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Zoya Zenith Collection – Holiday & Winter 2013

Posted on 29 October, 201327 October, 2013 by Cynthia

On the heels of posting a Fall collection, today I have a Winter/Holiday collection for you. Now, I know you have probably seen about a gatrillion swatches of this collection, so bear with me: you haven’t seen this collection on MY nails and we all know my nails are special. I mean, look at them: they are long and squared and they grow out of my fingers! I mean, really—I must be the only one, right? Oh, I’m not? You mean everyone has nails? Pfft…fine. Just indulge me then and let’s take a look at the Zoya Zenith Collection for Winter 2013.

I don’t know what it is with me and blues lately, but I just can’t get enough of them. Zoya Dream is a bright jelly based blue with a crapton of scattered holographic particles. I love how the holo looks suspended in this base! It’s a little thin so I had to apply two thick coats to build up the opacity.

I know what you’re thinking: is that you, Aurora? Uhm, no, it is not. Zoya Payton does have a few things in common with Aurora, but the base color on Payton is a lot darker. Dark purple/burgundy with scattered holographic glitter? Yes, please! I can totally get on board with this beauty. The formula is also thinner on this one since it is a jelly, but it does build up easily—just make sure you give it enough dry time in between coats.

Are you a purple lover? I am! However, I didn’t find Zoya Belinda that exciting to tell you the truth. Maybe it’s because it has a metallic finish and I am a total hater when it comes to that finish. Who knows? The formula on Belinda was surprisingly thin for such a dark color. It was bald spot central so I ended up applying 3 thin coats to make sure I had complete coverage.

Zoya Mosheen. Bar glitter. Barf City. Just say no.

Since I hate anything with a metallic/foil finish, it should come as no surprise that I did not like Zoya Cassedy. Look, it’s not that I think it is ugly…it’s just ugly on me. When I swatched this one, I immediately thought of Frosso since she loves everything gunmetal. The formula on Cassedy is actually pretty great. It’s thick so it gives you a lot of control and it’s super opaque which means that it is a happy one coater. If you like this finish, I’m pretty sure you will like this polish.

Ok, I don’t know what’s wrong with me lately, but I’m liking things I would normally hate. When I first looked at this collection, I immediately declared that Mosheen, Cassedy and Seraphina were barf central and I would hate them. Well, that applied to Mosheen and Cassedy, but I actually ended up liking Zoya Seraphina! I don’t know if the fact that it doesn’t look that metallic-y saved it, but I quite liked how it looked on my nails. The formula is a little thin so I applied 3 coats for full coverage.

Well, there you have it: my psychotic thoughts on the Zoya Zenith Collection. I am not a person who particularly likes holidays, but being that we are nearing that time of the year, I always remember all my dumb childhood stories. I was always such an imaginative kid, and I actually CONVINCED MYSELF that I had seen Santa Claus. It all started out with me deliberately making up a story about Santa coming to my house and I told it with such fervor to my 1st grade class, that the lines between made up and reality blurred and I believed my own story! Now I’m starting to think that the whole “I was abducted by aliens” story may not be real either. Oh well, whatcha gonna do about that?

This collection is available now to be purchased so open up those wallets (which are probably permanently open if you’re a polish nut). To stay up to date on everything Zoya, make sure that you follow them on their website, Facebook, twitter and instagram. Let me know what you think about this collection: do you like it? Does it give you the warm and fuzzies in your lacquered heart? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will catch you later.

LVX Fall 2013 Collection

Posted on 28 October, 201327 October, 2013 by Cynthia

Fall? What’s that? Hello, California—can you please get with it already and stop with the 70-80 degree weather? I really don’t appreciate you forcing me into wearing flip flops and t-shirts instead of sweaters and coats when November is right around the corner. We might be getting rain today and tomorrow, but all that means is that we will have 2 “cool” days followed by more heat. Oh wait…rain means I don’t have to feel guilty about not washing Basil for the last 2 weeks…and by Basil, I mean my car which is in need of a good scrub down. I’ll never let it get to the point where someone writes “WASH ME” onto the coat of dirt, but he’s getting to the crusty point of no return. I’m sorry, Basil! One way or the other, you will get clean—let’s just hope mother nature takes care of it for me.

