Nails, Actually Water Sari

Tonight I wanted to share with you a gorgeous franken. For those not down with the nail polish lingo - this is a "franken-polish" created by mixing different nail polishes to create a new polish (or adding pigments and glitters to existing nail polish).

This is Nails, Actually Water Sari. Please take this moment to ooh and aah. 

Seriously, stunning.

Water Sari is a shimmering light blue polish, with orange, fuchsia and gold glitters. This polish is thick (not in a bad way, it applies like a dream!), and can easily be worn by itself in one coat. 

One coat of Nails, Actually Water Sari
over two coats of Zoya Breezi.

Close up! Look at the shimmer! 

I took at least 50 different photos of this mani, as I couldn't stop looking at this drop dead gorgeous polish. I mean, even the not quite in focus picture looks beautiful:

All that glitter - swoon.

You can see why I would want to conserve my precious bottle, and why I would want to wear a base polish with this. The problem is, I'm not really a blue person, and I don't own anything that matches the base color in Water Sari. Like, not even close. The dusty teal color of Zoya Breezi compliments it well, but doesn't accurately show the base color of Water Sari.

Two coats of Zoya Breezi.

I purchased this franken last year from Nails Actually. I'm not sure if it's still available, but if you're interested in getting your own bottle, I'd definitely encourage you get in contact with the lovely Charlotte.

My First Zoya - Jo

It's been a big week for nail polish in my household! My free (and first ever) Zoyas finally came in. Then I scored big at the clearance section of Ulta - 10 polishes for under $35. And lastly, I splurged and purchased half of the China Glaze Metalix collection. My little nail polish basket is going to cave in soon!



Back to the Zoyas. 


I'm a fairly devoted e-tailer shopper. When I see a salon quality polish going for $2.99, I get excited. What can I say -  I love a bargain. That being said, I've limited myself to a handful of brands due to pricing. I've seen (and tested) the Zoya brand at Ulta before, but at $8 a bottle, I never made the commitment.

Luckily for me, Zoya is brilliant in their marketing. Two free nail polishes for the cost of shipping? Sold. It was the perfect opportunity to give this brand a shot. 


Zoya Jo
This is a periwinkle blue blue polish, with silver and blue shimmer. The formula is a little runny, but nothing a steady hand can't handle. Requires two, possibly three coats. This also took a while to dry.
 

 Two coats of Zoya Jo, no base or top coats.

Let's be honest. I initially only bought this color because we share a name (and how cool is it to own a nail polish that is named after you). But, after applying it, I notice how gorgeous this color is. Jo is a very delicate, calming shade (we do not share those qualities). It reminds me of Spring skies. A very lovely and elegant blue.

I actually like this color enough, I've worn it for a full week. Seriously. Check this out:

A solid week with no base coat or a top coat?!

I've never been able to wear any brand of nail polish for a week without touch ups. As a teacher, I wash my hands no less than 50 times a day. And I'm one of those gross habitual nail biters. I'm lucky if I can keep a mani looking nice for two or three days. This is after seven days. And had I not picked at my nails while sitting in traffic, this mani probably could have gone another day.



My inaugural Zoya was a success. I'm loving this color, the durability of the polish, I even like the sleekness of the bottle.

You can find Zoya brand at Ulta and at www.zoya.com

New Year's Eve - China Glaze Midnight Mission and Amour Rain Glitter

Nothing screams, "Happy New Year!" like boatloads of confetti and glitter. So, of course, the perfect New Year's Eve manicure demands glitter. It's almost mandated.


Let me tell you, I love glitter nail polish. Looooove it. It's almost creepy for an adult woman to love glitters as much as I do. The moment I got my hands on Amour's Rain Glitter, I knew it would be perfect for a birthday mani. Since mine had already passed when I bought it, I've been holding out for New Year's. It is not disappointing me at all. And I cannot wait to show it off.

I wasn't sure how opaque it would be, so I layered a thick coat it over China Glaze's Midnight Mission (Having a base color really wasn't necessary, Rain Glitter can stand alone very well).



China Glaze Midnight Mission

This is a deep, midnight blue with silver micro glitter. In direct light, the silver glistens on the blue. In darker settings, it looks like a dark denim.

 Two coats of Midnight Mission plus Seche.

This color is GORGEOUS (and IMO, a must have)! What I love about Midnight Mission is that color is vampy, but without going too dark. It's a "safe" dark blue, the silver glitter creates a light sparkle, and this color will never be mistaken as black. As cheesy as this sounds, it reminds me exactly of the color of Lake Michigan at dawn - a deep sapphire with the glittering light reflecting on it - my favorite sight on my morning commute.

Midnight Mission was part of the Vintage Vixen collection released in Fall 2010. It is still available at most e-tailers.

Amour Rain Glitter
This is an ultra fine, rainbow bar glitter. It it bursting with colors - gold, silver, red, orange, blue, green, fuchsia and black. Opaque in 2-3 coats. Dries quickly.

One coat of Rain Glitter over Midnight Mission plus Seche

 

You can barely detect the Midnight Mission, it was covered up with one coat of the Rain Glitter. This bummed me out a little, I wanted to see a hint of the blue. But then I looked at the glitter and I couldn't stay upset for long.

What I love best about Rain Glitter is how ultra fine the glitter pieces are.  In my opinion, it makes it a "grown up" or "classy" glitter. It makes it more versatile in wearability. Birthdays, check. Holidays, check. The office? Yes, it's that good! 

Rain Glitter has recently become discontinued, so I'd recommend getting your hands on it ASAP.