Summer 2016 Archives - Of Life and Lacquer

Tag: Summer 2016

Of Life and Lacquer > Summer 2016

OPI Infinite Shine Summer Collection 2016

Posted on 25 July, 201624 July, 2016 by Cynthia

Hey there! How are you doing? The heat has been on and off here in my neck of the woods, but that hasn’t stopped the raging wildfires. I really hate the Summer heat, but I hate the California wildfires even more because so many people end up losing their homes. Thankfully I am not in an area that typically is affected by this, but it’s a yearly tragedy that a lot of Californians have to deal with. Besides the crappy weather, I’m starting to feel a lot better. Health stuff has sidelined me a lot lately, and I’m just really looking forward to feeling 100% better. Blogging has been on the back burner for a while so I’m glad that some of you still check in when I do post. Today I have the OPI Infinite Shine Summer Collection for 2016. I found this color palette very unexpected but not in a bad way. Let me show you my swatches first.

OPI Infinite Shine Can't Stop Myself 1

OPI Infinite Shine Can't Stop Myself 2

OPI Infinite Shine Can’t Stop Myself

OPI Infinite Shine Don't Ever Stop! 1

OPI Infinite Shine Don't Ever Stop! 2

OPI Infinite Shine Don’t Ever Stop!

OPI Infinite Shine Hurry Up & Wait 1

OPI Infinite Shine Hurry Up & Wait 2

OPI Infinite Shine Hurry Up & Wait

OPI Infinite Shine No Stopping Zone 2

OPI Infinite Shine No Stopping Zone 1

OPI Infinite Shine No Stopping Zone

OPI Infinite Shine No Strings Attached 1

OPI Infinite Shine No Strings Attached 2

OPI Infinite Shine No Strings Attached

OPI Infinite Shine Staying Neutral On This One 1

OPI Infinite Shine Staying Neutral On This One 2

OPI Infinite Shine Staying Neutral On This One

I found these colors very difficult to photograph because light shades like this make me look extra tan in an almost unnatural way. However, I found these shades very pretty even though they don’t make me think of Summer in any way. The colors are creamy and pigmented, but I decided to work with thin coats instead of thicker coats to avoid streaky application. For all of these shades, I applied 3 thin coats of polish with one coat of NYC Grand Central Station for added shine. I can see these shades being a great palette cleanser for the bright and juicy shades that tend to drop each Summer. What do you think of this collection? Is it something you’d wear? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and stay cool!

OPI Retro Summer Collection 2016

Posted on 7 July, 20164 July, 2016 by Cynthia

The weather here in California is weird. A few weeks ago it was over 100 degrees and lately it’s been in the high 70’s. I’m not complaining about the cooler temperatures, but it just means that once the temperatures start to creep up again, I will pretty much die. I really hate that it will be insanely hot deep into October but such is life…thanks to global warming. One of the very few things that you won’t hear me complain about during Summer are the nail polish collections. Duh. Who doesn’t love the juicy Summer colors that come out every year? Today I’m going to show you the OPI Retro Summer Collection for 2016. Will these satisfy my love for bright Summer polishes? Read on!

OPI Flip Flops & Crop Tops

OPI What’s the Double Scoop

OPI SPF XXX

OPI I’m Getting a Tan-gerine

OPI Towel Me About It

OPI Sailing & Nailing

Soooooo…these are pretty but they are not as bright and intense as I would have expected from a Summer collection. Despite this, they really do look great on tan Summer skin. I have heard quite a few people state that the polishes in this collection were super thin. While I did find the formula a tad thinner than what I’m used to from OPI, I wouldn’t say that it was terrible. For all of my swatches, I applied two regular coats of polish plus one coat of Seche Vite. I would 100% recommend that you allow the first coat to dry a little longer before you apply the second coat just to avoid any streakiness or bald spots. So, what do you think? Do you see any colors in this collection that pique your interest? What is your favorite color to sport during the hot Summer months? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