So, I’ve been mentioning that I’ve been doing a lot of swatching lately and by a lot I mean that my fingers and nails are feeling a little bit like a nice carpaccio. I’ve finished most of my swatching which includes about 30 polishes, and I still have 8 more to go before I’m completely caught up. In the meantime, I’m sure I’ll amass a few more so I better get to it. Today I have something to share with you that makes me weak in the knees in the best possible way (although it could also be my arthritis brought on by old age). If you are a crème lover, you are going to fall in love with the LVX Fall 2013 Collection. Seriously, don’t try to resist the urge to buy every single one of these because resistance is futile when you are confronted with the glossy and buttery goodness of a kick ass crème. Don’t believe me? Let’s take a look at these beauties.

Have you had enough of dark and mysterious navy hues? I sure haven’t! LVX Azzurrum is yet another fall appropriate navy blue that won’t disappoint. It’s not blackened to the point that you stop seeing the blue in this polish so you don’t have to worry about lighting and such. It’s a very saturated color so you will only need two coats for full opacity.

This.Is.Gorgeous. This beautiful and smoky emerald is the dream come true of every teal/green/emerald lover. Not only is LVX Viridis incredibly bright and pigmented, but it applies like a dream. It is almost a one coater, and it dries super shiny which only makes it even more gorgeous.

I really enjoy vampy shades like LVX Dahlia, but I felt that it was deceptively thin. I figured that such a dark color wouldn’t need more than two coats, but I ended up having to apply a thick third coat to even out the color. I think that the main problem came from not giving it enough time between coats as I found it was super easy to create bald spots. The more I look at it, the more this reminds me of a really luscious bbq sauce. Yum!

LVX Relique is definitely a color that I love in every possible version out there. This color took me back to when we all went wild for OPI Metro Chic. I also treasure my bottle of Channelsque because it’s in the same vein. This color was very pigmented, and I actually got away with one thicker coat. Me likey. Me likey a lot.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t think that LVX Cliquot looks very rosy. It could be that my skin tone makes it look a little different, but this definitely looks more peachy to me. It’s a pretty color that I wouldn’t normally gravitates towards, but I can totally see this looking fabulous on lighter skin tones. Since this is a lighter color, I did find it a little streaky after the first coat, but it evened out nicely with a second coat.

Ahhhh! This was a definite surprise. LVX Cashmere is such a delicate light grey that I feel really pops against my skin. It has this dusty quality to it that makes it look so unique. I always love painting my nails in light colors so this is a great option when I’m not looking for just a super bright white. You may remember that LVX Fantom is my favorite white of all time so you know that when a company makes a good white crème, they know what they are doing. I applied 3 thin coats of Cashmere to even it out since it did apply a bit streaky.

Unless you’ve skipped my entire review, you probably already know that I freaking love this collection. There is nothing revolutionary about the palette here, but there is nothing better than a fantastic crème in my book and boy does LVX know how to make crèmes that will blow your socks off. If you’re interested in picking up any of these colors, you can purchase them at the LVX website where they retail for $16 per .5oz bottle. For more information on LVX, you can follow them on their website, facebook, twitter and instagram. Thanks so much for catching up with me today, and I will talk to you soon!

OPI Pink Of Hearts Duo

Posted on 27 October, 201327 October, 2013 by Cynthia

Happy Sunday mah peeps. Despite having to be up at 5 am for work, I’m feeling kind of jolly. That’s not a word that I use often, but I am just feeling like things are good right now. Of course all it will take is one bad thing to completely derail my good mood, but that’s just how I’ve always been: moody with a capital M. These past few days I have done an insane amount of swatching so I have a lot of stuff to show you in the following week so I hope you stop by. I haven’t posted too much about Breast Cancer Awareness month since I tend to dislike the commercial aspect of it all, but that doesn’t mean that we should just completely ignore it either. I hope that all the talk about this terrible disease prompts all of us to do self exams since early detection is so important. Today I’m going to show you a pretty new set: The OPI Pink of Hearts Duo for 2013.

