Zoya Overload - Apple, Happi, Ivanka, Tanzy, Zuza and Reece

Lets get something out of the way right now - I absolutely adore Zoya polishes. But considering they are a US brand and I am based in the UK, this makes for a very long distance love affair! I have managed to source a few of this lovely brand from very kind US friends on facebook nail groups and also through eBay although this can work out very expensive considering they retail at around $8 in the US but around £7-9 on eBay!

But anyway without further ado, let me show you these six that I have managed to get my paws on! I'm going to use some of the descriptions from the Zoya.com site as they do them better justice than I could!

Zoya Apple can be best described as "Luminous yellow-toned apple green packed with gold metallic sparkle.  A dimensional green that's clean and bright". I would add that the finish is very opaque even after just one coat and the photo doesn't do this justice as you cannot make out the lovely shimmer and metallic finish that makes this shade so beautiful. This is two coats;

Zoya Happi is a "Pink metallic duochrome. A frosty hint of gold creates a unique peachy-sort of pink". It looks like it should be frosted but doesn't have that sort of finish, instead it comes out very warm and more golden pink, if there is such a thing! This is two coats;

Zoya Ivanka is a "mermaid green sparkling metallic. An expensive-looking metallic shade for summer". This in fact screams mermaid as well as some of the beautiful plush green that you get from trees in the spring too. It goes on really well with a smooth finish and the metallic finish really has such a wonderful sparkle no matter which way you twist your nails! This is two coats plus one coat of seche vite;

Zoya Tanzy is a "Light, bright tangerine orange with yellow gold metallic sparkle.  A sunny orange that's easy to wear year-round". I  guess I can only echo that and add that the golden tinge from this makes this shade so lovely and flattering on most skin tones, it very summery and when worn in sunshine, really sparkles and has the smoothest and shimmery finish. This is two coats;

Zoya Zuza is a "Deep, saturated, oceanic turquoise with gold and silver metallic shimmer and a foil-like finish. A beachy, colorful, foil-like shade with the perfect balance between blue and green". This sums up this shade so well - it went on beautifully and had the most amazing shimmer to it - it was frosty without being cold (not sure that makes sense to anyone but me!) and I loved how it had a really deep tone to the turquoise. As a scuba diver, I have to ironically also add that it looks amazing underwater too! This is two coats;

Lastly I bring you Zoya Reece. Reece is a "Rose metallic duochrome. A frosty hint of gold creates a unique "oil-slick" rose-gold" and I am happy that this photo does do it complete justice - its loveliness is definitely captured here! This is two coats;

In conclusion, I have to say again how much I adore Zoya polishes, their range of shades is outstanding and my only gripe would be that we don't get them in the UK, or at least, not reasonably priced! But that wouldn't stop me from getting them shipped from the US as they really are such a dream to wear and apply, they are hard-wearing and the colours are to die for! Interested to know what you all think....do comment and let me know! :)

http://zoya.com/content/38/category/Zoya_Nail_Polish.html

Nails Inc Baker Street and Candeo Divebomb

So another truly lovely and eye catching polish to show you now, Nails Inc Baker Street. This shade of blue was highly publicised in the press when Beyonce decided to wear it out after the birth of her baby, Blue Ivy. But anyway I digress, I am sure you will agree that it really is an iconic shade whoever wears it!

This is two coats here;

And then (Remember I did promise glitter loveliness today!!) I followed this with two coats of Candeo Divebomb....

Dive Bomb has a sheer slightly golden base and is loaded with blue shimmer, small copper, medium blue and teal holographic and large chocolate hex glitter. The holo effect is more noticeable in person. It's just so sparkly and shiny even magpies would come after you if given the chance.....it has a real understated beauty to it and goes on so smoothly too.

I used two coats of Divebomb, one coat of Gelous and one coat of Seche Vite and just had the most amazing finish. I have a few Candeo polishes now and all of them are so well made by Melinda. They sell ridiculously fast when she does restock but I got mine from Leah Ann at Llarowe. Both links are below.

http://shop.llarowe.com/Candeo-Colors_c40.htm
http://www.candeocolors.com/products

China Glaze Gaga for Green and Lush Lacquer Salsa Verde

Ok so I promised a glitter-tastic update today of some wonderful indie polishes from the US...and for me this really is one of the ultimate beauties! I started off with China Glaze Gaga for Green, which is awesome on its own and a really smooth green finish that would make kermit the frog really green with envy. Ok so ahem enough of the puns, you get it, its lovely, bright and fun. This is just one coat and its already very opaque so it had an impressive coverage.

