Zoya Promo: Get Your Green On

Edit, 03/04/2011, 9:53 a.m.:  Zoya says:

We have just SOLD OUT of the colors for our "Zoya - GET YOUR GREEN ON promo!!!" Since we no longer have inventory to fill the orders we are canceling the promo - effective immediately. 

Hello, Dear Reader.

This was in my Inbox tonight, and it's active March 4 (now - they're on EST) through the 7th 11:59 PM EST. I've asked for confirmation of the end date, as there were two included with this being the earlier, so if I get a different date I'll update and change that. [Update: the end date of 03/07/11 was confirmed by Zoya.]

Here's a link to Zoya's site for the promo (link was removed when it was cancelled), and here's what was in the email (click the picture for full size).

The text is as follows, with the bold being mine:

Get 3 of Zoya's best selling green nail polishes for $5*! This incredible offer includes Zoya Suvi, Zoya Shawn and Zoya Ivanka! Green polishes for work, play and everyday! Get this $24 value for $5* when you add it to your cart now! (You save $19!) Don’t miss out! This offer is only valid until March 7, 2011 at 11:59 EST! Limit one Trio per customer.


Here's how it works:


Add one "Get Your Green on Trio" to your shopping cart. Once in your cart a discount for $19.00 will appear, reducing the net Trio cost to $5.00. Then just complete the checkout process. Remember only one "Get Your Green on Trio" will be discounted. Any additional trios that you purchase will be at regular price.

And here's another link just so you don't have to scroll up (link was removed when it was cancelled), and some my swatches of Shawn and Ivanka (I don't have one of Suvi)

Konad Decals, a Coupon Code, and a Giveaway

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I've been so busy showing you swatches of new collections in the last few days that other good stuff has been piling up. I'll show you manicures first, since that's what we're here for, and after the pictures tell you about the things where you save money and win things.

Last week I gave you the update that WSC had the full line of the Glam Rhinestone Stickers that I'd shown you the two packets of which Jessica had sent me as an extra to try out (those were the nail jewelry ones), and I told you I'd planned to load up on them (they're $3, so it wasn't some huge financial analysis to decide that). Well, I clicked the 3D Stickers & Bead Tattoos tab to get to them, and there was more cool stuff, all super cheap. I loaded up on the rhinestone decals, and have two of those for you today, the 3D stickers, and got just a few each of the bead tattoos and hologram stickers. I was reluctant on the bead and hologram decals because I wasn't sure exactly what the bead tattoos were (but for $3 I was willing to find out), and the hologram stickers looked like decals of patterns that are Konad stamps, but I was interested enough to spring for the $2 to find out more, and I have a hologram decal manicure for you today as well.

The one I did right away when they arrived (after spending about fifteen minutes leafing through the packets) is a base of two coats of SpaRitual Ice Ice Baby with the fake pink pearl decals. I pretty much did a little sampler of the decals in the packet, I was so fired up about them.

Konad Rhinestone Glam Decals in Pink Pearl & Rhinestones

Konad Rhinestone Glam Decals in Pink Pearl & Rhinestones over SpaRitual Ice Ice Baby Nail Polish

The next ones I tried were the hologram decals, using some Konad patterns I'm fond of. I thought they'd look good over a black shimmer nail polish, so I used two coats of Nubar Black Chrome. The picture completely downplays the hologram effect - once it came into focus, the reflections came off as silver. The hologram effect is markedly stronger, but the picture gives you a sense of it.

Konad Hologram Decals

Konad Hologram Decals over Nubar Black Chrome Nail Polish, Two Coats

Last is today's Nails of the Day. I used Rhinestone Glam Decals in one of the fake white pearl and rhinestones packets (I have one more white pearl & rhinestone packet that's different). At first I was thinking of using a pale pink shimmer base, kind of the inverse of the one I shows you above, but then decided they'd be cooler on Zoya Robyn, the blue creme from Flash.

Konad Rhinestone Glam Decals in White Pearl & Rhinestones

Konad Rhinestone Glam Decals in White Pearl & Rhinestones over Zoya Robyn Nail Polish

For all of these, I applied the decals about ten minutes after finishing the base color with Diamont, then sealed them with another coats of Diamont.

