Well hello there! Here's a jelly sandwich for you!

Hello lovelies! I wonder if any of you are still out there? I hope so!

I'm popping in to show you my current manicure. I'm on spring break this week, so I have a little free time for once!

I decided to try a "jelly sandwich." I used one coat of OPI - Yall Come Back, Ya Hear, one coat of Ulta - Pinada Yada Yada, and then two more coats of YCBYH.

 I love how it turned out! Plus, YCBYH is so smooth and shiny and perfect anyway.

What do you think of jelly sandwich manicures?

Thanks for reading! I miss you guys!

OPI - Planks a Lot

Hello readers! Today I have another pretty polish from OPI's Pirates of the Caribbean line. This is the purple, Planks a Lot. Purples are always hard to capture in pictures, and this one is no exception, so I'm showing you pictures in both natural and artificial light. Here's natural lighting:

 And here's artificial lighting, with flash:

In my mind, the natural lighting picture is probably more color accurate. The flash makes the polish look more red-toned, when it definitely has a blue base. I think it's a bit dustier than it looks in the natural lighting picture. I definitely like this polish, but it's probably not one of my favorites! If I'm looking to wear a special purple, I'd rather wear either American Apparel - L'Esprit or OPI - Funky Dunkey.

You may notice that the name of my blog is slightly different- because I was accepted into nursing school! So I'm now officially a nursing student, or at least I will be in the Fall! Yay! I hope you all had a great weekend!

OPI - Stranger Tides

Hello again, readers! Thanks for the comments on my last post- I still haven't figured out how to reply directly. Sometimes I'm a little slow on the uptake. Anyway...

Here's Stranger Tides from OPI's Pirates of the Caribbean collection! I can't say enough how great I think the collection is. What can I say- I'm really feeling the vibe. I like how most of the colors are neutral-ish, but with a twist. Stranger Tides is a light sage green. I feel like it pulls a little bit warm. As soon as I saw the preview pics, I knew I had to have this one.

This is the most color-accurate picture I took, and it's in more sunlight than I usually have in my pictures. I think the color is pretty true to this. Dusty light sage. Yeah. Get this polish! If you're on the fence, go for it. It's beautiful and special and neat.

I hope you're having a great week! I'm already ready for the weekend.

OPI - Pirates of the Caribbean

Hello loves!

I'm just popping in very quickly to show you the three polishes I chose from OPI's new POTC collection. I was lucky enough to find a fully-stocked display at my local Ulta. I skipped out on the Silver Shatter because I'm not too into the shimmery shatters.

I picked up Stranger Tides, Skull and Glossbones, and Planks a Lot. I didn't plan on buying PaL, but they were buy 2, get one free. What do you think of my choices? Do you plan on getting any polishes from this collection? I think OPI will have a big hit here.

I'll be back soon with swatches! Today I'm wearing Stranger Tides, and it is freaking awesome.

China Glaze Crackle Glaze - Broken Hearted

YESSSSSSS!!!
Okay, as I mentioned in my last entry, I finally caved and just ordered some China Glaze Crackle Glaze polishes in the mail. I ordered the pink (Broken Hearted), the gray (Cracked Concrete), and the black (can't remember the name). I got them from Amazon from two different sellers, and I received the pink and gray in the mail today! I was SO excited! I've been calling my local beauty supply stores everyday asking if they got them in yet, so finally I got tired of waiting when they said they'd have them "sometime in March." Boo for waiting!

So here is my first choice of manicure! This is Broken Hearted layered over OPI - Funky Dunkey from the Shrek collection. Pink and purple are one of my very favorite color combinations, so this was a no-brainer. I tried thicker layers (ring finger) and very thin (pinkie) for mixed results. And, in my humble opinion, they all look cool! I'm loving it.

All of these pictures show two coats of Funky Dunkey (dried COMPLETELY before applying crackle), one coat of Broken Hearted, and one coat of Seche Vite. Without the Vite, the crackle has a matte finish.

What do you think? Will you get any of the Crackle Glaze polishes? I can't wait to try the gray over yellow! That's my second favorite color combo.

Have a great weekend! Thanks for reading, and please click the "Follow" button if you like my blog!

OPI - Jade is the New Black

Hi everyone! Happy Wednesday night! I figured I'd squeeze a new post in before Teen Mom 2. Yes, I watch that crap. Sad, but true!

So this is OPI - Jade is the New Black. It's from the Hong Kong collection, which is still displayed in my Ulta. I think the collection is from Spring 2010. I have two polishes from it- this one and Bling Dynasty, which I have shown here before.
I love this polish. To be honest though, I rarely buy a polish and then don't like it. I know what colors I like, and I know what colors I already have. I try to only buy unique polishes. This is definitely one! Jade is the New Black is a blue-leaning green creme. I have a few green cremes, and I have a few dusty blue cremes, but nothing is even close to this one. And although it's not a particularly bright polish, it didn't bring my spirits down the way other dark polishes have been lately! It's great, and I think both cool and warm skin tones can pull this off.

While I was taking pictures, I realized my cardigan is almost the same color as my polish! It's in the same color family, but the sweater is a bit brighter. So, of course, I had to include it in one picture.

