SWATCH SUNDAY — ORLY Desert Rose

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday. It’s a sunny Sunday here, although the snow situation is a little depressing — Spring is definitely feeling far away. So I thought I would pick something Spring-y to wear on my nails for this week.

Today’s polish is one that I picked up a little while ago now, on a whim while making a NailPolishCanada purchase. I saw the colour & thought it was so pretty, so I added to cart: ORLY Desert Rose, originally released as part of the Neon Earth Collection for Summer 2018.

2 coats + Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat

Desert Rose is a beautiful vibrant coral pink, with reddish undertones. It plays a good balance between that coral feel and the red feel, which are probably two of my favourite colours to wear. The formula was really easy to apply, & went on smoothly, with a good self level. I did apply Seche Vite over which added some extra gloss, but that was because I was planning on wearing the shade & needed it to dry quickly.

This colour is definitely the vibrancy I need for these never ending snowy days. It’s the perfect brightness, & the colour is absolutely gorgeous. I looked back on Nail Polish Canada, but the listing is no longer available sadly (I think it was on clearance when I bought it), BUT I did find it on the official ORLY website for sale, so if you’re looking at this shade, it is still available for purchase through them.

What do you think about ORLY Desert Rose? Do you love this shade for Spring? Are you already dipping into your Spring shades? Let me know in the comments below!

SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie Sunday Funday

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

It’s a beautifully sunny, albeit freaking chilly, Sunday here on my part of the East Coast. Winter seems to be lingering now. So I thought I would remind myself of better, warmer days with an old favourite Essie shade for this week’s Swatch Sunday post — Sunday Funday.

It was originally released as part of the Summer 2013 Naughty Nautical collection.

2 coats + Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat

For a polish which has been in my stash for (I think) at least 8 years, she applied like a dream. I needed to shade my bottle a bit, since it had settled leaving the colour weird, but I found it had no effect once it was on the nail — you can see in the bottle there is still some colour separation showing.

The polish itself is a beautiful pinky coral, with a gold glass shimmer. It gives it a nice sparkle. I had a bit of trouble with photographing, as everything was photographing really yellow, but I think that’s a phone camera issue rather than a polish issue. These pictures are definitely as colour accurate as I could get.

As mentioned, this shade was originally released in 2013. It was part of the core collection for a while, I do believe, but Essie lists it as no longer available on their website sadly. I did find a listing for it on Sparkle Canada, but I’ve never bought from them so I’m not sure how legit that is. Obviously, if it’s a shade you need to have, Ebay always might have it, as well as any nail polish clearance bins.

What do you think about this punchy Essie shade? Are you are ready for Spring & Summer shades as I am ready to share them? Let me know what you think of Essie Sunday Funday! & I hope you have a Sunday Funday (that’s just fun to say) too!

♥︎

SWATCH SUNDAY — QUO Loud & Proud

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

It’s a beautiful, sunny & slightly chilly weekend here on the East Coast. It’s also 2 days until Valentine’s Day, so I went searching for something pink to share for this week’s Swatch Sunday. Pink’s not a colour I wear very often, but one I love to buy. So I thought why not bring out one of those untouched pink’s for this week’s post.

Today’s pick: QUO Beauty Flash Dry Loud & Proud. I picked up this shade last Winter, on clearance–naturally–& have only used it in a couple manicures since. But, since it’s a sunny day, I was feeling some neon.

2 coats, no top coat.

Loud & Proud is a shocking coral neon pink which dries to a semi matte finish, as most neons do. The formula was a bit crelly, leaning on the creme side, but had almost full opacity in two coats. I was actually a bit nervous about needing a ton of coats, but 2 was perfect for me. If you had longer nails, with more of a free edge, you might need another coat, or some white undies.

This shade comes from the QUO Beauty Flash Dry line, which means it’s supposed to dry quicker than your average nail polish. The first coat was definitely quick to dry, although I found the second coat a little bit slower — maybe because I had applied my second coat a bit thicker? The shade was also incredibly hard to photograph the colour correctly, but I tried my best. Originally, it was leaning very orange, which wasn’t true to colour at all.

This were definitely as close to the true colour as I could get it to show.

What do you think about this fun pink neon from QUO? Would you bright this bright, matte pink for your Valentine’s Day celebrations? Let me know what you think & what you’re going to be wearing for any upcoming Valentine’s Day celebrations!

SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI My Chihuahua Bites!

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

Today I’m pulling one of my favourite OPI shades out of my stash: OPI My Chihuahua Bites! As I’ve mentioned in the past, oh, a million times (roughly), this is one of absolute my favourite coral-y red shades.

2 coats, no top coat

This shade was originally released as part of the 2006 Mexico City collection. I found it at Winners a few years ago, & was very excited because it was on my nail polish wish list.

You’re looking at 2 coats of polish, no top coat. I’m really impressed with the shine without any top coat added. The formula was fantastic—easy to apply, no streakiness. There is a reason why this is my favourite. In fact, I really need to get myself another back up bottle, just in case.

This is an amazing Summer shade. It’s been while since I pulled it out, & I’m honestly glad that I did. We’ve had some seriously crappy, dull weather the last few days so this bright pop of colour is exactly what I need right now.

What do you think of this shade? Are you ready for fun Summer colours? Let me know in the comments below!

SWATCH SUNDAY — ACO by Ardene 80s Prom Dress

Hey lovelies! & happy Sunday. Can you believe it’s August?! How did that happen? The pumpkin spice is calling me already. But since it’s still Summer, I won’t get into the Autumn colours just yet… though I will say, I’m already planning a post featuring my picks for Fall so stay tuned!

But let’s starting off August by embracing Summer! In fact, let’s go way back with a neon Ardene nail polish circa 2014! 80s Prom Dress.

For those who don’t know, Ardene is a Canadian retailer that focuses more on clothing now, but used to be all about jewelry & accessories & has a pretty impressive nail polish selection. I used to be a manager in the company, so I would see first hand all the nail polishes as we got them! It also means I own entire drawer of their polishes.

80s Prom Dress is a beautiful neon coral jelly, with a striking fuchsia shimmer. The formula is semi sheer, so I applied two coats of polish over a base of YSL Corial Colisee to make sure I had full opacity. & the two go so well together, you can’t spot where one ends & the other begins! You can also build full opacity with this shade, but it takes about 4 coats.

I love how unique this shade is. The colour is so vibrant, the shimmer stands out, & the combination is perfection. & feel like the name suits this shade so well, because this totally is the colour you would expect to see on a garishly loud prom dress from 1982.

A close up to really see that beautiful glowing fuchsia shimmer.

What do you think about this beautiful neon shade? Are you still all about summer shades, or do you find your mind wandering to Autumn polish? Let me know down in the comments below!