An Easter Manicure: Skittles and Jelly Beans

Happy Easter everyone! I'm posting this a day early since I won't be around tomorrow, as I'm sure is the case for many people. The past few holidays I've just been going with theme colors, but never any nail art. This Easter I was on a mission to do some nail art, which included me buying a yellow specifically for this mani.

I went with a skittles mani with alternating designs. The polka dots are supposed to be decorated eggs and I used the Zoya Fleck Effect collection for the other nails as the plastic grass that's in Easter baskets. 

Above is my left hand and below is my right hand. My right came out better, since I'm a lefty, so I wanted to show both. Not bad for my first attempt at using a dotting tool, right? 

Above are some of the nail polish colors I used. From left to right: Zoya Chloe, Wet n Wild Blazed (mixed with white), Brucci Sheri's Pistachio Creme, Zoya Opal, Zoya Maisie, Essie Barefoot in Blue, Revlon Buttercup. Not shown, but also used were Brucci Snow White and I mixed LA Girl Indigo with Kiss Bikini Pink and Snow White to make the purple on my pinkies. (How do I not own any light purple cremes? )

What do you think of my Easter nail art? Did you do anything special with your manicure for Easter? If you did, share the link in the comments section! I'd love to see your Easter nail art!

Layering: Whimsical Kristen

I've finally gotten around to wearing Revlon Whimsical and I must say, I love this polish. It mostly came down to finding the perfect "undies" for Whimsical, because I knew I wouldn't be able to wear it on its own. Then, thanks to Zoya's buy 3, get 3 free Spring promo, I picked up Zoya Kristen! I knew it would be a great match for Whimsical.

Kristen and Whimsical together

Zoya Kristen a a gorgeous dusty light blue creme polish from Zoya's Feel collection. Their website actually describes Kristen as a "gull gray nail polish with a mild bluish hue." Either way, I really like this color and it covered beautifully in just two coats. Plus, it shares the same name as my best friend, even though she spells it differently.

Revlon Whimsical is light pink and light blue hex glitter, with some smaller blue glitter, in a milky light blue base. This polish has gained notoriety as being a dupe of Deborah Lippmann's Glitter in the Air. Whimsical is the much more affordable version. 

I used two coats of Whimsical over Kristen. Whimsical is a little bit watery (or at least my bottle was) and placing the glitter can be a little difficult. Despite this, I think that Whimsical is worth the little bit of extra effort. After wearing so many dark colors lately, this combination was a welcome change. I didn't want to take it off!

What do you think about this combination? Do you own either of these? Don't forget to enter my Spring Fling giveaway so you can win Whimsical! The giveaway ends tomorrow!

My Namesake: Zoya Kelly

Hello readers! Pardon my absence from blogging the last few days. There has been a lot going on, some good, some bad. And on top of all of that, my body decided to get a cold that started late Friday night and I've spent most of today either watching Gossip Girl on Netflix or sleeping. Blah. Despite that, now I'm back with a post!

Last week, my Zoya promo package finally arrived! I had been waiting not so patiently for it to arrive, including checking the FedEx tracking whenever I could. But now both of my first ever Zoya polishes are in my hands. For the 2 free promo, I picked Kelly and Yara. Kelly was the obvious choice because it's my name. Then I picked Yara because I don't have many greens at all and it just looked like a gorgeous color.

The pretty box that Kelly and Yara came in.

Zoya also added a color tray with their Feel, True, and Fleck Effect collections.

Left to Right: Kelly and Yara

I was impressed that Zoya added the color trays for free. It will give me a better idea of what colors I want to order next. I have my eye on some of the Fleck Effect colors along with the True collection.

I decided to try Kelly first, since how could I got wrong with something named after me? (Ok, not named after me specifically, but you get the idea.) Kelly is a dark purple creme with a hint of gray. The bottle of Kelly has a very very subtle hint of shimmer, but it doesn't show up on the nail.

See the shimmer? 

I think the color is gorgeous, but I'm also partial to blues and purples. This being the first time I've used a Zoya polish, I found the formula needed a delicate hand. The brush seemed like it wasn't picking up enough enamel, but once it was on the nail it seemed like too much. Overall though I was able to reach complete opacity in two coats and used both a base coat and top coat. 

I love this color as an alternative neutral and I think Kelly is a good reflection of my own personality. It will also make a great canvas for some nail art that I will hopefully accomplish this week! 

What do you think of Kelly? Did you participate in the Zoya promo? What are your favorite Zoya shades? Let me know in the comments section!

Breaking (Bad) Resolutions and Treat Yo Hands with products from The Body Shop.

So it's not even two weeks into January and I've already broken my nail polish resolution. There have been some incredible sales and promotions recently. a-england's anniversary 30% sale, the Zoya get 2 free promotion, and Cult Nails free shipping for their one year anniversary/birthday.

After deciding that a-england would be a major splurge (the pounds to US dollar conversion is not good for the wallet), I decided to go with the Zoya 2 Free promotion instead. A total cost of $6.95 for 2 polishes and shipping is a GREAT deal, so I couldn't pass it up. Zoya Kelly and Zoya Yara will be the two new additions to my collection and my first Zoya polishes ever. I can't wait until they arrive!

I also took part in the Cult Nails free shipping promotion. I decided to purchase Time Traveler since the swatches I've seen from other blogs are gorgeous. Time Traveler will be my first Cult Nails purchase as well. I love trying new brands!

I'm considering these part of my birthday present, since my birthday was last week (January 5th, yay me!) and I've gotten some birthday cash from my family. With "treat yo self" being the motto for my birthday (courtesy of Parks & Recreation), I went in search of a great body butter for my hands. I was going to stop by Bath & Body Works, but after 60 seconds in the door I realized it was way too crowded for me. It was during my lunch break so I didn't have time to wait on a long New York City line.

