Of Life and Lacquer

Where Have You Been?

Posted on 15 March, 2015 by Cynthia

A few people asked me why I haven’t been blogging or posting on IG and Facebook lately so I figured I’d say something since I am still around. I’ve decided to take a little break. At first it was a forced break because my nails were so damaged that swatching sessions were out of the question, but now I’m feeling ok about giving myself some time to recharge. Slowly all the damage is growing out on my swatching hand so I think it will take another couple of months before I see all the buffing damage gone. Additionally, I went on a no-buy for Lent so I haven’t purchased any polish since early February and won’t until early April. My brother made fun of me since I am still technically getting some polish via press samples, but it’s nowhere near the amount I normally purchase on my own. There have been a few moments of painful uncertainty and I have almost broken my no-buy twice, but now I am 100% sure that I will stick it out.

For the next few weeks I won’t be posting regularly, but I do have a few draft posts that I’ll be publishing this coming week. Other than that, I will enjoy my break and I hope to see you guys when I’m back. I do have some items that I need to swatch, so I’ll get to it as soon as my nails begin to cooperate again. It’s been crazy hot here–like in the mid 90’s–so I’m kind of in a pissy mood altogether. It’s March for God’s sake–not freaking August! Sometimes I really hate California weather.

Anyway, thanks for still coming by even when I’m being a bad blogger. You guys are the best. See you around and I’ll be back soon with a more regular blogging schedule!

The Lacquer Ring – Green

Posted on 12 March, 201511 March, 2015 by Cynthia

I am super lucky that I’ve had this post in my drafts for a few weeks because I might have crapped out otherwise. I’ve been sucking big time at blogging lately because I’ve just had so many things going on that blogging/doing my nails was just not that important to me. I’ve just felt out of it, but slowly I am getting back on my feet and hope to get back on a more regular schedule. I really do miss posting, but you can’t force yourself when you’re not feeling up to it. So today I am back with another edition of The Lacquer Ring and today Nicole has chosen the color green. How appropriate with Saint Patrick’s Day and all! You know what I’ll be doing this weekend? Have 5 million Guinness Milkshakes. Yep. Anyway, let me show you the green I decided to use. Dermelect Renegade 1 This is Dermelect Renegade which I also picked up at Ulta a while back for like $0.40…haha! I know, right? It’s a really pretty jade green which a pretty nice formula. It’s easily opaque at two coats and it is sooooo shiny! Dermelect Renegade 3 I then used Illamasqua Scorch to add some blobs all over my nails. This ended up looking very prehistoric egg-like to me and then Amy said they looked like Yoshi nails so there you go…Yoshi nails!

Anyway, I hope your doing well and that you excuse my random posting. I really hope I can get back in the swing of things soon. I’ve just been feeling way too dumpy, sensitive and just tired. I’m sure I’ll get through this slump soon so thanks for sticking with me. Thanks for stopping by, and I will talk to you soon.

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Winners Announced – 3 Year Blogiversary Giveaway

Posted on 11 March, 2015 by Cynthia

Hi everyone! This is just a quick post to announce the winners of my 3 year Blogiversary Giveaway. Thank you so much to all the people who entered and thank you for being patient. I really haven’t had much time or desire to do much blog related things as of late but I really hope this slump is just temporary. I did have a lot of things going on and unfortunately blogging had to take a back seat. Anyway, I’m very happy to announce the winners now. The 5 lucky ladies are…….
a Rafflecopter giveaway

They have all been emailed and I am just now waiting for their responses. Congratulations!

Just as a side note: if you have followed me for a while, you know that I tend to do a fair share of giveaways because I really enjoy giving back to you guys. A lot of the times I buy the prizes with my own money and sometimes they are donated by some of the awesome brands I am lucky enough to work with. I appreciate all of the support I receive and I really enjoy interacting with all of you. I tend to be fairly quick with announcing winners and getting prizes sent out, so I apologize for taking about a week and a half to announce winners. It just wasn’t a good time for me and I haven’t been doing much blogging lately. So anyway, I just want to thank those of you where patient.

If you didn’t win one of the prizes, I’m sorry–but you now what? There’s always another giveaway! Once I get my act together and get a change to swatch the Hawaii Collection, I have an extra set that will be up for grabs so be on the lookout for that.

Thank you for making this a great three years, and I hope to annoy you all for another 3 with more of my nail polish shenanigans. 🙂

Stamping Saturdays #58

Posted on 28 February, 2015 by Cynthia

I really need to start planning my Stamping Saturdays manis a little better because I always end up having to do everything in a rush the day of. Even thought I did my mani last night, I just procrastinated on writing up my post and now I had to wait until I put Peanut down for his nap. He had a really fun-filled morning: first we took him out to breakfast and he ate some pancakes, scrambled eggs and orange juice. Then he went shopping at Ulta with his grandma and then finally to the grocery store to pick up some stuff for dinner tonight. It’s a tough job being an auntie! Anyway, let me show you what I did for Stamping Saturdays before I get waaayy off track.

