Category: Swatch Sunday

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Joe Fresh Quartz

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! Hope you’re all having a beautiful & fantastic weekend so far. The weather here has been beautiful so far, & I got to enjoy a lovely Saturday off work (that never happens) so I’m feeling refreshed for the week ahead.

So lately I’ve been rewatching Buffy the Vampire Slayer — I’m on season 2. Which mean, obviously, I’ve been obsessing about her nail polish. In particular, I noticed this metallic grey shade she’s been wearing a lot this season. So I decided to take a look into my stash, & found this beautiful Joe Fresh shade I’ve owned since 2015-ish or so: Quartz.

3 coats + Essence Extreme GEL Top Coat

Yes, so this shade is pretty sheer upon first, & even second, application. I ended up with three thin coats for full opacity. However, they applied with minimal streaking & brushstrokes, so I was pretty happy with that. You can also apply this over a darker shade with lesser coats as well. I do believe that will bring out the duochrome effect a bit more dramatically as well.

A macro shot for good measure. The shift is very good on this shade, depending on which was you move your fingers. I love the purple to green shift on this — it’s beautiful.

But just for a fun, I thought I’d add a little sparkle to this beauty which has been in my stash just as long: CND Vinylux Dazzling Dance. This shade has a similar colouring, but with some added holo sparkle! & the results was perfect.

Adding Dazzling Dance definitely changed the switch from a greenish to a blue/silver, but I love the end result. That sparkle definitely makes up the duller duochrome shift. But I totally think this polish is giving me late 90s, early 2000s vibes & I’m totally here for it.

What do you think about this week’s Swatch Sunday pick: Joe Fresh Quartz. Do you prefer it on it’s own, or with the the added sparkle of CND Vinylux Dazzling Dance?

Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze Shocking Pink

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

It’s the first week of June, which means it’s only a couple weeks of Summer here in this part of the world. & that means I want all the neon I can get my hands on!

Todays Swatch Sunday pick is a classic from my stash: Shocking Pink. Yep… we’re all about the pink again!

3 coats, matte top coat

First things first, the formula on this shade was a bit complicated to work with. I ended up needing 3 coats for full coverage, but it was a bit thick, & had a little bit of trouble smoothing (you can see it a bit in some of the pictures.) Like many neons, it does dry to a soft matte on its own. I added matte top coat to smooth things out while keeping the matte finish the polish has.

The colour is definitely tricky to photograph. If you look online, I feel like everyone’s swatches of this are just a little bit different. It looks lighter, or darker, depending on the lighting. The colour though, is definitely Summer in a bottle. It’s bright & blinding, & the kind of pink you throw on your toes while laying on the beach, sunglasses on, soaking in the Summer (while wearing a high SPF, don’t get too crazy!)

This was the first time, that I can remember, I’ve put this shade on as a full manicure — I’ve usually only grabbed it for nail art accents. With the bit of trouble I had applying it, I’m not 100% sure it would be my first pick for my nails, as I change them so often. But I definitely think it is a great pedicure choice, & I’m definitely saving it for my next one.

I found a few places where you can purchase Shocking Pink:

Do you have China Glaze Shocking Pink in your stash?

Let me know what you think about this shade down in the comments below, & share your favourite neon shade for Summer!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI Race Red

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

I’m going to be honest — originally I had a different polish plan for this Sunday — new shades from the Sally Hansen Good. Kind. Pure. reformulation, as well as the OPI Nature Strong shades featured in my previous post. But I’ve been struggling with the cold from Hell this week, which means I’ve not been up to much, especially swatching 9 polishes, & wasn’t able to get the shades swatched.

I didn’t want to skip this week entirely though, so I decided why not go with my all time favourite OPI red: OPI Race Red.

2 coats, no top coat

This collection was originally released as part of the 2014 OPI Mustang Collection. I have a few of the shades from the collection in my stash that I’ve picked up over the years, either on clearance or at the Dollarama, but Race Red has always been my favourite. In fact, it’s probably one of my favourite red nail polishes of all time.

