Textured Nail Art Series - Second Installment ♥

Press Sample

Who's ready for more nail art using the Kiko Sugar Mat polishes? I am! 

In case you missed my first post in this series (which I will link at the bottom), Kiko Sugar Mats are coming soon to Ninja Polish! Sheila from Pointless Cafe swatched all of them for you and I will be doing nail art to coordinate with each swatch post that she did (possibly more than one nail art post, depending on the colors in the swatch post). Today I am using 2 polishes from Part 1 of her 4 part series, which you can find here, #631 and #632. The Sugar Mat Collection is made up of 16 polishes - 8 non-shimmers and 8 shimmers. Both of these are the non-shimmers. Both had great formulas and were very easy to work with. 

Kiko Sugar Mat 631 and 632 Gradient

Post continued after the jump!

Textured Nail Art Series Using The Kiko Sugar Mat Collection ♥

Press Sample

Hello lovelies! I am very excited about the post I have for you today, as well as the series it kicks off! You may have seen on Pointless Cafe's blog last week that the complete Kiko Sugar Mat Collection is coming soon to Ninja Polish and to go along with her amazing swatches I am going to do be doing some fun nail art using the Sugar Mats! 

I will be doing nail art to coordinate with each swatch post that Sheila did (possibly more than one nail art post, depending on the colors in the swatch post). Today I am using 2 polishes from Part 1 of her 4 part series, which you can find here, #633 and #634. The Sugar Mat Collection is made up of 16 polishes - 8 non-shimmers and 8 shimmers. Both of these are the non-shimmers. Both had great formulas and were very easy to work with. 

Kiko Sugar Mat 633 and 634 Skittlette

How fun is this mani?! It's honestly one of my favorite manis that I've done in a while. And it was so easy to create!

Stay tuned for more pictures and info after the jump!

Zoya PixieDust Collection for Summer 2013 - Swatches, Review and Rainbow Gradient! ♥

Good morning! I have a super bright and fun post to show you today! 

Up until now I have been sort of back-and-forth on the textured polish trend. I wasn't crazy about some of the other brands' offerings. I really liked the previous PixieDust Collection but this collection just blew me away! I love all of these! In fact, I love them so much that I couldn't wait to do some nail art with them. 

Update: I had several requests for a tutorial for this mani. You can find it here. 

Zoya PixieDust Rainbow Gradient

I have to give my friend Jacki over at Adventures in Acetone credit for this idea. She did a rainbow gradient with the Zoya Surf Collection a year ago and I loved it so much it stuck with me. (To see her post, click here.) When I saw the PixieDusts I knew I had to try it!

I had a hard time capturing the sparkle and shine in the nail art photos. Make sure to see my swatch photos below for a better representation of the true color and finish!

Zoya PixieDust Rainbow Gradient

Zoya PixieDust Rainbow Gradient

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This collection is made up of the following 6 polishes - 

Beatrix - light orange metallic sparkle
Destiny - red-leaning coral metallic sparkle
Liberty - marine blue sugar sparkle
Miranda - rose/raspberry sugar sparkle
Solange - yellow gold metallic sparkle (with real gold metallic pigment)
Stevie - lavender violet sugar with silver sparkle

The formula was wonderful on all of these. I only needed 2 coats for opacity although I did show what 3 coats looks like on 3 of the polishes (Destiny, Miranda and Stevie) on my ring finger only. These are meant to be worn without top coat (since they are textured) but I have photos with and without topcoat of all of them. 

