Category: throwback

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SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze Ugly Sweater Party

Hello my loves & Happy Sunday! This is the second Sunday of December, so I’m keeping with the Christmas-ish polish tradition, & trying to share shades that are related in some way to the holiday!

This past week I did a poll on my Instagram asking if people would rather see China Glaze Ugly Sweater Party (Holiday 2015) or OPI Bring Out The Big Gems (Holiday 2022) this week, & with an overwhelming majority, Ugly Sweater Party was the winner!

2 coats, No Top Coat

China Glaze Ugly Sweater Party is a pink jelly formula, packed tightly with an assortment of glitters, including holographic. The formula is a tad on the thick side, but with a little bit of patience, I easily covered my whole nail in two coats. You could probably sponge on the glitter for a denser packed glitter effect, but I much prefer it applied this way as I like the overall finish.

Truthfully, I don’t know if I can remember ever wearing this shade as a full manicure like this before. I originally bought the polish because I loved the name, & glitter is my weakness, but I think I’ve truthfully only used it in glitter gradients, or maybe as a single accent nail, which makes me sad.

I was also surprised I had never swatched this shade previous Decembers, so I was happy. to do both for todays post! This is definitely a fun glitter shade, & just screams Christmas party to me! My Christmas party days are long behind me, but to be honest if I were every invited to one — & didn’t have time for a full nail art look — this would be my #1 polish pick for such an occasion.

Do you remember China Glaze Ugly Sweater Party from its original 2015 release? Did you have this sparkly shade in your stash, or do you still have this glitter on rotation? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

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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— Essie Bell-Bottom Blues

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! I hope you’re having a lovely weekend so far. Can you believe it’s the last weekend of August? That’s crazy! This Summer has definitely been a blip. But I had my first PSL yesterday from Second Cup, so I’m all in on Autumn.

Today though, I’m throwing it back to Fall 2015 with Essie Bell-Bottom Blues from the Essie Fall 2015 Leggy Legend collection. I remember when this collection was first released I was obsessed with all the colours in the collection, but especially Bell-Bottom Blues, & it was the one I almost immediately bought upon finding it in stores.

2 coats + Essie Speed Setter Top Coat

For a polish that is 7 (!) years old, this shade is just as perfect as it was back when I first purchased it. The formula is still smooth & easy to apply. The formula is pigmented enough it could be a one coat wonder, but I did used two coats for full opacity. The polish itself is a beautiful dark blue, with vibrant blue shimmer, & this hint of purple which you can, sadly, see best in the bottle.

On its own, it dries to a soft satin finish. I much prefer it with top coat though as I feel like it shows off the shimmer much better.

It’s been a while since I pulled this shimmery blue from my stash, & I’m super glad that I did. I’ll be honest, I haven’t really been paying that much attention to the upcoming Fall collections, aside from swatches posted on Instagram. But I’ve been spending a lot of time shopping my own collection for fun Autumn shades to wear, including some oldies but goodies.

What do you think about Essie Bell-Bottom Blues? Do you have any of the shades from the collection in your stash? Let me know down in the comments, & let me know when of the 2022 Autumn nail polish collections you’re most excited about!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI First Date at the Golden Gate

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! I hope everyone is having a lovely & enjoyable weekend. I’m excited because I’m really embracing all the Autumn vibes with today’s Swatch Sunday pick. I know, I know… it’s still Summer. But my pumpkin spice loving heart is ready for more, & today’s polish pick is definitely filling the void.

Today I’m rocking OPI First Date at the Golden Gate which was originally released as part of the 2013 Fall/Winter collection (so perfect for Fall almost 9 years later!) This shade came to me during a Chatters sale, although I can’t exactly remember. The bottle is dusty though, so she’s definitely been around a while.

3 coats, no top coat.

The formula on this shade is soft & smooth, & applied to the nail easily. I did have to go with 3 coats of polish, as it was a bit on the thin side, but they dried surprisingly fast. This is always a bonus when you have to apply anything more than 2 coats.

I also like how syrup-y the finish looks, even without top coat.

The colour of this one seems absolutely perfect for Fall & I can’t believe I haven’t really reached for it much this time of year. First, it’s a not-quite-red — & we all know I adore read nail polish! But the shade has this burnt quality, with brown undertones, which reminds me of when the leaves shift around the end of September, beginning of October.

& that’s my favourite time of year!

What do you think about OPI First Date at the Golden Gate? Do you have this beauty in your collection? Do you enjoy me posting these throwback Fall collection shades? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

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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.