Zoya Avery in Polka Dots...

Avery is the last polish in the Zoya Feel collection. It was the one I worried about the most thinking that it wouldn't go well with my skin tone, but I was wrong. It looks lovely. As I was painting my nails, I stumbled across a picture of this polka dot dress on pinterest and it was instant inspiration, so I just went with it.

For the manicure I started out with Zoya Avery as my base, taped it off with scotch tape and added the tips using Wet 'n Wild Black Creme. The dots were done using a dotting tool and the same Black Creme from Wet 'n Wild. I originally intended to have the dots over the whole nail, but I liked the look of it on just half...

Zoya Avery on her own is a a soft beige cream. Full coverage in two coats and application was great just like the rest of the polishes in this collection. This it two coats plus a top coat in these swatches...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Zoya Collection: Feel, Winter 2011 Color Name/Number: Avery Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), Camphor

I'd love to know what you think of this. Do you like nails inspired by fashion? I'm thinking it would make a fun series :)

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Zoya Megan Funky French

Zoya Megan is the third pastel in a lovely winter collection from Zoya. It felt very girly and dainty to me and I needed something light after the gray of yesterday. I stamped using Wet 'n Wild French White Creme and a french tip stamp from Bundle Monster plate BM-220. Since my nails are not long enough for the stamp to be used in the proper direction (plenty long for me), I flipped the image and stamped the line of the stamp along the tip. The stamping turned out very pale, but I like the subtle aspect of it in this case. I added a funky slanted white french tip along the line of the stamp using French White Creme...

Zoya Megan is a pale lavender cream. It is full coverage in two easy coats. I had no problems with applications. Loving the formula and the coverage on these creams so far. This is two coats plus a top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Zoya Collection: Feel, Winter 2011 Color Name/Number: Megan, ZP593 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), Camphor

What do you think of subtle stamping?
I'd love to know what you think!

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Sunday Stamping Challenge + Zoya Stephanie

It is a good thing that I'm stubborn because otherwise I would have given up on this manicure about five takes ago. It was just one of those days when everything falls, acetone spills, the tape rips off the layers underneath, and just when you redid the problem nail(s) for the 3rd time and it is as good as it will get given the circumstances you bump it into something. Ugh! However, I'm glad that I didn't give up because I actually like what I came up with for this week's Sunday Stamping Challenge. The challenge was simply to make a manicure using any stamping plate that ends in 7. The hardest part is having too many choices :)

For the manicure I started out with a coat of Zoya Stephanie then added french tips using Wet 'n Wild French White Creme and topped it off with a second coat of Stephanie. The flowers were stamped using Color Club Hot Like Lava and Ebay plate m07. Flower centers were added using Sally Hansen Celeb City. I had originally intended for the bottom branch to lie along the tip of the nail, but since I stamped lopsided, I added a slanted tip using Hot Like Lava to accentuate the slope. Let's just pretend that I intended it the whole time because I like it so much more with the foil tips than as just a plain french mani...

I have swatched Zoya Stephanie before, but that was on my little shortie nails, so here are some fresh swatches. This is three coats plus a top coat. Application was good, but not perfect. I kept getting bald spots that did eventually even out by the third coat. The color is lovely, a sheer peachy pink. Perfect for a french mani or on it's own since it covers nicely by three coats. 

I love wearing sheers like this by themselves quite a bit. In fact, before I started blogging I used to wear sheers all spring/summer and dark colors fall/winter. Just take a look at my first Zoya haul back in May of last year... oh how different that order would be now... :D

Swatch Details
	Brand: Zoya Collection: Spa Essentials Color Name/Number: Stephanie, ZP364 Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) and Camphor

Have you noticed your taste in nail polish change over time?

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Day 30 - Inspired by a Tutorial

The challenge to be inspired by a tutorial was the easiest, but also the hardest. There are sooo many talented people out there that I didn't know which one to start with. I finally settled on a tutorial from Nail Art by Tartofraises that I have been wanting to try for a while now. If you have never seen this blog, then go now, you will be amazed. The blog is in French, but I think you don't need to understand the text to be inspired by her gorgeous manicures (plus that's what the translate features are for ;)). She also has videos tutorials with English subtitles for of most of her manicures on YouTube.

I used Zoya Lucy as the base and Wet 'n Wild French White Creme for the white. Here is my attempt at her manicure and I'm thrilled with the result. I love french tips and this just puts such a lovely spin on it...

And look, I do have two hands... I know you were starting to doubt only seeing the left one all the time ;)

Here is the gorgeous inspiration! It looks amazing on her long nails, but I would never be able to function with nails like that so I had to settle for translating the manicure to my shorter nails. For more photos check out her blog and great video tutorial.

I cannot wait to try more of her tutorials...

Let me know what you think! Is there a person or people that inspire you to try new manicures?

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Zoya Sabrina Starring in a French Manicure...

Yesterday my boyfriend and I went the wedding of two very good friends. We had a great time and I'm so glad that I was able to get the day off from work to attend. For my nails I went with the traditional white french tip. I know a lot of people think the french tip is outdated, but I still like the look, so I wear it for special occasions.

I started out with two coats of Zoya Sabrina, a soft milky pink which was perfect for this. I added tips using Wet 'n Wild French White Cream and another coat of Sabrina on top. To spice up the french tip I added blue stamping using Zoya Ibiza to match my navy blue dress. Then, topped the whole things off with a topcoat and was ready to go! In hindsight, I probably could have used only one coat of Sabrina to begin with and gotten the same result...

In the shade...

What do you think, is french tip outdated or classic?

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Zoya Lucy

I was a little worried about this color when I first saw the bottle, but I should have know that with Zoya I have nothing to worry about. Zoya's Lucy is a very sheer milky white that is perfect for french tips. It brightens up the nail for a nice alternative to the sheer pinks that commonly accompany french tips.

At first I swatched it all by itself, just to see what it would look like, since I do often just wear a nice sheer polish when I need something quick, clean and professional. This definitely meets the above criteria. This is three coats of the polish (no topcoat).

With it being so light, I wanted something to really contrast with it, so I painted the tips using Zoya Sam which was still conveniently on my table from yesterday's post and this mornings comparison fest :).
The silver line is using Essence Nail Art freestyle & tip painter. I need a bit more practice keeping a steady hand with that one, but overall I just love this combination!

And of course I had to know how it would look with a traditional french tip. I must say it did not disappoint.

Overall, this applied beautifully. It is very sheer as expected, but it works great for a nice clean french manicure. For those that don't mind the visible nail line, this can easily be worn on its own.

Brand: Zoya Collection: Spa Essentials Color Name/Number: Lucy ZP330 Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) and Camphor free Vegan friendly

That's all for now :)
Anutka