Showing posts with label NYCColor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NYCColor. Show all posts

Camouflage Nails with Zoya Jace.

✯ PR Sample ✯

Happy Memorial Day! I was up doing some late night nail art. Zoya Jace from the new Island Fun collection, gave me the idea to attempt some camouflage nails. :)

I started with 2 coats of Zoya Spencer for my base. Then using a dotting tool and a nail art brush, I dabbed on Zoya Jace, Nyssa, and Emilia. I used Seche Vite topcoat, and then decided to make everything matte with NYC Color: Matte Me Crazy topcoat. Not bad for a first attempt I suppose.
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Sparitual: Quest Swatches, Topcoat Review.


Good Evening! I have a few colors from SpaRitual's Quest Collection to share with you all. These were provided by SpaRitual for an honest review.

Go on an unexpected adventure. Six dramatic and highly textured nail lacquers offer a complex though optimistic view of what we might find as we head out into the world. Multiple layers of glitter & color reflect the emotions we face as we set out on our own personal journey to find abundance, knowledge & acceptance.


Pioneer: A pink glitter cream. This one reminds me of L.A. Girl Birthday Cake. Though the pink base in Pioneer is a bit lighter. I used 3 coats. Formula was thin but build-able.


I also used the SpaRitual Mattify Topcoat. I like Pioneer matte, rather than shiny.


Beyond: is so pretty! It reminds me of an Indie nail polish. It's a black sheer cream with silver hex glitter, red, pink glitters, and pink circle glitter. That said, the formula was very thick! Too thick, so I had to add some nail polish thinner so I could work with it. Once I added the thinner, it was perfect. This is 2 coats, over black polish. You will have to fish around for the pink circle glitters.


Here is Beyond, with the Mattify topcoat:


Summit: reminds me of frost on a mountain. It has holographic sparkles, and white & blue circle glitters. I can see myself using this in the winter, and stamping snowflakes over it. I do wish the base was a cream instead of a shimmer. I think the glitter would have stood out better that way. I feel like with the shimmer base, it's got too much going on. You will have to fish around for the blue circle glitters. I used two coats over Blue Lagoon.


Here it is with the Mattify Topcoat:


Thoughts: You will want to use a thick-ish topcoat for these glitters, otherwise you'll end up with a very bumpy look. I used Seche Vite Dry Fast topcoat on all of the above photos. The reason I layered Beyond and Summit over colors, is because they are sheer, and too many coats looked clumpy. It's better with 1-2 coats layered over a similar color. Pioneer was fine by itself, no undies.

Removal: You will want to either do the foil method, or use a base like Glitter-A-Peel for easy removal.

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Dutch Windmill Nails.

✯ Press Samples Mentioned ✯

I couldn't resist playing with my new Winstonia Store 2nd generation stamp plates tonight. When I saw plate W218, the windmills immediately reminded me of my Mom in Law. She loves collecting anything with windmills. So I decided to do Dutch windmill china nails.

I started with a base of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Whirlwind White. Then I stamped with Cult Nails in Wack Slacks, then 1 coat of Seche Vite topcoat before I used the NYC Matte About You topcoat (press sample). I smudged the one flower stamp a little, but I still love how they turned out.



P.S. I got an OttLite! There's a been a lot of discussion about them in the Hobby Polish Bloggers group I am a member of on Facebook. The Mercurial Magpie posted a coupon code for this OttLite at Jo-Ann's so I had to order one. Can't beat that sale price either?!

(The free shipping code is: SHJP2012)


This is my setup for taking photos. I have my lightbox on my dining room table when I use it. I'm still using one of the clamp lamps as well as the OttLite. The OttLite definitely gives off a more natural light than the CFL bulbs I use. The nail photo above was taken using the OttLite tonight. Depending on what kind of lighting I need,  I sometimes use one or two clamp lights on the sides of my light tent.


My Equipment List: 

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Philadelphia Eagle's Nails

✯ Press Samples Mentioned ✯

I'm not much of a sports person and not really a football person... but my family is. So, since I'm also a Philadelphian and the Eagles have a big game tonight I decided to do some football themed nails.

I started with two coats of NYC Color in Precious Peacock (press sample) over one coat of black polish. Then I stamped with Konad special white polish and Winstonia Store stamp plate W103. I applied one coat of Seche Vite topcoat before using the NYC Matte About You topcoat (press sample), so I wouldn't smear the design.


Edited: Oh well... just heard the Eagles lost. :-p

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New Years Eve Nails & Julie G Texture!

✯ PR Samples Mentioned ✯

Happy New Year's Eve everyone! I wanted to share my New Year's Eve nails with everyone. I really like how they turned out. (This was after several idea fails, lol).

