Spring 2013 Archives - Of Life and Lacquer

Tag: Spring 2013

Of Life and Lacquer > Spring 2013

Sation Dating The Duke

Posted on 17 November, 2013 by Cynthia

Lately I’ve had tons of stomach issues. I had my gallbladder removed in 2007, and I don’t think that my stomach and digestive system has ever been the same. I have noticed that the blander my diet is, the better I feel which really sucks because now that my parents are visiting, I am eating a lot of spicy food. It’s oh so delicious, but it’s killing my stomach. Sadness. Since Thanksgiving is right around the corner, I am going to work on my diet and also get back into the gym. I’ve been going sporadically, but I really want to get a nice routine going. I’ve been feeling especially fat and disgusting lately so I need to stick better to the changes I have made. I have lost a few pounds (nothing too excited about yet), but I just want to feel better and no so tired and lethargic. I do hope that Thanksgiving—the time of decadent gluttony—doesn’t completely derail all my best efforts. I finally did some stamping last night and it felt good to do that again, but I’ll be sharing that mani with you tomorrow. What I do have for you today is a swatch of a pretty color I got a few months ago: Sation Dating The Duke. Let’s take a look at it!

Sation Dating The Duke is a polish from the Miss Antoinette Collection that came out this last Spring. It’s such a fun cyan hue and I definitely agree that it’s a perfect spring color. It looks a little muted in my pictures because of my lighting, but it’s definitely bright. I didn’t have any issues with the formula as it was thick and pretty easy to work with. I applied 2 coats for my swatches and that worked out just fine.

I haven’t heard anything about any holiday Sation collection so I’m excited to see what they put out. I always find their collections to be really fun and I can’t complain about the awesome formula and great price point. So what have you been up to this weekend? Since I had to work early this morning, I’m a little grumpy, but I’ll get over it…maybe. I hope you’re doing well, and we’ll talk soon!

LVX Spring 2013 Collection

Posted on 3 May, 20133 May, 2013 by Cynthia

Happy Friday everyone. I’m a little miserable today since it’s the upper 80’s to low 90’s so you all know how I feel about hot weather. BARF. I’m doing my best not to be in a completely foul mood but it’s hard my friends. It’s really hard. There nothing like shiny new nail polishes to put me back on the road to happiness. Ha! Today I have some swatches to share with you of a new-to-me brand: LVX. LVX–or light in Latin–is a brand that has been around for about a year, but it wasn’t until today that I got to test out their latest delicious Spring collection. So without further ado, here is the LVX Spring 2013 Collection.

You are not alone in thinking that some of these colors don’t really seem very Spring-y…but that doesn’t mean they are pretty.

First up is Fantom. For those of us who like to dabble in nail art, we are always on the quest for the perfect white polish and this one comes pretty darn close. It’s creamy, glossy and very opaque. I applied 3 thin coats for the swatches above, but I could have probably gotten away with 2 thick coats. I love this white, and I can already see myself nail arting it up posthaste!

I am still a little unsure about Citrine. It’s a pretty and unique colors, but I’m not so sure that it looks good on me. I just don’t know what to make of it. What do you think? This polish has a kind of crelly finish so I did need 3 coats for full coverage.

I think we all probably have a dupe of Azalea in our collection. It’s a nice color, but not terribly unique. What sets this one apart is the amazing formula. This polish could have been a one-coater, but I applied two out of habit. It dries glossy and gorgeous–so feminine.

Viridian…ah…Viridian! I think that every single collection out there has put out a version of this color since emerald is Pantone’s Color Of The Year. I think that this is my favorite polish of the whole collection even though I am pretty sure I have a bunch of similar colors already. It’s such a beautiful jade color that unfortunately stained my nails to high heaven. I haven’t had a polish stain my nails so badly since I used OPI Fly. Still, Viridian, I forgive you cause you’re pretty.

Before I show you my swatches of Cerulean, I wanted to show you what happened to it when I put some Seche Vite on it. What in the world? Look how streaky and chalky it turned!!! I had to go back and apply another coat of polish to hide this strange reaction.

