Category: Swatch

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Color Club Black Magic

Hey Beauties & happy Sunday! & happy first Sunday of October! It’s officially spooky season. I’m breaking out my Halloween decorations as we speak.

It’s also time to start finding some spooky-inspired polishes from my stash to feature on Swatch Sunday. Honestly, I haven’t bought any Halloween polishes in a few years, so I’m running out of a polishes that work for Halloween, haha. This might be the year I need to add a few new ones to my stash. But — in the meantime, here in a kind of Halloween-y/Witchy polish: Color Club Black Magic.

2 coats, no top coat.

I’ve written about these Color Club holos before, & how much I love them. Walmart was selling the whole collection, & then had them on clearance, so naturally I had to stock up on a few. & I feel like everyone needs a black holographic polish in their life, so those moments when you’re feeling moody — or, you know, for Halloween.

For my polishes, I captured my swatches with the daytime light in my light box, but also used the flash on my camera to get the holo to show up even better.

Formula on this polish was super easy to apply. First coat was a little streaky/patchy, but with the second coat we had the full opacity you see in my pictures. That’s also without top coat, but it still has a nice gloss to it as well. & the sparkle! Yes the sparkle is fantastic. I really like the flash on rainbow against the black base. & I think this would be a fantastic base for some Halloween nail art.

& obviously, we need a sunshine shot, because I really feel like you can’t truly appreciate holo until you see it in the sun. & she is stunning in the sun! Really gives off oil spill vibes.

What do you think about Color Club Black Magic? Is it giving you Halloween vibes? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below & share what Halloween inspired your loving right now, because I’m definitely on the look out to add a few new ones to my stash!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Berry Fancy

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday. Unless, of course, you to where in the path of Hurricane Fiona & are also still in the post storm darkness. I come to you, from my the front of our car where I am simultaneously charging my near dead phone, & using it as a hot spot so I can write up the blog post!

Haha, Hurricane or no, the show much go on.

Today I reached into my stash for another pretty shade from a few years ago: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Berry Fancy. This shade was originally released as part of the Sally Hansen Red/esign collection circa 2018, & was gifted to me from Sally Hansen in a super cute package. At the time, I was newly pregnant with my daughter (& sick all the time) so I only swatched 1/2 the collection. You can find those shades HERE.

2 coats + Sally Hansen CSM Fast Dry Top Coat

The formula on this shade is quick nice. It’s not a one coater, which would be nicer, but it does apply absolutely perfectly in 2 coats, & leaves a thick glossy finish, even before applying top coat. The colour itself is a beautiful dusty brick red, that leans a bit more berry side of things. It’s a nice change up, & definitely is 100% an Autumn shade.

Again, the application was really nice, & I like that this is a not quite red kind of shade. It’s kind of like a mix between a dark dusty rose, a brick red, & like… maybe plum? Either way, it’s a fantastic edition to my red collection, because sometimes you get a little bored with just fire engine red, you know?

This is also the shade/colour I’ve been heavily debating adding to my hair where I have it coloured. Currently it’s a not so great, extremely faded, purple-y pink colour, so I’m thinking it would be nice to go with something definitely for the ‘Ber months… since they are my favourite months, after all!

I peeked online, but it doesn’t look like Berry Fancy is still part of Sally Hansen’s regular core collection. I did find one bottle listed on eBay, used, but other thank that it doesn’t look like its an easy shade to track down. That being said, I feel like this shade probably has an easy dupe out there, so if you’re looking for a red/not-quite-red shade like this, it won’t be hard to dupe.

Let me know what you think of this shade, & have a wonderful day. Time for me to finish my camp stove made coffee, & pray we get some power soon! Have a lovely day darlings!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Giorgio Armani Nail Polish in Woodstone

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend so far.

Today I decided to dig deep into my stash, & pulled out a polish that was gifted to me back in 2015, & has been sitting in there, peaking my interest, for a long time. This is Giorgio Armani #214 Woodstone, which was originally released as part of the Fall 2014 Fade to Grey Collection. At least — I’m 99% sure this is #214 Woodstone. Mine didn’t have the official name on the bottle, but after some Googling, & seeing other swatches, it’s pretty clear that’s which shade this is.

2 coats, no top coat.

