Category: Swatch Sunday

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Beyond The Nail Flowing Unicorn Mane

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! I hope your week is off to a lovely start!

Today I decided I needed to feel a little Spring-y, so I pulled an oldie from my stash: Beyond The Nail Flowing Unicorn Mane. As I’ve mentioned before, I won this shade (& the whole Spring Mystical Dreams Spring collection) back in 2017 as part of an Instagram contest. & I definitely have enough long overdue in sharing these shades! But with a winter that doesn’t seem to want to give me even a hint of Spring, I definitely needed some Spring nails to cheer me up.

2 coats + Essie Good To Go Top Coat

How perfectly Spring-like is this beautiful lilac purple shade. The base itself is creamy & smooth, but it has a beautiful layer of holo. The holographic glitter is full, & does not get hidden on the nail. You can see a bit of sparkle in my light box, but this shade truly comes alive in the sunshine.

This kind of pale pastel purple just exudes Spring vibes, & now has me craving warm Spring days more than anything. Or even just days when I don’t have to wear 2 pairs of tights under my jeans while going to work & could rock a cute shirt without multiple sweaters layered overtop.

Close up! You can really see how dense that holo truly is. I’m kind of obsessed with this kind of peak a boo holographic glitter right now. It’s sort of subtle until you hit that right lighting, & then it just comes alive on the nails! Obsessed.

Sadly, this shade is an oldie & has been discontinued by Beyond the Nail. But they have some super beautiful other shades happening over on their site—holo, not holo—as well as things like decals & nail vinyls, so I definitely recommend checking them out!

Have a happy Sunday loves! ☕️

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SWATCH SUNDAY — B01 Pistache Royale

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! I hope everyone is having a lovely start to their day so far. I definitely need an extra coffee today! But at least my nails are pretty!

Today I’m channeling & calling for Spring with my Swatch Sunday pick from L’Oréal: Pistache Royale. It’s been way too chilly & Winter-y, so we need some serious Spring vibes happening (& some warmer temperatures would also be lovely.) I found this beauty at my local Lawton’s in the clearance, along with a few other Spring-y shades I might have to go back for!

2 coats + Essie Good to Go Top Coat

The L’Oréal Colour Riche line touts that it is “a unique formula infused with 4 precious oils for mirror shine and rich colour with an easy, one-stroke application.” The brush is nice & wide, so it does go on pretty easier. The formula is also quite buttery, which I love because it makes for very smooth application.

The colour is very beautiful, a stunning minty pastel green that is perfect for Spring. I was also happy that it was beautiful coverage in 2 coats, because I think we all know that pastels aren’t the greatest ones for full coverage, & can sometimes be chalky, but Pistache Royale had neither problem. It was downright perfect!

Look at that shade — is it giving anyone else mini chocolate chip ice cream vibes? My husband said it reminded me of Mini Eggs, so I’ll definitely have to add it to me yearly mini egg inspired manicure come Easter time.

What do you think of L’Oréal Pistache Royale? Is it giving you the same Spring vibes it’s giving me? Let me know in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen CSM Black & Blue

Hello lovelies & Happy Sunday!

I hope everyone is off to a lovely start to their Sunday — the weekend is almost over! & February is quickly rounding the corner too.

Today’s Swatch Sunday pick is another score from my favourite nail polish clearance section at Lawton’s: Sally Hansen Black & Blue. I’ve actually picked up this polish a few times when out shopping for nail polish, but never actually bought it. So obviously when I saw it on clearance (& for $1 too!) I just knew that I needed to add it to my stash.

3 coats + Essie Good To Go Top Coat

Sally Hansen Black & Blue itself is a grey-ish blue-ish multichrome shimmer (there is some purple in there too depending on the way you move your hand). It’s also very, very, VERY sheer. Like super sheer. The above swatch is 3 coats of polish, and if I move my hand in certain ways you can definitely see my nail line. The blue shimmer is very prominent, while the purple all depends on how you move your hand around — as you can see above, I managed to capture it a bit, but it’s not the easiest to pick up on camera. I have a feeling this shade would definitely probably stand out more layered over a darker shade, as a lot of people have done for swatches, If I was going to wear this shade for everyday wear, that’s probably how I would do it too!

