Short Hiatus

Hi all, I just wanted to let you know that for a few days, I plan on going on a short hiatus.  May be as long as a week.  I am in the process of moving my office to our garage.  That will give me much more room in our bedroom, but it will also let me put in a vanity table.  Unfortunately, all this switching around is taking forever, so I will be on a short break until I get everything together again.

Zoya Sunshine Review

Recently, Zoya came out with 3 new summer collections.  The new Mod Mattes (which I recently reviewed), Sunshine and it's (yet to be reviewed) counterpart, Summertime.  Today, I have for you Sunshine, which a collection of 6 glass-flecked metallic shimmers.

On all these, the finish is the same.  It's a jelly-ish shimmer base with tons of golden shimmer.  As this is the same on all 6 polishes, I'm simply going to list the base color in my color description.  Additionally, each swatch is 3 coats, as they were a little sheer at 2 coats.

Apple - bright yellow-based green.  This one reminded me of green apple candy, specifically, the green apple Blow Pops I was addicted to in middle school.  The gold shimmer in Apple looks beautiful against the bright green base.

Faye - dusty browned-plum.  This color is so unique.  It's not purple, it's not pink, it's not brown... rather, it's a happy medium of the 3.  Of the 6 polishes, this one has the brightest shimmer.  I love this color and thing it would great on any skintone.

Kimmy - bright orangey red.  Kimmy is so beautiful.  It's an orange-based red, but I really like it on my skin, and the golden shimmer compliments the base really well.  I think this would look amazing with a tan.  Also, this one is definitely a summer red.  IMO, it's the summer version of Zoya Carrie Ann, from the fall collection.

Reva - bright raspberry pink.  This one reminded me of ChG Raspberry Festival, though it's packed with golden shimmer (IIRC, Raspberry Festival had golden glass flake shimmer, but it was rather subtle).  This puppy is far from subtle.  I love this one, and I think it's probably my favorite of the collection.

Rica - coppery pink.  The base on this one is almost the exact shade of watermelon candy (the pink kind, not green), but it's so loaded with golden shimmer that the overall effect is a coppery pink.  This is a beautiful color, but it didn't really compliment my skin.  I think this would amazing on someone with a tan or with darker skin.  It reminded me of ChG Strawberry Fields (another pink + gold combo that didn't like me).

Tanzy - golden orange.  Okay, I have a love/hate relationship with golds.  I love them in the bottle, but dislike them on me.  This one isn't an exception, and  because this one was an orange as well... it was a double-whammy.  It's a beautiful color... a warm, golden orange base with tons of that golden shimmer, but it just didn't play nice with my skintone.  Again, it would amazing on tanned/darker skin.

All in all, I like this one.  It seems like Zoya's been doing a lot of these glass flecked metallic shimmers lately.  I can think of at least 4 collections with some level of this finish.  That said... that is fine by me.  :) They do them exceptionally well!  There isn't a color I don't like, just that some of them work with my pink skin and some don't.

These are now available at Zoya.com.  Zoya retails for $8 a bottle.

These were sent to me for review

OPI Soft Shades Cirque de Femme Collection Review

Every summer, OPI releases a small collection of "soft shades".  These are usually milky pinks and whites in various levels of sheerness.  This year's offering is Cirque de Femme.  When I first got the PR info for this collection, I was intrigued, but also didn't expect much.  I mean... it's whites and pinks and sheers.  Zzzzzz.  :P

But then I tried them.  I've never really used many pale/sheer shades.  The main reason is streakiness.  I hate it when you apply a polish and you can see streaks.  I got NO streaks with these polishes.  NONE.  In fact, I've always thought that sheer/thin = streaky, but these polishes proved me wrong.  I think these are very pretty polishes and they do serve a purpose in the polish market as not everyone can, or wants to wear, bright blue holo.

Two of these can be worn semi-opaque if you so desire (I'll point those out in the review).  I did 3 coats on all colors, except I Juggle... Men, which is two.

In the Spot-Light Pink - Milky, pink sheer.  In the bottle, this one looks like it would be the deepest in tone, however, when you put it on, it's very sheer.  In fact, I don't think there is a way to get this polish opaque.  It's that sheer.  That said, this is a gorgeous polish.  It looks great at just one coat for a clean nail look.  If would also look nice with a french manicure.  The formula is nice, and it's actually thick for the polish being so sheer.  I had no problems with application and I think this may be my favorite of the bunch (check my head).

So Many Clowns... So Little Time - Milky, off-white semi-sheer.  I love the color on this one.  It's definitely an off-white, but there's also a faint whisper of pink.  Like I mentioned above, I did 3 coats on this one, but it looked very nice at one coat, for just a simple wash of color.  As you can tell, I was able to get this one semi-opaque in three coats, though can see a bit of pink coming through from my nail bed, as well as VNLs.  Also, I love the name.  It's my twenties all wrapped up in polish form.  :P  LOL.

Step Right Up! - Milky, shell pink creme.  This one was the most opaque of the bunch.  It's a lovely pale pink, and like So Many Clowns... So Little Time, this looked nice at simply one coat, though I did 3 in the picture.  The finish on this one was really nice.  It had the squishiness of a jelly... almost like OPI's new Sorbet finish... only in super pale pink.

I Juggle... Men - Purple and blue, microshimmer in a clear base.  This one reminded me of the Nubar glitter/shimmer topcoats we've been seeing of late.  It's a thicker clear base, with very fine, micro-shimmer suspended in the base.  It's hard to see the colors on my nails, but you can definitely see the sparkle in the bottle.  2 coats.

All in all, I really like these.  I know lately, I've been sporting a lot of naked nails because I just don't want to deal with the hassle.  These would be great to do as a simple, one-coat manicure for a little bit of color, when I'm in a hurry or polished-out.

These are available now at e-tailers.

These were sent to me for review.