As a high school student, I was super involved (read nerd).  I joined a ton of clubs, was in the band and played attempted to play sports.  Of all the activities I was involved in, I had the most fun being a part of the Yearbook Staff.  My senior year, I was co-editor in chief with one of my friends and we had a blast. Each June as the school year draws to a close I can’t help but wax nostalgic a bit, especially since one of my friends is a Senior Class Advisor who plans prom and all sorts of fun year-end activities.  It makes me want to get out my yearbooks and reflect on the good times we had all those years ago (man I’m old!). This year instead of looking back I thought it would be fun if we brought one of the classic rituals of high school to the polish world with a Senior Superlatives poll.  Vote for your favorite brands in a bunch of unique categories and help celebrate the Nail Polish Class of 2010. Of course what fun would this be without a giveaway.  So check out the categories, vote in the ALU Senior Superlatives Class of 2010 poll and see what one lucky voter will WIN after the jump!

Categories

All the categories are based on the typical Senior Superlatives with a nail polish twist.  Vote for your favorite brand in the following categories…

Most Popular – Vote for your favorite nail polish brand

Most Likely To Succeed – Give props to a smaller brand you believe will be the next Essie or OPI

Best Personality – Award the brand that does the best job of interacting with consumers via Twitter, Facebook or Blog Posts.

Most Artistic – Shout out to the art department!  This one goes to the most creative color range.

Most Athletic – Which brand beats the rest in terms of wear, application, dry time etc?  Vote for the all around champ in regards to formula.

Best Smile – One of the first things you notice on a human face is the same thing you notice on a nail polish bottle, the logo.

Best Dressed – Which bottle shape is so gorgeous it’s worthy of being put on display?

Prettiest Hair – Whether it’s flat, round, long or short, which brand makes your favorite nail polish brush?

Nicest Eyes – Vote for your favorite nail polish cap design.

Class Clown – Who doesn’t love a good laugh?  Polish is supposed to be fun, right?  Tell us the brand with the funniest color names.

Biggest Flirt – Do some polish names make you blush or feel a bit frisky?  Vote for the brand that comes up with the cheekiest names.

Giveaway

One lucky voter will be drawn at random to win a prize package that includes the OPI Hong Kong collection and the Zoya Flash AND Sparkle collections. That’s 24 brand new bottles of fun to play with.

EDITED TO ADD – Seche generously added to the pot by offering up their Perfect Nail System (Retain, Rebuild, Recondition) and the famous Seche Vite, Restore and Ridge Filling Base Coat (an ALU fave!).

Rules

One entry per person. Multiple entries will be disqualified. Entries without actual answers in the survey will be disqualified. Open to everyone. Survey closes on June 14th at 11:45PM EST.

Click Here To Take Survey

To celebrate Earth Day, Zoya has brought back their Nail Polish Exchange program. It’s a way for you to properly dispose of your old nail polish in exchange for some new Zoya 3-Free shades.  So if you have bottles of old crusty polish laying around that you just can’t salvage, even with a bottle of thinner, or if you’re looking to update your nail wardrobe, send your polishes to Zoya and let them handle the disposal.

Do you have old bottles of nail polish , used or unused, laying around, collecting dust and tying up your valuable money? If you do, and we know you do, then this is the perfect program for you.

For a limited time, kicking off in April, in time for Earth Day 2010, Zoya will replace your old nail polish (any brand other than Zoya, Qtica or Nocti) with any brand new Zoya Nail Polish shade and properly dispose of your old polish according EPA guidelines. Choose from over 300 ready-to-wear, formaldehyde, toluene, camphor and dibutyl phthalate free, award winning colors (Zoya Nail Polish was awarded the longest wearing nail polish in Women’s Helath magazine)! Yep, an offer that’s as good for the planet as it is for your beauty budget – Wow!

There is a minimum of 6 bottles and no maximum (exchange as many bottles as you want as often as you would like)

All you have to do is complete the form on the Zoya website, choose your colors, ship them your old polish and pay a $3.50/bottle fee for shipping and processing. So you’re paying half price for brand new Zoyas and clearing out your stash in an eco-friendly way.  What a deal!

You have from now until June 30, 2010 to take advantage of this offer.  What colors are you planning to get?

