Zoya Gems & Jewels Collection

Ho, ho, ho! Everyone getting ready for the Holidays to hit?? I know I am, even though it doesn't feel much like December 17th due to the absolutely no snow we've gotten this year. Oh well, I'm sure we'll get more than our fair share come January haha. I have got Zoya's Christmas collection Gems & Jewels to show you today to get you in the spirit :)

Zoya Nail Polish presents 3 new jewel toned metallic shimmer polishes and 3 glitzy, glitter glazes (featuring unique bar glitter) for an extra special holiday and winter 2011 season!

The Zoya gems & jewels collection allows for multiple looks!
• Wear the full coverage, jewel toned shades alone for a classic metallic shimmer look!
• Wear the glitzy, glitter glazes alone for a hint of glitz.
• Wear several layers of the glitzy, glitter glazes for a unique textured glitz nail look.
• Layer the the glazes over the shimmers to a totally glam nail jewelry look.
• Layer the glitzy, glitter glazes over other colors to create a totally unique look that is all your own (hint - hint: silver, gold, white and black totally rock under the glazes!).

First up is Noel, a blue metallic shimmer. Zoya describes it as "A faded denim blue with subtle hints of gold and silver in a dense foil finish." I am really liking metallics this winter, so fun and yet so simple! This is two coats.

Next I layered Twila over Noel. Twila is a "unique bar glitter in a bright blue shade with hologram glitter accents." I can't tell you how awesome these bar glitters are in person, they sparkle and shine like you seriously can't believe. This is two coats of Twila over two coats of Noel.

Here is Izzy, a "bright, bold deep pink with hints of silver in a glowing foil-like finish". And boy does this baby GLOW! You won't be able to handle all the shine! Two coats.

Here is Kissy (worst name ever) over Izzy, a "glitter that combines red, pink, purple and hologram particles with unique bar glitter." The hologram particles really pop in this one, I really love it. Two coats of Kissy over two coats of Izzy.

And last of the shimmers is Holly, a "rich holly green with subtle yellow tones in a luminous metallic finish." This one is super gorj and perfect for celebrating the season! Two coats here.

Last of the glitters is Rina, a "unique bar glitter in a bright shamrock green with hologram glitter accents." This is probably my absolute favorite combination of the collection, WHAM! POW! in yo face glitter explosion! Two coats of Rina over two coats of Holly.

I used to hate the idea of bar glitters, and never having owned one myself, I now can't imagine what I was thinking! These are some of my favorite glitters ever, so that's pretty great. You can get these on www.zoya.com for $8 each, all six for $48, and there are two "sampler" sets of the 3 metallics or 3 glitters for $24. Happy HOLIDAYS from Zoya and me :)

Products provided for review.

BB Couture Sinfully Polished Collection for Men

Here are the swatches for BB Couture's Sinfully Polished for Men collection. I seem to gravitate more towards the Men's colors and this collection is no different, these are definitely some hot colors!

First is Desire, a warm red metallic with heavy gold shimmer and red glitter. This is really a spectacular polish and looks better in person than I could capture in this picture. The gold shimmer really shines, making it look almost firey! This is two coats.

Next is Jealousy, one amazing polish! It's so complex and sort of hard to describe. It's a smoky grey with a slight purple tone and tons of glitter in green, gold, silver and black and it also has a shimmery deep pink iridescence that pops out at different angles. Very cool! This is two coats.

Lazy Bum is a dark mauvey nude with a healthy does of silver flake shimmer and a few black and red glitter pieces. This turned out darker than I expected it to but I still like it. I wish there was more black glitter or none at all, it's a bit confusing because it turns out a bit sparse, it can look like a mistake on the nail. *shrug* Oh well, this is two coats.

Enraged is a metallic medium blue with lots of silver shimmer. This one is probably the least opaque in the collection, I did two coats but it looks like I could've used another swipe.

I absolutely adore Indulgent, a warm purple with glowy shimmer of purple and blue. Love this! Two coats.

