Hot For Spring: Zoya Malia

Several fashion magazines and blogs, including Lucky magazine, have reported that lilac is a trendy nail color this spring.

Zoya Malia, two coats, with flash

My favorite lilac polish is Zoya Malia. This is a fabulous color for spring! It looks so fresh and ladylike, while also still having a cool trendiness to it. Zoya Malia works well for me because it is not overly cool-toned. It doesn't lean blue, so my hands avoid the red lobster claw syndrome. Malia also looks good on my mom, whose skin is much cooler-toned than mine. I imagine that Zoya Malia would work well on most nail fanatics!

Of course I had to do a few Konads over this polish!! I knew that white would look amazing over Zoya Malia, so I tried that first, using the Konad white special polish and the leopard print from the m57 plate. White Konad designs over this polish make an incredible Easter look. It made me feel like my nails were a beautifully decorated Easter egg!

Two coats Zoya Malia with Konad Special Polish

Then I decided to try this odd color combination by using a berry polish, Zoya Moxie, as the stamping color. The color combo is weird and I also used the fishnet stamp for this. The fishnet stamp is a big pain. All those little lines make for difficult stamping. But I'm working on it because I love the idea of fishnet print nails!

Two coats Zoya Malia with Zoya Moxie

Zoya Malia and Zoya Moxie are available online at Art of Beauty. Konad supplies are available online at OC Nail Art.

Zoya Malia and Zoya Moxie were sent to me by a PR rep for Art of Beauty. For more details, see our Disclosure Policy.

Side note- EK and I are going to Glasgow, Scotland for the World Irish Dance Championships!!! If you notice things are slow around here, that's why! Everything will be back to normal when we return. We'll have pictures from Scotland, and hopefully some cool polishes to show you! I hope we'll also have medals to show you LOL!

Zoya Reverie Winner!!!!!!

We have a winner for the Zoya Reverie Collection Giveaway!!!

First of all, I want to thank everyone for all of your entries! This contest was a great success for Never Enough Nails. Also, if you didn't win this time, don't worry, we will have another contest coming up soon!!!

And the winner is.......


LEX! Lex is a follower on Google and also on Twitter! Congratulations Lex!

Thanks again to everyone for entering and reading Never Enough Nails!

Zoya Giveaway Ends Tonight!!!

Just a reminder- the Zoya Reverie Giveaway ends tonight, Sunday 3/28 at 10 p.m.!!!
Only a few hours to complete your entries!

Enter now!

Chanel goes BRIGHT for Summer!

There is a TURQUOISE Chanel polish coming this summer!!!! YESSSS! Karen of Makeup and Beauty Blog has a quick promo image of it (along with a hot pink polish). Go check it out NOW- Beauty blog, makeup blog, makeup tips, makeup reviews: Makeup and Beauty Blog: Makeup Reviews, Beauty Tips and Drugstore Beauty Finds. Makeup and Beauty Blog is my favorite beauty blog, btw. Karen is hilarious!

This is much better than those boring Chanel Spring nude colors. What do you think??

Polish of the Week: China Glaze Wagon Trail

China Glaze Wagon Trail, two coats, with flash

For the last March Polish of the Week, I picked a green that is a little bit not a green LOL. China Glaze Wagon Trail is a really really dark green, pretty much black, with gold shimmer. This polish looks black in most low lights, but in brighter lights and sunlight, you can really see the deep olive green with loads of gold shimmer.

China Glaze Wagon Trail, two coats, no flash

Wagon Trail is a definite must for any green or dark polish lover. I think it's an edgy, rocker-ish way to wear green polish. Wagon Trail is a part of the Rodeo Diva collection and was released in Fall 2008.

China Glaze Wagon Trail is available online at 8ty8 Beauty.

Just a few blog notes- I did say that the review of the Zoya Color Lock System would happen this week. However, when I review that, I'd like to have at least 5 days to test the wear of the system. Right now I'm trying to get some posts together for while EK and I are in Scotland next week. So I definitely do not have 5 days to be wearing the same polish LOL. I apologize for this, and I will get the review up as soon as I have 5 days in a row to wear the same polish!

