Fun with Zoya

Hey Guys!
So today's post is my messing around with some new zoya polishes that I ordered online.  These are definitely some of the best ones I've used from this brand.  Hope y'all enjoy!

The color on my ring finger is Zoya  Magical PixieDust in Cosmo, and the rest of the fingers have Zoya Blu.  Cosmo is definitely my favorite of the PixieDust line.  It is mostly silver glitter with other colors and holographics throughout.  I like that there is a combination of big and small glitter, yet it's not as rough or sharp as the first round of the OPI liquid sand ones which were the same kind of deal.  It takes a few coats to get the glitter solid, but it looks beautiful once you build it up.  Blu is a great, solid baby blue.  I've really been into light, creme finish polishes lately, and this one definitely fits the bill!  I used two coats out of habit, but I probably could have gotten away with one.  I also really like the way that these two polishes go together.  Cosmo makes a great accent nail!  I have really grown to love Zoya as a brand, and I can't wait to try more!

I hope y'all enjoyed this post, and please feel free to leave comments below on other posts you like to see.  Have a Marvelous Monday!
~ Mary Elizabeth 

Zoya Color2014 Swatches!

Hey Everyone!
Many of you may know that during January Zoya did a promotion where you pay shipping and choose three nail polishes for free.  I apologize for not posting about it, but obviously I did an awful job of keeping up with the blog over the break.  Anyway, I wanted to show y'all some swatches of what I got.  I don't do very many swatch posts because I don't buy nail polish very often anymore, but I am going to try to swatch when I do buy.  I apologize for the photo quality.  I have the worst natural light in my room due to the winter conditions.  I used two coats in every picture.  Hope y'all enjoy!

 This first polish I got is Heather.  This is a light grey-ish purple creme shade with the teensiest bit of shimmer.  I really like this color because it is subtle and appropriate for just about any occasion.  The consistency is a little on the thin side but fairly easy to work with. 

 This polish is called Elodie.  It is a gelly consistency coral color.  This one was a bit of a disappointment.  I was hoping for a bit more opacity, but it's still a pretty color.  I might try this one over a white base and see what happens.

Before I continue I just want to apologize for the crappy pictures of this one.  I was struggling to take the photo with my left hand.  Anyway this one is called Vanessa.  This is a purple toned red.  I have been after this one for quite some time.  This one has a slightly gelly consistency also, but it's much more solid color.  I really enjoy this one.  I haven't worn it for an extensive period of time yet, but I have high hopes for it :)
I hope y'all enjoyed this post, and I hope to have some valentine's day looks this week.  Have a wonderful Wednesday!
~ Mary Elizabeth

My First Indie Polishes!

Hey everyone!
I finally bought my first indie polishes!  My roommate introduced me to these, and I am so excited! I bought two polishes from LynBDesigns on Etsy.  The main reason I bought these is because they are Princess Bride themed.  The Princess Bride is one of my favorite movies of all time.  That is one of those movies that I never get tired of.  Anyway, the colors are absolutely gorgeous, and the names simply make me giddy :)  Hope you Enjoy!

 Here's what the bottles themselves look like.  How cute!  The collection is called Dweam Wiffin a Dweam, which is pretty much the best name ever.

 The first polish is called The Spaniard.  It is a sheer sliver with large particles of white glitter.  This is a beautiful color that would look gorgeous on top of other colors.  For the photos I used two coats, but I think it would take three to get a really solid color.  I think this is really pretty, but the formula took a little more effort to work with than I usually like.  Still totally worth it though!

 Now this is the polish that I was the most excited for.  This one is called It's Inconceivable.  It is a glitter polish with lots of blue, purple, red, and silver glitter.  Again, I used two coats for these photos.  This one really only needs two coats to be solid.  I can't wait to try this out over some other polishes!  I am absolutely satisfied with the way this one turned out, and I can't wait to see what all I can do with it.
I hope y'all enjoyed this, and I hope to be getting some more indies soon to review.  I am glad to say that I will be doing lots of posts this summer, so I hope you will return soon to see what i've got for you :) Have a tremendous Thursday!
~ Mary Elizabeth

Swatch Spam!

Hey there!
Today I am kind of going through my archive of swatches and talking about the polishes that I swatched and took pictures of but never posted about.  I have to let y'all know that my posts will be mainly older nail art things for a while.  This is due to the fact that I broke the nail on my middle finger this week.  Not just a little crack.  Half the nail is gone.  I won't be painting that nail for a while, so I won't be able to swatch for a while.  Anyway, on to the post!

 First,we have OPI Brand New Skates.  This is from a really old holiday collection.  It is a dark grey with multicolored sparkles.  I think this a pretty color, but the formula is a little thin for my taste.  It took a good two/three coats to get the solid color in the picture.  I added little snowflakes in the corner with my Kiss glitter polish.

 Next up, Essie Leading Lady.  This is from the 2012 Holiday collection.  It is a red with red glitter.  I like this one because it is a darker red.  Bright reds don't really work on my skin tone.  I also like that the glitter is not as hard to get off as most glitters. I used two coats for this swatch.

