Perfectly Polished Tips 88 - PSA: Zoya Polish Poll Almost Over!

You have until tomorrow to vote (unofficially) in the Zoya Polish Poll. Head over to www.thepolishpoll.com. Cast your vote and get the special code, then spend $20 at Zoya.com and you will receive 3 full size polishes of your choice.

This would be a good time to get the new holiday collection or to try out Zoya and Qtica products if you never have before.

Perfectly Polished Tips 87 - Zoya Flourish

Zoya Flourish is new for Winter 08/09. It is a whole collection of rich colors with a foil finish. I have become a huge fan of the foil finish as I mentioned in previous posts. This collection isn't filled with colors that strike me as winter colors but more of spring-ish colors. I think the mettalicness and foilness make up for that though. They applied great with the exception of Shivon, I had a lot of brush marks which are pretty visible in the picture. All of the colors are pretty opaque, my swatches are all 2 coats of color, a couple like Zara will probably benefit from a third coat.

Richelle is a beautiful yellow gold. I really like this polish but I feel like it clashes with my skin. A while back I went through a gold phase collection every gold I could get my hands on. Then one day it hit me that gold was not my color. I'm still going to try to attempt to wear this one. I feel like if you have the confidence to pull off something anything will look good.

Kalista is a mohangany brown with gold shimmer. It has more of a red base rather than purple. I really like this polish more so than OPI Esspresso Your Style. EYS went very plummy on me and I just didn't like how it looked. I'm not sure if my new found love of brown is what makes me want to wear this or if it actually flatters me. Either way this is the winner of the collection for me.

Shivon is a rose gold color, looks duo-chromey to me. This color reminds me of pennies, but it is pretty. This one I got a lot of brush strokes with. I'm not a huge fan of it, I don't think it looks good on me, others might like it though.

Mieko is an orangey red, boarding more pink with gold sparkles. The sparkles in this polish are amazing and this picture doesn't do the color justice. This is my second favorite from the collection.

Zara is a pale violet with gold shimmer. Zoya calls this a duo chrome but I think it just has a gold sheen. This one is kinda sheer, this picture is 2 coats of color. A third coat might make it pop a little more but I like two coats. When I first saw the promo pictures of this collection I thought Zara was going to be a Sally Hansen Arabian Night dupe but it is nothing like AN.

Cyma is a deep pink red with gold shimmer. This color is the least unique to me, I feel like it has been done a million times. However a Zoya collection wouldn't be complete without one. Just like Essie and her sheer pinks.

I don't usually review cosmetics but these beauties followed Flourish home. Zoya Hot lips are pretty great. I've only worn Starlet so far, the gloss isn't overly sticky and the applicator is rounded making it easy to get the product out. It smells like those fire cracker ice pops, I think that is what they are called. It tastes nice too. Starlet is sheer but buildable which I like. I am not very big on wearing any type of color on my face, except blush. I was able to apply this gloss and only leave a light tint. It has glitter but it's not gritty and with the sheer coat I applied it wasn't visible. This can be a pro or con depending on what you like. Personally I'm not a huge glitter fan so I liked that I could wear it with out the glitter being an issue. The gloss also lasted for a decent amount of time which is great. You know what else is great? Matching your gloss to your polish. The three above match Richelle, Kalista, and Mieko almost perfectly.

Zoya nail lacquer and Zoya Hot Lips can be found at Zoya.com. The polishes retail for $6 each or you can purchase a sampler (which is full size polishes) for $36. Hot Lips retail for $6 each and come in a wide variety of colors.

Perfectly Polished Tips 86 - Reader Request

One of my lovely readers asked that I swatch Essie Skin Deep and CND Love Struck. Here you go.

This post made me regret every polish I turned down because of how it looked in the bottle. While it is clear that these two are not dupes they look closer in color in the bottle. Skin Deep is a baby pink with subtle silver shimmer, Love Struck takes on more of a foil finish. Either way I like both of these polishes. Get the CND while you can; CND recently announced that they were discontinuing all except 40 of their shades.

