Zoya Summer 2013 Irresistible Collection Swatch: Hazel

Zoya Hazel (2 coats)

Huge pictures! Blogger has been really weird with my pictures lately (stretching them for some reason), so you're just going to have to see bigger pictures of my hands for a bit. I hope you don't mind! Zoya's Hazel is very similar to Crystal, but since Crystal is one of my favorite polishes, I just had to get this one. It's is a cool metallic blue with golden shimmer. I just love this one! The formula was a little thick, but not too difficult to work with in 2 coats. TGIF! 

Zoya Summer 2013 Irresistible Collection Swatch: Rikki

Zoya Rikki (2 coats)

Zoya, you always pull my heart strings when you have glass-flecked polishes because you know how to do them right. Rikki is a cool green metallic foil with lots of gold flecks that can sometimes be hard to see (or capture with a camera!). I dunno, I like it fine, but I guess I thought I was going to be blown away more than I really was. It's a pretty color nonetheless with a great formula and application. 

Zoya Fall 2011 Smoke and Mirrors Collection Swatch: Marina

Zoya Marina (2 coats)

Happy Memorial Day to my American readers!

Another polish I always wanted to buy from Zoya was Marina, and it was mostly because I have a friend named Marina (is your name featured as a Zoya polish or perhaps a friend?). I really like Marina because it is so hard to figure out if it's a blue or a grey metallic polish. I think this would work best in the fall and winter, but you know I'll wear a color any time of year. I love the metallic shimmer in this one and would recommend it as a great dark neutral. The application and formula was perfect in only 2 coats.

Zoya Summer 2012 Surf Collection Swatches: Rory

Zoya Rory (2 coats)

Happy long weekend here in the US! I just got done mowing the lawn and doing a 45 minute Hip Hop Abs with Shaun T so I feel productive. I hope your weekend is going well.

I've always wanted to buy Zoya's Rory, but I have to wait for a sale, and their Earth Day sale sent me over the edge. Sorry for only having 2 pictures, but I have no idea where the third one went! Ghost photo. Anyway, it's a very cool toned pink color with lots of lilac undertones. It's a foil with a strong silver background that you can see more in real life than in my pictures. I like it, but it's not my favorite Zoya polish by any means (not even my favorite 6 that I bought). Maybe it would look better on cool-toned pale skin?

Oh, and I finally dealt with my cuticles last night. It's been so long overdue. Do you ever slack on the cuticles like me?

Julie G Frosted Gumdrop Collection: Hot Cinnamon

Julie G Hot Cinnamon (2 coats)

The last Frosted Gumdrop polish from Julie G I have to show is Hot Cinnamon which is a warm toned polish with gold shimmer instead of the last couple with silver. I like it, but it's not my favorite, but I can see a big audience for it. The formula was great like the rest of the collection. Overall, it's a wonderful collection for an affordable price. 

Julie G Frosted Gumdrop Collection Swatches: Blueberry Fizz

Julie G Blueberry Fizz (2 coats)

Man, everyone has textured matte polishes now. I know that China Glaze, OPI, Orly, Zoya, Jessica, and Milani all have them. The Julie G polishes are on the inexpensive side, and look very similar to ones from their pricier competitors. Tonight I have my favorite of all the polishes I bought and is called Blueberry Fizz which is a denim blue color with fine and hexagonal silver glitter throughout. Again, perfect application with 2 coats, and these wear for days without chipping.

You can find these at your local Rite Aid store or on their online store for $3.99. 

Julie G Frosted Gumdrop Collection: Crushed Candy

Julie G Crushed Candy (2 coats)

Again, I apologize for the sporadic posting, but I've still been having some ailments that I'm going through. I've been doing my nails as much as I feel can, so I have a little bit of a backlog still. I really appreciate you all, and I'm glad I get still get a few readers even if I don't post. 

My second favorite of the Frosted Gumdrop collection is Crushed Candy which is a lilac pink/purple color with lots of silver sparkle. Not only does it have sparkle, but it also has some silver hexagonal glitter that really sets it apart. I always get compliments when I wear these textured matte polishes (even my mom who wore this one). Most of the time they tell you not to wear basecoat, but I don't listen to them and put Orly Bonder and Gelous under the 2 coats of polish I used. The formula was perfect with this. I think you need all of them. 

