Nails

Zoya Earth Day Polish Exchange

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Zoya Earth Day Polish Exchange
photo courtesy of the Zoya blog.

Health- and eco-conscious polish brand Zoya is known for their awesome promotions such as free bottles of polish (you just pay shipping). The promo du jour is actually a re-run: Zoya’s Earth Day Polish Exchange, which runs this year from April 21 – 28 with promo code ZDAY2014.

Add as few as five bottles of polish to your cart and as many as twenty-four, then enter the promo code – the polish should drop from its regular price at about $9+ per bottle down to $4.50 per bottle OR $5 for their fancy glittery PixieDust products and special effect toppers. Unfortunately, it does not include their newest summer connection line(s), but I think you’ll live. You’re looking at spending $22.50 for five (regular) bottles of polish – not bad, especially considering that some drugstore polishes are more costly and these are 5-free. Additionally, carts over $30 currently receive a free gift – a 2oz. bottle of Zoya Remove Plus Nail Polish Remover.

Once you receive your new, fancy, 5-free polish from Zoya’s Earth Day Polish Exchange, you can then send them old, unwanted polish to be safely disposed of in accordance with EPA guidelines (FYI – you aren’t supposed to toss them in your regular, residential trash). Zoya will accept up to as many bottles as you purchased – so if you purchased 9 bottles of polish, you can send up to (but not more than) nine for disposal. You could also just send three, if that’s all you wanted to purge. You are not, however, required to send in any old bottles to take advantage of this neat promotion.

This would be a great way to start someone’s polish collection (especially considering you are not required to send in old bottles) or try Zoya products while getting some variety without a huge cost-commitment. It also may make a nice Mother’s Day gift (right around the corner, people – May 11) if your Mom enjoys having lacquered nails. You might also just be looking for justification to buy more polish – so you’re welcome. I haven’t tried any Zoya polish yet, but I look forward to doing so!

Also, Zoya doesn’t know who I am and they didn’t ask me to write about this promo – I, as a polish junkie and sale-stalker, just wanted to look out for my fellow polish-fanciers.

Urban Decay Nail Polish Update

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Here’s an update on how my Urban Decay Nail polish in Vice is wearing. Normal growth and tip wear on both hands. Minor minor chipping on my left thumb.

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Until about three hours ago, when this happened:

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Giant chunk out of my left fore-finger. This has actually been an abnormal week in that I have put even LESS stress on my hands and nails than normal. It has been less than 72 hours since application. Disappoint.

I’ve got to say – although the color is lovely, this polish is overpriced ($15/bottle) considering its mediocre quality. I’d be perfectly content if Urban Decay stuck to what they do best.

Urban Decay Nail Polish

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Urban Decay Nail Polish

Years ago, cult favorite Urban Decay had nail polish offerings. At some point, they were discontinued to the woe of many fans (and the joy of eBay scalpers). Recently, UD reintroduced the collection and each season new shades are chosen Thanks to an Urban Decay event hosted by my local Sephora (more on that another time), I received a full-sized Urban Decay nail polish for free along with this little PVC TSA-approved (oh buddy!) travel bag. This polish retails for $15 and can be purchased directly from Urban Decay or from Sephora.

Urban Decay Nail Polish in Vice - applied

Swatched here in shabby lighting, all except the ringfinger are topped with Seche Vite and and the ringfinger has the China Glaze matte topcoat. Regarding the polish itself: it is a gorgeous deep purple with almost an amber shimmer (in the bottle) that translates to shimmery purple awesome on the nails. This Urban Decay Nail Polish shade is Vice and is UD through and through.

That said, I am not the biggest fan of the formula. While it was definitely opaque in two coats, it dries too fast – like when you’re making your third stripe down the center of your nail to finish the coat, I had it, “skip” a little where it overlaps the first swipe to the side because it was already tacky from drying too quickly. My attempts to fix it without scrapping it and redoing the whole nail were in vain. Polish that dries fast is usually a blessing, but when it causes you to have to redo two nails, it is a pain. Otherwise, the formula is smooth and of a nice viscosity. On a final note, I am quite fond of the wider brushes that grace OPI and Sally Hansen brushes, so I was a little disappointed by this relatively standard-width brush.

Urban Decay Nail Polish in Vice

I can tell how jealous you are of my excellent lighting that makes my fingers look far cooler-toned than they are. I hope you can see the lettering on the cap – if not, I’ll have nicer pictures in a later post.

Urban Decay Nail Polish in Vice - Cap

Cutesy skull detailing – again, I apologize for the lighting. I was using my ancient camera. The skull has roses for eyes.

Though it is definitely a pretty shade, and though I am a Urban Decay fan, I must admit I would not buy this polish. I have a hard enough time with $10-12 for gel polish. The formula seems pretty typical for a decent polish that I can buy for (at MSRP) $5-8 each, and I just do not wear deep purples enough to make it worth it to me. Glad I got it free! Have you tried any Urban Decay Nail Polishes from the current or from previous collections? How did you like it?

January 2014 Favorites

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January 2014 Favorites

1. Psssst! Dry Shampoo, $6 / 2. Orly Bonder Base Coat, $6 / 3. Swisspers Nail Care Double-Tipped Swabs, $2 /
4. L’Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes Excess, $6/ 5. Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss – Pink Pop, $6

Six dollars seems to be the magic amount for my January 2014 Favorites, huh? More on this after the jump.

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