Mentality Lisa. Oh, and BIRTHDAY!

Today is my 30th birthday, and I had originally planned on doing a large hex glitter placement manicure. But then, I received my package from Mentality yesterday. Once I pulled Lisa out of it's bubble wrap, it was over. I was head over heels in love.

Mentality Lisa is a purple-red holographic. But wait, there's more! Lisa is part of the Luxe Textured Glass Holo collection, which means it's not only a gorgeous holo, but also a glass fleck (like a glassy/diamond glitter) and slightly textured (it's not as gritty as the Zoya PixieDust collection, but more like a fine sand finish).

Lisa was a little thick to apply (but it's jam packed with goodness), and could almost be a one coat-er with careful application. I always do two coats for good measure, and it was simply stunning when dried.

 Two coats of Mentality Lisa, with Seche Vite top coat.

The shift in colors is absolutely wonderful.

But while Lisa is beautiful on her own, this is my birthday mani, so had to I kick it up a notch. BAM! KandNails CK04 plate with Butter London HRH just spiced up the party. I have begun practicing on my stamping recently (read: this week), so while this may not be perfect, I love the way this turned out.

Zoya Monica

I typically don't stick to the rule of seasonal colors - you know, pastels only in spring, neons only in summer, vampies for fall/winter. But, with winter raging in Chicago, I was really in the mood for a darker color.

Zoya Monica is a dark purple creme that reminds me of the skin on really dark plums. I've seen other swatches where Monica looks incredibly dark, but my bottle is a beautiful, rich color that is still bright. To me, this is a vampy lite.

Two coats of Zoya Monica topped with HK Girl.

But, you know me, I had to shnaz it up a little. I chose Orly Fowl Play as an accent color. Fowl Play is a dark purple jelly jam packed with flakies and blue glitter. It's a lovely color, and really deserves to be worn as a full mani in the future. 

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One coat of Orly Fowl Play over Zoya Monica.

If you are a purple lover, I think Monica needs to be included in your collection. It's a nice, rich color that is very versatile. It can be your fall/winter vampy go to, but would still look great during summer.