Behold, the Most Perfect Brown: Zoya Kalista

Hello and good morning!

Today I am sharing with you a color that I was really excited to get my tips on! Why? I have been on a search for a perfect, wearable, brown shimmer. After the most sought after, shall we say "hautest" (you know which one) color of the Holiday 2008 releases left me disappointed with flat, muddy looking tips, Zoya Kalista delivers the most perfect, wearable brown.

Zoya Kalista in the sun:

Zoya Kalista (from the Flourish collection) is a gorgeous mahogany nail color that is so shimmery, so intense and so gorgeous. If you have also been looking for a go-to brown for this upcoming holiday season, get Zoya Kalista. Before you order, make sure you check out my post from this past Saturday for a wonderful November promo code from Art of Beauty, the makers of Zoya.

Have a great day!

xoxo

Katee

Laura Mercier Nail Polish: Review & Swatches

Good morning readers! I hope that everyone had a lovely weekend. 

Today I am sharing with you three Laura Mercier Nail Polishes that I just added to my collection: Champagne Wishes, Avant Garde and Caviar Dreams. Do you think that someone at Laura Mercier was watching "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" when they named these colors? I can hear Robin Leach right now saying "Champagne Wishes and Caviar Dreams"! LOL

First, Champagne Wishes, a pretty and shimmery white frost. Frost finish nail polishes are known to have application issues with brush stroke marks and cuticle drag and this one was no different for me. This nail color requires a very steady hand to apply perfectly. But that does not change that this is a very pretty and very wearable color. Light colors like this are not usually my thing but I will definitely reach for this color on occasions when a lighter polish color is more appropriate than a dark and vampy one. These swatches are two coats of polish and without a top coat. Just click the pictures to see them bigger if you like.

Laura Mercier Champagne Wishes Swatch (indoor artificial light):

Laura Mercier Champagne Wishes Swatch (outside sun):

Next, Avant Garde, a gorgeous and shimmery eggplant. I was surprised by the application on this one because it was also a bit uneven on me and this did not look like the kind of color that would be. It evened out for me perfectly though at three coats. I am not particularly bothered by this because I am a habitual three coater anyways when it comes to doing my own manicures. Something else that surprised me about this nail color is that Avant Garde is almost an exact dupe for OPI Lincoln Park at Midnight! Comparison swatches are also part of this review. The following swatches are three coats of Avant Garde and without a top coat.

Laura Mercier Avant Garde Swatch (indoor artificial light):

Laura Mercier Avant Garde Swatch (outside sun):

Another Avant Garde Swatch (outside sun):

Finally, I saved the best for last: Caviar Dreams, a charcoal based, green and purple shimmery duochrome. This nail color is an absolute stunner! The purple properties of this color are more visible indoors and the green properties of this color are more noticeable outside in the sun. It is so unique, I can honestly say that I have never seen anything like it before. Every fashionista should pick up this color, it is super trendy and it is fabulous for the fall and winter. I had no application issues with this nail color. The swatches are two coats of polish and without a top coat.

Laura Mercier Caviar Dreams Swatch (indoor artificial light):

Another indoor swatch:

Laura Mercier Caviar Dreams Swatch (outdoors sun):

Now that you have seen the swatches, just a pesky little issue I have with these polishes: the brush handle. Typically when you see a big, chunky handle like this, it comes off to reveal a smaller and more user friendly handle underneath (like Chanel). Well not this one; and it was not particularly easy for me to figure out how to hold it correctly. Of course I figured it out though. I will also say that I do like the Laura Mercier brush. It worked well for the size and shape of my nail beds.

Laura Mercier nail polish is available online at Laura Mercier and Sephora. They are .35 oz (smaller than OPI at .5 oz) and retail for $15 each (a little pricey for the size if you ask me). If Caviar Dreams is out of stock, do not despair, it WILL come back in stock! Do not go to eBay and pay the highway robbery, marked up prices!!

Comparison swatches of AG and LPAM:

When I said that LPAM was almost an exact dupe for AG I said 'almost' because indoors under artificial light you can see (barely) that the shimmer in AG is more silver toned than that of LPAM. You can see really see this when holding the two nail polish bottles together and it is also (barely) noticeable on the nail.

LPAM is on my index finger (screen left) and AG is on my middle finger (screen right). 

Indoors:

I can see in these first two swatches that the shimmer in Avant Garde is a little more on the silver side than that of Lincoln Park at Midnight.

Outside:

So what do you think, can you tell the difference between Avant Garde and Lincoln Park at Midnight?

Well that is all for today. Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you back here tomorrow on ELECTION DAY!! No matter which candidate you support, it is so important to vote. I look at voting as both a right, but also a privilege. So like I said, not matter which candidate you support, GET OUT THERE AND VOTE TOMORROW!!

TTFN