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OPI MLB Collection

Posted on 3 April, 20142 April, 2014 by Cynthia

I’m sick of starting every post with how crappy I feel so today I’m just going to blabber on and on about polish…mmmk? This is the first full collection that I have swatched since I cut my nails back down to a squoval shape. I tried to rock the almond/oval shape for a while, but I got sick of it pretty quickly. It’s not that I hate that shape, I just missed my square nails. They do need a little bit more length to get to my ideal shape and size, but they’ll get there soon enough. So, a few people had asked me about the OPI MLB Collection and when I would have swatches up. I just got the polishes on Monday so I got right to work on swatching them. I did finish them on Tuesday, but I already had a few post lined up so here they are…finally. Ha! Let me show you my swatches first and then we can get into the nitty gritty.

OPI 7th Inning Strrretch

OPI Right Off The Bat

OPI Umpires Come Out At Night

OPI Short–Stop

OPI Love Athletes In Cleats

OPI Orange You Going To The Game?

OPI Girls Love Diamonds

Where to start? Well, I can tell you that the formula on all of these polishes is really great which is something that I have come to expect from OPI. I seem to take it for granted at this point so at least I am not always worrying if the polish is going to be a pain in the ass to apply like with other brands that shall remain nameless. However, I am not going to say that I found this collection exciting because to me, it’s a total snoozeville. The reds are nice, the blues are nice…but we all probably have similar colors if not dupes. Orange You Going To The Game? is really foul because it’s a weird orange color and it’s frosty…but some people have already told me that they like that color the most so you know what? Different strokes for different folks. You all know me well enough that if I came on here to tell you that I loved this collection, you’d be doing this:

I see this collection as something that baseball fans would enjoy. It’s like when a themed collection comes out and you want ALL THE COLORS just because of the marketing. Damn you marketing geniuses! So what do you think about this collection? I’m curious to hear your thoughts. Since OPI is my favorite brand of polish, I know they will make it up to me…besides, they have a pass after the gorgeousness that is the Brazil Collection. Well, I hope you’re having a great day–the weekend is almost here! *happy dance* I’ll talk to you soon!

MLB Collection by OPI nail lacquer shades each feature OPI’s exclusive ProWide^™ Brush for the ultimate in application. MLB Collection will be available April 2014 – just in time for the start of the baseball season – at professional salons and select retailers for $9.00 suggested retail. For more information, please call 800-341-9999 or visit www.opi.com. Follow OPI on Twitter @OPI_PRODUCTS and become a Facebook fan!

Vapid Lacquer – More Holos

Posted on 30 March, 2014 by Cynthia

Happy Sunday, friends! Of course I slept in today even thought I had planned to wake up at 6 so I could do my laundry, clean and write up my next 5 posts. Yup, didn’t happen. I’ve been struggling to get posts done in advance which I know ensures regular posting. Even though I get home from work so early, I am usually tired and grumpy so the last thing I want to do is try to figure out what to post. Yesterday I ended up going to my nail places and I bought a few things, and then I proceeded to spend most of my day swatching and editing photos. I now have enough material for about two weeks worth of posts which I may need since I chopped off my nails. Yep, the oval/almond shape is gone. I kept that shape for about a week before I got sick of it so I am not back to my traditional square shape. Hey, it was a good experiment but I think I might prefer a square shape on my fingers. For today’s post I have the last two of the Vapid Lacquer holos that Krys sent to me. I had a hard time taking color-accurate photos that showed off the holo because the stupid sun would not come out. I took some pictures in my light box and ended up also swatching the colors on a nail wheel trying to catch the sun. You should have seen me: I would run outside, try to snap a picture in the sunlight and then it would get overcast before I took the shot. Seriously?! I did this about 8 times before I managed to get a picture with good sunlight. Anyway, let’s take a look at my swatches of In The Pink and Twerk-uoise.

Vapid Lacquer Twerk-uoise is a lot more green than my pictures show. I also did not get a very strong holo effect with this polish and I’m wondering if I needed to shake it up more in case the particles were all settling. Still, it’s a very pretty jelly-type polish that was a little sheer, but it did build up nicely at three coats.

