Mobile Shorty Post--Zoya Tomoko

Zoya 'Tomoko' is another lovely Pixie Dust textured polish. From Zoya's Web site: "Zoya PixieDust Nail Polish in Tomoko can be best described as a romantic champagne silver with a matte, textured, sparkling metal finish."

I loved everything about this polish. 

*I purchased this polish with my own money and received no compensation for posting about it.*

Emily de Molly Bright Young Things over Zoya Robyn

Emily de Molly is an Australian polish maker that has long since captured my heart, as you might have seen in a few previous posts. I was very happy to find Bright Young Things in a blog sale.
*All products mentioned in this post were purchased by me.*

While I'm not usually one to wear a polish the moment that I receive it (it's usually a strange, OCD, agonizing decision as to which one to wear), I put Bright Young Things on right away. 

I happened to be wearing the lovely Zoya Robyn at the time, so I just put the glitter topper Emily de Molly Bright Young Things over it. I used a quick-dry top coat of Poshe to smooth everything out, although the glitter did lie flat.

I loved this mani and wore it for a few days, which is a long time for me. It reminds me of the ocean and pretty saltwater fish. Next time, however, I will probably choose a different shade for the base so that the purple and turquoisey teal glitter can shine, too. (The purple did show up in real life, but hid from the camera. Silly purple; the camera could be friends with you if you'll let it.)

You can certainly purchase Emily de Molly polishes on Web sites like www.llarowe.com and www.shoppe-eclectic.co, but you might want to do a search for polish blog sales first, or try polishsale.livejournal.com for lower prices. The first sites that I mention seem to be good, but they sell out really fast and the price is more than I would usually pay. (It's expensive to make beauty products in Australia, I think, and I would guess it's not easy to import them, either.)

Yes, summer has put me in the mood for all sorts of brights! I will revel in the deeper colors of autumn soon, but I will enjoy the brights into September at least. I am not strict about seasonal colors, but the weather does affect the mood and the mood does affect the polish choices. September is surely part of summer in California.

Shorty Post--Zoya Myrta

Myrta is a shade by Zoya that I have been wanting for quite a while now. I hesitated since it is orange, and oranges usually make me look ill. But this is one of the few that I can wear, since there is a pinky reddish aspect to the polish. 
*I purchased this product and I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands mentioned in this post.*

This is three coats of Zoya Myrta, topped with one coat of Out the Door quick-drying top coat. I have only good things to say about this polish, no issues with formula or application. 

 *I purchased this product and I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands mentioned in this post.*

Shorty Post: Julie Meets Mr. Bubbles

This is one of my favorite recent polish combinations. Two coats of Zoya Julie, two coats of Hit Polish Mr. Bubbles, and one coat of Seche Vite for top coat.
*I received Zoya Julie in a swap on makeuptalk.com. I purchased Hit Polish Mr. Bubbles with my own money. I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands or Web sites mentioned in this post.*

Zoya Julie is an awesome lavender with a subtle silvery shimmer. I didn't take any photos of Julie on her own this time, because it was 2 a.m. or so when I actually painted my nails. Photos were taken the during the day outdoors.

I love how Hit Polish Mr. Bubbles is all about the matte glitter. I find the blue, pink, and white to be so cheerful together. 

You can purchase Hit Polish from their Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/HitPolishNailLacquer. (Hit Polish Nail Lacquer was having a 20% sale; July 4th it expired. I might have ordered a few...) Zoya polishes can be purchased at Ulta and other select salons, or on their Web site: www.zoya.com. 

