Author Archives: Mary S.

MAC Ronnie Red Lipstick Swatches & Review

MAC Ronnie Red Lipstick Swatches & Review The majority of my blog posts are about nail polish, but I’m a huge fan of beauty products, too.

You may remember that I was taken over by insanity on many counts and placed an astronomical order because the MAC Archie’s Girls Collection dangled a hook with a ‘worm’, and well, I’m a Pisces, so I fell for the trick. Darn! 😉

If you follow me on Instagram, you already got some sneak peek lip swatches on MAC Ronnie Red Lipstick.

Excuse me, but I am in love with Ronnie Red! And this is coming from someone who hardly wears red lip colour. I wanted to try this one, plus the Veronica Lodge packaging was too good to pass up.

I’m so glad I bought the MAC Ronnie Red Lipstick because it’s literally the perfect wearable red lipstick for me. Since buying it, I’ve worn it so much that I’m considering going to the MAC store and buying a back-up!

P.S. I also want to take this opportunity to say that I’ve read a lot of the comments that you’ve left in my Illamasqua Raindrops Giveaway post, and I’m incredibly touched. I will try my best to reply to comments on the weekend (because right now time is soooo tight).

But I wanted to let you all know that I am just so grateful that I have the BEST blog readers around! You have no idea how much what you’ve said means to me. I work hard on my blog, and the fact that you appreciate it makes me teary eyed!

THANK YOU for your support and for being vocal about it. It really does motivate me to continue blogging for as long as I can.

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(CLOSED) Giveaway: Enter to Win Illamasqua Raindrops! (5 Winners)

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Edit (February 24): The 5 winners are…Jasmine, Stella, Cara, Lilnol, and Proudmar98! Congratulations! Please check your e-mail shortly. You’ll have 48 hours to claim your prize from the time I send the e-mail. The giveaway is now closed. Thank you to everyone for participating!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Will you be my nailphile Valentine today? 😉

I thought it would be cool to have a special Valentine’s Day giveaway. (If you follow me on Instagram, you were the first to know about this well in advance with specifics! Only yesterday did I post a pre-announcement on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.)

Today’s the perfect occasion to share the love and give back to my loyal readers. (I really appreciate your support and all the thoughtful comments you’ve left on here.)

Illamasqua-Raindrops-Giveaway-SwatchAndLearn

I reached out to Illamasqua and asked if we could team up for a fun giveaway. They were incredibly generous, and not only did they say yes and offer Illamasqua Raindrops as the prize, but they also said that they’d supply 5 (FIVE!) bottles! Yes, that’s right – there will be 5 winners, and guess what? Anyone in the world can enter – nobody is excluded!

A huge thank you to Illamasqua for making this possible for Swatch And Learn readers!

Please continue reading the rest of this post for the details on how to enter.

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Nicole by OPI Stand by Your Manny Swatches & Review

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When I first saw that this polish from the Modern Family Collection was called Nicole by OPI Stand by Your Manny, I immediately thought of Patsy Cline’s version of Stand by Your Man.

My father was a music lover, and Patsy Cline was one of the many artists blasting from his speakers.

And it’s pretty cool that this is a periwinkle blue. Blue was my dad’s favourite colour, but especially light blue.

So…I’m very happy to have this in my collection, not only because it’s a pretty colour, but because it reminds me a lot of my father.

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Reader Requested Nail Art Tutorial: Violet Beauregarde Nails

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Violet Beauregard Nails Nail Art Tutorial & Photos One of my readers, Annika, e-mailed me her ideas for a Violet Beauregarde nail design and asked if I could do a nail tutorial based on the character from the original 1971 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory character.

Since I haven’t done freehand nail art in some time, I thought I’d give it a go.

You’ll remember that Violet was the one who chewed the same piece of gum for a long time. And when at the factory, she can’t resist trying the new chewing gum that Willy Wonka has come up with that includes flavours such as appetizers, main courses, and even desserts!

