First Look: Zoya Nail Polish in Belinda Holiday/Winter 2013 Edition

Zoya Nail Polish - Holiday/Winter 2013 Edition 

Enter the color cosmos with this new collection of six perfectly harmonious nail polish beauties by Zoya.

Here's your first look at Zoya Nail Polish in Belinda
A full-coverage, cosmic purple metallic. Originally created for designer Zang Toi during the FW 2013 runway show at NYFW.
 
Ultra long-wearing nail lacquers by Zoya are BIG5FREE - all formulas are completely free of harmful industrial chemicals such as toluene, camphor, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) that are known to cause cancer and birth defects.
 

AVAILABLE NOW!
Shipping October 15, 2013 or sooner.
$8.00 ea. (US)


ZOYA IS THE NEW COLOR OF FASHION!
www.zoya.com

Review: Leesha's Lacquer Halloween Collection

(The products in this post were provided for my honest review.)

Are you ready for some Halloween collections??!!

That's right, it's that time of year again...time for spookiness, scariness, silliness--and lots of orange, green, purple and black. :)

Today I have two polishes from Leesha's Lacquer's new Halloween collection, which releases tomorrow. :) But first, I have to show you the absolutely adorable goodie bag that she sent with the press samples:

Leesha's Lacquer goodie bag!

How cute is that?? Stickers, candy, an adorable Frankenstein bag, and a hand-written note in the shape of a bat. I think my favorite is the gravestone lollipop, and I don't think I'm going to be able to bring myself to eat it, I just want to look at it 'cause it's so awesome! This shows the love and attention that Leesha gives to her customers and her business. They say God is in the details--in this case, yummies are in the details, lol! :)

I know, I know, I know...get to the polish, woman!

Okay, fine. The first of the two she sent me is Monster Mash, a grape-purple jelly filled with black squares and lime green hexes. First I wanted to see what it would look like by itself, with no undies, to be sure it would build on its own:


Leesha's Lacquer Monster Mash, 3 generous coats, artificial light




I love the colors she chose for this polish--beautiful, strong contrast that pulls in my eye and makes it smile. :) This polish built to squishy jelly gorgeousness in 3 coats, applied generously; the formula was amazing, and this went on with absolutely no struggle at all. I didn't have to dab or fuss, just stroke on like any non-glitter polish. One of the aspects of this polish that I really enjoy is that when the polish is layered like this, the lowest layers of lime glitters take on a yellow-orange color that makes it more complex, and adds another Halloween color.

But, I'm a bit stingy with my specialty polishes, so I wanted to see if it would look equally good with some undies; here is one coat of Monster Mash over two coats of Zoya Keiko, a grape creme:


Leesha's Lacquer Monster Mash over Zoya Keiko, one coat, artificial light





I love this even more, and I wasn't sure that was possible. The undies allows the polish to still keep a little bit of the color change, but makes the glitters pop just as much, if not more. Again I just brushed on, didn't dab, so if you want a denser look, you can certainly go that route. I absolutely adore this--it's one of my all-time favorite Halloween polishes.


Next up is Cinnamon Sparkle, which is a mighty melange of orange hexes and black squares and hexes; cannonical Halloween colors in a clear base, perfect for all of your halloween glitter-topper needs:

Leesha's Lacquer Cinnamon Sparkle, three dabbed coats, artificial llight





These first pictures show three dabbed-on coats of the polish on its own, with no undies--the polish is so jam-packed with glitter I wanted to see if you can wear it on its own. I didn't have any problems with application, and it was really easy to get full coverage. The bottom picture looks like there are two pieces of blue glitter in there, but there are not--if you look at the above pics, you can see it's just a trick of the light. And the light was tricky!! There was so much sparkle on these nails that my camera wasn't quite sure what to do with them, lol.

As you know, I'm not normally a complete-glitter-coat sort of girl, so I also wanted to see what this would look like over undies. To keep a sexy pumpkin sort of look, I put it over two coats of Zoya Thandie, a pretty orange creme:


Leesha's Lacquer Cinnamon Sparkle, one coat, artificial light




In this case, I used one coat that was partially brushed and partially dabbed onto the nail. As you can see, the nails are still awash in glittery goodness, and will catch the light and they eye at all of your Halloween gatherings. I like that this glitter contains squares rather than just the typical hexes, and when it's on the nail over undies like this, I think that variation in shapes shows even more and gives a bit more fun to the polish. And, btw, how gorgeous would this look with brown undies, for a general fall look? I'll definitely be trying that out. :)

In addition to these two, her Halloween collection also features Freaky With Franky, a purple, green, and silver glitter topper, and Trick Or Treat, a topper with black, white, and orange glitters. All of these are fun, whimsical Halloween polishes, and I think any lover of the holiday will be delighted by them!

