Tag: Swatch

Of Life and Lacquer > Swatch

Layla Mercury Twilight

Posted on by Cynthia

I had such a huge plate of pad thai for dinner that I’m afraid to go to sleep. I didn’t really eat lunch which I know is bad so I was pretty freaking ravenous come dinner time. I went to this hidden Thai place that my friend introduced me to eons ago and ordered my usual shrimp pad thai and thai iced tea. My brother had the same and he said he really liked it. I think he is the most adventurous one in the family when it comes to trying new foods. I try to be good but sometimes it’s just so hard to eat something that looks strange to me. I was ok with eating escargot when I was in France so I guess I’m not as bad as I think I am.

In other news, I today I picked up two melmers at Michaels. I seriously need a better storage solution for my nail polishes. Since I am close to the 400 mark, I think two melmers will suit me just fine. If I outgrow both of them in less than 6 months, I’m going to have to go to some sort of nail polish addiction therapy. Right now, they are 50% off so I paid around $18 for each 3 drawer melmer. Score! Once I get them all set up and decorated, I will post some pictures.

I also chopped all my hair off today. I love how light my head feels. Is that weird? My hair is so short that I don’t really have to fuss with it at all because it just does its own thing. My hairdresser was talking to me about getting some kind of mohawk, but I don’t think that it would be the best look for job interviews. When my hair grows out a little, I can totally do the flock of seagulls hairdo. Does anyone remember the look? I know it’s pretty atrocious, but it’s so like me to do something crazy with my hair.

Soooo…after all my babbling, here I am with my second bottle of Layla. Once again, I love it. Love.It.

Sorry I’m all over the place tonight. I’m finding it really hard to focus, but I still wanted to share this beauty with you. Thanks to all of you who continue to visit my blog and read my posts even when I’m not making much sense! I really appreciate all of you who leave comments to let me know someone is actually reading! 🙂

Layla Ultra Violet

Posted on by Cynthia

It’s official. I am in love.

 

Can you blame me? This is just amazing. This is my first linear holo polish, and I’m blown away. I did not use a topcoat because I was told that it could dull the holo effect. I didn’t know if I should use a basecoat so I ended up using Seche Base which is a ridge filling base coat. I don’t even know what else to say about this because I’m too busy staring at my nails.

Cult Nails First Impression

Posted on by Cynthia

I received my first ever Cult Nails order this past Saturday so I was itching to try my new lovelies. I have so many brand new nail polishes that I can’t justify buying more. I went to my nail places today and I resisted the urge to pick up some polishes but I did purchase a bottle of Posché. I’ve always been faithful to Seche Vite, but I wanted to try something new to see how it compares to my trusty top coat.

This morning I was looking at Scrangie’s swatches of the OPI Spider Man collection and I find them so meh. Yawn, yawn, triple yawn. I am really not interested in getting any of the colors anymore.  I was talking to my nail polish guy today about the new Essies and he had the Poppy-Razzi collection in the back so he showed me the colors. I don’t think I’ll be getting any of these either. They are colors I already have and they’re not that interesting once the excitement of something new wore off. He also told me they were ugly and that they are too similar to other colors I already have. What does it mean when the owner of the store talks you out of spending money at his store? He also had the New Love & Acceptance collection, but they’re just a pastel yawnfest.

Back to Cult Nails: First off I would like to say I was super impressed how quickly I got my order despite ordering during a huge sale. I swatched the three polishes I purchased and have no complaints. The formula was creamy, smooth and applied like a dream. Sorry about my greasy looking fingers! My hands have been crazy dry so I’m always moisturizing lately.

 

Manipulative

 

My Kind of Cool Aid

 

Vicious

 

I will be buying more Cult Nails polishes in the future for sure. I know that they will be having another $5 sale in the coming weeks so I will be sure to check them out.  What do you think about Cult Nails? Are you a fan?

I’m Blue!

Posted on by Cynthia

How many of you remember Blue? This is the first song that pops into my mind when I think of Euro dance tracks. I was reminded of this song when I decided to do a blue comparison after Vienna from Nail Polish Required asked me how Sephora by OPI Blue Grotto compared to OPI Dating A Royal. If you’re a glitter lover, you have to check out her blog!

I decided to compare three colors: Essie Mesmerize, OPI Dating A Royal and Sephora by OPI Blue Grotto.

As you can see, there are very slight differences between these polishes. Essie Mesmerize is the lightest one of the three and also has the best formula since you can get away with one coat. OPI Dating A Royal is a tiny bit darker than Mesmerize and it also has the sheerest formula out of the three. It needs 3 coats and it can be kind of watery. Sephora By OPI Blue Grotto is the darkest and smokiest color of the three. It has a pretty good formula but I still find it kind of streaky like most SOPI polishes. I won’t even say how annoying I find the brush. Do you really need all three? Probably not but will you want all three if you are blue lover like me? Duh!

TOMS & Essie

Posted on by Cynthia

A few weeks ago, I heard about a promotion on TOMS’ Facebook page. I don’t really recall entering it, but apparently I was entered to win a free Essie polish. Lo and behold, I received it yesterday!!! Wow! And I had just complained that I never with anything. If you don’t know anything about TOMS, here is the “About” info on their Facebook page:

In 2006, American traveler Blake Mycoskie befriended children in a village in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created TOMS, a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. One for One.

