Chanel April — Swatches, Review & Comparison

After a few days of wearing Chanel June, I had to go back to SoHo to pick up April. Something about the color wouldn't let me stop thinking about it. (Sounds insane, but I know my fellow polish fanatics understand!) So back to the boutique I went. As soon as I painted my nails with this lovely polish, I was very glad I went back for it.

April is a soft burgundy or garnet. It has a hint of brown and is slightly muted, but still a very rich color. I think it's quite sophisticated!

This shot under artificial light shows off the slightly muted tones of the color.

I don't have a lot of colors in this family in my stash. I had nothing that looked like it would be close at all, but I made a comparison anyway in case anyone finds it helpful. On my index finger is OPI Manicurist of Seville, and on my ring finger is Zoya Sofia.

Application for this polish is so smooth and dreamy. It's seriously flawless and easy. Two coats are all I needed for saturated color and a glossy finish. I've been wearing it for four days and it's holding up beautifully with only very minimal tipwear (normal for any polish). I have a feeling this polish is going to be one of my all-time favorites.

Like May and June, April is available on Chanel's website for $25.

Glitter Gradient in Festive Green

Hello everyone! Sorry about the sporadic updates; as is typical for many of us, life gets pretty busy this time of year!

Here's a manicure that I did using the quick and easy no sponge glitter gradient method. (The how-to is in this post here.) I was partly inspired by this manicure by Sharon at Polish Infatuated. I wanted to create a festive manicure that isn't too over the top, but still has a holiday feel.

I used two coats of OPI Jade Is The New Black for the base color. It's a lovely true green with smooth, easy application. Next I added Zoya Ivanka to the bottom part of the nail, trying to fade it out at the middle of the nail. Finally I topped it off with a layer of Wet n Wild The Gold & The Beautiful for a little extra golden sparkle.

Hopefully I'll have a chance to invent some more festive holiday manicures to show you this season!

Zoya Avery — Feel Collection Winter 2011

(UPDATE: Here's my review of the entire collection, with all the swatches together.)

At last, the final installment in the Zoya Feel Collection! Here is Avery, a pale camel creme. Unexpectedly, I found this color was the easiest to apply out of the whole collection. It was thin but not watery, and flowed well. I used two coats and no topcoat for this swatch. It also dries fairly quickly and is shiny. Tomorrow I'll have a full collection comparison and review post!

Zoya Kennedy — Feel Collection Winter 2011

(UPDATE: Here's my review of the entire collection, with all the swatches together.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have just a couple minutes before I have to run off to visit family for the day's fun! Here's Zoya Kennedy from the Feel collection. It's a dusty pastel rose, and is vying with Kendal for the spot as my favorite shade from this collection.

Application was like the rest, slightly tricky but smooth considering it's a pastel. Two coats and no topcoat in this picture.

Zoya Kendal — Feel Collection Winter 2011

(UPDATE: Here's my review of the entire collection, with all the swatches together.)

Do you think Zoya Kendal might be pink enough to qualify for Pink Wednesday? I can't decide if this pastel creme leans more lavender than pink. Next to Megan, it's definitely a shade pinker.

This is probably my favorite color from the collection. I thought the application was a tiny bit easier than the first four. Once again, it only needs two coats and the final result is smooth and shiny with no streaks or unevenness.

Zoya Megan — Feel Collection Winter 2011

(UPDATE: Here's my review of the entire collection, with all the swatches together.)

Hey there! Continuing with the Feel Collection, here's Zoya Megan. I'm finding this color tough to describe. It's very delicate, light gray with a hint of lavender. (I guess I just described it!)

Like the other polishes in this collection, Megan needs two coats for opacity. I recommend same technique of one thin coat and a second thicker coat for applying this color. Even though these pastels can be a little annoying and thick, I'm becoming more and more impressed with this collection because despite any application issues, you really can get this polish right in two coats. If you have any leftover lumpiness, the topcoat will smooth everything out.

Zoya Carey — Feel Collection Winter 2011

(UPDATE: Here's my review of the entire collection, with all the swatches together.)

Here's the next color from the Zoya Feel Collection, a pale gray creme called Carey. This is a fairly neutral gray, although I would say it leans a tiny bit to the cool side.

Like Kristen, this polish only needs two coats for complete opacity. Since it's a pale color, the formula is a little tricky to work with. I found it was best to make the first coat thin, and to not worry about how streaky the coverage was. Wait at least two minutes, then make the second coat a little thicker. It also helps to apply the color in as few brush strokes as possible.

Zoya Kristen — Feel Collection Winter 2011

(UPDATE: Here's my review of the entire collection, with all the swatches together.)

I got the Feel collection in the mail yesterday. I rarely buy full collections, but I was totally drawn into this one by the promo picture. I do not regret my purchase, each color is lovely! First I'll show you Zoya Kristen, which is a slightly blue-tinged pale gray creme.

The formula for this color, and this whole collection, is simultaneously impressive and frustrating. I'm super impressed that it only took two coats to get full coverage and opacity. This is pretty rare for such pale colors. The texture is chalky and tricky to work with, but still a major improvement over pastel colors that came out a couple years ago. Only two coats! I don't think I've ever encountered a pastel that worked in less than three coats before. So that's a big plus.

