Avon: It's not a trick, it's an Illusion.

I just looked at my recent posts and realized they have been all about Cult Nails! It's time to switch it up and give you all a breather between Cult posts. (Not that we all don't love the brand, but I'll save some for next week.)

Today I have a polish for you that surprised me with how great it is. I'm not sure how I ended up stumbling across a swatch for Avon Illusion, part of the Enchanted Spring Shades Limited Edition collection, but that's how I ended up buying it. I found a swatch online and then asked my coworker who is an Avon Rep for the new catalog. Avon was having a sale for any 3 nail polish colors for $7.99. A great deal!

My Avon order (L to R): Blue Escape, Illusion, Aqua Fantasy

Illusion is the perfect name for this nail polish. I don't really know how to put my finger on what the color actually is. I would describe it as a greige creme with pink iridescent effect and a very subtle hint of green. The color is absolutely gorgeous and I'm very surprised that Avon came out with something so different. Usually I associate Avon with pinks and reds that mostly your grandmother would wear.

I was also impressed by the formula. It wasn't too thick or too thin, and for a light color, it evened out nicely in just two coats. Plus as you can see, it only needed two coats for it to be opaque. I used Cult Nails Get it On base coat and Wicked Fast top coat.

Illusion is not in your face at all, it's a very subtle color but I think it's going to be great for summer. I also appreciate the fact that Illusion is very work appropriate for those of us who work in an office. The downside is that Illusion is very camera shy.

Illusion is available through Avon, either by representative or their website. The Enchanted Spring Shades collection normally sells for $5.00 per bottle, but right now it's on sale for $3.49 online. Also contact your local rep to see if the 3 for $7.99 is still going on.

What do you think of this polish? Do you own any polish from Avon? Are you an Avon fan or have to stayed away from the brand? Let me know in the comments section!

Green for St. Paddy's Day!

Happy belated St. Patrick's Day! This weekend I spent time with the hubby and his friends. St. Patrick's Day with them is becoming a tradition. There's usually corned beef and cabbage, cupcakes and drinks of course. It was a good time, but it definitely didn't leave any time for blogging.

For my late St. Patrick's Day post, I decided to post the three greens from my Etsy shop, KelBel Cosmetics! I've been wearing these in the two weeks leading up to the holiday. I love these colors and hope you do too!

The two above photos are of Hep Alien. It's a bright spring green that doesn't like to be photographed. I had such a hard time getting a color accurate photo. The top photo is closest to real life, but Hep Alien can also look a little lighter depending on the light. There's also a subtle rose shimmer. I used two coats in the above pictures. 

Hep Alien was inspired by my favorite show, Gilmore Girls. In the show, Lane (Rory's best friend) forms a band called, you guessed it, Hep Alien. I'm hoping to add more Gilmore Girls themed nail polish soon!

This second color is Kelly Green. It's my "signature color" so to speak. I've always had a special place in my heart for Kelly Green since my name is Kelly. It's also the perfect color for St. Patrick's Day and I made sure I was wearing it on the actual holiday. Kelly Green also has a great shimmer throughout the polish. It was my favorite green that I wore recently. The post man at work even complimented my nails when I wore Kelly Green! Shown above is 3 coats of Kelly Green to make it come out really bright. 

Lastly is Luck of the Irish! It's a deeper green with subtle golden shimmer. This polish looked 10 times better on my nails than it did in the bottle, which is surprising. I was very happy with how Luck of the Irish came out.   I only needed two coats!

Hep Alien, Kelly Green and Luck of the Irish are available in mini bottles on my Etsy shop (link above) for $4.50 each + shipping. 

Which green polish did you wear for St. Patrick's Day? What do you think of these greens? Let me know in the comments section. I'd love to hear your feedback!

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!