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OPI Venice Collection Fall 2015

Posted on 29 September, 201528 September, 2015 by Cynthia

I know it has taken me forever to post swatches of the OPI Venice Collection, but it’s better late than never, right? I won’t bore you with all my personal drama today just so we can focus on the actual pretty polish. Let me tell you that I ended up getting this collection pretty late so that affected my swatching time frame as well. Besides that, I’ve also been struggling with just blogging in general so that contributed to the late review too. I’m just a mess lately. I’m sure that you have seen 5 bajillion swatches of this collection so let’s make it 5 bajillion plus one. First of all I would like to mention that when I first started seeing reviews of this collection, I thought that I would be bored out of my mind with the colors, but I still wanted every single one because I love Venice. Venice is such a magical place–like a city stuck in another era. The first time I went there, it was Spring of 2000. I was studying in Paris and I took off for 2 weeks because I wanted to go to Rome for Easter and it was during the 2000 Jubilee. Rome was kind of a nightmare during that time, but I did get to finally see the Sistine Chapel which was huge for me. Anyway, while I was in Venice, I pretty much fell in love with the city. I enjoyed my time there even though I was traveling alone; I always managed to meet interesting people during my travels and Venice was no exception. I think that my love for Venice was the main reason why I wanted to love every single shade in this collection. Would I still love them if they weren’t Venice themed? Now that’s a question for which you will get an answer down below. Let me show you my swatches first.

OPI Gelato On My Mind

OPI Purple Palazzo Pants

OPI A Great Opera-tunity

OPI Tiramisu for Two

OPI I Cannoli Wear OPI

OPI Be There In A Prosecco

OPI It’s A Piazza Cake

OPI Amore at Grand Central

OPI O Suzi Mio

OPI My Gondola Or Yours?

OPI Gimme A Lido Kiss

OPI St. Mark’s the Spot

OPI Venice the Party?

OPI Worth A Pretty Penne

OPI Baroque…But Still Shopping

I don’t know about you, but I do not get “Fall” when I see this collection. I don’t get “Winter” either. What’s up with these shades, eh? Putting that aside, I do love all of the Venice references in the names, and I’m hoping that in the future we will have a Florence collection since 1) That is my favorite city in Italy 2) Dante 3) Uffizi Gallery 4)Birthplace of the Renaissance. I guess I could go on forever, but for now I am happy to have a Venice Collection. As far as the polishes are concerned, the cremes are the stuff that dreams are made of. They are delicious. They are heavenly. If you like creme finish polishes, you will not be disappointed. The only polish I will steer you away from is OPI Baroque…But Still Shopping because it’s a monstrosity in the vein of Pineapples Have Peelings Too–enough said. I am also happy that there are 10 reds in this collection because I really have had enough reds from OPI…and no silver chrome in this collection either which is refreshing. Overall, this collection is beautiful. Even if the colors don’t exactly seem to fit with a Fall/Winter theme and seem more Spring appropriate, that does not detract from the quality and the inspiration. On another note, I feel like I am starting to like my new lighting set up. I feel like the colors are more accurate than with my previous set up which is always a good thing. What do you think of this collection? I think a lot of people felt underwhelmed, but I can assure you that the quality of these is superb and you will probably be surprised by how much you may end up liking some of these. If you have already picked up some of these, let me know what you think. Do you have any favorites that you will be picking up? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will catch up with you soon.

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel – New Shades

Posted on 3 September, 20152 September, 2015 by Cynthia

Hello and happy Thursday! Today I have a few new shades from the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel line to share with you. I’m continuously impressed with the quality of the polishes in this line–not to mention that the colors are gorgeous. I did these swatches a couple of weeks ago when my nails were longer and square so don’t let the sudden shape change trip you out. Let me show you a small sampling of new colors.

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Teal Twin

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Blue Hue

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get It Bright

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Block Party

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Up The Ante

I really like all of these colors, but I’m especially obsessed with Blue Hue because it’s so clean and crisp. I really like all of these colors especially because the weather is so hot and some of them are bright summer colors. You can pick these up at your local drugstore or any other places where Sally Hansen is sold. What do you think of these? Have you picked up any of them? Thanks for the visit today, and I will talk to you soon!