Cerulean is also somewhat of a stainer, but it’s definitely not as bad as Viridian. You know I swoon over these gorgeous blues so I am definitely feeling this one as well. It is super pigmented so I only needed 2 coats for full opacity.

And last up is Indigo Blue. This is a color that seemed a little out of place in this collection because it screams fall to me, but I’ve never been one to follow rules so who cares? Rules? What rules?! This polish was also beyond pigmented and it looked pretty good after one coat, but I applied a second one just because that’s how I roll. I was dreading the impending staining after removal, but it was actually not bad for such a dark color.

Overall, I am very pleased with my first LVX experience. The formula on all of these polishes is rather fantastic: pigmented, smooth, glossy and incredibly easy to work with. In addition, I really loved the brush because it was very conducive to precise application, and I hardly needed to do any clean up which is always a huge plus for me. My one drawback is the price. At $16 for a .5oz bottle, they are on the pricier side. What do you think about this collection? Have you tried LVX before? I’m really interested in knowing what you think so leave me a message. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

Just a little bit about LVX:

LVX recognizes the importance of beauty within Fashion. LVX is a deeply devoted fashion brand providing an in-depth understanding of emerging runway trends and high fashion. Our unique color collections are meticulously selected to be the top colors of the season, and will be the perfect complement to your wardrobe. LVX is committed to creating palettes that exceed seasonal trends while maintaining a timeless essence. Our long lasting, chip resistant and non-streak formula is free of toxic and harsh chemicals. LVX products are formulated without the use of Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin, DBP, Toluene, and Camphor. We are devoted to providing you with top quality, socially responsible, and vegan-friendly, luxury products without compromising quality, durability and finish.

LVX nail lacquer is cruelty free. All products are produced in the U.S.A.

To keep up with LVX news and releases, you can visit them at:

Website: http://shoplvx.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shoplvx

Twitter: https://twitter.com/shoplvx

Color Club Halo Hues Collection 2013

Posted on 14 March, 2013 by Cynthia

The other day when I went to my nail polish Mecca, the owner shopped with me. Yes, he actually put stuff in my basket. He pulled out all the stuff that wasn’t on display yet to try to tempt me. He actually did not have the Halo Hues out on display but he took them out from behind the counter like an evil polish Jezebel. I instantly wanted them all, but I showed a little self-restraint and only brought home two of the 6 colors because I already have a big collection of holos. The two that I ended up purchasing are two unique colors in my collection, so I was really excited about trying them out. Here are my two picks from the Color Club Halo Hues Collection for 2013.

I really loved the idea of a nude-type of holo. Is that an oxymoron? Well, this is a nude if it was on crack and meth. Cosmic Fate definitely did not disappoint. It’s a peachy-gold color that looks rather tame in low light but absolute goes nuts in direct light. The first two pictures were taken indoors in my light box and the last one was taken in direct sunlight.

Kismet is what I wished butter london Trustafarian had been. This is like the perfect pale seafoam green holo! I am glad that this has a definite green hue to it because I was afraid it would look like all the other silvery holos that are pretty much everywhere nowadays. So pretty!

Have you picked up any of the new Halo Hues for 2013? If you’re new to holos, I think these are definitely worth it. The formula is really great and you don’t need any of that aqua base nonsense. Let me know what you think of these shades and if you have spotted these in your area. Thanks for the visit, and I’ll talk to you soon!

Color Club Fiesta Collection For Spring 2013

Posted on 13 March, 2013 by Cynthia

Happy Wednesday everyone! I am always happy when Wednesday rolls around because it’s my day off during the week, and I get to sleep in. Why does sleeping in feel so delicious? I was planning on getting up somewhat early to get some stuff done, and of course I ended up waking up at 9:00. There go my plans of rising early, but it was worth it. I felt like angels woke me up this morning. For today’s post, I am busting out my 4 picks from the Color Club Fiesta Collection for Spring 2013. Here we go!

