Ultra Late Nail of the Day - Zoya Keiko

Sorry for the late posting tonight! I have been working on a paper on Two-Factor Authentication and President Obama's Internet Identity Project. Yeah...not really makeup related at all! Booo. This is Zoya Keiko from Zoya's Summertime Collection for Summer 2011. As you can see, it's a bright magenta-purple cream that is soooo opaque! I really love this nail polish. At first I thought it was just "meh" compared to the rest of the collections, but now I am starting to see the appeal of it. It's the perfect feminine magenta-purple. I feel like I am constantly saying this, but once I put it on my nails, I just fall in love with the colors. I try to be as honest as possible with what I think and I have to admit, this lacquer is awesome! I am starting to love Zoya more and more as a brand. They have consistently produced amazing lacquers that are just as nice as some of the high end lacquers I own. All the photos were taken with the flash because the photos were much more true to color when taken with the flash!

To apply this polish, I applied Seche Base as a base coat, two coats of Zoya Keiko, and Seche Vite as a topcoat. Enjoy!

Zoya Keiko two coats with flash

Zoya Keiko two coats with flash

Zoya Keiko two coats with flash

Nail of the Day - Deborah Lippmann's I Know What Boys Like

We all know I love my blues! When shopping with my really good friend, Meghan this weekend we stopped by Nordstrom and had to check out the Deborah Lippmann and Butter London displays. Of course, I couldn't help myself but get my hands on Deborah Lippmann's I Know What Boys Like. It was literally love at first swatch. :) This lacquer is super opaque, applies evenly and with a lot of shine and reminds me why I love Deborah Lippmann soooooo much. At first, I thought that I only liked Deborah Lippmann's glitter polishes, but after trying this "blue jean" cream I am convinced that I love all her lacquers! I call this lacquer "blue jean" because it reminds me of the color of my favorite pairs of jeans - deep, not quite navy, but not quite royal! This lacquer reminds me a lot of American Apparel's Mount Royal, which is super close in color and more than half the price! So, if you are in love with this lacquer, I recommend swatching American Apparel's Mount Royal first - you might just save yourself a few George Washingtons!

I applied Seche Base as a base coat, two coats of Deborah Lippmann I Know What Boys Like and Seche Vite as a top coat. Enjoy!

Deborah Lippmann I Know What Boys Like - Two Coats with Flash

Deborah Lippmann I Know What Boys Like - Two Coats with Flash

Deborah Lippmann I Know What Boys Like - Two Coats with Flash

Nail of the Day - Chanel Mimosa

I finally received my new Chanel Mimosa nail lacquer in the mail! Yay!!! As my readers, I know you have heard me say it a bunch of times, but "yellow" is the new trend for nail lacquer this summer! If you don't have a yellow nail polish, you need one! TRUST ME! If you're looking for an ultra chic, yet bright and fun polish, I highly recommend Chanel Mimosa!

Chanel Mimosa is a bright true-yellow lacquer with light golden-yellow sparkle shot through it. Although it's hard to see the slight shimmer in the polish in the photos below, the shimmer is just the right amount of subtle shimmer to make the polish shine and look like something more than just a flat yellow polish. I was pleasantly surprised how well this polish lasted on my fingers without chipping. However, this polish can be a bit patchy, it requires even coats and at least two to look even. So, keep that in mind before applying. Patience will be your greatest ally when applying Chanel Mimosa. If you're looking for a bright, fun summer lacquer and you're willing to shell out the $25.00 for a single lacquer, then try Chanel's Mimosa! Wearing it around the past few days has really put me in a summer-sunshine chipper mood!  Hopefully it will do the same for you! :)

To apply this lacquer, I applied Seche Base as a base coat, two coats of Chanel Mimosa and Seche Vite as a top coat! As for the photos, you can see the color looks different in the three photos below based on when it's taken with the flash or without. The photos taken with the flash are the most true to color photos. Enjoy!

