OPI Liquid Sand Gradient Nail Art featuring Solitaire and Alcatraz,...Rocks!

Good morning my fellow lacquered lovers!  Happy Tuesday!  It's been awhile since I posted on here but I'm back with some AMAZING new things to show you coming up!  My life in NYC has gotten a bit hectic in the last several months, new job, lots of life changes, but my love of nail polish and makeup has held strong which you can see if you follow my Instagram and Facebook @lacqueredlover !  In the last few months I've traveled, attended NYFW and been enjoying NYC.  Today, I want to share with you a quick nail art I did for today's Blogger Breakfast with Suzi from OPI!  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

For this manicure I started off with two coats of OPI Solitaire, which is a gorgeous white textured glitter with hints of gold to it.  Then I sponged OPI Alcatraz,... Rocks onto the tips to give the gradient look!  I love how these colors blend together and how they bring out the gold in each other!

So there you have it, just some quick nail art!  I'm so happy to be back to blogging and can't wait to share more with you all soon!

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

Different Dimension Love's a Punny Thing Collection Swatches and Review!

Good morning my fellow lacquered lovers!  Happy Monday!  I'm still in the midst of NYFW craziness but I wanted to post a super cute Valentine's Day collection for you all while I have a quick break!


Different Dimension is a fabulous indie brand that came out with this great Valentine's Day collection!  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

 Above:  1 coat of A Love Hue over black

A Love Hue is a mixture of pink and fuchsia small glitters, larger hexagonal glitters and my personal favorite, square glitters!  There is even some holographic glitters thrown in to give it a little extra sparkle.  The formula was great, easy to use and the glitters came out really easily!

 Above:  1 coat of All Red-y in Love over black

All Red-y In Love is a glitter topper that consists of red and pink micro glitter, red and pink circular glitter, a tiny bit of holographic glitter and bright red heart glitters!  It's so cute and festive for Valentine's Day!  The hearts had to be dabbed into place but the rest of the glitter was easy to apply.

 Above:  1 coats of Aorta Miss You But I Don't over nude

This name cracks me up!  Aorta Miss You But I Don't is a glitter topper full of SO many different kinds of glitter that I couldn't even get them all on the nail!  There are purple hearts, fuchsia dots, holographic hexes, red hexes, small purple glitters, pink glitters and holographic glitters!  It's a glitter party!  It was a bit hard for me to get the larger glitters out of the bottle but in a full size bottle I think it'd be easier.

Above:  1 coat of Love Her?  I don't Even Lacquer!

I saved my favorite for last.  This polish has black and white square glitters, tiny holographic glitters, some hexes, hearts and a bit of iridescence.  I'm in love with it.  The formula was great, easy to use and even the hearts were easy to get out!


All in all, this collection is adorable for Valentine's day!  I love the black and white, it's so unexpected in a collection like this and I'm loving seeing circular glitters becoming popular!  This collection is available now at the Different Dimension store HERE!

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.

China Glaze Avant Garden Collection for Spring 2013 Swatches and Review!

Good afternoon my fellow lacquered lovers!  Happy Friday!  I hope you have all had a wonderful week and are looking forward to the weekend!  I will be swatching like a mad woman in anticipation of NYFW starting next week!  But first, I have an amazing new Spring Collection to show you all!

The China Glaze Avant Garden collection consists of 6 shimmers and 6 cremes that are gorgeous for the Spring!  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

 Above:  3 coats of Dandy Lyin' Around

First up is Dandy Lyin' Around.  I really love this polish!  This is a soft white that's full of tiny iridescent shimmer that's just beautiful on the nail.  The shimmer gives it a really gorgeous glow that whites don't usually have so it's not too harsh.  The formula was a bit streaky but three thin coats evened it out well.

 Above:  2 coats of Tart-y for the Party

Tart-y For the Party is a really nice bright lavender creme.  It's coming out a tad more blue toned in these pictures than it is in real life.  The formula was good, opaque in two coats and easy to use.

Above:  3 coats of Keep Calm, Paint On

Keep Calm, Paint on is a gorgeous iced mint green with a hint of silver shimmer.  I was afraid this would give me lobster hands but it's perfect!  I seriously love this shade!  The formula was a bit streaky but three thin coats evened it out perfectly!

 Above:  2 coats of Pink-ie Promise

Pink-ie Promise is a warm baby pink that has a subtle bright pink shimmer to it.  The shimmer isn't that noticeable on the nail unless you are in direct light.  The formula was a bit thick but 2 coats were fine.

 Above:  2 coats of Fade into Hue

Fade into Hue is a nice bright cornflower blue creme.  There is a hint of dustiness to it that stops it from being neon.  The formula was really nice, opaque in two coats and easy to use.

Above:  2 coats of Mimosa's before Manis

This was a surprise love of mine!  Mimosa's Before Manis is a gorgeous bright coral with a hint of shimmer to it that's really fun for Spring!  I see this being a fabulous pedicure color!  The formula was great, opaque in 2 coats and easy to work with.

 Above:  2 coats of Life is Rosy

Life is Rosy is a pink toned dusky mauve.  Not really a color I would wear but a good polish for pink lovers.  The formula was good, easy to work with and opaque in 2 coats.

 Above:  2 coats of Passion for Petals

Passion for Petals is a nice bright pink creme.  I feel like I probably have dupes for this although I can't think of any off the top of my head.  The application was good, opaque in two coats and easy to use.

Above:  2 coats of Snap My Dragon

I apologize, my camera and computer want to make this a hot pink when really it's a bright red with hot pink shimmer!  It's gorgeous!  The formula was good, opaque in 2 coats!

 Above:  2 coats of Sunday Funday

First of all, I love this name.  Sunday Funday is a gorgeous BRIGHT blue creme!  I love it!  It's perfect for Spring!  the formula was great, opaque in 2 coats and easy to use!