The vast majority of you raved when I posted the Zoya Sparkle collection (shipping April 1st) but a small minority of you expressed concern about chipping and quality of wear with Zoya’s formula.  This is not the first time I’ve heard this.  In fact my salon told me they stopped using Zoya because of this issue. Personally, I’ve never had anything but fantastic wear from Zoya polish using either their Color Lock System or an outside brand of base & top coat.  A long time ago I showed you a wear test using the Zoya system but I decided it was time for an update using non-Art of Beauty products. See the results and discover what ingredient could be at the root of your problems, after the jump!

I applied Zoya Ivanka, rather sloppily, before a party a little over a week ago.  Using Nubar Foundation Base Coat and Color Club 0-60 Speedy Top Coat I wore Ivanka for SIX DAYS!  In fact because I am just that lazy I’m still wearing it and on Day 10 and I only have two minor chips and a little tip wear.

So what’s the key?  It’s something I posted about in my original wear test almost three years ago.  It’s all about an ingredient called CELLULOSE ACETATE BUTYRATE. Any base coats containing it will prevent their polish from adhering and top coats with the ingredient must be carefully formulated to work with Zoya lacquer. Any guesses what ingredient is in the majority of quick dry top coats?? Ding, ding ding!!

I did a quick inventory of my base & top coats and the only base coat I can find containing Cellulose Acetate Butyrate is Orly Tough Cookie so for the majority of you with Zoya wear problems, it’s time to start looking at your top coats. Seche Vite and Poshe both contain the ingredient as does Dazzle Dry, China Glaze Fast Forward, CND Air Dry and butter London Hardwear.

The majority of my top coats are either quick dry or they don’t have labels so the ingredient list went with the box but here are a few top coats to try: Color Club 0-60 Speed Dry Top Coat, China Glaze No Chip Top Coat, CND Super Shiney and of course there’s always the Zoya Color Lock System.

I find that using a slower drying top coat with drying drops always gets me better wear but I understand that time and patience are not in abundance for most of us nail girls, thus my mass quick dry top coat collection but if you love the Zoya colors and want the color and wear without the frustration it’s time to change up your top coat regimen.

Who can take a rainbow, wrap it in a sigh Soak it in the sun and make a groovy lemon pie The Candy Man, the Candy Man can The Candy Man can ’cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good ~Candy Man by Sammy Davis Jr. Flash, the second summer collection from Zoya is a set of six glossy cremes that feel very candy-ish.  Like a companion set to one of my fave Zoya collections, Candy, from a few summers ago.  Couldn’t you just see all those shades as big glossy jawbreakers in a candy machine?  Friendly jawbreakers though, not the kind Rose McGowan shoves down your throat as a deadly joke.  Or how about giant lollipops along the wall of Dylan’s Candy Bar? Come check out the sugar coated goodness of Dana, Jancyn, Jolene, Maura, Perrie and Robyn after the jump!

Jancyn is probably my favorite color in the collection.  While I’m sure the expectation is for me to go gaga over any and all blues, in the summer I love a good orange and this vivid tangerine hue is my kind of color.  Though if you own Misa Speed of Life or OPI In My Back Pocket you’ve already seen Jancyn since they could be triplets.  If you check out my comparison of SoL & IMBP in the Gallery you’ll see what I mean.  My only wish would be for a non-streaky application.  Maybe I didn’t wait long enough between coats but I ended up applying three layers to get an even finish.

Robyn is a true cyan blue.  It appears darker in person than this image shows but the hue is a pretty good representation.  Like Jancyn, the application wasn’t perfect as I needed three coats to avoid streaks but it leveled out to a nice smooth finish.  I’d say its closest living relatives are Barry M Cyan Blue and CND Hot Pop Blue with Sally Hansen Insta Dri Brisk Blue coming in as a slightly deeper cousin.

Perrie is a unique flower.  This red-violet creme has no real match in my collection.  Maybe that’s because I shy away from warm toned purples but I couldn’t find any polish that comes close to it.  Though like Robyn, it photographs much lighter than it dries.  It’s a very rich color and it applies flawlessly in two coats.  The application really wows.

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Joleeene, I’m begging of you please don’t take my man. OK how apropos was it that Adriana sang this song on 90210 last night?  Am I the only one still watching??  Anywho, this hot Barbie pink toes the line between the sweet and bubblegum-y and super bright pinks.  It’s actually quite perfect as it isn’t too warm or cool either.  It was another three coater though and even then I could still see traces of my whites underneath.

Dana is a rich berry pink and honestly, I’m really disappointed with how my photo turned out.  I just couldn’t get this sucker right no matter how hard I tried.  It’s much more a raspberry hue than this shows.  While the application was good, the pigmetation was a bit lacking.  What you see below is three coats and those of you who have hawk eyes for VNL will see that here.

