POLISH FOR YOUR POLLEX: OPI Alcatraz... Rocks! (Review & Swatches)

Hello,

As the point of Polished Makeup was to bring you makeup AND polish, it's about time I actually blogged about some polish! I have picked up some fairly new OPI's of late, so they will make their way onto the blog in the coming weeks! 

I have been loving the textured polishes over the last little while (namely Zoya's Pixie Dust and OPI's Liquid Sand). At first I was not that enthused, but after actually trying some I was a changed woman - they are pretty awesome!

This post is on 'Alcatraz.. Rocks!' one of the Liquid Sand polishes from OPI's new San Fransisco release. It dries to a matte finish so you simply apply a base coat and two coats and away you go! (They are relatively quick drying too). You can use a top coat with these, but it does ruin the textured finish (they can look quite nice though from swatches I've seen getting around the internet!). If you follow me on instagram (@polishedmakeup) you would know that this pic has been pilfered from my account... I'm all about efficiency ;) haha.

The best way to describe Alcatraz... Rocks! is a navy/denim blue with purple and gold glitter, but there is also flecks of blue and green glitter. It's so glittery that my phone struggled to focus! It is a seriously interesting colour! The only thing I don't like, is that it's been released coming into the Australian Spring/Summer (because it's fall in the States), so it's not likely to get heaps of wear over the next few months! 

It's definitely a two-coat polish. It can look very patchy after one, but evens up perfectly with a second coat. I used OPI's Natural Nail Base Coat as my base coat. I got quite a few days wear before they started chipping - about 3-4 (which is good for me as my nails are pretty weak!). I find the textured polishes wear a lot better on me.

OPI retails in Australia for $19.95 and you can purchase them from selected David Jones and Myer Stores, as well as Salon Stockists.

Have you tried any liquid sand polishes? What are your thoughts?

Love,

Your PM x

POLISH FOR YOUR POLLEX: Zoya Pixie Dust Collection

Hello,

Tonight you get another instalment in "Polish For Your Pollex", the Zoya Pixie Dust Collection! Yesterday I posted the very beautiful Zoya Ornate collection (hopefully I'm not peaking too soon! haha).

If you are into nail polish even just a little bit, you would have probably seen that textured polishes are all the rage at the moment, with just about every brand bringing out their take on it! Have you seen the OPI's 'Liquid Sand'? This is the same sort of idea! Zoya's take is the 'Pixie Dust' collection. The Pixie Dust collection is a sparkly, matte, textured polish "infused with magic and wonder"! I believe it was released around the end of February, and Zoya have just released a summer collection of the Pixie Dust polishes in the US! (which look ah-mazing!)

Handy hint: Zoya recommends no top coat or base coat with this polish (I accidently used a base coat when I tried out Dahlia the other week and it didn't really affect it!) You can put a top coat over them (your fingers won't fall off!) but you will lose the matte, textured effect (which is the point of the Pixie Dust range!).

The Pixie Dust collection is a set of six polishes:

Zoya Pixie Dust

They look really sparkly and pretty in the pack! Now for some swatches:

Zoya Pixie Dust

Dahlia: Black base with silver glitter. It is a really interesting one and like Storm from the Ornate collection, if solid black is not quite your thing, this is a good alternative! This was the first one I tried and I was quite impressed with it! It kind of reminds me of a starry night sky!

Chyna: This is the only one that doesn't have silver glitter. This is a red base with red glitter (it may have been silver glitter that turned red? I'm not sure). It really reminds me of China Glaze's "Ruby Pumps". It's super sparkly and if you are going to wear top coat with any, I strongly recommend this one!

Godiva: A nude base with silver glitter. This is a really pretty plain one! It'd be one of those job interview appropriate ones that is still interesting to look at but isn't all in your face! It actually looks alot nicer swatched than it does in the bottle!

Vespa: A dusty green base with silver glitter. I have this one on now and it comes out a bit dustier on my fingies! A good one for spring.

Nyx: A nice sky blue base with silver glitter. This one leans the tinest bit purple and is another good one for spring!

London: A grey with silver glitter. Is this implying that it is based off the actual London? haha. It is a nice mid-toned grey and almost has a slight greeny tinge under certain light!

(L-R: Godiva, Chyna, Dahlia)

(L-R: London, Nyx, Vespa)

You can really see the texture and the sparkle close up! Texture wise, it's actually a bit smoother than I was expecting! It does feel grainy (and has a habit of holding onto things you get on it like hair dye and makeup!) but not much more grainy than a 120-odd grit nail file (except it's smooth!). Wear time is about standard for me (starts to chip after a few days!) but as I've said, my nails are soft as marshmallows so if your nails are nice and healthy you should hopefully get about five days out of your colour!

This Pixie Dust collection is a good introductory one, with a wide range of colours that are appropriate year-round. I would be interested to see what colours they come up with next winter if they bring a collection out... Navy perhaps? Darkened teal? mmm... Delightful!

My picks: Dahlia (becuase it's not a stark black), Godiva (a good all-rounder) and Chyna (try it with top coat!)

