Some China Glaze Texture polishes

Today I have a few of the new China Glaze Texture polishes. I love the Zoya Pixie Dust ones so I thought I'd give these a try. I loved their bright colors. The texture on these resembles concrete to me. They were very easy to apply and went on with no issues. Dry time was typical. I did not use a base coat with any of these and I would highly recommend a base coat because I had staining from all of the colors. I think the worst was the blue and then the chartruese, but the coral didn't stain as bad. No biggie though, a little whitening toothpaste scrubbed on them and I'm good to go!! So now I'll introduce you to the colors...



First we have Itty, Bitty, and Gritty. It is a beautiful coral color.

Then we have Of Course! a gorgeous bright blue. It kind of reminds me of a blue highlighter.

Lastly we have In The Rough, a lovely chartruese.

I think these colors and the textured finish are spot on for this season! I look forward to using them in future manis!


This next pic is one I snapped for you guys to show you that after a few days of wear I do not have any chips or tip wear. These really do wear like concrete! The only thing I noticed with these that I have not experienced with the pixie dusts is that dirt collects in all the nooks and crannys of the surface and does not clean off very well. That is my only complaint for these polishes and it's a minor one. I'll definitely wear again!!!

Zoya Miranda~Summer Pixie Dust

Today I am going to show you one of the Summer Pixie Dusts from Zoya. This beautiful pink textured sparkler is Miranda. This is such a girly color and I love it. It has some pink glitter embedded in there and the sparkle is so amazing and gorgeous that I just can not explain it.

As with all the Pixie Dust polishes it is recommended for best results you do not use a base coat. You can apply a top coat if you do not like the textured finish. Applying a topcoat gives the polish a whole new look. I have not tried using a topcoat with any of my Pixie Dusts because I love the textured finish. It is not gritty or rough and it does not catch on my clothing or hair. At first when you apply you have a rough finish on the nail's edge but with wear that goes away. I noticed that rough edge was gone after about a few hours of normal wear. I applied 3 coats of color to achieve the opacity I have here but I could have went with just 2 coats. I applied the 3rd coat because I smudged one of the nails and after tapping out the smudge it was still noticable. But with the 3rd coat I can't even find the spot I smudged!

I absolutely love the wear I get on these and how easy they are to apply. I get typically 3-5 days of wear and only take it off because I want to change my mani and not because my mani is so wore down that it needs changing. I typically have very very minimal tip wear and that is after 4-5 days of wear. These pixies are the best and I can't wait to try out the other one I picked up!!

Zoya polishes can be purchased at their website, Ulta stores, and select salons. You have got to run out and get some because they have one of the best formulas I have worked with and they have such a wide range of colors that you will be sure to find something you'll love. I'm hopelessly addicted!!

My Guest Post over at Jilltastic Nail Design!!!!!!!

I had the honor of doing a guest post for the lovely Jill over at Jilltastic Nail Design and I thought I would bring you something fun I created for my Mom this last week. I hope you like it!

Head on over to Jilltastic Nail Design to check it out and make sure you check out her blog, it's amazing!!
http://www.jilltasticnaildesign.com/2013/05/guest-post-from-midwest-lacquered-momma.html

Tips for White Haute Nails from Art of Beauty/Zoya

Here's a little information I received from Zoya/Art of Beauty in an email. The only editing I did to this information was remove my name and replaced it with the blog's name. Hope you enjoy!

-------------------


MEDIA INFORMATION for Midwest Lacquered Momma~
White Haute Nails
Are you dreaming of this graphic looking nail for yourself? The secret is in the application.

With a perfect white nail polish, Zoya Purity, in hand we reached out to celebrity, editorial manicurist Sunshine Outing for her insider application secrets.

To start, Outing prefers a perfectly smooth surface created by using a ridge filling base coat with a milk base such as, Zoya Get Even… “Let it dry completely” before starting your color application. When it comes to white or pastel full coverage color, the biggest secret is to be patient and not to “go back in and overwork it”. Start with a thin first coat and don’t worry about streaks, “just get it on”. The second coat should be slightly thicker and cover the entire nail. Once the second coat is on, if any streaks or imperfections are showing, a “very, very thin” final layer of polish can be added. Allow color to briefly dry and then follow immediately with a protective top coat. The top coat will not only apply a glossy finish but also assist in bonding the layers of nail polish together for that professionally manicured nail look.

After the initial application, Outing recommends a lightly applied daily dose of topcoat for chip-free, glossy perfection.

INSIDER PRO MANICURE TIP:For a slender looking nail, manicurist Sunshine Outing suggests not covering all the way to the sides as way to create nails that look slender and sleek.

