Zoya and Butter London Stripes

I love it when my Mom is browsing Instagram and Pinterest for mani ideas. This is one she brought to me this week for her mani. This is totally out of her comfort zone and is a new design that I am so excited she is trying out. I love it when I can push her out of her comfort zone and get her to try new things.

So this is a cute stripe mani that she seen and wanted me to duplicate. I changed it up a bit since the original picture (I'm not sure if she found it on Instagram or Pinterest) had the stripes on all the nails and there were also hearts on there as well. So since she's dipping her toes in the nail art pool I made it simple for her. Slowly I will push for more stuff for her to try but it will take baby steps.

For this we put down a base of Zoya Dot on all of her nails and then once it was dry I added striping tape diagonally across her accent nail. Once I got the placement right for the tape I added a coat of Butter London MacBeth across the striping tape. I then immediately began to remove the striping tape carefully with a tweezers to reveal the base color beneath. We then let that dry and once it was dry added a coat of Out The Door for shine and protection.

Not only was this design a new step for my Mom but Zoya Dot is also a new step as well. She usually doesn't wear pastels and sticks to reds, wines, and burgandys. I think that this turned out really cute and I may do this one on myself in different colors soon! How do you think it turned out?

Colorful Glitter Gradient

Today I have a fun little mani that I did recently. I was having a hard time deciding what to do for my mani and then it was starting to get late in the day and I knew that I had to hurry up and decide on my mani so I could get it done with plenty of time left to do what few household chores I had left to do. I don't know what it is but lately it has just been so crazy busy that it really feels like there isn't enough hours in the day to do what I want to do.

On to the mani.....

I started out with a base color of Zoya "Rue" from the Naturel Collection. I just love this rosy nude. It is just so perfect when you want a dash of color. This cream applies so smoothly and evenly that even with the shaky hands I had while doing this I was still able to achieve perfection in 2 effortless coats of Rue. Now to just allow it to dry, which for me is hard to be patient sometimes but I took it as an opportunity to relax and watch some TV while this dried (although it didn't take too long to dry so I didn't get much TV watching in, lol).

Once Rue was dry I thought I'd try something a little different out for my glitter gradients. Usually I use a make up wedge for applying the glitter for my gradients but I wanted to try something I had seen another blogger did (@margarita_onthe_rocks from Instagram did a video tutorial for this application technique). I took out one of the small double ended eyeshadow applicators (you know, just like the ones that come in eyeshadows) and brushed my glitter on the sponge applicator and dabbed away on my nails. The glitter I used is Pure Ice "It's Complicated" and I picked it up on my last trip to Walmart. It's Complicated is a mix of multi-colored hex glitters in various sizes. Once I got the glitter placed how I wanted with the eyeshadow applicator I applied a top coat of Out The Door to seal everything in!

Zoya polishes can be purchased from Ulta stores, select salons, and Zoya's site here. They retail for $9 for a 0.5fl oz bottle. Pure Ice polishes can be purchased at your local Walmart and retail for $1.96.

Zoya Cole

Today I have Zoya Cole from the Spring 2014 Awaken Collection. This is one of the ones from this collection that I really wanted but was having a hard time getting my hands on it. I know I could have ordered it from Zoya's site but I didn't want to wait for it to come so I had been stalking Ulta like a ninja! Finally I found it in my Ulta and it was THE LAST ONE!!! So I snatched it!!

Zoya has described Cole as a peach whisper cream that was originally released during NYFW as Stella for Peter Som's SS14 Collection. So if you happened to nab it then you already have it but you can always pick up another for a back up.

Please excuse my icky cuticles but I had been traveling when I painted my nails with this and then took the pics the next day when I had better lighting. I don't know what it is but with it starting to warm up here in Minnesota my cuticles have seemed to have gone crazy and I'm having to do extra moisturizing lately. Oh well, at least the snow is gone and the temps are warming.

Now I wasn't sure how I would like this color on me and how it would work with my skin tone but I think it turned out alright on me. I used 2 coats of Cole over a base coat and then topped it off with my topcoat. The pics were taken indoors under artificial lighting with no flash. The formula was good, I had no issues with streaking or gloopiness. It applied evenly and dried in a good amount of time.

