On Wednesdays We Wear Pink: Watermarble

Hi everyone! I have a new theme going on for the blog! It's called On Wednesdays We Wear Pink, and I'm going to use pink polishes to either swatch or do nail art with. I think you all know the reference ;) and if you don't, well, you're missing out! Haha. It's from the movie Mean Girls, which is one of the most quotable movies, hands down. If I remember correctly, this quote was said by Karen (Amanda Syfried.) 

Anyway, I decided to take another stab at watermarbling for the inaugural post of OWWWP. Either I'm brave or just stupid, not really sure, haha. For those of you that don't know what watermarbling is, it's a technique where you put some water in a small bowl, place some drops of polishes til they form a bulls-eye effect, then use a toothpick or any thin stick to drag the polishes and form shapes. You then dip your finger (painted with a base, preferably white to make the colors pop) into a portion with the design you like, then drag the remaining polish away from your finger, lift your finger and ta-dah! You should have apretty little design on your finger. It all sounds so easy at first until you actually start doing it! You can search for tutorials on YouTube, and they all make it look so easy! It all takes practice and patience, and soon you'll get the hang of it.

For this watermarble attempt, I used Julep Joy (a dusty pinkish mauve,) Orly Two-Hour Lunch (crelly bubblegum pink) and Revlon ColorStay Rich Raspberry (purplish magenta creme.)

I can't really do a full flower pattern, so I only get about halfway around the circle. I did the pattern by dragging from the outermost circle to the center. You can achieve different designs by dragging the polish in different directions.

I tape around my fingers to minimize the mess. I still have to do cleanup around the cuticles and the skin around the sides, though.

And the finished product:

I'm pretty satisfied with the way this turned out. I still managed to have tiny air bubbles, but for the most part, it looks decent enough. This is probably my most successful watermarble to date!

Here are more pics, just because I want to showcase them in different hand poses :P

Watermarbling is trying at first, but once you get the hang of things, it's a really cool way to do your nails! While I may not be the expert in this technique, I do have some tips that I've learned from other people, and from my experience:

-Use filtered water. People have always stressed this, and it's true. There's just something about tap water that prevents the polishes from spreading well.
-Also, check the temperature of the water. If it's too cold, the polish won't spread. If it's too warm, it still won't work. It just has to be room temperature. You'll know it is if the polish spreads. Although, you should really:
-Test each polishes beforehand. One polish from a brand might spread well, while another polish from the same brand might not. So test your polishes individually to see if they work. Your water might be the right temperature, but if the polish won't spread no matter what you do, then choose another one to work with.
-Some people skip the tape around the fingers, but I find that it helps lessen the cleanup significantly.
-Be patient. Sometimes it won't work right the first time. Just be patient and don't get discouraged. You'll find what works and what doesn't; all you have to do is keep trying.

And that's all for the first On Wednesdays We Wear Pink post! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope you'll join me again next time! :)


*Disclaimer: Due to variations in screen displays and resolutions, polishes may appear different to each reader. I try my best to capture colors as accurately as I can, and if I can't, then I try to describe the color/s to the best of my ability.*

(Late!) Mainstream Mondays: Zoya Aurora, Blaze and Storm

Hi everyone! Yes I know it's Tuesday today, but I still decided to do Mainstream Mondays. For today's post I have for you three Zoya polishes from the Ornate Collection Holiday 2012: Aurora, Blaze and Storm. I'm a bit late in the game, so I didn't know about these polishes til early this year. But wait and you'll see why I chose to feature these polishes today. A bit more photos than usual too because I am trying some new hand poses and I also just want to showcase these polishes. ;)

Who is Zoya? Here's the description from their website:

Zoya Nail Polish has been awarded as the longest wearing natural nail polish by an independent panel in Women’s Health Magazine. Zoya Nail Polish is a nail polish free of toluene, formaldehyde, DBP (phthalates) and camphor. Nail Polish by Zoya offers over 300 gorgeous nail polish colors to choose from, plus 4 seasonalcollections of nail polish every year. Zoya Nail Polish was specifically formulated to deliver the longest wear possible on natural nails. Zoya Nail Polish can be found in better beauty salons, spas and online at www.zoya.com

While Zoya is still exclusive to their website, salons and Ulta, I still consider this a mainstream polish just because it is more widely available than indies. There are some beauty supply stores that sell these, although I haven't seen any yet. Zoya is one of my favorite brands, even though I don't own that many (yet, I plan to remedy that situation!) it is still one of my top brands. You'll see why in a bit.


First up: Aurora.

Aurora is described as "a full-coverage, medium sugarplum purple flecked with a high concentration of microfine diamond holographic glitter." I can only describe it as a jelly-ish magenta-purple with tiny holo glitters. Isn't it gorgeous? Opaque in two coats, but I used three coats plus top coat because I felt like it was still kinda sheer for my taste with two coats.


