Category: Swatch Sunday

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Pacific Blue (OG Formula!) 🌊💙

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! I hope you’re having a beautiful weekend. It’s been a bit of everything this weekend — rain, sunshine, wind. That’s Nova Scotia weather for you!

Today though I have a special cult classic polish to share with you that I think most will definitely recognize! This the original Sally Hansen Pacific Blue.

1 coat + Top Coat

You may remember I did a comparison post featuring this shade circa 2019, but I never realized that I hadn’t shared full swatches of it! Considering we’re coming up on ten years since the untimely formula switch of Pacific Blue, I really wanted to throw this beauty on.

For those who don’t know the backstory, in 2014 Sally Hansen reformulated the original Pacific Blue, going from the beautiful creamy cobalt blue to.. something else. & nail polish aficionados were mad. We also scrambled to find as many back up bottles of the original shade to hoard.

The formula on this shade is about as close to perfect as you can find. One coat of creamy beautiful blue goodness. Even after 10 years, it still applies flawlessly. & unlike some similar shades—*cough* Butler Please *cough*—I never have any issues with premature chipping. & it kind of makes me remember why I fell in love with nail polish & nail blogging in the first place.

Do you remember the original Pacific Blue? Do you have a bottle of this beauty in your nail polish stash? Sadly, after 10 years since of being discontinued, I think the only place you might find a bottle of the OG is on EBay, or places like Poshmark where I found a bottle of the Original formula for $20.

Have a beautiful Sunday!

🖤

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SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze Coconut Kiss

Good morning beauties, & happy sunny Sunday. The weather is feeling more & more Summer like. A girl could get used to sunshine like this! Obviously that meant I needed to dig through my stash for something summery that I haven’t shared yet.

& China Glaze Coconut Kiss is obviously the perfect choice!

2 coats + top coat

China Glaze Coconut Kiss is a beautiful deep purple with a metallic finish. The formula was on the thinner side, which meant the application was easy & built to opacity in just two coats. I love the deeper purple shade, but it also has a stunning flash of lighter purple/fuchsia depending on how you move your hand.

The shimmer just brings this polish to the next level!

Like come on, how pretty is the polish?

& the great new is this shade is part of China Glaze’s permanent collection so it’s easily available anywhere you buy China Glaze nail polish.

What do you think about China Glaze Coconut Kiss? Are you a fan of this pretty purple polish, or have it in your own collection? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Pacifica Plant Magic Tangerine Pop 🍊✨

Good morning & happy Sunday!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. & happy Mother’s Day to those who celebrate & are celebrated. I know I’ve continued to be quiet on here, but it’s been a rough week. But I’m here, & I have a beautiful Spring-y shade to show off for this week’s Swatch Sunday: Pacifica Plant Magic Tangerine Pop.

3 coats + top coat

This beautiful shade was picked up on clearance at Shoppers Drug Mart when they were clearing out their Pacifica shades.

The formula on this beauty is a a kind of shimmery frosted pale orange with a gold & faint green flash of shimmer. It is thin though, so I really had to build my layers in order to cover my nail line fully. You want to be careful about this though, because the formula has that frostiness to it that shows mistakes easily.

The colour is such an unusual choice for me—I’m not really an orange polish girlie—but I thought the shimmer was so pretty on this one I had to get it! It definitely takes some work & patience for a pretty application, but I also think with its thin formula you could get away with using it as a topper as well.

As I mentioned, I purchased my bottle at Shoppers Drug Mart before my location discontinued it. However, it is still available c/o: the Pacifica website for $10.00 USD so if you need this shade in your life, definitely check it out. I would imagine it is also available at other locations where Pacifica is sold.

What do you think of this pretty & unique orange polish? Have you tried any of the other Pacifica shades before? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Happy Sunday! 🖤

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Cadillacquer Lavender Sunset (NailStuff Exclusive)

•contains pr/gifted product•

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! Sorry for another week of radio silence — I had a massive allergy attack on Sunday that turned into a brutal sinus infection, so I’ve been trying my best to recover from that which is why my nails have taken a back seat unfortunately.

BUT I’m so excited today because I have a polish to share with you that I’ve been keeping a secret for months! NailStuff just released a brand new exclusive shade on their website from Cadillacquer & I’m absolutely in love with it! This is Lavender Sunset.

2 coats + top coat

How to describe this complex polish? It’s a stunning duochrome with a dark blue base with the most incredible shimmer that gives it flashes of purple & pink, & is finished off with a scattering of holographic flake glitters. The formula was thin, so you definitely need to add a few coats to build up your opacity. However, because of the beautiful finish, I find you can get away with a thin application & it still looks beautiful on the nail.

Depending on the lighting, it can appear golden, pink, purple, or even show off flashes on green. I can definitely see the inspiration, which is described as being inspired by the “beautiful lavender fields in Provence, France”.

How gorgeous!

I’ve worn this polish ( in secret) a few times over the last few months, & I always get fabulous compliments! It really does look like magic on the nail. I’m also very impressed with the formula, as I’ve worn this polish 4+ days more than once, without expirencing major chipping of my nails — which is always impressive when you’re working in retail.

As mentioned, this is a NailStuff exclusive polish, so it can only be purchased via their website. It retails for $19.99 CAD. As well, like all Cadillacquer shades, it is 5-free, & cruelty free.

If you’re looking for a super unique shade to add to your collection for the Summer, I definitely recommend picking Lavender Sunset up! It’s absolutely eye-catching, & will get your nails noticed! I also haven’t tested it yet, but I feel like with it’s thin formula, you could use it as a topper on other shades for some unique looks!

Let me know what you think of this shade down in the comments below!

Happy Sunday! ♥︎

Products featured in this post were provided in exchanged for content. 

All thoughts are honest & my own.

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie Expressie IRL

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! A beautiful sunny Sunday, that is supposed to be quite warm. Spring has officially sprung, & I just want to keep soaking it in. Today, I decided to grab a pretty polish I was gifted by my daughter for Christmas. She knows how’s much I adore purple, so she picked up this pretty polish for me at her school Gift Mart.

This is Essie Expressie IRL.

2 coats + top coat

This beautiful grape purple is smooth & easy to apply. I had almost full opacity in one coat, but I did find I struggled a smidge with the brush, so I needed a second coat to perfect my application — especially around the cuticle line. I found I had some weird lines with my first swipe, just because the brush, so I needed to go back in to smooth everything. The end result, though, was a pretty perfect looking manicure.

The cream formula dries quiet, although I did find the shine a bit flat, but a quite swipe of Seche Vive fixed that.

The colour is so purple! Which I love. Honestly, with the exception of the kind of wonky brush–which could be a defect with this bottle as I can’t remember having this issue with my other bottles of Expressie–I have no complaints about this polish! & I just love the colour.

Essie Expressie IRL is part of the core collection, so if you’re looking for this shade you can find it anywhere that Essie shades are sold– for example, I found it listed at Shoppers Beauty for $14.99 CAD, Walmart Canada for $10.96 CAD, Amazon.ca for $10.96 CAD, & for my American friends, on Target.com for $9.99 USD.

What do you think about Essie IRL? Do you love this purple polish as much as I do? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Happy Sunday ♥︎