Zoya polishes can be found at Ulta stores, select salons, and as always on Zoya's site here. They retail for $9 for a full sized 0.5fl oz bottle.

Also, if you haven't heard you should check out Zoya's Earth Day Exchange that is going on from April 21-April 28th. You can check out all the information here on Zoya's blog.

2014 Zoya Earth Day Nail Polish Exchange

Announcing the 2014 Zoya Nail Polish Exchange*

Give the earth a helping hand by joining the healthynail polish movement! Since its inception, ZOYA has been the pioneer of toxin-free nail polish, releasing the most beautiful colors in the healthiest formula available each season. With Zoya Nail Polish, you don't have to compromise a healthier lifestyle for a glamorous one. go worry-free with a formula that is BIG5FREE**

Now you can join smart, eco-chic women who are changing their world, one gorgeous Zoya Nail Polish bottle at a time! To help kick start your "color cleanse", theZoya Earth Day Nail Polish Exchange is BACK for 2014. Not only is ZOYA making it easy to swap out old, unwanted color for the world's healthiest and longest wearing natural nail polish formula on the market, we will dispose of your old shades in an eco-friendly manner! This offer is only good for 1 week - so hurry -Don't Wait!
Valid 4/21/14 - 4/28/14(11:59pm EST)___PLEASE VISIT THE ZOYA BLOG FOR COMPLETE PROGRAM DETAILS!
or visit zoya.com

Lady Bugs!!!

I wanted to show you all the cute springy mani/pedi I did for my Mom. She was browsing on Pinterest one night and came across a mani or pedi (I can't remember which, lol) of Lady Bugs and fell in love with it.

Now my Mom isn't one who loves lots of nail art on her nails so at first she just wanted this on her toes. I convinced her that if she was also going to wear red on her fingers she HAD to have her nails match her toes. It was actually easier to convince her than I thought it would be. She agreed to have one accent nail per hand with a matching Lady Bug.

Her base is Butter London Pillar Box Red (I bought her this color last year for her birthday and she loves it). Then I took China Glaze Liquid Leather and a small nail art brush and painted the lady bug head. It's just a half moon on the tip of the nail. Then I took a fine striping brush and painted the line down the middle dividing the lady bug's wings. Next I took a dotting tool and made the dots on the wings with the Liquid Leather. Finally I decided the lady bug had to have eyes so I dug into Mom's stash and found a white Sinful Colors striping polish. I took another dotting tool and made the white dots of the eyes and took an even smaller dotting tool and dipped it into the Liquid Leather again and made the centers of the eyes by dotting it into the middle of the white.

Once everything was all nice and dry we topped it off with some Out The Door for shine and protection. I think this turned out really cute and think I may have to do this on myself real soon!

PRESS RELEASE: Zoya Magical Pixie-Summer 2014

PRESS RELEASE:

Here's all the info on the new Summer Magical Pixies. These look gorgeous!!! I know I'm excited for these and will be placing my pre order soon!!

 The colors are:

          Bar: a Nude Topaz Magical Pixie
          Ginni: a Pink Tourmaline Magical Pixie (shown)
          Arlo: a Violet Amethyst Magical Pixie

These are available on Zoya's site here and retail for $10 for a full sized 0.5fl oz bottle or you can purchase the collection sampler for $30. The presale is going on now with shipping in early May. Head on over and reserve yours on presale now!!

Press Release: Zoya Tickled and Bubbly-Summer 2014

Here is a Sneak Peak at the new Tickled & Bubbly collection for Summer 2014 from Zoya. I can't wait for these collections to come out because it looks like these are going to be some fun colors to work with.

They are available starting April 15th (that's today!!) for pre-sale and an estimated shipping of early May. They retail for $9 for a 0.5fl oz bottle or $54 for each 6pc collection sampler. Head on over to Zoya to researve your set now!!