It is no secret that I love Illamasqua, so when I saw them on Hautelook for a second time, I took it as a sign and I bought a bunch of polishes. Don’t worry–this was before my no-buy. Normally these polishes were like $17 at Sephora, but I got them on Hautelook for $7.50!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would have gotten more than 6, but the colors I wanted were already sold out or I already had the ones that were available. If you’ve never purchased on Hautelook, you should definitely check them out. If you’re interested, you can use my referral link here but don’t feel obligated to. Currently the have a great LORAC sale that I wish I could partake in, but I am going to extend my no-buy to make up too. Anywho, this gorgeous purple/pink is Illamasqua Obsess. The formula is perfect and it’s so beautiful!!!!

I didn’t really want to stamp it up, but hey…it is Stamping Saturdays! I used an image from Born Pretty plate Born Pretty 10 (press sample) and Mentality Black Opaque. I’ve been using this Mentality stamping polish pretty much non-stop because it’s amazing. The thing I like most about it is that it does not smear at all like my Konad Black.

Well, what are you up to today? Currently I’m getting ready to binge watch House of Cards because Season 3 was just released yesterday. Holy crap Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright are a dynamite team on that show. Now if only we could get Season 3 of Orange Is The New Black!!!! I hope you’re doing well today, and thanks for the visit. Talk to you soon!

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The Lacquer Ring – Gradient

Posted on 26 February, 201525 February, 2015 by Cynthia

I’m starting to think that my fellow Lacquer Ring-ettes hate me. A few of them were bemoaning the gradient prompt but whatever…it was my turn to pick! How spoiled and self-involved did that sound? I am actually super happy with my selection because my gradient turned out really great–in my opinion anyway. I’ve always had issues with doing a good gradient so I’m happy that wetting the sponge made a huge difference for me. Are you ready to see what The Lacquer Ring has in store for you today?

This is my amazeballs gradient. Isn’t it pretty? I used two of my favorite Illamasquas: Nomad and Noble for the gradient. In fact, I have used these same polishes before in a gradient but this time I did a vertical gradient just because I felt like it. I 100% believe that this gradient looks great because the polishes are just perfection. I am still not over the fact that Illamasqua is no longer sold at Sephora, but I am happy that I could buy a bunch on Hautelook for a deep discount.

To finish off my mani, I used Mentality Black Opaque and a chain-link design from MoYou London Pro Collection Plate 02 (press sample). Don’t you think the stamping just brought it all together in an awesome way?

After all my talk of how awesome this mani is, watch everyone hate it. Sometimes when I think I do a spectacular mani, no one cares but when I do a dumpy one it gets tons of attention and likes…what’s up with that? Anyway, I hope that you like my gradient mani today and don’t forget to check out the other manis below from my gals.Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

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Cirque Colors Metropolis Collection March 2015

Posted on 25 February, 201524 February, 2015 by Cynthia

Ahhhh….Wednesday! We are halfway through the week and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Do you live for weekends like me? Today I was listening to The Woody Show on Alt 98.7 (remember back in the day when it was the Jamie, Frosty and Frank show?!) and they were talking about how Tuesday is the most depressing day of the week, and I so agree with them. Monday is so close to the weekend that you still get some of that residual happiness from whatever you did Saturday/Sunday but then Tuesday punches you in face almost making fun of you now that you have a long week ahead. In any case, I just wish I could sleep in until 10 every day cause that would make me so happy. You know what else makes me happy? Gorgeous creme polishes. Yep, you know it’s true and today I have two beauties from the Cirque Colors Metropolis Collection for March. Let me show you what I’m talking about.

Cirque Colors Hudson

I don’t know why, but this shade made me think of beautiful pair of denim jeans. You already know the drill: beautiful.perfect.buttery.opaque. DONE.

Cirque Colors Lady Liberty

One thing about my camera is that it is a big turd when it comes to capturing certain colors like teal/turquoise so my pictures are not super color accurate for this polish. It is definitely more green in real life, so I’m sorry if you feel tricked. Someone actually wrote me a pissed off email saying I tricked them into buying a polish because the color looked so different in my swatches. Uhm, yeah…Anyway, you know what? This polish is gorgeous too and you won’t have any complaints even if it leans more green than in my pictures.

There is never much to say about the quality of Cirque Colors because they are always spot on. I absolutely adore these two additions to the Metropolis Collection so don’t forget to pick them up if you love them too! They will be available March 1st so mark your calendars. What do you think of these lovely shades? Thanks for the visit and talk to you soon.

