Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Swatch and Review: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Blue Me Away

If there's anything in life that I love, it's a beautiful spring blue. And that's exactly what I have to show you today!


Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Blue Me Away is a gorgeous Robin's Egg Blue creme. It applied a little watery at first, but was pretty manageable and opaque in two coats. It was pretty shiny on its own, but Dazzle Dry's top coat made it pop that much more.

Removal on this was pretty easy too. I didn't find that it stained my nails or my skin, which is typical of many blues.

I also think that this color is going to be GREAT for nail art. I can already see myself using it as a nice background for flowers or rainbows. It just has a beautiful pop of color that is muted enough that I won't draw too much attention, but bright enough to make a statement.

Sally Hansen nail polishes, including this one, are available at most drug stores, including CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens, as well as many supermarkets and stores like Target and Walmart.

Happy Wednesday!
Princess Polish

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Zoya Memorial Day Dotticure

Happy Sunday, everyone! I'm posting this a day early because I know most of us do our holiday themed manicures a day in advance and because I'm going to be gone for all of tomorrow. It's my first day off from work since I graduated and I am INCREDIBLY excited to sit by the pool and relax. Maybe have a Malibu Bay Breeze... or three.

I haven't done a Zoya-centric post in a while (GASP!), so I figured now would be an excellent occasion to do so. For those of you who follow me on Pinterest, you got a sneak preview yesterday afternoon!

I wanted to do something fun and funky, but wanted to avoid painting the American flag. I love Old Glory, but it's so overused for Memorial/Independence Day. So I decided to stick with just the red white, and blue, but keep it playful at the same time. And what's more playful than polka dots?

I picked out Zoya Snow White, Zoya Sarah (my all-time fave Zoya), and Zoya Ibiza because a: they're gorgeous and b: I thought they best matched the colors of the flag.

Using a double-ended dotting tool with the biggest and smallest points, I scattered dots all around my nails. I started with the big dots first, dotting Ibiza and then Sarah. Seeing the white space that was left, I flipped to the tiny end and dotted Ibiza and then Sarah to fill in the holes.

I repeated the small dots to fill in the spaces, varying the amount of polish on the end to make it look like there were more than two sized dots on the nail.

I'm really happy with how this came out. I think that it's definitely what I was looking for in that it's really playful and fitting with Memorial Day, but I could also get away with wearing it another few days because it doesn't have a distinctive theme. I love when nail art is versatile!

Are you thinking of trying a dotticure for your Memorial Day plans? Enjoy the BBQ's and hopefully, nice weather!
Princess Polish

Friday, May 25, 2012

Review: How Tweezerman Saved My Skin


Hello again, everyone! I know I have been MIA, but if you follow me on Facebook, you have been reading about the on-going saga after my unfortunate use of the Cutex Non-Acetone Polish Remover.

Here's a brief recap: I used the remover after my mom picked up the wrong color bottle at Harmon's, immediately felt the skin of my fingers had a weird texture, and noticed the next day that they looked like alligator skin. It was as if I painted my fingers with clear nail polish and it dried all cracked. That's honestly what I thought had happened. I really thought I had spilled top coat on myself and not realized.

So here is how my fingers looked last week. Be prepared for the grossness of the skin 48 hours after first contact:

Monday, May 21, 2012

ANNOUNCING: The Must Be Jelly Collection by Princess Polish

I'm INCREDIBLY EXCITED today to officially announce the launch of my own line of indie polishes called... what else... Princess Polish!

The first collection consists of five holo jelly shades that are perfect for spring and summer called Must Be Jelly.

 

WARNING: This is going to be majorly pic heavy!

Here is a shot of the mini bottles, which were what I used to officially formulate the collection. I'm in the process of making labels and decorating the caps, but I couldn't wait to show you all. From left to right, there is Strawberry Jam, Mint Jelly, Grape Jelly, Orange Marmalade, and Blueberry Jam.


Here is Strawberry Jam, Mint Jelly, Grape Jelly, and Orange Marmalade in the shade.


And here they are in artificial light. Unfortunately, we're in the first few days of a week of rain here in Jersey, so I couldn't get a sunlight pic. But will post one to my Facebook page as soon as the sun rears her head again!

In case you were in need of more sparkly, holo goodness, here are close ups of each shade!


Blueberry Jam, a bright blue linear holo jelly.


Grape Jelly, a rich purple linear holo jelly.


Mint Jelly, a lime scattered holo jelly.


Orange Marmalade, a bright tangerine scattered holo jelly.


And last, but not least... Strawberry Jam, a rich magenta holo jelly.

The shades are currently available for pre-order here for the next 48 hours (through 11:59pm EST Wednesday), as part of a Facebook and Princess Polish reader exclusive! It is $5 per shade for a mini bottle (5mL), $8.50 for a full sized bottle (15mL), $22.50 for the Mini Collection (5 bottles), and $40 for the Full Sized Collection.