First up, this shade is such an unusual colour selection for me, but I was really really feeling this bronze-y brown shade, that I had to put it on. It’s such a deep, dark brown, but the gold shimmer really gives it another depth to it. For my swatches, I applied two coats of polish, but honestly it was pretty much opaque on the first coat, the second one was just to smooth things out fully.

Also, I really like the way the golden shimmer looks with this shade. With the matte finish, it really does almost give you the effect of being wood grain, which is really cool.

Just for fun, I wanted a comparison of the polish both matte & glossy. Top coat definitely takes it to a whole other level — I just love it!

I’m really loving this shade, & kind of sad it’s taken me 7 years to actually venture out of my comfort zone & try it out. It really is a stunning shade for Autumn & Fall. All is missing is a little bit of golden accent, maybe some leaves. A fantastic base for an Autumn inspired nail art look!

Sadly it looks like Giorgio Armani Beauty no longer produces nail polishes, which is a shame. If I had known how nice of a formula their polishes had, I definitely would have sought some out sooner. However, I’m glad to have this beauty in my stash, & I definitely won’t be waiting another 7 years to wear it again!

What do you think about this pretty bronzed brown? Do you ever wear brown nail polish? Do you prefer it with a matte or glossy finish? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze Kiss & Spell

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

I hope everyone is enjoying the second week of September so far. 🍂🍁 The weather here here has been that perfect mix of no humidity & slightly cooler temperatures that always gets me excited to get dressed in the morning!

I’m also excited because today I’m sharing another dark beauty of a polish, which was originally released as part of the 2020 Halloween Spellbound collection: Kiss & Spell.

2 coats, no top coat.

How pretty is this beautiful purple-y burgundy packed with red & golden flakies. Kiss & Spell takes two coats for full opacity, & dries down to a lovely matte finish. I didn’t have any issues with application, which can sometimes happen with matte shades, & I found it dried relatively quickly. Of course, if I was wearing this for a few days, I would probably still apply a quick dry top coat, & then apply a matte top coat over that as well.

Sadly, while beautiful, the matte finish definitely hides the beauty of the glitters — applying a shiny top coat definitely shows off those flakies. You can see in my bottle shot how gorgeous the colours are!

I know a lot of people are still in Summer mode, & I don’t blame them, but wearing this polish makes me realize just how freaking excited I am for Fall, & Halloween! There is something about a deep reddish burgundy shade that is perfect for this time of year as we get those cooler mornings & evenings. This just makes me happy for knee high boots, sweaters, & tights. Plus all that Halloween candy that is just calling my name!

Do you remember China Glaze Kiss & Spell from the Halloween 2020 collection?

It feels like so long since that release. I found this beauty last Halloween at my local Winners, so if you missed out on this shade upon first release, definitely check out your local Winners/Marshalls for a lingering bottle. It is a perfect Autumn shade, & definitely perfect for spooky season.

Have a lovely day!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — A Color Club Mystery

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday… the first Sunday of September. The weather has been absolutely beautiful the last couple days, & I even had a chance to break out the knee high boots & my favourite tights. & I’ve been perusing through all my deeper nail polish shades, looking for fun dark shades that are calling my name.

Today, though, I have a bit of a nail polish mystery featuring Color Club. I’ve mentioned before I’m a huge fan of buying polish at Winners, & I found this beauty in a set of 6 at my local Winners — with no name or codes or any distinguishing information. A real nail polish mystery!

2 coats + Essie Speed Setter top coat

The formula on this beautiful dark plum is super rich. I probably could have gotten away with just one coat of I had been a bit more careful — the opacity is stunning.

The colour is beautiful & dark, & perfect for Autumn. In fact, this is the exact shade I’m thinking about putting in my hair for Fall.

So after some perusing on Google, & Veronica Mars level sleuthing, I think I’ve figured out this shade is Color Club Twice Bitten from the 2016 Under My Spell Holiday collection. There were a couple I thought it might be, but after reviewing bottle shots & other swatches, I definitely think it has to be that one!

The only downside I found to this polish — it stained my nails (& fingers) really badly upon removal. Like… my finger nails & cuticle area were seriously red. Which is a shame, because the colour itself is beautiful & I love a deep dark shade like this.

What do you think about this mystery shade? Do you think I was correct in surmising that it’s Color Club Twice Bitten? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below, & if you like these mystery shade posts?

Have a great Sunday!