Vivid Lacquer Cookies and Cream

Base: one coat Zoya Get Even
Color: three coats Vivid Lacquer Cookies and Cream
Top: one coat Poshe
Application: good (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

I'm taking a break from my Zoya Ornate posts today to show you a polish from a new to me indie brand, Vivid Lacquer. This tasty treat is Vivid Lacquer Cookies and Cream, a creamy white jelly base with irregular shaped pieces of black and white glitter. This really does remind me of cookies and cream ice cream, yummmmm! I also really love the black kitty on the Vivid Lacquer label!!

This applied pretty well, the white base was nice and even, no streaks. This is three coats and I was pleased with the coverage. The glitters needed a little coaxing out of the bottle, but nothing too strenuous. This is a mini size too and I really had no trouble with the size of the brush.

I got this mini bottle in an Indie exchange box I participated in, and I don't see Cookies and Cream on Vivid Lacquer's Etsy shop right now. She does make custom polishes though, so I'm sure you could request this one! Interestingly enough, she also sells stamping plates! I think I'll have more Vivid Lacquer here, so keep an eye out!

Birthday Mani- Lynnderella Pentimento!!

Base: one coat CND Stickey
Color: two coats Lancome Indigo Paris, one coat Lynnderella Pentimento
Top: one coat Poshe
Application: excellent (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

Happy birthday to me!!! Yes, today is my birthday, I'm 28! Yow! Not sure how I got to be that old, but I wanted to celebrate with a really fun mani. I decided to try Lynnderella Pentimento over one of my favorite navy shimmers, Lancome Indigo Paris (LE from a few years back). This is the first time I've worn Pentimento and it's stunning!! I am loving it over the indigo shimmer. Pentimento is a gorgeous mix of all kinds of colored and white glitters, I can't even begin to name all the glitters in there!!

Pentimento is so full of glitter, I only used one coat here! I didn't have to do any dabbing or special application methods either, and all of the glitters behaved very nicely. I can't believe I didn't order Pentimento right off the bat with the Sweet Somethings for a Summer Solstice collection. What was I thinking?? Fortunately, I have it now, so all is OK!

I am loving wearing this for my birthday! It makes me feel special haha!

Lynnderella Pentimento is available at her eBay store.

Zoya Electra

Base: one coat Zoya Get Even
Color: three coats Zoya Aurora, one thick coat Zoya Electra
Top: one coat Poshe
Application: good (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

Do you ever get caught up in the hype of a nail polish or trend and then forget that you actually hate it? Yea... I ordered Zoya Electra because I was all googly-eyed over holo bar glitter. When it arrived, I remembered that I actually hate bar glitter! Not because Electra is bad, it's a lovely clear base packed with holo silver bar glitter! Bar glitter fans should order this pronto! I, however, am not a bar glitter fan. I am in the camp that thinks bar glitter looks hairy. I always forget this until I spend money on a bar glitter polish and then give it away.

Base: one coat Zoya Get Even

Color: two coats Zoya Blaze, one coat Zoya Electra

Top: one coat Poshe

Application: good (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

Zoya Electra is crammed full of shiny holo bar glitter. It really only needs one coat for uber-sparkly nails. Two thin coats is also stunning. It applied really well, I just had the usual bar glitter problem of pieces hanging over the edge of my nails a bit. I just push them back onto the nail while the polish is wet.

Zoya Electra is available now on Zoya.com.

*The link above is my Zoya Share the Love link. If you click on this link and make a purchase, I get points towards free shipping/discounts. For more information about the Zoya Share the Love program, go here.*

Zoya Aurora

Base: one coat Zoya Get Even
Color: three coats Zoya Aurora
Top: one coat Poshe
Application: good (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

The second polish from the Zoya Ornate collection I have for your viewing pleasure is Zoya Aurora. Zoya calls this "plum with multi color crystal shimmer". Aurora is one of the polishes in this collection with the holographic smooth shimmer bits. It's definitely not an actual holo polish, but in real life it does have some rainbow-y looking shimmer in strong light. Unfortunately, it was pretty cloudy when I took these pictures and you can't see the holo effect that well. You can see it best in the macro shot above. It's not super strong in person either though.

Aurora is really pretty, but needed three coats. Even at three coats, I can see a little VNL and some may want a fourth coat. It applied well, but not as perfectly as Zoya Blaze.

