Merry Christmas!

Today's post is a super short one.  I want you all to spend time with your families today instead of reading my blog and I'm pretty sick so I honestly don't even want to be on the computer.  lol  I just want to lay in bed with my coffee and sulk while my lovely boyfriend waits on me hand and foot.  That's what it's all about.  Just kidding.  But really I do want to get back in the bed and sulk.  ;)

I wanted to do nails that reminded me of Christmas trees and since I didn't put one up this year I thought I'd throw one of those in there as well.  For the green I used three coats of Zoya Ivanka for full opacity.  Then on my ring finger I used Zoya Tomoko with Ivanka as the tree.  The nail studs were used to resemble colored lights on the tree.  I LOVE colored lights during the holidays.  White lights are pretty too but not as festive in my opinion.  I received the studs from Born Pretty Store for review so keep an eye out for that either this weekend of the beginning of next week.

Have a happy and safe holiday!

Ornament Nail Art

Last year I seemed to get a pretty great reaction to my Christmas Day mani which was inspired by tree ornaments.  I decided I wanted to recreate them but this time with a few of my new Julie G Frosted Gumdrops.

I tried to use the same color scheme so I started with the same base color of OPI DS Original.  For the green I used Julie G Mistletoe, the purple is Julie G Sugar Plum Fairy, and the magenta is Julie G Ho Ho Ho.  Of course I used striping tape to get different widths between the colors and, well...that's it!

I hope you enjoyed this mani and I will be posting something on Christmas Day, but I will make it very brief because everyone should be spending time with their families and eating yummy desserts.  Let me know if there is any particular design you'd like to see in the comments below.

Zoya Sandy Stripes

I had a little trouble with this mani (because I'm too impatient) but I still thought it was too cute to keep to myself.

I started with one, even coat of Zoya Zuza.  Can you all kinda see the fill line?  I'm gonna need a new bottle soon.  I just love this gorgeous shimmery turquoise color.  I knew I wanted to wear it, but I had to spice it up just a little.

So I applied my striping tape in a diagonal pattern and added two coats of Zoya Godiva for some texture.  I didn't wait for Zuza to dry completely so when I removed the tape, some came off but not too much.  And like I said, it's still too cute to keep to myself.

Have a great night!  (:

Textured Neutral Ombre

Since I'm getting my mani motivation back but I'm still creatively blocked, I thought I should "cleanse my palate" so to speak with a nice neutral mani.  However, I couldn't just go creme, I had to go sand.  I mean it is beach weather outside.

From pinky to pointer is OPI Solitaire, Zoya Godiva, OPI Honey Rider, and OPI What Wizardry is This?.

On my thumb is Zoya Dahlia...still one of my favorite textured polishes to date.  I don't have much to say on their formulas or anything.  You can read my post on the Zoya PixieDusts HERE and my post for OPI What Wizardry is This? HERE.  I promise I'm not being lazy by linking you to old posts.  I just feel as though you can get all the info from there.

With OPI Solitaire, I am keeping that to myself as well.  lol Only because I am reswatching the Bond Girls collection (I hated my first swatches) and then when I am satisfied I will post the whole collection here.  I know you all may be tired of seeing them on other blogs right now anyway.

Oh and speaking of textured polish, who else is SUPER DUPER excited about the Fall 2013 Zoya PixieDusts?  I am freaking out.  If you haven't seen a press release on the other blogs, just keep looking.  I'll give you a little peek though.

Eeeeeeee!!

Zoya PixieDust Collection

OMG!  I finally got them!  My Zoya PixieDust collection is here!!  I feel like they couldn't get here soon enough.  As soon as they came, I ripped them open, ate all the candy in, like, 2 seconds (they were sent from a friend...thank you Jen!!), and then I got down to swatching.  So here they are, just like I promised.  6 of the most beautiful Zoyas I've ever seen.

