The Battle Nail Polish Challenge Day 1

Hello,

I am so excited to be a part of The Battle Nail Polish Challenge as it has been a really long time since I last participated in a nail challenge. This is my first post for the this Challenge. The theme for today's nails was to create a green and blue manicure. I really like how this manicure turned out. I hope you guys like it too. 

For this, I applied 2 coats of Zoya Song. Then applied Best Glue Ever on all the nails, which I thinned down with water to almost 30-40% as it is easy to apply when thinned down. After the glue dried (it becomes transparent) I applied 1 mm neon green glitters on the tips of all the fingers except the ring finger on which I drew the spiral design using the same glitters.

Tutorial: Scotch Tape Nails

Hello,

How is everyone doing? I hope all of you are having an awesome time. I am changing the way I used to do tutorials. So instead of having individual pictures and steps, I will have one big picture showing all the steps. I switched to this method because it is very convenient to pin (Yay! for pinterest lovers) the tutorial. I hope you guys like this new method.

I got many requests for the scotch tape tutorial so here is the tutorial for my beloved fans. Steps of the tutorial are at the bottom. This mani is very easy to do. All you need is scotch tape and scissors. Also, you need to have time in your hands and a lot of patience.

You can check my previous scotch tape nails here and here.

Steps:

1. Apply polish on you nails and tape the bottom one-third of the nail. Make sure the polish is completely dry otherwise the tape will ruin the polish. Also, make sure that the tape is not too sticky. 
2. Apply the polish of different color (second color) on the nail. The polish will only cover the remaining two-thirs of the nail.
3. Remove the tape as soon as you finished applying polish. Do not let the polish dry.
4. Repeat the Step 1 and cover the bottom two-third of the nail with the tape.
5.  Apply the polish of different color (third color) on the nail. The polish will only cover the top one-third of the nail.
6. Repeat Step 3 and apply top coat.

Items used: 
Polish: Zoya Ibiza, China Glaze For Audrey, and Essie School of Hard Rocks
Top Coat: Seche Vite
Others: Scotch Tape and Scissors

I will appreciate any suggestions or comments.

Thanks for looking.

Simran

Blue Butterfly!

Hello,

How is everyone doing? If you follow me on Facebook then you probably know that I have opened a new shop. I am selling solvent resistant glitters for frankening. If you don't know, solvent resistant glitters are used for making your own nail polishes as these glitters do not melt or bleed. I have tested these glitters for more than 2 months and can assure you that the glitters will perform well. Let me know if you have any questions. You can check my shop here.

For this mani, I wanted to go for a subtle look. Don't get me wrong I love all the Halloween nails that I am seeing these days but wanted some change. It is a very simple design using stamps and I hope you guys like it. For this, I applied 2 coats of Essie Sand Tropez. Then using the Red Angel Plate 119 I stamped the butterfly design on the accent using Zoya Ibiza. 

Flakies! Flakies! Flakies!

Hello,

I am so in love with Finger Paints Special Effects Collection. I have done a mani using Zoya Raven and Finger Paints Twisted before and used Twisted only on the tips in that mani. You can check that post here. Twisted is a mix of all different kind of flakies and I would call it a rainbow effect.

For this, I applied 2 coats of Zoya Raven which is a metallic/cream finish. After it dried I applied Finger Paints Twisted. To give it a matte look, I applied a coat of China Glaze Matte Magic. This mani looks really cool in person but it does not last long like a regular mani. So after the first day, I applied Seche Vite.

Bling It On

Hello,

I have a big surprise coming for you guys. I do not want to disclose it right now but I will post about this surprise on my Facebook page within a couple of weeks. I got a request for doing nails using rhinestones over nude polish. This is a very easy design and if you do not have glue you can use topcoat to adhere the rhinestones and glitters. Also, it looks much more color coordinated in person as the gold square glitters reflect a lot and do not show their true color in pictures.

