Swatch: Zoya's Mimi

I'm still enjoying Zoya's 3 free promo! It's the gift that keeps on giving! Here's Zoya's Mimi. Thanks again, again, Zoya!

This purple is very much a superhero, comic book, fantasy purple. It's packed with glitter and it's really vibrant (make sure to click the picture to see it accurately). It's my favorite of the 3 freebies I picked.

3 Colors, 2 Polishes

I decided to play around with the two Katy Perry glitters, Teenage Dream (pink) and Last Friday Night (blue). Using some knowledge I picked up in... let's say preschool, I decided to see what kind of purple I'd get if I layered the two. Here's the result:

Pink → Purple → Blue


The first has only one layer of blue, the second has two. One layer of everything else with OPI's Alpine Show underneath.


It's fun plain and simple. It reminds me of cotton candy (if cotton candy were super glittery). Took about ten minutes to do, too, so that's a bonus.

Spring Pattern

I want to venture into freehanded patterns, so here's my first attempt:

China Glaze's Seafoam (Anchors Away collection, Spring 2011)

Flexbrush's water-based white

Feathers

I've seen manicures floating around the interwebs using real feathers, but let's be realistic aren't they kind of hard to find for a reasonable price? The only feathers I've really seen around my parts that won't break the bank are ones on birds and those really fluffy marabou ones dyed Easter egg colors. So where did I get these feathers you ask? Well... they were poking out of my down comforter, so I pulled 'em on out!

The base color is China Glaze's Below Deck (2 coats). I would recommend using a clear coat over your base color before you apply any feathers because when I applied a top coat the feather disappeared into the background, hence the missing index finger.

See this post for a much better version of feather nails!

Non-Traditional Valentine's Day Mani

Here's a quirky Valentine's mani for those non-mushy types:

Essie's Bordeaux & Flexbrush's water-based white

Freehand it you guys! It'll probably look a bit messy if you're anything like me, but when all the nails are seen all together it presents a cohesive look.

Oh, and here's a bit of a PSA:
If you like one of my posted manicures, click the title of the post. This will help it rank in the "Popular Posts" section on the right and I can see what you guys are more in to. Thanks, folks!

Swatch & Comparison: Zoya's Alegra vs. OPI's The One That Got Away

Need a nice pink for Valentine's Day? Here's my second Zoya freebie from their 3-free giveaway, Alegra. Thanks, Zoya!

I'd say Alegra is Gilda's sister... but the cooler, sassier sister who packs a punch. This pink is super glittery and vibrant!

And for comparison's sake here's Alegra against OPI's The One That Got Away (Katy Perry Collection). The only real difference between the two is that The One That Got Away is blue-based while Alegra is red based. They're pretty much the same externally besides that. So I guess the main thing is to decide which looks better on your skin--blue-based tones or red-based tones?

The Ruffian

Using Butter London's British Racing Green and OPI's Bling Dynasty I recreated one of the most popular manicures of late, The Ruffian, with one of the most popular color combinations, green and gold. Who could resist this?

It's very easy to get the smooth edges of the gold if you have the right tool--hole punch reinforcement stickers (cut in half).

Paint on your base color and wait until it's dry, but not just dry to the touch, dry all the way through. Cut one of the stickers in half and place it on your nail where you don't want the new color to be. Apply the second color and wait about 10 seconds for the polish to settle. Then, pull away the sticker in the direction towards the new color to prevent strings of polish that may form from crossing the color border. Boom, you're done (after you apply a top coat, of course).

Wonder Woman Mani

First off, welcome new readers! If you can, make sure you follow the blog with Google Friend Connect (follow the arrow on the right side)!

Right now, the beauty world is abuzz with MAC's release of a Wonder Woman themed collection (and yes, I have already ordered one of the lipsticks which I will review when I get it). I decided to do one of my faux-Minx manis and use MAC's Wonder Woman promo images directly on my nails.

Blue nails: China Glaze's First Mate.
White star: Flexbrush's white (water based)
Red/Yellow stars: CM Nail Art

Basically, you print out an image, cut it out to roughly fit your nail and apply it to a wet layer of white polish, then file the excess paper off downward much like you would Incoco strips or Nail Rock Nail Wraps. Super easy! You will need some heavy-duty top coat though. I prefer to use an old, thick Seche Vite. Make sure to seal in all the edges, because as you can see on my thumb, water will get in there if you wash your hands or take a shower and start to bleed the colors together. This can also be bad for your nail so if you notice it happening take it off asap.

All images belong to MAC Cosmetics and DC Comics.

Swatches: ¼ China Glaze's Anchor's Away Collection

From China Glaze's Anchor's Away Collection, here's Sea Spray, First Mate, and Below Deck (with OPI's The One That Got Away and Not Like the Movies with Black Shattter):

(Two coats of each on the mini swatches)

They look more vibrant in the pictures than they are in real life, which is a good thing. They're all kind of dusty and muted yet still really pretty. These were the only ones in the collection that really caught my attention.

Here's a full hand of Below Deck (2 coats). This is a great mauve and I'm glad colors like this are making an appearance this season.

And here's the lovely Sea Spray (2 coats). The best way to describe it is that it's the spring version of China Glaze's For Audrey--it's muted and delicate. There's a very discreet shimmer to it, but it's not shimmery enough to off-put people who prefer cremes.

First Mate (2 coats) is so nautical! It's a proper navy blue. Applying it was a bit tricky because it's ever so slightly runnier than other China Glaze polishes, but it's not so runny that it interferes with the color application. Just prepare for a lot of cleanup afterwards!

Swatches: Zoya's Gilda, Intimate & Flame Plates

Did you get your three Zoya freebies yet? How amazing is Zoya as a company? First it was six free color spoons, then three free full-sized bottles, and then they added on three free color collection plates! Not to mention they have great customer service. Go check out their Facebook page for more offers and an all out frenzy of polish info sharing.

Here is one of the colors I chose, Gilda (2 coats):

Great application and wear time--did I mention that Zoya's vegan-friendly?

Intimate Collection plate (L to R: Marley, Dove, Caitlin, Dannii, Jules, Gemma):

Flame Collection plate (L to R: Tiffany, Gloria, Crystal, Lisa, Sarah, Valerie):