Cynthia, Author at Of Life and Lacquer

Author: Cynthia

Of Life and Lacquer > Articles by: Cynthia

Ooh La Lacquer Swatches – New Purchases

Posted on 10 August, 20159 August, 2015 by Cynthia

How was your weekend? I had a nice weekend and now I’m ready for the coming week–can you believe we’re almost halfway through August? Craziness! This weekend I also filed down my nails into an almond shape which is still very short, but I hope I get some length going soon. I did get a bunch of new stuff in, so I did some swatching before the big chop. After my first Ooh La Lacquer purchase, I went out to buy a few more because they were so freaking gorgeous. I picked out a few shades that were different from anything that I currently have in my stash just for the sake of variety. I can tell you that I was just as pleased with the new shades I purchased so let me show you some swatches.

Ooh La Lacquer Powder Pink Girl

Ooh La Lacquer Zaylen

Ooh La Lacquer Natural Mystic

Ooh La Lacquer Indigo-go Dancer

Aren’t these seriously amazing? I love every single one of these shades, and I can tell you that the formula on all of them is superb. What else can I say about these? I love holos and these are great holos. If you’re interested in purchasing some of these beauties, you can check out their etsy shop here. So what is new with you? I hope all is well, and I will talk to you soon.

Stamping Saturdays #64

Posted on 8 August, 2015 by Cynthia

Have you ever had some really awesome ideas for nail art but the execution turns out to be more than problematic? I had that happen to me yesterday. Ultimately I blamed it on just being tired at the end of the week and decided to fall back on something simple and clean for my Stamping Saturdays mani. I decided to use one of the gorgeous holos that I recently purchased as my base color.

This is Ooh La Lacquer Wine Thirty. What can I say about this polish besides professing my love for the color, formula and holo? It’s beeeeutiful! I am actually expecting 4 more of these pretties in the mail today if only USPS would hurry up!!!

For my stamped design, I used MASH plate #40 for this swirly design. I feel that you can pretty much stamp anything over holo and it will look great. I wish I could have come up with something more creative, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

Do you have anything fun going on this weekend? I hope to get a lot of things done, but it’s hard when all you want to do is stay in bed all weekend binge watching stuff on Netflix. Ha! Anyway, I hope that you’re doing well, and I will talk to you soon!

Loading InLinkz ...

Vintage Polish – China Glaze Classic Chromes

Posted on 7 August, 20152 August, 2015 by Cynthia

I don’t think that I’m the only one who gets obsessed with collecting really old polishes, so when I see some oldies I sometimes grab them even if I don’t care too much for the color or finish. That is how I ended up with 8 polishes from the China Glaze Classic Chromes Collection. I kind of hare chrome polishes, but I just couldn’t pass these up. Unconfirmed information online dates this collection back to 2001 but you just never know. I wish China Glaze could help us identify some of these older polishes but apparently they can’t. Anywho, I don’t even have the name of this polish since none of them are labeled. Let me show you the old school bottle for today’s Vintage Polish Friday!

Don’t you just love the different bottle? I do! I think that’s probably the main reason why I got this and all of its little friends. Now let me show you what it actually looks like:

DSCN5941 This is a chrome polish which automatically means that it will be streaky and will show every imperfection on your nails. The actual polish is really smelly and it is super watery. I flooded my cuticles big time and it was almost impossible to clean it up properly–you can see some of the silvery pigment all around my cuticles in my pictures. Since the formula is so thin, I had to apply 3 coats to achieve full opacity.

Well, what do you think about this polish? If you saw it somewhere for sale, would you pick it up? While it’s not a polish that i would choose to wear, I don’t regret buying it because it’s such a collector’s item. Or maybe I’m just a hoarder. Who knows?! Anyway, thanks so much for the visit and I will talk to you soon.

Seventy Seven Nail Lacquer Sea Glass Holo Trio

Posted on 6 August, 20152 August, 2015 by Cynthia

Yesterday I showed you a mani that I did inspired by a daisy print, and today I am showing you the three polishes that I used to create the look. When Amy and I purchased the trio, we agreed to do a twin mani look with them and I do think it turned out pretty cool. The Seventy Seven Nail Lacquer Sea Glass Holo Trio is a sheer and scattered holographic collection that comes alive in direct sunlight. Let me show you my swatches of these polishes.

Seventy Seven Nail Lacquer Aquamarine

Seventy Seven Nail Lacquer Olivine

Seventy Seven Nail Lacquer Vintage Rose

Aren’t these polishes gorgeous? The formula on these is deceptively thin, but they do build up nicely. I ended up applying 3 thin coats, but I’m sure that you can get away with two. One thing that I did want to mention is that you won’t really see too much holo in indoor lighting, but they do come alive in sunlight. They were super easy to apply because the formula is very easy to control. My one complaint would be the quality of the bottles: the handle feels cheap and I don’t like the actual shape of the bottle. The sticker logos on my bottle already started to come off so that kind of sucks. I guess these are minor complaints since the actual polish is of great quality. If you’re interested in picking these up, you can click here for the Seventy Seven Nail Lacquer etsy site where you can get your own set for $30. So what do you think about these polishes? Do you have any other polishes from this brand? Well, I hope you’re doing well, and thanks for stopping by today!