China Glaze The Great Outdoors Collection Fall 2015

Posted on 2 September, 20151 September, 2015 by Cynthia

Hey there! Welcome back. Apparently this will be “Fall Week” on Of Life and Lacquer because today I have the China Glaze The Great Outdoors Collection for Fall 2015. When I first saw pictures of this collection, I wasn’t SUPER excited. I wasn’t On Safari excited, if you know what I mean. Still, I felt there were quite a few shades that looked interesting so I was still looking forward to trying out all of them. What else can a polish addict say? I am kind of in a better mood because the weather has decided to cool down a bit which I am eternally grateful for. I hate getting the heat rages so you know that I’ve been much more mellow as of late. One thing that has come up is that my car is on the outs again. I bought this car 2 years ago and have logged like 16,000 miles. Two months ago my transmission crapped out so it was repaired under my warranty and now I’m sensing the same issue again where my car does not shift out of first gear. Seriously? I am going to have the biggest fit if this is just going to be a revolving door of issues. I bought a brand new car so I shouldn’t have to deal with these issues so early on, right? Anyway, enough complaining about my car and let me show you my swatches.

China Glaze S’More Fun

China Glaze My Lodge or Yours?

China Glaze Change Your Altitude

China Glaze Let’s Dew It

China Glaze Take A Hike

China Glaze Sleeping Under The Stars

China Glaze Free Bear Hugs

China Glaze Check Out The Silver Fox

China Glaze Wood You Wanna?

China Glaze Cabin Fever

China Glaze Gone Glamping

China Glaze Pondering

I think this collection is weird, but weird in a good way. Isn’t S’More Fun like the weirdest color to make an appearance in a fall collection??? If you like yellow/green polishes, you’re going to love this one regardless of how much it sticks out like a sore thumb. I am absolutely in love with My Lodge or Yours? and Change Your Altitude–they are such gorgeous neutrals but again, they seem to be more spring appropriate. This whole collection has a little bit of everything: delicious cremes, glitter, foils and duochromes. I had ZERO issues with the formula of these which is always such a wonderful thing to say because you know that if the formulation sucks, nothing will save it. The China Glaze The Great Outdoors Collection is available NOW at all the usual places where you can purchase the brand such as Ulta and Sally Beauty Supply. So which shades will you be picking up (or have already picked up)? Let me know what you think! Thanks for the visit today, and I will catch up with you soon.

KBShimmer Fall Collection 2015

Posted on 1 September, 20151 September, 2015 by Cynthia

I’ve been dying to share this collection with you. Any time that I get pretties from KBShimmer, I freak out and want to post everything immediately because how can anyone keep so much awesomeness to themselves?! The KBShimmer Fall Collection for 2015 is made up of 12 shades: 4 cremes and 8 glitters in different finishes. Today I have my 6 picks from this collection to share with you. Let’s jump right in, shall we?

KBShimmer Such A Vlad-Ass

KBShimmer Teal It To My Heart

KBShimmer Talk QWERTY To Me

KBShimmer Fig-get About It

KBShimmer Dark & Twisty

KBShimmer Carpe Denim

Are you diggin’ these as much as I am? As usual, the cremes are perfection. Do I really have to say this? I mean, we all know that KBShimmer does kick ass cremes. The glitters are just so freaking pretty. For you holo lovers, don’t forget to pick up Fig-get About it (ghaaa! love the name!). In fact, just do yourself a favor and get them all. If I had to pick a favorite, I think I would go with Carpe Denim just because I love blue and I love glitter and I just can’t get over how gorgeous and squishy this polish is. The official release date for this collection is 9/15 but I’m sure that all you nail afficionados knew this already. I’m really happy to have two indie brand posts on my blog this week because I want you to know that I still support indie makers–responsible makers–who create quality products and provide great customer service. What do you think of the shades I showed you today? Which one(s) will you be getting? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

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Bellaluna Cosmetics Fall Collection 2015

Posted on 31 August, 201529 August, 2015 by Cynthia

When it’s 100 degrees, it definitely does not feel like Fall is just around the corner. Despite this, we have a lot of gorgeous nail polishes coming out around this time to get us in the mood for Fall. Today I have 5 beautiful polishes to share with you that will definitely get you thinking about cozy sweaters and cooler weather. The Bellaluna Cosmetics Fall Collection is made up of rich and sumptuous colors that I quite enjoyed. Let me show you the shades before I tell you what I thought.