I knew that i was going to really like Vapid Lacquer In The Pink because the holo effect was so pretty and strong. The polish was a little sheer, but it did build up easily so I applied three thin coats. While the linear holo effect isn’t super evident in these pictures, this polish comes alive in the sun. One thing I do want to mention is that the pink base color stained my nails a bright pink so make sure that you were a good base coat if you’re using this polish.

These two swatches on the nail wheel show the colors and the holo effect much more accurately than my light box pictures. Aren’t they pretty?!

Well, now I have to get back to cleaning and doing some other errands. Don’t you have that weekends end up being all about doing work instead of just being a lazy bum? Hey, at least I didn’t have to wake up at 3:45 am today so that’s an improvement. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

VAPID LACQUER

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Stamping Saturdays #12

Posted on 29 March, 2014 by Cynthia

Last night we had a 5.1 earthquake in SoCal which is a little scary but exhilarating at the same time. Don’t get me wrong: I don’t like destruction or the idea of people getting hurt, but it’s a scary and exciting feeling to know just what the Earth is capable of. The earthquake wasn’t strong enough to cause any major destruction besides some shattered nerves and some broken items that fell off shelves. Ever since then, we have been having a lot of aftershocks so I know that people are on edge about the whole thing. For as long as I can remember, I have been hearing about “the big one” that supposed to happen here in SoCal so I definitely hope that doesn’t really happen any time soon. So while the whole earthquake thing happened, I was working on my Stamping Saturdays mani, and I was struggling with a few ideas. The only thing that was easy to figure out was what polish I wanted to use as my base.

Bourjois Lavande Esquisse is such a gorgeous color, and it makes me sad that I can’t get this brand here in the states. Pooh!

For my stamping design, I decided to use one of my MoYou London plates (press sample). One thing to note is that this plate is labeled 02 on the website, but the actual physical plate is labeled 03. Kinda weird!

I like this image because it has a Mod feel to it, but I’m not that happy with the color combination. Now that I look at the design, I think a white base with that black stamp would have looked perfect. I don’t hate it, but I’m also not in love with it.

Today I don’t have much going on. I totally overslept and didn’t get up until like 9:30 and now I’m watching bad reality TV. I am going to get ready in a few minutes to go polish shopping (I know!), but I think my nail place may have some new stuff. Don’t forget to check out the other awesome Stamping Saturdays manis below. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

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OPI Muppets Most Wanted Collection

Posted on 24 March, 2014 by Cynthia

Hi guys! After a pretty uneventful day at work today, I am just chilling at home playing with Peanut and catching up on last night’s episode of Resurrection. I am trying to catch up on posting some collections, so I’m finally getting up my review of the OPI Muppets Most Wanted Collection. I really love The Muppets so I was very excited to see this collection in person. I swatched this collection when I had just reshaped my nails so they look fairly short. I am really missing my square nails right now, but I’m going to work with them for another month before I decide to go back to my old shape. Let me show you my swatches of the collection and then I’ll let you know what I think overall.

OPI Miss Piggy’s Big Number

OPI Muppets World Tour over OPI Miss Piggy’s Big Number

OPI I Love Applause

OPI Let’s Do Anything We Want! over OPI I Love Applause

OPI Chillin’ Like A Villain

OPI Gaining Mole-mentum over OPI Chillin’ Like A Villain

OPI Kermit Me To Speak

OPI Int’l Crime Caper

Overall, I find this collection a little bland. When I think of The Muppets, I think of flamboyant and vibrant colors so I don’t really understand why the colors are so incredibly restrained in this Muppet-themed collection. My two favorites from this collection are Muppets World Tour and Miss Piggy’s Big Number. Miss Piggy’s Big Number is so vibrant and gorgeous even if it does apply a little thin. However, it does build up nicely so 2 coats are enough for full opacity. The most interesting glitter in this collection is Muppets World Tour. I don’t think I have anything quite like it, and I love how it has an icy/frosty feel to it. The rest of the polishes in this collection are nice, but I’m just not that interested in them and definitely don’t see the Muppets connection. The two other soft shades in this collection: I Love Applause and Chillin’ Like A Villain apply nicely and have a creamy consistency that I quite liked. Sadly, I’m not completely on board with this collection. I think they are nice on their own, but they fall flat as a Muppets collection. So what do you think? Are these interesting to you or do you feel like me? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

Muppets Most Wanted by OPI nail lacquer shades each feature OPI’s exclusive ProWide^™ Brush for the ultimate in application. Muppets Most Wanted is available now at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, jcp Salons, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, ULTA and ulta.com for $9.00 ($10.95 CAN) suggested retail. For more information, please call 800-341-9999 or visit www.opi.com. Follow OPI on Twitter @OPI_PRODUCTS and become a Facebook fan!