Inspired By: Daisy Print

Posted on 5 August, 20152 August, 2015 by Cynthia

Today Amy and I have something fun for you: we are doing twin manis inspired by an image and we used the Sea Glass Holo Trio from Seventy Seven Nail Lacquer. We both purchased this trio over the 4th of July weekend, and I’m glad to report that I enabled her to get it. I’ve been doing a lot of that lately, and to be honest I don’t know if that is good or bad. Regardless, we are taking this opportunity to do something fun on our blogs. Let me show you the image that we used as our starting point:

Cute, huh? I could not believe how well this image paired with the three polishes that we are working with. I’ll have swatches of the individual polishes for you tomorrow, so for now this is what I came up with:

This ended up being more time consuming than I had anticipated because I made decals for the leaf design. Normally I hate working with decals, but I think it actually worked out well here even if they took forever and a half to make and apply. You know what sucks about doing complicated manis where you’re a blogger? You don’t get to wear anything for long. I literally did this mani and took it off after taking the pictures so I could get back to swatching. Womp womp. This seems a little too girly for my taste, but I do like the end result.

So what do you think? Do you like this mani? Don’t forget to check in tomorrow for a full review of the three polishes that I used today. Do you want to know how Amy interpreted this design? Head on over to The Fancy Side to see her mani. Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

Ooh La Lacquer Swatches & Review

Posted on 4 August, 20151 August, 2015 by Cynthia

I have been making a huge effort to buy more indies this year because I love the idea of supporting small businesses and because they usually come out with the most creative polishes on the market. Don’t get me wrong: I still adore my mainstream brands for the quality, value and just the memories I have of using them when I was a kid and didn’t know much about polish. Have you been painting your nails since you were a kid? I remember that I used to save some of my lunch money in elementary/jr high so I could buy nail polish. Unfortunately, I did not know how to paint my nails. I clearly remember applying 4 coats of dark polish and then getting upset because it took forever to dry. I would get polish all over my skin and cuticles and would then rub it all off my skin the shower with a washcloth. C’mon–you know some of you did/do that! Anyway, let’s get back to the point of this post: indie polishes! A few weeks ago, I saw a post in one of the nail polish groups I am in about the holos over at Ooh La Lacquer. I don’t recall exactly what the post said but it had my two favorite words: holo and sale. When I headed over to etsy, I spent a good 30 minutes trying to figure out what I wanted. Since it was my first experience with the brand, I only bought 2 polishes which are the ones I have to show you today.

Ooh La Lacquer Emerald City

Ooh La Lacquer Wine Thirty

Holy mother of all things holy. These holos are magnificent! They are linear holos but it is more of a rough holo effect rather than the smooth linears such as the Halo Hues. Regardless, these colors are so freaking gorgeous that it physically and mentally pained me to remove them. Do you want to know what the best part was? The formula is absolutely decadent! It’s thick and loaded with pigment and holo so it applies easily and there is absolutely no drag to the formula. If you’re careful, you can almost get away with one thick coat, but I prefer two thin coats. As soon as I swatched these two, I jumped on my computer and bought 4 more. I clearly have issues, but I know most of you understand because you are reading a blog about nail polish after all. When I purchased these babies, they were going for $6 each but I was advised that the price would go back up to $10 soon. They are a steal at $6 and are totally worth it at full price as well so if you’re looking for some gorgeous holos, you now have another source. If you’re interested in checking out all of the other polishes from Nastassia’s etsy shop, click here. When the new polishes that I ordered arrive, I’ll swatch them for you–and I know they are going to be just as gorgeous. Let me know what you think of these beauties! Have you tried anything from Ooh La Lacquer before? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

OPI Color Paints Watermarble

Posted on 3 August, 20152 August, 2015 by Cynthia

I don’t normally start my blog posts by saying my mani is awesome, but today I will say it loudly and proudly. I have had my ups and downs when it comes to watermarbling, so every time that it works out, I rush out to buy a lottery ticket in case my good fortune decides to continue. I have really begun having fun with my OPI Color Paints, and I can’t tell you enough how awesome they are to play around with. In one of the many nail polish groups that I am in on Facebook, someone had posted a watermarble that they had done using the Color Paints with a base of Orly Mirrorball so of course I had to try it immediately. With Mirrorball as my base, holo is life. Let me show you again how gorgeous this polish is on its own.

Do I really have to say anything else about Orly Mirrorball? Nope. One great thing I have heard is that this polish is now part of the core line so you shouldn’t have trouble getting your hands on it. For once, a polish company didn’t discontinue a polish that everyone loved. Shocker, I know!