From L to R: Godiva, Vespa, Nyx, London, Dahlia, and Chyna

Godiva:  I used 3 coats for full opacity and OMG, it's gorgeous.  I'm so amazed at how it really looks like wet sand in the bottle.  It really just makes me want to go on vacation.  lol  This is also the perfect shade of nude for my skin tone and the sparkle is so subtle but really adds some great dimension.  It's such a delicate color.  Does that make sense?  This is definitely one of my favorites in the collection. (as if I could choose a favorite at all)

Godiva with top coat:  I only needed 1 coat of Gelous and 1 coat of Seche Vite for all of them to make them smooth.  I love this with a top coat because it looks like yummy sugar cookies!  mmm

Vespa: OMG!  That's really all I can say to accurately describe how I feel about this beautiful sage green polish.  For this one, I used 3 coats but I could have gotten away with 2.  It's just force of habit for me when taking photos to do 3 coats for good measure.  The sparkle in this one really stands out.  I'm in love.

Vespa with top coat:  I love this one glossy too.  With the top coat you can really see the glitter pop and I think the color is transformed into something really gorgeous.

Nyx: Blue is my least favorite color, but Nyx is just beautiful.  I mean how can you not love sparkly periwinkle polish.  I really love the glints of sparkle.  It's like moving water.  This is 3 coats.

Nyx with top coat:  Sorry this is a little blurry but I had full camera freak out.  The sparkle was too much for it to handle.  I am not a big fan of Nyx with a top coat.  I think the high gloss really distracts from how beautiful it really is.  The top coat seemed to make it more baby blue and less dusty blue.

London:  Oh man.  If I didn't love a foggy grey polish before, I do now.  This is the perfect shade of grey with the perfect amount of sparkle.  As I was waiting for this to dry, I could see it really transform and lighten  up before my eyes and I got super excited.  2 coats are shown.

London with top coat: This is another combo that is not my favorite.  I really just love the textured polish to stay that way.  Matte!

Dahlia: *gasp*  This one was a surprise favorite of mine.  I mean, I know it's just black, but I thought it would be just that.  Plain ol', simple black with texture.  I didn't know how much silver sparkle was packed in until I pulled out the bottle.  It really keeps the polish from looking too dark.  I also love that it dries a little on the charcoal grey side.  I noticed this with OPI Stay the Night too.  That's why I loved it so much.  I used 2 coats of this one.

Dahlia with top coat: WOW!  When I added the top coat, I immediately thought of Zoya Storm.  Then it made me wish that this sugary sparkle in this polish was not silver, but multicolored or scattered holo like Storm.  Aside from that one tiny wish, I LOVE this polish.  I used 2 coats.  Oh and sorry for the crazy glare on the bottle.  This was the best photo I had.

Chyna: aka my number 1 favorite from the whole collection.  This is the only one of the 6 that doesn't have silver sparkle, but a dark red.  I am so happy that this is a darker red and not a super bright red.  I think the shade and texture work very well together to make something amazing.  I only needed 2 coats.  The red base in this one is super saturated.

Chyna with top coat:  When I add a top coat to this one, I immediately think of China Glaze Ruby Pumps.  It's pretty, but it doesn't wow me like when it's matte.

So my initial reaction to this collection:  Oh wow!  I must have all of these!  My reaction after swatching them all: Oh wow!  I'm so happy I bought all of these.  lol I have been wearing my OPI sands a lot since I got them, so I am super excited that I get to add these to the rotation.  My favorites of the collection are definitely Chyna and Dahlia with Godiva and Vespa tied for a close second.  Nyx is pretty, but I may not wear it as often.  I added the top coat so that all of you could see how they transform, but I, personally, will only be wearing them matte.  I am always a sucker for matte polish and then to add texture...I die!!

So what are your thoughts on the textured trend?  Have you taken the plunge or are you just not into it?  Leave your questions and comments below.  I'd love to know what you all think.

Merry Christmas!!

Hey Christmas balls!  What are you doing on my nails?!  I didn't want to do the traditional Christmas tree nails (mainly because I couldn't think of anything original) so I came up with this.

I know you all are in the middle of having Christmas with your families so I will make this short and just tell you what I used to make this awesomeness happen.

WHAT I USED:
OPI DS Classic - base color
Zoya Ivanka - lighter green
Zoya Julieanne - purple
Zoya Song - blue
Zoya Kimber - pink
Zoya Veruschka - darker green
striping tape

And on that note, I guess you all thought I forgot about the giveaway winner.  Nah!  I didn't forget, I just thought I'd keep you all waiting.

And the winner is

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OLIVIA GOEHRING!!

