So sorry for neglecting my blog, All!
If I'm completely honest, I bought this colour because of the name. Gemma is just such a pretty name! The colour itself is pretty, as well. Zoya describes it as having a bluish-purple shimmer, but I've only really noticed a purplish shimmer.
What Zoya has to say:
Zoya Nail Polish in Gemma can be best described as: Light muted olive green with an overlay of blue and violet duochrome shimmer. Unique, hip and cutting-edge yet subtle enough to suit any wardrobe.
Colour Family Greens
Finish Dual Tone Metalllic
Intensity 4 ( 1=Sheer - 5=Opaque )
Tone Cool
Original Collection Intimate
Gemma is such a gorgeous colour; it's a muted green, yet it becomes bright. I love how the way it catches the light. It is very sheer though, so it took three coats for it to cover completely, which can be kind of annoying. I like nail lacquers to cover a bit better in maybe two coats. On the bright side, it's not streaky which is nice!
Now, aside from the review, another little bit of life update. We've traded one part of the family for another, and now my grandparents are visiting! Oh well. At least it's not a ton of screaming children! Also, I have everything ready (and most packing done!), so now I'm just sitting and waiting until it's finally time to head to school! To fill the time, I've issued myself a bit of a challenge.
I want to join a couple of clubs at school, but mostly I think I want to join the Trampolining Club. It's been so long since I've bothered to do any sort of exercising, so I've started a bit of a workout plan! Hopefully I can keep keep up with it! Sometimes my laziness gets the better of me, especially when it comes to exercising!
Expect some pictures from around school and my new city within the coming month! I will be in my new home the 30th of September!
Also! Check out Sam's 100+ follower giveaway! There are some really cute items that she's put together!
Happy Thursday! I finally saw the Avengers last week after attempting to see it twice before! The theatre kept having issues so finally the second time they issued me a readmission, I went to a different theatre and finally got to see it all the way through. Third time's the charm! I was never a fan of comics when I was younger, aside from reading a few issues of the XMen, but I love super hero movies. The Avengers was awesome and of course there's an amazing cast! I agree with what everyone is saying. Robert Downey Jr. isn't playing Tony Stark, Tony Stark is playing Robert Downey Jr.! He's so like Tony Stark; it's great. And Tony is my favourite so.... Everyone was amazing though. Especially Tom Hiddleston and Jeremy Renner. When I got home I spent the rest of last week watching some of the other Marvel movies: Thor, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 2, and Captain America, then flailing in excitement at the end when Agent Coulson would show up to each hero.
I'm starting to run out of things to do! I've been looking for a job (to no avail) and I've been home for three weeks. My stepdad is starting to get impatient that I'm home all day, and he asks every night at dinner, "Have you found a job yet?". Nobody is hiring now! It's off season. So i've been spending my time spiking and studding and sewing bows.
The case appeared on my Etsy and was there for only a day before it sold! It was so exciting. I haven't gotten feedback from my customer yet, though it's been confirmed delivered so I hope he liked it!
I also have plans to sew a red velvet circle skirt and a red velvet dress. Inspired by my need for a red velvet dress after seeing a similar dress on Metallic Paws.
I've also recently bought two new pairs of circle lenses. A pair of Princess Mimi Apple Greens and a Sesame Gray to replace the ones I had to retire last month, so be on the lookout for a review of the apple greens!
And that's an update on my boring, no fun life! Review under the cut~
Matte colours are my favourite at the moment. Right now, I only have two (Veruschka and Dovima), but I definitely plan to add more. Right now though, Zoya only has super bright, neon colours, which personally aren't for me, I feel.
I've been trying to rotate through colours so I wear all of my new ones at least once, but I keep coming back to Dovima (and Veruschka).
What Zoya has to say:
Zoya Nail Polish in Dovima can be best described as: Smoky charcoal-black with strong silver shimmer and a velvety matte finish. This shine-free black is the must have shade for fall.
Colour Family Blacks
Finish Metallic
Intensity 5 ( 1=Sheer - 5=Opaque )
Tone Cool
Original Collection MatteVelvet
I like Dovima. A lot. I do somewhat disagree with their statement that it's shine-free. It does have a bit of a shine, in the light, but it's not glossy. That would be the silver shimmer at work. I love the matte colours because I've found they dry a lot faster. By the time I've finished my first coat on all nails, the first nails I've done are already dry enough for a second coat. Two coats is all it takes for me to get even coverage and a solid charcoal colour.
