Zoya Magical: Cosmo, Vega, Lux

✯ PR Sample ✯ 

I'm so excited to share these with you! The Zoya Magical: Holographic PixieDusts for Spring 2014. There are three colors in the collection: Cosmo, Vega & Lux.


I couldn't wait to try them out when they arrived on Tuesday, so I've been wearing Cosmo all week long. I did not get any chips. These wear like iron, just like the other PixieDusts. Removal was not so bad either, but lately I've been using 100% pure acetone.

When the press release came out I wasn't sure how I felt about the addition of the holographic glitter, I thought it would make the polish harder to apply or make it look clumpier. I did not have any issues with application, I only needed two coats. I did one thin coat and then another thicker coat. They dry fairly quickly. They are a bit rough in texture right after application, but after a few hours dull down a bit, like the other PixieDusts I've worn.

Cosmo: I felt like I was wearing crystals on my nails when I wore Cosmo all week. My nails were so sparkly! It's a gorgeous silver color & the holographic glitter is visible in low light and sunlight. It's definitely my favorite color out of the three.


Vega: is a pretty sparkly blue. This is two coats.


Lux: is a beautiful rose pink. It's my 2nd favorite out of the three. Two coats. 



Purchase the Zoya Magical Collection at Zoya.com

Which Zoya Magical PixieDust is your favorite? 

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Part 2: Rainbow Honey: Summer of 199X Collection

This is part two of the Rainbow Honey polishes I won on Manifest Destany. The Summer of 199x Collection! Today, I'm showing the last 5 colors.


Apple Kid is the most perfect hot pink with purple shimmer. I love this color! I did two coats plus one coat of HK Girl topcoat. 


Magic Cake is so bright and so fun. So much colorful confetti glitter!


Tiny Ruby is a pretty red polish full of red different size glitters. I did 3 coats plus one coat of HK Girl topcoat. 


Pink Cloud I'm not as fond of. I might like it better layered over a pink polish. For the photos I did 3 coats, plus 1 coat of HK Girl topcoat. 


I could see myself wearing Fire Spring in the fall. It's full of orange glitter. This is two coats, plus one coat of HK Girl topcoat. 


Which of these Rainbow Honey polishes are your favorite?

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Sally Hansen Insta-Dri: Red-io Active

I've been looking for a good red stamping polish for awhile. Most of the red polishes I own, stamp pink instead of red. I belong to a stamping group on Facebook and was told Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Red-io Active is a good red polish to stamp with. I found it at CVS last Wednesday.

I wanted to test Red-io Active over a dark color, so I used it over Zoya Matte Velvet: Savita. I stamped with Winstonia Store 2nd Gen plate W203. No topcoat. 


What red polishes do you stamp with?

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Part 1: Rainbow Honey: Summer of 199X Collection

I was so excited when I found out I won the Rainbow Honey Mini's contest on Manifest Destany. I won the Summer of 199x Collection! Oh how long I've wanted The Kraken! :-)

Since there's 10 of these mini Rainbow Honey's,
 I'm going to break the collection up into 2 posts. 

1st up is The Kraken. A gorgeous aqua green color with different size glitter. I used 3 coats and 1 coat of HK Girl topcoat. Ugh, it's just so pretty! 


Mint Flavor is another one of my favorites. It's got gorgeous silver shimmer throughout. This is 3 coats & 1 coat of HK Girl topcoat


I only needed 2 coats of Tessie, plus 1 coat of HK Girl topcoat. Tessie is a pretty periwinkle blue with blue shimmer. 


I layered I Miss You over Tessie. It's such a girly glitter with hearts & butterflies. 


And last but not least, Lumine Hall. This is 3 coats & 1 coat of HK Girl topcoat. It's a deep blue color with lot's of glitter. 


Which of these Rainbow Honey polishes are your favorites?

Come back Friday to see the rest of the collection!

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Winner Announced: Sally Hansen Salon Effects



Congratulations to.... Ashlee Stone!

You won all 4 Sally Hansen Salon Effect Designs!


You have 48 hours to respond to the email I sent to claim your prize!

Thank you to everyone who participated!

I have two more giveaway's coming soon so keep an eye out for them!

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Valentine's Day Nails: Design 5

♥ Happy Valentine's Day! 

