Swatch - Zoya Tomoko

Woohoo! My very first Pixie Dust polish from Zoya. Before there was no intrigue in Pixie Dust for me because they didn't look as glitter-tastic as some of the OPI liquid sands I own. However, Zoya managed to come out with two textured polishes that captured my attention big time. One of these polishes is Tomoko, which is what I will be reviewing today.

Zoya Tomoko:
Champagne (silver with the slightest bit of gold to give the colour warmth) textured polish. The texture feels a little "sharper" (more rough, getting closer to fine grained sand paper) than liquid sands to me. This guy was on the sheer side, where at two coats you could see just a hint of VNL at some angles. As for sparkle factor this one sparkles beautifully in the sun and under warm lighting; but just has a soft twinkling under fluorescent light.

The pictures show two coats with no top coat.

Here is a blurry picture to show all the magnificent sparkles!

 Here is a picture comparing top coat versus no top coat (middle & pinky). VNL becomes more noticeable when you apply multiple top coats (2 very thick coats here) until a glossy finish. This becomes a full glitter polish with top coat and is real sparkly. Breath-takingly beautiful!

Specifications:
Formula - Good, easy application
Pigmentation - Okay, on the sheer side so apply thick coats or three coats
Dry time - same as average creams (faster than OPI liquid sand)
Removal - Easy

My first Pixie Dust is a hit! I love this polish! This guy is amazing in the sun and warm indoor lighting. So so beautiful! Can you tell how much I like this polish? Not to mention this is a nice neutral colour that will match just about anything. There is nothing negative to say about this polish except that it could be more pigmented. However, even that isn't much of an issue in my opinion. All in all, I will definitely be wearing this polish again and again.

Do you own any Pixie Dust polishes? Which brand of textured polishes do you like best?

Swatch - OPI Can't Find My Czechbook

How about a nice change up while we are getting into fall. Yes, browns, plums, reds are fitting for this season but a nice shock of colour never hurt anyone. Actually, I have been finding it rather difficult to judge just what season it is over here. On weekends it is warm but during the weekdays it seems to be cold. Very odd. Then again this probably has something to do with the fact that I hardly see daylight during the work week...that sounds kind of depressing so let's get on to polish!

Pst! You can find a comparison post on this polish here.

OPI Can't Find My Czechbook:
Robin egg blue cream. The polish was released this past spring as part of the Euro Centrale collection. There is a slight dusty quality to the colour making it slightly darker than the bottle colour. (The dustiness also does not show up in the bottle colour). This quality makes this shade more muted and wearable, in my opinion. Pictures show two coats without top coat.

Specifications:
Formula - Great, easy application, self-leveling
Pigmentation - Good, 2 coats
Shine - Yes
Prone to - Nothing
Staining - None
Removal - Easy

I usually do not go for blues, but lately have been crazy about them. This polish is no exception and is more flattering against my skintone than expected. CFMC isn't a unique colour but a great addition to any collection if you do not own something similar.

How do you feel about blue nail polish? Do you tend to gravitate more to a certain shade of blue?

NOTD - Neon Colour-Changing Maze

There is a fun manicure to be shown today! There's nail art stamping and colour changing polish all in one mani. This was super fun to wear in the summer (yes, I did this awhile back); not only due to the colour-changing polish but also the fun, bright colours. The stamping is atrocious on a couple fingers, but I am very pleased with the others. Hope you guys enjoy this mani~

Mani Composition:
Ruby Wing Green Peace and Poppy
Stamping was in OPI Black Onyx using Gals Fairy Set plate GA31

Pictures below show the index and middle finger exposed to the sun. The mani becomes so cool with the colour contrast! I especially love the green one.

Gosh, looking at these pictures makes me miss stamping. I should do some in the near future. Why, why must I need so much sleep! There would be so many more hours in a day for nails. Anyway, hope you guys like this mani as much as I did. I highly encourage you guys to do some nail art with these colour-changing polishes. It makes the nail art even more cool!

Have you incorporated colour-changing polish with nail art?

Dupe? - Fly Czechbook Room For Blues

A comparison of blue and torquoise polishes is what's in store today. This is a comparison I was really curious about while trying to decide whether or not to buy OPI Can't Find My Czechbook. So in case some of you out there are still contemplating (since the collection seems to still be widely available) this is for you guys!

Fly: dark turqoise cream. Looks green compared to the other two, much darker and much more green than CFMC. Originally, I was hesitant on buying CFMC because comparisons I saw made them out to be the same colour just very slightly different in shade. Turns out they are completely different colours.

