Zoya Intimate

Another oldie. I’m almost done with my Spring collections I promise! 😉 This is the Spring 2011 collection, featuring the quite interesting Gemma. All the polishes boasted the fantastic Zoya formula, with two coats each. The polishes are quite perfect for Spring. I can imagine wearing them during the constant rain and dreariness that is Washington DC springtime! 😉

Gemma. Indeed the star and most unique of this collection, but I didn’t really like it much. It looks like vomit and pea soup. It’s got this interesting purple/blue shimmer running through it. Have a closer look:

It looks a lot better in the photos and in that closeup, but it just looks like baby poo on my nails =\ NOT My favorite and definitely something I’m gonna get rid of!

Caitlin is a dark smoky periwinkle blue.

Jules, how I love this one! It’s a lovely gold with glass fleck. Looks great in sunshine! I think any skin tone could pull this color off.

Marley is a light lilac with a delicate pearl finish.

Dove is a perfect soft grey creme.

Dannii! Guess who’s my favorite? Purple with gold glass fleck shimmer– gorgeous in sunlight.

Zoya Intimate

Another oldie. I’m almost done with my Spring collections I promise! 😉 This is the Spring 2011 collection, featuring the quite interesting Gemma. All the polishes boasted the fantastic Zoya formula, with two coats each. The polishes are quite perfect for Spring. I can imagine wearing them during the constant rain and dreariness that is Washington DC springtime! 😉

Gemma. Indeed the star and most unique of this collection, but I didn’t really like it much. It looks like vomit and pea soup. It’s got this interesting purple/blue shimmer running through it. Have a closer look:

It looks a lot better in the photos and in that closeup, but it just looks like baby poo on my nails =\ NOT My favorite and definitely something I’m gonna get rid of!

Caitlin is a dark smoky periwinkle blue.

Jules, how I love this one! It’s a lovely gold with glass fleck. Looks great in sunshine! I think any skin tone could pull this color off.

Marley is a light lilac with a delicate pearl finish.

Dove is a perfect soft grey creme.

Dannii! Guess who’s my favorite? Purple with gold glass fleck shimmer– gorgeous in sunlight.

Essie French Affair

Another Spring 2011 collection! I know 😛 This one I really like, it reminds me of Paris and walks through parks with a parasol. It’s a six piece collection with light colors and cremes, combined with a sheer pink-gold duochrome topper, Kisses & Bises.

All polishes had great formula except Nice is Nice, which I found to be a bit goopy. I’m pretty sure this is just a random bad bottle, the one I had at DC was much better and easier to control. They’re all two coats, and one coat of Kisses & Bises.

Let’s begin with my favorite… I have FOUR pictures of it! Haha.

Coat Azure! It’s an azure blue with a shimmer.

See that delicate shimmer?

With Kisses & Bises over it.

French Affair, the namesake of this collection. It’s a pastel pink creme. Very delicate and beautiful 🙂

French Affair with Kisses and Bises on top. This is one polish that I feel that Kisses & Bises just did not transform. All we see is a pale pink shimmer!

Topless & Barefoot. What a raunchy name 😉 It’s a cool tan neutral creme. Kind of boring until…

Layered with Kisses & Bises!

I like this effect, it’s like sun shining on wet sand on the beach… I NEED a trip to South Padre Island SOON.

Nice is Nice. A pale pastel lilac creme.

I love this combo too 🙂 I really like this topper.

Sand Tropez, a much warmer neutral than Topless & Barefoot.

With Kisses and Bises. This combination really brings out the gold in K&B!

Essie French Affair

Another Spring 2011 collection! I know 😛 This one I really like, it reminds me of Paris and walks through parks with a parasol. It’s a six piece collection with light colors and cremes, combined with a sheer pink-gold duochrome topper, Kisses & Bises.

All polishes had great formula except Nice is Nice, which I found to be a bit goopy. I’m pretty sure this is just a random bad bottle, the one I had at DC was much better and easier to control. They’re all two coats, and one coat of Kisses & Bises.

Let’s begin with my favorite… I have FOUR pictures of it! Haha.

Coat Azure! It’s an azure blue with a shimmer.

See that delicate shimmer?

With Kisses & Bises over it.

French Affair, the namesake of this collection. It’s a pastel pink creme. Very delicate and beautiful 🙂

French Affair with Kisses and Bises on top. This is one polish that I feel that Kisses & Bises just did not transform. All we see is a pale pink shimmer!

Topless & Barefoot. What a raunchy name 😉 It’s a cool tan neutral creme. Kind of boring until…

Layered with Kisses & Bises!

I like this effect, it’s like sun shining on wet sand on the beach… I NEED a trip to South Padre Island SOON.

Nice is Nice. A pale pastel lilac creme.

I love this combo too 🙂 I really like this topper.

Sand Tropez, a much warmer neutral than Topless & Barefoot.

With Kisses and Bises. This combination really brings out the gold in K&B!

