Getting Toasty with Zoya: 2023 Transitional Polish Collection

  *PR/provided for review*

Hello! Zoya just introduced a new collection to transition from winter and into early spring 2023 and I have the details below with a few sneak peeks.

The new Toasty collection includes six full coverage creams, ranging from cool and wintry to warm and toasty. 

Zoya describes them as: 

Zoya Pink Palette Collection | Summer 2022

 *PR/ provided for review*

Hello hello!

Zoya's latest palette collection, the Pink Palette, recently launched for summer 2022. The Pink Palette is a coordinating collection of six pink polishes - five creams and a shimmery overlay. I recently received these to review along with some of Zoya's wide brushes. First, let's check out the polishes:

◻︎ Angel: an iridescent overlay with specks of pink, periwinkle, and golden glitter

◻︎ Joanie: a soft tulip pink cream

◻︎ Maddy: a flamingo pink cream 

◻︎ Shannon: a warm melon pink cream

◻︎ Kay: a bright paradise pink cream

◻︎ Gigi: a red azalea cream

These seemed like the perfect polishes to wear for National Donut Day this month! If you donut know, National Donut Day is the first Friday in June. I chose Maddy and Kay (accent nail) and topped it with Donut Even sprinkles.

Each of the Zoya polishes had great coverage in two coats and self-leveled beautifully. The wide brushes were so good, I highly recommend these! Zoya sometimes includes the brushes with purchase in their promotions, and they're worth it!

Sweet Heart Polish - Off With Her Head

 **Purchased by me**

Today I wanted to share some swatches of a new-to-me Indie: Sweet Heart Polish. I fell in love on Etsy when I saw her Alice in Wonderland themed polishes and knew I needed to get my hands on some! This collection, appropriately called the Wonderous Collection, has six polishes in various shades and finishes. I think there is something for just about everyone.

The first one I decided to try was Off With Her Head. To me, this pink falls somewhere on the spectrum of a coral-raspberry, meaning it is not quite berry but also not quite plain pink. I'm not the best at my color descriptions, so I'll let the swatches speak for themselves.

This is three coats of OWHH. I think it could be opaque in two, depending on how you like to polish. Everybody has their own style. The microglitters and microflakies in this polish make it a stunner and I didn't notice that it was too gritty without a top coat but I used Rica's Glossy Glam just because I love how fast it dries. With a young and energetic son, I don't have time to not use a quick dry topper!

I have a few more Sweet Hearts that I plan on sharing with you at a later time, but I just couldn't wait to show you this one. Alice in Wonderland has always fascinated me both as a child and an adult, so when I see a collection with names like Who R U? and One Lump or Two? I am instantly drawn in. I just can't help myself! Are there any themes that you just can't resist?

I'll leave you with one of my favorite Lewis Carroll quotes. "If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there." Something to ponder, eh?

You can find Sweet Heart Polish here:

Etsy

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter  

xoxo

Jackie

Simple and Sweet Valentines Day Manis

Hello sweet friends!  I hope that you're having a great weekend regardless if you have something elaborate planned or you're just counting down the days to 60% off chocolate (which is the real MVP!)  I'm a February baby, so I do love seeing all the bright pink and chocolate love during this month.  I'm sharing two different manicures that are super simple and sweet, but I really love these colors.

First up is True Love's Kiss from Pure Ice.  This is from that very elusive LE Fairytale Forest collection that came out around November/December.  I hate to post this one, because it's impossible to find now (it took me no less than 4 WalMarts before I found one that even had a display!)   However, if Pure Ice is reading this.....
Why aren't you re-releasing this collection!?!?  Help some polished sisters out!

I adore True Love's Kiss. It takes 3 coats, but is fully opaque and the gold shimmer is perfection in this pale pink.  IF you know of any similar polishes that are opaque like this one, let me know!  I'd love to own a few others.  This was 3 coats on its own with KBShimmer Clearly On Top.

Next, are a few older polishes but this look will be v easy to recreate.  This is an older CoverGirl Outlast polish I found on clearance, Crushed Berries.  The formula is amazing! This is 2 coats and I have never had a berry polish that was so easy to apply.  I hope other CoverGirl polishes are like this.

I topped it with SinfulColors Love Sprinkles that was from their Valentines Day collection last year. I love the pastel matte glitters they did. The small glitters are light pink, but very pale.  This was 2 coats of Love Sprinkles and fishing out the hearts are so worth it!

So that does it! Let me know which was your favorite. If you know of any other similar indie polishes to True Love's Kiss let me know that too!

XOXO - Hayley 

China Glaze Cabin Fever

 *I won this!*

Hello my sweet friends!  I'm going to preface this post with, YOU NEED THIS POLISH (I feel like I say that a lot).  I really don't even need to write anything else about it, but if you are a fan of duochrome polishes, Cabin Fever is AHHH-MAZING! 

China Glaze Cabin Fever is part of the 2015 The Great Outdoors collection.  This has been my favorite collection from China Glaze this year.  It's also probably my favorite Fall collection released this year.  It includes creams, foil shimmers, duochromes, vampy shades, etc...

