Butter London Marbs

Hi you guys! :-)

Today, I've got one of the pretty shades from the Butter London Summer Holiday 2013 Collection to share with you. Marbs is a rich and warm sunkissed gold with slight bronze tones in a shimmery metallic finish.

This gold is fantastic - luxurious and vibrant! The bright golden reflection of the finish caused my camera to freak out, so I apologize that my swatches were not able to do this color the justice it deserves. The formula is pretty awesome too. It's pigmented and smooth, reaching opaque coverage in two quick coats and making application a breeze. I think this is a great color not only for summer, but also for fall and the holidays. :-)

You can find Marbs on butterlondon.com and at select retailers such as Nordstrom and Ulta for $15 for 0.4 fl oz.

** This post contains product(s) provided for honest consideration.

Zoya Liberty

Happy Monday, you guys! This weekend went by so fast. I'm not ready to start the new week yet... I'm still in weekend-mode lol. :-)

Today, let's wrap up the Zoya Summer PixieDust Collection with one of my favs of the collection. Liberty is a cool-toned deep blue with a hint of teal and tons of silver and blue glitters that dry to a textured matte glitter finish.

This is such a gorgeous blue, very rich and sparkly! The formula is medium in consistency and pigmented, applying smoothly and evenly and reaching opaque coverage in two coats. Just a note about removal - this blue does tend to stain the skin and cuticles a bit, so proceed carefully.

Now that I have tried the whole Zoya Summer PixieDust Collection, I think my favorites are Solange and Liberty. I love the uniqueness and richness of both, and I think the texture works well with and adds something special to these colors. I'd love to know what you think of this collection. Which are the hits and misses for you, and which will be making it onto your wishlist?

You can find Liberty on Zoya.com for $9 for 0.5 fl oz. If you are new to Zoya, you can get your first two bottles of Zoya for $8 - $9 total and free shipping! More info HERE.

** This post contains product(s) provided for honest consideration.

Zoya Stevie

Hiiiii there! Happy weekend! :-)

I've got another sparkly textured polish to share with you today from the Zoya Summer PixieDust Collection. Stevie is a cool-toned lavender purple with tons of reflective silver shimmers and glitters that dries to the signature pixiedust textured matte glitter finish.

The purple base color is very rich and pigmented, and the silver glitters add a slightly dusty tone to the lavender. The result is beautiful. The formula is fantastic, as I have come to expect from this collection. It's easy to apply, and builds up to excellent opaque coverage in two coats. This one feels to me like it takes a smidgen longer to dry than some of the others in the collection, but that could be due to the pigmented base.

You can find Stevie on Zoya.com for $9 for 0.5 fl oz. If you are new to Zoya, you can get your first two bottles of Zoya for $8 - $9 total and free shipping! More info HERE.

** This post contains product(s) provided for honest consideration.

Zoya Miranda

Hi you guys!

Ready for another sparkly glitter from the Zoya Summer PixieDust Collection? Great, cause I have Miranda to show you today! :-) It's a cool-toned raspberry red with lots of pink and silver glitters that dries to a textured matte glitter finish.

The pinkish red of this glitter makes it look like the sugar sprinkles you'd put on your cupcakes. :-) The formula is good, as usual. It goes on smoothly and evenly without any application problems. When you initially apply it, it looks quite glossy, but that will dry down to the expected textured finish. I experienced a slightly longer drying time with this one, but that's probably due to user error of applying a not-thin-enough coat.

You can find Miranda on Zoya.com for $9 for 0.5 fl oz. If you are new to Zoya, you can get your first two bottles of Zoya for $8 - $9 total and free shipping! More info HERE.

** This post contains product(s) provided for honest consideration.

Zoya Destiny

Hi you guys! Happy middle-of-the-week! :-)

Let's continue along the Zoya Summer PixieDust Collection with another sparkly textured polish today. Destiny is a bright coral pink with plenty of gold and coral shimmers and glitters that dries to a textured matte glitter finish.

Just like all the other polishes in the collection, Destiny has a great formula. It's smooth and easy to apply, spreading out easily across the nails. While its formula is slightly thinner, it's still sufficient to achieve good coverage in two coats.

Just a quick note about Destiny's similarity to OPI Jinx - they both have a pink coral base, but Jinx looks more orange due to its abundance of golden shimmers, while Destiny's more modest amount of golden shimmers makes it a few shades more pink to the eye.

