Zoya PixieDust: London

So, I know this is not a new polish but it's been sitting in my polish drawer since it became available... I just never got around to wearing it. I tried using "Godiva" but the color payoff didn't please me. That doesn't mean I won't try it again however. SO! I will get on to the beautiful-ness that is London.

London.  Natural lighting.

 Zoya describes London as "fog gray with a sugared sparkle, in the exclusive Zoya PixieDust Matte Sparkle formula". They couldn't have nailed it more spot-on if they tried. I applied 2 thin coats & the coverage is amazing. Even with one coat it was a pretty foggy gray but I could still see my nail line. + I always do 2 coats anyway.

Swatch Info:

1. 2 Coats
2. No Base Coat
3. No Top Coat

London. No undies or top coat. Natural lighting.

 Zoya on the PixieDust application:

Do not use a base coat or top coat.
Apply 1-3 (for full coverage) thin coats of polish. 
Allow product to dry completely in between layers for full effect.
The PixieDust textured formula may take up to 10 minutes to dry down completely matte. Once dry, the textured finish is long lasting,  matte and ultra-glittery!

I didn't wait that long between coats... Just long enough to do the other hand & it seems to have turned out all right. My drying time didn't seem to be 10 minutes either.... I'm thinking MAYBE 5. & that's a BIG maybe.

 London's bottle has the same shape as any of the other Zoya polishes but it has a rubberized type of top. Why? Yes. In other words: not a clue why but it does. Since applying London, I then purchased Beatrix, Vespa, & Stevie to try! I will get back to trying Godiva once this one starts wearing off to see if I like it any better.

PixieDust's are $9 a piece from Zoya.com & come in an array of colors & apparently different "formulations" too. I'm putting this bad boy to the ultimate test: BAR TENDING. Constantly having to shove your hands in a bucket of ice, dealing with money, cleaning, stocking, & all the things that come with the territory can really wear on a girls mani -- even with a great top coat!

Until next time...

 

Valentine's Day Nail Tutorial

FOREWARNING: This post is heavily picture ladened. You have been warned.

Happy iheartyou day, everyone! I hope your loved one has treated you well & if you're single, I hope you treated yourself well today! No need to be sad on this "day of love" when you can be your own Valentine & spoil yourself rotten & make yourself feel beautiful with something as simple as a fun mani using drug store nail polish! What's that mean for you? Cheap beauty! Here's our arsenal:

 NYC #111 in Fuschia Shock Creme
Sinful Colors #101 in Snow Me White
Wet'n'Wild Wild Shine #424A in Black Creme
NYC Matte Me Crazy top coat
Small nail design brush {side note: I actually went to Walmart & in the arts & crafts section I pick up a 5 pack on brushes designed for miniature doll house painting. Works wonderful although the brushes are a little stiff}

First things first, make sure your nails are prepped, clean & ready to go! If not, remove any excess polish, clip, flip, whatever! The apply 2 coats of Sinful Colors "Snow Me White" to you thumb, middle, & pinky fingers.

 While the white is drying, take Wet'n'Wild's Wild Shine in "Black Creme" & apply two coats to your index & ring finger. This step is not neccessary if you use a thick coat but I like to apply thinner coats to get a nice even coating. Even one coat was good but I wanted to do 2 just to be safe.

 Now here comes the fun part! Take you thin nail art brush & the "Black Creme" again. Now we're going to draw the tic-tac-toe board on the thumb making x's in all the boxes except the 3 going diagonally.

 After we're done carefully placing our x's we're going to take NYC #111 in "Fuschia Shock Creme" & our small brush again. This time, we're going to draw a little heart in each empty square on our thumb as well as a big heart on them middle & pinky.

 & voila! Now the final step is optional, but I don't really like the look of high gloss black so I took NYC's "Matte Me Crazy" & did a nice coat on my index & ring finger to kind of offset the textures a bit.

See? Isn't that just the cutest little mani!? It's great if you're not too girly but still want to have a valentines day mani. What do you think? Would you rock it? If you do, show me pictures! Tag me on instagram: @JustaGirlx826 or hashtag me on twitter @JustaGirlx826 #vdayblogmani
xox.

Matte Me Crazy

Not sure why, but today feels like a "matte" day. I decided to use Lucky 107's "Elf Cookie" {currently unreleased as on the date of this post}. It's a pretty medium brown with a very obvious coppery-gold shift.

No Flash. Indirect Sunlight. No top coat.

See? Pretty on its own but I decided to go matte today & used NYC's "Matte Me Crazy" top coat just because I could!

No flash. Indirect Sunlight. "Matte Me Crazy" Top Coat.

I love that it doesn't lose the shift when it goes matte. (: Have you tried your nails matte before? What do you think? Matte or the normal glossy finish?