Zoya Exchange Haul

Here are the goods from this year's Zoya exchange. I agonized over which I should get, then decided not to sweat it since Zoya offers BOGO deals pretty frequently. I need to search around and come up with a list of ones I want rather than thinking, "Ooooh! Pretty!" and throwing it in my cart after trolling through the site for an hour.

The formula, as always, is fabulous. All swatches are 2 coats without base or top coats unless otherwise noted.

First up is Edyta, a dark green filled with green and gold glitter. Very close to RBL Anne, but Anne's base is more olive and it has pink and gold shimmer.

Charisma is the brightest polish I own. I don't know why I posted this pic because it looks nothing like this. It's impossible to photograph, especially on an iPhone. Go to your local office supply store and check out the neon copy paper. Find the bright neon fuschia one, and there you have Charisma. It was absolutely streaky and horrible on the first coat, but evens out nicely in two. Dries to a weird, matte-ish finish, so a topcoat is a necessity. No topcoat on my index finger above. You can kinda see it if you embiggen the pic.

Adina is a pretty metallic duochrome. The light reflects green off of this one. You can see a hint of it at the top of the bottle. It's a little brush stroke-y.

Last up is Cheryl, a shimmery brown that has a lot of depth. It is so beautiful! One of my favorites. Once I realized Zoya had a Cheryl, I couldn't pass it up.

I think Scrangie talked about names in one of her posts and how she knew she would come across Zoyas she loved or hated based on the name alone. This would be one I would love, even if the color sucked. Cheryl was my bestie's mom - so my second mom, by default, and a fabulous lady. She was a super-strong woman who didn't hesitate to tell bestie & I that we looked like dime store hoes after our first foray into make-up, or introduce me (the only white girl at her oldest daughter's graduation party) to everyone as her other daughter. She was taken way too early, and sometimes I miss her terribly. So, I'll think of her every time I wear this polish. :)

Essie Too Too Hot - Braziliant Collection

I went to Walgreen's on my lunch break yesterday and was greeted by a display full of the Essie Summer 2011 collection. There are some beauties, for sure, but I only got one as I'm trying to be a little less spendy when it comes to polishes. I've never been one for really bright polishes, but Too Too Hot practically did a swan dive off of the shelf into my hand.

Gleaming and shiny in the sun!

In a sunny window indoors

I love this polish so much! It's a bright, cheery coral that demands attention. It was pretty opaque after just one coat, but I did two here. Very slight VNL.

I immediately googled for swatch pictures when I got home, but could only find promo pics of the bottles. Then I noticed that it has a release date of June 2011. Is it common for polishes to come out 2 months early, or did my Walgreen's stocker mess up and place it early? Either way, lucky me! :)

Massively Epic Zoya Swatch post

In an effort to actually get these polishes posted, I decided to swatch. Swatch as in 2 or 3 coats. No base coat, no top coat. Because I'm trying to get this stuff up here. :)

Zoya Kalista... A really pretty burgundy/maroon shimmer. Almost opaque in 1 coat, but this is two. Dried very quick.

Kelly. You've all seen it, you know you have. :) It actually looks like it's supposed to in this pic, but in real life, it is waaaaay purple on my fingers. I'm so disappointed in how it looks in real life, it's getting sent to the bestie.

Skye. Fleshy, slightly shimmery, pink color. I was going for the mannequin hands look when I bought it, but am trying to decide if I still like it.

Ibiza. A beautiful, beautiful blackened blue. Pearly finish that isn't brush stroke-y at all. It stains like a mother though. Seriously, this one was on for less than 3 minutes and my nails were blue. Very blue.

Harley. Very pretty silver/grey lilac with pale purple and sliver shimmer.

Freja is a gunmetal grey that is totally fabulous. I absolutely love me a gunmetal grey. I love that it is a soft shimmer, not a chunky glittery polish.

Cola. I hate this one. Absolutely hate it. Took 3 coats to get a spotty finish.

Blair. Blair is a deep, berry red that is very shimmery. It's one of those glow-from-within pretty polishes. This one was practically opaque in the first coat.

*whew!* That's all my Zoyas. Until I get the new ones that I ordered during the exchange. :)

Zoya Sooki

The last of my Summer 2011 Zoyas - if I don't pick up any in the Zoya Nail Polish Exchange. I haven't decided which I want to get. The only colors that I am really lacking are yellows and oranges, and I don't think I would be doing my nails any favors if I were to try those shades. :)

But back to the potential one-coat goodness of Sooki. The washed-out-with-a-flash-and-not-cleaned-up photo below is after 1 sloppily applied coat. The color is much more accurate in this photo than the one above, which is 2 coats over Hard as Wraps and under Poshe. I really love this color! It look to me to be twins with OPI Color So Hot It Berns. One day, I'll do a comparison to see if they're paternal or fraternal. Either way, my CSHIB is a mini, so Sooki fills the spot of a true, bright red nicely.

