Cynthia, Author at Of Life and Lacquer

Author: Cynthia

Of Life and Lacquer > Articles by: Cynthia

Sweet & Sour Lacquer POTM June 2017

Posted on 30 May, 20174 June, 2017 by Cynthia

Hello everyone! How has the weather been in your neck of the woods? It has been super overcast here which is surprising but then it has also been on the cool side and it has been hella windy. This is very atypical for California weather in May. It’s not that I’m hoping it gets hot because we all know how much I hate the heat, but I’m just seriously thrown off. The sun did cooperate at least one day this weekend which allowed me to do some swatching. I really like taking pictures in direct sunlight when I swatch, but I rarely get the opportunity to do so. Today I have a really fun polish to share with you from a new-to-me brand. While this is the first time I try this brand, I have definitely heard about them and have seen some beautiful polishes from them in the past. Let me show you my swatches of the Sweet & Sour Lacquer POTM (Polish of the Month) for June 2017.

Sweet & Sour Lacquer POTM June 2017

Sweet & Sour Lacquer Polish of the Month June 2016

This beautiful polish has a turquoise base with lots of shimmer/micro holo sparkle. While the polish has a sheer to medium-sheer jelly base, it builds up nicely. For my swatches above, I have applied two regular coats of polish and a coat of quick dry top coat

Since I haven’t done much stamping lately, I decided to stamp up my mani. I used a Born Pretty plate but can’t remember the name of the plate. Shortly after I finished my mani, I started rearranging some of my nail stuff and I can’t find the plate. I’m a mess.

I really like this polish! Sometimes I can be a bit critical when it comes to jelly polishes, but this one is really beautiful. I love teals in every shade and finish so that just made me like it even more. I like the formula on the polish since it was easily buildable and was very easy to control–this is one of those polishes that did not require any clean up and allowed me to do a perfect cuticle line with minimal effort. If you’re interested in picking up the Sweet & Sour Lacquer POTM for June 2017, you can do so at sweetandsourlacquer.com starting June 2nd. Let me know what you think and if you will be picking this up. Do you have any recommendations that I should check out? I’ll definitely be picking some up in the future!

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

KBShimmer Multi Chrome Collection 2017

Posted on 24 April, 201724 April, 2017 by Cynthia

Hello polish peeps! How was your Monday? I was trying super hard to have this post up in the morning, but that would have entailed me actually writing up the post over the weekend and of course that didn’t happen so here I am. I tried really hard to figure out a way to capture the color shift in these polishes, but my camera was NOT COOPERATING–AT ALL. I was getting pretty worked up because I tried photographing them in direct sunlight, in the shade, in my lightbox…and nothing was working. Finally, I used my phone to photograph them in the shade and it worked! I would have liked to have some crisper images than what my phone produced, but I was satisfied to be able to show how beautiful these multi chrome polishes are. Let me show you my swatches of the KBShimmer Multi Chrome Collection for 2017 before we get into the details.

KShimmer Flip Flop Hooray

KBShimmer Iridescent Exposure

KBShimmer Chroma Chameleon

KBShimmer It’s A Blazing

KBShimmer Puns And Roses

KBShimmer Wine Not?

As I mentioned before, I took pictures in both direct sunlight and in the shade to show off the color shift. In person, you can really see all the beautiful colors without resorting to a bunch of tricks. I especially love Flip Flop Hooray and Iridescent Exposure–those are the two stand outs for me. In regards to the formula, I was a little concerned at how thin and patchy the first coat looked but I was pleasantly surprised that the second coat made the polish completely opaque. Sometimes I found myself creating a bald spot if I applied too much pressure when applying the second coat, but if I used a light touch and floated the polish on, I didn’t encounter any issues. I am not the biggest fan of chrome polishes in general, but these are sooo nice that I can definitely see myself wearing them often.