OPI Spotlight On Glitter Collection

Posted on 20 March, 2014 by Cynthia

Ok, so I know I’m way behind on EVERYTHING lately, but I promise you that I have an excuse. I recently got a promotion, and my new position is kind of kicking my ass at the moment. I’m really grateful that my hard work did not go unnoticed, but there is a definite period of adjustment so right now I’m mentally and physically exhausted by the change. Even though I did a ton of swatching this past weekend, it’s been torture having the energy to actually write up a bunch of posts, but I’m trying! I’m trying to remain active on Facebook because I enjoy talking to all of you on there so join us on my Facebook Page if you want to chit chat

! Today I will be showing you the OPI Spotlight On Glitter Collection which I layered over some solid colors. I don’t have that much to say about glitters in general, but I will address a few things at the end–mainly the whole dupe thing. Let’s take a look at my swatches first.

OPI Blush Hour

OPI Chasing Rainbows over OPI Red Hot Rio

OPI Desperately Seeking Sequins over OPI Incognito In Sausalito

OPI I Reached My Gold! over OPI I Sao Paulo Over There

OPI Rose Of Light over OPI Don’t Bossa Nova Me Around

OPI You Pink Too Much over OPI Kiss Me I’m Brazilian

Before I say anything else, let me tell you that I absolutely adored Blush Hour. I think it looks amazing on it’s own and because I used the Glitter Off base coat, I did not have a hard time with removal. Now, for the bit about these being dupes of existing polishes: I can confirm this 100% with all the polishes, because I don’t have them all, but I do think that a few of them seem to be repromotes. For example, I Reached My Gold! seems to be When Monkey’s Fly–taco glitter and all. Chasing Rainbows looks a lot like Rainbow Connection and Desperately Seeking Sequins looks a lot like Which Is Witch? So I say that if you don’t already have dupes, these are really nice. However, I don’t like the idea that these may just be recycled polishes that were just renamed. If you see any other dupes, please let me know!

If you’re interested in any of these, Spotlight on Glitter by OPI nail lacquers will be available now at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, jcp Salons, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, ULTA and ulta.com for $9.00 ($10.95 CAN) suggested retail for each nail lacquer. For more information, please call 800-341-9999 or visit www.opi.com. Follow OPI on Twitter @OPI_PRODUCTS and become a Facebook fan!

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

OPI Sheer Tints – Review & Giveaway

Posted on 10 March, 20149 March, 2014 by Cynthia

Happy Monday? Uhm, yeah…not so much. I’m kind of hating life right now because of daylight saving time and the whole missing an hour of sleep thing. Yeah, 1 hour is a big deal especially when you have to be at work at 5 am. It’s going to take me at least a week to get used to this so I’m probably going to be a grouchster until then. In the meantime, I have a new product to share with you: the OPI Sheer Tints. When I first saw the press release, I had no idea what these were. I googled some similar products and I sort of got an idea of what you might be able to do with a sheer tinted top coat such as these, but I still wanted to try them out on their own to start with.

I am not too impressed with these when worn on their own. They are very sheer so I applied 3 coats to achieve the above results. The consistency of these top coats is also a little difficult to work with–they feel very jelly-esque and tend to dry really quickly so they were very easy to overwork. I started out applying thick coats but thin coats worked a lot better.

This isn’t the most creative use of the OPI Sheer Tints, but I like how this looks. I applied one coat of these tinted top coats over a white base and also used them to do a dot design. If you want to see some cool ideas, check out what Nory from Fierce Makeup and Nails did with them so go check out her post here. The gradient that she did is really fun!

Now for the fun part! I purchased a set of minis so one of you will be getting this set to try out! In order to enter, use the rafflecopter widget below. As always, the giveaway is open worldwide to those 18 years or older. Please don’t enter if your country has strict customs regulations as I will not be responsible for confiscated prizes.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Overall, I think that I need to play around with these some more to see what other ways they can be used. What do you think? Have you used a similar product? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and good luck if you decide to enter the giveaway!

