Water Spotted Nail Art featuring Zoya Neely and Kristen

Hi everyone!

Today I have a subtle but stunning nail art look to share with you!

I just received my May Ipsy Glam Bag, which included Zoya "Neely" from the Lovely Spring 2013 collection!

Now I have yet to get my hands on the rest of the collection due to my broken car and broken washing machine, but now owning this one I know I must have them all!

First, let's take a look at this beauty.

Neely is a light seafoam green creme.

 The consistency is fantastic like all Zoyas usually are, but I didn't experience some minor dragging and streaking. 

This is really out of character for Zoya polishes, and I think it's only because the polish might have thickened a bit from waiting for me to come rescue it from the hot mailbox.

But not to worry! 

A second coat brought to the creamy opaque color you see in the photos, with no streaks in sight.

Now on to the nail art!

I realized I hadn't done a water marble in quite a while and had been itching to do a water spotted mani.
I wanted the second color to be subtle enough to allow Neely to be the star -- enter Zoya's "Kristen."

I forgot to individually swatch this color, but it's very true to what you see below. 

By now I'm sure you know how the water spotted method works. You drip a few drops of polish into a cup of  water, spritz some hairspray into the polish and dip your nail into the mixture.

I do have an interesting tip I thought I'd share. Now most people recommend using chapstick or vaseline around the finger to protect your skin being covered in excess polish, am I right?

Welp, I found something BETTER.

No, you eyes are fine. That really is cuticle remover. 

I used this and now I'll use nothing else. 

I picked this baby up on a whim when I discovered it on manager's special at Kroger one day. 

Not only is it a great cuticle remover, but it is a fantastic tool for water manis. Now don't get me wrong, chapstick and vaseline work great but they leave your fingers greasy. 

This is much thinner, but not thin enough that it washes away in the water. It's really moisturizing, so when you wipe away the excess polish you're not stripping away the natural oils from your hands.


In addition to that, the brush applicator allows you to reach the cuticle area, so you're actually creating a barrier along the inner edge of you design as well. This simplifies cleanup by one million percent. 

Chapstick and vaseline don't usually provide much protection for this area, leaving you with a messy, hard-to-reach cuticle area to clean. With the cuticle remover, you just wipe and go!

I like that the water spotted manis are less time-intensive than water marbles, and this combo totally worked. 

What do you think of this look?
Will you try cuticle remover for your next water spotted/marble manicure?

Share your thoughts in the comments below and don't forget to give this look some love on Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr and Pinterest!

And make sure to check out Zoya on Facebook and Twitter!

Thanks for reading!

-Melody

Sation Of Corset I'll Call You from the April Ipsy Glam Bag!

Happy May everyone!


We know that April showers bring may flowers, so in spirit of the changing month I wanted to share with you this pretty pink beauty from Sation Nail Lacquer in Of Corset I'll Call You.

Pricing & Availability

Even though I received mine in my April Ipsy Glam Bag, you can get your hands on (or get this on your hands, teehee) for $5.00 through Sation's website by clicking here.

The Color

Of Corset I'll Call You is a semi-sheer, dusty pink creme with some serious purple undertones.

Sation "Of Corset I'll Call You"

I wasn't expecting this to go on as sheer as it did, because the formula is definitely on the thick side. However it's one of those "thick but in a good way" polishes. It's not a goopy thick, it's just held together more. It went on extremely smooth and application required little effort.

On the first coat it appears to be almost a "barely there" sort of shade, but I had no trouble building it up to full opacity in three coats. The only downside was the drying time. It's definitely took longer than the average polish, but to me the final result was worth it.

Why am in favor of this? There's something about this polish that just makes the nails look fresh out of the nail salon. My nails have always been paper thin, but this is one of the few polishes that have made them look thick and healthy without it looking like I have access layers of polish on. 

Sation "Of Corset I'll Call You"

In short, it's classy an chic. This specific shade has a lot of depth for a creme color. The transition from sunlight to shade reveals a more lilac hue, which is equally as gorgeous. I'm partial to polishes that can surprise me in that way and this one had me at the bottle.

Oh, and I can't forget to mention the little star on my ring finger. Not that this shade needed any dressing up, but I wanted to play around with the larger studs varieties in my stud wheel from Born Pretty Store (full review coming soon).

On another note (brief Ipsy information):

I mentioned that this was received through my April Ispy Glam Bag. Ipsy is a monthly beauty subscription box service filled with curated makeup, skin and hair care products based upon your beauty profile. 

It's similar to Birchbox in the manner that you're paying $10 a month and not everyone will receive exactly the same selection.

I haven't chosen to review Ipsy just yet, as I usually like to wait two or three months to really experience all aspects of a subscription program before I develop my full opinion. This was the first glam bag I have purchased, but I will go ahead and jump the gun in saying that I already love it and definitely think it's worth $10.

In the meantime, you can visit ipsy.com to see what it's all about and sign up yourself! 

There's usually a waiting list, so I recommend signing up now. Once your subscription becomes active you have 72 hours to actually place your order. 

(Psst! The Ipsy Facebook page revealed that Zoya will be in the May bag, so excited!)

What do you think of this shade? 

Do you own any polishes from Sation Nail Lacquer?
Let me know your favorites from this brand in the comments below, and give this color some love on Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr.

Also, if you're interested in the Ipsy program and would like a post about the other items I received, just let me know!

Thanks for reading!

-Melody