OPI Love.Angel.Music.Baby

Purchase

Good morning! I hope you all had a good weekend. I was busy volunteering at a friend's book event this weekend most of Saturday and had Sunday to just chill. Can you believe that April is almost over? It's been an insane month for me and I am kind of glad to be getting into a less busy time.

I have another polish from the OPI Gwen Stefani collaboration today. It's taking me a while to swatch them all but I'll get through it one day. :) Love.Angel.Music.Baby is a cool-toned gold or champagne. It's a satin finish with a beautiful glow. This polish is pretty unique in my collection since it's very cool toned. If you look closely you can see the gold and silver particles that make up this unique shade.

Love.Angel.Music.Baby had a smooth, buttery formula that as wonderful to apply. For these swatches I used 2 medium coats, making sure I let it dry fully between each coat. The formula on this reminded me a lot of the Suede formula by OPI. It's just got a soft look about it.

After 4 In the Morning, Love.Angel.Music.Baby is probably my favorite out of this collection.  Are you guys sick of this collection yet? Promise I only have a couple more to go, but I haven't even swatched them yet. :) Thanks for stopping by today!

Stashed (16): Easter Pastels

Hi, everyone. It's been a while since I've had a Stashed post. That's because I have been buying a lot less, which a good thing. While I still love nail polish, some of my buying frenzy has been dying down. This is great for my wallet though and I hope it means I'll use more of my untrieds. I am still waffling on the Zoya Earth Day promo though. I have 5 or 6 polishes in my cart and I have a feeling I'll end up caving but let's see how long I can wait before I do. 

This week's haul is a small one. I stopped by Walgreens to grab some things and I ran into the L'Oreal pastel display which I had been looking for. It even had the two speckled polishes I wanted so I had to buy them. There was also a new Rimmel display of what looks like textured polishes. I didn't know anything about them and decided to just get 2 to check them out.

That's all I've stashed lately. What about you guys? Am I missing any good collections?

OPI Push and Shove

Purchase

Look, it's two posts in one week! I hope your week is going just swimmingly. I am continuing on with the OPI Gwen Stefani collection today with Push and Shove. Push and Shove is a silver chrome polish. Chromes are notoriously finicky to apply and show every bump and imperfection on your nails. To combat this, OPI sold Push and Shove with its very own top coat, Lay Down That Base, that is supposed help smooth out the nail base and help with an even application.

First I did one coat of Lay Down That Base on clean, bare nails. Next I did 2 careful coats of Push and Shove. This was extremely pigmented and I could probably have gotten away with one coat if my application had been perfect. It wasn't, of course, so I ended up with 2. Shown without top coat.

Push and Shove had a really interesting formula and application. It was a little water and hard to control so I tried not to have too much polish on the brush. When I was painting my nails, I thought it was going to be brush stroke city but, as the polish dried, it dried to a smoother finish with way less brush strokes than expected. I probably could have done with a bit of clean up around my cuticles but I was being lazy that day. 

I am pretty lucky in that I don't have a lot of bumps or ridges on my nails. So I wasn't really worried about those kinds of imperfections showing up. I could not tell if the base made a big difference since, as I said, my nails are pretty smooth to begin with. If you do have ridges on your nails, I would definitely suggest a base coat, maybe even a ridge filler.  

My nails looked super shiny and metallic with this polish and I think it delivered as a chrome. While you have to be careful with application and prep your nails accordingly, the end result is pretty cool looking. 

What do you guys think of this one? I kind of miss all of the chromes that used to be available. It can be an unforgiving finish but it looks great when done right. I would love to see a black or grey chrome or even some jewel tones. Thanks for stopping by today and have a wonderful day!

OPI 4 In the Morning

Purchase

Hi, everyone. I hope you all had a nice Easter weekend. I didn't really do much on Sunday. A lot of things were closed which was actually kind of nice because it forced me to chill out. The weather was also gorgeous and I spent a couple of hours outdoors. I am trying to get a bit ahead of myself this week by scheduling a couple of posts before I get too busy and suddenly realize that it's Thursday and I still haven't posted.

