NOTD: Crackalackin with Cynthia

Hey guys! I'm just doing a quick little post today. I tried out Zoya Cynthia from this fall's Smoke and Mirrors collection... it's a nice dark peacock blue. Think like Lincoln Park After Dark's blue-green cousin, if you will. And true to my worst-polish-blogger-ever form, I totally neglected to take pictures of what it looks like before I applied a coat of China Glaze Crackle in Platinum Pieces. Oh well... there are ton of blogs out there with swatches. Our dear friend Google should be able to help you find them. :o)





On a side note, I've been sick these past few days... not horribly ill but just under the weather and very, very uncomfortable. I have some sort of annoying sinus/respiratory thing and I can't seem to shake it... it's driving me nuts and I'm tired of the air I'm breathing feeling like it's hot and thick and has a flavor. You know what I'm talking about? Yeah, it's one of those kind of bugs and for some reason it makes me extra snarky and sassy. I haven't a clue as to what that's about but thanks for sticking with me and my absentee blogger issues the past couple of weeks. Hopefully, I'll be back on my A-game soon so as always...

Thanks for reading!
- Kim

NOTD: It's Feeling Like Fall

Hey guys! Long time, no post! I've been terribly busy this past week or so. Between birthday celebrations, my friends' wedding, and month end at work, I haven't had time to breath! So anyways, I got my order from Zoya on Friday... I took advantage of their free shipping offer and ordered some of the Smoke and Mirrors Fall collection.

Zoya Dree, Anja, Cynthia, and Yara

I just picked out the ones I really wanted... these colors take me way back to the fall of 1994 when I started sixth grade. That's a really specific time frame but I remember it clearly... I wanted to revamp my 11 year old style and all the preppy kids were in love with the deep maroon, green, and navy that was so popular that school year. Everything came in those shades: tops, bottoms, bookbags, purses, Sam and Libby flats with the little bows. My mom actually let me get three pairs of jeans, one in each color and a matching navy blue Dooney and Bourke... it was total awesome sauce and I thought I was the coolest kid ever, lol. But enough with the trip down memory lane... on to the mani!





I used Zoya Dree on all of my nails and then I layered Zoya Yara on my ring fingers. I added a little golden wing using Stripe Rite in Gold Metallic. Easy peasy and cute. ♥ I hope to get some decent swatches done in the next week or so but until then...

Thanks for reading!
-Kim

P.S. - Oh snap! It's a pic of 11 year old me...

*face palm* at the white socks with red shoes and navy pants.

NOTD: Pretty Purple Pansies

Hey guys! Before I get to the nails, I wanted get your thoughts on the new blog design. I was getting a little tired of the pale watercolor look I had going and wanted something a little bit edgier. I modeled it after my profile picture, lol. I think it's cute but I feel like it needs something else... hmmm.

Anyway, I came across this super simple tutorial by Nail Art Express and I was instantly inspired to do my own version. I love her nail art and if you aren't following her, you definitely should! She has some amazing ideas and is always willing to share what she knows.





For this mani, I used China Glaze VIII (the dark purple) and Sally Hansen Delphinium as my base colors, the flowers were done using China Glaze Spontaneous and VII, Sally Hansen Whirlwind White, and Zoya Gemma. The dots are the Whirlwind White and Essie Licorice. If I were to do this one again, I think I would make the outsides of the flowers the dark purple and the inside the light. But anywho, thanks for reading!

- Kim

NOTD: Multi-Colored Blooms

Hey guys! I was feeling a bit uninspired last night when I went to do my nails so I decided to wait until today. I still didn't have an idea of what I wanted to do so I got dressed and that's when I had a 'eureka' moment. I have this top from Old Navy that I just adore so I decided to do my nail design based on the fabric.

This the top that inspired me. You can get it at Old Navy for $13.00 now.

There are couple things I would have changed about how I did these but overall, I like the look. I used OPI Skull and Glossbones for my base. Then for the flowers, I used Zoya Gemma and Jules, Orly Pointe Blache, China Glaze Solar Power, and OPI Chop-sticking to my Story. I like that it's so colorful yet neutral at the same time. I hope you guys liked this mani too and until next time...

Thanks for reading!
- Kim

NOTD: Keeping the Butterfly Theme Alive

I was working browsing the local news website at work today when I came across an article about rare butterflies showing up in North Carolina. I had never heard of "Olympia Marble" butterflies before so I used my handy Google skills to look them up to see what they looked like. My search led me to this adorably sweet image of a butterfly resting on a man's finger.


I have never seen a butterfly like this before and I was immediately inspired to create a mani in honor of this little guy. Maybe is was the finger/butterfly combo? I don't know but this is what I came up with...


I started with my usual base coat, Seche Clear, followed up by a coat of Zoya Gemma for the green. On top of that, I used a thin coat of Sally Hansen HD Lite creating a nice olive-y green. Then I finished it off with a coat of China Glaze Crackle in Lightening Bolt. After that dried some, I added a good 4 coats of SecheVite because I'm OCD and can't stand to feel the ridges from the crackle, haha!

NOTD: Green Eyed Girl

I tried to do a water marble for the first time ever and I just didn't care for how it turned out. I had this whole pastel Easter themed idea going and it just ended up falling flat for me. I think my colors weren't the best choices and then my marbling was supposed to be a flower petal design. It was nowhere close! I believe it looks more Rhianna than Peter Cottontail. What do you think?


So I kept this mani on just long enough to take the picture and then I took it off. I decided since I spent a good 45 minutes on the Easter Fail, I would just do a simple one color mani and went with Zoya Gemma. This is actually the only Zoya polish I own. I have no idea why I don't have more... the color is unique and I love how it glides on so smoothly.


It has this interesting shimmer that's visible in the bottle as this sparkly purple ribbon but once painted on, its not as obvious... there's this slight purple undertone and I think it's very cool. And there's one more thing about Zoya Gemma that I find to be super spiffy...

IT'S THE SAME COLOR AS MY EYES!

Now, I just need to see if the DMV will change my eye color from green to "Gemma" on my driver's license. :o)