You can find Destiny on Zoya.com for $9 for 0.5 fl oz. If you are new to Zoya, you can get your first two bottles of Zoya for $8 - $9 total and free shipping! More info HERE.

** This post contains product(s) provided for honest consideration.

Zoya Beatrix

Hi you guys! :-)

I have another sparkly number to share with you today from the Zoya Summer PixieDust Collection. Beatrix is a bright citrus orange with tons of golden orange shimmers and glitters that dries to a textured matte glitter finish.

This is such a gorgeous juicy color... reminds me of summer time and orange sodas yummmm! If you love orange, this one is a must. :-) I think my camera freaked out a little trying to capture all of its sparkliness. The formula is thin, though two coats is still sufficient and it's what I did in the swatches. It's easy to apply, spreading out evenly across the nails without any coaxing. Just be sure to wipe off the brush well so that your application is thin and even, something very important if you want your matte glitters to dry in a reasonable amount of time.

You can find Beatrix on Zoya.com for $9 for 0.5 fl oz. If you are new to Zoya, you can get your first two bottles of Zoya for $8 - $9 total and free shipping! More info HERE.

** This post contains product(s) provided for honest consideration.

Zoya Solange

Hi you guys! :-)

I'm so excited to have the Zoya Summer PixieDust Collection to share with you. Today let's kick it off with Solange, a bright sunshine golden yellow with tons of sparkly gold glitters that dry to a textured matte glitter finish.

This is such a bright and cheerful color, and works well as a matte texture, making the result quite striking! Zoya says that part of the sparkle comes from a "Zoya exclusive gold pigment". The formula is very good in this one. It's quite easy to apply, spreading out evenly across the nail. The glitters and extra grit particles are quite dense, and the polish is pigmented, so you need just the standard two coats for opaque coverage. Dry time feels decently fast, especially considering it's a textured polish.

You can find Solange on Zoya.com for $9 for 0.5 fl oz. If you are new to Zoya, you can get your first two bottles of Zoya for $8 - $9 total and free shipping! More info HERE.

** This post contains product(s) provided for honest consideration.

Julep Abbie

Hi you guys! Hope your weekend has been relaxing and fun so far! I'm a little late with today's post because I've been trying to catch up with swatching for the last few hours. Of course it was dark and rainy while I was at it, and then as soon as I was done, the sun came out. *grumbles* :D

Today I've got another of the pretty bright colors from my April Julep Maven box to share with you. Abbie is a bright sunshine yellow with a creme finish.

This color looks brighter and more neon in the bottle, but dries a little darker and not nearly as eye-searing on my nails. The formula is as expected for a yellow. The first coat is quite streaky, but the second coat helps to even out a lot of that. What you see in the swatches is two coats, and while it's still a little patchy, I thought it was sufficiently good to stop there. You can definitely add a third coat if you want it to be extra even. The formula is a little runny and has a tendency to drip down Julep's long stem and brush, so be sure to wipe off the excess real well to avoid the polish pooling onto the nails.

You can find Abbie as part of the April Julep Maven Box, as well as on Julep.com for $14 for 0.27 fl oz. If you are new to the Julep Maven program, you can get your first box free. More info HERE.

Julep Mackenzie

I'm super excited to show you guys Julep Mackenzie, one of the bright polishes from my April It Girl Maven Box. Mackenzie is a bright apple green with lots of green shimmers in a metallic finish. I was most looking forward to this color, and it's the reason I chose this box. :-)

When I saw Mackenzie in the lineup for this month, I knew I had to get it, and I'm happy to report that it definitely lives up to my expectations. It's such a bright and happy green, really fantastic for summer! :-)

Formula-wise, it was good, but a little tricky to apply. It's nice and thin, but has a tendency to be runny. I found the trick for a good application is a thin first coat to define the borders, followed up with a medium second coat done with a soft touch to fill in for coverage. Be sure to wipe off excess polish between strokes, as it tends to run down the length of the stem and brush and deposit onto the nails. 

You can find Mackenzie as part of the April Julep Maven Box, as well as on Julep.com for $14 for 0.27 fl oz. If you are new to the Julep Maven program, you can get your first box free. More info HERE.

Julep Maven April 2013

Hiiiii there! Happy weekend! :-)

I haven't shown you guys my Julep Maven boxes in a while, and I'm particularly thrilled with this month's, so I thought I'd go ahead and share what I got. The theme for April is "turn on the brights", perfect as the weather is getting warmer. This month, I went with the It Girl box. 

