ZOYA — FREE 3 Polish Giveaway (ends Wednesday 011412 @ 11:59 p.m. ET!)

ZOYA, an all-natural nail polish company, is giving away three FREE full-size shades of nail polish. Any colors you want. To each and every customer. Thought that sounded too good to be true? Well you also get three mini bottles of mystery shades. For FREE.

Click the pic to head to Zoya's website to learn all about the promotion and, of course, BROWSE!

That’s right. You don’t need to buy X amount of bottles, sign away your firstborn, or provide any exceedingly intimate details. All you need to know is the secret code: (NYNH) and pay for shipping & handling. That is one pretty sweet deal.

If you end up treating yourself, come back and tell me what colors you ordered in the comments! I'm excited to see which shades you choose. :) I'm still deciding...

ClickclickBOOM, Francesca

The Snowzilla Polarpocalypse Mani

Baby, it's cold outside! Since I live in Los Angeles, I'm blissfully unaffected by the POLAR VORTEX that's been pillaging the U.S. I do, however, have lots of friends and family who are dealing with The Polarpocalypse, and all the pictures of snow floating around the The Gram and FB have put me in the mood for a white mani.

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This was a very easy manicure to do. I began with two coats of OPI Alpine Snow (so aptly named) and let it dry. Once the polish was mostly set, I applied the Swarovski crystal stickers I'd been hoarding.

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What's cool about this product is that the sticker itself is completely clear, and it holds the crystals in place so you don't need to spend time painstakingly placing the gems on your nails. The other nice thing is that there's a little chart included to recommend which sticker goes with which nail. You could go rogue and pavé your own way (ha), but I stuck with their suggestion (hahaha).

Next, I put on a nice thick layer of Seche Vite, being sure to coat the edges on the stickers to make them better seal to my nails. Anything to avoid the dreaded "hair-catching" syndrome.

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This is a great manicure for a special event or party-filled weekend, but be warned: it's not very long-lasting. Despite my best efforts to seal the deal with Seche Vite, the stickers did begin to come off by Day 4 and by the end of Day 5, the polish was not looking so pretty. But it was fun while it lasted!

Even sad fluorescent lighting couldn't dull down this mani. Unfortunately, the jewels did begin to fall off. Note that I'm missing one on my ring finger.

snowin'ballistic, Francesca

P.S. Want MOAR white mani ideas? Check out these posts:

Funfetti Glitter Mani

Sparkling Snow Globe Manicure

The Trés Chic Upside-Down French Mani

China Glaze — Sun Worshiper

I’ve talked about my sun worshipping on this blog before. I know it’s terrible but there’s nothing like a little old fashioned sunshine to cheer me up. I tend to run on the cold side — basking in the sun’s rays makes me feel so cozy!

When I think about sunbathing, I recall a poster in the waiting room of my childhood doctor’s office that said something about how 5 great civilizations worshipped the sun, and 4 are extinct. Aight, doc, point taken but correlation does not imply causation. So no, I do NOT think that sunbathing was the downfall of the Egyptian empire. But I digress.

I recently wore China Glaze Sun Worshiper; not a color for the faint of heart. I mean, it barely matches anything and it glows in the dark, so if you’re looking for a color that whispers, “Take me seriously, I’m a professional,” I’d suggest looking elsewhere. But if you want a shade that shouts, drunkenly, “ZOMGYOUGUYS this is my favorite song!” you may have found her.

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Sun Worshiper is a neon yellow-orange that packs a major punch. What’s funny is that the color itself isn’t necessarily flattering to many (or… any?) skin tones, but you’ll still get tons of compliments because it’s just fun to look at. And therefore fun to wear. :)

Here's Sun Worshiper in direct sunlight.

Look at the way the thumb still glows in the shade.

The coverage is pretty good for a neon. I skated by with three coats since it can be a little streaky. A good idea may be to do a white base first, if you have the time. Three coats will be opaque though, so it's not a necessity. Keep in mind this is about as neon as you can get, so you’ll definitely want to top it all off with a nice glossy topcoat since it dries matte.

Ohmygawd, I'm glowing!

And now I’m off to sunny Palm Springs! Have a great weekend!

sunsuncomeondown, Francesca

Color Club — Harp On It

If you want to sport an attention-grabbing nail but don’t have the time (or skillz) to deal with complicated nail art, there are few better ways to get ooohs and aaahs than a holo.

There are a bunch of holographic shades on the market, but my favorite brand is Color Club. They’ve got a full range of linear holo colors, but I like to go for the tried-and-true silver holo. As I always say, why gild the lily? A classic silver that sparkles like a prism is just perfect.

Here's the full lineup of Color Club holos, 2013.

Scrangie's got THE best swatches of the entire collection. Click the pic to check out her post.

If you’re going to have but one holo in your Stash, my professional recommendation is Color Club Harp On It. The coverage is INSANE, the formula’s smooth as silk and the rainbow effect is oh, so pretty.

Think about it. This is *indoor* lighting and it gleams like this.

Holo nails make you feel like your nails are from The Future. A streamlined, metallic future where everyone dresses only in American Apparel lamé outfits.

But wait! Step it up a notch and do an accent nail inspired by the always clever NailedIt.

Nailed It created a beautiful holo 2D diamond; looks great with that powder blue. Click the pic to get the tutorial.

shineon, Francesca

P.S. Color Club Beyond is a great dupe for all of y’all out there who are still on the hunt for an OPI My Private Jet dupe. Just sayin’. :)