MoYou London Pro Collection Plate 02

Posted on 6 March, 201415 March, 2014 by Cynthia

You guys know I love stamping, right? I hope that you have been following my Stamping Saturdays posts and that you’re also checking out my friend’s posts because we’re all doing this stamping thing together which has been really fun. I think that it pushes us to be more creative and come up with fun combinations of polishes and designs. Personally, I’ve done some of my favorite stamping ever during Stamping Saturdays so I hope that you’re liking it as well. MoYou London plates have been all the rage lately, and I’m excited to bring you a review of one of the MoYou London Pro Collection plates. I have a few others to share with you, but I wanted to start of with this one.

Isn’t this an awesome plate? The designs are really large so if you have wide nail beds like me, you won’t have to worry about the design being too narrow. I tried eight of the images from this plate below so you can see what they look like on the nail.

I think the stamping came out fairly decent in both of these attempts. Normally my stamping is a little more crisp, but I was using a different stamper which threw me off a bit. I ALWAYS use my Konad stampers, but this time I tried out the small stamper that came with these MoYou plates, and I had a hard time because the stamper was really slick and super squishy. I think that maybe if I roughen the stamper a bit, I won’t have so much trouble with it. Either way, I think the stamper is just a minor thing and maybe it’s just a matter of practice. The designs transferred really well onto the stamper and onto the nail so I have no complaints. The images are VERY large so this will work for a lot of different nail shapes and lengths.

Overall, I am very pleased with my first MoYou London plate! I can definitely see why so many people love these. I have a few more plates to show you in the coming weeks so stay tuned! I also wanted to mention that shipping was lightning fast–I got my plates in less than a week (from the UK to California) so that’s always a plus for us who hate to wait for long ship times. Have you tried any MoYou London stamping plates? Thank so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

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Vapid Lacquer Purp-etrator

Posted on 27 February, 2014 by Cynthia

Don’t you love the rain? It was raining so hard this morning and now it’s nice and sunny but a bit chilly. I wish I would rain all day since we’re in the midst of a terrible drought, but I guess a little rain is better than no rain. I took the day off today since I’m still nursing my broken toe back to health. It’s feeling better but my foot just feels all hard and swollen so I’m just going to keep trying to keep it elevated and all that. Today’s polish is a gorgeous creme that I wore last week. If you know me, you know that cremes are my absolute favorites so I loved wearing Vapid Lacquer Purp-etrator. Let’s take a look at my swatches below.

Vapid Lacquer Purp-etrator is a gorgeous creme with insane shine. It least more purple than what my pictures show, but I would still call it blurple. The consistency is nice but slightly thicket than I’m used to. The pigmentation is great so I only needed two coats for full opacity.

I then used Dior Perlé to do some dots. I fail at dots–they look all random but I still liked the end result. My nephew, who loves dark colors, kept staring at my nails so I think that he approved.

I hope that you’re having a good day and that you are ready for the weekend. I’m glad I got two days off to rest but I do work Friday and Saturday so womp, womp. If you’re interested in Purp-etrator or any other Vapid Lacquer pretties, I suggest that you check out their big cartel site here. Purp-etrator can be purchased for $8 for a full size bottle and $4 for a mini. Speaking about buying polish, yesterday I updated my blog sale with a bunch of new stuff. I even added the grab bag option that I had first brought up on Facebook. Help me destash and regain some of my sanity and space!!! Check out my blog sale here to see if there’s anything that you’re interested in. Well, enjoy the rest of your day, and I will talk to you soon!

Nicole by OPI Roughles Collection

Posted on 26 February, 2014 by Cynthia

If you follow me on Facebook, you probably read about how I broke my toe because of these polishes. Yep, these polishes made me break my toe…let me explain. When I got home from work, the box of polishes was waiting for me so I teared into it like a lunatic, and I was admiring their speckled pastel gorgeousness. I immediately put one on, and I jumped up from the couch so I could go to my light box to photograph them. In my excitement, I stubbed my toe on the coffee table and I heard/felt it snap. It hurt like hell, but I proceeded to take pictures of my freshly polished nails. It wasn’t until a few minutes later that I noticed the swelling and the tenderness and now it’s just a bruised mess. There’s not much that I can do about it except keep it bandaged and not hit it again which will be hard since I’m so clumsy. Despite the broken toe, I am feeling pretty hopeful about a few things, so not everything is bad. And of course, I am so excited to be sharing the Nicole by OPI Roughles Collection with you. When I first saw the press release, I read it as roofies or ruffies which prompted Jessica to call them puppy drugs…I know…I know….haha! Let’s take a look at my swatches below, and I will share my thoughts with you at the end.

