Summer 2017 Archives - Of Life and Lacquer

Tag: Summer 2017

Of Life and Lacquer > Summer 2017

KBShimmer Summer Vacation Collection

Posted on 24 July, 201723 July, 2017 by Cynthia

Hello! Remember me? Once upon a time I posted more than once every other year. *Le sigh* For once, I do actually have an excuse because I was majorly sidelined by illness. After a week long hospital stay, I’ve been trying to take it easy. Of course I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to swatch the KBShimmer Summer Vacation Collection for you guys because you know how I love me some KBShimmer. The only thing that sucks is that my nails are just not growing–I attribute it to my recent illness so I hope that they start growing again soon. I swatched these polishes in direct sunlight which unfortunately makes my skin look hella greasy. I hope that I can start using my usual light box in the near future, but for now, let’s take a look at these beautiful shades!

KBShimmer Summer Vacation Collection Flock This Way

KBShimmer Flock This Way

KBShimmer Summer Vacation Collection Shady Beaches

KBShimmer Shady Beaches

KBShimmer Summer Vacation Collection Squeeze The Day

KBShimmer Squeeze The Day

KBShimmer Summer Collection Kiwi Real

KBShimmer Kiwi Real

KBShimmer Summer Vacation Collection No Wave!

KBShimmer No Wave!

KBShimmer Summer Vacation Collection Hashtag You're It

KBShimmer Hashtag You’re It

KBShimmer Summer Vacation Collection Berry Chill

KBShimmer Berry Chill

KBShimmer Summer Vacation Collection I'm Onyx

KBShimmer I’m Onyx

I was extremely excited to see this collection roll out because I absolutely loved We Make Your Dreams Come Blue and these polishes have that same holo-y flake finish. I love how gorgeous the colors are–juicy and vibrant. I do want to tell you that the formula is a little jelly-esque so it can be a little sheer. I applied 3 thin coats of each polish to make them perfectly opaque. It’s also a good idea to give each coat a few minutes to dry before applying the next because I noticed that I created some bald spots in places but I tend to be a little heavy handed with the pressure I apply with the brush. Overall, I really love this collection! I never thought I’d say that my favorite is the darkest color I’m Onyx because I tend to prefer bright colors, but this polish is just so gorgeous! You really can’t lose with any of these!

If you’re interested in picking up any of these delicious polishes from the KBShimmer Summer Vacation Collection, this collection will launch on 7/28/2017. These polishes can be purchased online at kbshimmer.com and at the following retailers: Color4Nails, Live Love Polish, Harlow & Co and Amazon. Do you have any favorites from this collection? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

Be my polish friend! Follow me!

Instagram

Facebook

Disclosure: These products were provided to me for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

KBShimmer Summer Vacation Collection

Zoya Wanderlust Collection Summer 2017

Posted on 7 June, 20174 June, 2017 by Cynthia

Before I even start right now I’m going to say something: I AM SORRY FOR THE CRAPPY PICTURES. You have no idea what a mess this swatch session turned out to be. First of all, my skin looks oily AF and I decided to swatch in full sunlight. If that wasn’t enough, I also made the brilliant (yes, sarcasm) decision to use a crazy holo background which did some flashback onto my pictures. Ugh, this whole thing was a big fat NOPE. It’s been a long time since I cringed when looking at my swatches, so please forgive me because I have learned my lesson. Before I ramble on too long, let me show you my swatches of the Zoya Wanderlust Collection for Summer 2017.

Zoya Wanderlust Collection Etsy

Zoya Etsy

Zoya Wanderlust Collection Byrdie

Zoya Byrdie

Zoya Wanderlust Collection Lois

Zoya Lois

Zoya Wanderlust Collection Sonja

Zoya Sonja

Zoya Wanderlust Collection Cora

Zoya Cora

Zoya Wanderlust Collection Sawyer

Zoya Sawyer

Zoya Wanderlust Collection Arbor

Zoya Arbor

Zoya Wanderlust Collection Journey

Zoya Journey

Zoya Wanderlust Collection Mandy

Zoya Mandy

Zoya Wanderlust Collection River

Zoya River

The more I look at these pictures the worse I feel about them. I guess I could have just re-swatched everything but….ain’t nobody got time for that. Besides the horrible swatches, my package suffered two casualties. Two of the polishes broke during transit and they drenched most of the other polish bottles. It took me forever to clean them up. See? Everything just started out on the wrong foot.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Cynthia (@oflifeandlacquer)

