2014 - Page 3 of 24 - Of Life and Lacquer

Year: 2014

Of Life and Lacquer > 2014

The Beauty Buffs – Metallic

Posted on 19 November, 201419 November, 2014 by Cynthia

I’ll be the first one to tell you that I am not really excited by metallics. I have never been a fan of metallic nail polishes, but when I got China Glaze I’d Melt For You (press sample) I knew that it would be perfect for this prompt. Today The Beauty Buffs bring you everything metallic. Of course I am showing you a metallic–or chrome–polish because this is a nail blog, after all…at least I think it is. Let me show you the polish before I get into the finer details.

First off, I would like to explain that my nails look weird because I did some damage to my nail beds with some overzealous buffing and filing a few weeks ago. I accidentally made some grooves on the sides of my nails so now they look kind of warped. It’s not normally this noticeable, but this polish is a metallic/chrome which means that it shows EVER SINGLE IMPERFECTION on you nails. In retrospect, this probably wasn’t the best polish choice but hey–my nails aren’t perfect and here is the proof. China Glaze I’d Melt For You (press sample) is one of the polishes from the Twinkle Holiday Collection that I will be reviewing soon. It’s a very opaque silver chrome

In order to jazz this up, I used a design from a new plate that I bought from Born Pretty. The design comes from plate BP-13. No you can really see how badly damaged my nail is because the stamp didn’t even transfer there. Boo! I am not going to buff it anymore and hopefully it will just grow out.

I should have had this post up early this morning but I was so tired last night that I literally passed out with my computer open on my bed. I woke up like 30 minutes late and barely got to work on time this morning–womp, womp. I was super happy to read your guys’ comments when I got home today so that made me want to post again and again and again. I have a few new collections to swatch so that’s going to keep me busy this weekend. Additionally, I have like 5 days off for Thanksgiving so that will give me a bunch of time to do nail stuff. I’m excited about that.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by today and don’t forget to check out all of the posts from my fellow Beauty Buffs below. Talk to you soon!

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Dollish Polish The Angels Have The Phone Box

Posted on 18 November, 2014 by Cynthia

It seems that every time I post I make a half-ass apology so today I’m just gonna say that I haven’t posted cause I just haven’t been in the mood. So simple! But, I do want to get back into the swing of things because I just realized that next month will be 3 year anniversary of starting this blog. Woah. That is quite an accomplishment for me because I am the queen of the quitters, so I definitely want to start posting regularly. A few weeks ago I got this gorgeous polish for my birthday from Frosso. I’m still mad at Frosso for retiring from blogging (not really, ok, yes…), but since we still pretty much message every day I am not completely distressed. Here is Dollish Polish The Angels Have The Phone Box.

Even with indoor lighting, this polish looks gorgeous. The formula seems a little thin at first but it builds up nicely.

And look how it comes alive in this lighting. It’s so pretty!!!! Blue. Scattered Holo. Doctor Who. I didn’t have a chance. Yes, I love this polish. I love it so hard.

So thank you, thank you, thank you, Frosso for the awesome gift. I have the most generous friends with the best taste in polish, don’t I? Tomorrow I have another post lined up for my return to The Beauty Buffs. I hope you come back to check it out. Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

Color Club Cloud Nine

Posted on 12 November, 2014 by Cynthia

I feel so very bad about my lack of posting lately. I’ve been feeling dumpy so my energy level has been at -10 so I haven’t even had the desire to sit down and write up a post. I had hoped that by this time I would feel better with all my new meds and all, but I’m still just feeling so lethargic. Since I didn’t have to work yesterday, I spent the day with Peanut and he wore me out! He doesn’t even walk yet, but he goes bonkers with the crawling so I spent all morning chasing him around and keeping him out of mischief. Today’s polish is one that I can’t believe I hadn’t picked up yet: Color Club Cloud Nine.

Color Club Cloud Nine is a beautiful addition to the Halo Hues Collections that basically blew everyone away. This polish may not look that awesome in indoor lighting, but look what happens to it in the sun or more direct lighting:

Bam! Look at the rainbow! Not only is this polish gorgeous, but the formula is also absolutely perfect. Please come out with another holo collection, Color Club!!! I will buy every single one!