I started with a base of NYC Color: Prince Street (press sample). Then I did french tips with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Style Steel which is a new color I recently picked up. It's a silver/gold metallic color, I stamped with it too. Essie Set in Stones is on my nail tips. I did 1 coat of China Glaze Fairy Dust over everything and I used Winstonia Store plates: W117, W107, W110. I used 1 coat of HK Girl Fast Dry topcoat. I love how festive they turned out! Super sparkly in person!

This was the first time I got to try my new HK Girl Fast Dry topcoat (purchased myself). It is definitely equal to Seche Vite Dry Fast, but it takes a little longer to dry for me than I like. (Sorry... I'm a Seche Vite Whore). :-p



My husband and I are just hanging out at home for New Years Eve. We splurged on sushi from Wegman's and we also have Martinelli's sparkling apple cider to celebrate tonight. :-)


Another thing I picked up at Wegman's was OPI Nail Envy for Dry & Brittle Nails. I really need something to protect my nails because I don't normally use a base coat. Having my nails painted almost constantly has taken a beaten on them. The tips keep peeling lately which is leading to more breaks, so here's hoping Nail Envy can help my nails out. 


A few weeks ago I got nail mail from The Mercurial Magpie! She had gotten a Julie G texture polish in her last Ipsy bag that she didn't love so much & when I was disappointed she didn't swatch it on her blog, she offered to send it to me. She also sent some other goodies which was sweet. I sent her back a little nail mail as well, as a thank you. 


This is Sugar Plum Fairy, my first Julie G polish. Sugar Plum Fairy is a gorgeous deep purple with silver and purple glitter. It's a big rougher than Zoya Pixie Dust texture polish, but still really pretty. I only did two coats for the photos below. I believe you can find Julie G polishes at Rite Aid. 



And last but not least before I go and we say goodbye to 2013. Here is a preview of some more press samples Sally Hansen sent to me. I will be sharing these Salon Effects on the blog soon! Happy New Year!


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NYC Color Swatches

✯ PR Sample ✯

I have some NYC Color polishes to share with you today! These polishes were sent to me for review. I have some colors from the Long Wearing line and the Quick Dry Line.


NYC Colors, in A New York Minute: Prince Street is a beautiful royal purple with a metallic finish. The formula is nice and thick (but not goopy) and you could get away with 2 coats, though I did 3 for the photos below. It also dries with a nice shiny finish. I did not have to use a topcoat.

NYC Colors in A New York Minute: Big City Dazzle is on my ring finger, it's a really pretty glitter with pink, blue and silver. 3 coats of the glitter.


NYC Matte Topcoat: Matte Me Crazy. I was impressed with this matte coat. It applies evenly with the wide brush and it doesn't have a strong odor. The matte effect is really nice. Matte About You, retails for $1.99.


This is Prince Street & Big City Dazzle with the Matte Topcoat. 

NYC Long Wearing: Lexington Lilac
 is a gorgeous lilac. The formula was a bit thin, you have to apply carefully so you don't flood your cuticles. I used 3 coats. This polish dries with a high shine finish, I'm not wearing a topcoat in the photo below.

NYC Long Wearing: Pink Bling is on my ring finger. It has pink and silver glitter. I did 3 coats of the glitter.


This is Lexington Lilac & Pink Bling with the Matte Topcoat.

The Long Wearing Line retails for .99 cent. 

The Quick Dry line retails for $1.99. To be honest, these did not dry that fast for me. Two coats took about 5 minutes and it was longer with each additional coat... but then again I've been spoiled with using Seche Vite Dry Fast Topcoat for the past few years. 


NYC In A New York Minute: Precious Peacock is a lovely dark turquoise with a metallic finish. I absolutely love the color, but I had a lot of trouble applying this. It's incredibly sheer. I needed 4-5 coats to make it opaque. Also, whenever I would try to put on another coat, I would swipe off some of the polish underneath, so it was very frustrating. Since I was stamping over this I used Seche Vite Topcoat. I used Messy Mansion plate MM21 & Sally Hansen Insta Dri in Style Steel to stamp with. The color was perfect for my dragon scale nails!


Now, I did do a test on my thumb. If you put a coat of black polish first, you can get away with just 2 coats of Precious Peacock and it will look like the color in the bottle! It really is a beautiful color, and that makes it much easier to work with!


NYC In A New York Minute Quick Dry: Spring Street is a bright, almost neon orange. The formula is thick, but you still have to be careful not to flood your cuticles. I could have done two coats, but for pictures I did three. I did use Seche Vite topcoat since I was stamping, but this polish normally dries with a shiny finish on it's own. I used Messy Mansion Chevron plate MM12 & Konad Special White stamping polish.


What do you think of these colors? NYC Color nail polishes can be found for retail at: Rite Aid, CVS, Walmart, Target, K-Mart.

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