Zoya Pixie Dust Nail Art Gradient!

Good afternoon my fellow Lacquered Lovers!  Happy Tuesday to you all!  I LOVE coming back to work on a Tuesday and only having a 4 day week!  Feels like I won a prize!  For the long weekend, I went down to Washington DC with my boyfriend and his family and we had a fantastic time.  I decided to do some fun Zoya Pixie Dust nail art because they just wear like iron on me (and let me tell you, the little girls I was with were OBSESSED with it!)  5 days later, it's still wearing strong!  Now, without further ado, onto the polish!

So I did this gradient a little differently than usual.  Rather than just sponge the entire gradient, first I painted each nail half of each color.  So for the thumb, on the outside is Tomoko and the inside is Solance.  The pointer finger is Solange and then Beatrix.  The middle finger is Beatrix and then Dhara.  The ring finger is Dhara and then Miranda and then the pinkie finger is Miranda to Arabella.  Then I mixed a tiny bit of the two colors for each finger on a piece of wax paper and just dabbed that in the middle of the nail with a makeup sponge. I love how this ended up looking like a sunset with the bright colors and they just blend so well.  The best part is that the entire manicure took about 10 minutes and then it was dry a few minutes after that!

I really love all of the Pixie Dust nail polishes.  Zoya did a fantastic job with them!  They are vibrant, sparkly, a wonderful texture and dry super fast.  I find myself reaching for these more than anything else!  They are all available now wherever Zoya is sold for $10 each.

What did you think of this nail art?  Would you try it?  

The products in this post were sent to me for my unbiased review. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

Deborah Lippmann 80's Rewind Dot Nail Art!

Good afternoon my fellow Lacquered Lovers!  Happy Friday to you all!  If you are in the US, happy 3 day weekend!  I'm heading down to DC this weekend with my boyfriend and his family and am so excited to get out of NYC for a few days!  But first, I had to show you the adorable manicure I did with my new favorite Summer nail polish collection, Deborah Lippmann's 80's Rewind Collection!  Now, without further ado, onto the polish!

I think this is one of my favorite manicures I have done recently!  I wanted to use all of the colors in this collection without making it look like a rainbow.  Since they are all super pigmented, I figured out that the yellow matched all of them and I could do dots!  I didn't want to just do "normal" polka dots though so I used two different sized dotting tools and switched up the direction of the designs!  I really love how it came out!  

Let's talk about the colors quickly.  Each color only required two coats and actually seemed like 1 coaters, highly pigmented with a creamy, easy to use formula.  On the thumb is Don't Stop Believing, which is a very orange based red, super bright and cheery for summer.  The pointer finger is Video Killed the Radio Star, a perfect dark royal blue.  The middle finger is Whip It, a bright slightly blue leaning pink.  The ring finger is probably my favorite, She Drives Me Crazy, a gorgeous green leaning teal.  Lastly the pinkie finger is Maniac, a bright purple cream.  All of the dots were done with Walking on Sunshine, possibly the best yellow creme I have ever encountered, so opaque that each dot only had to be placed on once.

Above:  A closer look at each nail

I really love this collection.  The colors are super bright and cheery for summer.  I'm so, so glad someone finally made a yellow that is super pigmented, not streaky, and works like a charm!  This is just so perfect for summer, every color had a wonderful formula and are great staples to have in your collection.  These polishes are all available now wherever Deborah Lippmann is sold for $18, but they are limited edition so be sure to snag them (especially Walking on Sunshine, Video Killed the Radio Star and She Drives Me Crazy!)

What did you think of these colors?  Would you try it?  Any must haves?  Any dupes?

The products in this post were sent to me for my unbiased review. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

Cynthia Rowley Beauty Spring 2014 Swatches and Review!

Good afternoon my fellow Lacquered Lovers!  Happy Thursday to you all!  Here in the US, we are gearing up for a long weekend (yay!) so today, I have some fun makeup to share with you!  Last night, I was lucky to be invited to a Birchbox Birchbloggers event at the Madison Avenue Cynthia Rowley Boutique.  It is such an adorable spot in NYC, hidden behind a gorgeous gate with a small candy area upstairs for little girls to have birthday parties!  Last night, we got to preview the new Spring 2014 Makeup Collection by Cynthia Rowley and were gifted it to take home!

The new collection consists of an eyeshadow palette with 5 shades, 5 new pencil eyeliners, and a trio of lightweight lip stains.  I have some quick swatches for you today and will work on more coming up!  Now, without further ado, onto the makeup!