Julie G Frosted Gumdrops Collection: Tangerine Dream

Julie G Tangerine Dream (2 coats)

Julie G is a brand you can find at your local Rite Aid for $3.99 and luckily for us, they released a matte textured collection very much like the Zoya Pixie Dust polishes. Oh, and if you don't live near Rite Aid, you can buy these online. I bought most of them, but up first is Tangerine Dream which is an orange base with loads of gold glitter particles. The best of all, they don't really take too long to dry. The formula was wonderful with no issues at all. If you have these nearby, run, don't walk, to pick these up. 

Piggy Polish: I and Love and Blue

Piggy Polish I and Love and Blue (4 coats)

Oh how I love and hate Piggy Polish's I and Love and Blue. In the bottle it is the most beautiful light blue with green shimmer. Did I happen to mention how sheer and thick is it? I tried to get thin coats, but it was a challenge. I ended up needing 4 coats for full opacity, which is a bit of a pain, but that's ok. I put a quick dry topcoat on it (NYC Grand Central Station which I love) and waited for it to dry. And waited. And waited some more. I waited a good 2 hours before trying to do anything at all, and at least 2 or 3 of my nails got ruined immediately. Off it went. Too bad, it looks so nice in the bottle. Perhaps I'll give it a try again with loads of thinner. You can find Piggy Polish online or at Ulta. 

New Hard Candy Candy Sprinkles Nail Lacquer Collection: Gummy Green

Hard Candy Gummy Green (2 coats)

Yup, Hard Candy joined the opaque color with mixed glitter trend and released 8 new sprinkled colors. I've reviewed a few Nails Inc. polishes that look like these, and I know Deborah Lippmann released some as well, so this isn't new territory. That doesn't mean I don't love how these look (especially for the $4 price tag). Gummy Green is a mint green color with black and silver hexagonal glitter, and if you look really close, you can see some black micro glitter as well. 

1. I don't really like the new bottles with no cheap ring. I really wanted the ring. Just me? 

2. The formula on this one was extremely thick. It only needed 2 coats, but it was glooping up so bad in the opening it was hard to get the polish out. Thinner city if you ask me.

Other than these complaints, I plan on getting a few more of the new Hard Candy polishes. 

Sinful Colors Winter 2012 Collection: Winter Wonder

Sinful Colors: Winter Wonder (3 coats)

Sinful Color's winter collection had some great gems, one of them being Winter Wonder. It's a blue/grey base with some pink, green, gold and silver (who knows, maybe even more colors thrown in there!) that is just gorgeous. I've heard it's a dupe for Zoya FeiFei, but I haven't checked it out yet. I found this at Walgreens back in the day, but who knows, they may bring it back. The formula was slightly thick, but I believe I still needed 3 coats for full coverage. Sorry, it's hard to remember since it's been so long since I've applied this one :( I need to keep a spreadsheet. I hope your weekend went well, and I'm so happy some of you are still sticking with my blog. 

Bondi New York Nail Polish: Blue Skies

 Bondi New York: Blue Skies (2 coats)

*This polish was provided by the company or PR representative. All reviews are based solely on my opinion. For more information, please see my full disclosure at the bottom of the site*

Have you heard of Bondi New York? Perhaps not because they are a brand new company that has 20 colors that are 5 free (formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, camphor, toluene, and DBP). The polishes are also made in the USA with all net profits going to their non-profit organization which goes to charitable causes. Now onto the polish: the 20 colors aren't the most unique ones, but you've got to start somewhere, right? Once I see more swatches from blogs I'll get a better idea about the formula and color saturation. I got Blue Skies which is a cornflower blue creme that doesn't seem too sky blue to me. The bottles are exactly like the Dr.'s Remedy bottles which are square with a black rubber top which I like. The formula was great on the polish. It had a not to thin-not too thick formula that only needed 2 coats. The only reservation I have is the price which is $15 for a 0.5 oz bottle. At the same time, the net profits go to a non-profit so I can't feel too bad about buying a few. You can find Bondi on Facebook and Twitter.

*This polish was provided by the company or PR representative. All reviews are based solely on my opinion. For more information, please see my full disclosure at the bottom of the site*

Barielle Spring 2011 Karma Collection in Positive ZEN-ergy

Barielle Positive ZEN-ergy (2 coats)

Hola! I hope your weekend is going well. Mine started off a little crappy, but it has started to pick up thankfully. 

I have another blast from the past from Barielle called Positive ZEN-ergy which is a grassy green color with a strong silver shimmer finish. I find this one very refreshing. I used to buy these from the Barielle website, but lately I've been getting them from Transdesign since they are so much cheaper. I hope you enjoy it!