Next in line is Blaze.

Blaze is described as "a full-coverage, cool-toned medium mulberry red with a high concentration of microfine diamond holographic glitter." To me, it's a jelly-ish (like Aurora) blue-toned dark red with holo glitters. I love how the glitters add pizzazz to an otherwise plain red. Opaque in two coats but again I felt like it was still a bit sheer, so I used three coats plus top coat.


Last but certainly not the least: Storm.

Storm... oh Storm. I have no words for this polish. Storm is described as "a full-coverage, holiday black with a high concentration of microfine diamond holographic glitter." All I can say it, this polish is GORGEOUS! It's like a galaxy in a bottle. I mean, can you SEE those holo glitters?! Obviously this is my favorite out of all three. I loved it so much I did all ten nails with this color. It's a jelly-ish black that's completely opaque in two coats. I did two coats with top coat.


Thoughts? I freaking love Zoya polishes! They have one of the best formulas I have encountered. They were a little on the thin side but if you're careful enough and don't overload the brush, it won't flood your cuticles. The polishes also even out quite nicely. The brushes are also one of the best I have worked with. It fans out quite nicely and not streaky at all. Dry time is also fairly fast, about a minute or two per coat.

Would I recommend these polishes? YES, definitely. It's a bit expensive at $8 per 0.5oz, plus shipping, but they are definitely worh the expense. Plus, Zoya has deals from time to time so be sure to like their page on Facebook and check their website from time to time. They also have a wide array of beautiful colors.


That's it for today's post! I hope you'll join me again soon. :)


*I bought these polishes with my own money. Zoya nail polishes can be purchased from their website, select salons and Ulta. They are $8 per 0.5oz.*

*Disclaimer: Due to variations in screen resolutions, polishes may appear different to each reader. I try my best to capture colors as accurately as I can, and if I can't, I try to describe as much as I can.*

Indie Thursdays: Polish Addict Cupcakes and Kittens, Pretty in Pastels and A Beautiful Mess

My, how time has flown by! It's time for Indie Thursdays once again. Today I have three Polish Addict nail polishes to share with you.

As I made my way through Polishland, I've encountered a lot of swatches of indies (I explained a bit about indies in my first Indie Thursday post. I was fascinated, but at the same time, I was also considering the expense it would incur to purchase polishes, and the regret that will inevitably come when I don't end up liking it. My search lead me to Polish Addict's Storenvy site (which is empty as of this moment, possibly due to restock.) Their Storenvy site is where you can find discontinued polishes for a discount, plus polishes from Laura's (the owner) personal stash. They also have their regular online store that sells their most recent collections.

I got three from the discontinued polishes: Cupcakes and Kittens (how cuddly is that name?!) Pretty in Pastels, and A Beautiful Mess (which is in no way messy at all!)

I present to you, Cupcakes and Kittens.

Cupcakes and Kittens is a crelly (but more towards the jelly side) pale pink with iridescent glitters of different shapes and sizes. I love this polish! It's girly and princess-like. Shown is three coats, no undies, with top coat.

Next in line,  Pretty in Pastels.

Pretty in Pastels is a crelly (again, a bit more jelly) minty green with micro and small silvery glitters, medium yellow green glitters, and large purple glitters. At first I had doubts about it, but I'm glad I purchased it because I ended up liking it more than I thought! Shown is three coats, no undies, with top coat.

Last but not the least, and my favorite of the bunch: A Beautiful Mess.

 I told you it wasn't a mess at all! Well... My application is a mess, but that's not the polish's fault. Haha. A Beautiful Mess is a crelly (this leans a bit more toward the cream side) filled with tiny glitters of different colors (I see red, purple, silver, blue and gold) plus large light blue glitters. This one applied well. Shown is three coats, no undies, with top coat.

Thoughts? Well... I love these! Like I've said before, I'm not a big fan of glitter polishes that look random and too busy. These polishes are just the perfect combination. They also look like jelly sandwiches in a bottle (more on that later.) Formula-wise, they were easy to work with. Cupcakes and Kittens and Pretty in Pastels did tend to get a bit goopy after a bit, but it's because it was packed with glitter. It wasn't a big issue because they still applied well.

Would I recommend it? Yes. Although these particular polishes might not be available anymore, judging from the quality of these, I can safely say that good quality can also be expected from Laura's other polishes.


And there you have it! That's it for this week's Indie Thursday. Hope to see you next time!

*I bought these polishes with my own money through Polish Addict's Storenvy website, but their new collections are available at their regular store. These polishes were $4 each plus shipping. Regular polishes are around $8-$9, plus shipping.*

*Disclaimer: Due to variations in screen resolutions, polishes may appear different to each reader. I try my best to capture colors as accurately as I can, and if I can't, I try to describe as much as I can.*

June Julep Maven Box: Nantucket Nostalgia Collection

Hi everyone! For this post I have the June Julep Maven Box.

