Zoya - Zuza

     Well, hey there, lovies! Hope everyone is doing well. Super busy past week and a half here. I made a quick last minute trip back home to see my mom while she was in the country. I also got to hang out with my dad on Father's Day and spend time with my delightful little nephew. It was a good couple of days. :) My restaurant reopened after its remodel. The bar is completely different. It's beautiful, but we're still working out the kinks in its functionality. Between making some major adjustments and having the bigwigs from corporate hanging around, work has been pretty stressful, and I've just been wiped out. All I want to do is paint my nails, but I get home from work and pass out...

     Today's polish is one I wore a little while ago to brighten up a dreary day. Zoya Zuza is from the Summer 2012 Surf Collection. I love this one! It's such a beautiful, beachy, summer colour.

     Zuza is described by Zoya as a "deep, saturated, oceanic turquoise with gold and silver metallic shimmer and a foil-like finish." I absolutely adore this shade. Such a perfect mix of blue and green! I can see this one being flattering on most skin tones. I have a bunch of aqua/turquoise polishes, but Zuza is unique to my collection. The formula is wonderful. Coverage was really good with one coat. Photos show two coats, topped with Seche Vite. (I know that I previously mentioned occasional shrinkage with the Zoya/Seche combo, but no problems this time!) I didn't have any issues controlling the polish, but if you're like me and have ADD when it comes to application, beware of leftover shimmer particles post clean-up.

 

     Sadly, I only got to wear this beauty for two days. I blame it on a busy night at work, but a weird thing happened. I didn't get tipwear in the traditional sense. It didn't chip, either. It just kinda shredded off. That's the only way I can describe it. Random jagged little pieces tore off my tips. I tried to patch up my mani, but the same thing happened after the second night. Sad panda. I'll have to wear this one again when I'm not guaranteed to wreck it.



 

     I'd normally babble on more about this polish, but seriously? Look at it! It's gorgeous. The pictures should be enough to convince you. Also, I'm currently watching/listening to the director's commentary on the Les Misérables DVD. So, yeah, I'm a little distracted. To make it up to you, how about a pic of the always adorable Luna? She's always around for my polish related activities. She loves "girl time." Lol. Little princess usually falls asleep by my feet while I'm snapping away with the camera. Below is her normal napping position of choice. <3



     Zuza is available for purchase from Zoya for $8. Zoya is always doing awesome promotions, so you should follow them on Facebook so that you don't miss out.

XOXO,
Riotbettyx

Lac Attack - Death Day Party

     Hi lovies! I should be sleeping, but, nah... Gotta post when the blogging spirit moves me. ;) Today's polish is one that I wanted to show you a couple of weeks ago during my Harry Potter marathon. Lac Attack Death Day Party is sooo cool! It's from the Magical Musings Collection, which I'm still trying to work my way through. I'm giddy just thinking about all that awesome.

     I'm horrible at describing polishes. My brain just goes, "Oh my glob. Shiny..." and I can't think past that. My apologies. Death Day Party is a topper that contains (according to the Lac Attack site description) "mainly charcoal colored micro-flakes that flash a beautiful purple, as well as multicolored iridescent flakes strewn throughout a clear base." Oh my, do I ever love flakie polishes. This one is inspired by Nearly Headless Nick's 500th death day party. Even if you're not into Harry Potter and that previous sentence means nothing to you, you should still be able to appreciate this complex and unique polish.

 

 

     How fantastic do those flakes look?! The colour shifts are so pretty and unusual. This is just one coat of Death Day Party over OPI Vant to Bite My Neck?. I chose to layer it over a dark purple because it matched the overall bottle colour, but I think it would look good over a variety of base colours. (I still want to try it over a dark blue to contrast the coppery flakes and a beige to show off the variety of iridescent flakes better.) I was happy with the coverage that I got, but I guess you could do a second coat if you wanted to. Despite being full of flakes, this polish spread easily. I applied it like normal polish, with very minimal dabbing. As usual, everything is topped off with a coat each of Gelous and Seche Vite. I want to say that I wore this for three days with no chipping and that removal wasn't anything horrible, but don't quote me on that. I should really take notes for when I get behind on my posts. (Or I could just, you know, not get behind...)