Zoya Aurora is available at Zoya.com.

*the above link is my Zoya Share the Love link. If you click on this link and make a purchase, I receive points towards free shipping and discounts. For information about the Zoya Share the Love program, go here.*

Zoya Blaze

Base: one coat Zoya Get Even
Color: two coats Zoya Blaze
Top: one coat Poshe
Application: excellent (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

I have four of the delicious polishes from the Zoya Ornate Holiday collection to show you over the next few days.  I'm starting with the lovely Zoya Blaze. I personally don't know any women named "Blaze" and I think Zoya's starting to reach a little with their names, but that doesn't mean I don't love the polishes! They should start going into ethnic names. I can think of a ton of good Irish names they haven't covered yet. Anyway, Blaze is a gorgeous raspberry/cranberry with silvery shimmer flecks. Zoya calls this finish "glitter glam crystal". It's kinda like tiny smooth glass-fleck shimmer.

The coverage of Blaze was absolutely fabulous. I did a medium-thick first coat and could have worn it just like that. I know my mom will wear this at one coat. These pictures are of two coats and it's perfectly opaque. The application was also really excellent! Blaze reminded me that I've been missing my Zoya polishes lately.

Zoya Blaze is available now on Zoya.com!

*the above link is my Zoya Share the Love link. If you click on it and make a purchase, I get points towards free shipping/discounts. For information about the Share the Love program, go here.*

OPI Skyfall Part Two!!

Base: one coat Zoya Get Even
Color: two coats OPI You Only Live Twice
Top: one coat Seche Vite
Application: excellent (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

I can't believe it finally took me so long to get Part Two of the OPI Skyfall collection posted! This half has my two favorites of the collection, so I'm excited to share these! First up is OPI You Only Live Twice, a gorgeous maraschino cherry pink-red with glass fleck-like shimmer. I probably have a polish like this somewhere, but I am always a sucker for a good shimmery red! OPI described this as a magenta, but on me it showed up as more of a pink-toned red.

OPI You Only Live Twice applied really well and I only used two coats here! They were on the thick side, so if you do thin coats, you might need three. A red like this is always a must have for the holiday season, so if you don't have one in your stash, grab You Only Live Twice!

Base: one coat Zoya Get Even
Color: two coats OPI Casino Royale
Top: one coat Seche Vite
Application: good (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

Next is a personal favorite of mine from Skyfall, OPI Casino Royale (fun fact: Casino Royale is also my favorite recent Bond movie). Casino Royale is a lovely deep plum creme that may seem like you've seen it before, but I can't find a good dupe. It is deep and rich, but it never looks dark or murky. It is such a perfect plum creme, I am wearing it right now on my toes. I'm sure I'll be wearing it a lot this winter!

I was expecting Casino Royale to apply like butter, but it didn't really. It wasn't bad or anything, just not the smoothest application. It didn't "practically paint itself on" like I've said about other polishes. On the first coat, I had a little streaking, but that evened out on the second. This is two coats and it was nice and opaque.

Base: one coat Zoya Get Even
Color: two coats OPI Skyfall
Top: one coat Seche Vite
Application: good (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

Ahhh, the much-discussed "oxblood" color. I don't know when "oxblood" became a thing, but it is and OPI Skyfall is an excellent choice to sport this trend on your tips. OPI described this as "maroon" and I would never describe it as maroon. It lacks the amount of purple I think of when I imagine "maroon". It is really a deep blood red creme. Like dried blood, but prettier.

This is two coats of OPI Skyfall and I thought the application was great. It was a teeny bit harder to get perfectly rounded by the cuticle, so I gave it a good for application, not excellent. Nice and smooth, easy coverage, and not too runny or thick. Another color I will rely on this winter.

Base: one coat Zoya Get Even
Color: three coats OPI The Spy Who Loved Me
Top: one coat Seche Vite
Application: excellent (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

OPI The Spy Who Loved Me makes me question why I don't wear red shimmers more often! This is more of a true red than You Only Live Twice, making it better for my skin tone. If you like cooler reds, you should get You Only Live Twice. I really should wear this as a full mani soon, it's so eye-catching. The golden shimmer in the candy apple red base is small, but makes the polish sparkle.

This was two coats and the application was superb. The polish itself was that perfect, almost gel-like consistency that makes it so easy to apply and not have to worry about clean-up! Nice and opaque too! It makes me want to go through my red door and throw away the ones that aren't up to this standard.

