Zoya: Storm

Of course I said I was not going to focus completely on nail polish anymore and, alas, it's a nail polish post. What can I say? I am a creature of habit.

This is Zoya's Storm and I checked, it's still available on their website for purchase. I pulled it out on a whim the other day and remembered just how much I love a good holo look.Yes, I know, it's still summer, but I have been craving fall and leaning towards some darker colors these days.

These photos are with two coats, and of course topped with my beloved Seche Vite top coat. I had no issues with application and found it to be nice and opaque. I love the holo glitter on this one.

What do you think of this one? Love it or leave it?

Disclosure: This product was purchased by me, with my own money. I am not paid for this review.  All reviews are 100% honest and done at my discretion. For more information please see my Disclosure Policy. 

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OPI Liquid Sand: Alcatraz...Rocks

I will admit that while I am a fan of the textured matte trend (Liquid Sand, Pixie Dust etc.) I am starting to get slightly annoyed with the sheer amount of polishes coming out with that finish. Calm down, stop shoving it down our throats. I have to say though, this one is a masterpiece...

Ladies and gentleman  I present to you: Alcatraz...Rocks from the OPI San Francisco Collection.  What a stunner! I am not sure it gets more beautiful than the royal purple packed with tons of holographic particles. I cannot even describe this beauty!

I knew right when I took this out of the box it came in that I was going to love it. What's not to love? Purple, check! Holo, check! It's an all around beautiful and unique offering from OPI. 

This is a Liquid Sand finish, which is a textured matte. I find these to go on very easily and dry quickly without the assistance of a top coat. A shiny topcoat will change the finish of these so avoid it unless you want to make it shiny. I used two coats for opacity here and it's perfect! 

So am I getting slightly bored with this type of finish? Yup! But I do love this polish and get so excited when something truly unique finds its way to my collection. I think you all need this color, especially if you're a purple lover like me! 

Disclosure: This product was provided by PR for review purposes. All reviews are 100% honest and done at my discretion. For more information please see my Disclosure Policy. 

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Color Club: Over the Moon

Hello everyone! I hope you're all doing well! Today I'd like to show you a color (sent to me for consideration) called Over the Moon by Color Club. Over the Moon is a light blue linear holographic polish.  Holos are just so much fun, when they hit the light it's just a kaleidoscopic of color. What else can I say? So pretty!

This is actually a really opaque, almost one coater! I used two for the opacity shown but if you're super careful you will absolutely be able to get away with one. What's better than that!? No streaking, no balding.

Love this one! How about you?

__________________

Well that was short and sweet! I wanted to say hi to you all and thank you, as always for coming and reading the blog. I hope you're all doing well.  I am! I am enjoying my new job and am really excited for what's to come!

What else is going on? Well, I have been told by the Dr. to go gluten-free. What a pain! So I have been doing that, not easily, but doing it. Any of you gluten free? How do you do it? I mean no calzones? No bread basket? No tortillas. It's really sad. I did, however, find a really great bakery nearby that makes killer gluten free cupcakes. One craving satisfied! Any tips are much appreciated. 

Until next time, have a fantastic day! 

Disclosure: This product was provided by PR for review purposes. All reviews are 100% honest and done at my discretion. For more information please see my Disclosure Policy. 

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OPI: When Monkeys Fly! Over Glints of Glinda

Hiya! I hope you all survived Monday! LOL! Since I showed you Glints of Glinda yesterday I thought i would show you When Monkeys Fly!  which I swatched over Glints of Glinda. (These were sent to me for consideration). When I saw this collection I really thought I would love the glitters, unfortunately they look 100X better in the bottle than they do on the nail. Major bummer!

When Monkeys Fly! is a bronze gold glitter with holo glitter suspended in a clear base. Unfortunately it does not transfer to the nail as nice as it looks in the bottle. The glitter particles are few and far between and difficult to disburse onto the nail. I hate when glitters require a million coats to show up because the clear base gets gunky and gross. It makes me sad that this did not work for me because the color in the bottle is really pretty. I even tried shaking, putting it upside down, putting it on its side... nada. Also, the large gold/bronze pieces that DO make it to the nail have a tendency to curl up and make a mess. Sad day for me.

Meh... it just disappointed me. Oh well! Have you had better luck with this glitter?

Disclosure: This product was provided by PR for review purposes. All reviews are 100% honest and done at my discretion. For more information please see my Disclosure Policy. 

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OPI: Don't Burst My Bubble and Which is Witch? (Pink Wednesday)

On Wednesdays we wear pink and today I have a soft and sheer milky pink to share with you.  This is Don't Burst My Bubble from OPI's Oz collection. This polish, and the other polish featured today, was sent to be by PR for consideration.

Don't Burst My Bubble is a soft and sherry milky pink shade which is perfect if you have a conservative work place or just need a break from all the color! It's a nice color that makes the nail tips appear really white, which I love. Sometimes sheer colors make the whites appear yellowish or otherwise off-colored. This one doesn't do that at all. I like it.

I applied two coats for the photos below and while it's not opaque, it's not bad at two coats. I think these colors are intended to be sheer like this, so while three coats may eliminate some of the visible nail line, two coats are adequate for a polished look.

I wanted to dress Don't Burst My Bubble  up a bit so I added two coats of Which is Witch? on top. Which is Witch? is a silver and holographic glitter containing fine particles of bar glitters and medium sized holographic hex glitters. It's suspended in a clear base but PACKED with glitter.

