Nail comparisons are always helpful for me. I am constantly stalking some of my favorite nail polish blogs to see if I have a dupe or to see what the differences are in case something else works better for me. I especially do this with colors my skin tone can totally reject (why hello nudes) & colors I wear less often like orange & yellow. Without futher rambling, here are 2 of my other oranges I love that have some sort of shimmer/fleck to them.

 Left to right: Pointer finger is Myrta by Zoya (Summer 2012) 2 coats, Middle is the Riveting by China Glaze 3 coats, Ring finger is 9.0.2.1.Orange by Wet n Wild 3-4 coats, & my pinkie is Sally Hansen Hard as Nails in Hard to Get 3 coats.

Myrta is clearly more pink toned & has yellow/gold shimmers that aren’t as fire-y so they look more silver. Myrta is extremely saturated though which is something Riveting has in common after its layered. 9.0.2.1.Orange is the closest thing I could find to an orange that appeared “lit from within” like Riveting. Clearly much lighter & leans way more yellow but if you like the fire look, this one is really fun. Hard to Get isn’t as sparkly as the others. It has some shimmers that end up looking more reflective because they are so small. In the shade, Riveting & 9.0.2.1.Orange can actually look similar in shade when in the bottle. The shimmers in Riveting really set it apart.

Well, that cements it! You NEED Riveting! haha What do you think of these other orange shades? Own any of them? All of these colors are linked above in case you want to check out older posts focusing on each shade.

I found this to be extremely easy to apply & crazy pigmented. I could have easily gotten away with two coats actually. I find oranges hard to like usually but this one is a love & a must own. The lit from within/fire effect is unprecedented in my collection. I know some people are calling it a jelly but I think it is more sheer in one coat & then builds & evens itself out.


So have you picked up Riveting? Any other China Glaze Hunger Games polishes I should give a 2nd look to? I always like to hear about your favorites!

 So I have a nice quick post today just to show you the quick layer I did last night to wear today. Honestly, it didn’t work out as desired. I just picked up Whimsical by Revlon which has been a rather coveted shade & wanted to wear it.

The pastel shades seemed fitting but this manicure went wrong. Being in a hurry never leads to a lovely manicure. Cotton Candy by Orly is a pretty shade but I needed 3 coats then I did 2 heavy coats of Whimsical. Too much bulk on my nails! Anyway… Here’s what it looks like. I’ll be doing better shots of Whimsical soon when I find a way I like to wear it!

So this is a random day. Yesterday was our 3.5 year anniversary (we celebrate every 6 months being that we are a military family!) & tomorrow is my 23rd birthday (the first one he has EVER been home for!) so this is the breif breathe time!

I hit up Sally’s for the buy 2 get 1 free nail polish sale going on storewide & noticed these! I actually quite like Sally Girl Polishes, especially for traveling! Little, cheap, & oh so pretty! I picked up 12 nail polish total…woah baby! You can get all 6 of these for only $4 right now!

I QUICKLY put these on over a manicure last night so I didn’t take pictures. I was scent testing of course! Longest lasting? Banana! But Lime was a very close 2nd! Weakest? Cherry…but its a beautiful pink. Before anyone asks Grape is indeed that murky of a grayed purple!

I thought these would be PERFECT additions to an Easter Basket perhaps? They are fab spring/summer shades & scents are just too fun! Have you spotted these at your local Sally’s?

I wanted to post this really quick before getting some chores done. These 2 Zoya polishes are from the Zoya Summer 2012 Surf Collection which I swatched & have fallen hard for. The Revlon shade is one I have been looking for & it is called Stunning which I used over Kimber on my ring finger in 3 coats. No top coat on any of these & some art natural light while others are artificial. Nebraska sunshine is not cooporating my friends.

Revlon Stunning- A clear base with semi-sparse medium holo hex glitters & small silver/holo glitters.

I have to say I am dissapointed but maybe I built this up too much? Have I been spoiled by some other brands who have been putting out killer glitters? No…because I compared Revlon Radiant & Milani Teal which were both beautiful. This one takes too much work.