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OPI Soft Shades Collection 2015

Posted on 24 February, 201524 February, 2015 by Cynthia

I love obnoxious colors. Sometimes I think that the louder and more obnoxious my nails are, the better I feel. Is that weird? Whenever I do my nails, even if it is a simple manicure, people always seem to think it’s ok to grab my hands and inspect my nails. What if I am gross and don’t wash my hands after going to the restroom? I DO wash my hands every time, I was just using that as an example–I swear! I just think it’s kind of random that people do that (I even had a guy do that once), but I think I’ve gotten used to it over the years.So when soft and delicate colors come around, you would think that I I’d run the opposite direction, right? WRONG! I love soft colors as well because someone you want classy nails and don’t want some craziness on your fingertips. OPI puts out some of the best delicate colors, in my opinion, so I was definitely looking forward to this year’s OPI Soft Shades Collection. Let me show you what I’m talking about.

OPI Put It In Neutral

Doesn’t this kind of remind you of a lighter OPI Dulce de Leche? I seriously love this polish, but it is super sheer. I have to admit that I am not a sheer fan, so I applied 4 coats to get this opaque look. It’s one of those polishes that is supposed to be a wash of color on your nails but I couldn’t resist layering it up. I really love how it looks on my skintone

OPI Petal Soft

This one may not seem like much in the bottle, but hot diggity it’s beautiful. I adore how it looks over Put It In Neutral and I bet it will look awesome over a lot of different colors. Doesn’t this look like Spring in a bottle? The only thing is that fishing for the big flowers is kind of a pain but worth it at the end of the day. Soooo purty!

OPI Act Your Beige!

This is pretty much Put It In Neutral in a beige color. This also required 4 coats to be opaque but it’s not really meant to be opaque…but you know me and my OCD about sheer polishes. Still, it’s a beautiful and creamy polish.

OPI Make Light of the Situation

This is like snow in a bottle. Do you even understand how much my pictures don’t capture the beauty of this polish? It sparkles so much in the light that it’s mesmerizing. I layered this over Act Your Beige!, but I bet it will look like hot lava over a dark color. Make note, Cynthia…don’t forget to try that soon.

OPI Chiffon My Mind

And then we have this amazing white. It’s so icy yet so delicate! It has this amazing shimmer that isn’t captured very well in my pictures, but it is there and boy does it make this polish come alive. I applied 3 coats for my swatches above.

OPI This Silver’s Mine

Dear OPI, can we please stop with the silver chromes? I hate them. No mas, por favor. That is all I have to say about this.

Overall, this collection is a winner in my book. The lone bad apple here is This Silver’s Mine, but I can put it aside and focus on how pretty the other ones are. Some of you may not like the sheer shades and I get it because I want opaque polishes too, but you cannot deny that the glitters are soooo pretty. This collections isn’t due to be out until May so don’t forget about them! I can already see myself using a few of these soon in some Stamping Saturdays looks. Which one is your favorite? I seriously can’t choose but if I had to, I’d probably go with Put It In Neutral and Petal Soft…it’s a tie, I tell ya. Or Chiffon My Mind…or Make Light Of The Situation. See? I told you I can’t pick–it’s an evil process anyway. Let me know what you think of this collection overall. Are you sick of silvers like I am? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

HEY! There is 1 week left for my massive giveaway. Have you entered? Click the image below to enter.

OPI Brights Collection 2015

Posted on 23 February, 201522 February, 2015 by Cynthia

So what did you think of the Oscars…or are you one of those people who refuses to watch? I like the pretty dresses and like it when the host kills it (good and bad) so I usually tune in. This year, I feel like I wasn’t super invested in the actual awards because I did not watch a single movie from the Best Picture pool. I did recently watch Ida which won Best Foreign Film and it was pretty fucking amazing and devastating so make sure that you watch it. I am a huge movie buff so I’m way behind on watching movies lately yet I managed to watch 50 Shades of Grey–oh the shame! The most moving part of the whole show was Graham Moore’s speech after winning for Best Adapted Screenplay–watch it if you don’t know what I’m talking about. Besides the awards show, I did manage to get some swatching time in so I have 5 posts lined up already. I didn’t get a chance to swatch the OPI Hawaii collection yet (sorry to those who have asked!!!), but I did get some awesome stuff done. Today I have the OPI Brights Collection for 2015 to share with you! The Winter/Spring colors are gone, yo! Let me show you these pretties.