If you’re interested in picking up any of these bright and juicy shades from the KBShimmer Multi Chrome Collection for 2017, you will be able to get them online at kbshimmer.com on 5/5/2017 or earlier on 4/29/2017 if you are lucky enough to be going to Polish Con. Do you have any favorites from this collection? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

KBShimmer All The Bright Moves Collection Summer 2017

Posted on 17 April, 20174 June, 2017 by Cynthia

Oh, Monday…how I hate you. Well, this Monday isn’t too bad because I took the day off but it’s such a long stretch to get back to the next weekend. I had a sorta busy weekend so I am definitely happy to have an extra day to relax and get back on track. I had some time to swatch a few polishes so I started with the KBShimmer All The Bright Moves Collection. Listen, I love bright and juicy colors so these shades do not disappoint. I know how hard it can be to photograph neons, so I opted to use direct sunlight for my pictures. I normally don’t have the time to take sunlight pictures since I end up swatching in the evenings, but I just did not want to deal with the issues of my camera freaking out under artificial light. Let me show you my swatches before we get into the details.

KBShimmer All The Bright Moves Collection Color Me Rad

KBShimmer Color Me Rad

KBShimmer All The Bright Moves Collection Please Don't Glow Girl

KBShimmer Please Don’t Glow Girl

KBShimmer All The Bright Moves Collection All The Bright Moves

KBShimmer All The Bright Moves

KBShimmer All The Bright Moves Collection Race Against Slime

KBShimmer Race Against Slime

KBShimmer All The Bright Moves Collection Double Pog Dare You

KBShimmer Double Pog Dare You

KBShimmer All The Bright Moves Collection Let's Be Frank

KBShimmer Let’s Be Frank

Ugh, these are so pretty! I love neons, but I hate it when you have to wear a white base underneath to make them pop or when you have to apply 4 billion coats to get them to look nice. You will be happy to hear that these neons do NOT need white undies and are all opaque at 2 coats!! The only one that gave me a little trouble was the yellow shade: All The Bright Moves. I still got it to look nice and opaque with 2 coats but the second coat had to be somewhat thicker than I’m used to. I guess this is a 3 coater if you use thin coats. I also want to mention that Double Pog Dare You stained my nails. Unfortunately, it was the first shade I swatched so I had to really scrub hard and even used a sugar scrub to try to get off all the staining from my nails and surrounding skin. I don’t normally use a base coat when I swatch, so make sure that you use one to try to avoid staining. Despite the staining, I love this shade. I think it reminds me so much of one of my favorite Sephora by OPI shades called Slushied. If you love neons, I guarantee that you will love this collection. Heck, if you are filled with 90’s nostalgia, these are worth getting just for the names and inspiration. My unexpected favorite from the collection is Race Against Slime.

If you’re interested in picking up any of these bright and juicy shades from the KBShimmer All The Bright Moves Collection, you will be able to get them online at kbshimmer.com on 5/5/2017 or earlier on 4/29/2017 if you are lucky enough to be going to Polish Con. Do you have any favorites from this collection? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

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Disclosure: These products were provided to me for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

KBShimmer All The Bright Moves Collection

KBShimmer Polish Con Exclusives 2017

Posted on 10 April, 20179 April, 2017 by Cynthia

Well, I’m just going to come out and say it: I hate you if you’re lucky enough to be able to go to Polish Con in NYC. Ok, I don’t really hate you but I’m crazy jealous! I wish I had planned better because the trip could have been completely feasible, but as usual, my life is filled with a bunch of shenanigans. For now, I will have to console myself with living vicariously through those who will be there. If you’re here now, I doubt that I need to tell you that Polish Con will be held in NYC on April 29th–but I’ll throw that in just in case you’re a nail newb. Today I have two gorgeous polishes to share with you. These two shades are KBShimmer Polish Con Exclusives so get yourself a mule to pick them up for you if you can’t be there and want these–and let’s be honest: who wouldn’t want these?! Check out my swatches below before I talk a bit about the shades.

