Tag: purple

Purple Party Nails featuring Zoya Soraya and Holo Taco Everything Taco

Whenever I have time off from work, I like to paint my nails with the brightest colors and sparkliest glitters. That almost always means I’m grabbing for Holo Taco Everything Taco, which has easily become my favorite special effects top coat. I do mix up the base color, and this week I reached for Zoya Nail Polish Soraya from the Summer 2023 Beachy Brights Collection. As expected, I am absolutely loving this nail polish combination!

Zoya Soraya
Zoya Soraya

Some of the products in this post were provided for my unbiased review. This post includes a referral link. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.

Zoya Soraya is a bright fuchsia cream polish. It has a great formula that is opaque in two coats, and it dries to a matte finish. Soraya looks much more purple in real life than it does in the photos. The swatches are photographed in natural light, but for some reason the camera did not capture the beautiful purple shade. Please keep that in mind if you are interested in purchasing Soraya.

Purple Party Nails

I then completed the look by adding one coat of Everything Taco, and two coats of the Zoya Naked Seal Glossy Top Coat. I just love how Everything Taco is so easy to apply, and really transforms any manicure! It contains six Unicorn Skin iridescent flakies, and three holographic toppers. I definitely think it is worth the $13.00 price tag on the Holo Taco website! I could easily use this polish on a weekly basis!

Zoya Soraya and Holo Taco Everything Taco

Overall, I’m loving my bright purple and sparkly nails! I definitely look and feel ready for a vacation. You can purchase Soraya from Zoya’s website for $8.00. Use my referral link to save $5.00 off your first Zoya purchase. Also, let me know in the comments what your go to manicure is when you go on vacation!

Purple Skittle Manicure featuring Zoya Nail Polish

Happy Sunday! Today I want to share with you the manicure I’ll be wearing this week. I’m finally in a great routine where I paint my nails every weekend, and I’m really enjoying the process of choosing my polishes and color combinations. I share all of my manicures on Instagram, but wanted to do a quick blog post as well since I’m using four different nail polishes today. I was in the mood for some purple nails, so I decided to grab a handful of different shades and finishes from my nail polish stash. Let me share with you how I created this purple skittle manicure using Zoya Nail Polish!

Purple Skittle Manicure featuring Zoya Nail Polish

The products in this post were provided for my unbiased review. This post includes affiliate links.

To create this purple skittle manicure, I used the following nail polishes from Zoya from left to right:

  • Margo, a plum purple cream polish with red undertones | BUY
  • Payton, a cranberry purple polish with holographic glitter | BUY
  • Aurora, a sugarplum purple polish with holographic glitter | BUY
  • Abby, a lavender purple cream polish | BUY

I applied two coats of Abby, but three coats of the other polishes to achieve opacity and an even finish. I sealed my manicure using the Zoya Naked Manicure Ultra Glossy Seal Top Coat. I’m really loving the result! It’s fun to have four different purples in one manicure, plus two cream formulas and two glittery formulas. I also applied Abby on the thumb to balance out the dark shades in the center.

Purple Skittle Manicure featuring Zoya Nail Polish

That wraps up this quick post on my purple skittle manicure! I really love how it came together, and I look forward to wearing it this week. If you’d like to see more of my weekly manicures, make sure to follow me on Instagram HERE!

Dare to Compare | Julep Evelyn vs butter LONDON Queen Vic

Happy Monday! Today I have my last nail polish comparison in the purple color family. I’m surprised I don’t own more purple nail polishes, as I really love the way they look! Nonetheless, I noticed both Julep Evelyn and butter LONDON Queen Vic look very similar in the bottle. I figured I didn’t need to own both of these polishes, so I decided to swatch them to see which one I like better. Let me share the results with you!

Julep – Evelyn Julep – EvelynFirst up is Julep Evelyn, a deep purple polish with a hint of red pigmentation. Evelyn has a good formula that is opaque in two coats. It does have a thicker formula, so prepare for that by wiping most of the product off the brush before applying the polish to the nails. Evelyn looks amazing on my nails, and it is a great shade for the fall months.

butter LONDON – Queen Vic butter LONDON – Queen VicNext up is butter LONDON in Queen Vic. This polish is also a deep magenta purple. Queen Vic has a good formula, but it does tend to be streaky. I needed to apply three coats to achieve opacity and get a smooth finish. I think Queen Vic’s formula changed over time, because in the past I only needed two coats. Sometimes polish formulas can definitely get wonky over time, so unfortunately I think that happened to Queen Vic.

