Harry Potter Nails!

  I went to the final Harry Potter last night at midnight (after waiting in line for six hours) and it was really amazing!  While it of course cannot stand up to the book, it was very nicely done and I was really pleased with the adaptation.  I of course had to do some Harry Potter nails for the event!

I really like how these turned out - so much fun!  Here is what I used to create this manicure:

Thumb: 3 coats OPI Grape Set Match as the base, with stars stamped in Zoya Trixie and Nicole by OPI Not a Gold Bigger using BM21

Index Finger - Gryffindor: 2 coats of Zoya Sarah as the base, with the pattern and tips stamped in Nicole by OPI Not a Gold Bigger using plates m60 and m19

Middle Finger - Ravenclaw: 4 coats of Zoya Kotori as the base, with pattern and tips stamped in Zoya Trixie using plates m60 and m19

Ring Finger - Slytherin:  3 coats of Zoya Suvi as the base with pattern and tips stamped in Zoya Trixie using plates m60 and m19

Pinky Finger - Hufflepuff:  3 coats of Nicole by OPI One Voice as the base with pattern and tips stamped in Konad Special Black using plates m60 and m19

  Hufflepuff looks totally different than the other four nails, haha.  And the gold for Gryffindor should have been more yellow-ish, but I didn't have anything the right color that would stamp well - so I did my best.  :)  The midnight showing was a lot of fun - lots of people dressed up!  It is sad that Harry Potter is now officially over, but I know I will continue to enjoy the books and the movies for years to come.

Happy 4th of July!

  Hope everyone is having a fabulous Fourth of July - whether you are here in the US celebrating Independence Day (and hopefully a day off) or you are elsewhere simply enjoying a lovely Monday.  :)  I of course had to do something red, white and blue for the holiday!

Outdoors, full sun

  For these nails, I started out with three coats of China Glaze Ruby Pumps, a gorgeous glittery red I have shared here before.  It is a fabulous red.  On top of that, I used Bundle Monster plate BM21 with Konad special white to add stars.  I topped that off with Seche, waited for it to dry, then used tip guides to add OPI Absolutely Alice (one of my favorite all time polishes) to the tips.  I added silver rhinestones to the centers of the large stars, one for coat of Seche and was good to go!

Outdoors, shade

  I really love how this turned out!  I had a lot of different ideas for what to wear today but I am glad I chose this one.  Can't wait to show it off at the family pool party later!

Nova!

  In other non-nail news... we decided to keep the puppy!  After a week long "trial separation" where she stayed with the in-laws, I was so depressed and missing her we just had to have her back.  I am so happy - I know we will find a way to make it work when we go back to clinical rotations.  Isn't she so cute and festive in her red, white, and blue bandana? :)

Aw!

  Have a great day! :D

Lucky Penny

  While this polish may be from a fall collection, I find it to be a really great color for just about any time of year!

Outdoors, overcast, no flash

  This is three coats of Zoya Penny, which is a really nice warm copper with a metallic finish.  This would have done fine with two coats, but these days I always seem to want to apply one more coat.  Application was great, although as with most metallic finish polishes there was just a hint of brushstrokes visible if you are really looking for it.  Otherwise application was smooth with a fast dry time.  Penny by itself shown below.

Outdoors, overcast, no flash

  I wanted to do a really classy design over this one, and went with Bundle Monster BM21 and Konad m19 with Konad Special Black.  I really enjoyed how this turned out... until I bumped my ring finger into my other hand right after applying topcoat.  I need to be more careful!  However the mani still looks great from a normal viewing distance and I am really loving it!  Another great one from Zoya; I am excited to try out some of the polishes from their Intimate collection, they should be arriving soon!

DISCLOSURE: The polish featured in this post was provided to Polishology by Zoya for review purposes.  This is an honest and independent review and was in no way influenced by the company.

Silent Night with Zoya Kotori

  Today I wanted to share with you all a gorgeous blue polish from Zoya!

Indoors, artificial light, no flash

  For these nails, I started out with four coats of the beautiful Zoya Kotori, a polish from the Fall 2007 Downtown collection.  Kotori has a sheer dark gray base, and is totally jam-packed with bright blue shimmer.  The shimmer, which also has a flash of turqouise to it, gives this polish a lot of depth in the sheer base.  While I used four coats, three would have sufficed to achieve bottle color.  Application was fantastic, as is the case for pretty much every Zoya I have used to date, and the dry time was fine as well, making the multiple coat application not such a big deal.

Kotori in outdoor shade

Evening sunlight, no flash

  Sometime about this polish made me think of the night sky, so I decided to stamp it with stars!  I used BM21 and BM05 (ring finger) with Konad Special White to add the stars.  Since I was in a Christmasy mood, I placed a larger star on the ring finger to symbolize the Christmas star.  Then I added a gemstone to the center of the larger star, and topped it off with some Seche Vite!

Christmas Star!

  This was a fun manicure, and Zoya Kotori is definitely going on my list of favorite blues, with its stunning depth.  I have seem some really neat layering done with this one as well, so I may have to try that out soon myself!

DISCLOSURE: The polish featured in this post was provided to Polishology by Zoya for review purposes.  This is an honest and independent review and was in no way influenced by the company.