Tag: Swatch

Of Life and Lacquer > Swatch

Orly Wednesday

Posted on by Cynthia

Orly is a brand that I don’t think gets enough love.  I don’t actually have that many bottles of Orly but I definitely keep a close eye on their collections.

 

Lollipop is such a sweet light pink color that screams spring to me.. It reminds me of cotton candy.

 

Sugar Plum looks just the way it sounds. This is not a color that I really like because it’s so frosty. I have to be in a certain mood to actually wear this color so I don’t wear it much.

 

Gumdrop…ah, gumdrop. I love this color. This is another one of those Tiffany-Blue polishes. For Audrey is just the tiniest more blue but this is a good dupe. If you have For Audrey, do you really need Gumdrop? Probably not but for a nail polish fanatic, that is a silly question because of course you need both.

 

Coffee Break looks like the perfect neutral for my skin color. I bet I could do a pretty awesome matte mannequin manicure. This also makes my fingers look so long because the nail blends into my fingers

 

Prince Charming is a muddled brown which I didn’t think I would like as much as I do. The confusing part about the polish is the name. Prince Charming?

 

Flagstone Rush is another one of those frosty polishes that I don’t usually like. This is just a pretty rusty color that looks good on my skintone. I like this a little more now that I’m so obsessed with orange nail polishes.

 

Bus Stop Crimson is a color that is right in your face. It’s a blood red that will really make your manicure pop.

 

Wild Wisteria is a vampy purple. It will definitely look black unless you’re in the right light. I really liked that this polish did not stain my skin or cuticles despite the intense shade.

More Nicole by OPI

Posted on by Cynthia

I finally go around to swatching the last two colors that I purchased. Honestly, I wasn’t that impressed with either of these polishes because I found the formula super annoying. They were both way too sheer and it took 4 coats each.

The Right Thing is the kind of color I’ve really been enjoying lately. Orange and corals are so perfect for spring and summer. I had issues with this looking dark in some areas as if it had dark spots.

 

Despite the Justin Beiber connection, I really wanted to like this polish. However, the formula really ruined it for me. Prized Possession Purple was so sheer, and it was hard to build it up. The color is still pretty, I just with that it would build up more smoothly.

 

Well, here are two sort of losers but I’ve liked the 4 other polishes I purchased from this brand. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a great long weekend. Yay to having Monday off!

 

More China Glaze Love

Posted on by Cynthia

If you haven’t noticed yet, I really love China Glaze. They consistently put out good collections, and their polishes are good quality at a great price.

This is Fifth Avenue. I think this is part of their Core Line and it would make sense because this is such a “core” color. I mean, probably every nail polish company out there has their version of this color. This doesn’t make it any less gorgeous in my eyes. It’s a feminine and soft color. Definitely an office appropriate color. Best of all, it was perfect with 2 thinish coats.

 

And here is one of my beautiful blue babies from the Ecollection of Spring 2008: Shower Together. I have so many blues now that I don’t even know which one I like best. The formula on this was also great and was perfect with two coats.

 

 

“They’re Always After Me Lucky Charms!” Am I the only one who thinks of Lucky, the Lucky Charms leprechaun, when I look at this polish? Four Leaf Clover comes from China Glaze’s beloved Up & Away collection. You can definitely see why so many people adore this collection. Again, the formula was amazing and smooth.

 

And here is Tempest. Oh Tempest I wanted to love you so but the formula was thin and sheer. It took FIVE coats to achieve this look and I would consider this a lost cause if the color wasn’t so spectacular. It looks blue and purple and shimmery. It definitely leans more purple in the bottle but appears more blue on the nail. I still love it and I bet it will look great with some Konad or nail art.

 

Jitterbug from the Vintage Vixen collection is one of those colors that I’m not sure if I really like. I mean, it’s pretty and shiny (oooohh shiny ball) but I have to wear it for a few days before I decide if I like it. This one is also pretty awesome when it comes to the formula.

