Tag: Swatch

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SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze Skyscraper (Fall 2011 Metro Collection)

Good morning lovelies & happy first Sunday of October. It’s a beautiful Autumn day, I’ve been jamming to Taylor Swift’s new album for the last two days, & I’m currently enjoying my maple brown sugar coffee. It’s a good day! I’m also excited for another Swatch Sunday.

I’ll be honest, I haven’t really been in the mood to buy new nail polish. Maybe I just need a trip to Sally Beauty, but my usual haunts are not really cutting it right now. However, the plus side of me not buying new polish, is I’ve been going through my current stash a lot more often & finding long forgotten about gems — like today’s polish pick. This is China Glaze Skyscraper from their Metro Collection from Fall 2011.

2 coats + top coat

Once upon a time, purple used to be my signature colour (after red, of course) & as a result I spent many years buying every purple, or purple leaning, polish I could get my hands on. Skyscraper is a gorgeous dark blue/indigo jelly base packed full of silver & blue micro glitters. Some of the pictures of swatches of this shade I’ve seen seem more blue than my bottle, but maybe that’s the result of it being 10+ years old (I can’t remember exactly when I bought it, but I did post about it here.)

Close up shot to see all those glitters. I only did 2 coats on my nails for swatches, but you could definitely do another coat for even thicker glitter — or sponge it on to make it really glittery! I was happy with the opacity I had after two coats though, & especially happy with how easy the formula was to apply The first coat goes on very thin, but that second one saves it & gives it a beautiful finish. Will I enjoy removing this glitter? Well we will have to see.

But I do love wearing it!

What do you think about China Glaze Skyscraper? Do you own this shade? What do you think about the colour?

China Glaze has long been one of my favourite go to brands (I own a drawer & a half of their polishes!) but I feel like I haven’t really checked out the new revamp they recently did. I’m definitely going to have to go to my local Sally’s & check out the new bottles & polishes they’ve released!

Happy Sunday!

♥︎

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Dark Hue-mor

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! The last Sunday of September, which is kind of crazy. Spooky month is just a few days away, & I can’t wait to start all the spooky nail designs I can come up with!

Today tjough, I’m sharing another new shade I recently picked up. Shoppers Drug Mart had the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure line on sale a few weeks back, so I decided to treat myself. I’ve been on the hunt for a deep dark navy blue, so when I saw this beauty I knew I needed it! This is Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Dark Hue-mor.

2 coats + top coat

Formula on this beauty is smooth & easy to apply. To easy coats for full opacity. As you can see, I’m rocking very short nails right now due to a bad break while at work, so I feel like I need to cheer myself up with pretty nails.

& I love a dark navy blue so much. It makes a great base for nail art, or looks just stunning all on its own.

Look at that darkness. It’s so good! It reminds me of another favourite dark navy blue — Essie After School Boy Blazer.

I actually think Dark Hur-mor is actually darker on the nail than in the bottle, which I love! Usually I feel like it’s the other way around. Also — I had almost zero issues with removal. A lottle bit of blue in my cuticles after the first swipe, but that was it (& easy to rectify).

Sally Hansen Comple Salon Manicure Dark Hue-mor is part of the core collection, & available anywhere you purchase Sally Hansen nail polish. It generally ranges from $10-$16 CAD depending on where you buy it, & if it’s on sale.

What do you think about this navy blue shade? What are you wearing on your nails right now? 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 — Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Hot Cocoa Cuddles (Holiday 2024)

Good morning, & happy Sunday.

I don’t know about where you are, but here on the East Coast we’ve gone from balmy & hot to crisp sweater weather almost overnight. Which, as a girl who dreams of wearing her knee all boots, all year round, I couldn’t be happier!

So naturally that means I want to wear all the Autumn colours — or Autumn adjacent — all the time. Today’s polish pick is actually from last Winter’s Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Holiday Collection, but I feel like this colour fits in perfectly for this time of year. This is Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Hot Cocoa Cuddles.

2 coats + top coat

So I actually got this shade at my local Shoppers Drug Mart during a promotion for their Beauty Mingle Event. You pay $5 for a spin on their wheel, & you can win a prize. My Mum was playing, letting my kids each have a spin, & my daughter landed on FREE NAIL POLISH. There was a few beauties left from previous collections, but ultimately I landed on this beauty as it was the one from last year’s Holiday collection I had been most fixated on.

The formula on Hot Cocoa Cuddles is a beautiful chocolate brown shimmer, densely packed with holographic scattered glitters. It reminds me a bit of OPI My Private Jet, although the base colours are definitely different (& the scattered holographic glitters in the latter definitely apply to the nail much more densely.)

You can see the beautiful copper shimmer that comes through, with those scattered holographic glitters. I do wish the holo glitters were as dense on the nail as they are in the bottle, but you do still get those flashes of rainbow. Personally, I think this colour is perfect for Autumn! Deep reds, burnt orange, bronze-y browns, & any jewel tones — those are the shades I love for September! & Hot Cocoa Cuddles fits perfectly into that colour palette — plus the time is just too cute!

What do you think of Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Hot Cocoa Cuddles? Do you remember this shade from last year’s Holiday collection? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

&, as always, I would love to hear what you’re wearing on your nails right now, & what colours your loving right now.

Happy Sunday

♥︎

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SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI PeePee’s Purple Passion (2011 Muppets Holiday Collection)

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday! It’s a rainy Sunday here, feeling very Autumn-y (minus how muggy it’s been). That means — more shades that just feel perfect for the season. & for today’s Swatch Sunday post I reached way, way back into my stash to find something perfect! This is OPI PeePee’s Purple Passion, from the 2011 OPI Holiday Collection.

2 coats + top coat

Firstly, this shade seems more like a dark dark red than a purple, which is why I probably initially purchased it. I’ve also heard it described as a dark raisin, which I can get behind. Regardless of what the colour is, the formula is easy to work with, & the flakies make the finish very unique. It gives a little dimension to the polish, which I like.

& for a 14 year old polish, it holds up very well. I wish I could say the same for my bottle of Rainbow Connection (from the same collection).

Oooh close up! You can really see those different flakie glitters in the formula.

Do you remember this shade from all the way back in 2011? Did you have any of the Muppets Holiday shades? I was absolutely obsessed with getting my hands on Rainbow Connection — as was everyone else — but this was definitely before my nail polish obsession fully took hold!

Happy Sunday!

🖤