For today's Valentine design I used China Glaze Strawberry Fields and Winstonia Store 2nd Gen plate W207. Konad Special Black polish and one coat of Seche Vite topcoat.



♥ Valentine's Day Nails 

• Design 1
• Design 2
• Design 3
• Design 4
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Spellbound Nails: My Own Sweet Valentine

Last week I placed my first order with Spellbound Nails. After seeing My Own Sweet Valentine on Painted Nubbs, I just had to have it. It's a gorgeous almost coral pink with gold shimmer. It's part of the Victorian Romance Collection for Valentine's Day.

You can also add a scent to your bottle if you like. I added rose scent. Once the polish is completely dry it smells like roses. I could even smell it through my Seche Vite topcoat. The rose scent is not overpowering, just smells nice and floral. I really like it.

There's another neat thing about this polish. It glows in the dark! I've never owned a glow in the dark polish, this is my first. Formula wise the polish is thick, but not gloopy. I like that it's thicker because you won't flood your cuticles. I did 3 coats, the polish evens out nicely. You'll want a topcoat because it had a slightly gritty finish without.

How gorgeous is this polish?!




It glows in the dark!

These are my nails for the rest of the week, and since it's Valentine's Day tomorrow I used Konad plate M57 & Winstonia Store 1st Gen W102 2nd Gen plate W207, plus Konad white polish. I smudged my middle finger a bit though... :-\


We are having a Nor'easter storm here in Philadelphia... we've gotten 10 inches of snow already and it's supposed to snow more later. Luckily my job was closed today! I took this photo around 10am, when I was having my coffee.


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OPI: 4 In The Morning

I stopped at Sally Beauty last Friday to pick up some acetone and while I was there I got two polishes. OPI Satin '4 In The Morning' was one of them. It's part of the new Gwen Stefani collection. I don't have any matte black polishes and this almost looks like liquid leather when it's dry, I love it!

I did three coats of 4 In The Morning, and my accent nail is Rainbow Honey Apple Kid



What do you think of '4 In The Morning'?

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Different Directions

I've been meaning to write this post for awhile, but I never actually sat down to do it. When I started Tunay Na Mahal back in March 2008 I started as more of a lifestyle & love blog. It cataloged my long distance relationship with my then boyfriend, now husband. We documented our immigration process, my travels overseas.

I've always intended Tunay Na Mahal to be my space. Where I can write about whatever I'm into at that moment. I've written about travel, books, music, I've shared recipes. I've shared about my pet rats on this blog.

The past several years, my big hobby has been nail polish. And lately this blog has started to become more of a nail & beauty blog. I've started doing nail polish reviews for different companies in exchange for samples, and I want to expand on that. Nail polish and nail art is a great hobby of mine. I find it relaxing and I love the art aspect of it (stamping, etc). I love the photography and photo editing too.

Tunay Na Mahal is still going to be my space. I don't ever want to box myself in. I want it to continue to be a place where I can come write about whatever. For the most part, lately this blog has been headed towards a nail & beauty blog. But occasionally between nail polish posts, I may post a recipe, share a day trip, or talk about books/music or share some photos of my rats, etc.

Hope you will stick around!

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Sugar Spun Mani's with L.A. Girl Color Pop

✯ PR Sample ✯

I really enjoyed doing sugar spun mani's last time with some of the L.A. Girl Color Pop polishes, I was sent to review. I wanted to do two more with Blast & Plunge. I just love how these look with the bright colors!

Two coats of Blast with Plunge sugar spun over it.

And this is two coats of Plunge with Blast sugar spun over it. 

Check out my full review of the L.A. Girl Color Pop polishes. 

(L.A. Girl: Color Pop nail polishes can be found at Rite Aid, they retail for $5.00).

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China Glaze: Seahorsin' Around

I picked up China Glaze Seahorsin' Around this past Friday at Sally Beauty. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. Seahorsin' Around is part of the new Sea Goddess CollectionThis polish is absolutely stunning in person. It's a blue green texture polish with sparkly micro shimmer. I did two coats for the photos below. This is the 1st China Glaze texture polish I've tried and it's a bit grittier than the Zoya Pixie Dusts.





What do you think of Seahorsin' Around?

P.S. You know you are a nail polish blogger when you require a gallon of acetone, lol! I picked up a gallon while I was at Sally Beauty to refill my smaller bottle.


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