Maura is a bright cherry red that has somewhat of a 40s throwback feel.  I see this on a pin-up model or Dita Von Teese. Now like Perrie, this one applied flawlessly.  I could almost get away with one coat.  I LOVE reds like that.  When I can see the bottle color in the first layer and not some berry undertone, I’m in.

I was inspired to do a “skittles nails” mani with the colors like I did with the Candy collection.  It’s very fun for summer and looks really cute on toes.  It’s definitely an attention getting style but I find that it’s becoming much more common now than even a few years back.  Yay for nail color progress!

Bottom line: The Flash colors aren’t incredibly unique overall but they look great together as a collection. I highly recommend Perrie and Jancyn (if you don’t own its dupes) and if you’re on the hunt for a great red, you won’t be let down by Maura.

The Zoya Flash collection is available for pre-order now on Zoya.com with an expected ship date of April 1st. Polishes retail for $7/ea or $36 for the full set of 6.

What Flash colors spoke to you? Are you feeling candy colored brights for summer? Did you find any must-haves for your collection?

Disclosure: Product samples were furnished by Zoya for review.  For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

The Zoya Sparkle collection has completely wowed me.  I predicted when I saw the promo images that I would find some must-haves in the bunch but seriously they’re all winners.  Even the reds and pinks which is so unlike me. With this first of two Summer 2010 collections, Zoya has combined the twinkling beauty of the China Glaze glass flecked formula with the foil-like metallic glitter as seen in the Orly Foil FX collection.  Together they make for one killer combo of bling and glitz that will razzle dazzle you a la Chicago.  I want to break out the jazz hands and fan kicks just thinking about it. Check out the girls, Ivanka, Charla, Mimi, Alegra, Nidhi and Gilda, after the jump!

What makes the Sparkle collection stand out amongst other colors in this genre is the pigmentation. The problem with glitter polishes is that if the base gets too thick with pigment, the glitter fades to the background or leaves you with a chunky, bumpy mess.  So it’s a fine balance and Zoya has definitely toed the line.

The Sparkle formula is still semi-sheer but with three thin coats, they are completely opaque.  Of course, if you’re more heavy handed with your polish application you could probably get away with two coats but I find that thicker layers lead to chipping so I prefer to keep them thin. Nidhi is the lone exception to that rule as she is much more pigmented though slightly less flashy.

The polish applies much like the China Glaze glass flecked formula except that when it dries it loses its jelly quality.  That’s when the metallic glitter comes into play, giving them more of a foil-esque finish than the ChG glass flecks with that “lit from within” look.

I knew Ivanka would win my heart before I even saw her in person.  It’s hard for me to not love a green.  Though the fact that I have not one green that matches its light emerald base was surprising.  I swatched a bunch of different shades trying to find a base color match and the closest I found would be if I combined Sally Hansen Emerald City and Rimmel Camouflage though neither one has Ivanka’s glamour.  How very fitting for a polish that shares a name with Ivanka Trump.

Charla has that watery “mermaid” look like the blue-green glitter Deborah Lippmann will be debuting this fall.  Of course they look nothing alike, they’re just variations on a theme.  Charla’s deep aqua base is similar to Color Club Emerald Depths but with a teal green shimmer that reminds me of China Glaze Watermelon Rind.

Mimi is pure, purple perfection; very rich and grape-tastic with what looks to be light purple/pink metallic micro-glitter.  A purple shimmer this vivid and true is hard to come by, at least in my stash.  To me, Mimi has no real match. It’s warmer and more vibrant than Milani Totally Cool and when compared to China Glaze Grape Juice, Mimi pops. Grape Juice actually looks kind of dull standing next to Mimi and I LOVE that polish.

Alegra is a radiant fuchsia gem.  Think of it as an electrified version of Tama from the Utopia collection.  The base color reminds me of China Glaze Sass in a Glass though the glitter is different. Alegra has a dark pink glitter as compared to Sass’s cool, light pink sparkle.

Gilda is kind of like Alegra’s brighter, lighter sister.  The relationship is similar to those two OPIs in the Brights collection, Flashbulb Fuchsia and Ladies & Magenta-men.  With a base color that’s somewhat like OPI Can’t Help Falling In Love, Gilda is a power mix of the three with bit more punch and heck of a lot more pizazz.

