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L.A. Girl Sand Blast

Posted 5 May, 2013 By Cynthia

self purchased

 

 

I had mentioned on Facebook that I had a bunch of new polishes to swatch, and I decided to go with these pretties that I recently picked up during one of my polish hoarding binges. I know you’re probably thinking: NOT MORE TEXTURED POLISHES!!!! However, I just couldn’t help myself because I had never tried any L.A. Girl polishes and I had seen some interesting swatches floating around on the internets. This collection has a total of 8 polishes, and I picked the 4 colors that most appealed to me. Can you believe that I actually showed some self-restraint? Anyway, let me get to the polishes and show you my swatches of the L.A. Girl Sand Blast polishes.

 

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It was a given that I was going to pick up Sandy Beach because it’s a vibrant blue and when’s the last time I said no to a blue? This polish is super crazy pigmented and only needed two coats. I found that the formula was much nicer to work with than the China Glaze Texture polishes because it didn’t set as quickly. This is a straightforward textured polish with no sparkle to it but it does dry somewhat glossy.

 

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I think that I was the most excited about Green Sand when I first saw the display. Again, the formula was great and it covered in two coats. The one thing I want to mention is that this polish has a glittery shimmer to it that didn’t quite show up in my pictures, but boy does it shine in the sunlight. This delicate seafoam color just totally won me over.

 

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Glissand has the same gorgeous shimmer that doesn’t show up so well in my pictures. I have been completely obsessed with orange and coral this season so this is right up my alley. I needed 2 coats for full opacity.

 

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And last up is Sands Of Time. This polish initially made me think of Honey Ryder from the OPI Bond Girls Liquid Sands, but this polish has chunky gold glitter that really makes it shine. This is a really beautiful polish, but I’m not so sure that I really like wearing full on gold nails.

 

Overall, I think these are a great little set of textured polishes. I can’t say how much longer the textured craze is going to last, but so far I’m not really tired of it yet.  To tell you the truth, I had no idea where to purchase these locally until I randomly came across a display at a new beauty supply place that I visited. You are able to purchase these online, though.  What do you think of these? Do you have a favorite? Thanks for the visit today, and I will talk to you soon!

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Winner Announced: OPI Bond Girls Liquid Sand Minis

Posted 4 May, 2013 By Cynthia

Hello everyone! This post is coming a little late at night since I’m still up which is a miracle–you know me and my whole schedule of going to bed while the sun is still out. No joke. Anyway, I am happy to announce the winner of the OPI Bond Girls Liquid Sand Minis Giveaway! The winner is….

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Yay Bridget! Please respond to my email within 24 hours to claim your prize. Thank you so much to everyone who entered, and don’t fret if you didn’t win this time: you know I’m already trying to plan my next giveaway! ;)

Have a great rest of the weekend!

 

<3 C

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LAST CALL: Giveaway OPI Bond Girls Liquid Sand Minis

Posted 3 May, 2013 By Cynthia

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to remind everyone that there is one more day left to enter my OPI Bond Girls Liquid Sand Minis Giveaway. Don’t forget to enter this international giveaway before it ends Saturday night. Use the rafflecopter widget below to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And here are my swatches of the collection:

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Good luck everyone!

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LVX Spring 2013 Collection

Posted 3 May, 2013 By Cynthia

Press Sample

 

 

Happy Friday everyone. I’m a little miserable today since it’s the upper 80′s to low 90′s so you all know how I feel about hot weather. BARF. I’m doing my best not to be in a completely foul mood but it’s hard my friends. It’s really hard. There nothing like shiny new nail polishes to put me back on the road to happiness. Ha! Today I have some swatches to share with you of  a new-to-me brand: LVX. LVX–or light in Latin–is a brand that has been around for about a year, but it wasn’t until today that I got to test out their latest delicious Spring collection. So without further ado, here is the LVX Spring 2013 Collection.

 

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You are not alone in thinking that some of these colors don’t really seem very Spring-y…but that doesn’t mean they are pretty.

 

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First up is Fantom. For those of us who like to dabble in nail art, we are always on the quest for the perfect white polish and this one comes pretty darn close. It’s creamy, glossy and very opaque. I applied 3 thin coats for the swatches above, but I could have probably gotten away with 2 thick coats. I love this white, and I can already see myself nail arting it up posthaste!

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I am still a little unsure about Citrine. It’s a pretty and unique colors, but I’m not so sure that it looks good on me. I just don’t know what to make of it. What do you think? This polish has a kind of crelly finish so I did need 3 coats for full coverage.