# # #

Credit Info
Zoya PixieDustTM Nail Polish in Purity
$8 ea (US)
www.zoya.com

Photo credits: Zoya Nail Polish

Get Social with Zoya Nail Polish and Treatments

on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine and Pinterest…
Tag Zoya @ZoyaNailPolish and use Hashtags for this story…

#WhiteNailPolish #ZoyaPurity #ZoyaNailPolish

Zoya Springtime Nail Art

Today I am going to show you some nail art I did this past weekend and I thought it was pretty for Spring. I used Zoya Julie and Purity as my base. I used 2 accent nails of the Purity for this mani since this is where most of the art is going to be.

I then added dots of Zoya Julie and GieGie in different sizes. I used my new dotting tools that just arrived last week and I'm so excited to have them. They work so much nicer than the old ones I was using!

Then to add a little spice and shine I added a little dot of some gold glitter polish that I had to some of the dots and added just a couple gold glitter dots. I don't even know what brand the gold glitter is because I've had it for so long and I think the label had peeled off. I added a topcoat for protection and shine after the art was dry cause I didn't want to smudge or smear my dots.

This last pic is to show you that even after a few days and working outside with my husband putting up fence on our farm it still looks amazing and there are no chips. This just shows how great Zoya polishes hold up and wear.

Zoya polishes can be purchased on their website, in Ulta stores, or select salons.

Zoya Dahlia & Butter London Fairy Cake

Today I am going to bring you Zoya Dahlia from their Pixie Dust line and Butter London Fairy Cake. Zoya Dahlia is one that I recently acquired and I have to say, I LOVE it! I love the Zoya Pixie Dusts and I can't wait to get my hands on some of the Summer Pixies. Butter London Fairy Cake is one that I've had for some time and just haven't had a chance to try it out. Boy am I glad I used it for this mani because it is gorgeous.

Dahlia is a black Pixie Dust (textured finish) with silver glitter embedded in it. Even though it is a textured finish it sparkles and shines so much that I couldn't stop staring at my nails. It went on smoothly and I used 2 coats for this mani. What I love the most about the Pixies is that even if you smudge it before it is dry you can just use your finger to tap out the smudge and then you never even notice that you had smudged it. I have had to do this a few times, I think I've done it at least once with each Pixie Dust mani. With the Pixies you do not use a base coat or topcoat to get the best results.

 

Fairy Cake is a buildable to full coverage glitter. It has irridescent, gold, silver, and so many more that I can't pick them all out. They are fine and this builds so nicely into a full coverage. I love it. I used 3 coats to get my desired coverage here. I thought I would spice up my Pixie Dust mani with an equally shiny, sparkly accent finger. I added a topcoat of Out the Door to add some shine to the accent fingers, smooth them out, and protect the polish.

 

 

I have to say that I love both the Zoya formula and Butter London's formula. These apply smoothly with no problems what so ever and they dry in a reasonable amount of time. They are definitely in my top 5 brands I love and I don't think they will ever fall from that status in my opinion.

 

Zoya polishes can be purchased through their website here, at Ulta stores, and select salons. Butter London polishes can be purchased through their website here, at Ulta stores, select department stores, and select salons.

Cult Nails Iconic

Today I have Cult Nails Iconic for you. This one I describe as a burgundy with gold shimmer and flecks of gold glitter buried within. I think this one has so much dimension to it with the shimmer and flecks of gold. I love this one! Cult Nails lacquers are cruelty free and a 4 free formula. They also package their lacquers in recycled reusable materials for shipping. They are a company that cares!

Again their formula is amazing and great to work with. I find myself reaching for Cult Nails all the time. For these pics I used 2 coats of Iconic. I was even able to pick up the gold shimmer in the bottle and the flecks of gold on my nail in the pic above.

Cult Nails lacquers can be purchased exclusively through their website. If you haven't tried their lacquers you should! You'll be addicted!

Cult Nails Nevermore

Today I am bringing you another new Cult Nails Lacquer I purchased. This one is called Nevermore. It is described as a high gloss one coat black. Cult Nails is a small family owned business run by Maria and her family. All their lacquers are 4free and they even package their lacquers in recycled reusable materials for shipping.

I will say that this one is truly a ONE coat black and it is absolutely amazing!!! I have been told that this is also a great one to use if you do stamping. I haven't tried stamping yet but it's good to know that I have the perfect black for it when I start. The formula on this one was great, it went on smoothly and didn't have any clumps or wasn't goopy. I did use just one coat and as you can see, it is perfect. Then because I wanted to spice up my mani, I added 5 gold/yellow rhinestones down the center of my ring fingers for a little accent. I just put a spot of glue on them and placed them where I wanted them. Once they were dry I added a topcoat of Cult Nails' own Wicked Fast, fast dry topcoat.

Cult Nails lacquers can be purchased exclusively on their website. Also until May 18th they are doing a pre-sale of their new Dance All Night collection. You get all 5 new lacquers for $60!!! Run over to their site and check it out!!!

Cult Nails Flushed

Today I am going to bring you the Cult Nails lacquer that was at the top of my wish list. This is Flushed and now I have finally made it mine!! Cult Nails is a small family owned business run by Maria and her family. They create some of the most amazing lacquers that I have ever seen and they are a 4free lacquer as well. Plus they package their lacquers in recycled reusable materials for shipping. When the lacquers are all wrapped up they look like cute little burritos.