Julep Evelyn vs butter LONDON Queen Vic Julep Evelyn vs butter LONDON Queen VicHere is a look at the polishes side-by-side, with Julep Evelyn on my pinky and ring fingers and butter LONDON Queen Vic on my middle and pointer fingers. Evelyn is just slightly darker than Queen Vic, but this difference is very miniscule. If you own one of these polishes, there is no need to purchase the other! I’ve decided to declutter Queen Vic since I prefer Evelyn’s formula.

All in all, I am surprised to see how similar these polishes are to one another! I know Julep often gets a bad rep, but while I’ve definitely found some Julep duds, there are a lot of Julep products I really enjoy. The opposite goes for butter LONDON polishes – they are well loved, but they just don’t always work the best for me. I would love to know in the comments if there are any popular polish brands that you don’t like. It’s such an interesting conversation!

Some of the products in this post were provided for my unbiased review. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information. 

Dare to Compare | Milani Vivid Violet vs Milani Purple Martin

Happy Wednesday! Today’s nail polish comparison is going to be an interesting one because we are looking at two polishes from the same brand. I own two Milani polishes from past limited edition collections, and I noticed that they look quite similar in the bottle. I thought this would be a good opportunity to try them both and see if they are exact duplicates. Let me show you these polishes individually and side-by-side.

Milani – Vivid Violet Milani – Vivid Violet First up is Vivid Violet from the Gold Label collection released in January 2014. Vivid Violet has a great formula that applies smoothly and is opaque in two coats. I love this purple shade, because it’s somewhere between a true purple and a pastel.

Milani – Purple Martin Milani – Purple MartinNext up is Purple Martin from the Fantastical Plumage collection that was released in August 2013. Purple Martin has the same great formula of Vivid Violet, and applies smoothly in two coats. I love how this shade of purple looks with my skin tone!

Milani Vivid Violet vs Milani Purple Martin Milani Vivid Violet vs Milani Purple MartinHere is a look at Vivid Violet and Purple Martin side-by-side. Can you tell the difference between these polishes? I certainly cannot! These appear to be the exact same polish. In fact, I’m pretty sure Vivid Violet is just Purple Martin rebottled. I think this is very interesting, especially considering both of these are Milani polishes from limited edition collections. On the one hand, this is great that if you missed a limited edition polish, it becomes available again. However, I also feel disappointed that we don’t always get new and exciting polishes in every release.

All in all, I’m glad I tested out these polishes to find out about exact duplicates. I’m going to be keeping Purple Martin in my collection, since I really love the Fantastical Plumage collection as a whole. I definitely want to hear from you in the comments. Do you think brands should rebottle nail polishes and pass them off as different shades? I fully recognize that it’s not possible to constantly come out with unique shades, but I would like some transparency. I’m sure this is something that happens all the time, but goes unnoticed because most of us don’t own every polish from a brand. Share your thoughts with me on this topic, as I think we can have a great discussion!

The products in this post were provided for my unbiased review. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information. 

Dare to Compare | Milani Imperial Purple vs Essie Play Date vs Chrome Girl 2Gether Forevs

Happy Friday! My nail polish declutter project continues today with a comparison post of some purple nail polishes. I absolutely love a good lavender polish, especially in the spring. My go to shade is always Essie Play Date, but it turns out I own two polishes from Milani and Chrome Girl that look very similar in the bottle. I had to test them out together to see how both the shades and formulas compared. Let’s jump into another Dare to Compare!

Milani Color Statement – Imperial Purple Milani Color Statement – Imperial PurpleFirst up is Milani Color Statement in the shade Imperial Purple. This polish has a good formula, but it is a bit on the watery side. I applied two thin coats to achieve opacity. Imperial Purple is a great option from the drugstore, but you do have to be prepared for cleanup because it can be messy.

Essie – Play Date Essie – Play DateNext up is Essie Play Date, the lavender polish I always grab! Play Date does not have a perfect formula, as it can be a bit streaky. I applied three coats for a smooth and opaque finish. Even though Play Date’s application isn’t the best, it wears really well. I have great luck with Essie formulas even though I only have a few in my collection.

Chrome Girl – 2Gether Forevs Chrome Girl – 2Gether ForevsLast but not least is Chrome Girl in 2Gether Forevs. I don’t think I’ve tried this polish since I first reviewed it over two years ago! 2Gether Forevs has an excellent formula. It applies smoothly and is opaque it two coats. I forgot how great this polish is!

Milani Imperial Purple vs Essie Play Date vs Chrome Girl 2Gether Forevs Milani Imperial Purple vs Essie Play Date vs Chrome Girl 2Gether ForevsHere is a look at these purples side-by-side. From left to right are: Milani Imperial Purple, Essie Play Date, and Chrome Girl 2Gether Forevs. As you can see, Essie Play Date is a different shade than the other two polishes. This surprised me a lot! However, Imperial Purple and 2Gether Forevs are virtually the same shade. I’ve decided to keep both Play Date and 2Gether Forevs, as I love both of these polishes!