I love it, it looks great, and no lobster claws. A win in my book. Now I think I'll read a little "Dead Until Dark" before bed. :)

Zoya Areej - Summertime Collection

This is Areej, the second of three Summer 2011 Zoya polishes I got in the BOGO 1/2 off sale. I've seen this color described as a dusty fuschia on just about every blog that's featured it, and to be honest, I don't get the dusty part. If someone wants to explain it, go ahead. School me!

Dusty or not, I love the color. Brighter and pinker than I usually go for. It definitely feels very summery to me. Application was fabulous! Opacity was achieved with one coat. My middle finger is an example (heh, heh...). I decided to do the rest in 2 coats to see if there was a difference in wear, and I haven't found that to the the case.

I could get another day or two out of this mani at least, but I'm too excited to try the last of my new Zoyas, Sooki (or Sookeh if you're a True Blood fan and hear Bill's voice every time you read that name like I do!). I expect to put on that color tonight.

Zoya Faye

I'm sure you've seen this already as they are all over the internets. Faye was the sole glittery polish from Zoya's summer collection that stood out to me. The pretty pink/purple base and gold glitter hooked me pretty securely. I fully expected the gold to be much less pronounced since it seemed to cling to/coat the bottle, but that wasn't the case at all.

Faye is a very pretty purple-pink with tons of gold glitter. I think I might see some silvery holo stuff in there too. Very awesome and much more subdued than the others in the collection, in my opinion. Above is under Poshe and over Hard as Wraps. I seriously doubt I'll keep it on a week, as I'm anxious to see the others.

All Hail The Queen wear & Rimmel Burgundy Flirt

There's been a little lack of blogging, huh? The reason? All Hail The Queen has been lasting for ages! This (horrible) pic is right before I took it off after 6 days of wear. A few small chips, serious growth, and need of lotion & cuticle cream. :) I think a big contributor to the great wear is Hard As Wraps. 6 days is unheard of for me. Think I've found a new basecoat...

I went to Walgreen's yesterday and got some great deals. Plain old Wet n' Wild is $0.69, so I picked up 2 bottles of clear in case I want to try frankening. Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear was 2/$4, so I got Wet Cement and a glittery red. I also had a $1 off coupon for Rimmel, and chose Burgundy Flirt. I'm finding it harder to remember where the holes in my collection are. I don't think Burgundy Flirt filled any, but it is pretty.

Formula was decent. These polishes have a very wide, curved brush. The name of it escapes me. The other 2 I've got work really well, but this one is rather wonky. It ended up looking okay though. This is 2 coats over Hard as Wraps and under Poshe. There was some balding, but I think I should've waited a little longer between coats.

Next up will be my new Zoyas from the BOGO sale.

butterLONDON All Hail The Queen

I finally got the last lemming on my list! A quickie overnight trip to Chicago led me to Ulta, which led me to the teeny, tiny end cap display of butterLONDON polishes, which led me to the next-to-last All Hail The Queen in the place! Behold...

I don't know why I love this one so much. I love holo glitters, but don't usually get so enraptured with nudes (Yummy Mummy excepted). This one has me though. I found myself staring at it all day today. I used Hard as Wraps, 2 coats of lacquer, and 1 coat of Poshe. There is so much depth to this shade! If I didn't know better, I'd think I were wearing at least 4-5 thin layers. The microglitter looks silvery and monochromatic in most lighting, but is definitely holographic in the sun. I tried my best to capture that in the photo above, but it just wasn't happening.

And really quick... a bit about Sally Hansen Hard as Wraps... I'm very happy with it so far. Granted, I've only used it on my last 2 manis, but it really does strengthen my nails. I think its helping with the peeling as well. I had Yummy Mummy on for 4 days before a chip, and I did some heavy-duty spring cleaning while wearing it. I'm curious to see how it holds up to hand washings at work, but so far, I've found a winner!

butterLONDON Yummy Mummy

This is the last of my recent butterLONDON order. I must admit that when I pulled the three bottles out of the box, I wasn't excited about Yummy Mummy at all. Marrow and British Racing Green stand out quite a bit, and Yummy Mummy is much more subtle. Subtle, but man oh man is it pretty! A great neutral with silvery shimmer. It might be my favorite of the three. Application was lovely. This is 2 thin coats with a topcoat of Posche. I think next time I'll use 3 coats. As many others have said, this one would be excellent to use after some bright, obnoxious color. You know, giving your eyes a rest and all.

I also tried a new base coat. Sally Hansen Hard as Wraps. It comes in clear, or tinted. I chose clear. I'm not sure it's meant as a base coat, but is supposed to make nails as strong as if they had acrylic wraps. I'm anxious to see if helps my peeling nails and has any staying power under polish. This is a shot of my 2 favorite nails. (I know, I'm a goober) I wish all ten of them looked that way, but hey. This is after 1 coat of Hard as Wraps.

Oh! And, my Zoya order arrrived. I got Faye, Areej, and Sooki. As a True Blood fan, I couldn't resist that one! I split the order with a friend and she got Sooki, Mira, and Breezi. I might be able to convince her to let me post hers here as well.