China Glaze Seduce Me

During Sally's Beauty Supply "Buy 2, Get 1 Free" promotion, I walked in to see what "core" colors of China Glaze didn't I have, and want.  This color was one that caught my eye.  I found out tonight that Seduce Me is actually from China Glaze's Roses and Berries collection but I'm not sure when it came out.  It's listed on their website under the "MUST HAVE" collections.  I saw on the web that it was also a part of the Patent Leather in the City collection but I'm not sure the accuracy in that.  One website calls it a hi-gloss creme, but I'm calling it a jelly based on the waterlike smoothness that it had when dried.  It was almost a raspberry red, with a bit of purple tones in it.


I used a base coat of Seche Natural, followed by 2 coats of Seduce Me, and topped with a coat of Seche Vite.  The formula on this polish was very nice - not thick, not thin, no pooling in the cuticles either.  I do have super sad news.  On Friday, I was judging a local talent show at the high school I used to work at.  I literally walked into the auditorium and broke a nail pulling out my judge's chair.  I was so ticked off.  I had a glass file in my purse so I had to tear off the nail and file it down to nubbin territory (the break was that low), and sit there the rest of the show, silently fuming.  I got home, cut off all my nails, held back the tears, then remembered how easy it is to type with nubbins.  I just wish I had more nail to showcase polish with!

Still having some intense Texas sun days, which is great for polish!  As you can see, this is just a nice smooth color.

In the shade, you can see a bit more of the jelly watery smooth goodness of this polish - I was definitely happy with my buy.  Well now that I'm back to nubbins, I'm going to try and push out more swatches.  I have lots of polish here to go through and best of all, I'M HAVING A GIVEAWAY VERY SOON!  Part of it is sponsored even, so I'm actually having TWO giveaways - one for international readers only, and one for USA readers only.  I'm really excited about this one, so happy days!  Yay!

China Glaze [official website] can be found online through several etailers, including my favorite Head2Toe Beauty [official website], Sally's Beauty Supply [official website] as well asTransDesign [official website].

Barielle High Steppin'

Got this in my email, it's share time!

For summer 2010, boogie down with new disco-inspired nail polishes in the High Steppin’ collection from Shades by Barielle.  Six metallic hues and Barielle’s signature healthy “3-free” formulation make hands and feet dance with style.

Flashing back to the 70’s, get groovy with Electric Boogie—an inky metallic blue with teal glitter; shake it up with Belly Dance—a nude taupe with shimmer; party until dawn with Night Moves—a sparkling metallic silver; turn it around with Passion Pirouette—a grape metallic purple; sway to the style with Slow Motion—a light metallic lavender and let loose with Freestyle—a cool metallic mint with silver glitter.

Celebrity Manicurist Elle says, “When creating this collection, we wanted to pump up the volume on nail hues.  Inspired by bright summer whites, we injected some high-voltage color into any look from bikini to boardwalk.”

Formulated to provide nails with safe, healthy and long-lasting glossy color coverage, Shades by Barielle is free of formaldehyde, toluene and dibutyl-phthalate. Women can also safely use Barielle products throughout pregnancy.

Key Features: Contains no formaldehyde, toluene and dibutyl-phthalate.

Zoya Robyn

Hey look!  It's another creme from the Zoya Flash Summer 2010 Collection!  That's one problem with releasing 12 colors, and me not making ONE big post with the entire 12.  First off, I'm just not that awesome yet, secondly I like dedicating my time to each color individually.  I have about 82 bottles here to review, not to mention all those that I already own and haven't swatched.  I have lots to write about, hah!


Robyn was my problem child.  Zoya lists it as a "perfect turquoise cream."  Yes, PERFECT.  I guess that automatically means "problem" for me.  First off, the color was thick as the others were but this one pooled everywhere.  I had to use my Remove+ to get the pooling under control as it slid all over the place.  Then I ended up smudging (big time) my ring finger as soon as I finished my pictures.  Granted, that was my fault, but it still irritated me.  I used a base coat of Zoya Anchor, 2 coats of Robyn and a coat of Zoya Armor.  While this color looks neon, it doesn't dry matte, so it's not really a neon but it was super BRIGHT.

I was thinking it would be more like a "Robyn Egg Blue" with a bit more of a white tone, but nope, this is definitely a blue.  It's not electric, but I don't really see it as that turquoise either.  My mom used to wear tons of turquoise but hers always had the black and bit of green running through the stones (not highly polished), so that's why my view may be a little skewed.  Gotta say, I love how shiny this is - looks like I added lens flare to my nails, but I swear, it's all natural baby.  ^_^  Also, I don't know what's up with the weird wolf head looking thing in the top left hand corner of my bottle.  Strange.

Even though this color was a pain in the you know what, it is a very nice color - I'm sure it would be great layered, with Konad, or just by itself.  I'm a little freaked out about my long nails, but I think I could pull on this color with STYLE.  Yes, I said it.


