Fall 2014 Archives - Of Life and Lacquer

Tag: Fall 2014

Of Life and Lacquer > Fall 2014

SpaRitual Starry Night

Posted on 12 January, 201511 January, 2015 by Cynthia

I have some sad news today: the great drugstore foundation search has been a bust. I bought the Revlon Colorstay foundation a couple of weeks ago and I had high hopes after all the great feedback I was getting, but I think I’m having some weird allergic reaction to it so I guess I’m just going to stop using it. I picked out the color warm golden and it looked kind of pink on me…ugh…so hard to get the right foundation! Now I’m just going to suck it up and go back to my MUFE HD which I know will work for me. I really wanted to find a more budget friendly alternative but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. DAMN YOU MUFE FOR BEING SO AWESOME! On this dreary Monday morning, I have yet another beauty from the Wander Collection: SpaRitual Starry Night.

Isn’t this polish just absolutely gorgeous? The formula is perfect–very smooth and opaque. You can almost get away with one coat if you’re careful. I think that the satin finish makes this polish look even more amazing. Let me just say that the SpaRitual Wander Collection is maybe my favorite Fall Collection of 2014.

So how is your Monday going? I hope you had a great weekend and are ready for the new week. Let me know what you think of this polish below in the comments. Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you later!

SpaRitual Nomad

Posted on 6 January, 20154 January, 2015 by Cynthia

Have you been to Ulta lately? A week or so ago I mentioned finding a bunch of awesome polishes on clearance. I think my Ulta jumped the gun and had 50% off clearance items before the rest of the stores did which is how I managed to get crazy deals on some polishes. I managed to pick up a few polishes from the SpaRitual Wander collection for like $2.99 which is amazing! I know some ladies were finding them for around $5.99 which is still a good deal. The polish I have for you today is SpaRitual Nomad which is probably the star of this collection. Let me show you what this beauty looks like.

SpaRitual Nomad is one of those ugly/pretty colors, and I definitely love it. I think that what makes this polish spectacular is the satin finish that just makes the polish glow. The formula seemed a little sheer at first, but it was perfect after the second coat. I also loved that the polish didn’t dry too quickly so you don’t have to worry about overworking it.

I feel like SpaRitual is definitely on my radar because of this amazing collection. I’ve purchased a few of their polishes previously but was never blown away like this by them. In fact, I have a whole story about a SpaRitual holiday set that I still get a kick out of when I think about it. (You can read about it here.) So what do you think about this polish? Is it something you would wear? I’m sure these polishes are getting scooped up soon but it’s worth a look in the clearance section at Ulta if you’re interested in getting it. Thanks for visiting today, and I will talk to you soon.

SpaRitual Arroyo

Posted on 24 September, 201423 September, 2014 by Cynthia

Back to work today after a 4 day weekend. It’s painful. Oh so painful. During 2 of my days off, I took care of Peanut which was such a treat. He is 10 months old now and has such a huge personality. Now that he is mobile, he is quite a handful but I enjoyed every minute. I especially enjoyed our 3 hour nap yesterday afternoon. I think that we should have nap time at work. What do you think? Yeah, I don’t think my manager is going to be on board with that. On Sunday I went to my friend’s house and she brought out SpaRitual Arroyo. She complained that when she bought it, she didn’t know that it would be matte. She then offered it to me since she said she probably wouldn’t be using it. When have I ever said no to polish? I was so excited and couldn’t wait to try it out. Let me show you this gorgeous polish.

SpaRitual Arroyo is a beautiful mauve-y pink with a beautiful golden shimmer. The formula on this polish is fantastic…and out of this world for a matte. It does dry very quickly, but it’s so easy to apply. I used two coats for full opacity.

And here is what this beauty looks like with a shiny top coat. I have to admit that I prefer the matte finish.

This polish comes from SpaRitual’s Fall 2014 Colletion, Wander, which seems a little out of place in a Fall collection. But hey, I’m not complaining because it’s freaking gorgeous. What are you up to on this fine Wednesday? I’m just trying to figure out what to do for tomorrow’s The Lacquer Ring post. I had a long weekend to get it done, but of course I procrastinated because it’s one of my talents. Thank you for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