I wasn't sure I'd  like this glitter because the bar glitters really do nothing for me, but this one is stunning once applied. The bar glitter is so fine that it doesn't appear the way traditional bar glitter does. This polish creates an almost iced effect on the nails. It's simply beautiful  - I am glad I tried it! 

  

What do you think of these two?

On a side note: I finally went to see OZ: The Great and Powerful last weekend. It was ok but I was disappointed overall. Michelle Williams, who I typically do not love, was awesome though and she looked amazing, especially her skin. What a beauty!  I guess I had high hopes that would never be met. It was pretty though. I am a little less than thrilled that OPI thought SoftShades would do Oz justice. Strange choice. Did you see the movie? What did you think of it!?

Disclosure: This product was provided by PR for review purposes. All reviews are 100% honest and done at my discretion. For more information please see my Disclosure Policy. 

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Hillbilly Love Lacquer (Etsy)

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all have a great week. We're finally going to be seeing the sun stick around a bit longer, spring is on the horizon!

Today I want to show you some polishes from the Etsy shop Hillbilly Love Lacquer. The owner, Alisa, is from Tennessee and she's come up with some hilarious creative names for her down home lacquers. You're sure to crack a smile browsing through her shop. All of the polishes are 3-free and sell for $8.50.

The formula on all three of these was different than what I am used to. It's almost gel like (not gel polish like Shellac, but just gel like in texture). I have never experienced a texture like these. Very interesting.  I don't love it but I don't hate it. It's in the middle for me. I applied all three with no real issues so it's all good.

The bottles are really nice looking with professional looking labels featuring the color name and company logo. 

First up I have Buckshot (see, told you the names were adorable). This is a blue/grey shimmer with copper glitter. I used two coats for the opacity shown, I think you'd be better off with three.

  

Next up is Hick-Tastic  LOL. This is a light pink with pink, white and holographic glitter. The glitter in this one is really fun!  I used two coats for the opacity shown. The base is sort of a shimmery jelly so I am not sure more coats would  necessarily equal more opacity. 

And last but not least is Bluegrass  which is a teal jelly with teal, navy and holographic glitter.  This one is really pretty. Two coats are pictured, I think it's fine with two but three migh be preferable. 

  

Overall, I think this shop has some really unique and cute lacquers, and the names are just hilarious and creative. I don't think any other companies have come up with a similar concept so kudos for originality. If you're looking for something fun, or for a gift to give your redneck friend, this company can provide just that. (LOL). 

Have you tried anything from this Etsy shop? Are you interested in trying any of the colors?

Disclosure: This product was provided by PR for review purposes. All reviews are 100% honest and done at my discretion. For more information please see my Disclosure Policy. 

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Color Club: Beyond

Hi everyone! Are you ready to have your mind blown? Alright, not really, it's just nail polish, but it's pretty beautiful and I am excited about it. This is Beyond  from Color Club. It's an insanely gorgeous deep blue/charcoal/nearly black linear holographic polish. Can you believe your eyes? Stunning. The holographic shimmer is just so beautiful and quite profound in the right lighting. 

This beauty went on perfectly in two coats. I had no issues at all with this formula, in fact it was a pleasure to apply. No balding, streaking or pooling. I barely had to do any cleanup with this, which is pretty awesome given the dark color. 

  

Now at first glance you may think this is the same as Color Club's Revvvolution  but Revvvolution's base is much more grey and  the holo is not as strong. In fact, I called Revvolution's holo "subtle" in my review of it back in 2010. Have a look at my old review of Revvvolution here. 

I don't have much else to say. This is absolutely beautiful. What do you think?

Disclosure: This product was provided by PR for review purposes. All reviews are 100% honest and done at my discretion. For more information please see my Disclosure Policy. 

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OPI Liquid Sand: Get Your Number

Welcome to Monday! I know you're tired. Hang in there! Get through work and go home and paint your nails! 

Today I have another polish from the OPI Mariah Carey collection called Get Your Number. Get Your Number is one of the new Liquid Sand polishes that debuted with Mariah's collection. These are matte, textured polishes with holographic shimmer embedded in the polish.  This is a really nice finish that we haven't seen yet on the market. Zoya is putting out something similar (identical?) with their Pixie Dust line (available February 1, 2013, can't wait!) I am really liking this formula, it's new and pretty! 

I am sure you're wondering how difficult these are to remove, considering traditional polishes are a huge pain in the butt. Well guess what? I had no issues at all removing this. I used regular 100% acetone on a cotton pad and these removed with no trouble at all. I didn't soak them or anything. I am pretty shocked at that!

The one I am showing you today, Get Your Number is a medium blue with tons of holographic shimmer. It's super pretty!  These feel textured and matte once dry. You will feel the grit.  I used two coats for opacity and that was sufficient. 

  

I am intrigued by this new formula and like what I see. Have any of you tried the Liquid Sands polishes yet? What do you think of them?

Random thoughts:

• Is winter over yet? Sheesh, I can't stand this cold.
• My cat is afraid of the new dryer. He can't seem to get over it. It's been here for a while but he just stares at it, and sometimes jumps when he looks at it. Weirdo! He's scared of everything.

Disclosure: This product was provided by PR for review purposes. All reviews are 100% honest and done at my discretion. For more information please see my Disclosure Policy. 

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