Zoya Ignite Fall 2014 Swatches!

 *Sent for review*

The Zoya Ignite collection is the fall nail polish collection I've been looking forward to the most. Something about the mix of colors with the shimmering finish really gets me excited for fall. Well, I can tell you that these beauties did not disappoint! All but one of these was perfectly opaque in two coats and a breeze to apply. I will point out the only one that needed 3 coats when I get to it.

Zoya India is a "deep, luxurious red with a gold liquid metallic shimmer" according to Zoya. That's a perfect description. India is a very luxe looking rich red, with a smattering a gold shimmer. This one really makes me think of Christmas. I will definitely be pulling it out around then!

Zoya Yuna is my second favorite of the Ignite collection. Yuna is a warm, smoky grey with gold and copper shimmer. The mix of gold, copper and warm grey makes it look a little greenish grey in some lights, and I love that. I don't think I captured the greenish effect as strongly in the photos, but it's there in person. You can see a bit of it on the ring and pinky nails in the picture above.  

Yuna is really unique and I think it's a must have for any grey polish lover. It's not really a neutral, conservative grey, but I like that!

I am a big sucker for copper polish year round, but especially in the fall. It's no surprise that I love Zoya Autumn. Autumn is a glowing copper with gold shimmer. The gold shimmer in this one is really neat. You can almost see each piece of shimmer mixed in with the copper base. I included the picture below even though it's a bit blurry because I think it shows off the gold shimmer.

Autumn is perfect for a fall collection. It's named Autumn and it's the color of the leaves falling from the trees. It makes me think of pumpkin picking and apple cider! In fact, I will probably wear this pumpkin picking.

Zoya Sansa is a deep blue-based purple with gold shimmer. The gold shimmer in this looks more gold in the bottle. On the nail, it looks like a white gold shimmer, maybe just a hint of yellow gold. Zoya calls Sansa a "deep eggplant with gold metallic sparkle". It is seriously sparkly!

I did need three coats of Sansa. As always, I will tell you that I do thin coats, so you may be fine with two. I just found the first coat to be a little streaky, and though the second coat was near opaque, I thought the third coat would really bring out the beauty of the polish. The formula was great, just like the others. These are a really nice consistency and very easy to work with.

Zoya Teigen is a pinkish red with copper shimmer, or as Zoya calls it a "pink-toned cranberry with copper liquid metal". Teigen looks very fuchsia on me, maybe like a bright cranberry. The copper shimmer is very apparent in the bottle, but once it's on the nail, it looks kind of like a paler gold shimmer. Teigen is bright enough that I feel like I could still wear it now, while I'm wearing summer shades, but it's also a lovely year round polish.

And now for my favorite of the bunch and a polish that will live on my nails this fall (and I might possibly need a back up!), Zoya Remy. Remy is a gorgeous jewel-like indigo with gold and copper shimmer. As in Yuna, the combination of gold and copper results in a greenish tinge sometimes. In some lights, Remy looks almost like a blackened teal. Blue is probably my favorite polish color, it's certainly the color I own the most of, and Remy has just shot straight to my #1 blue. If you like blue polish, get this now. If you're thinking it looks similar to other blue shimmers you might own, think again. Remy has much more dimension and it much richer than any other blue shimmer I have.

I just had a craving to see Remy with matte top coat, so here you are! You can kind of see a hint of that greenish tinge I mentioned in this picture. I love it shimmery and matte!

*Sent for review*

The Zoya Ignite collection definitely lives up to my high expectations. I love this collection and there isn't a bad polish in it. Typically, I tell you my favorites of the collection, although I feel a bit silly this time since my favorites are most of the collection! They are Remy, Yuna, Autumn and Sansa. But I wouldn't want to leave India and Teigen behind either! Well done Zoya!

The Zoya Ignite collection is available now at Zoya.com.

OPI Finishes Up Strong with The New (and final) Glam Slam!

Sadly, we've reached the end of OPI's Serena Williams Glam Slam! duos. On a happy note, the last of the duos absolutely ROCKS!!!! This duo is available this month to coordinate with the US Open, taking place in New York. This may be my favorite of the OPI Glam Slam! duos, and I have really loved the others! I'm only missing the first one, Simply Smashing and Black Shatter. I couldn't find it anywhere when it was released. Anyway, on to the pictures!!!