Zoya Ultra PixieDust Collection Fall 2014

Posted on 22 September, 201421 September, 2014 by Cynthia

I think that for the first time I am uttering these words in a sincere manner: HAPPY MONDAY!! I am taking a couple of days off from work, and I am enjoying the crap out of them. Instead of doing nothing all day which is one of my favorite things to do (sleeping being another favorite), I am babysitting my little Peanut. He turned 10 months old and is now crawling and getting into EVERYTHING. I am planning on taking him to the mall for a ride on the carrousel and then maybe a trip to the toy store because his auntie loves to spoil him. Besides the Peanut/Auntie time, I don’t have much planned today. This weekend I did some swatching and a lot of Netflix watching–namely Sons of Anarchy. I am not up to season 4 but I kind of want to stretch it out because I don’t want it to end!!! I know this is the last season so I’m going to be sad. Well, one of the collections I swatches this weekend is the Zoya Ultra PixieDust Collection for Fall 2014. To be honest, I first thought that these polishes looked like Valentine’s Day threw up in my polish. They are all red…? Before I get into it any further, let me show you my swatches.

Zoya Oswin

Zoya Arianna

Zoya Noir

In the bottle, Arianna and Oswin look almost exactly alike. On the nail, they do look slightly different: Oswin is more red while Arianna leans more berry. They are both nice but they don’t make my heart skip a beat. Enter Noir…ahhhh, Noir. You are such a gorgeous, sexy bitch. I absolutely love the dark base on this polish. These polishes are supposed to dry super matte but only Oswin dried completely matte on me. Zoya did share a video about how to apply these. When I first saw the video I snickered because how many of us need a video in order to know how to apply polish? However, I now know why my polish didn’t dry completely matte:

After the first swatch, I used OPI’s Glitter Off which is why I think the polish didn’t dry completely matte. I also didn’t allow enough time in between the first and second coat. Matte or not, these are pretty. Am I all excited about this trio? Nope. The standout for me is Noir and I can’t wait to wear it again. To purchase these polishes, you can go to zoya.com where they retail for $10 each. Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

KBShimmer Fall 2014 Collection

Posted on 12 September, 201411 September, 2014 by Cynthia

Yay Fall is almost here…NOT! When I walked out of the office yesterday, I was punched in the face with 100 degree heat. Needless to say, I was not impressed. This weekend is supposed to be even hotter so I’m already upset about it. Maybe I will go to the beach and just get burned to a crisp the way I always do…or maybe I will go to some air conditioned place all day so I don’t have to deal with heat stroke. Shitastic weather aside, one thing I am super psyched about is the awesome collection I have for you today. What collection am I talking about? Well, it’s the KBShimmer Fall 2014 Collection, of course! Proceed with the swatches, posthaste!

KBShimmer How You Dune?

KBShimmer Hugs And Wishes

KBShimmer Stonewashed

KBShimmer Rust No One

KBShimmer Up And Cunning

Holy shit, now that is what polishgasms are all about. I have never EVER tried a KBShimmer polish that wasn’t superb. The formulas on these cremes is just deliciously buttery, smooth and glossy. They apply like a dream and the colors are unexpected but somehow fit in perfectly with a fall collection. The holos…the holos! I use different lighting for the holos because I want to show you what they look like out in the sun since they are just spectacular. They are so easy to apply as well–just a perfect formula. All of these polishes applied perfectly with two coats. I just can’t rave enough about these beauties.

You know you want these pretties so get them! The Fall Collection will be available for sale on September 15 so check them out here. Also be sure to follow KBShimmer on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for all their latest news. So which one is your favorite?

China Glaze All Aboard Collection Fall 2014

Posted on 1 September, 2014 by Cynthia

Today kind of flew by and that means the end of my long weekend. I wish I had a few more days off to just be lazy, but I guess being able to pay the bills is more important, right? I know tomorrow is going to be cray cray at work, but at least the day will go by quickly. So this weekend I did some insane amount of swatching, and one of the collections that I swatched is the China Glaze All Aboard Collection for Fall 2014. Normally I break up my posts into two since traditionally China Glaze puts out two six piece sets for their seasonal collections, but today I just decided to post everything together. I’m kind of super excited about this collection because it might just be a Renaissance for China Glaze since I’ve been so disappointed in recent times with some of the collections they have put out. Even the fact that this is a train inspired collection appeals to me because I absolutely adore trains. When I was in France, I always took the train everywhere. My favorite thing to do was get on the train at 7 pm and I’d arrive in Florence early the next morning. It was magical! I have quite a few train stories but I won’t get in to that right now because I’ll never get to the polishes. Before I start blabbing away, let me show you what I’m talking about.

China Glaze All Aboard

China Glaze Cho-Cho Choose You

China Glaze Conduct Yourself

China Glaze Don’t Get Derailed

China Glaze Loco-motive (over What Are You A-freight Of?)

