May '13 Ipsy Glam Bag

Hi everyone! So I had a couple of other posts planned that I was going to put up before my review of the May Ipsy Glam Bag, but after the bag came in the mail yesterday I was just too excited to wait! I feel like I say this almost every month, but this month's bag is probably the best one that I've gotten so far. Every single item inside is something that I will definitely use & enjoy. The theme is Spring Fling & the bag is uber cute! Let's get to it, shall we?

Product reviews & photos AFTER THE JUMP!

Zoya - Neely & Vespa

Happy Mani Monday! I've had this combo on my nails since yesterday morning & I'm loving how fresh & Spring-y it is. I don't think that Zoya did it on purpose, but these 2 colors are made for each other. Neely is a dusty, soft mint green creme from the Spring 2013 Lovely collection & Vespa is a deeper, mossy matte mint with small silver "sugared" glitter from the PixieDust textured matte glitter collection (similar to OPI's Liquid Sand polishes but, in my opinion, much better). A match made in monochromatic, multi-textured heaven!

Zoya Neely w/ a Vespa accent nail

First of all, I apologize for the sorry state of my cuticles. My hands have been so dry lately that there's just not much I can do about it. Also, this color didn't make my hands nearly as lobster-y as they appear in the photo. Anyways, the photo above is 3 coats of each polish w/ a coat of Orly Sec'N Dry (my latest quick dry top coat experiment...so far, so good) over all but the accent nail. Formula-wise, Vespa was a dream. Each coat went on smooth & even & dried very quickly. Neely was a bit of a different story. The formula was thick & had a sort of glue-like texture, which made it go on streaky & uneven. The first 2 coats were a bit of a nightmare until I had the sense to add some polish thinner before the 3rd coat & that greatly improved the situation. I would definitely recommend thinning this polish if you have the same problems, it seems to have solved the issue.

Did you pick up any of Zoya's Spring or PixieDust offerings? What are your thoughts? All of these pastel shades have me seriously wishing it was Springtime!

Nicole by OPI - Kardashing Through The Snow

Today I have a polish from the Nicole by OPI Kardashian Kolor Holiday 2012 collection - Kardashing Through The Snow! This polish consists of small, multi-colored glitter in a clear base. The colors that I see are gold, red, blue, green and silver.

This is two coats of Kardashing over Zoya Ginessa with a couple coats of Duri Miracote to make it perfectly smooth. The glitter wasn't too hungry, so two coats of regular top coat did the job! The formula was good, a little on the thick side but not unmanageable and the glitter payoff was great.

In my opinion, NOPI has been hitting it out of the park with some of their polishes lately (Just Busta Mauve, All Is Glam All Is Bright, Kardashing, to name a few). I'm pretty excited for their upcoming collections so keep an eye out for some of those polishes here!

Photo Spam!

Who doesn't love photo spam, am I right? These are just some of my recents & favs. <3

Nicole by OPI - Just Busta Mauve

butter LONDON - Trustafarian

China Glaze - It's a Trap-eze!

Jessica - Hologram Chic

Julep - Kate with a Mila accent 

Julep - America over Zoya - Carmen

Nicole by OPI - All Is Glam, All Is Bright

Zoya - FeiFei

Again, it's still a work in progress over here...but I'll get the hang of it in no time!

Zoya - Blaze

Zoya Blaze

2 coats + Duri Miracote top coat

I cannot get over this color, it's so pretty! Perfect for the holidays & the formula was great. I only picked up Blaze & Aurora from Zoya's holiday collection & they are both beautiful, but this just screams Christmas to me. I'll have to find a good green polish to pair it with for a potential Christmas mani. Look at that holo! Love love love. <3