Recent Nail Polish Acquisitions (AKA I Buy Way Too Much Polish)

So I drank a bottle of champagne last night- by myself, for no reason. Haha, how sad does that sound? I rarely drink and this bottle of champagne had been in my refrigerator since New Year's. I was just waiting for a special occasion. I got tired of waiting and decided Tuesday evening was special occasion enough. So I drank the bottle, got really happy, danced around to the Gangnam Style song, got sleepy, laid down and read a book, then got totally sober and awake and decided to write this post.

Since I decided to write this post at such an ungodly hour I'm just going to show bottle pics of some of my more recent nail polishes purchases. I'm sure there have been more than this... somewhere in the abyss that is my nail polish "storage" (aka random boxes stashed around my room) now that my Helmer is full.

Butter London- No More Waity Katie, Knackered, Wallis, All Hail the Queen

Icing- Lipstick & Lovers, Forget You, Eenie Greenie Miney Mo, Mr Right Now (not as neon as it looks)

Barielle Falling Star, OPI Just Spotted the Lizard, KleanColor Chunky Holo Black, Nicole by OPI For Gold Times Sake, OPI Fly, Barielle Buddha-ful

Hits Mari Moon- Artsy, Daring, Chameleon, Unconventional

Zoya- Fei Fei, Frida, Anastasia, Daul, Zara, Jules, Song, Bevin

This was my order from the recent buy one get one free Zoya sale. I got the sugar scrub and the polish remover free.

Zoya Swatches

Sooooo... I got the makeup counter job I wanted. The one I only had a million interviews for. Well, 4. But still. The last one was a "structured phone interview" where they fire questions at you and don't give you any feedback at all. Nor can they clarify anything. It was kind of weird, but my boss said I passed with flying colors. Apparently 2 other people from other stores made it all the way up to the final phone interview like I did but they failed to get the job. Unlike me! It's nice to know that other people believe in me. It just makes me want to work extra hard to prove myself. I'm not sure I'm allowed to say what the company is. I don't see why it should be a problem, but when the lady comes to train me I'll ask her about it. It will probably be pretty easy to figure out eventually anyway seeing as most of my paycheck will go right back to them and I DO have a makeup blog. So yay me!

Well, this is SUPPOSED to be a makeup/nail blog. Although recently it seems to mostly be nail polish. And continues to be such with today's post.  I have swatches of the 7 nail polishes I picked up during Zoya's Earth Day sale. I'm excited because I loved them all. Usually there is at least one that disappoints me, but not this time!

From left- Kennedy, Wednesday, Zuza, Skylar, Lotus, Tru, and Rory

I guess I was in the mood for blues and purples!

All of the following swatches are 2 coats with no base or top coat. Sorry for the messy swatches. I still need to get a new clean-up brush.

Zoya Kennedy in the sun

Surprisingly this is one of my favorites. I hesitantly added it to my cart after really falling in love with swatches and I'm so glad. I LOVE it. It's a pink based nude while most others seem to be yellow based. I have my good friend Maribeth of Obsessive Cosmetics Hoarders Unite to thank for my recent foray into nude polishes. If you don't already follow her, you should. She's amazing!

Zoya Kennedy in the shade

Zoya Wednesday in the sun

I can never get enough of this type of color. With creme finishes I usually have the urge to slap some glitter over them, but this one is pretty enough to be left alone. In case you missed my last post, I found a dupe of this one from Sinful Colors.

Zoya Wednesday in the shade

Zoya Zuza in the sun

This color was the one I was most excited for. It's a teal foil and completely different from anything in my collection. I love it.

Zoya Zuza in the shade

Zoya Skylar in the sun

Skylar is a dusty slate blue with multicolored shimmer flecks- mostly gold, pink and blue although they can tend to look silver. It is ridiculously pretty too.

Zoya Skylar in the shade

Zoya Lotus in the sun

I've been wanting this one forever! It has the same size shimmer flecks as Skylar, but they are pink.

Zoya Lotus in the shade

Zoya Tru in the sun

This is a similar concept to Lotus, but different enough I had to own them both. Tru has a more saturated red-violet base versus the dusty purple of Lotus. And instead of the pink shimmer, this one looks more reddish gold.

Zoya Tru in the sun

I guess I forgot to get a picture of this one in the shade!

Zoya Rory in the sun

Rory is another one that isn't my typical nail polish. I don't wear pinks that often, but when I do I prefer a bolder, more in-your-face color. This is a more delicate pink, but it's a foil and another that is completely unique in my collection. I'm so glad this one didn't disappoint.

Zoya Rory in the shade

And of course I could pass up an opportunity to assault you with cute pictures of my pug. She's sleeping in my mom's bed. My mom and her always take naps together; it's so cute.

So did you guys pick up any polishes during the Earth Day sale?  If you don't already have an account with Zoya you can use my link here. If you sign up using my link we each get a coupon for a free polish. If you use this coupon and add 2 more polishes to your order, you will get free shipping, too. So 3 nail polishes for $16 when with shipping would normally cost you about $30. Zoya always has the best deals. I love them!

