Cosmoprof: 1 August 2011

Last night I had dinner with Katie of the Nail Files/Painted Nail at Red Square and she was really a fun and amazing person to be around.  If you haven't watched her show yet, I really suggest you check it out.  Tuesday night is the season finale, so be sure to watch.  I haven't done my breakdown of her last 2 episodes but when I get back to Texas, it will be done.  I was blown away when she looked at me and said "I read your blog."  Yes.  Mind.  Blown.  *WAVES TO KATIE*

This morning was my breakfast with Deborah Lippmann.  However, because of some scheduling problems (pretty much all my end), we ended up having a very impromptu meeting with her outside of the casino playing area.  It was surreal to hear her talking about how she gets inspired for nail polishes, the sometimes crazed and very unique way she has come across colors, and one of the things that I loved to hear is that she hand mixes polishes herself.  We heard about how Lady Gaga was originally prepared for the Grammys with long raven twisted claw nails but after the concept of the vessel was birthed, Deborah realized that she needed a softer nail. She never intended Yellow Brick Road to be introduced this way and mentioned how bloggers were one of the first ones to snatch up the pictures and information on this yellow jelly that appeared.  And speaking of that jelly - Deborah has designed her polishes to be 2 coats.  If you want it to be more opaque or that glitter to be more dense, by all means - add more polish.  But she had always envisioned a soft yellow jelly to mesh with all skin tones.  The other really interesting thing was why she chose song titles for her polish line.  Deborah realized that even best friends will always see color differently, so she wanted a way for people to be able to look at a polish and agree with what the name they were seeing.  

I also had a total fan-girl moment in meeting some of the bloggers today, like the above Christine from Temptalia.  I also got a picture with JulieG from YouTube, but that was done with someone else's camera.  I've followed Temptalia's blog for a long time now, and frequently refer to it before making a beauty purchase.  I just recently subscribed to JulieG's channel after trying Jesse's Girl Cosmetics and really enjoy her other makeup vlogs as well.


My next stop today was to see ORLY's booth.  I'm still very new to ORLY but I wanted to snag a few pictures for you.  Their Halloween and Holiday displays are both repromotes of older polishes.

They do have a new winter collection that includes this gem.

And coming out in 2012 is another Fx collection which includes this beauty

I wish I could have done some swatches because the flakies in this stuff looks amazing.

Before lunch, I got to sit down with Zoya from Zoya Nail Polish and listen to her inspiring story about how the polish line was created.  Did you know that her first product was called Zoom Dry (Z for her, M for her husband and the two O's were for their sons)?  It was the first quick dry product ever produced in the States.  Afterwards, the polishes came and Zoya wanted to name them after strong famous women in history.  Her reds (the classics) were named for women of passion or had passionate stories.  Carmen, one of those shades, is still a best seller for Zoya Nail Polish today.  I got to see some super amazing holiday items that I'm not allowed to talk about (Polish Pixie's Promise) but I can say that for the salons, Zoya is coming out with 3 new color collections based of the vibe of your salon or spa.  They are:

Classic

Modern

Bold

These will be out very soon, so if you're a salon or spa that carries Zoya or wants to carry Zoya, check this out.


Next I went to CND, whom I talked about yesterday, and got a Shellac manicure from Kristina Saindon from Denver, Colorado.  I have talked about Shellac before, but I didn't know all that really went into it.  After some simple prep work, the base coat was applied which took 10 seconds to cure, then I went with 1 coat of Rock Royalty (cure for 2 minutes), followed by a coat of Iced Coral (cure for 2 minutes) and then we topped the whole thing with Zillionaire, one of the new Shellac colors that has the flakie in it which will be out in September.  (And another 2 minutes with that).  Finally, the top coat was added which took 2 minutes to cure, and my nails were done.  I can't stop looking at them and how shiny they are!  We dubbed this concoction "Bridezillionare" which I think is awesome.  It is SO ridiculously hard to photograph in my hotel bathroom, so you'll have to wait for better pictures when I get home.  It's a multichromal purple, green and blue shift with the red and blue flakies on top.  I also got to meet Jan Arnold which was a surprise for me.

I also got to have dinner with founder and owner of Jesse's Girl Cosmetics, Jesse Lawrence.  I was really impressed by his down to earth demeanor and personality.  If you haven't entered their contest yet, what are you waiting for?  You only have until August 10th for your chance to win the entire JulieG nail polish collection before anyone else sees it!


Aaaand Maria from CultNails had a little surprise for me - she gave me all 4 colors from the upcoming Hypnotic colors to review here on PolishGalore.  I am trying (struggling) to keep this Shellac on long enough to do a good wear test but geez, I want to play with these polishes so badly.  Unfortunately, the pre-sale has ended on this collection, but it will be out soon.


Time to introduce you to 2 new things I found today at Cosmoprof.