It ends up that the bead tattoos, which I have yet to try but will in coming days, are actually tiny seed beads on decals - I've never seen anything like them. One of my close friends makes elaborate beaded jewelry (think Grateful Dead parking lot wares fifteen years ago), and the beads are maybe a third to half the size of the smallest I've seen her use. They're really cool, and you don't have to wrap them up to your elbow like in Konad's promo pics. I got butterflies, hearts, and tip decals of those.

Those are the Konad decals, so let's move on to things where you get things for free!

First, the coupon code... Yen from Victoria's Nail Supply (VNS) is offering you a free Color Club 0-60 Speedy Topcoat with any purchase (I believe the site minimum is $15, but I've never ordered anywhere near just $15, so I'm not sure) with code NPhile042010. It's a great way to try it out and see if it works for you - free is a good price! VNS is a great etailer - all the basics, plus a TON of Art Club nail art stuff, which I went crazy ordering this week, as well as a bunch of HTF's, especially OPI. I can't say anything but good things about Yen's customer service, and I've been a customer there for about a year and a half now, have had help from her, but never a single problem. I'll add a "Codes" tab to the top of the page in a bit so you don't have to find this post later to get the code.

Second, the giveaway... That's from Jessica at WowSoCool. She's been awesome, working to get back the Konad discount codes that Konad USA put the kabosh on recently, and she even helped me by proofing and giving input on a letter I wrote to Konad USA myself trying to get the codes back. There's been no response from Konad USA yet, so since she can't give all of you a discount code, she wanted to give one of you a $50 gift certificate for her store. I'm running the contest here because Jessica specifically wanted to give something to my readers. At full price, $50 would be 7 plates, lots of polishes, or an absolute boatload of the decals I showed you.

I'll run the giveaway like always, and have verified that the usual way is okay with Jessica: it's open to readers worldwide, one entry per person, and I'll take entries for two weeks. The one variation from usual is about your email: it'll still just be used if you're the winner, but since I'm just hosting the giveaway for WowSoCool, I'll pass your email address on to her if you're the winner and she'll get your prize to you. No email addresses will be used in any other way. Here's the entry form, and I'll include it at the end of every post until it's over.

That's the update for now, Dear Reader. Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

Chanel Jade & Nubar Nail Gems

Happy Saint Patrick's Day, Dear Reader!

I'm a little bummed that I'm not getting ready to walk over to see the Chicago River dyed green and collect some St. Patrick's Day Beads (you get them by paying $2, not the Mardi Gras way), so I did the most chipper manicure I could: Chanel Jade with the addition of some Nubar Nail Gems.

After I posted about my love of nail jewelry decals last week, Nubar's PR lady offered me samples of theirs to review, and I got them Monday night. I'd bought a few packs a year or so ago and liked them a lot, so I enthusiastically accepted her offer, this time with the recent experience of using the Konad ones to compare. If you don't care about nail jewelry, I'll just get to the manicure pictures first so you can skip to the end, but for those who do like them, I wanted to show you what I have while there's a 20% off code today.

The manicure is three coats of Chanel Jade, which is such a cool green, and I used one packet of the Nail Gems on it. Unfortunately, I apply to my left hand first and didn't really get the hang of the wavy Nail Gems until my right hand, and I am completely inept at taking picture of my right hand (I tried, they're awful). So about 90% of the imperfection in the decals is due to user error - I took them off and reapplied several times on most nails. Still, I like the mani - it's happy.

Chanel Jade Nail Polish, Three Coats with Nubar Nail Gems

If you click on the picture for the big version, you can see where I messed up - my thumb and pinky are the only decals I applied only once, so those represent how they'd really look. I sealed them with a coat of Diamont. They're pretty different from the Konad decals: the Nubar ones have the plastic backing go a bit further out (a minus, to me), but the stones are much more delicate and feminine (a huge plus) and smaller (another plus). The Nubar ones have ten to a packet, one manicure, and are really well sized for each nail. So they're both pre-arranged stones on a plastic decal, but other than that, it's apples and oranges.

