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!

Random NOTD: LA Colors Electric Charge

My nails are in absolute deplorable condition. All of my life I have had an issue with picking on my nails and the skin around my nails and only my obsession with nail polish has helped curb that. Except when I get nervous or stressed the old habits emerge. School has been stressful lately and all my nails broke off and I managed to pick big ugly wounds in my cuticles and the sides of my fingers. I need to work on getting them back in shape because it isn't even fun to wear nail polish when it looks like you stuck your fingers in a sausage grinder. Okay, maybe that is hyberbole, but they definitely aren't pretty.

I happened to find a a few swatches from before I even started blogging that I'll share with you today. I bought this color at Dollar Tree for well, a dollar, and I love this smooth, bright pinkness of it. I don't wear pinks that often, but when I do I like them to be obnoxiously bright.

LA Colors Electric Charge

LA Colors Electric Charge

It isn't quite as vibrant as it looks here. My  camera likes to turn everything more neon.


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

Cult Nails Vicious and Initial Thoughts on Their Base and Top Coats

A box packed with cotton balls? Who could this possibly be from?

Do the little burrito/eggroll wrapped packages give you a clue?

Well, duh! It's Cult Nails!

I ordered this September 19th and received it yesterday, the 24th. Pretty quick, huh? Cult Nails just released their base and top coats along with this purple creme polish. And until the end of today (Sunday the 25th) they are offering the base coat Get It On, top coat Wicked Fast (which retail for $8 each) and any polish from their online store (retails for $10) for $20. And since I already own every other color that has been sold by Cult Nails, I picked up this new purple.

I haven't had enough time to get a good feel for Get It On and Wicked Fast so I'll just give my initial impressions at the end.  I apologize for the crappy application, a nail just broke and I had to chop them all off. I'm not used to painting the shorter nails just yet!

This was 2 coats of Vicious with one coat each of Get It On and Wicked Fast.

Cult Nails Vicious in the sun

I wasn't expecting this purple to be so dark and it's a pleasant surprise. I already own several medium purple cremes like China Glaze Grape Pop, but none that are this beautiful eggplant color.  Like most Cult Nails polishes this was opaque in 2 coats and as usual was a creamy, dreamy, breeze to apply. A fangirl, me? Naw... ;-)

Cult Nails Vicious in the sun

It was somewhat difficult to get a good picture of this polish because the top coat, Wicked Fast, was so shiny and reflective.

Cult Nails Vicious in the shade

So here are my thoughts on the base and top coats thus far.

Get It On (base coat)- It dries really quickly. I hate base coats that take forever to dry. It didn't impede the application of polish, which I've actually experienced with some base coats.

Wicked Fast (top coat)- Seche Vite is my Holy Grail top coat and so far I like this one just as well. It dries super quick and shiny like Seche Vite, but it thin and viscous while Seche is thick and prone to glueyness. Especially when you reach half-way through the bottle. So if you hate Seche for the thickness, this top coat might be the one for you. I'm actually impressed at the dry time; I haven't had anything come close to Seche Vite for me until this.

I can't comment on the wear yet as I've barely been wearing them, but I'll right a more thorough review when I can.

Available:

• Cult Nails polishes are available for purchase from their website.

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

Cult Nails A Day At The Races Collection Swatches

I'm gonna post this in the morning, but right now it's night and I'm writing this post, drinking strawberry daquiris, and cooking dinner (steak, shrimp and vegetable skewers, and twice baked potatoes- yum!). I drink like twice a year and am notoriously bad at holding my alcohol so I'm going to go ahead and make this a quick post! Hopefully I finish dinner before I'm too far gone... (Apparently I did get too far gone because I forgot to set this post to actually you know, post when I wanted it to)

Today I'll show you guys Cult Nails' A Day At The Races collection.  A few of these polishes are sold out and won't be coming back, but at least it gives you a good idea of the awesomeness that Cult Nails creates. I'll let you know which you can still buy (although really, you should be buying them all!). Check out my review of Cult Nails' polishes and swatches of their Inaugural Collection here.

Cult Nails Captivated in the sun

 This was 2 coats on my left three fingers and one coat over Cult Nails' Quench on my index finger.

Captivated is my favorite of these, but unfortunately it's sold out!