Despite all of my swatching drama and bad pictures, I did like this collection for Summer. I did not have any significant formula issues to speak of. I am a little heavy handed with my polish application as of late so for all my swatches I used two generous coats of polish and 1 coat of glossy top coat. This collection screams fun juicy Summer colors to me, but I do feel like it’s so similar to the Summer collections that Zoya tends to put out. That’s not a bad thing, but you know you probably already have close dupes. If you’re interested in picking up any of these shades, they can be purchased on zoya.com where they retail for $10.00 each.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

Be my polish friend! Follow me!

Instagram

Facebook

Disclosure: These products were provided to me for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Zoya Wanderlust Collection

OPI California Dreaming Collection Summer 2017

Posted on 5 June, 20174 June, 2017 by Cynthia

Hello friends. It’s been a slow few days chez moi so I ended up busting out all my swatching paraphernalia which includes my lighting and light box. I had been experimenting with swatching in direct sunlight, but I wasn’t quite satisfied with the results. I hadn’t had a massive swatch session in a long time and I can say I kind of missed it. I just wish that I had prepared myself by purchasing lint free cotton rounds because I had a hell of a hard time dealing with all the fuzzies. Anyway, today I want to share with you my swatches of the OPI California Dreaming Collection for Summer 2017. Being a born and bred California girl, of course I was excited to see a collection paying homage to my home state but the colors just kind of threw me off. Before I get into the details, let me show you some swatches.

OPI California Dreaming Collection To The Mouse House We Go!

OPI To The Mouse House We Go!

This magic red is for kissable lips, polka dot bows and tempting apples.

OPI California Dreaming Collection Me, Myselfie & I

OPI Me, Myselfie & I

But enough about me, doesn’t this coral look good in my selfie?

OPI California Dreaming Collection Santa Monica Beach Peach

OPI Santa Monica Beach Peach

Go ahead and hit the beach, this punchy orange has your back.

OPI California Dreaming Collection This Is Not Whine Country

OPI This Is Not Whine Country

The merlot the merrier I always say.

OPI California Dreaming Collection GPS I Love You

OPI GPS I Love You

I couldn’t have pinked a sweeter travelling companion.

OPI California Dreaming Collection Time For A Napa

OPI Time For A Napa

It’s always the right moment for this bubbly hot coral.

OPI California Dreaming Collection Malibu Pier Pressure

OPI Malibu Pier Pressure

This cotton candy pink has a very persuasive vibe.

OPI California Dreaming Collection Excuse me, Big Sur!

OPI Excuse me, Big Sur!

This rose may be soft, but it’s not afraid to speak up.

OPI California Dreaming Collection Barking Up The Wrong Sequoia

OPI Barking Up The Wrong Sequoia

Finding the perfect peach is a tall order.

OPI California Dreaming Collection Feeling Frisco

OPI Feeling Frisco

This nude’s bound to put you in a Bayful mood.

OPI California Dreaming Collection Sweet Carmel Sunday

OPI Sweet Carmel Sunday

You’re always a treat in this glistening gold.

OPI California Dreaming Collection Don't Take Yosemite For Granite

OPI Don’t Take Yosemite For Granite

Of quartz not! Everyone appreciates this shimmering slate.

Welp, I like this collection and I don’t. Part of me loves some of the shades but part of me doesn’t see the spirit of my home state reflected in this collection.

