Where do I begin with Zoya Charla from the Sparkle Collection... this beautiful jewel tone polish is absolutely breathtaking!  I received so many compliments from having it on and seriously I just kept staring at my hands all day.  It's soooo puuurty, lol.  It's like looking at oceanic waters, a Mermaids fin, and a really cool duo effect foil polish all in one.  NO LIE!

Seriously, this has been my favorite collection released so far this year and I have not one single solitary disappointment.  I feel equally the same about the Flash Collection, but I'll save that for a different post... let's get back to Charla!  My, my, MY!

As always with Zoya's formula I had absolutely no issues when applying Charla to my nails.  I used two coats, and no drying aides, and have learned not to mix Seche with my Zoya.  That's a no, no!  I've found that Seche works best on polishes with a thicker formula and sometimes causes thinner ones to "flake" and peel up.  Charla is a beautiful blue green turquoise, with gold shimmery micro glitter throughout.  I think three coats is best when applying this one because I had slight nail line show through with just two.

Drying time was not bad at all and again I attribute that to the thinner consistency of the polish.  It doesn't have all those layers to try and work through and essentially has a faster drying time.  I even went so far as to matte one of my nails later during the day and I don't even have to tell you how awestruck I was.  I rarely matte my polishes but seized the opportunity to do so with this one, because I knew the micro glitter would just give off the coolest effect.

I didn't apply a topcoat because I plan on testing this formula without one, so plan on seeing my other hand in pictures for the other swatches. :)

The snapshots below are pictures that show off the beautiful ocean blue hue in Charla, which is what the commercial swatches captured when photographing.  The pictures above with the greener tone showing through is more accurate of how Charla looks in "real life" and on the nails. I'll update this post in about 3-4 days so you can see how well Charla faired.  Keep in mind I wash dishes daily, wrangle three kids, and clean up house so this poor polish will be shown no mercy.

X0xOXo,

polishSWATCHES

Yes, Sinful Colors Rise & Shine is looking like a China Glaze Turned Up Turquoise Dupe!

Okay ladies, I couldn't get a picture to catch the true hue of this polish today to save my life, but I still wanted to share with you all that these shades are so similar to each other in color that I was able to part ways with one and gift it to my daughter.

Both are true turquoises and gorgeous shades displaying more green undertones in real life than what is displayed in the photos.  First chance I get with the correct lighting I plan to snap another photo of the two and update this post with the additional pics.  I was really pleased with Rise and Shines coverage.

Index Finger: Turned Up Turquoise

Middle Finger: Rise and Shine

The really good thing about the Sinful Colors Rise and Shine polish versus the China Glaze Turned Up Turquoise is that with the first coat of polish there was no tip show or VNL (visible nail line).  With several coats of China Glaze Turned Up Turquoise it shows it's just slightly (and I do mean slightly) darker than Sinful's Rise and Shine, but the difference really isn't drastic enough to reason owning both polishes.

Pure Ice In a Sea of Blues at $2 each

My favorite shade out of this bunch is hands down.... Strapless! The razzle dazzle of glitters and shimmers seems to get me every time.  For me it's the perfect shade of blue and I have to say that unlike my Color Club glitters, this wasn't really that bad to remove.   The smell of these is not that terrific though, probably the worst thing about these polishes.

Celestial

This is a very attractive shade of blue.  If I had to describe it in my own words I would say it's a polish with a creamy sheen polish.  The formula of Pure Ice polish is on the thinner side, but still a pretty decent mix.  It coats well with about 3 coats.

Calypso

I really like this color!  Such a nice blend of turquoise hues.  Definitely a shimmer that will be getting a little love from me.  I got quite a few compliments on this color for the short period of time that I had it on.

Strapless

Ahhh... my favorite!  The glitter particles are milled just right in this.  I honestly can't tell you how many coats it takes to achieve the desired opacity, because the manner in which I apply my glitters, it only takes me the average 2 coats to get the look achieved in the photo.

I've been threatening to do a video on how I apply it, but just have never gotten around to doing it.  If you would really like to see a video, just let me know and I'll be sure to make it.