Can't Find My Czechbook (CFMC): Robin egg blue creme, dusty/less vibrant, maybe has a barely-there green influence in colour but really I do not see any green at all for this colour. More milky (white) than NRFB. Looks muted next to NRFB.

No Room For The Blues (NRFB): more vibrant (not dusty at all) than CFMC, even though darker colour. Very different colour from CFMC. It is a mix of cornflower and cobalt blue.

Formula-wise they are all great, dry with a high shine and require two coats.


These three polishes are completely different. Once again the choice comes down to what type of colour you like. I am a total sucker for teals/turqoise so naturally my favorite is Fly. However, now that I see how muted CFMC really is, I find this blue much more wearable. Mid-toned blues have never got my heart racing because I don't like the way they look against my yellow-toned skin. NRFB is a beautiful colour that I wish matched my skintone better.

Which polish out of these three do you like? Do you own any of these polishes?

Nail Art - Minion Nails!

Today is a great day! Finally my lamp arrived for my newly made lightbox. This lightbox is larger than the one I have at home and has a cool feature...changing backgrounds! My boyfriend was able to cut a slit to allow the exchange of coloured paper, so I could have different coloured backgrounds for my pictures. How exciting right?! There is no greater way to debut this new lightbox than with Minion Nails!

I am a beginner in terms of nail art, so things never turn out as perfectly as I want. But once the minions' cute mouths were drawn on I couldn't be disappointed at my nail art. They were just too adorable!

Mani Composition:
Goggles - Color Club Revvvolution
Goggle band & Mouth - OPI Black Onyx
Eyes - OPI Alphine Snow, OPI Black Onyx
Overalls - Color Club Bright Night
Minion Skin - Nicole by OPI Hit The Lights





These were super cute! Their cute little faces made me real happy and melted my heart. I hope these little minions also made you guys smile~

Swatch - Orly Royal Navy

Hey everyone~ This one is a beauty today. Lately, I have been obsessing over these royal and evil eye blues that are really popular this year. I feel like I need to have every polish released in this colour category. Few weeks ago, Sally's was having a BOGO sale so I checked out my local Sally's. Unfortunately, their selection is not great and neither do they seem to keep up with recent collections. Therefore, the BOGO event turned out to be the perfect chance for me to get some more Orly's! I really liked Sparkling Garbage (used in this mani) and the price was too good to pass up. I'm happy to say I only bought colours unique to my collection. Today, I am reviewing one of the Orly's I got from Sally's BOGO event.

Orly Royal Navy
Dark royal blue jelly with blue shimmer. Odd thing about this polish is I do not see any VNL in real life, but the camera reveals it...weird. For a jelly, this polish is not sheer at all; very good pigmentation. Without top coat, this guy is unimpressive but with top coat? Oh boy, does it shine! You get incredible depth and shimmer with top coat!

Funny story with this is I applied this polish at a subway station while waiting for a friend. Ghetto, I know. I never thought I would be one of those girls who does a manicure in public, shame on me. Desperate times call for desperate measures my friends! Pictures show two coats with top coat.

Sorry for the blurry picture, but this lighting showed the shimmer in the polish well. Colour accuracy wise, the first two pictures are more accurate.

Specifications:
Formula - Thick, gloopy and a bit tough to spread resulting in thick coats
Pigmentation - Great, a one-coater if thick coat
Dry time - Slower than average
Shine - Between matte and rubberized finish (Top coat highly recommended!)
Wear - Tip wear in a day (but I was on vacation using my hands a lot)
Removal - Easy
Staining - Minimal to none, which is surprising

All in all, I'm very happy with this colour and will definitely be wearing it again. I can't get over how amazingly juicy it looks with top coat on; the transformation is day and night. If you love these dark, vibrant royal blues I highly recommend Royal Navy. You will not be disappointed.

Are you on the royal blue trend bandwagon? How do you like Orly polishes?

NOTD - Blue Jewels

Another Nail-Of-The-Day post for you guys~ I have been doing a lot of these skittlette mani's because I have been wearing regular mani's mostly for quite a few months now. This mani was truly spectacular and I didn't want to remove it, so I ended up wearing it for a whole week!

Most colour accurate for CC Bright Night 

Mani Composition:

Thumb & Ring - Color Club Bright Night (2 coats with top coat)

Index & Middle - OPI Tiffany Case (2 coats without top coat)

Pinky - Orly Sparkling Garbage (3 coats with top coat)

Each finger reminded me of a jewel. Holo and sparkling texture...of course...but the vibrant blue of Bright Night reminded me of a sapphire. Gorgeous! The colours of the polishes went really well together as well. There is a very good chance I will wear this exact same mani again because I love it so much!

How do you like this skittlette? Have you fallen in love with a mani of your own recently?