Zoya Summer 2012! Beach and Surf!

I always adore Zoya's collections. Their Summer collections are almost always my absolute favorites. I just received the preview email, and I thought I would share.




New nail color - coming soon to a salon near you and Zoya.com!

Summer 2012 is going to be a super stylish season for nails with the latest offering of nail polish collections, Beach and Surf, from the new color of fashion, Zoya! This new splash of color, designed by the Zoya color experts, is kissed by sea and sand translating beautifully onto the nail in the famous, full-coverage Zoya formula.

Dive into the creamy shades of the Zoya Beach Collection or the shimmering sea foils of the Zoya Surf Collection. The choice is yours – this color palette is sure to be a splash!

Zoya BEACH Collection
Reagan (ZP614) - deep cerise pink cream
Lara (ZP615) - vivid cerise pink cream
Shelby (ZP616) - soft pinky pink cream
Arizona (ZP617) - soft coral orange cream
Tracie (ZP618) - sea grass metallic
Wednesday (ZP619) - soft aqua cream

Zoya SURF Collection
Rory (ZP620) - lotus pink foil metallic
Carly (ZP621) - thalia purple foil metallic
Kimber (ZP622) - magenta pink foil metallic
Myrta (ZP623) - coral orange foil metallic
Meg (ZP624) - mermaid green foil metallic
Zuza (ZP625) - aquamarine foil metallic

Zoya is the new color of fashion...

The Zoya BEACH and SURF collection was designed and inspired by resort runways and tropical get-a-ways.

Ultra long-wearing, glossy nail lacquers by Zoya are free of harmful industrial chemicals like toluene, camphor, formaldehyde, resin, dibutyl phthalate (DBP) that are known to cause cancer and birth defects.

Find Zoya BEACH and SURF as well as over 300 other ultra high-fashion Zoya shades at www.zoya.com. As always, each and every Zoya color is made for women so we name them after women.

BEACH and SURF by Zoya Nail Polish - 12 new colors:
Available April 1, 2012 (USA)
www.zoya.com

Sug. Retail $8.00 per 0.5 fl.oz. bottle (US).

A few NOTD pics to get back in the swing!

I adore the following two manis, and I very much wish my nails were in better shape so that I could truly do these polishes justice. Unfortunately my poor nails have been through the ringer over the winter months. I just can't seem to find the right combination of moisturizers and base coat to get the peeling to stop. That said, these polishes are still gorgeous!

First up Lynnderella Lilacs in Love over Zoya Malia, a match made in heaven!







Next up is Lynderella Billet Doux over CND Winterfire







I am hoping to get my poor nails back in shape so that I can begin sharing photos more regularly again. We shall see!

Another Favorite (Non-Nail) Thing!

Aside from my obsession with nail care and nail color, I have one other obsession, perfume oils! I've been collecting oils created by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab for over two years, and I absolutely love them! The inspirations behind their scents are unique and creative, and the scents themselves are incredible. The lab is always creating new scents. They celebrate the changing of the seasons, comic book artists, authors, and holidays such as Halloween, Yule, and Lupercalia (during which Valentine's Day falls). That is by no means an exhaustive list of their miriad sources of inspiration. The lab also maintains an enormous general catalogue, and is constantly adding new scents to it, in addition to all their limited edition offerings. Since I began using perfume oils, I've rarely returned to alcohol based scents.

Within the past year or so I have also begun exploring the offerings of other perfume oil retailers. I've had wonderful luck with oils made by Conjure Oils, Arcana Soaps, and Solstice Scents. One recent favorite is Manor Perfume by Solstice Scents. It is a gorgeous vanilla musk warmed by beautiful woodsy notes and sweetened with a vanilla accord. I absolutely LOVE it! I also ordered Thornwood Thicket, and it too turned out to be fabulous! Rich amber and a woodsy incense vibe wonderfully balance the juicy blackberry note. I am so pleased with both scents, and I love the value I get with Solstice Scents perfumes. The perfume oils are packaged in beautifully labeled, cobalt blue glass vials with a roller ball dispenser. Each vial holds approximately 0.35 oz (10ml) of perfume oil, and a little goes a long way! Manor perfume and Thornwood Thicket Perfume are both offered as part of the Solstice Scents Autumn collection. I definitely recommend that you check them out!

If you happen to be interested in more perfume oil reviews, please comment here! I am happy to include reviews of my perfume oil purchases, along with all the nail stuff. I have an order of several bottles from the Halloween update coming from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, and if there is interest I will gladly review them here!

