Swatch and Review: Zoya Naked Manicure System

Long time, no see, everyone! I'm ten days away from taking the NY and NJ Bar Exams (AHHHH!), so hopefully, I'll have more time to get back to swatching and my nail art once that stupid test is over!

In other news, as you may have seen on Facebook, I received the Zoya Naked Manicure System a little under a month ago. Since then, I have been testing the various shades of the collection, as well as the wear of both matte and glossy looks.

Here is what Zoya says about the Naked Manicure System: "The Naked Manicure System is a simple, highly effective system that gives clients instant, gorgeous natural looking nails. It also provides the intense therapeutic, long term benefits for stronger, healthier nails."

Because of what was posted on their website, I approached product testing with three goals in mind:

1) How natural does it look?
2) How long does it last?
3) Does it make my nails stronger or healthier?

Sometimes, from all the swatching, my nails can be a little yellow and I have issues with ridges. I'm also going to be starting a new job in the fall and I wanted a few more professional-looking options that I could wear every day and know they're appropriate for both day and night work events.

You can also layer different Perfector shades to get a more customized color based on your skin tone and condition of your nails, as demonstrated below:

I'm happy to report that I've now gotten the whole collection swatched and tested for wear!

How Natural Does it Look (The Perfector Shades):

Below, you'll find a comparison between my natural nail, the satin (matte) look, and the glossy look.

Swatch and Review: Milani Sheer Nail Art

Happy Thursday, everyone! It's almost the weekend!

Today, I have some quick nail art to show you! Normally, I don't do your typical French manicure with white and sheer shades. But when I was provided the Milani Color Statement collection for review, I knew I had to put my own spin on the Classic French Manicure.

To achieve this update French, I used three coats of Milani Lady-like Sheer for the base color with two coats of Milani Frenchie Sheer to paint on the French tip. Then I used black acrylic paint to make the flower petals, the arches, and the dots, the latter using a dotting tool. Of course, I used two rhinestones, as well.

I was surprised at how well Frenchie Sheer built up. The Lady-like Sheer was a little streaky at first, but with three coats, I got it under control.

The new Milani Color Statement line is now available at CVS stores for just $3.99 or from Milani’s website HERE at just $3.99 each.

Keep an eye out for more swatches of the Color Statement polish collection!

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.

Swatch and Review: Milani Nail Lacquer for 2014 Part 1

Happy Friday, everybody! Phew! I thought this week would never end, but alas, it's here!

Today I have for you the first of four parts of Milani's 2014 collection!

Get the NYFW Look: Essie for Helmut Lang

Runway Inspiration:

Vibrant red, black and neutral colors played an important role in the Helmut Lang Fall/Winter 2014 collection. Julie Kandalec for essie created a chic nude by layering allure and ridge filling base coat over adore-a-ball to give a slightly sandy hue to the final color.

Essie Nail Products Used:

• Ridge Filling Base Coat
• Adore-a-Ball
• Allure

Get the look:

1. Apply one coat of Adore-a-Ball.
2. Once dry, apply one coat of Ridge Filling Base Coat.
3. To finish off the nude look, apply one coat of Allure.

Get the NYFW Look: Essie for Herve Ledger

Runway Inspiration:

Inspired by a mixture of fantasy and reality, Herve Leger’s Fall/Winter ’14 collection included a range of bandage dresses, arctic furs and exotic feathers. To complement the playful pieces, Julie Kandalec for essie created a matte, mauve nail. The key polish, lady like, was chosen for its pink undertones that are complementary to every skin tone. 

Essie Nail Products Used:

• Lady Like
• Matte About You Top Coat
• Good to Go Top Coat

Get the look:

1. Apply Lady Like to clean, filed nails.
2. Once dry, apply Good to Go Top Coat to prevent streaking.
3. Finish with Matte About You Top Coat.

Swatch and Review: Bootie Babe

Hello, all! Today, I'm bringing you a brand that has a little junk in their trunk: Bootie Babe!

Swatch and Review: Zoya Pixie Dust Part 1

Hello, everyone! Today, I have for you three shades in the Zoya Pixie Dust Collection!