I took pictures of the packets sent to me to show you, but there was an incident in shipping. They also sent me some of their Nail Jewels, which turns out to be a product much more appropriate for a frankener than for me. The ones I got are hex glitter, and UPS was a bit rough with the package and two of the little plastic tubs of glitter broke in transit. I have hex glitter everywhere - it was leaking out of the UPS box and got into everything inside. When you see stray bits of hex glitter in the Nail Gems packets, they don't belong there - it was just my shipment mishap.

These are the ones I used today, kind of a wave pattern on aquamarine and clear rhinestones.

Nubar Nail Gems, Aquamarine Wave in Packet

These are neat ones. They're pear shaped fake amethysts with clear round accents.

Nubar Nail Gems, Amethyst Pear Shaped in Packet

This one's like round fake blue topaz and clear stones in a V shape.

Nubar Nail Gems, Blue Topaz V Shaped in Packet

This one has a cool shape - it's much rounder, and is a square clear stone with clear and yellow round accents.

Nubar Nail Gems, Square Clear in Packet

A gold heart underlined with graduated clear round stones is right up my alley.

Nubar Nail Gems, Gold Heart in Packet

Next is a teardrop fake blue topaz with round clear accents.

Nubar Nail Gems, Teardrop Topaz in Packet

The last is the most ornate, a round blue stone with a circle of tiny clear stones, then the side accents extend to the rest of the nail tip. I have to figure out a special use for this one.

Nubar Nail Gems, Ornate Topaz in Packet

My original intention had been to just show these to you one at a time by using them, which I'll do, but after Nubar tweeted a code for just today, I thought I'd give you a peek. This is just a sample of them - there were more on their site. The site can be challenging to navigate, so here's a link to these. They have a lot of other cool nail art stuff too, I saw in getting the link, like fake pearl and mirrored nail art stones - now I have my eye on those! I know not everyone's a fool for nail art toys like I am, but I thought I'd show you what I have for those who are.

The code I mentioned is 20% off of $30 or more, and is STPAT2030. When they have codes, I usually get a big refill bottle of Diamont and anything else I'm coveting to get free shipping too. With 20% off, the refills of Diamont are cheaper than Seche Vite at the etailers per ounce, and since I go through top coat like water, I need to get it cheap.

That's my Saint Patrick's Day manicure, more nail jewelry, and a sale. It's a good day, green river or no!

Until tomorrow, Dear Reader, I wish the luck of the Irish, love and nail polish to you!

Wow So Cool Code Now 30% Off!!!

Good morning, Dear Reader!

So 25% wasn't good enough for you, you say? Well now you've got 30% off at WowSoCool with code "nailphile"! The head lady at WowSoCool rocks. They were my original Konad place and treated me great before they knew I had a blog, shipping literally about two hours after I hit Send Order, and every order I've placed with them has been perfect.

Edited 09/25/09, 2:20 PM Central Time

Redacted Per 3rd Party Request

I am loyal to WowSoCool - they're honest, and I love honest, small businesses.

I have more in store for you this afternoon, so until then, love and nail polish to you!

EDITED TO ADD

In the comments below, the was the suggestion that a particular blogger was accepting kickbacks, and she came here to confirm that she is not (Scrangie). Please don't just assume another blogger is. If you're wondering about another blogger and kickbacks, just email her and ask her. That's really all you can do. I just wanted to share my own experience with you, Dear Reader. I can't speak for anyone but myself - my own experience is all I have to share with you. That said, I'm going to do some swatches for you, which I'll have this afternoon.

Wow So Cool Code Now 25% Off!!!

Good evening again, Dear Reader! I thought I was done, then I got an email from WowSoCool. They're boosting the discount of the "nailphile" coupon code from 20% off to 25% off! I didn't ask why, I just said, "Thanks!"

The same conditions apply - no minimum, free shipping over $20 after the code's applied, and the build-your-own kit is the only exclusion (and that's just because it's already really discounted).

Just so it's a real post, I'll show you pictures... On a message board today, we were showing some of our favorite Konadicures. Here's one of my all-time favorites.

That really should be all for today, Dear Reader. Until tomorrow, love and (deeply discounted) nail polish to you!

Let's Get Started, Nubar Code & BTO

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I'm just taking a little break from packing, and a code from Nubar got me to post: they're doing 10% off $50 or more through Monday with code FLAG1050.

