Tag: Swatch Sunday

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie You Do Blue 🩵

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! A beautiful, sunny Sunday. It’s been feeling like Spring (most of) this week, so I thought something Spring-y on my nails would be perfect. & what is more Spring-y than a beautiful periwinkle blue?

Without further ado, this is Essie You Do Blue.

2 coats + top coat.

The formula on this creamy blue is smooth & easy to apply to the nail. I am quite a fan of the wider Essie brushes they’ve been using in the last few years. It took me a bit to get used to them, but they are much better when it comes to application.

My favourite part of this polish, though, is that is has this gorgeous fuchsia shimmer that really pops in the sunshine. It gives the extra dimension that makes it a little extra special, & for me that makes this shade a winner. I own a lot of blue nail polishes, but the ones that have shimmer or sparkle added — especially unexpected ones — are always the ones I reach for first!

This shade was originally released, as far as I can tell, during early 2020 as part of the Flying Solo collection. I think after that it made it to the core collection, but I did pick up mine on clearance for $1 so I’m thinking it may not be in regular circulation anymore — although the Essie website does have it listed as available for sale so I could be totally wrong.

Over all, I’m totally obsessed with this colour — it’s not just the pretty periwinkle blue, but that stunning shimmer. I adore it.

What do you think of Essie You Do Blue? Do you think this shade screams Spring as much as I do? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below, & let me know your thoughts on this pretty blue shade!

Happy Sunday!

♥︎

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Nicole by OPI Scarlett || Happy 12th Birthday Coffee & Nail Polish 🎂

Hello lovelies & happy Easter Sunday! I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend, celebrating however they celebrate. But it’s not just Easter Sunday — 12 years ago today I made my very first post on Coffee & Nail Polish! So I thought it would be fun, & for this week’s Swatch Sunday I would share the first very nail polish I ever used for a manicure: Nicole by OPI (RIP) Scarlett from the Selena Gomez collection.

2 coats + top coat

This beautiful metallic pink was originally released as part of the Nicole by OPI Spring Collection which was Selena Gomez themed. I picked up this beauty at my local Lawton’s Drugs (which was one of my favourite places for clearance nail polish) for the stellar price of $2.50.

The formula on this one was slightly thin, but not too thin it made it hard to apply. 2 coats built to this perfect opacity. The finish though — the finish is my favourite. It’s this gorgeous glass fleck finish. Also I love that it sort of looks pink, but also sort of looks red.

Stunning.

Close up of this beautiful finish. I love the shimmer, the pinkish glow; all of it. It really does glow on the nail which just adds to the beauty.

& obviously, since today is the anniversary of my very first blog post, I had to do a recreation of my very first design — a red on red leopard print. Base is Scarlett & my spots were done using Nicole by OPI Basking in Gloria (from the Modern Family collection).

Unfortunately I did forget to matte-ify my design & didn’t realize until after the fact, but I still love my recreation.

What do you think about this throwback shade! I feel like the NOPI shades were definitely ahead of their time for drugstore brands. I really miss them, & cherish the shades I still have.

Happy Sunday!

Happy Easter!

🖤

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen InstaDri Pink Aurora 💗🌌

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! It’s a beautiful sunny–but chilly–day here on the East Coast. They keep telling us that Spring is on its way, but I won’t like… it’s getting harder, & harder to believe it. (Especially when they’re calling for over 20cm of snow at the end of the week)

But never the less, I’ll keep trying to summon Spring with whatever is on my nails, & today I was feeling something pink! Pink is not a colour I often reach for as a single manicure, but it does feel very Spring-y to me, so I thought I would grab for one in my stash. & as soon as I saw this sparkly pink looking back at me, I knew it would be perfect for today’s Swatch Sunday post.

This is Sally Hansen InstaDri Pink Aurora.

3 coats + top coat

I always do love a sparkle, & this sheer pink jelly is full of iridescent & holographic glitters. The jelly base is thin–very thin–so multiple coats as necessary for even a hint of opacity. Personally, I feel like I’m more likely to use this as a glitter topper rather than on its own, but I wanted to swatch it as it comes.

The sparkle on this beauty is lovely. I feel like from far away, it could come across as more subtle, but you can see it much more prominently unclose. I will say though –this shade was not easy to photograph at all. I tried in both my lightbox & outside & it was a struggle.

This shade is part of the Primsmatic Shine line of InstaDri, & I’m pretty sure I picked up my bottle 2+ years ago. I’m not sure if it’s still available in store, but I did find it on the Sally Hansen website–however it didn’t have an option for buying, so I’m thinking it’s probably discontinued unfortunately.

(I also found this Reddit thread looking for dupes which has some great alternative polish options.)

What do you think of Sally Hansen InstaDri Pink Aurora? Do you like this sheer sparkly pink? Would you wear this shade on its own, or as a topper over another pink?

Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Happy Sunday

♥︎

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Butter London Spring 2026 | Posh Petal & Bloomsbury 🌸🪻

*contains PR/gifted items

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday. It’s… been a while.

I apologize for my very sudden, & somewhat lengthy hiatus. It wasn’t entirely planned. But I’m back & ready to get back into posting.

& what better way to jump back in than with some gorgeous new shades from Butter London, just in time for Spring. I was super excited to find two brand new Pure Colour 21X shades waiting for me, & now that the calendar is reading Spring, maybe some pretty Spring nails will help encourage Mother Nature a little more.

Check out these gorgeous new shades down below!

Continue reading “SWATCH SUNDAY — Butter London Spring 2026 | Posh Petal & Bloomsbury 🌸🪻”
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SWATCH SUNDAY — ACO by Ardene Bonne Nuit

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. We’re halfway through January & that’s kind of crazy.

But everyone in my social media feeds keep taking nostalgic trips back to 2016, so I thought I would do the same — only with nail polish! & back on 2016 I was all about the Ardene brand of nail polishes, so I thought I would share a beauty from that time: Aco by Ardene Bonne Nuit.

1 coat over Rimmel Blue Eyed Girl + top coat.

So yes, I did use some under-polish for swatching this beauty because it. is. thin. But I think it applies beautifully & you really get that shift of colour from blue to a purple hue. There is a nice micro glitter shimmer as well, which I remember loving a lot in the mid-2000s!

Now this shade is definitely a relict of another time, because Ardene no longer sells this brand of nail polish. I still have a drawer of this brand in my stash, that I stare at frequently, & every so often pull out for nostalgia sake. I also love that they were so trendy when it came to finishes, at a very affordable price point!

What do you think of this very mid-2010s nail polish? Do you remember what shades you were obsessed with circa 2016? Let me know what shades you were obsessed with back then, & if they are still top of your list 10 years later!

Happy Sunday loves!

🖤