Zoya Blogger Collection ~ Jelly Sandwiches

Hi dolls, today I have for you 3 jelly sandwich combinations that I did with the Zoya Blogger collection. I've used all of the glitters in previous posts, so you can just click the name for a description of the polish. Up first is Coraline and Essence Circus Confetti. I applied three coats of Coraline, one coat of Circus Confetti, and then another coat of Coraline. This combination was extremely fun and it looked like a party on my nails!

Next we have Kate and OPI Servin' Up Sparkle. This combination was my absolute favorite! I love how the glitter was subtle, but still stood out. I applied three coats of Kate, one coat of Servin' Up Sparkle, and another coat of Kate.

Finally, I paired Belle with Funky Fingers Golden Coast. This combination was soft and feminine. It looked as if I dipped my fingertips in gold dust, as I applied Golden Coast in a gradient manner. I used three coats of Belle, one coat of Golden Coast, and another coat of Belle. This one may have been even better with another coat of Golden Coast.

This collection is absolutely perfect for jelly sandwiches, so I hope you all enjoyed the pictures and are inspired to do your own sandwiches. I have some more glitters on the way from several indie brands, so I can't way to try other combinations.

By the way, today is my one year wedding anniversary so I can't wait for hubby to get home from work so we can celebrate. Here is a picture of my wedding nails! You can click the picture for my wedding day post and other pictures.

Essence Spring Polka Dots

Hi dolls, I just realized that I completely forgot to do a full post on this mani that was featured on Temptalia on Easter. Christine of Temptalia put out a request for reader submissions of spring nail art, so I entered a photograph. You can see her full post here; my photo is towards the end.

I started with Essence No More Drama, which is a gorgeous lavender creme. No More Drama went on smoothly and was fully opaque with two coats. The photos were taken using my light box because I did my nails late that night for church.

 I then added polka dots as an accent using Essence Lime Up! (green) and Let's Get Lost (blue).

I am really loving all of these Essence polishes! The formulas are great and they are very pigmented. I volunteered at church Easter Sunday with the kids ministry and my polka dots were a big hit of course. I just can't ever get tired of polka dots. :)

Happy weekend dolls!

Autism Awareness ~ Essence Chuck & Blair Matte-ified

Hi dolls, today I'm bringing you my second autism awareness mani. First, I'd like to share some facts about autism. It is a spectrum of disorders that ranges in severity and can results in difficulties in communication, social skills, and use of repetitive behaviors. Each individual with this disorder is very unique and some even demonstrate exceptional abilities in the areas of music, visual skills, and academic skills. I once had a kindergarten student that I was in awe of. He had extreme difficulties with verbal and nonverbal communication, basic concepts like following directions, and was unable to interact with his peers appropriately. When it came to reading, he was on a second grade level...in kindergarten! It was amazing to watch. For more information on autism, feel free to check out Autism Speaks.

Now onto the polish of the day. I received Essence Twins Chuck & Blair in a giveaway some time ago from Sweet Sugar. Chuck is a gorgeous cobalt blue creme that has purple undertones. This color is crazy pigmented. I applied only 1 coat for the pictures below.

I then added one thick coat of the other half of this set of twins, Blair. Blair is a top coat that has silver hexagonal glitter and smaller silver glitter. There are also some holographic particles included, but those barely show on the nail. Blair takes a little bit of pushing around to disperse evenly on the nail, but it wasn't impossible.

I really wish the holo showed a little more in this glitter. I actually prefer Chuck on its own. I wanted to see if adding Essie Matte About You top coat would make this mani better...and it did!

This is much, much better! The matte top coat really makes this glitter look so much cooler.

Which look do you prefer...glossy or matte?

Autism Awareness ~ Essence Let's Get Lost & Space Queen

Hey dolls, you may have heard that April is Autism Awareness Month and today is World Autism Awareness Day. I've mentioned before that my day job is being a speech-language pathologist. I have worked with many students who are on the autism spectrum by helping to increase their communication skills, improving social interactions, and their overall language abilities. Working with these students has been fulfilling in so many ways, so I had to wear blue nails today to support autism awareness.