I really hope that I start feeling better soon because I just miss being excited about blogging. I wish I had some energy to just feel good swatching and talking polish with you guys. I am trying to stay more active on Facebook because I love talking with all you guys. I am also going to start being a lot more active on Instagram now that I got my brand new phone which I am totally loving. Follow me on Instagram for nail stuff, Peanut updates and just general shenanigans. Here is a video of Peanut for your viewing pleasure:

http://instagram.com/p/vRL-hrIBBM/?modal=true

Isn’t he so precious? I took him to IHOP where he proceeded to eat half of my scrambled eggs and half a pancake. I love this little guy so much and he is such a good boy. In the video he was clapping because the staff had just finished singing happy birthday to another patron.

I also wanted to remind you about my blog sale. I’ve added tons of new items and I also brought back the grab bags.

I am selling grab bags for $25 shipped which will consist of:

2 full size indie polishes
4 full size salon brand polishes
1 drugstore polish
1 mini indie polish

Pretty good deal, I think. So please take a look if you’re interested by checking out my blog sale page here. I hope that I’ll start posting more regularly next month so thank you for continuing to visit despite my sporadic posting. Thank you stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

The Lacquer Ring – Teal

Posted on 6 November, 20145 November, 2014 by Cynthia

Thursday! Yeah!!!!!!! I am so glad that this week is almost over because work has been very “challenging” this week so I am really looking forward to the weekend. Saturday is my Peanut’s 1st birthday party so this crazy auntie is getting ready to spoil the bejeezus out him. Additionally, I will have him next Tuesday for the whole day since I don’t work on Veterans day. Yay to Peanut time! I was planning to skip today’s The Lacquer Ring post because I just haven’t really been in the mood to blog, but I changed my mind after Lesley told me she was going to work on hers. Since Amy picked teal (big surprise!), I went searching through my melmers and decided to use China Glaze Custom Kicks.

Yes, China Glaze Custom Kicks really is teal but two thing happened: 1) I think that my bottle changed color slightly because it was very badly separated and it had some white in it which was weird 2) My lighting and camera LOVE to make everything more blue. In real life, this color really is more green, I swear! This polish also has the most beautiful golden shimmer that just makes it look a million times more interesting. It can be hard to see the shimmer on the nail, but when the light catches it–hot diggity! I was planning to do some nail art on this mani, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. It’s so beautiful in its simplicity that I just wanted to leave it untouched–that, and I got kinda lazy but let’s forget I just wrote that and admire the polish, ok?

So how has your week been so far? The other night I had a spectacular dream about quitting my job in the most outrageous way. I don’t really want to quit my job because I really do like it even though it can be really exhausting on certain days. I have just come to the conclusion that I don’t like working and I will never like working because it involves me waking up early in the morning. Can you tell I’m not a morning person? But hey, at least I don’t work at 5 am anymore which really killed my soul. Don’t forget to check out the other teal manis below! Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

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Zoya Wishes Collection Holiday 2014

Posted on 3 November, 20142 November, 2014 by Cynthia

Hi! How was your weekend? Mine was way too short as usual, so here I am lamenting the start of another work week. I didn’t manage to get through my swatching pile so now I’ll have to do a few polishes every night to catch up–at least that’s what I always say and then get too lazy. I did manage to swatch the Zoya Wishes Collection for Holiday/Winter 2014. I was so looking forward to this collection because last year’s collection was a total winner in my book. How did this year’s offering fare? Let’s find out.

Zoya Prim

Zoya Haven

Zoya Willa

Zoya Imogen

Zoya Nori

Zoya Thea

Where to start? Well, it’s safe to say that I dislike this collection. It would be an understatement for me to say that I am OVER the super magical ultra super duper Pixie Dust formulation. They never dry down matte which is what I think would make them look a little more special. Thea and Nori are very pretty, but Imogen is kind of a snoozefest. Now for the other three…Prim, oh Prim! Metallic, frosty, brush strokes. Enough said. I didn’t care for Haven either because it’ kind of metallic as well, but it doesn’t show brustrokes like Prim. The color isn’t something that I’d go out of my way to wear again. Willa is a good basic black with a nice formula, but that’s about it. You guys know I really love Zoya, but this collection is just a miss for me with the exception of Thea and Nori. What do you guys think? Will you be picking up any of these shades? You can purchase these polishes for $9 each (or $10 for the Pixie Dusts) over at zoya.com. Thank you for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

Stamping Saturdays #43

Posted on 1 November, 2014 by Cynthia

I’ve been super frustrated with my pictures lately which has made me not even want to swatch. I just hate how they are turning out lately and even though I take like 30 shots of each mani, I feel lucky if I even get one shot that I am mildly satisfied with. I don’t know if I’m being extra picky or if I’m just having a really bad run with my new camera. Anyway, today I am posting SUPER LATE for Stamping Saturdays even though I got this mani done late last night. Let me show you what I came up with.