I always loved watching Speedy Gonzales cartoons when I was a kid and I kept thinking about them when I was swatching the Fiesta collection. I’m weird, right?

When I saw this barbie doll/bubblegum pink, I wanted to try it out immediately. Flamingo is such a bright and fun color and I absolutely loved how much tanner it made my hands look. The formula on this one was a little streaky in the beginning but it was fine after the second coat.

I’ve been loving all the great one coat reds that have been coming out and Mamba is no exception. If you’re looking for a gorgeous and creamy red that will look perfect after one coat, you should pick this baby up. The formula is extremely pigmented, smooth and just glossy. You won’t regret this purchase if you love red polishes.

Growing up in Orange County, CA–just 10 minutes from the beach–the first thing I thought of when I saw Endless Summer, is the surfing movie. I’m not a surfer or anything like that (stop laughing), but I really love that movie. Anyway, this is another gorgeous, bright blue. It is important to note that this polish dries to a satin finish, but I went ahead and applied a shiny top coat. I seem to have one of these colors from every brand now–it’s still one of my favorite hues to wear year-round.

I’ve got to be hones: Wild Cactus is the color I was most excited about–especially after seeing it on Frosso’s blog. This color is right on trend since the Pantone Color Of The Year is Emerald. This polish is super duper pigmented so I was very careful not to get any on my skin–especially since Frosso had warned me that it stained her skin. I am happy to report that I didn’t get ANY staining on my skin nor on my nails. YAY!

So there you have it, my fellow lacquerheads. Let me know what you think of these colors. Will you be getting any of these? I also picked up a couple of new Halo Hues so I’ll be swatching those soon. In case you’re interested, I’ve added some of these polishes to my blog sale so check it out! Thanks for stopping by today, and I’ll talk to you soon!

Nubar My Sweet Escape Collection Spring 2013

Posted on 11 March, 201323 March, 2013 by Cynthia

Don’t I always start my Monday posts by commenting on how much I hate Mondays? Well, this will be no different. I had a hell of a time waking up this morning because of the damn time change. When my alarm went off at 3:30, I nearly wanted to cry. I also had the most random dream about a guy I haven’t thought about or talked for like 10+ years. You know those people that touch your life in a very significant manner and then things get a little ugly and you decide to walk away out of pure laziness? Yep, the story of my life. I feel like I tend to not want to deal with things when they are challenging out of fear of failure or being hurt. Anyway, it was really strange to have a dream about him but wherever he may be now, I hope he’s happy. Oh my God…I’m such a loser.Let’s move on from the sappiness and focus on the pretty polish, shall we? Today I FINALLY got my act together and I will be sharing my swatches and review of the Nubar My Sweet Escape Collection for Spring 2013. I’ve had these polishes for a few weeks, and I just couldn’t find the time to swatch them all. This Saturday I swatched probably 20+ polishes so I have a good stock of pictures for upcoming posts. Well, here they are! Are you ready for my “perfect little tan fingers?” (One of my readers wrote that in my comments and it made me giggle.)

Am I the only one who has been humming this song the whole time?

Let me just get this out of the way: Resort Yellow is probably the most awesome yellow that I have ever used. Not only is it a true yellow, but it is super opaque and it looked perfect at two coats. I’ve said before that I’ve been completely obsessed with yellow polishes lately and this one just made my cool like Donkey Kong list.

All I can think of when I look at On The Radar is: That is a one spicy meatball. I don’t know why this makes me think of marinara sauce. Is that weird? It’s a cherry tomato color with some orange in it to boot. It’s pretty but it’s not usually a color that makes me get all excited.

I like bright blue polishes. I like From Dusk Till Dawn. That is all. Actually, this one is a little sheer so I felt like I had some bald spots. I have a lot of blues like this one but I still like it.

The Pantone color of the year is emerald so I’m really digging this color right now. Into The Wild is that gorgeous shade of green/emerald that everyone will be rocking this year. I think it’s a little smoky and not as bright as true emerald–more of a gorgeous jade. I’m definitely on board!