Above:  Eyeliners from the top down - Silver, Charcoal, Violet, Sky Blue, Black

First up are the eyeliners.  I have to say, I was very impressed with the formula on these, the shimmery ones reminded me a bit of the Urban Decay formulation and the Sky Blue had as much pigment and pop as my favorite Stila matte eyeliners.  Silver, Charcoal and Violet all have a really intense sheen and shimmer to them that really make them pop out.  Sky Blue and Black are super matte and super pigmented.  Here is how Sky Blue and Black look on my eyes below:

As you can see, they are super pigmented and really brighten the eyes.

Above:  Creamy Lip Stain Trio from the top down - Tulip, Valentine and Sugar

The Creamy Lip Stains feel like a very non-sticky gloss that wears off fairly quickly (after about an hour and a cup of coffee it was mostly gone) but leaves behind a nice stain so the lips still have a punch of color.  Violet is a very Radient Orchid type of color, Valentine is a fruit punch pink and Sugar is a light pinky nude.

Above:  Creamy Lip Stain in Valentine

Valentine looked really nice and bright on my lips, it didn't really bleed into my lips at all and went on really nicely.  It has a tiny bit of a cooling sensation when you first put it on as well!  IT is also fairly moisturizing which is really nice.

Above:  Cynthia Rowley Eyeshadow Palette No. 2

This palette definitely screams SPRING!  I haven't had a chance to swatch it yet but will soon.  It consists of 5 shades - Cotton Candy which is a violet shade (shouldn't it be pink?), Licorice which is a shimmery black, Confetti which is light pink with purple and yellow spots throughout, Cloud which is a pistachio and Marshmallow which is an almost yellow.  All of these are powder shades.

Here is the full look I did today with these:

All in all, I"m really impressed with the Cynthia Rowley Beauty Spring 2014 collection so far!  The eyeliners are pigmented and bold and the lip stains are light, not sticky, fun colors and do leave a nice stain.  All of these items are available at Birchbox.  The Eyeliners retail for $16 each, the Creamy Lip Stain Trio is $45 or individual Cream Lip Stains are $20 each. They Eyeshadow Palette is $24 or you can get the Spring Set of the eyeshadow palette, a neoprene makeup bag, mini black eyeliner and mini lip stain in Valentine for $35!

What did you think of these colors?  Would you try it?  Any must haves?  Any dupes?

The products in this post were sent to me for my unbiased review. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

Deborah Lippmann Spring Summer 2014 Flower Nail Art!

Good afternoon my fellow Lacquered Lovers!  Happy Tuesday to you all!  I hope you are all enjoying this lovely Spring weather!  NYC has been beautiful lately and I wanted to do some fun nail art to reflect that!  As you all know, I absolutely adore Deborah Lippmann nail polishes and when I was sent her current Spring Reveries and 80's Rewind collections, I couldn't choose just one!  Now, without further ado, onto the nail polish!

Above:  Dot flower manicure

For this manicure, I started off with a base of both Blue Orchid and Flowers in Her Hair from the Spring Reveries Collection.  The dots in the middle of all the flowers is Walking on Sunshine from the 80s Rewind Collection.  The flowers utilize all of the other colors from both collections!  I love how bright and cheery this manicure was and the colors all just look so good together!  I used a dotting tool to create the flowers and all in all, the entire manicure probably took about 20 minutes.  Below, here is a picture, in rainbow order, of all of the polishes from both collections:

Ah they are just so fun and bright!  In fact, I think I will put them back on tonight!  The formulas on these were great, I was especially impressed with how well the pastels went on, completely opaque in 2 coats, no streaking!  All of these polishes are now available wherever Deborah Lippmann is sold for $18 each, however the 80's Rewind Collection is Limited Edition!

What did you think of these colors?  Would you try it?  Any must haves?  Any dupes?

The products in this post were sent to me for my unbiased review. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

Sephora Formula X Fall 2014 Nail Polish Preview!

Good morning my fellow Lacquered Lovers!  Happy Friday!  I hope you're all having a lovely week so far!  Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to be invited to the launch of Sephora's Formula X Fall 2014 nail polish line!  There are some great goodies below so now, without further ado, onto the polish!

Above:  Brushed Metallics

Above:  Motivated (orange with gold shimmer)  and Ambitious (bright yellow gold with gold shimmer)

Above:  Mind Games (Green with Gold shimmer) and Discovery (teal with blue shimmer)

Above:  Destiny (light blue with pink shimmer)  and Prophecy (dark blue with purple and pink shimmer)

Above:  Valor (purple with pink shimmer)  and Spectacle (Magenta with pink and blue shimmer)

Above:  Wonderment (beige with pink shimmer), Singularity (greige with blue shimmer) and Determined (brown with blue shimmer)

Above:  Synapse (taupe with pink shimmer) and Fate (beige with blue shimmer)

The Brushed Metallic Collection consists of 8 jewel tones and 6 neutral nail polishes that are all full of mica and dry to a mostly matte finish.  All of the shimmer is either pink or blue, some of them shifting between the two for a duochrome effect, however this is mostly only clear in the bottle or if you put a clear top coat on the polish.  I love how rich the jewel tone shades are and how much the colored shimmer pops against the nudes!