 

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I think we all probably have a dupe of Azalea in our collection. It’s a nice color, but not terribly unique. What sets this one apart is the amazing formula. This polish could have been a one-coater, but I applied two out of habit. It dries glossy and gorgeous–so feminine.

 

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Viridian…ah…Viridian! I think that every single collection out there has put out a version of this color since emerald is Pantone’s Color Of The Year. I think that this is my favorite polish of the whole collection even though I am pretty sure I have a bunch of similar colors already. It’s such a beautiful jade color that unfortunately stained my nails to high heaven. I haven’t had a polish stain my nails so badly since I used OPI Fly. Still, Viridian, I forgive  you cause you’re pretty.

 

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Before I show you my swatches of Cerulean, I wanted to show you what happened to it when I put some Seche Vite on it. What in the world? Look how streaky and chalky it turned!!! I had to go back and apply another coat of polish to hide this strange reaction.

 

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Cerulean is also somewhat of a stainer, but it’s definitely not as bad as Viridian. You know I swoon over these gorgeous blues so I am definitely feeling this one as well. It is super pigmented so I only needed 2 coats for full opacity.

 

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And last up is Indigo Blue. This is a color that seemed a little out of place in this collection because it screams fall to me, but I’ve never been one to follow rules so who cares? Rules? What rules?! This polish was also beyond pigmented and it looked pretty good after one coat, but I applied a second one just because that’s how I roll. I was dreading the impending staining after removal, but it was actually not bad for such a dark color.

Overall, I am very pleased with my first LVX experience. The formula on all of these polishes is rather fantastic: pigmented, smooth, glossy and incredibly easy to work with. In addition, I really loved the brush because it was very conducive to precise application, and I hardly needed to do any clean up which is always a huge plus for me.  My one drawback is the price. At $16 for a .5oz bottle, they are on the pricier side. What do you think about this collection? Have you tried LVX before? I’m really interested in knowing what you think so leave me a message. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

 

Just a little bit about LVX:

LVX recognizes the importance of beauty within Fashion. LVX is a deeply devoted fashion brand providing an in-depth understanding of emerging runway trends and high fashion. Our unique color collections are meticulously selected to be the top colors of the season, and will be the perfect complement to your wardrobe. LVX is committed to creating palettes that exceed seasonal trends while maintaining a timeless essence. Our long lasting, chip resistant and non-streak formula is free of toxic and harsh chemicals. LVX products are formulated without the use of Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin, DBP, Toluene, and Camphor. We are devoted to providing you with top quality, socially responsible, and vegan-friendly, luxury products without compromising quality, durability and finish.

LVX nail lacquer is cruelty free. All products are produced in the U.S.A. 

To keep up with LVX news and releases, you can visit them at:

Website: http://shoplvx.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shoplvx

Twitter: https://twitter.com/shoplvx

 

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China Glaze On The Shore Collection – Sunsational Summer 2013 Neons

Posted 2 May, 2013 By Cynthia

self purchased

 

 

Hey mon! Summer has hit us in Southern California and it’s hotter than a witch’s armpit today which means that we are seeing our first wildfires of the season. Fan-freaking-tastic. I guess this would be the perfect time to share with you my swatches of one of the first summer collections I’ve gotten my hands on: the China Glaze On The Shore Collection for Summer 2013. The On The Shore Collection is a 12 piece collection comprised of 6 neon jellies and 6 neon cremes. Since I am such a creme lover, I picked up 5 of the neon cremes and 3 of the jellies. Because this is pretty picture-heavy post, I am going to talk about the formula and such here before I get into the actual swatches.

First of all, I would like to say that the colors in this collection are gorgeous. I was so excited when I first started seeing the promo pics but my excitement soon fizzled once I started swatching this collection. I could cry neon tears lamenting what a disappointment the formula was for these polishes. I have to say that while the jellies behave like typical jellies (multiple coats), the cremes are the real offenders here. The creme formula is chalky, patchy and streaky and no matter how much I tried to work with them, they just didn’t want to behave. I wanted to chop my fingers off in utter disappointment and despair–yes, dramatic, but you know polish is something serious up in here. I do have to mention that I swatch all my polishes on my bare nails so maybe a good base coat could have helped? The creme polishes dry to a satiny finish and I thought I could fix them with some Seche Vite, but they just looked worse afterwards. I have no idea if the horrible application has something to do with my application technique or maybe they could have looked and behaved better with a base coat and/or a different top coat. By The time I finished swatching, I was just fed up and didn’t want to fiddle with them anymore. You can see the uneven application on my swatches below which really annoys me because I try to do my best to only put up decent swatches, but sometimes you just can’t help it.