Also, I think I will have to end the Zoya Reverie Giveaway on SUNDAY night instead of Monday night. I have so much to do before we leave, and I need to get the giveaway wrapped up and the prize shipped out by Tuesday. I don't think I'll have time on Monday night to get all the entries together and draw a winner. SO,

remember to enter the Zoya Reverie Collection Giveaway before SUNDAY NIGHT AT 10!!!

My Best Konad Yet!!!

Zoya Jo plus Konad Special Polish, with flash

My m57 plate finally came!!!!! First of all, this plate is totally me. It has zebra print, leopard print, a fishnet-like print, and lace with leopard print! Just perfect for my animal print-lovin' self.

Now, when I say that this is my "best Konad yet", that is a relative phrase LOL. So, this is still not great, but I'm definitely getting better. Shown is the same two coats of Zoya Jo from this post and the Konad special polish for the image.

My only problem with this is the smudging of the white polish. I hear that is a problem with the Konad special polishes, so next time I think I will try stamping with a different polish.

Zoya Jo plus Konad Special Polish, no flash

I do think this is a great look for spring!! The cornflower blue with white zebra=LOVE! I can see myself wearing this several more times this season. I like the m57 plate so much. You can expect to see lots more looks from that plate in the coming weeks.

Zoya Jo is available online at Art of Beauty. The Konad m57 plate and other Konad accessories are available online at OC Nail Art.

Remember to enter our FABULOUS giveaway of the entire Zoya Reverie collection!

GIVEAWAY: Zoya Reverie Collection!!!!!

GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED! wINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY!

This could be yours!! (minus the purse in the background, cause that's mine yo!)

It's officially SPRING!!!! (Well, for some of us in the world anyway.) Even if it's not spring where you live, get in the spring mood with your chance to win the ENTIRE Zoya Reverie Collection for Spring 2010!

Look at these 6 hot spring polishes calling your name! No EK, you are NOT allowed to enter this contest LOL

Thanks to one of Zoya's fabulous PR Reps, one winner will take home all 6 polishes in the Zoya Reverie Collection- Laney, Adina, Reece, Happi, Gwin, and Lana .

You could win Zoya Adina!!!

How To Enter

1. For this contest, you MUST follow Never Enough Nails on Google Friend Connect/Google Reader. Click the Follow button in the right column of this blog.

2. To gain additional entries, you can:

Follow Never Enough Nails on Twitter (1 additional entry)

Comment on this post and tell me what your favorite Zoya polish is (1 additional entry)

Blog about this contest (please send me a link to your post, either in the comments or via an email to neverenoughnails@gmail.com) (2 additional entries)

Please make sure I have a valid email address to contact you if you win! Contest ends Sunday 3/28 at 10 p.m. EST

Read my whole review of Zoya Reverie here.

You could win Zoya Gwin!!

Spring Polish I LOVE: Zoya Jo

Zoya Jo, three coats, with flash

To sum up this post if you're in a hurry: Zoya Jo is gorgeous and my boyfriend is better at Konad-ing than I am.

Zoya Jo is a beautiful cornflower blue shimmer polish that I think is PERFECT for spring. It just screams spring to me! In the first picture, it looks kind of sky blue, but it is definitely more what I would call cornflower, as it has a touch of dusty purple/gray to it. I did three coats for the camera, but it looked great with two coats as well. The formula of this polish was great, just like every other Zoya polish I've ever tried. Zoya polish is a little thin, but in a good way that makes it easy to apply.

Zoya Jo, three coats, no flash

This second picture of Jo is much more color accurate than the first one. However you can't see the shimmer in this picture, so imagine the shimmer in the first picture with the color in the second. I will definitely be wearing this color a TON this spring, it makes me happy!

What makes me unhappy is my Konad-ing skills, or lack thereof. I tried to Konad over Zoya Jo, because I thought the Konad white polish would look really nice with the cornflower blue. But I obviously need a lot more practice Konad-ing. I only ended up with two nails that were decent enough to show you.