The colour itself is an orange leaning red. It’s a beautiful cream that applies in 2 easy smooth coats. Even after 8 years, & a whole lot of wears, it still applies like perfection for me.

Look how pretty that colour is! It’s actually very similar to the colour of our Suzuki, which is another reason why I love this shade so much. But my love of red nail polish knows no bounds, & this is no secret.

Obviously, my bottle is looking a little dusty & worn, but the polish is still perfection. My only sadness is that I only ever bought one bottle of this beauty.

As mentioned, this OPI Mustang Collection was released circa 2014, so these shades have long since gone out of mainstream circulation. I did find a few spots online, like Ebay, with bottles listed. I’m definitely going to need to find myself a dupe soon, because I’ll be very sad when my polish officially runs out.

What do you think about this OPI shade? Do you have OPI Race Red in your stash? What is your favourite OPI shade? Let me know down in the comments below!

Also stay tuned this week, because I’m determined to get those other shades swatches this week, which might mean this whole week will see some beautiful shades featured on this page!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — LA Girl Color Addict in Extreme

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! & happy Mother’s Day to all those Mums, step-Mums, GrandMums, & Dad’s doing double duty out there… & anyone else celebrating today.

Today I’m digging deep deep deep into my stash for a polish I’ve had quite a long time: LA Girl Color Addict in Extreme. This brand used to be sold at my local Lawton’s, & I added quite a few shades to my collection over the years — especially when they were on clearance!

Today’s pick is one I don’t think I’ve ever worn! But I thought the pretty colour would be perfect for this Spring-y weather, & I really wanted to see what it looked like on the nail.

2 coats, no Top Coat

The shade itself is really interesting. It’s a periwinkle blue, that has a beautiful golden shimmer. The formula was really easy to work with — it was two easy swipes for full opacity, & this was pre-top coat, but still had a beautiful shine on its own.

The colour is very beautiful. The gold shimmer gives me icy vibes, which gives me Frozen vibes. But the periwinkle colour feels very Spring-y to me. & we all know how much I love blues on my nails, especially frosty blues like this.

Sadly I haven’t seen LA Girl nail polish in my area for a long time, & could only find listings for this shade on eBay, but LA Girl cosmetics do still exist & you can find other shades by them on their website.

What do you think about this beautiful periwinkle blue polish? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below & tell me any experiences you’ve had with LA Girl Nail Polish.

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Deborah Lippman Groove is in the Heart

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday & happy May 1st! Can you believe it? Summer really is almost here.

Today I thought I’d show off a Springy & pretty pink shade for this week’s Swatch Sunday post, which is by Deborah Lippman: Groove is in the Heart. I feel like pink is not one of those shades that I wear a whole lot, but when looking through my pick this week, it caught my eye, & I had to show it off.

2 coats, no top coat.

You’re looking at two coats of polish for full coverage. In the bottle, the shade has a pretty shimmer, but on the nail, it gets hidden, & comes across looking more cream. The colour itself leans a bit peach to me, which I think compliments by skin tone quite nicely. It’s a very unassuming colour, which means it would be suitable for a variety of occasions.

The formula wasn’t too difficult to work with, but did require a careful hands just to make sure the polish went on level. I feel like this could easily be solved by the application of a top coat which always smoothes things out nicely.

I am still bummed about the shimmer though — that’s one of the reasons I picked this polish to wear, but it didn’t show up on the nail at all.

All in all, I think this is a very pretty shade. Even though I own a ton of it, I’m not usually a pink nail polish on its own kind of girl. This is definitely a shade I think would be awesome on my toes, especially with a bit of a tan. & I could definitely see myself using it as a base for an assortment of nail art!

What do you think about this polish pick? Do you have Deborah Lippman Groove is in the Heart in your polish collection? I tried to find this shade online, but being a released from Spring 2013, I don’t think it’s still available, with the exception of an Ebay listing I saw.