sparkle – Adventures in Polishland

Tag: sparkle

3rd Annual New Year’s Eve Manicure Contest!

Posted on December 26, 2014December 26, 2014 by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Friday! I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season! Today I am excited to announce my 3rd Annual New Year’s Eve Manicure Contest! Make sure to read all of the rules below so you can enter to win some awesome prizes!

RULES

Who is eligible to enter?

US residents who are 18+ years old or have parental consent
You must be following Adventures in Polishland to enter – either through email or Bloglovin’
Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter

What kind of manicures are allowed?

Anything goes! Nail art, glitter, plain polish – I’m leaving this one up to you!
For inspiration, see past years’ entrants HERE and HERE

How does the contest work?

Create your manicure, and email me a photo of your nails to adventuresinpolishland@gmail.com with the subject line “NYE Manicure Contest”
You may include in your email 1-3 sentences describing your manicure, and why you think it’s great for New Year’s Eve (optional)
The deadline for submitting your manicure is Monday, January 5, 2014 at 11:59pm EST
On January 6, I will post all of the manicures in a photo album on my Facebook Page
On January 12, winners will be chosen and notified via email.

How will winners be chosen?

There are two winners in this giveaway!
One winner will be chosen by popular vote – whichever manicure receives the most Facebook likes (remember, the likes must be on the photo posted on my Facebook Page).
One winner will be chosen by a panel of objective judges based on which manicure is their favorite.

PRIZES

Each winner will receive a limited edition tin from Makeup by One Direction. One winner will receive the Niall tin and the other will receive the Liam tin. A full review containing the products can be seen HERE. I absolutely love the Makeup by One Direction nail polish!

Each winner will also receive bonus beauty products selected by me. Stay tuned for more details! You never know what can pop up as prizes.

I hope you will consider entering my New Year’s Eve Manicure Contest! It is a fun way for me to give back to all of you, and a great opportunity for your nails to shine after seeing mine all the time. If you have any questions regarding this contest, please don’t hesitate to email me at adventuresinpolishland@gmail.com. I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season!

Zoya Ignite Collection for Fall 2014

Posted on September 4, 2014August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Thursday! Earlier this week I reviewed the Zoya Entice Collection (full review HERE), which contains six creme polishes for fall. In addition to Entice, Zoya released a collection called Ignite. The Ignite Collection has six liquid metal polishes that are packed with shimmer and sparkle. If you love to rock a bit of glitz on your fingertips, the Ignite Collection is for you! Let me show you the six fiery polishes!

First up is Autumn, a copper shade with undertones of orange and gold. Autumn’s formula is great, and is opaque in two coats. I found that all of the Ignite polishes show a beautiful color payoff in one coat, but two coats were needed for opacity. Staying true to its name, I think Autumn is just perfect for this time of year!

Next up is India, a deep red with golden shimmer mixed throughout the base. India also has a great formula, and I found that it’s super pigmented. I think this polish is a great transitional shade from fall to winter as well.

Teigen is a beautiful cranberry shade with a copper shimmer, and is such a feminine polish. It looks flawless in two coats, too. I’d love to see this in a geometric manicure with it’s complimenting shade Veronica. Maybe I’ll do that in the future!

Sansa is the purple in this collection, and is what Zoya dubs “eggplant” with a gold shimmer. Sansa appears almost black, but the purple shade certainly shines through in the light. I think this polish would look great with one coat layered over a white base!

Next up is Remy, my favorite in the Ignite Collection! Remy is an indigo polish with gold and copper shimmer, but I love how blue-toned it is! The formula is flawless, and in two coats the finish is just stunning. I’m a bit obsessed with this one!

Last but not least is Yuna, a grey polish copper and gold shimmer. Yuna is so sparkly that my camera had trouble focusing on it! Nonetheless, it’s a very rockstar polish, and is perfect to pair with your leather jacket this fall.