Essie Wedding 2011

I feel like a lot of weddings are happening this summer! A lot of my friends have tons of weddings to attend, and my fiance’s cousin is getting married this July, which I will attend. So I felt it was appropriate to post about a wedding collection 🙂 I always feel like Essie does great neutral, wedding-appropriate colors.

I ordered their mini box set. Isn’t it the cutest?! It has blocks around, with the colors of the collection.

From left to right: First Dance, Made to Honor, Borrowed & Blue, Better Together.

Two of the neutral polishes (the beige and pink) are very sheer and nothing will get them opaque. They’re ideal for the french manicures that we see so often on brides.
For the sheer ones, I’m going to show a two coat and a three coat to give you an idea of the color build up.
Two of the other colors are bolder and opaque in two coats (except the red) and would make for fun, coordinating pedicure colors (or on your hands- whatever!)

First Dance is a cool red. Everyone needs a classic red in their collection, and this could be it. At three coats, the nail line is still visible so I would think this is best for the toes, or nicely manicured short nails. OR for the people that don’t care about VNL! 🙂

Made to Honor at two coats. This is a lovely beige, personally in my opinion this is the polish color that Chanel Beige Petale wanted to be- this is clearly a much better choice for a sheer beige polish! You could put on one coat to give your nails a fresh and shiny look, but retain the natural look.

Three coats. I’m not sure if I like this better at three coats, or at two like shown earlier.

Borrowed and Blue. Two coats. LOVELY pastel baby blue. I love the name too 🙂 As most pastels go, the first coat tends to be streaky. This was kind of true, and the second coat smoothed everything and it all became perfect.

I love love love this polish! Seriously. I have worn it twice! It’s such a flattering baby blue, I feel like this color will look good on all skin tones.

Better Together, two coats. What a romantic name 🙂 It’s a light sheer pink.

I definitely prefer the three coats version.

Essie Wedding 2011

I feel like a lot of weddings are happening this summer! A lot of my friends have tons of weddings to attend, and my fiance’s cousin is getting married this July, which I will attend. So I felt it was appropriate to post about a wedding collection 🙂 I always feel like Essie does great neutral, wedding-appropriate colors.

I ordered their mini box set. Isn’t it the cutest?! It has blocks around, with the colors of the collection.

From left to right: First Dance, Made to Honor, Borrowed & Blue, Better Together.

Two of the neutral polishes (the beige and pink) are very sheer and nothing will get them opaque. They’re ideal for the french manicures that we see so often on brides.
For the sheer ones, I’m going to show a two coat and a three coat to give you an idea of the color build up.
Two of the other colors are bolder and opaque in two coats (except the red) and would make for fun, coordinating pedicure colors (or on your hands- whatever!)

First Dance is a cool red. Everyone needs a classic red in their collection, and this could be it. At three coats, the nail line is still visible so I would think this is best for the toes, or nicely manicured short nails. OR for the people that don’t care about VNL! 🙂

Made to Honor at two coats. This is a lovely beige, personally in my opinion this is the polish color that Chanel Beige Petale wanted to be- this is clearly a much better choice for a sheer beige polish! You could put on one coat to give your nails a fresh and shiny look, but retain the natural look.

Three coats. I’m not sure if I like this better at three coats, or at two like shown earlier.

Borrowed and Blue. Two coats. LOVELY pastel baby blue. I love the name too 🙂 As most pastels go, the first coat tends to be streaky. This was kind of true, and the second coat smoothed everything and it all became perfect.

I love love love this polish! Seriously. I have worn it twice! It’s such a flattering baby blue, I feel like this color will look good on all skin tones.

Better Together, two coats. What a romantic name 🙂 It’s a light sheer pink.

I definitely prefer the three coats version.

Zoya Touch

Zoya usually releases bright, flashy colors. Sometimes too flashy- where would we be able to use that in the professional world? But this summer they released a three piece of work-appropriate, professional neutrals! They call these polishes as neutral but with a “metallic kiss”. It actually just looks like shimmer to me, and a pearl finish.

I love the box it came in! 🙂

The formula was especially fantastic for all three, and they are definitely neutral polishes that everyone needs to have in their stash! Zoya released three types of nudes to ensure that these shades can suit various skin colors, so everyone definitely needs one. 🙂 They are meant to be dense and opaque, but I achieved full opacity with three coats.
I hear a lot of other bloggers achieved this coverage with two, so maybe my definition of coat thickness is different. I do pretty thin coats because if I do thicker ones then I’ll end up with cuticle drag and pooling.

Pandora. This is a cool, light mauve. This is my second favorite 🙂

Detail of the gold shimmer and the finish.

Minka. She’s a strong yellow toned beige nude. It’ll suit people with yellow/green undertones.

Detail. I know, I fudged the application a bit 😐

Shay. She’s a peachy warm beige, very sandy. She is also my match, and there needs to be songs written about our compatibility.

I’m actually craving to wear this one again!!