Everything arrived nicely wrapped in the usual black Julep box. The nail polishes for It Girl this month are Eden (bright violet creme), Mackenzie (sour apple green metallic), and Abbie (sunshine yellow creme). As a fun little treat, this month's boxes also come with a piece of rock candy. I'll have some swatches and reviews of the colors in my upcoming posts.

If you are wondering about Julep Maven, it is a subscription program that normally retails for $19.99 monthly with free shipping. Over at Julep.com, you can take a style quiz to determine your personal style. Every month, you will receive a Maven box that best fits your style filled with over $40 worth of Julep goodness. The program is flexible, allowing you to skip any month free of charge, send a box to someone else, or switch your box to a different style. And you can cancel anytime.

To join and get your introductory Julep Maven box for FREE (!), just click HERE, select the Become a Maven tab, and use code FREEBOX at checkout. The code is available for a limited time.

** This post contains my referral link. If you click on the link and sign up, I will earn credit towards free Maven boxes.

OPI San Francisco Fall/Winter 2013 Collection Preview

I also received an early peek this week into the upcoming OPI fall collection inspired by a geographic location. San Francisco is the lucky place, and the collection of 15 colors includes 3 new liquid sands. The colors look true to the fall season, with lots of dark moody shades in the red/purple/blue color family. I know it's a bit early to think about fall when winter's not even over for many of us, but do take a look and let me know what you think. :-)

It's still a little ways away, but I'll link to swatches and reviews once I have those up. (All info and images are courtesy of OPI.)

Urban-Inspired Nails!

OPI Launches the San Francisco Collection For Fall/Winter 2013

San Francisco by OPI brings street chic style with West Coast flair to nails and toes for Fall/Winter 2013. This new collection features a palette ranging from sky and sea-colored hues of blues and gray to reds, burgundies and browns inspired by some of the city’s most iconic elements – Chinatown, the Golden Gate bridge and the Embarcadero. This fall mélange is mixed with texture, seen in three new Liquid Sand™ nail lacquers in earthy hues of taupe, blue and gray: It’s All San Andreas’s Fault, Wharf! Wharf! Wharf! and Alcatraz…Rocks. Liquid Sand lacquers dry to a textured, matte finish, infused with reflective sparkle. 

“To me, the women of San Francisco and the city itself really epitomize today’s multifaceted beauty consumer,” explains Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI Executive VP & Artistic Director.  “San Francisco offers a European flair with distinct West Coast attributes. These elements inspired a collection of urban chic nail lacquer shades, thanks to the sophisticated combination of high fashion and eclectic street style.

“With twelve colors ranging from moody grays and blues to garnet and ruby jewel tones, these lacquers are designed to accessorize fall’s hottest looks, from military details to winter whites,” continues Weiss-Fischmann. “On fall runways, models were seen wearing luxurious textures from head to toe. The three new Liquid Sand nail lacquers incorporate the texture trend through nails, with rich matte finishes in colors to complement the season’s fashion.”

San Francisco by OPI includes the following shades:

A-Piers to Be Tan I shore do like this chocolaty tan.

Dining al Frisco Just feast your eyes on this fresh-air blue!

Haven’t the Foggiest Can’t tell you why I love this misty gray...I just do!

Peace & Love & OPI This holographic sage and eggplant is far out!

Keeping Suzi at Bay There’s no holding back this assertive navy blue.

Incognito in Sausalito You better keep this almost-black blue under wraps.

Lost on Lombard Oh garn-et! I’m all turned around!

I Knead Sour-Dough Are you bready to wear this toasty warm brown?

Muir Muir on the Wall This trailblazing plum is the fairest of all.

In the Cable Car-Pool Lane Good golly, Miss Trolley, this rich burgundy takes me away!

Embarca-Dare Ya! Betcha can’t pass up this marvelous magenta.

First Date at the Golden Gate You and me and this shimmery ruby make three.

It’s All San Andreas’s Fault I’d move mountains to get this textured earthy taupe!

Wharf! Wharf! Wharf! Dog-gone it...fetch me that textured matte blue!

Alcatraz...Rocks There’s no escaping this arresting textured gray.

San Francisco nail lacquer shades each feature OPI’s exclusive ProWide^™ Brush for the ultimate in application. Liquid Sand nail lacquers should always be worn without top coat. San Francisco by OPI will be available August 7, 2013, at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, jcp Salons, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, ULTA and ulta.com for $9.00 ($10.95 CAN) suggested retail for each nail lacquer.