The only thing I dislike about the matte colours is they chip and show wear easily. Fortunately, I haven't experienced that with their other lacquers. Being a matte/velvet formula, it kind of defeats the purpose to use a topcoat. Though I have heard that there are matte topcoats somewhere out there? Anyway, no topcoat makes for easy wear and chip. I'm OK with that though. I'll sacrifice having to reapply, especially because it dries so quickly, for a cool, matte look.
You can buy Dovima here: Zoya
The second half of my Haute Look haul has arrived! This time I bought nail colours. I originally had four colours, but because of inadequate packing, one of the bottles broke in shipment. It really broke my heart! Customer service for Haute Look was excellent, though. When I opened my package and saw the broken bottle, I immediately called them and it took no time at all to process a refund. No hassle whatsoever! I hope in the future they will ship things like nail lacquers in a small box with separators like Zoya does.
I've worn each of these colours already, and will write up a review and swatch for each of them! I'm so happy with my purchases.
Left to Right: Lava Rock, Enduring, Pink Quartz
Barielle's Philosophy
Since our inception over 30 years ago, Barielle has stood apart as the absolute first to practice a progressive “3-free” philosophy on formulation: absolutely none of Barielle’s products contain Formaldehyde, Toluene or Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)—chemicals that are suspected to be harmful. Instead, we have enlightened the world on safe, effective and natural alternatives such as Keratin, Proteins, Vitamins, and Oil and Plant Extracts.
Not a very long post, I'm sorry. As I'm going to review each colour separately, there's not too much to write about it!
Also, if anyone has any advice on taking better photos and improving blog posts, I'd be glad to hear it! Currently I don't have a camera aside from my phone, which I'm sure is noticeable that I've been using, and even though I've had a blog for a while, it's only more recently that I've been consistently blogging! I'm open to any advice that you have to give. Don't be shy!
I got this set from the Hautelook sale, as well. All of these colours together will make a sultry, smoky look. Of course, that's why it's called the Smoky set! The set comes with a silver, gold, black, and brown shadow. The only one that seems a bit sheer to me is the black. The others seem quite pigmented and thick to me!
Left to Right:
Silver Pearl, Mink Pearl, Black Pearl, Walnut Pearl
Pump It Up Lip Plumper in Elizabeth
Swatched Left to Right:
Silver Pearl, Mink Pearl, Black Pearl, Walnut Pearl
Product Detail:
For those who like their eye shadow to have a pearlescent, iridescent finish, this is the eye color for you. Each of these zinging 18 shades evokes Studio 54 glamour. Wear them on their own, or use as a highlighter with matte shades. It’s easy to glimmer in this shimmer.
Once again, I like the eye colours a lot better than the lip colour. The eye colours have just the right thickness to create a sexy, sultry look.
Lip Plumper in Elizabeth
Product Detail:
Boost your lips to its fullest shape and size with our Pump it Up Lip Plumper. Our Pump it Up Lip Plumpers come in 5 assorted colors and each shade acknowledges well known sensual celebrity lips such as Angelina Jolie and Scarlett Johansson, along with plenty other desirable famous vixens. With one swipe of the Pump it Up Lip Pumper, your lips will begin to feel an extreme tingling sensation and the transformation from thin to full will occur instantly!
They weren't kidding when they said "extreme tingling sensation". As soon as I put the gloss on, it started to tingle. When I say tingle, I mean burn. To me, it felt more like a burning sensation than a tingling sensation. The colour is very sheer, but I don't see myself using this gloss either. It burned too much for me to be comfortable. Besides, my lips are plenty full already! I don't think I need to give them any boost!
I don't like this new blogger interface! Maybe it'll just take some getting used to, but it doesn't save any of my posts or post photos. So frustrating. Maybe it's just my browser, but I've used two different browsers and still nothing.
Anyway, not what this post is about! I've been obsessed with nail colours lately, and I've bought ten colours these past two weeks! I just can't get enough. I've bought from both Zoya and Barielle. My Zoya package came in the other day!
The new color of fashion. Zoya Nail Polish combines the most sought-after fashion nail colors with the longest-lasting, safest technology in nail care. Zoya's 300-plus stylish nail polish shades are all formaldehyde, toluene, dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and camphor free. The cutting-edge formula has also won a Women's Health Magazine independent panel award for longest-lasting polish. The release of Zoya's four seasonal polish collections is always hotly anticipated by beauty editors, beauty lovers and the salon & spa community alike.
Mattes (L-R) - Veruschka, Dovima
Fleck - Maisie
Creme (L-R) - Bevin, Robyn
Metallics (L-R) - Mikka, Ibiza, Gemma, Trixie
I'll be reviewing each one separately!