See, cute little burritos! 

This one is described as a blueish purple or a blurple shimmer. It is so gorgeous and I could not capture just how gorgeous this is on camera.  This formula is absolutely amazing! It goes on so smoothly and the dry time is average depending on how thick you apply your coats. The Cult Nails formula is probably one of the best formulas that I have worked with and it is one of my absolute favorites. It's just so great to work with, it applies smoothly and I have never had a problem with it. I used 3 coats to get my desired opacity and these pics were taken indoors with flash.

Cult Nails lacquers can be purchased exclusively on their website.

This pic above I took while I was out and about it my car because I wanted to show you how great their wear is. This is about 4 days of wear and as you can see there is no tip wear and not a chip in sight. I used Cult Nails' own fast dry topcoat called Wicked Fast. It is super shiny and dries lickety split. Just apply and within a minute you are good to go!!

Cult Nails Enigmatic

Today I have Cult Nails Enigmatic. I describe this one as a deep plum with a silver shimmer (at least that's what it looks like to me). This one is a little sheer and builds up nicely. Cult Nails is cruelty free and a 4 free formula. They package their lacquers in recycled reusable materials for shipping. They are truly a company that cares!

The formula on this is like the typical Cult Nails formula, absolutely fabulous!! This goes on so smooth, no streaks, and no clumps! I would have to say that the Cult Nails formula is one of my absolute favorites to work with. I find myself constantly reaching for a Cult Nails lacquer when choosing a lacquer to use for my mani. For these pics I used 3 coats of Enigmatic to achieve the opacity that I wanted.

If you haven't tried Cult Nails you should, you'll be addicted! Cult Nails lacquers can be purchased exclusively through their website.

Sinful Colors Nail Art

I thought today I would re-create something I saw on Instagram. I started out with a base of Sinful Colors Sweet Nothing (blue) and Sugar & Spice (pink). I did two accent nails of the Sugar & Spice. The formula on the Sinful Colors is not too bad. The brushes on mine are a little bushier (if that's a word, lol) than I care for but I make it work.

Then with a few different sized dotting tools I started out with just white dots. For my white I used my trusty Zoya Purity. I love this white and and I can't say enough how great the formula is on the white. It is so smooth and covers great!

Then to add dimension to my dots, I added contrasting color on top of the white dots to give them depth. I am really loving how this turned out. I used two coats of each color for the base and then once the dots were dry I added a topcoat of Cult Nails Wicked Fast for protection and shine. You can see the full mani in the picture below.

Hard Candy~Crush On Lava

Today I am showing you Hard Candy "Crush On Lava". This is from the new Hard Candy line at WalMart. Crush on Lava is a duochrome, it gives off two different colors depending on the lighting.
I have mixed feelings about this one. Not because of the formula or anything, because I don't know how I like it on me and how well it works with my skin tone.

This one is a brown/bronze/coppery duochrome. The application was smooth and was not clumpy or runny. It applied very well. The dry time was good, it didn't take too long to dry. I am just so unsure of this one that I really don't know what else to say. The color is great, it just doesn't work well for me.

These pictures were taken indoors with flash and I used 2 coats with no topcoat for this either. Hard Candy polishes can be found at your local WalMart. The Hard Candy new line has so many different colors, glitters, toppers, and just plain fun polishes that you should really run to WalMart and pick up a few today!

Cults Nails Ay Poppy! nail art

Today I thought I would try something new. I have never worn yellows or oranges before so since I loved these from the In The Garden collection from Cult Nails I had to give it a try. This is Ay Poppy (orange) and You're My Dandy Lion (yellow). I gotta say that these colors cover so well! The formula is smooth and goes on without problems. I love their lacquers!! To get the opacity that I wanted I used 3 coats of Ay Poppy and 2 coats of You're My Dandy Lion.

Then to add to it because I just felt it was too plain as it was I added Ay Poppy dots to the You're My Dandy Lion nails. I used a couple different sized dotting tools for the dots because I wanted to give it a different look. I didn't want them all the same size, I was going for something different. Then because I felt that it still wasn't enough, I added a You're My Dandy Lion dot to my thumb. Now I finally felt like this mani was complete and I was absolutely loving this. It's so bright and cheery and perfect for spring.

Then once the dots were dry I finally added my topcoat. Because I wanted ridiculous shine I added Cult Nails Wicked Fast for my topcoat. I have to say, I love this stuff! It is the most amazing topcoat I have tried. My bottle is half gone and I really need to get myself another one before this one runs out.

Cult Nails lacquers are a 4 free formula, vegan friendly, and their packaging is completely recycled, re-useable materials. This company really looks out for their customers and the environment! Cult Nails lacquers can be purchased exclusively through their website here. If you haven't tried them, you MUST, you won't regret it!