China Glaze Lug You Designer Baggage

China Glaze Mind The Gap

China Glaze One Track Mind

China Glaze Nice Caboose

China Glaze Stop That Train!

China Glaze Well Trained

China Glaze What Are You A-freight Of?

Holy polishgasm, Batman! Let me tell you something: this collection blew my socks off. It’s almost as perfect as the On Safari Collection from a couple of years ago–yes, it’s THAT good. I can honestly tell you that the only one I didn’t care for is Stop That Train! cause it’s kind of frosty and orange–ick! However, every other polish is just pure perfection. The cremes are fabulous and the shimmers are killer. I know that for most people, the stand-out shade will be Cho-Cho Choose You, and all I could think about when I wore it was this:

Hahaha! Ralph might just be my favorite Simpsons character–It’s so hard to pick just one! I do love Cho-Cho Choose You and also love Mind The Gap because it’s one of those ugly/pretty colors that always pull me in. The formula on all of these is fantastic–they all needed two coats and some of the cremes could be one coaters if you apply them carefully. I know I tend to be a little harsh with my China Glaze reviews sometimes, but it is only because I expect so much from the brand–they really were the first brand that pulled me in when my polish obsession began. From all the Fall collections I have seen, I think this is THE collection of the season. I’m sorry if this is causing stress to your bank accounts–well, not really cause if it wasn’t me, it would be someone else and I quite enjoy being part of the enabling circle of polish life. What do you think about these beauties? Are there any colors that you are going to pick up? Thanks so much for the visit, and I will talk to you later!

OPI Designer Series Polished Quartz Fall 2014

Posted on 31 August, 2014 by Cynthia

I was expecting it to be much hotter than it is today, so I’m kind of happy about that. Since I don’t have AC, whenever it gets crazy hot it gets hard to swatch. You may have seen the crazy pile of polishes that I had to swatch, but I’m glad to share that I have swatched about 35 of them so far. All of them have been so ridiculously gorgeous that I barely even noticed the crazy amount of polishes I went through. I think I may be the only one who is super happy about summer being almost over. I am pretty happy that this summer hasn’t been completely unbearable, but I know that suddenly the weather will take a huge dump on my head and get insanely hot. For today’s post, I have two insanely sparkly polishes that don’t exactly scream fall, but they are ridiculously flashy and bright. I always look forward to the DS releases, so let’s take a look at the OPI Designer Series Polished Quartz duo for fall 2014.

OPI DS Titanium

OPI DS Tourmaline

Was I lying about how gorgeous these two are? Since the polishes are in a jelly-type base, they are pretty sheer so I applied 3 coats for my swatches. I played around with them a bit since swatching them and they look amazing layered over other colors so the possibilities are endless. I have an extra set of these babies so make sure to check back for my next awesome giveaway. I hope you’re enjoying your weekend and if you’re in the US, I hope you are enjoying your long weekend. Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

P.S. I have added a lot of items to my blog sale so make sure you check it out.

Nubar FALLing In Love Collection Fall 2014

Posted on 25 August, 2014 by Cynthia

Well hello there, Monday! So NOT happy to see you, but I hope you understand me when I say that I need my 3 day weekend naow!! I’ve been so lethargic as of late, that I just need more time to veg out and do absolutely nothing. Of course I still have about a million things to swatch, but I’m looking forward to spending some time just painting my nails. Do you find it therapeutic too? I’ve been mostly laying low because I’ve been sad about the loss of my grandmother, but I know she was suffering so part of me is glad that she is no longer in pain. I don’t want to be a drag, so I’ll just leave it at that. I did get quite a bit of swatching done this weekend so I have plenty of things to show you this week. Nubar is a brand that I’ve been using for a few years now because luckily I have easy access to their collections. I think that my favorite collection that they have put out in recent years has been My Sweet Escape just because the cremes were out of this world. It’s no secret that I love Fall collections, so let me show you their Fall offering: the Nubar FALLing In Love Collection.

