Zoya Fall 2011 Mirrors collection

Nobody's more ready for fall more than me! Texas is going for the gold with this 100 degree day streak we've got going on. Ugh. Here's what I want. I would like to make it from the door to the car without feeling like I'm going to fall out. Or not feel like my jeans are pasted to my skin because the sun is beaming down on them at full blast. You get the point?

With visions of Autumn in my head, here's 1/2 of the Zoya Fall 2011 Smoke and Mirrors collection.  

Zoya Mirrors Collection

Zoya Jem ~ Dark purple metallic base with golden shimmer

Zoya Neeka ~ Gray/purple base with golden shimmer

Zoya Yara ~ Olive green with gold shimmer

Zoya Tao ~ Light gray metallic

Zoya Marina ~ Blue gray metallic

Zoya Nimue ~ Soft smoky purple metallic

These were all photographed with two coats and no topcoat. None of these were sheer, so what you see in the bottle is pretty much what you get. Well done on this Fall collection Zoya. I think there's something here for everyone. Vampy lovers? Check. Green fiends? Check. Metallic mamas? Heyyy! Double check! Hahaha.

Unexpected favorite? Zoya Yara. That olive green with beautiful golden shimmer is a winner. I'm not a fan of green but that one screams fall to me. I can pull it off. Yessssss.

You can order the Mirrors collection here. Stay tuned for the Smoke collection swatches. Nothing I love more than creme polishes!

♥ Lachelle

Zoya Spring 2011 Intimate Collection

I was just mentioning that I am so ready for the Spring 2011 collections! I'm excited over some of the colors I saw today in Zoya's Spring collection, Intimate. Hello, Marley and Danni!

Here's information from Zoya's press release:

a color romance

Temptations, whispers, dreams, secrets, illusions, liaisons, trysts... lingerie... kisses.Zoya Nail Polish presents six new, elegant, full coverage yet revealing, metallics and creams for Spring 2011 to rendezvous with.

Zoya Intimate Collection

Marley (ZP542) - lavender pink with a whisper of metallic

Dove (ZP541) - delicate, pale gray cream

Caitlin (ZP540) - misty, moody gray violet cream

Dannii (ZP537) - sparkling, enchanted orchid metallic

Jules (ZP538) - soft, glimmering gold kiss metallic

Gemma (ZP544) - mysterious green/purple duotone metallic

The Zoya Intimate collection was designed to recreate the custom looks developed for and inspired by the runways of New York Fashion Week - Spring 2011. Ultra long-wearing, glossy nail lacquers  by Zoya are free of harmful industrial chemicals like toluene, camphor, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, dibutylphthalate (DBP) that are known to cause cancer and birth defects. Find Zoya Intimate as well as over 300 other ultra high-fashion Zoya shades at www.zoya.com. 

As always, each and every Zoya color is made for women so we name them after women. 

Intimate by Zoya - available January 15, 2011

Sug. Retail $7.00 per 0.5 fl. oz. bottle (US)

http://www.zoya.com

♥ Lachelle

Mark the Date: Free Zoya Spoons this Friday 12/10

Have you spooned with Zoya yet? Well here's your chance! Mark your calenders for this Friday, December 10th for a spooning date with Zoya. Best of all, its free and you'll have no regrets afterward :-).

Here's official information from Zoya:

Here's how it works...


First pick any 6 colors you would like to try on... Add the matching Zoya Color Spoon to your shopping cart on zoya.com. Add SP6 as your code. Process order. Zoya will ship them to you for FREE! Plus you will automatically earn a $3 Zoya Color Spoon credit code for use on a future zoya.com purchase. Feel free to order more at the regular price if you would like (shipping is always free on Zoya Color Spoons).

 (Click on the picture to enlarge)

Announcing
FREE* ZOYA COLOR
SPOON FRIDAY!!!
ONE DAY ONLY - DEC, 10, 2010


Zoya Color Spoons allow you try on nail color before you make a color commitment. Now you can see exactly how a color will look on you before you buy it.
SEE IT . TRY IT . BUY IT
See the Zoya Color Spoon Video here!
Find your perfect color today at http://www.zoya.com/

* Valid Friday, December 10, 2010 only. Offer expires on 12/10/10 (11:59 EST). Valid only on Zoya.com. Continental US only. Consumer orders only. Limit six free Zoya Color Spoons. Limit one per customer. Standard S/H applies for all additional non-spoon items. This offer and Zoya Color Spoon Credit Code not valid in conjunction with other discounts, promotions or offers.

