We made it to Wednesday, congrats to us! And happy November to all you autumn-loving folks, I'm totally digging the crisp weather right now. Today I have the Winter/Holiday line from Zoya to share with you, the Enchanted collection. This six shade palette gives us two metallic "flips" and three PixieDusts! Zoya said they were retiring this textured finish a while back, but they must have reconsidered due to popular demand, as they gave us some in their summer collection too.
Waverly is a deep sapphire blue with blue sparkles in the exclusive PixieDust matte sparkle formula. I am SO happy to have new colors in this finish, it's so striking. Applied easily and dries quickly to a textured, sandy finish. I prefer these in their textured state, but you could use a few layers of top coat to make it smooth if you want. I always wear a base coat, though they say you don't need one for these. However this is a very pigmented blue, so it may stain.
Lorna is a luscious berry magenta with a sugary bling in the matte sparkle PixieDust formula. The sparkle from the glitter in these may seem shy in the photographs, but it's delightfully twinkly in person. Two easy coats here.
Alice is an enigmatic periwinkle PixieDust with subtle magenta and blue sparkles. This formula seemed thinner with a slightly chunkier heft to the glitter. I was thinking maybe I would need three coats but it became opaque in two. This is nice and unique, an exciting shade to have in a texture finish.
Elphie is a bewitching emerald green PixieDust matte sparkle. Another excellent formula, full coverage in two coats. I think this is probably named for Elphaba from Wicked, which is of course awesome. I needed this green texture in my life, sexy and so wearable.
Saint is a vivid periwinkle shimmer multichrome with a magenta shift. This has a thin but easy formula, a bit prone to brushstrokes but they don't look bad with this type of finish. I used three coats for full coverage.
Olivera is a mesmerizing color-flip metallic with an indigo base and a green and purple shift. This is seriously gorgeous, dark and glimmering. Very close to being a one coater, two layers makes it perfect though. I can see myself wearing this over and over.
The Enchanted collection is available now on the Zoya website for $10 each. What do you think of these lacquers? I'm pretty taken with them, this is probably my favorite Zoya collection all year! I would say Olivera and Elphie have to be my favs, how about you? Enjoy your day sweets!
❤ Kellie
The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.
I'm back today with the second half of the fall collection from Zoya! The Urban Grunge collection is twelve shades, six of which I showed you Friday and now we have the sparklier six! These are named the metallic holos, not that they're both--three are metallic and three are holos. I am pretty much carried away by my love of these, so let's get to the swatches!
Merida is a brilliant evergreen filled with holographic flakes. This is the infamous Zoya holo formula, like previous hits Dream, Storm, etc. I have been waiting for them to come out with a green version, along with a lot of others, for a long time so I am absolutely over the moon for this! Awesome formula, covers completely in one coat but gets deeper with two layers.
Alicia is a pale silver holographic with holo flakes a touch of gold flash. This applied really nicely, easy formula. It was really super close to being opaque in two coats for me, but I could still barely see my nail line so I used three.
Finley is a deep royal purple with holographic flakies, same formula as Merida. A tiny bit less opaque, but I still only needed two coats.
Britta is a creamy berry metallic with a red and purple fuchsia flash and tons of gold shimmer. I wasn't sure about this when I saw it in the bottle but it really wowed me when I put it on. Super opaque, one coater but I used two here.
Troy is a liquid pewter grey with a foil finish and an touch of black and gold. Crazy good formula, another one that's opaque in one coat. I used two again. One of my favorite colors to wear on my nails, gunmetal!
Ash is vibrant cherry metallic with a red and gold shimmer. Same formula as the other two metallics, one coater again! This looks way cuter on the nail than I expected, very sparkly. And I have to say, they really missed an opportunity naming this one Ash instead of Troy, the actual ash colored one... Oh well!
These are available now on the Zoya website for $10 each. I posted the first half of the collection already, the "one coat creams", they are not to be missed! What do you think of these six shimmering shades? I love them all, and honestly this might be my favorite Zoya collection in a long time!
❤ Kellie
The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.
Happy Friday friends! Today I have the first half of the Urban Grunge collection from Zoya. These six shades are toted as "one coat creams", so we will see if that is true! The last collection of one coat creams didn't impress me so much, so I was anxious to see how these babies measured up. They are all pretty for sure, so great formulas are icing on the cake.
August is a soft leather type of grey crème. On the thicker end of the spectrum, but lovely to apply. One coat! I used two for my swatch, because I (almost) always do.
Wyatt is a true racing green crème. Lovely formula, not as thick as the two lighter shades in the collection, but just as saturated. Another impressive one coater, I used two though.
