Color Club High Society

Color Club High Society is a beautiful taupe creme which totally reminds me of the color of chocolate milk.  I know there are a lot of taupe polishes out there, and this runs more at the top of the pack for me.  It is a little more muted that Essie Mink Muffs.  Application was super easy, opaque in just 2 coats.  This is 2 coats of High Society and 1 coat of nubar Diamont.  However, it was so shiny it could have been worn without a top coat.

China Glaze Sea Spray with Revlon Whimsical

Natural Light

China Glaze Sea Spray is a beautiful muted dusty blue.  If you look close enough you can see a slight pearly shimmer, but you have to catch it in the right light.  Sea Spray is a little thicker than I like, and I will probably add a little thinner to it.  This is 2 coats of China Glaze Sea Spray with 1 coat of nubar Diamont.

I did Sea Spray specifically as a base for another color.  My friend Bridget was asking about Revlon Whimsical, which I just happened to pick up.  Revlon Whimsical is a mix of silver, pink and blue hexagonal glitter, with a few pieces of tiny blue glitter in a very sheer creamy blue base.  I personally think it is probably too sheer to be worn alone and prefer the look over a pastel base.  This was 1 thick coat of Whimsical over the combination above.

Zoya Cynthia French Manicure

I was inspired a few weeks ago to try this manicure, but broke a nail and kept pushing it off.  After a friend of mine brought it back up again, I knew I had to try it.  Originally I was going to do it in the pure black the original picture had shown, but while digging through my stash I came across Zoya Cynthia.  Cynthia is a dark smokey black colored teal.  In most lights you wouldn't even notice it wasn't black.  I created this look using 2 coats of Zoya Cynthia, 1 coat of Essie Matte About You, followed by taping off the manicure line and finishing with nubar Diamont.  I was pretty satisfied with the results, it turned out to be an edgy manicure that caught the eye.

Here is Cynthia, 2 coats with no topcoat:

And Zoya Cynthia, 2 coats, with 1 coat of Essie Matte About You:

 

And finally, the finished product in direct sunlight where you can actually see the deep teal undertones of Zoya Cynthia:

 

Zoya Dannii

Zoya Dannii in natural light

Zoya Dannii is the perfect spring color.  Considering we are on the cusp of 6+ inches of snow I needed something to make the day a little more cheery.  Dannii reminds me of the purple crocus that I am hoping to  comes up as some point this spring.  I think this purple tends to pull a little more to the cooler side, and the silver iridescent flecks enhance the color.  The formula is a little thicker than most Zoya's, but it is super opaque in 2 coats.  I finished this with 1 coat of nubar Diamont.

Revlon Popular

Revlon Popular, a re-release of Revlon Starry Pink, is a light pale pink creme with small round and larger hexagonal silver glitter suspended.   You don't really see the silver in the glitter, it looks more white when it is applied.  The way the glitter is layered in all the coats it looks almost 3 dimensional.  This is 3 coats of Revlon Popular with 1 coat of nubar Diamont.

Zoya Pandora with Zoya Hermina tips

Natural Light

Zoya Pandora was the pinkest shade of the Zoya Touch collection.  I feel like I can only wear it in the winter when my hands are pale, during the summer when my hands have a little tan to them it just doesn't look right.  Pandora has the slightest shimmer to it, and it is a great professional neutral.  Application is just okay, my bottle is a little thick and need to be thinned a bit.  This is 2 coats of Zoya Pandora, with 1 coat of nubar Diamont.

After a day of wearing Pandora, I added a strip of Zoya Hermina across the top.  It was very subtle, but enough of a pop to make a difference.

Natural Light

Zoya Austine vs Zoya Hermina side by side

By request, a side by side of Austine and Hermina.  Austine has just enough gold to make a difference.  I am still a bigger fan of Hermina.

