Category: Swatch

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SWATCH SUNDAY — 6 Nail Polishes I’m Loving for Valentine’s Day!

Happy Sunday lovelies.

Since we’re into the first week of the month of love, I thought it would be fun to dedicate Swatch Sunday to some perfect polishes for Valentine’s Day. I own a lot of pink & red shades so I had fun going through my stash to find 6 polishes that I will definitely be loving this month in the days leading up to Valentine’s Day (okay & pretty much always because pink & red nail polish always have my heart). I actually did a post like this a few years ago, so I thought it would be fun to do another one!

So here are my 6 polish picks for Valentine’s Day 2018.

 

CHINA GLAZE — SEDUCE ME

Firtst up is China Glaze Seduce Me, a deep berry red that applies in 2 coats, although if you’re careful you might be able to get away with one careful coat. My bottle is pretty old, so I went with two. I chose this colour for Valentine’s Day because I feel like it’s a really grown up colour: it has pinkish undertones but it’s not bubblegum pink & it’s also not that classic candy apple red shade either. It’s a little bit different, & I honestly feel like this shade is one that will look great on everyone! It also pairs really well with other pink & reds for nail art (like some zig zag chevrons perhaps?)

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L’OREAL VERNIS A L’HUILE — JARDIN DES ROSES

L’Oreal Jardin Des Roses is my first pink choice & it’s a pink I’ve really been loving lately. This is two coats for full coverage of this soft romantic pink & it applies really well. This pink is great because of how soft the colour is–you won’t look like you’re Barbie when you wear it.

 

CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN BEAUTY — ROUGE LOUBOUTIN

If you’re looking for a classic red to wear on Valentine’s Day, I feel like you don’t need to look any further than Christian Louboutin Beauty Rouge Louboutin! I received this beautiful red nail polish from a family friend the night before my wedding, & because it is so special to me I tend to save it for special occasions. I used two coats for coverage — it’s pretty good after one, but I wanted to make sure there was no hint of visible nail line. This is definitely the perfect classic red for a Valentine’s Day date, & if your significant other forgets about Valentine’s Day, you can always stab them with the bottle!

 

ACO BY ARDENE — BOUDOIR

Valentine’s Day is a special occasion, & sometimes I want a little glitter & Ardene Boudoir is a fun glitter choice. It a clear base stuffed full of berry glitters. I used 3 coats for my swatches (thank god for peel off base coat) but normally I would either apply it over top a complimentary shade or sponge the glitter onto my nail. You can build close to opacity though, although I couldn’t imagine the dry time. I just love the colour of the glitter in this polish–sometimes you just need to sparkle a little (or a lot)!

 

OPI — FIRE ESCAPE RENDEZVOUS

Next up we have OPI Fire Escape Rendezvous. This is 2 coats of this metallic ruby red polish with glitters–both shard glitter & hex glitter. The glitters are interesting, but I really dig them.  They give this polish an interesting texture which makes it unique, although I definitely prefer it top coated (Seche Vive). If you’re looking for something a little more than just red, this would be a great choice.

SINFUL COLORS — BLOOM BLAST FLOWER POWER

Last, but definitely not least, is Sinful Colors Bloom Blast in Flower Power. This milky pink shade is stuffed full of large & tiny matte pink metallic & white glitters. I belive it’s supposed to be worn on it’s own but I think it looks best over top other pink polishes. This is one coat over OPI Two Timing the Zones. How cute does this look? I know not everyone is a nail art person, so a topper like this is a great way of zazzing up your nails without having to worry about freehanding anything! It’s almost a dotticure without any of the work!

 

So those are the six polishes I’m loving for Valentine’s Day this year? What shades/polishes are your Valentine’s Day favourites? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Beyond the Nail Shimmering Mermaid Tail

 

Happy Sunday lovelies! Even though it’s still January, I’ve been craving Spring like crazy & I feel like it’s been reflected in my nail polish choices a lot lately. Plus, I’ve been binge watching “Vanderpump Rules” so now I just really want to be able to wear cute flirty outfits instead of  winter boots & my extra large puffy jacket. Since mother nature doesn’t want to grant my wishes, I guess I’ll just have to dig into my polish collection & find Spring in whatever way I can.

So today’s Swatch Sunday choice is all about Spring. Today I’m showing off Beyond the Nail Shimmering Mermaid Tail. This shade is from Beyond the Nail’s their Spring 2017 Spring Mystical Dreams collection that I was beyond lucky enough to win last year. Shimmering Mermaid Tail is a pastel blue creme with scattering holographic glitters.

This shade is such an old school Shannon shade, circa the early 2000s. I mean, I didn’t know what holo was back then, but a beautiful blue like this is what I was I am all about!  This was 2 coats, plus top coat, & it self levels really well even before you add top coat which can sometimes be a problem when it comes to pastels like this. The holographic glitter is slightly hidden on the nail under this lighting, but it is there & in the sunshine you can really see it.

You can see those glitters in the bottle up above, so obviously I figured the best way to show it off was with some macro shots. Can you tell I’m kind of obsessed with my macro lens? Also just staring at these pictures is making me just want it to be Spring already–I’m so ready for cute dresses, & my flats & to not be wearing 19 layers just to leave the house. I guess in the mean time, I’ll just have to wear all my favourite Spring colours which means Shimmering Mermaid Tail (& the rest of the gorgeous shades from the Mystical Dreams collection) in going to be in my regular rotation.