For this, I applied 2 coats of Zoya Minka. Then applied Best Glue Ever on all the nails, which I thinned down with water to almost 30-40% as it is easy to apply when thinned down. After the glue dried (it becomes transparent) I applied 2 mm gold square rhinestones on the accent nail and on other fingers I applied 1.5 mm gold square glitter.

Zoya Sooki

Hello,

For this, I used Zoya Sooki which is a beautiful red cream and my go-to red nail polish.  It is bright and cool cherry red cream with a very subtle jelly finish. The formula of this polish is perfect and it is opaque in 2 coats. The dry time of this polish is average. Zoya Sooki came out in the summer of 20011 in Zoya's Summer Time Collection. Also, It is big 3 free.

Secret Ingredient

Hello,

How is everyone doing? I have heard a lot of people using eyeshadows or micas in their nail art or frankens. This is my first time using an eyeshadow for any nail art so I wanted to keep the use of eyeshadow to the minimal. I really like how this mani turned out. The eyeshadow looks so smooth, it seems like I have applied golden nail polish. I hope you guys give it a try too as the process is very easy.

For this, I applied one coat of Zoya Sabrina. On the tips, I applied Best Glue Ever which I thinned down with water to almost 30-40% as it is easy to apply when thinned down. After the glue dried (it becomes transparent) I applied the L.A. Colors bronze eyeshadow with the help of the fan brush. I light rubbed the eyeshadow on the glue to get the smooth finish. Then, I applied fimo flower on my accent nail and drew some leaves using Holly Green acrylic paint. 

Scotch Tape Nails

Hello,

How is everyone doing? I am little sad as I twisted my ankle while walking down the stairs yesterday. Clumsy me. I am feeling much better today but still have to rest for one more day. Enough jabbering, now onto nails. I love scotch tape nails but they are pain to do. They are not hard to do, it's just the waiting time that gets me. I hope you guys like it.

For this, I applied 2 coats of China Glaze For Audrey. Then waited for it to completely dry and placed a scotch tape covering one-third of the nail at the bottom and applied Essie School of Hard Rocks. I removed the  scotch tape when the polish was still wet as it doesn't give thick edges. After School of Hard Rocks dried, I again applied a scott tape covering the two-thirds of the nail at the bottom and applied Zoya Ibiza and removed the tape when the paint was still wet. It is very important to have nail polish completely dry before you apply scott tape otherwise the polish will stick to the tape when you will try to remove it and will ruin your manicure.

Zoya Back To School Promo

Hello,

Good news from Zoya!

Enjoy this new back to school promo from Zoya 'But any one nail polishes and get one free'. You can choose upto four colors of your choice and you will get four colors of your choice free. Thank you Zoya for another awesome promo. This promo is valid till August 28th, 2012 11:59PM EST.

The code: People with Zoya.com account will have their own personalized BOGO code under the "My Coupons & Promo Codes' section. 

It gets even better; FREE Shipping with 6 or more polishes (just have to buy 3 and 3 will be free). 

Simran

As a thank you to all customers with Zoya.com accounts**, we made a special Back to School BOGO (Buy 1 Get 1 Free) offer just for you! Your personalized BOGO code can be found in the "My Account" Section of www.zoya.com under the "My Coupons & Promo Codes" section. In case you were wondering... YES Free Shipping is available! Read below for more details.

To celebrate back to school season, Buy ANY One Zoya Nail Polish (0.5oz) and Get One FREE* 8/22/12- 8/29/12 11:59pm ET. This special offer is up to 8 bottles total (buy 4 get 4 free).

It gets even better...

BONUS OFFER! You will receive FREE Standard Shipping with 6 or more bottles (buy 3 get 3 free)!

How It Works

1. Sign in to your account at www.zoya.com
2. Click My Promotions and Coupons on the left hand side of the screen under My Account
3. Apply your unique, personalized code
4. Add polishes of choice to your shopping cart.
5. Include any additional items you would like to purchase.
6. Continue with the check-out process, Review & Submit your order. 
   *Please double check all information is CORRECT and ALL FIELDS have been completely filled out PRIOR to submitting the order. There is NO WAY to issue a new code after the order has been processed.