All in all, the Zoya Ignite Collection has six sparkly shades for fall! While cremes are much more my style, you can’t go wrong with any of these polishes! I’ll definitely be testing these out as accent nails and in nail art this fall. I can’t wait to put Remy back on very soon, in fact! You can purchase these polishes on the Zoya website HERE for $9 each. Which shades will you be purchasing?! Let me know in the comments!

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

My First Manicure in 2014 featuring JulieG Silver Bells!

Posted on January 8, 2014August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Wednesday! I’m back today with a new blog post after not polishing my nails for over two weeks! The holidays were just so busy that once I took off my old manicure, I decided to take a bit of a polish break. Soon I’ll be testing out all sorts of new polish goodies for the new year, but to break my polish hiatus, I grabbed one of the Holiday Frosted Gumdrops from JulieG. Let me share my first manicure of 2014 with you!

JulieG Silver Bells is a silver nail polish with silver glitters and a textured finish. The formula was good and manageable, but a bit on the thick side. I suggest three thin coats for full opacity, as I wore for my manicure. Silver Bells dries very quickly, and looks stunning! I’m not usually a huge silver nail polish fan, but the sparkle in Silver Bells makes it wearable and perfect for winter.

All in all, I’m really liking Silver Bells, and I’m glad it got me out of my nail polish funk! I’m excited for the coming year, and can’t wait to continue trying and testing more nail polish and beauty products. I hope you’ll join me on my Adventures in Polishland as I soar into my second year of blogging!

You can purchase JulieG polishes for $3.99 at your local Rite Aid or on the Jesse’s Girl website HERE. I purchased mine from Groupon!

Zoya PixieDust Special Texture Edition for Fall 2013

Posted on August 1, 2013August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Thursday! Today I have the first of three very amazing fall collections to share with you from none other than Zoya Nail Polish. I’m so excited that Zoya has a brand new PixieDust collection, since textured nail polishes are my favorite trend in the nail polish world. Let me show you the six new shades for fall!

First up is Carter, a royal purple polish with magenta glitters. Carter is my absolute favorite polish in the collection! It is opaque in two coats, and has an amazing formula. I couldn’t capture how much Carter sparkles in real life, but this deep purple is just a favorite shade of mine. I wore it for an entire weekend, and to see Justin Timberlake in concert!

Next is Tomoko, a gold polish with a metallic shine. Tomoko does have a great formula that is opaque in two coats, but I had some trouble with application because the polish was difficult to see on my nails when wet. I think Tomoko is just so close to my skin tone that it blended right in! Other than that issue, I really like this polish. I wore it for over a week and only had slight tip wear!

Chita is up next, and is a stunning dark green polish with silver glitters. Chita is opaque in two coats, and has a fabulous formula. This one did take a bit of extra drying time, but other than that it’s flawless. I love Chita’s deep shade and strong pigmentation. This is a polish that can work for the holiday season as well as the fall.

Sunshine is the next PixieDust in the collection, and is a navy blue polish with silver glitters. At first I was confused by the blue shade, but now I’m walking on Sunshine and I’ll tell you why — this is a one coat formula! With amazing pigmentation, one coat of Sunshine provides a full coverage manicure. This denim colored polish is going to be on my nails a lot this fall!

Next up is Arabella, a bright rose pink with light pink glitters. Arabella has the perfect formula that is opaque in two coats. It also dries rather quickly, which I really appreciated. Arabella is a very flattering and wearable polish. It is just stunning for any time of year!

Last but not least is Dhara, a bright orange polish with gold glitters. Zoya has certainly perfected the orange PixieDust! I loved Beatrix in the summer collection, and Dhara is definitely great for fall. It is opaque in two coats, and has a flawless formula. Don’t fear wearing an orange polish — this one will look nice with any skin tone!

All in all, I am loving the PixieDust collection for fall! I find each shade to be quite wearable, and the formulas are really nice overall. You can purchase these polishes on Zoya’s website HERE for $9 each or $54 for the complete set. Stay tuned for reviews of two more Zoya collections for Fall 2013 as well!