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If you’re staring at this shade telling yourself you need to own this in time for Spring–or just to get you through until Spring–you’re in luck! Beyond the Nail still has this collection on sale on their website!

What do you think of this shade? Are you craving Spring as much as I am? Let me know your favourite colour for Spring down below!

 

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COMPARISON POST — Matte Top Coat

Hello lovelies! Today I’m sharing a fun post with you that was inspired by @mugglenails on Instagram! Meghan & I were having a conversation about matte top coats & I thought it might be fun to do a comparison of all the matte top coats I own. Truthfully, I used to own way more, but apparently I got rid of some when we moved so I’m going to (potentially) call this part one.

The matte top coats we will be testing today are from Butter London, Personnelle Cosmetics, Sally Hansen & L’Oréal.

To start, I painted all my nails a base colour. For this comparison, I wanted to go with something dark, so I picked this nameless blackened blue from Hard Candy that I picked up at Walmart in the clearance for 37 cents.

Next, I applied just one coat of each matte top coat to the nail & let dry. From left to right is Butter London, Personnelle Cosmetics, Sally Hansen & L’Oréal on the pinky. As far as dry time, both Butter London & L’Oréal dried fastest, the Personnelle Cosmetics was next & Sally Hansen was the last to dry.

As you can see above, L’Oréal & Butter London dried almost identically with the L’Oréal looking a little more matte to me, & while the Personnelle Cosmetics dried fairly matte it had weird streaking which would require a second coat to hide. As for Sally Hansen… it was the least matte of the 4. It wasn’t glossy but it certainly still had a sheen to it which is especially evident when paired next to the other 3 top coats.

Looking at these 4 top coats, I would say it’s pretty close between Butter London & L’Oréal & if we’re figuring cost into the equation then I would call L’Oréal the winner. Personally I love both Butter London & L’Oréal & tend to reach for them equally. The Personnelle Cosmetics top coat was a clearance score while on vacation (I grabbed it for a $1) & while its not the best, I can see myself using it if I didn’t have my other favourites. As for the Sally Hansen matte… I love Sally Hansen, I really do. It’s one of my favourite brands. But I’m sorry Sally Hansen, I hate this matte top coat. It’s slow to dry, & it’s just not matte enough. There are just much better (affordable) matte top coats you can use.

Did you favourite make this list? Do you have a favourite matte top coat not on this list that you’d like to see a comparison of? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below & I’ll see what I can do about putting together a part two!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Quo by ORLY Sailor’s Blue

Happy Sunday lovelies! Welcome to my favourite day of the week–Swatch Sunday! 💙 Today I’m sharing a polish that OG readers will remember as one of my early swatches on this blog: Quo by ORLY Sailor’s Blue. (Seriously check out that original post, because the picture quality alone is worth the laugh! 😹)

This shade originally came into my life as part of the Quo by ORLY 2013 Holiday Minis set (it was gifted to me by the Hubby) & was my first real foray into the whole Quo by ORLY Polish line.

Sailor’s Blue is a sheer deep blue polish with a duochrome shimmer that flashes between gold & pink. It’s sheer enough that I wear it with undies (China Glaze First Mate) to avoid having to build coats. I also feel like using it over top of another blue shade keeps it from looking muddy. For this look, I did one coat of undies & one coat of Sailor’s Blue, plus top coat.

Sadly, I don’t think this shade is available anymore for purchase which definitely makes me wish I had more than just a mini bottle in my collection. I know it was also released by ORLY as High On Hope as part of the Spring 2013 collection, but unless you find it buried in clearance bins, I don’t think it’s an easy shade to track down. Which is seriously a shame, because it’s so pretty!

& for fun, a macro shot so you can really see that duochrome shift. ⤵️

What do you think of Quo by ORLY Sailor’s Blue? Do you own this shade (or it’s twin ORLY High On Hope in your stash? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Rimmel London 619 Pulsating

Happy Swatch Sunday Lovelies! Today I’m throwing it back–way back–to 2010 with my polish choice. I reached deep, deep into my stash & one of the few Rimmel London shades I own: 619 Pulsating. This polish was originally purchased at Zellars (who remembers Zellars?!) during my days working at the Mall. I bought it alongside 660 Climax for like… $1.99 each. I don’t really remember, but I do remember that the colour drew me in, but it was name was what made me buy it.

Does Rimmel London even make nail polish any more? I can’t remember the last time I saw one of their little mini bottles not in the clearance section. The internet is leading me to believe they don’t, which is a shame because these are really nice nail polishes. This was 1 coat for opacity plus top coat to really show some shine (& that shimmer). It’s pretty in the bottle, but once it hits the nail it literally glows. I mean, just look!

Check out that dusty bottle, oh my. 🙈 She’s definitely an oldie, but slapping it on you’d hardly be able to tell. The polish might possibly be thicker, I can’t really remember how it applied 8 years ago, but it’s not a bad thing. It goes on in one coat, & doesn’t look weird so I’ll definitely keep pulling it out again. Especially when I’m feeling something super duper bright.

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at polishes from deep in your stash have you played with lately? Do you have any Rimmel London shades? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!