Was I the only one wishing for a polish called “Welcome to the OC, Bitch!”? Yes? No? Well, ok. I didn’t have any issues with the formula on these polishes. For all of my swatches, I used two generous coats of polish and 1 coat of glossy top coat. I was not expecting some of these shades to have a jelly formula. To The Mouse House We Go! and This Is Not A Whine Country have a jelly formula but they do build up fairly nicely so you don’t really have to worry about VNL. I did want to mention that my swatch of To The Mouse House We Go! has some shimmer flecks–that is not part of the polish; my top coat brush had some shimmer flecks from Sweet Carmel Sunday that unfortunately transferred to my swatch of To The Mouse House We Go! I absolutely love pink and coral polish shades so you can imagine that I quite enjoyed the shades in this collection. My absolute favorites are Excuse Me, Big Sur!, GPS I Love You, Malibu Pier Pressure and Time For A Napa. I found a surprise like in Sweet Carmel Sunday–who am I? The cutest part of the collection was the PR package. I posted some shots on my instagram:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Cynthia (@oflifeandlacquer)

So what do you guys think about the OPI California Dreaming Collection? Have you picked up any of the shades yet? The collection is available in both classic Nail Lacquer and Long-Wear Infinite Shine formulas. Nail Lacquers retail for $10.00 ($13.50 CAN) each and Infinite Shine retails for $12.50 ($16.95 CAN) at Professional Salons, as well as Beauty Brands, beautybrands.com, Chatters, Dillard’s, Regis, Sally Beauty, ULTA and ulta.com and Macy’s.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

Be my polish friend! Follow me!

Instagram

Facebook

Disclosure: These products were provided to me for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

OPI California Dreaming Collection

KBShimmer All The Bright Moves Collection Summer 2017

Posted on 17 April, 20174 June, 2017 by Cynthia

Oh, Monday…how I hate you. Well, this Monday isn’t too bad because I took the day off but it’s such a long stretch to get back to the next weekend. I had a sorta busy weekend so I am definitely happy to have an extra day to relax and get back on track. I had some time to swatch a few polishes so I started with the KBShimmer All The Bright Moves Collection. Listen, I love bright and juicy colors so these shades do not disappoint. I know how hard it can be to photograph neons, so I opted to use direct sunlight for my pictures. I normally don’t have the time to take sunlight pictures since I end up swatching in the evenings, but I just did not want to deal with the issues of my camera freaking out under artificial light. Let me show you my swatches before we get into the details.

KBShimmer All The Bright Moves Collection Color Me Rad

KBShimmer Color Me Rad

KBShimmer All The Bright Moves Collection Please Don't Glow Girl

KBShimmer Please Don’t Glow Girl

KBShimmer All The Bright Moves Collection All The Bright Moves

KBShimmer All The Bright Moves

KBShimmer All The Bright Moves Collection Race Against Slime

KBShimmer Race Against Slime

KBShimmer All The Bright Moves Collection Double Pog Dare You

KBShimmer Double Pog Dare You

KBShimmer All The Bright Moves Collection Let's Be Frank

KBShimmer Let’s Be Frank

Ugh, these are so pretty! I love neons, but I hate it when you have to wear a white base underneath to make them pop or when you have to apply 4 billion coats to get them to look nice. You will be happy to hear that these neons do NOT need white undies and are all opaque at 2 coats!! The only one that gave me a little trouble was the yellow shade: All The Bright Moves. I still got it to look nice and opaque with 2 coats but the second coat had to be somewhat thicker than I’m used to. I guess this is a 3 coater if you use thin coats. I also want to mention that Double Pog Dare You stained my nails. Unfortunately, it was the first shade I swatched so I had to really scrub hard and even used a sugar scrub to try to get off all the staining from my nails and surrounding skin. I don’t normally use a base coat when I swatch, so make sure that you use one to try to avoid staining. Despite the staining, I love this shade. I think it reminds me so much of one of my favorite Sephora by OPI shades called Slushied. If you love neons, I guarantee that you will love this collection. Heck, if you are filled with 90’s nostalgia, these are worth getting just for the names and inspiration. My unexpected favorite from the collection is Race Against Slime.

If you’re interested in picking up any of these bright and juicy shades from the KBShimmer All The Bright Moves Collection, you will be able to get them online at kbshimmer.com on 5/5/2017 or earlier on 4/29/2017 if you are lucky enough to be going to Polish Con. Do you have any favorites from this collection? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

Be my polish friend! Follow me!

Instagram

Facebook

Disclosure: These products were provided to me for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

KBShimmer All The Bright Moves Collection