Julep is a company who offers monthly Maven boxes, which can contain either two polishes and a product, three polishes, or two beauty products. You take a quiz on their website and after answering a few questions (mostly about your style preferences) you will get a style profile and it will show you what polishes/products will be in your box. You can then choose add-ons (polishes that are available at a special discount price, but only if you order with your box.) For more info about this program, you can visit the Julep website. If you're going to sign up, please feel free to use my Julep Maven referral code: 9251627.

When I first signed up, I was profiled as Boho Glam, which came with two polishes plus a beauty product. You can change your style profile after you order your first box, and because I didn't like the DD Cream that comes with this month's Boho Glam box, I changed to It Girl. It Girl comes with three polishes. 

My June Julep Maven Box

I also added on the colors from the Boho Glam box, plus the special add-on. It also comes with a little extra treat, and this month it was saltwater taffy. How cute is the packaging, though? (Note: the add-ons come in a separate box.)

This month's collection is named Nantucket Nostalgia Collection. (Reviews at the end of the swatches.)

First up: Bess.

Bess is described as a baby blue creme. I think it's a bight brighter than your usual baby blue. It's not as creamy as I expected, more like a crelly (a cream that's not quite creamy.) I have issues with applying light colors, so it took me three coats to cover up bald patches, plus top coat. If you notice, this one has a different lighting because when I tried to capture it using my usual light, the color was so off.

Next in line, Char.

Char is a gorgeous "nautical navy blue creme" that has a hint of purple in it. Very shiny without top coat. It drove my camera crazy! Color looks familiar though, doesn't it? Similar to Sinful Colors Into the Blue (I think they're total dupes!) Now, I've noticed that some darker blues tend to smell like a skunk dumped a load in the bottle (with Sally Hansen Pacific Blue being the worst offender) and this was no exception. It must be the pigments or something. Shown is two coats with top coat, but you can get away with one thickish coat and no top coat.

The namesake of the collection: Nan.

Nan is described as "Nantucket red creme," and if I remember from the emails, it was inspired by those faded red pants worn by ladies from Nantucket or something. Anyway, it looked gorgeous to me when I was checking it out, but when I applied it, I didn't really like the way it looks on me. It was described as a creeme, but it actually felt like a crelly to me when I was applying it. Shown is two coats with top coat.

And now for the add-ons. We have Dianna, from the Bohol Glam box.

Dianna is described as a "seafoam green creme" and seriously though, it just looks minty to me. Nevertheless, I love this shade! This is one of my favorites from my order. It also applied easier than its siblings. Shown is two coats with top coat.

And here's Lexie.

Lexie is described as a "dandelion yellow creme" and I sorta agree... It's a bit less brighter than it shows on the pictures. Think txicab yellow but not that orangey-yellow. Like I said, I'm really digging yellows lately so even if I think I have a dupe for this one in my stash, I'm still happy to add this to my collection. It did apply better than most yellows, because this only need two coats, plus I added top coat.

Last but not the least, the special add-on: Bunny (It Girl.)

Bunny is described as a "crisp white linen with fine gold shimmer." Now, it's not a very stark white like a Wite-Out white. The fine gold shimmer is visible in the bottle, but sadly, you have to really stare at it on your nails if you want to see the shimmer. I still like it though, because this was one of the easier whites to work with! I used two coats for this swatch and in my book, if a white polish takes only two coats to be even, it's a winner. There are one-coater whites out there, but I have never encountered them yet so a two-coater is still a winner for me. I just wish the gold shimmer was more prominent, because that was what made me take this month;s box. Oh well.

Thoughts on this month's box? I have only purchased two boxes ever since I signed up (the starter box plus the March box) and I think it's safe to say that Julep polishes' formula is a hit or miss. Some polishes are a joy to work with, while others are just a PITA. Most of the polishes in this box went on fine on the first coat, but they tend to get a little goopy on the second coat. It wasn't really a big issue; the polish still applied well even if it thickened a bit during the second coat. If I was to pick a favorite, it would have to be between Dianna and Bunny. The ones I didn't particularly care for were Bess and Nan. As much as I wanted to love Nan, the color just didn't suit me.

Overall, would I recommend these polishes? Yes and no. Yes, because as a polish fiend, I say you can never have too many polishes! Lol. Plus I also like receiving nail mail every month. But if you can find dupes (or something really, really similar to the colors) that have a better formula and are cheaper, just get those.

And there you have it! I hope this post wasn't too long-winded for you. Til the next post! <3

*These polishes were purchased with my own money. Julep Maven boxes start at $19.99, and add-ons are $4.99 with free shipping.*

*Disclaimer: Due to variations in screen resolutions, polishes may appear different to each reader. I try my best to capture colors as accurately as I can, and if I can't, I try to describe as much as I can.*