Forever 21 Nailpolish Review + Swatch: Green

This is the first polish I picked up from Forever 21.

The shade I'll be reviewing today is "Green" ($2.80). On the Forever21 website I saw it labeled as "Olive Green":

This is a beautiful creme forest green shade, not olive green as the name may suggest. I've been searching for a similar color everywhere to add to my collection, even though this doesn't exactly scream Spring.



I got a few other polishes and will be reviewing. Some I liked, some I didn't, but I LOVE this nail polish!The consistency is a bit thick but:

• It dries quick;
• Only took 2 coats to receive an almost opaque coverage.

I don't think I'd change anything about this and it will also be of great use when Konad-ing. 

If you like their polishes, I suggest ordering online since you get so much more variety. In stores you're likely to find just 10 shades at most.

Have you tried any Forever21 nail polishes? Love 'em or hate 'em?

ZOYA Smoke & Mirrors Fall 2011

I haven't been this excited about a nail polish collection in ages, so as soon as I just I had to share. Zoya Nail Polish presents 12 enticing and mysterious new colors for fall 2011. Smoke & Diamonds feels like it couldn't come sooner: finally a non pastel collection, as we move away from bright summer colors into fall.

Even though we don't have season changes where I live and it's always hot and sunny, I still feel like I follow color trends around the world.

Zoya Smoke Collection

• Jana (ZP564) - smoky mauve quartz cream
• Petra (ZP565) - smoky eggplant mauve cream
• Codie (ZP566) - smoky brown taupe cream
• Anja (ZP567) - smoky palatinate purple cream
• Cynthia (ZP568) - smoky Prussian blue cream
• Dree (ZP569) - smoky camouflage green cream

Zoya Mirrors Collection

• Nimue (ZP570) - smoky rich thistle metallic
• Marina (ZP571) - smoky steel blue metallic
• Tao (ZP572) - smoky slate gray metallic
• Yara (ZP573) - sparkly olive green metallic
• Neeka (ZP574) - sparkly amethyst purple metallic
• Jem (ZP575) - sparkly fandango pink metallic

My favorites are without a doubt: Jem, Dree and Yara. I'm a sucker for khaki green and browns, but would gladly buy the whole collection.

Which are your favorites? Do you go with nail color trends or do you just wear what you feel like? 

The collection by Zoya will be available on July 15th 2011 (USA).
Sug. Retail $8.00 per 0.5 fl. oz. bottle (US)

Zoya Nail Polishes: Sunshine And Summertime Collection

Zoya Nail Polish presents two new collections with six new metallics and six new creams for summer 2011... Sunshine and Summertime!

ZOYA SUNSHINE COLLECTION

• Reva (ZP546) - A cool toned strawberry red with glowing golden metallic sparkle. A very rich and luxurious looking gilded red.
• Kimmy (ZP547) - Gleaming metallic candy apple red brightened by gold sparkle. Not your usual red shimmer- this one has a fiery attitude.
• Apple (ZP548) - Luminous yellow-toned apple green packed with gold metallic sparkle. A dimensional green that's clean and bright.
• Tanzy (ZP549) - Light, bright tangerine orange with yellow gold metallic sparkle. A sunny orange that's easy to wear year-round.
• Rica (ZP550) - Warm light coral with pink and orange tones and heavy gold metallic sparkle. An alternative to flat corals for when you want to shine.
• Faye (ZP551) - A bronzed mauve with purple and brown undertones flooded with right gold sparkle. A unique gilded shade that will work in any season.

ZOYA SUMMERTIME COLLECTION

• Sooki (ZP552) - Bright, clean, crisp cool cherry red cream with a subtle jelly finish. For an irresistible, attention-grabbing red nail.
• Tamsen (ZP553) - Medium warm brick red with strong orange tones with an opaque cream finish. A special red that is both enticing and mysterious
• Areej (ZP554) - Pink with an opaque cream finish. A pink for when you want a bold pop of color but not something neon-bright.
• Kieko (ZP555) - Warm, red toned dusty light purple with berry tones with an opaque cream finish. A nice alternative to pure pink or berry, especially flattering on warm skin tones.
• Mira (ZP556) - Blue toned medium purple with dusty lavender tones and an opaque cream finish. For a muted yet colorful purple that isn't too dark.
• Breezi (ZP557) - Soft, dusty, medium cerulean blue with an opaque cream finish. A super chic high-fashion denim look for nails.

