31 Day Nail Challenge

Just a quick post to let you know that I have lost my mind and decided to join The 31 Day Challenge starting tomorrow. Why lost my mind might you ask? Well for one thing it means that I will be double posting on a lot of days to keep up with the challenge as well as polish/product reviews. If that isn't enough, I will be on vacation for a week next month, so yeah... lost my mind and I will probably fail miserably to keep up, but I'll give it my best and complete it (at some point)!

I did this challenge when I first started blogging back in 2011 and learned so much. I really credit that first challenge for getting me started on nail art. At the time I did it on my own and took about 3 months to complete. I have been wanting to do challenge again and see my progress. Following along with some super talented ladies is just icing on the cake and an opportunity that I cannot pass up...

This image is courtesy of Chalkboard Nails. Check out her blog for further details on the challenge and YAY I'm super excited!!!

Will you be joining this challenge??

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Wild Birds...

I recently had the pleasure of doing an impromptu nail polish swap with the lovely Mari of muxe.net. A few of the El Corazon Eggs of Wild Birds polishes were on my lemming/wish list and I had mentioned this to her. They are not readily available in her area so I didn't expect her to ever find them, but she happened to come across them and snatched them up for me. A huge thanks to Mari for squashing one of my big lemmings. If you have not visited Mari's her blog yet, you are missing out on gorgeous swatches and nail art, so go check her out!

For today's manicure, I thought these pretty little birds would feel right at home on a polish inspired by bird eggs...

To create this manicure, I started out with the base of El Corazon N423/95. I then stamped the birdcages using Messy Mansion plate MM14 and Essence Stamp Me! Black stampy polish. To complete the look I added bird decals which I made a day ahead using the same MM14 plate, Stamp Me! Black and acrylic paint....

I just love how soft and delicate this manicure turned out. I had envisioned these two pretty birds escaping their cages and flying to be together. You can't cage love...

Messy Mansion plates have incredible detail in every image and they pick up and stamp so well! Please pardon the tear in my stamper, it is my favorite one despite the tear. I've tried buying many other stampers and have not found one that works as well, so I use this torn one that is long overdue for retirement...

El Corazon N423/95 is a milky lilac base with black hex and micro glitter. It is part of the Eggs of Wild Birds collection. The application is good, although I did have to chase a few of the hex glitters around to keep them from following the brush right off the nail. It is fully opaque in three coats. The only thing that I'm sad about is that it contains formaldehyde which I personally try to avoid. I hadn't realized that until sitting down to write this post and trying to read the teeny print on the back of the bottle. I am so bummed because I absolutely love this color!...

Swatch Details
	Brand: El Corazon Collection: Eggs of Wild Birds Color Name/Number: N423/95 Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: Yes Contains Formaldehyde; Free from Camphor, Toluene, DBP

I'd love to know what you think of this mani!

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Zoya PixieDust Fall 2013 Swatches and Review

In addition to the Cashmeres and Satins collections, this year Zoya release more Fall PixieDust shades. I don't know about you, but I'm over the top, can't stop staring, don't want to take them off, so thrilled about these. Zoya sure has that magic PixieDust formula down flat! Each one is more beautiful than the next and I'm having a hard time picking favorites, so take a look and which ones catch your eye...

Tomoko
A textured champagne cold. This is all sorts of wonderful and all I could think of when I put this on was that I'd be wearing it for New Year's. The photos can't capture it well, but it is so sparkly and just gorgeous. The formula is very nice and applies easily. It is a bit sheer so I used three coats for these swatches, but for everyday wear, I would probably leave it at two...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Zoya Collection: PixieDust, Fall 2013 Color Name/Number: Tomoko, ZP698 Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: No Free of Toluene, Camphor, Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin and DBP

Chita
A textured deep green with a champagne gold micro glitter. This is one of my favorites, absolutely sparkly and stunning. It is very pigmented and you can most likely get away with one coat. I used two coats for my swatches. My camera fell in love with this shade. I have never seen such good macro shots coming out of this thing...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Zoya Collection: PixieDust, Fall 2013 Color Name/Number: Chita, ZP699 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Toluene, Camphor, Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin and DBP

Sunshine
A textured dark navy blue with a silver micro glitter. This is another favorite of mine. It has a similar formula to Chita, very rich an pigmented. Can get away with just one coat, but I did use two for swatches. The photos just can't capture the sparkle of these. They are mesmerizing to me...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Zoya Collection: PixieDust, Fall 2013 Color Name/Number: Sunshine, ZP700 Number of coats:2 Top Coat: No Free of Toluene, Camphor, Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin and DBP

Carter
A blackened purple jelly base loaded with bright purple glitter. The formula is fairy sheer so it does need three coats for full opacity. The beauty of this being in a jelly base is that this has incredible depth to it. It is my absolute favorite, I refused to take this off after swatching. Application is good and aside from the sheerness, it applied easily...

Ok, just take a moment to pause and stare at the richness of this...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Zoya Collection: PixieDust, Fall 2013 Color Name/Number: Carter, ZP701 Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: No Free of Toluene, Camphor, Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin and DBP

Arabella
A textured berry mauve. This has a great formula and is opaque in two coats. I'm starting to sound a bit like a broken record, this again is sparkly perfection...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Zoya Collection: PixieDust, Fall 2013 Color Name/Number: Arabella, ZP702 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Toluene, Camphor, Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin and DBP

Dhara
A deep orange with gold shimmer. The formula is very nice, easy to apply and work with. It leaves a slightly visible nail line at two coats, so I ended up using three. Similarly to Tomoko, for daily wear I would use just two coats because the sparkle of this hardly gives you a chance to look for the nail line. Seeing this initially I was worried it was too similar to Zoya Destiny, but comparing them side by side, I can say they are not at all alike. This is a much deeper orange where as Destiny is more sheer and has a coral undertone to it. Both are beautiful, but not the same...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Zoya Collection: PixieDust, Fall 2013 Color Name/Number: Dhara, ZP703 Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: No Free of Toluene, Camphor, Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin and DBP

I gave each of these a minimum of one hour to dry before photographing. They are dry to the touch much quicker than that, but I like to give them extra time to really dry and reach their final state.