Nidhi is definitely the most subdued Sparkle in the bunch.  With its dense pigmentation, the red and gold micr0-glitter seem to be more of an accent than a statement piece.  The warm tomato red tone is reminiscent of last summer’s China Glaze Cherry Pie but with much more opacity and depth of color.  This was the only two coat-er in the collection.

Bottom line: If you even remotely like the glass-flecked look or the foil finish, run, don’t walk, to buy this whole collection. And if you’re like me and flock to the shiny and sparkly like a moth to a flame, I don’t even know what you’re still doing here unless you’re placing your order in another browser window! If I had to pick a Top 3: Ivanka, Charla, Mimi (in that order). I know, I know big surprise!

The Zoya Sparkle collection is available for pre-order now with an expected ship date of April 1st (and that’s no joke!). Order online at Zoya.com.  Polishes retail for $7/ea OR buy the whole collection for $36/set and save $6.

So Fanatics, did the Sparkle collection live up to your expectations?  Exceed them?  Disappoint?  Which shades will make it onto your polish shopping list?

And totally off topic but I’ve been growing out my nails just to see if I could shape them more round but I feel they’re getting too long.  Should I take ‘em down or maintain the length?

Disclosure: Product samples were furnished to me by Zoya. For more information view my Disclosure Policy.

If there’s one thing I’m certain of, it’s that 2010 is shaping up to be one glitter party of a year.  If you thought that between the OPI Alice In Wonderland, Nubar Sparkles and the upcoming Lippmanns that you had more than enough options to bling out your nails, get ready for what Zoya is bringing to the party. Launching in April and following what seems to be a Zoya tradition, two new Summer collections will launch; Flash consisting of six glossy cremes and Sparkle a line of six sparkling metallics.  Check out the preview pics after the jump!

Because you’re a star… Flash and Sparkle

Zoya Flash Collection

Robyn – perfect turquoise cream
Perrie – soft lavender cream
Dana – american rose cream
Jolene – summer pink cream
Maura – electric crimson cream
Jancyn – soft tangerine cream

Zoya Sparkle Collection

Ivanka – mermaid green sparkling metallic
Charla – tropical blue sparkling metallic
Mimi – royal purple sparkling metallic
Alegra – fuchsia pink sparkling metallic
Nidhi – rich red sparkling metallic
Gilda – fashion pink sparkling metallic

Now I love a good creme but you know I’m dying over Ivanka, Charla and Mimi and have high hopes for Robyn, Perrie and Jancyn.  I can’t wait to see them in person.

Which shades are you adding to your wish list?  Did one collection grab you more than the other?  Which ones are you on the fence about until you see them swatched?

If there’s one thing I’m certain of this Spring, there is no true theme for nail color.  We’re seeing brights, nudes, holos, greens and with the launch of Zoya Reverie, metallics. I have to admit, when I first saw the promo images I was intrigued by the duo-chrome look of Adina, but feeling unsure of the rest.  After having some time to play with the collection, I’m pleased to say there is more than one gem in this bunch.  Check them out after the jump!

So you know what comes to mind when the dreaded word “metallic” gets bandied about… stroke marks!  Oh the horror!  Seriously, I love the look of metallics but the uneven finish drives a perfectionist like me bonkers.  I’m happy to report that while these aren’t completely stroke-free they are about as smooth as metallics can get.  I think it’s because they aren’t what I think of as a traditional metallic.  It looks as though each shade has a shimmery (not metallic) base infused with metallic micro-glitter.

In regards to application, each and every color in this collection flows like buttah and wow are they pigmented.  I used two coats for each swatch though with some shades I could have gotten away with one.  I am showing each polish at two angles so you can see the color with all its shimmer power and the base color as well.

Adina is the color that has been receiving the most buzz.  Like the blogger it’s named after, Adina from Krasey Beauty, it is a unique flower.  With its cool purple base and green shimmer Adina is a true duo-chrome, meaning it flashes different colors depending on the lighting and angle in which you view it.  As much as I like the color, it doesn’t seem to flatter me but I’ll wear it anyway.

Based on early images, I wrote Adina off as a Ki dupe (like Zoya would ever be that lame, ha!) and was I ever wrong.  Ki is an oilspill on the nails with its inky base and flashes of purple and green while Adina is much lighter and, I’ve got to say it, Scrangie-esque.

Reece is my surprise in this collection.  I love it when a color sneaks up on me and this one certainly did that.  I love the deep rose shade and the way the gold micro-glitter pops against it.  It actually reminds me a lot of China Glaze Strawberry Fields only this is the non-glass flecked version.

