Tag: Zoya

 
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Cherry Juice

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I’ve been scared of jellies for so long, but sometimes you just have to pull up your big girl britches and do it.

I was scared of how sheer and see-through they are…and how hard they are to apply. I never should have worried about that with Zoya “Paloma”a sheer deep fuchsia-berry with a buildable jelly gloss finish. FUCHSIA! It went on smoothly, without streaks. This is two coats and you can still see the nail line. It might take 3-4 coats to get absolute coverage. My one nitpick is that the polish immediately pulled away from the tips as I put on the top coat. I used Zoya Anchor and Zoya Armor, so next time I am going to try “HK Girl” to stop the dragging.

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Jawbreaker

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This milky, white beautifulness is Funky Fingers “Jawbreaker”. Doesn’t it look just like candy?

I started with Zoya Anchor Base Coat and then did 2 coats of “Jawbreaker”. It is a dense glitter – no fishing to get the big chunks. I topped with Zoya Matte Velvet Top Coat to bring out the layers.

Ignore my little nubbin fingernails. I had to trim them all – they were starting to peel.

I think “Jawbreaker” might be a dupe of China Glaze “It’s a Trap-eze”. I need to try it out and do a comparison.

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Goldfinger

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Goldfiiiingaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Sorry, I couldn’t resist. This is Zoya “Severine”…which confuses me, because “Severine” is from Skyfall, not Goldfinger. Whatever, Zoya. Get your Bond Girls right!

“Severine” is warm greenish gold from Peter Som’s NYFW14 show. I didn’t notice how green it was until my husband started arguing with me about it. He wins – it’s green. I got it back at the beginning of the year as a mystery trio from Zoya.

I did 2 coats of “Severine” with Zoya Anchor Base Coat and Armor Top Coat. I did get some bubbles, which is rare with Zoya, but is inevitable with foiled polishes.

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Cadbury Mini Eggs

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Cadbury Mini Eggs – that is what my nails look like!

I tried out Julep “Kimberly” last summer, and I thought to myself that I would pull it out next Easter – I am shocked that I remembered. Last time, I left it shiny, but I decided to use Zoya Matte Velvet Top Coat. Matte is SO much better suited to this polish.

“Kimberly” stuck well to Orly Bonder and I didn’t have any crinkles like I did last time. I’m getting pretty good at this…

NO MORE PURPLE – I’m purpled out.

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Just the Tip

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All matte polishes chip immediately – they just do.

Before I even went to bed Wednesday night, Charming Charlie “Magenta Me Crazy” had chipped on my right thumb. It was in a place that was already beginning to peel, so it was my fault for not trimming that nail, but still. The next night, I used Zoya Pixie Dust “Noir” to paint just the tips. It wasn’t an exact match, but it still looked pretty good, even if I do say so myself.

 

 

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Stunning

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Zoya “Binx” is one of the most stunning in Zoya’s lineup. Zoya describes “Binx” as a spicy orchid purple dappled with gold metallic and holo sparkles. It gives off a foil effect, but without the glare.

I started with Zoya Anchor. “Binx” is almost completely opaque in 2 coats. I topped with Zoya Armor. Armor dried slower than I would like, but it was faster than over a creme polish like “Lara”. OH! And did I mention that my “Lara” manicure was featured on Zoya’s website this week? I squealed when I found out!

What kind of name is “Binx” anyway? I googled and I came up with 2 options. Most of the results referred to a model named Binx Walton, currently in the news for bullying Kendall Jenner (Wahhhhh.) The rest were either about Binx, the talking cat from the movie Hocus Pocus or random shit. I really hope this polish is named after a talking cat and NOT a bitchy model.

 

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The Titular Polish

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Okay, I guess technically Zoya “Lara” isn’t named after me, but it might as well be – it’s the perfect pink.

I have a love/hate relationship with creme polishes. They look really good – if I can manage to keep them out of the crevices between my fingernail and finger skin – which I absolutely have not figured out how to do. The polish pools in the crevices and forms gross, crispy edges. I’ve definitely gotten better at it than I was a year ago, but I still struggle with the crevices. I cannot stand how some of the big time polish swatcher bloggers meticulously refuse to paint their entire nail – that’s cheating! A few millimeters of naked nail looks worse to me than a bad paint job. I don’t ever want to see naked nail!

 Off my soapbox…I used Zoya Anchor and Armor – it’s not a Quick Dry, so I had to lay in bed, absolutely still, for an extra hour watching TV – oh, the horror!

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Ch Ch Ch, Ah Ah Ah

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I was gonna do another Valentine’s Mani, but then I was like naw – it’s Friday the 13th!

After Sinful Colors Base Coat, I started with 2 coats of Sinful Colors “Tokyo Pearl”. I used my nifty chinese dotting tools to make little hockey masks. The black is Zoya “Willa” and the red is Sinful Colors “No Text Red”. I should have used a different red, like Zoya “Sooki”, because the Sinful Colors was too thin. I topped it with Glisten & Glow “HK Girl”. They turned out a heck of a lot better than my Freddy Krueger Nails!

How about those dia de los Muertes Converse? They’re my favorite shoes right now…

On a side note, when I finished my nails last night, I grabbed my socks to show my husband while he was brushing his teeth…he nearly choked to death – because he laughed at me. Apparently, matching fingernails and socks was too much for him to handle.

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Violet Candy

 

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Zoya “Leslie” looks like candy to me – like a dusty violet conversation heart or maybe even a grape sweet tart. It’s hard to see in the picture, but there’s a subtle blue shimmer.

Zoya describes “Leslie” as a soft spring lavender metallic with an energizing turquoise flash.

I started with Zoya Anchor, then two coats of “Leslie” and topped with Zoya Armor. I got a little bit of crispiness around my cuticles again. Blech.

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New Year, New Hue

I finally got my “New Year, New Hue” $15 Zoya deal in! Any three polishes for “free” with $15 shipping, plus 3 mystery minis that have never been available Retail. Zoya sure does have odd sales, but I’ll take it.

I picked out “Binx” – spicy orchid purple dappled with gold metallic and holo sparkles, “Lara” (finally, a polish with my name) – medium magenta-rose pink with subtle yellow undertone and a soft cream finish, and “Paloma” – sheer deep fuchsia-berry with a buildable jelly gloss finish. I totally pink-ed out.

My mystery minis were the Peter Som Collection from New York Fashion Week 2014“Anais” – black with a vein of the same warm pewter pigment running through it for a unique oil slick effect, “Severine” – warm pewter metallic, and “Charlotte”nude.

I’m gonna have some fun!