Boyfriend Wins

Sadly, these two nails were my boyfriend's first and second attempts at Konad-ing. The first attempt is the perfect hearts with the word "love". Perfect. The second attempt was the cross-hatch pattern on a diagonal which is also perfect. I didn't fully clean up the edges of the cross-hatch nail, but if I had, it would be perfect. Sooooo, basically, my boyfriend is better at Konad-ing than I am.

I'm going to go practice Konad-ing now and watch some Law and Order: SVU.

Zoya Jo is available online at Art of Beauty.

Zoya Jo was sent to me for consideration by an Art of Beauty PR representative. For more information, see our Disclosure Policy.

Polish of the Week: Zoya Midori

Whewwww, it's been a long week. I'm glad St. Patrick's Day is over LOL, it's rough on us Irish dancers.
We are continuing with our green polishes of the week for the month of March. This week's selection is Zoya Midori.

Zoya Midori, two coats, with flash

Zoya Midori definitely has a special place in my Top Ten Favorite polishes everrrrrr. It is a very unique polish color, maybe some people would even say odd. I think it is absolutely gorgeous. It's an acid green polish, reminiscent of Ecto Cooler (anyone remember that, or is it just me?) with loads of gold shimmer. The gold shimmer makes it really special. I could stare at this color all day! That picture above is weird positioning of my hand, but pretty color accurate.

Zoya Midori is available online at Art of Beauty.

Coming up on Never Enough Nails:

Monday- an exciting contest with your chance to win one of spring's most beautiful polish collections!

Mid-Week- a full review of Zoya's Color Lock System and Zoya Remove+

Various times- fun spring colors to brighten your week!

OPI Alice in Wonderland

OPI Alice in Wonderland mini set

I'm a little late with this collection, but frankly, this is because I was not planning on purchasing the whole collection. I bought Absolutely Alice immediately, it was a serious must-have. EK had purchased Mad as a Hatter as well, so I thought I was fine with that.

Comparison of full-size bottle and mini-size bottle

But then the lemmings kicked in. Mad as a Hatter was sold out on all of my usual websites and at my local Beauty Plus Salon! Gasp! Sold out!!!! This means I need it! LOL. My options were to buy a full-size bottle of Mad as a Hatter on Amazon or Ebay for ridiculous prices, like $30.00, OR, locate a mini set and get all four polishes from the collection for a comparatively low price. I chose the mini set option, because I wanted Mad as a Hatter, but I really didn't want to pay outrageous prices.

OPI Off With Her Red, two coats, no flash

Off With Her Red is the most boring polish in the set. It's an orange-y red creme, maybe a little on the jelly side. I did two coats of this, it really could have used three. There was visible nail line with two coats. The formula on this was fine and I think it'll look pretty on toes, it's just an average color though.

OPI Thanks So Muchness!, two coats, no flash

Thanks So Muchness! is a bit more exciting than Off With Her Red. It's a cool-toned, pinky red with shimmer. When you are applying Thanks So Muchness!, you can see little bits of sparkle, almost like little flakies. This made me think- how much better would this collection have been if Thanks So Muchness! was a red flakie polish (ala Shim-merry Chic and Merry Midnight from the Holiday collection)!?!!!? I would have bought two full-sized bottles. Sadly, this is just another red shimmer polish. It's a perfectly fine red shimmer polish, though, if that's what you're looking for.

OPI Absolutely Alice, three coats, with flash

I already raved about Absolutely Alice, read my love story here. I just wanted to include a picture for continuity.

OPI Mad as a Hatter, three coats, no flash

Finally, my lemming, Mad as a Hatter. OPI describes this as a "black multi" glitter, but I don't see much black. I see a lot of silver, purple, green, gold, etc. There is a reason this polish sold out. It's mesmerizing!! I have been staring at it every few seconds since putting it on yesterday morning. I love the colors, I love the texture, everything! This is three coats, and since it's glitter, it dries really quickly. You can see my tips more in the photos than you can in real life, by the way. I probably could have used a fourth coat, I just ran out of time. If you didn't already get this one, try to track one down, even a mini size. It's just gorgeous!