Selfish is a brother to one of the polishes in the Ladies' collection, Sloth. It is also a brown with gold shimmer and red glitter pieces. However, this one is cooler toned and the shimmer is more subdued than in Sloth, but they are both gorgeous. I can't decide which one I like more! Two coats.

Egotistical is a dark royal purple with pink and blue microshimmer. It isn't the most unique polish ever but of course it's lovely. This is two coats.

You can get these from www.overallbeauty.com for $9.95 each. Hope you like them as much as I do!

Products provided for review.

BB Couture Sinfully Polished Collection Part 2

Here is the second half of the Sinfully Polished collection from BB Couture. I showed you the first half of these the other day, so check them out if you missed the post.

Anger is a fickle color, and a fickle emotion come to think about it. It's really a super saturated lavender blue but it tricks my eyes to look like a deep cornflower blue most of the time. Very odd color and really unique. I love the sprinkle of soft silver sparkles in this one. Two coats.

Lust is a warm orange with a slight red tint, reminds me of Thanksgiving! I wouldn't say this is my favorite color, but it's definitely different and festive for fall. This is two coats.

Pride is a deep smoky blackened purple full of multicolored microshimmer. The pop of shimmer that comes out in the light really makes this polish beautiful. This was three coats.

You can purchase these from www.overallbeauty.com for $9.95 each. You can expect to see swatches of the Men's Sinfully Polished collection here soon :)

Products provided for review.

Sneak Peek! FingerPaints Special Effects Collection

Availability: January, in stores only

Shade names:

· Flashy

· Twisted

· Asylum

· Flecked

· Motley

Price: $5.49

  
I love that other brands are hopping on the "flakie" bandwagon, it lets people who haven't seen it yet in on the fun! I personally love all flakies and even though I have quite a few, I suppose you can never have too many ;) Look for these in January in Sally Beauty Supply stores.

Products provided for review.

FingerPaints Winter Sky

What's up people? Hope your weekend is going well. I got up early today for the first time in a long time, without being completely zonked that is. Nice :) Today I thought I'd show you one of the polishes from FingerPaints Holiday collection Merry & Bright.

This is Winter Sky, a gorgeous turquoise aqua polish with subtle silver shimmer. My eyes just about popped out of my head when I first saw this color, it's truly stunning in person. I am wearing this as my NOTD and just can't believe the color pigmentation, amahzing. This is three thin coats.

Watch out, it will definitely give your Smurf hands if you aren't careful, but it's very buttery and manageable. You can get this at Sally Beauty Supply stores and on www.sallybeauty.com.

Products provided for review.

Cult Nails Super Powers collection

Howdy folks! Today I am proud to present you with swatches of the newest Cult Nails collection, Super Powers! Thanks Maria, and keep on creating more pretties, you're so good at it!

First is Mind Control, a dark charcoal jelly base with an extreme amount of purple micro shimmer that does a slight color shift to gold/green. This one wasn't too exciting to me in the bottle but once I had it on and I went out in the sun, it was really fabulous! This is three coats. P.S. Mind control would definitely be my super power of choice ;) Muahahaha!

Next is Power Thief, which while maintaining that it is a lovely polish, I just can't make myself love. It has that delicious shimmer that Maria is becoming notorious for, the same silver/pink/blue glitz that is in Let Me Fly and My Kind of Cool Aid. I just am not crazy about the warm chocolate mocha color. *shrug* Oh well, I know loads of you out there will love it. Two coats.

Next is Time Traveler, which also would be an awesome power to have, if "Back to the Future" has taught me anything ;) This is the ultimate cobalt blue jelly crème. It's dark but wouldn't be mistaken for black, and glides on like butter. This is two coats.

And last we have Clairvoyant, previously known as Unicorn Puke. I layered this purple jelly filled with rainbow flakies over Time Traveler. Oh. My. FLLLLAAAAKKKKIIIIIEEESSSSS. I don't think I've ever seen a flakie polish with as many colors and shapes and sizes as this one. I have to admit, I'm a little burnt out on them since they started popping up everywhere this last year, but this one still makes me drool! I declare that Clairvoyant would make any nail polish instantly more awesome.