KBShimmer We Make Your Dreams Come Blue (Direct Sunlight)

KBShimmer Grand Prospect Holo (Direct Sunlight)

KBShimmer Grand Prospect Holo (Indirect light)

Well, let me just get this out of the way: THESE ARE FREAKING AMAZING. I really don’t know how Christy keeps churning out so many spectacular polishes! I was able to swatch these polishes this weekend despite the sun not cooperating. I am going to try to do more of my swatching using direct sunlight so I took advantage of some down time this weekend to take some pictures of these beauties in direct sunlight. It’s so hard to pick a favorite from these two, but I think I like We Make Your Dreams Come Blue the most. (Every time I say the name of that polish, I sing it a la Hall & Oates in my head.) Both of these polishes had an immaculate formula–on Grand Prospect Holo has the most amazing shift from turquoise to pinky-purple but it was very difficult for me to capture it. The last two swatches kind of show the color shift, but it’s way more beautiful in person.

So what do you think of these gorgeous KBShimmer Polish Con Exclusives? Will you be making the trip to NYC? Let me know what you think. Thanks so much for stopping by, and I will talk to you soon!

KBShimmer Nauti By Nature Collection Spring 2017

Posted on 27 March, 201726 March, 2017 by Cynthia

It really feels like Spring is in full swing. After a strange Winter here in California, it’s nice to have some glorious sunny days. We’ve still been getting the occasional shower and cool days, but I can definitely feel the weather heating up. Today I’m going to be showing you my swatches of the KBShimmer Nauti By Nature Collection for Spring 2017. There is a great variety of colors and finishes in this collection which guarantees that you will find something that you like. First up, I’m going to be showing you the holos–because who doesn’t love holos?!

KBShimmer Tropic Like It’s Hot

KBShimmer Latitude Adjustment

KBShimmer The Girl Is Tiki

KBShimmer Macaw Me Maybe

KBShimmer Copa-Banana

KBShimmer Keep Palm and Carry On

KBShimmer Saved By The Shell

KBShimmer Got It Sandaled

KBShimmer Tempting Fete

KBShimmer Starfishing For Compliments

KBShimmer Salt Water Sassy

KBShimmer Show Me The Mahi

The six holos in this collection are pretty great–the formula is opaque and smooth with all of them needed just two coats. I always love holographic polishes so I was very happy with the nice variety. I am surprised to say that my favorite holo was Copa-Banana; I don’t think I have a holo quite this shade and I like how it looks on my skin tone. From the rest of the collection, the main standout for me was Show Me the Mahi. I love jelly polishes with various sized glitters. Crellies are something that KBShimmer has always excelled at, and the two in this collection are no exception.

The KBShimer Nauti By Nature collection is available now at kbshimmer.com so make sure to pick up you favorites. What are some of your favorite shades from this collection? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

KBShimmer Indie Shop Limited Edition Polishes

Posted on 10 March, 20179 March, 2017 by Cynthia

Oh hai there. I’m kind of excited that it’s Friday because Saturday is pretty much my favorite day of the week. This Saturday is also my nephew’s first birthday party so I know I’m going to have fun even though he hates me. He cries any time that I talk to him, that I look at him or basically just exist around him. I hope he gets over it soon because Auntie Cynthia is not happy about this. Saturday is also great because of…THE INDIE SHOP! If you are lucky enough to be going to The Indie Shop in Atlanta, you will be able to get your hands on a lot of pretties. I really wish I had the time and means to go to all of these awesome polish events because it would be great to meet all of the makers behind some of my favorite brands. As you all know, I have a major polish boner for all things KBShimmer so I’m excited to share with you the two KBShimmer Indie Shop Limited Edition shades: I Never Wood Have Guessed and It’s Petrifying. Let’s take a look at some swatches before I give you my thoughts.

KBShimmer I Never Wood Have Guessed (Indoor Light)

KBShimmer I Never Wood Have Guessed (Sunlight)

KBShimmer It’s Petrifying

So whaddaya think? Personally, I find I Never Wood Have Guessed to be a glorious polish. I love that brown, rusty color so much and it’s soo different from any other brown toned polish that I own. I do love the beautiful crellies that KBShimmer always puts out so I am very happy with It’s Petrifying. In case you did not know, these shades were created to celebrate Jen’s 5 year blogging anniversary. You can see her post here. Congrats to her on 5 years! So what do you think about these two shades? If you’re thinking that you won’t be able to get these if you’re not going to the Indie Shop, well you’re WRONG because these will be available on kbshimmer.com as well. WOOOOT! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

