Easter Nails

Happy Easter!

Index: 2 coats of China Glaze Something Sweet + 1 coat of OPI I Think In Pink as base, Milani Orange Graph line, China Glaze For Audrey and OPI Alpine Snow dots

Middle: 2 coats of OPI What's With The Cattitude? as base, OPI Alpine Snow for bunny,  LA Colors Art Deco Baby Pink nose and ears, OPI Black Onyx eye, Zoya Dove shading, Milani Green Sketch grass

Ring: 1 coat of OPI Alpine Snow + 2 coats of OPI Banana Bandanna as base, Zoya Lolly and Zoya Mitzi dots

Pinky: 2 coats of OPI Do You Lilac It? as base, LA Colors Art Deco Baby Pink stripes, OPI Alpine Snow dots

This took a lot longer than it should have, hence there not being a tutorial for this (sorry!), due to me hating the index nail and redoing it, and messing up the bunny the first try and having to redo it as well. Picking color combinations also took too long haha

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter, and spend it with family and friends <3

Jewelmint Inspired DIY

I'm sure by now it's no secret that I adore Jewelmint, but there was one time when I looked at a particular piece of theirs and thought "You know, I love these, but I don't like that 2 out of 3 are gold... I'll make my own! :D" And so I did!

That piece (or I suppose pieces, since there's 3) is the Aurora Bracelets trio. Lovely, simple, but I wanted to be able to choose exactly what stones mine had, and I wanted all 3 to be silver.

I visited a local bead shop in March, and after much picking and choosing, walked out with the things I needed to make this trio, and the total cost was under $10!

My version!

The colors are more accurate in this photo :)

I plan on making more of these, using different colored stones (that way I can wear a combination with any outfit!)

What do you all think? Do you like DIY, or do you prefer to buy things that are ready to wear? 

Personally, I love DIY. I've been beading since I was 9, and even sewed once upon a time! Sometimes I don't bother making something myself when my inspiration is already perfect and is exactly what I want :)

Zoya Polish Exchange 2011

Just like last year, Zoya is doing a Polish Exchange in honor of Earth Day! So if you have unwanted, old polish laying around, you can trade it in (plus $4 per bottle for shipping and processing) for new Zoyas! Bottle for bottle!

 Here’s all you need to do! 

1.    Go to Zoya.com and pick out the polishes you would like and add them to your cart. You must select at least 6 bottles  and no more than 24 bottles of polish (Salons accounts minimum 12 maximum 48 bottles.)
2.    Apply the code. EARTHZOYA 
3.    Your order value will be adjusted to reflect the promotion 
4.    SUBMIT your order!

Then Zoya will ship out your NEW polish! YEA! 

Once you get your order (Here is where the exchanging happens)…
1.    Ship back the equivalent number of bottles to the ones you received to the return address below.(ie. If  you got 6 bottles of Zoya – you would send us 6 NON-ZOYA polishes, please check with you carrier on the proper way to ship nail polish)
2.    Include a copy of your order 

Shipping Address 
Art of Beauty, Inc.
c/o Polish Exchange 
5060 Taylor Rd, Unit D
Cleveland, Ohio, 44128, USA

Once we receive your polish we do the rest! It’s that simple! 

IMPORTANT!

The bottles you send in cannot be Zoya, Qtica or Nocti polishes (but they can be any other brand). 

Continental US only.  The promotion runs April 20-27.

Zoya Sunshine Collection

The flashiest of the 3 summer 2011 collections from Zoya has to be the Sunshine collection. 6 glass fleck/metallic shades that are gorgeous and perfect for when you want that extra sparkle in your day :)

Check out the Mod Matte Collection swatches and review here,
and the Summertime Collection swatches and review here.

Tanzy

Tanzy is a tangerine orange with tons of gold shimmer. I originally didn't want to get this one, because I thought it would be too close to Sienna, but they're not even close! So glad I got her, because she is a beauty! Very sparkly and the perfect shade of orange to be paired with all that glass fleck shimmer :) 3 coats.

Rica

Rica is a pretty coral with lots of gold shimmer. One of the sparkliest in this collection. I love it; bright, cheery and not too pink! 3 coats.

