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Of Life and Lacquer > Fall 2013

China Glaze Autumn Nights – Shimmers

Posted on 9 August, 201310 September, 2013 by Cynthia

I am so very glad that I finally got done swatching the third and final part of the China Glaze Autumn Nights Collection. At this point, my nails kind of hurt yet I still have a bagillion polishes to get through today. Hey, I’m not complaining because I have a lot of pretty polishes to swatch and a few are giving me some serious polish sweats. In case you don’t know what I mean by polish sweats, it’s when you see a polish so pretty that you get the sweats just thinking of how pretty it will look. Maybe it’s just me…? Anyway, as I had predicted, I do like the shimmer polishes from this collection. In fact, I actually love 4 of the 6 which was definitely a surprise. Let me show you the swatches.

China Glaze Kiss My Glass

China Glaze Public Relations

China Glaze Don’t Make Me Wine

China Glaze Red-y & Willing

China Glaze Scandalous Shenanigans

China Glaze Tongue & Chic

The formula on all these polishes was very similar so I didn’t feel the need to discuss each one individually. I applied two coats of each polish and that’s really all they needed for full opacity. The formula was not too thick and not too thin and it was extremely easy to control. I did find that it was very easy to create bald spots when I didn’t wait enough time in between coats. The worst offenders in the bald spot and streakiness departments were Kiss My Glass and Public Relations. In fact, those are the only two polishes that I didn’t like from this half of the collection. The remaining four are just beautiful and if I had to pick just one, I would pick…Tongue & Chic just because I have a current obsession with teal. I picked up this whole collection during last week’s major binge shopping escapade with my friend Lesley. If you had seen what ensued when we were informed that this collection was available, you might have laughed. We literally grabbed everything we could get our hands on. I don’t even want to think about what kind of look I had in my eyes but it was probably something like this:

Whenever I go polish shopping, I kind of go into a trance and literally grab EVERYTHING in sight and think about consequences later–and yes, that always backfires but the high I get is totally worth it. Yes, I am still talking about nail polish.

So there you have it. What do you think of the China Glaze Autumn Nights Collection as a whole? Are you excited about these colors and finishes or do you find them very been there done that? As you know, the chromes were horrible in my opinion, but the cremes and most of the shimmers were total winners in my book. I guess 6 out of 12 isn’t too bad, but I wish this collection had more cremes…ahhh my lovely cremes. Well, that’s all I have for you today. Thanks for stopping by, and I will talk to you soon!

China Glaze Autumn Nights Collection – Foils

Posted on 6 August, 20136 August, 2013 by Cynthia

You know how I said I was going to try to keep an open mind regarding the foils in the China Glaze Autumn Nights Collection? Aww! That’s so cute that you believed me. I actually did try to keep an open mind, but any time that I see metallic or foil-like polishes, I can’t deal with how disgusting they look on me. I don’t know if the metallic finish clashes with my dark skin…I have no idea, but I just want to barf all over my nails because even barf covering up the polish will be better. Anyway, since you already know that I am not a fan of the foil finish, it will come as no surprise that I am not a fan of the following four polishes. The formula on all four polishes was identical so I will talk about it after I show you my swatches.

China Glaze Goldie But Goodie

China Glaze Gossip Over Gimlets

China Glaze Rendezvous With You

China Glaze Strike Up A Cosmo

If I had to chose one polish from this collection that doesn’t make me want to rip out my nails with pliers, it would be Rendezvous With You mainly because it’s not as metallic-y as the other three. One thing that these polishes have going for them is that the formula is pretty great: it’s kind of thick, but it applies easily and the coverage is great. You do have to make sure that you work fast and that you don’t overwork the polish because they do tend to set quickly so you can definitely make them look gummy and lumpy if you go over the same spot too much.

To be perfectly honest, I think that a lot of people are going to like these because the colors are nice and the formula is pretty good…but I just can’t like them. This is completely about my personal preference so don’t let me taint you with my hate. So what do you think about foil polishes in general? Will you be getting any of these? I know Siobhan will be all over Goldie But Goodie since she is such a gold freak! Did you see my post of the two creme polishes from this collection? No? What?! Well click here to check them out!