KBShimmer Hella Holo Customs February 2017

Posted on 18 February, 201718 February, 2017 by Cynthia

Hi there! Long time no see. I’ve been dealing with a lot of personal stuff lately–namely health issues–so I haven’t been very active when it comes to nail polish. I do, however, stay in the know by being part of a million Facebook groups. Not only do I get my fair share of gossip, but I hear all about new releases and such. Well, today I have 4 gorgeous shades to share with you that are the result of KBShimmer being a featured maker in HHC. What is HHC, you ask? The group is called Hella Holo Customs and you must be a member to buy the exclusive polishes. Let me show you my swatches of the KBShimmer Hella Holo Customs and you decide if you want to join to be able to get your hands on these (and why wouldn’t you?!)

KBShimmer Hella Holo Customs Tall Pink Of Water

KBShimmer Hella Holo Customs Deep Hue Sea

KBShimmer Hella Holo Customs Shoe The Blues Away

KBShimmer Hella Holo Customs None Of Your Bismuth

My big plans for these polishes was so swatch them in direct sunglight, but it because virtually impossible because of the weather we have been experiencing here in Southern California. It’s been raining on and off forever and it’s been uncharacteristically overcast. I ended up using bright LED lighting which allows the holo to come through even without sunlight. I absolutely loved these polishes which did not surprise me because Christy from KBShimmer never disappoints with the quality of her products. I used two regular coats of each polish and top coated them with one coat of KBShimmer Clearly On Top. The only polish that I felt could have needed a third coat was Shoe The Blues Away because it almost had a jelly-esque consistency after the first coat. My absolute favorite from this quad is None Of Your Bismuth because it’s such a gorgeous and unique polish–it was also nearly impossible for me to capture the gorgeous shift from blue to pink with my lighting…but hot damn! It’s a beautiful polish.

If your are interested in purchasing any of these beauties, you must be a member of the Hella Holo Customs group; you can join by clicking here. Membership will be verified so make sure to join if you want to purchase and receive these polishes. You are able to purchase these directly at kbshimmer.com

None Of Your Bismuth – Retailing for $10.50

https://www.kbshimmer.com/hhc-rainbow-crystal-1/

Deep Hue Sea – Retailing for $10.00

https://www.kbshimmer.com/hhc-sunset-1/

Tall Pink Of Water– Retailing for $10.00

https://www.kbshimmer.com/hhc-sunset-2/

Shoe The Blues Away– Retailing for $10.00

https://www.kbshimmer.com/hhc-shoe/

Sales will be open until March 1st tat 11:59pm HST so keep that in mind if you don’t want to miss out on these. International buyers can purchase the 4 HHC polishes directly on the KBShimmer website. At the end of the sales period, the polishes will be shipped to HHC headquarters for international shipping. If you live in Canada, Sweden or the UK, you can join the HHC International Group Buy group and have your order shipped directly from your country. https://www.facebook.com/groups/786713078111281/

Let me know what you think about these polishes! Have you picked any of them up yet or will you be doing so? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

KBShimmer Office Space Collection

Posted on 2 January, 20171 January, 2017 by Cynthia

Hey friends, I hope that you had a great New Year’s Eve! Mine was rather uneventful unless you call a swift acting stomach bug eventful. I’m going ok now, but I definitely was hating life while the bug worked its course. Anywho, it wasn’t the best way to end the year, but at least I’m 100% better now and can focus on just starting the new year with positivity. For my first post of 2017, I have 4 of 8 shades from the KBShimmer Office Space Collection to show you. Let me show you da pretties!