The "Let's Get Started" part is about the poll on the upper right. There's been enough interest in a little, private, G-rated (but with swearing allowed...) message board to get started on one. Just email me some info and I'll get it going: if you just know me from here, the name you use to comment, or if your know me from elsewhere, the forum and your username there. So we all know who's who in the zoo, I was thinking of keeping the usernames to same, and I'll reply to you with a password and we'll get going.

Since I'm on and off and there's more interest than I expected, I'll just start adding users as I can, and I'll be sending out the replies once I'm back online in the new place, which should be on Tuesday or Wednesday. If you have questions or want more info, don't hesitate to contact me. The primary functions would be to for us to help each other with international purchases and have some fun conversation since we seem to miss each other in the Chat here a lot. We have some cool, funny people here, and I think we'll have a good time!

Just so it's a real post, here's a picture of OPI's Black Tie Optional.

That's all for now, Dear Reader. Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

Nubar Coupon Code: 15% Off $30+

Hello again, Dear Reader!

I'm dragging my feet getting out of here. One last check of everything, and I just received a Twitter update (a Tweet? I'm not cool and don't know what the kids call these new-fangled things!) from Nubar with a 15% off of $30 or more. The code is "tweet15," and is good today only.

You've seen most of my Nubar stuff, Scrangie, The Polish Addict, Michelle at A Stroke of Color, and Jinnzor at Polish Pixie are all Nubar fans as well. I'm sure I've missed others and apologize for that, these are just the ladies I know are fans of Nubar and have swatches on their blogs.

Now I have to hit the road! Happy hauling, and until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!

Nubar Conserve the Garden Konadicure

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I'm finally getting caught up on posting pictures. This time, I have today's actual KOTD for you.

I've been trying to hold off on using my Nubar greens until everybody can have them, but I'm weak. Conserve was sitting on my shelf just staring at me, calling out to me, for the last few days, and I finally cracked and used it. I simply had to!

I only had twenty minutes before I had to leave this morning when I started my manicure, so I just removed the old, did a coat of Nu Nails, two coats of Conserve, topped it with Diamont, and ran out the door. I got to my destination, and the receptionist just stared at my nails for a moment and commented on what a fantastic color it is. Then I met with my lawyer (who always has a short acrylic French mani with perpetual tip wear), and she told me what a spectacular color it is. How fun!

I stopped to pick something up on my way home, and the cashier commented on it as well (and asked if I really do my nails every single week - ha!). The real kicker was when I made one more stop at a little nail salon to see what there was to see, and both manicurists complimented Conserve. Five compliments in one day, let alone on just a plain mani rather than nail art, is now my personal record. Yay!

Once I got home, I decided to take a little Konad break before I went about doing some work. I thought I'd make a little garden scene. I started with a floral pattern from Konad plate M67 using White Konad Special Nail Polish offset at the cuticle, then added a butterfly coming in for a landing to my tips from Konad plate M26 using Yellow Konad Special Nail Polish. I took pics outside in the somewhat hazy sunlight to show you the wicked shimmer the base nail polish has.

I've come to the conclusion that even though they can be a little messier to work with, I really do generally prefer Konad nail polishes for stamping. The only difference I can tell between the Special and Princess polishes is the shape and volume of the bottle and the color selection. The stamps just come out more opaque, crisp, and clean than when I use regular nail polish. The exceptions to that would be chromes, holos, and for silver and gold I favor Orly Dazzle and Orly Glitz to any others I've tried. Using the new Princess Nail Polishes I recently got has reminded me how much better they really are.

On the topic of Konad polishes, check them out at Wow So Cool. That's where I got my recent haul, and it was 20% off with code "nailphile" (it applies to plates as well), and shipping's free over $20. I strongly recommend the Princess Polishes - they've added some seriously hot colors, and they're a little bit cheaper per ounce than the Princess Polishes. I've bought almost all of my Konad supplies from Wow So Cool, and they've never failed me. This last batch of Princess Polishes has me all fired up about Konad again, even more than getting new plates has in the past. I'm having a blast!

That's all for today, Dear Reader. Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!

Essie Punchy Pink and Then Some!