All in all, I’m glad I tried all three polishes side-by-side! I highly recommend all of these, but my favorite has to be Essie Play Date. There is just something about it that I really love, even though it can be streaky upon application. You can purchase it at your local drugstore or on Amazon HERE. Make sure to let me know in the comments what your favorite lavender nail polish is!

Some of the products in this post were provided for my unbiased review. This post includes an affiliate link. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information. 

Zoya Sunsets Collection for Summer 2016

Happy Friday! Today I am beyond excited to share with you a full review of the Zoya Nail Polish Sunsets Collection for Summer 2016. Every year Zoya releases two summer collections, and this year we have the Seashells & Sunsets. I knew I had to try the Sunsets first, because I love creme nail polishes. The Sunsets contains six cremes in bright shades that are perfect for the summer months. Let me show you these gorgeous polishes!

Zoya Sunsets Collection for Summer 2016

Zoya – Cam Zoya – CamFirst up is Cam, a bright orange polish. Cam has a good formula, but during application it was quite streaky. I applied two coats, and was very happy to see that as the polish dries is smoothes out to a flawless finish on the nail. I’m surprised with how well Cam wears with my fair skintone! It is perfect for the summertime.

Zoya – Dixie Zoya – DixieNext up is Dixie, my favorite polish in the collection! Dixie is a bright pink polish with a lot of red pigmentation. The formula is great, although it does apply just a bit streaky like Cam. I’m amazed at how these polishes dry so smoothly on the nail! Dixie is made for me, and I can’t wait to wear it again!

Zoya – Brynn Zoya – BrynnThere is also a blue-toned pink in the collection called Brynn. This polish has an excellent formula that applies smoothly and is opaque in two coats. Brynn will look good with any skintone, and is also a polish that I think can be worn during any time of year. If you only buy one polish from the Sunsets Collection, I think Brynn is a great choice because it is so wearable.

Zoya – Liv Zoya – LivNext up is Liv, a mid-toned purple polish. Liv also has a great formula that is opaque in two coats. The purple shade is quite hard to describe, because although Liv has a rich pigmentation, it is also lighter in color. Nonetheless, it is really gorgeous, and makes an excellent transitional color from summer to fall.

Zoya – Dory Zoya – DoryAnother favorite of mine is Dory, a cornflower blue polish. Dory has an amazing formula that is opaque in two coats. I am obsessing over how amazing this polish looks on the nails! It is super shiny without a top coat needed, and it looks really great with my fair skin. I know some people find blue nail polish intimidating, so I would give Dory a try if you are looking for a wearable shade.

Zoya – Ness Zoya – NessLast but not least is Ness, a jade green polish with a hint of blue. Ness also has an amazing formula that applies smoothly in two coats. I think Ness is also a great place to start with green polishes if you haven’t found the right shade yet. It’s really beautiful!

All in all, I am obsessing over the Zoya Sunsets Collection! I love each and every shade, and this is a collection where I recommend buying all of the polishes. If you are new to nail polish, or if you are looking for the perfect summer brights, definitely grab the entire collection and you’ll have everything you need! I know I will be getting a lot of use out of these polishes, and I can’t wait to wear them over and over again. You can buy the Sunsets Collection on Zoya’s website HERE for $10 each or $54 for the entire collection.

Which polish in the Sunsets Collection is your favorite?! Let me know in the comments!

The products in this post were provided for my unbiased collection. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information. 

Manicure March | Julep in Alfre

Happy Friday! Today’s nail polish review is a really interesting one. Back when I first started blogging, I fell in love with Julep nail polishes. For some reason, I just had to have the polish Alfre, which is a metallic purple. I ended up doing a swap for it, and I think I wore it once. I’ve never been a big fan of metallic nail polishes, so I’m not sure why I wanted Alfre so much. I decided to swatch it during my declutter project to see it on my nails. Let me share my thoughts on Alfre with you.

Julep in Alfre Julep in AlfreAlfre is a metallic purple polish with silver shimmer. The formula is, unfortunately, horrible! It is watery, and that made application a big mess. Alfre is also very streaky, which can often happen with metallic polishes. I don’t know why I loved this so much a few years ago! Perhaps the formula changed over time, but there is no way I can keep this. Alfre needs to go!