Five years later, TOMS realized this movement could serve other basic needs and launched TOMS Eyewear. With every pair purchased, TOMS will help give sight to a person in need. One for One. As more everyday choices have the power to impact the lives of those around the world, the TOMS movement will continue to grow and evolve.

The polish I received is a limited edition color named Barefoot in Blue. It is a sheer color but very buildable. I love it!

And here it is with a design from plate M73.

So thank you TOMS and Essie for the beautiful nail polish. Don’t forget to check out the details for the One Day Without Shoes Event on April 10, 2012.

Sephora Drama Velvet Pearl Lacquer

Posted on by Cynthia

Sephora’s collaboration with Pantone resulted in them creating a collection based on their color of the year: Tangerine Tango.  I have to agree; I absolutely love all the Tangerine hues that have become so popular this year. I purchased Drama Velvet Pearl nail polish today because I was curious about the formula and I loved the color, of course.

I was not impressed with brush and cap. It is way too small and feels awkward in my hand. The brush also seems to small but with a little practice, I was able to use it just fine. The formula was very saturated and rich. I found that it is important to let the first coat dry before you apply a second because you will cause some dragging and create bald spots. I ended up applying 3 coats to even out the polish but you can definitely get away with 2 coats if you allow enough time between coats. I like the color but at $7 for .23oz, I think it’s too pricey. There are other brands that are of comparable or better quality with a better price point.

 

What do you think? Do you like this color?

Suzi Says Whaaaaaaat?

Posted on by Cynthia

I know I’m not the only one who thinks the whole Suzi thing in OPI polish names is kinda lame. Maybe if I was Artistic Director of a nail polish company, I’d name polishes after myself too! But in all honesty, how awesome does her job sound?

Today I was messing around with a bunch of colors. I have all of my polishes on an excel spreadsheet and wanted to start marking those that I have already swatched. I should have done this from the beginning, but I didn’t think I was going to really keep blogging about nails for long. I am the queen of starting stuff and then just giving up. That is one of the things I really hate about myself so I am glad that I’m still totally excited about doing it. I’d have to say that I am really loving the interactions with other bloggers so thanks to all the wonderful ladies who constantly visit my blog and most importantly, comment! Sometimes I look at my stats and see that a couple hundred people have visited my blog but not many comment. I wonder if I’m not engaging enough or if maybe they just didn’t like my swatches. Now I am just coming to the realization that a very small minority comment and that’s fine with me. I’m not doing this because I want validation; I just think it’s fun and as long as it continues to be fun, I will keep doing it.

I ended up painting my nails with Suzi Says Feng Shui from the Spring 2010 Hong Kong Collection. Why?! Why?????!!!!!!!!!! Why are there so many gorgeous colors out there? It’s blue, smokey and a creme. What else could I ask for?

 

Here is the color with a houndstooth pattern stamp from Konad plate M63. I hate it when my stamping looks sloppy, but I was in a rush because I was cooking dinner! Who said doing your nails and cooking at the same time would be a good idea?

 

I kinda really love the way this looks. Now I’m starting to plan my manicure for Saturday. I have to go to a baby shower on Saturday, but I will also be going to see The Hunger Games afterwards with my best friend. FUDGE! I can’t go to a baby shower with crazy dark nails and I can’t go to see The Hunger Games with pastel baby shower nails. What to do…what to do!? Any ideas will be happily welcomed.

China Glaze Mahoganie

Posted on by Cynthia

I don’t even know what to say about this nail polish. It’s glitter. I have issues with glitter. I love THIS glitter.  DOES NOT COMPUTE!

I think this glitter was part of the specialty glitter shades that were released by China Glaze a few years ago. It’s a chocolate pink base with glitter that dries very, very gritty so it will need a thick topcoat. The nice part about this glitter is that it only needs two coats! Hallelujah to baby Jesus on rollerskates! I found this at a beauty supply store that I go to once in a while. They still sell China Glaze for $2.50 but I have to wear a protective mask when I wander in there because the dust in that place is so thick that you can feel it in your lungs. Gross, I know…but they have $2.50 China Glaze!!! Enjoy the swatches!

So what do you think of my new beautiful little baby, Mahoganie?

OPI NYC Ballet Polishes SUCK

Posted on by Cynthia

I should say that I only bought two of the polishes and I have two too many at this point. I knew that these polishes are not meant to be opaque so I steered clear of all the pinks and picked up My Pointe Exactly. It kind of looked like a sheer version of French Quarter For Your Thoughts so I figured it would be ok. Well, it isn’t. This color is disgusting. It basically looks like clear polish on your nails after one coat. I added a second and it looked streaky. I added a third and it started to look a little gray. Fourth coat, fifth coat and it still looked streaky and was not opaque. I took off the gross layers and went for a three coat look and this was the result:

Yuck! What’s the point of wearing nail polish if it’s going to look like this?!?!?!?! I took the glitter of this collection, Pirouette My Whistle, and layered one coat of it.

