Tag: Swatch Sunday

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SWATCH SUNDAY — ORLY Scenic Route

Hello lovelies, & happy Sunday! Hope everyone is enjoying the first weekend of Spring. We’re supposed to have some actually enjoyable Spring-like weather today, so I’m very excited for warmer days… I might even wear a Spring dress!

Today’s Swatch Sunday pick is another oldie from the stash: ORLY Scenic Route, which was originally released as part of the Summer 2016 Pacific Highway Collection. I originally picked up my bottle at Winners, when it was originally released.

2 coats + Essie Good To Go Top Coat

The formula on this lilac purple cream is smooth to apply. I did need some top coat to really level everything out, but for the most part it was quite easy to work with. The colour is also fantastically bright; a perfect pop of colour for Spring into Summer. & I think we all need a bit of brightness in our lives right now! (Or, at least, I do.)

Even more exciting, Scenic Route appears to now be part of the permanent ORLY line, & is listed at a variety of different places for sale:

I also saw listening on Amazon, & eBay, although I would say these are more official listings. So if you’re seeing my swatches, & thinking “oh man, I definitely need to pick up ORLY Scenic Route to complete all my Spring nail polish dreams!”, you’re definitely in luck.

What do you think of ORLY Scenic Route? What you wearing for the first weekend of Spring (unless of course, you’re in a different hemisphere so the first weekend of Fall?)

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

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SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze Boho Blues

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

After a few days of warm, Spring-y days, I’m living for all things Spring. & what is more Spring than a beautiful cornflower blue? You know how much I love a good blue!

Today’s Swatch Sunday pick is China Glaze Boho Blues. This shade was originally released circa Spring 2015 as part of the Road Trip Collection, but I do believe it’s now part of the permanent collection as it’s currently listed for Sally on the Sally Beauty website & a few other websites where you can purchase China Glaze polishes.

2 coats + Essie Good to Go

The cream formula is really easy to work with, & I managed 2 coats for full coverage. It does dry fairly gloss on its own, althouh didn’t completely level out — but that could be because this is an older bottle. I did apply top coat to kind of smooth things out a bit (& also because I was planning on some nail art).

As you can see, this is just such a smooth, beautiful, vibrant blue. It is definitely a perfect colour for Spring. I’ve always had an affinity for this shade of blue, or so says my nail polish collection, so they tend to be the first ones I’m drawn to in a nail polish collection.

What do you think about this beautiful shade? Do you have Boho Blues in your nail polish stash? Let me know in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Beyond The Nail Flowing Unicorn Mane

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! I hope your week is off to a lovely start!

Today I decided I needed to feel a little Spring-y, so I pulled an oldie from my stash: Beyond The Nail Flowing Unicorn Mane. As I’ve mentioned before, I won this shade (& the whole Spring Mystical Dreams Spring collection) back in 2017 as part of an Instagram contest. & I definitely have enough long overdue in sharing these shades! But with a winter that doesn’t seem to want to give me even a hint of Spring, I definitely needed some Spring nails to cheer me up.

2 coats + Essie Good To Go Top Coat

How perfectly Spring-like is this beautiful lilac purple shade. The base itself is creamy & smooth, but it has a beautiful layer of holo. The holographic glitter is full, & does not get hidden on the nail. You can see a bit of sparkle in my light box, but this shade truly comes alive in the sunshine.

This kind of pale pastel purple just exudes Spring vibes, & now has me craving warm Spring days more than anything. Or even just days when I don’t have to wear 2 pairs of tights under my jeans while going to work & could rock a cute shirt without multiple sweaters layered overtop.

Close up! You can really see how dense that holo truly is. I’m kind of obsessed with this kind of peak a boo holographic glitter right now. It’s sort of subtle until you hit that right lighting, & then it just comes alive on the nails! Obsessed.

Sadly, this shade is an oldie & has been discontinued by Beyond the Nail. But they have some super beautiful other shades happening over on their site—holo, not holo—as well as things like decals & nail vinyls, so I definitely recommend checking them out!

Have a happy Sunday loves! ☕️

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SWATCH SUNDAY — B01 Pistache Royale

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! I hope everyone is having a lovely start to their day so far. I definitely need an extra coffee today! But at least my nails are pretty!

Today I’m channeling & calling for Spring with my Swatch Sunday pick from L’Oréal: Pistache Royale. It’s been way too chilly & Winter-y, so we need some serious Spring vibes happening (& some warmer temperatures would also be lovely.) I found this beauty at my local Lawton’s in the clearance, along with a few other Spring-y shades I might have to go back for!

2 coats + Essie Good to Go Top Coat

The L’Oréal Colour Riche line touts that it is “a unique formula infused with 4 precious oils for mirror shine and rich colour with an easy, one-stroke application.” The brush is nice & wide, so it does go on pretty easier. The formula is also quite buttery, which I love because it makes for very smooth application.

The colour is very beautiful, a stunning minty pastel green that is perfect for Spring. I was also happy that it was beautiful coverage in 2 coats, because I think we all know that pastels aren’t the greatest ones for full coverage, & can sometimes be chalky, but Pistache Royale had neither problem. It was downright perfect!

Look at that shade — is it giving anyone else mini chocolate chip ice cream vibes? My husband said it reminded me of Mini Eggs, so I’ll definitely have to add it to me yearly mini egg inspired manicure come Easter time.

What do you think of L’Oréal Pistache Royale? Is it giving you the same Spring vibes it’s giving me? Let me know in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen CSM Black & Blue

Hello lovelies & Happy Sunday!

I hope everyone is off to a lovely start to their Sunday — the weekend is almost over! & February is quickly rounding the corner too.

Today’s Swatch Sunday pick is another score from my favourite nail polish clearance section at Lawton’s: Sally Hansen Black & Blue. I’ve actually picked up this polish a few times when out shopping for nail polish, but never actually bought it. So obviously when I saw it on clearance (& for $1 too!) I just knew that I needed to add it to my stash.

3 coats + Essie Good To Go Top Coat

Sally Hansen Black & Blue itself is a grey-ish blue-ish multichrome shimmer (there is some purple in there too depending on the way you move your hand). It’s also very, very, VERY sheer. Like super sheer. The above swatch is 3 coats of polish, and if I move my hand in certain ways you can definitely see my nail line. The blue shimmer is very prominent, while the purple all depends on how you move your hand around — as you can see above, I managed to capture it a bit, but it’s not the easiest to pick up on camera. I have a feeling this shade would definitely probably stand out more layered over a darker shade, as a lot of people have done for swatches, If I was going to wear this shade for everyday wear, that’s probably how I would do it too!

This is definitely a pretty, although very sheer, shade. Application was pretty easy considering it has one of those shimmery formulas that love to streak, & I didn’t find it was too, too watery. The colour, all things considered, is pretty. I could definitely see it being the perfect base for some mermaid nails (whenever I finally get more mermaid scale vinyls — I haven’t had any in AGES.) That being said, I’m kind of glad that I waited to get this shade on clearance, because I don’t think it’s going to be one that is in my frequent nail rotation. That being said, we will see how it looks layered over a darker shade… it may very well blow my socks off!

What do you think about this Sally Hansen shade Black & Blue? Do you have this shade in your collection? What is your favourite thing to do with shades that are more on the sheer side? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!