Showing posts with label gold. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gold. Show all posts

Friday, July 18, 2014

Lumina Lacquer Soleil Swatch And Review

Hey hey hey!  It's Friday, yo!  This has been a really strange week for me, and I'm glad that it's finally over. The in-laws have arrived for the month, which means a lot of juggling between them, LO, and work.  I like routine, and only have a few days, I can't wait for things to go back to normal!

What's the best look for a night out?  Glittah nails!!  I'm going out with some coworkers this weekend and thought some disco ball nails were in order.  Enter Lumina Lacquer's Soleil, the golden sister of Malifient.  Like Malificent, this is a glitter polish made of tiny holographic gold hexes in a clear base.  The formula of this beauty was not as viscous as Malificent and applied fairly easily, which is important to minimize any cleanup later.  It's got a lovely density of glitter as well, and probably had enough coverage after two coats.  I did three to be on the safe side, and finished with two layers of topcoat.

These pics are in the light tent so that you can see opacity and color.

Lumina Lacquer Soleil
Lumina Lacquer Soleil 

Lumina Lacquer Soleil
Lumina Lacquer Soleil 

Lumina Lacquer Soleil
Lumina Lacquer Soleil 
 Bam!  These pics are under direct light so you can see the loose holo flare.

Lumina Lacquer Soleil
Lumina Lacquer Soleil 

Lumina Lacquer Soleil
Lumina Lacquer Soleil 

Lumina Lacquer Soleil
Lumina Lacquer Soleil 

Lumina Lacquer Soleil
Lumina Lacquer Soleil 

Lumina Lacquer Soleil
Lumina Lacquer Soleil 


Holographic glitter bestill my heart!  Those little rainbow bits are so magical and provide hours of entertainment - especially when I'm at work.  LOL.  I'm so happy to have picked this golden bottle of sunshine, and I can't wait to see how it sparkles on the dancefloor(I guess that's one benefit of having the in-laws around).  Lumina Lacquer is climbing up high on my list of favorite indies, and I'm looking forward to trying out more from this line.  Do you have any Luminas that you recommend I try?

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Sally Hansen Spark In The Dark Over Wet 'n' Wild All Access Gradient


Hurrah for Friday!  It's been a long week and I'm glad it's nearly over.  It'll be my last weekend alone before the in-laws come out, followed by my parents through the end of summer.  I'm going to make the most of it, and try to relax, have fun, and minimize any errands.  How do you plan on spending your weekend?

I've been neglecting nail art over the past couple months and decided to do a quick gradient using the new Wet 'n' Wild Megalast All Access Summer collection.  I started with a base of the lightest color,  A Venice Day, which required three coats for opacity.  Next I sponged on the three gradient colors - A Venice Day, Love Me Some Muscle, and Beat Of A Generation together.  The middle shade, Love Me Some Muscle, ended up getting bullied out by the more pigmented pink of Beat Of A Generation.  I'm happy the way the colors blended together because it looks like a warm tropical sunset.  Pardon my crappy clean up, it's hard to do my nails when LO wakes up in the middle of my polish hour!






I added some visual interest to the gradient with Sally Hansen Spark In The Dark, a clear glitter topcoat containing matte black bar and hex glitter and gold hex glitter. Probably not the best layering combination with the gradient but I've been wanting to try this one out for a while.  There's something about that gold and black glitter combination that makes me weak in the knees!  Keep in mind when using this polish that the suspension base is thick like typical glitter bases, but when it dries it tends to shrink the base paint beneath it - you'll want to make sure to paint up to if not beyond your base color on your nail bed.  This is finished with a layer of topcoat.






Somehow with this combination I turned a beautiful tropical sunset into a bad neon eighties outfit.  LOL.  Well, at least I got Sparks In The Dark out of my system and it's no longer an untried, however, I'll have to come up with a more complimentary base color the next time I brave using it.  Blue maybe?  This is one reason why I have a hard time wearing gold accessories - it's so hard for me to coordinate!  Do you ever have this problem?