This is definitely a pretty, although very sheer, shade. Application was pretty easy considering it has one of those shimmery formulas that love to streak, & I didn’t find it was too, too watery. The colour, all things considered, is pretty. I could definitely see it being the perfect base for some mermaid nails (whenever I finally get more mermaid scale vinyls — I haven’t had any in AGES.) That being said, I’m kind of glad that I waited to get this shade on clearance, because I don’t think it’s going to be one that is in my frequent nail rotation. That being said, we will see how it looks layered over a darker shade… it may very well blow my socks off!

What do you think about this Sally Hansen shade Black & Blue? Do you have this shade in your collection? What is your favourite thing to do with shades that are more on the sheer side? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Deborah Lippmann 99 Luftballons

Hello lovelies & Happy Sunday! & happy Valentine’s Day! 💗💕 Hope your day is filled with every kind of love — from Friends, from Family, from Pets. & if you’re just not into the holiday what so ever, don’t forget: tomorrow is 50% off chocolate day.

Today I’ve got one more pink polish to share— Deborah Lippmann 99 Luftballons!

3 coats, no top coat.

Base is a beautiful, but sheer, fuchsia pink jelly with an assortment of multi coloured glitters. Like with most polishes like this, I would usually layer it over a corresponding shade to cut down on coats required — & keep clean up from being as complicated & frustrating. But for my swatches, I wanted to show the polish in its true glory.

I will say, I have a few glittery shades like this from Deborah Lippmann, & this shade versus Stronger was definitely a little less packed with glitters. If I wanted to wear this shade on its own, & cut down on coats, I would probably sponge the glitter on instead.

I would just make sure to wear a peel of base coat first!

I originally got this mini bottle as part of a bigger set via Winners a few years ago. From the looks of things, this shade was originally released in 2013, so the only listings I could find for it were via Ebay & Poshmark. It could also pop up at places like Winners, Marshall’s or TJMax as those stores seem to get old school shades like this all the time.

It’s definitely a pretty glitter to wear for whatever occasion you may need a little extra sparkle.

What do you think about Deborah Lippmann 99 Luftballons? Would you wear this pretty pink glitter? What is your favourite glitter polish? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — ACO by Ardene Love Potion No.82

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! We’re officially a full week into February now, & a week away from Valentine’s Day. Here in Halifax were also anxiously awaiting not one, but two big Winter storms this week. Which kind of sucks, after a couple days of beautiful almost Spring like weather! I was really looking forward to maybe pulling out a few of my dresses.

But let’s not dwell on that, & instead concentrate on the important things—like today’s Swatch Sunday pick: Ardene Love Potion No.82! I’m still feeling all the pink love, so naturally I had to dig deep into my stash to find something perfect for Valentine’s Day, but with a twist. & I think this oldie shade was the perfect pick!

Two coats + Essie Good To Go

For those who don’t know, Ardene is a Canadian clothing store that used to be more of an accessory story, & sold a ton of fun nail polish. Having used to work for the company, that meant I got first peeks at all the polish, which is why I own so many. This particular shade entered in my stash pre-2014. For a lesser expensive brand, I actually think a lot of the shades they used to introduce were really funky & different, with lots of glittery shades—like this! & considering they used to sell for $3.99 a bottle, or 3/$10, that’s a pretty good deal.

As with most glittery shades like this, the formula is cruelly, which allows you to see the layers of glitters. However, two coats does coat the nail well, showing off the multi coloured, multi sized & multi shaped glitters which I’m very happy about! No visible nail line peaking out.

This is definitely a fun shade for Valentine’s Day, especially with a name like Love Potion No.82. But it could also be a fun shade for Summer, or just when you’re feeling funky. I did add some top coat (Essie Good to Go) to smooth things out a bit because the layers of glitters can be a bit bumpy. I also think that a little matte top coat would also look incredible over this polish.

This is definitely one I think I need to wear more often!

What do you think about this old school Ardene shade? Do you think Love Potion No.82 is a fun Valentine’s Day shade? What is your favourite pink glitter bomb polish? Let me know in the comments below!