KBShimmer Take Back Ctrl

KBShimmer Cubicle Pusher

KBShimmer Fax of Life

KBShimmer A Hint of Manila

Take Back Ctrl is lyfe! I love, Love, LOVE how KBShimmer does cremes so it should come as no surprise that it is my favorite shade of the 4 I have here. Fax of Life and Cubicle Pusher have such a delicate and gorgeous holo that I just wasn’t able to capture. Every time that I had time to try to get sun shots of these polishes, the weather did not cooperate. It’s been so rainy and gray here in Southern California but I’m glad we’re getting rain even if it does ruin my swatches! I think that this collection is absolutely gorgeous and I can definitely say that these polishes are office appropriate but are not in the least bit boring. The fact that they look nice and delicate indoors but glowy and holo-y in the sun is the perfect balance. If you’re interested in picking up any of the shades from the KBShimmer Office Space Collection, you are in luck because the collection officially releases on 1/4/2017 on various retailers including kbshimmer.com

Let me know what you think about these shades. Are you planning on picking up any of them? Do you have a favorite? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

Another One Bites The Dust

Posted on 28 December, 201627 December, 2016 by Cynthia

Ok, no, it’s not me…at least not yet. Earlier this month I got a wordpress notification congratulating me for 5 years of blogging. 5 years, really?! It feels strange saying this because it doesn’t feel like I’ve been at this that long. I keep thinking about just shutting down my blog altogether, but I know that I will miss it terribly. It is still fun most of the time especially now that I am posting less and just doing it when I want to. It feels like so many of the OG bloggers that got me excited about blogging have retired and it makes me feel like it’s the end of an era. While I was contemplating all of this, I started doing a “festive” mani and realized I had done the exact same manicure 5 years ago. It was kind of funny so I wanted to share it with you guys.

Oh, remember when I thought flash equaled good lighting? Hahaha! I do have to admit that my stamping was pretty good even as a newb, don’t you think? I know that my hand position and lighting left a lot to be desired, but I don’t think it was tooooo horrible. Or am I wrong?

And here is a polish that we all know and love: China Glaze Ruby Pumps. I actually couldn’t find my old bottle of this so I had to go out and buy it when I decided I wanted to do this mani. It’s such a gorgeous polish in my opinion.

And here is my full mani using Konad plate M60 and the white Konad polish. I did a crappy job of clean up since I still have some traces of the white polish on my skin–so please excuse that. I actually feel that my stamping was crisper on the first manicure, but that’s due to the white polish. I don’t know if you guys have noticed, but I feel like the Konad stamping polishes have gone down in quality. If you know of a super awesome white stamping polish, please let me know!

So, I leave you with this little blast from the past and hope that you stick around. I know I don’t post very often and I know that a lot of my old readers don’t stop by often because of this, but I just want to tell you all that I truly appreciate every visit, every comment and every like. You guys are what made blogging fun and I hope that you still enjoy reading my blog.

With much love and best wishes for 2017,

Cynthia

Zoya Enchanted Collection – Winter/Holiday 2016

Posted on 22 December, 201622 December, 2016 by Cynthia

If there is one thing I look forward to just as much as my mom’s Christmas tamales, it’s the Zoya holiday collection. You may think I’m exaggerating but I am not–I love the holiday collections with a passion. This year is no exception because there are some lovely shades that I’m sure many of us will love. I have a LOT of swatching to get through before the end of the year so I’m hoping to pump out a lot of these reviews in the last week and a half because I do not want to start off 2017 with a backlog. I’m having a nail crisis currently because I’m just so unhappy with the length of my nails. I have to really find a happy medium between swatch length and work length. I am lucky to have long nail beds so my nails will normally look longer than they are, but any length bothers me. I love having super short nails, but I think that my swatches look better when I have some length. Ugh…I’ll just have to deal with it and cut my nails way down to a length I’ll be happy with. Anywho, let’s get back to the pretty polish. Check out my swatches of the Zoya Enchanted Collection below.

Zoya Saint

Zoya Olivera

Zoya Waverly

Zoya Elphie

Zoya Lorna

Zoya Alice

Let me just break this down for you: you need these. I have always been a big fan of the PixieDust formula and the four included in this collection are gorgeous. My pictures don’t do just to Saint which I think is the prettiest and most delicate shade from this collection. I really don’t have any complaints about this collection which is kinda new for me–Zoya really has a winner here. Have you picked up any of these beauties? Do you have any favorites? You can pick up the entire Zoya Enchanted Collection on zoya.com for $60 or $10 each. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!