The Case of the Sparkly Purpley Pinks: OPI It's My Year, OPI Rally Pretty Pink & Zoya Faye, A Comparitive Study

Last week, I posted about OPI Crown Me Already from their recent Miss Universe collection. That polish was amazing, I couldn't get over it. During my little blogging hiatus, I also wore the other two polishes that I picked up from this collection: It's My Year and Swimsuit... Nailed It! So I re-swatched them for you all (so no nice, cleaned up manicure shots, sorry guys!) and included a comparison swatch for It's My Year, as a few polishes looking quite like this one have appeared on the market recently. (We'll return to Swimsuit... Nailed It tomorrow, because it deserves a post of its own.)

We'll start with It's My Year. I apologize in advance for the way this type of shimmer makes my camera freak out. It's like it can't properly focus on it because it's so blindingly awesome! This swatch is 2 coats, which looked opaque until the flash. In practice, I recommend 3 coats for this color.

You may find yourself thinking that this looks a lot like another recently released OPI polish: Rally Pretty Pink, which came out in one of the Serena Williams sets with Red Shatter.

Here's Rally Pretty Pink (3 coats):

Are they dupes? Nope! In the bottle they look much closer than on the nail. RPP is much, much warmer, more of a mauve than a pink, and the gold shimmer is much, much more apparent. Much, much. Haha. So, at this point, you're probably asking yourself what they look like side by side. Here you go:

That's IMY, RPP, IMY, RPP, from left to right. See what I mean? And now, of course, you're thinking that both of these polishes look a lot like another little pretty (which actually came out first) called Zoya Faye. Which I also happen to have (I have a problem... as my husband would say, "It's some kind of itis.")

From left: Zoya Faye (3 coats), OPI RPP (3 coats), OPI IMY (2 coats).

Obviously, as you can see, Faye and RPP are the closest of the three polishes. They share a softer quality, and a rosier, mauve shade. Equally high on the gold shimmer quotient. IMY is more straight-up purple, though it's still red-leaning. Between Faye and RPP, I'd say there are subtle differences. Faye is...  slightly, ever so slightly, more subtle than RPP. I can't explain it, it's just softer. You most definitely don't need both.

Final summation: all three of these polishes are beautiful. You most definitely do not need all three. I prefer the OPI formula, so between Faye and RPP, it's RPP all the way for me. Faye is great though, so if you have it, rest easy. If I had to pick one of the three, however, the winner here is It's My Year. It captures the vibe of all three polishes, but I prefer the more vibrant purple base. If you're really into polish, you may be able to justify owning both IMY and RPP, but honestly, even that's overkill. It's My Year all the way!

Hope this helps someone out there! 

Zoya Alegra

This beautiful little baby would just not photograph. The sparkle is right, the color is right... but it was NOT sheer. The flash just did something bizarre to this one. Unless you hold it up to a flourescent light, there was not visible nail line. I swear. Alegra is a bright sparkly magenta, kinda jelly, chock full of glassfleck shimmer/glitter/whatever. It's bright and gorgeous. The formula was excellent, 3 coats for opacity, dried nicely. No complaints (except the weird, photograph only, VNL)! I'm loving these sparkles, Zoya.

Some photographic evidence:

Have any Sparkles? Love 'em? Hate 'em? Anyone else had the same VNL issue I've been having (with the pictures)? Any-who, that's what I wore today! Hope life is treating you well. Thanks for reading :-)

Zoya Robyn & Zoya Astra

Hi everyone! Sorry for the infrequency of posts lately. I've got a bunch to show you, I'm just a little backlogged. I've been working like crazy and also getting ready for my fiance to come to town so it's been nuts. On to the good stuff:

Zoya Robyn and I are about to have a major love affair. I actually just put it on as a pedi and said to myself, "This is going to be my pedi all summer." I love this shade of blue. Period. The formula is awesome, 2 coats, opaque, bright, gorgeous, shiny. I wanted to show it off here but didn't feel like taking toe shots, so I did a manicure with it too. Since I didn't want to be too matchy-matchy, I wore Astra on my ring and index fingers on both hands for an accent. I love the way it looks--mixing the creme & glitter finishes--kinda like a party. Astra also had a decent formula, I used 3 coats for opacity. Might have been able to get away with two.

Here's my Robyn/Astra skittles:

I love Robyn. Astra, too, but Robyn... what is it about you that is so great. Looks slightly lighter and brighter and whiter than OPI Ogre-The-Top Blue, but also different from OPI No Room For The Blues, which are probably the two polishes I own closest to this one.

Hope life is great! Thanks for reading :-)

OPI Shrek Swatches, Wet 'N Wild Summer Swatches, Haul & More!

