** This post was written by Fiona. She no longer blogs for Swatch And Learn. However, Mary still continues to blog and will be happy to reply to your comment. **

What do you do when you’re tired of a mani but are too lazy to change colors? You add something different to it and say the results were your intentions all along. Anyone? No? Maybe it’s just me…

At least that’s what happened with this mani… I was sporting the lovely L.A. Colors Enchanting for the fourth day and was getting bored of it. (BTW, no chipping at all and only slight tip wear.) Then I remembered I haven’t tried L.A. Girl Aqueous yet. At first I didn’t think the sky blue glitter would complement the rose-gold bronze/reddish purple duochrome, but I actually ended up liking the contrast! What do you think? Continue reading →

** This post was written by Fiona. She no longer blogs for Swatch And Learn. However, Mary still continues to blog and will be happy to reply to your comment. **

A few months ago, I did a Cherry Culture haul post where I revealed my Santa Claus sack-sized loot. L.A. Girl Rock Star Punk was the polish from that haul that I was the most excited about. In the bottle, it looks like a blue and purple duochrome. Blue and purple? My fave colors! How could I not be overwhelmed with joy when I finally got a bottle of it in my hands.

I kind of set myself up for disappointment on this one. The color is pretty. I would describe it as a midnight blue with stars, but the duochrome-y effect is very subtle. It’s a blue dominate color that I would otherwise love. But I was expecting the purple to be more apparent! I took lots and lots of pictures to capture the purple, but it’s really hard. Continue reading →

** This post was written by Fiona. She no longer blogs for Swatch And Learn. However, Mary still continues to blog and will be happy to reply to your comment. **

I’m just going to get into it. L.A. Girl Purge rocks! The glitter is in a green that reminds me of Christmas. And for some reason, green always makes me think of aliens. (It might be because of The X-Files.) And since I layered this over black, it’s also reminiscent of The Matrix. So when I look at this, I think Christmas Aliens in The Matrix. (I may have inhaled too much nail polish. I hope there’s no permanent damage.)

Unfortunately, my flash pictures didn’t turn out very well. But you can definitely see how much Purge rocks in the natural and artifical light pictures! You actually get that cool contrasting green-on-black effect whether you’re indoors or out. It’s kind of mesmerizing – these nails actually got me through an hour of cardio at the gym the other day because I was staring at them so much that time just flew by! Continue reading →

** This post was written by Fiona. She no longer blogs for Swatch And Learn. However, Mary still continues to blog and will be happy to reply to your comment. **

Out of all the polishes from the collection, L.A. Girl Metal Antique Gold is definitely the one that surprises me the most. Honestly, it’s a color I threw into my order only because I was interested in seeing how L.A. Girl antiqueize golds. (Yes, that’s a word. No, I lied: it’s not.)

Well, the result is not really antique gold, but it is definitely precious. And I’m seriously in love… even more than I like Deep Sea Mica which was the winner for me in this collection. I have a couple more to try from L.A. Girl Metal, but I have a feeling this shade is going to take home the (antique) gold for me! Continue reading →

** This post was written by Fiona. She no longer blogs for Swatch And Learn. However, Mary still continues to blog and will be happy to reply to your comment. **

Ever loved doing something that you know you suck at? That’s me and bowling. I go just for the fun of it, not to win (at least that’s what I tell everyone). Anyway, every year, I get involved with a fundraising bowling event hosted by a local food bank. I wore L.A. Girl Disco Brites Can U Dig It? just for this special occasion. It was cosmic bowling, and the Disco Brites Collection is supposed to glow under black light!

I admit: I got this nail polish for the novelty of it. I mean, really. How often am I under black light? It’s not like I work for CSI or anything. It’s only during bowling that I get to really let this color truly shine.

BTW, my final score that day was 68. Shame. Shame. Shame! But my team did win a few trophies: Best Male Bowler and Top Fundraising Team. 🙂

Continue reading →

** This post was written by Fiona. She no longer blogs for Swatch And Learn. However, Mary still continues to blog and will be happy to reply to your comment. **

There was a time when I wanted to hide myself. It was a self-esteem issue: I didn’t like people looking at me and seeing my flaws. I liked playing with makeup back then, too, but the colors I chose were always very subtle and neutral. The same goes with nail polishes. Even the finish – somehow in my head, I thought that mattes were less attention-grabbing than high-gloss finishes.

I’ve slowly broken out of that shell and embraced myself, even if it’s just a little. The makeup that I’m choosing is more brilliant. The colors that scream look-at-me-I’m-here were ones I used to shy away from, but now I’m not afraid of them anymore.

Still, my soft spot for matte nail polishes remains. And if you follow Swatch And Learn, you’d know that that blue is my favorite color. So… how could I resist L.A. Girl Matte Sky Blue? Well, I couldn’t, and I’m glad I didn’t. Continue reading →