Swatches Archives - Page 56 of 111

Category: Swatches

Of Life and Lacquer > Swatches

Clinique Really Rio

Posted on 6 April, 2014 by Cynthia

I really wish I wasn’t feeling SO DAMN lazy today because I need to run some errands but I am sitting here in sweatpants and a tank top and do not want to move my butt off the couch. I’m watching a bunch of documentaries on Netflix as well so I really don’t want to do anything else. At the same time, I am dreading the start of another work week and I could literally cry. My friend Daniel posted this quote on his Facebook today: “The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” It’s largely attributed to Buddah but according to google, it’s based on his teachings but not a verbatim quotation. Anyway, the whole point of sharing that with you is that I seem to never really enjoy anything because I’m constantly thinking about unpleasant things. Instead of enjoying my weekend, I have this cloud looming over my head about how much I don’t want to go to work. How does that even make sense? I don’t just do this with work, but with pretty much everything else in my life. I need to chill the f out before I give myself another nervous breakdown. Woe is me…blah, blah, blah. Instead of dwelling on this, let us talk polish now, ok? So I had these swatches of Clinique Really Rio done and edited a while back, but they got lost in my many desktop folders. I remember being really excited when the Clinique polishes were first released but now I am just feeling lukewarm about them. Let me show you what I did with this polish.

Clinique Really Rio is more of a coral leaning polish even though it looks fairly orange here. I can blame it on my lighting, but the color also freaked out my camera because it’s almost neon. Double whammy! The formula was nice and only needed two coats for full opacity.

Then I figured I could play around with it by using the OPI Matte Top Coat (press sample), and I really love how this looks!!! I like matte finishes but not as much as shiny and glossy beauties. However, I much prefer this polish mattified.

And because I haven’t showed you any recent pictures of my little nephew, here he is:

He just keeps getting cuter and cuter. I have a hard time getting him to smile when I take his picture because he is so interested in looking at the camera that he ignores any of my efforts to make him smile. He just melts my heart!!!

One last thought about the Clinique nail polishes: when I bought them, they were $16 and now I see that the prices have been lowered to $12.50. I guess this means that the polishes weren’t selling at the higher price point which I can totally understand. I bought two of them when they first came out just because of the novelty, but I was not planning to buy more because I found them way too pricey. I might be tempted to buy more now that they are priced a bit more reasonably but only if the color is unique. Have you tried any of these Clinique polishes? Let me know if you have any colors to recommend. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

P.S. Hey, have you checked out my blog sale recently? I’ve reduced my prices on many items, and I have also added tons of new polishes.

Stamping Saturdays #13

Posted on 5 April, 2014 by Cynthia

Hey good morning! I just rolled out of bed, and I remembered that I passed out in the middle of putting this post together last night so here I am blogging before breakfast. I don’t know what time you have to be at work in the morning, but I start at 5 am which means that I am up before 4 am during the week. When I get the chance to sleep in a little, it feels like I am cradled by clouds while angels gently sing me awake. I really wish I could be a morning person, but I will never be happy to wake up before 10 am so I’ll just have to deal with it like everyone else. After work yesterday I went polish shopping which is always a disaster waiting to happen because I want one of everything. Since I liked my first ibd polishes, I decided to pick up a few more to see if the quality is consistent. I ended up purchasing two searing neons that I then decided to use for my Stamping Saturdays mani.

This is ibd Peony Bouquet and ibd Starburst. They are even brighter in person if you can imagine that!

I decided to try another gradient now that I have some confidence in doing them. It didn’t turn out as smooth as I had hoped but it looks a lot better than my other efforts. I call this a radioactive sunset!

Lastly, I used this start pattern from Konad plate M84 and black special polish to bring it all together. At first I didn’t really like how this turned out, but now I’m really liking it!

What do you think of this mani? Do you have anything fun planned for this weekend? I don’t have any plans yet except maybe to go on a shopping binge since Sephora is having a 15% off sale. Someone please take my wallet away now! Anyway, I hope you like today’s mani and thanks a bunch for stopping by. Have a great day!

Loading InLinkz ...