So I went across the street (gotta love the city) to The Body Shop, which was also having a sale and had no line. I didn't end up finding a butter (I'll just get Lush Lemony Flutter), but I did purchase a three pack of The Body Shop hand & nail creams and some lip balm. The three pack included 3, 1 ounce tubes of hand & nail cream, which normally retails for $25 (ouch!), but was on sale for $12.50 (way more my style).

From left to right: Almond  Hand & Nail Cream (for all skin types), Hemp Hand Protector (very dry skin), and  Wild Rose Hand Cream (mature skin).

The Almond Hand & Nail Cream is a good everyday moisturizer. It smells good too, nice and subtle, not overpowering. All of these hand creams take a little time to absorb.

The sales person at The Body Shop told me that the Hemp Hand Protector was named the top beauty product of the year in the industry. I don't know the exact publication/website/blog, but I figured I would give it a try. I am not a fan of the smell of the Hemp cream, but you can instantly feel the softness on your skin after using it. I think I'll end up leaving the Hemp Hand Protector at home and using it before bed. 

The Wild Rose Hand Cream is probably my favorite of the three based on smell, but I like the smell of roses to begin with. The smell is a bit strong though, probably because of the rosehip oil. So if you're sensitive to smells and don't like floral scents, this probably isn't the hand cream for you. 

Overall, I'm a fan of all three of these. I keep reaching for them whenever my hands feel dry and I keep at least one in my purse. Between the cold winter weather and all the acetone I use, having a good hand cream is key. The Body Shop also won me over as a new favorite store. After buying these products, I went onto The Body Shop website to look at their products again, where I found out that they don't test on animals and use a lot of Fair Trade, natural products. These things are a big plus to me right now as a consumer and it's great to find brands like this. I will be shopping there more often from now on!

Are you a fan of The Body Shop? What are some of your favorite hand creams or butters? Share your thoughts in the comments section!

a-england Sale!

Apparently I picked the worst time of year to decide not to buy nail polish and I'm pretty close to breaking this resolution. I'm still tempted to pick up the 2 free Zoya's, because after thinking about it, it is a good deal. In addition to this, Adina at a-england is having a 30% off sale for her 1 year anniversary. I want an a-england polish so bad. I adore the brand, because it's such a clever concept and the swatches I've seen are amazing. Plus, there's the upcoming The Legend collection, which looks even more amazing from the previews I've seen.

Click here for the a-england sale.

You can see a preview of a-england's The Legend collection here on ommorphia beauty bar.

Tomorrow I'll hopefully have pictures of the beautiful frankens I made this weekend! Happy shopping!

Knowledge is Power: Know What's on Your Nails

I've been using nail polish since I was about 12 years old and most of the years since have also included biting my nails. It's a bad habit that I'm sure many nail bloggers share and many have stopped over the years because of nail polish. However, over those years I never stopped to consider what was in my nail polish. I just assumed that if I could put it on my nails, it would be safe.

Now as I've learned more and more about the nail polish industry, I've found that that isn't necessarily true. Chemicals such as toluene, formaldehyde, and dibutyl phthalate (DBP), which are also known as the Big 3, have been ingredients in the products I put on my nails.

Many cosmetic companies are making a very strong effort to not include these ingredients in their products. There are 3 Free, 4 Free and even 5 Free nail polishes out there. Some companies even go as far to make vegan and water based nail polishes.

There are also brands who are cruelty free, meaning they do not test on animals. At times I still can't believe that there is animal testing in the 21st Century, but it does happen. I love animals and would never think of testing anything harmful on my two cats, Dynamo and Ripley. Why should animals suffer for our vanity? It's yet another topic to consider when purchasing cosmetics. Who knew buying a bottle of nail polish could have so many implications?

To me, knowledge is power and I believe everyone should be aware of things like this. Check out these websites for more information about companies that are 3 free and more about the Big 3 toxins.

Inspirationail - A great resource for 3 free, cruelty free, vegan and water based nail polish companies.
Persephone Magazine - A good article about 3 free and a better explanation of why these chemicals could be potentially harmful.
Lacquerized - A good blog post about being cruelty free. The post is from over a year ago, so some of those brands may have stopped their animal testing.

Disclaimer: I am in no way an expert on this topic, I'm just learning all of this myself. I'm also still trying to decide if I should ditch all my non-safe polish and solely support 3 Free, vegan and cruelty free brands. I will say one thing, now I understand why some brands are more expensive than others and I won't shy away from paying that little bit more for a 3 Free product. In the future when picking up a nail polish, I'm definitely going to check out the label.

Are you tired of hearing about 3 free nail polish or is this news to you? Have you switched to brands that are only 3 Free, 4 Free, 5 Free, cruelty free or vegan? Or do you still buy some brands that are not? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic!

Zoya: Get 2 Free Promotion

Just a quick update. Zoya is having a promotion through their blog and Facebook. You get 2 Free bottles of nail polish (excluding the new True and Fleck Collections), all you have to do is pay for shipping and enter the promotional code.

If you spend an additional $25 on Zoya products, you can also get free shipping. Read more about it and get the code here.

I almost broke my New Year's resolution due to this promotion, until I realized shipping is $6.95. While it's a great Zoya promotion and I'm dying to get my hands on Zoya Kelly, I couldn't justify the purchase to myself. It's only 3 days into the New Year! Plus, for me it feels as though I would only be getting one polish for free.

Is anyone else going to use the promotion? What are your favorite Zoya colors?