Category: Swatch Sunday

Posted on

SWATCH SUNDAY—Essie Dive Bar

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. I’ve been enjoying a lovely, although a tad rainy, weekend off from work. Today, though, I’m all about Swatch Sunday, & this classic Essie shade from my stash: Dive Bar.

This shade has been in my stash a long time — I’m pretty sure I found it on a good deal at Winners, as I do a lot of my shades. Dive Bar was originally released as part of the 2012 Spring collection, also named Dive Bar.

2 coats + Essie Speed Setter

This colour is so gorgeous! It’s a deep navy blue base, with a striking teal shimmer. It just screams Fall to me — so I was surprised when I learned it was released as part of a Spring collection. It also reminds me of Space, so I feel like it would be an incredible base for galaxy nails because it has a great depth to it!

The formula is also still really awesome, which is good after all these years. I’ve own this bottle since at least 2015, so it’s going on 7 years old. It does have the original skinny Essie brush, which means you do have to be careful with application. I managed to get opacity in 2 thicker coats, but you could definitely do one coat over a black as well — it probably wouldn’t be as shimmery, but it would save on coats.

What do you think about this Essie oldie? Do you have Dive Bar in your stash? Do you love these deep shimmery blues as much as I do? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

Posted on

SWATCH SUNDAY — Quo Beauty Tint of Mint

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

My first Swatch Sunday post in a while. Last weekend was a bit of a sad week in our house as we lost our beloved cat. So this last week I just wasn’t feeling the blogging vibes. But it’s a new week, & I’m excited to get back into my blogging routine.

& we’re starting that off with a new Swatch post. Today’s pick: Quo Beauty Tint of Mint.

2 coats + Essence Colour Shield Top Coat

Quo Beauty is a Canadian brand, sold through Shoppers Drug Mart, as well as Loblaws stores. I picked up this shade a few months back at my local Superstore on a really good sale (I think like $4 each?).

Obviously, I was first attracted to the colour. I sound like a broken record at this point, but we all know I love a good pastel Buffy Season One-esque polish.

Formula on this one wasn’t too bad, although I did end up adding top coat to smooth things out a bit. The formula is a bit thin, so two coats is necessary. But it built nicely, & after a little swipe of top coat, everything looked perfect. Although, I will say: the colour seems to lean a bit more of the blue side than on the mint side.

This particular polish is from the Quo Beauty Breathable line. Like the Quo by Orly shades that Shoppers Drug Mart previously sold, they also have a few different lines: Breathable, Flash Dry, & Extreme FX.

I decided that since I was on a roll with my Quo Beauty, I should pull out another one of their shades that I recently found in the clearance for only $1. Quo Beauty Xtreme FX Shimmer & Shine. I thought the shimmery gold was a nice touch over this pale mint. I do love a nice touch of sparkle, especially when I’m wearing just nail polish & not nail art.

Also I’m already dying to apply this over a pretty burgundy/wine shade I own from Quo that’s been sitting in my stash, just waiting for the end of August/early September.

As I mentioned, Quo Beauty nail polish can be purchased at Shoppers Drug Mart & select Loblaws stores across Canada. I believe the regular price is normally around $11.99 (CAD) but I find they’re always having awesome sales, & you can find quite a few fun shades in the clearance, especially during seasonal shifts.

What do you think of the Quo Beauty brand? Have you tried out any of their nail polishes? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Posted on

SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie Swoon in the Lagoon

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

It’s a sunny Sunday here on this side of the world, & it’s been super beautiful & warm, & very summery the last few days which I can’t get enough of. Which also means I’ve been really feeling the Summer nail art shades, & thanks to some awesome tips from work (from some crazy days), I managed to pick up some brand new Essie shades last week.

First up, this beautiful originally released as part of the Spring 2022 collection: Swoon in the Lagoon.

2 coats, no top coat.

Oh my gosh, I’m obsessed with this colour. The formula on this shade is really easy to apply, & smooth. I needed two coats for full coverage, but I always feel most comfortable applying 2 coats anyways. I love the vibrant fuchsia shade. It’s a perfect pop of colour for summer, even if this shade was originally released as a Spring shade.

Look at that beautiful colour! I like how it almost looks neon, but without the matte finish of a neon shade.

I picked up this shade at my local Shoppers Drug Mart for $9.99 on sale. It looks like it’s become part of the core collection, as it was in the main section, as well as a side cap. I love when that happens because it means I get a chance to get polishes I might have missed on the first release.

What do you think about this shade? Do you have Swoon in the Lagoon in your collection? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

Posted on

SWATCH SUNDAY — Rimmel London 660 Climax

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend & is excited for the week ahead. I’ve had a very busy 4 days, so I’m exhausted, but I did manage to take a very quick trip down memory lane for this week’s Swatch Sunday post.

Today’s pick is another super oldie from my early nail polish obsession days: Rimmel London 660 Climax. You might remember from a few years ago I featured another one of these Rimmel London shades called Pulsating, & shared how obsessed I was with them. So I thought it would be fitting to share its sister shade.

2 coast + Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat

How pretty is this purple? I love how it’s shimmery, with that beautiful pink glow. The first coat was pretty good coverage, but I found the formula needed another coat to be safe. I can’t remember how it applied back when I first bought it, so it might be an age thing (this bottle is about 12 years old) so I didn’t mind adding a second coat, & a little top coat to smooth things out very nicely. & to be truthful, for a polish that is older than my oldest nephew, I think she’s looking pretty good.

For fun, I decided to add a bit of extra sparkle with a pretty flakie topper by Essence called Essence Galaxy Flakes Rock My World.

This is one coat of Essence Galaxy Flakes Rock My World over Rimmel London 660 Climax. The flakie glitters add a pretty extra sparkle which I very much enjoy. The purple probably doesn’t show up as much over this lighter purple as it would over a darker shade, but it definitely made the perfect base for some nail art I’ll share this week!

What do you think about this nostalgic polish? Do you remember Rimmel London nail polishes? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

Posted on

SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen x Friends Miracle Gel Collection

PR

Features Gifted Product in Exchange for Content

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

It’s been super quiet on the blog front this week — there was a lot going on behind the scenes, so nail polish had to take a bit of a step back. But I’m super excited because not only am I starting with a very exciting Swatch Sunday post, but I’m starting with a very exciting, absolutely jammed pack Swatch Sunday post featuring the brand new Sally Hansen Miracle Gel x Friends collection!

To say I’m excited would be an understatement. As soon as I saw the collection being released — and heard the names — I was so hoping I would get a chance to get my hands on some of this collection. & Thanks to the absolute dolls at Sally Hansen, they gifted me with the most amazing PR package featuring all these beautiful shades. CLICK HERE to see a InstaReel featuring the whole fun package they sent me!

& now… let’s get onto some swatches!

Continue reading “SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen x Friends Miracle Gel Collection”