Ultra long-wearing, glossy nail lacquers by Zoya are free of harmful industrial chemicals like toluene, camphor, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, dibutyl phthalate (DBP) that are known to cause cancer and birth defects.

Sunshine and Summertime by Zoya, available March 21, 2011
Sug. Retail $8.00 per 0.5 fl.oz. bottle (US)

Zoya Nail Polishes: ModeMattes

Zoya is the new color of fashion... The ZOYA color experts have done it again! Introducing three new LIMITED EDITION (LE), exclusive modmattes LE* shades for summer 2011...

The incredible Zoya modmattes LE* shade collection has been expanded with three new LIMITED EDITION beauties. Get all of the color, none of shine with modmattes LE*, Zoya’s exclusive blend resulting in utterly wearable and truly stylish matte nail polish.

Zoya Nail Polishes are free of harmful industrial chemicals like toluene, camphor, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, dibutyl phthalate (DBP) that are known to cause cancer and birth defects.

You can buy Zoya modmattes LE* at www.zoya.com starting on the 21st of March 2011. These babies usually retail for around U.S. $8

Do you dig matte nail polishes? 

Spring 2011 Nail Polish Trends

What do you think the hottest trends will be for Spring and Summer 2011?

Deborah Lippmann Nail Polish in Naked, $16; Essie Nail Polish in Sand Tropez.

Tracy Reese for Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Barracuda, $6.99, available in February at drugstores nationwide; Priti NYC in Forget Me Not, $12.50, available at Priti NYC.

Chanel Le Vernis in Black Pearl, $25, available at Chanel; M.A.C. Champale Nail Polish in Very Important Platinum, $13, available at M.A.C

Dior Nail Vernis in Pink Boa, $21, available at Nordstrom; Priti NYC Nail Polish in September Charm, $12.50, available at Priti NYC.

Estee Lauder Pure Color Nail Lacquer in Violet Diva, $19, available in March at Estee Lauder; Priti NYC Nail Polish in Geisha Girl, $12.50, available at Priti NYC.

Source: Refinery 29: Hottest Spring Trends in Nail Polish

6 Fashion And Beauty Trends For 2011

Harper's Bazaar has made a compilation of their predictions for 2011 hottest trends to come, and here are a few of my favorite picks to look out for:

1. Must-Have Polish

Chanel's latest home-run nail shade (in 513 Black Pearl) is the equivalent of a shimmery smoky eye for the fingertips. We love its light-reflecting iridescent quality, which flatters all skin tones.

2. Tom Ford Returns

Tom Ford's highly anticipated comeback ushered in fabulous fashion. Get the look with his retro-futuristic shades.

3. Splashy Shoes

When Jimmy Choo celebrates, it's done in style. For its 15th anniversary, the brand has released a set of chic crystal-studded shoes.

4. The New It Girls
Here's a cheat sheet of the latest crop of pop culture's It girls: Ten-year-old Hollywood royal Willow Smith is rocking her way to the top, while up-and-coming French starlet Léa Seydoux is winning the hearts of audiences everywhere. Redheaded actress Jessica Chastain is a newbie on the film circuit. A-list arrivistes!

5. Scarlett Johansson's Bob
We're predicting Scarlett Johansson's modern, choppy bob will be the hottest cut of the spring season.

6. Neon Brights
Turn it on. Striking shades appeared everywhere, from the hot-pink lips at Jil Sander to the lacy acid ensembles at Christopher Kane.

Zoya Spring 2011: Intimate Collection

Temptations, whispers, dreams, secrets, illusions, liaisons, trysts... lingerie... kisses.

For Spring 2011 Zoya Nail Polish has come out with six new, elegant, full coverage yet revealing, metallics
and creams for Spring 2011 to rendezvous with. (Available January 15, 2011 @ $7 a bottle.)


The Zoya Intimate Collection was designed to recreate the custom looks developed for and inspired by the runways of New York Fashion Week - Spring 201, and features the following new shades:

• Marley (ZP542) - lavender pink with a whisper of metallic
• Dove (ZP541) - delicate, pale gray cream
• Caitlin (ZP540) - misty, moody gray violet cream
• Dannii (ZP537) - sparkling, enchanted orchid metallic
• Jules (ZP538) - soft, glimmering gold kiss metallic
• Gemma (ZP544) - mysterious green/purple duotone metallic

Swatches:

As usual, the ultra long-wearing, glossy nail lacquers by Zoya are free of harmful industrial chemicals like toluene, camphor, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, dibutyl phthalate (DBP) that are known to cause cancer and birth defects.