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Zoya Bubbly Collection For Summer 2014 Swatch And Review

Hello lovelies!  It seems that you really liked my last post with the PINCHme box.  Hopefully you had a chance to sign up!  In the meantime, I have some swatches for you that I did prior to my vacation.  Looking at these pics makes me miss my longer nails!  Hopefully I'll get some length back quickly - I still take my prenatal vitamins which contain folic acid, calcium, and biotin.  Ever since I started taking them before my pregnancy, I noticed that my nails grow in much quicker and they seem healthier too with less breaks. 

The collection I have for you today is Zoya's Bubbly Collection for Summer 2014.  I really love this collection because it has elements of my favorite finishes, which is iridescent glitter and gold shimmer.  Combined together, they really make a bubbly appearance when set within varying jelly bases.  Overall, most of these colors used an average of three coats for full opacity due to the jelly base, but each was easy to apply without any clumping of glitter or streaking of the semi-transparent base.  I finished each color with a layer of topcoat for added shine.

Zoya Harper was the first color I was allured into using, which is strange because it's a pink.  Most likely it struck a chord within me because I get breathless at the sight of pink and gold together.  This is a medium shade cool toned pink jelly that really works well with the iridescent glitters and gold shimmer and makes me think of cool summer sunsets(yes, we get cool summer evenings here in SoCal) over the Pacific Ocean.  Three coats here with a layer of topcoat, and I ended up wearing this for a few days with excellent durability during that time.

Zoya Harper
Zoya Harper

Zoya Harper
Zoya Harper

Zoya Harper
Zoya Harper
Zoya Alma is a orange tinged gold jelly that takes on a slight foil effect with its abundance of gold shimmer and iridescent glitters.  This is another lovely summer color that reminds me of the warm fiery sun, especially during sunset.  Three coats with a layer of topcoat here.

Zoya Alma
Zoya Alma

Zoya Alma
Zoya Alma

Zoya Alma
Zoya Alma

Zoya Alma
Zoya Alma
A surprise finish for me is Zoya Jesy, a salmon based jelly color that when combined with the gold shimmer takes on a duochrome effect that had me smitten.  I really love the sheer coral salmon jelly base and how beautiful the gold and iridescent particles contrasted with it.  It's unlike any shade I own in my collection.  At certain angles it looked mostly salmon colored, and at other angles it was mostly gold.  Quite the enigma this one was!  At three coats with topcoat, there was still some VNL.

Zoya Jesy
Zoya Jesy



Zoya Jesy
Zoya Jesy

Zoya Jesy
Zoya Jesy

Zoya Jesy
Zoya Jesy
The other pink in the collection is Zoya Binx, which is a darker, more berry tinged pink compared to Zoya Harper.  This was a very pretty pink too, and somehow the iridescent glitter and gold shimmer seem to pop a bit more against this base color.  Again, three coats here with topcoat.

Zoya Binx
Zoya Binx

Zoya Binx
Zoya Binx

Zoya Binx
Zoya Binx

Zoya Binx
Zoya Binx
I don't think any collection is complete unless there's a green of some sort, and this collection's green is Zoya Staasi, a muddled lime green jelly that highlights the blue shade of the iridescent glitters.  The gold shimmer seems to complement the green shade rather than contrast against it, and all together the green polish reminds me of dew sparkling on blades of grass in the morning sunlight(not that I ever get to see that), or the scales of a magical dragon(not that I ever seen that either!).  This is two coats with a layer of topcoat.

Zoya Staasi
Zoya Staasi

Zoya Staasi
Zoya Staasi
Zoya Staasi
Zoya Staasi

Zoya Staasi
Zoya Staasi
And finally, I have Zoya Muse which I posted a couple weeks ago in my excitement upon swatching it.  This is a blue jelly base that seems to let the pink iridescent glitters shine through, and the gold shimmer  really helps to accent the aquatic feel of this color.  Side note, I'm not sure where that square glitter on my ring finger came from - huh.  This is two coats finished with a layer of topcoat.