Tara is a purple plum crème. Not quite as opaque as the others, but still has great application. Seemed slightly more jellyish. I needed two coats for full opacity on this one, but I'm not complaining.
Mallory is a saturated Prussian blue crème. Same formula as the green, super easy to apply with excellent pigmentation. One coat, but I used two.
Noah is a balanced beige, not quite taupe or yellow. The formula is thick but not difficult to paint with. This is a one coat shade, however I used two here.
Courtney is a deep beet root red crème, although this borders on a jelly crème hybrid. More transparent than the others, you definitely need at least two coats for coverage, possibly three if you have very white nail tips.
These available now on the Zoya website for $10 each. I will have the second half of the collection up soon, the "metallic holos". Let me know what you think of these! I honestly love them all, and most of the formulas are exceptional.
❤ Kellie
The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.
I've got the second Zoya collection for the summer to show you today, a group of six glittery textured polishes called Seashells! (Click to see the other summer collection, the Sunsets!) This is the first reemergence of the PixieDust series since the Holiday Wishes collection in 2014. And more specifically the first return to the original PixieDust formula since Fall 2013. I was very excited to see these when I heard about them, so let's see how they turned out!
Tilly is described as a "starry grey, textured PixieDust with a small holographic glitter interwoven with a darker gunmetal." I'd say at first glance that it was silver with muted dark purple glitter, but I can see the grey/gunmetal thing too haha. This applied wonderfully, the glitter was easy to spread over the nail and I got full coverage in two coats.
Zooey is a "classic pink, textured PixieDust laced with a fine thread of gold and medium sized holographic hexes for an added layer of dimension." This looks like a textured version of Zoya Harper from their 2014 Tickled & Bubbly collection and I love it! Two easy coats.
Levi is a "beige gold, textured PixieDust with medium holographic hex glitter." Zoya says they created this color to give an updated glam look of one of the classic PixieDusts, so I'm thinking they're talking about Godiva. This is pretty different though so I can't be sure. I love how the holo glitter catches the light and brings green hints to the gold base! Two coats, flawless formula.
Bay is a "sky blue, textured PixieDust with fine silver and gold glitter." This one was a little more sheer than the others, I needed three coats to completely cover my nail. I didn't experience any staining though, which is nice. I can't help but think they named this in a way after Beyonce, considering her daughter's name haha.
Linds is a "cherry red, textured PixieDust with red and fuchsia glitter to mimic the look of maraschino cherries dipped in sugar." Linds has a creamier, more pigmented type of base like Tilly and Levi, lending it to be more opaque. This was almost a one coater, but I used two to get 100% coverage.
Cece is a "full impact green, textured PixieDust with a thin vein of gold creating a fizzy lemon-lime effect." I used two coats here but almost wish I'd have done one more, though in the photo it looks pretty good. Seemed more sheer, like Bay. Awesome color though, I totally needed a texture in this shade of green!
This collection is available now on the Zoya website for $10 each. I am pretty in love with these, I am really happy they went back to their roots and made more of the original type PixieDust formula textures. I thought the texture trend was over, but this kinda re-lit my passion for them! I would be pleased to see more!
❤ Kellie
The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.
One of the two newest Zoya collections on the scene for Summer 2016 is called Sunsets, six bright crèmes advertised as one-coaters. I've got them for you today, shall we see if they live up to the one-coat hype? Let's take a look!
Cam is a medium orange crème. I found this to be a little streaky, and I needed three coats to cover them completely. I love this tone of orange, but sad to see it was less opaque than I expected.
Liv is a mid-tone orchid-y purple crème. This was closer to being one coat, but I needed a second layer to get full coverage. I don't love this shade on me, but I know it's pretty popular.
Ness is a soft jade green crème. This had a similar formula to Liv, very close to being opaque in just one coat, but I needed a second for complete opacity. (Does anyone else think maybe they named this after the Lochness Monster?)
Brynn is a magenta pink crème. Lovely and bright, but unfortunately a little streaky. This is three coats. Not really a remarkable shade, but pretty just the same.
Dory is a vibrant cornflower blue crème. Perfect color and aptly named, presumably, for that lil' blue fish we all know and love. This had a nice, smooth formula, but again, needed two coats for complete opacity. This also smelled a bit skunky, as some blue polishes seem to.
Dixie is described as a watermelon red crème. A fabulous formula, but two coats were still necessary to cover the nail line. This is SO my type of color, I love it!
This collection is available now on the Zoya website for $10 each. How do you like the look of these polishes? I'm disappointed they were marketed as one-coat crèmes, which I suppose they could be if one's application differed significantly from mine, but I didn't experience them to live up to that. Had they left out the "one coat" claim, I believe I would've enjoyed them more as the formulas are pretty much on par with most of Zoya's normal crème polishes. What do you think?