Bad batch? Its very possibly. I’m keeping it just because I love holos but I see myself having to work pretty darn hard on the placement…

Here is my second half of swatches for the Zoya Summer 2012 Collections which is Surf. If you missed Beach click here! This half is completely different as each one is a uniquely gorgeous foil! Zoya’s foils hold a special place in my heart because they last like crazy! All of these are 2 coats, no top coat in artificial light.

 Zoya Myrta: A burnt orange foil with a red tinge to it. This one is wildly saturated & if I was careful I could have easily done one coat. Girl on fire perhaps? The shimmers are a yellow gold & a tangerine shade.

 Zoya Rory: An orchid foil thats very demure while still being wildly foiled…unexpected & I like it! This has some blue, pink, and mainly silver shimmers.

 Zoya Kimber- A hot pink & red foil with golden shimmers. I love this & I am glad it leans way more hot pink than red because I don’t wear reds often in spring. This I will wear!

 Zoya Carly- A deep, very saturated plum shimmer. This has the most colors in it by far with blue, pink, purple, & silver. So expensive looking! This isn’t normally a color I’d reach for in spring or summer but I might have to make an exception due to oh-so-pretty.

 Zoya Meg- This reminds me of a paler olive shade but I know its more of a medium green foil. This has loads of yellow & light green speckles in it. This one applied a bit streaky but I think it evened out nicely. Lovely spring & summer shade.

 Zoya Zusa: First off, this is what I love about summer, this shade right here. Zusa is an aqua with silver sparkles that makes me want to take a dip in the pool. I just love this shade & saved it till the end to wear as a full manicure.

My must haves in this collection are Myrta, Zuza, & Kmber. I absolutely love this collection & unless you have some polishes that are similar I think they would fit in great for any collection. All of these applied like butter but upon removal I had to do some scrubbing. You can notice the bits of shimmer I wasn’t able to get off in between swatches that my camera picked up. I don’t mind it though but I thought it was something to note. After doing a full mani of Zuza I washed my hands & the excess came off.

Like I noted in my Beach swatches, these are avilible to purchase on Zoya’s website TODAY!

Which from either collection are you lemming for? Any possible dupes? Anything you’d like to see these compared to?

*Items sent in consideration for review by PR.

Since Zoya Beach & Surf are avilible for purchase TODAY on Zoya’s website, its only fitting I have the swatches for you! I love this collection so much even though it has 3 pink (ish) polishes which I’m usually kind of meh about. Zoya is a favorite brand not just because of ease of application or how opaque their polishes are but because these last pretty long without a topcoat on my finnicky nails. So let’s get started! All of these are 2 coats, no top coat, with artificial light. Dear sunlight, come back soon!

 Zoya Shelby: A light bubblegum pink creme with blue undertones. I could have used a 3rd coat perhaps as this one didn’t go on as buttery as the others. Pretty for a light pink because it still has some pop to it.

 Zoya Arizona: A tangerine creme that has some yellow undertones but it quite bright. I don’t like neon orange much so this is a happy medium for me.

 Zoya Wednesday: A creamy teal with a very softened look. Even with all my teals I don’t have anything quite this shade. Unique & applied like a dream.

 Zoya Reagan: A raspberry pink creme with a very rich look to it. This photographed darker than it actually is in all of my photos making it appear more purple & less pink. This color was very saturated.

 Zoya Lara: A medium pink creme with a lot of brightness. This is my idea of a Barbie pink in case you were wondering! This also had lots of shine!

 Zoya Tracie: The lone non-creme in this set! This is a pale grassy green with a silver frost to it. Do you see the veins in the bottle? I can’t wait to do bottle shots of it! This is truly captivating in the bottle! It applied very evenly despite the metallic notes.

My must haves are definitely Wednesday & Reagan but I have a strong bias to teal in any form & this raspberry pink stole my heart! All of these shades should look good on most skin tones except maybe Arizona which I have heard murmurs of not working on other bloggers. I did note that it made me look a bit yellow…but I will rock it none the less because its so unique to my collection.

Overall I think this is an extremely strong, creamy collection with the added bonus of Tracie. I will be wearing all of these shade sin one form or another over the spring/summer so keep on the lookout for bottle shots, comparisons which I’ll be doing throughout this week, & more swatches! This is one of the most fun but wearable collections I’ve received by any brand.