Zoya Sunsets Collection Summer 2016

Posted on 27 June, 201626 June, 2016 by Cynthia

Hey there. Happy Monday. It certainly is a happy Monday for me because I’m finally feeling better. I was feeling all kinds of messed up for the last week and a half ever since I started taking a new medication to help with my blood sugar. I’m sorry, but Actos is the devil. If you thought getting used to Metformin was hard, Actos is like it’s psychotic sibling. I couldn’t sleep, I had severe weakness and muscle pain and all-day nausea. I dealt with that for about a week and a half before I decided to stop taking it. Anywho, I’m starting to feel much better now so I’m thankful for that. Now that I feel a little more normal, I can get back to showing you all the pretties I had swatched. I know I’m super behind on stuff so I’m going to try to catch up in the coming weeks. I currently only have the OPI Infinite Shine Summer Collection left to swatch so I’m happy about that. Today I have the Zoya Sunsets Collection which is made up of 6 beautiful cremes. This is the second part of the Summer Collection; the first part is all about PixieDusts and you can check out my review here. Let’s get on with the swatches!

Zoya Brynn

Zoya Cam

Zoya Dixie

Zoya Dory

Zoya Liv

Zoya Ness

This collection is marketed as “one coat cremes,” but I did not find that one coat was enough unless you applied a super thick coat. I have always preferred to apply thin coats even if that means I will have to do 2+ coats. For these polishes, I did two coats of each polish and top coated them with NYC Grand Central Station. By the way, I was really into this polish as a top coat, but it has gotten incredibly stringy and thick after only 3 weeks of use. I’m going to try to thin it out to see if it will continue to work for swatching purposes. Overall, I really love these cremes. I’m not cool with the one coat claims, but there aren’t that many true one coaters out there anyway. Zoya has always put out really great cremes that marble beautifully, so I’m glad to have these in my arsenal. What is your favorite polish finish? Did you get any of these? Let me know below. If you’re interested in purchasing these, check them out on the Zoya site where they retail for $10 each. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

Zoya Seashells Collection Summer 2016

Posted on 21 June, 201620 June, 2016 by Cynthia

Lately I have been trying to rework my lighting situation when it comes to swatching. I am not happy at all with the way my pictures have been turning out lately, so I’ve purchased a few new bulbs (that are on the way to me), that I hope will help me get crisper images. I think that I’ve reached a point where I just need to bite the bullet and invest in a decent camera. I have been using a cheap point and shoot for years so maybe upgrading my equipment will give me some motivation. For today’s post, I have the Zoya Seashells Collection which is the Pixie Dust half of their Summer 2016 Collection. I’ve always liked the PixieDust formula so I was glad to see these. Even though there was a period of time where I was on PixieDust overload, I am happy to see this finish return. Let me show you my swatches below.

Zoya Bay

Zoya Cece

Zoya Levi

Zoya Linds

Zoya Tilly

Zoya Zooey

The PixieDust formula remains incredibly easy to work with. For all of my swatches, I applied two coats of the polish. I find that the second coat works well when it is lightly dabbed on which can help you avoid any bald spots if you haven’t waited enough time in between coats. I’m sure you are all intimately familiar with the PixieDust formula so I will leave it at that. Hopefully I will have the creme half of the Summer collection up tomorrow so stay tuned. Anywho, thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

KBShimmer Summer Collection 2016

Posted on 19 May, 2016 by Cynthia

If you are like me, you wait with bated breath every season when you realize KBShimmer is about to drop a new collection. I’m not going to lie, they are kind of a big deal. People know them. They are very important. They have many leather-bound books and their apartment smells of rich mahogany. Ugh…I think I had a strange moment there. Anyway, I am super duper excited to bring you the glorious KBShimmer Summer Collection for 2016. There is a nice variety of colors and finishes here so I’m sure you will find something you like–or you might just buy all the things because it’s KBShimmer after all. Let me get to the good stuff…swatches below!

KBShimmer How Low Can You Flamingo?

KBShimmer Ready For A Good Lime

KBShimmer Playing With The Buoys

KBShimmer Good Reef!

KBShimmer Suit The Breeze

KBShimmer Mai Tai One On

KBShimmer Neon Me

KBShimmer Don’t Play Koi

KBShimmer Along For The Tide

KBShimmer That’s Nude To Me

KBShimmer One Night Sand

KBShimmer Gull, Get Real!