Kimmy

Kimmy is an orange toned red with gold shimmer. This is one of two (the other being Reva) colors that only took 2 coats to be opaque. Kimmy has lots of gold glass fleck, but it blends in more than the others, which makes it look smoother. Absolutely stunning, and reminds me of OPI's Dear Santa (which is one of my favorites!)

Apple

Apple is a yellow toned green packed with tons of gold shimmer. The moment I saw the promo shot for this one, I knew I had to have it! Greens are one of my favorite shades of polish, and this one is gorgeous! I wanted to compare it to Ivanka, and it's a much lighter base green with a lot more shimmer, which is also finer than Ivanka's, either way, I love them both! Apple is my second favorite from this collection. This is 3 thin coats.

Index and ring: Zoya Apple

Middle and pinky: Zoya Ivanka

Faye

Faye is a plum purple with tons of gold shimmer. Oh. my. goodness! It's so sparkly (my swatch does not do it justice!!) This is by far the most unique in the collection, and my FAVORITE!! I did 2 coats, but I honestly think it needs a third.

Reva

Reva is a raspberry red with gold shimmer. Very pretty, and the shimmer blends in nicely into the base color, so it's smooth and sparkly at the same time. Like Kimmy, it only needed 2 coats to be opaque.

Overall, I love this entire collection! Bright, sparkly goodness, and absolutely perfect for summer (then again, I wear flashy colors year round!) The application was nice, even if most of the colors took 3 coats to hide the nail line. Even if you aren't big on sparkly polishes, I would recommend checking these out (at least for your toes!).

Jewelmint Nordic Treasure Necklace

I got a few more pieces from Jewelmint in the last week, but when this one came today - the moment I opened it- I knew I had to do a review immediately!

You can sign up for Jewelmint here.
If you are not familiar with Jewelmint, you can read my post with all the information you need to know here.

Now, onto the pictures and review!

Nordic Treasure Necklace

The piece description, and a size comparison to my hand.

This is a rustic "gold" necklace with a 27" chain (and 3" extender) and a whopping 3.75" sage enamel glazed pendant. The details in both the pendant and the chain are absolutely stunning! It is very sturdy and has good weight, without being too heavy. The only problem (and it isn't even a real problem, just a slight annoyance) is that when you walk, pendant bounces and twists so the back shows and it has to be readjusted. Other than that, it's perfection.

This has a very antique feel to it; from the moment I saw it on the website, it immediately made me think of something that got pulled out of a sunken ship that was resting on the ocean floor for hundreds of years. Amazing necklace, and it is officially my favorite Jewelmint piece! 

Beautiful especially when worn over earth-tones, and lace :)

Zoya Mod Mattes

One of the 3 summer collections Zoya released this year is Mod Mattes, which consists of 3 matte shades!

Check out the Sunshine Collection swatches and review here,

and the Summertime Collection swatches and review here.

Mitzi

Mitzi is a yellow-leaning lime green matte. Out of the three, this one has the worst application. It is very streaky and watery, and even after 3 coats, you can clearly see the streakiness. I love the color though!

With top coat.

Phoebe

Phoebe is an azure blue matte with shimmer! Yes ladies and gentlemen, I said shimmer and matte in the same sentence. See all those little light blue specks? Those are it. They are visible under good lighting and make this such an interesting polish! I think this one had the best application of the three. I absolutely love it, definitely my favorite from this collection! 3 coats.

With top coat, in direct sun. 

Lolly

Lolly is a hot pink matte. This picture is a bit misleading, because it is not quite so neon looking in person, though the color is accurate. I almost skipped this one because I have other matte/neon hot pinks, but I do like it! Application wise, it isn't quite as good as Phoebe, but not bad either. 3 coats.

With top coat.

If I had to suggest just one from this collection, it would definitely be Phoebe, it's so pretty and unique! Remember to skip base (base coat makes mattes slip and slide when you're applying them) and top coat (unless you want the shimmer particles to pop in Phoebe!) If you've never worn a matte, I would say give them a try, but don't expect them to last as long without chips as regular polish!