Zoya Austine

Inside light

It is rare for me to wear a warmer gold polish, so I thought I would post Austine after I posted Hermina yesterday for comparison.  Austine is definitely the darker of the two golds, and much richer in color.  Unlike Hermina which I consider a metallic neutral, Austine would probably need to be paired with gold.  Austine also is a little more difficult to apply if you don't want brush strokes to be visible.  You'll also need to ensure you use a good basecoat since this polish will show more imperfections than a chubby girl in a shiny satin dress.  This is 2 coats of Austine, with 1 coat of nubar Diamont.

And because this polish shines so different depending on the light, I captured a few more...

Indoor direct light

Natural light

Zoya Hermina

Indoor Light

Zoya Hermina is a very unique metallic frost that can be worn with silver or gold.  To me, its a great neutral alternative to the typical creme I might normally wear.  It almost seems to shimmer a bit like champagne.  Hermina is a bit sheer, this is 2 coats, but would probably need 3 to eliminate any visible nail line.  I will be reaching for this color much more in the spring and summer.  Typically with frosts you tend to get horrible brush strokes, but Hermina didn't have much of that issue.  It was a pleasant surprise!  This is 2 coats of Hermina with 1 coat of nubar Diamont.

Natural Light

China Glaze Magentix - Instant Chemistry

I am loving magnetic polishes lately, it is such a quick and easy way to have an interesting design in a short amount of time.  Once you get the hang of it, it is a relatively easy process.  As with most of the magnetic polishes, I use Zoya Raven underneath, with one thin coat of the magnetic polish followed immediately with the magnet.  China Glaze has their own magnet with a strip, chevron, and star design.  I created this manicure with the striped design, an any other polish magnet will work.  I tested my Nails Inc magnet on this polish and it worked just fine.  Instant Chemistry, as well as the other magnetic polishes, dried very glossy.  Make sure you take extra time to let the polish dry before you apply the topcoat or the design will drag.

I get asked a lot about magnetic polish and it is always a lengthy conversation.  However over on Scrangie's blog, one of my absolute favorites, she takes the time to give you an excellent overview and tutorial.  I love her blog and if you love polish you should really subscribe.

Sally Hansen Uptempo Plum with OPI Silver Shatter

First off, let me start by saying there is nothing uptempo about Sally Hansen Uptempo Plum. Uptempo Plum is a dark, deep purple with a hint of shimmer.  It is essentially OPI's Lincoln Park After Dark's shimmery cousin.  Uptempo Plum is part of the Insta-Dri collection, and it does dry fast.  This is 2 thin coats of UP and 1 coat of nubar Diamont.  The only thing I am not real fond of is that this polish has a bit of a gritty finish.  

I accented my ring finger with a single coat of OPI Silver Shatter polish.  I love the look of the silver over a dark color.  I get asked quite often which of the shatter/crackle polishes I prefer and I always answer with OPI or China Glaze.  In my opinion Sally Hansen's version of shatter/crackle is the worst and most difficult to deal with.  Just make sure you apply it over completely dry polish and wait until the shatter is dry to apply your top coat.

Happy Valentine's Day!

So this has to have been one of my most frustrating water marbles to date and it was entirely my fault.  I am on the road for Valentine's Day this year, so I attempted this on Friday evening.  It was a marble of Zoya Purity, Zoya America, and Zoya Nephratiti.  While all three colors are gorgeous on their own, combined they caused me more frustration than a one legged man in a butt kicking contest.  The culprit, Nephratiti.  Nephratiti has a tendency to blend with Purity, and while pink isn't going against the Valentines theme, it just wasn't what I was going for.  My stubborn self refused to remove the troubled color after the first few attempts and just plowed forward.  All in all though, they didn't turn out too bad. This marble was completed using a base of Zoya Purity, with a marble of Zoya Purity, Zoya America, and Zoya Nephratit followed by a single cleat coat of nubar Diamont.

Zoya Tru

Zoya Tru, the only color I ordered from the new spring collection and I am so happy I decided to get it.  Tru is a creamy purple base with a warm tone to it.  It has reddish and gold glitter flaked though it.  The application on this was flawless, totally opaque in 2 thin coats.  Tru really is a unique color, I don't have anything similar in my collection with the exception of Zoya Neeka.  Neeka is definitely bluer and leans more towards muted grey.  This is 2 coats of Zoya Tru with 1 coat of nubar Diamont.