Shown is 3 thin coats of Cabin Fever and a coat of Out The Door.  Two would have been adequate but I wanted to make sure there were no sheer spots.  In the sun, shade, or indoors the color shift from a deep rose to orange to coppery gold is perfect.  I'll just let the pictures do the talking... 

This was a pretty popular collection from China Glaze, so I think it's vanished from most stores by now. You will still be able to find Cabin Fever online on Amazon, or other beauty retailers like HeadtoToe Beauty, and HB Beauty Bar.

I was lucky enough to win this beauty on a bi-monthly twitter chat called Nail Glossip (#NailGlossip).  It's a great community of bloggers and polish fanatics who chat about a specific topic designated for the week.  There are often giveaways, and you even get to chat with big brands like China Glaze and OPI!  

Nail Glossip is run by Jen from The Polishaholic (you might have heard of her ;-) JK, of course you have!) and All Lacquered Up.

 Nail Glossip is on Sunday nights, so check it out if you're on Twitter!  Let me know if you do and what you think about Cabin Fever.  Have a great day!

~ Hayley ~

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer & Emerald and Ash Destination Duo

I'm late posting this beautiful duo from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers and Emerald & Ash, so I apologize in advance. I don't think you can find this set anywhere now, but I still needed to share the gorgeous polishes with you. Maybe you'll get lucky and see them in a destash somewhere or the makers will create something similar (perhaps with a bit of persuasion)?

The lovely Julie aka the genius behind BEGL has been teaming up with other equally lovely indie makers to create a monthly Destination Duo. Each duo is created based on a vacation photo from the partner that month. For this duo (which released in July) the destination was Sugar Beach in St. Thomas. First up is Sunset at Sugar Beach from Emerald & Ash.

Emerald & Ash is a new-to-me indie and it didn't disappoint. This aqua-blue creme has shimmers of pink and copper along with brown flakes and just a teensy touch of holo. Application was easy and smooth.

I used 2 thin/medium coats of Sunset at Sugar Beach topped with a glossy topcoat. I didn't notice the VNL as much until I started taking photos, but it doesn't bother me too much. Another thin coat would eliminate the VNL in my opinion.

Macro shot to show the speckled effect created by the flakes.

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer's take for this duo was a lovely bubblegum pink with iridescent rainbow micro-glitters and a strong aqua shimmers.

For the accent nail in the photos above I used 3 thin coats and topped with glossy topcoat. For the others, I used 2 thicker coats. I had no application issues either time.

Macro shot!

  Can a polish be adorable? I think so!

This pink is adorable and dainty with just the right amount of sparkle. I'm not normally a dainty pink polish person, but since my Gramma passed a few weeks ago, I've come to love her favorite color. Maybe I'm holding on to her through my polish, but I don't think that is a problem. I apologize for taking so long to get this up. I've been struggling lately and the passing of my Gramma has made that even more complicated. Luckily Hayley has been more consistent with her posts and I appreciate her for that! (Thanks sis!)

As usual here are links to the makers' sites:
Emerald and Ash Store
BEGL Store
Emerald and Ash on FB
BEGL on FB
BEGLove Group on FB (for those of you who can't get enough BEGL - we'd love it if your joined us!)

Now go hug someone you love because no amount of time is enough when you love someone...

xoxo

Jackie

Love, Angeline - Almond Darling

*All Polishes Were Purchased*

I have some pretty pastels from indie brand Love, Angeline to share today! Oh, and they're matte.  Oh, and they have some subtle shimmer.  Excited yet?  Maybe just take a peek below.

This is almost the complete Love, Angeline Chateau Macaron collection that released a few months ago for Spring 2015.  In retrospect, I should have just gotten the complete collection because the only one I'm missing is Confection-ary Yellow and I've seen a lot of really cute manis on Instagram using it.  *Sigh* but I digress...

The first color I tried from the collection is Almond Darling.  I used 3 coats and no topcoat in order to leave it matte.  Almond Darling is a very pink leaning lavender.  It's extremely close to the pink in the collection, Baiser de Mousse, but is just slightly more lavender.  The formula was thin, which I liked because it was easy to control and lets a peek of shimmer show through (though very subtle).  I left some dry time between coats so they didn't pull.  This polish self leveled very well and the wear was fantastic!  I had no chipping even after a few days.

Natosha, the creator behind Love, Angeline is very engaging with her polished fans, so I definitely recommend stopping by!  The story behind her brand name is so sweet too!  You can still purchase the Chateau Macaron collection from her shop here.  If you are drawn to brighter shades for the summer, not to worry, because she's releasing a sister collection of summer matte neons called Meet Me At The Tea Salon.

Check out her Facebook and Instagram and if you have any Love, Angeline polishes I'd love to hear which ones you have!  Thanks for stopping by! 

~ Hayley

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Custom Giveaway

Today I have a super fun post for you that includes :::drum roll please:::: a GIVEAWAY! 

Since my little man is in preschool, I decided to take my obsession with polish one step forward by having the talents behind Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer and Monster Polish create some custom colors as gifts for his teachers. And they are so amazing and awesome that they provided a couple for you, my readers! 