OMG THIS POLISH IS SO GORGEOUS!! Pros & Bronze just entered my Top 10 for 2011 list, probably Top 5. This is one seriously awesome polish, thank you OPI! Pros & Bronze is a bronze foil packed with pink, gold, bronze and iridescent particles. These particles make it look kind of duochrome-like at times, flashing pink, gold and bronze. It is totally unique in my collection. This is one of those cool polishes that you can really see every single particle that makes up the color. See my macro shot to understand what I mean. This looks like glitter from a distance, but it is quite smooth and flat. You glitter haters will probably appreciate this as a way to get the look of glitter without the PIA! Removing this was cake, unlike glitter.

This one was a little sheer, this is four coats (and worth every coat). When I did my right hand to wear this as a full mani, I only did three coats and it looks fine. I just wanted it to photograph well, so I did the extra coat. Aside from needing three/four coats, the formula on this was excellent. Foils sometimes can be patchy, but not this one. Pros & Bronze dries pretty quickly too, so three coats isn't a bother. Look at how shimmery it is indoors and in low light (below)! And make sure you click to enlarge my macro shot!!! Drooooool!

Next up is Love Is A Racket. This is a really BRIGHT maraschino cherry red with flakie glitter!! I'm telling you, all you need to do to sell me on a polish is say "flakie glitter" LOL. This was a bit hard to capture on camera, it's much brighter and glitterier in person. I really love this polish, the color and the fact that it contains flakie glitter.

Love Is A Racket had a nice smooth formula. I have no complaints about application. This is three coats, although I would probably wear two on shorter nails/if I wasn't photographing the polish.

The press release for this duo mentioned the idea of layering Pros & Bronze over Love Is a Racket, so I took some pictures of that as well. This is amazing looking! I highly recommend trying this if you buy the duo. I did a heavier coat on my index finger and lighter coats on the others. This is just one coat of Pros & Bronze over three coats of Love Is A Racket.

Glam Slam! U.S. will be available beginning August 2011 at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and ULTA. I hear it's already been spotted at Ulta. I predict this set will sell fast, so grab it now!

These polishes were sent to me for review by a PR agent for OPI. For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy.

Nicole by OPI Fall 2011 Target Exclusives!! (Part Two)

Today I have the other two polishes from the Nicole by OPI fall Target exclusives. I was going to say that Part Two was the better part of this collection, but I actually can't decide. I really like all four of these! These two polishes, It's Not Me, It's Blue and I Love You Cherry Much had nice formulas for the most part. I Love You Cherry Much was near perfect, very nice. It's Not Me, It's Blue applied nicely, but was maybe a tad more sheer than I would like. HOWEVER, I would apply 8 coats for that polish because it's so amazing. Read on for more!



It's Not Me, It's Blue was described in the press release as a "pretty periwinkle". That's all fine and dandy, but it seriously does not do this polish justice! This is a gorgeous steely blue-gray, with maybe a tad of the aforementioned periwinkle, with a TON with shimmer. This is another cool polish where you can practically see all of the individual shimmer particles. The shimmer particles seem to be all different colors. I can see silver, blue, maybe something like pink or red, and like a purple-y color. I don't own anything like this beauty.





Now, I would wear It's Not Me, It's Blue at three coats. However, this is the kind of polish that looks sheer on camera, so I did four coats for these pictures. Unfortunately, it still looks sheer in some of these. It was absolutely opaque in person. And gorgeous. I believe you all need this when it hits stores in August!





I Love You Cherry Much is a very interesting cherry red shimmer. It's like maraschino cherries really, not plain cherries. The fine people at Nicole by OPI really like their prominent shimmer, and I am glad they used it again in this polish! The shimmer particles are very large and iridescent. They are all the same shape and size, but they are iridescent like flakies. Basically, they remind me of toned down flakies. Which is TOTALLY cool.





I used three coats of I Love You Cherry Much for these pictures, but again, I would wear it at only two. Great formula on this one, no complaints at all.





Overall, these Nicole by OPI Target exclusives are really pretty and also relatively unique in my collection! I definitely do not own any exact dupes for any of the four polishes. The press release said these will hit stores in August, so definitely go check them out then.

These polishes were sent to me by a PR agent for Nicole by OPI. For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy.

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Come Tiptoe Through My OPI Nice Stems! Swatches!

OPI Come to Poppy

OK so there aren't any tulips in the OPI Nice Stems! collection, but there are pink peonies, dahlias, and poppies! Nice Stems! is the OPI summer release sparkling into your town with three different pinks and a glittering pink top coat. I was surprised to find myself loving these colors! I'll explain as we go along...