Zoya Willa (press sample) is a full coverage black creme. Nothing fancy about this polish, but it is one of those nice staple polishes to keep in your arsenal.

For this design, I used plate Bundle Monster 308 and Color Club Halo-graphic. It stamps pretty well over black, and it looks really pretty in the sun.

So what do you think about this mani? Did you do anything fun for Halloween? I spent my evening with Peanut and taking him trick-or-treating. He was a cute little dragon as you can see below.

I can’t believe that he will be 1 year old next week! He is such a freaking cutie pie. Well, I hope you’re having a nice weekend, and I will talk to you soon.

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LCN Sweet Serenity Collection Winter 2014

Posted on 30 October, 201429 October, 2014 by Cynthia

Wednesday down and two more days to go before the weekend is here again. Is it pathetic how much we look forward to our weekends? I am also looking forward to Halloween because it’s my nephew’s first Halloween, and I can’t wait to see him in his little costume. Guys, I just don’t know what to tell you today. I feel like all of the winter/holiday collection are letting me down with their sheer boringness. I don’t think boringness is a word but it’s fits perfectly in Cynthia World so let’s just use it, ok? Normally I completely adore everything that LCN puts out, but I just can’t say that about their latest collection. The LCN Sweet Serenity Collection for Winter 2014 is comprised of 4 shades that just don’t pique my interest, but let me show you what I’m talking about…

LCN Sweet Serenity

LCN Tender Lace

LCN We’re Meant To Be

LCN Delicious Me

Is it just me? Am I not seeing something in this collection? I don’t find that the colors go well together and that brown just looks ghastly on me. The collection’s namesake polish also looks terrible on me and the color is just not something I would ever think of wearing again. It’s a shame because I like the soft matte finish–maybe if it was more pink? Tender Lace is really pretty but boy is it patchy–it needed 4 coats to even it out! The last color, Delicious Me, is nice and the formula was not problematic but it’s not that interesting. I’m sad about this collection–like super sad! It has definitely been an off year for winter/holiday collections and this one is no exception. What do you think about this collection? I am very interested in hearing what you think. Thanks for the visit today, and I will talk to you soon.

Faby Italian Nail Couture

Posted on 29 October, 201428 October, 2014 by Cynthia

For US lacqueristas, we tend to have all the major brands at our disposal so we don’t know what the ladies in other parts of the world go through to get certain brands. Well, today I have a new-to-the-US brand to share with you: Faby! Faby who? Well, let me share with you a little about Faby:

Faby is a high-quality, professional line of nail care products with over 175 brilliant, richly-pigmented colors that capture the essence of Italian style. But Faby offers more than just a manicure; wearing Faby is a color experience. With shades that are inspired by Italian culture, music, literature, cinema, and fairytales, and each with a story to tell, Faby nail lacquers are an expression of person style that encourage you to make a statement and live “La Bella Vita.”

How’s that for an introduction? I have to say I’m a little biased to ANYTHING Italian because I adore Italy, and it was basically my home away from home while I was living in France. Now, let me show you the three shades I got to try out:

Faby A Long Summer

Faby Faby Is My Best Friend!

Faby Jump On My Magic Carpet!

I am so glad that they sent me 3 cremes to try out because I think cremes are the litmus test for polish companies–if they can’t do cremes right, then I don’t know what to tell ya. Fortunately, all three polishes had a great formula. They were very opaque, creamy and easy to control. Even better, they did not need any top coat to have that amazingly shiny finish. While this trio of colors isn’t my favorite (I’m not a fan of orange and brown isn’t on my lust list), they definitely were a pleasure to work with. Here comes the but…the price. You guys know I’m not opposed to paying a lot for my nail polish (hello Tom Ford!), but I’m not a sucker either. These polishes retail for $18 each which I think is pretty steep. You can read more about Faby and see the wide range of colors that they offer at fabyusa.com. I also wanted to mention that Faby is cruelty-free and 5-free which I know is important to many consumers. Let me know what you think of these polishes! Thanks for the visit.

OPI Gwen Stefani Holiday Collection 2014

Posted on 28 October, 201427 October, 2014 by Cynthia

I was catching up on episodes of The Voice, and I was getting in the move to write up my review for this collection since I was watching Gwen on the show. Does anyone else think she looks more amazing than ever? How does she not age? I remember being in high school and freaking the fuck out when their Tragic Kingdom album came out. I still listen to that album often–ahh, simpler times. Every time I start talking about holiday collections, it surprises the heck out of me that in a few days it’s going to be November. Where did the year go? My little nephew is going to be 1 year old in a couple of weeks–when did that happen??? Soooo….where to start with this massive collection? Before I even saw bottle shots, I knew that Gwen + holiday would mean a whole lotta red and I was not wrong. Before I start rambling, let me show you the 18 polishes that make up the OPI Gwen Stefani Holiday Collection.

