Category Archives: Press Releases & Promo Pics

Zoya Wanderlust Collection Swatches

The Zoya Wanderlust Collection for Summer 2017 consists of 12 colours that make this little one’s heart race fast like a nail NASCAR driver!

There are eight cremes, and yes, they all apply beautifully. If they went on any easier, they would apply themselves all while feeding me grapes one by one, fanning me with palm branches and playing Lana Del Rey’s new Lust for Life album. 😉

Full of sizzling personality, the remaining polishes are shimmers that are fun to look at when you move your fingers around and admire your manicure like a vain polish peacock.

For all the swatches in this post, I used two coats of nail polish and no top coat, so you could see the original finish and shine that each one has. With a glossy top coat, however, you’ll add even more brilliance and extend your manicure mileage, of course.

The cremes covered the best, and I was able to achieve full opacity at the two-coat mark. For the shimmers, you could get away with full coverage if you use medium coats. Alternatively, you could apply three thin coats, if you don’t want to see the nail line. I was happy with two coats.

My instant favourites from the Zoya Wanderlust Collection are the greens. No surprise there for my regular readers! Green continues to wrap me around its little finger, as I paint it on all of my nails.

These are my top picks:

Arbor – Olive-green creme makes your nails see the forest and the trees
Scout – Floss like a boss with this moss-green shimmer
Sonja – A coral-based creme sets the red-hot stage for a pinup-worthy manicure
River – Cry me a river…of happy tears with this shimmery blue

The others are also gorgeous, and if you’re just starting your collection, they’re wonderful ones to add to it.

The formulas on all the Zoya nail polishes in this collection are very consistent, which I appreciate. This is particularly great if you’re new to polish and need an easy-to-use polish that allows you to concentrate more on your painting technique rather than struggling with a lacklustre formula. (By the way, if you’re new to polish, WELCOME! Welcome to the highly addictive drop down the rabbit hole of colour, creativity and self-expression.) 🙂

Lois – Take the ‘grape’ escape this summer with this purple creme
Winnie – Nails play ‘pink’-a-boo with this flirty light creme
Esty – Crown your nails with a princess pink-creme tiara
Byrdie – A little birdie told me this deep pink creme is to tweet for
Mandy – Sweet shimmery berry pink that’s reminiscent of ribbon candy
Journey – Orange-based red shimmer will take your nails on an adventure
Cora – Orange cream is a tangerine dream
Sawyer – Pale peach cream has pastel prowess

Did you pick up any of these? Which are your favourites? If you could add an extra colour to the Zoya Wanderlust Collection, what would it be?

See the rest of this post for a closer look at all twelve colours, as well as the official press release that gives you the colour story and more details.

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Zoya Charming Collection Swatches & Review

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Zoya Charming Collection Swatches

As polite as a curtsy in a 1900s ballroom and as captivating as a graceful ballerina’s fouetté, in comes the Zoya Charming Collection for Spring 2017!

Surprisingly, although I’m a green lover, the purples (Abby, Tina and Millie) stole the show for me.

Abby is a great transition hue because the whisper-soft lavender is white-based and wintry, yet has enough saturation to keep the Easter bunny hopping.
Tina is a medium purple private dancer on your nails with a youthful spirit that’s simply the best when you need a pick-me-up. (Bonus points for those who saw what I did there.)
Millie is the showgirl in Vegas with an extravagant sequin mini dress accented with oversized feathers! In every lighting condition, this shimmery plum catches the light and takes centre stage without hesitation.
Amira is reminiscent of the scales on a mermaid’s tail that shimmer softly yet with gusto as the sun kisses them with summer dreams.
Lacey is a muted sage that twinkles like it’s full of little stars amidst a nail-polish sky. (Even if you’re not as big of a fan of green as I am, this could be your gateway green. Hehe!)
Jordan is a bubblegum pink that has a princess personality. If it was a person, it would wear a seven-layer tulle ballgown with satin corset to the prom.

Let’s talk about the formula. It’s not always just about the colour. Substance versus beauty. Even though I’m willing to put in more effort for a tricky formula if the colour is a showstopper, the less effort I need to exert, the better.

I’m happy to report that the formula for all of these shades is great! They are easy to work with, and you can build up opacity quickly.

In all of my swatches, I used two coats of colour and no top coat. (For these quick collection swatches, I don’t use a top coat, so you can see the finish of the polish by itself. For future in-depth reviews on individual colours, I always wear a top coat, unless it’s a textured polish that’s designed to be worn solo, of course.)

I applied a thin first coat and then a generous second coat. The cremes are solid at this point. For the shimmers, you could apply a third coat if you want to intensify the colour, but I was very happy with the second coat.

See the rest of this post for a closer look at each swatch, as well as bottle shots and the official press release (to give you details about the colour story).

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CND Rhythm and Heat Collection Swatches

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CND Rhythm and Heat Collection Swatches

Shake your grass skirt at the winter blahs because the CND Rhythm and Heat Collection for Summer 2017 will have you dreaming of hammocks, mojitos, and warm afternoon sunsets!

