2014 - Page 7 of 24 - Of Life and Lacquer

Year: 2014

Of Life and Lacquer > 2014

OPI Pink Of Hearts BCA 2014

Posted on 9 September, 20148 September, 2014 by Cynthia

Oh man, today was so crazy busy at work that I barely had a minute to breathe. To top it all off, it was super hot today–hot and humid. In fact, on my drive home it started to sprinkle a little bit and it was like everyone on the freeway forgot how to drive. Why is it that any time that it rains it’s like we forget how to drive? Is this a SoCal thing? What would we do if we had real weather nightmares like ice/snow? We’d probably all die instantly…spontaneous combustion. It’s supposed to remain hot and muggy for the rest of the week, and I am definitely not happy about that. From crappy weather to pretty polish, today I have the OPI Pink of Hearts Breast Cancer Awareness set for 2014.This is a totally adorable set, right?

As a lover of pink polish, I cannot believe that I had never tried OPI Mod About You. I was blown away by the rich creaminess of this pale pink and absolutely adore it. I used two thin coats for my swatches.

OPI The Power Of Pink is a milky based glitter that works better layered over the pink. I tried it on its own but it needed way too many coats for on opaque finish.

Overall, I think this is a great set and if it serves the purpose to raise awareness, then that’s an added bonus in my book. I know that this time of the year, we are flooded with PINK which can make people cynical, but I’m reserving my judgement on that one since I’m just talking about the quality of the polish here. What do you think about these polishes? Are they something you would wear? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

Giveaway – OPI DS Polished Quartz

Posted on 8 September, 20147 September, 2014 by Cynthia

Hello and happy Monday! Can’t you just feel the sarcasm dripping from that phrase? I hope that you had a nice weekend. I actually had a pretty busy weekend and two things ruined it: it was blazing hot and I broke a nail–on my swatching hand! It seems that I very rarely break nails because I tend to keep them so short, but I was doing tons of cleaning and washing dishes on Sunday that it must have happened during that time. I actually didn’t even notice that it was broken until was washing my hair and my hair got caught in it. Ugh! It’s my pinky nail so I hope that it grows quickly. I also got a haircut on Friday and I’m kind of regretting it now because it’s super short–the shortest I have ever gone and it’s really hard to do anything with it. Thankfully, my hair grows super fast so I won’t have to deal with this length for too long. I am thinking about finally letting my hair grow again…let’s see how long this lasts!

Anyway, what I wanted to share with you today is the launch of a new giveaway, courtesy of OPI, for the OPI DS Polished Quartz Collection which consist of Tourmaline and Titanium.

I really liked these and hope that whoever wins them enjoys them as much as I did. One lucky reader will win both of these babies. In order to enter, use the rafflecopter widget below. The giveaway is open internationally.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

Stamping Saturdays #35

Posted on 6 September, 2014 by Cynthia

Happy Saturday and welcome to another installment of Stamping Saturdays! I can’t believe that I stayed up until like 4 am last night and then I woke up at 8:30 for no apparent reason. Now I’ve just been watching Project Runway and putting off doing the cleaning I need to do. I’ve always loved Project Runway but I still sorely miss Michael Kors. I do like Zac Posen, but Michael was in a class by himself. I was having a hard time figuring out what I wanted to do for today’s post, so I looked through my melmers and decided to use Chanel Taboo. I’ve only used this polish once since I bought it mainly because it wears like crap on me. It basically stared completely peeling off my nails the same day. Anyway, let me show you what a did for my stamped mani today.

Yes, Chanel Taboo is gorgeous. Yes, it is too expensive. No, it’s not really worth it if the brand wears poorly on you. I think that body chemistry has a lot to do with how polish wears on you so I’m sure that Chanel wears perfectly fine on other people–just not on me. I guess this is a good thing because I only have one Chanel in my collection but that doesn’t keep me from admiring others from afar. My wallet is happy.

I then used this flowery image from plate MASH 42 and Pure Ice Silver Mercedes to stamp this design. I’m feeling a little meh on this overall, but it has this laid back island feel too it that I’m kind of enjoying.