*Offer open only to those with active accounts** on Zoya.com, artofbeauty.com, Qtica.com and qticasmartspa.com as of 8/22/2012 at 12 PM EDT. Consumer orders only. Online promotion only. Continental US ONLY. BOGO offer good for up to 8 polishes. BOGO Offer* code is unique and non-transferable. One code per account. Code expires on 8/29/2012 at 11:59PM EDT. If volume is higher than expected, please allow up to 4 weeks for shipping and processing. Comments, videos and pictures posted about this Zoya.com BOGO Offer* outside of Zoya.com or zoyanailpolish.blogger.com are not representative of the opinions of Zoya Nail Polish, Art of Beauty, Inc., Qtica and Qtica Smart Spa and we do not confirm the accuracy of any postings.

**qualifying accounts are those with a valid username (email) and password that has been created and used in the last 3 years account must be made by 3/22/2012 at 12PM EST to qualify for the BOGO Offer. No purchase necessary to start an account. Customers are responsible for maintaining active accounts. If username or password have been lost we (Art of Beauty, Inc.) are not responsible for restoring accounts or giving out any account information. 

Bundle Monster 310

Hello,

How is everyone doing? I got my hands on the new Bundle Monster stamping plates two weeks ago. I have to give it to Bundle Monster that they are getting better every time they come out with the new set of stamping plates. I really like this set as there are so many cute designs and not much (only two) french design plates. I do not know about you guys but I have really hard time stamping those french designs. Now onto today's mani, this design gives a very clean look and I hope you guys like it.

For this, I applied 2 coats of Zoya Brizia. Then using a Bundle Monster image plate 310 I stamped the net design using Ulta Salon Formula Wild Night. I have an obsession of doing something extra on my accent finger so I applied antique copper micro beads.

Carousel over Zoya Creamy

Hello,

How is everyone doing? Well I am having too much fun creating franken polishes. Today's post is about the new franken I created last week. With the help of other frankeners I named it Carousel. I really like how Carousel turned out. I hope you guys like it too. 

For this, I applied 2 coats of Zoya Creamy. Then applied one coat of Carousel which is created by me. Carousel consists of pink, blue, orange, green, and purple glitters of different sizes and shapes in a yellow jelly base. You can see the bottle as well as macro shot of the polish at the bottom. 

Black and Silver Maze

Hello,

I hope everyone is having an awesome time. It is so hot here in California that I do not feel like doing anything. Well doing nails is an exception :D.  Today's mani is very simple. I used stamping for this design and I hope you guys like it. 

For this, I applied 2 coats of Zoya Trixie. Then using the Konad image plate M65, I stamped the geometrical design on all the fingers using Wet N Wild Black Cream. I really like this color combination and the design looks like a maze. At some angles, it looks like I have applied nail foils because of the way Zoya Trixie reflects. 

Zoya Elodie

Hello,

For this, I used Zoya Elodie which is a bright salmon color cream. It is bright and warm melon pink cream with a touch of a coral. The formula of this polish is perfect and it is opaque in 2 coats. The dry time of this polish is average. Zoya Elodie came out in the summer of 2008 in Zoya's Gossip Collection. Also, It is big 3 free.

Fierce Red Tips

Hello,

Today I have another nail foil mani. I like how the foils can transform your simple mani into something so gorgeous. I love the tips so much in this mani that I might do more looks like this in the future. Click here if you want to check my last post on nail foils.

For this, I applied one coat of Zoya Bela. After it dried, I made a french tip using Essie Fishnet Stocking. Then using a Konad image plate M25 and RA 118 (picture of the plates at bottom) I stamped the roses using Sally Hansen Insta Dri Rapid Red and drew some leaves using Holly Green acrylic paint. On the tips, I applied Best Glue Ever which I thinned down with water to almost 30-40% as it is easy to apply when thinned down. After the glue dried (it becomes transparent) I applied the metallic red nail foil. Then using a Q-tip I rubbed over the foil so that it attaches itself properly. After that I applied Wet N Wild top coat because for some reason fast drying top coat does not work well with the foils, at least not for me. In the end I applied Seche Vite top coat on all the fingers.