Above:  Press Pods for Fall 2014

Above:  Impeccable, Atomic, Orbit, Pyrotechnic, Ignite,  Dark Matter,Thrilling

Press Pods are a one use manicure capsule that Formula X has previously released that hold enough polish for one full manicure and comes with a brush attached for easy use.  For Fall, they are releasing this kit with 7 colors (all existing) that are perfect for traveling!  This kit will retail for $15, which is a huge value when most Formula X cremes retail for $10.50.

Above:  The Cut - Enticing, Memorable, Grand

The Cut are 3 new cremes for Fall that reflect the urban landscape.  They consist of a mustard yellow, a slate blue and a greige, all fairly neutral without being boring.  I'm really digging that slate for Fall!  That's my version of a palette cleanser polish.

Above:  The cool X installation at the event

All in all, I think Formula X is coming out with some cool things!  I love the idea of the brushed metallics, and while I wish the shimmer showed more on the nail without a top coat, I think they are gorgeous jewel tones and neutrals for Fall.  The Cut collection is a great mini Fall showing for those who like some out of the box colors like mustard and don't want to just do darks.  The press pods would be great for travel and I'm actually looking forward to trying them!  All of these polishes will be released August 1, 2014 at Sephora!

What did you think of these polishes?  Any must haves?  Any dupes?

RickyColor The Pastel Opal Collection Skittles Manicure!

Good morning my fellow lacquered lovers!  Happy Monday to you all!  I hope you're all having a lovely week so far!  The sun is shining, it's finally feeling like Spring, and that means bright nail polish is on the horizon!  The lovely people over at one of my favorite NYC stores, Ricky's, sent me over their newest collection of RickyColor nail polishes and they are FABULOUS!  Now, without further ado, onto the polish!

These shades are BRIGHT!  RickyColor calls them pastel but I think they are more of a pastel neon.  This collection consists of three cremes and an iridescent glitter topper which I will test out soon for you all.  The blue is called BBCS at Cyrils and is the most muted of the bunch.  It's an almost dusty blue that had a great formula and was opaque in 2 coats.  The green is called Hudson Valley Getaway and is an almost neon mint green.  I'm kind of obsessed with it and had a great formula of being opaque in 2 coats.  Last but most certainly not least is the the pink Night at the Stalkhouse which is an almost neon salmon shade.  The formula on this was also opaque in 2 coats.

All in all, I was really impressed by this collection!  Usually pastels can be streaky or hard to apply but I had no issues with any of these.  The color payoff was so bright, the formulas easy to use, and they even made my super pale hands look tan!  Just for fun, I added Butter London Anorak on top:

All of these shades are now available at Ricky's stores and online for $6.50 each!

What did you think of these colors?  Would you try it?  Any must haves?  Any dupes?

The products in this post were sent to me for my unbiased review. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

Milani Gold Label Nail Polish Collection for Spring 2014 Swatches and Review!

Good afternoon my fellow lacquered lovers!  Happy Friday to you all!  I hope you all had a lovely week so far and are looking forward to the weekend!  Today, I have 12 gorgeous nail polishes from Milani that they sent me to review to show you!

This Spring Milani is releasing 6 vibrant creme polishes and 6 different glitter toppers!  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

 Above:  2 coats Colorful Coral

Colorful Coral is a very orange leaning coral.  This polish is super bright but has just enough pink to it to not be a true orange.  The formula was very smooth, completely opaque in 2 coats.

Above:  1 coat of Sugar Cane over 2 coats of Colorful Coral

Sugar Cane consists of pink and purple metallic bar glitter and multiple sized white hexagonal matte glitters in a clear base.  I'm not a huge fan of bar glitter so this was probably my least favorite.  I can't even imagine how many coats you would need to make this opaque but the glitter did come out easily.

 Above:  2 coats of Popping Pink

Popping Pink is a slightly lighter bright pink creme nail polish.  There is a hit of blue base to this but not overpoweringly so.  The formula was good, very smooth and opaque in 2 coats.

 Above:  1 coat of Sugar Rim over 2 coats of Popping Pink

Sugar Rim was one of my favorites from this collection!  All matte glitters in black, red, light blue and yellow in slightly varying sizes, I can honestly say I don't own anything like this.  All of these glitters are suspended in a clear base and apply really easily to the nail.

 Above:  2 coats of Splendid Strawberry

Splendid Strawberry is a more medium, red based bright pink creme.  This is a classic pink for spring and I'm sure there are dupes out there for this.  The formula was great, very smooth and opaque in 2 coats.

