Hump Day Holo: Zoya Holly

The second-ever Hump Day Holo honor goes to Zoya Holly, a gorgeous emerald green. I own many holos, but not a single rich green color. And what better way to showcase one of the options for the winner of the Zoya Go Braugh giveaway? So without further adieu, here is Holly + 1 coat of OPI DS Shimmer...

I'm on the fence about this one. I LOVE Holly so much and was thrilled to write about it in Day 13 of the ongoing 30 Days of Zoya Challenge/Giveaway. But I don't think this is as deep of a color as I would have liked, once I layered Shimmer over it. Perhaps I should have used a thicker coat? Or maybe Zoya Petra is just so showstopping, nothing can compare? I don't know. But it's not my favorite holo-fied shade.

So it's back to the drawing board for next week. What did YOU think about Holo Holly? What would you like to see for next week?

Swatch and Review: Cult Nails Living Waters

I was lucky enough to snag my first Cult Nails polish via a blog sale and really had high hopes for this color. I had first seen this shade on another blog and it stuck in the back of my mind. So I snatched it up when I got the chance.

This was my first time using the macro lens of my dad's Sony 350 SLR and I was super excited with the results. I definitely have a ways to go, but they came out pretty nice if I do say so myself!

Bottle shot!

 Living Waters is a a beautiful shade with a black base and green and turquoise glitter. It reminds me of my cruise this past Christmas out of Florida and how the water looked under the lights of the ship at night. Just gorgeous.

 

This may have been my first Cult Nails polish, but it sure as heck won't be my last!

What do you think, fellow polishaholics?

Oh! And don't forget to enter the new Zoya Go Braugh giveaway for St. Patrick's Day!

Announcing: Zoya Go Braugh giveaway!

Inspired by a Zoya promo last year in which Ivanka, Suvi, and Shawn were featured, what better way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day than with a trio of Zoya greens! And the best part is that YOU get to choose your prize!

This giveaway is open to US Residents only and the winner will be announced via the Facebook page. The winner has 24 hours to contact me via email at PrincessPolishBlog@gmail.com

Enter via the Rafflecopter widget below:


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Day 25: Zoya Petra

When I received the Smoke and Mirrors collection, there were three polishes in there I figured only my roommate would wear. One of them was Petra. But when I saw the shade on her nails, I could not believe how deceiving the color looked in the bottle.

Petra is a dusky gray creme with heavy purple undertones. In fact, it's a pretty wearable color for me, especially considering she was going into my share pile. The funny thing is that in toying around with my recent discovery that layering OPI DS Shimmer over anything and everything makes great polishes even more amazing, I found out how to make Petra a total showstopper.

How drool-worthy is THAT?

For Day 26, let's have a good 'ol battle of the blues: Kristen v. Breezi. Get to voting!

And don't forget to enter the Peter Som Collection Giveaway. Just three days left!

Happy Thursday!
Princess Polish

Near-Freebie Alert: Become a Julep Maven for $.01!

So, I've been dragging my heels on becoming a Julep Maven. But after seeing an awesomely irresistible special a few hours ago, as well as a few nice polishes coming down the pipe, I actually gave in.

For those who don't know about Julep, it's actually a pretty interesting idea. For $19.99 a month, you receive $40 worth of products and at least two of them are nail polishes. You take a style quiz and are given one of five beauty titles: American Beauty, Boho Glam, Classic with a Twist, Bombshell, and It Girl. (Note: I was chosen an American Beauty!) But don't feel locked into that. You can preview the next month's box and switch types between the 20th-24th and your box will ship on the 27th. For example, I switched my box to a Classic with a Twist. Though I keep going back and forth between that (a shimmery purple and a sheer pink) and Boho Glam (a salmon and a sheer blue glitter). Please give me your thoughts on that, by the way... photos are at the bottom.

You can pay for the whole thing up front, bi-yearly, quarterly, or monthly. I chose monthly because it looks a heck of a lot better on my credit card bill. And literally, this month there will be a $.01 next to my Julep charge. Seriously. With shipping and everything.

So how do I get a Maven box for a penny? You can click HERE and enter the code COLOR2012 when you sign up.

Full disclosure, that link is my referral page and I do get a credit for every person I refer. So if you are uncomfortable with that, you can just visit Julep.com to sign up.

And here are the photos of the Boho Glam and Classic with a Twist boxes, as well as the others. Help me make a decision and tell me which you would pick for the March box. (I would DEFINITELY click on them to make them bigger for the full effect.)

Happy shopping!
Princess Polish

A Zoya Promo is coming...