The first is No-Miss polish.  This is an all natural polish that can be found at Whole Foods.  It's a family run company with over 170 colors.  When they say they have a color for everyone, they mean it!  They even have a Glow-In-The-Dark that actually works.  We held it up in the air for about 15 seconds at MOST and then cupped our hands around it and it was glowing.  Hello - does any other brand do that?  No.  The AIR.  (Not a lamp or the sun.)  Please do check them out on Facebook and Twitter.  Check out more below!

Now here is the picture heavy section.  So previously, I told you that Layla Cosmetics would be debuting Graffiti (crackle) polish at Cosmoprof, but since this trend is pretty much dead, they brought in something new - something super exciting.  Oh yes.  Magnetic nail polish.

Right now there are 12 colors (one is a glitter) but there will be more glitters coming out this year.  The magnet for this polish is actually located in the cap and right now it only does bar stripes (shown) but more magnets will be coming out including a starburst and a crescent shape.


These will be available in the States after August 15th, and I'll keep up updated as to where.  They retail for $15.50 a bottle, require no base or top coat and only needs 1 coat to cover full opacity.  You'll get about a week's worth of wear out of them and you just remove with regular polish remover.


Layla also has their Ceramic Effect line available now which are 45 polishes that also do not stain and are big 4 free (to include camphor).  They retail for $9.95 and have a ridiculously high shine without a top coat.

I was privileged to receive the entire line of magnetic polishes and a couple of the Ceramic Effect line, so I'll be reviewing those soon as well.


Tomorrow is the last day, and I hope to hit a few more places that I keep missing before everyone shuts down.

Zoya Minka

Bouncing around a little again to the Zoya Touch collection and today is Minka, a latte beige creme "with a metallic kiss."  I used a base of Zoya Get Even, 2 coats of polish and a top of Zoya Armor.  The formula was a little on the thick side but it was overall nice.

My nails are in horrible shape right now... I'm waiting until Wednesday to get my nails shaped for Cosmoprof.  This is a delightful nude but that's about it for me.  It did give me a bit of lobster red hands which was weird considering the color but very office appropriate.

Much cooler in the shade - more of that mocha color I was thinking of.

And finally indoors with the flash - slightly shimmery, mostly a creme - good times.

Zoya can be purchased on their website for $8/bottle.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

Zoya Jana

When Zoya's fall Smoke and Mirrors collection arrived at my house, I decided that instead of swatching my favorites first, I'd attempt to go in order.  Then I realized how many other polishes I had first, haha.  Well, not FIRST, but I still have to show you Zoya Touch!  Jana is from the "Smoke" collection and is a "smoky mauve quartz creme."  I used a base coat of Zoya Get Even, one coat of polish (instead of 2) and a top coat of Zoya Armor.

In the sun you can see it's kind of a mushroom purple taupe - but without any of the shimmer in it.  Definitely a good fall color (even though I'm totally not ready for fall!)

Random, I know, but I love how this polish looks smokey in the bottle.  It's a new texture!  Overall I'm iffy on this color.  I like it for fall, but it's not a good staple for me.  I'm still new to the whole "other side" of nail polish - dark colors that aren't red (or purple!).  It's pretty but I don't know that I'd buy it alone.

Zoya can be purchased on their website for $8/bottle.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

Zoya Smoke and Mirrors

Please enjoy the following press release from Zoya!

Please click to see larger

fall 2011 nail color

smoke and mirrors

...beautiful illusions

Zoya Nail Polish presents 12 enticing and mysterious new colors for fall 2011.

Zoya Smoke Collection

Jana (ZP564) - smoky mauve quartz cream

Petra (ZP565) - smoky eggplant mauve cream

Codie (ZP566) - smoky brown taupe cream

Anja (ZP567) - smoky palatinate purple cream

Cynthia (ZP568) - smoky Prussian blue cream

Dree (ZP569) - smoky camouflage green cream

Zoya Mirrors Collection

Nimue (ZP570) - smoky rich thistle metallic

Marina (ZP571) - smoky steel blue metallic

Tao (ZP572) - smoky slate gray metallic

Yara (ZP573) - sparkly olive green metallic

Neeka (ZP574) - sparkly amethyst purple  metallic

Jem (ZP575) - sparkly fandango pink metallic

Zoya is the new color of fashion... The new Zoya smoke & mirrors colors were designed and inspired by top fashion designers and beauty icons.

Ultra long-wearing, glossy nail lacquers  by Zoya are free of harmful industrial chemicals like toluene, camphor, formaldehyde, resin, dibutyl phthalate (DBP) that are known to cause cancer and birth defects.

