[Review+Swatch] Zoya Naturel Satins Collection for 2015

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Hi, everyone! Can you believe it's already February? Today I have the rest of the Zoya Naturel Satins collection for you. If you missed my first post, head on over here for more info on the satin finish and my in depth review of Ana. The rest is all below, and the swatches are all shown without top coat to show the semi-matte finish.

[Review+Swatch] China Glaze Apocalypse of Colour Collection for Halloween 2014

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Hi! I have another Halloween collection for you today. This one's from China Glaze and is ominously named the Apocolypse of Colour - enjoy! :)

piCture pOlish Collab-Fest 2013 (Paradise)

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Hey all you lovely people! If you've been following my blog for a while, you'll probably recognize this polish from piCture pOlish. Paradise is a color I created with piCture pOlish as part of their blogger collaboration. Today I'll be showing you a few more shots of Paradise, in case you missed it the first time around. ^^

If you're curious about my inspiration, the process, and how this beauty applies, check out the following posts below. They pictures there also do the polish a lot more justice, since they were taken in sunlight. As always, this color is so hard to photograph!

piCture pOlish Paradise by Liquid Jelly - shade inspiration, in depth formula and finish description
Announcement ♥ piCture pOlish Paradise by Liquid Jelly - great macro shots of the glitters

But here's a quick break down of Paradise. :)

I'm wearing 3 coats here on my little stubby nails. Unfortunately I had a break in my nails last week, so I'm a little sad I didn't take my pics when my nails were longer. I think for me, each time I wear Paradise I'm a little surprised. My favorite part is seeing it apply on my nails because the shimmer glimmers across my nails and settles around the pink glitters. It can photograph a bit gritty looking, but I promise you it's smooth to the touch. Especially with a nice top coat!

And here's one last artsy photo of Paradise. Not really color accurate - just for fun. :)

You can purchase Paradise or any of the piCture pOlish shades at http://picturepolish.com.au/ or from one of their international stockists.  Don't forget to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for the latest piCture pOlish news!

Also, if you own Paradise, please share your pictures with me on Facebook or Twitter! I love seeing all the lovely messages and pictures you send me. :]

♥ Liz

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Check out all the other blogger collaborations.

Announcement ♥ piCture pOlish Paradise by Liquid Jelly

Hi everyone!  A few weeks ago, I announced the launching of my limited edition collaboration shade with piCture pOlish: Paradise.  Today I have more great news.  Due to all the positive feedback, piCture pOlish has decided to add Paradise to their collection full time - yes, it's a permanent shade now!  I know several shops had/have sold out, including piCture pOlish's main site.  If you missed it, don't worry!  piCture pOlish will be restocking their site this Friday (aussie time).

It's been a rewarding experience thus far to hear from bloggers and consumers alike that Paradise is "beautiful" and "unique."  And extremely flattering to hear from one tweeter that Paradise is now one of her top 3 favorite polishes.  I could have never imagined the amount of praise Paradise would receive, and I want to thank everyone for all the support you have sent my way.  Thank you for loving Paradise! :)

Here are also a few more pictures of Paradise, including some new macro shots.  I must admit, Paradise is really hard to photograph - so I hope you try it out for yourself.

Hard Candy Jubilee

Ahhh look what came in the mail today!  I actually got several of the new Hard Candy polishes, which I immediately got to swatching.  I still have three more to swatch, so I thought I'd go ahead and show you this interesting fella named Jubilee in the meantime. 

piCture pOlish Paradise by Liquid Jelly

Hi everyone!  Today's post is really special to me because I've been keeping it a secret since last summer!  Last year, I was chosen by piCture pOlish to be part of their blogger collaboration project.  You may have already seen some of these shades.  In fact, mine was supposed to launch together with The PolishAholic, Samarium's Swatches, Pointless Cafe, and Sahrish Adeel back in January.  Unfortunately, my shade took some time to perfect, but we finally did it!

Butter London Two Fingered Salute

Hey all!  Just a quick swatch and review today, although this one deserves a lengthier post.  It's really gorgeous but I'm afraid my picture doesn't quite capture it.  I think it needs a reswatch in sunlight to show the shimmer better.

Butter London describes this as a "muted, patinaed green crème with copper microglitter."  If you're wondering what the name means it is "similar to 'giving the bird' in the States." :P  I think the color description is pretty accurate.  I remember another blogger describing the green as a sort of Statue of Liberty green, and I think that gives you a better image of the color.  I really love the copper/pink/gold glitter as well.  It's really fine, so it actually removes easily like shimmer rather than a glitter.  The formula is just as good as every other BL shade I've tried: creamy, flowy, and hassle-free.  I'm wearing three coats with top coat here.