Dupe Alert! Zoya Wednesday and Sinful Colors Greek Isles

Did anyone else buy any polishes during Zoya's Earth Day sale? I certainly did. I haven't missed it in 3 years. And when I say I bought polishes, I mean that I picked them and someone else paid. Haha. Anyway, Zoya Wednesday was one that I was wanting the most, besides Zuza. But it turns out I already had a dupe for it- Sinful Colors Greek Isles from their spring collection called Cast Away. Let's see if you guys think they're dupes.

Zoya Wednesday and Sinful Colors Greek Isles comparison

They look close in the bottles, but not really exact right? Let's see the swatches.

Zoya Wednesday and Sinful Colors Greek Isles comparison

So can you tell which color is on which finger? I asked my mother and she got it completely wrong. She picked two fingers she thought were the same color and it was really one of each. So which is which? Don't cheat and keep scrolling down!

To keep you from cheating here is a picture of my pug looking extra cute.

From left- Sinful Greek Isles, Zoya Wednesday, Sinful Greek Isles, Zoya Wednesday

Did anyone guess this? It's hard to tell but Zoya Wednesday is a tad bit lighter and greener. In person no one would be able to tell they were two different polishes. They both applied about the same too. Each took 2 coats and were smooth and creamy. I have to give the slight edge to Zoya but that may just be me trying to justify buying it when I already had the Sinful.

Sinful Colors Greek Isles

Zoya Wednesday

Witht the macros you can see the differences a little better. Really, they are so close you don't need both. I WOULD recommend you get the Sinful over the Zoya as it retails for $1.99 and the Zoya is $8, but the Sinful may be a little harder to find as it was part of a limited edition collection for Spring. Hopefully they make it permanent! And you never know, it might be released again under a different name. Sinful loves doing that.

So do you have either of these? Have you found any dupes lately?

Zoya's Earth Day Nail Polish Exchange Is Back! But Hurry!

Just a quick post to spread the word that Zoya's annual Earth Day polish exchange is back. Basically you purchase Zoya polishes for $4 plus shipping (half price!) and then mail back the equivalent number of old polishes you no longer want. It isn't required to even send them old polishes, although they would really like you to as the point of the exchange is to properly dispose of nail polish in the spirit of Earth Day. Hurry as this promotion is only for this weekend.

Details for Zoya's polish exchange are here.

A Haul- Or I Can't Believe I Bought Stuff OTHER Than Makeup

Doesn't it feel like I'm always complaining how I don't have time to write proper posts? Well, that. Again.  I have a few posts brewing including a review of Spellbound Cosmetics that I can hopefully finish up over the weekend.  For now, it's anothe rinstallment of "shit I bought recently".  I've been trying to cut back on my spending and i think I'm doing pretty well.  What I've bought recently I've either really wanted for awhile, or was on sale (and mostly both because I'm a sucker for sales). I'm also trying to branch out with my purchases because all I ever buy is makeup. So I bought some jewelry. These are probably the first pieces of jewelry I've bought since I was 13 and shopped at Claire's. I told you guys I don't accessorize.

My nails have been such a pain in the ass the past few month. They're brittle, peeling, dry, and just generally weak.  I've been taking biotin pills for a few weeks but it will take longer than that to see results.  I think I might be damagine my nails by using straight acetone all the time. I've heard great things about Zoya's Remove+ nail polish remover so when they had a code to get a free 8 ounce bottle of remover I picked up the 32 oz. to go with it. $25 is a lot to spend on nail polish remover, but it if helps my nails, it's worth it. Plus, the huge bottle *should* last for awhile.

I bought the Cover Girl Natureluxe gloss balm on Amazon when they had a $3 off coupon for it. I have Amazon Prime, which gives you free 2-day shipping so all I paid for this was $2.99. No tax or shipping! Yay! I just wish that Amazon wasn't so wasteful in ow they package things. I got a huge box for this tiny little balm.

I bought a Heartsy certificate (personal referral link) for this store because I thought their earrings were really cute.  I paid $8 for the certificate worth $20. My boyfriend said they look like little girl earrings but that's precisely why I like them!

I LOVE this necklace! You may have heard of this Whimsy Beading because they seem to be a favorite of bloggers. It's easy to see why because this necklace is gorgeous! I've been wanting one for awhile and finally decided to buy. I had a super hard time narrowing down the one I wanted, but I definitely plan on buying more when funds allow!

Here is the one I bought- it's called Poet Seas.


See? I didn't do TOO much damage! Hopefully I can remember to actually wear my jewelry...


Thank you for reading and have a great day!

Recent Hauls/Purchases/Acquisitions

Sorry I don't have time for a proper post today, the class I'm taking this summer is threatening to kick my butt if I don't give it nearly every second of my free time.  And I don't take kindly to threats of violence, so I better stay on top of it. :)

I just wanted to share a few things I bought/acquired recently so you know what to expect in upcoming reviews!

