Zoya Zuza and Zoya Carly - WOW

So much like Deborah Lippmann, I have a complicated relationship with Zoya.  Like Lippmann they are "top quality", the best of the best, etc etc.  On me?  CHIP CITY within hours.  I think it must be something about my body chemistry?  I bought my first Zoyas(Envy and Sloan) with Kas, and within hours of putting them on, I was calling her to be like "WTF WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?"  I've tried four different top coats and three different base coats, no changes.  I've had better wear with a couple of other Zoya colours, but only marginally(two days with no chips).  So I rarely buy Zoyas as a result.  But the new Surf collection was so gorgeous that I decided to take a chance on two of them.  I'm glad I did, even if I DID have a little of my typical chippage.

So I picked up Zuza and Carly.  Both are AMAZING both in person and on camera, though Carly was next to impossible to accurately capture.  I wore both for two days, and both had chips, however small, on day one.

Carly

A purple with strong red undertones.  Pink, violet, and silver shimmer are immediately apparent, though in the right lights I could also see what looked like blue.  Application was a little iffy and I think I will add a little thinner to this one before wearing it again, but overall it was good.  Nearly opaque in one coat, I used two here.  In direct light this just went CRAZY, so I photographed it in the shade, which is more colour accurate anyway.  Third photo is the most accurate.

ZUZA

Aqua colour with a strong blue base and a beautiful silver shimmer.  One coat was almost enough, but I used two for these pictures.  This was taken on day two, you can see a small chip on my index finger. Application was a dream.

Which Zoya polishes are your favourites?  Any I should try?

Giveaway Winner - Take 2!!!

So you guys are in luck.  Sadly the person who won the giveaway never responded sooooooooooo I think you know what that means.  New winner!!!

And our brand new winner is...

Still NOT Bon Jovi!!!

It's Jill from The Nail Polish Rehab Candidate!!!

We have sent you an email and you now have 48 HOURS to respond.

Congrats Jill!!!

Zoya Phoebe

Now I know people are kind of split when it comes to matte, but not me.  Love it!  (Well so long as it doesn't look like dry, chalky paint).  Matte polishes are my go to when I have nothing else to wear and I'm in a rush.  These nails were actually done less than 30 minutes before I hat to go out.

Phoebe is a shimmery, bright blue polish.  The shimmer really helps in making sure it doesn't look like paint.  I used 3 coats in this.  Which is a bit more than I usually use with my mattes (2 coats).  But it applied like a dream.  I also usually use base coat.  I find they last longer.  I also decided to use topcoat this time round.

I wore these for 3 days without noticeable wear then I jacked them up when one of them chipped and I tried to fix them.  I also forgot to put base coat on this time round and decided to just let it be.  My nails looked horrid when I took it off.  This greenish colour.  Sexy.

 No topcoat

 No topcoat

 Top coat

Top coat

What are your feelings on matte polishes?  Please answer in 100-150 words.  You will be marked on spelling.  It's also worth 20% of your final grade.  Just so you know and you don't come complaining to me wondering where your mark cam from.

Giveaway Winner!!!

Actually let's address a few things first.

1) God Save The Queen is Canada's second anthem.  Not Hockey Night in Canada, The Maple Leaf Forever, or The grunting sound of burly, sweaty men, as they slam their skates against the ice, and beat pucks with hockey stick.  But I can see how that would be the logical answer.

2) Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, HOWARD DONALD, Jason Orange and Robbie Williams.

Consider this your study sheet.

And the winner is...

Bon Jovi!!!

It's not.

It's...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congrats Frankie C!!! You have 48 hours to respond :)

Stay tuned more giveaways coming soon!!!

OPI Dear Santa - One of my favourite reds.

So I don't wear red TERRIBLY often, but I have a few favourites, and this one probably tops them all. OPI Dear Santa was from the 2009 holiday collection, and when I found it at a beauty supply store last year I was really excited because I'd seen swatches and thought it was just stunning.

It's a cherry red with a really gorgeous gold shimmer that appears best under indoor light.  Outside it's a gorgeous shade that looks like hot coals.

It's really flattering on my warmer skin tone, and I doubt it would fare so well on someone pinker.  If you have cool-toned skin, I'd stay away from this one.  I think this is one of the best reds I've come across.

It IS a little sheer, so what you see here is three coats and I know some people like to use four, but I find three is plenty for me.

What's your favourite red?  Do you like Dear Santa?

Nails Inc Kensington Topcoat Caviar - Why you make me sad?

Guuuuuuyyssss.  This topcoat makes me sad?

Short Story (yes, it has to do with this post).  So I have MAYBE 150-175 bottles of polishes.  In the real world that's a lot.  But when I comes to nail blogs that's the tip of the iceberg!!!  Anyways one of the reasons I have relatively few is because I'm VERY picky.  It's rare I ever see a polish and think "Wow, I'm just going to buy that!" I research, look at swatches, compare, stare at them for a disgusting amount of time in stores before I buy.  Which is one reason why I have few I don't like.

Now before I bought this topcoat almost year ago I did my usually research the hell out of it. And everywhere I looked people seemed to be wetting themselves over it. So when I went to America I bought 2 bottles.  Mistake.  First off the formula is THIN.  Now I don't want thick formula but I don't like water thin. Second wear time was HORRIFIC.  Everything chipped after a day or two.  No matter what I wore.  And finally it always bubbled like crazy!!!  I honestly don't understand why every one loves this.  It's like the Twilight saga.

This was my first experience with Nails Inc and I haven't touched anything by them since.  Should I give their polishes a try?

Look at that photo... I'm practically a young Annie Leibovitz.

Barry M Red Black - My Nails Express My Inside Feelings!!!

Remember how a few posts ago I was talking about how I had a bad night due to being stuck in the rain amongst other things?  Well on Sunday I had a talk with that someone who may or may not have forgotten me in the rain.  I had obviously been angry.  Before I met with said person I used tape and kind of made my nails look like claws.  I mean if I couldn't actually claw his face off, I wanted to at least give the illusion I could.  Long story short though everything is all good now. We kissed and made out up.

 The silver is Wet n Wild Metallica

Now on to the swatches. Barry M Red Black is a deep blood red jelly... you can almost call it red black.  It's full of all sorts of vampy sexyness.  And what makes it even better is I'm pretty sure is an almost, if not dupe for Chanel's Rouge Noir. Who doesn't like saving money? (The Kardashians, that's who).  For this manicure I used 2 coats on most fingers but a couple needed a bit of touch up. The formula overall was great.  I love, love, love this polish!!!