Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Zoya Paradise Sun Collection

Press Sample
Good evening, dear readers, and happy hump day! I hope you have had a wonderful day! In my previous post, I shared the Zoya Island Fun collection, and today I wanted to share the new Paradise Sun collection. Let's check it out!

Aphrodite
Two Coats

Aphrodite by Zoya can be best described as a vibrant summer red with a micronized pearl metallic finish and multi-hued flash that brings it to life. Think of fresh and juicy tropical fruit!

Wowza! I love this juicy red shade! The flashes are subtle, but they add a beautiful effect to this polish. There is still a little bit of visible nail line with two coats, as you can see in the photos, but I really like the way this looks like this. The formula was great and easy to work with, and I certainly recommend this beauty!

Genesis
Two Coats plus top coat

Genesis by Zoya can be best described as a crystalline white with a micronized metallic pearl finish - designed to look like micro-fine diamond dust!

I had read several reviews from other bloggers about Genesis while I was waiting for my package to arrive, and I was mentally preparing myself to not be happy with the formula. To be honest, it really wasn't as bad as I expected. Yes, the formula was a little thick and on the slightly goopy side, but it still wan't too difficult to apply. It does dry to an odd semi-gritty finish, and not in the desirable Pixie Dust type sense. I used top coat to smooth my nails out, and overall, I was pretty happy with this one.

Isa
Two Coats

Isa by Zoya can be best described as a deep blue-based purple with a micronized metallic pearl finish and an aqua flash that embodies the beauty of exotic island flowers!

Isa was a surprising favorite from this collection. Blue-purples aren't always my favorite shade, but the depth of this polish is stunning! The formula was wonderful and easy to work with, and you NEED this one!


Mae
Two Coats

Mae by Zoya can best be described as a warm magenta pink with a micronized metallic pearl finish, reminiscent of vibrant Mediterranean flowers.

Mae is a beautiful colour! The formula was definitely on the thin side, and I did have some cuticle flooding in spite of working slowly and carefully. You definitely need to take your time with this one, but the colour payout is totally worth it.

Oceane
Two Coats

Oceane by Zoya can be best described as a true turquoise with a micronized metallic pearl finish that reflects the clearest blue ocean waters!

I could stare at this beautiful blue forever! I definitely love the ocean, and Oceane certainly reminds me of it! The formula was a little on the thin side, but overall, it was easy to work with. I used base coat under this polish and had no issues with staining, but I'm not sure that I'm brave enough to go without.

Selene
Two Coats

Selene by Zoya can best be described as a true teal with a micronized metallic pearl finish. A unique shade with an aqua fleck that resembles deeper layers of ocean water.

I first have to apologize for these swatch photos not being the most accurate. The teal base does lean very strongly towards the green spectrum, at least on my skintone, but this polish isn't quite as green as photographed. The aqua flecks look more like a green-leaning teal to me, but they do add a beautiful sparkle to this polish. The formula was fabulous and easy for me to work with, and I definitely seeing myself wearing this one a lot!

Bonus photo of Selene with my canna lily!

I really love the colours in this tropical collection! Genesis seemed a little out of place to me with all the other vibrant shades, but I like it quite a bit so I'm glad to see it was included. Overall these polishes were easy to work with, and you can't go wrong with any of them!

This collection is already available for purchase, so you can have these beauties now!

Useful Links:


Until next time, dear readers, have a wonderful day!
XO!


Disclaimer:  The products reviewed above were provided to me for my honest and unbiased opinion. All thoughts stated are entirely my own and are based on my use of said products.  I love receiving feedback from my readers, and any comments left here are the express opinions and/or property of the individual authors. I reserve the right to remove any comments that I find to be harmful, unnecessary, or not constructive for other readers.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Zoya Island Fun Collection

Press Sample

Good afternoon, dear readers! I hope you are enjoying your week thus far! My husband was home for the three day weekend, and now I'm struggling to get back into the normal swing of things during the week. It's crazy that a day can make such a difference, but it certainly has as I took the weekend off. Last week was a little intense with promoting the fundraiser, and I am happy to report we surpassed our $1000 goal! We definitely could not have done it without YOU, so thank you so much for your support!
For today's post, I have the new Zoya Island Fun Collection to share with you. These creams are so vibrant and gorgeous; I know I certainly think of tropical islands when I look at them! Let's check them out!