OPI Mad as a Hatter, three coats, with flash

OPI Mad as a Hatter, three coats, with flash

Never Enough Nails on Twitter!!!

Never Enough Nails is finally on Twitter!! Follow us!

I have a really exciting contest coming up, and one way to enter it is to be a follower of the blog on Twitter!! Note, our name on Twitter is NvrEnoughNails because the whole name wouldn't fit. You can also search for us with our email address, neverenoughnails@gmail.com.

St. Patrick's Day Mani + Konad Fail!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!!!
I guess my first Konad was just beginner's luck. I tried to do a Konad for my St. Patrick's Day mani and totally failed. I think I have realized the problem though.

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Emerald City, two coats, with flash

I started out with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Emerald City. Gorgeous color!! So Far so good!

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Emerald City, two coats, no flash

Then I tried to do the polka dots from the m45 Konad plate. The m45 plate has designs meant for the tips of your nails, but I have seen people use them all over their nails. Sadly, I just haven't figured out how to do that yet, as you can see. I did some of the nails with the Konad white special polish. I thought it would be cute to do the rest of the nails with an orange polish (the Irish flag is green, white, and orange, f.y.i.). I attempted to use OPI Tangerine Scene as my stamping color. However, I forgot that Tangerine Scene is a jelly and takes about 4 coats to look even vaguely opaque. So it kind of looks like a bottle of puke-orange polish threw up on my nails. Note to self: Use pigmented polishes for stamping!

Hot Mess of Konad

I also tried kind of mixing the Konad white polish with Tangerine Scene. This turned out better, but it really wasn't what I had in mind.

Hot Mess of Konad on the other hand!

Two coats Zoya Suvi, plus one coat Zoya Manhattan, with flash

So, I removed all of this and did what I do best- layer a glitter polish over a regular polish! My final St. Patrick's Day mani consisted of two coats of Zoya Suvi with one coat of Zoya Manhattan on top. It makes this really cool sparkly olive color that I like much better than my Konad fails LOL.

Two coats Zoya Suvi, plus one coat Zoya Manhattan, no flash

What are your plans for St. Patrick's Day? Anything fun? I have a bunch of shows, so I'll be out all day, dancing away. What kind of green polish are you sporting today? We all know today is a great excuse to wear green polish! Even my mom joined in- she's rocking Emerald City!

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Emerald City is available in a Target store near you. Konad kits and image plates are available at OC Nail Art. Zoya Suvi and Zoya Manhattan are available at Art Of Beauty.

Zoya Free Remove+!!

Zoya is having a special, lacquer lovers!!! Order $10 or more from Art of Beauty, and get a free 8 oz. Remove+!! Use code: BF5 at checkout. The offer ends today, so hurry up!!!

Zoya has such great deals, don't they? I mean $10 to get a free gift? That's like nothing! If you haven't tried Remove+, you should definitely take advantage of this deal. Remove+ gets polish off faster than anything I have ever tried before. It also preps you nails for polish, making your mani last longer!

Polish of the Week: OPI Green-wich Village, plus First Konad!!

OPI Green-wich Village, three coats, with flash

This is a really quick post. As it's almost next week, I thought I'd finally give you the Polish of the Week- OPI Green-wich Village! I love this color, it's a medium green jelly. The jelly finish is great, although it causes a little visible nail line even with three coats. Love this color by itself!!!

Konad Starter Kit from OC Nail Art

Got my Konad starter kit yesterday and messed around with it tonight. I was watching a movie while doing this, so it's pretty rough. I couldn't resist checking out all the stamps on the starter kit plate, plus one stamp on the m45 plate I ordered. My m57 plate is backordered, boooooooo! So here's my horrible, off-center attempts at my first Konad!!!

OPI Green-wich Village, three coats, plus stamps with Konad Special Polish, with flash


OPI Green-wich Village, three coats, plus stamps with Konad Special Polish, with flash

The Konad Starter Kit and plates are available online at OC Nail Art.

Reader Question: Does a Matte Top Coat Help Prevent Chips with Matte Shimmers?

After seeing my post about MAC Studded, a gray/silver matte shimmer polish, reader Skulda wanted to know if a good quality matte top coat would help prevent a matte shimmer polish from chipping. So I did a quick test to find out the answer to her question!