I definitely applaud Zoya on interacting with nail polish consumers and fans like this. They definitely know how to build loyalty to the brand with nail polish lovers through amazing products, gorgeous color selections to fit anyone's taste, interaction through social media and great promos like this one.

What colors have you been curious about and plan to order Zoya Spoons for? Let me know!

♥ Lachelle

Zoya Flame Collection

Announcing the perfect color collection for the Holidays - Zoya Flame.

Powerful and beautiful, Zoya nail color brings you six stunning, foil-glitter metallics just in time for the holidays.

Ultra long-wearing, glossy nail polish by Zoya is free of toluene, camphor, formaldehyde, and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) - chemicals that are known to cause cancer and birth defects. Zoya Nail Polish is vegan friendly.

Heat up your winter with...
Tiffany - Pink, peach and light copper toned foil particles accented by flecks of gold foil.
Gloria - Rose, mauve-pink and magenta foil particles with gold and subtle red metallic accents.
Crystal - Light, silvered shiny blue metallic foil with sparks of brilliant yellow gold.
Lisa - iridescent combination of deep raspberry pink, bright candy apple red and subtle gold tones in a dazzling sparkle finish.
Sarah - Pearls of dark fuchsia, red-violet and ruby tones in a bright sparkle finish.
Valerie - Royal purple, dark violet, red, deep pink and gold iridescence amplified by a glittering sparkle finish.

See the complete Zoya Flame Collection here.

Zoya is the new color of fashion!

Text and Images from Zoya 

I like this collection but the color that jumps out at me is this beauty:

Zoya Crystal definitely looks like a hit in the Zoya Flame collection! I cant wait to get my hands on it...

♥ Lachelle

More Gradient Nails...

 Remember when I finally got the hang of doing gradient nails and I was so excited? Well I decided to try them again...with Zoya Charla and China Glaze's Medallion. My index finger chipped so fast! I think its because when I was sponging, I piled so much polish onto the tip to make it darker. As it turns out, I didnt wear this for long...

For some reason, I'm not loving this as much as the first time around. Hmmm, I dont know whats with that. *shrugs*

♥ Lachelle

Purple Gradient Nails

So if you knew how long I have wanted to do purple gradient nails and how many You Tube videos I have watched about it, you would wonder why it took so long for me to do them. Truth is I tried them one time and it turned out not so great and I didn't try again. Lame! 

Well I guess it took the awesomeness of Zoya's JulieAnne to get me started. I think those metallic foils are perfect for layering. I also used China Glaze's Grape Juice and Wet n Wild Kaleidoscope.

 Supplies not pictured are CND Stickey, Seche Vite topcoat and eyeshadow applicators.

What I did was put a bit of Grape Juice and Julie Ann on paper and used the eyeshadow applicator to dab the color lightly on my nails, using more pressure to make the color darker towards the tips. I did Grape Juice first as my "base" and JulieAnne on the tips. Then I put a thin coat of Kaleidoscope over the whole nail and topped it with Seche Vite. 

The whole look was super easy to do and quick. I think I did all of my nails in 10 minutes. You can find eyeshadow applicators at any drugstore for super cheap too. I like that you can do this with any color too, so maybe you'll be seeing more gradient nails in the future.

♥ Lachelle

Zoya Spoons...Online Polish Shopping Revolution!

Alright, I will admit I buy most of my polish in person, where I can actually see the colors. However, I have ordered polishes from Zoya online based on swatches from various nail blogs. Most of them have worked for me and lived up to my expectations...some of them haven't.

This is where Zoya Spoons come in handy. From the press release:

Zoya Nail Polish wants to Spoon with you!
 
Do you REALLY love nail polish? Have you ever purchased a color online or from a color chart only to find that it doesn’t match the picture? Have you always wanted to be able to try on nail polish the way you do clothing?
 
Well, what if you could see EXACTLY how any Zoya color would look on YOU before you buy it? What if you could make sure you ALWAYS get your perfect pink? Or perfect red. Or purple! ANY color! Any shade, EVERY TIME! Well now you can...
 
Zoya presents a new way to shop for nail color - The Zoya Color Spoon!
 
