Stash Swatch Initiative: NYX Aqua Glitter

Hello!

Following up from yesterday's post, I have Nyx Algae's perfect pairing -- This is Nyx Aqua Glitter!

Nyx Aqua Glitter. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Aqua Glitter is a perfect glitter topper of iridescent and shiny aqua microglitter in a weakly-tinted aqua-colored base. As simple as it sounds, it is really gorgeous.

Nyx Aqua Glitter. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

For these swatches, I simply layered one coat of Aqua Glitter over yesterday's swatch and added another coat of Seche Vite. Like Algae, Aqua Glitter applied nicely, and it provided a nice glitter density in one easy coat.

Nyx Aqua Glitter. Indoors, natural light, no flash.

I love the sparkle this adds to Algae! I bought this at the same store as yesterday's polish, so I'm not sure where to find another bottle.

Nyx Aqua Glitter. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: NYX Algae

Hello!

Today's polish is one I've had for ages. Take a look at Nyx Algae!

Nyx Algae. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Algae is an aptly-named dusty, teal creme polish.

Nyx Algae. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today started with my usual base coat combination of Duri Rejuvacote and Sinful Colors Nail Hardener followed by two easy coats of Algae and topped with one coat of Seche Vite. This polish applies smoothly without issues.

I purchased my bottle back in Maryland from a rather dumpy independent beauty supply store in a strip mall that wasn't in the greatest neighborhood. Let's just say that I only ever ventured in there this one time.... lol I'm not entirely sure where else to find Nyx nail polish. I've started seeing Nyx cosmetics at Walgreens, so maybe I just need to look harder!

Nyx Algae. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Nails of the Week: Wednesday and St. George

Hello again!

As promised, here is what I wore this week featuring Zoya Wednesday, A-England St. George, and Nyx Aqua Glitter:

Outdoors, sunlight.

I used one coat of Sinful Colors Nail Hardening Base Coat, two coats of Zoya Wednesday, and a coat of Seche Vite. After a day, I wanted a little more flair so I used hole-protectors to cover the base of Wednesday at the top of my nail and painted the rest with one coat of Nyx Aqua Glitter, which just added some sparkle. Once that was dry, I used Bundle Monster plate BM 21 and St. George to stamp over the same area. I then removed the hole-protectors. I had planned on leaving it that way, but it looked unfinished. My solution was to freehand a line at the top, creating a stronger half-moon design. This was my first try with a nail art brush and freehand, and I have to say, I dislike how thick the line became. I didn't have time to try again, but I'd have been much happier with this had it been a thin line. Live and learn, I guess! I topped everything off with a coat of New York Color's In a New York Minute Fast Dry Topcoat. This is the only topcoat I've tried that doesn't smear the stamped polish.

Outdoors, sunlight.

I had high hopes for this mani, but failed at executing it. I love the idea, so I'll have to give it another shot sometime.

More Monday! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Zoya Wednesday

Hello again!

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

 
Since it is Wednesday, I thought this would appropriate. Meet Zoya Wednesday from their recent summer Beach & Surf Collection. It's a beautiful dusty blue-green creme. It's a little more green than it looks here; no sunlight available at the time to get a better picture.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

This applied nicely and was so smooth when I was finished. I waited a day to stamp over this, and I kept running my fingers across my nails because they felt so perfectly glasslike. The first coat was slightly streaky, but a second coat evened everything out. Shown here is Sinful Colors Nail Hardening Basecoat, two coats of Zoya Wednesday, and one coat of Seche Vite. Seche Vite usually doesn't play well with Zoyas, but this time it didn't pull or shrink the polish noticeably.

I compared this to a few other polishes I thought might be similar:

Orly Gumdrop, Nyx Algae, Zoya Wednesday. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Algae is pretty similar to Wednesday, but it is darker. Gumdrop is much lighter and cleaner than the other two. Formula-wise, I had no issues with any of them, though all apply streaky on the first coat and even out with a second.

Zoya can be purchased at their website Zoya.com and at Ulta stores (though, every time I've been in Ulta, the Zoya displays have been severely picked over). If you're interested in trying them, I'd suggest liking their Facebook page. They do a ton of promotions with really great deals. In fact, that's the reason I tried this brand in the first place--I had a buy 3 get 3 free promotion code that I just couldn't pass up, which led to about 20 more bottles jumping in my shopping cart.... Addict? I think so ^_^

This beauty is part of my current mani--check in Friday to see how I dressed her up!

More soon! ^_^