First up are the three jellies: Heat Index, Keepin’ It Teal and You Drive Me Coconuts. All of these required 4 thick coats to get rid of the VNL. I much prefer these jelly polishes to the creme ones only because they look great at the end. You could probably avoid so many coats by applying a white polish underneath–put on your white undies, ladies!

 

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Heat Index

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Keepin’ It Teal

 

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You Drive Me Coconuts

The following 5 polishes are all from the neon creme collection. This side of the collection had the most drool-worthy colors, but unfortunately they did not measure up. Sadness. All of these swatches are 2 thin coats and one thick coat to try to smooth them out a bit. None of them have top coat as I wanted to keep their satin finish but also wanted to avoid the weird streakiness that developed when I applied Seche Vite.

 

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Highlight Of My Summer

 

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Bottoms Up

 

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That’s Shore Bright

 

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Sun Of A Peach

 

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Too Yacht To Handle

I don’t think I’ve been so disappointed in a collection in a long time. Wait, I’m lying. Tranzitions. Enough said. Anyway, I think I’ve made it pretty clear that I was not happy at all with these polishes. I will repeat myself in that maybe I just needed a different application technique with a base coat and maybe a different top coat. I don’t want to sour you on this collection because the colors are just so pretty that if you can get them to work, they are totally worth the effort. As for me, I just don’t have the time and patience to fiddle with them so they will be going up on my blog sale. Make sure you check it out if you’re interested in trying them out for cheap before you buy them all. Just a suggestion.

Thanks so much for visiting today, and please let me know if I’m just nuts and these have worked for you. I can’t wait until more reviews start popping up online so I can compare my experience with that of others. What do you think of these colors? Are they gorgeous enough to be worth all the extra work? Let me know! Talk to you soon.

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Essie Bridal Collection For 2013

Posted 1 May, 2013 By Cynthia

self purchased

 

 

Wedding? Barf. I’ve got to admit that I am a sort of wedding hater. I mean, if a friend or loved one is getting married, of course I’m happy for them and I will happily go to their wedding celebration, but personally, I just think they are a big waste of time and money. Now, don’t get your bridal panties in a bunch if you disagree with me; this is just my personal opinion and I am not telling you that YOUR wedding is a waste of time/money. Just wanted to clear that up. If it were me, I would rather go on a crazy and amazing vacation or put that money towards buying a home or something more practical, but that’s just the part of me that hates planning parties and such. Anyway, this past weekend I went to a wedding and the bride looked gorgeous and I’m sure it was worth all the stress and money that they spent to get that day to be as perfect as possible. Since I was thinking about weddings, I decided to pick up the new Essie Bridal Collection for 2013 even though the colors aren’t exactly the kind that make my heart skip a beat. Before I show you some swatches, I couldn’t get this song out of my head while I swatched them:

 

I don’t know about you, but I think Muriel’s Wedding is one of the funniest and saddest movies I’ve ever seen. I’ve been a Toni Colette fan ever since this movie came out. I also couldn’t believe that Rachel Griffiths played Rhonda in this movie! Not only is the acting superb, but the ABBA music is killer. Yes, I am an ABBA-maniac.

 

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No Baggage Please is the color that screams “bridal” to me the most. It’s such a light and delicate color with a beautiful faint shimmer that unfortunately was captured in my pictures. Being that it is such a light color, I did have to apply 4 coats for full coverage so be forewarned. The formula is definitely a little streaky, but it does build up nicely. I do like delicate colors such as this, but they definitely have a time and a place. This is not a color that I would ever swoon.

 

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Next up is Meet Me At The Altar which is No Baggage Please’s flirtier cousin. This polish also has a faint shimmer that isn’t showing up in my pictures. The formula was also a bit streaky, but I got away with 3 coats on this one. For lilac lovers, I think this is a very conservative choice.

 

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My Better Half screams bridesmaid to me. I’ve been seeing so many of these bright pink polishes lately, but I don’t really get tired of them. It has a glowing quality to it, and I’m glad to report that the formula as nice and pigmented so I only needed two coats.

 

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Last but not least, here is Using My Maiden Name. I think that this one is my favorite of the bunch and not just because I am a purple fanatic. I just love the beautiful shimmer in this polish and the formula was really great.

What do you think about the Essie Bridal Collection For 2013? I like these colors and they certainly are wedding appropriate, but they aren’t all colors that I would say I’m excited about. Since I’m not anticipating getting much use out of these colors, I will be putting them up in my blog sale so check that out if you’re interested. Do you have a favorite from this collection? Thanks so much for visiting today and catching up with me. Talk to you soon!

 

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OCC Chlorophyll

Posted 30 April, 2013 By Cynthia

Tuesday, yeah! That means that I don’t have to go to work tomorrow so it’s my second favorite day of the week. I’ve been watching Hemlock Grove all afternoon, and I’m seriously hooked. First the hit it out of the park with House Of Cards (I love Kevin Spacey!!!!) and now this show is crazy good. I can’t stop watching it and I love that they have all the episodes up already so I can watch at my leisure. They only thing that sucks is that it’s only 13 episodes…and I’m still dying to see more of House Of Cards. Hurry up, Netflix! In polish news, I decided to try out my new bottle of OCC Chlorophyll that I purchased during my last Sephora shopping extravaganza. Since they were having that 15% off sale, of course I indulged. Before I show the swatches, I just had to share this:

Chlorophyll, more like borophyll!

Billy Madison is seriously one of my favorite movies ever. I go around quoting it all the time and most of the time, people have no idea what I’m talking about and I just look like a big old freak. Oh, well…their loss!

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This is my first experience with OCC nail polishes, and I am pleasantly surprised. I found the formula extremely easy to apply and control which is always important because I have a tendency to flood my cuticles if I’m not super careful. OCC Chlorophyll conjured up a brighter green in my head before I purchased it so I was a little disappointed in that respect, but it’s still a gorgeous color. I applied 3 thin coats to achieve full opacity even though the formula was a little on the thin side.

 

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I then reached for my Wet N Wild Diamond In The Rough from the 2011 Ice Baby Collection. If you blinked, you probably missed this collection since it was crazy hard to find and was only available at Walgreens. Don’t you hate that but secretly love the thrill of the hunt? Anyway, I love these glitters no matter what a pain in the ass they are to remove. I tried to lightly sponge it at the base of my nails but that turned into a clean up mess…oh well, I still liked it.

So, I hope you’re having a nice Tuesday–I can’t wait to get to sleep in tomorrow although I’m going to try to hit the gym tomorrow. I’ve been so miserable lately feeling so gross and fat that I can’t stand it anymore!!! We’ll see how my resolve crumbles…haha! I have so much faith in myself, don’t I? Anyhow, let me know what you think of OCC Chlorophyll. Have you tried any other OCC polishes? What about their cult favorite lip tars? I actually bough one lip tar but didn’t really like it. It was my fault for getting a color that just wouldn’t look good on me, but maybe I’ll give them another try. Thanks so much for stopping by, and I will talk to you soon!

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Bettina Nail Enamel: Orange, Green and Sunrise

Posted 29 April, 2013 By Cynthia

 

The other day Daniel, whom some of you may know already if you join in on the twitter craziness that sometimes seems to happen, asked me why I hadn’t posted yet about the lovely Bettina polishes that he so graciously got me during his trip to Puerto Rico. (Well, I have to admit that I badgered him about bringing me back some Bettina polishes before he left but that’s beside the point.) Whaaaat? Does that mean that he actually reads my blog? I guess he does even though nail polish is not anything that he really cares about but that’s what you do for friends, right? I mean, you support their hobbies and obsessions no matter how inane you may think they are. Now that’s friendship! So today I am sharing the three lovely Bettina Nail Enamel colors that he brought back for me: Orange, Green and Sunrise.

 

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For those of you who don’t know, Bettina is a brand that is really hard to get a hold of unless you live in Southern Florida which is why I hadn’t been able to get any despite drooling over the colors on other blogs. Well, here I am with my first three Bettinas and let me tell you that I am in love…

 

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This is a dream polish for any orange lover out there. In case you don’t remember, orange polish was super hot last year since Tangerine Tango was the Pantone Color Of The Year. Well, I am still in love with orange polish so I was psyched that Daniel got this one for me. Orange was nearly a one-coater but I had to apply a second coat just to get full even color–and out of habit! You want to know the best part? It doesn’t stain one bit!

 

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I don’t know about you, but I’ve been seeing tons of interesting green polishes come out recently, and I seriously want them all. Green makes me think of freshly cut grass. It took me back to when I was a kid and I would lay in the grass, gaze up at the sky and try to make out shapes in the clouds. Forget about the hours of itchy torture afterwards since grass always made me feel all gross. Green was not as opaque as Orange, but I still only needed two coats for full coverage. I wasn’t expecting any staining issues, and I’m glad to report that there were one.

 

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I am always on the search for the mythical perfect yellow nail polish: a creamy one-coater. Alas, this is not it but it rather pretty. Sunrise is more of an orange leaning yellow that made me think of a more yellow China Glaze Sun Worshiper. I did have to apply three coats of this color which is fairly normal when you’re dealing with yellow polishes.