What do you think of this collection- will you be buying any?

I think the whole set just coordinates so well together, which makes it tempting to buy them all. But if my top picks would have to be Gemma, Marley and Caitlin!

China Glaze "Anchors Away" Spring 2011 Collection

Today I received information about China Glaze’s upcoming Spring 2011 collection called Anchors Away.

Let’s take a look at the collection:

ALL HANDS ON DECK
China Glaze Introduces 12 New Glitters And Crèmes For Spring 2011 Sail away this spring in 12 nautically-inspired colors from China Glaze. These bold and confident brights are reminiscent of a carefree natural getaway, with soft ethereal hues that inspire leisurely thoughts of sand and sea. Colors in this collection include:

• Life Preserver: Highly pigmented and luxurious poppy crème.
• Hey Sailor: Vibrant crème red.
• Ahoy!: Delightfully intense pink that flashes with reflective glass speck.
• First Mate: Sophisticated and rich navy crème.
• Starboard: Hip and playful green crème.
• Lighthouse: Multi-dimensional, bright yellow glass speck.
• White Cap: Whimsical and sparkling multi-dimensional white.
• Pelican Gray: High shine, cool toned grey crème.
• Sea Spray: Calming pale blue crème.
• Below Deck: A flirty mix of taupe and violet.
• Sunset Sail: Delightful peachy pink high shine crème.
• Knotty: Micro-particle beige shimmer.

This spring, take a relaxing trip to the shore and sail away with China Glaze. Stop and smell the sea breeze!

The China Glaze Anchors Away collection will be available in two 6 piece acetates, a 12 piece display, a 36 piece rack, and as open stock colors.

Are you looking forward to the Anchors Away Collection? I'm digging Ahoy!, Sea Spray and Knotty very much.
Below Deck looks like a perfect dupe of OPI Metro Chic (or also Rimmel Grey Steel)!

Nail Trends For 2010/2010

Not only do clothing trends evolve... it seems nail polish colors and styles also come and go out of fashion. Ok, maybe "going out of fashion" doesn't really exist in a polish junkies world, but there will be times that some nail designs and colors will be popping up more then others. What's exciting to me, is the fact that there are so many nail trends going on at once!

Below are the hottest trends in nail polish colors for 2010.




  1. Red – This isn't a new one. Red has always been a color that exudes sex appeal and femininity. Just like lipsticks the key is finding the right red for your taste and skin tone, but since it's fall I find dark reds are gaining more attention.

2. Glitter polishes - I used to hate these, because they're so hard to get off and though hard to admit, I used to find them tacky. That was until I saw some bloggers layering them over contrasting OR matching base colors. Love it.

3. Camouflage for nails--> Grays, Khaki's and Taupe's – For me this is a must have. I first began noticing the trend back in April when I saw Rihanna wearing a flesh toned/taupe polish and now it's everywhere - in shimmery and creme versions. I haven't seen many versions of jaw dropping Khaki polishes though, aside from the collection which was released by Chanel recently.

4. Autumn Hues – think orange, purple, brown and deep green.

5. The "Ruffian" or reversed moon manicure - this look was created by Creative Nail Design (CND) especially for the NYFW Ruffian Fashion show months ago. Since then everybody has been calling this manicure the Ruffian, but it isn't till recently that I've seen it popping up more frequently in the blogsphere.
How to "do the ruffian manicure": I think it looks the best as pictured above: matte dark polish wish a light metallic half moon. But obviously  you can experiment and tweak it to your own taste. The easiest way to do it would be to apply your metallic color first, then with french manicure guides finish with the darker color. Or... you can just free hand it if you have the patience.

6. Navy - This was hot in 2009 but so far the trend hasn't died out yet.


What are your favorite nail trends and which do you hope will make it into 2011?


(Polishes pictured:
Butter LONDON in Royal Navy
NARS 'Vintage' Nail Polish
NARS Nail Polish - Dovima
Givenchy Nail Lacquer in 172 Vintage Garnet
Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe Nail Color
CHINA GLAZE `Tis the Season Holiday 2010 Collection in Party Hearty
Chanel Khakis Nail Polish Collection for Fall 2010
MAC Venomous Villains Collection for Fall 2010
Orly Space Cadet - Cosmic FX Collection, Fall 2010)

KOTD: Lavender Leaves

I really wanted to do some Halloween inspired nails, but sadly don't have any themed stickers/konad plates. Booo. :( I might do a few Halloween colored ones though I guess.