OPI Fashion A Bow

OPI Cinnamon Sweet

OPI What’s Your Point-settia?

OPI Red Fingers And Mistletoes

OPI First Class Desires

OPI Sleigh Parking Only

OPI Just Be-claus

OPI Kiss Me-Or Elf!

OPI I Carol About You

OPI Christmas Gone Plaid

OPI In A Holidaze

OPI Love Is Hot And Coal

OPI Rollin’ In Cashmere

OPI Unfrost My Heart

OPI I’ll Tinsel You In

OPI Snow Globetrotter

OPI Comet In The Sky

OPI So Elegant

Swatching a collection this large can seem like a huge chore, but I actually got through it rather quickly because the formula on all of these polishes was superb. They all applied easily and of course the OPI brush is perfect for my nails–I just can’t rave enough about it. I am feeling conflicted here: while I love the formula and the colors are really nice, I am just left feeling flat. Is it too much red? I don’t know. I just keep thinking of how majestic the Skyfall collection was a couple of years ago and how this doesn’t even compare. There are a few shades like Red Fingers and Mistletoes, First Class Desires, Snow Globetrotter and Christmas Gone Plaid that I LOVE SO HARD, but the rest I can live without. I kept going back and forth between liking and HATING Rollin’ In Cashmere and I think I have settled with disliking it. The color just looks horrible on me, but I can see it working on other different skin tones. You already know that I hate I’ll Tinsel You In because it’s silver and a foil. Barf. I guess the good news here is that your wallet will thank you for passing on a lot of these shades. If you have plenty of reds, then you don’t necessarily need to pick them up from this collection. Now I want to hear from you: what do you think about this collection? Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

KBShimmer Winter Collection 2014

Posted on 27 October, 2014 by Cynthia

I woke up this morning, “jumped out of bed and put on my best suit. Got in my car and raced like a jet…” Oh, wait. That wasn’t my morning, that was Magic’s! Anyway, I did jump out of bed because I thought I was going to puke in my sleep. For the last couple of weeks, I have been getting used to new medication and my stomach is still rebelling so the bathroom has become my best buddy as of late. It is getting easier but sometimes it just hits me like a ton of bricks. I’ve been feeling blah since yesterday but it all exploded today. Let’s just move on to the polish before I really cross the TMI line…or did I do that already? So I am super excited to be showing you some of the polishes that are part of the KBShimmer Winter Collection for 2014. The collection consists of 11 new polishes and 5 returning holiday shades. Let me show you the 8 that I chose as my favorites.

KBShimmer Snow Way

KBShimmer Sugar Plum Faerie

KBShimmer Turnip The Beet

KBShimmer Too Cold To Hold

KBShimmer Dressed To Gild

KBShimmer Fallen Angle

KBShimmer Flake Dance

KBShimmer Deja Brew

Sweet baby Jesus on rollerskate–the textures! THE TEXTURES! How gorgeous are those textures? I was hoping that there would be a creme or two (red or green) to pick from just because KBShimmer makes the best cremes, but there were none. This whole collection scream holiday and is just so festive! I think that the only one that seemed a little out of place is Deja Brew BUT it’s pretty damn gorgeous so I can overlook that. I don’t have a single holo with that kind of rich base color so I had to jump all over that. The official release date for the KBShimmer Winter Collection is 11/1 so mark your calendars and make sure to hear on over to KBShimmer.com for information on the entire collection. These polishes retail for $8.75 each. In addition to the new collection, KBShimmer will also be offering some promos:

-Free Shipping For All Orders over $40 on KBShimmer.com No code needed. Runs from 11/01-12/31

-Free With a $70+ Purchase, Holly Back Girl, a white Christmas crelly polish with red and green glitters. Use code HBGFREE to receive free polish and free shipping with $70+ purchase. Runs from 11/01-12/31

-Free samples! While supplies last, we will be sending out a sample in each order. Samples may include scrubs, lotions, vinyl nail decals, soaps, etc. Orders will also include a branded emery board.

-Free Snowman Glitter! The first 400 orders will receive a bag of 1000 snowmen glitters perfect for winter nail art.

What do you think about these beauties? Are you in love with them like me? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.