Zoya "Cosmo"

Good morning polish darlings!

I bring to you today Zoya "Cosmo," one of the original Magical Pixie Dusts. Please note that I own the mini-size, so that's why the bottle looks so small. It has large holographic hexagon-shaped glitters, holographic micro glitters, and the traditional Pixie Dust base. It is a very silver gray. For my swatches below I left my pointer finger with only one coat of Zoya "Cosmo" because I wanted you to see what it looks like without the full density. It makes an interesting topper, though keep in mind it is rather opaque. It would look gorgeous over a French manicure or another polish color. The rest of my fingers I applied two thin coats to reach full opacity. I imagine this being like dipping one's fingers in silver sprinkles filled with holographic goodness! First up is the polish by itself with no topcoat. For textured polish lovers out there, this polish is for you. It is pretty rough, so it will catch on things, so just keep that in mind. It was very hardy during removal, so I imagine it will hold up to some wear better than traditional mainstream textured polishes.

Zoya "Cosmo" without topcoat. Pointer Finger 1 coat, other fingers 2 coats.

Zoya "Luna"

Hello lovelies!

Today I have for you a simple swatch of Zoya "Luna." I am not sure if this color has been discontinued, but I hope not. Anyone who knows me well knows I love silvers and grays. The sparkle of "Luna" is subtle, but bright. I always find myself unexpectedly sighing with pleasure whenever I wear "Luna." It is a refreshing color, not too bright but not to dark, with the sparkle adding depth. I find I under-appreciate this polish because it isn't flashy in the bottle and isn't as bold as some of my weak-at-the-knees shades. Yet "Luna" never disappoints! I swear, it's like looking a pond of silvery caviar.

Zoya "Luna" with gloss topcoat.

Back to Basics: Exploring Polish Stash

Hello all!

I know it has been an absurdly long time since I've posted. It was a very busy quarter and there were lots of strains going on (USA presidential election didn't help) and I got swamped and totally unmotivated. I'd not been as active with nail maintenance, but I'm working to sort that out, as it is something I love. I've been seeing on Instagram an increase of some the artists I follow taking an opportunity to swatch the polishes in their collection when not doing nail art or some other venture. Since I have been slow on getting much nail art done, I thought I'd join the endeavor and take a go at basic swatchfesting (we can make that an adverb, I'm sure!). While I don't have a swatch for you today, keep your eyes pealed for my next post that will be arriving this weekend! I will seek to add other posts with nail art and reviews included, but I am starting with something small as my goal! My New Year's resolution this year is to become consistent with nail blogging, as I enjoy it. I also would love to feature some artists either as inspired posts or replicating artwork. If you have any favorite artists you'd like me to see, please comment them below! Artists are not restricted to nail artists!

Sloppy Swatch Saturday: Swatch & Nail Art: Femme Fatale & Zoya

Disclosure: These products were purchased by me. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. I am not being compensated for any content included in this post.

Welcome to Sloppy Swatch Saturday! Sloppy Swatch Saturday is where I share random swatches and/or nail art, particularly ones I declare "duds." These "duds" are more about experiments gone awry.

Random nail art today! I saw Femme Fatale "The Northern Witch" on Valesha's blog and fell in love! I am a total sucker for grays! But alas, with my complexion this particular gray was an awkward first date... I thought it would lean more cool gray with gold flecks (how badly I want one!) But in fact it is a taupe-y lavender sneeze that while beautiful, casts me a bit sallow (olive complexion here).

The formula is good and self-levels well. Two coats are necessary for full opacity. The flakes/glitter creates a little bit of texture so a second coat of topcoat may be needed for absolute smoothness. It has a warm tone with shimmer, making it a cozy neutral. It also happens to be a near-perfect dupe of Zoya "Marella" from the NYFW Zang Toi Fall 2015 Trio which I compare here. However "Marella" leans slightly more taupe, and lacks the larger flakies that "The Northern Witch" has. But on the nail, they look the same in tone. I experienced the same complexion-clash with "Marella" as I did "The Northern Witch" (go figure...) and as much as I love color, this may be a breed I have to be wary of for my complexion. I attempted to use Zoya "Marella" as a stamping polish, but it was too thin.

Indoor Artificial Light

Nail Art: Bow Polish: Ritual

Disclosure: These products were purchased by me. I am not being compensated for any content included in this post.

It is Tuesday, mes amies!

I have a simple nail art post for you today that essentially incorporates a swatch of Bow Polish "Ritual." Bow Polish is a line by Dance Legend and their magnetic polishes are effective and opaque. For the color depth you'll want to apply one coat of the polish on each finger, letting it dry. When applying the second coat, work one finger at a time. This is important because the polish dries quickly and you need time to pick up your magnet to hold over the polish for the magic to happen. To intensify the design's effect, hold the magnet again over the polish after you have just applied topcoat. For a more dramatic color shift, but less color, apply one coat of the polish over a black base one finger at a time and use the magnet as suggested above. I'm holding my Nail Butter "Lemongrass" below, but I hadn't used it for a couple weeks because I had run out. I adore Nail Butter and recommend it without reservation. When I have it on hand, my cuticles are in the best shape.

Simple Swatch Sunday: Zoya: Nori

Disclosure: These products were purchased by me. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. I am not being compensated for any content included in this post.

Simple Swatch Sunday is where offhand single-polish swatches are here for your visual gratification! While other posts may be similar with singular swatches, Simple Swatch Sunday is without nail art and simply an enthusiastic swatch.

Today we have Zoya "Nori" with topcoat! I prefer smooth nails so I went ahead and slathered gloss on top of this hungry glitter. I was trying to use up some Seche Vite fast-drying topcoat and it took three coats. Sadly there was shrinkage later, but it was beautiful. I also provide you a short video for rich color-accuracy and glitter revelry.

Zoya can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and their Website.

Nail Art Review: Bundle Monster: Stamping Plate BM-XL204

Disclosure: These products were purchased by me. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. I am not being compensated for any content included in this post.

Bonjour, mes amies! Today I have for you a snapshot of some nail art I did for my friend Kyra recently. For my birthday in September, my handsome guy gave me stamping plates by Bundle Monster and I couldn't wait to use them!

Kyra wanted a vivid red for the base, so we opted for one of my favorites: KBShimmer "Realm of Erotica." We picked Bundle Monster stamping plate "BM-XL204: Blogger Collaboration Nail Art, Beaching Nails." Using my UberChic Beauty Mat, I reverse-stamped one of the designs using Hit The Bottle "Spun Gold" and filled in some of the negative spaces with Butter London "Disco Nap," Painted Polish "Venice Beach Babe," and Zoya "Blair." I applied two of these reverse-stamped decals onto her index fingers and stamped the rest directly on the nail using the Jumbo Clear Jelly Stamper from Whats Up Nails. We finished by topping off everything with my favorite topcoat, SuperChic Lacquer "Marvel Liquid Macro Topcoat." As usual, Kyra is patient and an inspiration to work with. She also can be found amid her many notebooks working on her stories and current draft of novel-in-progress. I wanted to capture this element in my snapshots of her nails.

Bliss Kiss can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Amazon, Beautometry, and their Website.

Bundle Monster can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Amazon, and their Website, as well as many international stocklists.
Butter London can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and their Website.

KBShimmer can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and their Website.

SuperChic Lacquer can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Etsy, and their Website.
UberChic Beauty can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and their Website.

Whats Up Nails can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and their Website.
Zoya can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and their Website.