What are your plans today? It’s pretty freaking hot here today so I’m probably just going to be lazy and do some cleaning…and maybe watch a bunch of zombie stuff on Netflix. Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

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China Glaze The Giver Collection

Posted on 5 September, 2014 by Cynthia

Ermahgerd it’s Friday! So it’s almost Saturday since I’m posting this so late, but I’m just super excited to have my weekend again. I can’t tell you enough how beat down I have felt this week, but today after work I went to get a haircut and it’s waaaaay short again which I love. That was so relaxing because I love having my hair cut. Then I came home and just vegged out while I did my nails for tomorrow’s Stamping Saturdays. Have you joined us for Stamping Saturdays yet? No?! Why not? You better get on that because I’d love to see your mani. So what should I say about the polishes I have for you today: China Glaze The Giver Collection? The Giver? What’s that? Oh, another YA novel. *yawn* Ok, so I haven’t actually read it and haven’t seen the movie yet, but Meryl Streep is in it so I’m in! Let me show you this collection, and then you can tell me what you think.

China Glaze Friends Forever, Right?

China Glaze New Birth

China Glaze Five Rules

China Glaze Intelligence Integrity & Courage

China Glaze Release

China Glaze Capacity To See Beyond

China Glaze The Outer Edge

China Glaze History Of The World

China Glaze Givers Theme

China Glaze Seeing Red

China Glaze Community

China Glaze Boundary Of Memory

This shit just got real, yo! This collection came out before the Fall All Aboard Collection and China Glaze is definitely on a roll. Man, this collections is awesome. I know they are mostly cremes, but that is my favorite finish. The colors are so classy and have this very classic and serene look to them. The formula on all of them was absolutely perfect and I don’t have any complaints. I know everyone is going gaga over Boundary Of Memory and rightly so because it’s fantastically gorgeous. This type of full coverage glitter reminds me of I Herd That and I’m Not Lion from the On Safari Collection. What do you think of this collection? I have heard that people are having a hard time finding all of the polishes in this collection because it’s sold out everywhere so I guess I was lucky to find them all.

So what do you have planned for this weekend? I have a bunch of cleaning to do because I am planning to throw out tons of junk that I don’t need anymore. In a way I am the opposite of a hoarder because I tend to throw everything away–except when it comes to polish, of course. I hope you enjoy your upcoming weekend, and I will talk to you soon!

P.S. Sadly, this collection is up on my blog sale. I overspent by A LOT on polish recently so I can’t keep these. Hopefully they will find a nice new home.

Giveaway – OPI Peanuts Collection

Posted on 4 September, 2014 by Cynthia

Hey guys! Due to the generosity of OPI, I have the OPI Peanuts Collection to giveaway to one lucky reader. As you know, I really like this cute little collection so I am sure you will love playing with these amazeballs glitters.

Please use the rafflecopter widget below to enter:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

The giveaway is open internationally. I’m feeling kind of blah so I haven’t been that into blogging the last couple of days. I’m going to try to get a post up tonight because I hate being so behind. I hope your week is going great.

Good luck everyone!

China Glaze All Aboard Collection Fall 2014

Posted on 1 September, 2014 by Cynthia

Today kind of flew by and that means the end of my long weekend. I wish I had a few more days off to just be lazy, but I guess being able to pay the bills is more important, right? I know tomorrow is going to be cray cray at work, but at least the day will go by quickly. So this weekend I did some insane amount of swatching, and one of the collections that I swatched is the China Glaze All Aboard Collection for Fall 2014. Normally I break up my posts into two since traditionally China Glaze puts out two six piece sets for their seasonal collections, but today I just decided to post everything together. I’m kind of super excited about this collection because it might just be a Renaissance for China Glaze since I’ve been so disappointed in recent times with some of the collections they have put out. Even the fact that this is a train inspired collection appeals to me because I absolutely adore trains. When I was in France, I always took the train everywhere. My favorite thing to do was get on the train at 7 pm and I’d arrive in Florence early the next morning. It was magical! I have quite a few train stories but I won’t get in to that right now because I’ll never get to the polishes. Before I start blabbing away, let me show you what I’m talking about.