Then the real Pièce de résistance was two coats of Salsa Verde from Lush Lacquer. Salsa Verde is a beautiful greenish-gold base with a mixture of glitter - gold, silver and different green glitters are used throughout. Its just so amazingly shimmery and all the colours catch the light no matter which angle you take, no wonder then that its one of my all time favourites!

Lush Lacquer is produced by a really lovely mother-daughter team, Karin and Lexi. I can't rave about their polishes enough, how beautiful they are and well produced and tested too. Karin and Lexi are seriously hard working and always trying to outdo themselves - 16 new colours have been released recently. But don't take my word alone for it, check them out on etsy....http://www.etsy.com/shop/lushlacquer

And no, I didn't receive any endorsement! :) I just honestly love their polishes and different colour mixes! Would like to know what you all think.....do comment below if you have time :)

China Glaze Electric Beat and All That Glitters Cha Cha Twist

Today I am going to show you a few different indie glitter polishes that I've fallen in love with, I hope you feel the same after seeing them! The first is from All That Glitters, which is available on etsy for around $7.

So I started with just one coat of China Glaze Electric Beat, which went on beautifully and pretty much opaque! I personally love China Glaze polishes as they have a fantastic finish and always go on so well. This pale blue was a great choice to follow up with one of my new polishes....

So I then added two coats of All That Glitters Cha Cha Twist which has a clear blue base with blue, red, black, turquoise and silver glitter in different shapes and sizes, as well as some blue holographic glitter too - I think you can tell its an amazing effect from the photo!

I am so impressed with All That Glitters polishes (this was my first one) as you don't have to 'dig' for the larger pieces of glitter, they do come out quite evenly.This is two coats of Cha Cha Twist followed by one coat of Seche Vite.

Lastly - Here's another shot of Cha Cha Twist - but this time over China Glaze Techno Teal. This was great too as the holographic colours and brightness of Techno Teal really added to the sparkliness of Cha Cha Twist!

As I mentioned, you can find All That Glitters polishes on etsy but Kirsten (who makes them!) is currently away on holiday but a restock is taking place on 5th September so look out for that;http://www.etsy.com/shop/allthatglittersnails

Thanks for all those following me and I'll be back shortly with more indie glitter loveliness! :)

China Glaze - Techno Teal

This is Techno Teal, from China Glaze's 2009 Tronica collection. I also have Electra Magenta which I will show you another time!

Techno Teal is one of those shades that looks more blue on some, greener on others... On my skin, it looks more turquoise, but it really is lovely regardless!

It's a linear holo predominately, but it can look a bit scattered. The holo effect is not as strong as something like DV8, but it is definitely there!

For this swatch, I used 2 coats, but if you were careful, you could get away with one easily. I added a coat of Seche Vite on top which didn't dull the holo and made it super shiny! Like most China Glaze polishes, it was pigmented, easy to apply, eye-catching, and of course in this instance, holographic!

OPI - Yoga-ta Get This Blue

So OPI is another range that I have a lot of polishes from. This is Yoga-ta Get This Blue which I think is really special. I'm not a fan of really dark or vampy polishes and this shade of blue interested me as its very much a goldilocks* blue to me. I added one coat of Gelous and one coat of Seche Vite over two coats of Yoga-ta Get This Blue and it had such a beautiful smooth and shiny finish to it, I could practically see my own reflection in my nails! I will be showing you more shades of blue over the next month though and you can make up your own minds about it - but for me this shade really is perfect.

* Goldilocks shade - not too hot and not too cold...so in relation to this shade, not too dark and not too light....it was just right! :)

Two more Hare Polishes - Asteroid Turf and The Sky was Pink

So I promised to show you some more Hare Polishes - this first one is Asteroid Turf;

Asteroid Turf has a green tinted base with bright pink glitter in it - it does sound like a strange combination but it really does work well together and goes on so well, that is just two coats with a layer of Gelous and has a lovely 'jelly' consistency to it, no bumps, very smooth and even. I love this as its so unusual and definitely stands out of the crowd!

Then the next Hare Polish is The Sky was Pink;

This is a bright pink tinted base with small lavender and purple glitter in it. It's stunning and just like the other two Hare polishes I've told you about, the consistency is great - very easy to apply and this is just two coats with one coat of Seche Vite. It really takes you by surprise as it really is very pretty in the bottle but a real show stopper once its on!

I'll be moving on from Hare Polish now though to show you some other makes and some that don't even glitter too! *shock horror!*