Chanel Mimosa - Two Coats with Flash

Chanel Mimosa - Two Coats with Flash

Chanel Mimosa - Two Coats NO Flash

Nail of the Day - Zoya Mira

Zoya Mira is a really pretty purple cream that applies really nicely and is extremely wearable for summer. Zoya Mira is part of Zoya's Summertime Collection and probably not the most unique color Zoya has ever put out, but still fun to wear. However, if you are looking for a fun purple polish, then this one is definitely worth a double take since it is easy to apply, dries quickly and is super opaque with just one application. You all should know that the actual color of this polish is more similar to the photos taken with the flash than the photos taken without the flash. This is a true purple, with not as much of a blue undertone as it appears in the photos without the flash. I applied Seche Base as a basecoat, two coats of Zoya Mira and Seche Vite as a top coat for this effect. Enjoy!

Zoya Mira - Two Coats with Flash

Zoya Mira - Two Coats with Flash

Zoya Mira - Two Coats NO Flash

Nail of the Day - Zoya Lolly

Zoya's Mod Matte Collection is part of it's Summer 2011 Collection. Zoya Lolly is a bright, almost neon, matte lacquer and part of the Zoya Mod Matte Collection. Despite it's matte texture, it does have a bit of a sheen that makes it look soft on the nails. I really like Zoya lacquers in general, however this lacquer required three coats to get even. The lacquer dries extremely quickly and thus when applying a second coat on the nail, I had to be really careful not to pull up the previous coat. I applied Seche Base as a base coat, three coats of Zoya Lolly and no top coat. I wanted to keep the lacquer as matte as a possible and see how it wore throughout the day. Matte lacquers are notoriously bad for lasting power. This polish began to chip at the edge of the nails toward the end of the day after regular wear. Despite the slight chipping, I think it was a lot better than most of my other matte lacquers which include other shades from Zoya and OPI shades. Thus, I would recommend this shade and formulation to many of the others I have tried. Enjoy!

Zoya Lolly - Three Coats with Flash

Zoya Lolly - Three Coats with Flash

Zoya Lolly - Three Coats NO Flash

Nail of the Day - Zoya Tamsen

Zoya Tamsen. Zoya's new Summertime Collection for Summer 2011 includes this lovely shade of orange-red called Tamsen. It's a beautiful opaque cream that applies like all Zoya lacquers - smooth and easy. I can't say this color is particularly unique, however if you are missing an orange-red from your collection, I highly recommend this one. At $8 the price won't break the bank and you'll have a lovely polish for your summertime fun. To apply this lacquer I applied Seche Base as a base coat, two coats of Zoya Tamsen and Seche Vite as a top coat. Enjoy!

Zoya Tamsen with Flash

Zoya Tamsen with Flash

Zoya Tamsen NO Flash

Nail of the Day - Zoya Faye

Stop, drop and roll! I have found another one of my holy grail nail polish colors! OMG. Deborah Lippmann Bad Romance step aside, have you met Zoya's Faye? I love, love, love this nail polish color! Zoya Faye is one of the limited edition colors from Zoya's Sunshine Collection for Summer 2011. How to describe Zoya Faye - it's a purple shimmer shade with gold sparkle shot right through the lacquer for a shade that appears purple on the nails, but gold in the sunlight! AMAZING! I am telling you right now, I might have an entire week tribute to this nail polish! hahaha. Ok, not really. Buy seriously, it's so pretty and applies easily! The only con to this polish is it is a little difficult to remove due to the shimmer! Otherwise...lovely! I applied Seche Base as a basecoat, two coats of Zoya Faye and Seche Vite a top coat for this result! I cannot even begin to tell you people, this polish is incredible!

Please note - the photos taken with the flash made the polish look a bit more cranberry than it actually is. The photos without the flash are more accurate of what the polish looks like indoors. 

Zoya Faye - Two Coats with Flash

Zoya Faye - Two Coats with Flash

Zoya Faye - Two Coats NO Flash

Zoya Faye - Two Coats with Flash

Nail of the Day - Zoya Jules

This nail polish has the remarkable ability to look like completely different colors in different lighting. This is Zoya Jules which is an antique gold with gold sparkle shot through it. It's an absolutely lovely color. I am really liking Zoya's new take on "sparkle" nail polish. This polish absolutely glows in the sunlight, yet is a soft and sophisticated color that could be worn by both the young and more mature. This color is opaque after two coats and applies like most Zoya polishes - quick and easy! It's such a lovely color and I highly recommend it for anybody who loves neutrals, but wants something with a little bit of wow. I applied Seche Base as a base coat, two coats of Zoya Jules and one coat of Seche Vite as a top coat. I have indicated below which photos are taken with the flash and without. Enjoy!