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

iPhone Case Nail Art featuring Pomegranate Nail Lacquer & Cellairis

Posted on June 5, 2013August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Wednesday! Today I have a fun nail art post featuring polish from the brand Pomegranate Nail Lacquer. They recently teamed up with the cell phone case company Cellairis to pair a coordinating polish with select iPhone cases. Along with some other nail bloggers, I’m sharing a nail art look inspired by one of the Cellairis iPhone cases. Let me show you what I created!

First up is a shot of the coordinating nail polish and iPhone case! On the left is Pomegranate Nail Lacquer in the shade The Queen’s Jewels, a glitter top coat filled with silver, red, green, and blue glitters. On the right is the Cellairis iPhone 5 case in the style Debaris Picky Dot. As you can see, the glitters match up nicely with the rhinestones on the case already!

For my complete nail art look, I wanted to do a bit more than just add the glitter to a base. I began with a plain black nail polish to act like the color of my iPhone, and like the black rhinestones on the case. Then, I created a ruffian design by applying Essie Butler Please to the nail, leaving a small amount of black polish showing near the cuticle. My favorite color rhinestone in the case was the dark blue, and since the glitter polish didn’t have a dark blue, I decided that would be a great base color. Then, I added three coats of The Queen’s Jewels to the blue part of my nails to create the rhinestone look! I’m loving the result!

All in all, my nails are just as sparkly as the iPhone case! Plus, it was super easy to create this fancy look! Since the Debaris Picky Dot design is abstract, any color combination with the glitter will make for a fun, complimentary manicure. I can’t wait to use the glitter over many other colors of polish and still match my case! You can purchase Pomegranate Nail Lacquer online HERE for $8.50 per bottle, and Cellairs phone cases HERE. Be sure to follow Pomegranate Nail Lacquer on Facebook HERE to see what other bloggers created for this promotion!

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

Zoya PixieDust Summer 2013 Collection

Posted on May 15, 2013August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Wednesday! I am back today with a review of the full PixieDust Collection for this summer. A few months back, Zoya came out with the first PixieDust collection (see that review HERE), but they recently released six new shades that are bright, fun, and perfect for the hot summer sun! I am really enjoying the textured nail polish trend, and these polishes are some of my favorites so far. Let me show you the summer PixieDusts!

First up is Destiny, my favorite from the collection! Destiny is a bright red orange color, and has gold shimmer throughout. It is opaque in two coats and has an amazing formula. Destiny was the first from this collection that I tried, and I didn’t take it off for almost a week! The PixieDust formula is very long lasting, even without the top coat!

Next is Stevie, a gorgeous light purple polish with silver shimmer. Stevie is also opaque in two coats and has the same perfect formula. I think it is really cool how the polish applies like a cream, but dries textured! It makes painting my nails even more fun. I also like that Stevie is brighter than a normal light purple so it doesn’t look pale against my light skin tone. It’s perfect for the transition from spring to summer!

Beatrix is next up, and is a gorgeous light orange polish with gold shimmer. Beatrix is opaque in two coats, and has a flawless application as well. Upon removal I did end up with the gold shimmer all over my hands, but after a few thorough washings it came off. I’m not usually fond of orange nail polish, but Beatrix and Destiny from this collection are just amazing! I am sure to grab these often during the summer.

Next up is Solange, a yellow gold polish. Solange has an amazing one coat formula! It is also the most textured looking of the bunch. Solange isn’t a good match for my light skin, but I think it would look stunning with darker skin tones! While it is not my personal favorite, Solange is definitely a great polish for summer.

Miranda is the next PixieDust, and it is what Zoya calls a rose color. I love that it is a darker pink shade, but the silver sparkle still livens it up. Miranda is opaque in two coats, and has a great formula. I found this polish to not be as textured as the others, but it is still very pretty. Miranda is perfect for a more subdued look if you are looking to try out textured polish, but aren’t sure what to expect.

