Zoya- Ryan

Good evening! Hope you all had a great week! Today's polish is a new one from Zoya's fall 2014 Entice collection called Ryan. Ryan is a dark blue creme that almost leans teal. It's so dark it's barely distinguishable from black in some lightings. I've been wanting to get this polish for a while and it did not disappoint! I absolutely love the color, perfect for fall! The formula was great, too. It could easily be a one-coater, but I needed two because I do thin coats. It was smooth and dried glossy. The photos below show it without topcoat.

One Coat

Zoya- Dream

Good morning! Hope you're all enjoying you weekend! Today I have Zoya's Dream. It came out a few years ago in one of their fall collections. Dream is a deep blue jelly with lots of holographic flakes. It's so gorgeous, it looks like a starry night sky! Indoors it just looks like a sparkly blue polish but once you step into the sunlight the scattered holo comes out. It sparkles all the colors of the rainbow! I love this polish! The application was a breeze, 3 easy coats and you get the color in the bottle. It dries really glossy too. The photos show it without topcoat.

1st Coat

2nd Coat

Sunlight

Mani Monday!

Hello everyone! I finally got around to doing some nail art and I decided "Why not end summer with a beach mani!" I made the design by following tutorials from Chalkboard Nails and elleandish // Janelle then adding my own little twist. On my pointer, middle finger and thumb, I applied two coats of Essie's "Cocktails & Coconuts" then two more coats of Zoya's "Godiva" on top. The textured finish and silver glitter make it look just like sand! As for my ring and pinky fingers, I did a sponge gradient using Kleancolor's "Pastel Teal" and Essie's "Mint Candy Apple". Then, I used the water-spotting technique with Zoya's "Purity" to add a seafoam-like effect. Afterwards, I sponged just a little bit of white right where I wanted the shore-line to be and covered the tip of my nail with Godiva. To add the starfish on my ring finger, I used a very thin detail brush and Maybelline's "Coral Heat". Finally, I added topcoat to only the ring and pinky finger to smooth everything out! I'm really happy with the final look and hope you guys like it as well!

Tutorial- Water Marble Layering

Hello! I am so excited to tell you this! I was playing around with the idea of water marbling and realized that (1) you can use the concept to create your own color without actually having to mix polishes and (2) you can use it to apply neons or any polish that has a tricky formula! I hope this is something new to you and that you enjoy!


So, for the first idea all you need is two different colored polishes and all other materials needed to do any kind of water marble (cup, water, toothpick). There are only three steps to this. First, apply the lighter color onto your nails (and make sure its even otherwise any streaks and patches will remain visible). Then, drip just one drop (or more but you'll have to be careful of the rings that appear) of your second color into the water surface and allow it to spread enough so that when you dip it'll cover your entire nail. After it has spread evenly, dip your nail (or as many finger as you can completely cover) in as you would with any other water marble mani, clean the surface with a toothpick and remove your finger. Tadaaaa! You made a new color without having to go through the trouble of mixing polishes in a separate bottle and without having to worry that you didn't mix enough of the color to paint all your nails! I personally never have any empty nail polish bottles on hand and find it hasslesome to mix it on tin foil or a palette (the polish get thick really fast and I always seem to make too much/little of the color). I like to use this method to create pastel colors by putting darker colors over white. It works to apply metallic colors (I'm thinking OPI's "Push and Shove", but I don't have it) without getting any streaks, too! Just apply the metallic like normal then add a layer or two with the water marble method.

As for number two, it's basically the same process except you're using it for a different reason/to get a different result. I've heard people talking about how neons are hard to work with because often times you need to layer them over white to make them bright and fluorescent. However, sometimes putting them over white is hard because it might get streaky or you might not completely cover the white around the cuticles. I find that if you just water marble it on, you can get an even application! (The coats/layers dry much faster too.) You can also control how dark you want your color to be- if you want it darker, just repeat and add more layers until the color is to your liking. You can use this method to create ombre nails as well! This also works with sheer polishes or jellies should you ever want to put them over white.

The possibilities are endless! I really hope that you'll give it a try, if you do I would love to see it (my instagram is @swatchingly)! Thank you so much for stopping by!

essie- Mint Candy Apple

essie's "Mint Candy Apple" is a cult classic- and for good reason. Honestly, at first I didn't think it was as amazing a color as everyone was making it out to be. After I put it on I realized why everybody loved it. Mint Candy Apple is a beautiful pastel mint blue creme and goes really well with a tan. Application was easy and I got it opaque in 2 easy coats. I tend to do thin coats so 1 slightly thicker coat works too. The photo shows it with topcoat.

Sunlight

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PolishByJessicaJean- Blueberry Frosting

Today I have an indie (my first- I'm so excited!). PolishByJessicaJean's Blueberry Frosting is a glitter polish with a white crelly base. There are large matte blue circles, medium matte blue squares, medium metallic dark blue hexes and little matte black squares. Formula is very good and glitter payoff is awesome. The circle glitters tend to sink to the bottom so you might need to sit the upside down for a couple minutes before using the polish. It takes 3-4 coats to become opaque, but that's to be expected with a crelly polish. Because it is a glitter polish, more topcoat is needed to make it smooth be it extra coats or just a thicker coat. The photos below show 4 coats with topcoat.

Sunlight

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