Perfectly Polished Tips 85 - China Glaze Emerald Sparkle

Ok, I know I said that I wasn't going to cave and buy this polish but I did. I'm so happy that I did too. I think I found a green that I will actually wear. China Glaze Emerald Sparkle is basically a green version of Ruby Pumps. It's a deep green glitter in a green base. It was opaque with one coat but I used two for my swatch.

It has so many layering possibilities. In the above picture I put one coat over two coats of Superstar Gucci Green. I also want to try it over black, and Chelsea Psycho Green. I wonder how it would look over a teal like China Glaze Rodeo Fanatic.

I was curious about how it compared to Color Club's Object of Envy. Both bottles are pictured above and as you can see Emerald Sparkle's glitter is finer and the over all color is daker. The big thing between the two is that Emerald Sparkle is in a green base and Object of Envy's base is clear.

Here I have (l-r) Object of Envy over Gucci Green, Object of Envy alone, and Emerald Sparkle.

Emerald Sparkle is such a pretty color and not at all too holiday feeling. I think I would be able to wear this anytime. It's making me wonder if I should get Gussied Up Green. This polish was released last month but went out of stock immediately. It is up on ebay for a ridiculous amount of money but can also be found in random beauty supply stores. If you are a member of Make Up Alley send a message to GiggleMommy and ask her to add you to the wish list. I believe that members of the nail board have already helped some where around 50 ladies who weren't able to find this polish. The same goes for Tinsel. I believe some Sally Beauty stores were to receive it as well but it will (or already did) go quick.

Perfectly Polished Tips 84 - Superstar Nail Lacquer

Recently I was asked to try out a fairly new line of nail polish. Superstar Nail Lacquer. The polish is fast drying, free of toxins and comes in 21 different colors. Superstar has bold colors as well as subdued lady like hues. I got to test out 3 of the 21 shades, Fierce Fuchsia, Silver Screens, and Gucci Green. I was really impressed with these polishes. The company definitely has the brush and toxin free formula down. The brush wasn't too wide which is good for me because I have such small nail beds. They applied beautifully, no clumps and most importantly no streaking.

Fierce Fuchsia is a hot pink neon. It is slightly brighter than the photo above. This polish needed 3 coats for full coverage which was not a huge deal because it was dry in seconds. I do not have a top coat on in any of my swatches, because this is a neon it dries matte. A good top coat like INM Out the Door or Seche Vite will give you great shine.

Silver Screens (I mislabeled it in the picture, I apologize) is a foil-y metallic silver. For whatever reason I have been loving the foil-y, icy colors as of late. This color jumped out at me as soon as I opened the package. It is opaque in one coat but I prefer two, so that is what is shown above. Even without top coat it is still smooth and shiny. This one is going to get a lot of use from me.

Gucci Green is a deep forest green with a hint of gold sparkle. It is a very pretty color but for some reason I just cannot get into greens. This polish probably could have used three coats to make the color pop even more.

Why is Gucci Green living in a Lippmann Collection bottle you ask? Well my lovely 2 year old decided that he did not like Gucci Green and threw him against the wall. Snapping his neck and causing him to lose a lot of his contents. I was able to salvage a little more than half the bottle. My rug on the other hand was not so lucky. The purpose of this picture is to show you the slight gold shimmer.

Superstar Nail Lacquer retails for $8.50 and can be found at Stacia Pierce's Style Shoppe. Over all I am impressed with the quality of these polishes but I feel like the colors have all been done before. However I am still lusting over Ambitious Blue, Park Avenue Purple, and Walk the Red Carpet. If you have the opportunity to try these polishes do it. I tested Silver Screens over my manicure the other day and as of today had no chips or anything so I'm thinking the wear on these is pretty awesome too.

I'm not sure if there are any retail locations that sell this brand but it looks as if the website has a flat rate of $5 for shipping.

Perfectly Polished Tips 83 - More Pink

This post had started out as me sharing more of my favorite pink polishes but as I was pulling them out of the container I noticed some were very similar. So I turned the post in to here are my favorite pinks and their possible dupes.

Orly Taffy and CND Pink Chrome. Terrible picture but it was the only one that showed the shimmer. Taffy is a bit more on the peach side.