Today I'm wearing two gorgeous polishes I received in a giveaway from Markeeta over at Pink Polish Addict. Essence Let's Get Lost is a gorgeous bright blue with a hybrid creme-jelly formula. I love that even though Essence bottles are smaller than usual, the brush is still a relatively good size and easy to use. Let's Get Lost was opaque in 1 coat, but I used 2 for depth.

 

Let's Get Lost is such a gorgeous blue! I decided to add a little bling with one coat of Essence Space Queen, a multi-colored glitter top coat.

Space Queen added just the right amount of sparkle! I love how it flashes green, blue, silver, and gold. Now I'm looking forward to trying all of the other Essence polishes Marketta sent! Thanks again doll!!!

I will be wearing a blue manicure each week throughout the month of April in support of Autism Awareness. If you'd like more information on autism, please visit Autism Speaks.

Pink Wednesday ~ Essie Super Bossa Nova & Essence Circus Confetti

Happy Pink Wednesday! Today I'm wearing a pink that's been on my wish list for awhile. I picked up Essie Super Bossa Nova during an Apothica haul. Super Bossa Nova is a bright fuchsia that is filled with purple shimmer. The formula was absolutely flawless. It was opaque in one coat, but I applied two hoping to see more of the shimmer on the nail.

While pretty, Super Bossa Nova fell a little flat for me. The shimmer on the nail doesn't appear as well as it does in the bottle. Although the color is not that unique, the formula makes it a keeper.

I decided to jazz Super Bossa Nova up a little bit more by trying a reverse gradient. I first saw this look on my polish friend Enamel Girl and knew I needed to try it. I sponged Essence Special Effect Topper in Circus Confetti on the bottom 2/3 of each nail. Circus Confetti is packed with pink, red, gold, black, blue, green, and silver glitter. The glitter dispersed well and was easy to apply.

I love, love, love the way this looks. Circus Confetti paired so well with Super Bossa Nova! Let me know your thoughts on this trend.

You can check out Apothica on facebook and polishes by Essie, Deborah Lippmann, SpaRitual and more can be purchased here.

Pink Wednesday ~ Essence Time for Romance

Hey dolls, I was in the mood for something cute and just a little girly after my last mani. I decided to go with gray and pink because I love how those colors compliment each other. I started with two coats of Barielle Coalest Day of the Year. This is a gorgeous gunmetal gray that is filled with silver shimmer. The formula was good and flowed smoothly onto the nail.

I then sponged Essence Time for Romance onto the tips and as an accent nail. Time for Romance is filled with fine and hexagonal glitter. I had no difficulties getting the hexagonal glitter dispersed over the nail.

This is much, much better! I'm loving all of my goodies from the Sweet Sugar giveaway!

Fail ~ Green Ombre Mani

I'm sure you all have had times like these. You have a vision for a mani, you polish your nails, and then you sit back to view the job you've done. If you're a blogger, you take some pictures and then upload them to the computer. In my mind, I knew I wanted to do a green ombre mani. I decided to take the easy route by choosing 5 different greens from my untrieds pile. Typically when doing ombre manis, I choose one base color and then progressively add white to lighten the color several shades as seen here and here. Well, I was feeling lazy and it was late, so 5 different greens it was. Here's what I chose:

FingerPaints Tough Art to Follow; Joe Fresh Mallard; Ulta Limelight; SH Xtreme Wear Green With Envy; OPI Gargantuan Green Grape

So far so good; I've got my greens. Fortunately after applying 2 coats of each, except Gargantuan Green Grape (3 coats), this ombre mani looked a tad bit better in person than it does below.

The colors just do not look good together at all. It looks like I decided to do a skittles mani. Mallard looks way more blue above than it did in real life and Green With Envy wasn't that bright. Everything about this was just off. Then I decided to try to tie it all together by adding a pink sparkly topcoat, Essence Feels So Good. 

It didn't help. While I love the way it looks over the last 3 colors individually, collectively, this is just a mess. Feels So Good reminds me of FingerPaints Sparkle Topcoat. I did this mani late Sunday night and it was promptly removed after taking the last picture in the sunlight on Monday. I wasn't inspired by this mani at all, hence no inspiration board. The highlight of this post, I have five less untrieds!

Don't you hate when a thought is just a total fail!