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I was reasonably happy to find my nakey nails in decent shape this morning. They have a tiny bit of staining from the dark blue using Dazzle Dry Base Coat rather than the Nu Nails that's been saving them, but just a tiny bit. Since I have no breaks in the skin on any of my fingers, I might just soak my nails in peroxide today or tomorrow to see if I can get rid of the little staining I picked up.

After a few manicures of blues and greens, I was up for a nice pink this morning, and thought to myself, "If I'm using a pink, why not use the most retina-searing pink nail polish I have?" That, Dear Reader, is Essie Punchy Pink from the Essie 2009 Neons.

Then I thought, "If I'm going with the most retina-searing pink I have, why not Konad the hell out of it?" So I did. I made it way over the top, using the "girl" pattern and a lace pattern from Konad plate M71 with Konad White Special Nail Polish.

The base with the Essie took five (yes, five) coats to be opaque and even. If I'd had some caffeine running through my veins, I would have thought of using a coat of white under it, which would have limited the Essie to two to three coats, but alas, in the interest of better application, I held off on the coffee. But Diamont did not let me down - I was stamping away in under ten minutes.

I know some people have the initial reaction that Diamont's too expensive, but if you use the refill bottles (which I do), it's just a few cents more per bottle than Seche Vite is from the etailers. I get the smaller 8 oz bottle of Diamont for $40, which comes out to $2.50 per 0.5 oz bottle, and the 4 oz + 0.5 oz kit of SV is about $2.19 per bottle from Trans Design. To get something that's faster drying, causes no shrinkage or tipwear, and is basically bulletproof (six days is my record for a mani with it, no refresher, chips or tipwear and changed out of boredom), I'll pay $0.31 more. Also, Nubar's running a promo through tomorrow where you get a free bottle of Diamont & their base coat (not Nu Nails, their B3F equivalent of Stickey) with orders of $50 or more, which works out better than 25% off a $50 order, so if you've been tempted to try Diamont but thought it was too expensive, now's a good time to go get the little bottle to refill as a freebie if you missed out on the last sale and have a Nubar wishlist. It's also the only top coat I can use over Konad polish withut smudging (with the exception of Konad Black Special Nail Polish, which is the devil!!!), so I really doubt that I'll stray to something else. I said I wouldn't stray from SpaRitual Tout de Suite and it took a lot of arm-twisting to get me to, but I think I really mean it this time!

I'm rambling, I'm sorry - I still need that caffeine! I'll just stop that and show you the pictures... I wasn't able to capture the true retina-burning quality of the color this time, but trust me, it is! These show the tone well, and then imagine that in Day-Glo.

I told you it was over the top! I can't help it. I just love that "girl" profile stamp for some reason, and I also love the lace pattern I used, both from Konad plate M71. M71 also has another really nice lace pattern that I like, but I generally end up picking this one instead. The other has tiny little bows embedded into the lace - I'll have to use it to show it to you soon.

That's another deal going on I'll mention, and long as I'm so damn chatty and telling you about deals on things I use: WowSoCool, my one-stop shop for all things Konad, is offering 20% off everything but the already-discounted Build You Own Kit with coupon code "nailphile," and they ship for free over $20. Once of the reasons I'm a WowSoCool gal is that they've always sent me shipping notification within about two hours of hitting Send Order (for many, many orders before they knew I had a blog, so it isn't special treatment). They've also never screwed up an order of mine at all. I love them. They haven't set an end date on the code, as they'd never done one before and were going to just see how this one goes, so if you have a long wishist of plates or Konad Special Polishes, it's a good time to get them. I'm set on plates (as you probably noticed!), but I prefer Konad Special Nail Polish for white (most opaque), pastel green, green, yellow, and I just looked at the site to verify names to find they have more Princess Special Nail Polishes!!! Uh-oh. Some of them look really cool, but I'll concern myself with that in a minute, the ones I know I love of the Princess are Psyche Pink & Blue Pearl (those are the two Coraline ones I use a lot), and Light Gray. The only once I have in the Princess bottle is Light Gray, and the difference between it and the Special Polishes seems to be bottle shape, volume (slightly more in Princess), and nothing else.