Which ones stand out to you? Will you be getting any of them?

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** Polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

** For more information please see the disclosure policy **

Tips for Removing a Double Sided (Louboutin) Manicure

Ever since this OMG Viper Louboutin Manicure, I've gotten a lot of questions regarding the removal of it. I've done a tutorial on how to create a Louboutin manicure, but never realized so many of you would be worried about removing it. To save myself from having to explain, I thought it would be easier to just show you...

Supplies:

• Acetone or polish remover (I use my own remover which just happens to be in a pure acetone bottle that is in this photo)
• Cotton  or felt squares. Felt is a bit sturdier and what I always use for my polish removal. You can see how I make my felt pieces here...
• An orange stick or something sturdy and thin to wrap the felt around
• A cleanup brush. This is the same one I use for my manicure cleanup

Steps:

Instructions:

1. Remove the polish off the top of the nail as usual
2. Wrap a piece of felt around an orange stick and place underneath the nail. Hold it there for a few seconds to dissolve the polish and then gently rub back and forth to remove the polish. Re-position the orange stick to a clean area on the felt (or take a new piece) and repeat as necessary.
3. Optional: As you can see the nail is pretty much clean, but if there are some spots you can't get to with the orange stick, take a brush soaked in acetone and run along the underside of the nail.

All done! Nakie nails :)

Although there are a lot of photos here, it really is fairly easy to remove the polish under the nail. I might add it is much easier than removing glitter off the top of the nail ;)

When doing a Louboutin manicure, make sure to use a non-staining red polish. As you can imagine, it would be much trickier to remove if the polish stained the skin...

Okay, I think that about covers it, I hope you find this useful. Let me know if I missed something or you have questions!!

P.S. The green polish is Zoya Giovanna, the last thing I swatched last night. The red is OPI Danke-Shiny Red. Totally unintentional, but looks like a perfect Holiday Louboutin mani. I'll have to keep that in mind when December rolls around :)

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Zoya Satins Collection Swatches and Review

Today I would like to show you the Zoya Satins Collection which consists of five beautiful metallic shades and one flakie topper. This is the second half of Zoya's Fall collection. The first half named Cashmeres can be seen in yesterday's post and contains six gorgeous creams. These metallic shades remind me of brilliant gemstones such as topaz, amethyst, sapphire and emerald...

Channing
A burnt cooper orange metallic. This color is just Fall perfection, reminiscent of falling leaves. Formula is very nice and easy to work with. Two coats provides full coverage as I have in these swatches. No top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Zoya Collection: Satins, Fall 2013 Color Name/Number: Channing, ZP691 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Toluene, Camphor, Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin and DBP

Mason
A deep violet metallic. It has beautiful tiny glass flecks sprinkled in which are best seen in the closeup photo. In the bottle it has a bit of a duochrome shift to copper, but it was hard to capture on the nail. Very nice formula which is fully opaque in two coats. Swatches are with no top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Zoya Collection: Satins, Fall 2013 Color Name/Number: Mason, ZP692 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Toluene, Camphor, Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin and DBP

Maria Luisa (over Mason)
Sheer yellow and champagne gold flakes in a clear base. I think it works best as a topper for a beautiful sparkle. I attempted this on it's own, but since the flakes themselves are somewhat sheer, even at four coats it did not provide good coverage. The flakes spread evenly on the nail and there is plenty of them in each brushstroke. I used just one coat over Mason for these swatches, with a top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Zoya Collection: Satins, Fall 2013 Color Name/Number: Maria Luisa, ZP662 Number of coats: 1 (over Zoya Mason) Top Coat: Yes Free of Toluene, Camphor, Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin and DBP

Claudine
A dark gunmetal gray metallic. My love for gray polish continues on! This is definitely a favorite of mine from this collection. It is very pigmented and you can probably get away with just one coat. I used my standard two for these swatches. They formula is perfect, very easy to apply. No top coat here...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Zoya Collection: Satins, Fall 2013 Color Name/Number: Claudine, ZP690 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Toluene, Camphor, Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin and DBP

Neve
A dark sapphire blue metallic. Another beauty in this collection. It has a very subtle hint of purple and bright blue shimmer magic sprinkled in. Two coats provides full coverage and the formula is again very easy to use. Happy to report that there was no staining for me with this blue. Swatches are with no top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Zoya Collection: Satins, Fall 2013 Color Name/Number: Neve, ZP679 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Toluene, Camphor, Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin and DBP

Giovanna
A deep emerald green metallic. The formula on this one is a bit sheer and patchy on the first coat, but completely evens out and provides great coverage with the second coat. Beautiful bright shimmer in this one that was freaking my camera out. Swatches are with no top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Zoya Collection: Satins, Fall 2013 Color Name/Number: Giovanna, ZP680 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Toluene, Camphor, Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin and DBP

What do you think of these metallic shades? Which is your favorite?

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** Polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

** For more information please see the disclosure policy **