Author Archives: Mary S.

China Glaze My Lodge or Yours? Swatches & Review

China Glaze My Lodge or Yours Swatches & Review

China Glaze Your Lodge or Mine? is from The Great Outdoors Collection, and it’s a shade that I never craved before, but when I saw it, I was curious about how it would look on my nails. (You know that I-Must-Get-You-On-My-Nails-Now feeling? I felt that the second I saw this bottle.)

It’s a dusty mauve with a grey undertone, and although I haven’t worn many colours like this, it felt nostalgic because the OPI La Collection de France came to mind. (That collection introduced mushroom, taupe, and greyish purple.)

China Glaze Your Lodge or Mine? would definitely have fit into that collection. This colour has an edginess about it, yet somehow it’s still soft and reminds me a bit of a vintage chiffon dress.

Despite the slight bubbling (from my top coat) and accidental nicking of my manicure, I absolutely fell in love. It’s making me want to branch out and try more shades like this.

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KBShimmer Soul Deep Swatches & Review

KBShimmer Soul Deep Swatches & Review

KBShimmer Soul Deep is a blackened blue-based purple cream that’s what an eggplant would look like playing Spin the Bottle in a dark closet. (Don’t ask how I’m privy to such knowledge! Haha!) Or it’s like the magician’s cloak on a dark and brooding evening with a thunderstorm looming.

No matter how you’d describe it, it’s dramatic, dark, and moody. But it’s just what I was craving.

I was going to go for a jet black, but this baby was part of the KBShimmer Fall 2015 Collection in my pile of untried polishes, so how could I neglect it? Especially when it looked up at me with those longing puppy-dog eyes? Why, it would just be pure heartless of me to pass it by, wouldn’t it? 😉

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Misa The Grass Is Greener on My Side Swatches & Review

Misa The Grass is Greener on My Side Swatches & ReviewMisa The Grass Is Greener on My Side is one of my first Misa nail polishes, if not the first Misa nail polish that I’ve ever purchased. So it only made sense, nickels, and dimes that I showcased it on the blog finally! (Hehe, I couldn’t resist the ‘cents’ pun.)

Back when I first purchased this lacquer, I was most likely heavily into purples (my first nail love), yet this bright turquoise called my name.

Since then, greens no longer just call me. They scream at the top of Mount Everest, hit gongs by my bedside, and think they’re cute when they bang pots and pans with wooden spoons on Saturday mornings. 😉

Aside from the colour, which I’ll get into later in this post, the name “The Grass Is Greener on My Side” appeals to me because it’s a wonderful reminder that, despite societal farts in our faces telling us that we’re not good enough, we should appreciate what we have.

Those who badmouth others, spread falsehoods behind their backs, and exert energy on negativity make me really sad, and I don’t want to invest in any prime real estate with people who play mental Monopoly. Pass Go, and leave unnecessary negative thoughts in Jail. This isn’t your Park Place.

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Misa Girls’ Night Out Swatches & Review (Revisited)

Misa Girls Night Out Swatches & Review

While digging through my nail-polish drawers, I came across Misa Girls’ Night Out, which I wore and reviewed in a post from 2011.

When revisiting this nail polish, I also learned that I have changed a bit. My perspective on pinks has softened, and I definitely can now appreciate saturated pinks more than before and also figure out which pinks suit my skin tone more than others.

Back then, I remember being wildly impressed with its flawless formula. Fast forward four years! I was curious to see if it thickened over time, or if it remained as incredible as before. (See the rest of this post to find out how it fared this time around.)

Miss Girls’ Night Out is an oldie, but a goodie, and even though summer is drawing to a close, it doesn’t stop me from whipping out bright shades to suit my mood!

I feel like Misa nail polishes are unfortunately overlooked, but I have had great experiences with them, and I’ve got plenty of their lacquers in my stash from back in the day. (Expect to see more reviews of this brand on here. They deserve more attention!)

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Nail Art Tutorial: Ink Spill Nails

Essie Ink Spill Nail Art

First of all, HAPPY LABOUR DAY! 🙂

The long weekend has been quite a treat, and although I wish I could say that I’m taking a break today, I’m…labouring. Hehe! Lots of oh-so-exciting-not-really-exciting house chores to do, and I also played around with some polishes.

Essie’s PR team occasionally sends me some step-by-step nail-art tutorials featuring their nail polishes, and this is one of the most recent featuring Ink Spill Nail Art designed by Rita Remark. (She’s the lead nail artist for Essie Canada, and a while ago, I got to meet Rita Remark!)

The Ink Spill Nail Art features four Essie nail polishes:

  • Blanc 
  • Bell Bottom Blues 
  • After School Boy Blazer
  • Midnight Cami

This post contains the official photos and instructions straight from PR. If you try this or a variation of it, show me. I’d love to see what you come up with!

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Maybelline Color Blur Matte Pencil Lip Swatches & Review

Maybelline Color Blur Matte Pencil Swatches Review

In early June, I got to wear all 10 of the new Maybelline Color Blur Matte Pencils that were released this August in Canada, thanks to PR sending me these and other Maybelline goodies!

In the above collage, I show 9 of them, but in this post, I’ll show you all 10 and let you know my thoughts on the general formula and packaging, as well as each shade.

If you follow me on social media, you already saw these lip swatches, but since I realize that not all my readers use social media, I decided to post them here. 🙂

Which one do you like the most? My favourite is funnily enough the first one I ever wore – Berry Misbehaved!

As you know, I don’t post too many photos of myself (excluding my nails, of course), so this was a lot of selfies that I snapped with my phone.

I wore one colour each day I went to work, so that’s why the lighting is different. Sometimes I faced the window, other times I relied on office lighting, and some days were really sunny or dim. I didn’t swatch them. Each of them I wore for the entire work day and into the night until I washed up and went to bed.

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OPI Infinite Shine Non-Stop White Swatches & Review

OPI Infinite Shine Non-Stop White Swatches & ReviewWhen I painted all my nails with OPI Infinite Shine Non-Stop White, it reminded me of when my friends and I used to paint our nails with whiteout in high school…except OPI has a smoother and creamier formula than the stationery supply, of course!

I’ve been looking for a one-coat white nail polish for a very long time, even though I rarely wear a full manicure of just white.

While OPI Infinite Shine Non-Stop White isn’t fully opaque in a single coat, it has very good coverage, especially for this clean white.

With my nails looking like snow, this manicure resembles a fresh, new slate.

I feel like a white manicure looks very summery on other people, and sometimes it’s very chic. On my nails, though, I feel the strong urge to paint a design on top or layer it with glitter or dots.

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