 This one is Butter London Dodgy Barnett. It is a silver holographic.  What I like about this polish is that it is it is holographic but not too linear.  I find that sometimes super linear holos can get a little distracting.  The downside to this one is that it takes about three coats to get a solid color.  It is beautiful, and definitely worth getting!

Last but not least, Zoya Charla.  This is a beautiful turquoise color with green shimmer. I love this color! This is the kind of color that I am always reaching for in stores.  The only downside to this one is that it stained my nails a bit when I took it off.  Other than that I had no problems with this polish.  I used two coats for these pictures.

So that's it for my first swatch spam! I hope y'all enjoyed, and have a terrific Tuesday!
~ Mary Elizabeth

Nail Essentials Updated

Hey Guys!
I totally just realized today that I have been blogging for a whole year! So in order to celebrate, I thought I would redo one of my first blog posts ever: my nail essentials.  If you want to take a look at the original post, click here.  The things I use to take care of my nails have changed since then, and I think it would be good to update my post about them.

 First off, the products I use to keep my hands moisturized.  For my cuticles I use the Smith's Rosebud Salve.  I got mine at Sephora, but I'm pretty sure you can get at least a similar product at Bath and Body Works.  You can use this on other dry areas such as your lips and elbows and such, but I just use it for my cuticles.  This is a nice creamy product that moisturizes my cuticles like a dream.  It can get a little sticky, so apply it before my lotion.  The lotion I use is L'Occitane Creme Mains hand cream.  I like that it keeps my hands moisturized without being greasy.  The only caveat: it kinda smells like bug spray.  I can get over that though :) In late October when it began getting cold where I go to college, my hands got super dry, and my cuticles freaked out! I was getting hangnails left and right.  These products helped me get my hands back to normal.

 The nail polish remover I have been using is the CVS regular polish remover.  I like this one in particular because it seems to take off my nail polish more quickly.  Plus the smell is not as bad as most of the remover I have used.  I never go to fancy with my nail polish remover because I am just not willing to pay the money for the OPI or Zoya ones.  The cheap drugstore ones seem to work just fine for me. 

 Now, on to base coat.  I have been using the Sally Hansen Salon Manicure base coat.  I have mainly been using this one because I ran out of my OPI one and needed a new base coat, so I got this one in a pinch.  It works pretty well.  I like the smooth base it gives, however it seems to peel a little more than the OPI.

 For top coat I have been using Sally Hansen Insta-dri anti chip top coat.  I like this because it drys quickly while still giving a shiny finish to the nails.  It's also a lot cheaper than the Seche Vite top coat. 

I have found that for nail clippers, straight clippers are the way to go.  I am not positive what brand these are, but I love them! I have noticed that curved nail clippers tend to cut my nails too short.  The straight ones just give me more control.

One thing that I don't have a picture of that I use in my nail care is a glass file.  I don't have a picture because I recently broke mine.  That's what happens when you drop a glass file on tile dorm floor.  Anyway, I find that a glass file makes my nails peel less than a normal emery board.

I hope this was informational for you, and happy one year blogiversary (close enough anyway)!  Have a top notch Tuesday!
~ Mary Elizabeth

Shimmering Summer

Hey there!
So today's post is about a polish that I have been obsessed with lately: OPI Happy Anniversary.  I have had a hard time finding this one in the past, but the other day I was in my grocery store and found it in the beauty section.  I personally think that is an incredibly odd place to find a polish, but I'll take what I can get :)  This is a fantastic polish for layering over solid, creme polishes.  One thing I really like is that it works with all different colors.  As you will see in the pictures, there are lots of combinations to try.

 This is Happy Anniversary over China Glaze For Audrey.  I like that it lightened it a little.  This is what I had on my nails for graduation :)

 This is Happy Anniversary over OPI Alpine Snow.  By itself Alpine Snow is very messy looking, but with a little cleanup and this awesome polish, a pearly finish is the result.
Overall I absolutely love this polish!  It is a great way to transform an ordinary creme finish polish.  I have been using this one all the time, and I know it will continue to be a favorite.  I hope y'all enjoyed this post, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
~ Mary Elizabeth

Essie Summer Polishes

Happy Saturday!
  I hope your summer is off to a fabulous start! Today I will be reviewing the two polishes I picked up from Essie's summer collection. I am really excited about this collection, and I hope you enjoy!

 This first one is Bikini So Teeny.  This one is my favorite of the two that I bought.  It is a light, bright periwinkle color.  I like the formula of this because it isn't a streaky as a lot of Essie polishes, especially after the second coats.  I also like that is makes my white self look a little tanner :) It definitely takes two coats to make it solid.

This one is called Mojito Madness.  This is the color that I really wanted, but I ended up liking Bikini So Teeny better.  It is a really gorgeous Kelly green color.  This color is currently in my toes.  I was hoping it would be a little brighter, but it is still a very pretty color.  It only takes one coat to get a solid color, but I used two just to be sure. 

