Tag: Affordable

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SWATCH SUNDAY — LA Colors Metal Finish Nail Polish Dynasty

Hello lovelies — Happy Snowy Sunday!

You’ll excuse me if I’m late getting this post up. It was a very busy week, with so much to do (& I’m nowhere close to being ready for Christmas!) But, I do have a brand new polish for you to enjoy as part of this week’s Swatch Sunday — this is LA Colors Metal Finish Nail Polish in Dynasty.

2 coats + top coat.

I won’t lie… when I initially picked up this polish I thought it was supposed to be a more chrome like finish like the cap of the nail polish bottle. But the colour to me is screaming old fashioned jewel toned Christmas, so even though it wasn’t exactly as I expected it it’s such a pretty shade for this time of year.

The formula on this shade was interesting as again it wasn’t quite was I was expecting. It was more of a cruelly base with beautiful shimmers packed in. The pretty flakes of glitter does give a jewel like effect.

First coat was very thin, streaky & patchy, but upon my second coat you could see how lovely it looked. I did have a couple places where it was tricky to get a smooth line though — the formula dries quickly, so I feel like you need to be quick with application. This isn’t to knock on the polish, just is good to know when you’re using it! Still doesn’t take away from how I feel about this shade.

Upclose, you can see that cruelly formula & metallic flake polish. Definitely not what I’m expecting when I think of a metal finish polish — but very pretty. Looking at swatches of other LA Colors Metals polishes though, I would have loved to see a foil finish in this colour. It would have been gorgeous!

I picked up my bottle of LA Colors Metal Nail Polish at my local Walmart for $3.97 CAD. For a shade under $4, I think this is a great deal! & regardless of it not meeting my metal expectations, this shade is very different than a lot of the red nail polishes that I own. So I love that.

What do you think of LA Colors Metal Finish Nail Polish in Dynasty? Do you think this is a great holiday polish option? What do you think of the finish — does it say “Metal Finish” to you? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Essence Colour & Go 122 Chic Reloaded (2012)

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! It is a chilly, very Autumn-y feeling Sunday. The Fall chill is definitely in the air — & I’m drinking all the pumpkin spice things. It also means I’m craving all the Fall-ish nail polish colours, so I’ve been digging through my stash looking for shades from years past to put on.

& naturally that meant perusing through my Essence stash. I’ve been a hardcore Essence lover since they had those tiny little round bottles, & it continues to this day. When looking for a fun Autumn shade, this one immediately jumped out. This is Essence Chic Reloaded.

2 coats + top coat

Chic Reloaded is a beautiful dark grey metallic duochrome, that flashes purple or blue depending on the light. Similar to Essie For the Twill of It, or OPI Peace Love OPI, it has that beautiful oil slick effect to it. However, unlike the previous two mentioned shades, I feel like Chic Reloaded has a much stronger duochrome effect! Which, for a drugstore shade that cost me maybe $2.99 CAD at the time — circa 2012 — that is pretty darn amazing!

You can really see the two different shade in the close up shot! Such a fun effect on the nails. I also like that Chic Reloaded has a darker grey base, because it feels more moody.

The formula on this guy is also super easy to apply. My only complaint has nothing to do with the polish itself, but with my topcoat which I think is getting old & caused some shrinkage. Other than that, this shade is perfection & I would love to see Essence bring back more formulas like this into their current core collection!

What do you think of Essence Chic Reloaded? Are you a fan of the Essence line of nail polishes? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

🖤

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SWATCH SUNDAY — LA Colors Gel Color Craze Color Shifting Top Coat Retrograde

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! A beautiful sunny Sunday once again. I know I shouldn’t complain about the beautiful weather — especially since we’ve been having cooler morning & evenings which are giving me all the Autumn vibes — but we’re still desperate for rain on the East Coast with all the fires we’ve been having.

Today though, it’s all about nail polish & I’m excited because I found a new & fun shade while perusing my local Walmart! They’ve recently– in like the last year or two — started selling LA Colors & I always love checking out what new shades they have in the display. I noticed these Color Shifting Toppers the last time I was there, so I decided to pick up two of them. The first one I’m excited to share is this green to blue shifty duochrome called Retrograde.

2 coats applied over Essie Frock n Roll + Top Coat

For this application, I applied two coats of Retrograde over a dark base — in this case, I picked Essie Frock n Roll. The base of Retrograde is fairly thin, as you would want a topper to be, but it has a fun metallic duochrome effect that builds very nicely. I feel like you could almost wear a couple coats of it on it’s own, since the base layer definitely disappears beneath the topper.