*I received Zoya Julie in a swap on makeuptalk.com. I purchased Hit Polish Mr. Bubbles with my own money. I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands or Web sites mentioned in this post.*

Fuzzy Jacqueline Mani Fail

This wasn't one big fail, but a series of small ones. I wasn't going to blog about it even, but I appreciate when bloggers show both their successes and failures. It looks better in the photos than it did in real life, so you may like it. All of the products that I used are good products.
*I received Zoya Jacqueline in a trade on makeuptalk.com, and I purchased the other products. I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands mentioned in this post.*

Zoya Jacqueline is a lovely creamy shade. I recommend it. Yeah, until it goes on my nails. Then it leans yellow and makes me look ill. Fail #1. I'm sorry, but that's why I didn't even take any photos of Jacqueline on its own. My husband and my brother don't comment much on the manis, but they both commented that Jacqueline was not a color for me.

My original plan was to add a couple of accent nails to Jacqueline, but once I saw how the shade was unflattering to me, I decided to use a Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat on all of the nails.  

I thought that Sally Hansen Fuzz-Sea would be a cute overlay. It is a cute overlay, but in this circumstance it just made everything look more yellow! Yellow is good, but not on me. Fail #2. 

I've worked with bar glitter before. I learned that you can move it around a little around the edges so that you don't end up with pieces sticking out. Well, I thought I had learned. This time, I forgot. Fail #3. 

I then topped everything off with my favorite quick-dry top coat, Poshe. Unlike Seche Vite, which I also love, I've not experienced shrinkage with Poshe. There's a first time for everything. See how the top coat dried and pulled the polish underneath it away from the edge? Yeah, that's what shrinkage looks like in the nail polish world. Fail #4. You don't see it from a distance, but nail polish addicts are always staring at their nail polish, taking photos of it, and having someone hold their hands up for a closer look at unusual effects or combinations. (For what it's worth, I would recommend more than one coat of top coat with Fuzz-Sea if you want a smooth texture.)

With a few changes, I will probably be happier with my next Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat mani. I will trade my Zoya Jacqueline to someone who hopefully has a better skin tone for it, but my Sally Hansen Fuzz-Sea will be used again by me. I love how the bar glitters are short, bright, and matte. I also bought the Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat in black and white (can't remember the name), for which I have high hopes.

*I received Zoya Jacqueline in a trade on makeuptalk.com, and I purchased the other products. I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands mentioned in this post.*

What do you think? Would you wear one of the Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat polishes?

Shorty Post--Zoya Ziv Swatches

Typically, silver is more my style. I don't wear gold very often. Then I saw Zoya Ziv. Love!
*I received this product in a trade on makeuptalk.com. I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands mentioned in this post.*

Ziv is more gold and less yellow. The finish is like a flecked foil. Below the photo is blurred; you can kind of see how sometimes the flecks flash differently depending on the light. 

There wasn't anything I didn't like about this polish. Granted, the flecks got all over my hands when I removed it. But they were completely gone once I showered. 

The above photos are with Orly Bonder as the base coat. I did not wear a top coat, and Ziv still wore well. 

*I received this product in a trade on makeuptalk.com. I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands mentioned in this post.*

Manicures with Friends Part 2: Tot's Dots

The most recent hand model for Rouge Required is my friend Tatiana. We call her Tot or Tater Tot as nicknames, thus Tot's Dot's. She wanted something that she wouldn't do for herself, and we were having trouble deciding which polishes to use, so we used several of the top choices for this 'dotticure'. 
*Products shown below were either purchased by me or received in a trade with one of the other members on makeuptalk.com. I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands mentioned in this post.*

 

I first painted Tot's nails with a base coat of Orly Bonder, then two coats of Essie Play Date. I applied Poshe quick-dry top coat before creating the dots.

The dots were created with my Martha Stewart dotting tools that I bought at Michael's. These photos are before I applied a final coat of Poshe over the dots, indoors under artificial light. If you choose to do a similar manicure, I recommend waiting longer than you think you need to before applying the last top coat. The dots are thicker than a normal coat of polish, so they tend to smear if you top coat them too soon.