Cult Nails Captivated in the shade

Cult Nails Always Winning in the sun

This one was 3 coats and is still a bit sheer. It's pretty and unique but isn't my favorite just because I wish it looked on the nail how it does in the bottle!  It does look better in real life than my picture shows, however.

Always Winning is currently available.

Cult Nails Always Winning in the shade

Cult Nails Cruisin' Nude in the sun

This was 2 coats. I love this polish! I just wish the pink shimmer was as apparent in the picture as it is in real life.

This is not currently available but it available for pre-order.

Cult Nails Devious Nature in the sun

This was 2 coats.  This one isn't quite as bubblegum pink as it looks here and has a more purple tone.  The shade picture is more color accurate.

This shade is currently available.

Cult Nails Devious Nature in the shade

Cult Nails Let Me Fly in the sun

This was 2 coats.  Let Me Fly is sold out online :(

Cult Nails Let Me Fly in the shade

Available:

• Cult Nails polishes are sold through their website and retail for $10 each.

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

Week 14: Shopping my Stash for Untried Polish- Essie Haute As Hello

Hey guys! Happy Monday!  Well, it's happy for me anyway since I don't have school today and can just be lazy! And I know you probably think I've forgotten about my giveaway, but I haven't, I'm still compiling all the entries into a spreadsheet. I need to find a different way to do count entries because this spreadsheet thing gets old reaaaaaally fast.

Anyway, even though my nails have been gross lately, I've still been taking pictures of some untried polishes I've been wearing.  I'm not just exaggerating; my nails have been weak, cracking, dry, peeling messes.  I bought some Biotin pills so hopefully those actually help strengthen my nails and don't give me cystic acne like they do to a lot of people.

This weeks polish is Essie's Haute As Hello.  I bought this when it first came out and this is the first time I've worn it.  I haven't worn a lot of cremes lately so it was refreshing to finally wear one.  I've forgotten how easy cremes are to remove!  Which seems to be my main criteria when picking polishes to wear lately.  But I do like this color.  Despite being a creme, it is a bit of a chameleon.  In some lights it is decidedly orange while in others I could swear it's pink.

This was 3 coats with base and top coat.

Essie Haute As Hello in the sun

Essie Haute As Hello in the shade

Well, that's it for today!  Except I'll try and finish tallying my giveaway entries and I'll probably email the winner later.  Hope you guys have a great week!

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

Three Essie Green Nail Polishes

Whew. I've been super lazy these last 2 days.  I got home from a trip to see my family on Sunday and I guess I didn't realize how tired I was, but I've barely deviated from my path of couch, bathroom, computer chair since I've been home.  The best thing about being home from vacation is sleeping in your own bed and being surrounded by your own things. The worst?  Well, everything else, haha.

I could really go for a nap right about now, so this post will be a quick one.  Hey, at least there will be pictures!

First, I want to appologize for how crappily I applied my nail polish in these pictures.  This was my first time swatching after chopping off my nails and it's hard getting used to the new length.  I really wanted to reswatch these, because frankly they are rather embarrassing, but laziness won out.  If you must avert your eyes from my terrible application and dry cuticles I don't blame you.

Similar to my post of three Essie blues, here are three Essie greens.  All are swatched with no base or top coat.

Essie Mint Candy Apple in the sun

 This was 3 coats.

Essie Mint Candy Apple in the shade

Essie Pretty Edgy in the sun

 This was 3 coats.

Essie Pretty Edgy in the shade

Essie Sew Psyched in the sun

This was 2 coats.

Essie Sew Psyched in the shade

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

Three Essie Blue Nail Polishes

I'm still in Austin visiting my family, which means I don't have a whole lot of time to write blog posts!  I'm still checking my comments and reading everyones' blogs when I get a chance (aka after my parents go to bed).  Don't be too mad at me that this is pretty much just a swatch post!
These are all swatches with no base or top coats.

Essie Turquoise & Caicos in the sun

This is 3 coats.

Essie Turquoise & Caicos in the sun

New York Summer's Hot Sky Blue (from this post) is nearly a perfect dupe for Essie's Turquoise & Caicos.  It is just slightly darker and greener.  Hot Sky Blue is on my index finger.

Essie Lapis of Luxury in the sun

This is 3 coats.

Essie Lapis of Luxury in the shade

Essie Mesmerize in the sun

This is 2 coats.

Essie Mesmerize in the shade

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!