I’m super curious to hear what you think of these and what you think of the collection so far. The last part of the collection is going to include the 6 shimmers which I hope I like better. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

China Glaze Autumn Nights Collection – Cremes

Posted on 5 August, 20136 August, 2013 by Cynthia

So how was my first day on my new schedule you ask? Well, it was glorious in the sense that I didn’t want to cry when my alarm rang. However, I am now thoroughly aware–with every fiber in my being–that I am NOT a morning person. I hate waking up no matter how many hours I have slept. Last night I went to bed around 8:30 and I woke up at 6:00, but I was still kind of miserable. Clearly I have issues? Or do people really hate waking up as much as I do regardless of how much rest they have had? Anywho, I am still really happy about my new schedule, but I have realized that the fact that I don’t have to go to sleep super early means that I am now being exposed to a bunch of putrid primetime shows–namely The Bachelorette. Why am I watching this mindless drivel? It’s horrid and I want to stab my eyes out with dotting tools…yet I can’t turn it off. This is ridiculous!

Last night I mentioned that I would be swatching the Chine Glaze Autumn Nights Collection this week, and I already started. Since it is a 12 piece collection, I decided to break it up into 3 posts which are: the cremes, the shimmers and the foils. Unfortunately, this collection only has two cremes…two! I guess I can’t always have my way, but I wish they had more cremes in this collection because 2 lonely little cremes just made me sad. Before I bitch too much, let me show you the two polishes in question.

China Glaze Queen B is a gorgeous indigo creme that totally brings thoughts of fall to my mind. Me likey…me likey a lot. I was a little scared that this color would be a major stainer, but it really wasn’t. The formula was pretty nice on this one and I only needed two coats for these swatches.

And here is another entry in the lovely dark greyed purple creme to lust over. China Glaze Charmed, I’m Sure was the one polish that I was immediately drawn to when I first lay eyes on this collection, and I’m definitely still loving it. The formula on this one was good as well: super glossy, smooth and very pigmented. Another win for the cremes!

I know this is just a tiny glimpse into this collection, but so far so good! I will be swatching the foils next and I have to admit that I kind of HATE foils and chromes–like absolutely hate them. However, I am going to try to keep an open mind and not be a total killjoy because I know a lot of people LOVE fall collections (me being one of those Fall lovers!). So let me know what you think of these two cremes: yay or nay? How do you feel about chrome/foil polishes? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

Essie For The Twill Of It Collection – Fall 2013

Posted on 29 July, 201328 July, 2013 by Cynthia

How are you on this fine Monday morning? I’m barely able to keep my eyes open today since I got to bed later than I should have. Story of my life. I am still waiting to hear back on a change of schedule request that I submitted a few weeks ago. I just feel that if I had more normal work hours, it would go a long way to helping me not hate my job so much. So on this bright Monday morning, I have something new for Fall to share with you: the Essie For The Twill Of It Collection.

Essie Vested Interest reminded me of a more grayed out School Of Hard Rocks which is one of my favorite polishes but because it is a lot more green, I get insane lobster hands with it. I pretty much love this color and the formula was amazeballs: smooth, creamy and opaque.

Ahhh…reds. Yes, I love red nails because they look classy and fun at the same time. This does not apply when nails are very long because super long talons and red nail polish look kinda of bad to me but that’s just my personal opinion. Essie Twin Sweater Set is a classic magenta-type red that has some jelly qualities too is so it looks shiny and squishy. It reminded me a bit of my favorite red of all time: OPI Vodka & Caviar.

I wasn’t that excited about Essie The Lace Is On when I first saw bottle shots, but this color is on fire! The way it glows really makes this a gorgeous choice for fall. The thing I didn’t like is that it looks a little brush stroke-y.

Essie Cashmere Bathrobe is a nice gray creme–not too interesting but definitely a nice color with some great shimmer and glitter throughout.

I really wondered about the silly name of Essie After School Boy Blazer, but I didn’t dwell on it since this darkened navy blue is freaking gorgeous. This one is pretty similar to OPI Incognito In Sausalito but maybe looks a tad darker and more black.

Essie For The Twill Of It was my photography nemesis. This polish is one of those multi-chrome polishes with a gorgeous color shift with some gray, green/teal and purple. However, my lighting and camera would not capture all the beautiful color shifts. Oh well. I did try to take some pictures in different lighting below which barely start to show the different flashes of color.