Zoya Muse
Zoya Muse

Zoya Muse
Zoya Muse

Zoya Muse
Zoya Muse
And just in case you missed it in my earlier post, this is what happens when Zoya Muse meets Wet 'n' Wild Matte topcoat.  Score!!

Zoya Muse With Wet 'n' Wild Matte Topcoat
Zoya Muse With Wet 'n' Wild Matte Topcoat

Zoya Muse With Wet 'n' Wild Matte Topcoat
Zoya Muse With Wet 'n' Wild Matte Topcoat
I regret not matting the rest of the colors to see how pretty they'd be, but now it gives me a reason to revisit these polishes again if only to see them matted out.

Overall, I love the bubbly effect of this collection - it is a unique combination of jelly base, iridescent glitters, and gold shimmer that simply is made for each other.  I like that Zoya is trending along side the indie polishes and coming up with subtle glitters such as these, rather than falling to the wayside and sticking strictly to shimmers and creams.  I'm looking forward to seeing what else Zoya has up its sleeves, as each season it seems to come out with fresh and innovative collections.  Keep up to date with Zoya at zoya.com, and make sure to follow Zoya's facebook or blog to find out about any specials that are currently running.  Have you checked out Zoya lately, and if so, what colors and/or collection has you most excited about?

Friday, June 6, 2014

Zoya Magical Pixie Dust Ginni, Bar, and Arlo Swatch And Review

Hip hip hooray it's Friday!  I feel like this week has been a whirlwind of work and I'm so relieved that it's nearly over. If I'm lucky, I'll have absolutely nothing to do this weekend - I miss the days of having nothing to do except hanging out on the couch with a dvr full of shows and movies. What are you planning this weekend?

Today I have the Zoya Magical Pixie collection for Summer 2014, a unique collection of pixie dusts that have larger hex glitters within the texture base.  This is the first time I've ever used such a combination of glitters, and conceptually I really like the way it looks.  The larger hex glitters catch a lot of light and allow for much more sparkle compared to original PixieDusts.  The range is limited, which I thought was odd, it is composed of a gold and two shades of pink.  My only gripe with this collection is the sheer formula - it seems that at least three coats were needed for me to build up sufficient opacity with minimal VNL.

First up is Ginni, a baby pink texture that really allows the holographic glitters to pop when light hits it at the right angle.  This is the lighter pink of the collection, and not a color I would normally choose.  Surprisingly, I like the way it looks on me!
Zoya Ginni
Zoya Ginni
Zoya Ginni
Zoya Ginni
Zoya Ginni
Zoya Ginni

Zoya Ginni
Zoya Ginni
 Bar is a gold texture that really works well for summer.  I don't know what it is about gold, but it's a fashionista's best friend in the summer and pairs well with anything, especially sun kissed skin.  If you're looking for gold bling, Bar is your answer.  The larger glitters really give this a jewel encrusted look that is very decadent.
Zoya Bar
Zoya Bar

Zoya Bar
Zoya Bar
Zoya Bar
Zoya Bar
Zoya Bar
Zoya Bar
Finally I have the darkest shade of the collection, Arlo, which is a dark rose PixieDust.  This one is probably my favorite from the collection, as I usually gravitate towards darker shades and the rose compliments my skin tone well.  The hex glitters in this shade isn't as dense as the previous two, which unfortunately means a little bit less sparkle.
Zoya Arlo
Zoya Arlo
Zoya Arlo
Zoya Arlo
Zoya Arlo
Zoya Arlo
Zoya Arlo
Zoya Arlo
Overall, I really liked the way these all look, especially when the holographic glitters catch the light and make the polish sparkle like crazy.  I wish these were more opaque, but I believe that can be fixed easily by adding a similar base color underneath so there isn't any VNL showing through.  I forgot to mention that after these dry, the texture isn't any rougher than the standard PixieDusts, and if anything, the larger hex glitters actually give it a smoother feel.  I'm glad that I picked this up because they're unique to my collection and are so incredibly sparkly.  Do you like these, and would you give them a try?