Cecilia
Cecilia by Zoya can be best described as a classic teal in a full coverage and densely pigmented cream formula.
Two coats

Cecilia may be my favorite from the collection- I just love this green-blue shade! I get a little nervous with shades like these as they do have the tendency to stain, and I had no staining whatsoever with the base coat. The formula is a little thinner than most other brands of polishes I use, but the application was still easy. Just be mindful about not flooding the cuticle.

Demetria
Demetria by Zoya can best be described as a vibrant poppy red in a full coverage and densely pigmented cream formula.
Two coats

They describe it as poppy, I call it tomato, either way, Demetria is a lovely warm red shade! I don't own many red cream polishes, so I am happy to see this as part of the collection. I'm afraid I don't have other Zoya red creams to compare this to to help you determine if you can skip on it. The formula was a little thin so be careful about cuticle flooding, but I have no issues to report with this one.

Bonus photo with my hibiscus!

Jace
Jace by Zoya can be best described as a modern tropical green in a full coverage formula. A green that is more muted than lime and surprisingly wearable!
Two coats

I find Jace to be the oddball colour from this collection. This shade doesn't really seem tropical to me, and instead, it screams fall and Halloween. Don't get me wrong, I really love this colour, but I think a brighter green would fit better with the tropical theme of the collection. Because of this, I don't think I'll be grabbing for my bottle this season, but it will definitely be a go-to shade for October when I want some awesome monster nails! The formula was good albeit a little thin, like the rest of the polishes in this collection.

Nana
Nana by Zoya can be best described as a deep summer fuchsia in a full coverage and densely pigmented cream formula.
Two coats

Nana is a gorgeous colour, and definitely the perfect shade for a tropical collection! I have no issues to report with the formula other than a thinner consistency than I normally prefer. The application was still flawless as long as I worked a little slower to prevent cuticle flooding.

Serenity
Serenity by Zoya can be best described as a summer purple in a full coverage and densely pigmented cream formula. Reminiscent of beautiful blooming irises, a harbinger of summer.
Two coats

Cooler purple shades have been growing on me a lot lately, and I think I appreciate Serenity a lot more now than I would have a couple years ago. My mind didn't initially go to irises when I first saw this colour, but since Zoya mentioned it, I can totally see it! The formula was the same as the rest: a touch on the thin side but still easy to work with.

I don't have any irises, so how about a photo with my Bromeliad in a complementary yellow?

Talia
Talia by Zoya can be best described as a true turquoise in a full coverage, densely pigmented cream formula.
Two coats

Talia is such a gorgeous shade of blue! I had no staining issues on my nails with using base coat, but I did have a little bit of staining on my skin during removal. It wasn't too bad, and I used a little exfoliation with a sugar scrub to remove the little bit of colour that nail polish remover couldn't remove. The formula is a little on the thin side, so you do have to work a little slowly to prevent cuticle flooding, but other than that, I had no issues with this polish.

Getting a little time out in the sun!
I used the shades from this collection (except for Demetria) to create this water marbled accent nail for these swatch photos.

The Island Fun Collection is currently available for purchase, so you can pick up any or all of these beauties now!

Useful Links:



What are your favorite shades from this collection? I'd love the hear from you!

Until next time, dear readers, have a wonderful day!
XO!

Disclaimer:  The products reviewed above were provided to me for my honest and unbiased opinion. All thoughts stated are entirely my own and are based on my use of said products.  I love receiving feedback from my readers, and any comments left here are the express opinions and/or property of the individual authors. I reserve the right to remove any comments that I find to be harmful, unnecessary, or not constructive for other readers.

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Single Chevron Holo Gradient Nails

Good morning, dear readers, and happy hump day! I hope you are having a wonderful week thus far! This week started out with the official launch of the Indie Coalition for a Cause Equality Now fundraiser. So far we have raised $440 for the charity, and we're hoping to reach $1000 by the end of the week. To help encourage donations, we have put together two prize packs that can be won by two lucky donors. The raffle fundraiser runs through midnight on Friday; there is still time to donate and enter the raffle! Virtual raffle tickets are $5 each with a minimum donation of $10 for 2 tickets. 