Nicole by OPI I’m Stucco on You

Nicole by OPI On What Grounds?

Nicole by OPI Rock the Look

Nicole by OPI Sand in My Shoe

I don’t know how you feel about pastels, but I have to say that I am in love with these. The beautiful pastel shades are perfect for this time of year, and the speckled effect gives them a little extra kick. The formula was a breeze to work with because it applies so smoothly and easily. I do recommend that you apply 2 thin coats and that you let the first coat dry for a few minutes before applying the second because otherwise you might create some bald spots. Luckily, these dry super fast so you won’t have to wait too long. I also wanted to mention that On What Grounds? leans very blue in my pictures, but in real life it is more of a turquoise color–my stupid camera strikes again! I really hope that polishes with a similar effect are release in the future because I’d love to have these in a bunch of different colors. What do you think of these? Do you have a favorite or are you over textured polishes? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

From Nicole by OPI

Nicole by OPI formulas are long-lasting, fast-drying, and salon-quality. The 4 new nail lacquers will be available in stores beginning March 2014 for $7.99 each at retailers including select Duane Reade, Kroger, Kmart, Fred Meyer, CVS locations. In Canada, these shades will be available for $10.99 each at Shoppers Drug Mart, Jean Coutu, Rexall, Walmart Canada, Loblaw, and London Drug. For more information, visit nicolebyopi.com. Follow Nicole by OPI on Twitter @NicoleByOPI and become a Facebook fan!

Jessica Coral Symphony Collection Spring 2014

Posted on 9 February, 2014 by Cynthia

This weekend has just flown by. I guess it doesn’t help that I only have one weekend day off, but I feel like it has just gone by in a blur. I’ve been super lazy all day today and only cleaned my room and organized some of my melmers. I’ve also been watching all the Twilight movies at the same time–don’t judge. I’m not a fan, per se, but I just felt like watching them. Last night I watched that new Kate Winslet/Josh Brolin movie, Labor Day, and it was pretty bad. I love the actors, but the movie was just so damn lame that I had a hard time enjoying it. I have been meaning to post my swatches for this collection, but I just had a bunch of stuff queued up already and decided to just jump ahead and post it tonight. Starting tomorrow, I will be doing Valentine’s Day Challenge so I have those manis to post for the next 5 days. Yes, you read that right: Valentine’s Day. If you know me well, you’re probably laughing because I am not a hearts and flowers type of girl, but I figured that I should to a challenge where I am not really a fan of the holiday inspiration just so that I can push myself. Also, it was organized by Jessica and she’s pretty awesome so I jumped right on it. So, the collection I have for you today is the Jessica Coral Symphony Collection for Spring 2014. Are you tired of all the Spring Collections yet? Well, bear with me because this is a really nice one!

Jessica Starfish Glow

Jessica Conch Shell

Jessica Ocean Bloom

Jessica Tropical Sunset

Jessica Monsoon Melon

Jessica Sharktooth

Jessica is one of my favorite brands because they always do the most amazing cremes out there so I get giddy any time they put out all-creme polish collections. All of the polishes in the Coral Symphony collections are dreamy: smooth, pigemented, self-leveling and opaque. All of them required two coats for full opacity–even Sharktooth. You know I love me some white polishes, and this one is great. I can see myself using it often as a nail art base color. Overall, I am really happy with this collection because of the beautiful colors and the glorious formula. I would say that the colors aren’t super exciting as there are a lot of similar colors being released for Spring so I am sure that you may have dupes. However, if you want a perfect creme, you may want to check these out.

This collection should be available now in cause you’re interested. You can follow Jessica Cosmetics on their website and facebook page for all their latest news. Let me know what you think of this collection. Thanks so much for stopping by, and I will talk to you soon.