Last but not least is Liberty, a bright blue polish with silver shimmer. Liberty is just gorgeous, and looks flawless on the nail. It is opaque in two coats and has an amazing formula. I heard rumors that Liberty stains, so I made sure to wear a healthy layer of base coat and to stay away from the cuticle. My techniques worked — I did not have any staining whatsoever! Liberty is definitely a bold polish, but I just love it!

All in all, I am very impressed with the Zoya PixieDust Summer collection! All of the formulas were spot on, and the colors are beautiful. I think this collection is a must have for summer! These polishes look stunning in the sunlight! You can purchase the Zoya PixieDust polishes online HERE for $9 each.

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

Zoya PixieDust Special Textured Collection for Spring 2013

Posted on March 8, 2013August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Friday! Today I have a review of one of the most talked about nail polish collections of the season. The Zoya PixieDust collection is right on trend with textured nail polishes, and offers an added sparkle with each polish. I love the look and feel of textured polishes, and these are no exception! Let me show you the full PixieDust collection!

First up is my favorite from the collection, Nyx! Nyx is a light, dusty blue that leans towards grey. The formula is great, but very sheer. It took three coats to achieve opacity. As with all of the polishes in the PixieDust collection, make sure you allow each coat of polish to dry completely before following up with another layer. This ensures you get the textured, matte finish! Nyx is so beautiful with its silver sparkle!

Next is Vespa, a mint green polish. Similar to Nyx, Vespa’s formula was quite sheer and required three coats to be opaque. I love the gorgeous color of this polish, but it was very pale in terms of pigmentation. It also smudges easily if it’s not completely dry. I found removal to be difficult with Vespa, especially because I wore it for a few days. Luckily the color is stunning!

Godiva is the next polish from the PixieDust collection, and is a light beige nude. Godiva was also opaque in three coats, and took a very long time to dry. I do love this polish, but unfortunately for me it blended right into my skin tone. This is the perfect nude color if you have darker skin, but I felt weird wearing it! I love that this is a nude with sparkle, though.

Next up is Dahlia, a dark grey that is almost black. Dahlia is opaque in two coats and has a great formula. I love the silver sparkle, as it is very prominent in this polish. Dahlia is very “rock star”. I love this polish! I was very happy that the formula was a standard two-coater as well.

Chyna is my second favorite polish from the PixieDust collection! A deep red with black and red sparkles, Chyna has an amazing formula and is opaque in two coats. Chyna dries very quickly, and looks so fun and edgy! I felt like I was wearing rubies on my nails with this polish. Just gorgeous!

Last but not least is London, a light grey polish with silver sparkles. London is also opaque in two coats and has a great, fast-drying formula. I love the nice sparkle in this polish. It is just like what I picture London fog to be like! London will go great with any outfit.

All in all, I really like the Zoya PixieDust collection. I had a few issus with application and removal, but the polishes are definitely beautiful. This collection is very unique, and you will be sure to impress your friends with your fancy nails! You can purchase the PixieDust collection on Zoya’s website HERE. Polishes are $9 each or $54 for the entire collection.

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

Mani Upgrade with Geometric Glitter

Posted on July 8, 2012August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Remember my manicure from my last post? It was a beautiful nude color from Julep called Lynne. I loved it, but it was time for some sparkle. I knew I wanted to use another color from my July Julep Maven Box called Yumi, so I ran a short poll on my Facebook page to determine what style I should do. The winning trend was geometric glitter, and I was excited to try it out. I’ve done a few other geometric styles, but I hadn’t tried it out with glitter before. It turns out to be just as easy, and it looks super fun!