You can purchase these on Maria's site, www.cultnails.com for $10 each . Also, below is a picture of their design you can get printed on different types of T-shirts to show your love for the Cult!

Image courtesy of R3Daily.com

I have to admit that I have a rather huge fear of vomit, and even I would sport that design on a shirt! Too fun.

Products provided for review.

BB Couture Sinfully Polished Collection Part 1

Freaking finally! I really can't believe I have had these polishes to myself for so long, I really need to be lashed for my tardiness in showing you all this amazing collection. I expect nothing less than fantastic from BB and this collection has no shortage of it. Sinfully Polished is the fall collection and each of the polishes are named a different "sin", from the 7 Deadly Sins get it!

First up is Gluttony (a sin I know a little bit too much about, haha) which is a purple lavender pinky crème with translucent silver glitter bits. I really adore these subtle shimmers from BB Couture, so complex! This is three coats.

Next is Envy, and yes it is green ;) A gorgeous darkened cool toned green with absolute loads of dark gold shimmer and lots of red glitter bits. This is two coats.

Greed is the next polish, a pinky brown beigey crème. I like nudes and this one is really gorgeous, very mellow. This is three coats.

Here is Sloth, which is also a cute furry tree-dwelling animal haha, and a beautiful polish. It is a warm chestnut brown with tons of gold shimmer and red glitter bits. I am LOVING the red glitter, so unexpected!

Stay tuned for the next part of this collection and the Men's half!

Products provided for review.

Random Swatches

I used to have a huge back log of swatches but I've gotten rid of most of them that I don't like or that I think I could improve on. These are what's left over from what I had. I need a camera that takes good macro photos indoors, or I just need to learn how, or I have to wait til I have the ambition to swatch during the sunlight hours. Otherwise I dislike my photos, and I won't post them. That's just the way it is I'm afraid *shrug*. Hope you don't mind.

This is Peachy Keen by Misa from the Hip to My Jive collection from this summer/fall. It's a shimmery sandy peach. It honestly doesn't look like much in the bottle but I love it on. This is two coats. I love Misa so hard.

Next is New Bohemian from Color Club's Back to Boho collection from this fall. It's blue/green turquoise "Tiffany" blue color that we've seen before but I still adore it! Perfect crème, two coats.

This is another Color Club polish from Back to Boho, Nomadic Nude. I really have a soft spot for neutrals and this putty greige is just so classic looking. This formula was a bit watery, but still covered well in three coats.

I will be trying to actively swatch in the sunlight whenever it is available from now on, so don't give up on me yet. I figure if you're still reading this, you don't mind when I post, just that I post at all eh? ...Maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part. ;)

Products provided for review.

Glitter Gal Holos

Thought I would show you some more swatches that have been cluttering up my back files for freaking ever. These are three Glitter Gal polishes, three holographics to be more specific. These are from www.shop.llarowe.com from Leah Ann, who is a super doll. She carries all sorts of "foreign" brands that can be hard to obtain, GGs, Ozotics, Picture Polish, a England, and some of the Brazilian brands I've shown on my blog like HITS and Ludurana.

I have to start with my love, red holographic Red "sparkle". I know the ladies over at GG are in the process of choosing new names for most of their polishes, but I have this version simply called Red. It's the non-linear version, the one with larger holo particles. So gorgeous and sexy and va va voom! This is two coats.

Next is Lizard Belly, a dark green, almost black, linear holo. I love the rainbow that comes from this guy. This was a new color for 2011, it came out the same time as Light as a Feather which I've shown you before. This is two coats.

This is Fuchsia , the linear holographic version. I really adore pink polish anyway and adding a fab rainbow holo flash to a pretty pink makes it even cuter! This is three coats. WOW look at that holo eh?