This pretty set comes with two polishes: one crème and one glitter and also includes some rhinestones and some stickers so you can totally bedazzle your manicure. Let’s take a look at the two polishes in this set.

First up is OPI Pink-ing Of You. What a pretty pink, right? It’s bright and sweet and totally NOT me, but I still like it. The formula is nice and smooth, but it definitely requires at least 3 coats to get good even coverage.

When I first saw this glitter, I’m not gonna lie: I was excited. Excited in the way only a polish freak can be excited about glitter. OPI More Than A Glimmer is simply beautiful. It’s not a polish that I wanted to wear on its own so I decided to apply it over Pink-ing Of You. You can definitely wear it on its own—you would just have to do some dabbing to get even glitter coverage. I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been a fan of matte glitter so this totally hit the spot.

Pink of Hearts 2013 will be available September and October 2013 at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, jcp Salons, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, ULTA and ulta.com for $15.95 ($19.95 CAN) suggested retail. For all up to date OPI info, make sure that you follow them on their website, Facebook and Twitter.

Well, I hope all is well with you and that you’re enjoying your Sunday. Thanks so much for always stopping by to catch up with my latest craziness and talk to you soon!

P.S. Have you entered my giveaway? NO! Why not??? Enter here.

P.P.S. Uhm, check out my blog sale cause I have tons of new stuff in there. Click here to check it all out. You won’t be disappointed!

Essie Encrusted Treasures Collection – Holiday 2013

Posted on 26 October, 2013 by Cynthia

Yay it’s Saturday which means that I have slept in until 8 am and it felt DELICIOUS. I am happy to report that after sleeping for 7-7.5 hours each night, I don’t feel completely horrible the next morning so I think that I have found my ideal amount of sleep. I know I have heard people say that it’s possible to oversleep which then makes you feel tired and sluggish, and I think that was happening to me. Anyway, I’m feeling less exhausted in the morning so I hope that continues to work well for me. Another thing I’m excited about today is finally getting my hands on the Essie Encrusted Treasures Collection! I don’t know why I’ve been so obsessed with getting this collection, but I think it’s mainly because I thought it was so hideous that I couldn’t wait to try it out. Does that sound weird? Well, let’s take a look at the Essie Crusty…errr…Essie Encrusted Treasures Collection.

Essie On A Silver Platter is a gold/silver glitter bomb with blue glitter of various sizes. The application is challenging because it’s hard to use this on its own and get even coverage. This could look interesting layered.

Essie Hors D’Oeuvres is another gold/silver glitter bomb that I didn’t care much for either. There is a very cool multi-dimensional feeling to this polish but I just don’t like anything this metallic.

The glitter in Essie Ignite The Night is a lot more fine than in the 2 previous polishes so I like this one slightly better. The formula and application was a lot easier on this one because it was a lot easier to get full coverage. Still, I’m not really a fan, but I can definitely see people liking the look of this polish.

I know that I’ve said a million times how much I hate bar glitter, so imagine my surprise when I kind of liked Essie Peak Of Chic. I don’t know it it’s the holographic bar glitter combined with matte white bar glitter, but I really like how this turned out. The application is pretty typical for bar glitter in that you have to do a lot of dabbing to get the glitter where you want it.

And here is the polish that started my obsession with this collection. Essie Belugaria is one unique polish–I can give it that. This is a textured polish on crack! Not only does it have that black grainy textured finish, but it also has holographic hex glitter that really pops at certain angles. The application is kind of a nightmare because it’s so chunky that you have to use a dabbing method. I applied one coat and then had to dab the second coat on to fill in any bald spots. I know what you’re thinking, but I actually really like this. If you are totally OCD about a rough finish, I cannot recommend this polish because it will probably drive you nuts.