 Above:  2 coats of Budding Romance

Ok honestly, I thought I was going to hate this color but I actually LOVE it!  Budding Romance is a kind of mossy green but the finish is halfway between a creme and a jelly!  the formula was a bit thick but two thin coats were easy to use!

Above:  2 coats of Fancy Pants

Fancy Pants (gotta love that name) is a deep indigo/blurple with light purple shimmer to it.  It's complex and gorgeous and changes depending on the light!  I love it!  The formula was great, opaque in two coats!

All in all, I really liked this collection by China Glaze!  There were no boring pastels, lots of cool hidden shimmers and some great brights!  I really loved the coral, white and blues, they were all really interesting while still being wearable!  The launch date of this collection is March, 2013. 

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.

Sally Hansen Insta Gel Starter Kit with Bonus Check Swatches and Review!

Good morning my fellow lacquered lovers!  Happy Tuesday to you all!  I hope you are all having a lovely week so far!  Today, I have a really cool post for you.  You have seen many of the Sally Hansen Salon Effects here on my blog because I love how cute they are and how long they last.  Today, I have their new gel strips!  They recently released starter kits with both gel polish and gel strips that come with a small led light, a gel top coat and a gel polish or strips.  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

 

 Above:  Sally Hansen Insta Gel Strips in Bonus Check

These pictures were all taken FIVE days after application and they are still perfect!  Here's how the gel strips work.  You start off by applying them the same way you would the normal Salon Effects.  I personally like to use base coat beneath them but you don't have to.  You choose the strip that best fits your nail, smooth the strip down and file off the excess.  Since my nails are small, I was able to get away with only using one of the two packets it comes with.  Then, you will go one nail at a time and put on the gel top coat that comes in each packet and cure the nails one at a time under the LED lamp that comes with the starter kit.

Above:  Sally Hansen LED lamp

You just plug the lamp into the wall and put one nail under the light and press the button at the top.  The lamp is timed to cure the gel for each finger.  Once the light goes off, put the gel top coat on the next nail and repeat!  Once you are all finished (which takes less than 10 minutes) then use the nail cleanser pads that come in each box and wipe off any sticky residue that's left on the nail and voila!  You have a gorgeous, shiny gel manicure!

The starter set will cost you less than $30 and will come with the led lamp, cuticle sticks, gel top coat, nail cleanser pads, nail file and buffer as well as either one bottle of the gel nail polish or the gel nail strips, whichever you like.  Any additional colors of polish or patterns of gel strips will cost you around $12-$13 depending on where you buy it.  They have a ton of different colors and designs including the hounds tooth above, glitter, lace and more!  Plus they really did hold up well!  5 days and not a chip or tip wear in sight!  These are definitely great when you don't have time to change your polish or when you're going on vacation!  Here's one more picture that I had put on Instagram holding my dog's paw with them:

All in all, I would recommend these.  They were super easy to use, removal was pretty easy with the foil method and they do actually last longer than even the normal Salon Effects.  The $29 for the starter kit is a bit high but if you like the colors it comes with, then it's definitely worth it.  Plus I love that you can reuse the light every time and just have to get different strips or polish!  The Sally Hansen Insta gel Polish and Strips kits are now available where Sally Hansen is sold.


What did you think of this set? Must have?

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

Zoya Lovely Collection for Spring 2013 Swatches and Review!

Good afternoon my fellow lacquered lovers!  Happy New Year to you all!  I hope you all had a great kick off to 2013!  Today, I have a super exciting new Spring collection to share with you all!

The Zoya Lovely collection for Spring 2013 comes out this month and is so pretty!  You may recognize a few of these colors that I reviewed for you during NYFW as some are from the Peter Som and Zang Toi collections.  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!!!

 Above:  2 coats of Zoya Blu

First up is Zoya Blu.  Blue is a lovely light blue creme that Zoya described as being "hyacinth" blue.  I love the shade for the Spring!  I found that applying three thin coats gave me more even coverage than just two.  The formula was easy to apply and looks fabulous!

 Above:  2 coats of Gie Gie

Gie Gie (which I still can't figure out how to pronounce) was part of the Zang Toi trio!  I was lucky enough to be invited to go to his fashion show where these were shows in September and it's still a gorgeous light pink full of silver shimmer!  The formula was great, opaque in two coats and easy to use!

 

Above:  2 coats of Jacqueline

 

Jacqueline, which was from the Peter Som Collection, is a full coverage yellow based nude.  It's halfway between a super pale yellow and a light nude to my eye.  The formula was good, opaque in 2 coats and easy to use.

 

 

 Above:  2 coats of Julie

Julie, named after Julie Macklowe who was the muse for Zang Toi's Spring 2013 Collection, is probably my favorite in this batch!  This lovely light purple is full of silver shimmer that almost gives it a metallic look!  I just love how springy and fun it is!  The formula was great, opaque in 2 coats and easy to use.

 Above:  3 coats of Neely

Neely is another polish I love from this collection.  Neely is a gorgeous light minty green shade that actually doesn't give me Lobster hands!  I love it!  The formula was similar to Blu so I used three thin coats to receive full opacity and evenness.



 Above:  2 coats of Piaf

I can honestly say I have never seen a shade like this before!  Zoya Piaf is a medium yellow that's full of silver shimmer like Gie Gie and Julie.  The shade is so unusual and I love that it's not just a pale yellow for a Spring collection!  The formula is great, opaque in 2 coats and just beautiful.


All in all, I liked this collection!  There are some solid pastel cremes in here which are a necessity for Spring and I really like how unique the shimmers are!  The Lovely collection went on sale yesterday on Zoya's Website for $8 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.