Laney is a metallic silver that reflects different colors in the bottle, like a mirror, only on my hands it just looks tinged with green and not in a good way.  In bright light, it’s a great smooth silver, which isn’t easy to find but, in low lighting it makes my hands look dead.  Then again, that’s why I wear gold jewelry, silver makes me look washed out.

Happi is a deserving name for this popping pink.  It’s very Hubba Bubba only with a gold flecked twist.  Though of all the colors in this set, Happi’s gold micro-glitter shows up the least.

Gwin just might replace Lianne as my fave orange Zoya.  It’s got that same gold-smattered Sunkist hue only this is much more pigmented.  I love Lianne and always include it in my list of orange polish recs but the sheerness has always been its only downfall.  Gwin definitely doesn’t have that issue.

Lana is a burnt orange-red with the gold glitter giving it a suntanned, baked feel.  If I was ranking the polishes in terms of how much the glitter stands out, Lana would fall right behind Happi.  It’s not all BAM sparkle with Lana, she’s a subtler lady.

The Zoya Reverie collection launches this month on Zoya.com and is available for pre-order NOW.  Zoya polishes retail for $7/ea and can be found in salons nationwide.  Find a salon near you with the Zoya Salon Locator.

How are you feeling about Reverie?  Did the collection live up to your expectations?  Surpass them? Disappoint?  Which polishes will make their way to your collection?

Disclosure: A product sample was furnished to me by Zoya. For further information view my Disclosure Policy.

How many of you are Black Friday shoppers?  Do you get up at the crack of dawn to stake out the best deals?  Have you been known to sit outside a Best Buy or Circuit City all night to wait for a laptop or flat screen? (I have, TWICE!)  Well this year Fanatics you can score an amazing Black Friday deal from the comfort of home in your snuggly pajamas.

Zoya is hosting their first ever GREEN FRIDAY.  Green polish lovers will rejoice over this deal.  With your purchase of $20 or more on Zoya.com you will receive SIX FREE GREEN POLISHES. You get Zoya Tangy, Envy, Midori, Irene, Suvi & Veruschka FREE by using the code GREENFRIDAY at checkout.

Code will activate on Thanksgiving (11/26/09) at 5 PM (EST) and expire on Friday (11/27/09) at 5 PM (EST)

Keep On With The [Mattes] Don’t Stop
Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough
lyrics by Michael Jackson (altered by moi)

As long as you keep loving the Mattes, its seems Zoya will keep pumping them out. And if they’re as hot as the Winter MatteVelvets, sign me up.

You all know that I’m a fan of the matte top coat vs. matte polish but some colors are worth the short wear time. For me, that color is GREEN! Big surprise, I know. Throw in my other love, purple, and we’ve got ourselves one helluva matte party. Check out the Winter MatteVelvets after the jump!

You know from my NYFW NOTD Challenge that I’ve had the Winter MatteVelvets for a while. I waited until now to post them because I was informed that the finish of my Veruschka sample (the green) was too shiny and being reformulated before the official launch. You want to see the actual polish you’re buying, right?

Now I don’t know if the finish is the only change with these mattes but for the most part, they applied FLAWLESSLY. Savita was my only problem child (see below). I was seriously impressed. They flowed so much better than the fall collection, especially Verushcka, providing a larger margin for application errors and a more even result. Well done Zoya!

Veruschka is obviously my fave in this collection. Like an evergreen tree she is a shimmering goddess of the forest. There’s something about the shimmer in the Zoya mattes that give them a “lit from within” look that doesn’t translate on camera. Very magical.
Savita is without question a stunner. A true grape hue, it’s right up my alley. What disappointed me was the consistency. This was the only polish in the set that I had difficulty with. It had a somewhat chalky quality that made for an uneven, chunky application. It’s not totally unworkable, it just wasn’t the dream Veruschka was.
Harlow‘s berry/magenta hue has glow that looks like I’m wearing fabric on my nails. With a glossy top coat it reminds me of one of my fave OPI Designer Series polish, Extravagance, minus the holographic glitter.
The Zoya MatteVelvet Collection is on sale now. Polishes retail for $7/ea and can be purchased online at Zoya.com. To find a salon carrying Zoya near you, try their salon locator.

Who’s planning to get the Winter MatteVelvets? Who already bought them? What do you think of them? Have you discovered any tricks to making them last longer?