OPI Come to Poppy

OPI Come to Poppy

First up we have the lovely Come to Poppy. Come to Poppy is a shimmering coral pink with excellent pigmentation. I found this to be very nearly opaque in one coat! I did two coats to really bring out the color, but I'm sure my mom will sport this with just one coat. There is so much shimmer in this gorgeous color! Come to Poppy also has a lovely smooth formula and has no brushstroke problem despite the shimmer.

OPI Come to Poppy

OPI Come to Poppy

OPI Come to Poppy with OPI I Lily Love You topcoat

OPI Come to Poppy with OPI I Lily Love You topcoat

Come to Poppy looks even prettier with two coats of I Lily Love You, the glitter top coat in the collection. I Lily Love You has gorgeous iridescent small glitter, along with large flakes of confetti-like, holo party glitter. I took some of these pictures on a weird angle because I felt you couldn't see the iridescence of the glitter in the straight on pictures. It's really beautiful in person! I think I Lily Love You is best suited for a top coat, as it would take many coats for it to give full coverage. Over the pinks in this collection, it really looks amazing.

OPI Come to Poppy with OPI I Lily Love You topcoat

OPI Come to Poppy with OPI I Lily Love You topcoat

OPI Play the Peonies

OPI Play the Peonies

OPI Play the Peonies

Next we have Play the Peonies, a bright white micro-shimmer tinged with pink. This polish is an excellent way to wear white in the summer and avoid the streaking and starkness that usually comes with white polish. This also applied very smoothly and streak-free. OPI's formula is really great lately and the Pro-Wide brush is making the application of pale colors like this so easy. I love Play the Peonies alone and will definitely wear it like this in the summer when I have a (fake) tan. This is three coats, but I would probably wear two if I weren't taking pictures.

OPI Play the Peonies

OPI Play the Peonies

OPI Play the Peonies

OPI Play the Peonies with I Lily Love You

While I love Play the Peonies alone, I think something magical happens when you layer I Lily Love You over it! I Lily Love you has a sheer pink jelly-ish base that adds a cool dose of color to Play the Peonies, not to mention sparkle!

OPI Play the Peonies with OPI I Lily Love You

This look makes me hungry... for birthday cake or something. I think it reminds me of Funfetti! LOL. Yummmmm!! I love everything about this combination!

OPI Play the Peonies with OPI I Lily Love You

OPI Play the Peonies with OPI I Lily Love You

OPI Be A Dahlia, Won't You?

OPI Be A Dahlia, Won't You?

OPI Be A Dahlia, Won't You?

Last, but oh so definitely not least, is Be A Dahlia, Won't You? Be A Dahlia is a super bright fuschia sparkler with a texture kind of similar to Zoya's sparkling metallics. I think the sparkle in this in a bit smoother looking though, it's really nice. This was the sheerest of these three polishes, but it's still pretty opaque in three coats. Great formula again, I just really can't complain about OPI's current formula. Whatever they're doing, they should keep it up!

OPI Be a Dahlia, Won't You?

OPI Be a Dahlia, Won't You?

And of course, this looks FABULOUS under I Lily Love You! I am actually wearing it as a full mani right now, because I couldn't bear to take it off. Be A Dahlia is so bright and sparkly and I Lily Love You looks like a party, so this is a winner for me.

OPI Be A Dahlia, Won't You with OPI I Lily Love You

OPI Be A Dahlia, Won't You with OPI I Lily Love You

OPI Be A Dahlia, Won't You with OPI I Lily Love You

OPI Be A Dahlia, Won't You with OPI I Lily Love You

One note about I Lily Love You: those large flakie party glitter pieces you see? They come off the brush onto your nail very easily. However, you have to make sure you actually have one or two of them on the brush. Some of the times I dipped the brush into the bottle, it came up without the big pieces, so I had to dip again. Once you have a big piece or two on the brush, you can just apply as usual.

Overall, I like the flower theme of the collection, I like the great formula on all of these polishes, and I love the brightness of Come to Poppy and Be A Dahlia, and the mod feel of Play the Peonies. And I lily love I Lily Love You... I mean, I really love it LOL. I think it'll look cool layered over dark colors and neons too. Even if you're not a huge lover of pink polish, I think you might find at least one color attractive. As an added bonus, I feel like these polishes all made my nails look fantastic- just really healthy and attractive. That's not something I always look for in a polish, but hey, isn't that what nail polish was originally designed to do?

The OPI Nice Stems! collection should be available now or very soon at your local Ulta or Trade Secret store.

These polishes were sent to me for review by a PR agent for OPI. For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy.