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Of Life and Lacquer > Swatches

Dare To Wear Kiss The Rain

Posted on 15 November, 2013 by Cynthia

Oh, hai there! Yes, I’m still around. I know I’ve still been posting regularly, but I feel that I’ve been kind of absent. I haven’t really been playing much with polish–it’s like I lost my polish boner, but my Viagra kicked in when I decided to swatch Dare To Wear Kiss The Rain. Ahhh…Kiss The Rain. Do you guys remember that Billie Myers song from the late 90’s?

I get so nostalgic when I hear old 90’s songs because this song came out right around the time I graduated from high school. My first year of college was kind of a strange experience–but in a good way. Anyway, let’s get back to the polish! Let me show you the beauty that brought me back to my senses.

Dare To Wear Kiss the Rain is a beautiful steel blue-gray with scattered holographic glitter. The formula feels a little thin, but it builds up very easily. I applied 3 thin coats for my swatches, but I think I could have gotten away with two coats. The polish dries rather dull and still doesn’t look super shiny after a coat of Seche Vite. I decided to change my lighting up a bit so you could see the beautiful holo.

Now you can really see the holo, right?! This is pretty close to what it looks like in sunlight. Holy Fish Jesus, this is pretty!

So…whatdaya think? Isn’t it beautiful? I am soooo obsessed with finding older and unique Dare To Wear polishes so I’m going to have to make a trek out to my polish warehouse to see what else I can discover amongst the ruins of collections of yore. Anyway, I’m going to cut this short because I’m about to go out with a friend so we can catch up. I need to get out tonight! Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Essie Luxeffects 2013

Posted on 13 November, 201313 November, 2013 by Cynthia

My arm hurts. It’s very sore. You want to know why? From carrying around my nephew! That sounds crazy to me since he’s just under 8 lbs, and it’s not like I held him all day–just an hour or two yesterday and now my arm hurts? I’m still totally smitten with the cutie pie so I’ll take a little soreness any day! I feel like I have completely neglected my usual blog stuff like swatching, responding to comments and reading my usual favorite blogs, but I’m sure you’ll all forgive me. Well, I’ve had these swatches done for a while now and I just kept forgetting to write up the post. Today I have the Essie Luxeffects 2013 offerings to share with you. I don’t always have the best color pairings, but I actually like how these look on the base colors I chose. I’ve seen some other really cool parings that make these top coats look very awesome.

First up, I have Essie Sparkle On Top. I applied this over a dark maroon polish and I like how it looks…kind of icy and winter-like. It applies very smoothly and it’s a combination of shard and flaky glitter.

Essie Jazzy Jubilant is a typical multi-colored hex glitter polish topper. It’s very easy to apply the glitter evenly so that’s always a plus.

Am I super jazzed about these two new additions to the Luxeffect line? Nope. They’re nice but nothing I’m excited about. It should come as no surprise that they are now on my blog sale, right? Anyway, I hope you’re enjoying your Wednesday, and I will talk to you soon!

Dare To Wear Gold Crush Holiday Lacquer Set

Posted on 11 November, 201311 November, 2013 by Cynthia

Hi there! Yes, I am still on a baby high, and I can’t wait to see my little nephew again because he is just the cutest little thing ever. Since there was so much baby commotion this weekend, I didn’t get a chance to do too much swatching, but I did manage to swatch this fun holiday set. Dare To Wear by LeChat is a brand that I am really keeping a close eye on because they have some amazing polishes. Let’s get to the swatches of the Dare To Wear Gold Crush Holiday Lacquer Set.

First of all, here is the box set. Pretty, right? So festive!

If you are familiar with this brand, you may notice that the bottles are very different. I was told that the bottles were redesigned recently and that all new polishes will have this new bottle design. Personally I find them very substantial and kind of luxe looking. Someone who shall remain nameless made some jokes about the caps being “ribbed for her pleasure,” but we will just move right along from that comment.

What would a holiday polish set be without a staple red? Dare To Wear Holly Berries is that staple red polish. The formula on it is pretty great as it can be a once coat polish. The color is very saturated and extremely smooth so it’s definitely a great polish even if it is a staple color and very expected.

Gold. Barf. Ok, I just can’t get on the gold polish train (I’m looking at you, V!) Dare To Wear Gold Chalice is a ghetto gold foil-like polish that applies rather smoothly. I applied two coats and that was enough for full coverage. Other than that, I don’t have much to say about this polish.

I wasn’t expecting to like this glitter as much as I do, but Dare To Wear Holiday Lights is just so freaking festive that it made me happy to have such shiny and bright colors all over my nails. The glitter in this polish is rather small, but it managed to apply rather evenly as only two coats were needed. I’ve got to warn you, though: removal was a pain.

So what do you think of this holiday set? Is it something that you’d purchase? Since I have similar colors, I have put this set up on my blog sale in case you’re interested. Are you familiar with this brand? If you have any polish recommendations from this line, please let me know because I absolutely love what I have tried from Dare To Wear. I bought a second holiday trio that is blue based so hopefully I get around to swatching it for you soon. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will catch up with you soon.

Dior Diablotine

Posted on 10 November, 201310 November, 2013 by Cynthia

Hi everyone! I hope that you’re enjoying your Sunday and that you’re getting ready for Monday! Work was pretty slow today so I got to just chill out, and I hope that tomorrow is slow as well since it is Veteran’s Day. I won’t hold my breath, though. This weekend has been pretty exciting because my beautiful nephew was born a little past midnight on Saturday and I can tell you that I am completely in love with the little man. I am definitely a proud auntie! Before I start sounding like a lunatic about how excited I am about my nephew, let me tell you what polish I have for you today. I bought Dior Diablotine sometime last year, maybe, but I hadn’t reviewed it which surprised me because I’m always excited about my Dior purchases. Well, once I tried to photographed it, I remembered why I hadn’t blogged about it: I couldn’t get a good picture of it for the life of me! Let’s take a look at my bad swatches below.

Dior Diablotine is a crazy shimmery orangey-red-coral beauty that refuses to photograph accurately. My pictures make it look more orange than it is in real life. The shimmer in this polish makes the formula feel kind of grainy but that also gives you a lot of control. I also felt that the formula was rather sheer so it looked uneven at two coats, but a third coat fixed that. Overall, I do like this color but to formula was a little…interesting. I’d also like to note that removal was challenging because the shimmer got EVERYWHERE. And I mean everywhere.

And just because I can’t help showing him off, here is a picture of my nephew. Isn’t he adorable? I just want to snuggle him!!

Well, that’s all that I have for you today. I hope you’ve enjoyed your weekend, and I will talk to you soon.

Zoya MatteVelvet Polishes: Here’s Your Chance!

Posted on 9 November, 20138 November, 2013 by Cynthia

Did you miss out on the Zoya MatteVelvet polishes in the past? Well guess, what? Some of the shades are being re-released so you can get your hands on them! I had to dig in my stash for the four that I purchased when they first came out and swatched the three that are part of the ones they are re-issuing. I don’t remember being that crazy excited about these polishes when I first got them, but now I’m trying to figure out what was wrong with me back then because they are goygeous. The formula on these polishes is a little tricky to work with because, since they are mattes, they tend to dry quickly so you can’t overwork the polish or else you will get a streaky, lumpy, and uneven result. There are polishes that don’t deserve being babied…these totally do.

Zoya Dovima

Zoya Posh

Zoya Savita

I’m telling you…don’t miss out on these again. I will be getting my hands on Veruschuka because I didn’t previously purchase it. Here are some details regarding the colors that will be available:

Zoya MATTEVELVET* Jewels LE Gift Set Trio
Showcased in a luxury black trio box containing three Zoya MATTEVELVET colors: Veruschuka (emerald green matte shimmer), Savita (amethyst purple matte shimmer) and Posh (ruby red matte shimmer). $27 (US).

Jewels MATTEVELVET LE Trio Gift Set (ZPHOL1304)SPECIAL PRE-ORDER (now through 11.20.2013) PRICING: $24, plus free shipping on Zoya.com

MATTEVELVET LE Individual Gifts
Four to choose from each in a luxury black gift box. $10 ea. (US).

Veruschuka MATTEVELVET* LE Gift Set (ZPHOL1306)
Savita MATTEVELVET* LE Gift Set (ZPHOL1307)
Posh MATTEVELVET* LE Gift Set (ZPHOL1308)
Dovima MATTEVELVET* LE Gift Set: Contains one bottle of Dovima (onyx black matte shimmer – ZPHOL1305)SPECIAL PRE-ORDER (now through 11.20.2013) PRICING: $9, Zoya.com

So, will you be picking up any of these?

Dior Minuit – Holiday 2013

Posted on 8 November, 2013 by Cynthia

This is going to turn out to be the week of Dior on my blog because I am going to have a few Dior posts. I think that out of all the luxury polish brands I buy, Dior is my favorite because the formula is always great and I love the regular Dior brush. I wasn’t sure if I was going to get a chance to post this today because I hadn’t gotten a chance to write up any posts in advance, and I thought I would be busy with the impending birth of my nephew. Oh yeah…remember I’m about to become an auntie? I’m so excited, and can’t wait for him to get here so I can have someone to totally spoil rotten. Anyway, let’s get back on track with the polish. Today I have the other pretty from Dior’s Holiday Collection for 2013: Dior Minuit. Are you ready for some swatches?

Dior Minuit is impossible to photograph: it’s just too pretty and refuses to cooperate. Ugh, it’s like those bitchy girls in high school that are too pretty for their own good and make you feel inadequate. Anyway, this polish is gorgeous. The base is very dark but that shimmer really comes through–especially in sunlight. The formula is good–kind of thick and with a grainy texture because of all the shimmer. I applied two coats for my swatches above.

And because I immediately thought of Taboo when I first got my hands on Minuit, I decided to do some comparison swatches.

As you can see, these are not dupes at all. They could be cousins, but the base colors and shimmer are totally different. While I really love Taboo, Chanel polishes don’t seem to wear very well on me.

So what do you think about Dior Minuit? Worth the hefty price tag? Let me know! Thanks so much for catching up with me today, and I will talk to you soon!

Dior Frimas – Holiday 2013

Posted on 7 November, 20137 November, 2013 by Cynthia

It is such a beautiful day today! It’s not that hot, it’s sunny and just beautiful. I woke up today with the intention to swatch a bunch of polishes, but I ended up getting stuck watching a bunch of dumb movies. Instead, I have only swatched one polish and boy is it pretty. Let me show you Dior Frimas from the Limited Edition Holiday Collection.

Get a load of the beautiful packaging. I’m a sucker for beautiful packaging and containers so I was drooling over these pretty bottles.

Dior Frimas is a limited edition polish from this year’s Holiday Collection. This polish is basically a neutral on crack. That beautiful gold shimmer really takes it up a notch and keeps it from being just plain old beige. The formula on this polish felt a little strange because the shimmer makes it feel grainy. The graininess of the polish makes the formula a little thick but also easy to control. Despite the thickness of the formula, it feels a little sheer so I had to apply three thin coats for full coverage. As far as dupes, I think that China Glaze Fast Track is a similar polish because of the gold shimmer and neutral base, but Frimas is a little more golden/rose.

Overall, I really like this polish but what really kills me about this polish is the beautiful bottle. The curse of the Limited Edition status always gets me too. Is it worth $26 for a .4oz bottle? To most people, probably not, but it’s worth it to me because 1) I am a polish collector/hoarder 2) It’s LE!!! 3) I love Dior! One thing I do want to mention is that if you love the Dior rounded brush, you will be disappointed because the brush on this polish is thin and square. It’s not terrible, but it’s not great. I did manage to super splurge and also purchased Minuit so that one will be on the blog tomorrow. Thanks so much for the visit, and I will talk to you soon.

OPI Mariah Carey 18K White Gold & Silver Leaf Top Coat

Posted on 6 November, 20136 November, 2013 by Cynthia

Oh my glob, you guys…I am exhausted. I woke up at 7 am and I just finished doing laundry and completely cleaning my apartment. You see, my parents arrive tonight and my mom is a major clean freak (where do you think I get it from?) so I don’t want her to look around and be all disgusted. The last time my mom visited, the following words came out of her mouth: “I know you work and must get home tired. Don’t worry…I understand why your place looks like this.” Uhm, thanks mom! The funny thing is that she was trying to be nice and didn’t really mean for it to sound that bad even though it did. hahaha How do mothers have that way of making you cringe with one small comment? I’m enjoying the last couple of hours of peace and quiet because my little apartment is going to be come a crazy house. I haven’t seen my mom in over a year so I’m pretty excited to have them here for the holidays so I’ll gladly put up with the craziness. You know what else their visit means? ALL THE HOMECOOKED MEXICAN FOOD I CAN EAT. Oh boy…there goes my diet…

So, I am glad I got a few minutes to write up this post because I totally flaked on posting this yesterday. I ended up going out with a friend to celebrate some good news and we ended up going to a yummy restaurant and then we watched Before Midnight. Have you guys seen it? I love Before Sunrise and Before Sunset so this was a great third installment, and I highly recommend it. Ok, ok…let’s get to the polish. Today I have the OPI Mariah Carey 18K White Gold & Silver Leaf Top Coat to share with you so let’s take a look at my swatches below.