First I'm giving a chance at my BEGL customs (so check back since you know I'll have some Monster Polish up for grabs at a later date!) I asked Julie to create something that was "Christmas-y" and also incorporate that my son is in the Rainbow Room at preschool. Man, did she come through! May I present "Merry Christmas Rainbow Room!" and "Rainbow Room Christmas Rumpus"!

Aren't they simply gorgeous? MCRR is an ultra sparkly red holo and RRHR is a light pink crelly with metallic and holo glitters. So much glitter and rainbow! Yes, I know these beauties have Christmas names (as they were made for my son's teachers for Christmas) but I thought they were the perfect colors for Valentines Day. And if you're not into V-Day, think of the awesome anti-V-Day mani's you could do with this red holo...

Alright, ready to enter to win? Please make sure you enter the best email to contact you at in case you win! I'd hate to pick you but not have a way to get in touch. I can only ship within the US right now, but if you have a US mule, you can enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

SinfulColors Love Sprinkles: Flirt With Hearts (Valentine's Day 2015 Collection)

  * Provided for review *

It is quickly approaching, and like it or not, you will be inundated with hearts, flowers, chocolates and a whole row of stuffed bears and frogs staring you down at the store.  This year I get to share the 2015 Valentine's Day standout polish with you.  Check out Love Sprinkles by SinfulColors, the star of their Flirt With Hearts collection!

The entire SinfulColors Flirt With Hearts collection is full of bright and cheerful shades. Their collection description says it all:

"Channel your inner Cupid this Valentine’s Day with eight sensuous hues that are guaranteed to make hearts flutter."  

There is nothing dull or dark about these polishes; they are all bright pinks, purples, reds, and teal that will melt any winter blahs away.  They stepped up their game with Love Sprinkles though, it's subtle and versatile because of the clear base.  The glitter mix is small, matte light pink and tiny white glitters with matte white hearts. Matte!

Application of Love Sprinkles was good, it's not meant to be a dense glitter...just a sprinkle.  The key to ensuring some hearts make it onto the nails is shaking the bottle as the heart glitter tends to settle at the bottom.  I used one coat over 24/7 on most nails, two for a few nails that were sparse.

Described as the "hottest pink", 24/7 is my first experience with a neon polish.  I would personally consider 24/7 for a summer neon color, while also appropriate for Valentine's day.  Three easy coats were needed but dry time was really good!  This collection was mostly re-promotes and core colors along with the limited edition Love Sprinkles.  This collection will be available at Walgreens, Rite Aid, and other mass retailers in February for $1.99 each.  You can keep up with SinfulColors on their website and other social media.

Maybe Valentine's Day isn't your favorite day....BUT just remember the day after is a great day!  All the yummy chocolate is half off and always worth grabbing one of your favorites.  :)  Thanks for stopping by!

~ Hayley

*products featured in this post were sent for my honest review

SpaRitual Arroyo

  *Purchased by me*

I'm excited to announce that I found another SpaRitual that I wanted from the Wander collection.  This one is called Arroyo, it is another "sandy matte shimmer" and this time I left it matte!  SpaRitual Arroyo is a pink that leans to the mauve spectrum, and has a golden shimmer to it. 

Sunlight - no topcoat

I had to look up the definition to Arroyo (which I'm a little ashamed to say, since I live in Arizona) but it means: A dry creek or stream bed—gulch that temporarily or seasonally fills and flows after sufficient rain.
Yep, we have those all over the place here....and now on my nails. 

This is two coats with no top coat.  Dry time is nice and quick because of the matte finish.  There are some great swatches of Arroyo with top coat, and like Nomad, the shimmer really pops with a shiny top coat.

Again if you wander into an Ulta (see the first sentence for what I did there) and find these on clearance, I absolutely recommend getting them!  The sale price definitely makes these worth adding to your collection! 

Thanks for stopping by! 

~ Hayley

Lynnderella Candy Blossom

I apologize in advance for this post being a bit pic heavy. I just couldn't help it! I had the perfect day for pictures and my flowering cherry and lilacs were blooming. Too perfect not to keep snapping!

Let me introduce you to Candy Blossom.

 Candy Blossom contains neon pink, satin pink, white and even yellow (see macro shot below) glitters suspended in a clear pink-shimmered base.

 I love this polish. I never thought I'd wear neon pink anything, but now I am smitten with its cheery disposition.

 

Macro shot of the glittery goodness

All pictures show 2 coats of Lynnderella Candy Blossom over 2 coats of China Glaze Dandy-lyin' Around (the flower names just screamed that they needed to go together!) I did do some digging for the larger glitters for my second coat of Candy Blossom, though it was personal preference to get some of those larger glitters on each nail. I think the shimmer would show up better over a cream base, but I loved this look! I can't wait to wear Candy Blossom over some pinks and maybe even a black, just to see how it changes the color.

Candy Blossom is from Lynnderella's Everything's Coming Up Neon Collection and can be purchased here or if you are international here at Norway Nails.