Zoya [official website] can be purchased on their website for $7/bottle

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

Zoya Dana

Another color from the Zoya 2010 Summer Flash collection is Dana, listed as an American Rose cream.  Now, I have no idea what an American Rose is so I Googled, like normal, and found the American Rose Society [official website] and okay, there is a video from CBS and the flowers do look like this bottle color.  Alright Zoya, I'll give you this one.


It almost looks neon in the bottle and doesn't disappoint on the nails.  I used a base coat of Zoya Anchor, 2 coats of Dana, and just 1 top coat of Zoya Armor.  I didn't Seche Vite it since I was only swatching.  Again, the formula was a little thick, but I really didn't get bubbles in this one, so I don't know what's wrong with my nails.

HELLO SUN.  Such a bright color on the nails.  I almost feel like I need to get closer to my cuticle with my polish - it almost looks like it has too much "new growth" when it's just "not getting the polish close enough."

And a much less annoying shade picture.  Seriously, this sun is HOT, and I don't mean in the "cool" way.  Blah.  I do have to say, this is a nice cheery color - I may have a dupe for it, but it's still a good happy red to keep around.


Zoya [official website] can be purchased on their website for $7/bottle


Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

China Glaze Vintage Vixen Sneak Peek

This email came through this afternoon while I was judging a local talent show.  I was actually called a celebrity judge!  ^_^  What color are you looking most forward to?

CHINA GLAZE GOES RETRO GLAM FOR FALL 2010 COLLECTION

Sultry Fall Colors Entice The Fashionable Palette

Los Angeles, CA – (April 2010): For Fall 2010, the China Glaze Vintage Vixen Collection captures the vivid and saturated hues of the 1940’s with this seductively complex palette. These classic shades of the season recreate the timeless tableau of movie land mystique, perfect red pouts and steamy nights where swing was the scene!

Step out with these multi-faceted jewel tones, rich reds, titillating taupes and smoldering sands. This collection deliverers a high octane 40’s era glamour with a sophisticated edge! The 12 colors in this collection include:

• Riveter Rouge – Deep red shimmer
• Foxy – Burgundy frost with shimmer
• Goin’ My Way – Brown frost with copper shimmer
• Classic Camel – Khaki crème with gold micro glitter
• Swing Baby –  Taupe frost with silver micro glitter
• Ingrid – “Greige” crème with copper micro glitter
• Hey Doll – Rose frost with shimmer
• Bogie – Plum frost with shimmer
• First Class Ticket – Deep purple frost with shimmer
• Midnight Mission – Navy blue frost with silver micro glitter
• Emerald Fitzgerald – Turquoise green frost with shimmer
• Jitterbug – Grey chrome with silver micro glitter

The China Glaze Vintage Vixen collection starts shipping June 6^th internationally and July 6^th, 2010 domestically. All 12 colors will be available as open stock, in 6 piece box collections, a 12 piece counter display and a 36 piece rack. China Glaze is free of DBP, toluene, and added formaldehyde.

China Glaze colors may change from season to season, but our longwearing formula continues to provide consumers with the highest quality nail lacquers. Designed with the professional in mind, our 220-strand brush is great for ease of application. Best of all, our non-thickening formula provides perfectly even coverage.  China Glaze nail lacquers are available through salons and professional beauty supply stores nationwide. For more information, visit: www.chinaglaze.com and follow China Glaze on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ChinaGlaze China Glaze is a division of American International Industries.

About American International Industries

 For nearly 40 years, AII has been the leading manufacturer and worldwide distributor of innovative, quality beauty and skin care products for men and women.  Our product lines include Ardell, Andrea, Body Drench, Bye Bye Blemish, Checi, China Glaze, Clean + Easy, Clubman/Pinaud, Duo, European Secrets, EzFlow, Fright Night, Gena, GiGi, Gypsy Lash, IBD, Jeris-Lustray, No Tweeze/Micro Tweeze, 'N Rage, Prolinc, RAW, Seche, SuperNail, Surgi-Care, Waterworks,  Winning Nails, Woltra, Woody’s,  and Youthair. For more information, visit our website: www.aiibeauty.com

Six piece "Cat's Meow" collection

Six piece "Hotsy Totsy" collection

Zoya Perrie

In addition to the mouthwatering glitter/metallic/glass fleck Sparkle Collection, Zoya also came out with their Flash Collection, six cremes that almost border on neon with some of the colors.  Being a purple lover, I started with Perrie, the soft lavender cream of the bunch.


I used Zoya Anchor, 2 coats of Perrie, a top coat of Zoya Armor and then a cheat coat of Seche Vite.  The consistency of the polish was a little rough for me - it was a bit thick when I pulled out the brush so I tried to go with a thin coat but my second coat was thick on purpose to cover bald spots.  However, I was happy that it didn't pool into my cuticles since I really get frustrated having to take the extra time to remove the excess with my Revlon eyeliner brush (yep, that's what I use!) and Zoya Remove+.

