Zoya Crystal

Let's keep the blue party going, shall we?  :-)

Last month Zoya did the most crazy awesome thing when they gave away three free polishes for reaching 20,000 "Likes" on Facebook.  That's right.  Three free polishes.  No catch!  I'm telling you, I've really been blown away with Zoya lately.  I love that they have amazing products, fantastic customer service, incredible public relations, and they're a company that doesn't take themselves too seriously (Have you seen their Festivus photos on Facebook?!  Hilarious!)  I love supporting this company, and My fingers couldn't click fast enough on Zoya's Crystal, Mimi and Ivanka, plus an 8 oz. bottle of their super duper Remove+ polish remover.  I have Crystal here for you today.

In a quick description, Crystal is an ice blue foil-finish polish with gold flecks.  But it's the foiliest foil finish I have ever seen!  I'm not kidding!  This stuff is like you put gold-flecked blue aluminum foil on your nails, in the most awesome way possible.  To be honest, aside from full sunlight, I wouldn't call it a particularly sparkly foil, but the gold stands out so beautifully, flowing seamlessly into the blue particles.  It really is stunning.  My pictures don't even do it justice.  Please click to enlarge to see all those gorgeous details!

Application here was a dream.  It's a three-coater, but it applies really quickly and easily.  The flecks that make up this polish are pretty large and flat, so they cover nicely.  Occasionally as I was applying one of them would stick straight up, but it just needed one more brush stroke to make it lay flat.  No biggie.

Crystal was released as part of Zoya's winter collection, Flame.  Pale blue isn't what you'd typically associate with a winter collection, but the iciness of this one just works.  Another thing that makes Crystal so awesome is that she is a dead on dupe for OPI's European exclusive, Reflecting Pool.  Lots of us girls on this side of the pond had been lemming that one for a while.  Score!  :-)  Thankfully, Zoya's seasonal collections always become permanent, so you can still pick this one up for $7 at www.zoya.com.

China Glaze Sea Spray

Sea Spray.  I don't think they could have named this polish anything more appropriate!  This is the second of the two that I picked up from China Glaze's Anchors Away collection.  It's a serene, pale, dusty blue with super subtle shimmer.  It's reportedly a dupe of Essie's Sag Harbor, but since I missed out on that, it's completely unique to my collection, and therefore a "must-have" for me.

There's good news and bad news in the application department.  The good news is that, for being a very light color, it's extremely pigmented.  Like, this could be a one-coater with careful application.  The bad news is that it's pretty thick.  It wasn't completely impossible to work with, but as you can see, I didn't get a flawless finish.  Thick formulas lead to chipping (I already have a small chip on one nail) and make it really difficult for me to wrap my tips smoothly (hence the kind of jagged edges).  I was honestly a little shocked that even Seche Vite didn't even it out for me.  Two thick coats later, and here's the final product:

 (click to enlarge)

That gorgeous shimmer in the bottle is not as noticeable on the nail.  For all intensive purposes, this is basically a creme (think Essie Sew Psyched here).  If you already own Sag Harbor, you can pass on this one with no regrets.  Another similar color is I Vant to Be A-Lone Star from OPI's new Texas collection.  From what I've seen, it's a little lighter, but still has that same dustiness with subtle shimmer.  Sea Spray sure is a lovely color, and I think it's a keeper despite its application flaws.  Though, I do recommend thinning it out first, if you do pick this one up.  I'll be thinning out my bottle as well.

OPI Black Shatter

"Resistance is futile." - Locutus of Borg, Star Trek:  The Next Generation

Oh you didn't know I was a Star Trek nerd?  (Ok, let's be honest I'm a nail polish, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Warhammer, Harry Potter, and Star Trek nerd.  But that's besides the point.)   Well, I resisted Black Shatter for a while.  I'd seen early swatches of this stuff on MUA and a few other blogs, and while I thought it looked really cool, I just didn't want to go through all the hassle of trying to track it down.  Being released as part of OPI's Katy Perry collection, this polish was insanely popular.  I think it sold out on Trans Design in something like two hours??  Craziness.