I picked Godiva, Dahlia, and Chyna to show you first!

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.   

Press Release: Zoya Lovely Collection (Spring 2013)

Zoya Lovely

Beauty is a lovely state of mind

Lovely, just LOVELY!

Spring is awash in six soft and lovely new Zoya shades including three dewy metallics and three fresh blooms of cream. Poetic in nature, this collection is sure to capture the beauty of the season like no other....

Zoya Lovely – spRING 2013

Piaf (ZP652) - Fresh Forsythia Yellow Metallic - Full Coverage (Originally designed for Fashion Designer Zang Toi)

GeiGei (ZP651) - Blushing Cherry Blossom Pink Metallic - Full Coverage (Originally designed for Zang Toi/SS13).

Julie (ZP650) - Soft Wisteria Purple Metallic - Full Coverage (Originally designed for Zang Toi/SS13).

Blu (ZP653) - Lucky Hyacinth Blue Cream - Full Coverage

Neely (ZP655) - Earliest Spring Green Cream - Full Coverage (Originally designed for Peter Som/SS13).

Jacqueline (ZP654) - Perfect Magnolia Nude Cream - Full Coverage (Originally designed for Peter Som/SS13)

 

Shipping January 01, 2013

 

Ultra long-wearing, nail lacquers by Zoya are BIG5FREE - all formulas are completely free of harmful industrial chemicals such as toluene, camphor, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) that are known to cause cancer and birth defects.

Zoya Lovely $8 (US)

Follow the Zoya Nail Polish and Treatments Blog and stay tuned on Twitter (@Zoyanailpolish) and Facebook for release date updates.

Hashtags: #ZoyaLovely and #nailpolish.

So what's the verdict, everyone? Excited? Disappointed? Let me know!

Princess Polish

Zoya Audrey

Happy Monday!

This morning, I'm starting off with freshly painted nails for a casual look. And what better for a casual look than Zoya Audrey from the LE Peter Som Collection?

Zoya Audrey is a milky pale pink jelly nail polish that built up perfectly in three coats. You can see from the bottle just how MUCH I use this color. In fact, I use it SO often that I have a backup!

First of all, this is the perfect polish for the "your nails but better" look. Second of all, if you have gel nails and you're a LITTLE far between fills, three coats of this will hide it. It's definitely a perfect shade to own for that!

Are you into the bare nails trend? Or do you only use nude shades for French manicures?

Until tomorrow!
Princess Polish

July Julep Maven Boxes Reveal and a CRAZY Deal

This month, Julep is featuring a combination of cremes, pearls, shimmers, and sparkles in their boxes, with four out of the five also featuring a duo of nail polishes with a matching lip vernis.

But the biggest surprise of all was shared earlier in the week on my Facebook page with the news that Julep would be including one of the following glitters (depending on your shipping address) in ALL Maven Boxes!

HOLY STAR GLITTER, BATMAN!

And of course, Princess Polish is bringing you the deal! If you click HERE and enter the code COLOR2012 to sign up, you will receive one of the two glitters above (retails for $14) PLUS one of the Maven boxes (that retails for around $42) for A PENNY! Seriously, $56 worth of products for $.01 and that's not including the bonus freebies Julep always includes.

You can also cancel at any time, meaning you don't have to continue after your July box arrives and pay any more than the penny.

So take a look at the following boxes:

This is my box! I'm not a fan of the nude colors, so I'm probably going to switch. It will be my first time switching a box.

I'm on the fence about which box I'm going to pick instead, but I'm really leaning towards Bombshell because of my love of purple. Although...

I don't think I own any shades similar to Daphne, though I'm not sure I really am in love with Mila or Kate. Kate is the common denominator between It Girl and Bombshell. Downside... no lip vernis. And yet...

I also like Classic with a Twist. I think my main attraction is to Freida. But I'm not sold on Audrey (which will likely be sheer) and can't see myself ever wear Camellia on my lips.

I'm REALLY thinking about Bombshell. Which box would/will you pick?

Princess Polish