And for the star of this collection, this is Essie Lots Of Lux. The blue. The sparkle. Be still my beating heart. This is without a doubt the most gorgeous polish that Essie has put out all year. I am a huge fan of blue polishes in general so this one really blew me away. Not only is the color amazingly bright and bold, but it is also a breeze to apply. The formula is very dense so it is easy to control, and it spreads evenly without much effort. If there is one polish that you must get from this collection, it is this one. Now. Don’t wait.

I feel a wave of relief now that I have gotten to play with this collection. Yes, I know that sounds a little psychotic, but I think this is pretty normal when you’re dealing with a polish obsession. Do I have any final thoughts on this collection? Overall I feel it has a lot of originality and is bold. My favorites are Lots Of Lux, Belugaria and Peak Of Chic…the other three can be banished as they don’t interest me in the least bit. What about you? What do you think about these? I know Belugaria is very polarizing so I am wondering what you think about it and about the collection as a whole. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I hope you are enjoying your Saturday.

The Devil Wears Polish New Linear Holos

Posted on 25 October, 2013 by Cynthia

Does polish make you happy? Today I went on a complete polish binge and bought 18 new bottles of polish even though I have received 15 bottles for review in the last 2 days. No, I’m not trying to brag–I am just trying to explain the level of my depravity. It usually backfires because once the high of buying so much stuff goes away, I end up feeling really bad about myself for trying to fix all the shitty stuff in my life with stuff I don’t really need–namely polish. I guess it’s a good thing that it’s polish and not crack although they seem to have the same effect. You want to know what I do love? I love how polish brings so many of us together. I’ve met so many awesome ladies through this blog and hobby so I wouldn’t give that up for anything. I am also so happy when I see a brand start up from day one like I have seen with The Devil Wears Polish. Tami is such a character, and I always enjoy her rants and raves because she is just very genuine. She is always working on new things, and today I have some holo awesomeness to show you.

The Devil Wears Polish Paint It Black is probably the darkest and most saturated black holo in my stash. I can tell you that the holo is much more pronounced in sunlight so I’m sad that my lighting doesn’t show it at its best. The formula was a tad thick, but that did not present any application issues. It was so saturated that it’s almost a one-coater which is awesome!

I was seriously drooling when I first saw The Devil Wears Polish A Nice Chianti because this color is just so rich and amazing. It made me think of the first time I went to Italy and all the wine my best friend and I had at dinner. This color is just sumptuous and look at the beautiful holo! Again, the formula on this one is fabulous and very opaque. It dries a little dull so I do recommend a shiny top coat which fortunately does not affect the holo effect.

Tami also sent me a sample of one of the chrome polishes that she has been working on. I always have a really hard time photographing anything that is duo or multi-chrome. This particular polish flashes pink, orange and gold depending on the angle. The formula felt very sheer on this one and it was a little difficult to build up so I had to apply 3 thickish coats.

If you love beautiful holos and fun glitter creations, I definitely recommend checking out The Devil Wears Polish. Make sure that you follow Tami on Facebook and her shop on Storenvy for updates on restocks and new creations. I don’t normally post so late in the day, but I’ve been swatching all afternoon and couldn’t wait to share these with you. I have so much new stuff to share in the next week that I am bursting with excitement! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

CrowsToes Tiki Torch

Posted on 22 October, 201321 October, 2013 by Cynthia

No, your eyes are not deceiving you. You are actually seeing something somewhat bird related on my blog. Ok, let me tell you about this polish: my lovely friend Lesley sent it to me for my birthday and I know she really put some thought into her choices. She knows how much I hate anything even remotely hinting at our feathered friends, but I think it might have slipped her mind because she was blinded by the awesomeness of CrowsToes Tiki Torch. She also knows that I have unparalleled easy access to most salon brands so she really picked out some indie winners. I feel that I am still sorely lagging when it comes to reviewing indies so I am hoping that I am able to improve on that. My main thing about indies is that I refuse to deal with purchasing hassles. Every time I see the madness that ensues during certain restocks, I just want to say:

If I have to get all Hunger Games on someone in order to secure a bottle of polish, I’d rather pet a cactus. Until the madness dies down, I won’t be purchasing certain brands–especially not the ones that continue to perpetuate the rabid culture of polish scalping. Anyway, I’m going off on a tangent so let’s get back to the pretty at hand: CrowsToes Tiki Torch.

