Zoya Zanna

Hey everyone! Hope you've all been having a nice weekend. For today's mani I used Zoya Zanna, described by Zoya's website as a "muted light rose-mauve or Thulite pink with subtle lavender undertones in a smooth creme finish." This color is just absolutely gorgeous and flattering. It definitely looks closer to lavender on my nails, although it looks more pink in the picture. I paired it with Julep Julia, which I used on top of striping tape. Julia is a "purple orchid with golden micro-glitter metallic." It is glittery perfection and looks beautiful over Zanna.

Here are the colors I used: Zoya Zanna & Julep Julia

I've really been enjoying playing with my striping tape and can't wait to try out more designs!

xoxo,

   Brooke

Avon Speed Dry Polishes

Hey everyone! Tonight I used two of Avon's Speed Dry polishes for my manicure. The formula was great for both polishes and they definitely did dry quickly. I wanted to use striping tape for this mani and here is the result.

I love how it turned out, especially that pearly white. I think it's a nice change from a stark white cream base. I just need to wait longer to apply my top coat to avoid smudges. You can see where that happened on my middle nail. It was even worse on my other hand!

Here are the colors I used, from left to right: Avon Prompt & Pearly, Avon Rapid Black, Zoya Brooke

Hope you all have lovely weekends!

xoxo,

   Brooke

Green Team!

Hey everyone! Quick update, my group is on the green team! The Green Twisters, to be exact. The theme this summer is Wizard of Oz. How cute is that?! Here is what I added to my previous mani.

Here are the colors I used: Julep Priscilla & Ulta Mint Condition

I remember when they released Priscilla as the birthstone polish for May and I thought, "ugh I hate green!" I purchased it anyway because I'm collecting all the birthstone polishes. Now I'm so glad that I have it! This glitter polish really is gorgeous. If you're interested in seeing the rest of the birthstone collection, click here to view it on Julep's website.

xoxo,

   Brooke

Ulta Mint Condition & Snow White

Happy Manicure Monday! I hope you all had good weekends. I had a picnic in Central Park on Saturday and enjoyed the gorgeous weather. Today I've got a green and white mani to share with you. Why those colors? I work as a counselor at a day camp (perks of being a teacher!) and color war is starting soon. I'm not sure yet what team my group will be on so I decided to rock both colors until it starts. Once I know my team I can go all out with some fun nail art.

I used two of my Ulta polishes, Snow White and Mint Condition. The formula on these really isn't too bad. I will say that Mint Condition is easier to work with than Snow White.

Here are the colors I used: Ulta Mint Condition & Ulta Snow White

xoxo,

   Brooke

Mini Chevrons

Hey everyone! Last week I received my chevron nail vinyls from http://vinylitup.storenvy.com (click here to see that post). I used my small chevrons for a previous mani and tonight I tried out the mini chevrons. I love the way they look!

Here are the colors I used, from left to right: Butter London Molly Coddled, Julep Taylor, Julep Rosa

Big tip, wait until your polish is completely dry before you use your top coat. My chevrons smudged a little because I'm so impatient!

xoxo,

   Brooke

Avon Vintage Blue

Hey everyone! I have a quick mani to share with you tonight. A couple weeks ago I posted a little Avon nail polish haul from my friend (click here to check that out). One of the polishes was a sample bottle of an old color called Vintage Blue. It's a gorgeous pale blue creme that goes on smoothly in two coats. Unfortunately I didn't know until now, after doing some research, that the color is discontinued! I'm absolutely in love with the color so I'm hoping to find a dupe.

Here is the color I used: Avon Vintage Blue

If you know of a good dupe for this color please let me know!

xoxo,

   Brooke

Chevron Manicure

Hey everyone! Today when I got home I found my chevron nail vinyls that I ordered in the mail! Happy Friday to me, right? I got them from Vinyl It Up on Storenvy. I purchased the small chevrons and the mini chevrons each in a set of 100 vinyls. There are a bunch of fun vinyls to choose from, and very reasonably priced. They arrived sandwiched between thick paper to prevent damage and came with a cute business card.

And here are the vinyls. The mini chevrons are silver and the small chevrons are gray, which are the colors I requested. It doesn't really matter which color you choose because you take off the vinyl after you apply your nail polish.

For tonight's mani I decided to use the small chevrons. As I mentioned in my striping tape post, linked here, you will want to use a pair of tweezers for peeling the vinyls off and positioning them on your nails. On my first try I had issues with my base color peeling up with the vinyl, so I repainted that nail and applied a top coat before using the vinyl and that did the trick. Remember to take off the vinyls while your polish is still wet!

I love the way this turned out! I can't wait to play with the mini chevrons.

Here are the colors I used, from left to right: Julep Nellie, Essie Cashmere Bathrobe, Zoya Lux

xoxo,

   Brooke