Today I have one of the polishes from the Gwen Stefani collection by OPI. I picked up a bunch of them when they went on sale a month or two ago at Sally Beauty. 4 In the Morning was the polish that I was most excited for in this collection. I love satin/matte blacks and this one looked beautiful in swatch photos. In person, it did not disappoint.

4 In the Morning is a black satin with a very slight grey shimmer. You can't see it very well in person but it helps give the polish a really pretty glow. I had no issues with formula and used 2 coats with on top coat in these swatches.

I really like this one. It's edgy and cool and was a breeze to apply. Now that the polish world is embracing the matte and textured finish, I hope that they move on and give us more satins like this.

Did anyone else pick up this polish? Let me know what you think of it in the comments below. :)

Zoya Earth Day Nail Polish Exchange is Baaaack!

One of my favorite promotions is back! The Zoya Earth Day Nail Polish exchange was announced last week and I am so excited that Zoya is doing it again. I love being able to stock up on new Zoya shades and disposing of my unwanted polish in an environmentally safe way. I love Zoya polishes and can't really go wrong with any of them. The PixieDusts are especially awesome and I highly recommend them.  Check out the rules below and happy shopping!

Announcing the 2014 Zoya Nail Polish Exchange*

Give the earth a helping hand by joining the healthy nail polish movement! Since its inception, ZOYA has been the pioneer of toxin-free nail polish, releasing the most beautiful colors in the healthiest formula available each season. With Zoya Nail Polish, you don’t have to compromise a healthier lifestyle for a glamorous one… go worry-free with a formula that is free of nasty chemicals like Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin, Dibutyl Phthalate, Toluene and Camphor.

Now you can join smart, eco-chic women who are changing their world, one gorgeous Zoya Nail Polish bottle at a time! To help kick start your “color cleanse”, the Zoya Earth Day Nail Polish Exchange is BACK for 2014. Not only is ZOYA making it easy to swap out old, unwanted color for the world’s healthiest and longest wearing natural nail polish formula on the market, we will dispose of your old shades in an eco-friendly manner! This offer is only good for 1 week so hurry – Don’t Wait!

Valid 4/21/14 - 4/28/14 (11:59pm EST)

What is the Zoya Nail Polish Exchange?

From April 21, 2014 - April 28, 2014 (11:59pm EST) exchange your old nail color for BIG5FREE** Zoya Nail Polish for either $4.50 ea. on regular Zoya shades OR $5 ea.for PixieDust™ and special effect toppers - and let us properly dispose of your unwanted bottles.  Shipping and handling fees apply. Excludes ALL Summer 2014 Collection shades (Tickled & Bubbly and Summer Magical PixieDust).

Don't forget to share your NEW colors on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with us (@ZoyaNailPolish) using #ZoyaEarthDay!

USE CODE: ZDAY2014

How it works:

1. Visit www.zoya.com and add at least 6 bottles and no more than 24 bottles of polish to your cart (salon accounts minimum 12 maximum 48 bottles). Excludes ALL Summer 2014 Collection shades (Tickled, Bubbly & Summer Magical PixieDust).
2. Apply the code: ZDAY2014
3. Your order value will be adjusted to reflect a 50% discount (we use these funds to properly dispose of the old nail polish). For an example of how your order should look, see example below.
4. Complete check-out, review and submit order.
5. Zoya will ship out your NEW polishes right away. The exchange runs on the honor system, which means offer is not contingent on customer returning polish. See full exchange details below...

The Exchange

1. Once you get your order - ship back the equivalent number of bottles you received to the return address below (ie. If you ordered 6 bottles of Zoya – you would send us 6 NON-ZOYA polishes). Please check with your carrier on the proper way to ship nail polish.

            Ship Your Old Nail Polish To:
             Art of Beauty, Inc.
             c/o Polish Exchange
             5060 Taylor Rd, Unit D
             Cleveland, Ohio, 44128, USA

2. Include a copy of your invoice/order.
3. Once we receive your polish we do the rest - It’s that simple!

IMPORTANT!You do not have to send us the exact amount of bottles that you are ordering. You can send any quantity up to that amount. The bottles you send in should be from any other brand – they cannot be Zoya, Qtica or Nocti polishes. We are using the honor code to make sure you get your Zoya Nail Polish as quickly as possible! First, we send out your new polishes – Then, you send your old polish back to us when it’s convenient for you OR you may donate the polish to a local cause. Offer is not contingent on customer returning polish. If you do choose to send us your old polish, we promise to properly dispose of it according to EPA guidelines. 