 The Tickled Collection consists of 6 creams:

                        Rocha: a Folly Red Cream
                        Wendy: a Tickle Pink Cream
                        Kitridge: a Carnation Pink Cream
                        Rooney: a Hollywood Pink Cream
                        Tilda: a Mantis Green Cream
                        Ling: a True Blue Cream

                      

The Bubbly Collection consists of 6 dazzling hues that are loaded with shimmering holographic glitter particles:

                          Alma – Golden Peach Metallic, holographic glitter
                          Jesy – Coral Orange Metallic, holographic glitter
                          Harper – Mexican Pink Metallic, holographic glitter
                          Binx – Purple Orchid Metallic, holographic glitter
                          Muse – Mermaid Blue Metallic, holographic glitter
                          Stassi – Jade Green Metallic, holographic glitter

I am beyond excited for these and I just can't decide yet which ones are gonna be my favs. I guess I'll just have to wait until I have those babies in my hands to decide! Which ones are you excited for?

Zoya Pixies Tomoko and Nyx

Today I have some Pixie Dusts from Zoya for you. I also am showing you some neon stud that I ordered from The Born Pretty Store.

So today I decided to just go with something simple for my mani. It was a busy weekend and I just didn't have a ton of time to spend doing some nail art this time. Plus I was having a hard time deciding what to do for art.

I used Zoya Tomoko; which is a champagne silver with the sugary, sparkly texture of the classic Pixie Dust; on all my nails except my ring fingers. On the ring fingers I used Zoya Nyx, a beautiful periwinkle that is the sugary, sparkly texture of the classic Pixie Dust. I then took my dotting tools and applied some dotted art on my ring and middle fingers in the contrasting color.

Then I decided I wanted to try out the new neon studs that I got in from the Born Pretty Store. They had just arrived the week before and I was anxious to try them out. I have similar studs in just silver and gold and liked them so I thought that neon colors would be fun for the summer. Now these I applied with a small dot of nail glue to hold them since I would not be top coating my mani. I have had them on for about 3 days now and they are just as snug as when I first applied them. I'm anxious to see what lasts longer, the studs or my will power to not change my mani before it's needed. These are the neon blue studs from the pack. I think I paid roughly $4.00 for 400 of the 2mm round and square fluorescent studs, I'm not sure if there were actually 400 in there but I think it's pretty close and I'm not taking them all out to count.

Zoya Pixie Dust polishes retail for $10 for a full sized 0.5fl oz bottle and can be purchased at your Ulta stores, select salons, and Zoya's site here.

Another Oldie~ Zoya Storm

I have another older Zoya for you guys but this one is still a goodie. I love when I'm going through my polish drawers and finding polishes that I had forgotten I had and rediscovering them. This is one of them...

This is Zoya Storm. It is a black polish with some insane holo in it. This goes on smoothly and I've never had an issue with it any of the times I've worn it. I used 2 coats of Storm over 1 coat of Zoya Anchor base coat. Then I topped it with a coat of Out The Door fast dry topcoat. The pics were taken inside using the sunlight coming through my window so I could show you all the gorgeous holo in this!

If you have this one and you haven't worn it in a while you should take it out and put it on. You'll fall in love with it all over again!!

Zoya polishes can be purchased at Ulta stores, select salons, and as always on Zoya's site here. They retail for $9.00 for a full sized 0.5fl oz bottle.

Zoya Splash Flowers

Today I've got these cute little splash flowers for you. I am actually quite pleased with these since this was my first attempt at them.

Colors used were all Zoya. My base was Zoya Purity and I used Zoya Raven for the striping. Then I used Zoya Julie, Blu, Lola, Wednesday, and Dot (Dot is on my thumb and you can't see it in the pics). I stumbled across this design while checking out The Lacquerologist's blog and Emily has a tutorial on there for these flowers. It's super easy to follow and you can check it out here. Mine are a little different than hers but that's ok, I wanted to make mine a little different.

So first I painted my base of Purity and waited for it to dry. Then I took each color I wanted to use and painted that on. For the color you brush off almost all the color off of your brush and then brush it on the base where you want it. Then I took a dotting tool to add my dots in Raven and took a striping brush dipped in Raven to create the lines for my flowers. Once everything was dry I top coated it.

