Fun Friday: Matte Week: Zoya Mod Mattes

Good afternoon my fellow Lacquered Lovers! I hope you all had a fabulous week and enjoyed seeing lots of Matte collections from me! For today's Fun Friday, I didn't really do a "fun" manicure but I am showing you some really fun colors! The Zoya Matte collection came out in the spring/summer of 2011. Now when I say these colors are bright, I mean BRIGHT! My camera couldn't quite capture the brightness of them, so whatever you see, multiply it by at least 5 times brighter! Now, on to the polish!



Above: Lolly - 2 coats over 1 coat OPI Nail Envy

First up we have Lolly. Now, as many of my readers know, I am simply not a pink person. Never have been. I own virtually no pink clothing, I don't wear pink makeup, there is no pink in my apartment. However, I have recently discovered that I do like pink nail polish as long as it's bright and matte! (See ManGlaze Fuck Off and Dye for another example.) Lolly is a HOT pink matte! It's slightly blue leaning so it looked pretty good on my skin. I love how the neon just jumps off the nail and in your face! 2 coats made it fully opaque and for a neon matte, really not streaky!



Above: Phoebe - 2 coats over 1 coat OPI Nail Envy

Ah Phoebe. Phoebe is hands down my favorite from this collection. I can't tell you how many times I wore it this summer! Phoebe is a gorgeous robin's egg blue that has a subtle shimmer to it! It's just such a flattering light blue, fully opaque in 2 coats, no streaks, no bald spots. I love it so much I might need to get a backup!



Above: Mitzi - 2 coats over 1 coat OPI Nail Envy

Oh Mitzi. I wanted to like you! I really did! I even tried to wear you as a full manicure twice. However, you don't seem to like me. You are streaky. Your color is not the neon yellow it seems to be but has a green hint to it, making you kind of ugly. And I don't mean ugly pretty like some olive greens, on me, you're just ugly. Mitzi just is not a good polish for girls like me. I really should stop buying yellow polishes but I so badly want to like them!

So, there you have it, the end of Matte Week with the Zoya Mod Matte Collection. You can buy these from Zoya's website for $8 each. I highly recommend Lolly and Phoebe, and perhaps you can pull off Mitzi better than I can!

What did you all think of matte week? Do you like the brights or darks better for mattes? Do you have any of the polishes viewed above?

Dr's REMEDY Summer 2011 Collection

Good afternoon lacquered lovers! On this fine (hot!) August day I thought I'd share with you a summer collection from a brand that is new to me! Dr's REMEDY is a brand that was designed to be a safe nail polish for those who want a nail polish that doesn't have harsh toxins such as pregnant women, those who have young children, those with allergies and the polishes promote healthy nails with vitamins and anti-fungal components. Now, without further ado, I give you the summer 2011 collection~



From left to right: GLEE Gold, BOLD Baby Blue, TRANQUIL Tangerine, LOVELY Lavender, NURTURE Nude Pink

This collection is definitely very summery with the light pink and purple, shimmery gold and bright blue and orange!



Above: GLEE Gold - 2 coats over 1 coat Seche Vite Ridge Filler

GLEE gold is a very pretty, although fairly sheer, shimmering gold. The shimmer is almost more silver than gold which gives the gold a lighter look, not yellow leaning as many golds can be. Since yellowing tones don't look good on my skin, I was very happy with GLEE gold! My only complaint is that it was very sheer and would have taken at least 3 coats to get rid of the Visible Nail Line, possibly even gold coats. I think this color would be a great layering polish to give any color a shimmer!



Above: BOLD Baby Blue - 2 coats over 1 coat Seche Vite Ridge Filler

I am in love with this color! Granted, I love virtually all blues, but I actually do not have a dupe for this! This is a great lighter blue with tons of silver shimmer. After seeing it in the bottle I was worried it would be a streaky mess, but instead it went on completely opaque in two coats and was absolutely stunning. I love this shade of blue for the spring or summer!



Above: TRANQUIL Tangerine - 2 coats over 1 coat Seche Vite Ridge Filler

This color is bright! I was never one for orange polishes before this summer but now I kind of love them! In fact, I may wear this nail polish tomorrow because I'm going to a METS game and I've got to show my blue and orange pride! TRANQUIL Tangerine is anything but tranquil, this orange is in your face and filled with golden shimmer that makes it look like it's lit up from the inside. This color was completely opaque in 2 coats and a great polish if you really want to make a statement!



Above: LOVELY Lavender - 2 coats over 1 coat Seche Vite Ridge Filler

LOVELY Lavender is a greyed out light purple, definitely leaning towards blue tones and has a cream finish. This color was the least unique in the collection in my opinion. It went on great, fully opaque in 2 coats, however I have seen other bloggers review this collection and they have a much brighter lilac version of this polish. I'm not sure why there are two versions of this polish floating around, and I have to say that from pictures, I like the brighter version better. If you are a lover of grey toned purples however, then this color would be perfect!



Above: NURTURE Nude Pink - 2 coats over 1 coat Seche Vite Ridge Filler

Lastly there is NURTURE Nude Pink. This color is a pale pink, almost nude with some brighter pink very subtle shimmer. The shimmer really only comes out in the sun. If you are a nude kind of gal, this color is very pretty and definitely more pink than many of the peachier nudes that are popular now. Since I'm really not a pink/nude person, I definitely did not have a dupe but this color would be great when I need something subtle!

All in all, I liked this collection and I liked the formula a lot on these polishes. None of them were really streaky for me, not even the nude which I usually have issues with. Dr's REMEDY retails for about $17 a bottle so they are definitely on the pricier side but for a safe nail polish and some of the colors like the Tangerine or the Baby Blue, I'd say it's worth it. You can find more information by "liking" their facebook page HERE.

