Tag: Zoya
Sephora Math
Sometimes shopping at Sephora takes a bit of math to get the best deal.
I totally fell in love with the Tory Burch perfume I received a few weeks ago. Since they didn’t have it at Ulta, I decided to break down and order it from Sephora…but $28! Daaaaang, girl. But I also noticed that Tory Burch was one of the options in the Spray of Sunshine Perfume Sampler, which was only $24. Bingo! So I ordered the set online and it got here Friday. They were also offering a Fresh & Floral Perfume Sampler for free with each $25 purchase. So I added a $1 hair tie to my order to get more samples. (I’m pretty sure that’s what those hair ties are for…)
Also inside the Spray of Sunshine Perfume Sampler: Chloe “Love Story” (old ladyish, gardenia?); Elizabeth and James “Nirvana White” (Fuck you, Olsen Twins – although marginally better than “Nirvana Black”, it smells like a knockoff, like one of those designer impostors at the grocery store); Giorgio Armani “Si” (Spicy flowers, smells like the lobby of the Palazzo in Vegas); Marc Jacobs “Daisy Dream” (Reminds me of a Mother’s Day Bouquet – bright, but cheap); and “Stella” by Stella McCartney (Love this old fashioned rose scent – already own it). Inside the Fresh & Floral Sampler: another Tory Burch; another “Nirvana White”; another “Love Story”, Burberry “My Burberry” (smells like new leather shoes – why?); Dolce & Gabbana “Light Blue” (Douchey); philosophy “live joyously” (literally smells like nothingness); Dior “Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet” ( Citrus, but flowers – good job, Natalie Portman) and my personal favorite of the bunch – Atelier Cologne “Mandarine Glaciale” (The ultimate in unisex – like masculine & feminine at the same time – orange spray, but an underlying sexual scent that’s almost obscene). For my regular 3 samples, I picked Atelier Cologne “Orange Sanguine” (I lucked out and got 2 – I already own it, but so?); Buxom “Show Some Skin” Weightless Foundation”; and Urban Decay “Naked Skin” Ultra Definition Powder Foundation.
I always have a trick up my sleeve. I volunteered for the monthly trip to Costco, knowing it would be a perfect opportunity to hit Ulta and Sephora first. Of course, I didn’t tell Logan this until we were almost to Ulta. Oh, the moaning! All I needed was more Zoya Remove+, but he also talked me into buying him a new eos lip balm in “Lemon Drop”. I must say, the kid’s got taste. We then zipped into Sephora to get my Tory Burch Rollerball. Nothing else caught my eye.
I was surprised that something did catch my eye at Costco – the Jenna Hipp “The New Candies” mini nail polish collection. I’ve never heard of Jenna Hipp, but it was only $7.99! It included 8 creme polishes in yummy sounding colors: “Marshmallow Fondant”, “Crème the Cantaloupe”, “Pink Lady Finger”, “Violet Éclair”, “Très Parfait”, “Thin Mint”, “Rose Tart” and “American Pie”.
So that’s Sephora Math – any questions?
Cherry Juice
I’ve been scared of jellies for so long, but sometimes you just have to pull up your big girl britches and do it.
I was scared of how sheer and see-through they are…and how hard they are to apply. I never should have worried about that with Zoya “Paloma” – a sheer deep fuchsia-berry with a buildable jelly gloss finish. FUCHSIA! It went on smoothly, without streaks. This is two coats and you can still see the nail line. It might take 3-4 coats to get absolute coverage. My one nitpick is that the polish immediately pulled away from the tips as I put on the top coat. I used Zoya Anchor and Zoya Armor, so next time I am going to try “HK Girl” to stop the dragging.
Jawbreaker
This milky, white beautifulness is Funky Fingers “Jawbreaker”. Doesn’t it look just like candy?
I started with Zoya Anchor Base Coat and then did 2 coats of “Jawbreaker”. It is a dense glitter – no fishing to get the big chunks. I topped with Zoya Matte Velvet Top Coat to bring out the layers.
Ignore my little nubbin fingernails. I had to trim them all – they were starting to peel.
I think “Jawbreaker” might be a dupe of China Glaze “It’s a Trap-eze”. I need to try it out and do a comparison.
Goldfinger
Goldfiiiingaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Sorry, I couldn’t resist. This is Zoya “Severine”…which confuses me, because “Severine” is from Skyfall, not Goldfinger. Whatever, Zoya. Get your Bond Girls right!