I am a little torn about Forbidden Fruit. It’s such a strange looking color, but I kind of really like it. It reminds me a bit of pureed pale yams…or baby food! I actually do like how this color looks on my skintone but I don’t know if it’s a universally flattering color.

Could My New Obsession be my new obsession? It’s so pretty. I just can’t get enough when it comes to blue and turquoise polishes. How many of these do I really need??? I don’t know, but I seem to collect them. Heck, who am I kidding? I collect every color. hahaha

I think that Sour Apple is just kind of strange. It makes me think of Jolly Ranchers. Omg…I use to eat Jolly Ranchers like my life depended on it when I was a kid. Hello, diabetes! The formula on this one was a little thin compared to Resort Yellow. I don’t know if I really like this color

Jaded is my second favorite polish in this collection. It’s beautiful, bright yet smokey. I can see myself wearing this year-round. The formula was pretty good and I only needed two coats.

Since I have some similar colors and bought a few dupes of colors I knew I wouldn’t want to part with, I will be putting up a lot of these polishes up on my blog sale so make sure that you check it out if you’d like to get your hands on any of these colors. Click here for my blog sale page. Also, don’t forget to enter my giveaway for a set of minis from the OPI Oz The Great And Powerful Collection. Click here to enter.

I hope you liked the colors in this collection. I know Nubar isn’t as accessible as other brands, but they are definitely worth tracking down or buying them online. Let me know what you think. Do you have any favorites? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

Essie Madison Ave-Hue Collection Spring 2013

Posted on 6 March, 20135 March, 2013 by Cynthia

The new Essie collection for Spring 2013 has landed! I was pretty excited when I found these at one of my nail places so I grabbed them all. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t been excited about any Essie collection for eons. In fact, I think that the last collection I really loved from them was the Bikini So Teeny collection. Let’s take a look at the Essie Madison Ave-Hue Collection, shall we?

Madison Ave-Hue is like a Pepto Bismol explosion on my nails. This polish was a little difficult to deal with because it felt kind of runny but also goopy. I know that sounds weird, but that’s what it felt like. I ended up really liking this color because it has this very pretty shimmer that isn’t very visible in my pictures but you can definitely see it in real life.

I was really excited about Maximillian Strasse Her but the formula was super runny. I don’t know if maybe I needed to shake it up a bit more to mix the polish, but it was way too thin for my liking. I had to apply 4 super thin coats to avoid flooding my cuticles as well. It’s too bad because I really like this type of color.

Avenue Maintain is definitely the winner of this collection. This polish is so incredibly gorgeous and pigmented that you can get away with one coat if you’re careful. This is one of those colors that just screams for attention, and I can see myself wearing this all summer long.

I wasn’t very excited about Hip-Anema when I first saw it. It’s a very nice fiery red-orange crelly, and I always appreciate a great formula which this one has. I love how glossy and shiny this polish is!

Are you getting tired of these bright lilac polishes such as Bond With Whomever? I do continue to appreciate these colors but I don’t think I want to have a million of them. The formula on this was decent, and I got complete coverage at 3 coats.

I am conflicted about Go Ginza. I really want to love it, but I think I would have wanted it to be a little less pink/purple. The formula on this was also a bit difficult and it applied a little streaky which you can probably see in these swatches. I also don’t like that Go Ginza and Bond With Whomever are so close in hue. They obviously are not dupes, but did we really need them both in the same collection?

So what do I think about this collection overall? Well, I really do love Avenue Maintain and that’s about it. hahaha I actually do think this is a very pretty collection but it’s so ho-hum that it feels uninspired. Don’t we all have dupes of these colors even from Essie itself? Eeehh….most of these are going on my blog sale. I’m really interested to hear what you think about this collection. Do you have a favorite color here? Let me know!

Thanks for the visit today, and I hope to see you around here again soon.