 

In terms of availablity, Zoya is rather hard to get in Australia. The collections are usually a few months behind the US (mostly becuase they are seasonally aimed!). I buy most of my Zoya now from Art Of Beauty Australia (www.zoya.com.au). The new collections (including Pixie Dust) aren't up on their website at the time of posting but I imagine you should be able to ring up and place a phone order if you wish. I have also ordered Zoya before from Aussie company Salon Style (www.salonstyle.com.au). The retail price for Zoya is AUD$19.

Do you like the new textured polish craze? Which are your favourites from the Pixie Dust collection?

 

Be kind to your Pollex!

Love,

Your PM x

POLISH FOR YOUR POLLEX: The Zoya Ornate Collection

Hello,

This post marks a new branch in the Polished Makeup tree - Polish for your Pollex! For those wondering, your Pollex is your thumb! (or big toe... but don't worry... no big toe photos, I promise!).

Polish for your Pollex is where I will group my ramblings about polish (a bit like how Under the Microscope is for makeup). As this blog was to include polish too, I thought it was about time to kick things off a bit more seriously rather than just show you what colour I've painted my nails!

Todays PFYP will be on the Zoya Ornate collection. This has been out in the US for a little while, but I was lucky to pick it up at Salon Melbourne (I am a qualified Nail Tech for those curious!). It is a winter-marketed holiday collection, that was released around October/November in the US (which is an Aussie spring/summer). I was a little sad I couldn't get it over here at the time becuase I feel it's perfect for Christmas time! Nonetheless, It'll be good for the Aussie winter that is just around the corner!



Zoya Ornate

Very eyecatching in the pack! I'm pretty sure I squealed with excitement when I saw it! You know what else is awesome about it?... HOLO'S!! This is the first time Zoya have done holo's and in the bottle they look pretty amazing! There are six colours in the Zoya Ornate collection (sorry but you get them swatched on a nail wheel becuase my poor cuticles wouldn't be able to cope with all the acetone! lol):



(L-R: Electra, Ziv, Logan, Storm, Blaze, Aurora)

Electra: A holographic silver bar glitter! BAR GLITTER!! Awesome! It's not often polish companies come out with bar glitter (though Zoya did with their Gems & Jewels collection a year-or-so ago!). It reminds me of OPI's Save Me (minus the blue of course). Would be good for layering also! (But it is dense enough to get it solid if you want to!)

Ziv: A beautiful gold foil! Nice golds are hard to come by (let alone foils!) but this one is nice and not too yellow! It almost leans a little bronze! It's a real glam colour!

Logan: If Charla and Ivanka had a little polish baby, I think this is what it'd look like! While it's not as bright as those two (you can definitely notice the darker undertone) you can definitely see the Charla-esque influence! A beautiful green with a streak of blue foil-y gold shimmer!

Storm: HOLO! A shiny black with a scattered holo. It's good if you like black but a solid black polish isn't your thing! The holo definitely gives it more interest! I am still a bit sad Zoya called this one Storm and not Ebony! (maybe next winter I'll get lucky...)

Blaze: Another holo! I have seen others describe it as red, but I would call it burgundy. I feel it's too dark and you can see too much pink to call it red! This one has got really good depth to it, I think the base and holo particles get along well in this one and make it look like it's got some red glitter going on! I have already worn Blaze and I was suprised to see it went on much darker than I was expecting!

Aurora: The final holo of the lot. A beautiful mid-purple! This one has the most holo of the lot and is super sparkly! I'm pretty sure your eyes would fall out if you saw it in the sun! LOL! It reminds be a bit of the OPI DS Original that is no longer available! (I'm pretty sure they aren't even close but any purple holo I see I think of DS Original! lol).

All of these swatches are painted with three coats. For Blaze and Aurora I could have got away with two but I thought I'd keep things even! And for some close-ups:

(L-R: Logan, Ziv, Electra)

(L-R: Storm, Blaze, Aurora)

PHWOAR! Check the holo! Super pretty! Zoya have defintiely done a good job of this collection! Zoya make great polishes and they are the big five-free! (No formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, toluene, DBP or camphor! All nasty ingredients you don't want in your polish!). What I love most about Zoya is their range of colours and finishes! They always try to come out with something a bit more original when they release a new collection! Zoya brushes are thinner than OPI's (for those that have never used Zoya) and a few from this collection did have a stray hair (first time I've had that happen) but they are perfectly easy enough to work with!

My picks: Logan (I can't go past a good green!) and Aurora/Storm (for awesome holo-y goodness!)

In terms of availablity, Zoya is rather hard to get in Australia. The collections are usually a few months behind the US (mostly becuase they are seasonally aimed!). I buy most of my Zoya now from Art Of Beauty Australia (www.zoya.com.au). The new collections (including Ornate) aren't up on their website at the time of posting but I imagine you should be able to ring up and place a phone order if you wish. I have also ordered Zoya before from Aussie company Salon Style (www.salonstyle.com.au). The retail price for Zoya is AUD$19.

Have you used any Zoya's previously? Which are your faves?

Until next time,

Be kind to your Pollex!

Love,

Your PM x