Easter Chevrons

Happy Easter, my lovelies!

For my Easter nails, I used two different sized Chevron nail vinyls over a base of OPI Skull and Glossbones, plus Colors by Llarowe Good Fortune and Smooth Criminal.

I really loved how this came out. It's sparkly and pretty and very springy!

Valentine's Day and Anti-Valentine's Day Nail Art

Happy Valentine's Day, everybody!

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), I'm still recovering from both my surgery and the flu, so I can't stomach any chocolate or other candy. However, that doesn't mean I can't celebrate the holiday with a little sparkle!

When I asked over on the Princess Polish Facebook page what you all wanted to see from my Valentine's Day manicure this year, it seemed lots of you wanted something non-traditional, possibly holographic. So I came up with something that could be both in celebration or opposition of the holiday, depending on how you look at it!

The base color is Colors by Llarowe Dirty Diana with Sinful Colors Black on Black on top.

I thought that the slash of magenta could be something sassy and fierce for a night out with a special someone, but also could be anti-Valentine's Day because it reminds me of a broken heart.

I was really happy to rock this look at least for a day around school and work. Unfortunately, being sick meant I basically was the only one who got to stare at it this week. But oh well! Now you all can see it too!

Would you wear this non-traditional mani?

Swatch and Review: Colors by Llarowe Dirty Diana

Here's some swatches of a lemming I squashed last week when I picked it up in a swap. This shade comes from the Michael Jackson Collection from Colors by Llarowe and it's absolutely stunning!

Dirty Diana is a magenta linear holo that is honestly one of the most vivid holo polishes I have ever seen!

Dirty Diana is currently in stock over at Llarowe for $12! Scoop it up while you can!

Swatch and Review: Jade Mystic Gold

TGIF! And to celebrate, I wanted a little sparkle on my nails. So what better choice than a little linear holo in what I affectionately call Command Gold (after Star Trek)!?!

Jade Mystic Gold is a gold linear holo polish. The above is with three coats, but you can still see some visible nail line. It's just as visible in person as in the photo. Here, it has a marigold sort of tint indoors, but you can see below that it has a much truer gold look in sunlight.

I actually wore Mystic Gold last weekend when, as many of you saw on Facebook, I underwent surgery. I was only allowed to wear nail polish if they could still see my nails underneath and I thought this was a good compromise. The doctors and nurses LOVED it, actually. It was kind of funny.

I have a bunch of different Jade polishes in my stash, though this is the first one I've swatched. Jade is a Brazilian company that makes a ton of different finishes, but my favorite are the holos in the Holografica collection. They're also reasonably priced at a price of $7-$8, which is right on par with a lot of salon brands. 

The only downside is that you can't purchase them in stores, but can purchase them from stockists such as Llarowe. (Link will take you to the Jade Holograficas collection). I know that Llarowe offers free shipping on orders over $50, so with six or seven polishes, you'll get them shipped for free.

What do you think of Mystic Gold? Would you like to see other Jade holos on the blog?

Swatch and Review: Layla Ocean Rush

Here's some holo for this hump day! I'm finally up to doing some swatching again, so while I build up some new posts, check out one of my favorite holos to date!

Check out Layla Ocean Rush!

The above is an indoor shot with three coats. I love how quickly this polish dries. It was ready to go at around 10 minutes, which was fantastic dry time for me!

And here is the same, but outdoor. Ocean Rush truly is a stunner!

I haven't seen Layla Holographic polishes in stores in a few years, but these are still floating around on Amazon.

Swatch and Review: L'Oreal Masked Affair

TGIF! And in honor of the weekend, I have a VERY exciting swatch to share with you today. It appears that there is now officially a linear holographic polish that is available at drug stores and other national retailers!

And it comes from a very surprising source: L'Oreal!

Masked Affair was released as part of the Dark Sides of Grey Colour Riche collection, which I assume is in honor of the novel "50 Shades of Gray." But whatever the reason, I am incredibly excited that they did!

L'Oreal 701 Masked Affair is a silver linear holo with pinkish undertones.  I used three coats to achieve full opacity, but this dried INCREDIBLY quickly. I honestly could have gone about my day after fifteen minutes and not even remotely dinged it up.

The above photo was taken indoors without a top coat. Please continue to scroll for more indoor photos, a photo with top coat, and an outdoor shot.

Mani in Motion: Zoya Dream

Happy Thursday, everyone!

I'm trying something a bit new and different today called a Mani in Motion. Basically, through images on a loop, you can see how a shade looks from shade to sunlight, in both color shift and sparkle.

The first Mani in Motion is Zoya Dream, a royal blue scattered holo polish:

Check out how awesome the movement of the holographic glitter as it catches the sunlight!