Howdy guys! I have been neglecting things around here this past week and I regret it because thanks to Brooke over at Getcha Nails Did and her fabulous New Blogs On The Block feature, we have a few more followers! Woo! I really want to have a giveaway because I hit a pretty VTHF (drugstore) dusty motherload a couple weeks ago. Not at the Dollar Tree even, someplace totally random, and something harder to find than what's been showing at at Dollar Tree recently. Not that I'm bribing people to follow but...... I'd like to get a few more before I attempt anything like that..... ;-) More to come on that later.

This is a lengthy post, so brace yourselves! I went out today to hit a few haunts in my lovely hometown of Albany, NY. This meant I went to the mall, where we have a beauty supply that occasionally publishes 30% off three items or more coupons. They have a good selection of Essie, some Orly, China Glaze, all Color Clubs (core & LE), CND, etc, etc, as well as a full range of OPI, and they get the new collections. Enter Shrek. A collection of cremes, devoid of pink or red, including a few real bizarre ones. I only hauled a few, and they came to about $16 after my coupon, yes, for all three.

L to R: Fiercely Fiona, Who The Shrek Are You?, Ogre-The-Top Blue

OPI, you are being such a bitch lately, so I'd better get used to paying retail for you, because your creme formula is one of my favorites. It wears like iron. I didn't get Funkey Dunkey even though I wanted it badly, but I have China Glaze Grape Pop so I made myself say no (BTW I would've had to buy this one separately for retail at Trade Secret anyway, because the beauty supply was out). And the two pastels were too dupey of everything else coming out lately. I'm weak though, so I may go back for Funkey Dunkey yet. Dunkey??? Anywho, these look awesomely pigmented and weird... two things I love in a creme.

Here's some very dirty swatches (can you see why I don't do this often??)

L to R: Who The Shrek Are You?, Fiercely Fiona, Ogre-The-Top Blue & Wet 'N Wild Blueberry Fizz for comparison (see below).

Then I hit up a Rite Aid and they had the new Wet 'N Wild Wild Shines, were are ridiculously cheap at 99 cents, so I bought the 4 that appealed to me.

L to R: Berry Jubilee, Blueberry Fizz, Candy Apple Twist, Mint Fusion.

I'm crazy for bright cremes lately, though Mint Fusion has a bit of shimmer to it. These look bangin' for the price, so awesomely gorgeous. They're all kinda jelly-ish, too. But not the kind that would require 4 or more coats.

Bad swatches:

L to R: Berry Jubilee, Blueberry Fizz, Candy Apple Twist, Mint Fusion.

I also caved and bought Claire's Magic because it was $2 and someday I will want it like I wanted Yel and have to resort to begging and pleading for it.

No swatch of this one because I got tired and it's old news anyway.

Update: So, a few posts ago I mentioned that Bundle Monster dropped the ball on my 21 plate order. It's OK, they're probably getting a shitload of orders lately and not entirely prepared. As you all know and probably agree, it's about how the situation is handled afterward. I tried calling them with the number listed on Amazon. I didn't reach anyone, so I emailed. I received a response within an hour or two, stating that they'd send out the missing plates. I have to be honest: I wondered if I'd ever see them. Not that I didn't trust them, but they're a fairly new guy on the market, and have been getting a lot of orders lately. Who cares about some girl who was missing 2 plates? But they did!!! I got them today, less than a week later, the exact two I was missing!!!! I even ended up with a mystery plate. With my original order, it was missing BM05 and BM21, but there was another plate thrown in: B72. Not BM 72, just B72. It looks like this:

So I have this weird little plate that I'm not even sure where it came from. Anybody know if it's part of a different set? The point of this was just to reassure that Bundle Monster CS is, in fact, very good. Don't hesitate to contact them if you have any trouble.

Also: If you're looking for storage solutions for your Konad or Bundle Monster plates, check THIS out. It's my method (though not my idea), and I think it works super well!

OH, and incase you are not aware (though I'm not sure how you couldn't be), Zoya is having a promo with the code "LIPPY", which is officially for 3 of their Hot Lips Lipgloss, free. But, it shows up as an $18 discount and you can use it on polish & remover! I love Remove + but I don't buy it anymore because it's too expensive and I find Onyx (purple) to work just as well. If Remove + is your only poison, then it's a GREAT deal. I ordered 3 Zoyas I felt I was missing: Astra, Robyn & Sienna. It ends May 12th, so hurry!

OK, phew, back to NOTD's tomorrow, friends. I've got a few stocked up. Thanks for reading!

Zoya Nidhi

Well hello friends! For someone who tries to blog daily, taking two days off seems like forever! I had an obnoxious bit of school work (that I'd put off for far too long) to finish, so that's where I've been. You'd think that since I'm nearly finished with my second college degree, and after virtually 21 (almost) consecutive years of schooling, that I'd have learned that procrastination is bad. But I have not.