After that, the shades will be available on a permanent basis through the Princess Polish Store on Storenvy starting in the middle of June.

So what do you all think of my babies? I've been working so hard on them and I'm dying to know what you all think! I'm going to be updating my page with bottle shots once they're decorated and labeled, so stay tuned!

With much love,
Princess Polish

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Swatch and Review: Dazzle Dry Calypso Romance

Good morning, all!

Today, I'm bringing to you a shade from the just-released Summer Scape collection by Dazzle Dry called Calypso Romance.


In the bottle, Calypso Romance has a prominent blue shimmer. But did it translate to the nail?

Friday, May 18, 2012

Swatch and Review: Saint Germain Part 1

Good morning, everyone! I hope you've got a wonderful weekend ahead of you!

Today, I have nail polishes from a new brand in the cosmetics industry, Saint Germain!


From left to right, Sea Green, Pink Lotus, Yellow Sun, and Poppy. These are the brights.

Warning: We're about to get pic heavy!

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

ANNOUNCING: Charity Nail Polish Jewelry Sale!






I've been making nail polish jewelry for myself for as long as I can remember and have made a few pairs of earrings for different occasions, unable to find the right color combo. With the encouragement of my friends, I have opened up an online shop featuring earrings, pendants, hair clips, and other items made with nail polish! The BEST part is that all of the profits are donated to Autism New Jersey, a nonprofit dedicated to serving autistic individuals and their families.

I'm constantly adding items to the site and only the earrings are up at the moment. They are available in both sterling silver and surgical steel.

Another cool aspect of the jewelry is that I am able to do custom designs in whatever combinations, shades, and patterns you can dream up. There is no additional charge for a custom order either! Check out my polish stash here for some ideas!

There is a certain pre-made quantity of each item listed at the store, but they don't take too long to make. So don't worry if something sells out. It will be re-stocked really quickly!

If you have any questions or custom orders, please feel free to email me: PrincessPolishBlog(at)gmail.com.

Thank you in advance for your support!
Princess Polish

Swatch and Review: Nicole by OPI Yellow... It's Me

I found this shade in the clearance bin at my local Harmons and had honestly never heard of it. My yellow drawer is quite light in comparison to the others (really, it shares its room with brown and orange), so I picked it up and thought I would give it a go.


Nicole by OPI Yellow... It's Me is a buttercup yellow with peach shimmer. It is rather opaque, so I layered two coats of it over Saint Germain Yellow Sun (stay tuned for the new SG collection tomorrow). It's very hard to see in the bottle, but the shimmer is prominent on the nail.



It was SO hard to capture the shimmer in the photos. I highly recommend that you click on the images below to see the sparkle of it better. It's like the yellow version of Sinful Colors Cinderella.

I'm not a fan of yellows, especially because they can bring out bad tones in my skin and look super gaudy. But Yellow... It's Me is an excellent shade for me because it's a little more subtle, but has a pop to it that is VERY me. It lives up to its nail!

So what do you all think? Is this your kind of yellow too?

Princess Polish

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Swatch and Review: Julep Maven May Box

Hello, everyone! This is Princess Polish, B.A. writing to you today! YES, I finally did it. I graduated Rutgers University on Sunday with honors, earning my Bachelors in Political Science.

Today, I'm going to discuss my Julep May Box. For now, I'm going to focus on the polish because I'm doing a trial with the pedicure products. I'm currently taking a one-week Julep pedi challenge and a two-week Tweezerman nail care challenge. So we shall see how this goes!

But back to the topic at hand...

If you're not a Julep Maven, you can sign up today to receive your first box of $40 products for just A PENNY! Click here and use the code SHAREONMAY to pay just $.01 for your box!

Now, onto the box...

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Swatch and Review: SoFlaJo Pendragon

I'm REALLY excited to bring you this awesome polish today from SoFlaJo. I've had my eye on the entire collection, called Year of the Dragon, since it was first released.

The Year of the Dragon collection consists of 8 sparkling color-changing top coats made from natural pigments that are incredibly dynamic. How dynamic? Well, let's take a look...


Friday, May 11, 2012

Swatch and Review: Dazzle Dry 3 Piece Nail System, Cherry Parfait, and Silver Lace

Good morning, all! Thank you for being patient while I moved out of college these past two days. It's a VERY daunting process, though was depressing because it was the last time I will ever do it. I'll be commuting when I do attend law school, so no more moving into dorms for me.

Today, I have a brand that is near and dear to my heart. I initially found them while searching for vegan-friendly nail polishes for my best friend.

And I'm pretty sure that in the end, I fell in love with them even more than she did!

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Swatch and Review: China Glaze Atlantis

Today's polish is one I picked up in a blog sale back in the fall. I wear it all of the time, but have never managed to take a picture since I received my new camera for my birthday.