Every incredible Zoya nail color made will now be available as a spoon so you can try it before you buy it! This is a revolution for the online nail polish consumer and salon and spa buyers alike who previously only had online color representations or printed color charts as a guide. Never before have you been able to try so much color for so little money out of pocket. This is same Zoya color that comes in the bottle poured into small nail shaped wells to create a tester color spoon - you can see every subtle detail of the color and hold it up to your nail to see exactly how it will look. Plus, the amount you pay for the spoons will be added to your account in the form of code that will be available for use on a future Zoya purchase and BONUS Zoya will ship the spoons to you at no charge. “It’s amazing that we will be able to do this for our customers - there really is nothing else like it in the nail polish market today” stated Leo Reyzis, VP of Marketing at Zoya.
 
So quit the color guessing game when purchasing nail color online and try any one of Zoya’s over 300 formaldehyde, toluene, dibutyl phthalate and camphor free, vegan friendly shades. Now you can be sure that the color you try is the exact same color you buy!
 
See it - Try it - Buy it!
 
Zoya Nail Spoons - $0.50 ea. (free shipping on all spoons - value of spoon(s) will be added to your account for a future zoya.com purchase).
 
Zoya Nail Spoons will be available at www.zoya.com starting September 1, 2010.
 
Here’s how it works...
Simply visit www.zoya.com, select a color(s) to try, click on the coordinating Zoya Color Spoon option in the product ordering area to add the color spoon to your shopping cart. Order as many as you would like. After your order has been approved and processed, zoya.com will ship your selected color spoons out for you to try and email you a confirmation along with your spoon value code (code will also be available under the “my account” section of www.zoya.com so you never have to worry about losing it).*
 
* All Zoya Color Spoon sales are final. One time personalized spoon value code. Zoya Color Spoon value code can be applied to any polish or treatment item at www.zoya.com. Code cannot be used to purchase additional spoons.

How cool are these? I think they are awesome because:

• They are basically risk free...you hate a color, its okay! You don't have to buy the full sized polish.
• The money goes towards a future purchase on Zoya.com
• They remind me of those little spoons that come in the vanilla ice cream cups. Random, I know. However anything that reminds me of ice cream cant be bad!

Way to go Zoya! Always keeping us nail fanatics happy.

♥ Lachelle

Zoya Wonderful-Kristi, Cola & Shawn

First, sorry for the three finger pictures! My index finger on left hand broke! I hate it when my nails are not even, but I really cant bear to part with the length of my nails. Plus, my hands have really been doing intensive work with paper lately, so I need to pay extra care & attention to them to make sure the rest of  them don't break off!

With that being said, I have the 2nd half of Zoya's Wonderful collection to show you! Moving right along we have Kristi, a true crimson red creme.

I knew a lady named Kristi and this color is so her. She made me smile at work and she was pretty funny.

Cola is a red-brown creme and reminds me of the fizzy drink too!. This color is unique to my stash, but it doesn't look the greatest on me. I imagine there is someone who this color would look fabulous on, but that someone isn't me.

Saving the notorious green for last, here is Shawn. A green creme so perfect for fall, it would seem out of place anywhere other than the Wonderful collection. A little streak for me on the first coast, but it evens itself right out on the second coat. 

All of the swatches seen here are two coats with no topcoat. I told you there were glossy! Both the Wicked and Wonderful sets can be purchased online at www.zoya.com.

♥ Lachelle

This post contains a product sent for review by the company or PR firm. For more information about my disclosure policy, please read this post.

Zoya Wonderful-Kelly, Stacy & Burke

Zoya's Wonderful is a collection of six cremes and I have half of them for you today! Ready for these fall colors? Let me show you my favorite of the Wonderful collection first.

Kelly is a gray creme that looks purple in some light. I wore this one for 3 days I think. I like that this is not too dark or too light. I vote this best of the Wonderful collection. You need this one!

Stacy is a vampy berry red creme. Not my favorite, but I know there are people who go for this type of thing. Hey, if you like it, I love it.

Burke is another classic red creme. For all you red lovers, consider yourself lucky. Zoya is really giving it to you with the Wonderful collection!

What I loved about these cremes its that all of them were so opaque and glossy. What you see in these pictures is two coats of polish with no topcoat cause Zoya's cool like that. I have 3 more polishes in the Wonderful collection to show you, stay tuned...

♥ Lachelle

This post contains a product sent for review by the company or PR firm. For more information about my disclosure policy, please read this post.

Zoya Fall 2010 Wicked Collection

This past weekend in North Texas we had our first 100 degree weather day of the summer! Let me tell you, the word hot was an understatement. However, Zoya's Wicked collection had me longing for Fall and cooler temperatures when I opened the box to see these delicious autumn colors. The Wicked Collection is a set of 6 sparkling metallic shades that Zoya delivers on once again. 