In addition, I am still working my way up to 200 followers so I can do a grand Zoya giveaway! I'm still 75 followers shy, so please bring your friends over. I have one set each of Summertime, Sunshine, Smoke, and Mirrors to giveaway! 

Finally, Zoya Mirrors Swatches!

It's been a crazy couple of weeks, especially with the weather. We lost power for quite a while this weekend, when I had intended to get the post online. We were more fortunate than many of those in neighboring states, my thoughts go out to them as they work on recovering.

I've only had time to get photos of the Mirrors collection so far. Hopefully I'll get the Smoke collection taken care of soon! I am still looking forward to doing a big Zoya giveaway in celebration of 200 followers, so send you friends over to have a look and click follow!

On to the pretties :)

First up are Nimue and Marina, which were surprisingly less brush-strokey than I had thought they would be. The formula for both of these was really nice, and I found Marina to be a wonderfully flattering and neutral blue.


Sun:




Shade:




Next up are Tao and Yara. I found the formula of Tao to be a bit more problematic than Nimue and Marina. Although all three are similar in finish, Tao's formula was runny and more difficult to work with, which did result in slightly more visible brushstrokes. Yara's formula is wonderful and the finish is amazing. I'm not a big on for greens, but this one is surprisingly flattering and a bit more neutral than most green polishes tend to be.


Sun:




Shade:




And last, but certainly NOT least, Neeka and Jem. I am absolutely in LOVE with Neeka. I could absolutely hoard this amazing purple. The formula is fabulous and the finish is stunning (both Neeka and Yara have the same finish). Jem is also quite lovely, but very close in color to one of my earlier favorites, Valerie. I find that I prefer Valerie since the formula applied a bit more smoothly and the finish had a bit more sparkle. Nevertheless, Jem is a lovely color!


Sun:




Shade:




Thanks so much for stopping in to check out these gorgeous colors! Keep checking back for news of the giant Zoya giveaway!

Zoya Fall Swatches Coming Soon!

Finally have the Zoya Smoke and Mirrors collections in hand and I'm preparing a swatch wheel and some mani pics. So, photos of these lovelies coming very soon. I also want to give a head-up to my followers. I will be doing a huge giveaway once the blog reaches 200+ followers. I have one set each of Sunshine, Summertime, Smoke, and Mirrors to giveaway! I will be posting more details when I hit 200. Check back soon for swatches, and get your pals to follow so I can reach my goal and celebrate by giving 4 lucky winners some gorgeous Zoyas!

SpaRitual Sacred Ground, Fall 2011

Good afternoon, my darling readers! I know I don't stop in and post as often as I used to, but I am trying to do so with more regularity. I couldn't resist stopping by to share with you one of my newest polish purchases, SpaRitual Sacred Ground, from the Fall 2011 Wilde collection. This one is an instant favorite, top ten material for me. I predict it will be a highly sought after rare polish one day. Although that could just be the crazy polish fanatic in me talking. I think I may hoard multiple bottles though, just to be safe. It is seriously that awesome. Pictures are one coat Essie Grow Richer (trying to combat the remaining peelies from vacation), two coats SpaRitual Sacred Ground, one coat Instant Artificials (for durability), and one coat Poshe.


Indoors:






Outdoors (full sun):






I know these aren't perfect, by any stretch of the imagination. Take it from me, this polish if amazing, and I would recommend it to any of my fellow polish fanatics out there! It would definitely make a fantastic first SpaRitual purchase, so if you haven't tried them before, consider giving them a try!

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Hello there readers! I've just returned from vacation. My nails had to be nubbin-ized due to spray sunscreen and sand damage. So in lieu of swatching (won't be doing that for at least another week or two) I thought I'd post about some of my favorite nail, cuticle, and pedicure products. I've been obsessed with nail care and color for nearly 5 years now, so I've definitely amassed a list of products that are must-haves for my mani-pedi tote.

1. Fast-Dry Top Coat: I alternate between three major players: Seche Vite, Poshe, and Out the Door. I love Poshe because it tends to play nicely with some brands (Zoya!) that do not play nicely with Seche Vite. Poshe dries very fast, but I don't find it quite as shiny as Seche. Out the Door is another one that seems to work well across the board, and it doesn't seem to thicken quite as quickly as Poshe or Seche Vite. Last, but not least, is Seche Vite. It was my gateway fast-dry topcoat. It is still the shiniest. It does have issues with thickening quickly, and sometimes I find bubbles unavoidable, but the shine is unbelievable. Seche Vite is NOT big-3-free.