This is Tiki Torch over LCN Liz. OH MYLANTA! Seriously, how gorgeous is this? I realized very quickly that Tiki Torch is a very sheer jelly so I decided to apply it over a darker base in order to eliminate the need for 4-5 coats. Out in the sun, this beauty sparkles like unicorn farts on a sunny day. It’s so beautiful I was staring at my nails obsessively as I drove…which I do not recommend unless you want to get into a car accident.

This polish was part of the One Mad, Crazy Summer Collection and should still be available at various etailers. If you’re interested in getting this or other lovely CrowsToes creations, be sure to check out their blog for a list of online shops carrying this line. I’ve got to say that I am kind of super deluxe loving this baby, and I can’t wait to try the other one. Thanks again, Lesley for such an awesome present. Now, let’s indulge in some innocent enabling: what other CrowsToes polishes can you recommend? I’m going to start making a list and checking it twice…yeah, right…there will be no checking involved. That’s just how I roll. Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

LCN Charade Collection – Fall 2013

Posted on 21 October, 201320 October, 2013 by Cynthia

I feel like I was born old. Even as a kid, I gravitated towards watching older films. I loved the old Hollywood films with their smoky and dramatic allure and don’t even get me started on the leading men: Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, Clark Gable…ahhh, be still my beating heart! Along with the leading men of that time, the leading ladies epitomized the definition of beauty, mystery and allure. The collection I have for you today draws its inspiration from some of the loveliest actresses of their time: Rita Hayworth, Audrey Hepburn, Liz Taylor and Marilyn Monroe. Let’s take a look at the LCN Charade Collection for Fall 2013.

LCN Audrey which is a beautiful olive green with gold shimmer. I was a total sad panda when I realized that the gold shimmer isn’t very visible on the nail, but you can still catch a fleck here and there. The formula on this polish is great as it is creamy and pigmented so 2 coats were enough for full opacity.

What is your Tiffany’s?

LCN Rita is a lovely gold-leaning yellow. As you may know, I do love yellow polish so I am always excited to add another shade to my collection. I always start out with trepidation when trying a new yellow polish because as we all know, the formula on yellows is known to be problematic. I was pleasantly surprised by the formula on Rita. While it’s not perfect as it is a little streaky after the first coat, a second coat perfectly evens it out.

Wasn’t she just incredibly gorgeous?

Next up we have LCN Marilyn. This is another great LCN crème that is highly pigmented and super smooth with a crazy amount of shine. The formula is also great on this one and it could be a one coater with careful application.

And who could ever forget the most iconic Marilyn clip?

Liz Taylor was a timeless beauty, and I actually got to see and meet her! It’s a weird feeling to see such an icon in real life! LCN Liz is a gorgeous berry creme—you all know how I feel about crèmes. Application was a breeze as the formula is a buttery dream.

If you’ve never seen this movie, what are you waiting for? Liz was amazing in this!!!

I also got a chance to use the Ultra Fast Dry Coat and it worked like a charm to add even more shine to my mani and it was dry in about a minute. I always love these small but gorgeous collections that LCN puts out. All of these colors were great to work with, and I love the inspiration. Each polish in the LCN Charade Collection retails for $7.50 and they are available now at the LCN Boutique. Be sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to stay up to date on all of their announcements. Let me know what you think of this collection–any favorites? Thanks for stopping by today!

Sation You’re My Lacquer Charm

Posted on 20 October, 2013 by Cynthia

Happy Sunday my peeps. I’m still not used working on Sundays so I’m so irritated about having to wake up at 5 am today, but I’m starting to think that I have found my perfect sleep amount: 7.5 hours. I think that if I sleep more or if I sleep less, I wake up felling shitastic. I’m going to try to sleep these hours for the next week and see if that makes a difference in how much I want to stab myself when I have to wake up in the morning. Since it’s kinda freaking hot today, I decided to show you a nice neon that I tried out. Let’s take a look at Sation You’re My Lacquer Charm.

