Celestial Bon Temps-- True Blood Inspired Collection

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Celestial Bon Temps collection

  Hi everyone!!  Celestial Cosmetics and etailer Color4Nails have teamed up for the second year in a row to bring us a fall collaboration collection.  This year's set is titled Bon Temps named after the town in which vampire tv show True Blood is set and inspired by the popular show.  Bon Temps consists of six deep, dark, shimmery glassfleck duochrome beauties, similar in nature to this summer's Aurora {HERE}, which I adore.  This was an exciting set for me to open.  To avoid being repetitious-- each photo is shown in two coats with one layer of topcoat.

Zoya Matte Velvets

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Zoya Matte Velvets

  Hi friends!!  You've probably heard by now that Zoya has rereleased their highly sought after and limited edition Matte Velvet collection, and they've done it in its entirely.  I've posted my thoughts on my two favorites and the iconic one of the bunch already-- now I get to show you my take on the whole set.

  The Matte Velvets come with matte black lids and in frosted bottles that look cool but obscure the appearance of the polish inside.  They're all nicely pigmented, fairly self leveling, forgiving of nail flaws, and ridiculously easy to apply.  I have a fairly steady hand but my cuticle lines are seldom this neat.  You see two coats of each polish with no cleanup.  Each polish dries to a matte finish that indeed feels velvety soft to the touch.  The colors are rich and packed with their own unique shimmer that mattifies as well, not adding any sparkle but imparting a lot of dimension.

Zoya Harlow-- Matte Velvet Collection

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  Hi everyone!!  Of the six rereleased Zoya Matte Velvets, the most highly anticipated is cult classic Harlow. Last holiday season, Zoya did a special repromote of four of the matte shades and Harlow was left out.  The Faeries that be have done a marvelous job of whetting our collective polish appetites and the inclusion of Harlow in this relaunch has indeed sent many hearts aflutter, and mine along with them.  Being one who missed Harlow the first go around, I couldn't wait to see how it actually panned out.

Zoya Harlow-- Matte Velvet Collection

Zoya Loredana-- Matte Velvet Collection

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  Hi everyone!!  I'm being true to my word and wearing each of the relaunched Zoya Matte Velvets as full manicures (because some polishes are just way too awesome to be merely "swatched").  Posh captured my polish loving heart instantly {HERE}, and then Loredana went and did the same...

Zoya Loredana-- Matte Velvet Collection

Zoya Posh-- Matte Velvet Collection

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  Hi all!!  Back in 2009, when all I did was paint my toes and OPI was everything, Zoya released two limited edition sets of what they call Matte Velvet polishes, totaling six colors.  They quickly became fan favorites and for five years, guys and gals in the know hoarded their precious Matte Velvets in the hope that Zoya might rerelease them as a full set some day.  Well, that some day is now-- the Zoya Faeries that be held out for long enough and the Matte Velvets, all six of them, are once again available for purchasing and wearing pleasure.  Thank you, Faeries!!  Just... THANK YOU.

  So I was sitting around swatching the collection yesterday and I was blown away by the awesomeness of every single one of these, wanting to wear each as a full manicure, and feeling like they each deserve their own post.  I may yet do the former but I won't drag the whole collection out over a series of posts, tempted as I am.  I'm going to indulge in the one that blew me away the most, though, the one I knew I had to come back and post excessive photos of-- not Harlow (I'm saving that one for last, to see if it is worth the hype), but Posh.

Zoya Posh-- Matte Velvet Collection

Fall Favorites and Happy Caturday Poll!!

  Hi all!!  With autumn's changing leaves and falling temps, comfort food and delicious hot drinks, and cozy sweaters, boots, and scarves, comes a rich palette of classic colors and an even richer array of fragrances.  I feel my prettiest when the cool hits.  Here are a few of my perennial fall cosmetic and perfume loves.

LVX Fall 2014 Collection

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LVX Fall 2014

  Hi all!!  One of the many reasons I love autumn and autumn fashion is finally here-- the LVX Fall lacquer collection.  This year's set delivers, as always, with updated, perfectly wearable colors in that most classic of finishes and on point formulas.  Let's get started.

Zoya Margo (Entice, Fall 2014)

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  Hi everyone!  I know I did my leetle review on the entire Zoya Entice collection {HERE}, and I named the blue and grey ones as my must-haves.  You know how it is, though, out of the blue, a color will just take you and right now I'm in L-O-V-E with Margo, a deep, cool plum creme.  I used three coats and one layer of GlitterDaze Quick Dry topcoat.

Zoya Margo (Entice, Fall 2014)

WetnWild Fantasy Makers 2014 (partial)

  

WetnWild Fantasy Makers 2014

  October is here!! To kick off one of my favorite months in the year, I'm sharing some swatches of this year's WetnWild Fantasy Makers nail polishes (I've had them since the end of August... these things come out earlier and earlier, I tell ya!).  I chose two of the collection of five, but before I start in on the colors, the repackaging is worth mentioning.  They're still the cute little tombstone shape, but instead of the mottled grey headstone emblazoned with "R.I.P.", the cap is a satin finish black printed with little silver skulls (links to previous collection picks at the end of the post).  These bottles kind of look like Darth Vader with a new wardrobe.