OPI My Car Has Navy-gation

When I saw this polish in the bottle, I wanted it on my nails STAT. Look how saturated the color is!!! Unfortunately, I found the formula not very pleasant to work with. It seemed water and thin and the formula resembled that of a neon where it dries quickly and kind of to a satin finish. Oh, and it also stinks like some blue polishes tend to so be prepared. I applied 3 coats for my swatches and then topcoated it for a shiny finish. Despite the sorta crappy formula, I still love it.

OPI Pinks & Needles

As soon as I saw this pink glitter, I knew it was meant to go over My Car Has Navy-gation. This is a very traditional glitter topper so there is not much to say about it. Application is very easy and there is no need to fish for glitter. Now I want to wear it over black!

OPI The Berry Thought of You

Oh man…this is gorgeous. This delicious berry creme is what my polish dreams are made of. I don’t know about you, but I can never have enough creamy pink polishes in any hue. The formula on this is perfect so you’ll love it–trust me.

OPI I STOP For Red

Oh look, a red from OPI because we all don’t have enough of those. This red is an orange leaning jelly that is opaque at two coats. It’s not exciting to me so that’s all I have to say about it.

OPI I Can’t Hear Myself Pink!

To be honest, I am not a huge fan of this shimmery/metallic finish, but the color is nice…you know how much I love pink polish. The formula was super easy to work with and was opaque at 2 coats.

OPI I Sea You Wear OPI

One thing that you can’t really see in my picture is that the polish has a slight pink sheen in the bottle that almost but disappears on the nail. Sadness. However, the vibrant blue polish is pretty awesome even if I’m not a huge fan of the finish.

So what do you think of this collection? Are these Brights bright enough for you? Is it too early for this considering it’s still bitterly cold in some areas? This collection will not be out until May so you’ll have plenty of time to think if you want any of these. Well, I hope you had a nice weekend and that your Monday isn’t too horrible. I look forward to hearing what you think of this collection, so let me know in the comments below. Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

HEY! There is 1 week left for my massive giveaway. Have you entered? Click the image below to enter.

Stamping Saturdays #57

Posted on 21 February, 2015 by Cynthia

Stamping Saturdays is here again but for me it’s almost Stamping Sundays since I’m posting this so late. Yes, I know it’s Sunday already in some parts, but it’s still 11 pm here in California so suck it. I’ve been doing a bunch of crap today that I shouldn’t have taken on because I had kind of an exhausting day so now I’m just annoyed. Tomorrow I won’t get much done either because duh, it’s the Oscars. Before I start getting sleepy, let me move on to my actual mani.

The gorgeous polish that I used for my base is NYC Queen’s Jewels (press sample). This is a full coverage squishy glitter that only requires 2 coats for full opacity. This is like a Christmas tree in a bottle!

I then used an image from BP-04 (press sample) to stamp with my white Konad polish. The image is a large peacock (OMG A BIRD!), and I used the part that had the feather/lace design. I do think that the white covers up way too much of the polish, but it’s ok…I still like it.

So what do you think about this polish and the stamped design? Will you be watching the Oscars? Anyway, I hope you’re doing well and that you’re enjoying your weekend. Thanks for stopping by, and I will talk to you soon.

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Dermelect Above It

Posted on 18 February, 201517 February, 2015 by Cynthia

Have you heard of Dermelect? I’ve seen their polishes around on the internet but I never paid much attention because they are $12-$14 for a .4oz bottle which is kinda pricey, and I’m a big cheapskate for the most part. However, a couple of weeks ago I was loading up on essentials at Ulta, and I happened to see a bunch of these polishes in their clearance section for under $0.50!!! Whuuuuut???? At first, I grabbed everything in site because how could I not, but once the euphoria wore off a bit I put things back and only purchased three because I had to leave some for the rest of you, right? See how considerate I am? Besides, I didn’t know what to expect from the brand and maybe I would hate the polish or the brush. When you hate the polish, it doesn’t matter how cheap it is–it’s still a waste. Let me show you the first color I picked up.

Dermelect Above It is a beautiful sky blue. The formula seemed a little watery, but magically it was perfectly opaque with two coats. I also really liked the brush even though it’s thinner that what I usually like. Overall, I think the quality of the polish is very good. Would I pay full price for it? Nope.

And just for shits and giggles, I decided to mattify the polish with my Nicole by OPI Matte Top Coat (press sample) and dangnabit it looks amazing.

So what do you think of this polish? Have you tried anything from this brand? I’m pleasantly surprised and hope that I can purchase more on clearance in the future. Moving on to more serious things: today is Ash Wednesday which signifies the beginning of Lent. I have decided to go on a polish no-buy during this time which I know will be very difficult for me considering the sheer amount of Spring collections that are coming out now, but I think it will be good for me. There are a lot of things that I could give up, but nothing will be as hard as giving up purchasing new polishes. Wish me luck!

Have you entered my giveaway? Click the image below to enter!