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Thanks ^_^

Zoya - "DARE" Fall 2009 Collection

Ok guys, after all the giveaway alerts here's a "real" post to keep you interested!

As promised, I swatched out the Dare collection (sooner than I was anticipating, I'm rather proud of myself. Actually, since this is study-procrastination kicking in I really shouldn't be proud of myself at all... :P)

All of these were 2 coats, without a top coat or base coat. Excuse any bumpy-ness I have some rough patches on my nails that I'm working on... Also you'll notice that the corner of my index finger has broken off since my last post :(


Zoya - "Vanessa"
This is a berry red creme. It's a red that has more violet in it. I found this to be thicker than the rest of the collection, but it still applied smoothly. (Sorry I did not get a picture of "Vanessa" with flash.)




Zoya - "Ciara"
This is also a berry-toned creme, but this one is not as red and much more....purple? It is a slightly more muted tone. For me, "Ciara" applied a bit easier than "Vanessa" since it wasn't as thick.




Zoya - "Demi"
In these photos, "Demi" looks much bluer than in real life. It is a purple toned color, but much more red than blue. Probably somewhere between "Demi" and "Ciara" is the actual color. Application wise was similar to "Ciara".




Zoya - "Pinta"
In these photos "Pinta" looks much, much bluer than in real life. It is definitely a blue-toned, indigo/purple, but it is not quite as blue as these photos would suggest. I had a bit of difficulty applying this polish, it dried out on me more quickly and did not smooth out as well as the others.




Zoya - "Envy"
Now this is a gorgeous, dark foresty deep mossy green (that's a long string of adjectives, I know). Apologies for the unfocused non-flash picture. I'm still getting the hang of taking swatch photos...with a dying camera that's about 8 years old. (Also, I honestly start to get impatient and my nails start to get all cruddy about halfway through swatching. I'm trying to go fast in order to catch the last few minutes of bright daylight as well.) Anyways, I love this color but I don't really see a lot of opportunities for me to wear this on my fingers at work.

NOTE: If you look veeerrry closely, you will notice a hint of shimmer. It is barely there, however, and "envy" basically passes as a creme.




Zoya - "Ibiza"
Ibiza is beautiful! Similar to how "Anaka" had the unique finish out of all the polishes in the Truth collection, "Ibiza" is the only polish in the Dare collection that has a noticeable shimmer (other than "Envy", but the shimmer is very subtle). A dark blue with a hint of shimmer that gives it that little bit of glow.


So that's the Dare collection! Out of all six, obviously the 3 red toned are the safest and most wearable, but I found "Envy" to be very unique and I also loved "Pinta" even though I had some issues with application. "Ibiza" is very nice, but it reminds me of an old Wet n' Wild nail polish that was also a dark, shimmery blue. The Wet n' Wild was one of the first nail polishes I ever bought (back in grade school!).

Also, since I did not swatch "Salma" in the Truth collection last time here it is:

(I will also update the last post so that it will be complete with the entire collection).



Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more swatches! I've already got the pictures but just need to mark them and post :)

HUGE Giveaway Alert at Sawan!!!

Laura at Sawan is having a HUUUGE giveaway in celebration of 200+ followers!

Here are some of the things you can win:


Click here for rules on how to enter an a full list of all the goodies!

Contest ends April 30th at 5pm.

Giveaway Alert - Hey Dude skincare

Lipgloss Break is having a giveaway on her blog. The prize is some Hey Dude skincare for men.



Click here for more info.

Giveaway Alert - Win Zoya Reverie!!!

Never Enough Nails is giving away a set of Zoya's Spring 2010 collection "Reverie"!



Click here for more info on how to win. Contest ends Monday, March 29.

Zoya - "TRUTH" Fall 2009 Collection

UPDATE: "Salma" has been added!

Here are swatches of Zoya's Truth collection. For some reason, I did not swatch "Salma" but did the other 5 polishes in this collection (Penny, Kalmia, Drew, Anaka, Isla).

Again, I realize that I'm a season or two late since this was the Fall 2009 collection, but I didn't really feel up for a ton of swatching and photo-taking until today. I was on a roll today and did a bunch of swatches (to be completely honest I'm trying to study for the MCAT's right now, but have had a difficult time focusing and this was a good way to pass some time :P. I'm happy now...but won't be in May when I have my exam :(...)

I also did a couple of China Glazes and the two other holos I mentioned in my last post (Milani and Color Club). I'll get to those later. For now:


Zoya - "Penny" This is a nice coppery-orange, I think the name suits it fairly well.


Zoya - "Kalmia" A darker, redder version of penny. It has a nice golden shimmer to it as you can probably see.

Zoya - "Salma" Should go here, as it is the next step up from Kalmia. It is a darker version of Kalmia, more of a red and less of an orange/copper. At the time I was taking pictures, I felt that Kalmia and Salma were so similar that I didn't feel like swatching Salma :(. It may have just been the lighting in my room, but I was lazy. Sorry! I will try to remember to swatch it another day and update this post.

UPDATE:
Zoya - "Salma" This was a very pretty, red with a hint of copper/orange/brick. While swatching I looked at it and wanted to keep it on. I feel stupid now for not including it the first time.