The polishes used for the dots:

Blue--Essie In the Cab-ana

Green--Essie First Timer

Lavender--Julep Renee

Purple glitter--Zoya Aurora

*Products shown above were either purchased by me or received in a trade with one of the other members on makeuptalk.com. I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands mentioned in this post.*

Zoya Earth Day 2013 Nail Polish Exchange

This post contains a referral link. If you choose to order from Zoya.com, please use my Share the Love referral link: https://www.artofbeauty.com/rd/01853244.  This gets discounts/coupons for me and a free bottle of polish for you. See details at the end of the post.


Hooray For Earth Day! The Zoya Nail Polish Exchange Is BACK for 2013...

Announcing the 2013 Zoya Nail Polish Exchange*

Hooray for Earth Day! Once again, Zoya is helping you do a little spring cleaning with the return of the Earth Day Zoya Nail Polish Exchange* for 2013. Clean out your nail polish wardrobe and get rid of old nail polish that may not be BIG5FREE (Free of Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin, Toluene, DBP and Camphor) and exchange it for a greener alternative - long lasting, award winning, healthy Zoya Nail Polish bottles!

Now's the perfect time to make the switch to an eco-chic beauty routine! From April 19, 2013 - April 26, 2013 (11:59pm EST), exchange your old, unwanted nail color for toxin-free ZOYA Nail Polish for only $4 per bottle plus shipping and handling fees. Rest assured - ZOYA will properly dispose of your old polish. 

Here's all you need to do!

 

 

 

If you choose to order from Zoya.com, please use my Share the Love referral link: https://www.artofbeauty.com/rd/01853244.  This gets discounts/coupons for me and a free bottle of polish for you. See details at the end of the post.

1. Go to www.zoya.com and pick out the polishes you would like (excludes ALL Zoya PixieDustTM Collection shades) and add them to your cart. You must select at least 6 bottles and no more than 24 bottles of polish (Salon accounts minimum 12 maximum 48 bottles.)
2. Apply the code: ZOYAEARTH2013
3. Your order value will be adjusted to reflect a 50% discount (we use these funds to properly dispose of the old nail polish).
4. SUBMIT your order!

Then Zoya will ship out your NEW polish! HOORAY! This is what your order should look like...

Once you get your order
Here's where the exchanging* happens...

1. Ship back the equivalent number of bottles you received to the return address below (ie. If you ordered 6 bottles of Zoya – you would send us 6 NON-ZOYA polishes). Please check with your carrier on the proper way to ship nail polish.
2. Include a copy of your order. 

To clarify the exchange: You do not have to send us the exact amount of bottles that you are ordering. You can send any quantity up to that amount. You can also donate. If you decide you don't want to do either, it's ok "Offer is not contingent on customer returning polish" we will still love you and will send the Zoya polishes... we'll just send you on a guilt trip for a while :)

Ship Your Old Nail Polish To:
Art of Beauty, Inc.
c/o Polish Exchange
5060 Taylor Rd, Unit D
Cleveland, Ohio, 44128, USA

Once we receive your polish we do the rest! It’s that simple!

IMPORTANT!
The bottles you send in cannot be Zoya, Qtica or Nocti polishes (but they can be any other brand). We are using the honor code here folks! We want to make sure you get your Zoya Nail Polish! We send you the polish first then you send your old polish back to us! If you do choose to send us your old polish we promise to properly dispose of it according to EPA guidelines. This offer is only good for 1 week so hurry – Don’t Wait!
*Offer valid online at www.zoya.com only. Offer expires on 4/26/2013 at 11:59PM EST. Continental US ONLY. Excludes ALL Zoya PixieDust Collection shades. Not valid with any other codes, coupons or promotions. Shipping and handling fees apply. Consumer accounts must exchange a minimum of 6 polishes with a 24 bottle maximum. Salon accounts must exchange at least 12 with a maximum of 48 bottles. Polish can be from any brand EXCEPT Zoya, Qtica or Nocti and can be exchanged for in-stock .5oz Zoya Nail Polish. Offer is not contingent on customer returning polish. Zoya Exchange code is unique and non-transferable. One code per account. Art of Beauty is not responsible for incorrect addresses, credit card entry errors or errors associated with declined credit cards. Please allow standard time for processing and shipping, however if volume is higher than expected please allow up to 6 weeks for shipping and processing. Art of Beauty, Inc. reserves the right to remove any polish that is out of stock from your order. You will not be charged for this polish. Backordered polish is not included in this promotion.

