Tag: Holiday 2016

Of Life and Lacquer > Holiday 2016
Zoya Enchanted Collection – Winter/Holiday 2016

Zoya Enchanted Collection – Winter/Holiday 2016

Posted on by Cynthia

 

 

If there is one thing I look forward to just as much as my mom’s Christmas tamales, it’s the Zoya holiday collection. You may think I’m exaggerating but I am not–I love the holiday collections with a passion. This year is no exception because there are some lovely shades that I’m sure many of us will love. I have a LOT of swatching to get through before the end of the year so I’m hoping to pump out a lot of these reviews in the last week and a half because I do not want to start off 2017 with a backlog. I’m having a nail crisis currently because I’m just so unhappy with the length of my nails. I have to really find a happy medium between swatch length and work length. I am lucky to have long nail beds so my nails will normally look longer than they are, but any length bothers me. I love having super short nails, but I think that my swatches look better when I have some length. Ugh…I’ll just have to deal with it and cut my nails way down to a length I’ll be happy with. Anywho, let’s get back to the pretty polish. Check out my swatches of the Zoya Enchanted Collection below.

Zoya Saint

Zoya Olivera

Zoya Waverly

Zoya Elphie

Zoya Lorna

Zoya Alice

Let me just break this down for you: you need these. I have always been a big fan of the PixieDust formula and the four included in this collection are gorgeous. My pictures don’t do just to Saint which I think is the prettiest and most delicate shade from this collection. I really don’t have any complaints about this collection which is kinda new for me–Zoya really has a winner here. Have you picked up any of these beauties? Do you have any favorites? You can pick up the entire Zoya Enchanted Collection on zoya.com for $60 or $10 each. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

 

Incoco Winter Magic Collection

Incoco Winter Magic Collection

Posted on by Cynthia

 

 

Hey, it’s the 21st. Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? If you really want to know the answer to that question in my world, you should see the face of despair that is staring back at this screen right this second. I am about 90% done but you know things never go as planned. I don’t want to go to the mall because it’s going to be an utter madhouse–but I only have myself to blame. Every year I tell myself that I’m going to finish my shopping early and that I’m going to do it all online. Does that ever happen? NOPE. Oh well. So today I’m going to show you the Incoco Winter Magic Collection. If you’ve never tried Incoco, you really should because they have super cute designs and they actually stay on your nails if you do the right prep work which consists of having clean and oil free nails. That’s it! Let me show you the 10 designs that make up the Incoco Winter Magic Collection:

Incoco Cold Spell

Incoco Berry Glitz

Incoco Spruced Up

Incoco Party Time

Incoco Bundled Up

Incoco Merry Mint

Incoco Holiday Treasures

Incoco Christmas Magic

Incoco First Snow

Incoco New Year Cheer

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: these are totally worth it for the designs. I would not get the solid color appliques but the design ones are so freaking cute. If you’re short on ideas and time and need a great mani for the holidays or for an event, I would absolutely recommend these. The one design that gave me a bit of trouble is First Snow because it seemed particularly thick to the point that I had a hard time getting it to apply smoothly. You can see how uneven it looks in my pictures. It’s a shame because it’s such a pretty and fresh design.  My favorite design from this collection is Cold Spell because I love glittery shades and I LOVE gradients. Bundled up is a close second as well. If you’re interested in any of these, you can check them out here: http://www.incoco.com/winter-magic-collection

Let me know what you think of this collection and if you have any favorites. Have you tried Incoco before? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

China Glaze Seas and Greetings Collection Holiday 2016

China Glaze Seas and Greetings Collection Holiday 2016

Posted on by Cynthia

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Well hello there! How was your Thanksgiving? (I’m assuming that you’re American, here.) Mine was really nice despite the ham/car mishap that I had. Since I don’t eat turkey, I made a ham for Thanksgiving dinner. I was driving so carefully on my way to my brother’s house and then I took a sharp turn…which made all the ham juices fly out of my dish. My car now smells like glazed ham, but I guess it could be worse. Despite that, we had a really great time with a lot of friends and family. I ended up taking an extra day off so today is my first day back to work since last Wednesday. It’s so hard to go back to work after a short break–it sucks being an adult. Anywho, today I’m here to show you my swatches of the China Glaze Seas and Greetings Collection for Holiday 2016. Holiday, you say? You must be mistaken, you say. Now, now…don’t get all worked up about the lack of true seasonal colors or even a holiday vibe from this collection. Let’s take a look at my swatches below.

