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Ok, so you are going to see quite a few nail of the day pictures and posts because I was fortunate to stock up on quite a bit of Zoya polish through a few of the flash promos that Zoya was holding on twitter during the month of December.  Zoya currently has another promo for get two nail polishes free and just pay shipping that will run until January 9, 2012 using the promo code ZOYA2012.

Neutrals and pinks have always been my “go to” colors while I was working in corporate america due to the conservative nature of the work I did.  More recently I had gotten back into more trendy and dark nail polishes but somehow found my way back to the pink colors again, hence my interest in the color Erika.  Now admittedly I typically gravitate towards pale pinks such as OPI Sweetheart or OPI Bubble Bath.  The color Erika is a true baby pink brighter than the pink colors mentioned above.  It also boasts a beautiful subtle gold shimmer that you can see in the picture more towards the top of the bottle.  I used two gracious coats of polish to really get a vibrant color, however, I may try to tone the pink down next time by using a softer pink or white coat followed by a coat of the Erika color.

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I have been obsessed with Zoya nail polish lately.  I love the fact that Zoya is a 4 Free nail polish-free of  toluene, formaldehyde, DBP and Camphor.  I was fortunate enough to participate in a few of the Flash Promos that Zoya was having through Twitter.  One of the deals that I was able to snag was a free mini Color Lock System.  The Color Lock System is a 5 step system that is supposed to “Put perfect nail color on lock down.” The five steps include the Zoya Remover, Anchor Basecoat, Zoya Nail Polish, Armor Topcoat & UV Block and the Hurry Up Speed Dry Drops.  This is my first time using the system and I wish I could say that I love it, however, just as a first impression I have to say that I am not too impressed.  It is so rare that I get bubbles in in my nail polish, however, I noticed that the consistency of the Jules nail polish was thin and with my nail beds being so long I made sure I grabbed a healthy amount on nail polish on my brush to avoid having to dip twice into the bottle to polish each nail.  I am assuming this is what may have caused some of the bubbling.  Well, I ended up getting bubbles on my nails 🙁  The speed drops are supposed to eliminate bubbles-didn’t live up to this claim.

You can’t see the bubbles from the photo, however, they are there.  As well, I love the high gloss that Seche Vite top coat left, however, I had to give that top coat up because it was a not a 3Free polish.  I have since then replaced it with Deborah Lippman’s Addicted to Speed Top Coat and have found that it leaves that similar high gloss coat that Seche Vite does.  I wish I could say that Zoya’s top coat performed the same, however, it didn’t.  I was a little disappointed and may try the base and top coat separately to see if my opinion changes by using them individually.

Now the color Jules was highly impressive.  I absolutely love this color more than I thought I would.  It boasts a soft gold/taupe color with a subtle shimmer.  It really looks luxurious on my nails I just wish I could speak more highly of the Color Lock System.  Here are some pictures below.  What is your favorite Zoya color?

Zoya-Jules
 Zoya Mini Color Lock System
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So as I have begun purchasing nail polishes that are 3Free I felt the need to check out the Zoya line. Recently Zoya had a buy one get one free sale on their website and I dragged my feet in ordering that I missed the sale.  The day after the sale ended I went to Ulta and it just so happened that the Zoya polishes were buy two get one free.  Not as great as the buy one get one but at least I didn’t have to pay shipping so it may have balanced out some.  In any event, one of the Zoya colors I picked up was a beautiful mauve pink called Pandora.  The color stands beautifully on it’s own, however, that same trip to Ulta I swung by the Essence set up and saw this adorable color called Space Queen that I picked up.  I decided to pair the two colors up, Pandora as a base and Space Queen on top and voila! A gorgeous and fun combination.  It’s a shame, the picture does the nail look no justice.  It doesn’t capture the rainbow flecks of glitter that sparkle everywhere.  I did notice that the essence polish went on a little thick.  I didn’t mind too much, since it was a glitter top I figured the overall final texture would probably be hidden by the glitter.  And at $.99 for an essence polish you can’t complain-and they are 3Free!

I love this look! It’s a neutral but fun look!
FYI-I applied the color on Wednesday night and it’s Sunday and is not showing much sign of wear 🙂 yay!  What are your favorite polishes of the moment?
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Ok, so recently I became increasingly curious about high end nail polishes.  I wanted to see what all of the hype was about. Is it really worth the $18 to $25 a bottle?  I don’t know about all that, the verdict is still out on that one.  About a month ago I bought a Chanel polish in the color Black Pearl and although I absoutely love the color I didn’t find that the polish had any longer wear than an OPI or even Rimmel polish.  As well, I recently bought the Deborah Lippman nail polish in the color Wicked Game and although I absolutely ADORE the color, I don’t think I would necessarily say that these high end polishes last any longer than OPI or some other drugstore brands.  I rarely ever get my nails done anymore as I’d rather spend money on makeup or clothes so I justified these expensive polish purchases to this fact.

Will I continue to buy high end polishes? Probably but I have made it a point to buy colors that are unique.  So my recent love is Deborah Lippmans Wicked Game polish.  This polish is amazing, it’s this multidimensional color that looks like a purple, grey or even green depending on how the light shines on it.  Amazing.  I’ve also decided to buy polishes going forward that are 3Free – Free of Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), Fomaldehyde and Toulene.  As well, beware, I have found Talc and Parabens in some polishes too.  I’ve really started to read labels carefully.  This is a personal choice of mine to try to lessen my chemical/toxins exposure.

In any event, check out this beautiful polish.  I am in LOVE!

I have been stepping out of the box this year as I have been programmed to wear neutrals because I’ve worked in a corporate environment for a long time, but not anymore: )  So I am enjoying experimenting with fun colors!  What are your favorite colors this season?