Kunimitsu Nail Potions Lucky Goldfish

Posted on 1 March, 201328 February, 2013 by Cynthia

This polish brought me back to my childhood in a good but kind of tragic way. Let me explain. Growing up, I was never allowed to have a pet because my mom always had major allergies along with severe asthma. I always longed to have a pet–a cute little dog to play with just like all the other kids I knew. One day, my godmother gave me an awesome present: a goldfish! A goldfish of my very own! I ran around like a bat out of hell with my little goldfish in a plastic bag filled with water until my mom calmed me down enough to help me put it in a bowl. I immediately named him Roger. I took out my little bottle of fish food and I sprinkled some in. And then I sprinkled in some more. And then a little more. And then some more. The next morning, I woke up and ran to Roger’s fishbowl and I noticed that he was floating upside down in his bowl. How cute–he was floating and relaxing. Well, by now you know that he was relaxing all the way to fish heaven. I was distraught when I couldn’t get him to swim around, and I screamed when my mom flushed him down the toilet. Just like that. Welcome to the real world, Cynthia. It’s a cold, cold place. I had to wait another 20-some years before I had a chance to get another pet and that ended in heartbreak as well. Am I just meant to never have a pet? Ugh…sadness. Anyway, my sob stories definitely don’t change the fact that I am pretty much gaga over Kunimitsu Nail Potions Lucky Goldfish.

I know this song is called Lucky Love, but I am kind of obsessed with Ace of Base and I kept humming this song while I was polishing my nails with Lucky Goldfish. Don’t judge, ok?

I started out with two coats of Nubar Dusk Till Dawn.

I’m always a complete sucker for a rich and saturated blue so you can already guess that I love this polish. Dusk Till Dawn is a new color from Nubar’s My Sweet Escape Collection for Spring 2013 so I’m glad to be giving it a whirl. Why are there so many amazing polishes out there lately. I want them all! The formula on Dusk Till Dawn is a little sheer. The first coat was very sheer and somewhat streaky but it built up nicely. I applied 2 additional thin coats and that seemed to do the job. I then topped this with one coat of Lucky Goldfish.

Lucky Goldfish is a sheer blue jelly based polish full of gorgeous coppery glitter. This reminds me of Barielle Falling start but better…way better. This polish was the perfect consistency, and I did not have to fuss with the glitter despite just purchasing a mini. I am completely obsessed with the copper glitter and how it looks against this vibrant blue.

So what do you think about this polish? Is it something you would wear. Be sure to check out all the other lovely Kunimitsu Nail Potions creation here. What are you waiting for?? Thanks for catching up with me today, and enjoy your Friday!

China Glaze Avant Garden Collection Part 1

Posted on 26 February, 2013 by Cynthia

Holy Jebus, I’ve had these polishes for a few weeks, and I finally am getting around to swatching them. I picked up 9 of the 12 colors initially, but I decided to swatch these 6 colors to start with because I bought a second set of these colors for my latest giveaway. I wish I had gotten around to swatching these polishes earlier, but things were kind of nutso because of my never-ending flu and all my work troubles. Additionally, I had all that unfortunate damage to my hands because of cleaning products so that definitely derailed my swatching plans. In any case, I am glad that my hands have completely recovered, and I am now at a decent nail length where I don’t feel self-conscious about my nubs. Are you ready to see the first part of my China Glaze Avant Garden Collection swatches? Yes? Ok, here we go!!!!!!!!!!!!

Keep Calm, Paint On Swatch was one of the colors that I was most interested in when I first saw this collection. While I still love this steely blue-green color, it was streak-a-rific. I applied 3 medium coats here to finally get it to look decent. The formula also seemed thin.

When I first saw Fade Into Hue, I wondered how it compared to China Glaze Secret Peri-wink-le. I think it is a pretty color but not that unique. Again, the formula seemed a little thin but I applied three thin coats which gave me pretty good coverage.

Tart-y For The Party is a color that I love–all 5 billion versions of it that are in my melmers. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of this type of bright lilac colors and will probably continue to gravitate towards them. Tart-y For The Party was definitely more pigmented and thicker than the previous polishes so I only needed 2 coats here.