Launching in March, the six cremes have a slightly jellyish formula, which makes them extremely smooth and easy to paint on.

To fully cover my nail line, I needed to use either three thin coats or two thick ones. All of them were shiny on their own. My swatches show the nail polishes without a top coat, so you can see how they look straight out of the bottle.

Being a green fiend, Palm Deco (medium green) is my first choice, followed by Mambo Beat (hot orange-red), and Splash of Teal (blue).

Which colours are calling your name?

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the media launch event unveiling the CND Rhythm and Heat Collection, which was held at a salon called Fiorio Cumberland in Yorkville.

As you may have already seen on my Instagram, John Nguyen, one of the talented nail technicians there, painted my nails in the below fun design! He used the CND Shellac colours Palm Deco (green – two coats) and Shimmering Shores (glitter – one coat).

CND Rhythm & Heat Nail Art

Check out the rest of this blog post for a closer look at each colour in the CND Vinylux Rhythm and Heat Collection, as well as the official press release for more details!

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CND Creative Play Celebration Collection Swatches & Review

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CND Creative Play Celebration Collection Swatches

Nails just wanna have fun with the eight festive polishes in the CND Creative Play Celebration Collection!

With an assortment of dazzling glitters, smooth-as-silk cremes, and more, this is the collection you’ll want to break out for a night on the town, sitting by the fireside on Christmas Eve, and ringing in the New Year in style.

The cremes (Naughty or Vice and Happy Holly Day) apply like a sugarplum-fairy dream and are pigmented. No painting hiccups. I used two coats for each.

The playful glitters (Extravaglint, Stellarbration, and Turquoise Tidings) are excellent for layering one coat over another colour. They’re great for sprucing up an old manicure and giving it some seasonal sizzle.

Turquoise Tidings is the only one from the glitter bunch that you could also wear solo. With three coats, it covered well and had a mystical mermaid glimmer that photos can’t do justice. (See it in person for the Wow Factor!)

The other two glitters are sparse, so they’re best used as toppers. (Also, in Stellarbration, there’s some star confetti. It can be a bit tricky to fish them out and place them with a brush, so you may want to use a thin, precise tool like a toothpick.)

The yellow, Foiled Again, is much more golden and flashy than it appears in my swatch. It’s certainly a blingy polish that catches the light. The pigmentation on this was great, as I only needed two coats to fully cover my nails.

Revelry Red is a traditional Santa red that’s ideal for the holidays, but instead of being flat, it gets extra festive with small glitter and microshimmer. Instead of being blingy, this one subtly twinkles.

RSVPlum has an icy appearance, and I recommend carefully painting this on straight because the brushstrokes, while subtle, are still noticeable up close.

Check out the rest of this post to see a closer look at my swatches of all eight colours and to see the press release for the colour story!

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CND New Wave Collection Swatches & Review

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CND New Wave Collection Swatches Review

Bob your head, and tap your nails to the colourful tune of the CND New Wave Collection for Spring 2017, which officially launches in January!

Shake off the cold weather with a look at six bold hues that will have you feeling nostalgic over Cyndi Lauper, teased hair, denim jackets, and friendship bracelets! It’s no wonder because the CND New Wave Collection drew inspiration from the electric 1980s.

This collection puts a huge smile on my face! Being a big fan of saturated shades, I was inspired to put together the above collage to showcase the spectrum. (Who else was a kid growing up in the 1980s? Ah, yes, it was a decade of great memories, music, and funny fashion!) 🙂

In today’s blog post, I share with you swatches of all six shades in the CND Vinylux formula: Video Violet, Pink Leggings, Blue Eyeshadow, Jelly Bracelet, Banana Clips, and Ecstacy. (They’re also available in the CND Shellac formula.)

The CND Vinylux New Wave Collection colours applied easily and smoothly. The cremes (Pink Leggings, Blue Eyeshadow, Banana Clips, and Video Violet) were especially pigmented, and I only needed two coats to achieve full opacity. (Even though yellow nail polishes are notorious for being streaky and hard to work with, Banana Clips was an exception. It was very pigmented, and I didn’t see any streaks. Great yellow!)

The two shimmers in the collection (Ecstacy and Jelly Bracelet) covered well with two coats, but I found that three coats brought out the best in them.

My swatches of the CND Vinylux shades are shown without a top coat. You can see how shiny they are on their own.

All the CND Vinylux nail polishes are intended to be used in conjunction with the CND Vinylux Weekly Top Coat, however, in my experience, I’ve found that using your favourite shiny top coat can work well, too.

On November 22nd, I had the pleasure of attending a PR event where I was treated to a professional CND Shellac manicure at the TIPS Nail Bar in Greektown. I chose the colour Blue Eyeshadow, and if you follow me on social media like Instagram, you already saw a few photos of it!

Later in this post, you’ll also see some photos that I took in the nail salon, and The Good Press juices that matched three of the CND New Wave Collection nail polishes. Additionally, I’ve included the official press release, promotional images, and nail-art ideas, if you want some colourful and creative inspiration!

CND Shellac Blue Eyeshadow

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