July 4th Nails

Hello,

Happy 4th of July everyone. I am very excited to start blogging again as it has been a really long time since I last blogged. A lot of things happened in the past couple of months. First, I graduated with my bachelors degree. Second, I shifted to a new place. Also, I have been planning to write a blog for about two weeks now but could not make up my mind which design or shade to blog about (kinda anxious I guess). 4th of July seemed like a perfect opportunity to start blogging again.

I started franking after getting annoyed and frustrated with the process of purchasing some of the indie polishes. At present, I am making polishes just for personal use (you never know what the future holds).

For this, I applied 2 coats of Zoya Trixie. Then applied one coat of Patriot which is a created by me. Patriot consists of blue, red, white and silver glitters of different sizes and shapes and it also consist of small blue stars in a clear base. This is my first franken and I am really satisfied with it. You can see the bottle as well as macro shot of the polish at the bottom. 

Black and White Challenge Day 9

Hello,

This is my ninth post for the Black and White Nail Challenge. The theme for today's nails was  water marbling. It is hard to believe that this nail challenge is almost over, only one more nail challenge day left. This is the first time I did water marbling and I had such a hard time. I experimented with so many polishes that did not work at all. 

For this, I applied 2 coats of Essie Blanc. After it dried I started working on the water marbling. This is the order I used the Polishes for water marbling: Zoya Raven, Essie Blank, Zoya Trixie, China Glaze Adore, and at last China Glaze Admire. I really like how my ring finger turned out but other than that it is a mess especially my pinkie and index finger. Hopefully with practice I will get better at this. 

PS: I have a giveaway going on right now. Enter here.

Black and White Challenge Day 7

Hello,

This is my seventh post for the Black and White Nail Challenge. The theme for today's nails was to create a manicure using black, white, and glitters. I am still not feeling well but much better than yesterday. Yesterday, I was so miserable that I went to doctor first thing in the morning and I can see a little improvement. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.


For this, I applied 2 coats of Essie Blanc. Then waited for it to completely dry and placed a scotch tape covering one-third of the nail at the bottom and applied Zoya Trixie. I removed the  scotch tape when the polish was still wet as it doesn't give thick edges. After Trixie dried, I again applied a scott tape covering the two-thirds of the nail at the bottom and applied Wet N Wild Black Cream and removed the tape when the paint was still wet. It is very important to have nail polish completely dry before you apply scott tape otherwise the polish will stick to the tape when you will try to remove it and will ruin your manicure.

St. Patricks Day Nails

Hello,

Happy St. Patricks day everyone! I hope you had a great time. I am down from cold and fever so was in my bed all day :( but still got a chance to do my nails. I think I have an attachment to green polish as it makes me feel relaxed. I used stamping for his design and I hope you guys like it.

For this, I applied 2 coats of Zoya Shawn. Then using a Shany stamping image plate SH12 I stamped the shamrocks using Sally Hansen Color Quick Fast Dry Nail Color Pen in Green Chrome and China Glaze 2030. After that I applied green glitter in the middle of each shamrock.

Black and White Challenge Day 5

Hello,

This is my fifth post for the Black and White Nail Challenge. The theme for today's nails was to create a manicure using a color base with something black. After all the detailed designs, I wanted something simple and neat and this design fits perfectly. 

For this, I applied 2 coats of Zoya Jules. Then using the Konad image plate 209 I stamped the design on all the fingers using Wet N Wild Black Cream. This design looks really weird on the image plate and I assumed I was never going to use it as the size of all the nail are different and this whole design won't make any sense. However using only one side of the design works and if you can align it perfectly it will look really nice. I was in hurry so my lines are going everywhere. 

Zoya Spring Promo

Hello,

Good news from Zoya!

Enjoy this new promo from Zoya 'But any 3 nail polishes and get 3 free'. You can choose any six colors of your choice. Thank you Zoya for another awesome promo. This promo is valid till March 14th, 2012 11:59PM EST.

The code is SPRING3

Simran