I refuse to use the same punctuation for this polish that CG used. Mimosas Before Manis has been getting a lot of attention. It’s one of those colors that you either hate or you love. Personally, I can’t get enough of peachy/orange/coral type polishes especially when they have such a beautiful glowy shimmer like this one. The formula was a little on the thick side and VERY pigmented. I applied three thin coats here.

Ahhhhh…Fancy Pants. My dear, sweet Fancy Pants. You are my favorite. This polish had the best formula of the 6 colors I swatched today: super pigmented with a good consistency. I love it. That is all I have to say about that.

Sunday Funday is such a beautiful, bright and saturated creme. I have to be honest–as much as I love glitter and shimmer and all those other finishes, there is nothing better than a rich and glossy creme. This one also had a pretty fantastic formula. If I had been a little more careful, I could have gotten away with one coat!

Now, if you want a chance to win your very own set of these 6 colors, make sure that you enter my current giveaway. There are only 5 more days left to enter so don’t miss your chance. The set I am giving away is brand new polishes–all purchased by me for you: my wonderful readers.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

So what do you think of the first half of my China Glaze Avant Garden Collection swatches? Do you like these as much as I do? I know the formula was a little tricky on some of these, but I’ll forgive them for that since the colors are just so pretty. Let me know what you think…especially if you’ve already purchased some. I’ll be putting up these up on my blog sale (because I may or may not have purchased back ups–I’ll never confess) in case you’re interested so check it out. Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

LCN Blossom Sorbet Collection Spring 2013

Posted on 5 February, 20134 February, 2013 by Cynthia

You have no idea how happy I am that it’s Tuesday now. Mondays are the absolute worst in my opinion because you have the whole week ahead of you to get through before you can get some rest again and enjoy the weekend. I didn’t get a chance to do most of the stuff that I wanted to do this past weekend, but I did get all of my posts done for the week so that’s a huge accomplishment. Well, I got the manicures done and photographed which is the hardest part of putting a post together in my opinion. I definitely don’t want my blog to fall by the wayside now that I have started working because this little outlet is so important to me–it keeps me sane! I received this pretty little set about 2 weeks ago right when I started working so I didn’t get a chance to swatch and post it since I got so freaking sick. Are you ready for another shot of Spring? This is the LCN Blossom Sorbet Collection for Spring 2013.

LCN Soft Daisy is the color I was most excited about when I opened up this set. What is it with me and yellow polishes lately? I really wanted this one to work for me but the formula was just so streaky. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised since this is the norm for yellows. Despite the formula issues, I do love the color–it’s like a little more yellow than Illamasqua Load which is like my new favorite polish.

LCN Lilac Blossom….ahhhh so purty! The formula on this one was much better and more in line with what I expect from LCN. If you haven’t tried their polishes yet, I can’t rave enough about their buttery cremes. I think this looks more periwinkle than lilac but either way, it’s a gorgeous color.

LCN I Love Mint is the staple minty green polish that seems to crop up every Spring. Incredibly, I never get sick of all the various versions of this color and I know that most of you also can’t get enough of this type of color. The formula was nice and buttery!

And lastly, LCN Vintage Rose is my surprise favorite. I don’t know about you, but this does not look like a rose color. I guess I was expecting it to have more pink in it, but it’s definitely more peachy…almost cantaloupe with some pink tones to it. Again, the formula was great.

So what are your thoughts on these shades? I don’t think they’re like super original, but I do love this cute little cohesive set. The colors are pretty and spring appropriate for sure. You can check out these polishes and more over at the LCN Boutique.

Are you ready for all these Spring shades? I sure am! Don’t forget to enter the TWO giveaways that I am running right now! Enter my giveaway for a bottle of Silly Lily Polish Bunny Eggs here and enter to win a set of OPI Euro Centrale Minis here. Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

Disclosure: The products featured in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR firm. For more information, please see my disclosure policy tab here.

