Author Archives: Mary S.

China Glaze Highlight of My Summer Swatches & Review

China Glaze Highlight of My Summer Swatches & ReviewWhenever I think of ‘neon’, highlighter pinks and yellows usually spring to mind first.

But China Glaze Highlight of My Summer from the creme half of the Sunsational Collection has me rethinking how I define ‘neon’.

When I first looked at the bottle, China Glaze Highlight of My Summer just looked like a fun minty green. But the second I started painting my nails with it, it took on a life of its own.

It popped so much against my skin tone (even in dim light and in the shade) that it must be a neon. I’ve worn other mint greens, but I can’t think of many that were quite this bright on me.

I was torn when writing this post whether or not to call it a neon, but I decided that I can’t just call it bright. On me, it became a neon. Maybe if your skin tone is different, it might not pop as much (or may pop more). All I know is that, even though it wasn’t a lime green (which is what companies typically put out for a neon green), it still seemed to ‘glow’. (It was much brighter on me in person than what I could capture in my photos.)

P.S. As of this review, I’ve now finished reviewing all 6 shades in the creme half of the Sunsational Collection. Stay tuned because I will also be reviewing the 6 jellies in the other half soon!

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Bath & Body Works Summertime S’mores Candle Review & Pictures

Bath & Body Works Summertime S'mores Candle Review & PicturesIf you’ve ever made (and more importantly, eaten!) yummy s’mores by the campside, you should already be salivating at the mere thought of this scented candle. (At least, this is what happened to me!)

I have been steering clear of Bath & Body Works for many months because my collection of 3-wick candles has grown to an embarrassingly large size. 😉

But one day, when I was browsing the stores with the guy I’ve been dating, we ended up ducking into that dangerous store of addictive aromas.

I made the mistake of smelling this Bath & Body Works Summertime S’mores Candle.

My guy also thought it was incredible, and well, to make a long story short, this candle (and another one) jumped into my hands and threatened to hold me hostage until I purchased it. (What choice did I have, right? Hehe!)

Also, when the cashier was ringing up my purchase, she noticed the freehand owl nail art I had on. Apparently she follows beauty blogs, so I told her about Swatch And Learn. She scribbled it down on a little piece of paper, and I wonder if she ever ended up visiting. 🙂

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OPI Haven’t the Foggiest Swatches & Review

OPI Haven't the Foggiest Swatches & ReviewStarting off the week is OPI Haven’t the Foggiest, which is a shimmery metallic silver from the upcoming San Francisco Collection (due out on August 7).

When I was in high school, I used to wear a lot of metallic nail polish (particularly silver), but after, I rarely did.

Silver sometimes is a hard colour for me to wear on my nails because I have warm undertones.

Maybe there’s a trick to picking out warmer-toned silvers, but I have yet to figure it out because I simply don’t buy enough silvers in general.

Even though I don’t wear them enough, what I will say is that I do appreciate how clean and bright a good metallic silver looks on fingertips. Continue reading

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China Glaze Bottoms Up Swatches & Review

China Glaze Bottoms Up Swatches & ReviewAre you looking for a bright polish that walks on the neon side?

China Glaze Bottoms Up from the Sunsational Collection is a fun one to wear when the weather’s gloomy because it doesn’t let Mother Nature get it down!

It’s a bubblegum pink with a hint of purple, and on my skin tone, it really popped! When I wore this, strangers were looking at my nails as I walked by. (I love it when a statement colour has the ability to turn heads, don’t you?)

China Glaze Bottoms Up is from the Cremes half, and it was one of my favourites from the set.
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Shimmer Julie Swatches & Review (Gradient Glitter Over China Glaze Bottoms Up)

Shimmer Julie Swatches & ReviewA little while ago, Cindy (the creative genius behind Shimmer nail polishes) reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in reviewing some of her lacquers.

I had never tried any of her glitters before, so I was curious. Plus I had seen a lot of great nail bloggers singing praises.

Curiosity killed the cat. (But all cats go to heaven, right?) 😉

Thanks to Cindy’s overwhelming generosity, I have quite a few Shimmer polishes to share with you.

In today’s post, I’d like to put the spotlight on Shimmer Julie, which is the very first one I wore.

Instead of wearing it as a full-on glitter manicure, I decided to play with it and create a slight gradient-glitter manicure layered over a pink, China Glaze Bottoms Up, which I will review soon.

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OPI Lost on Lombard Swatches & Review

OPI Lost on Lombard Swatches & ReviewSure, fall is far off, but since I had the privilege to own OPI Lost on Lombard prior to the August 7 release, I wanted to give you a first look at this lovely muted red.

It’s from the OPI San Francisco Collection, and if you’ve been following Swatch And Learn for a little while, you’ll have seen that I’ve reviewed and photographed quite a few from it.

(I hope to finish reviewing them all before they’re officially released! Stay tuned for more!)

OPI Lost on Lombard isn’t the usual type of red that I’d sport. Normally I’d go for a fire-truck red or something shimmery or flashy. But I do love cremes, and this one has a very nice formula and classic autumnal charm.

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Zoya Liberty Swatches & Review

Zoya Liberty Swatches & ReviewMy favourite type of blue nail polish is vivid like the lagoon in a fairytale. So the minute I saw Zoya Liberty from the PixieDust Summer Collection, I knew it was a must-have!

It’s fresh, bright, bold, and fun – exactly what I love in a manicure. (I think it would suit a wide variety of skin tones, too!)

And oh yeah, I’m still on the textured-nail trend, baby! I won’t be getting off soon, unless the conductor kicks me out. (I’d be clinging on for dear life. Thank goodness for strong nails!) 😉

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know that I loved the Zoya PixieDust Collection for Summer so much that I bought the entire 6-piece set!

I’ve so far worn 2 from that collection, and I can’t wait to sport them all! Zoya really did a wonderful job on these colours!
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