China Glaze All Aboard

China Glaze Cho-Cho Choose You

China Glaze Conduct Yourself

China Glaze Don’t Get Derailed

China Glaze Loco-motive (over What Are You A-freight Of?)

China Glaze Lug You Designer Baggage

China Glaze Mind The Gap

China Glaze One Track Mind

China Glaze Nice Caboose

China Glaze Stop That Train!

China Glaze Well Trained

China Glaze What Are You A-freight Of?

Holy polishgasm, Batman! Let me tell you something: this collection blew my socks off. It’s almost as perfect as the On Safari Collection from a couple of years ago–yes, it’s THAT good. I can honestly tell you that the only one I didn’t care for is Stop That Train! cause it’s kind of frosty and orange–ick! However, every other polish is just pure perfection. The cremes are fabulous and the shimmers are killer. I know that for most people, the stand-out shade will be Cho-Cho Choose You, and all I could think about when I wore it was this:

Hahaha! Ralph might just be my favorite Simpsons character–It’s so hard to pick just one! I do love Cho-Cho Choose You and also love Mind The Gap because it’s one of those ugly/pretty colors that always pull me in. The formula on all of these is fantastic–they all needed two coats and some of the cremes could be one coaters if you apply them carefully. I know I tend to be a little harsh with my China Glaze reviews sometimes, but it is only because I expect so much from the brand–they really were the first brand that pulled me in when my polish obsession began. From all the Fall collections I have seen, I think this is THE collection of the season. I’m sorry if this is causing stress to your bank accounts–well, not really cause if it wasn’t me, it would be someone else and I quite enjoy being part of the enabling circle of polish life. What do you think about these beauties? Are there any colors that you are going to pick up? Thanks so much for the visit, and I will talk to you later!

Winner Announced – OPI Nordic Collection

Posted on 31 August, 201431 August, 2014 by Cynthia

Hi there! I know you are all anxiously awaiting the announcement of the winner of the OPI Nordic Collection Giveaway, so I won’t keep you waiting any longer. The lucky winner is…

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations, Rose! The winner has been contacted via email so I am waiting for her response. Thank you everyone–old and new readers. I hope that you stick around. 🙂 I will be having some awesome giveaways in the very near future so stay tuned.

I also wanted to mention that I have put up TONS of stuff up on my blog sale. Unfortunately I have some unexpected expenses and I kind of spent way too much on polish in the last few weeks. Additionally, my camera is on its last lens…leg. Well, you get the picture. I’m so pathetically punny today. Thanks for taking a look and shoot me an email if you want to buy anything. You can click here to go to my blog sale page.

Talk to you guys soon!

OPI Designer Series Polished Quartz Fall 2014

Posted on 31 August, 2014 by Cynthia

I was expecting it to be much hotter than it is today, so I’m kind of happy about that. Since I don’t have AC, whenever it gets crazy hot it gets hard to swatch. You may have seen the crazy pile of polishes that I had to swatch, but I’m glad to share that I have swatched about 35 of them so far. All of them have been so ridiculously gorgeous that I barely even noticed the crazy amount of polishes I went through. I think I may be the only one who is super happy about summer being almost over. I am pretty happy that this summer hasn’t been completely unbearable, but I know that suddenly the weather will take a huge dump on my head and get insanely hot. For today’s post, I have two insanely sparkly polishes that don’t exactly scream fall, but they are ridiculously flashy and bright. I always look forward to the DS releases, so let’s take a look at the OPI Designer Series Polished Quartz duo for fall 2014.