Have you tried any Dr's REMEDY polishes? Which is your favorite from this collection?

DISCLOSURE: this product was sent to me for review. For more information on my disclosure policy, please go HERE

OPI Miss Universe Collection - Swimsuit...Nailed It! and Crown Me Already!

So after my nail fail yesterday (see previous post)I went to Ricky's, a beauty supply store in NYC, at lunch to pick up a new polish to fix my manicure. I knew I wanted something sparkly since last night the boyfriend and I were going to see Priscilla Queen of the Desert on Broadway (which is a show all about drag queens.) Of course I walked out with not one but FOUR new polishes, but I was pleasantly surprised to see the new OPI Miss Universe Collection was on sale! I bought two:



On the left is Crown Me Already and on the right is Swimsuit...Nailed It!

Unfortunately since I had to do a quick, down and dirty surreptitious manicure at work I didn't get to take pictures until this morning so there is no picture of just Swimsuit...Nailed It! on its own. However this is a GORGEOUS blue that I will be sure to swatch soon that was almost a one coater! So fun! Crown Me Already is a beautiful clear base jam packed with silver micro glitter, sliver round glitter and larger silver hexagonal glitter. Basically, it's a glitter explosion. So here is one coat of Swimsuit...Nailed It! with one coat of Crown Me Already over it:




So sparkly! I love it! I don't have any dupes for these colors so that was very exciting for me!

Has anyone else tried this collection yet? What are your thoughts?

OPI Pirates of the Caribbean Mini Set

OK I've had these swatches for awhile but I just got so excited by all my other nail polish (a problem I frequently have) I haven't posted them yet! I figure since my giveaway that ends Friday (Enter HERE) includes this same mini pack (in a brand new version of course) I should show them off to you all! The giveaway also includes the Silver Shatter which is shown here as well! All pictures are one coat of Sally Hansen Hard as Nails and two coats of the color.



First up is Skull and Glossbones, which is a light grey with a hint of green:





Next up is Planks a Lot, a gorgeous darker lavender with a bit of dustiness to it:





Now is Sparrow Me The Drama, a medium pink shade with a bit of murkiness:





And last but not least, Stranger Tides, a murky pale green.





Last, I wanted to show how each color lookes with the Silver Shatter, so here they are plain and then with shatter. Sorry for the not so great picture quality, this is before I got my new camera that captures colors perfectly!





So that's the collection! I already swatched Mermaid's Tears a few weeks ago which you can find

HERE. Don't forget to sign up for the giveaway that ends Friday!

Do you love this collection? What are your thoughts on Silver Shatter?

Essie Braziliant and Smooth Sailing

So when I took a walk/hobble to my neighborhood a Ricky's this weekend to buy a new hair dryer, I wasn't really planning on getting any new nail polish. About 12 bottles later, here we are! I saw the Essie Braziliant collection and only two really jumped out at me as being "different" so they are the two I bought. I give you Braziliant and Smooth Sailing:



Braziliant is a gorgeous darkened orange polish with silver shimmer. It does look more shimmery in the bottle than on the nails, but I love that this was basically opaque with one coat! I used one coat of Seche Vite Ridge Filler (my new obsession) and I did two coat of Braziliant just to make sure it was even. Here is a better picture of the bottle so you can see the shimmer a bit better:



And a few more on the nail, one I tried to capture in the sunlight that was peeking through my apartment window on Sunday!





All in all a gorgeous color with a great formula! Now on to Smooth Sailing:



This color is a cornflower blue with flashes of purple and packed with silver micro-glitter. Swoon! I'm in love! I have nothing like it in my collection and am just drooling over it. In fact, it's back on my fingers today! Here are some pictures on the nails (don't make fun of the smudged pinky nail, My hand slipped and I didn't realize until I took all the polish off!):





I am truly in love with this shade. So perfect for the beach! I let the boyfriend pick out my polish colors last night (he painted my toes as well in OPI DS Sapphire, pics to come later) and he wanted this one on my nails! Such a great choice! Essie retails for $8.00 a bottle. I'd highly recommend both Braziliant and Smooth Sailing for summer manicures and pedicures!

What do you all think of the Braziliant Collection? Any other colors I should grab up? What are your thoughts on orange nail polish?

My First Time (With Matte's!)

Happy Tuesday Blogosphere! I was attempting to swatch a bunch of lovely Nfu-Oh polishes last night, however the sun was on it's way down as I was starting and my pictures were not working out very well! So I decided to try out a color I got a few weeks ago that is a matte, a finish I have never tried.

I bought Zoya Phoebe and Mitzi during their last buy one get one sale and have yet to try it! So, I give you Zoya Phoebe:



This picture was taken at night so forgive the poor lighting but it still really pops!



I used Nailtiques Protein Level II for a base coat since my nails are a bit weak at the moment and then three coats of Zoya Phoebe. I wasn't sure how the Matte polish would go on, and it was really streaky at first (probably because I was using the wrong amounts since it was my first time) however in three coats I had full coverage and almost no visible nail line. Here is one more picture in the day time so you can see how bright this color is!



All in all, I love this color. It actually reminds me a lot of a matte version of Zoya Robyn and I'm tempted to find a matte top coat and compare the two! I do like that Phoebe has the slightest bit of shimmer to it. The great thing about the matte is how fast it dried! In just a few minutes, I was using my hands again and not one chip! Mattes will definitely be my new go-to polishes when I need to paint my nails and leave in a hurry! Plus Phoebe is such a great bright blue for spring and summer, I can't help but smile when I look at my nails!

What do you guys think of matte polishes? Do you like the finish? What's your favorite matte? Do you find them as streaky as I did at first?