Essie Dive Bar with Butter London's The Dark Knight

I promised yesterday that I would have an awesome combo today.  Essie Dive Bar is beautiful enough alone, but throwing a single coat of butter London The Black Knight takes it up another notch! The Black Night is a combination of pink, green, blue, red, gold and silver glitter is a black jelly base.  It is opaque in just 2-3 coats, however in this application I layered 1 coat of The Black Knight over Essie Dive Bar.  I find TBK gets too chunky and gritty the more layers you apply.  I applied 2 coats of nubar Diamont over TBK here to get the finish a little glossy.  The Black Knight was recommended to me by my sparkle pusher, Meghan.  Thanks Meghan, great call!

Look at this close up, its like a tiny little party!

Essie Dive Bar

I picked this color up on a whim at Ulta while I was wasting time waiting for my husband a few weeks ago.  In the words of my husband, HOLE MOLE!  Essie Dive Bar has to be, hands down, the best teal I own.  It has a darkened black base to it with teal metallic flecks that come to life under light.  The application was awesome, and this is 2 thicker coats with a coat of nubar Diamont over the top.  I was so inspired by this color I had to wear it with my favorite shoes... my Nine West Destynee's (which by the way are down to $40 for all the colors they come in on Amazon, go get yours!)

What can I say, it's a match made in heaven!  You'll love what I added to this combo, come back tomorrow and see!  It involves a butter London sparkle, which we all know are breathtaking.

Zoya Bela

Yes, this is a sight you will rarely get to see!  It is not often that I wear no polish at all, or a sheer polish for that matter. That said, Zoya Bela has changed that a bit for me since it is one of the few sheers that don't look pink on my nails in my office lighting.  The only other one that does that for me is Essie's Sugar Daddy.  I think I personally prefer 1 coat of Bela, 2 coats looks almost too opaque for my taste.  With a little help from a white manicure pencil this could easily look like a great "American" manicure.  This would be a fabulous French or American manicure color.

Zoya Kelly, Zoya Brie, and Color Club Backstage Pass

Zoya Kelly and Zoya Brie in natural light

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Zoya Kelly and Zoya Brie indoor lighting

I couldn't decided between Zoya's Kelly and Brie today, so I went with both!  Zoya Kelly is a dark blueish grey creme that is one of my go to colors in winter.  Zoya Brie is a darker pink creme with cool undertones.  I have been trying to capture my polish swatches in both natural and indoor lighting to show the change in color.  Brie definitely looks pinker in natural light.  Indoors, it can almost pass for a red.  Both have flawless application, and full coverage in 2 coats.

I wore this combo for a day, but had to add a little sparkle to the mix.  Out came Color Club's Backstage pass.  I had seen CC Backstage Pass on Pinterest a few weeks back and had to get it!  I have not been able to source it locally yet, so I ordered from Nailogy.com.  Color Club polishes range from $2.95-$3.25 which I think is a pretty good deal.  They also carry Essie, OPI and China Glaze.  I added 2 coats of Backstage Pass to my nails, and covered with 2 coats of nubar Diamont.

The pictures really don't do this justice though.  In real life the sparkle was just awesome.  The larger glitter really catches the light and it almost looks like mirrors on your nails.  Backstage Pass has magenta, light pink and dark and light silver pieces of large glitter

Zoya Kelly, Zoya Brie and Color Club Backstage Pass

Zoya Edyta

Zoya Edyta is such a complex collection of colors.  Depending on what light, and the way it hits the polish you can see olive green, emerald green, blue, grey, gold and black.  I would say overall it looks more dark olive green with gold flecks at first glance.  The shine and the color remind me of nori, the seaweed used to wrap sushi it.  It is opaque in two thin coats and the wear on it was great.  This is 2 coats of Edyta, and 1 coat of nubar Diamont.