Overall, I really like these colors!  I plan to wear them a good bit this summer.  These would be really useful for creating designs.  I hope to get some more from this collection soon; these were just the ones that really stuck out to me.  I am always attracted to greens, so Mojito Madness was kind of a given :).  I hope you enjoyed this post, and I definitely recommend you pick up this collection.  I have a few new posts planned for this week, so keep an eye out! Have a fantastic Father's Day!
~ Mary Elizabeth

My New Obsession: Holographic!

Hello Everyone!
I hope you are having a lovely week.  I am officially done with high school, and I am so excited!  Not only does this mean that I am heading off to college soon, but it also means that I will have more time to blog over the summer!  I can't wait to get more cute nail looks out to y'all.  Anyway, today's post is about a super cool new nail polish I got at Ulta the other day.  It is a really cool holographic.  One thing I have noticed is that good holos are really hard to find, and when you do find them they are really expensive.  Layla Holographic Effects, however, is available at Ulta for $15.  I know that may sound like a lot, but compared to polishes that you have to order online, that's not bad. The color I got is called Mercury Twilight.  I also bought the little buffer thing that they tell you to buy.  It was only like $2, so i didn't mind.  Anyway, I did a little experiment to determine whether you really need that little buffer thing.

So for this little experiment I used a different technique on each finger.  On my index finger I just buffed my nail with the little buffer thing and applied the polish.  On my middle finger I used the buffer and a base coat.  On my ring finger I used nothing; no base coat or buffing.  On my pinky I used just a base coat.  And finally, on my thumb I used just the buffer, applied the polish, and used a top coat.  All fingers have two coats of polish.  I think, based on the pictures, it's pretty obvious that just using the little buffer thing and not applying a top coat worked best.  All the other methods were clumpy, streaky, and not worth trying.  If you decide to get this polish from Ulta, definitely get the buffer.

So here's what the polish looks like in the sunlight.  It is absolutely AMAZING!  I love the fact that it is a silver, but there are also lots of other colors embedded in it.  There are two downsides though.  1. Because using a topcoat will take away from the holo, it chips pretty quickly.  This was a little disappointing, but it isn't bad enough to make me not use it.  2. I kept getting really distracted by the fact that my nails kept changing color.  This isnt a huge deal, but it's something to keep in mind.  Overall I really like these, and I plan to buy other colors.  I hope y'all enjoyed this post, and have a terrific Thursday!
~ Mary Elizabeth

Review: Sally Hansen Insta-dri

Hey everyone!

I hope you all had a great week!  So today I am going to review a polish I picked up yesterday: Sally Hansen Insta-dri.  

The color I chose was Silver Sweep.  I chose this color because I ran out of my favorite silver, Sally Hansen Celeb City.  Also, I heard that these polishes are really good for stamping, so I figured silver would be a good color to start with.  Overall I really like this polish.  It went on very opaquely.  In the picture above, I only used one coat.  Ordinarily I would use two coats even if it really only needs one, but i didn't feel the need to use a second coat.  The finish is really nice and metallic.  I think I will get a lot of use out of this polish!  I got bored with the simple silver, so I added some stamping!

The plate I used Bundle Monster BM19.  It is a cool houndstooth print.  The problem I have with these plates is that the print is not always big enough to fit my whole nail.  Anyway, I thought this would look cool over the silver, and I was right! It turned out really nice!  So I hope y'all enjoyed this post.  I'm sorry I haven't been posting a whole lot; I've been crazy busy and probably will be for the rest of the school year, but this summer I hope to be able to post more often!  I hope you have a Marvelous Monday!
~ Mary Elizabeth
Edit: for those of you who read this when I first posted it, I spelled Insta-dri wrong, so I went back and corrected it :)

Easy Tape Manicure

Hello There!
I hope you are having a lovely week!  So this morning I went to CVS to get a new bottle Seche Vite top coat, which was much needed, and I ran into Essie's new collection.  All of the colors are beautiful, but the one that caught my eye was A Crewed Interest.

A Crewed Interest is the base color for this design.  It is a really nice peach color.  Before recently, I was not a huge fan of Essie polishes because of the small brush.  However, I really like the pigmentation in most of their polishes.  This particular polish is definitely a one coater!  I really love this polish!
As for the rest of this look, I actually did NOT start with OPI top coat.  I am trying out Essie Grow Stronger strengthening base coat.  I will do a full review on this after I have used it for a while.  Then I used one coat of Essie A Crewed Interest.  Then I put a piece of scotch tape diagonally across my nail and used Essie Tart Deco to make a diagonal stripe.  When I originally bought Tart Deco, I thought it would look more like A Crewed Interest.  Even though it's not what I expected, it is a gorgeous color!  For the middle gold stripe I used my Kiss gold glitter polish.  This is a great way to cover up any mistakes from removing the tape.  Then i finished it off with Seche Vite.  I hope you try this out, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
~ Mary Elizabeth