I like high end makeup, but I'm a drugstore queen at heart.  I didn't buy all you see above at once, but with sales and coupons I only paid about a total of $30 for it.  You can barely buy an eyeshadow palette for 30 bucks at Sephora.  I always try to save my money to buy a few higher end things, but my natural tendency is to spend as little money as possible while acquiring the most items.  What can I say, I'm cheap.

The above are few recent indie makeup purchases.  I've really been into pink eyeshadow lately, so I just HAD to buy the pink mNg trio from My Pretty Zombie when I had the chance.  Something else I had to take advantage of (again!) was Detrivore's sale of 10 eyeshadows for $20.  Unfortunately Detrivore is closed for the next month and a half so I feel bad posting swatches when you can't even order right now!  I may just wait to post them until her shop opens again.

And last, but not least, I won Zoya's Summertime and Sunshine collection from Mary from Body and Soul when she was hosting a giveaway.  Isn't that awesome?! I was even planning on buying a few from the Sunshine collection before I found out I won.  I even love the cremes, but I have so many nail polishes that I'm pretty sure I have dupes for almost every color.  My stash is already out of control as it is, so I was thinking of saving them for a giveaway of my own.  Do you think it would be rude/weird to give away something that I won?  I just would rather them go to someone who would use them more than I would.


So there ya go.  Is there anything you've bought/reviewed recently that you're especially excited about? Feel free to share links if you want.


Thank you for reading and have a great day/night/whatever!

A Few More Zoya Nail Polish Swatches

Still haven't picked out your Zoya polishes yet that you're getting in the exchange?  You only have a few more days so you better get on it!  I swatched four more polishes to help make your selection easier (or harder, depending on how many you want!).  Here is a link to some of my other Zoya swatches.

If you haven't tried Zoya polishes before, the formula is rather thin and make a take a bit getting used to not flooding your cuticles with polish.  However, Zoyas apply smoothly, evenly, and don't build up too thickly.  Therefore they dry pretty quickly.  Zoya has a HUGE range of colors so I  highly recommend you check them out.  You might just find one or two with your name on it (get it?! heh.)!

All are swatched with no base or top coats.

Zoya Shawn in the sun

This was 3 coats.

Zoya Shawn in the shade

Zoya Tiffany in the sun

This was 4 coats.  While that is a lot of coats, the polish dries quickly in between and doesn't get too thick.

Zoya Tiffany in the shade

Zoya Casey in the sun

This was 3 coats.  I'm not sure why I bought this one.  It looks black in most lighting and I really don't like polishes like that.  The only way you can tell it's purple is by my cuticles and the bald spot of one of my nails.

Zoya Casey in shade

Zoya Edyta in the shade

This was 2 coats.  This is probably the best pigmented Zoya polish I have.

Zoya Edyta in the shade

Available:

• Zoya polish sells for $8.00 each on their website and is also available in select salons.  I also found a rack of Zoya polishes at Whole Foods (a natural and organic grocery store chain).

Thank you for reading and have a great day/night/whatever!

Several Zoya Nail Polish Swatches

So, as you may know, Zoya's Nail Polish Exchange is going on this week.  What is pretty much boils down to is that you get polish for $4 a bottle, whic includes shipping.  Zoya's polishes normally sell for $8 each.  All you have to do is mail one of your old yucky polishes to Zoya for every polish you buy.  Zoya then disposes of the old stuff in a safe way.  This is a great opportunity to get some great polishes and dispose of unloved nail polish in a healthy way.  You have nothing to lose!

So here are a few Zoya swatches to tempt you.  These are all swatched with no top or base coat.

Zoya Lola in the sun

Lola is a neon pink with blue shimmer.  This was 4 coats.  Zoya polishes tend to be a bit thin and sheer but the coats dry quickly and don't get too thick or gunky.

Zoya Lola in the shade

Zoya Adina in the sun

Adina is a gorgeous duochrome shimmer that shifts from a lavender purple to green.  This is 3 coats.

Zoya Adina in the shade

Zoya Kelly in the sun

Kelly is a dark grey creme that is supposed to lean purple, but I don't really see the purple against my skin tone.  This was 3 coats.

Zoya Kelly in the shade

Zoya Ivanka in the sun

Ivanka is a grass green glass fleck shimmer. My boyfriend claims it looks like a mermaid.  This was 4 coats and probably could have used a 5th, but it dried quickly.

Zoya Ivanka in the shade

Zoya Crystal in the sun

Crystal is a light blue shimmer with small gold metallic flakes.  The boy says this one looks like a fish, haha.  This was 3 coats, but was decently opaque at 2.

Zoya Crystal in the shade

Available:

• Zoya's polishes are available on their website and at select salons.

Thank you for reading and have a great day/night/whatever!