Sadly, while in the sun, this really isn't true to life.  It's been REALLY hot here - 90-100 degrees with humidity on top of it.  This is the Texas summer.  I was complaining about rain not too long ago so I can't talk to much but at the same time, I just wish we had a happy medium.

This is much more true to life as far as color goes.  This was taken in indirect sun (not shade) and you can really see the blue of the purple coming out, as this is more of a blue purple than a red purple (like the sun picture shows).  I really don't think I have any dupes for this since I'm not as big on cremes as I am on shimmers or glitters.


However, I'm having a nail issue.  Remember how I was getting bubbles in my Barielle Blossom the other day?

Bubbles.  Flat out BUBBLES.  Holes with bubbles.  What the heck?!  Jen from http://www.frmheadtotoe.com asked if I was applying my polish in direct sunlight but nope, I have found the only place that I can have steady hands is at my computer desk.  Now, I haven't had the a/c on (it's routine to have $400 electric bills in the summer.  I'm trying to save my pennies since I just signed mortgage papers today!!!!), so maybe that's it?  All the humidity?  Leave me a comment and let me know if you can figure it out.


Also, I need to get some cuticle care going stat.  The sad part is that I bought some expensive Aveda "cuticle control" after being suckered into it on my last trip to San Antonio, and I found a bottle of CND Solar Oil at Walgreens this past weekend and snatched that up too.  Plus I have my China Glaze Orange Cuticle Oil still AND I have a bottle of "be natural" curticle eliminator.  I have the stuff, now I have to make the time.  Honestly, I'm amazed at how LONG my nails are - ever since I quit my teaching job, my nails have been growing like mad.  However, I'm thinking about asking for my job back - I really miss that business (TV).  We'll see.


Zoya [official website] can be purchased on their website for $7/bottle

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

Zoya Ivanka

Zoya Ivanka is one of the beauties from the 2010 Summer "Sparkle" collection.  Zoya has described this as a mermaid green sparking metallic but again, I'm calling it a glass fleck glitter.  ^_^


I'd also probably call this a lighter version of China Glaze Emerald Sparkle since it's a lighter green with a bit more blue in it.  Very beautiful color though!


It was 100 degrees today, so I snapped a few pictures before running back inside to cool off.  I used a base of Zoya Anchor, 2 coats of Ivanka, a top coat of Zoya Armor followed by a top coat of Seche Vite.  Only issue was that during the day, my nails felt a bit gritty instead of smooth - but I'm blaming the insane heat on that one.

The sun picture really doesn't do justice to this color.  It's a beautiful foil looking color, that just glitters everywhere.

This was taken in indirect sunlight - you can see a bit more dimension in the polish here.

And in the shade you can see even more of that glass fleck glitter in there.  You know I'm not really used to wearing green nail polish but when it's so glitzy, I'm not as weirded out by it.  Overall a very nice glittery color for summer.

Zoya [official website] can be purchased on their website for $7/bottle.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

Barielle Blossom

This is the last of the Wildflower collection by Barielle.  Blossom is hailed as a creamy opaque peach, which is pretty accurate.  Now, when I got this bottle in the mail, it was pretty bad - something happened and the bottle was covered in peach gooey greatness.  I guess maybe it just wasn't sealed all the way?  I did some cleaning to the bottle but the rim is still pretty sticky, and oddly, it appears that the polish is SUPER thick.  I don't really think that's supposed to be that way, but I didn't want to thin it before my review.


I took this picture very late in the evening so as you can see, the sun is going down and honestly, my sun picture wasn't true to life, so here is a shade picture instead.

Notice that in the shade, it looks much more pink than peach, but it's definitely a peach color.  I used a coat of Seche Retain for my base, and 2 coats of Blossom.  I did not use a top coat, and after earing the polish for about twenty minutes, an odd thing started to happen.

Weird bubbling.  The picture is horrible in terms of color but what is with the bubbling?  I think I may have just gotten a bad bottle of polish, because this was the worst one out of the whole collection application wise, but was also the only damaged in transit bottle too.  The color doesn't give me maniquin hands like I thought it would, but it is a good neutral color for the office.


Barielle retails for $8/bottle.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

Piggy Polish Make Waves

Piggy Polish Make Waves is a lovely metallic blue that I swear I wore a dress this color back in 1999.  

One thing I didn't realize about Piggy Polish originally is that the handle is super long - longer than normal.  Then it made sense - this is really a toenail polish company, so long handles ... duh.

Here's the other thing, I can't find Make Waves ANYWHERE.  Not on their website, not on the internet, NADA.  Do I really own the only bottle?  /hoards

I used a base coat of Seche Retain, 3 coats of Make Waves, and a top coat of Seche Vite.

As you can see, it's a little brush stroke-y as this is a metallic and there's just a bit of VNL but on toes, I don't see an issue... especially since toe nails don't have the same type of nails.

I really liked this shade picture - the color is very true to life, and just so lovely.  My mom even commented that it was pretty, and she is NOT a blue polish person.

Piggy Polish can be purchased through their website [official website] for $6 or at retailers.  You can check their website for the closest retailer to your location.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.