What do you think of Dream "in motion?" And do you think I should do this with more shades?

Swatch and Review: Zoya Zenith Collection

Hi, everyone! I'm super excited to bring you the Zoya Zenith Collection, Zoya's newest collection for Winter 2013, today!

It came in my mail this morning and by 4:30pm, these babies were swatched and you are NOT going to be disappointed!

Without further adieu, here they are!

First up is Zoya Seraphina!

Swatch and Review: Orly Miss Conduct

Happy Hump Day!

Sorry my posts have been somewhat inconsistent. I am now officially at my summer internship and our office is crazy busy all the time. I have to say I am so grateful for this job because I never thought, even though I love law, I'd ever be in the position as a lawyer to wake up every morning and be excited to go to work. The old saying "if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life" never appeared to apply to lawyers. But I can safely say that I roll out of bed every morning and can't wait to get into the office. It's a wonderful feeling.

I also knew it was going to be a good job when my boss was wearing lime green polish on her tips and toes. Good omen, right?

Today, I'm bringing you some Hump Day Holo in the form of Orly Miss Conduct!

Orly Miss Conduct is a magenta linear holo nail polish. It has some major pop to it and is opaque in two thin coats. The first time I wore it, I honestly got away with one!

Drool-worthy, I'd say so! What do you think of Orly Miss Conduct? I just love the name, too!

Hump Day Holo: a-England Holo Stripes

Happy Hump Day!

I decided I wanted to be a little creative with my striping tape for Hump Day and turned to my favorite go-to holo polishes: a-England!

Eventually, I decided on my all-time favorite, St. George, and thought the purple of Lady of the Lake was a great compliment.

I placed two pieces of striping tape down and painted with Lady of the Lake first. That way, I could paint over any of the spillover with St. George.

Look at that sparkle!

What do you think of my Hump Day Holo look?

Hump Day Holo: Julep Rebel

Happy Hump Day, everyone!

Today's post is Julep Rebel, which is billed as a silver scattered holo. It came in my February box and is named for star of Pitch Perfect, Rebel Wilson.

Well, as it turns out, this is not as holographic as billed. Not even scattered. It just seems like a matte silver foil. I was rather disappointed by this. Oh well.

Even though this isn't holographic, do you like Rebel as a matte silver foil?

Criss Cross Striping Tape Mani

TGIF, my lovelies! I'm so ready for this week to be over. Aren't all of you?

Today's post is going to be a bit short. It is my first foray into striping tape and I was pretty happy with the end result. I think with a little more practice, I'll be ready for a how-to post!

I used Nfu Oh 61 as a base with Rimmel Black Satin as the top coat. I like Black Satin because it dries with a rubbery texture that is a nice contrast to the linear holo of Nfu Oh.

I know there's a little jaggedness to some of the lines, stupid macro! They're not this noticeable in person.

Is this something you would try? Would you want to see a tutorial?

Top of 2012: Black

Plain and simple, there was only ONE black this year that blew me away. If I could only wear this shade for the rest of my life, I'd be perfectly happy.

Is there a better black than Zoya Storm? I say, no. This black scattered holographic polish is clearly the Queen of them all. The application? Fabulous. The sparkle? Mindblowing.

No other shade of black should even bother trying. Honestly.

Do you agree?

Top of 2012: Green

Merry Christmas, everyone! I thought this installment of the Top of 2012, bringing you the top 3 greens of 2012, was a perfect way to celebrate!

Zoya claims a spot on the Top 3 with Zoya Ray, a deep pine green metallic!

R. Hobby Cosmetics takes the title for most unique green polish with Twiggy, a gold metallic polish with green hexagonal and microglitter, along with pine green and brown bar glitter. It looks like a forest on my nails!

And how could it be a top 3 without a holo? The limited edition shade from butter LONDON called Fishwife takes the last spot. A dusty blue-green linear holo polish, this was a stunner!

Top of 2012: Red

Day 3 of the Top of 2012 is here and I'm taking a look at my Top 3 reds, just in time for Christmas Eve!

Number 1 on my list is Zoya Blaze, a lush cranberry scattered holo polish. I mean, could you PICK a better shade for the holidays? I think... NOT!

Number 2 is my favorite surprise duochrome, OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest! It looked berry in the bottle, but when I put it on... holy purple shift, Batman! In a collection I wasn't particularly thrilled by in terms of uniqueness, this one was the standout.

Number 3 on my list is another Zoya, this time Rekha. Originally released in the early spring as part of the LE Bibhu Mohapatra collection and re-released in the Zoya Designer Collection this fall, I fell in love with Rekha on the spot. It's the perfect red creme: smooth application and a stunning color.

What reds do you think should have been included in the list?

