I'm Swatchin' You - Zoya Stevie

You know what I'm going to say...head over to my giveaway.  Time is running out!  For today, I'm showing you Stevie by Zoya, a light purple textured matte with metallic glitter.  This is from their 2013 Pixie Dust collection.

The formula on this was amazing!  It was easy to apply with even coverage.  It builds beautifully and quickly.  Due to it's matte finish, it dries very quickly.  I have to say, this was just as pretty as a one coat sheer.  But I loved how it built up, so I did three coats, which is what is pictured.  The glitter does kind of hang off the nail a bit, making the edges of the nails feel rough.  You can probably kind of see this in the photo above.  But it smooths out with a bit of wear after a couple of hours.  Love this one!  Which are your favorite colors from this collection?

SH Double Duty as a base with no topcoat.

3 Colors Nail Art Brush Review - Born Pretty Store

Hello and happy Tuesday!  First of all, be sure to get your entries in for my giveaway!  It ends next week.  As for today, I'm reviewing a product from Born Pretty Store.  This is their 3 Colors Nail Art Brush set. 

The set includes a fine detail brush (red), medium liner (green), and a long striper brush (blue).  They are also numbered 1, 2, and 3, respectively.

Other than the fact that they look like pens, the brushes are of decent quality.  I don't know that they will necessarily last, but they're great for someone just starting out with liner brushes (like yours truly).  And at $2.57, they are definitely a deal.  And if you hit the Born Pretty Store banner in my sidebar, you can use the code there (GMG10) for a 10% discount!  I like that they come with protectors over the bristles.  Makes storage much safer.  I did play around some with all three brushes, experimenting to get an idea of how they work.

The brushes loaded well (I do have experience with painting...just not with nail polish, as some of my epic failure manis have proven).  I did find that the brushes stained fairly easily with highly pigmented colors, but this didn't affect their performance.  Then, I decided to try my hand at a mani.  So...I bring you my Purple Pixie Stripes mani.

I started with Zoya Stevie for the main color.  My accent nail is a base of ChG Sweet Hook.  Then I used the fine detail brush (the easiest brush to work with for a beginner like me) to add three stripes using SH CSM in Bewitched.  I topped my accent nail with a coat of SV.  Not too terrible for a first attempt at striping with liner brushes, is it?

Anyway, get in on the giveaway, and I'll talk to you tomorrow!

This product was sent for review.

Zoya Giveaway for the Sake of Having a Giveaway!

I know it's taken some time for me to get this going.  Thanks for bearing with me.  Life is absolutely crazy, and for added fun, I'm in the process of moving halfway across the country!  Eek!  I really appreciate all of you hanging with me and hopefully, I'll get more good stuff going soon.  This move and everything else is just demanding a ton of time.  But enough babbling.  On to the good stuff!

I have 5 pretty, pretty Zoyas up for grabs (including one of my all time favs).  Check them out!!!

L to R:  Nimue, Anja, Yara, Cynthia, and Tao

Due to limited funds and the impending move, this is open to only U.S. residents.  I'll try to get something up to include everyone again sometime after getting settled.  Sorry!

Please note that you MUST be a public follower of my blog.  You will be asked to provide your GFC follower name or, if you follow by some other means, a link to your user profile.

All entrants must also provide an e-mail address.  I absolutely will NOT share your e-mail address.  This is just so that I may contact you if you win.  Also be sure that if you choose to gain extra entries through sharing the giveaway on Facebook, the share must be public so that I can see it.

The giveaway closes on 22 July, and I will announce the winner on my blog and contact them via e-mail.  The winner will have 24 hours to reply or another winner will be selected.  All prizes are brand new and were purchased by me.  Good luck!!!  Oh...and my fav in this group?  YARA!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'm Swatchin' You - Zoya Sookie

After yesterday's disappointment, I was hoping for better news today.  But I got a little more disappointment.  Today's color is from Zoya's 2011 Summertime collection.  It's a bright red creme called Sookie (any fellow True Blood fans out there???).

First, the good news.  The formula is actually incredible!  This took only one coat to look beautiful.  I actually bought this color because it reminded me of my favorite WnW color, 414.  I thought Sookie might make a good back up.  Now for the bad news.

Sookie was not meant for longevity.  I didn't fix the polish in the photos so you could see what I was talking about.  A couple of hours after painting my nails, I took a shower, and I had not taken my photos yet.  Despite the fact that I am very heavy handed with my TC, I experienced terrible tip wear and chipping.  Sadness.  You'll notice the tip wear on my index and ring finger, and the chip on my middle finger.

SH Double Duty and SV as base and top.

I'm Swatchin' You - Zoya Ava

Today's color is very sweet sheer neutral from Zoya.  This is Ava, from the Spa Essentials collection.