All in all, I’m so glad I tried out Alfre again. I honestly don’t remember why I needed this nail polish, but I’m glad it is no longer taking up space in my collection. I would love to know in the comments if you’ve ever purchased a polish, and then years later you’re not sure why. Perhaps the color isn’t your taste, or the finish is not what you usually wear. Definitely share your polish story with me!

Join in #ManicureMarch by using the hashtag on social media and by tagging me in your photos on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or Twitter!

Manicure March | China Glaze in Creative Fantasy

Happy Saturday! Today for Manicure March I’m reviewing a polish from the brand China Glaze. While this brand is very well known in the nail polish world, I rarely use China Glaze polishes. In fact, besides owning the complete Hunger Games collection, I only have a few other polishes from the brand. During my recent nail polish reorganization project, I found the bottle Creative Fantasy. I’m not sure if I’ve ever used it, so I decided to try it out and share my thoughts with all of you!

China Glaze in Creative Fantasy China Glaze in Creative FantasyCreative Fantasy is a purple nail polish with a crelly formula – creme and jelly mixture. The formula is very problematic. It is thin and watery, and very patchy. I’ve applied three coats in the photos here, and you can clearly see how it is patchy and not fully opaque in some areas. I didn’t have to spend any time debating whether or not I’d keep Creative Fantasy in my collection. This one had to go ASAP!

I’m very interested to hear from all of you in regards to China Glaze. The polishes are sold at stores such as Sally Beauty and Ulta, and I consider them a salon brand. However, I haven’t fallen in love with the shades I’ve tried in the past. I know I’m unlikely to purchase a nail polish from a brand if I haven’t had a great experience in the past. Let me know in the comments if you feel the same way!

Join in #ManicureMarch by using the hashtag on social media and by tagging me in your photos on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or Twitter!

Manicure March | Julep in Katie

Happy Friday! Manicure March continues today with a review of one of my many Julep nail polishes. I own dozens of Julep polishes after subscribing to the service so long, and also from purchasing mystery boxes. I absolutely loved Julep when the site first launched. Unfortunately, Julep changed its brush and formula over time, and I don’t think the quality is as great anymore. I’ve decided I’m only going to keep Julep polishes that I absolutely love. Let me show go ahead and show you Katie!

Julep in Katie Julep in KatieKatie is a magenta polish with blue and magenta shimmer. The formula is good, but it does pull. I was really sad when the polish pulled upon application (meaning it bunched up on the nail instead of going on smoothly). The color is absolutely stunning, and I was thinking about keeping it in my stash. However, because the formula isn’t great, I decided to let it go. I’m sure I can find another polish in a similar color that has a better formula. Let’s be real – I probably already own one!

All in all, while I think Katie is a beautiful polish, I’m destashing it due to its wonky formula. Sometimes I do keep nail polish with imperfect formulas if I really love the color, but to be honest I wouldn’t wear Katie often anyway. Please let me know in the comments if you keep polishes purely for the shade, even if the formula isn’t the best. I would love to know!

Join in #ManicureMarch by using the hashtag on social media and by tagging me in your photos on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or Twitter!

Manicure March | Confetti in Purple Pizzazz

Happy Wednesday! Manicure March continues today with a review of one of the oldest polishes in my collection. Confetti is a brand that used to be sold at CVS stores for the fabulous and affordable price of $1.99. I own two polishes from the brand, and I’ve held onto Purple Pizzazz for years now, partly for emotional reasons. This might sound silly, but I have really good memories with this nail polish! I remember lending it to friends, and bringing it with me to New York the first semester I lived in the city. However, I almost never wore it myself. I decided to put it to the test once and for all to see if I actually liked the polish itself.

Confetti in Purple Pizzazz Confetti in Purple Pizzazz Purple Pizzazz is a really unique nail polish. It is a purple-pink metallic polish with a holographic shimmer. The formula is good, but on the sheer side so I applied three coats for opacity. While I was swatching in artificial light, I wasn’t sure if I liked Purple Pizzazz. I decided to add my favorite top coat to really try out this polish. I thought I was going to keep it until I stepped out into natural light to take photographs of my manicure. I truly saw the light – this polish is just not for me! I’m not a metallic fan, for one, and this color just doesn’t go with my skin tone. Purple Pizzazz, it’s time to say goodbye!

I’m so glad I was finally able to part with Confetti in Purple Pizzazz. Sometimes it can be difficult to get rid of things that you have fond memories of, even if that thing is nail polish. At the end of the day, if I’m not going to use a polish, I shouldn’t own it anymore. Please let me know in the comments if you still own any polishes from the Confetti brand, and if you like them!

Join in #ManicureMarch by using the hashtag on social media and by tagging me in your photos on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or Twitter!