Nubar Sweet Hue

Nubar Queen

Nubar Passion’s Pain

Nubar Lush

Nubar Affair

Nubar Don’t Russet

Nubar Love American Style

Nubar First Date

Are you thinking what I’m thinking? These don’t scream Fall to me, but they are certainly pretty. They have this really interesting shimmer to them that keeps them from being just standard cremes. The formula on all of these was ok. They were thinner than I’m used to when it comes to Nubar, The two that were problematic for me were Sweet Hue and First Date because they applied so unevenly that I had to apply 3 coats to even out the coverage. The rest of the polishes in this collection needed two coats for full opacity which is pretty normal. Affair is my absolute favorite from this collection with Queen running a close second–they are just stunning and even more gorgeous in person. What do you think of this collection? Any of them stand out to you? Make sure that you follow Nubar on their facebook page for news on new collections. Nubar polishes can be purchased on their website or $8.40 a bottle and this collection should be out soon. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

Zoya Ignite Collection Fall 2014

Posted on 19 August, 201418 August, 2014 by Cynthia

I am such a turd when it comes to scheduling posts. I actually stayed up late on Sunday writing up my post for Monday and accidentally scheduled it to post on Tuesday. hahaha. I guess I wasn’t paying attention to the date until I got home and realized my post hadn’t been published. I am being extra careful about this post because I don’t want a dum-dum repeat of yesterday. Yesterday I showed you my swatches of the Zoya Entice Collection so today I have the other half: the Zoya Ignite Collection. Ignite..IGNITE. They got that right because this collection is explosive. I am so surprised by how much I love this half of the collection because I usually prefer the cremes, but how can you resist these? You can’t. Don’t believe me? Let me show you what I’m talking about.

Zoya Remy

Zoya India

Zoya Yuna

Zoya Teigen

Zoya Sansa

Zoya Autumn

Seriously gorgeous on every level. Not only is this the most amazing collection of Fall shimmers that I have ever swatches, but the formula is out of this world. It is so easy to control and applies perfectly. You will need two coats for most of these if you want a completely opaque look. I had a hard time deciding which one was my favorite but I think I finally made my decision: Yuna, come to mama. I don’t think that I have anything quite like this and I just adore the unusual quality of it. Sansa is my second favorite because I just love that dark purple base and of course I’m pretending that it’s a whole Game Of Thrones reference. Don’t burst my bubble, ok?

You know you want these. You know you want them all. I’m just raving about these like a crazy polish hoarder, but I swear you will not be disappointed. I liked the creme half of the Fall collection, but I don’t need all those cremes. I do want, need and love these shimmers. You can purchase the Zoya Ignite Collection on zoya.com where they retail for $9 a bottle. Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

Zoya Entice Collection Fall 2014

Posted on 18 August, 201418 August, 2014 by Cynthia

Well, well…the Fall collections are out in full force and it’s still sweltering outside. To be honest, this Summer hasn’t been horrible for me which is surprising since I’m the queen of the summer haters. Even though I’ve been feeling kind of physically craptastic lately, a lot of good things have happened to me in the last month or so–namely good work stuff. I made a conscious decision not to talk/complain about work anymore on my blog because I felt that I was carrying around stress from my job all the time so writing about it made it feel even worse. I am not even sure if I mentioned that I left my old job and started a new one a few months ago. Well, it has been a huge change for me and I’m a million times happier because now I feel like I have a more balanced life where I don’t have to constantly stress about work and have a normal work schedule. Now that I’m getting used to my new routine, I think it’s about time that I start incorporating the gym into my life because I think that is going to make me feel better both mentally and physically. Now I just have to actually get started–isn’t the first step always the hardest? Yesterday I mentioned that a major swatchfest occurred this weekend and part of it included the Zoya Entice Collection (the Ignite Collection is coming tomorrow!). This half of the Zoya Fall 2014 Collection is full of yummy and traditional cremes which never disappoint. Let’s take a look at my swatches before I share my thoughts with you.

Zoya Genevieve

Zoya Ryan

Zoya Claire

Zoya Margo

Zoya Veronica

Zoya Nyssa

I had zero application issues with this collection. They are all very creamy and opaque 2 coat polishes. You may think that there isn’t anything super interesting about these polishes and part of me agrees with that, but you know that in my polish heart, I can’t resist a good creme. I love that these have a muted almost smokey feeling to them–especially Genevieve. Since that’s my grandmother’s name, it’s my favorite. My grandmother turned 100 this year and she’s currently not doing very well health-wise, but he is surrounded by family and they are taking good care of her. At first I thought that Ryan looked a lot like Cynthia (yay for my namesake!), but Cynthia is much darker. Out of the whole collection, I think Nyssa is the only one I didn’t like.

Are you ready for all the Fall colors? I quite enjoy the darker/richer colors that have been released lately. While I liked this half of the collection, I think that the second part really blew me away. I’ll have that review up tomorrow if you want to check in. You can purchase the Zoya Entice Collection on zoya.com where they retail for $9 a bottle. Let me know if you have a favorite. Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.