Zoya Touch

Zoya usually releases bright, flashy colors. Sometimes too flashy- where would we be able to use that in the professional world? But this summer they released a three piece of work-appropriate, professional neutrals! They call these polishes as neutral but with a “metallic kiss”. It actually just looks like shimmer to me, and a pearl finish.

I love the box it came in! 🙂

The formula was especially fantastic for all three, and they are definitely neutral polishes that everyone needs to have in their stash! Zoya released three types of nudes to ensure that these shades can suit various skin colors, so everyone definitely needs one. 🙂 They are meant to be dense and opaque, but I achieved full opacity with three coats.
I hear a lot of other bloggers achieved this coverage with two, so maybe my definition of coat thickness is different. I do pretty thin coats because if I do thicker ones then I’ll end up with cuticle drag and pooling.

Pandora. This is a cool, light mauve. This is my second favorite 🙂

Detail of the gold shimmer and the finish.

Minka. She’s a strong yellow toned beige nude. It’ll suit people with yellow/green undertones.

Detail. I know, I fudged the application a bit 😐

Shay. She’s a peachy warm beige, very sandy. She is also my match, and there needs to be songs written about our compatibility.

I’m actually craving to wear this one again!!

Revlon Just Tinted

Revlon released a line of four extremely sheer, berry-colored jelly polishes that pretty much “stain” your nails. They call it a “tint” though. It comes with four matching lip stain/balm combo collections called “Bitten”. This entire shebang has a very Twilight theme, and it doesn’t help that Jessica Biel does this commercial for Revlon’s lip stains, where she looks at the camera and says, seductively(!) “Have you been Bitten?” right after making out with a smoking hot guy that looks suspiciously like Edward.

SO! I found this line interesting, albeit not for me. I had to slap on fake nails because my real nails are STAINED and just looks gross under sheer polish. Thanks random green polish I tried on a few weeks ago. Ugh!

All the polishes are at two coats, but I’ve demonstrated some at one coat just for sake of research. They dry to a very satiny finish, definitely soaking into your nails. I really had application issues, it’s hard to even out sheer polishes and jelly polishes and when you combine the two… well.. I tried my best! It definitely builds color the more coats you go.
If the “stained”/matte finish is not for you, well, luckily Revlon also released a special shiny topcoat that gives them this wet luster that’s pretty attractive.

Let’s start with the finish. This is Victorian, at one coat and dry.

You can see the “tinted” effect Revlon was talking about.

This is at two coats. Victorian is a berry pink- between purple and pink.

It does kind of look nice with my skin tone. Too bad these aren’t my real nails! LOL.

With the topcoat. You can see the juicy finish that’s happening.

Looks wet! I’d be afraid to touch them for days 😉

Mystical is a dark berry– I’d say it looks grape.


The topcoat definitely lightened this color up some.

Desire is a bright pink.

I liked this one a lot.

Desire with topcoat

I can’t get over the juiciness! It’s just an interesting finish. Jelly polishes are usually wet looking or “shiny” but this topcoat takes it a bit differently.

Dawn is the most different from everyone– it’s a peach!


With topcoat. I love it, it looks like a tangerine color.

Revlon Just Tinted

Revlon released a line of four extremely sheer, berry-colored jelly polishes that pretty much “stain” your nails. They call it a “tint” though. It comes with four matching lip stain/balm combo collections called “Bitten”. This entire shebang has a very Twilight theme, and it doesn’t help that Jessica Biel does this commercial for Revlon’s lip stains, where she looks at the camera and says, seductively(!) “Have you been Bitten?” right after making out with a smoking hot guy that looks suspiciously like Edward.

SO! I found this line interesting, albeit not for me. I had to slap on fake nails because my real nails are STAINED and just looks gross under sheer polish. Thanks random green polish I tried on a few weeks ago. Ugh!

All the polishes are at two coats, but I’ve demonstrated some at one coat just for sake of research. They dry to a very satiny finish, definitely soaking into your nails. I really had application issues, it’s hard to even out sheer polishes and jelly polishes and when you combine the two… well.. I tried my best! It definitely builds color the more coats you go.
If the “stained”/matte finish is not for you, well, luckily Revlon also released a special shiny topcoat that gives them this wet luster that’s pretty attractive.

Let’s start with the finish. This is Victorian, at one coat and dry.

You can see the “tinted” effect Revlon was talking about.

This is at two coats. Victorian is a berry pink- between purple and pink.

It does kind of look nice with my skin tone. Too bad these aren’t my real nails! LOL.

With the topcoat. You can see the juicy finish that’s happening.

Looks wet! I’d be afraid to touch them for days 😉

Mystical is a dark berry– I’d say it looks grape.


The topcoat definitely lightened this color up some.

Desire is a bright pink.

I liked this one a lot.

Desire with topcoat

I can’t get over the juiciness! It’s just an interesting finish. Jelly polishes are usually wet looking or “shiny” but this topcoat takes it a bit differently.

Dawn is the most different from everyone– it’s a peach!


With topcoat. I love it, it looks like a tangerine color.