Back in October, I made a trip to San Antonio and stopped in the local HEB that my friends work at and made a beeline for cosmetics. They have a much larger selection of nail polish than my HEB, including OPI, Cosmetic Arts, LA Splash and this brand, NYX. I should have known by the milky appearance that this was meant to be a layering color and not opaque, but frankly I don't know what I was thinking.
Oh yes. I was thinking FLAKIES! Suspended in this polish are light green, blue and orange flakies (flake like glitter - much like fish scales).
However, these flakies aren't as defined as say, Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure.
I used a base coat of Seche Natural and 2 coats of NYX Blue Avenue on my first two fingers. After seeing how sheer it was (and not buildable), I put a coat of CND Blackjack on my other two fingers, then two coats of Blue Avenue. Everything was topped with Seche Vite.
As you can see in the sun, the flakes are pretty non-existant on my first two nails. The blue base that you see in the bottle isn't visible either. You can somewhat see flakes over black.
In the shade you can see the flakes a little better, but frankly I was disappointed. I would rather have bought a Nfu-Oh at full price and have less coats with more coverage. Lesson learned.
I purchased my bottle of Blue Avenue for $3.99. NYX can be found online or in stores. You can also Like them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter.
Spring 2011 seems to be a muted colors season from what I'm seeing but Anchors Away from China Glaze provides a bit more than some dusted colors... please enjoy the following press release
ALL HANDS ON DECK
China Glaze Introduces 12 New Glitters And Crèmes For Spring 2011
Sail away this spring in 12 nautically-inspired colors from China Glaze. These bold and confident brights are reminiscent of a carefree natural getaway, with soft ethereal hues that inspire leisurely thoughts of sand and sea. Colors in this collection include:
• Life Preserver: Highly pigmented and luxurious poppy crème.
• Hey Sailor: Vibrant crème red.
• Ahoy!: Delightfully intense pink that flashes with reflective glass speck.
• First Mate: Sophisticated and rich navy crème.
• Starboard: Hip and playful green crème.
• Lighthouse: Multi-dimensional, bright yellow glass speck.
• White Cap: Whimsical and sparkling multi-dimensional white.
• Pelican Gray: High shine, cool toned grey crème.
• Sea Spray: Calming pale blue crème.
• Below Deck: A flirty mix of taupe and violet.
• Sunset Sail: Delightful peachy pink high shine crème.
• Knotty: Micro-particle beige shimmer.
This spring, take a relaxing trip to the shore and sail away with China Glaze. Stop and smell the sea breeze!
The China Glaze Anchors Away collection will be available in two 6 piece acetates, a 12 piece display, a 36 piece rack, and as open stock colors.
China Glaze is free of DBP, toluene, and added formaldehyde.
China Glaze nail lacquers are available through salons and professional beauty supply stores nationwide. For more information, visit: www.chinaglaze.com or follow China Glaze on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ChinaGlaze
China Glaze is a division of American International Industries.
About American International Industries
For nearly 40 years, AII has been the leading manufacturer and worldwide distributor of innovative, quality beauty and skin care products for men and women. Our product lines include Ardell, Andrea, Body Drench, Bye Bye Blemish, Checi, China Glaze, Clean + Easy, Clubman/Pinaud, Duo, European Secrets, EzFlow, Fright Night, Gena, GiGi, Gypsy Lash, IBD, Jeris-Lustray, No Tweeze/Micro Tweeze, 'N Rage, Prolinc, RAW, Seche, SuperNail, Surgi-Care, Waterworks, Winning Nails, Woltra, Woody’s, and Youthair. For more information, visit our website: www.aiibeauty.com.
True to their word, Zoya reached their 20,000 Likes before 2011, so today they will be releasing the code to get your 3 Free Bottles of Zoya Nail Polish (a $21 value). You do have to pay for shipping which is about $7 so it's well worth it. The code will be available both on their website and ONLY on their Facebook fan page (just click on "Filters" and choose "Just Zoya Nail Polish and Treatments" so you don't see all the Fan Spam as I call it).
For pictures of all the Zoya Nail Polish I have reviewed, please click here.
Enjoy!
Edit 12:37 CST: Updated to reflect the posting via Zoya that states the code will ONLY be available on their Facebook page and will not show up under their "my promos and codes" section of your Zoya website account.
Edit 2:24 CST: The code is live! Go check it out on their Facebook page!
It's back! On Cyber Monday, Urban Decay announced that 2011 was their 15th Anniversary of being a company, and were going to be releasing some amazing collection sets to celebrate. Today, the 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencils were released on Urban Decay's website. The price isn't cheap at $92 but you are receiving 15 pencils and their "Grind House" Double Barrel Sharpener (a value of $264). Don't worry about not getting yours right now if you can't fork over the cash - this will be available in Ulta and Sephora come February. I'm seriously wanting to wait until Sephora has it ONLY because I get the Sephora Reward Points to become a VIB. Oh you reward programs. You get me every time!
I don't have the official press release pictures (still working on that), but for now you can visit Temptalia's review on this box set, complete with swatches and product pictures. Enjoy!
The 2011 Bloggies nominations have started - have you even heard of it before? I haven't. ^_^
The only category that really interests me is the "Best Fashion or Beauty Weblog" which was previously named "Best Fashion Weblog". Last year's winner was Cupcakes and Cashmere, which I have heard of once before in passing.
Now, I don't have any fashion posted on PolishGalore, and no real "beauty" passed nail polish, but there are some amazing blogs I follow that I will be narrowing down to nominate. Here's my list:
[1] FrmHeadToToe Nominee: Jen
Now granted Jen is a friend of mine, but I absolutely love her blog and have for some time. I really think she deserves to win, point blank, but I'm also biased.
[2] Temptalia Nominee: Christine
This is probably the most comprehensive makeup blog I've seen, constantly posting new collections, looks, and information. I routinely bring up her blog on my iPhone when shopping for MAC, Urban Decay and a few other favorites.
[3] Scrangie Nominee: Scrangie
I consider her to be the Holy Grail of nail polish blogs... this is another one that's saved on my iPhone for when I'm shopping in stores for new polish colors and lines.
[4] Vampy Varnish Nominee: Kelly
Kelly just recently started blogging about makeup as well as nail polish and I've found her posts to be really informative as well as helpful especially when it comes to wear-ability.
[5] All Lacquered Up Nominee: Michelle
One of the things I love the most about this website is that there are lots of comparison pictures to look at. That is one of the best kept secrets of makeup - you don't have to spend $18 on a bottle of Channel when you can find a $3 bottle of Hard Candy for the same price. She also introduced Shellac to me which I'm still dying to try in 2011.
[6] Lacquerized Nominee: Michele
One of the most well organized polish blogs out there in my opinion. Wonderful pictures, excellent articles, well organized and clean looking website - definitely a favorite.
So now I have to narrow it down between these six. There are many more amazing blogs out there, and more than belong in my list as well. Make sure you nominate your favorite - we all deserve a chance!