Anne Kathleen Something Special Collection

Posted on 4 April, 20142 April, 2014 by Cynthia

Today I have a new to me brand to share with you: Anne Kathleen. You know that I loooove trying out new brands–because who doesn’t need more polish?! I think that would be me, but I would like to say that I am always willing to take one for the team. Before I get into showing you my swatches, I want to share a little bit about the brand. Anne Kathleen polishes are 5-Free which I know is very important to some people. The polishes are cruelty free, and the majority of them are vegan. The two polishes that I have for you today are from the Anne Kathleen Something Special Collection which is a 4 piece wedding collection. Let’s take a look at Cosette and Portia below.

Anne Kathleen Portia is a delicate baby blue shimmer with a frosty-type finish. The formula was very nice as it was easy to apply and was very opaque. I needed two coats for these swatches.

A white polish is a given in any type of wedding collection and Anne Kathleen Cosette fits the bill. This is a pearlized white shimmer that applies smoothly and is opaque at 3 thin coats.

I am quite happy with the formula of these polishes because they are easy to apply and are nice and smooth. These are not colors what I would normally gravitate towards since I do not like anything that is even close to frosty. While these are shimmers, they do lean a little frosty in my opinion so they are not my cup of tea. However, this does not take away from the good quality of the polishes. If your interested in purchasing these, the Something Special Collection will be available on April 15th and each polish retails for $10. Can you believe it’s almost APRIL?! It feels like this year is just flying by…

You can check out Anne Kathleen polishes at the following social media sites:

ANNE KATHLEEN

Website – Facebook – Twitter – Pinterest – Instagram

I hope you’re doing well today. I know it’s barely Tuesday but I’m already looking forward to the weekend. Is that sad or normal? Anyway, thanks so much for the visit today, and I will talk to you soon!

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!

ibd Haute Frost Collection

Posted on 2 April, 20141 April, 2014 by Cynthia

Lately I have been feeling like a big pile of poop. I think that part of it is stress related, but I also think that I’m just going through a phase. It seems that I’ve been going through this “phase” for a while now so I’m just getting worn down. Can things just get better already? I’ve been trying to keep myself occupied with polish, but that can only go so far. Last week I went to my nail places, and I ended up buying too much stuff that I’m now regretting. One of my finds included a couple of polishes from a new to me brand: ibd. I’m familiar with ibd because I’ve seen their gel polish line, but I wasn’t aware of their wide range of regular nail polish. The two polishes that I have for you today are part of the ibd Haute Frost Collection which is an 8 piece collection inspired by royal Russian Winters. Let’s take a look at these two polishes.

ibd Midnight Martinis

ibd Imperial Treasure

Aren’t these interesting?! So I just finished watching a couple of episodes of Drop Dead Diva, and I can’t believe that Jane finally came clean to Grayson about her actually being Deb. GHAAAAA! It was heartbreaking when she explained why she didn’t tell him the truth right away. If you haven’t seen this show before, I recommend that you watch seasons 1-5 on Netflix. The show is currently on its 6th and last season so I’m kinda sad about it. Anyway, back to the nail polish: I’m really impressed with the quality of these polishes and will probably be checking out some of their core colors in the near future. Since I’m still working on thinning out my stash, I have put these up on my blog sale in case you’re interested. What do you think of these two? Have you heard of idb? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

Essie She Said Yes Wedding Collection 2014

Posted on 1 April, 201430 March, 2014 by Cynthia

It’s that time of the year when nail polish wedding themed collections start to rear their ugly heads. I know, I know…I’m not being a killjoy or anything, but I usually find wedding collections too blah to really interest me. Despite this, I always look forward to the Essie Wedding collections because no matter how many times I get polishes with sub-par formulas, I still want to love Essie. I don’t know if that makes me loyal or kind of dumb. Either way, I never miss out on an Essie collection so it’s no surprise that I have the Essie She Said Yes Wedding Collection for 2014 to share with you today. This collection is the epitome of wedding collections: white, sheer and nudes. Before I rip this collection to shreds, let’s take a look at my swatches below.

Essie She Said Yes

Essie Meet The Parents

Essie Love Every Minute

Essie Got Engaged!

You may be surprised, but I actually do like this collection. WHAAAAAAAAAAT? Yep, you read correctly. Maybe it’s because the colors are so pretty and delicate or because I just finished watching My Best Friend’s Wedding for the millionth time, but I really like the end result. Sadly, I do have gripes with the formula on all of these polishes. I think that if you go into this knowing that they are supposed to be super sheer polishes, you won’t really be disappointed. However, I just don’t like sheers, and I do not like having to apply 4 coats of polish in between my base coat and top coat. Two of the polishes: She Said Yes and Got Engaged! had very subtle sparkles that completely disappeared once on the nail. You can catch some sparkle depending on your lighting and angle, but otherwise you won’t really see it. If you purchase these knowing that they are super sheer and that you’ll need multiple coats to reach opacity, I think that you will quite like these. I didn’t like these enough to want to hold on to them so they went up on my blog sale.