Just a quick review of this one today (which I wore for three! days): This polish sort of reminds me of MAC Fresh Moroccan lipstick. Except brighter red. It's an orange-leaning red with lots of gold glass-fleck shimmer, and in the bottle, you'll notice sometimes there's a blue flash to it. It doesn't much translate onto the nail though. To avoid what happened with Charla, I wore three coats, which went on super smooth and dried just fine.

I really like this color on me. I'm very pale but I think my skin tone is kinda neutral, so I can pull off the occasional warm color, though I do look best in cools.

Kinda boring today, but now that I'm home free I've got some cool stuff coming. My Bundle Monster plates arrived. I ordered the 21 piece set but it arrived missing 2 plates!! Super annoyed. But, I was able to contact someone fairly easily in their CS department, and they assured me they'd send along the missing plates. If I get those plates fairly soon as promised, I'd definitely recommend BM as a good seller. If I don't, then I'm not sure. So, I'll keep you all posted on that. The plates are definitely cute, but the two I'm missing (BM 5 & 21) were two that I was particularly looking forward to (go figure, right?). Anyway, ultimately, I'd like to do swatches of all the plates for those of you out there still contemplating an order. Hopefully this is all forthcoming.

Thanks for reading :-)

Zoya Charla

Charla! You gorgeous girl. This is only the second Sparkle collection polish that I've tried, but I'm feeling that this one might be the star. A blue green sparkle glitter (mega glass fleck?), it's like wearing Caribbean waters on your fingers. Or something. I'm actually speechless in awe of it, it's so frickin' pretty.

I put on 2 coats, which seems opaque, but, as you will see in a moment, it did not photograph completely opaque. Not sure what's up with that. But, to save yourself from this weird revelation, just throw on 3 coats and be done with it. The formula was quite good, and it dried very nicely. I liked the formula on this one better than Mimi, which I reviewed as being good, but later I realized that one or two of my fingers didn't dry completely for whatever reason and dented all night long. With Charla, this is not the case.

I'm not happy with these photos... they don't capture the saturation of the color, or the fact that, to my eye, it appears opaque. But here they are:

We have a gem here, folks, a serious gem. These polishes are so super fun. I wish there weren't three pink/red/orange colors. There could've been a neat gold or silver... even a lavender or a deeper navy. This is not to say, however, that the red/pink/oranges of this collection look boring or anything---super blingy. But Charla! I love her.

Thanks for reading!

Zoya Mimi

I tried my first polish from my Zoya exchange today: Mimi. I love purple and a glittery/shimmery purple is no exception. This is a deep royal purple, not red toned at all but also not noticeably blue either. But definitely more blue toned than red. The Sparkle collection is a collection of colors that are kinda glitters but not straight up ones, kind of like enormous glass fleck shimmer. But not quite that either. However you want to describe it, it's awesomely gorgeous. Distractingly so.

The formula on this one was pretty good. It took 3 coats to be opaque (thick-ish coats too), and it dried well with Seche Vite. My nails keep having to get chopped down lately... I hate when that happens. One chip... then another... then by the time you even 'em all out, they're a but nubby. It's OK though, they grow.

Here's Mimi:

Aaaaaand, I also got my other 2 Zoyas in the mail today: Ivanka & Charla!

And I ordered one of those Bundle Monster image plate lots off of Amazon (super cheap, 21 plates for $17.99) so I can't wait to see what that's about. I've never ordered any type of Fauxnad before. Excited to see what they're all about!

China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy & Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure

First, friends, the nail polish gods have been kind to me lately!!

My Zoya exchange arrived today (minus Ivanka & Charla, which were backordered but are ALREADY on their way!). Last night, I found Hidden Treasure. Yesterday, I went to Sally's because my 15% off coupon was about to expire, and the SA allowed me to use the B2G1 promo on treatments: so I got Gelous to experiment with (I'm devoted to Instant Artificials but Gelous is cheaper by almost $3 and easier to find), a new Seche Vite (on sale for $5.99) and a lone Finger Paints polish in Blissfully Blue (my freebie, I have no true pale blues). This was all for like $10. Today, I got a NEW Sally's coupon for 20% off (check your mailboxes!) and on my way home from a meeting with one of my thesis advisors, I stopped at a Sally's I don't usually go to. Jackpot! They had China Glaze Poolside out AND the new Finger Paints (which was exciting because the B2G1 is only for April and I think these weren't supposed to be put out until May 1). So I got 3 new China Glazes (Flip Flop Fantasy, Towel Boy Toy & Sun Worshipper) and 3 new Finger Paints (Sketch N Etch, Scenery Greenery & Easel-y Entertained) for something like $14? SIX of 'em!

Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure & Gelous.

L to R: Sun Worshipper, Towel Boy Toy & Flip Flop Fantasy.