Atlantis is a gorgeous teal jelly jam-packed with holo glitter that I am absolutely obsessed with.


It's drop dead gorgeous! It needed three coats to be opaque and ate top coat like nobody's business... but who gives a crap? It's to die for!

And on the subject of being to die for... remember to enter The New Black Giveaway!

Until tomorrow!
Princess Polish

Monday, May 7, 2012

The New Black Week Day 7: The Big Giveaway



Hello, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

I know that the Monday blues are upon us, so here's a fun giveaway to cheer you all up!

Using the Rafflecopter widget at the end of this post, enter to win your choice of Ombre set OR the Times Late Edition set from The New Black! This includes the Graffiti, Haze, Waves, and Times Late Edition sets!

After the cut, you can take a look at every set available for the giveaway...

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Swatch and Review: The New Black Week Day 6 - Typography Manicure


Good morning to you all! Thanks for sticking by me during my sick day yesterday. I still feel a little blah, but at least it's minus the pounding migraine.

Today, I have for you the last set of The New Black for the week. It's more of a nail art set, unlike anything else I have tested out this week, and is called the Times Late Edition set.



Newspaper manicures have become all the rage in the world of nail polish. It's pretty easy and relatively anyone can do it. Unfortunately, there are a few problems.

1) You need to use nail polish remover to do it, leaving an unpleasant smell on your hands or drying out cuticles.

2) The newsprint is from an article of your choosing, but there are bound to be words and phrases you don't want on your nails.

3) Most importantly, THE PRINT IS BACKWARDS! The only way to read your nails is with a mirror!

The typography set, which includes a transfer solution and topcoat, solves this. It includes custom sheets of newsprint with phrases like faith, peace, and believe, printed mirror image style so it comes out readable on your nails. And trust me, if you mess up a few times like I did, it's okay. There are enough sheets in there for at least 40 manicures. I swear.

It also comes with a putty-colored gray that makes your nails look just like a newspaper. I wanted to keep the AWESOME fire gradient from the Runway collection and figured this would be a good opportunity to test out the set on other shades.

It's very simple to do. You cut the print the size of your nail, apply transfer solution all over the nail (don't be stingy with it), place the print on the nail, and apply pressure with a cotton ball so that the print saturates. Thirty seconds later, you're done!


As you can see, the end result was decent. I think with a few more manicures of practice, I could get it perfect. My only issue with the set was that it seemed like I could never get enough transfer solution on my nail to make the full rectangle appear saturated so that the print was dark enough to be visible. I tried to apply the solution over the square when I noticed this, but that was more hurtful than helpful. The harder I pushed with the cotton ball, the more the liquid spread over the paper, so perhaps this takes more practice.

Believe me, I'm going to try this again to get it right because the idea is super smart. That being said, it actually faded with the gradient, so it looked somewhat intentional. Just be sure not to move the print once it's on your nail, as you will wind up with smudged text like on my index finger.

Overall, I think this set has a lot of potential. It just takes a little time to get the hang of.

*SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT*: Be sure to come back to Princess Polish tomorrow, when I'll be giving away a special prize from The New Black. I'm not going to tell you what it is until then, BUT I will say that you should probably go ahead and like TNB's Facebook page to get an early start!

All of The New Black sets are available at Sephora, Nordstrom, and Beauty.com. However, this collection is currently exclusive to Beauty.com. All of the sets, like Graffiti, Haze, Waves, and Runway include five 0.125 fl oz. bottles of polish. Polishes by TNB are 3-free, cruelty-free, and vegan friendly! The sets range from $10 to $32, with the Runway Collection retailing for $32.

Remember to check back in because the fun continues tomorrow with a freebie!
Princess Polish

Disclaimer: The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR company for consideration. For more information please visit my Disclaimer page. Product photos provided by The New Black.

Friday, May 4, 2012

Swatch and Review: The New Black Week Day 5 - Runway Collection Part 2

Today, we're checking out the second half of the Color Barometer Runway Collection, the cooler range of nail polishes.



The formula on these four nail polishes were just as good as the last. There is a camel color, navy blue, dusty periwinkle, and pine green. The first two are cremes and the latter two are frosts, but all only needed two coats to be opaque.

The navy blue reminds me very much of Zoya Cynthia, while the periwinkle is very much like Zoya Jo. I think I need to do a comparison in the future. But regardless, I don't have anything like that pine green at ALL and like the range of these very much. I do NOT own a camel color either!

All of The New Black sets are available at Sephora, Nordstrom, and Beauty.com. However, this collection is currently exclusive to Beauty.com. All of the sets, like Graffiti, Haze, Waves, and Runway include five 0.125 fl oz. bottles of polish. Polishes by TNB are 3-free, cruelty-free, and vegan friendly! The sets range from $10 to $32, with the Runway Collection retailing for $32.