OPI DS Titanium

OPI DS Tourmaline

Was I lying about how gorgeous these two are? Since the polishes are in a jelly-type base, they are pretty sheer so I applied 3 coats for my swatches. I played around with them a bit since swatching them and they look amazing layered over other colors so the possibilities are endless. I have an extra set of these babies so make sure to check back for my next awesome giveaway. I hope you’re enjoying your weekend and if you’re in the US, I hope you are enjoying your long weekend. Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

P.S. I have added a lot of items to my blog sale so make sure you check it out.

Stamping Saturdays #34

Posted on 30 August, 201430 August, 2014 by Cynthia

Hey, how is your Saturday going? I’m enjoying my day so far even though I woke up early and did some cleaning around the house. I ended up going out to dinner with my bro, sil and baby peanut. He is such a cutie pie and is growing so fast! He was a very good boy as usual and played with his crayon the entire time.

Isn’t he just a delicious little cutie pie? So besides cute babies, I do have a mani to show you today for Stamping Saturdays. Are you ready?

I started off with two deliciously creamy coats of Kiara Sky Ms Behaved which is a smoky greyed out purple. The formula was fantastic which has been my experience with Kiara Sky as a whole.

In order to make this polish really shine, I applied one coat of Max Factor Fantasy Fire. Gorgeous, right?

I then stamped this image from Konad M79 which reminds me of wrapping paper, but I just really like how it looks. I went pretty simple this week, and I really ended up liking this. What do you think?

So, I have tons of swatching to do this weekend and I hope I get through it all before my nails fall off or something. I’ve already swatched the China Glaze Fall Collection so now I am trying to decide between The Giver Collection or the Holiday Collection. It’s so hard to decide because they are all so pretty!! Anyway, thanks for stopping by today–I’ll be picking a winner soon so expect that announcement in the next hour or so. So excited! Talk to you soon.

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OPI Peanuts Collection Halloween 2014

Posted on 26 August, 2014 by Cynthia

It’s not even September yet and we are already seeing Halloween stuff–and that’s fine by me because I lurve Halloween collections. Since I got out of work a little early today, I went to my nail places and ended up spending my whole polish budget for the next month in 5 minutes. Yeah, polish budget–who am I kidding? I also went to my absolute favorite Vietnamese/French bakery because they have the best baguettes in all of OC, and I wanted to make a killer sandwich for dinner. So when I got there, there was a lady in front of me ordering some stuff. One of the girls behind the counter took my order: 1 baguette and 2 macarons…ok, 3 macarons…I mean 4. Anyway, she placed a baguette on the counter and the lady who was in front of me grabbed it. She was full-on manhandling it with her bare hands on the part that wasn’t covered by the paper sleeve. Since she was speaking Vietnamese, I figured she had ordered one too but then she picks up her bag and leaves the baguette on the counter. Is this real life? Did this lady just touch and squish my baguette with her bare dirty hands????? Even worse, the lady at the register didn’t say squat to her and was acting like nothing happened. I was staring at her and waited for her to give me a new baguette. When she didn’t, I just flat out told her that I needed a new one since that lady had just touched it all over. She looked at me like I was nuts, but she gave me a new one. Am I the only one who thinks that other lady was gross? I mean, if she has no common sense, how do I know what else she has handled with her bare hands? I don’t know why I just told you that long story instead of telling you all about the OPI Peanuts Collection for Halloween 2014. This is such a cute little collection that I bet you will love. Let me show you my swatches first.

OPI Good Grief!

OPI Where’s My Blanket???

OPI WHO ARE YOU CALLING BOSSY?!?

OPI To Be or Not To Beagle

Can I just tell you how much I like this collection and how cute these glitters are??? Good Grief! and WHO ARE YOU CALLING BOSSY?!? are pretty standard cremes that require two coats for full coverage, but it’s the two glitters that really stand out. I love them both and they were very easy to apply as the glitter is plentiful. The lit nerd in me also loves the Hamlet reference in To Be or Not To Beagle. Are you planning to pick any of these up? The OPI Peanuts Collection will be available this September at the usual places. OPI nail polish retails for $9.50/ea for a .5oz bottle, and there will also be a Little Peanuts mini set which you can purchase for $13.95. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!