Hurricane Sandy Polish Fundraiser

Hi, everyone! It has been a long time since I was able to post on here. Thank you for all of your kind words of support as we work through Day 7 of no power or heat in my house! I was very fortunate to incur very little damage to my home, with only one tree falling away from our house and a few lost shingles/pieces of siding.

However, it is horrifying to see the devastation only a few miles away from me at the Jersey Shore. The Jersey Shore and areas of Staten Island, Queens, Manhattan, and many other places were decimated by Sandy. While I'm unable to currently travel to these areas at daylight to volunteer because law school has resumed for me, and they are scheduling us for weekends to make up for days lost, I wanted to do my part and raise money to help those in need.

Subsequently, I have created two holographic shades that I'm now selling called Empire Strong and Jersey Strong, with 100% of the profits going to two government-verified charities. The money will be evenly divided between the Sandy NJ Relief Fund and the Mayor's Fund for Hurricane Sandy Relief.

I apologize for the lackluster photos, but as my power is out, all I have at my disposal is my iPhone. I will post better ones when my power returns. For some reason, Blogger is making the photos a little wonky. However, they are accurate on the store page.

Empire Strong is an icy blue linear holographic polish.

Jersey Strong is an electric emerald green linear holo polish.

Empire Strong and Jersey Strong are sold in full-sized, 15 mL bottles for $15 each on the Princess Polish Online Store. If you purchase both bottles, any additional bottles of either ship for free. $1.50 is flat rate for the Hurricane Relief polishes. :-D

I know that these bottles are more than my regular LE shades, but my goal is to ensure that each bottle sold ensures at least $5 goes to each charity. I hope that you understand. :)

Please be sure to pass this along to friends and share on Facebook. I promise to update you with our fundraising progress with each passing day!

With love, gratitude, and well wishes,
Princess Polish

Zoya Ornate Gradient

Good Monday morning to you all! I hope your weekend was more enjoyable than mine. I have midterms this week, so need I say more? Didn't think so.

Before all hell broke loose and my brain became a jumble of criminal law statutes and jibberish I'm convinced doesn't actually mean anything, I had a little fun with the scattered holo shades from Zoya's brand new Ornate collection!

Here are the three shades I used (left to right): Blaze, Aurora, and Storm!

I started out with a base of Aurora and then lightly sponged Blaze from the tip of my nail to just before where the half moons start. I repeated this about two or three times per nail until I was happy with the blend. Then I sponged Storm until a little below my visible nail line. I applied Storm lightly, but dabbed polish just at the tip a few times to make it a little more opaque.

Here was the end result:

What do you guys think of the finished product? I'm in LOVE with it!

Princess Polish

Swatch and Review: Zoya Ornate Collection

 

It's here! It's FINALLY here! I've been so excited for this collection from the moment the press release hit my inbox.

The Zoya Ornate Collection features six shades, three scattered holographic polishes, two foils, and a bar glitter. That's a pretty awesome variety for a seasonal release, which is usually saved for the same silver, gold, green, red, blue, and white shimmer/glitter bombs from year to year.

Also... five out of the six polishes share names with superheroes. So, that's not exactly a negative for me!

Warning, this is going to be a pic-heavy post!

Hump Day Holo Swatch and Review: butter LONDON Fishwife

Happy Hump Day!

Today's polish is a US web-exclusive from butter LONDON called Fishwife!

Fishwife is a dusty sage linear holographic polish with some major pop! It applied incredibly smooth and was opaque in just two coats, which surprised me immensely. It builds up really well.

Here is a sparkle shot so you can see how pronounced the linear holo is in actuality. If you follow my Facebook page, you know that this was stopping people in their tracks inside of a Starbucks. I repeat... INSIDE of a STARBUCKS. They're not exactly known for their bright interiors, now are they?

So what do you think of BL Fishwife? Is it your cup of tea?
Princess Polish

PS: On the subject of butter LONDON, check out my current Breast Cancer Awareness month giveaway, where you can win Disco Biscuit amongst other prizes!

ANNOUNCING: Breast Cancer Awareness Month Giveaway

Hello, all! I've been teasing it for a little while now, but I just wanted to announce my newest giveaway!

As many of you know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. So I wanted to commemorate the cause with a pink-themed giveaway.

Up for grabs are three prizes:

 

butter London Disco Biscuit

Essence Color and Go in Sweet as Candy and Party Princess (with Berry Sorbet lip gloss)

A Custom Pink Holo Polish by Princess Polish

Three totally AWESOME prizes and many different ways to enter. Check out the Rafflecopter widget below to enter!

The giveaway ends on October 15th at 12:01am EST.

Best of luck!
Princess Polish

a Rafflecopter giveaway