I have to say that for my first attempt ever this wasn't too bad. I am definitely going to be trying this again. I need to perfect painting my dominant hand with my non dominant hand. It was really hard to stripe those lines on the way I wanted them on and my hand kept shaking. But like they say..."Practice makes Perfect!" so I will be practicing this and maybe someday I will come up with my own design to share with all of you.

All colors used here were Zoya and you can purchase Zoya polishes at your local Ulta store, select salons, and Zoya's site here.

Aly's Dream Polish~Spicy Sriracha, Strawberry, and Sky Blue

**************PRESS SAMPLE******************

Today I have some beautiful polishes that Aly from Aly's Dream Polish sent over for me to try out. I am so excited to be sharing these with you. I have to tell you how excited I was when the package arrived, at first I was a little confused because I couldn't remember if I bought anything (I was pretty sure I hadn't) but then I opened up the package and all was explained. Then I unwrapped these and I squeeled with excitement. These are so gorgeous!!

I will warn you now that this post is pic heavy! I wanted to provide you all with as many pics of this as I can. I however am disappointed that I was not able to get any pics outside in the sunshine but it's been cloudy and gloomy here in Minnesota with yet another huge snowstorm on it's way later today. I am hoping Spring comes real soon because I am sick of this snow!!

I was sent 3 colors from her line and I couldn't decide which one was going to be my favorite just by looking at the bottles. I received 74 Strawberry, 75 Spicy Sriracha, and 8 Sky Blue. It was like it was Christmas Day in my house when I got these, lol!

On to the colors!

First up is 74 Strawberry, it is a beautiful coral-y pink holographic polish. I say coral-y pink becuase it's not a full on pink, it has just a hint of a coral hue to it. It's really pretty. I love the holo in this one. I makes it such a unique color!

Next we have 75 Spicy Sriracha.

This is a bright red holographic polish. It almost borders on a neon red. I have a feeling I may have to hide this one from my Mom when she looks through my stash to pick out her mani colors because she loves a good red and she may try to swipe this one from me, lol!

Again, look at the holo in this one! So pretty and unique!

And last but certainly not least we have 8 Sky Blue!!

This one's name I think perfectly described it's color. It is the perfect shade of blue just like the sky on a sunny clear day!

I think that this one is my favorite out of the bunch because I just LOVE the holo in this one. You can see the holo really stood out in my pics for this color. I just love it!!

All of Aly's Dream Polishes contain cosmetic grade holographic pigments and all her polishes are 4free, meaning they are free of dibutyl phthalate (DBP), camphor, toluene, and formaldehyde. All her materials are cruelty free as well.


The formula on all of these were the same, it was nice and smooth. Sky Blue and Spicy Sriracha probably could have been one coaters on me but I like no visible nail line so I put 2 coats on. They went on smoothly, no streaking or gloopiness and the dry time was pretty good for all three. All pictures here are 2 coats of polish and pics were taken indoors under soft lighting bulbs, no flash was used in these pictures either.

Aly's Dream Polish retails for $12 for a full sized 0.5fl oz bottle unless you want a custom color (which she does do) then it's $16 for a full sized bottle. You can purchase all her polishes here on her StoreEnvy store site. You can also visit her Facebook page here and follow her there!

I hope you all enjoyed these as much as I do and if you haven't tried any of her polishes you have to run out and log into her store to get yourself one (or two, or three, lol) today!


***These polishes were provided to me for an honest review. All opinions are of my own.

French Mani with Zoya Purity and Rhinestones

Here's just a simple french manicure that I did using Zoya Purity as my white tips. I just love this white, I have other whites from other brands but I find myself constantly reaching for Purity and I just can't explain why. For me it just works and goes on so smoothly. I mean, look at how bright that white tip is!!

For the tip guides I used some of my nail vinyls that I ordered from Linda at Nail Vinyls. You can check out all her vinyls here. I have purchased a few different designs of these and I absolutely love them! They work so well and give me such clean lines.

I then added some rhinestones to the ring fingers for something different. I saw this on Instagram and really liked it. I can't remember who it was who had it on Instagram so I can't give them credit for this design but I am letting you know that this was not my design.

Zoya polishes can be purchased at Ulta stores, select salons, and on Zoya's site here. They retail for $9 for a full sized .5fl oz bottle.