 

     Death Day Party is currently available from Lac Attack for $8. You can also find it at Harlow & Co. for $9. Sidenote, the elusive Weasley's Wizard Wheezes is still in stock at Harlow & Co. Get it while you can, and avoid the normal restock madness! While you're at it, you should go ahead and follow Lac Attack on Facebook for updates. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. :)

 

XOXO,

Riotbettyx

 

 



Zoya - Kimber

     There are times when you really need a cheery pop of colour in your life. Zoya Kimber is a polish that was up for the task. I must admit, though, that I'm weird about pink. Pink clothing is extremely flattering on me (especially when paired with black), but I can't say that I'm a huge fan of all things pink. In fact, I used to hate it because it was considered a "girl colour." Still, as I've gotten older, it's grown on me, and I find myself drawn to certain shades of pink. Bright, glowy pinks? Oh, I'm a sucker for those. That's where Kimber comes in.

     Kimber is from Zoya's Summer 2012 Surf Collection. Zoya describes it as a "rich, bright and saturated medium magenta pink with strong gold metallic shimmer and a foil-like finish. A huge hit of color and a shot of shiny gold metal make this polish look electric." Yep, pretty accurate there, Zoya. To me, Kimber seemed more strawberry pink in natural light and slightly red-leaning in artificial light. The gold shimmer is amazing! It gives the polish a glowy depth that makes me feel like I can't totally focus on it. The vibrant base also had a jelly-like appearance to it that made me think of Jolly Ranchers. Mmm, candy... Anyway, I love the warmth that this polish has. I adore pinks that look like they want to be coral, but are definitely still pink.

 

 





     I was really surprised by how well this polish applied! The formula was fantastic. I was expecting it to be on the sheer side, but I got great coverage with one coat. Photos show two easy coats, topped with Seche Vite. Speaking of Seche Vite... does anyone have a problem with it not wanting to play well with certain Zoyas? That's not tipwear you see in my pics, it's shrinkage. I've had this problem with several of my non-creme finish Zoyas. This polish did have a fast dry time, so maybe that's why. Suggestions? (Also, thoughts on A England's The Shield and Cult Nails' Wicked Fast? I've been considering trying both of those.) Unfortunately, between the shrinkage and an intensive cleaning night at work, this mani didn't make it past day one intact. No matter. Kimber was such a mood booster for me that I went ahead and wore my wrecked polish a for second day.

     Kimber is available from Zoya for $8. The rest of the Surf Collection is also available and totally worth checking out. I'm off to try to take a quick nap. Apparently, I'm a masochist, because I've volunteered to go into work to clean from 8-10 AM as we start the renovation on our store. I was so excited for shiny new things that I completely blocked out the fact that I'm normally just falling asleep at 8 AM. We'll see how this goes. Hope everyone has a fantastic Monday!

XOXO,
Riotbettyx

OPI - Meet Me on the Star Ferry (for Diana)

Sunset and evening star, And one clear call for me! And may there be no moaning of the bar, When I put out to sea, But such a tide as moving seems asleep, Too full for sound and foam, When that which drew from out the boundless deep Turns again home. Twilight and evening bell, And after that the dark! And may there be no sadness of farewell, When I embark; For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place The flood may bear me far, I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crost the bar. "Crossing the Bar" (1889)      - Alfred Lord Tennyson **********          So, this is not the post I had planned. I had a couple of Harry Potter inspired polishes lined up to show you, as well has some fun spring/summer colours. I was excited to be blogging again after my recent hiatus. Then, last Wednesday, the boyfriend got some horrible news. His mother had suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. The last couple of days have been exhausting, as the family has been trying to make arrangements and such, all the while grieving and trying to make sense of what happened. The shock has not worn off.      I've been trying to be the supportive girlfriend. I love the bf, and his mother was always so warm and caring towards me. It's difficult to see him in so much pain, but I don't think I'm emotionally equipped to be much comfort. I chalk that up to my military upbringing. I could safely rescue you from a catastrophic weather event, but you would want someone else there with you as you sifted through what remained of your house and possessions. I've been staying strong, taking care of our day-to-day and finances. This doesn't mean I haven't cried while alone in the shower, or that this post is easy to type.      Sunday was the memorial service. I wanted to wear a polish that would serve as my unspoken tribute to her. It might seem like a trivial thing, but my mind appreciated focusing on something tangible, and I agonized over what to wear. Polish addicts often plan out their manicures days (or weeks) in advance when it comes to birthdays, holidays, major life events. But what polish does one wear to what is basically the funeral of the woman who was to be one's mother-in-law? It's not a pleasant thing to think about, but it was important to me.

Crossing the Bar Alfred Tennyson
1889

 

 

     OPI Meet Me on the Star Ferry is from their Spring 2010 Hong Kong Collection. The "Star Ferry Co Ltd" name was inspired by the poem above. I don't really want to explain my polish choice past that. I haven't shared this with the bf yet. I don't know if I will.