Thanks to Leah Ann again! Visit her shop www.shop.llarowe.com or my pal Kim's site www.overallbeauty.com if you're in the US, or if you're in Australia, go to http://www.glittergal.com.au/nails/products_nails3D.html to purchase these shades.

Products provided for review.

Best Top Coat of All Time: Cult Nails Wicked Fast

Yeah, I went there. I finally am declaring once and for all the best top coat that I have ever used. Wicked Fast by Cult Nails is pretty unbelievable. I've been searching and failing to find a top coat that works the way I want it to. Here are my expectations for a perfect top coat: dry really flippin' fast, shiny as glass if you please, no freaking tip pull or cuticle pooling, NO BUBBLES, does not thicken up like syrup, does not smell like toxic waste, smooths glitter polishes, doesn't cost a million dollars, and is easy to buy. Wicked Fast satisfies ALL these requirements.

It dries almost as fast as Seche Vite, up until now my HG in terms of drying time, but we're talking like 30 seconds difference maybe. It is as shiny as my favorite shiny top coat, Revlon Quick Dry. I have not had tip pull at all since I started using it. It is a thinner texture than most top coats but not so thin that it pools. It has stayed the same viscosity since the day I opened it, no thickening. It smells like nail polish, not better but not worse. It is thick enough to cover glitter polishes well, meaning I only need one coat of it over chunky glitters. I have never had it bubble on me, despite polishing in a warm place, cold place, and in a room with lots of fans (which are all factors that can create bubbles in my polish). And it is easily available online for $8. AND it is free of the Big 3 Chemicals that suck and free of camphor too (oops!). DAMN. I am not playing, friends, if you have not tried this, do it NOW.

Thank you to Maria for creating this amazing product, I am literally in awe of Wicked Fast!

Nars Night Series Nail Polish Collection

Here are two polishes from Nars' Night Series, based on the iconic Night Series eyeshadow palette.

Night Porter is a fantastically drool-inducing blackened emerald with green, blue, and gold shimmer flakes, almost glass flake looking. This is seriously ga ga gorgeous, I can't handle it. This one I passed on buying but my sister snatched it up, so I borrowed it to swatch. O.M.G. I can't believe I didn't get it. This is two coats with a topcoat for shine, as it dries dull.

Night Rider (of course, my mind immediately goes to David Hasselhoff) is a greyed pinky lavender jellyish base with plummy pink and silver shimmer flecks. This formula wasn't fantastic but it was acceptable. This is two coats.

Currently these are still available on narscosmetics.com along with Night Flight, the blue polish. It looks like the only one currently unavailable is the black and silver Night Breed. You may also still be able to find these at your local Nars counters. Have a great one dolls!

Products provided for review.

The Jeans Collection by Nubar

Hi dear readers, hope you are all doing well these days :) The Jeans collection by Nubar is similar to the much hyped Chanel Les Jeans collection, similar in that it basically dupes the three shades completely. I rarely shell out the dough for a Chanel lacquer so I wasn't too interested in the three seemingly ordinary blue polishes, even though there was significant hubbub before their release. I was more than happy to see more affordable dupes come out soon after. Nubar is a brand that I whole-heartedly adore for their bottle shape, color selection, and formula, so I was excited to see their take on the "denim" collex.

Faded Jeans is a light sky blue shimmer. I have to say I don't own any jeans this color and if I did it was probably back when I was in middle school haha. This is two-ish coats, it was a tad streaky. Beautiful subtle shimmer, though gosh.

Boyfriend Jeans is a gorgeous grayed out cornflower blue. It's a perfect jelly crème formula, two coats. This is probably around the color of most of the jeans I wear, standard and casual. Two coats.

Dark Wash Jeans is a deep blue jelly crème, almost peacock in color. I wore this for almost a week, it is so gorj! This reminds me of my deeper colored "nice" jeans, haha. This is my favorite of the collection. Two coats.

The retail price for the set of three is $19.99 on bynubar.com which is cheaper than one bottle of the similarly colored Chanels. That equals awesome in my opinion ;)

Products provided for review.