 

Dorothy Who? is part of the mythical Wizard of Ooh Ahz collection that was re-released in 2009. Spectacular blue jelly base? Check! Glittery goodness? Double check! I don’t want to love glitters so much because I am a creme polish lover but I think I can cheat on my cremes once in a while. I don’t think they will mind. I had to apply 3 thickish coats for this swatch.

 

Do you have a favorite? Are some of these already in your collection?

Two New Essie Greens

Posted on by Cynthia

In my last haul, I picked up two new Essie greens. I never used to wear greens this shade but I really like them! They were both pretty good formula-wise and only needed two coats for the swatches you will see below.

Navigate Her is part of Essie’s Spring 2012 Line “Navigate Her.” Unfortunately, these pictures wash out the color. It’s a little darker and more minty looking. It reminded me of a mojito…maybe I just need a drink. Ha! It’s like I used Thrifty’s ice cream in Pistachio on my nails. You know what made me feel like an old fart? I was at Rite-Aid the other day and some kids where commenting how they could remember when a single scoop was $1.00. I remember when a single scoop was $0.35. How about that? Fuck I’m old.

 

Sew Psyched is from the 2010 Fall Collection. It’s like an olive bar in a bottle. I love this green gray dusty color. I thought that this was a creme but it has the slightest shimmer that makes it even more gorgeous. Ok, why does every nail polish remind me of food?

 

Which one do you like best?

Phantom Color Club Set

Posted on by Cynthia

I found a set named “All About Color” by Color Club but I can’t seem to find any information about it online. It really annoys me that I can’t find any info about it because none of the bottles are labeled and there is no information on the box either. Grrrrr!!!! Despite this, there are some pretty gorgeous colors included in the set.

Some of these pictures really did not come out right no matter how many shots I took. The sunlight was really crappy today because it was raining on and off throughout the day.

 

The only color that was a total nightmare to apply was the light pink color. It was streaky as hell and I had to apply five coats!!!!! That’s just wrong.

What’s your favorite color?

China Glaze Sunday

Posted on by Cynthia

Happy Sunday everyone and thanks for stopping by my blog. As promised, here are the swatches for the China Glaze polishes that I recently acquired.

Brownstone makes me think of The Real Housewives of New Jersey because of that building that Caroline manages but this color is not obnoxious and trashy like most of those women on the show. In the same Italian vein, it reminded me of the terra cotta roofs in Florence–definitely one of my favorite cities anywhere. It’s such a rich and saturated creme that  I could have even gotten away with one thick coat but applied two for this swatch. This color comes from the Fall 2011 Metro Collection.

From the 2006 Wow Factor Collection, here is Purple Panic. This is such a hot color. I love neon colors and this matte applies beautifully. Like all matte polishes, this one dries super fast so you have to work fast.

And here it is with a shiny topcoat just because I looooooooooove shiny nails.

Bahamian Escape is one of those colors that I’ve seen a lot of but I still find it gorgeous.

Passion In The Pacific is like a pristine blue ocean in a bottle. I love it. While I was wearing it, I kept thinking of Paul Gauguin’s paintings of Tahiti for some reason.

Rodeo Fanatic is one of those colors I drool over no matter how many similar colors I may already own. It’s such a gorgeous shimmery smokey dark blue. This comes from the Fall 2008 Rodeo Diva Collection which was simply amazing.

And lastly, this is Blue Sparrow from the Summer 2008 INK Collection which also brought us Flying Dragon and Turned Up Turquoise—two of my favorite polishes. The microglitter is not really visible because it’s a matter color but just wait until you apply a topcoat…

And here it is with a coat of Seche Vite…

Gorgeous, right?! Now I am just anxious to get the Hunger Games Capitol Colors Collection!!!!


More Nicole By OPI

Posted on by Cynthia

Since I liked the polishes I bought yesterday, I stopped by Target again to scope out the sale section. Well, I found two more bottles on sale so I snatched them up.