Hi everyone! Today I have the Zoya Spring collection to show you. It's called Petals and the shades are "inspired by the gardens of spring, this fresh and vibrant collection invites you to revel in the beauty of the season!" There's six polishes in the bunch and they're great for the season!
Tulip is a "pure pastel salmon cream with the slightest hint of sheen to mimic a petal soft finish." I found the color delightful, but the formula was a tad streaky and I needed three coats for opacity. The shimmer is subtle but noticeable.
Aster is a "fresh periwinkle with flecks of fuchsia to create a dewy finish, mimicking the look of spring flowers in the morning." This was excellently formulated, fool-proof application and I had full coverage on two coats! What a pretty color too eh? Similar to OPI Show Us Your Tips but more opaque and slightly more purple toned.
Laurel is "a warm pastel pink with the slightest hint of sheen to mimic a petal soft finish." This one was on the streaky side and needed three coats. However, with the slightly crelly-like formula I wasn't surprised. I would choose a formula like this one or Tulip's over something like Zoya Eden which has a chalkier type of feel. I suppose it would come down to personal preference.
Azalea is a "classic spring pink with a captivating white and fuchsia flash". I found the sparkle in this to be so pretty, the same type that Aster has with a similar formula. Very opaque, two coats here.
Zahara is described as "a brilliant shimmering coral made modern with an opalescent effect." This polish was similar to Aster & Azalea in finish and formula, but was a little less opaque so I needed three coats.This is SO pretty, maybe my favorite in the collection.
Leia is a "sheer, opalescent white with flecks of fuchsia, green and gold". Zoya says this can be worn on it's own or layered over the other shades in the collection. This is it by itself at two coats. I like it but probably wouldn't wear it like this. I bet it would build up a little more with one or two more layers though.
I layered one coat of Leia over the other shades here. You can't tell very well from this photo but there was significant sparkle and a bit of that flash of color. (P.S. my thumbnail is rounded for some unfathomable reason, don't mind her)
These are available right now on the Zoya website for $10 each. I've heard a bunch of people say this collection isn't their favorite because the colors are too similar and they don't like the formulas, but I really enjoyed them! Different strokes for different folks I guess! What do you think? Is this collection a winner for you?
❤ Kellie
The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.
Good morning beautiful! I hope your week is off to a nice start :) Today I have the Zoya Whispers collection to share with you! This is their "transitional" season collection, to ease us into Spring after the heavy colors of Winter. You remember how much I loved last year's transitional shades, the Naturel Satins, right? I was hoping for an equally awesome experience this year, especially since these shades were similar in tone to the Satins, albeit with a different finish. Let's see what I thought of these babies shall we?
Zoya Cala is a soft nude beige. This and all the others have more of a crelly formula, less opaque than a straight crème. This one applied alright, but was still streaky on two coats so I needed a third layer for full coverage. Stays very shiny when dry, as do the rest.
Zoya Ireland is a soft muted green, a wearable shade for those looking to step out of the color box a little, but not too far. This was similar in formula to Cala, streaky with two coats so I used a third.
Zoya April is a light, rosy toned neutral blush. This one was the most difficult for me. It seemed thin, almost watery, on the first coat. The second coat was definitely better, but I still felt it looked a little streaky after the third coat.
Zoya Lake is a softened blue. A little more vibrant than the rest of the shades, but still rather muted. This polish had a thicker formula than the previous three, but it still took three coats for full opacity.
Zoya Misty is an odd khaki taupe with a hint of green. Quite a different shade, and very appealing to me. This one was thicker like Lake, also requiring three coats. This is probably my favorite color in the collection.
Zoya Eastyn is last, a pale purpley grey. This is the shining star in the bunch, the best opacity, but with quite a thick formula. I had no streaks with this gal, opaque in two coats.
This collection might not have been the easiest for me to apply, but I do love the colors. I think if they were meant to be less opaque, it would've totally worked if they weren't streaky. And plenty of people have had good luck with them, so you might too. These are available on the Zoya website now for $10 each or $54 for the full collection. You should follow Zoya on their social media, like Facebook and Instagram if you're not already because they're always holding awesome sales. They did a pre-order of this collection for $30 a while ago! Let me know what you think of this collection and if you picked it up or not. What shade is your favorite?
❤ Kellie
The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.
Please enjoy this guest post by my friend Paola from Nail Polish Pursuit!
