips were as easy to use as always, but I hadn't worn them for two full days when the sheerness bothered me to the point where I took them off.

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Pink Parasols is available at Incoco for $8.99 + shipping.

Blue Monday: Incoco Spring Vines

purchased by me

Spring Vines is part of Incoco's Spring 2013 collection, and it's a lovely cool blue with white trellises.  It's a pretty pattern, the color is soothing, the strips were easy to apply and the manicure lasted until I got bored (three days, which is pretty typical for me).

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Spring Vines is available at Incoco, where it retails for $8.99 + shipping.

Happy Bastille Day from OPI and from me

gift from a friend

Bastille Day, or to give it its proper name, French National Day, also happens to be my birthday.  So when I saw my friend Heidi wearing a gorgeous dark red shimmer called Bastille My Heart, I fell in love.  And my heart did flutter when Heidi sent me a box of nail polish roses, and one of them turned out to be my beautiful birthday polish.  Bastille My Heart is just as beautiful in formula as it is in color--smooth, well-behaved, non-streaky and super-shiny without top coat.  I probably could have gotten by with just two coats, but a third coat deepened the color.

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Thank you again, Heidi, for the lovely birthday polish.  I love it almost as I love your thoughtfulness.

Oh, yes, OPI is available at salons and stores world-wide, and also at Ulta's website.

Road Trip, Anyone? from Cult Nails

Road Trips are full of amazing adventures and great times!  We thought these 3 formaldehyde free brights and 2 effect top coats captured that vibe pretty well!  This 5 piece collection includes Party Time, Mayhem, Riot, All Out, and Be Loco for the preview price of $50.00.  The retail price for this collection would be $62.00.  All colors will sell individually for $12.00 and Mayhem will sell for $14.00 when the presale is over.  Grab this collection at preview pricing now!


The Road Trip, Anyone? collection is available now for pre-order at Cult Nails.  The expected ship date is July 22, 2013.  I've already ordered mine! :D

Cult Nails Let Me Fly

purchased by me

Let Me Fly was an early showstopper from Maria.  Originally part of the “A Day at the Races” collection from 2011, Let Me Fly is still available from Cult Nails, and it is simply gorgeous.  A dark turquoise with Maria's flawless formula, lit with soft silver shimmer.  It was beautifully opaque in two coats, which is how many I used for my swatches.

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If you'd like to invite this beauty into your life, Let Me Fly is available at Cult Nails, where it retails for $12.00 + shipping.

Cult Nails In the Garden collection: Kiss My Rose Bush

purchased by me

Kiss My Rose Bush is part of Cult Nails' In the Garden Collection.  It's a gorgeous, blue-toned medium pink polish with a satin matte finish, or as Cult Nails calls it, a "Wax" finish.  The formula was easy to work with and opaque in two coats, but for some reason, this polish emphasized Every.Single.Ridge on my nails.  Next time, I'll use a ridge-filling basecoat!  All swatches are two coats without top coat.

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Kiss My Rose Bush and the rest of the In the Garden collection are available at Cult Nails, where they retail for $12.00 + shipping.

Late 4th of July nails

purchased by me

Everything I'm about to show you is still available, and since I got a great deal of pleasure wearing these, I thought I'd recommend them to my readers for Labor Day or Veterans Day or even next year's Independence Day! :)

First up, Stars and Stripes by Incoco:

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Next, the 4th of July duo from Franken Frosting:

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Franken Frosting Turquoise Sky

purchased by me

Another day, another gorgeous polish from Franken Frosting!  Turquoise Sky is a clear base with turquoise circle glitter and white star glitter.  It's actually intended to be a top coat, and I used one coat over Sation Oh My Oceania.  The formula was good, and the glitters didn't require an excessive amount of dabbing.

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Turquoise Sky is available on Franken Frosting's website for $7.50 + shipping.