The first time I applied this color, I found it irritating and difficult to keep the surface smooth. I decided to try again a few hours later, and for whatever reason it seemed pretty easy that time. The first time I applied this color the brush seemed so small and skinny, and I couldn't for the life of me find the wider side of it. The second time the brush still seemed too small but I was able to make it fan out better. I think most of the application issues would be easily solved by Zoya adopting a nicer brush. If it just had a few more bristles, and was a tiny bit flatter, I think I would love the brand even more.

Zoya Nidhi

My manicure today is Zoya Nidhi from the Sparkle Collection. It's a bright, apple-y red with gold and pink/blue iridescent sparkling flecks. A number of people noticed and complimented me on this color, so it's bright and sparkly enough to catch some attention.

Application is quick and easy. It needs just two coats for opacity, and each coat went on perfectly and dried rapidly. I know sometimes people have trouble with Zoya polishes drying super slowly, but I don't think this is one that will give anyone problems. Even though this came out as part of a summer collection, I think it's a very festive and Holiday appropriate red. In fact, I may try combining it with Zoya Ivanka (the sparkling green from the same collection) a little later in the season.

Zoya Cheryl with Art Deco inspired nail art

The rich brown sparkle of Zoya Cheryl makes me think of elegant dark wood furniture in Art Deco styles. That's what inspired this experiment in nail art, which is not particularly good but why not show it to you anyway? I used a striping brush and Cover Girl Bronze Beauty.

And here is each polish on its own:

Zoya Cheryl is another one of Zoya's gorgeous glass-fleck sparkles. It takes two coats for opacity and applies easily. Cover Girl Bronze Beauty is also opaque in two coats, and gives no trouble with application. It's a sort of pale gold with coppery bronze flecks which give the shade complexity.

Zoya Sarah

In my opinion, Zoya makes the best shimmer/sparkle finish nail polishes available. I normally prefer creme finish to the average shimmer, but Zoya's shimmer is special. All the little flecks give the finish an extra depth and complexity that most shimmer doesn't have. Zoya Sarah has this type of fantastic shimmer:

This red seems to simultaneously lean warm and cool, although more cool. The formula was easy to apply and totally opaque in two coats. Sarah is available for $8 at Zoya's website. You can get free shipping with the code SHIP2ME through 10/26!

Pink Wednesday: Zoya Gilda

It's still Wednesday, right? I still have time to get in on this week's Pink Wednesday!

This is Zoya Gilda, from the gorgeous Sparkle collection. It's an awesome bright pink, full of glass fleck sparkles. After three coats there's still a little visible nail line, but the color and the sparkle easily distract from it.

Isn't that sparkle just beautiful?

Falling Autumn Leaves — Zoya Jem with Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure

This is a gorgeous combination. If you have Zoya Jem, I highly recommend layering a flaky polish on top. This combination makes me think of eating cider donuts and drinking hot apple cider. I took way too many pictures because it looks amazing from every angle.

Doesn't this remind you of Fall in New England?

Deep Purple: OPI Siberian Nights and Zoya Mimi

OPI Siberian Nights is a very dark, vampy purple from the Fall 2007 Russian Collection. As a Russian major, that whole collection ranks among my favorites. In low lighting Siberian Nights is almost black, but in the sun you can see it's a rich, glossy plum. This is a swatch with two coats and no topcoat. The formula is very easy to work with.

I added one layer of Zoya Mimi to this swatch. Mimi was part of the Zoya Sparkle collection from Summer 2010. It's a glorious, vibrant purple glass fleck.

These pictures really don't do it justice!

Late Summer Sunset: nail art with purples and oranges

Today, for some reason, I was drawn to purple and orange. I made some quick nail art by alternating five colors in a slight variation on the Ruffian manicure.

On the very top is China Glaze Peachy Keen. This swatch is three coats with Seche Vite on top to smooth them out. It's a chalky and difficult color to work with, but finishing it with topcoat helps a lot.

Next is Zoya Malia, a medium lavender/lilac creme which also requires three coats and a topcoat to smooth it out. It's easier to apply than Peachy Keen, though.

Then comes OPI Cajun Shrimp. This is a classic, BRIGHT and shiny coral. It leans towards pink, but still contains plenty of orange. It's very easy to apply and only needs two coats. The first picture is most color accurate.

The deep purple is Orly Rio Nights. This is a gorgeous, shiny jelly and requires four coats. I think it's worth it.

Finally, the base color is OPI Hot & Spicy. This is a medium orange creme with a hint of pink and an almost pastel quality, though it's not pale enough to really be pastel. It also needs three coats for opacity.

So there's the purple and orange special of the day. What are some of your favorite color combinations?

Two polishes from Zoya Smoke & Mirrors Fall 2011

Two polishes from this fall's Zoya collection really grabbed me so I had to get them. Both of these are from the "Mirrors" part of the 12 piece collection.

Zoya Jem is a rich plum with a sparkling/flecked quality. It's even more beautiful in person. The golden duochrome only shows up in the bottle, unfortunately, but it's still a very complex color on the nail.

Zoya Neeka is a smokey purple with gold and slightly iridescent flecks. Another complex and interesting color. I think it's a distant cousin to Chanel Paradoxal or Essie Smokin' Hot. It's just a little less grey.

Both polishes have pretty smooth application. Neeka was slightly more difficult and needed three coats for even coverage. A more careful application would probably only require two coats.

I ordered these from their website. I've had very good luck with Zoya polishes in general. My favorite thing about them is that they never discontinue colors.