What do you think of this collection? Do you like sheer shades or do they drive you nuts? But more importantly, do you like My Best Friend’s Wedding? hehe Tomorrow I have another wedding inspired duo so make sure that you check in with me. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

Nubar Spring In The City Collection

Posted on 31 March, 201430 March, 2014 by Cynthia

I know that in many parts of the country, it really isn’t Spring yet but in others, like Southern California, it feels like Summer already. What is a girl to do besides loading up on Spring polish collections? On Saturday I went to my nail polish places to scope out any new collections so I was super excited when I spotted the Nubar Spring In The City Collection. This collection is made up of 8 shades that are mostly Spring inspired, but I also see some darker shades that make me think more of Fall. The formula on all of these polishes was pretty much identical, so I’ll show you my swatches below and then I’ll give you my thoughts at the end.

Nubar Dreamy Moss

Nubar New Mood

Nubar City Self

Nubar Spring In Her Step

Nubar Sleek In The City

Nubar Fashion Is Forward

Nubar Wildflower Blooming

Nubar Succulent

I am a huge Nubar fan so I was a little confused about these polishes. The formula was just strange in that the polishes seemed like they were all separated. They do mix up once you give them a good shake and roll, but they still seemed a little thin. I found that the best way to work with these polishes was to make sure you give them a good mix and then apply three thin coats. This seemed to work well, but I was still thrown off by the strange formula that is NOT typical of what I have come to expect from the brand. Overall, I think that despite the somewhat awkward formula, the colors are nice. Succulent and Wildflower Blooming are super similar–so much so that I thought they were mislabeled and maybe I got two of the same color. Once I applied them, I did see slight difference. My favorite color of the collection is Spring In Her Step…and New Mood…and maybe Dreamy Moss. hahaha! Ok, I really do like these colors–even the ones that look very Spring appropriate such as Fashion Is Forward and Sleek In The City.

So what do you think about this collection? Do you like Nubar polishes as much as I do? Since these polishes aren’t exactly unique in my ~~hoard~~ collection, I have put them up for sale so please check out my blog sale here if you’re interested in trying these out. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

NUBAR

Website – Facebook – Twitter

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

Website – Facebook – Twitter

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.

Loading InLinkz ...

China Glaze Who’s Wearing What

Posted on 27 March, 2014 by Cynthia

The weekend can’t get here fast enough for me. I’m currently sitting here just wanting to cry uncontrollably just looking forward to having my weekend to rest. I haven’t been sleeping well this week so of course I’m completely beat down mentally. The fact that work is kicking my ass and the lack of sleep has been a lethal combo so now I just want some mental peace and quiet. Yeah, I know I probably sound all melodramatic, but that’s just how horrid I’m feeling right now. I don’t really know why I’m even posting right now except that certain days it just feels GOOD to post and feel like I’m doing something that I really enjoy. But enough of my pity party of one! After all, tomorrow is Friday which means that I am going to go watch Noah and I’m going to have a yummy dinner. That’s what I have to look forward to tomorrow…that and sleeping in. So the polish I have for you today is China Glaze Who’s Wearing What from the Creme Couture Collection which also spawned the lovely Channelesque. I’ve had this polish for a while now, but hadn’t used it lately and it just called out to me when I was organizing my melmers recently

I think that this polish lightened up a bit on me since the last time I used it because it looked more purple to me previously. Still, I really love this color. The formula is a little bit of a beast because it was streak city. I applied 3 coats and it still looked gross so I decided to try to smooth it out with Seche Vite. Magically, the polish evened out!

And because I fel like I needed a little bling, I applied a coat of OPI Snowflakes In The Air (press sample). Doesn’t it look super gorgeous? I love this combination and how dreamy it looks. I did these swatches before I reshaped my nails so don’t freak out about my magical nails, ok? I’m really missing this old shape but now it’s going to be a long process to grow them square again. The funny thing is that I never hesitate to cut my hair pixie short yet I really have to think about cutting my nails…what a ding dong, right?

What do you have planned for this weekend? I hope you have a nice Friday tomorrow! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.