Mine was purchased at Nordstrom for $14 and I believe it is a Nordstrom exclusive shade.  However, it's being sold on ButterLondon.com for $15, so it may have joined the permanent line.  BL seems to have also hiked up their prices this year by a dollar. :/

Oh, and just a reminder.  If you'd like to be featured in this Friday's FFAN post, please send in your pictures by Thursday night!  I only have one entry so far, so more would be welcome. x)  Entry guidelines (here).

That's it for today!

Liz

Butter London Wallis

Wallis, 2 coats: antique metallic olive gold.  First off, I love olive gold polishes.  I think they're great for fall, and they're one of my favorite colors to wear.  Wallis particularly got a lot of press last fall when they first came out, and I can see why.  I remember picking this up every time I went to Ulta and putting it back down.  I'm kind of glad now, since I was able to get it for way less than $14.  The formula is amazing and the coverage is great as well.  No complaints! :)

In case you're wondering about this polish's namesake, it's named after Wallis Simpson - an American socialite who created quite a stir in the UK.  She was married thrice, and her third husband was King Edward VIII, who actually abdicated his throne to marry her.  They were both suspected to be Nazi sympathizers during World War II, and there's even a picture of her being greeted by Adolph Hitler.  Not much is known about her life after the Duke of Windsor's death (King Edward VIII's title after the abdication), so she remains as a mysterious and controversial figure in British history.

What do you think of Wallis?  Do you own this polish?  Let me know in the comments!  Oh and if you're a fan of olive gold polishes, check out my other budget friendly favorite here.


Liz

Zoya Diva Collection for Fall 2012

Hello!  I was originally going to split this collection into two posts, but I decided swatch and edit everything today!  So here are my swatches for the whole collection. :)  (P.S. This is a picture heavy post).

Elisa, 2 coats: a classic red with slightly brighter shimmer.  Elisa had great pigmentation and flowed onto the nail easily.  It's not very unique, but it's pretty nonetheless.  I love the two-coat formula. :)

Zoya Designer Skittles: Part 2

Yesterday, I showed you the reds and purples from the Designer collection.  Today, I have the blues and greens. :)

Top to bottom: Natty, Noot, Evvie, Natty

Natty, 2 coats: a deep, faded blue.  It's "faded" in the sense that it has a touch of gray to it.  The formula was excellent.

Noot, 2 coats: a dark, cool-toned green.  In the shade it can look quite dark, but it's green enough that it doesn't look black.  Again, no problems with the formula.

Evvie, 2 coats: a grey-green creme.  The formula was smooth and creamy for Evvie as well.  So is this name supposed to be pronounced "eh-vie" or "eevee"?  For some reason, I can't help but think of this little guy when I see 'Evvie':

Anyway...!  Scroll down to see my final thoughts. :)

Verdict:  Overall, I feel that Zoya Designer is a very solid fall collection.  While I didn't dislike any of the colors from this set, the blue-lover in me favored Natty over the other two.  I found that all the colors from this collection had excellent formulas and yielded smooth, shiny finishes.  If your collection lacks any of these colors, I would suggest going with these! :)

Availability: Zoya.com at $8 each.

Liz

*The polishes reviewed in this post were sent to me for my honest review.
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Nicole by OPI 2012 Fall Shades: The Chromes

This fall Nicole by OPI came out with 5 Target exclusive fall shades.  Today I'll be showing you the two chromes in this collection. :)

Iris My Case, 3 coats:  a violet chrome with subtle golden-brown duochrome.  It starts out a little sheer, but reaches opacity in 3 coats.  I wasn't really wowed by this one, especially since the duochrome is oh so very slight.  My sister, however, loved it.

This is one of those polishes where you can see the duochrome much better in the bottle.

***

Mer-Maid For Each Other, 2 coats: light green chrome that shifts blue or gold.  I'll tell you right off the bat that this is not another Chanel Peridot dupe.  Rather, it seems to be the answer for those who found Peridot too yellow-gold for their taste.  While Peridot is predominantly gold, Mer-Maid For Each Other (wow that's long) is better categorized as a green polish.  It shifts a little gold as well, but the bigger shift is towards a gorgeous blue.