I'm going to go load up on some Princess Special Nail Polishes now - some of the new colors look fantastic! Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

Matte Nail Polish & More

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I got an email from Zoya yesterday with some news: they're coming out with three LE matte shades. The colors are Loredana, a gunmetal gray matte shimmer; Dovima, a black matte shimmer; and Posh, a wine matte shimmer. They're scheduled to be released on July 1. Here's the promo image they sent.

The only potential down side is that the email said they're not to be used with a base or top coat. Obviously not a top coat, but no base coat with black and wine polishes? I fear staining... I'm interested enough to try them, but I'll definitely cheat and put them over Nu-Nails. I've been using the Nu-Nails religiously, growing out my stains, so I can have an "After" picture to follow up that gross nakey one I showed you a few weeks back. I don't think I can be swayed into putting black or wine over my freshly unstained nails...

I have more matte nail polish for you today, too. A while back, I showed you Nubar V For Men top coat over black, and I've been meaning to try it over red ever since. This email prompted me to give it a go - after all, July 1 is a long way off! I used three coats of Nubar Sexy red, then topped it with V For Men, which is a quick dry top coat. It dries the polish about as fast as Diamont, so I just used it on its own without another top coat under it. After seeing the Zoya promo image, I'd like to try it over a wine shimmer next. In any case, V For Men is the reason I will never pay $22 for KO polish. This stuff is $9 and makes any color I want matte. I certainly concede that KO's bottle is cool, but it's not $22 cool to me...

Here's Sexy Red with V For Men.

In the title, I also promised you more. That's today's Nails of the Day, China Glaze's Watermelon Rind. I've been meaning to use this one for some time, but I know it taks three thick coats, so I've put it off. Not today! I finally used it. I like it, both the color and the glass flecked finish.

I thought I'd remind you of coupon codes today too, Dear Reader. WowSoCool (Konad supplies of all kinds) is giving you 20% off all orders and free shipping over $20 with code "nailphile" with no end date set (YAY!!!), and Nubar is giving you 20% off orders of $50 or more with free shipping over $75 through tomorrow with code "MAY092050." The free shipping for both is based on the total after the discount is applied. In yesterday's post, I gave you some Nubar inspiration with some of my favorites (link on the right side of the page under Archives), and for Konad, there's a tab at the top of the page for the WowSoCool coupon code that's a post with some of my favorites from them. Have at it!

That's all for now, Dear Reader. Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

Nubar Inspiration for the 20% Off Sale

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I was reading Scrangie a little bit ago, and saw she was good enough to post inspirational pictures for you for the Nubar 20% Off $50+ code, which is good through Friday (MAY092050). I thought I'd do the same for you, since searching my blog for Nubar nail polish will yield eighteen zillion results. I thought I'd just give you some favorites to look at.

I'll start with one of their classics, Indigo Ocean, which I misleabeled (oops!). There's no top coat on this yet, just two coats of color over a base, but you can see the reflection of the camera - it's really shiny.

I added one coat of the best glitter of all time, Angelic Glitter to it. It's like Esssie Starry Starry Night really amped up.

Then there's Isis Purple with more of the decals - the decals are Nubar Nail Gems. They rock.

Here's where we go to The Vault for pictures, so my nails will go long, short, long, short... please forgive that and just gaze at the pretty colors! I just published the California Dreamin' Collection, and every one of those is noteworthy. So is Peacock Feathers, another absolute classic that took a lot of pictures to even give you a sense of.

My favorite yellow creme, opaque and even in two coats, is Lemon Sorbet.

Green Tea is another one from the Pastel Fever Collection that is really unique, also good in two coats.

From Get Hot with Nubar, Hot Green is truly a winner. This is two coats without a top coat.

So's Hot Blue, also two coats without a top coat.

Here are some of my all time favorite duochromes, two coats each.

Indigo Illusion. That is all.

Big time classic: Purple Beach

Moonshadow - I think this is my #1 favorite duochrome. It definitely doesn't get enough love - I think it should be up there with Purple Beach.

Gold Leaf

Sun Gold

Dreamer's Island

And how could it be a Best of Nubar post without any Liquid Metals?

Unfaithful Red. Look at how it glows!

And of course, Black Chrome.

That's it for today, Dear Reader. Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!