Essie Skin Deep and CND Love Struck. This Essie is my favorite, the CND has bit silver sparkles.

China Glaze Sex on the Beach and OPI Sweet Love at Ferris Wheel. I always thought the OPI was more peachy but I guess I was wrong. Under this lighting the two are pretty much identical. The OPI is also said to be a dupe of OPI Beachen Peachen.

China Glaze Pink Rox-E and OPI Chaple of Love. Pink Rox-E's sparkles are a bit larger and more pronounced.

OPI Passion for NY Fashion and CND Scorch. Some would argue that PfNYF doesn't have a dupe but this CND comes close in my opinion.

Pue Ice Iced Merlot and Urban Decay Big Bang. Not dead on dupes but similar, the Pure Ice can be found at Walmart, the UD is long gone.

Jessica Godiva and OPI My Big Break. These colors are pretty close in real life, right down to the minty green shimmer.

As always if you would like to see anything swatched please ask!

Perfectly Polished Tips 82 - Pink Creme Pic Spam

I love my pinks, and being that it is still BCA month I figured I would pull them out and share. As I was doing that I discovered; A) I have waaaayyyyy too many pinks and B) most of them are the same exact color. So this is a pic spam and dupe alert post. I have another too but they are pinks with glitter and shimmer, that post will follow shortly.

Essie Steppin' Out and OPI Pink of Hearts (07 version). These polishes are very close in color, the Essie is more opaque though.

Lippmann Collection Constant Craving and Color Club Yachty Yadda. The Lippmann is slightly more purple in real life, but they are very close.

OPI You're A Pisa Work and OPI Koala Bear-y, very similar KB is slightly darker.

OPI Strawberry Margarita, Orly Butterflies, OPI Elephatasic Pink, Color Club Lady Like. Strawberry Margarita is a hair darker than the rest and Butterflies is a jelly.

China Glaze Rose Among Thorns and Color Club Electric Coral. The Color Club is a bit lighter and brighter.

OPI My Throne for a Cranberry Scone and CND Regal Revenge. RR is pinker however being that My Throne can be hard to find I would say it's a good alternative.


OPI All That Razz-berry, OPI My Throne for a Cranberry Scone, and CND Regal Revenge. ATR is more well raspberry colored, however I just wanted to picture it here.

OPI I'm India Mood for Love, OPI Don't Know Beets Me, China Glaze Make an Entrance. The China Glaze is darker in real life but the other two are basically the same.

CND Hot Pop Pink and Orly Basket Case. The CND may be a little brighter but these two are very close.

Color Club Fast Paced and OPI Elephantasic Pink - basically dupes.

OPI Charged Up Cherry and Nocti Kiss & Tell. The Nocti is a smidge brighter and little more orange.

If you would like anything swatched please feel free to ask. I would have loved to swatch all of these but it would have taken forever. I do plan on swatching my entire stash eventually just not tonight. ;)

Perfectly Polished Tips 81 - Essie Jewel

Essie Jewel is from the Cruise Control collection which I believe came out in 2005. It's a pretty fuchsia with a mix of pink, purple, and maybe a bit of blue shimmer. My camera never catches the shimmer well, maybe it's an operator error though. This swatch is two coats of color over Sally Hansen Hydrating base coat and topped with INM Out the Door.

Essie polishes are hit and miss with me, they have some gorgeous colors but sometimes the wear isn't so good. I did this manicure last night and so far I'm still good. This color has been unworn in my stash for over a year. When I first got into nail polish I chose all shades of pink with shimmer because that's all I wore at the time. Then I moved on to cremes so all the shimmers got left behind. Then I discovered the beauty of blue polish. However this color really is pretty, in the sunlight it is so rich and full of shimmer. I'm glad I finally got around to using it!

I am hoping to make it through all of my untrieds by the end of the year. I haven't taken a count recently so I'm not sure how many I have. I used Random.org's integer generator to choose this color. I have an excel spread sheet and this was lucky number 166. I'm going to continue doing this for every manicure and pedicure until I have no more untrieds!