Zoya Ultra PixieDusts Fall 2014

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Zoya Ultra PixieDusts Fall 2014

  Hello and happy first day of Fall!  The Zoya Ultra PixieDusts are here, gorgeous texture polishes in red, wine, and berry tones, and sporting a brand new formula.  Like the preceding Magical PixieDusts (summer 2014 collection {HERE}), these three are jelly based, sparkling, and packed with glitter, rather than the shimmer of the originals (fall 2013's Dhara and Arabella swatched {HERE}); unlike the Magicals, the Ultras feature tonal, metallic small round and larger hex glitters, giving each a glamorous and amped up monochromatic appearance. The Ultras aren't as chunky as the Magicals; the texture bits seem fewer and finer.  With the exception of Noir, for some reason, the Ultras much easier to remove; pigmentation is better, also, and each of these polishes is beautiful in two coats.

OPI How Great Is Your Dane? + My Voice Is a Little Norse

  Hi everyone!!  I've got the last of my OPI Nordic mini collection on my nails today, and I'll just let the company's delectable description of this one lead the way.

  How Great Is Your Dane? is described as a cinnamon coffee and I'll admit that the power of suggestion has me sold, even if it doesn't feel altogether accurate.  Cinnamon gives me a sense that there should be some sort of red undercurrent here but it's pretty much a straightforward dark toned mushroom shade, an updated version of OPI You Don't Know Jacques {HERE}.  How Great Is Your Dane? is a creme that leans a little thin-- I used two coats but patchiness tells me I should have gone with three.  Finished with one layer of topcoat.

OPI How Great Is Your Dane? + My Voice Is a Little Norse

OPI My Dogsled Is a Hybrid + OPI My Voice Is a Little Norse

  Hi all!!  Blue toned greens have a tendency to look horrid on me so I didn't hold out much hope for OPI Nordic shade My Dogsled Is a Hybrid.  But those mini sets are sometimes just too cute to pass up, and as it turns out, I really like this polish.

OPI My Dogsled Is a Hybrid + OPI My Voice Is a Little Norse

OPI Do You Have This Color in Stock-holm? + OPI My Voice is a Little Norse

  Good morning, all!!  I haven't really been that interested in OPI's offerings this year, but something about this fall/winter's Nordic collection had me sitting up and taking notice, if not completely falling all over myself excited.  Do You Have This Color in Stock-holm? seems to be the runaway favorite of the collection so I was happy to see that shade in the mini set.  I paired it with the collection's glitter topper, My Voice is a Little Norse.

OPI Do You Have This Color in Stock-holm? + OPI My Voice is a Little Norse

Maybelline Color Show Limited Edition Fall 2014 Plum As You Are

  Hi all!!  Back in fall of 2012, I passed up on Maybelline's Downtown Brown so many times I lost count and lived to regret not picking up the limited edition duochrome shimmer (and at Maybelline's price point, I really had no excuse).  Not too keen on letting that happen again, I snagged one of the more interesting LE offerings for this fall, a dark grey with violet shimmer called Plum As You Are before I had time to talk myself out of it.

Maybelline Color Show Plum As You Are

Essie Dress To Kilt

  Hi everyone!!  I got REALLY EXCITED about all the fall collections the other day and indulged and bought myself a polish from Essie, a brand I don't pay a lot of attention to (I'm pretty sure I say that every time I post one of theirs).  Essie collections are always fun to look at in their entirety, but hard to choose one individual color, somehow.  This time, my choice was an easy one-- I went with the namesake polish of this fall's lineup, called Dress To Kilt.

Essie Dress To Kilt

Zoya Entice-- Fall 2014

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Zoya Entice-- Fall 2014

  

  Hi everyone!!  Entice is the classic creme finish half of Zoya's Fall 2014 collections.  You know cremes are my jam, lol, and Zoya's fall cremes are the ones I look forward to all year long.  Let's get started.

Zoya Ignite-- Fall 2014

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Zoya Ignite collection, Fall 2014

  Hi all!!  I'm back from my self-imposed break a week early because when you've got gorgeousness like the Zoya Ignite collection staring at you every time you walk into your living room, it's extremely hard to resist wanting to wear those suckers right away (and talk about them, lol).  So I'm not fully used to my nubs again/yet but the fact is, there is not a shape these colors won't look spectacular on.

  Zoya describes the finishes in this set as liquid metal, but they're unlike any metallic I've ever seen.  These all have a sort of metallic-jelly hybrid finish, going on sheer with the first coat but balancing out perfectly with two, and each with an abundance of golden and shade-specific glassfleck-like shimmer.  There's so much sparkle in these that my camera had the worst time focusing.  These shades are stunning.  Let's get started.

"Hey Peter. Whaaaaat's happening?"

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  Hi all!  Life is fairly consumed with

pears

and 

Zoya Naturel Deux

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Zoya Naturel Deux

  Hi all!!  Back at the beginning of July I saw an ad in the back of one of my magazines for Zoya Naturel Deux and I might have felt some heart palpitations.  I flipped over the original Naturel collection {HERE} and the fact that a new set of gorgeous neutrals for fall was imminent nearly sent my polish loving heart over the edge. 

  Naturel Deux is another set of six neutral cremes, this time in warm shades, to usher in the jewel tones of fall.  Rather than the natural gradient look of the original collection, Deux is very clearly divided into two subsets, browns and berries.  Let's begin.