Zoya - "Drew" This is a nice, mauve polish. It's fairly neutral, and has a muted quality to it. Kind of a "dusty rose" perhaps?


Zoya - "Anaka" This is a very pretty fuschia/magenta polish. Unlike the other polishes in this collection, Anaka has unique glass-flecky shimmer particles in it that really give it some depth. I'm not really a fuschia person but I like the glass-flecks.


Zoya - "Isla" This is a beautiful dark red polish. It has that dark, blackened shimmer to it that really gives this polish a lot of depth.

And that's it for now! I think that Penny is a unique color, but Isla is probably my favorite of the bunch.

Apologies for not including "Salma".

I also have the Dare collection, and will swatch that as soon as possible!

Thanks for reading ^_^

Quickie: Color Club - Worth the Risque

What I have on right now (on my nails that is :P) is Worth the Risque by Color Club. I know, I know this is old news but most of my nail polish I buy after seeing it on other beauty blogs. So...I'm usually a few seasons too late but that's ok. There will always be people like me who are still curious about different brands and polishes.

Here's a quick pic I snapped with my iPhone:


This was one of the very first "holos" or "prismatic" polishes that I bought. The VERRRRY first one was a Sally Hansen red/coral color. Worth the Risque I bought along with Revvvolution (also from the same Color Club collection) at a little Asian nail supply store last summer. The most recent holographic nail polish I bought was one of the 3D Holographics from Milani. Comparatively, I much prefer the Milani polish.

Personally I feel like the holo particles in Worth the Risque are just too fine. It takes a careful eye and very specific lighting to get the full holo effect, and the silver color looks kind of gray on me and not especially flattering with my skin tone. I do think this would be a great color for doing nail art or stamping (which I myself don't have the time or equipment for).

Application wise, this polish was smooth and applied evenly in 2 coats. I did 3 coats for the photo.

(look at me rambling on in what was originally just supposed to be a quick post with a quick picture I took...now I have a long text post with one crappy cell phone picture..oops. I didn't even bother doing a water mark or anything.)

HUGE GIVEAWAY at Nail Junkie!!!!

Nail Junkie is having a HUGE (and I mean HUUUGE) giveaway over at her blog. It's amazing, I can't believe how awesome this prize is, especially for a FIRST giveaway!

Here is everything you could win:


Be sure to check out the rules on how to enter here before the contest closes today at 8PM Central European Time.

Konad 8 Plates Giveaway Alert!

Another fantastic giveaway over at Painted Lady Fingers. This time, it's 8 Konad plates! I do not personally own any Konad plates, but have ALWAYS wanted to try them after seeing the awesome manis people do with them. I think the problem is I'm too cheap.

Anyways, check out the rules on how to enter by clicking here.

For the Love of Manglaze Giveaway Alert!!

Painted Lady Fingers is having a giveaway over at her blog. The prize is 3 bottles of Manglaze polish and some swag:
Hot Mess: Silver glitter top coat
Matte is Murder: Matte black polish
Matte-astrophe: Mattifying top coat
Swag: A Manglaze sticker and business card!


Check out more details on how to enter by clicking here!

Suzie Homemaker and BFTE Giveaway Alert!!

There's a huge giveaway over at Suzie Homemaker's blog, with lots of great prizes including 36 sample jars of BFTE (Beauty From the Earth) cosmetics!!!

Three winners will be chosen by March 20 so hurry up and check it out. There are lots of ways to win, more details by clicking here.

March Manicures

In honor of March - the month of St. Patty's Day AND also my birthday - I am hoping to do a mini series of green manicures. I rummaged through my polish collection and came up with 8 green polishes:





Top row: Zoya ~ Envy followed by three random bottles of Asian nail polish.
Bottom row: Zoya ~ Irene, Sally Hansen HD ~ Hi-Def, China Glaze ~ Entourage, Milani 3D Holographic ~ Hi-Tech.

I'm currently sporting Milani's Hi-Tech on my nails and loving it! I've worn it to work this week with minimal drama. I've read reviews that is is "extremely" bright, but it is actually surprisingly un-flashy (in my opinion) for being a lime green holo. When I find time and better lighting..as well as batteries for my real camera (these recent posts are being made from my phone), I will get some pics and a proper review up.


Quick comments about some of the other polishes:

Zoya ~ Envy: I've yet to wear this but I've swatches it and it is a dark, foresty green cream that can easily be mistaken for black by the common eye. EDIT: This is NOT a cream, but has a VERY subtle - BARELY discernible - shimmer to it.

Zoya ~ Irene: I believe I did a review on this a long time ago. Search for Zoya or Green in my tags.

Sally Hansen ~ Hi-Def: This was a bit runny and not as pigmented as I was expecting for an "HD" polish.

China Glaze ~ Entourage: from the Kicks collection. Very pigmented! I love this color, but make sure to wear a base coat. I have Custom Kicks (teal blue) and Entourage from this collection, and I forget which left a nasty yellow stain but I suggest using a base coat for both.

Bare Minerals Matte Surprise!

Just came home and found this little baby sitting on my doorstep. I believe it was from a giveaway I entered, but I had forgotten about it and what a lovely surprise!









EDIT: As I thought, this is a prize I won from Lipgloss Break. Thank you so much!!! I haven't been been keeping up with my blogs recently and didn't even know I'd got it!