I used KnockOut Cosmetics Flatte Top for my matte top coat. I have found this to be an excellent matte top coat. When applied over non-matte and glitter polish, this top coat is chip-free for days!

left to right: 3 coats Studded plus 1 coat Flatte Top; 3 coats Studded; 3 coast Studded plus 1 coat Flatte Top; 3 thick coats Studded

As we know, the polish companies do not recommend using a top or base coat with any of the matte or matte shimmer polishes. In my wear test of MAC Studded, the nails with the KnockOut Flatte Top top coat actually chipped worse than the nails without. As you can see, my middle nail (Studded alone) only has tip wear, no chips. My pinkie (Studded alone) has a chip, but I accidentally applied the polish very thickly on that nail, so I would say that caused the chip more than anything else. I also had Studded alone, with no top coat, on my right hand and the nails only had tip wear. The only nails that chipped were the ones with top coat (and the aforementioned pinkie nail). The pictures are both with flash, as the weather here in CT is charming yet again.

left to right: 3 coats Studded plus 1 coat Flatte Top; 3 coats Studded; 3 coast Studded plus 1 coat Flatte Top; 3 thick coats Studded

In the pictures, I had been wearing MAC Studded for two days. In my experience of mattes and shimmer mattes, this is pretty standard wear for that amount of time. I do have very oily nails though, if you do not have oily nails, mattes might last longer on you. The polish was absolutely perfect for the whole first day and a half. It started to look like this after I took my second shower while wearing it. I think showers really wreck matte and matte shimmer polishes. Maybe it's just because I take really long showers LOL.

So, to sum up my test, sorry Skulda! I don't think a good quality matte top coat will help prevent chips while wearing a matte shimmer polish! On the bright side, chips are very quick to fix with this polish, and you can't see the seams like you can with non-matte polishes.

MAC Studded is available online at MAC. KnockOut Cosmetics Flatte Top is available online at KnockOut Cosmetics.

OMG, while we're on the subject of KO Cosmetics, check out their new polish "Match" a matte hot pink! I want it sooooooo much!!!!!

MAC Studded!

MAC Studded, three coats, with flash

For today's post, I have a recently released MAC polish that I'm really excited about. Studded is a silvery gray polish along the same lines as the OPI Suedes and Zoya Matte Velvets. For those of you who don't own any of those polishes, WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU? No, I'm just kidding. The OPI Suedes, Matte Velvets and MAC Studded are all matte polishes with a bit of sparkle. A lot of people don't like the flat, dull look of a true matte polish, but these have a very textured, beautiful look. They also dry in seconds, which is wonderful for us crazy busy people! (By the way, I apologize for the little cat scratch on my finger... my fur baby didn't want his ear drops LOL)

The downside of matte and matte sparkle polishes is that they chip and show tipwear very quickly. If you're like me and change your polish every day, this is not a problem LOL. If you're looking for a 10 day chip-free mani, look elsewhere.

MAC Studded, three coats, with flash

The formula was great on this. MAC polishes are sometimes streaky or goopy, but not Studded. It applied easily and was completely opaque in three coats. For me, Studded is a Must-Have for this spring!!

MAC Studded is available online at MAC Cosmetics or at your local MAC counter (find your local MAC online at MAC Cosmetics).

In other Never Enough Nails news, I finally ordered a Konad Starter Kit and two image plates!!! I'm hoping that will arrive in just a few days, and you can expect to see loads of pictures! My first attempts at Konad-ing will be fails, I'm sure, but I'll learn!

Just Saying Hi!

So I have no real post today, but I wanted to stop in and let you know that I am alive LOL. EK and I had a big dance show yesterday on TV, so Monday night we had a rehearsal for it and then last night we were in the studio taping for awhile. St Patrick's Day madness has really started, we have shows coming out of our ears. I was so busy yesterday that I went on TV with NO nail polish on!!!! Gasp!!!! Ek wore Nubar Reclaim though, and it was HOT!

