Cheeky Monkey Martini Daze is listed as streaky silver - how's that for a description? Heh, I was hoping this was more of a creme, but it's definitely a shimmer - reminds me of a chrome even.
I used a base coat of Cheeky Monkey Wet Dream, followed by 3 coats of Martini Daze, and I did not use a top coat. I was hoping that Martini Daze would be more of a solid grey than a silver.
Oh shiny nails. I did use 3 coats instead of the recommended 2 since I felt that after 2 I still had a little VNL.
Under my patio, I have this odd green sheen that comes off on my nails sometimes (as you see on the middle finger especially). I assure you that there is no green in this polish. ^_^
Overall it was a nice color to wear - you can see the brush strokes a bit but it's definitely more of a silver shimmer than a streaky silver.
Cheeky Monkey can be purchased on their website [official website] for $15 a bottle.
Hey cousin, what's up? It's difficult to sometimes be original in colors, and these two buddies are pretty close to each other. Zoya Nidhi is from the 2010 Summer "Sparkle" Collection and China Glaze Raspberry Festival is from the 2009 Summer "Summer Days" Collection. When I was swatching Nidhi, I had the feeling I had seen the color before.
As I said before, the sun doesn't really like red glass fleck for some reason. My font also doesn't like the work "Nidhi" These two look very close in the sun, as seen in both the sun picture above and the bottle picture up top.
In the shade you can finally tell a little different. I used 2 coats of Nidhi and 3 coats of Raspberry Festival for this manicure... in the index and middle fingers you can tell that Nidhi (index) is darker, more pigmented with a silver glitter, while Raspberry Festival (middle) is lighter with red glitter. For whatever reason, the ring and pinkie fingers look the exact same to me.
Now these two colors do have their pros and cons - both applied and removed quite well but I did have to use 3 coats of Raspberry Festival to achieve the same opaqueness that Nidhi has. But Nidhi is $7 a bottle and you can find Raspberry Festival for as low as $3.50. Oh decisions, decisions.
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 Nidhi is listed as a rich red sparkling metallic from the Summer 2010 Sparkle Collection. I must say, I was not in love with this color as I have been the rest. It has the same glass fleck glitter in it as the rest, but maybe to me, there will never be another China Glaze Ruby Pumps, so I don't care? Either way, this is still a very pretty color but doesn't like the sunshine at all. It looks like a creme almost in full sun.
I used a base coat of Seche Retain followed by Zoya Anchor. I used 2 coats of Nidhi and topped it with a layer of Zoya Armor. Because I was only swatching and not long wearing, I didn't wear any Seche Vite with it.
All the "metallic" is just lost with the sun - still a very rich red as described, but just not the WOW of Charla or Mimi.
In indirect sun, you can start to see the glitter again. However, I felt like I had a dupe for this color after taking this picture (more on that later).
The glitter is a bit lost in the shade as well - such a weird color. It's odd that the bottles look JAM PACKED with glitter but it's very loosely translated on the nail because it's glass fleck, not glitter. Overall a nice color - great formula.
Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration. For more information, please read this post.
While at Sally's Beauty Supply during their "Buy 2 Get 1 Free" sale, I spied a rack of colors I had never heard of before - "Savvy". According to Sally's website "Savvy Nail Lacquers are beautiful and long-lasting. This professional formula bonds to the nail for extended wear. Infused with Hydraplex, a blend of botanicals which conditions, protects, strengthens and reinforces the nail to keep the nail flexible for all day, chip-resistant finish. UV absorbers protect against fading to maintain the true color of polish while intense pigments prevent polish from streaking for full coverage." I guess they had just got through a logo and other cosmetic makeover because the website has a very different looking bottle that this one.
Confession time. I am a logophile. There's just something about words that I adore. I'm obsessed with fonts and typography, but also just words themselves. First my eye was drawn to the purple, but then I read "Amethyst" and this beauty went into my basket.
Since I'm not familiar with this brand at all, I used Seche Retain as my base (a safe bet) and 2 coats of Deep Amethyst. The polish was a little runny for me, pooling a bit into my cuticles but not so much that I'd consider chunking it. The only let down is that I KNOW I have a dupe for this polish in my stash (which by the way has overgrown its cases and now I'm going to have to buy at least 2 more of).
This is a dark purple with blue undertones and has very fine red and blue microglitter in it, giving it a nice shimmer. Shade pictures just made it look dark, sadly.
Overall, a nice color but again I know I have a duplicate color so I hope to get a comparison shot some time.
I haven't found Savvy anywhere else online but Sally's (but I didn't look ALL that hard) and I bought it for $3.99 a bottle.
Zoya Charla was from the Summer 2010 Sparkle Collection and was described as a tropical blue sparkling metallic. Two of my favorite bloggers have called this color a "mermaid in a bottle" which oddly enough is what Zoya called its green shade (still to be swatched) not this one. I'll have to be honest, after seeing pictures of this color in blogs, I was NOT thrilled. I am NOT really a blue nail polish person.
Zoya, you've changed my mind.
I used Zoya Anchor as my base, 2 coats of Charla and for my top coat, I first used a coat of Zoya Armor, followed by 2 coats of Seche Vite. The first coat of Seche Vite I applied normally, the second coat, I brushed over the tops of my nails, to "wrap" the top coat around my nail, then applied normally. Success! No tip wear/pulling and fast drying top coat. Now, I didn't come up with this myself - another blogger did. However, I can't find the person's post to save my life. I'm sorry! If I find you, I will credit you properly.
I love the whole glass fleck movement of polishes. It's not gritty like glitter, but shines like it.
These two pictures in the shade, show my love affair.
It looks gritty, but it's not! Smooth as a baby's bottom.
Really such a pretty shade. I had a male friend tell me he thought he should make a wish since my nails were so shiny. Another male friend couldn't decide if it was green or blue polish (he saw it under artificial light) and yes, under artificial light you see a little more green cast that blue, as you can almost see in the bottle pictures in the shade, but it's definitely a beautiful blue.
I highly recommend this color to anyone who's hesitant about the "unnatural" colors of nail polish - it's so beautiful, you'll love looking at it!
As much as I didn't want to, I did remove the polish so I could post on removal process. Unlike glitter polishes, glass flecked polish wipes off more like a creme. I had a friend tell me she ended up with smurf fingers from her removal, but I didn't get any blue staining on my hands during removal. She also uses felt, I use a cheap bottle of remover that has the sponge inside. Again, very pleased with this polish.
Zoya [official website] can be purchased on their website for $7/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.