There have been quite a few gold/silver leaf top coats in the last year or so and this is my first experience with them. I decided to take the plunge and try it out because I love the luxe-looking bottle. To be honest, I do like how this looks but I won’t be purchasing anything similar–maybe at a lower price point because this baby retails for $30!!! As far as application is concerned, it applied beautifully at one coat.

Well, I hope you’re all doing well and wish me luck with the rents. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

Nicole by OPI Modern Family Holiday Collection 2013

Posted on 4 November, 20134 November, 2013 by Cynthia

Can you believe that it’s November already? Thanksgiving is just around the corner and suddenly Christmas will be here. Personally, I hate how crazy people get around the holidays so I don’t even care about it all except for the food, of course, because my favorite food is beautifully showcased: CARBS. Don’t fight me on this…carbs is totally my favorite food in every way, shape and form. Yesterday I filed down my nails big time because they were starting to bug me, but I did some swatching before that happened. Today I have the Nicole by OPI Modern Family Holiday Collection to share with you so let’s take a look at the swatches.

I kind of liked this icy blue polish even though it is slightly brush stroke-y. Nicole by OPI Late Blu-mer had a pretty good formula and needed 2 coats for full coverage. Is it just me or does this look a lot like OPI Dining Al Frisco? here is a swatch of Dining Al Frisco:

Pretty darn close, right? The lighting is a bit different, but I think they can be called dupes.

Nicole by OPI Spark the Conversation is a holographic top coat which I found very difficult to apply because it was impossible to get a lot of the holo squares on the brush and get them to transfer onto my nails. I ended up getting TONS of clear polish on my nails and very little glitter so the next time I use this, I will try to pick out some of the glitter with a dotting tool.

Nicole by OPI Aren’t Families Grape? doesn’t really seem like a very holiday-type shade to me, but it’s nice. The formula seemed very thin to me so I applied 3 coats for full opacity.

Nicole by OPI You’re My Treasure is interesting, but I don’t really like it because the diamond shaped glitter is kind of random looking. I had no problems with picking up enough glitter–in fact at times I had too much on the brush! This mani totally came out looking very Lakers-esque.

And lastly we have Nicole by OPI Who Red My Journal??? This is an orange toned red with a lot of shimmer to it. It’s a nice hue, but totally not that interesting to me. The formula was nice: thin but not too sheer so I applied two coats for my swatches above.

Overall, I would give this collection a mild “meh.” For a holiday collection, I was expecting brighter, more jovial colors. These Limited Edition shades should be available now for $7.99 each at select CVS locations nationwide. For more information, visit nicolebyopi.com. Follow Nicole by OPI on Twitter @NicoleByOPI and become a Facebook fan. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you later.

Cirque Baptisia

Posted on 2 November, 20132 November, 2013 by Cynthia

So far, my Saturday has gone by in a blur because I have been cleaning and getting my place ready for my parents’ arrival. I haven’t seen my mom in over a year so I’m super excited that they are coming for the holidays and for the arrival of my nephew. I can’t wait for all of them to get here later next week! I hope that work tomorrow is slow so that I can get a few posts written and scheduled because I think I’m going to be way too busy to write up any posts for the next week or so. Luckily, I have a lot of swatches done and edited so now all I have to do is write up the post and schedule it. Personally, I find that writing the post is the hardest part of the whole process, and that is what usually takes the longest for me. The polish I have for you today is the lovely Cirque Baptisia from the newest Cirque collection: Alchemy.

Cirque Baptisia is called a “shimmery midnight indigo” and I find that is a good description. It’s definitely one of those blurple-type colors that can look different depending on the angle. The formula on this polish seemed a little thin at first, but it definitely built up nicely. Since the finish on this polish was a little dull, I applied a coat of Seche to make it nice and shiny.

I changed my lighting a bit for these swatches so you can definitely see more of that gorgeous shimmer!

This gorgeous polish was a gift from the always awesome Amy from The Fancy Side. She recently moved from Kansas to NYC so she had the awesome opportunity to pick these up in person and she generously snagged some lovely presents. Amy has a review for the entire Alchemy Collection on her blog, so make sure that you check it out here. This was my very first Cirque polish and I kind of want to punch Amy for making me want the whole collection now. Let me know what you think of Baptisia! Are you a Cirque fan? What other pretties from the brand can you recommend? Thanks so much for stopping by today and enjoy the rest of your weekend!