ZOYA Mitzi

Hello, lovelies. I hope you are all doing well today. I have some stew stewing up for dinner tonight, yumm.

Today I'm sharing ZOYA Mitzi from the Mod Mattes Collection. This was actually my first Zoya purchase ever! I picked the set of 3 up last year and I was hooked on Zoyas. I know, I know...I have been doing a LOT of Zoya lately. It's my favorite brand though!

Ok, so Mitzi is a unique & funky yellowy-green matte. I have nothing else in my collection that is even vaguely similar to this color. This particular shade of green gave me a small case of lobster-hand, but it's such a fun shade for spring/summer that I enjoy it still.

Mitzi w/ Topcoat                                            Mitzi Matte

Matte

Topcoat

ZOYA Mitzi

Very fun and retro color for sure. As with any matte, your tips will wear a bit faster than a normal polish. If you want to extend the wear and change it up just a bit, try adding top coat on your second day.

Thanks for popping in!

ZOYA Poppy

Hello, ladies. I hope you all enjoyed your Memorial weekend. The weather here in Virginia was beautiful.

Today's polish of choice is ZOYA Poppy. Zoya has Poppy labeled as a metallic, but I think it comes off as more of a pearl finish to me. It applied very well, but it has these frosty streaks to it. I wasn't exactly expecting the finish to look the way that it did and I don't quite think I'm a fan of the streaks in it. The colors is pretty, though. Poppy is an orangy-coral with some red & peach undertones. I applied 2 coats and topped with Seche Vite.

Poppy w/ topcoat in direct sunlight

Poppy w/ topcoat in the shade

ZOYA Poppy

Thanks for popping in!

Red, White & Blue Stringy Mani

Hello my lovely readers. I am keeping with my Memorial Day Weekend theme and went with a patriotic Red, White & Blue manicure. I tried out a technique that is new to me and I really don't know what it's properly called. I am going to refer to it as a stringy mani, but I have also seen it called the "sugar spun technique" and simply a "slim line" mani. I came across this tutorial video through another blog, though I cannot recall whose. Manicurator's April Showers Brings May Flowers - Rainbowl is probably my favorite stringy manicure.

Colors used:
   ● ZOYA Tosca
   ● ZOYA Robyn
   ● FINGER PAINTS Papier Mâché

This was no quick and easy mani. It took a long time and I will let you in on a little secret - my right hand looks nothing like my left! Don't you hate when that happens? It looks more like a splatter mani. However, now that I've done it I can perfect on it! I love the look of stringy manis and I plan on using this technique again.

Thanks for popping in!

Memorial Day Weekend Pedi

Hello lovely readers. Oh my gosh is it a hot one today. Super sticky outside; I broke a sweat just watering my flowers!

To those of you who have foot aversions, this is a pedi post! You have been forewarned. I made my toes festive for Memorial Day Weekend with a traditional stars and stripes theme. Take a gander...

Colors used:
   ● ZOYA Sooki
   ● FINGER PAINTS Papier Mâché
   ● CHINA GLAZE Frostbite
   ● White Acrylic Paint

I started with a base coat of Frostbite on my big toes and white on the rest. Using my small art brush, I free handed the stripes in red and the stars in white acrylic. I used the acrylic for the stars because Papier Mâché is too thin to stand out against the bright blue Frostbite.

I hope you all enjoy your 3 day weekend with your loved ones. Remember to take a moment and remember those who have served or given their lives for our country and to honor those who are currently active duty. Send good vibes to their families as well whom they are separated from while on deployment.

Thanks for popping in!

LAYLA Flash Black

Happy Monday, ladies. I hope you didn't have the Monday blues today. Today started off rainy and then around 3pm I noticed the sun was out. I had to take advantage so I quickly took off Belle and grabbed one of my new Layla Holo's, Black Flash.

I have to say, if this color wasn't so incredibly stunning, I would hate it. The application made me super frustrated. It's my first more expensive polish and by far the worst to apply. A lot of girls in a facebook group I'm in told me I just need to practice a bit with holos and told me Nfu Aqua Base or a solid color under the holo helps a lot with application. The main issue was balding. If I even grazed over an area with the brush that already had polish, it grabbed back onto the brush and left a bald spot. The second coat gave me a bit of trouble, but I was able to smooth it out. Seeing my pictures cheered me back up though. I love this holo, it's amazing. All pictures taken in direct sunlight, which is like the ONLY way to view a holo in all of it's linear beauty.

Layla Flash Black

Ooooo yeah. Stun-ning. B-E-A-utiful. I suppose the application is worth it. Warning though: do not top coat because it kills the holo effect a little. Well, at least Seche Vite did. Luckily, I took all of these pre-top coat. Mmmm..../drool. I could just stare and stare. Ok ok. Enough of me. Thanks so much for poping in!