OPI Euro Centrale Collection & Giveaway

Posted on 4 February, 20133 February, 2013 by Cynthia

Remember when I said that I was going to stay in bed all weekend and get better? I’ll give you one guess as to if I really did that. Who would have thought that I would have so many errands to run? Well, technically I did sleep in until 9 on Saturday and Sunday so that definitely felt like a little bit of heaven. I don’t know why, but it seems that I need extra sleep lately and by extra sleep, I mean like 9+ hours. I guess it could be that I’ve been sick for close to two weeks, but I just think that I’m in some strange funk. I really need to go to the doctor to have some bloodwork done, but it’s kind of hard when you don’t have medical insurance. I never realized how bad it is for those without proper medical care until I really needed it and found myself without coverage or substandard coverage. Anyway, I will eventually have insurance through my job but that’s still a few months away before I qualify. I’ll leave it at that because I can get pretty worked up talking about our healthcare system.

I was pretty excited to get my hands on the new OPI Euro Centrale Collection so of course I had to play around with them right away. I only got 6 of the 12 polishes but will probably end up picking up a few more. You can’t even imagine how hard it was to restrain myself, but it’s a work in progress so every time I manage to not grab EVERYTHING in sight, it’s a little victory. So let me show you the six polishes that first grabbed my attention from the latest Spring 2013 offering: OPI Euro Centrale.

OPI You’re Such A BudaPest was the polish I was most excited about…until I applied it. haha! This polish is so incredibly thin and watery that I thought I would never be able to get to bottle color. Well, it wasn’t as bad as I thought because it ended up needing 3 coats but it was so freaking streaky. I let it dry a little bit before I applied my top coat and that seemed to bring it all together. Despite the formula issues, I really love this color.

I feared that OPI Can’t Find My Czechbook was going to suffer of the same difficult formula that You’re Such A Budapest did, but it was easier to work with. I applied two coats for these swatches, and that is all that it needed. What a beautiful aqua blue! It’s seriously one of my favorite colors for Spring…and Summer…and Fall…and…you get the picture!

OPI My Paprika Is Hotter Than Yours! reminds me of a tamer version of OPI A Roll In The Hague which is one of my favorite oranges ever. When I saw how pigmented this polish is, I was worried that it would be stain-arrific but it wasn’t. The formula was not watery but it was noticeably thicker than all the others. It went on a little streaky after two coats but it leveled out nicely after I applied my top coat.

OPI Suzi’s Hungary Again! is one of those staple pink colors. It’s so girlie and so pretty! I didn’t have any real issues with the formula and applied two coats for these swatches. The more I look at this color, the more I want to stamp flowers all over it!

I was really on the fence about OPI Hands Off My Kielbasa! because it just did not look like it would look good on me when I saw it in the bottle. In fact, it kind of reminds me of A Butterfly Moment from the OPI Mariah Carey Collection but a little more tan and warmer in tone. I don’t know if I really like how this looks on my particular skin tone, but I’m sure others will be able to pull it off.

And lastly, this is OPI…Eurso Euro. Eh??? Am I the only one who has no idea what this is supposed to mean? I love how saturated and bright this polish is. I don’t have OPI Roadhouse Blues so I can’t compare it, but doesn’t it kind of look like it? Well, that’s what I thought in my head when I first saw it but I was actually thinking of Essie No More Film but that is not a dupe either. Jeez, I’m all over the place. Since I got rid of so many polishes from my stash, I don’t think I have a dupe for this which is always nice. The formula seemed a tad thin after the first coat, but it was perfect after the second coat.

Even though I had a few gripes about certain polishes being too thin/watery/streaky, I think that I am very pleased by the end results. I’m really loving the color variation in this collection and will DEFINITELY pick up other colors in the near future. If you want to get into a Spring mood, get some of these colors! Now, one of you will be able to try a few of these colors out because I am giving away a set of minis to one of my lovely readers. As usual, this giveaway is open internationally but please make sure that you know your country’s customs regulations before you enter. I will not be responsible for lost/confiscated prizes.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck to everyone and I hope you have a great Monday–even if it is the most dreaded day of the week. At least for me it is! Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!