I still think this is gross. One of my lovely readers from Two Lacquered Girls asked me if Pirouette My Whistle was the same as Servin’ Up Sparkle so I used them side by side. I used Servin’ Up Sparkle on the middle finger and Pirouette My Whistle on the two outer fingers. As you can see, it’s the same exact glitter shape except that Servin’ Up Sparkle is holographic and Pirouette My Whistle is just white and silver. The base colors also differ. Servin’ Up Sparkle has a clear base and Pirouette My Whistle is in a milky gray base. Here are some bottle shots:

There is no way that I am going to buy anymore colors from this collection. I should have stuck with my initial impression when I saw the press release and passed on this collection altogether.  What about you? Do you want any colors from this collection?

P.S. After my previous post about gross nails and stuff, I want to apologize about my super dry skin. I totally forgot to moisturize so I know my skin looks dry like the Sahara. 🙁

China Glaze & Hunger Games: Colours From The Capitol Swatches

Posted on by Cynthia

I think it is abundantly clear how much I was anticipating this collection: I was drooling like Pavlov’s dogs whenever I heard China Glaze and Hunger Games used in the same sentence. When I finally got the whole collection, I was so excited to start playing with all the colors. Without further ado…here are the swatches. Enjoy!

Agro is a dark olive green. It’s shimmery and absolutely gorgeous.  This is the kind of color that I need in my collection because how many purples can a person possibly need? A MILLION!!!!! I can’t wait to do some crazy stuff with this color.

 

 

Dress Me Up is a very soft and demure color. It makes me think of how Cinna dressed up Katniss to be super girlie and pretty. This is a pretty, creamy color that I am sure I will use often. It’s work appropriate for sure.

 

 

Electrify is just a gold and red glitter. There’s not much to say about this. Personally I am not a big fan of glitter. It has to be really unique in order for me to like it so I don’t find this exciting at all. I only applied 2 coats and I’m sure it would take another 2 coats to completely coat my nails. I can see myself layering this on top of another color instead of wearing it on its own. This is kinda like Twinkle Lights minus the green.

 

 

Fast Track is pretty…kind of like Classic Camel. This looks great in direct sunlight. Wearing it would make me feel like I’m age appropriate unlike other glitter explosions. Again, the formula was great.

 

 

I hate Foie Gras…not the polish, but the food. I really find it gross. There really isn’t anything that excites me about this color. It’s slightly purple and brown in the vein of Metro Chic. I like those dusty brown/purple polishes but haven’t we had enough of them already?

 

 

Harvest Moon  is one of the polishes I was excited about when I first saw the promo pictures. It’s a coppery shimmer dream that glides onto the nail. I like it. I like it a lot. I know you were thinking of this when you read that:

Oh, you weren’t? Well, whatever. The color is awesome and I don’t care what you think!

 

 

Hook And Line is what Color Club Boho Mojo could have been. This was definitely not as difficult to apply as Boho Mojo but it’s still frosty…Frosty…FROSTY! I kind of hate frosty colors but sometimes wear them anyway because I’m psycho that way. I can deal with this color and it might even grow on me after a while. It was freaky streaky when I first applied it but it looked better once it started to dry.

 

 

Luxe And Lush is made to be a topcoat. I don’t have anything that looks like this so I’ll definitely be experimenting with it. I kind of like the way it looks on it’s own. It remind me of broken glass…feels just like I’m walking on broken glass. Ah, Annie Lennox you evil bitch. Every time I think of her album Diva I just want to jump off a bridge. That song and Why? just wreck me. Anyway, yeah…me likey the polish.

 

 

I don’t really know how I feel about Mahogany Magic. It’s another one of those colors that I call inspired by baby poop. It’s just kinda gross but it could grow on me. I meant the polish, not the baby turds. The formula was divine on this one as well.

 

 

Riveting! Hello, goygeous! I freaking love this one so hard. First of all, I’m all into oranges this season and this one does not disappoint. I don’t know why I keep thinking of Orange Jell-o when I look at this. It had a perfect formula as well.

 

 

Smoke And Ashes is such a dark color that looks green, blue and black all at once. I had one heck of a time taking a decent picture of this color so it was super annoying. I like how cold this color seems…if that makes sense.

 

 

Stone Cold is a matter dream. I have a few matte polishes and they are always so incredibly hard to work with. You have to work super fast or else it gets goopy and then your nails look like a hot mess. This looked perfect with one coat. I will not defile this polish by adding a coat of Seche Vite.

 

So what do I think about this collection? I like it. I’m not gonna lie and say that my love of  The Hunger Games didn’t make me obsess about getting my hands on this collection. Overall, there are some colors that I would pass on such as: Mahogany Magic, Hook and Line, Foie Gras and Electrify. If you have similar colors, I would also pass on Dress Me up and Luxe and Lush. The other six polishes are right up my alley, and I love them. Why do so many collections have to keep popping ? Damn you, China Glaze! So what do you think? What colors are you going to get, if any? Let me know! It makes my day to hear about what other nail polish freaks want to get. Sad, right?