Anyway, in tomorrow's post, we'll be taking a look at a new MAC polish called Studded. Studded is along the same lines as the OPI Suedes and Zoya Matte Velvets. It's a matte shimmer!

Thanks to everyone who voted in the poll so far. If you haven't voted, there's still time!

Take Our Poll!!

So, I'm very curious. I am currently still wearing vampy or dark winter polishes, like OPI Holiday Glow. I went through my fall/winter collection today to see what else I want to wear before I start sporting the spring colors.
Am I the only one still wearing winter colors? They still seemed appropriate to me, but today's bright sunshine and 50 degree weather made me wonder, what are you all wearing on your tips these days?

Take the poll at the top of the page and let us know! Feel free to elaborate in the comments!

Emerald Sparkle v. Emerald Sparkle

left to right: Emerald Sparkle v2.0; Good Emerald Sparkle; Emerald Sparkle v2.0; Watermelon Rind with flash

Ahhhhhh China Glaze. EK and I love you very very much. But sometimes, you do stupid things. Like release a fake version of a very popular, in-demand polish.

I'm talking about the famous Emerald Sparkle, of course. A few years back, China Glaze released this amazing polish called Emerald Sparkle and everyone went bananas over it. So, clearly, it sold out. China Glaze was amazing enough to re-release Emerald Sparkle so that hoards of fans could buy back-ups, or just buy the polish if they missed out the first time around.

However, we polish fans quickly discovered that the second release of Emerald Sparkle was not the green goddess we loved the first time. The second release of Emerald Sparkle was really like a different polish! I guess China Glaze figured out that we weren't too happy about this, because they brought back the Original, Better Emerald Sparkle for the Holiday 2009 season. Today, I have a comparison of the 2nd mediocre release of Emerald Sparkle (we'll call it Emerald Sparkle v2.0) and the good version brought back for Holiday 2009. I also included Watermelon Rind (from Summer 2009's Summer Days collection) for kicks, even though it's very obviously not the same color.

You can see in this picture, the good version of ES is a much deeper green and less blue than Release #2.

left to right: Emerald Sparkle v2.0; Original and 2009 version of Emerald Sparkle; Emerald Sparkle v2.0; Watermelon Rind with flash

Interestingly enough, the good version of ES requires three coats to be opaque, as it is really a jelly polish will suspended glitter. ES v2.0 requires only two coats, as it is your typical everyday glitter polish.

Top to bottom: Emerald Sparkle v2.0; Good Emerald Sparkle; Emerald Sparkle v2.0; Watermelon Rind with flash

Overall, I like both versions, but I like the original jelly polish the best. Sadly, the jelly polish is EK's and v2.0 is mine. LOL. Oh well, I guess I can borrow hers!
We wanted to also show you all of these mattified. No matter what version you have, Emerald Sparkle looks excellent mattified!!! (Watermelon Rind doesn't look too shabby either!!)

left to right: ES v2.0; Good ES; ES v2.0; Watermelon Rind; all with one coat KnockOut Flatte Top, with flash

Good Emerald Sparkle, plus one coat KnockOut Flatte Top, with flash

"Good" Emerald Sparkle is still available online at Head2Toe Beauty! Or you could luck out like EK and find it for $1.99, yes, I said $1.99, at your local Sally Beauty Supply.

Hellllooooo HOLO, where have you been all my life?????

Color Club Wild at Heart, three coats, with flash

Here's another one I left sitting on my dresser for a month because it didn't look that exciting in the bottle. Color Club Wild at Heart.

Color Club Wild at Heart, three coats, no flash

Baby, I will never let you sit unused again.

Dark purple HOLO HOTNESS. That's my review of this polish.

No, seriously, this is three coats (easily could have been two, I just think the third looks better on camera). This is a very true purple, in real life it doesn't look too blue or red. Just deep purple. My pictures make it look much more blue than it is. I tried taking these pictures in all different lights with two different cameras, but there were no color accurate pics to be had this time. I think the holo-ness was confusing the camera. This is a really gorgeous polish, I don't own anything close to it. The holo effect is like that in OPI My Private Jet or maybe Nubar Reclaim, it's actual holo polish, not holo glitter in polish.