How to enter:
1. To purchase your raffle tickets, first make your donation at our crowdrise page here: https://www.crowdrise.com/iccforthegirlsfundraiser/. Then,
2. register for the raffle on my previous blog post here: http://thejediwife.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-indie-coalition-for-cause-supports.html

Thank you for supporting this worthy cause!

Now on to today's post! 

I created a simple gradient nail art look to share with you; I hope you enjoy it!

Polishes used:
Glisten & Glow Saber This! from the May, A Box Indied
Spectraflair 14/35 Mix in base since I apparently don't have a simple silver holo polish!
Colors by Llarowe Oops from a mystery grab bag

I added nail studs and topped my nails off with HK Girl top coat.

I hope you have a wonderful day and enjoy the rest of the week!
XO!


Monday, May 18, 2015

The Indie Coalition for a Cause Supports Equality Now with a Fundraiser

Good morning, dear readers! This post and fundraiser have been several months in the making, and I am thrilled to finally be able to present everything for you! I am a member of The Indie Coalition for a Cause, a group of independent nail polish makers and bloggers dedicated to supporting different charities across the globe. Our goal is to hold two fundraisers a year. Each fundraiser will support a different cause, and I have the distinct honor of hosting the very first fundraiser. We have decided to raise money for the charity Equality Now for our inaugural fundraiser.

Equality Now is an organization that advocates for the human rights of women and girls around the world by raising international visibility of individual cases of abuse, mobilizing public support through global membership, and wielding strategic political pressure to ensure that government enact or enforce laws and policies that uphold the rights of women and girls. Their areas of focus include discrimination in law, sexual violence, female genital mutilation and trafficking. The members of the Indie Coalition for a Cause are in full support of this charity as we both envision a world in which women and men have equal rights under the law and full enjoyment of those rights.

ICC Equality Now Fundraiser: How YOU Can Help

The wonderful indie makers that are members of the ICC have contributed custom nail polishes made for this specific event to help entice you to donate to this noble cause. Photographed below are the polish prizes, including a few non-custom extras. Donations are to be made to the ICC fundraiser located here in increments of $5 and those that wish to be included in the raffle drawing may enter the rafflecopter below at the end of this blog post. The minimum donation is $10, and this purchases 2 raffle tickets. Once you have donated on the crowdrise site here: https://www.crowdrise.com/iccforthegirlsfundraiser/, you can fill out the rafflecopter for your entries below.

 There are two prize packs for this raffle: one large prize and a second smaller one. At the time of this post, there are still a few polish prizes trickling in, so there will be even more for our generous donators!

Please note that this is not like my typical giveaway. In order to be eligible to win, you must visit the Crowdrise page here and donate to the campaign. The rafflecopter is set up such that the larger the donation, the more chances you get to win these beautiful polish prizes.

6 Harts Polish
Choice of Nail Polish and Cuticle Oil


Alter Ego Nail Enamel
Can't Hide
Swatch courtesy of Adventures in Acetone

Girly Girl
Swatch courtesy of Adventures in Acetone

Vintner
(over Girly Girl)
Swatch courtesy of Adventures in Acetone

She Shines Top Coat

Anchor & Heart Lacquer
We Wear Purple


Black Dahlia Lacquer
Stand Up For Equality
Swatch courtesy of Beautee Luvr

Bergamot Cuticle Oil

Bohemian Polish
(formerly Finger Lickin' Lacquer)
At the Head of the River

Ladies First

Ellagee
Make Equality Reality

Firecracker Lacquer
What Do We Want? EQUALITY!

Nail Gems


Girly Bits Cosmetics
50/50

Justice

Time for Change

Literary Lacquers
Secret of Joy

Northern Star Polish
Embrace Yourself

Renaissance Cosmetics
Equality...Now!

Silly Bee's Chickadees
Come Together

Sonoma Nail Art
Equal Work Equal Pay

Strong Women Decals

Prize Pack #1

Prize Pack #2

Donations can be made to the ICC Equality Now fundraiser on the Crowdrise page linked here. All donations are handled by Crowdrise so you can rest assured that the money is going to this charity. Don't forget to hold on to your confirmation emails for tax purposes too!

On behalf of the ICC and women everywhere, I would like to thank you for your support! I would also like to personally thank the indie makers that have contributed prizes for this raffle; we couldn't have done it without you!

Thank you for the donations and good luck!
XO!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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