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China Glaze Eat Pink Be Merry

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China Glaze Let’s Shell-ebrate

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China Glaze Sand In My Mistletoes

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china-glaze-snow-way-2

China Glaze Snow Way

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China Glaze Good Tide-ings

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China Glaze Joy To The Waves

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China Glaze Partridge In A Palm Tree

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China Glaze Twinkle, Twinkle Little Starfish

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China Glaze Seas and Greetings

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China Glaze ‘Tis The Sea-sun

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China Glaze Warm Wishes

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China Glaze The More The Berrier

I’m torn here because I do like some of these shades quite a bit, but I just don’t get holiday from this collection. I do think there is a cute play on words for this collection and I wouldn’t bat an eyelash if these shades weren’t part of a holiday collection. I’m used to seeing tons of glitters, sparkle and jewel tones from China Glaze, but this year they just went another direction. My picks from this collection are: Seas and Greetings, Warm Wishes, Good Tide-ings and Snow Way. I’m sad that you can really see the gorgeous shimmer in Snow Way from my pictures but I promise it’s there. In fact, it’s the white equivalent of Pearl Jammin’. I really did not care for Partridge In A Pear Tree because it’s  difficult to work with due to the matte formula. I think the color is beautiful, but the formula not so much. Now for some details on where you can get these shades: Ulta will not be carrying this collection in stores or online. Sally Beauty will be carrying six shades from this collection in stores; the complete collection will be available online at SallyBeauty.com.  These will be sold in stores:

·         ‘Tis the Sea-Sun

·         The More, The Berrier

·         Seas and Greetings

·         Let’s Shell-ebrate

·         Twinkle, Twinkle Little Starfish

·         Joy to the Waves

So what do you think about this collection? Are there any shades that you interested in? Let me know what you think in the comments below. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

KBShimmer Winter Holiday Collection 2016

Posted on by Cynthia

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Hi there! I’m not going to say happy Monday because I’m feeling pretty miserable right now. I was looking forward to going out trick-or-treating with my nephews tonight, but I got a pretty wicked cold so I’m going to have to sit this one out. I’m also staying home from work which I hate doing because I always feel like I fall so behind on my work. Oh well…I just hope that an extra day of rest will help. Today I have for you some shades from the soon to be released KBShimmer Winter Holiday Collection for 2016. This is a massive 16 piece collection that is sure to please you. I have 8 of the 16 shades to share with you. Let’s check out my swatches below.

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KBShimmer Yeti Or Not

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KBShimmer Chai-huahua

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KBShimmer Spruce Things Up

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kbshimmer-royal-to-a-fault-2

KBShimmer Royal To A Fault

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KBShimmer The Holy Kale

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KBShimmer The Holy Kale (direct sunlight)

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KBShimmer Ink Again

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KBShimmer Ink Again (direct sunlight)

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KBShimmer Have A Look-ski

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KBShimmer Have A Look-ski (direct sunlight)

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KBShimmer Get To The Poinsettia

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KBShimmer Get To The Poinsettia (direct sunlight)

Let’s start with the good: the holos in this collection are beautiful. I love how saturated they are and the formula on them is everything you have come to expect from this brand. The one polish I did not care for was Yeti Or Not. The formula was so thick that I couldn’t not get it to apply smoothly. I applied 3 coats to try to get it opaque, but you can still see some patchy areas. I think that for a polish like this, it would be best to layer it over a solid color. It is a pretty polish and has the potential to look beautiful as a topper–but I won’t wear it on its own again. Overall, I think this collection is beautiful and there is something for every taste. The KBShimmer Winter Holiday Collection will launch 11/1/2016 so make sure to head on over to kbshimmer.com to pick your favorites. Thank you for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

P.S. Please have a safe Halloween!