    

 

 

 

     All photos are two coats of Meet Me on the Star Ferry and one coat of Seche Vite. Any bubbles are the result of my sleep deprived application, not the fault of the polish. This polish looks different in every light, sometimes cooler or warmer. Frosty or crazy shimmery. Pink, purple, brown. I don't feel much like describing it in depth. Photos are all colour accurate, to an extent. (Let's say that they capture the spirit of the polish.) I'm just not that concerned this time. There are other, more perfect, swatches out there. These are being posted with love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 







     I'm hoping that my next post will be more upbeat. I got word a few hours ago that my own mother is in the hospital. Keep us in your thoughts, as you all are in mine.

 

XOXO,

Riotbettyx

 

 

 

Lac Attack - Weasley's Wizard Wheezes

     Hi, lovies! I've missed you guys. :) Hope everyone is doing well. I haven't been able to blog lately, but I've still been taking photos of my manis. I've got quite the backlog of pics to wade through and edit, so I do have material to post. I've got the day off and a little bit of energy right now, so let's get to it!

     I was really sick a couple of weeks ago and barely got out of bed for a few days. I attempted to go to work, with mixed results. Mostly I just watched all of the Harry Potter movies in order. Over and over. I'm more than a little obsessed with them. (Once again, I'll spare you my fangirling, and keep this post polish related.) During my extended movie marathon, I made sure to use a couple of my Harry Potter inspired polishes. Kind of a no-brainer, really. I'm sure most of you will recognize today's polish. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, from Lac Attack's Magical Musings collection, is a big lemming for some people, and I can see why!

 



     Lac Attack Weasley's Wizard Wheezes is a bright mix of matte orange and yellow bar and hex glitters in a clear base. This polish is just so fun! I applied it like a normal polish and got pretty good glitter coverage. I then went back and dabbed a little more on to cover any bald spots, but I didn't really have to worry about exact placement of the bars or hexes. They didn't clump together and spread out nicely. This is one "coat." I used Essie Butler Please as my base polish. I really liked this combo, but I think it made my camera freak out a little. I could see myself wearing WWW over black around Halloween, and I still want to try it over aqua. One coat of Seche Vite made it smooth and shiny. (Oh, and I don't recommend wearing Butler Please when you're sick. Maybe my sense of smell was heightened, but it just smelled rancid. Maybe it's always smelled like that, and I just didn't realize or had forgotten, but it was overwhelming. I could still smell it the day after I applied it, and I was paranoid that other people were aware of the rotten egg/dead fish smell coming from my fingertips. Yeah. But gee, it sure is pretty.)

 

 





     Isn't this such a cheery and fun combo?! It's definitely eye-catching. I was surprised that the over fifty crowd at work (male and female) was very fond of this mani. Nothing like having a woman in her eighties interrupt you to tell you how much she adores your nail polish. Lol. I loved wearing a polish that made me think happy thoughts whenever I looked at my nails. I have a ton of glitter toppers, but this one is special. I also loved that I was able to score this polish at all. If you've ever watched any of the Lac Attack restocks, you'll know that WWW sells out almost immediately. I got this little bottle of sunshine into my cart a few months ago the second the listing went live. Thank goodness my phone refreshes like a champ!

     The Lac Attack shop seems to be closed at the moment, and Weasley's Wizard Wheezes is sold out at Harlow & Co. right now, but don't fret. It is possible to get this polish. You just have to wait for it. The most recent restock was last week, so it might be a bit before the next one. Your best bet is to follow Lac Attack on Facebook and by blog for updates. I don't know the specifics, but there's also a waitlist for the full Magical Musings collection. Harry Potter fans, rejoice!

XOXO,
Riotbettyx

Pretty & Polished - I'm not a banana!

     Every now and then, I'm pretty sure that some people look at my nails and wonder, "What made her pick that polish?" Or, a little more judgey, "Why does that polish even exist?!" When said polish is a yellow jelly, I forgive them. They'll never understand why I'm not a banana! is so awesome. I don't bother to tell them that it's from Pretty & Polished's Mathematical! Collection, which is inspired by Adventure Time. I don't feel like explaining what Adventure Time is, that my boyfriend and I looove the series, or that this polish represents Jake the Dog. (Not, as they might assume, a bumblebee.) They definitely won't appreciate my love for Pretty & Polished, or that I exclaimed "Oh my Glob!" when I first started to apply this. But you, my lovies, you might understand...

 



     I'm not a banana! is a yellow jelly base with large black and white matte hex glitters, as well as small matte white glitters. I'll admit, I was a little apprehensive about wearing a yellow jelly, but my love for Adventure Time leaves little room for worrying about my nails looking strange. In some lighting, the base leans a little orangey-yellow. Other times, it's more of a bright, sunny yellow. In any case, it's a very Jake accurate shade.