You are looking at three coats here.  A fourth may have been a good idea.  For a sheer, it builds nicely.  Also, the formula was great with little streaking.  Although I couldn't capture this on camera, there is a very subtle shimmer to Ava, too.  Very classy lady.

SH Double Duty and SV as base and top.

I'm Swatchin' You - Zoya Arizona

Today's color has me on the fence.  It's Arizona by Zoya, an orange creme.  This is from their Beach and Surf 2012 collection.

I absolutely love this in the bottle.  I thought it would look kind of like an orange creamsicle.  But it dries just a hair darker than I expected, looking more like a true orange.  The formula was incredible, and it self-levels like a dream.  This was three coats.  I do like it, but wish it were a little lighter.

SH Double Duty and SV as base and top.

I'm Swatchin' You - Zoya Tosca

I have been slowly building up some Zoyas in my collection.  Tosca, from their Classics line, is a really pretty bright red with a slight gold shimmer.

The formula on this was great.  Tosca applied so evenly.  You are looking at two beautifully easy coats.  The gold shimmer is very subtle.  You really don't pick it up except in bright sunlight.  Unfortunately, my day was a little overcast, so I don't know if you can really see the shimmer, except in the bottle.

SH Double Duty and SV as base and top.

I'm Swatchin' You - Zoya Chloe

Hi all!  Thanks for sticking with me while I took my much needed mini vacay.  I'm back and ready to go!  Today, I've got Zoya Chloe, a flakie in a pink-tinged clear base.  I'm pretty sure this is the only flakie I own.  I'm not usually a big fan, but something about this one just caught my eye.

The formula on this was fantastic.  Chloe goes on very smoothly.  As always, I am showing you Chloe in her natural state so you can see what it actually looks like.  In case you were wondering, I have a reason for doing this.  Most of the time, people will swatch polishes that were meant to be layered.  Makes sense, right?  However, I always wonder just what the base actually looks like, how opaque it is, what the glitter/flakies look like without the influence of another color, etc.  So, I find it helpful to see what it actually looks like on its own.  This also helps me decide whether or not I really want it, or how similar it is to what I already have.  Then, I show it over white and black, so you have an idea of how it looks layered over a light and dark color.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

Below, you are looking at Chloe, from left to right, in one coat, two coats, one coat over white (OPI Alpine Snow), and one coat over black (ChG Liquid Leather).

  

Over white, Chloe adds a tinge of pink, and the flakies appear pink and purple with flashes of orange, which I couldn't pick up well on camera.

And here is the one coat over black from different angles.  Over black, Chloe flashes green and orange.

SH Double Duty and SV as base and top.

Recent Haulage!

Happy Monday!  I thought I would try to kick off your week with lots of color, so here are some recent little hauls that occurred over the past month or so.  And don't forget to enter my giveaway, which ends Wednesday!  So excited!!!  And since I've already busted 100 followers, guess what will happen on Thursday?  Another giveaway!  And I'm only a handful of likes away from 100 likes on Facebook.  So guess what will happen when I hit 100 likes?  Another giveaway!  I'm just chucking free stuff at you guys!  And please try to take a moment to vote for me in Bundle Monster's nail art contest here.  On to the Monday rainbow...

Zoya's Earth Day Promo:

L to R: Jem, Sooki, Yara, Arizona, Meg, Zuza

Sally's B2G1 and a couple of CCs from HEB:

L to R: Mysterious Curse, Buried Alive, Glowstick, Daisy Does It, Sparkle and Soar

Ninja Polish A-Englands:

L to R: St. George, Tristam, Princess Sabra

Some Recent Haulage!

So, you may have noticed there is no 3T Tuesday post for today.  Sorry guys!  As the end of this painfully busy semester comes to an end, I've got to push out about 5 more papers.  So I didn't have the time to put together the post for this week's 3T Tuesday.  I'm hoping you'll be too distracted with some recent hauls that you won't even miss it!  Now that I think about it, you may not miss it at all, anyway!  Oh, well...  And we are inches from my first giveaway!!!  I sure hope to hit that goal soon...I'm so excited!!!

So here's some recent pollies I've picked up over the past month or two.  These are from Zoya's B3G3 promo:

L to R: Ava, Chloe, Tosca, Ivanka, Lotus, Savita

Then, I used Sally's B2G1 promo to stock up on some Orly's, since I have recently fallen head over heels for them!

L to R: Cotton Candy, Pixy Stix, Peachy Parrot, Nite Owl, Sea Gurl, Wild Wisteria

L to R: Pink Chocolate, Chantilly Peach, Shimmering Mauve, Plum Noir, You're Blushing, Faint of Heart, Bus Stop Crimson