I have loads more pictures of this beauty, but Blogger is not cooperating right now. I'll try to add them tomorrow or later tonight.

Color Club Wild at Heart is available online at 8ty8 Beauty and at your local Beauty Plus Salon.

Polish of the Week: Orly Enchanted Forest

Orly Enchanted Forest, three coats, no flash

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, all polishes of the week for the month of March will be GREEN!!!! I do not foresee any of you readers having a problem with that LOL.

Just as a side note- if you notice that posting around here is a bit quiet, that's because EK and I are preparing for the Irish Dancing World Championships, which take place in about 4 weeks in Glasgow, Scotland. We also have performances all over the state of Connecticut for the St. Patrick's Day season. So regular posting will resume after the month of March is over!

Orly Enchanted Forest, three coats, no flash

Now, on to the polish of the week, Orly Enchanted Forest. Enchanted Forest is from the Once Upon a Time collection, released in Fall 2009. This polish sat on my dresser for about a month because, quite frankly, it didn't look all that exciting in the bottle. Boy, WAS I WRONG!!!! Yow! Look at that lush dark green goodness!!!

Orly Enchanted Forest, three coats, flash

Now we all know I'm not a big fan of cremes, but I love when a creme is this good. It's not thick or goopy, but it's not thin and streaky either. Enchanted Forest is the perfect kind of creme, applying smoothly and evenly in two coats (I only did three for the camera). Enchanted Forest is perfect for you if you've been looking for a dark green creme that never looks black. It's like a super glossy forest right there on your nails.

Orly polishes also have those fantastic rubberized caps. No more breaking your hand trying to open the nail polish bottle. Drying time was great in comparison to many other cremes. The formula overall was top-notch. I know Enchanted Forest has been out for awhile, but if you don't own it already and you call yourself a green polish fan, BUY IT NOW!!!!!!!!

Orly Enchanted Forest is available online at Transdesign. I purchased my bottle of Enchanted Forest on sale at Sally Beauty Supply, so check your local store for availability.

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Mochachino

I thought we'd have a little test of the Sally Hansen Insta-Dri promise today. If you don't know already, the Sally Hansen Insta-Dri polishes are supposed to be able to be applied with only one brushstroke, be opaque in one coat, and dry in one minute. And now onto the test:

Mochachino, one coat, no top coat, no flash

Claim #1- Can be applied in one brushstroke.
I have pretty narrow nail beds, so I was able to apply the polish in one brushstroke on most of my nails. My thumbs are too wide to comfortably do one brushstroke though. In the first set of pictures, I did apply the polish with one brushstroke. It was fine, but I really prefer the coverage of my usual three strokes.

Claim #2- Opaque in one coat.
This polish was pretty opaque in one coat. Not bad at all as you can see from the pictures. It does look a little thin with only one coat, but if you were in a real rush, I think this would be acceptable coverage. You can see how much better it looks with two coats in the second set of pictures.

Mochachino, one coat, no top coat, with flash

Claim #3- Dries in one minute.
This is pretty accurate as well. The nails were dry to the touch in one minute. I probably wouldn't have gone running around touching things after just a minute. But good enough to gingerly get into your car and drive if you needed to run out to an event. When you add the second coat, the dries time increases a bit, but not too horribly.

Mochachino, two coats, with top coat, no flash

So how do I feel about Sally Hansen's claims? Overall, if I were in a real rush, I would find the whole one brushstroke, one coat thing to be very useful. It would make my nails look presentable in a short time. However, for every day wear, I much prefer two coats, plus top coat, and my usual three stroke application, as seen in the pictures below. You can see in the above picture how much richer the polish looks with two coats. And even with two coats, the drying time was pretty fast, so this still makes for a quick mani. I think this color is really gorgeous too! However, as you can imagine, your results will vary with the color you choose. Light colors will be harder to get even and opaque in only one coat. But if you haven't tried the Insta-Dri series, they're available in a wide array of colors to suit every taste, so give one a try!

Mochachino, two coats, with top coat, with flash

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri polishes are available at drugstores and your local Stop and Shop.