     I used two coats of I'm not a banana!. I wasn't worried about covering my nail line. It wasn't super noticeable in person. (I did make sure to wear it while my nails were short.) If you have longer nails, VNL might bother you more. I guess you could wear a yellow polish underneath or add another coat, but I think that would kill the depth and jelly squishiness. I wanted to quickly slap on some polish before work, and man, I picked a winner with this one. The formula was fantastic. I only have a couple of Pretty & Polished jellies, so I forget that they go on sooo smoothly. This went on perfectly level with no streaking, even at one coat. The base is just thick enough that it doesn't run and goes where you want it to. Despite my hurried application, this polish behaved so well. (Sorry about my sloppy clean-up and not-so-great pics. I was running late. Story of my life.) A layer of Seche Vite on top to make it shiny, and I was good to go.

     Just look at that squishy jelly glitter goodness! I didn't have to fish for glitters or worry about placement, but I'd definitely recommend leaving the bottle upside down for a few minutes before application. I did this before each coat, and the hexes came out easy peasy. I wore this mani for only one day. No tipwear at all, but the polish did start to lift on a few of my nails. Oh well. At least I got to wear a polish that made me smile (and want to watch Netflix) every time I looked at it, even if not everyone had the same reaction. Funny story, though, one of my regular guests did burst into laughter when I set down his drink. "Oh my God! Your nails! Those are sure to attract some attention!" He tried to suppress his giggles but couldn't. He seemed so honestly surprised and amused. His ex-wife just smiled at me and said, "Whatever makes you happy, honey, that's all that matters."

     I'm not a banana! is still available from Pretty & Polished for $9. It's in the "Say Goodbye!" section now, so it won't be restocked. If you're an Adventure Time fan, but this just isn't your thing, there are lots of other cool polishes to chose from. Go check out the site!

XOXO,
Riotbettyx

Color Club - Eternal Beauty

     Ahh, holographic polishes... What can I say? I love the way they look. Should I own as many as I do? Absolutely not. I'm not in the sun enough for me to see some blinding holo effect. If I expect for my manis to last any time at all, I have to wear top coat, and we all know that this dulls most holos. Some holos also cost more, and it's not very practical for me to spend extra money on something I can't fully appreciate. All that being said, we are talking about nail polish here, so logic and reason are pretty much irrelevant. On a gloomy day that promised rain, I decided that there was only one polish that I wanted to wear. Eternal Beauty, from Color Club's 2013 Halo Hues Collection, was the exact colour of purple that I was craving. So, enjoy some pics of a polish I'm sure you've already seen, this time sans direct sunlight or flash.

     Eternal Beauty is a mid-toned purple linear holographic polish. The holo effect is crazy strong with this one. All photos were taken indoors, with the sun refusing to make an appearance in the grey clouded sky, and you can still clearly see the holo rainbows. Imagine how amazing this is when there's more light present!

     I had zero problems with application. The formula of Eternal Beauty is fantastic. It went on exactly where I wanted it to, similar to a great creme, and dried smooth to the touch. While far more even and opaque than I expected at one coat, I used two to ensure richness of colour and holo strength. I don't own an aqua base coat, so I used my usual CND Stickey, and this polish flowed nicely over it. I also top coated this mani with Seche Vite. The linear holo effect was initially dulled a little, but reappeared after the Seche was dry. Was it exactly as strong as pre-top coat? Probably not, but it was close enough for me to not care. (I've heard mixed reviews about whether top coat dulls the Halo Hues. When I swatched them on a nail wheel, I found that it depended on the individual polishes. Some seemed unaffected by top coat, others sported a slightly weaker effect. The linear holo wasn't totally killed on any of the shades, though.)

     How gorgeous is this shade of purple?! Factor in the strong holo, and I'm in love. I wore this mani for a night at work and ended up with no (!) chips. Tipwear, yes, but that's to be expected. I did wear top coat, though, so I can't comment on how it wears without it. I'm just happy to find that I can get at least one day of wear out this polish, and that it still looks beautiful with top coat. I can't wait until the weather evens out (hellllooo, Sunshine State?) so that I can try out some of the other polishes in this collection.

     I bought my bottle of Eternal Beauty off of Amazon. I actually purchased all of the Color Club Halo Hues (both 2012 and 2013) at once, as a lot of 12, for just under $80. I didn't shop around, comparing prices, because I wanted them right then. Once again, love of nail polish > logic, reason. Looking around after the fact, I've seen them retailing for significantly more than that, so my impulse bulk purchase makes perfect financial sense. Mmm hmm...

XOXO,

Riotbettyx