Anywho, I decided a few days ago that I would probably regret it one day if I didn't get this polish, so off I went!  I told myself I'd check my local JC Penney salon to see if they had it.  If they had it, I'd get it.  If they didn't, then it just wasn't meant to be and I'd just go without it.  So I made the turn around the corner, and what did I find??  An almost completely full Katy Perry display, but only one Black Shatter.  Mine!  It was like the nail polish gods ('Cause believe me, they exist.  Don't piss them off.) were on my side that day.  Woo-hoo! 

The hubby and I went out with some friends to watch the UFC fights last night, so I of course needed an equally bad ass manicure for the event.  I was so exited to try out Black Shatter, and lemme tell you, it did NOT disappoint!  I applied it over my previous manicure, China Glaze Ahoy!, and I was so thrilled with the result!  I love the combo of the black and pink!

 (click to enlarge)

So the deal with Black Shatter is that it's meant to be applied over completely dry polish.  Thinner coats lead to more cracks, so you can see more of the base color underneath.  Thicker coats lead to fewer cracks, but you have those nice chunky black parts.  So you can really play with the application to get the look you desire.  I used a good medium coat, and I was really pleased with the result!  It wasn't too hard to work with either, but I was definitely surprised to see that this stuff starts cracking almost as soon as you apply it, so work quickly!  You'll also want to slap a top coat on it as soon as possible.  Some girls on MUA ran into some problems with it flaking off if they went too long without top coat.  Also, it may start to thicken on you pretty quickly (I noticed thickening by the time I finished my manicure), but according to OPI, you can add some good ol' polish thinner to Black Shatter to make it good as new.  :-)

The Katy Perry collection is out now at JC Penney Salons and Ulta, but don't worry if you can't track down Black Shatter, because China Glaze is releasing its own line of crackle polish in six different colors (black, white, pink, grey, purple, and turquoise).  Those should be at Sally's within the next month or so and at Trans Design in the next few weeks.  Who knew crack could look so good?  ;-)

China Glaze Ahoy!

I've been drooling over promo images and early swatches of China Glaze's spring collection, Anchors Away, for a few months now.  I seriously want the entire collection.  All of them!  I didn't expect to find these until late this month or even next month, knowing how slow my Sally's is at getting new collections and how fast new collections go at my Ulta.  Much to my surprise, I found a completely full display of Anchors Away at Ulta while I was there to pick up a few other things.  YAY!  While I really wanted to just walk up to the register with all 12 polishes (and the cardboard display), I managed to find some self-control and got two - Sea Spray (which I'll review soon) and this one, the lovely Ahoy!

I honestly forgot how much I love pinks.  I wear them all the time as pedicure colors, but I can't remember the last time I wore a pink manicure.  I guess I got swept away by all those edgy neutrals, lol.  But not anymore!  Ahoy! is a berry pink jellyish polish with deep gold glass flecks.  I LOVE GLASS FLECKS.  The trend really started this past year, and as far as I'm concerned, it can just keep right on rolling!  :-)  It adds such depth and interest to this polish.  And it applies smooth as butter in two easy coats.  What more could I as for?  Please click to enlarge these photos so you can see those gorgeous glass flecks!

Here's a comparison of Ahoy! with China Glaze Strawberry Fields.  Sorry for the blurry photo of the nail wheel - my camera finds it hard to focus on this type of finish.  Kinda frustrating, actually.  But you can still see the difference in color between the two.  Strawberry Fields is more of a medium, warm-toned pink, while Ahoy! is deeper and more cool-toned.  Strawberry Fields is also a creme finish, and the gold shimmer/glass flecks is more apparent with this one.

(L) Strawberry Fields, (R) Ahoy!

(L) Strawberry Fields, (R) Ahoy!

I feel like a broken record sometimes when I say this, but these two are definitely sisters.  :-)  Different enough to own (and LOVE) both!  You may have a tougher time tracking down Strawberry Fields, but Ahoy! is out now, so pick it up while you can! 