ZOYA Blogger Collection by Birchbox

I put all of the ZOYA Blogger Collection by Birchbox swatches together so you can see them together and in one post. I hope this helps make it a bit more convenient for you to look at. :-)

You can click on the picture to look at a zoomed view. The colors from left to right are: - 3 Zoya bottles, Belle, Coraline, Belle over Coraline, Kate and Belle over Kate.

If you would like to sign up for Birchbox (there is currently a waiting period) click here.

Thanks for popping in again!

ZOYA Belle

Hello, girls. I hope you are all doing well today. I meant to post this yesterday, but it ended up being a long day! It was my birthday and my husband, father-in-law and I went go-karting, down to the VA Boardwalk and out to an Irish Pub and Restaurant for dinner. It was a great day. I also made them stop at Ulta so I could buy myself some new pretties with some of the money I was gifted. I will get to that in a bit.

Down to the polish of the day. I am finishing off my Zoya Blogger Collection by Birchbox posts today with the last of the trio, Belle. Belle, as describe by Birchbox, is "...a coppery pink which features microscopic bits of iridescent glitter." The copper sheen in this color is fantastic. Indoors it appears to be a predominantly pink shimmer, but in the sun... ohhh in the sun the copper shines through and it's gorgeous. As with the other two from this collection, I have swatches of 1-3 coats and then I also have pictures of it over Kate and Coraline. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that Belle was picked for Capitol Hill Style.

Belle - 3 coats w/ topcoat

Belle - 2 coats no topcoat

Belle - 1 coat no topcoat

ZOYA Belle

Belle over Coraline

Belle over Kate

All of these colors are sheer enough in one coat to be excellent for layering and yet they all still build into juicy, opaque colors. This was an excellent collection and I am so happy I purchased it.

Ok, so I mentioned I bought some polish from Ulta. I printed out two 20% off a single item coupons and my two new beauties are Layla Holos!!! :D I am psyched to wear them. I picked Mermaid Spell and Flash Black. I also grabbed my first EOS lip balm to try since I accidentally put my Nivea Chapstick through the wash. I bought it in Lemon Drop. I am already a fan of it after one day. I love that it has SPF 15 and it feels great on my lips and smells delicious.

Well, I hope I didn't overload you too much with all of these pictures. Thanks for popping in!

ZOYA Coraline

Hi, girls. I hope you are all doing well. Today is my hubby's birthday and my father-in-law is here for just under a week. We took him to see Avengers today (our 3rd time) and then he took us out for hibachi. I have some key lime pie for them for later here at the house.

Today I switched from ZOYA Kate to ZOYA Coraline. Kate was still looking perfect from my application on Monday. Coraline (created by Eleventh Gorgeous)is a tangerine jelly polish that is crazy juicy. It is also one of the trio from the Zoya Blogger Collection by Birchbox. These polishes have SO much shine on them that I get caught up staring at them. I have pictures of 1, 2 and 3 coats of applications. Coraline is a bit sheer, but I was happy with the opacity after 3 coats. 1-2 still had VNL.

Coraline - 3 coats w/ top coat

Coraline - 2 coats no topcoat

Coraline - 1 coat no topcoat

ZOYA Coraline

This color totally POPS, right!? Love, love love. Just a reminder that this trio is sold exclusively by Birchbox and costs $22. There is currently a wait list on the monthly boxes from Birchbox, but if you are interested in signing up for $10 a month click here.

Well, time to get back to my birthday man and Father-in-Law. Have a great night, ladies and thanks for popping in!

ZOYA Kate

Hello, ladies. Yesterday I shared with you the contents of my May Birchbox and my Zoya Blogger Collection by Birchbox. I trimmed down my nails to nubbins and painted on one of the colors from the trio, Kate. Kate is described as a juicy pink grapefruit color and this description couldn't be more accurate. It's a beautiful, squishy color. I had a little trouble capturing the pink in it in my photos, but in person it really has that pinkishness -> this is now a word. I have shots of both 1 coat and 2 coats.

1 coat ZOYA Kate, no top coat - direct sunlight

2coats ZOYA Kate, no top coat - artificial light

2 coats ZOYA Kate w/ topcoat - artificial light

ZOYA Kate

While 1 coat leaves Kate a bit on the sheer side, it's still wearable. 2 coats makes the color pop a bit more and 1 coat leaves it a little more pink. Either way, it's incredibly juicy even without the top coat. I am such a huge fan of jelly polishes.

Thanks for popping by!