The shift is also gorgeous — there are flashes on blue & green, as the main ones, but you also get purples as well. Very mermaid-y, which I love, but the jewel tone is perfect for this time of year. I’m not usually someone who reaches for green very often, as well all know (& I’ve said plenty of times) but a shade like this with the multichrome shift is definitely one I will wear. In fact, I wore this manicure for almost 5 days!

LA Colors shades retail at Walmart for $3.97 CAD — which is a pretty awesome deal! The Color Shifting Topper line has 10 shades to choose from, all with celestial names. I picked up Retrograde & Nova, but I’m definitely going to be going back for more shades! They are all such fun colours, & I love anything that can switch up shades already in my collection with a fun twist. Also, I bet these would look beautiful swirled into a drag marble design. That might have to be my next thing to try!

What do you think of LA Colors Gel Color Shifting Topper? Are you a fan of the LA Colors brand? Like I said, I love how affordable these shades are — &, like the crackle shades they’ve released, I find they’re really stepping up their game! So many fun options you can play around with.

Happy Sunday!

♥︎

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SWATCH SUNDAY — L.A. Colors Color Craze Crackle Top Coat 🖤⚡️

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! How is everyone enjoying these last few days of June? We’re currently gearing up for the last day of school (tomorrow) in our house, & the beginning of Summer vacation. It has come so quickly!

Today I’m sharing a throwback vibe — but a currently available polish. Any of my fellow millennials will probably remember the chokehold crackle nail polish had in the early 2010s — I had every colour. So I was super excited to see it is making a resurgence. I never stopped (unironically) loving it, so whenever I see it pop up again, I can’t help but buying a bottle.

& lucky for us, L.A. Colors is bringing back crackle for us to love & enjoy!

1 thick coat

So for those who don’t remember the crackle faze of nail polish, it is a specially design nail polish that when applied over a base shade, dries down & creates a crack effect, showing the shade underneath. Lots of different brands have come out with their versions, from OPI (the first I remember) to Zoya, to Sally Hansen & Claire’s.

L.A. Colors is bring back the fun with their two Crackle Top Coats — available in black & white. I purchased mine at my local Walmart for $3.99 CAD.

As you can see, the crack effect on this pretty thick & dramatic. Depending on how much polish you have on your brush, you can have bigger thick cracks (like this) or smaller thinner cracks like this. The black polish itself is opaque, which I like. It makes the effect even more dramatic. I haven’t picked up the bottle of white yet, but I’ve heard it also is pretty opaque— so I’m curious. I used the Sally Hansen which crackle years ago, but I found it very thin so it was kind of a disappointment.

Personally, I would love to see L.A. Colors release even more shades (& finishes — like shimmers) with this crackle line. For a very affordable mainstream brand, they have some out with some beautiful finishes & styles of nail polishes, & I hope they keep them coming!

What do you think of crackle nail polish returning as a trend in 2025? Are you a fan of this style?

Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & if you would rock crackle again!

Happy Sunday

🖤

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Essence Shine, Last & Go 13 Legally Pink

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday. Well, at the very least — it’s a very rainy Sunday here. Hopefully all these April showers bring some beautiful May flowers because… I’m over it. God, I’m so over it.

But today I have another shade from the stash to share for Swatch Sunday. So many polishes from years past I’ve never shared, so I’ve been really trying to post them for you more often! Today’s pick is from Essence’s Shine Last & Go line, which (I think) was their previous nail Polish line to the current reformat.

This is Legally Pink.

2 coats + top coat

We all know I am a humongous fan of Essence Nail Polish, especially with it being affordable & so easy to grab (the Shoppers is literally in my back yard basically). So I’ve accumulated a few dozen over the years.

Legally Pink is a creamy vibrant coral pink, which — depending on the lighting — can lean very pink or more on the coral side. It is a fiery Spring pink for sure, which is probably why I bought it in the first place. Formula is smooth, & easy to apply & has a nice solid finish in two coats without looking chunky on the nail. It dried down quickly, & I finished it all off with some quick dry top coat as I was wearing it for the next day.

See what I mean about the colour shifting. In the top photo you can see how it looks coral (borderline red) on two nails, then leaning more pink on two nails. When I say this shade was so freaking impossible to photograph true to colour, you can see why. But it really, truly is just gorgeous & Summer-y so we’ll forgive her for not wanting to get her photograph taken!

Because this shade is 5 or 6 years old, she’s not available in stores where Essence is sold. I did see a few listings online for old bottles, so if you really want it, you could definitely seek it out!

What do you think of Essence 13 Legally Pink? Are you a fan of Essence’s line of nail polishes. Give me all your comments & thoughts down below — & let me know what your favourite line of affordable nail polish is!

Happy Sunday

🖤