Above:  1 coat of Sugar High over 2 coats of Splendid Strawberry

The first time I saw the name Sugar High, all I could think of was Empire Records and Renee Zellweger singing on top of a roof.  That being said, this is another super unique glitter topper!  This polish consists of peach, yellow, light blue, cobalt, red and gold small hexagonal glitters in a clear base.  I love how different this is!  It reminds me of Easter.  The application was very easy to get the glitters out.

 Above:  2 coats of Vivid Violet

I think Vivid Violet is my favorite of the cremes.  This is a medium blue based violet and it's stunning!  It's very vibrant without being neon.  The formula was great, opaque in 2 coats and very easy to apply.

Above: 1 coat of Sugar Coated over 2 coats of Vivid Violet

Sugar Coated is a glitter topper full of multiple sized and shaped lime green matte glitters and a tiny bit of holographic glitters sprinkled in.  Usually I hate bar glitter but it's sparse enough here that I kind of like it!  The formula was very easy to work with and get the glitter out.

 Above:  2 coats of Showy Sea-Green

Showy Sea-Green is a muted bright green polish.  I guess I would call this a grassy green?  It's actually a really pretty shade because it's not yellow leaning.  The formula was great, opaque in 2 coats and very smooth.

Above:  1 coat of Sugar Burst over 2 coats of Showy Sea-Green

Sugar Burst is the light pink version of Sugar Coated.  All matte light pink glitters and tiny holographic glitters in a clear base.  It's actually very pretty and dainty, not as stark as a white would be but looks really cool over bright colors!  The glitters came out really easily and smoothly.

 Above:  2 coats of Power Periwinkle

Power Periwinkle is, as you might guess, a really pretty periwinkle!  This shade is a bit violet leaning and just super gorgeous on the nails.  The formula was a bit streaky on this one but was mostly leveled out in 2 coats.

Above:  2 coats of Sugar Rush over 2 coats of Power Periwinkle

Sugar Rush is a glitter topper with light pink, light green, peach, white and silver hexagonal glitters.  This was the only glitter that gave me a problem.  I found I had to fish to get the glitters out and had to just put a glob of polish on the nail and manually spread it out to get any sort of glitter coverage.  I had to use two coats for the coverage you see above and it was rather thick.

All in all, I think Milani did a great job with these.  The cremes were virtually all 2 coaters, very smooth, very opaque and easy to work with.  The glitters were unique, fun, and different!  These polishes will be out in February wherever Milani is sold and retail for $4.69 each.

What did you think of these polishes? Must have? Any dupes?

The products in this post were sent to me for my unbiased review. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

Lime Crime Velvetine Lipstick Swatches and Review!

Good afternoon my fellow lacquered lovers!  Happy Thursday!  Hope everyone on the east coast survived the snow this week!  I was up taking care of my parents dog and got a TON of swatching done so be prepared for a bunch of new posts!  Now, if you follow my Instagram or Facebook pages (@lacqueredlover) then you know of my love for makeup.  Today, I'm going to share with you some of my favorites from the past year:

These lipsticks from Lime Crime are a liquid lipstick that within a few minutes dries to a super matte finish.  I can easily get 8 hours of wear out of each lipstick, including meals, without really having to reapply.  The great thing about each of these is that they literally do NOT come off on anything, not cups, not utensils, not even with smooching!  They can be a bit runny when applying, so I always use a clear lip liner when wearing these to help prevent feathering.

Above:  Suedeberry, Pink Velvet and Red Velvet within 1 minute of application.

Now, without further ado, on to the lippies!!!

 Above:  Lime Crime Pink Velvet

 Above:  Lime Crime Pink Velvet with makeup

Pink Velvet is a bright, vibrant, HOT pink lippie!  It's brighter on the lip than it looks even in the bottle but it's the perfect hot pink shade.  I find it's light and bright enough to wear either day or night!

Above:  Lime Crime Red Velvet

 Above:  Lime Crime Red Velvet with makeup

Red Velvet was the original Velvtine lipstick and is a true bright red.  This shade definitely isn't blue or pink leaning and just gives you a retro, 1940's matte red lip.  It might be my favorite red.

 Above:  Lime Crime Suedeberry

Above:  Lime Crime Suedeberry with makeup

Suedeberry is somewhere between an orange, red and coral lip color.  It's really bright and fun but you need a bit of spunk to pull this shade off!


All in all, I'm kind of obsessed with these lipsticks.  I've bought all three in the last year and can't wait for more shades!  They last longer than any other lipstick I own and I can't think of anything that has the same matte finish that doesn't transfer on ANYTHING!  These are all available on the Lime Crime website for $20 each and are definitely worth it in my opinion!

What do you think of these lipsticks?  Any must haves?  Any dupes?