Bellaluna Cosmetics Autumn Woodlands

Bellaluna Cosmetics Frosted Eggplant

Bellaluna Cosmetics Sparkling Cranberry

Bellaluna Cosmetics Near Dark

Bellaluna Cosmetics Spanish Moss

Aren’t these beautiful? The formula on all of these polishes is great and are 1-2 coaters depending on your application. I really liked the shimmer in these polishes–especially in Spanish Moss which ended up being my favorite. A surprise favorite is Autumn Woodlands because I tend to really dislike orange-leaning polish but this one is so unique. This was my first experience with Bellaluna Cosmetics, and I can tell you that I am very impressed with the quality of these polishes. This collection will be released on 9/15 so mark your calendars! You can check out many other Bellaluna creations on etsy by clicking here. I’m sorry…you may want to buy all the things. Let me know what you think about this collection and which shade is your favorite. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

Bellaluna Cosmetics

etsy – facebook – instagram

OPI Infinite Shine Soft Shades Collection – Spring 2015

Posted on 24 August, 201523 August, 2015 by Cynthia

Hola! I feel tired today. I know it’s freaking Monday, but I had a busy weekend. My parents went back home after a long visit so I’m feeling kinda sad about that. I know I’m 35, but I can still miss my parents! They do tend to drive me nutso 90% of the time, but that’s what parents do so it doesn’t make me miss them any less when they aren’t here. Anyway, despite the business of trying to get them all packed and ready for their flight, I did manage to do some swatching. I have a pile of about 60 polishes to swatch and I only got through 18 but at least that is a start, right? I ended up starting with these because they are from a Spring collection that was sorely delayed, and I figured that I might as well get these out of the way before I start swatching Fall collections. The OPI Infinite Shine Soft Shades Collection for Spring 2015 is just what it sounds like: Spring appropriate soft shades. These are pretty heavy on the whites, but that doesn’t mean they are boring. Let me show you the six shades.

OPI Infinite Shine Pearl of Wisdom

OPI Infinite Shine Non-Stop White

OPI Infinite Shine Go To Grayt Lengths over Non-Stop White

OPI Infinite Shine The Beige of Reason

OPI Infinite Shine Beyond the Pale Pink

OPI Infinite Shine Eternally Turquoise

First of all, let me say that this collection is incredibly cohesive. They go well together and every single shade screams Spring to me. The formula on these is pretty typical of the Infinite Sine formula: rather opaque and a tad thicker than regular OPI. I have been experimenting with using my own quick dry top coat with these and so far it has worked well. I did notice that the OPI Infinite Shine top coat does stay glossy longer, though. I’m still freaking experimenting with my lighting set up and with my nail shape so I’m not that happy with how these swatch pictures turned out overall. Maybe I’m just being too picky. Overall, I am happy with this collection and can recommend these if you don’t already have something similar. I think that my favorite here is Eternally Turquoise and maybe Beyond The Pale Pink if you’re looking for something clean but not completely white. Let me know what you think of this collection. Did you pick up any of these already? 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.

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!

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Poolside Paradise Collection

Posted on 29 July, 201526 July, 2015 by Cynthia

Lately I feel that I have been really happy withe the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel polishes because I’ve been into wearing manis for much longer since I don’t really do much swatching during the week. Since the temperatures are starting to get boiling hot, what better time to use these awesome and juicy summer shades? The Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Poolside Paradise Collection is made up of 7 summer inspired shade and today I have 4 of those shades to share with you.

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Life’s A Peach

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Pink-A-Colada

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Morning, Sunshine!

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Dive Bar

Aren’t these shades absolutely gorgeous? I love how bright they are…almost bordering on neon. The colors make me look extra tan too which I love during the hot Summer months. I’m sure that most of you who read my blog regularly know how much I hate the Summer heat, but I definitely love the nail polish shades that are released around this time. These shades were officially released in May, but I saw them at my local drugstore recently. Since they are limited edition, make sure that you pick these up before they are gone. Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri – New Shades

Posted on 28 July, 201526 July, 2015 by Cynthia

I tend to not follow up with the release of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri shades because….well, I don’t really have a reason and that’s kind of crazy because this line is really good. A lot of these polishes stamp well AND watermarble like a dream too. I had meant to get these swatches up earlier this month but you know how it is: life kind of gets in the way. As much as I would like to post every day, I just can’t do it anymore. I am always impressed with bloggers who can post a lot and keep it consistent because I wonder how in the world they can do it when they have jobs/family. If I did that, I would have no life outside of work and blogging but that’s just me–maybe I’m a slow blogger. haha Anyway, let me show you these three new shades that are, unfortunately, limited edition.

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Vandal Eyes

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Tag, Ur It!

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Quick Brick

So what do you think about these shades? I really like Vandal Eyes myself Quick Brick and Tag, Ur It! are staple colors that are good to add to your collection if you don’t already have something similar. The limited-edition Insta-Dri collection, SRP $4.99, is available beginning July 2015 at chain drugstores and mass retailers nationwide. Well, I hope you like these shades and hopefully you can still get them if you’re interested. Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.