*Items sent in consideration for review by PR.

Why yse you did read the name of this nail polish correctly! Scandalous no? Well, whether you love or hate it, this color is a beautiful one. The formula was also quite lovely in 2 medium coats except for my nail blemish. You will note some bubbling on my finger & a strange reflection in the light. This is where it was dented so the bubbling was not my fault or the polish. This brush was also a good one compared to some wonky ones I’ve received.

 Spoiled’s My Silicone Popped: A mix of mauve/rose & coral with pink undertones. I classify this as a creme & it was very easy to apply. 

I am loving this shade & I feel it is one of the shades in the Spoiled collection that would be great for year round wear. Honestly, the name is kind of garish is for me, but the shade is gorg. It comes off a bit warmer on camera but a bit cooler with flash. In person, its somewhere between those two.

What do you think? Does the name of this shade turn you off or do you think this is a wearable shade like me? This is one I really haven’t seen swatched much…

So when I picked up one of these at CVS & then bought the other at Walgreens I was thrilled! I LOVE TEAL! Then I got them home, looked at both hauls & said “huh?” I mean they’re both gorgeous but they are VERY close in similarity. What is the difference? Which do I prefer? Keep reading!

Milani Teal: A clear base with somewhat teal but mostly blue based mini hex glitters. Within this base there is also medium to large hex glitters in that same blue/teal shade except slightly lighter, a medium green, & silver. These glitters are very dense.

 Revlon Radiant- A clear base with dense micro hex glitter in more of a light sky blue. Bigger (medium-large) scattered glitters consist of that same sky blue, green, & silver.

Left to right medium coats: Revlon Radiant 2 coats, Milani Teal 2 coats, Revlon Radiant 1 coat, Milani Teal 1 coat.

So what’s the difference? First off, the blues are definitely different shades. The Teal is darker & more jewel toned while the Radiant is much lighter & softer looking. Second is density. Milani’s Teal will definitely be easier to apply if you like chunky glitter & a thicker base coat. This won’t cover the entire nail however. If you want a glitter to cover the entire nail, Radiant will do that. This isn’t as impressive IMHO but it will layer more densely due to the micro glitters being way more dense. I personally prefer the Milani Teal because I like the colors better however Radiant might be more “springy” to other. Dupes? Not quite, but definitely a similar concept. All of these photos are color accurate & my base is Essie’s Borrowed & Blue.

Left to right medium coats: Milani Teal 1 coat, Revlon Radiant 1 coat, Milani Teal 2 coats, Revlon Radiant 2 coats.

So which do you prefer? I like them both & definitely think they’re both worth a look. Interest polishes either way really. I don’t believe I have anything else like them unless I did a glitter sammich.

 I didn’t expect this. I mean, if you read my post on these Kiss Nail Dress accessories, then you know I used them one my nails & toes. Well, here I am ready to take them off my nails! Can you believe some peelies lasted this long? I mean, I have to be honest, I thought they would be a girl’s night out type of deal. Well, I do still think they’d be fab for that occasion, these blew my expectations away!

Lowdown on my week: Playdough, washing my thick hair, typing incessantly, light gardening, lots of cooking, playing hungry hungry hippos with the kids which is much harder on your nails than I was lead to believe, ripping open mail, eating oranges, organizing my office….are you getting a picture of my nail use?
 Well, I removed them from my hands. They lefts a slight residue but that was easy to remove with some acetone. My nails aren’t damaged at all, in fact, the probably look better than they did before because I haven’t been painting them incessantly. I don’t know how they did it, but they made miracle stickers. Somehow they took the window decals & made them incredible beauty finds! If I didn’t have some new polish designs to show you guys, I seriously would have worn them on through. But they are still on my toes, as I don’t know how! I have TINY toe nails but there they are, looking fab.

I promised to update & I have! I’ll let you know on twitter how long they last on my toes! Hopefully writing this didn’t jinx me! How long did yours last if you have tried them? How long do they last from other brands? What a fun Spring Break idea!

* These were sent to me from Influenster but this in no way impacts my opinions.