According to Zoya's Facebook and Twitter pages, there is a promo coming. Whether it is today or tomorrow, I'm not sure but it looks like it has something to do with the newly-added page for the Whitney Eve by Whitney Port runway show at NYFW.

She selected Kristen with Maisie and Megan with Chloe for her models.

Here's hoping they are BOGO. I could really use some Maisie and Chloe in my life. How about you, ladies?

Hump Day Holo: China Glaze Traffic Jam

I've been toying around for a few days with my bottle of OPI DS Shimmer and using it as a top coat to make creme polishes holo. So I thought it would be kind of fun on Wednesdays to showcase the holo-fied polish of the week.

Up this week is China Glaze Traffic Jam!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

SUPER SPARKLES!

Day 24: Zoya Anja

When it comes to reds, I like them vampy. In fact, I don't think I own a red that is bright and a true red. So it comes as no shock that I own Anja and love her dearly.

 

Zoya Anja a plumagranate (see what I did there? It's also a flavor of Snapple!) creme that dries with a rich luster.  This is with just two coats, though I probably could have done with a third to make it better for the camera. Two coats would be fine for everyday wear.

For Day 25, we're going to go Switzerland and pick between the neutrals: Petra and Jana.

Look for a guest editor to take part in the challenge during the next 5 days! She's a pretty cool chick.

And also remember to take part in the Passion for Fashion giveaway!

Princess P

Day 23: Zoya Dannii

Though I don't own Zoya Danielle (due to its sheer, ballet slipper-like appearance), I like to take some creative license and consider Dannii another namesake.

I'm not going to lie. I waited a really long time to buy Dannii. When the Intimate Collection came out last spring, I dragged my heels. I wasn't in the pastel mood, not even for the much-hyped Gemma. But when the Zoya 2012 promo came out, I finally pulled the trigger and caved.

And boy am I happy I did.

Day 22: Zoya Tart

In the most recent two free Zoya promo, I snagged Tart after having it on my wish list for over a year. While I have lost track of the number of Zoyas I own, this might just be my favorite blue.

Tart is a metallic cerulean blue that is just bright enough to be eye catching, but not too loud to wear in the winter time. It also doesn't have any of the staining issues of the darker blues. Per usual, the application was pure perfection!

So what do you think, ladies… is Tart a winner?

For Day 23, I was thinking of doing a glitter v. creme contest. So what do you think… Dannii or Kristen?

And remember to enter the Passion for Fashion giveaway!

Princess Polish

Day 21: Peter Som Collection

Since I'm giving away a currently sold-out, Limited Edition Peter Som Color Box by Zoya, I figured it would be a good idea to see just how GORGEOUS these colors are! So while the winning shade for Day 21 of the 30 Days of ZOYA Challenge/giveaway will now be featured as Day 22 tomorrow instead, here is the LE collection!

Passion for Fashion Giveaway

Hi all! I'm trying to make this blog a little more fun with more giveaways, so I'm going to start with my favorite brand of polish: ZOYA!

In honor of New York Fashion Week, I'm going to be giving away one Limited Edition Peter Som Color Box! These shades are not sold separately and were exclusively sold through ArtofBeauty.com this past weekend. While they're sold out online, we managed to snag an extra box for one lucky fan!

Just enter via the Rafflecopter widget below for your chance to win!

The giveaway ends on 2/26/12 at 12:01am EST! Get to entering!

Princess Polish

Introducing... Pebbles!

Hello everyone! I just wanted to let you know that Pebbles arrived at our house around 11:40 this morning. She is super sweet, loves to be held and cuddled, and also loves to sleep. What a relief!

I was going to take this time to announce the winners of our grand prize. Except there's one minor problem: out of nearly 300 entries, no one guessed Pebbles!

So here's what I'm going to do. I'm still going to draw seven names for the China Glaze Ruby pumps and will announce them on the Facebook page. I will email the winners and they will have 24 hours to reply with their address. If I don't hear from them, I will choose another person.

The other prizes will go back into my magical bag of prizes and be prizes for upcoming giveaways!

Thank you so much for the wonderful support and I can't wait to giveaway more free stuff!

Lots of love!

Princess Polish (and Dakota and Pebbles)

The Puppy is Coming + A Giveaway

I am happy to announce that after nearly a year of waiting, my first Seeing Eye puppy is on her way! For those of you who don't know me, I am a raiser for the Seeing Eye Inc. of Morristown, NJ, the oldest guide dog school in the United States. This year, TSE is celebrating their 70th year of puppy raising.

Puppies are assigned to families and individuals, whom they live with for anywhere from a year to 16 months. As a raiser, I will be training the puppy in obedience, house manners, and general desensitization to various locations and circumstances.