May Birchbox 2012

Good afternoon fellow polish fanatics. Happy Mother's Day to all of you mommy's out there! I do hope you all had a lovely weekend, the husband and I sure did. We stayed home and lazed around and it was much needed! We haven't had a weekend to ourselves in a while and we won't be able to for the rest of the month. We took the dogs jogging and made lots of great meals, including this skillet lasagna I made that was impressively scrumptious. We watched Archer on Netflix, and if you have never seen Archer and you're into funny cartoons I HIGHLY recommend it. I whipped together some homemade waffles for breakfast and I have some honey sesame chicken in the crock pot for dinner. Oh, and my husband made some cookies this morning too! :-)

Ok, ok. I know this isn't a food blog so I will get on with it. The real topic here today is my May Birchbox! It's my little $10 present to myself each month. This month there was a Gossip Girls theme, although...I don't really see how they kept with the theme. Granted, I do not watch Gossip Girls so I suppose I couldn't accurately say... and there I go off on another tangent. Here is my box:

I love when I get nail polish in my Birchbox. The color club shade I got is Disco Nap. I saw that some girls got a Dior Mascara in their boxes too! If you love trying new beauty products, Birchbox is for you! You can't beat $10 delivered right to your door. There is a wait list currently for it, but if you're interested here is my referral link.

On top of my Birchbox this month, I had enough points saved up that I had $20 to use in the shop. I'm sure many of you have already seen the limited edition Zoya Blogger Collection by Birchbox and my sister talked me into purchasing these three delicious jelly lacquers with my points. The trio is $22 exclusively through Birchbox.

From left to right the colors are Coraline, Kate and Belle. Each color was made and named for three bloggers whose mood color boards, inspired by their favorite spring/summer colors, were chosen. Coraline is a jelly tangerine, Kate is a jelly pinkish grapefruit and Belle is a coppery pink with specs of iridescent glitter. These shades are supposed to be great for layering as well as being beautiful on their own. I actually follow Kate's Blog (The Small Things Blog) and I love it. These will be so fun to try out and I have been yearning for some jelly polishes!

I hope you all have a lovely Sunday evening and thanks for popping by!

ZOYA Robyn and Maisie

T.G.I.F!!! right?! Today I switched from greens to blue! Yay. I picked out ZOYA Robyn and Maisie as part of Zoya's Earth Day Exchange. Robyn is even more gorgeous than I thought. It's freaking fantastic! It really pops in the sun too. I am pre-warning you I have lots of pictures to share today. :-)

Robyn is an intense turquoise cream polish with an incredible sheen. I applied 2 coats of Robyn to achieve an even look and topped with seche vite. I did have some small issues with a little bit of bubbling, not sure what caused it. Prepare yourself for this beautiful blue...

direct sunlight

artificial lighting

in the shade

ZOYA Robyn ♥

All of the pigment in this polish just blows me away. I added Maisie as opposite accents on both of my hands. What I mean is that my left hand I have it on my ring and thumb, and my right hand it's on my pinky, middle and pointer. Maisie is one of Zoya's Fleck Effect Top Coats. It reflects a shifting turquoise and green color effect that is super fun.

Robyn ♥ Maisie

ZOYA Maisie over Robyn

I am so pleased with today's manicure. I LOVE the color. It's such a flirty blue that is bright and cheerful and is perfect for spring.

I hope you all enjoy your weekend and thanks for popping in!

** I just noticed that even though I said I went from green to blue that Maisie still has the green in it! It REALLY has been a green week!

Green & White Gradient - Tutorial Included

Hello, ladies! Apparently I am having a green week in which I keep grabbing my green polishes to wear. There are so many different shades to choose from. Today I have a green and white gradient manicure to share with you. Gradient nails are always fun, doncha think?

taken in direct sunlight

taken in the shade

Colors used:
  ● FINGER PAINTS Papier Mâché
  ● ZOYA Midori
  ● ZOYA Ivanka

I actually made my first tutorial to show you how I did this look! My husband helped by taking the pictures for me so I could use both hands. What a great guy. I hope you find it helpful. :-)

click on image to enlarge

Thanks for popping in today! Have a great Monday.

ORLY Jealous, Much?

Evenin' ladies. I hope you all have been enjoying your weekend so far. The hubby and I went and saw The Avengers last night with a couple of friends and it was amazing! So much better than I was expecting and I was already expecting it to be good. We have plans to see it again tomorrow with some other friends. Yes, it was THAT good. :-)

Today the color I'm sharing with you is Jealous, Much? from ORLY's Cool Romance Collection. This color is a beautiful pastel mint shade. I applied 2 coats with no top coat in these photos.

artificial light

taken outdoors in overcast sunlight

ORLY Jealous, Much?

I couldn't get the best pictures of this polish in the sun like I usually do because it's been an overcast, rainy day. However, it doesn't really differ much from how it looks indoors.

Well, enjoy your evening, girls! Thanks for popping in!