Picture source: Nail Crack

NOTD: Mandarin Mambo

I've finally started experimenting more with my Konad plates, and by that I mean using more then just 1 color or image plate to attempt some real nail art. Using just one color can look great but after a while you just want to be more creative. Working with average sized nails also requires picking just the right sized patterns so you don't end up making them look shorter.
I think that's why the Konad M57 is my favorite and I'd recommend to anyone thinking about trying stamping.

What I used:

Vogue Fantastic nail polish in Mandarina

Colorbar nail polish in Raspberry (looks more frosty champagne)

Konad special nail polish in Red

Sally Hansen clear topcoat
Konad M57 and M21 plates

Konad: Sea Blue Siren

Here's an aqua blue KOTD I tried out. This was my first time trying out the M21 nail plate. The paint splat nail design is the whole reason I ordered this plate, but sadly I'm on the fence about it the end results.

What do you think?

Using: Konad M21 Plate, Wet N Wild White Creme Nail Polish, LA Colors in Sea Siren (one coat)

Mini review: I found this LA Colors Color Craze nail polish for only $1.50 (though you could probably get it cheaper) and was excited to run out to buy more. After using it more then once I realised that the consistency is way too thick. I like that it gives full coverage in just one coat and is so cheap, but dislike how difficult it is to remove/clean-up ---> mildly left my nails stained blue even though I only had it on for less then an hour.
That beign said, these polishes make horrible all over nail colors, but are perfect for Konad Nail Stamping.

KOTD: Lavender Lace

Last week I came across some cute nail polish colors by Vogue Fantastic. In case you didn't know, Vogue is a South American brand- made in Colombia. I'd secretly been holding off on posting swatches seeing as my nails are rather short at the moment, but then I decided I didn't really want to wait for weeks till they grew out. Once they do, I'll post updated pics and better Konad nail art looks.

I got 3 colors, my favorite has to be FRESH PETALS, a light purple hue, that reminds me so much of Mac's Limited Edition Lavender Whip lipstick. I have it on my toes too, and it looks slightly pink against my tan skin.

Paisaje, Fresh Petals and Mandarina

(I was really kicking myelf for buying Paisaje, since it comes with a nail art brush, not a nail polish one. I'll have to find an alternative brush for it I guess so it doesn't go to waste. So if you don't want nail art laquers, stay away from the pink bottle tops.)

Check out my Konad Look using Mandarina here.

Product claims:
"Long lasting, Fast drying and Glossy."

Pro's:

-relatively inexpensive

-a few cute colors

Con's:

-you'll need at least 2-3 coats to get good, even coverage.

-limited colors available

Newho, without further a do here is the nail swatch:

VOGUE Fantastic in Fresh Petals (23):

Oh yea, and it retails for about $2.50.

I used the Konad M57 Plate, my Wet N Wild White Creme Nail polish along with Vogue Fresh Petals to achieve this simple look- which is great for short nails:

KOTD: Purple summercat

It's summer and I've been going crazy with every bright nail polish in sight..Here's a purple Konad zebra/animal print I did... taken the day after.

Using: Jordana in "Black" and "Love Bug", Konad M78 plate



Konad M78



This plate was really easy to use and get fool proof results. It may be a problem for people who have really long nails though. Mine are short-medium lenght, but if they where a few millimeters longer the print may not have covered the entire nail.

Oriental KOTD

Before:

After:

Using: Jordana in "Grape" and "Black", Collection 2000 in "Spangles", M21 Plate, S4 Plate



Also, I just found out that as of March 2010, Konad suppliers have banned online sellers from giving out discount codes. Booo.. Just as I was getting excited to order my next batch of plates.

Hot Pink Zebras

I never was one who could be bothered to do her finger nails, but since I've gotten my hands on the Konad Nail Art system, I've been looking for excuses to change up my nail polish as much as possible, ha.

Of course, I couldn't NOT try out a hot pink zebra look:

I used 2 coats of Jordana Nailpolish in "Flamingo Pose" and "Black" and the Konad M57 Plate.
If you're an animal print lover like me, this is probably the one plate you really want to have in your collection. It also contains a cheetah print design. :)

As you may tell my ringfinger turned out a bit smudged and I didn't have time to do it over. (On camera it's much more obvious than in person... plus I'll probably make an excuse to re do my nails tomorrow.)

M57