Thursday, July 10, 2014

Wet 'n' Wild Summer 2014 All Access Collection Swatch And Review


Happy Thursday ladies!  I was suppose to have the day off today, but I forgot and ended up scheduling a business dinner tonight.  Oy.  Don't you hate when that happens?  In other news, I finally got through the last season of Game Of Thrones, and now I can't wait until the next season starts again.  I love the development of the characters throughout the storyline!  Have you seen the last season, and did you have any thoughts about it?

Today I have Wet 'n' Wild Megalast's newest summer collection called All Access, based after summer music festivals.  Most of this collection are crellies along with one shimmer.  This limited edition collection features white tops and can be found at drugstores in their own display for a whopping $1.99 each.  The formula on these leaned mostly on the sheer side and took at least three coats each, but keep in mind that they're mostly crellies which dries to a squishy finish.  My major gripe with this collection, or with Megalasts in general is that the brush is too wide for my taste, making it difficult to maneuver without messing up the cuticles.  But, for considering how wonderfully priced these are, I'm willing to forgive that!

 My first polish is a nice bubblegum pink crelly called Beat Of A Generation that needed three coats for opacity. The formula was easy to apply with minimal streaks.

Beat Of A Generation
Beat Of A Generation

Beat Of A Generation
Beat Of A Generation

Beat Of A Generation
Beat Of A Generation
A favorite of mine is this lovely lavender purple crelly called Trippin' On The Boardwalk.  Here, I used three coats for opacity.  It still had some VNL and probably could have used four coats.
Trippin' On The Boardwalk
Trippin' On The Boardwalk


Trippin' On The Boardwalk
Trippin' On The Boardwalk

Trippin' On The Boardwalk
Trippin' On The Boardwalk
Next is another surprise favorite for me, and that's Contact High, a gorgeous neon green jelly that used three coats for opacity.  Behold this beauty!  It's not often you see a shade of green with a jelly formula!

Contact High
Contact High

Contact High
Contact High

Contact High
Contact High
 The shimmer in this collection is a Smurf blue shade with a slight silver shimmer.  Isn't she pretty?  The silver shimmer isn't terribly strong, but it's not hidden either.  It's just right!
Coast To Coast
Coast To Coast

Coast To Coast
Coast To Coast

Coast To Coast
Coast To Coast

Coast To Coast
Coast To Coast

Next I have a sunflower yellow crelly called A Venice Day.  This one did not have the easiest formula to work with, and still showed some streaks even after three coats.  Not surprising for a yellow I suppose, but the color is nice!

A Venice Day
A Venice Day

A Venice Day
A Venice Day

A Venice Day
A Venice Day

 Lastly I have a peachy coral crelly that applied smoothly with no streaks, and that's Love Me Some Muscle.  I don't think I have any shade quite like this, and I'm very pleased with the way it looks on me!
Love Me Some Muscles

Love Me Some Muscles
Love Me Some Muscles

Love Me Some Muscles
Love Me Some Muscles

 Overall, I really like the shades in this collection and I think the crelly formulas make them worthwhile to check out.  They're not solid cremes or sheers, but a nice balance in between that make them unique in any collection.  Hopefully you'll spot them next time you're at the drugstore and pick some up.  My next project will be attempting some more nail art with these!  Have you any favorite crellies?

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?