Make Mine Lime reminded me of China Glaze’s Paper Chasing when I first saw the bottle. The reason I decided to get it is because I recently dropped Paper Chasing and it broke! I have green nail polish on my beige carpet now…and quite a project when I get around to cleaning it up completely. Well, it’s not the same as Paper Chasing because Make Mine Lime is lighter and it seems to have microglitter. I definitely liked this formula better even though I had to apply three coats.

 

Sounds Grape To Me looks more brown than purple. It has a brown burgundy base with magenta and maybe some gold microglitter. It’s like a gorgeous and rich bottle of Bordeaux on your  nails. The formula is awesome. One thick coat might be enough, but I did two thin coats for these pictures.

 

Overall, I’m really liking this brand even though I only have four bottles. I will definitely look for these when they go on sale.

Nubar Jellybeans Part 2

Posted on by Cynthia

I purchased the rest of the Nubar Jellybeans Collection except Lemon. I already have a couple of bright yellow polishes and since I don’t use them often, I decided to pass.

Strawberry was a sheer nightmare. I had to apply five coats for full opacity! I don’t think the color is that pretty or original to deal with applying that many coats.

Cherry is not very original, but I like it. It was not as sheer as Strawberry but was still a three-coater. I’m really liking all these orange reds. However, this looks a lot more like a tomato to me. Is that weird? The first thing I thought of was of V8 juice.

Grape is purple. I love purple. Nuff said.

Blueberry is so my color. I’ve been diggin’ blues a lot lately, and I noticed I’m adding a lot of blues to my collection. This one was not as sheer as some of the other polishes so I appreciated that. I find this is a pretty close to OPI’s Dating A Royal and Essie’s Mesmerize…maybe just a tad lighter.

If these polishes weren’t so sheer, I’d like them a whole lot more. I don’t regret purchasing them because I like the collection as a whole but just wish the formula was better. Which is your favorite color?

First Impressions: Nicole By OPI

Posted on by Cynthia

I had been wondering how Nicole by OPI differed from the regular OPI line. I mean, they are basically the same price so I would imagine that the quality would be about the same, right?  I am pretty loyal to the brands I know produce quality lacquers such as OPI, China Glaze, Orly, Essie, Nubar and Color Club so I tend to stick to those brands and only occasionally spring for a more high-end polish; it just really has to wow me if I have to shell out more money. At $7-$8 a pop, Nicole by OPI is a bit pricey compared to what I pay for most polishes, but I saw a couple of shades on sale today at Target so I decided to try them out.

 

I really liked the colors. I can’t really speak for how long these polishes last since I only swatched them, but the formula was not difficult to work with. They both seemed a little thinner than I’m used to and one of the polishes had a crazy short and awkward brush. Green Up Your Act! required three coast for full opacity and It’s Not Me, It’s Blue needed four. Even with four coats, there was some visible nail line in the sunlight. I have read that these polishes chip like a mofo in a day or two so I’m curious to see what happens when I use these on a full manicure. Overall, I don’t regret purchasing these since I got them on sale for $3.52 each. I will definitely pick up some more colors if they are on sale. It will take a really amazing and unique color for me to pay full price for these polishes.

I still haven’t swatched the polishes I purchased yesterday, and I just got another set. I stopped by Ross to check if they had any Color Club sets and they did!!!! The sucky part is that none of these polishes have names on them, and I am not sure what collection this is…if any. Usually the names of the polishes are listed on the box, but nothing is listed on these. It almost seems like they threw a bunch of different colors in there. All I see is “All About Color” as a possible collection name but I can’t find anything about it online. For $7.99, I can overlook all this because there are some pretty colors in there for sure.  I’ll eventually swatch these as well.

How’s that for a polish frenzy?


 

Color Club – Holiday Splendor

Posted on by Cynthia

I’ve never really been that interested in glitters until recently. This is such an amazing jelly-based glitter especially because the glitter doesn’t disappear into the base. This reminds of China Glaze’s Atlantis, but I like the formula from Color Club better.

And here is a very blurry picture that shows how this sparkles in the light:

Isn’t it gorgeous?

Bisous mes chéris et à bientôt!