For my watermarble colors, I used OPI Color Paints (press samples) in Landscape Artist, Magenta Muse and Purple Perspective. I am in love with the outcome and will trying different variations of this mani in the future because it’s just so damn gorgeous. It’s so sparkly and gorgeous that it pained me to remove this mani, but I had so much swatching to do that I just couldn’t keep it on for very long. I am not super excited about trying more techniques with my Color Paints! You can see my first attempt here which turned out pretty good if I do say so myself.

Well, I hope you like my mani as much as I do. Have you tried the OPI Color Paint before? Let me know what you think of them. I hope that your Monday is going well! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

Stamping Saturdays #63

Posted on 1 August, 20151 August, 2015 by Cynthia

Hey there! Welcome to another installment of Stamping Saturdays! Last week I went to Sally’s telling myself that all I needed was a bottle of Yellow Stopper, but of course I was lured in by the discount/sale section. By the way, do any of you guys use Yellow Stopper as a peel off base coat? I guess I was under the (incorrect) impression that it could be used while swatching but no peeling happened so now I ended up with a huge bottle that I have no use for. It’s so annoying. Anyway, while I was at Sally’s I saw this Orly polish off on its own and it ended up being under $2. When does that ever happen? I guess I am just lucky when it comes to polish. Why can’t I be lucky with the lottery, hmmm?

Orly Teal Unreal is a gorgeous teal polish that unfortunately photographs blue because my camera hates me real bad. The polish is incredibly pigmented and is gorgeous at two coats. The best part is that it does not stain at all so it’s a total winner in my book.

I’ve been wanting to use this design from plate MoYou London Back To The 70’s – 03 (press sample) for a while now, but it always seemed kind of a weird image. I ended up liking this quite a bit because my placement came out pretty good. It also helped that my Pure Ice Silver Mercedes stamps like a dream.

So what do you think about this mani? Is it just kinda weird or are you digging it? Do you have any fun weekend plans? We are probably going to be going out to dinner for my dad’s birthday since he turned 76 yesterday. Well, I hope you’re doing well and make sure you check out the other manis below. Thanks so much for the visit, and I will talk to you soon.

PSSSST! Hey, you! Yes, it’s me again. I wanted to invite you to join our stamping group. If you like to stamp, come join us by clicking on the image below to be taken to the group page. The group is growing, and we’d love to have you participate.

Bye for reals, now!

Loading InLinkz ...

Vintage Polish – American Classic Dusty Mauve

Posted on 31 July, 201526 July, 2015 by Cynthia

The vintage polish that I’m sharing with you today, is one that I don’t have much information about. When I spotted this polish at one of my dusties, I grilled the owner about how old it was but he couldn’t tell me anything besides: “It’s old.” He actually tried to dissuade me from buying it because it looked pretty separated and gross, but I knew some thinner would bring it back to life. One thing he was able to tell me is that the brand, American Classic, is the brand that makes our favorite glitter tamer Gelous. I’m not 100% sure if this is accurate but the logo looks the same so I am inclined to believe him. I’ve tried to search out more information online but sadly came up empty-handed. The bottle looks old, there is no information online and the polish stinks like the old chemical-ladden polishes we all loved so I’m going to say that this polish is just OLD. Let me show you my swatches of this oldie.

While you may think American Classic Dusty Mauve is a “mom” color, I defy your assessment. It’s such a strange mauve color with purple/blue shimmer that is just so unique. I think that when this polish first came out, it was super unique. My lighting makes it look a tad frosty, but it’s actually very shimmery. The formula on this was rather thin so I had to apply 4 thin coats to build up the color.

I really like this color to be honest. I actually grabbed a bunch of polishes from this same line so I’ll be sharing those in future Vintage Polish Friday posts. So what do you think about this polish? I’m curious to hear your thoughts and most importantly: if you have any information about this polish line…please share!!! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

Incoco Perfect Accents Collection

Posted on 30 July, 201526 July, 2015 by Cynthia

It’s no secret that I am huge fan of Incoco. Out of all the nail stickers/appliques out on the market, I think Incoco makes the best ones and they always have great patterns. They tend to wear like cement on my nails and I always end up taking them off due to nail growth. The easiest way to take your mani to another level is to do a fun accent nail, so that is where the Incoco Perfect Accents Collection comes in. I tried them out and did two accent nails on each hand, but you can definitely do one nail–it’s all up to your own personal preference. Let me show you how they turned out.Incoco Garden Delight Accent Nails

Incoco In Paradise Accent Nails

Each of these packets come with 4 appliques, and I really wish that they would have sealed two appliques individually because once you open them up, they dry out. Normally I only like doing one accent nail per hand so that means I will waste 2 of the appliques. There are tons of designs to choose from and they retail for $2.99 per packet. You can check out all of the designs here. Let me know what you think of these and what you think about accent nails overall. Thanks so much for the visit, and I will talk to you soon!