 

This post contains a referral link. If you choose to order from Zoya.com, please use my Share the Love referral link: https://www.artofbeauty.com/rd/01853244.  See below for details.

Remember EVERYONE WINS with "Share the Love":  
When someone clicks on your personal link and sets up an online account, a $5 coupon a coupon for a FREE Bottle of Zoya Nail Polish will automatically be placed in their account and can be used immediately on their current order. TIP: If you use this coupon and add 2 more polishes to your order, you get free shipping too! The coupon will appear in the "My Coupons/ Promos" section of their "My Account" Page.



You get 100 Share the "Love Points" added to your account when the following three things happen:

• A person who clicks on you link creates an online account
• That account places any online order
• That order ships and is successfully invoiced and charged
  

Share the "Love Points" can be redeemed for valuable coupon code and gifts. Check out the New Monthly Special Redemption Offers in the "Redeem Points" section of your online account. New ones are always being added.

Review and Swatches--Zoya Breezi

Zoya Breezi was the base color for my Autism Awareness Manicure the other day. I liked it so much that I wanted Breezi to have its own post. 
*I purchased this product with my own money and I am not affiliated with or compensated by any of the brands mentioned in this post.*

I found Breezi to have multiple personalities. When I first looked at it in the bottle, I thought Breezi was a simple, medium blue. But as I wore it on my nails and took photos in different lighting, I started to see a slight teal twinge.

In all of these photos I am wearing three thin coats of Breezi topped with one coat of Butter London Hardwear P.D. Quick Top Coat. I used natural light, both indoors and out.

Application was easy; the first coat was slightly patchy, but evened out nicely by the second coat and everything seemed to self-level by the third.

Again, Zoya is my favorite nail polish brand so far (excluding indie brands). I looooove their formula and color selection.

It seemed like this polish dried a little bit faster than my Zoya polishes typically do. My top coat sped things up in the end, but the good dry time that I noticed was between coats.  

In my personal opinion, Zoya Breezi is a keeper. It will obviously flatter cooler skin tones, but I think that its almost hidden green personality will peek out and flatter warmer tones as well. 

If you've always wanted to try blue nail polish but were afraid of being too bold, I think a polish like this might be a good way to go. It is definitely blue, but it's not shocking like a cobalt blue or midnight blue and not potentially stark like a baby blue.

Zoya has some of the loveliest creme nail nail polishes. I enjoy all different sorts of finishes, but I have a special place in my heart for creme polishes. I think perhaps it's because I didn't have them most of the time I was growing up. At that time, the finishes seemed to be mostly brush-strokey-frost or tiny glitter. Maybe the cremes were out there and I just didn't see them. It was revolutionary to me as a teenager when Hard Candy came out with pastel cremes. 

What do you think? Do you feel comfortable rocking a blue nail polish?

Zoya nail polish typically retails for $8.00 and can be purchased on their Web site, ULTA, and various beauty salons. "Nail lacquers by Zoya are free of toluene, camphor, formaldehyde, and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) - chemicals that are known to cause cancer and birth defects."--source

*I purchased this product with my own money and I am not affiliated with or compensated by any of the brands mentioned in this post.*

Light It Up Blue--Autism Awareness Manicure

Blue is the designated color for Autism Awareness. Several bloggers did blue manicures for World Autism Awareness Day (April 2). I think I'm posting a little late, but I did the mani on April 2. I used two coats of Zoya Breezi. I freehanded the tips using Orly Snowcone. To top it off, I used two coats of Seche Vite.

Thanks for visiting!