Sation You’re My Lacquer Charm made my camera go completely bonkers and makes my skin look extra tan. While this polish looks very peachy here, it’s actually more pink than peach, and it has a really beautiful shimmer that is more apparent in sunlight. It’s pretty darn bright so I definitely consider it a neon. The formula is a little streaky so I needed three coats to really smooth it out and get full coverage. This polish is part of the LE Candylandia Collection, but it is still readily available.

So there you have it. What do you have on your nails today? Thanks for stopping by, and I will talk to you soon!

Dare To Wear Night At The Cinema

Posted on 19 October, 201319 October, 2013 by Cynthia

You know when you wake up with a son stuck in your head? This morning I woke up completely obsessing over Hotel Song by Regina Spektor. I went around singing it all morning while I swatched a bunch of polishes. Then I was trying to figure out what movie to watch on Netflix and I settled on Friends With Kids and something weird happened: Hotel Song was on the movie’s soundtrack! The movie was pretty good and now I’m still singing Hotel Song. That’s weird, right? Anyway, if you’re not familiar with this song, take a listen because Regina Spektor is freaking amazing.

The polish I have for you today is another beauty from Le Chat Dare To Wear which is quickly becoming a brand I’m super impressed with and that I will hunt down every chance I get. Let’s take a look at my swatches of Dare To Wear Night At The Cinema.

Dare To Wear Night At The Cinema is dark plum/raisin colored polish with copious amounts of pink/purple glitter that really pops against the darker base. The contrast gives this polish the look of almost glowing from within. I absolutely love this!!!! The formula was ok…it felt thin at first, but it was very easy to build up. I ended up applying 3 thin coats for my swatches because I wanted even glitter coverage.

I am seriously excited about getting my hands on more polishes from this brand because they are like little hidden gems. I know this brand can be a little difficult to find in retail locations as I have only seen them in random beauty supply stores, but they seem to be pretty easy to purchase online. Even better, they are way economical so you don’t have to feel guilty about buying ALL THE THINGS. If I remember correctly, I got this one on sale and it was under $3. What a steal, right? I hope you like this polish as much as I do, and I apologize if you now must get it. I know enabling is a specialty of mine so I’d like to say I’m sorry to your wallet in advance–well, not really because your nails will thank me. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I hope that you’re enjoying your weekend.

Sation Let’s Mingle & Jingle

Posted on 18 October, 201318 October, 2013 by Cynthia

Ok, I’m super excited that it is Friday because that means that I have tomorrow off and I can be semi-lazy once I get my laundry, cleaning and errands done. Uhm, ok, that doesn’t sound like a lazy day, but that’s what happens when you only have one weekend day off. I sort of had a total womp, womp day today because I was super excited about getting out of work today and going to pick up a bottle of Tom Ford Black Sugar and the Essie Encrusted Treasures Collection. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get either so here I am totally disappointed. Polish disappointment is the worst. Fortunately, I had some awesome nail mail waiting for me at home so at least my Friday was salvaged. Polish to the rescue! The polish I have to share with you today is Sation Let’s Mingle & Jingle. Let’s take a look at it.

This is Sation Let’s Mingle & Jingle and yes, it is gorgeous. This polish was part of Sation’s 2012 Holiday Collection called Holiday Golightly and sadly it is discontinued, but I think there is still stock available at various etailers. The sapphire blue base is deceptively thin at the first coat, but it does build up nicely so you should get good coverage with two coats.

While I was writing up this post, I was catching up on last night’s episode of Scandal. HOLY CRAP. OMG I love this show. I have such a soft spot for Huck and I am totally in love with Noel…I mean, Jake! Scott Foley will always be Noel to me. Remember how amazing he was in Felicity? Speaking of old shows, do you guys remember a show called Relativity? It was with Kimberly Williams and she played an American student who went to Rome and met another American student there who then followed her back home? I loved that show and then it got cancelled. Le pooh. Anyway, I’m totally talking about random crap so I’ll stop now. Let me know what you think about this polish: do you like it or not? Do you think it’s too early to start talking about holiday polishes? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.