A Quick Comparison: OPI Done Out in Deco

Fun fact:  During my epic hunt for Done Out in Deco, I tried to fill the void with a few other similar purple OPIs - Parlez-Vous OPI? and Do You Lilac It?  Now, I still have yet to try either of these as a full manicure, but I was definitely curious of how they compared with Deco.  I finally picked up a few nail wheels today, so I decided to do some comparison swatches.  This is two coats of each.  Click to enlarge for detail.  :-)

Left to Right:  Do You Lilac It?, Done Out in Deco, and Parlez-Vous OPI?

I had originally thought Do You Lilac It? would be pretty close to Done Out in Deco, but even in the bottle, they're totally different.  Do You Lilac It? is much brighter and more saturated in color.  It might be closer in color to Zoya Malia, but I don't own that one to compare.  I think it would make a great pedicure color, especially for spring.  It's the easiest to get out of these three, as it's part of the core line for OPI.  

On the other side, Parlez-Vous OPI? is like Done Out in Deco's darker older sister.  It even has the same dusty quality to it that Done Out in Deco does.  These two are definitely in the same color family.  I could totally see these two as a mani/pedi combo or even part of an  ombre manicure.  Unfortunately, OPI decided to discontinue Parlez-Vous OPI? (I know, right?!), so you may have a hard time tracking it down outside of internet stores.  But if you can, you won't regret it.  It's beautiful!

Bottom line:  These are totally different enough to own all three.  Yay!  I'm just loving these colors right now, so I'll probably be expanding my collection of lavenders/lilacs. 

OPI Done Out in Deco

There's a story behind this one.  A few weeks ago I was working the front desk at the spa I work for, when one of the estheticians, Melissa, came up to write follow-up recommendations for her client.  My eyes went immediately to her nails (usually unpainted), clad in this fresh, gorgeous, pale lilac purple.  "OHMYGODWHATISTHATINEEDITNOW," is what I was thinking.  "Melissa!  I love your nails!  What color is that?" I managed to get out instead.  She said "Um, Deco...something-Deco, I think?"  "OPI Done Out in Deco.  Done."  Music played, cherubs sang, and a lemming was born.  I began stalking swap lists on MUA.  Three failed swap attempts, before I finally got this bad boy home.  And so worth it!

(click to enlarge)

I love this for so many reasons.  It's refreshing after all this snow and cloudy days - winter in general, really.  It's actually the perfect color for spring.  Maybe this will be my Easter manicure!  :-)  Also, this baby was a two-coater.  TWO coats!  Not that the formula was an absolute dream, but I've had far too many struggles with four-coat pastels.  Complete opacity in two coats?  Yes, please!  The only down side here is that it debuted in spring 2009 with OPI's South Beach Collection...and it didn't make the perm line.  The good news is that even though you can't just pick this up at your local Ulta, you can still find it online pretty easily (and cheap!).  It's also readily available at beauty supply stores, if you have access to those, or know someone who does.  Happy hunting!

OPI Black Cherry Chutney

The unthinkable happened today.  My super weak nails  decided to revolt against me.  I got a small break on the corner of my pinky nail on my left hand, a huge crack in the nail on my left middle finger and then, just to put the cherry on top, I got a huge break on my right pointer nail.  It hasn't been a good week for me in general, so the last thing I wanted to do was file down my long nails to nubbins.  Luckily, I didn't have to file down as short as I was thinking I was going to have to go.  To "celebrate" my shorter length, I decided to bust out a good vampy color - the kind that always looks great on short nails.  Enter OPI Black Cherry Chutney.

(click to enlarge)

By the way, I SWEAR I'm not this pale in real life.  I think the combination of my Ott-Lite and the dark polish sent me to Paleville.  I only recently got this (I know, right?!), after seeing how wildly popular it is on MUA.  It's kind of the Queen Bee of vampies, and I can see why.  It's a blackened plum with fine reddish shimmer.  It's dark, but definitely not black.  I'll have to see how it looks under the fluorescent lighting at work to get a better feel for it.  I'm sure application would've been great, if it weren't for the fact that I wound up with a wonky brush.  I had to surgically remove two bristles from it that were saluting me, and then the bottom of it was still pretty frayed out.  *Sigh*

But overall, it's a great color - chic, and I liked it more than I thought I was going to.  It's also super easy to find, as it's part of the core collection.  So, if you're like me, and have almost no vampies, this is a great place to start!