Beatrix -

Zoya PixieDust Beatrix - no top coat

Zoya PixieDust Beatrix - no top coat

Zoya PixieDust Beatrix - no top coat

Zoya PixieDust Beatrix - with top coat

Zoya PixieDust Beatrix - with top coat

Zoya PixieDust Beatrix - no top coat

Zoya PixieDust Beatrix - with top coat

Solange -

Zoya PixieDust Solange - no top coat

Zoya PixieDust Solange - no top coat

Zoya PixieDust Solange - no top coat

Zoya PixieDust Solange - with top coat

Zoya PixieDust Solange - with top coat

Zoya PixieDust Solange - no top coat

Zoya PixieDust Solange - with top coat

Liberty -

Zoya PixieDust Liberty - no top coat

Zoya PixieDust Liberty - no top coat

Zoya PixieDust Liberty - no top coat

Zoya PixieDust Liberty - with top coat

Zoya PixieDust Liberty - with top coat

Zoya PixieDust Liberty - no top coat

Zoya PixieDust Liberty - with top coat

The last 3 show 3 coats on my ring finger only - 

Miranda - 

Zoya PixieDust Miranda - no top coat

Zoya PixieDust Miranda - no top coat

Zoya PixieDust Miranda - no top coat

Zoya PixieDust Miranda - with top coat

Zoya PixieDust Miranda - with top coat

Zoya PixieDust Miranda - no top coat

Zoya PixieDust Miranda - with top coat

Stevie -

Zoya PixieDust Stevie - no top coat

Zoya PixieDust Stevie - no top coat

Zoya PixieDust Stevie - no top coat

Zoya PixieDust Stevie - with top coat

Zoya PixieDust Stevie - with top coat

Zoya PixieDust Stevie - no top coat

Zoya PixieDust Stevie - with top coat

Destiny -

Zoya PixieDust Destiny - no top coat

Zoya PixieDust Destiny - no top coat

Zoya PixieDust Destiny - no top coat

Zoya PixieDust Destiny - with top coat

Zoya PixieDust Destiny - with top coat

Zoya PixieDust Destiny - no top coat

Zoya PixieDust Destiny - with top coat

So what do you think of this collection? What are your favorites? I love them all but my favorite is Destiny - it's just such a perfect coral. Zoya did a wonderful job with all of the formulas and colors - they are just perfect for Spring and Summer!

Zoya PixieDust Rainbow Gradient

Zoya polishes are available at zoya.com and at select Ulta locations. The PixieDust polishes retail for $9 and their other polishes are still $8. Be sure and "like" Zoya's Facebook page and follow them on Twitter for latest news and promos. They have a lot of sales and specials. Zoya appreciates their customers and knows how to keep them! And don't forget they are 5-FREE and Cruelty-Free!

Thanks for reading and happy polishing! ♥

*PR Samples provided for my honest review

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Zoya Pixie Dust Collection 2013 ♥

Happy Friday! It is finally the weekend! I hope you guys have something fun planned. I am hoping to catch up on some rest but will probably end up cleaning. *sigh* LOL Anyway, I finally have the Zoya Pixie Dust Collection to show you! 

This collection is made up of 6 textured sparkle polishes and they all have a wonderful formula, which I was worried about before I tried them. They all applied very smoothly and only needed 2 coats for opacity on four of them. For some reason I needed a 3rd coat on Nyx and Vespa - they were thinner than the others. 

I am showing them to you with and without topcoat (the topcoat in the photos is one coat of Poshe). I am noticing that a lot of people prefer the look of these with topcoat but I actually prefer the look of them without topcoat. I'm not so sure I like the way they feel without a topcoat but that is just a personal preference, they are actually smoother than I had imagined them being.

I really like the colors in this collection. London is probably my favorite (I do love me a good grey AND I am an anglophile so this was right up my alley) but I really do like them all. So let's get started!

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Chyna - Red Dazzle Sparkle

Zoya Chyna (no topcoat)

Zoya Chyna (no topcoat)

Zoya Chyna (no topcoat)

Zoya Chyna (no topcoat)

Zoya Chyna (with topcoat)

Zoya Chyna (with topcoat)

Zoya Chyna (with topcoat)

Zoya Chyna (no topcoat)

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Dahlia - Black Beauty Sparkle

Zoya Dahlia (no topcoat)

Zoya Dahlia (no topcoat)

Zoya Dahlia (no topcoat)

Zoya Dahlia (no topcoat)

Zoya Dahlia (with topcoat)

Zoya Dahlia (with topcoat)

Zoya Dahlia (with topcoat)

Zoya Dahlia (no topcoat)

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Godiva - Soft Nude Sparkle

Zoya Godiva (no topcoat)

Zoya Godiva (no topcoat)

Zoya Godiva (no topcoat)

Zoya Godiva (no topcoat)

Zoya Godiva (no topcoat)

Zoya Godiva (no topcoat)

Zoya Godiva (no topcoat)

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London - Fog Gray Sparkle

Zoya London (no topcoat)

Zoya London (no topcoat)

Zoya London (no topcoat)

Zoya London (no topcoat)

Zoya London (no topcoat)

Zoya London (with topcoat)

Zoya London (with topcoat)

Zoya London (with topcoat)

Zoya London (no topcoat)

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Nyx - Perfect Periwinkle Sparkle

Zoya Nyx (no topcoat)

Zoya Nyx (no topcoat)

Zoya Nyx (no topcoat)

Zoya Nyx (no topcoat)

Zoya Nyx (with topcoat)

Zoya Nyx (with topcoat)

Zoya Nyx (with topcoat)

Zoya Nyx (no topcoat)

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Vespa - Mint Kiss Sparkle

Zoya Vespa (no topcoat)

Zoya Vespa (no topcoat)

Zoya Vespa (no topcoat)

Zoya Vespa (no topcoat)

Zoya Vespa (with topcoat)

Zoya Vespa (with topcoat)

Zoya Vespa (with topcoat)

Zoya Vespa (no topcoat)

What do you think of this collection? Which ones are your favorites? 

Zoya polishes are available at zoya.com and at select Ulta locations for $8.00 each. Be sure and "like" Zoya's Facebook page and follow them on Twitter for latest news and promos. They have a lot of sales and specials. Zoya appreciates their customers and knows how to keep them! And don't forget they are 5-FREE and Cruelty-Free!

Thanks for reading and happy polishing! ♥

*PR Samples provided for my honest review

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