On Valentines Day, I know that I will be receiving a female Black Lab, who will be joining my five-year-old Chocolate Lab, Dakota, however, I do not know her name. The Seeing Eye names all of their puppies by assigning a letter to each litter in order of birth from A-Z. This makes it easy to recognize siblings and in fact, my puppy's sibling will belong to another member of my school club. What I do know is that she is from the "P" litter, meaning her name will start with a P.

And this is where you all come in! From now until 12:01 EST on February 14th, take a guess through the entry in the Rafflecopter widget below as to what "P" name you think she'll have!

There are three grand prizes up for grabs. The people who guess correctly will be entered to receive either the OPI Holland Mini Collection, the OPI Nicki Minaj Mini Collection, or a Valentines Day prize pack, which includes one full sized bottle of China Glaze Ring in the Red, and some other awesome surprises

However, I will pick seven random names, regardless of your guess, from the widget and each person will receive a mini CG Ruby Pumps and a mini Out the Door Top Coat. So even if you aren't correct, you still have a chance to win!

Good luck and get to guessing!

Princess Polish, Princess Puppy, and Little Miss "P"

OPI Midnight in Moscow

Today, I'm rocking a little bit shorter of nails and also a color far different from my Superbowl manicure.



This has always been a go-to color for me, with a vampyness to it that I can't help but love. Though, I must apologize for the state of my nails at the time of this picture. I'm in the process of puppy-proofing my home.

Through the Seeing Eye Inc. of Morristown, NJ, my family and I are raising a Seeing Eye Puppy-in-training, who will be arriving on Valentine's Day. We will have her for a little over a year, training her in basic obedience, behavior, and house manners, as well as exposing her to all different circumstances she may encounter down the road as a guide dog for a blind person.

The funny part of this whole story is that The Seeing Eye names all of the puppies in a litter with the same letter. While I don't know her name, and won't until next Tuesday, she is a black labrador retriever from the "p" litter.

So what have I been referring to her as? Princess P.

I promise, lots of photos of her to come! :-D

Until tomorrow!

Princess P(olish)

Nubar Night Sparkle - A Tribute to Big Blue

It's no secret that I hail from New Jersey, but it's also pretty clear I have a love of all things New York Sports. Well, I am Brooklyn-born, after all. So it should come as no shock that come Superbowl Sunday, I had to show my love for the Giants.

And so I chose the newest polish in my stash... Nubar Night Sparkle!
Holy Victor Cruz Salsa! This one is a stunner and the Eli Manning jersey nail art only makes it better.

A gorgeous midnight blue with royal sparkle, Night Sparkle is my first Nubar. But certainly won't be the last. The only downside to this polish is that you're looking at three coats of Seche Vite to smooth out this monster top coat eater. But it's so worth it. And hey, maybe it'll last me until next year's Superbowl.

So what do you think ladies? Are you Team Manning or Team Brady? Or are you more interested in the commercials?

Go Big Blue!
Princess Polish

Day 20: Zoya Savita

I have to come clean. I am not a fan of mattes at all. I'm a fan of eye-catching manicures and for me, the mattes don't do it for me.

HOWEVER, it seems that a lot of the mattes are highly pigmented with shimmer to give them a more interesting glow. It is for that reason I have come to embrace them as a polish trend with a flaw that I can fix easily. Whether it's in the form of a french using a glossy topcoat over the tips or if I slap Seche Vite over the whole nail, it doesn't particularly matter to me. As long as I can morph it into my little fantasy shade, then so be it. The fact that it naturally dries quicker doesn't hurt either.

My first foray into the mattes/suedes was with an OPI Ink Suede pedicure and while it turned our pretty, it chipped in two days. So that may be the only bone I have to pick with the trend that can easily be molded to my own expectations. For a busy person, durability is key.

That being said, I have found my two Zoya mattes to be long-lasting.

And here is the first…Zoya Savita is a blue-toned purple, though I wouldn't quite call her a purple. She does have quite the lovely glow about her and I do love that. But God knows, all I wanted to do was throw on a topcoat. So I did. *Exhales deeply* Ahh, much better. You can see the index and middle finger have a coat of Seche Vite over them and I really love the end result. It's like my middle ground between Mimi and Julieanne. And it's perfect.

And remember to check out Rock it for Relay, where you can bid on various nail polishes and nail polish jewelry, including a soon-to-be posted ring of Savita, for the American Cancer Society! And trust me, she's gorgeous!

So what do you think, ladies? Are you on the matte train? Or are you letting the train pass through the station?

In honor of the Superbowl, with my Giants taking on the Patriots, are you going to pick Tart for Big Blue (Giants) or Anja for the Patriots for Day 21?

Princess P