Find Zoya smoke & mirrors as well as over 300 other high-fashion Zoya shades at www.zoya.com. As always, each and every Zoya color is made for beautiful women so we name them after beautiful women.

smoke & mirrors by Zoya - available July 15, 2011 (USA)

Sug. Retail $8.00 per 0.5 fl. oz. bottle (US)

Zoya Apple

The finale in the Zoya 2001 Summer Collection Sunshine and Summertime is Apple, the "luminous yellow-toned apple green packed with gold metallic sparkle. A dimensional green that's clean and bright."  This was probably my least favorite because greens and I have issues.  I'm always scared that I'll end up with yellow nails because of the yellow in the nail polish (it's only happened once), but thankfully it didn't happen with Apple.  This was more of a shimmer for me as well instead of a glass fleck/metallic sparkle.  I'm still really loving this finish but the base color just wasn't my cup of tea.


I used a base of Zoya Get Even, 2 coats of Apple and a top of Zoya Armor.  Formula was smooth and even.

As you can see in the sun, it is like a cross between a Granny Smith apple and a watermelon rind...  Not too light, not too dark.  This reminds me a bit of the plastic grass you'd see in Easter baskets.

Definitely love this color more in the shade.  The pigmentation on my middle finger is a little bit lighter than I like - I should have maybe done a third coat of polish.

Finally indoors with the flash you can see that this color isn't as opaque as I'd like.  The middle finger shows balding and some visible nail line underneath.  Not a huge issue since it's so lovely in the shade and very pretty in the sun.  I do still feel that this collection is one that you really should purchase.  :]

Zoya can be purchased on their website for $8/bottle.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

Zoya Faye

Down to the wire here with Zoya's Summer 2011 collection with Faye, A bronzed mauve with purple and brown undertones flooded with right gold sparkle. A unique gilded shade that will work in any season.  Yes, this is a 100% twin of OPI Rally Pretty Pink which will be reviewed soon here on PolishGalore.  I thought I was going to obsess over this color - it looks like an orchid... it's purple, it's gold!  What couldn't there be to love?


I used a base of Zoya Get Even, 2 coats of Faye and a top of Zoya Armor.

Okay so in the sun, you see a bit of visible nail line (index finger) and the gold shows up but it's kind of weird.  This color is more frost like?

In the shade, it's like - hyper shiny with the gold and the purple is kinda pink?

Indoors with the flash it's very purple orchid like, but not so much on the opaqueness?


Lots of question marks from me because I'm just very confused about this color.  I like it but I don't love it.  I should love it.  It's purple!  But I'm rather jaded.  I think I need to wear it a few more times so I'm not so on the fence with this color.  Unlike the others which I've called glass fleck, lovingly, I'm calling this more of a shimmer.

Zoya can be purchased on their website for $8/bottle.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

Zoya Kimmy

First Zoya came out with Kym, now here is Kimmy, a "gleaming metallic candy apple red brightened by gold sparkle. Not your usual red shimmer- this one has a fiery attitude."  It's has a darker red base than Rica, but the same gold/red shimmer as Reva.  I used a base of Zoya Get Even, 2 coats of Kimmy and a top of Zoya Armor.  The formula was smooth, the color was nice and opaque.

I mean just look at this color in the sun!  Candy apple red for real.  It's so lovely - very pigmented.

In the shade, the firey nature of this color really shows off - the gold in the bottle is more pronounced as a shimmer on the nail but it's definitely there.

Indoors with the flash you can see the orange/gold shimmer as well as just just how opaque this color really is.  Also, interestingly enough - my bottle looks like a tiny bit was poured out or something in the beginning of filling.  Lots of love for this color - definitely going to be showing up on my hands more this summer.

Zoya can be purchased on their website for $8/bottle.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

Zoya Rica

I'm not sure how many times I can say it without sounding like a robot, but Zoya does glass fleck/sparking metallics REALLY well.  Next today is Rica, a "warm light coral with pink and orange tones and heavy gold metallic sparkle. An alternative to flat corals for when you want to shine."  Coral is one of those colors that I have a love/hate with - sometimes I can't get enough of it and sometimes I can't get rid of it fast enough.  This color is also very reiminescent of China Glaze Strawberry Fields for me although much more orange.


I used a base of Zoya Get Even, 2 coats of Rica and a top coat of Zoya Armor. Formula was smooth, pigmentation was nice and opaque.

In the sun, it almost has a duochrome effect because of the orange sparkle against the pink base.  Very beautiful and unique in my collection.

Not just one shade picture, but two!  I really love this color - it's just so different ... light and airy looking at the same time.  I think it's just the whole pink/orange thing that really hits me as being beautiful.  A must have for me!

Indoors with the flash - you can see that it's a nice opaque color without any balding.


This is probably my second favorite collection ever (second only to the China Glaze OMG! collection)... two coat opacity, glass fleck/sparkling metallic finish, unique colors.  There's only a few left to share and there are a few surprises in them.

Zoya can be purchased on their website for $8/bottle.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.