Zoyas I Love: Crystal, Perrie, and Edyta

Hey everybody!  Have you heard about the serious epidemic going around this week?  It's called Zoya Fever! :)  Zoya is running their buy 3 for $12 promo, and I'm telling you...it's really hard to decide what you want...isn't it??  I love Zoya to bits, and when I look at their colors, it's a bit overwhelming when you know you get 3 and they have about 867 that you love. :P

So...here am I...donning my public servant cap to *maybe* help you arrive at a decision!  Isn't that nice of me? :)  First up is, without a doubt, one of Zoya's loveliest polishes, Crystal.

I LOVE Crystal.  It's a beautiful ice blue metallic foil with a very heavy gold shimmer.  The gold is so highly visible in Crystal that on the nail, this polish looks mottled...almost like a Saran wrap mani.  Just gorgeous!!

I think I am one of the 6 people on the planet who doesn't own Zoya Charla. :)  For me, Crystal has that magical feel that everybody ascribes to Charla...it's ethereal and flawless.  And of course, just the fact that it's a Zoya foil should tell you how fantastic it is!  The application is wonderful and the formula perfect.

Another of my Zoya faves is a polish that I don't think has gotten much airtime...Perrie.  Perrie is sort of like the creme version of the my shimmery love Dannii. 

Perrie is a cool-toned medium orchid purple....YES there's that very popular word again!  Zoya describes this color as lavender, but it just doesn't look very lavender on me.  Don't get me wrong, it looks FABULOUS...just a bit deeper than lavender. :D

Perrie's formula is a little thin, but it's easy to work with and levels out pretty well.  I didn't have any flooding with it.  I like this color better and better each time I wear it...and I predict a lot of gals will pick this one up this week. :)

Last up, I have a Zoya that's textbook me:  strange!!  Meet the complex and incomparable Edyta.

Oh myyyyy.  My own photos are renewing my amour for Edyta.  This is the perfect non-shade to confuse and delight all your friends!  Is it brown?  Maybe.  Is it green?  Possibly.  Is it AWESOME??  Oh yes.  It's a delicious metallic shimmer multiple personality in a bottle! :)

Look at that sparkle!  And what color IS said sparkle?  Who knows??  Yes, Edyta is that confusing.  And how I LOVE it!!  Let's see what Zoya has to say about this color:  "A complex mixture of gold, olive, blue-green and smoky grey with a sparkling metallic finish."  Clear as mud!  Hey!  It kinda does look like mud!  An oh-so-glamorous mud. :)

You love this one, don't you? :)  If you love crazy shimmery, and if you love weird, Edyta is your girl.  You will be in love with the bizarre elegance and cock your head to the side more than once as you try to figure her out...

Have I assisted you with any choices?  I doubt it, but I flatter myself to think I could *possibly* sway somebody to choose my recommendations... :)

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day! 

The Cheapskate Files: Essie All Tied Up

Hey everybody!  It's a pretty exciting day for me...we are actually getting to experience a little part of the massive cold front that's currently affecting the country.  I'm not sweating!! :)

When I was on vacation last month, I managed to snag several bottles of my favorite type of polish:  cheap. :D  Oh...I shouldn't say "cheap"...it sounds so...cheap.  How about calling it "polishes I found at an excellent price"?  Yes...much better.  I found a bottle of Essie All Tied Up, from their Summer 2012 collection, for something like $3 at TJ Maxx.  I can honestly say that I don't own anything even close to this color!

Essie's website describes All Tied Up like this:  "this rustic bronze with subtle golden shimmer glistens with a restrained, yet warm and sensuous charm that will leave him totally tongue-tied."  Well now that's different.  Not only would I not call this color "bronze", but for some reason I'm never thinking of how I can render some guy speechless with my manicure.  For somebody who loves vampy shades, I'm more like Goldilocks. :D

I would personally describe All Tied Up as a medium rosy terracotta.  How's that for a description?  Hey, it's better than bronze! :)  It does have a lovely golden shimmer.  I love shimmer! <3

I used 2 coats of All Tied Up for the photos...then my camera got all upset upon seeing me wearing a color that hailed from the Orange-esque Dynasty and paid me back by portraying me as Wilbur the Pig.  You'll have to trust me when I say that I still look my regular color in person. :)

Let's talk formula...oh Essie, WHY can't you make everything like this one?  It was just perfect...creamy and easy to apply.  And it really is a lovely color.  It's just that my camera and I aren't used to seeing me like this.  It's a sort of "not-very-me" neutral. 

Bonus Points if you can spot what's wrong with this pic!!! :)

So...how about that?  I'm wearing ALL kinds of new things!:)  Do you have a color like this one?  What color does it turn your skin?  And most importantly, SHOULD nail polish be considered a lethal weapon against a man?? :)

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day! <3

A Troublesome Vamp: Revlon Elusive

Hey everybody!  I hope you are doing well in this the first week of 2014. :) 

People who complain all the time get on my nerves.  Nobody wants to hear that, you know?  LOLOL...so that's why I debated about the title of my post, because I don't want to sound like I'm complaining. :)  But don't you hate it when you have high hopes for something that looks SO pretty in the bottle, but something about worries you when you get it on?  *Sigh* - that would be today's story...meet Revlon Elusive.

Well, it looks really pretty, doesn't it?  It took me mucho many tries to capture something nice-looking for this one.  You see, Elusive is sort of jelly-ish, and you all know I love my jellies...but then, it's also sort of not jelly-ish.  That doesn't make much sense, but there it is.  The not jelly-ish side of it was most problematic for me.  It was this watery black stuff that stuck to everything.

Midget Pinky *just* squeezes in for the shot...

Elusive is a blackened teal base loaded with varying sizes of teal hex glitter.  It is from Revlon's Fall 2013 Evening Opulence collection, which I have only seen twice over these past 3 months.  This polish dries matte, and I am just not a matte fan.  I love to shine way too much for that nonsense. :P  I used 2 thick coats of top coat over 2 coats of Elusive.

In all fairness, I should add that my main problem with Elusive's formula was that when I said it stuck to everything, I meant it stuck to my cuticles, and I just about couldn't get it off after loads of cleanup.  ***More complaining coming up!***  You see, I have rather strange cuticles.  The cuticles sort of abruptly turn into my finger skin...it's bizarre.  The skin around my nails is very hard, and it has a tendency to lock in those thin, blackened colors like it's trying to fully embarrass you. :)  And embarrassed I am when I see macro shots of it.  Mission accomplished, Elusive.  Blast you!!!

BUT I like the idea of Elusive.  I like mattes on other people.  I love blackened teal.  I love teal glitter.  And I really like this polish on me when I'm not taking super close-up shots of it.  Ah, who cares?  All my poorly-sighted friends will never know the difference! :D

I have read some reviews about Elusive that indicate you either love it or hate it.  Do you all have this one?  Do you love it or hate it?  And most importantly, will you forgive my sour mood?  I'm post-Christmas dieting and starving. :D

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day! <3