So what do you think? I really love the creamy neons, but the shimmers are just out of this world. As always, every single polish has an absolute perfect formula so you really can’t go wrong. I appreciate the variety of colors and finishes here, but it’s almost like the collection is not totally cohesive as if it could be split into two collections. Hey, I’m not complaining because all of the polishes are pretty great so I’m sure you are bound to find something that you will like. This collection will be officially released on 6/1/2016 so it’s just around the corner. If you didn’t already know, you can purchase KBShimmer at the following e-tailers:

Are you planning to pick any of these up? Do you have a favorite? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

China Glaze Lite Brites Collection Summer 2016

Posted on 17 May, 201616 May, 2016 by Cynthia

I was totally expecting to have this review up yesterday, but it just didn’t work out. I did get all the swatching done on Saturday, but I was so pooped I had to take a break. Then on Sunday I had too much going on so I just didn’t have enough time to put the post together. I know I’ve been super slow at getting content up lately, but I’m not going to apologize for it anymore. I love nail polish, but I also like having a life. Maybe I’m just a slow swatcher, but swatching a collection this big really takes a lot of time. I ended up swatching 2 12-piece collections on Saturday so between that and editing the pictures, I just did not have enough time to do more. The good news is that I still freaking love doing this but I need to have a little balance and not spend all my free time swatching so that I don’t get burned out. I’m thinking of sticking to posting 3 times a week–what do you think? Well, the awesomeness that I have for you today is the China Glaze Lite Brites Collection for Summer 2016. This collection is the perfect representation of 80’s Summers! Let me show you my swatches below and then I’ll get into the dirty deets.

China Glaze Lip Smackin’ Good

China Glaze Bite Me

China Glaze I’ll Pink To That

China Glaze Whip It Good

China Glaze Lime After Lime

China Glaze What I Like About Blue

China Glaze Let’s Jam

China Glaze I Got A Blue Attitude

China Glaze Hot Flash

China Glaze None Of Your Risky Business

China Glaze Papa Don’t Peach

China Glaze We Got The Beet

Welp, these are awesome. Everything you have read online about how great these are is 10000000000% true. Before I get into it, what do you think about the addition of a third one nail macro? I don’t have a fancy camera or anything so I think the quality could be better, but I kind of like this. My cuticles weren’t in the best shape, but now I know that I need major preparation for future swatch fests. Anyway, I really loved this collection. It has a great variety of colors: some creams, some shimmers and some jelly glitters. All in all, the formula on these was absolutely great. I think that every time I hear “neons” I get a little scared because the formula on a lot of neons can be quite problematic. You will not encounter any issues with these gorgeous and bright shades. I’ll Pink To That is my new favorite hot pink–you cannot understand how bright this color is; my pictures don’t do it justice. If you’re looking for a fun Summer collection, look no further because you will love these all. Do you have any favorite shades from this collection? Let me know what you think below. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

Winner Announced – Ooh La Lacquer Giveway

Posted on 3 April, 20163 April, 2016 by Cynthia

Happy Sunday everyone! Just a quick note to announce the winner of the gorgeous bottle of Ooh La Lacquer Indigo-go Dancer…
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congrats, Nicole! Thank you all for entering and I hope to bring you another giveaway soon.

I also wanted to show you guys something in case you don’t follow my Instagram account. On Friday I went polish shopping and bought the Essie Resort and Spring Collections, but I also stumbled upon something:

This appears to be the Essie Shimmer Brights Collection for Summer 2016. I had not seen anything about this anywhere so I got super excited when I saw the swatch wheel. I don’t think that the beauty supply meant to leave this out, but it looked like they had gotten a big shipment and I just happened to see it out on the counter….bwahaha! What do you think of these shades? Honestly, all I can think of are jelly beans and those sticky ribbon candies that people put out on dishes. I wonder if these will replace the yearly “Neon” Collections that are never quite neon. Hmmm…I guess we will have to wait and see.

Anyway, I hope that I’ll have a slower April so I can start posting again regularly. I have to get through a few collections but I also just chopped off my nails. It wasn’t the best decision, but I just needed to start fresh. What are you looking forward to in polish releases? I am excited to see the new OPI Alice in Wonderland collection and I’m just going gaga over Cupcake Polish right now. I don’t want to buy anything because I know I will never stop once I do. I am also going hard on Vapid right now and can’t wait to try the Nail Sauce. I’ll keep you guys updated on that! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!