Category: Affordable

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Quo Beauty Xtreme FX Midnight Magic

Merry Christmas Eve lovelies! & Merry Christmas to those who Santa has already visited. 🎄

Today I’m excited to share an early Christmas present to myself. After a very long Christmas season, I decided to buy myself a little pick me up & hit up my local Shoppers Drug Mart for something sparkling. This is Quo Beauty Xtreme FX Midnight Magic.

3 coats + Essie Speed Setter Top Coat

This dark purple jelly shade has a thin consistency & is packed with multicoloured metallic glitters. Originally I thought they were holographic, but they’re is just a variety of different colours. The formula is a very thin jelly, which allows the glitters to build up & show through the layers.

Because of the thin consistency, I did need 3 coats but they dried down very quickly. & the use of quick dry top coat helped speed things up even more.

The dark purple definitely does mask this shade a bit, but I still adore it. This shade reminds me a bit of Icing Disco Lights, but with much smaller glitters. It’s a fun little touch of sparkle.

For my Canadian friends, you can purchase this & other Quo Beauty shades at your local Shoppers Drug Mart or via their website. This one is currently in stock online & there were lots at my local Shoppers, so you should definitely be able to find it! I know I’ll definitely be going back after Christmas to pick up Stargazing or The Party — which were the other two I was deciding between.

What do you think of Quo Beauty Midnight Magic? Do you like this subtle touch of sparkle? What nail polishes are you hoping Santa leaves under your tree? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

🖤

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SWATCH SUNDAY— Essence Sea You Soon 🌊

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! It’s a bit of a chilly one here on the East Coast. It’s been feeling more & more like Fall. Although, I got to break out one of my favourite blazers this morning so I’m not complaining too much.

Today I’m excited to share a shade from my stash that I feel could go either way in terms of season — great for Summer or the cusp of Autumn. This is Essence Sea You Soon.

2 coats + top coat

I’ve been an Essence girlie for a long time. It was one of the brands that got me into the nail polish community because I would usually pick one every time I went to Shoppers Drug Mart (which is where they are sold in Canada). They did another bottle revamp last Summer, so naturally that meant I needed to add some to my collection.

Sea You Soon is a beautiful sapphire blue with lighter blue shimmer. The formula is easy to apply, thin but not runny, & reaches a nice opacity in two coats. It also dries relatively quickly, especially once top coat is applied.

The thing I like about Essence nail polish is that it’s a great core collection of colours at an affordable price point. They go for $3.99 CAD which is a good price point. It’s especially a good price point if want to pay a reasonable price for shades like white, black or neutral without overspending.

Being a nail polish addict can definitely get pricey, so it’s nice to find quality products at a price that doesn’t mean you have to skip lunch that day.

As mentioned, you can purchase Essence Nail Polish at Shoppers Drug Mart in Canada — as well I do believe some Loblaws locations that have cosmetics also sometimes sell Essence. It can also be purchased direct from the website, though I’m not sure pricing on shipping.

What do you think of Essence Sea You Soon? Are you a fan of this beautiful blue? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below! & get excited because next Sunday I have the whole Sally Hansen x Sesame Street InstaDri collection to share!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Sinful Colors Blue Me Away

Hello loves, & happy Sunday! & happy Mother’s Day to those who are celebrating.

Today’s the best day of the week because it’s Swatch Sunday, & those definitely seem to be everyone’s favourite posts. Today, I’m sharing a shade that I’ve had in my stash for a while, but haven’t had a chance to share yet: Sinful Colors Blue Me Away from their matte line. I purchased this shade last year at my local Walmart for (I think) $2.99 CAD.

2 coats, No Top Coat

The formula on this shade was a bit thin & very streaky upon first application. Even though I thought I shook my bottle quite well, I definitely had some bald spots. Second coat gives you the coverage you see above, which was almost perfect. You can kind of see on my pinky finger that I had a bit of trouble near the cuticle, but I feel like that’s more a me issue vs a polish issue.

The colour is a beautiful almost cornflower blue. This is the kind of blue I’m always drawn to which is why I own so many in my stash. However, I think this is my first matte version of this colour in my stash.

Close up of my polish.

Even without top coat, I loved how well this dried down. On their website for application, it suggests finishing off your manicure with a matte top coat, but I was impressed with how it dried on its own. Obviously, if I was going to wear this polish long term, I would definitely apply top coat to keep the polish on longer — especially because I can find matte polish can chip a little easier sometimes.

If you’re looking for Sinful Colors shades, in Canada they are sold at a variety of stores including Walmart, Lawton’s Drugs, & even Dollarama! Generally they retail for between $2.50-$3.99 which is a very affordable price.

What do you think of Sinful Colors Blue Me Away from their matte line? Do you have this shade in your stash, or would you wear it? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below & what shade or brand you would like to see next!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Orchid Around

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday!

& a bright, sunny, warm Sunday at that. Finally, it’s starting to feel like Spring. So naturally, I needed to pick out some kind of Spring-esque shade for this week’s Swatch Sunday polish pick.

After perusing my polish stash for a while, I decided on this pastel beauty from Sally Hansen: Orchid Around from the Xtreme Wear line.

2 coats + Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat

How pretty is this beautiful pastel is somewhere between pink & pale purple, with a very pretty shimmer which — sadly — is hard to actually see on the nail unless you’re really looking for it.

The formula was a good consistency & easily applied in 2 coats. I did need to apply top coat to smooth things out, as I found it had some streakiness, but since I always add top coat when I’m wearing nail polish anyways, it’s not a big deal — & definitely not a deal breaker.

You can see that pretty shimmer in my macro shot! I just wish it was more visible.

The colour is so perfect for Spring! & I’m always here for a pretty pastel shade to inspire warmed days. This would be the perfect base for some Easter nail art (which, is less than a month away!) I’ve always had good luck with the Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear line in terms of wearability, which is awesome because it’s a great affordable option.

What do you think of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Orchid Around? Would you wear this shade for Spring? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Have a lovely Sunday! 🌸

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Essence Me & My Lover (Sparkle Sand Effect)

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday. ❤️

I thought since tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, I should pick out something sorta Valentine-y for my nails. After digging through my stash, & through a lot of red nail polishes, I decided on this oldie from Essence: Me & My Lover.

2 coats, no top coat.

This shade was originally released in 2014/2015, which is when I picked it up at my local Shoppers Drug Mart. It is a sparkle sand effect shade, which means that it dries down to a textured finish.

Unlike some other sand effect polishes I’ve used, Me & My Lover has a finer grit, so the textured finish is a bit more subtle. It’s there, but it’s also easy to smooth out with a coat of glossy thick top coat.

The red is a beautiful pink leaning red — there seems to be some gold glitters & magenta glitters mixed in. It makes for a very, very beautiful polish. It also dries fairly quickly, which is an important thing when it comes to textured polishes. No body has time to be waiting around for their polishes to dry for hours.

The formula is also really easy to work with, which I always get excited about when it comes to extra old polishes in my stash. I’m definitely glad I decided to pull it out, because it was just the red I was looking for!

What do you think of this Essence shade? Do you remember the textured polish craze? Do you still have any of your old textured shades—which ones were your favourites?

Let me know in the comments below!

& have a happy Valentine’s Day tomorrow!