Haha, she grows bigger and bigger, turning blue/violet as the seconds pass! Finally, the Oompa Loompas have to take her to the Juicing Room to squeeze it all out.

Here is my version of Violet Beauregarde Nails.

Instead of making the buckle sideways on the red belt, I wanted to give it a twist, so I painted them very similar to the buckles in the Santa Nails I did before on here.

If you want to take a completely literal and accurate approach, paint the red belt and buckles horizontally.

In this post, I’ll show you more photos of this quick design as well as step-by-step instructions with photos for how to recreate it.

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Reader Request: Minty Green Nail-Polish Comparison Swatches & Photos

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Mint Green Nail Polish Swatches & Comparison Photos Recently when I reviewed Topshop Gone Fishing, one of my readers (Alex), asked if I could do a Minty Green Nail-Polish Comparison post with specific hues.

Since I was also curious about how different or similar the shades were (as well as a couple of others), I was happy to oblige. Hope that you’ll find this mint green nail-polish comparison helpful!

The nail polishes I compared were Topshop Gone Fishing, Duri Summer Rain, China Glaze Re-Fresh Mint, Essie Mint Candy Apple, OPI Gargantuan Green Grape, and China Glaze For Audrey. (I’ve reviewed some of those polishes in-depth in separate posts. Find links later in this post.)

If you would like me to do more comparison posts like this in the future, please let me know specifically which polishes you’re interested in seeing.

I can’t promise that I’ll fulfill all reader requests. It depends on if I already have the polishes and if I have time. (I work very hard on my blog after my full-time job and on the weekends, so time can be really tight, especially when I squeeze blogging inbetween my social life and freelance-work schedules.)

That being said, I will pick a few requests to do! I have a pack of blank nail wheels that I haven’t been using much. It’s time to put them to work! *Cracks whip* 😉

P.S. You may remember that I’ve said before how I don’t swatch nail polish on my nails. It’s not my style. I wear full manicures and then take photos while I’m wearing them. This is how I really enjoy polish. I only use the term ‘swatch’ because it’s the familiar lingo. Well, the only time I’m comfortable with actual swatching is on nail wheels for comparison posts like this or to show you layering experiments. I hope that you’ll understand my reasoning. I love polish, and if I ever start swatching on my own nails, it may kill my enthusiasm. I don’t want that to happen!)

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Smorgasbord Sundays: I Have the Map of London…on My Umbrella

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Fulton London Map Umbrella Sure, it’s still winter, but I figure that if I blabber on about things for spring, maybe Mother Nature will bring on the milder weather. 😉

So, although there’s snow on the ground and it’s still chilly outside here in Canada, I’m blogging about an umbrella today.

This Fulton Map of London Umbrella is a manual, mini collapsible umbrella that opens up with a full-size cover.

Although this umbrella is the perfect size that fits in your purse easily, I like keeping it in my desk drawer in the office. It’s my “emergency” umbrella for when I didn’t bring an umbrella to work, but when I’m about to leave, there’s a downpour. D’oh!

(I brought it home to take photos of. 🙂 Now I’ll need to remember to bring it back to the office!)

What I love about this Fulton umbrella is that the underside has an accurate map of London! How cool is that? I’ve never been to London, England before, but this would come in handy if I ever visit.

I’ve never owned a black umbrella. When the weather is inclement, I love having fun or silly accessories.

Maybe in another post, I’ll show you the 2 clear large bubble umbrellas I have. One has multicoloured polka dots all over, and the other has a quirky birdcage design. If I show you those bubble umbrellas, I’ll need to ask a friend to take a photo of me holding them so you can see the full effect. Those umbrellas need to be shown off in all their glory!

Then I have a regular compact umbrella, but it’s in a bright pink, which makes me happy. I’ve looked for green umbrellas, but they seem to be hiding from me. Guess they know I’m an insatiable green fiend…

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