2.Alpha Hydroxy Cuticle Cream: I use either Poshe Cuticle Care or CND Cuticle Eraser. I find them to be evely matched in effectiveness. With everyday use, I rarely find myself needing to use an actual cuticle remover. And I never, ever cut my cuticles!

3. Cuticle Balm: My hands-down favorite is Qtica Intense Cuticle Repair Balm. Super moisturizing, and I love the smell!

4. Cuticle Oil: Again, I have one hands-down favorite, BB Couture For Nails Cuticle Oil. It is a blend of super moisturizing oils and has an amazing fragrance.

5. Ridge Filling Base Coat: Most definitely Zoya Get Even!

6. Nail Strengthening Base Coat: Gelous. Actually my favorite base coat PERIOD. It makes my manicures wear like iron, and it is amazing as an additional layer over glitter to help prevent a bumpy finish.

7. Favorite nail color brand: Zoya. I love the bottle shape, I love the brushes (perfect for my tiny, short nails), and I love the amazing variety of colors. I only wish they'd make a collection of holo colors!

Thanks to all of you for reading! I hope this post encourages you to try some new products and maybe find something new to love!

The Winners Have Been Chosen!

Good afternoon everyone! The three winners of my Zoya giveaway have been selected and notified via email. Congratulations to Spider Girl, Laura, and Heather! I hope I have a chance to host other great giveaways in the future!

Here are a couple of quick shots of my current "nail of the day", Zoya Breezi topped with OPI Sparkle Teal Sunrise (an Ulta exclusive).



and super close up!



I wasn't able to truly capture how beautiful this combination is, I think the bling blinded my camera! In real life the base color is a tiny bit more green than it shows in the pics. As always, have a great day and I hope to "see" you soon!

Finally, a Giveaway!

It's good to be back to posting! I know you've seen these lovely Zoya summer colors many times in the past few months, but I'm going to share a few quick pics with you since I actually have complete sets of Summertime, Sunshine, and Touch to give away to three lucky readers!

First up is a quick photo I snapped while I had a brief few minutes of hazy sunshine this afternoon. Now the storms are rolling in! This is my current mani, Zoya Mira topped with Zoya Sparkle Gloss.



I absolutely loved how Mira applied. This mani is two coats, and any minor coverage problems were user error, not the polish itself. I'm also currently wearing Sooki on my toes, and I have to admit that I am in love. Any of you who have frequently read this blog know that I adore all things sparkly, glittery, and shimmery. I'm not usually big on creme finish polishes. Sooki, however, is an exception to that rule. It is a nearly perfect one coat color. A true, bright summer red. She isn't too orange or too blue leaning. And so shiny I probably could have skipped top coat, although I didn't.

Here is a quick color wheel shot of all the cremes in the Summertime collection in the following order: Sooki, Tamsen, Kieko, Areej, Mira, Breezi.



Application was excellent on all of these. Only Sooki was a "one coat wonder", but the others were beautiful, even, and opaque with two coats. I really like how all these shades are vibrant enough for summer, but at the same time they have a slightly "dusty" quality. This is a truly beautiful collection. Sooki, Mira, and Breezi are some of my favorite cremes of all time.

Unfortunately, not all polishes can be winners for every individual. While I love the Sunshine collection in theory (vibrant shades with sunshine-y sparkle, what's not to love!), the golden shimmer that is heavily present in all of these shades simply doesn't work well on my skin tone. That's not to say they are all beautiful, just not right for me. Here is a quick color wheel shot in the following order: Apple, Kimmy, Reva, Faye, Rica, Tanzy.



Most of the Sunshine colors are not completely opaque at two coats (Reva and Kimmy being the exceptions), but with a third they have pretty nice coverage. I could still spy a tiny bit of VNL (visible nail line) on Tanzy and Rica with three coats, but not enough to be really bothersome. No one else would ever notice unless you had them examine very closely.

And now, what you've all been waiting for! Details on the giveaway! Zoya has graciously provided me with one set each of Summertime, Sunshine, and Touch to share with three lucky readers. To enter, simply send me an email at hlemonds@gmail.com and tell me what name you would love to see given to a Zoya polish and what it would look like. Each entry will be assigned a number and I will draw the three winners using a random number generator. Each of the three winners will receive one of the above collections. All entries must be received by midnight eastern 7/11 (Monday morning). I will contact the winners directly for mailing information. Please do not include any mailing information in your entry.

