Assault & Battery

Today's post is my first tutorial!!! YAYYYYY!! Everyone asked for one, and this is for you!! Today's NAILS were inspired by the batteries I just bought for my clock. :-D Enjoy!!



I used American Apparel Hassid as a base, with Milani Sassy Brassy for the tops, and Sally Hansen All the White Stuff for the lettering. Topped it off with Seche Vite top coat.

Zoya Sparkle Collection

Good evening, Dear Reader!

As I mentioned this morning, I received samples of Zoya's Sparkle Collection for Summer 2010 yesterday, and so I'm back with swatches of them. As the name would suggest, all six are glitters, and I used two coats of each. They're not standard glitters, they're more like a ton of glass fleck bits in a matching base. The applications was about average, I'd say - it took a bit of effort on the first coat to make it thick enough to need only two coats, but it wasn't some giant ordeal or anything. The second coat went on well, the drying time is good, and the dry manicure I did with one is relatively smooth. The official release date of the Sparkle Collection is today.

I took the pictures in sunlight, and five are swatches, one is a complete manicure with top coat. I'll again use alphabetical order because there are just too many cool ones here to rank them by preference.

I'm leaving out the fact that they're glitters in describing the colors since I told you all six are the same and described the glitter above - I have faith that you can retain that information for the time required to read one page. Zoya calls all of these metallic in their descriptions, I would not. The base nail polish seems to have some shimmer (I just took one out and opened it to check), but it's hard to see clearly through all the glitter bits. I definitely wouldn't call these metallic though. You can decide for yourself what you think.

Alegra is a vivid fuchsia described by Zoya as "fuchsia pink sparkling metallic" (I almost matched the press release on that one!).

Zoya Alegra Nail Polish from the Zoya Sparkle Collection

Zoya Alegra Nail Polish, Two Coats

Charla is a real stunner, a bright teal which Zoya calls "tropical blue sparkling metallic."

Zoya Charla Nail Polish from the Zoya Sparkle Collection

Zoya Charla Nail Polish, Two Coats

Gilda is a striking hot pink which Zoya calls "fashion pink sparkling metallic" (another near match!).

Zoya Gilda Nail Polish from the Zoya Sparkle Collection

Zoya Gilda Nail Polish, Two Coats

Ivanka is another standout, a bright green described by Zoya as "mermaid green sparkling metallic."

Zoya Ivanka Nail Polish from the Zoya Sparkle Collection

Zoya Ivanka Nail Polish, Two Coats

Mimi, a royal purple, is the complete manicure with top coat. Zoya also calls this "royal purple..."

Zoya Mimi Nail Polish from the Zoya Sparkle Collection

Zoya Mimi Nail Polish, Two Coats

The last one, Nidhi, is a great red that Zoya calls a "rich red..."

Zoya Nidhi Nail Polish from the Zoya Sparkle Collection

Zoya Nidhi Nail Polish, Two Coats

Today you've seen both Sparkle and Flash from Zoya, and there's not a loser in the bunch. Sparkle, like Flash, is made up of a good variety of bold shades that still look like a collection when put together, and the finish of the Flash colors is unique. The official release date for both is today, and they're available on Zoya's site.

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

Zoya Flash Collection

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Yesterday I received samples from Zoya of their Flash Collection for Summer 2010, and I have swatches of them for you today, which is, as luck would have it, the official release date of the collection. Flash consists of six cremes, and all required two moderate coats to be opaque and even. Their application was nice - the formula is a bit thick, but not in a way that makes it hard to work with at all, and the dry time was good. Even though these are just swatches, I waited for the first coat to dry before applying the second, and the wait was short.

I took the pictures in sunlight, and I'll just use alphabetical order to present them to you - each is a good, solid color, so ranking them by preference would be a real challenge.

Dana is a vivid deep pink bordering of fuchsia, described by Zoya as "American rose cream." It's a bold color, definitely a shade I like, but at the same time is very wearable.

Zoya Dana Nail Polish from Zoya's Flash Collection

Zoya Dana Nail Polish, Two Coats

Jancyn is a medium orange leaning just a tiny bit toward yellow, like the color of a Sunkist orange. Zoya calls it "soft tangerine cream." It's an unusual shade of orange in a good way.

Zoya Jancyn Nail Polish from Zoya's Flash Collection

Zoya Jancyn Nail Polish, Two Coats

Zoya calls Jolene "summer pink cream," but I see it as a fabulous pink just a hair darker than Barbie pink, and is a very wearable color. Lately, I'm becoming more aware of how "wearable" colors are, for some reason - as a programmer, I don't work with the public, have generally been the only woman in my department (which made me the standard setter for what was appropriate) or worked from home, so it's always been "anything goes" for me. I'm beginning to give consideration to those for whom that is not true, and look at whether in a standard setting a nail polish would work, and for even the conservative, Jolene would fit the bill.

Zoya Jolene Nail Polish from Zoya's Flash Collection

Zoya Jolene Nail Polish, Two Coats

Maura is one heck of a tomato red with just a hint of orange, describe by Zoya as "electric crimson cream." This is the kind of red to which even I would have a hard time adding any kind of nail art, it's so strong on its own.

Zoya Maura Nail Polish from Zoya's Flash Collection

Zoya Maura Nail Polish, Two Coats

Perrie is a delicate lavender, and Zoya calls it "soft lavender cream." Hey, I matched one! I'm looking at the bottle and the picture to write my description first, one at a time, then getting the "official" description off the press release. Zoya and I are in complete agreement on Perrie!

Zoya Perrie Nail Polish from Zoya's Flash Collection

Zoya Perrie Nail Polish, Two Coats

The last color is Robyn, which is a vivid sky blue, a really gorgeous shade. Zoya calls it "perfect turquoise cream."

Zoya Robyn Nail Polish from Zoya's Flash Collection

Zoya Robyn Nail Polish, Two Coats

In general, I think that cremes are the hardest finish to apply nice and evenly, and all six in the Flash Collection applied with ease. As you can see, in two coats I did not have uneven patches or streaks, which is a huge plus. Additionally, although I enjoy pastels, I like the fact that all six shades in Flash are bold, and that there's tremendous variety within the collection, yet the colors still hang together as a collection well. I give Zoya's Flash Collection two well-manicured thumbs up.

That's what I have for you this morning, Dear Reader. I'll have more for you later - Zoya's Sparkle collection arrived as well, also with today as the release date, so I'll give you a peek at those too. Until then, love and nail polish to you!