Tomorrow, we move on to nail art!
Princess Polish

Disclaimer: The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR company for consideration. For more information please visit my Disclaimer page. Product photos provided by The New Black. 

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Swatch and Review: The New Black Day 4 - Runway Collection Part 1

Hello again, all! The New Black week presses on with part one of the AWESOME Color Barometer 8-piece Runway Collection.


When evaluating how to write about this collection, I realized that while I could definitely wear a different color on each finger, the first four and last four kind of went together. It's a very tropical feel for the first four shades, which are a pinky coral frost, tomato red creme, tangerine frost, and a bright sunny yellow creme.

This was entirely confirmed when I put them on my nails. Not only are the shades gorgeous, but they scream tropical vacation to me! I felt like an island girl with these nails.

Only the red needed two coats, the others I used three to even out the color and make it more opaque. But with a top coat, it came out perfect.

But was I done? No. When am I ever?

I realized that these four were a gradient waiting to happen and that in the spirit of TNB, what I needed was an ombre on each nail. So I got to work and here is the end result:


Oh MAN, I love this! It's like my nails are on fire... and it almost has a watercolor-like effect. You can't make me take this off!


For those of you who had emailed me or commented on the Facebook page to ask if the whole bottle is gone in one mani, I assure you that it's not. The bottle usage in the picture is from TWO full manicures at three coats per nail. You can easily get somewhere between 8-10 manicures out of a TNB bottle of nail polish from any set.

All of The New Black sets are available at Sephora, Nordstrom, and Beauty.com. However, this collection is currently exclusive to Beauty.com. All of the sets, like Graffiti, Haze, Waves, and Runway include five 0.125 fl oz. bottles of polish. Polishes by TNB are 3-free, cruelty-free, and vegan friendly! The sets range from $10 to $32, with the Runway Collection retailing for $32.

Overall, I LOVED the range of nail polish shades in this half of collection and for a cost of $4 a bottle, I think it's worth it.

Stay tuned for part two tomorrow!
Princess Polish

Disclaimer: The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR company for consideration. For more information please visit my Disclaimer page. Product photos provided by The New Black.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

ANNOUNCING: China Glaze Summer Neons



Heat Up Your Summer with China Glaze® Summer Collection

Los Angeles, CA – (March 2012):  The sun has nothing on you this summer!  Rival its brightness and heat with China Glaze® Summer 2012 collection, Summer Neons.  Featuring 12 new sizzling shades perfect for surf, sand and nightlife, the all new hot hues in China Glaze® Summer Neons include:


·         Pink Plumeria: Light pink with gold shimmer
·         Under the Boardwalk: Fluorescent raspberry
·         Splish Splash: Bright sky blue shimmer
·         Love’s A Beach: Sizzling hot pink
·         Hang-Ten Toes: Bubblegum neon with iridescent purple shimmer
·         Beach Cruise-r: Glimmering fuchsia grape
·         Orange You Hot?: Bright orange with attention-grabbing gold glimmer
·         Surfin’ For Boys: Glistening bright coral
·         Flirty Tankini: Shimmery strawberry smoothie pink
·         Ride the Waves: Dark ocean blue
·         I’m With the Lifeguard: Glimmering lime green
·         Sun-Kissed: Hot highlighter yellow

Also available 8-piece box collection featuring Under The Boardwalk, Ride The Waves, I’m With The Lifeguard, Sun-Kissed, Orange You Hot?, Surfin’ For Boys, Flirty Tankini and Pink Plumeria.

Here are the bottle shots:

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Swatch and Review: The New Black Week Day 3 - Waves

Though it's raining here in New Jersey, there are still plenty of sunny beaches out there somewhere!

So today, I bring to you Day 3 of The New Black Week with Waves!


Like Graffiti and Haze, Waves is also an ombré set. But it has a little more variation than the other sets. It moves from a peacock blue to a light seafoam green. It doesn't seem like a true ombré at first glance, but that's because I think the second polish (the glittery one) isn't really a medium between the middle jade and the first teal.


Regardless, this set is gorgeous. The application of the nail polish was smooth and even, so it's quality was as stellar as the last two sets. I only wish the index finger's polish was a little bit more in line with the shades before and after it, but it's a minor complaint. I do like that this set mixes cremes, frosts, and glitter.

I still think that Haze is my current favorite!

All of The New Black sets are available at Sephora, Nordstrom, and Beauty.com. The ombré sets, like Haze, include five 0.125 fl oz. bottles of polish. All polishes by TNB are 3-free, cruelty-free, and vegan friendly! All sets range from $10 to $32.

So that you've seen Graffiti, Haze, and Waves... which one is your favorite?

Tomorrow, we move onto full manicures!
Princess Polish

Disclaimer: The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR company for consideration. For more information please visit my Disclaimer page. Product photos provided by The New Black.