Gold and Jewels with Zoya Island Fun

This little numba was inspired by the luxurious tones of the Zoya Island Fun collection. The jewel toned shades were just ASKING to be paired with a bit of extra luxury, and I chose to load on the gold.

Polishes used used:
Zoya Nana (pink)
Zoya Talia (blue)
Zoya Demetria (red-orange)
Zoya Serenity (purple)
Zoya Jace (green)
Zoya Ziv (fine gold)
Zoya Gilty LE (gold leaf)

Each shade needed just two coats for opacity. I let the base colors dry, then blocked off parts of my nails using tape. I polished on a light coat of Ziv to give it a glint of gold, and then loosely added some of Gilty's gold leaf for extra luxury. Since Gilty is not currently for sale, you could also use loose gold leaf from a craft store.

Standout colors for me in this collection included Jace and Demetria. The other shades are nice and the formulas were fine, but they just didn't capture me like those two!

Zoya Island Fun (and its sister collection, Paradise Sun) are available now on Zoya.com for $9 per bottle.

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Dusky Gradient with Gold Leaf

Remember when real gold leaf nail polish was all the rage, and every brand plus their moms came out with a variation? Then the craze seemed to rapidly die off, perhaps because the materials are difficult to get a hold of? This nail art was created during that time. That's right, it's time for another edition of: Spring Cleaning Out My Drafts!

I am 80% sure that this manicure used:
China Glaze Surreal Appeal
China Glaze Creative Fantasy

The gold leaf topcoat is Cirque Au.

I like the dusky combination of colors in this manicure with the gold flecks -- almost like fire embers flicking up from a beachy bonfire or something. I think, given the chance to do it again, I would replace the coral color with something a little pinker.

Did you get into the gold leaf trend?

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31DC2013 Day 29: Inspired by the Supernatural (Phoenix Feathers)

The 31 Day Challenge is drawing to a close, and today's prompt is "inspired by the supernatural." This prompt usually stumps me a bit...if you'll recall, last year I ended up doing Edward from Twilight. LOL. Double LOL. This year I wanted to do something a little less silly, and thought it would be fun to tackle a phoenix.

I tried to create a feathery look by using a thin striper brush to apply the polish.  I used multiple layers here for a more natural, blended look between the three main colors. I concentrated the yellow at the tips because that's where fire is the most intense!

This look was built over a black base. The red shade is China Glaze Velvet Bow, a deep rich red. The orange is China Glaze Bend Over Backwards, which actually mixed with the red in some spots and added shimmer. The yellow is China Glaze Happy Go Lucky -- my go-to yellow shade.

For the final touches, I added some floating bits of black ash and Sephora by OPI 18K It's Real gold leaf topcoat. I think these small details really sell this nail art!

Overall, I'm surprised how well this turned out! I was just winging it the whole time and that doesn't always turn out so hot. DOUBLE PUN INTENDED! This manicure is also special to me because I live in Phoenix, Arizona. :)

More 31 Day Challenge
View upcoming prompts!
My supernatural nails from 2012!
My supernatural nails from 2011!

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