Starting off with an unlikely contender for my 2nd favorite polish of the collection, Karina:

Yup, I said a red was my 2nd favorite polish of the whole collection. The heat must be getting to me! Karina is deep, sparkling red that is actually flattering on my skin tone. Most reds scare me off because they are either too bright or too vampy and "age" my hands. However, Karina is vibrant and I can see myself wearing this come fall.

You cant go wrong with a purple polish in my opinon. Julieane is the perfect shade of purple for fall with its dark purple base and golden shimmer.

Cheryl is bronze chocolatey goodness! This shade is the epitome of Fall and reminds me of leaves on the ground.

Carrie Ann is a red if I ever saw one. The most intense red of the whole collection, Carrie Anne holds no punches. Its like a ripe apple which is also synonymous with fall.

I have two aunts both named Kim and I bet this is a color they would wear. Kym is a mauve that has a perfect place in the Wicked Collection.

Zoya sure is wicked for making me love yet another green. As if Ivanka wasn't enough from the Sparkle collection, they've hit us yet again with yet another sparkling green that gets my vote for favorite polish of the collection. Edyta is a dazzling olive green (that looks gray in some light) with golden shimmer and a must have for Fall!

All swatches shown here are two coats with a top coat. They dry fairly quickly but I believe metallic polishes dry quicker than say, creme polishes anyway. I had no issues with application and of course just like the Sparkle collection these are easy to remove with regular old nail polish remover.

The Wicked collection can be ordered online on their website but I have also seen Zoya polishes at my local Whole Foods grocery store. If you don't want to order online or want the instant gratification of these beauties in you hands, its worth a try to call or check with Whole Foods if there's one close to you.

♥ Lachelle

This post contains a product sent for review by the company or PR firm. For more information about my disclosure policy, please read this post.

Zoya Ali + Nail Art

Zoya's Ali is one of my top 3 favorite pink nail polishes. Yes, that does mean something coming from a pink obsessed blogger, I promise! Ali is an instant pick up, so this past week when I was feeling sad I decided to do my nails in this bright, cheery color. Its been uncharacteristically cloudy and rainy in Texas, but you can see this neon pink a mile away. As if that wasn't enough, I got my Art Deco polishes and dotting tool and went to work. I ended up with this:

 -Lachelle

Rainbow Tiger Striped Nails!

Let me say that Twitter is awesome; if you aren't there, then you should be! The exchange of ideas on there is constant and you can really find some cool people on there. I follow China Glaze on Twitter and they tweeted about a Tumblr that showcases pretty nails. That's where I got this manicure idea from Artsy RN. She's a pretty cool girl who does some really cute nail designs. Though its not specifically a nail blog, she posts about nails a lot, so I would check it out if you want inspiration.

Here are the supplies I used:

L to R:

• Sally Hansen Blue Me Away
• Essie Pansy
• Zoya Creamy
• Wet n Wild French White Creme
• Seche Vite topcoat
• Art Deco Nail Art Polish in Black
• Makeup sponge

Artsy RN made a YouTube video tutorial which I used as my guide:

The Results!

As you can see, sponging your nails can get a little messy. So this is what they looked like before clean up:

This is Day 2. Getting a little tip wear, but I think it held up well considering the fact that I was moving. The white polish is a cheap, chip-tastic polish so when I do this again I want to use another white polish.

I used my go to topcoat Seche Vite and it kind of smeared the black stripes a bit. Next time I will use a different topcoat. Also you can reuse your makeup sponges just by cutting the used tip off.

Zoya Sparkle Collection Summer 2010

Zoya's Sparkle collection is definitely a winner. I'm sure most of you have seen the collection before but I wanted to show the colors against a darker skin tone. With these glitter metallic shades there's something for everyone! All of these swatches are two coats.

Gilda

The pink addict in me loves Gilda. This hot pink is a stunner. Its bright, flashy and perfect for summer.

Nidhi

Remember how I said there was something in this collection for everyone? Maybe Nidhi would look better on that person. Its not that she isn't gorgeous but if you've read my blog long enough you know about my aversion to reds. This rich red polish is the most opaque of the bunch.

MiMi

Mimi is eye-catching color.You cant go wrong with a deep royal purple like this. It kind of reminds me of Hot Topic's Iridescent Purple:

The difference is that the Hot Topic polish has blue shimmer in it.