Verdict:  While I'm lukewarm about Iris My Case, I love Mer-Maid For Each Other; the former is barely a duochrome, while the latter is clearly a multichrome.  They are both minimally brushstroke-y, but nothing too distracting (think OPI Just Spotted the Lizard).

Where to buy:  Both shades are Target exclusive shades and retail for $7.04 each.

Liz

*The polishes reviewed in this post were sent to me for my honest review.

Cult Nails Toxic Seaweed

Hey all!  Today I have Cult Nails Toxic Seaweed for you!  I wish I could tell you how many coats this was, but  I can't remember.  I'm pretty sure it's either 3 or 4.  Isn't it gorgeous?  Toxic Seaweed is a dark green jelly that leans aqua in certain lightings.  I would say my pictures came out more aqua, but this is more green than blue.  Indoors it's definitely green, but outdoors it's like an aqua leaning green.  What makes Toxic Seaweed unique are the fine gold glitters and the red to green shifting flakies swimming in it.  It's a lot prettier than I expected, and I don't think my swatches or any I've seen online really do it justice.  It's a pity, because I feel like this one didn't get the attention it deserved.  I would say this is like China Glaze Atlantis's greener, more mysterious sister.  Although it's just as sparkly! :)



Blurred to show you how sparkly it is!



In the shade: look at the red-green shift in those flakies!



Shade; close up

Unfortunately, Toxic Seaweed was a limited edition shade, so it is no longer being sold on Cult Nails. :(

What do you think of Toxic Seaweed?  Were you able to get it?  Let me know in the comments! :)


Liz

China Glaze Cha Cha Cha

Cha Cha Cha, 3 coats: a green apple shade with yellow-green shimmer.  I think it's gorgeous!  I love how brilliant the shimmer looks in sunlight.  It's definitely a nice summer shade!

Well, that's all folks! :)


Liz

China Glaze Electric Pineapple

Electric Pineapple, 3 coats.  This is from China Glaze's 2011 summer collection.  To be honest, this was my least favorite from collection.  The formula requires a bit of work, and I personally don't care for these types of yellow-greens.  I would recommend using medium coats and a good top coat to smooth it out. 

I can see myself using this color for nail art, but not for a full mani.  Maybe it's worth another try?  Are you of fan of these yellow-greens?  Let me know in the comments! :)


Liz

Jeweled Bow Mani

Hey all!  It's now finals week for me, so you might not hear too much from me.  After finals, I'm graduating and moving back home!  Here's a simple mani I did using copper micro beads and silver rhinestones.  Sorry about the quality of my pics. >.<  My camera really stinks in low light, and it was cloudy when I took this.  This look was inspired by this mani from the March 2012 issue of Nail Up!

I wasn't in the mood for plaid/(tweed?) or nudes, so I simplified the look for my version and used bright colors to give the mani personality.

For this look I used Sinful Colors Grecian Sun (blue) and Love & Beauty Sage (blue-green).  I really love how the copper microbeads look against Sage!  I think I'm going to do this mani again next time when I have more time.  If you look closely you might have noticed that some of the copper color from the beads smeared onto my base color.  It wasn't as visible in real life, but that was a bit disappointing.  The color smeared off when I applied top coat.  I actually think this might have been my top coat's fault.  I dumped a little too much polish thinner into, and it's been giving me some trouble.  Last night I left it open for some time to thicken up a little.  Hopefully, that will solve the smearing problem!

What do you think?  Is this a look you would wear?  Let me know in the comments! :)


Liz

Love & Beauty Olive Gold...and a flakie?!

2-3 coats, Olive Gold.  Gah, I cannot get over these boring names Forever21 comes up with for their nail polish.  Sometimes they're even incorrect!  Not this time, thankfully.  Olive gold describes the polish pretty well.  It has a gorgeous dark olive base with orange-gold shimmer.  It looks gold from a distance, but if you look closely, you can see some of the orange.  I believe this was either 2 or 3 coats.  Overall, it's a super gorgeous polish!  I love wearing this one.  I bought mine from forever21.com, but it isn't there anymore. :(

What do you think?  I've yet to be disappointed by Love & Beauty.  They actually put out nice polishes, and the $2.80 price is not bad either.  I was just browsing through their latest selection of nail polishes online, and I came across this beauty!

 image from Forever21.com

Yes!  A flakie-glitter!  I would get it, but I don't have anything to buy from Forever21 right now.  Boo~  But if you're planning on shopping online, you might want to check this baby out. :)  Click on the picture to go the product page.  Hehe, you're welcome! ^^


Liz