Now that the fall collections are starting to pop up, I am super excited about getting my hands on them. My thoughts on this collection as a whole is that it’s nice. Yes, nice. I mean, that in the way that it’s not bad, but it’s not that exciting either. However, I do want to say that the formula on all of these polishes is superb. If you have read my posts on the last few Essie collections, you might have noticed my complaints about the difficult formula. These polishes completely redeemed Essie polish formula in my eyes. Seriously–these babies are all smooth, pigmented, self leveling and only needed two coats for full opacity. If the colors had excited me more, I might not be putting these up on my blog sale. Yes, ladies, these are up on my blog sale now so check them out here along with a lot of other polishes.

So, let me know what you think of this collection–do you have a favorite? What have you thought about Essie’s previous releases this year? Thanks so much for stopping in today and have a great day!

Pssst! Did you already enter my giveaway for a mini set of the OPI San Francisco Collection polishes? No?! Go enter here now! 🙂

OPI San Francisco Collection – Liquid Sands

Posted on 19 July, 2013 by Cynthia

Hey there, lovahs. I was super glad for Friday because I have two scheduled days off in a row. Yay for having Saturday and Sunday off! And then I was asked to work on Sunday…womp, womp. While I could have said no, I am very conscious of the fact that I could really use the extra moola now that I have this new expense with the car. So of course I said yes which means that this week, I will be working over 50 hours. That may not seem like a lot to some of you, but I feel old, damnit! I need my rest. I know that I’m *only* 33, but I just feel like it takes me so long to get used to a new schedule and my body just needs more rest and sleep. Can you remember being in your late teens/early twenties and basically needing about 2 hours of sleep? How else could you party all night and go to class at 8 am like if that was perfectly normal? Do I sound bitter about getting older? Anyway, enough of my complaining and let’s move on to the polish.

When the OPI San Francisco Collection arrived, I was in nail polish nirvana. I ripped open the boxes like they were holding the last Twinkie on earth, but this was me when I saw that there were THREE Liquid Sands, and two of them did NOT have any sparkle:

I know…I know. Is every collection from now on going to include some kind of texture polish?
Anyway, let me tell you why I am now eating my words.

If you’re a dramatic blue lover, you’re going to love OPI Wharf! Wharf! Wharf! This baby is crazy pigmented and just makes your nails the center of attention. I wasn’t that excited about this polish at first because it’s a flat textured polish without any sparkle. No glitter in a Liquid Sand makes me a sad panda. However, this grew on me the more I wore it.

This is the polish that will fulfill the wet dream of anyone looking for an amazing neutral WITH texture. OPI It’s All San Andrea’s Fault is a beautiful milk chocolate neutral that I can see myself getting away with during more conservative settings without sacrificing the fun factor.

OPI Alcatraz…Rocks is the polish I was most looking forward to from the three Liquid Sands and I can tell you that it does NOT disappoint. Holy crap this polish is gorgeous! It’s full of so much sparkle that it makes up for the lack of glitter in the other two. As soon as I put on this baby, I thought of Sean Connery:

I’m kind of in love with Sean Connery so I was not about to pass up an opportunity to share this clip!

Overall, I am pleasantly surprised. The formula on all three polishes was identical: pigmented, easy to apply and perfect at two coats. I wasn’t expecting to like the first two because they are the usual popcorn ceiling texture, but I think the colors really won me over. Of course I knew that I was going to like Alcatraz…Rocks so it’s no big surprise that it turned out to be my absolute favorite. I decided to break up my post for the San Francisco Collection into three parts because there are 15 polishes in all, and I didn’t want to have such a picture heavy post. I’ll be posting the other 2 parts in the coming days so make sure that you check back. I have so many freaking things to share with you that I don’t even know how I’m going to get all the swatching done. Ok…ok…I’m not really complaining about having so many new polishes because that would just be nuts! Amiright or amiright?! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will catch up with you later.

San Francisco nail lacquer shades each feature OPI’s exclusive ProWide^™ Brush for the ultimate in application. Liquid Sand nail lacquers should always be worn without top coat. San Francisco by OPI will be available August 7, 2013, 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!