My thoughts on the Poolside collection: I bought the three most unique to my collection (I'm satisfied with the pink/green/yellow neons I have now, so I skipped the other three). I hope Sun Worshipper is everything I wanted Color Club Explosive to be. Towel Boy Toy seems like it might be in the realm of Color Club Pure Energy or Zoya Tallulah (I got this one mainly because I like these bright shimmery neon blues). My thoughts on Flip Flop Fantasy are below.

L to R: Easel-y Entertained, Sketch N Etch, Scenery Greenery, Blissfully Blue.

The new Finger Paints look wicked! I'm glad they're permanent because that means I can get a few more and don't have to get antsy about it. LE's are a bitch. I swatched the cremes--so smooth and opaque. Shimmers look nice too. Not sure about the glitter but we'll see. I've never bought a "core" line Finger Paints polish before, only LE, so I'm glad for these.

L to R: Mimi, Alegra, Nidhi, Gilda.

The Zoyas, which I swatched on paper look INCREDIBLE!!! The only one that looks slightly lackluster (due to sheerness issues) is Gilda. Can't wait to get Ivanka & Charla. I'll be wearing these soon to show ya'll.

Anyway anyway anyway... PHEW after all that craziness, what did I pick to wear?? Well, obviously I wanted to try out Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure seeing as it's hotter than sliced bread lately. I found it the first place I went! And because I was itching for something bright, enter Flip Flop Fantasy--a neon pink that is slightly orange toned, like a neon salmon/coral. Unique, I think. The application on that one was about what I expected for a neon, but a GOOD neon... 3 thin coats (over 1 coat Barielle Natural Nail Growth Activator & 1 coat Gelous), didn't get gloopy. Topped with 1 thin coat of Hidden Treasure & Seche Vite. And it actually dried.

So, not to add fuel to the fire, but I really like Hidden Treasure... yes, more than my Nfu-Ohs. The consistency of the polish itself is so much better... I find Nfu-Ohs to be a tad gelatinous, even with thinner... and the flakes were so thin and not clumpy... gorgeous rainbow iridescence (though it pulls very orangey over FFF). Anyway... snap if up if you run across it.

Thanks for looking!

Zoya Swatches Part 2

OK, here's my second batch of Zoya swatches! I just want to profess my love for this brand. I love their freebies and have excellent luck with their customer service. I love their color and finish selection and the quality of their products. I love the bottle, brush, and generally the formula. I love that they're "green." Yay Zoya! Enough of my babbling, onto the swatches :-)

Here's a few links back to polishes I've already featured:

Zoya Verushcka

Zoya Nova

Zoya Rea

And the rest....

Dominique. One of my favorite reds, very opaque, very bright. More orange toned than blue, but not overly so. 2 coats.

Deidra. Kind of a toned down version of Zara, but more taupe. Very cool. I never wore it before this swatch and I underestimated it. 2 coats.

Meadow. 2 coats. Like Zara also, but pink. 2 coats. Not my speed but a pretty polish.

Avril. Very opaque pink based neutral. 2 coats.

Buffy. Bought this just for the name (Huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan). Frosty beige shimmer, not that flattering on me, but perhaps so on darker skintones. 2 coats.

Demi. 2 coats. Pinked mauve creme. Nice formula and opaque.

Trixie. Silver foil, photographed terribly. Very blingy and pretty. 2 coats.

Emme. Awful light pink frost. OK formula, just awful looking on me. 2 coats.

Juicy. A neon red purple jelly. 3 coats.

Dakota. One of my favorite pedicure reds. Didn't realize how sheer it was until I put it on my nails. I can't remember if this is 2 or 3 coats. Very pretty blue based red.

Pippa. Yellow creme (not neon). Tricky formula. 2 coats.

Paz. Neon orange creme. Very sheer. This is 3 coats. Definitely needs something under it. Very bright.

America. A muted coral-red, very pretty. 2 coats, great opaque formula.

Goldie. A super shimmery (frosty?) gold, hate this shade of gold on me, but nice polish.

Harlow. Matte velvet. Pink shimmer, a bit purple too. Love matte velvet formula. 2 coats.

Dovima. Shimmery matte velvet black. More matte than this, it wasn't totally dry. 2 coats.

Loredana. Ultra shimmery matte velvet grey. 2 coats. Love this one.

Posh. ONE coat. Gorgeous matte velvet red shimmer. One coat. LOVE.

Dita. Gorgeous saturated fuchsia creme. 3 coats.

Katy. Pretty medium bright pink shimmer. 2 coats.

Also, on another note, if you're experiencing any difficulties viewing anything, let me know! I recently moved this blog from my old gmail account to its own gmail account, but I think I've got everything working. I'm excited for sparkly paints. to have its own identity though!

Thanks for looking!