To get a geometric look, all you need is scotch tape and scissors! Simply cut small strips of scotch tape in any shape you want and place it on a completely dry manicure. You can do any design you want- stripes, diagonal lines, chevrons, etc. I like to do a different shape on each nail. Once the tape is on your nail, make sure it is pressed down so that no polish will leak through. Then, paint right over the tape with your new color. Make sure to take off the tape before the polish dries! For my mani, I used three coats of Julep’s Yumi. It is a beautiful, multi-dimensional glitter in a light pink base. It is very sheer so it is perfect for layering. It is also opalescent, so the colors shine in the light. It looks perfect with Lynne!

Above is a photo of my finished product! Notice how I used all different geometric shapes. I love this look! It is perfect for a mani upgrade because your nails will be already dry, plus you can cover up any imperfections with the new color. People will also be impressed with your nails, even though you know all you used was scotch tape. Have you tried out this trick yet? What colors did you use?

CameraZOOM-20120708094029219 — Macro shot of my thumb. Don’t you love this design & color combo?

P.S. Don’t forget you can join Julep Maven HERE! Enter code COLOR2012 to get your first box for one penny.

Brand Power: Sally Hansen HD

Posted on June 13, 2012August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Today’s brand review is inspired by a recent purchase I made at CVS where I got two Sally Hansen HD polishes for 75% off. Usually priced at almost $8, I paid only $3.74 total! With some quick searching online, it seems like this polish is being clearanced in multiple stores. If you like what you see in this post, now is the time to get a great deal on Sally Hansen HD while you have the chance!

Left to right, the colors I own are Laser, Byte, and Blu.

Before I purchased Laser and Byte, I already owned the HD polish in Blu. To be honest, I don’t use it very often, but I loved the sparkly, holographic feel of the other HD polishes so I couldn’t resist the purchase. The one thing I really don’t like about Sally Hansen HD is that I always have to use three coats of polish before it becomes opaque. For some reason this really bugs me, perhaps because the bottles suggest otherwise. The good thing is that once three coats are on, my nails look awesome! The HD polish is really sparkly and shiny, and reflects the light. They have a metallic look to them. The polish also lasts for a while before chipping, which is great for girls on the go! Overall, it’s a great polish that can be found at any drugstore or Target.

Moreover, the mani I painted using Sally Hansen HD was inspired by Carly over at Lacquered Lover (check out her site HERE). Carly posts really cool photos so I decided to try out her manicure style and even her photo style! I think it came out really cool, especially since this was the first attempt I made at editing photos like this. Plus, this take on the One for Fun really showcases two different nail colors while still tying them together. I’ll probably use this mani more often! What do you think?!

Here’s a Tip: Add Glitter!

Posted on June 6, 2012March 18, 2017 by Adventures in Polishland

After browsing through many boards on Pinterest lately (click HERE to follow me!), I’ve noticed that glitter is even more popular than usual. Of course, the One for Fun trend is still thriving, but many ladies are sporting some glittery French manicures. Today I decided to give the look a try, so I grabbed a red from O.P.I. and my favorite polish, Rockstar Pink from Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear. I thought these two colors would look great together, and boy was I right! I am extremely pleased with the results of my manicure.

To achieve the look, I first painted two coats of the red and let it dry completely. I have to admit, I don’t usually wear this color since the red is a bit much for me, but why not go for it, right?! I also don’t even know what the polish is called since it’s an O.P.I. mini from a holiday set. Anyway, once the color dried I got out my Rockstar Pink and went to town. For this French manicure, I wasn’t concerned with getting perfectly straight and clean lines. All I did was slowly dab the glitter along the top of each nail until I got the look I wanted. Thankfully, the glitter is very forgiving, so even though my lines are a bit messy, my manicure still looks awesome. What do you think?

If you want to try out this glitter French manicure, go for it! It’s way easier than I thought it would be. Don’t be afraid to use a variety of colors for both the base coat and glitter. If a bright color (like the red I chose) is too much for you, the traditional French pink is fine. Plus, if you want to have perfect lines, just use some scotch tape! Just be sure to finish up with a top coat so the glitter stays in place. Enjoy!