Coming Soon!

Hello readers! I am happily returning to the world of blogging. I'm hoping to catch up on all of the new trends and colors that I've missed. I've had a lot of fun playing around with the new-to-me crackle/shatter glazes. My current mani is a gorgeous combination of an oldie-but-goodie (OPI Absolutely Alice) topped with one of the current hot trends (OPI Navy Shatter). My apologies for the less than stellar photo, I am very out of practice. I was also quickly trying to snap this yesterday evening with little sunlight and dying batteries, so take it for what it's worth!





I am also very pleased to announce that I will (very soon!) be hosting a Zoya giveaway right here! I owe special thanks to Zoya for being the first polish company to take notice of this tiny blog. This giveaway will be a way for me to celebrate my return to the blog-o-sphere, and I hope you'll participate!

Crystal File 087: Zoya is saving my summer!

So far I have found the spring and summer collections being released this year to be very disappointing! Anyone who has read my blog or encountered me on Makeupalley, knows that I prefer my polish with some shimmer, or Sparkle if you will. So many of the releases I have seen this year have been either all, or nearly all, creme finish colors, which means I truly haven't had many "Oh my, I must have that!" moment.

At least this was the case until I received the press release information for Zoya's upcoming summer release, the Sparkle collection. As usual, Zoya is presenting two summer collections consisting of six polishes each. In this case, one set of six are all "metallic" (Sparkle), while the other set of six are all bright cremes (Flash).

The Sparkle collection will include Ivanka (mermaid green sparkling metallic), Charla (tropical blue sparkling metallic), Mimi (royal purple sparkling metallic), Alegra (fuchsia pink sparkling metallic), Nidhi (rich red sparkling metallic), and Gilda (fashion pink sparkling metallic). The Flash collection will include Robyn (perfect turquoise cream), Perrie (soft lavender cream), Dana (american rose cream), Jolene (summer pink cream), Maura (electric crimson cream), and Jancyn (soft tangerine cream).

I am hoping that I will have time to post photos of these collections once they are available. I think that Sparkle is going to blow many of the other summer collections out of the water. What do you think?

The Crystal Files 086: Long Time No See!

My apologies for not posting regularly! Life with a three year old can be quite hectic, and to some extent my polish habit has backed off a bit. I have a secondary addition to perfume oils by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, and only so much cash to throw around, as i'm sure you can all understand! Well, i had this Zoya Spring preview show up in my inbox, and i knew i had to share with all of you cyber polish fans out there.

The Reverie Spring 2010 collection includes six new Zoya shades, each polish will retail for $7. The colors are Laney (moonlit silver metallic), Adina (duochrome violet metallic), Reece (gilded rose metallic), Happi (pink blush metallic), Gwin (sunny melon metallic), and Lana (rich red metallic). Here's a little teaser promotional photo for all my pretty polishes peeps.



Any thoughts on this collection? Will you be waiting eagerly for your chance at these new shades? Do share!

Crystal File 085: Coming Soon! Zoya MatteVelvet Winter 2009!

I'm sure you all have gathered by now that I'm not a huge fan of matte finish polishes. However, Zoya is releasing a new collection of three more MatteVelvet shades for winter, and these colors look very promising! I'm hoping perhaps the wear will be a bit improved, as i have found the wear length on previous mattes quite lacking. I'll have to wait and see. From the promo photo i think these look really gorgeous.



The colors are Veruschuka (Evergreen matte shimmer), Savita (Plum Grey matte shimmer), and Harlow (Rose matte shimmer). You can check out swatches at Scrangie.com!I also hope to have them to swatch for you eventually! And keep your eye peeled for more Wizard of Ooh Ahz swatches and new Color Club shades coming soon!

Crystal File 084: See you soon, Dorothy!

I'm sure many fellow nail-o-philes will have already heard about the upcoming (Spring, 2010) re-release of the fabulous China Glaze Wizard of Ooh Ahz collection. I feel very fortunate to own the entire collection, and i've decided to pay homage to the return of this amazing collection by showing you photos of the originals throughout the coming weeks. First up is the darling of the collection, the incomparable Dorothy Who?



As you can see, Dorothy Who? is a mid-blue jelly base with tons of fine silver glitter. Although many fabulous glittery blues exist, i've yet to find one that dupes Dorothy. She is a true original!

I apologize for the current state of my nails and cuticles, they still aren't fully recovered from the horrid state i found them in after two solid weeks of neglect. For the time being i'm forced to keep them filed short until the over-buffed portions have grown out. It's a sad state i find myself in! I will, however, return soon to share some photos of the other amazing colors from the original Wizard of Ooh Ahz collection.