*Offer valid online at www.zoya.com only. Offer expires on 4/28/2014 at 11:59PM EST. Continental US ONLY. Excludes ALL Summer 2014 Collection Shades – Tickled, Bubbly & Summer Magical PixieDust. Not valid with any other codes, coupons or promotions. Shipping and handling fees apply. Consumer accounts must exchange a minimum of 6 polishes with a 24 bottle maximum. Salon accounts must exchange at least 12 with a maximum of 48 bottles. Polish can be from any brand EXCEPT Zoya, Qtica or Nocti and can be exchanged for in-stock .5oz Zoya Nail Polish shades only. Offer is not contingent on customer returning polish. One code per account. Art of Beauty is not responsible for incorrect addresses, credit card entry errors or any errors outside of our control. Please allow standard time for processing and shipping, however if volume is higher than expected please allow up to 6 weeks for shipping and processing. Art of Beauty, Inc. reserves the right to remove any polish that is out of stock from your order. You will not be charged for this polish. Backordered polish is not included in this promotion.

**Zoya Nail Polish and Treatments are completely free of Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin, Dibutyl Phthalate, Toluene and Camphor.

Born Pretty Holo #12

Press Sample | Affiliate Link

Happy hump day, everyone. Today I have a really gorgeous holo polish to show you from Born Pretty. I feel like most polish lovers are in two camps - either they love, love holos or they just think they're OK. I, for one, am a huge holo fan. Linear holos are my favorite but a nice scattered holo can be really pretty, too. When Born Pretty contacted me and asked me if I wanted to review a couple of their products, I did not hesitate to put a holo polish on the list.

This is their Holo Polish #12, which is dark green linear holo. Sadly it does not have a better name than #12 but it's still a gorgeous polish. As you can see in the daylight shots below, Holo #12 is a very strong linear holo. In the shade it looks like a dark, murky green but in the sun, all of the rainbows come out.

shade

shade

sunlight

sunlight

sunlight

sunlight

I had no issues with the formula and I used two medium coats for the swatches above. I did not use a special base or anything and didn't have any problems with patchiness. No top coat shown more out of laziness than anything else. I usually use top coat on my holos and have never noticed a dulling effect. The only downside to this polish is that it comes in very small bottles. I'd say they are about the size of the Cover Girl minis. Each bottle contains 4ml of product. Compare that with your average China Glaze which has 14ml. The Born Pretty holos retail for $12.88, which I think it a little high for the amount of product you get. I have seen them on sale before though for about half price. At that price I would be much more likely to purchase.

If you like this shade, the item ID is 6410 or you can find it here. Overall I am quite impressed with this shade. I'd probably wait for a sale but I definitely would not mind picking up a few more of their holo shades.

Born Pretty has been kind enough to offer readers of The Painted Ninja a 10% discount. Just use the code below and shop away. :)

Disclosure: Products in this post were provided by the Born Pretty Store. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

OPI Baby Please Come Home

Purchase

Hi, everyone. Man I've been so terrible about posting lately. It's just so hard to come home after work at night and find the enthusiasm to get on the computer again. Not to mention that my computer has been super slow lately. Anyway, those are just lame excuses that you don't want to hear. Let's get to the polish.

This is OPI Baby Please Come Home from last year's Mariah Carey Holiday collection. Baby Please Come Home is a cool toned lavender that leans a bit pink. It has a Liquid Sand finish, meaning it's textured and meant to be worn without a top coat. If found it to be nicely pigmented and only required 2 coats, as shown below.

 

I like this one. I don't have anything quite like it in my collection and I like that it's a very cool toned purple. Of course I love the bling-y glitter and the Liquid Sand formula is very nice. As you can see, I bought I have a mini bottle of this as part of a little 3-pack. I would consider getting a full size bottle though. I don't see the texture trend dying anytime soon and I am still a fan.

Thanks for hanging in there and I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!