Perfectly Polished Tips 80 - China Glaze OMG

China Glaze released the OMG collection earlier this year. It is made up of 12 colors that are filled with fine holographic sparkles. I have 5 of colors, honestly when OMG came out I wasn't loving holographic polishes but I had entered a give away on another blog and won them. At first I only used them on my toes. These are really pretty polishes but the application is a pain. I found that these work best with out a base coat and only 1 coat of polish if you can manage that. I didn't find them to be streaky, and they dry very quickly. They chipped with in a day though on me. Anyways here they are.2Nite is a medium blue color and is my favorite from the collection.

BFF is pink and slightly darker in real life.

DV8 is teal goodness and a favorite for pedicures.

IDK is light purple and very sheer with 1 coat.

LOL is a dark purple and my second favorite.

I think these are still available at the etailers, I have links to their sites on my side bar. There are 7 other colors including a silver and light green.

Perfectly Polished Tips 79 - Zoya Miley

Zoya Miley is a light, delicate, lilac creme. It's not a me color at all. It was gifted to me by Steph who runs the Polish Addict, the second I laid eyes on it I was in love. Even though this polish required 4 coats to have color and be partially opaque I think it's a new favorite. It was not streaky at all which really surprised me. The first coat goes on very sheer, almost invisible; it would probably make a good french manicure color. It's such a chic and clean looking color and it actually looks good on my pale skin. I usually don't go for these colors because I get the corpse look or else they just wash me out too much. I used Lippmann Rehydrating base coat and INM Out the Door for this manicure and have had awesome wear. I only put it on last night but since then I've cooked, cleaned the tub, and done a few loads of dishes. I have zero chips and no tip ware.
Overall I'm impressed and in love!

Perfectly Polished Tips 78 - Flaky Glitter

A wonderful lady from Singapore sent me two Mavala flaky glitter polishes. Agena and Canopus, Agena is the one pictured above. I layered over top of China Glaze's Bahamian Escape. Up until recently I was not a fan of glitter polish of any type. Then I got bit by the glitter bug, I am lemming a few Nfu Oh polishes big time but just can't bring myself to bite the bullet and order them. The pictures do not do this polish justice, I must have taken over 100 pictures and just could not capture it. I wore this mani for almost 4 days before getting a chip. I was tempted to just redo the one nail but I have so many other polishes that I would love to wear.

Unfortunately these Mavala polishes are near impossible to find. The Maybelline Colorama line has a few flaky top coats and can sometimes be found at the Dollar Tree or other dollar stores. I have one of those as well, Ruby Ray but I haven't had the chance to try it yet. So if you love glitter get yourself to the nearest Dollar Tree and try to find these, they will not dissapoint!

Perfectly Polished Tips 77 - Breast Cancer Awareness Month

As most of you know October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Many cosmetic companies offer products in which part or all of the profit from the product goes to research for breast cancer. I think it's a great way to help those in need. The offical color is pink, I have been sporting a pink manicure this week, CND Paris In Pink. I won't be posting pictures though because it didn't dry in time for bed and is full of sheet marks. I've been too lazy to change though. So here are a few of the nail polish companies that are supporting the cause this year.

OPI Pink of Hearts 2 (last year's was Pink of Hearts). OPI created this polish to help support Susan G. Komen for the Cure. OPI also plans on donating $25,000 to the foundation this year. I believe Siobhan over at the Nailphile posted pictures of this color.

China Glaze has released this three pack of pinks with part of the proceeds going to research. The colors are Rich & Famous, St. Tropez, and Temptation Carnation.

This year Essie has released Pink is the Link, there is also a Pink is the Link gift set which includes a mini pink nail file and a mini bottle of Essie's Sensitivity base coat. 10% of sales from both products will be donated to Living Beyond Breast Cancer

Color Club's mini Colors for the Cure include four of the companies best selling pinks; Translucent, Bashful, Angels N’ Pink, and In Bloom. All of the proceeds will go to a local breast cancer chapter that is located in New York. Stephanie over at the Polish Addict swatched these a few days ago.

Companies like Nubar and Jessica are doing promotions as well for BCA month. You can check the nail polish ones as well as others out at NailsMag.com. The links at the end of the descriptions don't seem to be working, there is a lot of information already there though.