The Halloween collection will be available for sale tomorrow 1 October 2013. Leesha also has an array of other polishes; all go for $7.00 for full-sized bottles. She also does grab bags for bargain lovers! You can find her store by clicking here. And of course her polishes are three-free, and never tested on animals.

Thanks for taking a look, and happy shopping!
M.

(The products in this post were provided for my honest review.)

First Look: Zoya Nail Polish in Cassedy Holiday/Winter 2013 Edition

Zoya Nail Polish - Holiday/Winter 2013 Edition 

Enter the color cosmos with this new collection of six perfectly harmonious nail polish beauties by Zoya.

Here's your first look at Zoya Nail Polish in Cassedy.
A full-coverage celestial pewter metallic.

Ultra long-wearing nail lacquers by Zoya are BIG5FREE - all formulas are completely free of harmful industrial chemicals such as toluene, camphor, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) that are known to cause cancer and birth defects.
 

AVAILABLE NOW!
Shipping October 15, 2013 or sooner.
$8.00 ea. (US)


ZOYA IS THE NEW COLOR OF FASHION!
www.zoya.com

First Look: Zoya Nail Polish in Seraphina Holiday/Winter 2013 Edition

Zoya Nail Polish - Holiday/Winter 2013 Edition 

Enter the color cosmos with this new collection of six perfectly harmonious nail polish beauties by Zoya.

Here's your first look at Zoya Nail Polish in Seraphina
A full-coverage, polaris silver metallic.

Ultra long-wearing nail lacquers by Zoya are BIG5FREE - all formulas are completely free of harmful industrial chemicals such as toluene, camphor, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) that are known to cause cancer and birth defects.

 
AVAILABLE NOW! 
Shipping October 15, 2013 or sooner.
$8.00 ea. (US)


ZOYA IS THE NEW COLOR OF FASHION! 
www.zoya.com

Reviews are IN! Zoya Zenith Collection

Nail Polish reviews for Zoya Zenith Holiday/Winter 2013 Collection

Zoya Nail Polish Zenith Collection available now! The reviews are in with swatches brought to you by the top nail bloggers! Read below to see why this collection is out of this world.

 
On Zoya Cassedy, "it's awesome! When I swatched this, I immediately put it on my toes because I loved it so much and wanted to enjoy it day after day." The Lacquerologist




 


"[Zoya Dream] is hot, well technically it's cool, but it's smokin'. A cobalt blue infused with holographic glitter. I didn't want to take it off but I had to continue with swatches. Love, love, love!" Enamel Girl

"Zoya Payton, a cranberry halo. Can I say this is brilliant, outstanding?! Give Zoya a hand of applause." Nails Beautiqued

"Are you obsessed with these as much as I am?" Princess Polish

For an up close and personal look at the new Zoya Nail Polish Collection visit Pointless Cafe and see all of the amazing photos of each individual hue. 

"Somewhere between an enchanted winter wonderland and the mystery of the cosmos, I find myself mesmerized by Zoya's upcoming Zenith collection." Vanity Rouge


"Seraphina is a silver shimmer that leans to the cool side of silver. This  polish was the perfect snowy winter polish. The finish is gorgeous, just like glistening snow." Paint Those Piggies

Find all of the magnificent Zoya Nail Polishes at zoya.com!

ZOYA IS THE NEW COLOR OF FASHION!
www.zoya.com

The Polish Bar Fall Collection Part 1: Summer Sea

Tonight I have the first of three polishes from The Polish Bar's fall line set to be released October 4th at 10 am pacific!  The set features nine polishes with five holos and four crellies.  I received two holos and one crelly for review, so I'm going to show you one of the holos tonight.  Let's get to it!

*I was not financially compensated for this post. I received a sample for review purposes. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.  For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy in the tab above.* 




Color: Light cornflower blue
Finish: Holographic – pigment gives polish a rainbow in the sunshine.  The base of this polish, though, is a tad milky versus the normal thin base color of most holos giving it a more saturated look.  Also, the pigment used to create the rainbow is an alternative to Spectraflair, so it provides a less linear and more scattered holo look when in the sun and a silver fleck look in indirect light.



Bottle / Brush: Round mini bottle – wand and brush are just long enough to reach the bottom of the bottle.  However, the fact that it’s a mini makes application a little tricky.  Requires a steady hand to apply evenly without pooling.



Opacity:  High – opaque at two coats.  I used three here, though, for the photos.
Glitter Application: N/A



Consistency: Thick – a bit thick, but is easily remedied with some polish thinner if preferred.  It was actually very manageable for me despite it's thickness.  I didn't add any thinner, but I would note that the base gets thicker the longer the bottle is open.