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Hi Pretty Polishers and Kellie Gonzo fans! I'm Paola (Pa-OH-La) aka Nail Polish Pursuit. I am SO honored that Kellie asked me come back and do another fun and cute guest post for her amazing blog! Kellie has been a wonderful mentor and inspiration to me throughout my nail polish blogging journey. Isn't she the best? I know we can all agree Kellie ROCKS! So for my guest post today, I've got 4 Christmas nail designs to show you. These are pretty simple and quick in case you need any last minute Christmas nail art ideas.
To create these designs you will need the following:
That's a lot of polish right? If you don't have all of these colors you can use what you have, or you can create only 1 of these 4 designs and paint the rest of your nails red or green for the holiday season. You also don't have to use these exact colors I used, but in case you're interested, here is the list:
Gold polish - Ziv by ZOYA
Red polish - Sooki by ZOYA
Green glitter polish - Logan by ZOYA
Nude polish - Rue by ZOYA
Pink polish - Lo by ZOYA
Blue polish - Sia by ZOYA
Silver polish - I'd Melt For You by China Glaze
Orange polish - Lady & the Vamp by China Glaze
Black polish - Never Have Too Mani Friends! by OPI (Hello Kitty Collection)
White polish - French Tip by Color Club
You're also going to need a dotting tool or toothpick, a fast drying top coat (I used HK Girl by Glisten & Glow), straight nail vinyls or tape, and a thin nail art brush.
Now let's take a look at how to create each one:
CANDY CANE
Yummy, simple, and festive!
Start with a white base. I love using French Tip by Color Club because it's a one coater and super opaque!
Apply a fast drying top coat and let it completely dry for about 15 minutes.
Apply your nail vinyls at an angle to give the appearance of the candy cane swirls. If you don't have nail vinyls you can cut tape into different sizes.
Apply 1 coat of your red nail polish and remove the vinyls or tape immediately while the red polish is still wet.
Once that is dry, apply your fast drying top coat to seal the design. TIP: Apply the top coat sideways so you don't smear the design.
SANTA CLAUS
So jolly and bright!
Start with your red polish and apply only a small amount to the top 1/3 of your nail closest to your cuticle.
Then apply your nude polish to the middle portion of your nail. Don't worry about making the division of colors perfect because you will be covering it up.
Next take your white polish and create a "french tip" line at the bottom of your nail to create Santa's beard.
Once that is all dry, take your dotting tool dipped in white polish and create a line of dots side by side in between the red and nude polish to create Santa's hat.
Now take your dotting tool dipped in black polish and make two small dots in the nude polish section of your nail to create Santa's eyes.
Then use your thin nail art brush dipped in black polish and create a half moon shape under the eyes to create Santa's smile.
Last you're going to take your dotting tool dipped in your pink polish and make two dots at each end of Santa's smile to create his jolly and bright cheeks!
Once everything is dry, apply your fast drying top coat to seal the design.
CHRISTMAS TREE
This isn't a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree!
Start with a white base. Apply fast drying top coat and let it fully dry for about 15 minutes.
Next take two pieces of vinyl or tape and make an X across your nail to create the outlining of the tree.
Then add your green nail polish in between the "X" outline. While the polish is still dry, remove the vinyls or tape.
Let that completely dry and you can leave it as is or you can add ornaments to you tree like I did.
Using your dotting tool dipped in gold and silver polish, make dots inside your tree to create the ornaments.
I added a star on top of my tree using a tiny nail art star that came in a wheel I bought at my local beauty supply store. You can also find these on amazon.
Once everything is dry, apply your fast drying top coat to seal the design.
SNOWMAN
With a carrot nose!
Start with a blue base. Apply fast drying top coat and let it fully dry for about 5 minutes.
Then take your white polish and create a circular mound shape at the bottom of your nail.
Next take your dotting tool dipped in white polish and make dots at the top portion of your nail to create snowflakes.
Now take your dotting tool again but this time dipped in black polish and make two dots at the top of the white mound to make the snowman's eyes.
Last take your thin nail art brush dipped in orange polish and make a sideways triangle to create the snowman's carrot nose.
Once everything is dry, apply your fast drying top coat to seal the design.
You're all done! Hope you enjoyed these cute and fun Christmas nails! Remember you don't have to make these look perfect, even the best nail artists make mistakes. Your designs will be unique and beautiful.
I also have a step by step video tutorial for these nails on my YouTube channel here:
I wish everyone a very Happy Holidays and a huge thank you to Kellie for giving me this opportunity to be a part of her awesome blog!
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Thanks so much for guest posting again Paola! I love nail art oh so much and I fail so hard at it, so thanks for bringing some creativity to my blog! Let me know what you think! What are you wearing on your nails for the holidays? Be sure to stop by the Nail Polish Pursuit blog and subscribe if you want, or follow her on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube!