Zoya Jules Two Coats with Flash

Zoya Jules Two Coats with Flash

Zoya Jules - Two Coats - No Flash

Nail of the Day - Zoya Marley

I just received my Summer Collection order from Zoya so I will be posting those as soon as I get a chance to paint my nails! Until then, here is Zoya's Marley from the Spring 2011 collection. Zoya Marley is a soft purple-pink pastel color with a slight pearl shimmer. I am not a huge fan of this color, although it applies really nicely and is really a nice subtle color. My personal color preference is for brighter colors overall. Either way, if you like this color or you are looking for a good soft neutral pink, then try this one because it's easy to apply, super opaque and has a nice shimmer making it unique. If you like a bit of color, skip this one. To apply Zoya Marley, I applied Seche Base as a base coat, two coats of Zoya Marley and one coat of Seche Vite.

Zoya Marley - Two Coats with Flash

Zoya Marley - 2 Coats with Flash

Zoya Marley Two Coats - NO FLASH!

April Fools Day Sales and Promotions

It's April Fools Day and some of the online retailers are bringing out the sales and promotions! Here are a few of my favorites that I hope you all will look into...

• Rescue Beauty Loung - Pre-Order Sold Out Nail Polishes for 48-hours!

• Includes: Stormy, Bikini Bottom, Purple Haze, Bruized, and Black Russian
• Set to ship mid-April, early May

• Tarte - 30% Off with code AprilFool

• Urban Outfitters - 10% Off with code AprilFools

Nail of the Day - Zoya Danni

It's weird how the lighting can so greatly effect the color of a nail polish. I will show you with an example below. I always try to provide my readers with a photos of the lacquer with the flash and without. I always take my photos in front of photo lighting, but sometimes the color variation can range a great deal based on when I use the flash. I painted my nails today with Zoya's Danni from the Zoya Spring 2011 Collection. This is a beautiful muted magenta pink with a slight gold shimmer. I was not too impressed with the look of this polish in the bottle, but on the fingers it's really gorgeous. It's hard to tell in the photos due to the flash, but the lacquer has the most gorgeous antique gold shimmer shot through the magenta polish for a glowing and elegant look on the fingers. I find this polish extremely unique even if it looks just eh in the bottle!

I applied Seche Base as a base coat, two coats of Zoya Dannie and Seche Vite as a top coat. Now check out the strange variation in color of lacquer based on whether I used the flash on my camera or not. (The photos taken with the flash are the most accurate depiction of the actual nail lacquer.)

Zoya Danni - Two Coats WITH Flash

Zoya Danni - Two Coats NO Flash

Zoya Danni - Two Coats WITH Flash

Zoya Danni - Two Coats NO Flash

Nail of the Day - Zoya Caitlin

I finally received my Zoya Spring Collection from the International Women's Day Promotion Zoya ran a few weeks ago! I decided a nail of the day with each of my new colors from the collection would be pretty fun! I started with Zoya Caitlin a deep purple gray cream. This lacquer is absolutely stunning and one of my favorite of the entire collection - although I have to admit I love all the colors very much (guess I'm a little bias.) My only issue with this lacquer which you will notice immediately in the photos has to do with my top coat. As you can see, some of the nails in the photos have black dots sprawled across the nails - this is not part of the Caitlin polish but an issue I was having with my top coat. I am thinking I painted my top coat too quickly over Rescue Beauty Lounge's Iconoclast before it was dry and accidentally infected my top coat with nasty black chunks of dried paint. Awesome. :( Needless to say, Caitlin does not have black chunks - it is a deep purple gray cream and lovely even without a top coat.  (I have since cleaned my top coat brush and removed the remaining bits of Rescue Beauty Lounge Iconoclast - sorry for the inconvenience.)

I applied two coats of Zoya Caitlin, over Seche Base base coat and then I applied Seche Vite (infected with Rescue Beauty Lounge Iconoclast) as a top coat. Enjoy!

Zoya Caitlin Two Coats with Flash

Zoya Caitlin Two Coats with Flash

Zoya Caitlin Two Coats NO Flash