Overall Ease of Application: Medium – applies well with minimal pooling, dragging, streaking, or balding.  Spreads well without much manipulation.  Janice actually states that her holos apply like typical holos, requiring more care in application that normal polishes.  I'll disagree with her here.  The two holos I received have much better formula and application than most of the holos in my collection.  I didn't need an aqua base, so I call that a win in my book!  The first coat was a bit streaky, but it evens out with a second coat.



Stampability: Not tested for stamping, but I'm planning to test stamping with Cosmic Glow tomorrow.



Dry Time: Medium – dry to the touch with minimal smudging in 3-8 minutes.



Overall Thoughts:  Well, what else can I say now that I haven't said up top?  I was a bit long-winded tonight!  I guess it's because I just missed you guys so much.  Heheh.  Ok, back to Summer Sea.  I have a million blue holos, and several of them are duplicates of each other.  However, Summer Sea is quite unique in my collection.  It has a more opaque base than most holos, and it is thicker than most as well.  Application was easy, and I was able to apply cleanly without much cleanup at all.  I always find that to be highly desirable in a polish.  It also looks pretty great as undies for various glitter toppers.  I've included one example below - Summer Sea topped with Lynnderella When the Moon was a Star.  Just so lovely.



You can purchase The Polish Bar polishes at Janice's Etsy store.  Follow her on facebook here for news and updates.  Get your wallets ready, folks.  These polishes are must haves.

*I was not financially compensated for this post. I received a sample for review purposes. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.  For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy in the tab above.*

Review: Bundle Monster Holiday Collection

(The plates reviewed in this post were purchased with my own money.)

Hello!

Fall has fallen and the beginning of the holidays is nearly upon us--I consider the Halloween season to be part of the holidays, so the party is on for me! In light of that, I thought this would be the perfect time to bring out my review of the Bundle Monster Holiday collection stamping plates. A good chunk of the plates will get you through Halloween, fall, Thanksgiving, winter, Christmas, New Year's Eve...and then right on into Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day...etc...etc...etc. :)

Of course you know I recorded a video of my very odd stream of consciousness while showing you the plates:



And here are stills of each plate, followed by a discussion of the collection:


Bundle Monster H01: Cutest reindeer ever

Bundle Monster H02: Love those umbrella trees :)

Bundle Monster H03: I already know what I'm doing with those middle ornaments :)

Bundle Monster H04: St. Patrick's Day and/or Oktoberfest comin' your way!

Bundle Monster H05: I love any sort of Celtic pattern, so I adore those bottom three 

Bundle Monster H06: Every image on this makes me squeal with joy, but those eyeballs take the cake...

Bundle Monster H07: I love that word one...who am I kidding, I love them all

Bundle Monster H08: And another one with all winners--LOVE IT

Bundle Monster H09: Those bunny ears are going to be so cute to work with, and I love dandelions

Bundle Monster H10: I love the egg pattern on this one

Bundle Monster H11: So glad they have a plate that is just for fall, and not only Halloween! And that wheat stalk image looks like the Scandinavian wheat bundles used to feed birds during the winter. :)

Bundle Monster H12: Thanksgiving and/or more fall. That basket weave has so many possibilities...

Bundle Monster H13: More Thanksgiving/fall. That cornucopia is awesome...sigh...

Bundle Monster H14: New Year's celebrations, also other types of celebrations

Bundle Monster H15: Chinese New Year!

Bundle Monster H16: Valentine's Day...love the little candy hearts. :)

Bundle Monster H17: All you need is love...

Bundle Monster H18: And one more Valentine's Day for good measure

Bundle Monster H19: They say it's your birthday...it's my birthday too, yeah

Bundle Monster H20: How cool are those candles and that cake!!

Bundle Monster H21: Awww, baby shower!

Bundle Monster H22: Part wedding, part lace...Those love birds in that tree are one of my favorite images, ever.

Bundle Monster H23: Graduation celebration!

Bundle Monster H24: Cinco De Mayo. I adore the chili pepper image, and that sun at the bottom is so astrologically awesome

Bundle Monster H25: Fourth of July, but a couple could potentially be used for other things


I think Bundle Monster did a great job with this holiday collection. There are some interesting twists on the holidays they included (e.g., Chinese New Year and Cinco De Mayo haven't been represented in previous holiday collections I've owned), and even in with the 'standard' holiday plates, there are new takes on the images they've included. I really appreciate that the images can be used for both youthful and more adult manicures; Bundle Monster always does a good job straddling that line, I think. Also, the decision to include images that are more seasonal rather than just holiday-specific make this a set with something for everyone, I think.

These images are the same size as the Bundle Monster 300 series; for more information about that, please take a look at this size-comparison chart. The quality of the plates is top-notch. You won't have any issues with the stamping, so put those worries aside and just decide whether or not you can resist the awesome images. :)

Thanks for taking a look. Happy stamping!
M.

(The plates reviewed in this post were purchased with my own money.)