Random From A to Z - Armani to Zoya

I got an awesome call yesterday - from the Chanel counter.  I was there about 2 weeks ago, and happened to ask the girl about Particuliere nail polish.  She told me that they've been sold out for ages and people have even been stealing their testers, so she couldn't even show me what it looked like.  The counter did have a waiting list for it, because apparently they still get some shipped to them once in a while.  So she put me on the waiting list and I waited...and waited...and waited...and then got the call!!  Woo hoo!!!

I love the color!  It's about the color of dirt - but in a good way.  I'm super excited!  I will be swatching this one as soon as I put it on my nails.  Right now I'm sporting a sparkly Zoya color.  More on that tomorrow.

Of course the Chanel counter just happened to be next to the Armani counter, so I HAD to play with the new Armani Blushing Fabric.  It's a blush in a tube.  I tested the hot pink one (shimmering apricot pink) on my hand, and I wasn't impressed.  It was a silicone-y feeling gel - the pigmentation was allright, but nothing great.  The color was actually really nice and I can see it being very glowy, without making you look like a clown, when applied to the cheek.  BUT this thing had GLITTER in it.  Not shimmer like Benefit Moon Beam, but chunkier glitter.  That's lovely for a day at the beach, but forget wearing this one to the office.  I always associated Armani with classy and timeless, and the glitter found in this does not qualify.  This was definitely a FAIL.

I have been test driving the Zoya color lock system since I told you about it last week, and I'm not just impressed by this product, I'm THRILLED!  My manicure lasted a whole week - 7 full days!  For test purposes,  did not reapply top coat a couple of days into the manicure, which I think would have made it last longer. I could have left it on my nails longer as well, but once I see any chipping, I start picking on my polish.  But 7 full days of playing with dogs, cooking, baking, cleaning, typing, etc -that's amazing!

Here are the pictures.  The polish I had on was Zoya Maya, a summery bright color.

This is what my polish looked like after 6 days.  Please excuse the cuticles - they're in desperate need of manicure attention at this point.  Though you can see some tip wear, there is absolutely no chipping.  Sweet!  The index finger has a strange reflection on the tip that's making it look like a chip, but there is no chip there, just some minimal tip wear.  This is a more accurate picture of the color than the one below.








Here is a picture of the polish just before I took it off. This is day 7.  First, you can see the bed sheet marks on my ring finger - this is the slow drying time I was talking about in my last post.  Also you can really see the tip wear on the middle finger and the ring finger. There is some chipping at the tip of the middle finger (top of the picture). 

Now, in all fairness to Zoya, this finger is always the problem child - a heavy door slammed on it when I was younger, and now it has a ridge on the side with the chip.  That area is more flexible weaker, and my polish always chips there (usually after 1-2 days).

Again, pardon the 'pre manicure' cuticles. 

I'm really excited about the Zoya color lock system.  It was not cheap, but if my manicures are to last at least a week, then it was well worth the price.  I'm on my second manicure with 'the system' and so far so good!  I'll take pics of this one tomorrow, when the light is better.

I'm also looking for some more summery colors of polish.  I have been wearing a lot of dark colors on my nails all Fall and Winter.  Now it's time for a bit of a fresher change.  What are your favorite summer shades?