Enjoy the rest of your holiday and thanks to all who entered.  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

D

Comparison - Zoya Avery/Zoya Minka

I usually don't wear nude polish.  Mainly because I just love color, but I figured if I found the perfect one, it would be worth it.  I thought I had found the perfect one for me when I bought Zoya Minka, but not quite.  Don't get me wrong, Minka is beautiful, but I wasn't looking for a nude with shimmer.  So I went back on the search and found Zoya Avery...perfection!

This was the exact shade and tone I was looking for.  This is 2 coats of Avery.  I usually have a tough time when applying creams in light shades, but this one was a breeze.  It's a very cool nude which I love.  I think the warmer tones make my skin look funny.  The site describes it as a "blond-beige".  I can see that little bit of yellow.


I knew when I opened the bottle it looked a little too much like Minka.

 L: Minka R: Avery

My pinky and middle fingers are 2 coats of Minka and my ring and pointer fingers are Avery.  Now I see a huge difference.  Minka is lighter due to the pearl shimmer and also has a bit of a yellow undertone (according to the site).  Avery is exactly what I was looking for, but I will continue to use Minka in my more feminine or romantic manis.

Have a great Monday...if that's possible.

D

Romantic Valentine's Mani

Good Day Friends!


I really love this mani.  It's romantic and girly and super easy.

WHAT I USED:
Zoya Minka - 1 coat for base color
Ulta High Roller - sponged from cuticle to tip
Milani Jewel FX Gold - layered over High Roller
BM plate 09 w/ 
Jesse's Girl Cupcake Frosting - pinky
Love&Beauty Lavender - ring
Sinful Colors Soul Mate - middle
Jesse's Girl Fashion Friday - pointer


Without the stamps, it reminds me of champagne.  Maybe next time I can do a strawberry instead.
D

Zoya Minka with Konad Stamp

Hey Guys!


So today is just a quick post.  I told you yesterday that I had an idea for a really cute mani with Zoya Minka, and it came out way better than I expected.  I stamped Minka with Konad plate m13 using Zoya Lolly for the pink rose and Jesse's Girl All Things Girly from the Julie G collection for the peach rose.  Then I just added a few random clear rhinestones.  Check it out!

Woo!  I love it.  I got the idea Rebecca Likes Nails (HERE) so I really hope it compares.

Zoya Minka

Alright so this one is a new one for me.  I don't do a lot of nudes on my nails.  Only on my toes, but today I have one.  It's Zoya Minka, and I'm still not sure how I feel about it. It has a very slight shimmer that I couldn't capture on camera.  I think it will grow on me though so let's see it.

So besides my nasty cuticles, what do you think?  I don't know, but I'm going to play around with it more.  I have a really cute stamp mani in mind.  It's nothing crazy and definitely not original.  I let you know in tomorrow's post who inspired me.

Jesse's Girl All Things Girly and Stiletto

Sorry I have been gone for awhile.  Work has been really crazy getting ready for my new store opening on November 5.  However I did have time to swatch the last two polishes from the Jesse's Girl Julie G collection.

The first is Stiletto.  It is a taupe shimmer creme with an excellent formula.  I almost didn't need the second coat.

The last one is called All Things Girly.  It's a peachy salmon creme color.  I had a lot of compliments on it, but I'm not sure if I really liked it on myself.  The color is beautiful, but maybe not for me.

Sorry for the chips on my nails.  Like I said work has been crazy and I didn't anticipate them getting so torn up.

Enjoy your night bloggers!

If you liked this post, please leave your questions and comments below or email me at lacquerlover@hotmail.com

I'm Ba-aaack! and with OPI DS Classic

Hello Ladies!


So what's been up?!  I know I've been gone for so long, but like I said before.  My computer has been out of commission and still is due to my boyfriend "borrowing" parts for his own.  I have really missed my blog, but I have been keeping up with everyone elses posts.  I have also continued photographing any new polishes I wear.  That means I have a lot in store for you all including my most favorite to date.


I am super excited to show you my very first Designer Series OPI polish.  OPI DS Classic is a gorgeous tan/nude tone with holographic micro-glitter throughout. 

This is one of those colors that you could just die for.  It is so gorgeous that I wore it on my toes as well.  It didn't come off for WAY too long.  ew!