Crystal File 083: Holy Moly, I Have Returned!

So sorry to have bailed on my readers for so long! The arrival of my best friend's new baby, Caden, followed quickly by our long awaited vacation to NC's Topsail Island, made for a long time away! I have returned, but for the moment i shall spare you any pics of my nails, they are in horrifying shape after two weeks of neglect. I promise to return to you all soon with some pretty new polishes, once my nails are presentable again!

Crystal File 82: China Glaze Let's Groove and Nubar Earth

Catching up with a few NOTD photos! It's difficult for me to be inspired by deep, rich fall colors since it's so hot right now. That said, these two colors are still vibrant and sparkly enough to feel wearable when it's HOT, HOT, HOT! First up is China Glaze Let's Groove, a truly fabulous deep purple that is warmed and brightened by red shimmer. The application was quite nice, although the formula seemed a tad thick, nothing a couple of drops of thinner wouldn't fix. I would definitely classify this as a warm purple, so if those don't work for you, maybe steer clear.






And next up Nubar Earth from their current Go Green collection. This entire collection is a green lover's dream. And although i wouldn't classify myself as a member of the green lover's club, i can still appreciate how beautiful these colors are. Earth is a stunning blue based green with teal-ish sparkle. The finish is much more sparkly than a traditional shimmer, while i wouldn't quite classify it as a glitter either. The shimmer is closely akin to the type of shimmer in OPI Ink. I can definitely see this polish looking far more teal on someone with a more neutral skintone than mine. Since my skintone is fair but warm, i get a cool emerald green.






I hope to be able to share some more of these lovely collections with you in the near future, so please stay tuned!

Crystal File 081: Zoya Dare First Installment

This has been on of the rainiest summers i have ever experienced, which is to say, sunlight has not been coming around often. I managed to snap a few quick shots of Zoya Pinta, Ibiza, and Envy a few days ago when we had a bit of (albeit weak) sunlight. Unfortunately i've yet to get another chance at swatching since i've been busy planning and prepping for my little boy's third birthday.

So, i'm going to share with you these few photos as a teaser, and promise to get the remaining colors swatched and photographed for you as soon as i can! Please forgive the fact that these aren't my best photos, i was rushed to catch what little sunlight i had!

Pinta is a beautiful deep violet/blue in the bottle, but on me it is nearly black. I could only see the loveliness of the color in the brightest of lighting conditions. I added a layer of Zoya Sparkle Gloss on the ring finger for a bit of pizazz.




Ibiza is a bit of a disappointment. Although pretty enough, Ibiza is not terribly unique. And while it does have the tiniest hint of shimmer, you aren't going to see it unless you are in very bright sunlight.




Zoya Envy, while pretty, is definitely not a "me" kind of color. The formula was nice, but definitely far more sheer than i expected. While Ibiza and Pinta were nearly opaque enough to get away with one coat, Envy definitely requires two (and would probably benefit from a third). I put a coat of Zoya Akyra over my ring finger, and as you can see, that was clearly a color experiment FAIL.





While i don't yet have photos to share with you, i did test drive Zoya Loredana from the MatteVelvet collection. My first impression is that Matte is definitely not for me. However, Loredana is very pretty with a shiny top coat. The only failing (as the manufacturer warns) is that the matte polishes do not wear well AT ALL. On the first day, in the course of normal activity, i lost half the polish off of at least two nails. I would not recommend the MatteVelvet polishes if you're looking for a manicure with extended wear.


I did manage to get a photo of Zoya Drew, which is my favorite of the Truth collection next to Anaka (which is an amazing color, but stained my nails horribly). While not an incredibly ground breaking color, Drew is very pretty, and has a gorgeous finish.




That's all i have to share with you this evening my lacquer loving ladies! I do have the entire China Glaze Retro Diva Collection on hand and ready to photo, as well as the awesome Nubar Go Green collection, so please check back soon!

Crystal File 080: Zoya MatteVelvet Shipping July 1st!

Zoya will be the first major manufacturer of salon polishes to usher in the matte trend this year. Notice i said "this year", since several polish companies have created matte collections in the past. The trend is being renewed this year by manufacturers such as Zoya and OPI. For the MatteVelvet collection, Zoya has created a series of three matte finish shades, each with subtle shimmer, packaged in special matte finish bottles. The shades are: Posh (matte shimmer wine), Dovima (matte shimmer black), and Loredana (matte shimmer gunmetal).