“Severine” is warm greenish gold from Peter Som’s NYFW14 show. I didn’t notice how green it was until my husband started arguing with me about it. He wins – it’s green. I got it back at the beginning of the year as a mystery trio from Zoya.
I did 2 coats of “Severine” with Zoya Anchor Base Coat and Armor Top Coat. I did get some bubbles, which is rare with Zoya, but is inevitable with foiled polishes.
Cadbury Mini Eggs
Cadbury Mini Eggs – that is what my nails look like!
I tried out Julep “Kimberly” last summer, and I thought to myself that I would pull it out next Easter – I am shocked that I remembered. Last time, I left it shiny, but I decided to use Zoya Matte Velvet Top Coat. Matte is SO much better suited to this polish.
“Kimberly” stuck well to Orly Bonder and I didn’t have any crinkles like I did last time. I’m getting pretty good at this…
NO MORE PURPLE – I’m purpled out.
Just the Tip
All matte polishes chip immediately – they just do.
Before I even went to bed Wednesday night, Charming Charlie “Magenta Me Crazy” had chipped on my right thumb. It was in a place that was already beginning to peel, so it was my fault for not trimming that nail, but still. The next night, I used Zoya Pixie Dust “Noir” to paint just the tips. It wasn’t an exact match, but it still looked pretty good, even if I do say so myself.
Stunning
Zoya “Binx” is one of the most stunning in Zoya’s lineup. Zoya describes “Binx” as a spicy orchid purple dappled with gold metallic and holo sparkles. It gives off a foil effect, but without the glare.
I started with Zoya Anchor. “Binx” is almost completely opaque in 2 coats. I topped with Zoya Armor. Armor dried slower than I would like, but it was faster than over a creme polish like “Lara”. OH! And did I mention that my “Lara” manicure was featured on Zoya’s website this week? I squealed when I found out!
What kind of name is “Binx” anyway? I googled and I came up with 2 options. Most of the results referred to a model named Binx Walton, currently in the news for bullying Kendall Jenner (Wahhhhh.) The rest were either about Binx, the talking cat from the movie Hocus Pocus or random shit. I really hope this polish is named after a talking cat and NOT a bitchy model.
The Titular Polish
Okay, I guess technically Zoya “Lara” isn’t named after me, but it might as well be – it’s the perfect pink.
I have a love/hate relationship with creme polishes. They look really good – if I can manage to keep them out of the crevices between my fingernail and finger skin – which I absolutely have not figured out how to do. The polish pools in the crevices and forms gross, crispy edges. I’ve definitely gotten better at it than I was a year ago, but I still struggle with the crevices. I cannot stand how some of the big time polish swatcher bloggers meticulously refuse to paint their entire nail – that’s cheating! A few millimeters of naked nail looks worse to me than a bad paint job. I don’t ever want to see naked nail!
Off my soapbox…I used Zoya Anchor and Armor – it’s not a Quick Dry, so I had to lay in bed, absolutely still, for an extra hour watching TV – oh, the horror!
Ch Ch Ch, Ah Ah Ah
I was gonna do another Valentine’s Mani, but then I was like naw – it’s Friday the 13th!
After Sinful Colors Base Coat, I started with 2 coats of Sinful Colors “Tokyo Pearl”. I used my nifty chinese dotting tools to make little hockey masks. The black is Zoya “Willa” and the red is Sinful Colors “No Text Red”. I should have used a different red, like Zoya “Sooki”, because the Sinful Colors was too thin. I topped it with Glisten & Glow “HK Girl”. They turned out a heck of a lot better than my Freddy Krueger Nails!
How about those dia de los Muertes Converse? They’re my favorite shoes right now…
On a side note, when I finished my nails last night, I grabbed my socks to show my husband while he was brushing his teeth…he nearly choked to death – because he laughed at me. Apparently, matching fingernails and socks was too much for him to handle.
Violet Candy
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Zoya “Leslie” looks like candy to me – like a dusty violet conversation heart or maybe even a grape sweet tart. It’s hard to see in the picture, but there’s a subtle blue shimmer.
Zoya describes “Leslie” as a soft spring lavender metallic with an energizing turquoise flash.
I started with Zoya Anchor, then two coats of “Leslie” and topped with Zoya Armor. I got a little bit of crispiness around my cuticles again. Blech.