The first nail-focused beauty blog

Purple

Zoya Holiday 2007 – Utopia

By on September 11, 2007
in Big 3 Free, Blue, Gold, Green, Holiday 2007, Pink, Purple, Red, Zoya with 24 Comments

Releasing in November for the holiday season, the Utopia collection from Zoya is a group of fun, bold shimmering metallic shades that will add a splash of color and glitz to those dreary gray winter days. And All Lacquered Up is fortunate to be the very first to see it, outside of the Art of Beauty family.

This is going to sound silly but whenever I hear the word Utopia I think of that Drew Barrymore movie Ever After. It’s a feminist take on the tale of Cinderella and in it the heroine (played by Drew) loves the book Utopia by Thomas More. I still have my copy of Ever After on VHS and even though I haven’t had a VHS player hooked up in years, I refuse to get rid of it. I love that movie.

Ok, so either someone at Zoya loves me or green nails is a trend that I didn’t see coming. Of all the jewels tones green is the color I least expected to become mainstream. Outside of our small online nail community I’ve never seen anyone else wearing it. But you certainly won’t hear me complaining. Bring on the greens!

My one and only complaint with this collection is the pigmentation. The majority of the lacquers needed three coats to become completely opaque and achieve the bottle shade. Similar to Suvi and Kotori from the Downtown Collection. I wonder if it’s because the extra pigment would thicken the formula and Zoya’s polish is already thicker than the typical non-Big 3 Free brands.

Austine is a muted brushed gold. On the nail it has the appearance hammered metal and the silver shimmer keeps the color from becoming too peach. Austina is more metallic than shimmery which sets it apart from the other shades in Utopia but thankfully it doesn’t affect application.

Tama is the least “me” shade of the bunch. I’m not anti-pink or brights but I feel there’s something in this shade that doesn’t work with my skin tone. It’s a pretty color and definitely more rosy in the sun but it’s just not something I would intentionally buy for myself.

Kamilah is luscious crimson shade with a hint of gold shimmer that comes out in sunlight. As you can see in the individual swatch pics of this and some of the other shades, these polishes seem to have a slight duochrome effect. The color doesn’t completely change but it’s definitely more intense in direct light.

In the bottle Juno looks very much like a duochrome. The polish looks blue all along the edges of the bottle, similar to how Ki looks in the bottle. However on the nail, the blue isn’t that apparent which is a shame. A purple/blue duochrome would be amazing. Of all the purples I have, I feel that Juno will make my top 10 for sure, possibly even top 5. It has incredible depth, pigmentation and gloss. If you love purple, get Juno.

Akyra reminds me of a peacock feather. It’s not as bright but in the same vein. In the sun the green takes dominance and it’s the green that makes Akyra different than Kotori.

I saved the best for last. Irene is a stunning mossy sage green sprinkled with gold shimmer. This green is probably better suited to warm skin tones but a shade this gorgeous should not be limited by skin coloring. In case you haven’t guessed, this is my #1 pick from Utopia and a must have for anyone that loves or appreciates the beauty of green polish.

Which polishes will you be adding to your wish list?

NOTD – Nicole Paparazzi Plum

By on January 26, 2007
in Nicole by OPI, NOTD, Purple with 10 Comments

I love going to see my nail tech. She has this amazing wall of discontinued polish from Nicole, OPI and Creative. It’s a total treasure trove. It’s where I found my bottle of OPI Rainforest. There is this one Creative polish that I lust after. It’s called Amazon and it’s a stunning emerald green. Some day it will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine.

I went to see her the other night and found this beauty on the wall. Nicole Paparazzi Plum is deep deep plum with subtle shimmer. I compared it to my swatch of OPI Lincoln Park At Midnight and they are very very close. So close that you don’t need to hunt this one down or pay crazy eBay prices for it.

I really enjoy doing my own nails and taking the time to do them well but there’s something so relaxing about getting a manicure. I’m not gonna lie, when I do my nails, it takes me a while. It has taken me quite some time to get over my clumsiness and improve my polish application. So, watching a pro is fun for me. Every time I see her, I pick up some new. Either how much polish she leaves on the brush or exactly where on the nail she starts applying. Every little bit helps make me better.

So kids, what’s on your nails today?

OPI Designer Series Comparison Pics

Here are some comparion pics of the new Designer Series polishes. Just trying to save you all a few dollars in case you already own some of these.


To my eye, Amethyst is a bit more pink than Sand-erella and has way more holo bling.

Glamour is truly unique and I couldn’t think of a color combination that would come close. The burple (bluish-purple) base is very unique.

Passion is more rose toned than Elegance. I thought for sure that they’d be twins. Passion is definitely a more muted pink than Elegance. As much as I was initially unimpressed with it, I’m now happy to have it based on this comparison.

Desire is Design’s darker, more bronze, winterish sibling. Because of the amount of holographic shimmer in Desire, it’s hard to catagorize it as a warm or cool color. The base is definitely warm but when the light isn’t causing the holo to show off it’s rainbow beauty, the shimmer looks silver.

For anyone that hasn’t tried this line, the glitter is as smooth as the diamond dust formula is to apply. I love that it’s easy to remove and doesn’t give you that nails on a chalkboard feeling as you rub it off, like with a lot of glitter polishes.

OPI Designer Series *New Colors*

I have to leave for Columbus but I wanted to leave you all with some new pretties to stare at. There are the new Designer Series polishes from OPI and they’re HOLOGRAPHIC!! Just like the original 12. Love them! Glamour will definitely be the first one I use.

Colors (l-r): Amethyst, Passion, Desire, Glamour


NOTD – China Glaze Steppin Out

By on January 12, 2007
in China Glaze, Purple, Shimmer with 5 Comments

It was feeling the need for something fun and this fit the bill. I have made myself a promise to use every color I own before repeating so it was Steppin’ Out’s turn.

I received this color as a gift and I’d never heard of or seen it before. It’s just lovely. If anyone knows when this beauty was released or with what collection, please post or email me.

The metallic shimmer gives this reddish-purple a foil-like finish. You don’t get a high gloss sheen from it but it’s not matte either.

I’m staying with the Stickey Sandwich method, it seems to be working really well. I was lazy earlier this week and didn’t remove my Lippmann Hit Me With Your Best Shot mani until Wednesday night. So a whole week went by and it honestly didn’t look any more worn than the pic I took on Saturday. The only exception being a piece of my thumbnail that was ripped off when I reached to hold a door open for some rude, unappreciative people. Not even the slightest acknowledgment. Blech!

As requested in one of the other posts, I will be putting together an at home mani guide with tips and tricks for fab DIY manis. Be on the lookout.

So, what’s on your nails today? Planning a polish change?

*edit: The lovely Leysa on MUA informed me that Steppin’ Out is from the Babes in Toeland 3 collection. Thank you Leysa!*

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Top