So, what are your thoughts on the matte trend for fall? Personally, having never tried matte finish polishes before, i am both excited and a tad apprehensive. I think the Zoya collection has strong potential, as all the shade have shimmer, where most of the upcoming OPI matte shades do not. All of the matte polishes (Zoya and OPI) are intended to be used without base or top coat, which leaves me wondering if how badly wear will be affected, and if staining will be an issue.

The MatteVelvet collection will ship from Zoya beginning July 1st. Thankfully i should have samples to share with you soon, so you can decide if you need them! The collection is Limited Edition and will retail for $6. Product should be available for pre-order soon via the Zoya website.

Crystal File 79: OPI Sea, I Told You! and Entity Swatches

I've found a new polish love, and it's name is Sea, I Told You! by OPI. For me, the OPI South Beach collection was an unfortunate failure, but Sea, I Told You! has given me new faith in OPI. Sea, I Told You! has a stunning finish that is both foil and micro-glitter. It truly does remind me of the ocean beneath a bright, sunny, blue sky. In low light you may even catch a glimpse of the soft laverder sparkle and *hint* of duochrome this polish has. For complete opacity i need three coats, but i certainly don't mind when the end result is this stunning!











I also had a brief moment of sunshine yesterday to snap a photo of these skittle swatches of a new brand (new to me, anyways) called Entity. I'm pleasantly surprised by the quality of these polishes. These swatches are each two coats, no base or top coat. The fomula is quite smooth, although a tad bit thick, and dries quite shiny. The orange is by far my favorite of the group i ordered, and i would recommend it to anyone who wants a great bright (but not neon) orange. I apologize for the smudged pinky swatch, i bumped it just before taking the photo. Colors are Pearl Orange, Pearl Turquoise, Pearl Violet, and Pearl Fuchsia.





Entity polishes are available to order through Transdesign.com, i've yet to see them at any retail location. They're certainly worth checking out!


For any who might be interested to know, i've finally gone over to the dark side and ordered a Konad stamp and several plates. At the moment i am simply experimenting and practicing, but i hope to soon be able to share some fun new Konad NOTDs with my readers! If you're considering ordering a Konad stamper, i would highly recommend OCNailArt for your Konad needs. The owner provides fabulous customer service and offers a %20 of discount for readers of the Sasse Stamping Stampede blog. Simply enter code SASSE at checkout to receive your %20 discount.

Crystal File 078: Layering With Neons

I often find myself avoiding creme finish polishes because it is difficult to hide flaws in a creme manicure. If i wear a creme finish polish, i generally layer a little something (or a massively blingy something) over the creme to add some sparkle or shimmer. Since the weather has gradually been warming, and the sun has been making the occasional appearance, I've been doing more and more layering experiments with neons.

When you layer a neon beneath a shimmery polish that isn't heavily pigmented you end up with a gorgeous glow, but the neon effect is a bit softer (which might make it easier for someone who is shy about neons to give them a try). If the neon creme you choose is a bit sheer doing two coats of neon, plus one coat of the shimmer polish you've chosen, will help you avoid the dreaded "Visible Nail Line".

As I'm sure many of you already know, there are a lot of fabulous neon polishes out at the moment. There are also some fabulous shimmery polishes (China Glaze Summer Days, Misa Candy Girl, Sweet Pleasures, and Lolli Jolly) that are sheer enough to allow your neon base to glow through. I've chosen a few of my recent experiments to share with you, i hope you enjoy and feel inspired to try some combinations of your own!


China Glaze Purple Panic topped with Color Club




China Glaze Rose Among Thorns topped with China Glaze Raspberry Festival




Zoya Paz topped with China Glaze Cherry Pie




These are the few combinations i managed to get photos of (when the sun made an appearance) but I've tried a few other combinations you might also like:

Essie Perky Purple topped with Misa Candy Girl
Misa Pour Me Something Tall and Strong topped with Misa Sweet Pleasures
China Glaze Japanese Koi topped with China Glaze Cherry Pie or Orange Marmalade
China Glaze Turned Up Turquoise topped with China Glaze Watermelon Rind

Layering is a ton of fun, and i truly hope you feel inspired to try your own combinations! You may even discover a new favorite summer mani :) And try these layering experiments with some of your favorite older colors as well! China Glaze colors like Drinkin' My Blues Away and Sass in a Glass (or any "glass flecked" polish) are fabulous for layering over neons too!