Thank you SO MUCH to all of my new followers! I have been so happy today! Please, if you're reading regularly, just click the little "Follow" button. It just takes a second and it lets me know you're reading!



Hopefully you're having a good week! Halfway to the weekend...

OPI - Let Me Entertain You

Hello again!

As promised, this is one of two Valentine's Day-themed manicures I'll share with you! This one is also a great everyday polish, and I think can safely be worn year-round! Let Me Entertain You is from OPI's Burlesque holiday collection. Everyone went all goo-goo eyed at the glitter half of the collection (myself included- I bought three), but the shimmer half is just as special!

LMEY is a fuchsia pink with beautiful tiny glitter throughout, giving a glass-flecked or shimmer effect. Sometimes the glimmer flashes light pink, and sometimes gold. There is a lot of depth to this color! I think it would be a perfect V-Day manicure if you're not looking to go over the top. I'm considering this my pre-Valentine's Day look. Tomorrow I'll do something more cutesy, and I'll probably post it on Sunday.

So how do you feel about Valentine's Day? Some people wish it didn't exist, but I do enjoy the sentiment of the day. Love and hearts and hugs and kisses and flowers and candy and all that crap. I guess I'm a girly girl at heart! It's fun. And there's nothing better than scooping up some V-Day goodies on clearance the day after.

Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend!

Zoya - Gilda and OPI - Black Shatter

Wow, two posts in one day?

As I mentioned in my last post, I met up with some old friends last night for a 15-year reunion of our 8th grade graduation. We did the same last year for the first time since we graduated. We always have so much to talk about, and it's the best time! No one knows the weird, crazy, close-knit nature of Catholic school kids except former ones. We have a really tight bond, and I love seeing them.

So what does this have to do with nail polish?

Well, my friend Julie was there, and we share the same passion for all things polish-related! She heard about the 3 Free Zoyas giveaway here on my blog, and finally got her order the other day. So for our reunion, she wore Gilda with a layer of OPI - Black Shatter on top!!! I need to get my hands on BOTH of them after seeing her nails. Amazing! So, like the two little nerds we are, we rushed off to the bathroom so I could try to get shots of her nails in the light. These are the best I could get!

So what do you think??? SO COOL! The color is really not too accurate on Gilda, but at least you can clearly see the Shatter effect on top. Love it!

And here's a shot of me and Julie. She's on the left, I'm on the right!

Thanks for reading!

2-in-1 Gold Blinginess

Hello, friends!

Here is a case of a manicure I'm pretty unsure about. It was inspired by my friend Kate, who sent me a message asking for a good sparkly gold polish! I gave her some recommendations, and added that my favorite shimmery gold is OPI - Bling Dynasty. Just talking about it made me want to wear it, so I slapped some on and was happy.

Then, for some reason, I decided that wasn't enough. So I added a coat of Sally Girl - Chunky Gold Glitter (at least I think that's what it's called- it's one of the minis from Sally Beauty). And I don't know how I feel! I have the dark, old gold of BD and then the shiny, yellowish gold of CGG. Doesn't quite go together! I kind of like the weird juxtaposition, though. It works in a weird way, but I probably wouldn't wear it again!

I felt the need to get both bottles in the picture. Here's one in natural light and one in artificial.

In face explosion news, I am back to normal!!! Well, almost. My face is still really dry, but the puffiness and redness and flakiness are finally gone. Phew.

Thanks for reading and following!

OPI - What's With the Cattitude?

Helloooooo!

Today, I'm sharing OPI - What's With the Cattitude? It's from the Shrek collection, which just doesn't seem to go away! I guess it's part of their core line at this point. I only have two polishes from the collection- this one and Funky Dunkey, a perfect purple creme.

WWTC is a pale blue cream. Pastel, but not a super light blue. One of my friends said my nails are "Tarheel blue," as in the University of North Carolina. That was a good comparison- it's definitely close to "Carolina blue!" I took one picture in the sun and one in the shade. Sorry my cuticles look so terrible! I haven't had time to care for them this week.

So I have a secret to share. I'm scared to post a glittery manicure! I've been doing creme after creme because I'm pretty sure any pictures I take of glitters or shimmers will look terrible. But, I think I might suck it up and try it for my next manicure. You never know until you try, right?

The baby shower yesterday was so cute! I can't wait until he's born. I chose this pastel blue polish just for the party. It was a hit! Anyway, we all decorated onesies with fabric markers for the baby! I thought that was a fun idea. There was a slideshow of baby pictures of all the party attendees, and you had to guess who was who. Mine was too easy! I had these HUGE brown eyes as a baby, and I still sort of do, so that made it simple. Some people looked so different from their baby pictures! It's crazy.

Welp, that's all I have for you today! Have a good one!

Christmas Manicure

I want to share my Christmas manicure with you all!

I had this planned for months- since the first time I saw swatches of China Glaze's holiday 2010 collection, "Naughty or Nice."

I started with two coats of OPI - Bling Dynasty, an "old gold," and added two coats of China Glaze - Party Hearty.

Someone said this manicure reminded them of fruitcake!