Alegra

(Please excuse the mess that is my cuticles)

 Alegra is like Gilda's older sister that still has it. A pink not quite as bright as Gilda and a little more subdued, but still a gorgeous fuchsia. 

Charla

My 2nd favorite polish from this collection and a must have. Charla is a blue green paradise on your nails. I haven't read one bad review about this color.


Ivanka

The best polish in the whole collection. The most head turning, envious green metallic foil ever! Even for this pink lover, Ivanka made a believer out of me. It is hands down the best green I've ever seen and I am so glad to own it!

Want another reason to love these? The Sparkle polishes are also super easy to remove! You get the look of glitter without the hassle of removing it. I made my first (quick) blog video showing the easy removal of MiMi.

Zoya's Polish Exchange is still going on through June 30th. That means you can dump some of your not so favorite shades for these lovelies. Check Zoya's  website for more info!

This post contains a sample product sent for review. For more information about my disclosure policy, please read this post.

Zoya Hot Lips Review

At the beginning of November, when Zoya did their Hot Lips Promo (In case you didn't know about this promo, it pays to follow Zoya on Twitter!) I took advantage of the deal and got three of the lip gloss that I had been wanting to try. Although I took note of this event and made a mental note to order, but I almost forgot really close to the deadline. So, I ended up picking three very quickly and was almost disappointed when they came to my house looking all alike.

L to R: Kiss Kiss, Starlet, Sweet Tart

One of the main reasons I wanted to do a review on these was that when I was searching for swatches, I couldn't find any on brown girl skin. :-( One of the problems I have when buying lip gloss is wondering if the color will actually show up on my lips. So first, here is a picture of them swatched on my arm:

Same order, L to R: Kiss Kiss, Starlet, Sweet Tart
They actually look the same in the tube kind of, but different on the skin. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the color showed up on my brown skin, so go Zoya for making these glossy lip balms that actually show up well on all skin types!

Here's my favorite of the bunch, Kiss Kiss, on my lips:

• The consistency of these are really thick which is great in my book. They are really moisturizing in my opinion, since its been really cold here in Texas lately (yes, I said that) and my lips haven't been feeling dry since I keep one of these in my bag.
• Another thing that I ended up loving was that they are applied using the ball at the end of the tube. I wasn't too fond of that at first, but since I use them on the go a lot, its convenient for application when I'm not near a mirror.
• I thought they were really small at first but its okay because a little goes a long way with this product.
• One thing that I didn't like, and this may just be my personal experience, is that on my favorite one, Kiss Kiss, the tube split open right under the cap. It is a slit going halfway around the opening so when I squeeze the tube, the product oozes out of that slit as well as the ball tip. I have to be careful about either not squeezing too hard or using that product that comes out of the slit.

Overall, I felt these were great. They moisturize and give your lips nice color and really isn't that what all great glosses and balms do? Well these do and they are a good buy. You can check out more swatches or order them here.

P.S. Did you notice this is my first non-nail related review? You're welcome to leave any feedback in the comments section. Thanks for reading!

Essie Matte About You + My Favorite Purples

One of my lovely friends on Twitter, RebeccaKaz, sent me Essie Matte About You topcoat! So this post is possible because of her! Thanks again! I love Essie's Matte About You, I mean its a great solution to the matte nail trend. You can use it to make any nail polish you already own matte. It has a smooth velvet texture when it dries. There's nothing I don't love about this topcoat! So while looking through my stash, wondering what to try it out on first, I came across Sinful Colors Daddy's Girl. I also gathered 3 more of my favorite purples to try out. Here they are:

L to R: Zoya Hope, China Glaze Grape Juice, Hot Topic Iridescent Purple, Sinful Colors Daddy's Girl

The before picture: 2 coats of each polish with no topcoat:
L to R: Daddy's Girl, Iridescent Purple, Grape Juice, Hope

These polishes are already so gorgeous, lets see them with Essie Matte About You.

I love all of these polishes with the matte topcoat! But guess which ones are my favorite?

Zoya Hope + Matte About You. Isn't this a great purple to matte? I didn't cover all the polish with topcoat though,so a little glossy polish still remains by my cuticle. Besides that, I love this!

I saved the best for last. Hot Topic Iridescent Purple is already gorgeous. With the matte topcoat, I think it becomes even more dramatic. I love it. I'm going to do a whole manicure with this one and the Essie topcoat. You can see the purple and blue shimmer in it as well.

I'm sold on Essie Matte About You. That's coming from someone who didn't like the matte trend at first! Did you love these purples with a matte topcoat? I did!