So, what’s the verdict after my first Bettina experience? I think this may be love–even if it’s going to be a long distance relationship. The formula on all three polishes was really great: it was the perfect consistency which made the polish super easy to control. I liked the brush as well which is always a huge plus for me. Another nail fanatic actually passed along the name of a sales rep from whom I can order Bettina lovelies to my heart’s content. Once I place an order, I’ll let you all know how it works out…and I’m definitely going to be jumping on that polish train like yesterday. Thank you so much to my #1 travel buddy who has been a great friend for the last 16 years–you are only feeding the addiction, my friend.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I hope that you have a great Monday. I’ll talk to you soon!

 

P.S. This is the last week to enter my latest giveaway for a set of OPI Bond Girls Liquid Sand Minis so don’t miss out. Go enter here.

 

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Ninja Polish Divinity & Some Stamping

Posted 25 April, 2013 By Cynthia

All products featured in this post were purchased by me.

Since it’s hotter than Satan’s crotch lately, I’ve kind of been in a shitty mood. In case you don’t know this about me, I hate the summer. Pretty strange considering I was born and raised in Southern California, right? Well, I was watching the news and it’s supposed to be in the 90′s on Saturday. I am so NOT looking forward to that. I’m going to turn into a raging lunatic trying to stay cool and this is only the beginning. Now we just have to wait for all the lovely wildfires we get each Summer. Anyway, I should stop being such a Summer-hater and just focus on all the pretty nail polish colors that come out during the hot season–yay! Speaking of pretty polish, today I’m showing you a stamped mani that I did with Ninja Polish Divinity as my base.

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I’ve previously shown you Ninja Polish Divinity so I’m not going to go on and on about it. It’s glowy. It’s hot. It’s gorgeous. You get it.

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And here I decided to use a design from Winstonia Store plate W112 along with the fantabulous Silver Mercedes from Pure Ice. I’m sure people are tired me of saying this, but if you love to stamp, you have to get this polish–it’s stamping perfection for only $2.00. I am very happy with how this mani turned out. I have to admit that I wasn’t expecting to like the Winstonia Store plates as much as I do so I’m pleasantly surprised.

The weekend is almost here–so what big plans do you have? On Saturday I’m going to one of my best friends sister’s wedding. It should be fun but now I have to figure out what to wear and what to do with my nails–decisions, decisions!!! Well, I hope you’re having a nice day and hope your Friday isn’t too crazy although I’m anticipating a shit storm at work tomorrow. Such is life! Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

All products featured in this post were purchased by me.

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Sation Board Girl Blue

Posted 24 April, 2013 By Cynthia

Sation Board Girl Blue was a press sample. All other products were purchased by me.

 

Wednesdays are fun for me because I don’t have to go to work, but at the same time I feel like I don’t truly enjoy my day since I’m just dreading that I have to go back to work on Thursday. Oh well, nothing can be perfect, right? Today is such a weird weather day since it was really hot the last few days and today is overcast and it has been sprinkling all day. Damn you, crazy California weather! This is the kind of weather that ends up making me get sick so I’m trying to just relax and not get too worried about it. I’ve actually been doing some cleaning all day so at least that has been relaxing. Since the weather was so summer-like in the last few weeks, I decided to look through my summer colors from last year and I stumbled upon Sation Board Girl Blue. I previously reviewed this polish last summer, and I kind of cringe at the quality of my pictures. I hope that I have learned a little about how to improve my pictures since then! I still love this color so much, and I can’t stop thinking about one of my favorite silly movies: Blue Crush. Yes, I know…it’s dumb, but it’s soooooo entertaining. hahaha Anyway, let me show you some swatches of Sation Board Girl Blue.

 

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I’m going gaga about how beautiful and vibrant this color is. The formula remains the same: smooth, highly pigmented and glossy. If you’re not too familiar with the Sation polish line, you are definitely missing out. In fact, for those of you who are subscribed to Ipsy, a Sation nail polish was included in the last bag. How cool! I love that more people are getting the opportunity to try Miss Professional Nail–especially if it’s hard to find their polishes where you live.

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I had mentioned earlier that I was reminded of Blue Crush (which is a surfer girl movie) when I wore this polish so I decided to stamp over it. This funky circle pattern from Winstonia Plate W112 ended up reminding me of bubbles in a way! How appropriate.  Let me know what you think about this color and how it looks with this stamping design. Thank so much for stopping by to catch up with me today–have a great day, and I will talk to you soon!

 

 

Sation Board Girl Blue was a press sample. All other products were purchased by me.

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