Base: one coat Zoya Get Even
Color: three coats OPI Goldeneye
Top: one coat Seche Vite
Application: good (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

I'm a little disappointed in my pictures of OPI GoldenEye. I may have to reswatch! GoldenEye is a ridiculously gorgeous golden metallic. It's a lovely true yellow gold, and with my warm undertones, I really appreciate that! Blogger decided to flip my pictures once again, so that's another reason for a reswatch *rolls eyes*.

This is three coats of GoldenEye and for the kind of metallic it is, it applied really well. These can be patchy and difficult, but GoldenEye was great! A little sheer on the first coat, but it built up nicely. This is my absolute favorite of the OPI Skyfall collection. LOVE!

            

Base: one coat Zoya Get Even
Color: two coats OPI Die Another Day
Top: one coat Seche Vite
Application: excellent (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

OPI Die Another Day is a great tomato red with smooth shimmer throughout the whole polish. The shimmer in this is that kind that you can't actually pick out the individual shimmer particles, it just adds a pretty glow to the whole polish. I am not sure why I am loving these reds so much, maybe it's holiday anticipation! I would definitely recommend Die Another Day if you love reds, or need one like this in your collection.

This was just two coats again and it applied beautifully! Really easy to control. Look at how close I got to the cuticle with no clean-up necessary! That's the evidence of a good formula right there.

Overall, my top picks from OPI Skyfall would be GoldenEye, Casino Royale, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Live and Let Die and Tomorrow Never Dies. If you like glitters, then definitely add The Living Daylights to that large list! If you like to be on-trend, you should get Skyfall too. I always love the OPI Holiday collection and this one is no exception!

What's on your OPI Skyfall list?

As with all OPI nail lacquers, these shades inspired by Skyfall contain no DBP, Toluene, or Formaldehyde, and feature OPI’s exclusive ProWide^™ Brush for the ultimate in application.

This limited edition promotion will be available beginning October 2012 at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and ULTA, for  $8.50 ($9.95 CAN) suggested retail for each Nail Lacquer.

For more information, please call 800-341-9999 or visit www.opi.com. Follow OPI on Twitter @OPI_PRODUCTS and become a Facebook fan!

Products sent for review. For more information, please read my Disclosure Policy.

Nicole by OPI CVS Exclusives Preview

Think Neutral, Not Boring!

Nicole by OPI Launches Seven New Nail Lacquers, Exclusively at CVS

Nicole by OPI announces seven new nail lacquers to be sold exclusively at CVS. With various hues of pink and rose, along with blue, maroon, purple and silver shades, these colors give fingers and toes “new neutrals” to complement the hottest trends for 2013.

 “Nicole by OPI is excited to provide the CVS customer with lacquers that can work with any style – from office formal to soccer practice sporty to date night dressy,” explains Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, Nicole by OPI Executive VP & Artistic Director.  “I consider these lacquers ‘new neutrals’ because they can be worn any day, at any time. In the past, certain shades and textures were considered appropriate only for specific occasions, but now, nothing is taboo when it comes to wearing color.

“The CVS shopper leads a fast-paced lifestyle, but she doesn’t want to sacrifice fashion-forward, stylish colors,” adds Weiss-Fischmann. “When she shops at CVS, she knows she’ll be able to find all of her beauty essentials in one convenient place.”

The seven new lacquers include:

I Sea You and Raise You
       Go for it...this ocean blue is a sure bet.

Always a Silver Lining
       This positively-charged silver will keep you feeling optimistic.

Don’t Overpink It
       Trust your instincts...this rosy pink will be perfect on you.

Feeling Grapeful
       Count your blessings...including this yummy purple.

A Pinker Shade of Pale
       The slight blush of this cool pink is just the right touch.

Personally Speaking...
       Between you and me, I look ah-may-zing in this light and airy rose!

Marooned in Paradise
       This deep burgundy could make even a castaway look chic.

Nicole by OPI nail lacquers and Nail Treatments contain no DBP, Toluene, or Formaldehyde. Nicole by OPI formulas are long-lasting, fast-drying, and salon-quality. These new CVS-exclusive shades will be available November 2012 for $7.99 each at select CVS locations nationwide.

For more information, visit nicolebyopi.com. Follow Nicole by OPI on Twitter @NicoleByOPI and become a Facebook fan!