Author Archives: Mary S.

50% Rescue Beauty Sale Ends Tonight at 11 pm EDT

4 Replies

This is a quick post to let you know that the 50% Rescue Beauty Sale ends tonight at 11 pm EDT, so if there are shades that you’ve been drooling over, now’s definitely the time to snatch them up from the Rescue Beauty website!

I took two photos of some of the Rescue Beauty nail polishes that I have in my collection. It reminded me that I need to review more on here. (They tend to have excellent formulas.)

In case you’d like to see some in-depth reviews with swatches of Rescue Beauty nail polishes that I’ve posted in the past, click the link.

Rescue Beauty Nail Polish

Rescue Beauty Nail Polishes

The following items are not included in the sale: Makeupwithdrawal, Manicurator, Peachypolish.com, Refined and Polished, Morning Light, Trois Oignons Rouges, Combien?, Pardonne Moi, C’est Tout, Ah, Oui, and Bonne Journey. During this sale, only one other promotion may be redeemed (birthday code or gift card or rewards points).

Rescue Beauty Lounge nail polishes are created with resin and high molecular polymers to improve flexibility, durability, and high shine. They contain no harmful Toluene, Formaldehyde, DBP, or Formaldehyde Resin. They also don’t test on animals.

Share

Essie Leggy Legend Swatches & Review

10 Replies

Essie Leggy Legend Swatches & ReviewNo photos can ever do Essie Leggy Legend justice – it’s one of those polishes that looks even better in person!

Still, I tried to capture some of its beauty to share a taste of how majestic it is.

Essie Leggy Legend is from the Fall 2015 Collection that’s set to officially hit stores on August 25th, although I’ve already seen it online.

Although it’s advertised as a bronze, I think it’s so much more than that, and I explain why later in this post.

Continue reading →

Share

Zoya Desiree Swatches & Review

21 Replies

Zoya Desiree Swatches & ReviewBrown nail polish isn’t my thing. Never have I craved a rich chocolate manicure, but when it comes to lacquer, I’ll try out any hue because you never know if it might open a window and push you toward discovering new colour territory.

Zoya Desiree is one of the colours in the new Focus Collection that’s full of cremes, and I decided to go way outside of my comfort zone. With this brown, I did more than that. I went to the Twilight Zone!

No beating around the bush here. I strongly dislike this colour on my nails, even if the formula was flawless and the superior quality that I’ve come to expect from all Zoya nail polishes.

If you love browns, you’ll probably enjoy this, but I just couldn’t get over how it reminded me very strongly of a specific emoji (and it’s not the dancing woman in a red dress)! 😉

When I saw this polish in the bottle, I thought that it would be a good shade for Christmas when you want to do gingerbread nail art. Other than that, I can’t picture myself pulling out this polish to wear solo ever again. Sorry, brown. We were never meant to be.

On a positive note, after I painted my nails, my first thought, other than the emoji I was referring to, was the song, Shipoopi, which is from The Music Man. (Hehe, I used to sing that song after I first heard it, and my dad always laughed.) Anyway, Shipoopi came to mind mainly because of the poopi part. (Uh-huh. I’m terribly mature, I know.)

In case you don’t know (most people don’t), I grew up with musicals. Name any classic musical that was produced in the 1950s and 1960s, and I probably saw it more than once, even though I was born in the 1980s. (My dad was a big fan of movies in general, but he also had all the musicals, and we used to watch them together. I have tons of fond memories from those days, and while some musicals are cheesy, I still enjoy them.)

My all-time favourite movie is a musical – The Wizard of Oz. I probably saw it for the first time when I was 4- or 5-years old. Whenever I was sick and had to stay home from school, I watched The Wizard of Oz. On the weekends, I watched The Wizard of Oz. Heck, one time, I even lost a baby tooth while watching The Wizard of Oz. No exaggeration – I probably saw it over 100 times, yet even to this day, I still enjoy it like I’m seeing it for the first time. That’s a real classic!

(Also, since childhood, I fell in love with Return to Oz! It’s my second-favourite movie of all-time. If you haven’t seen it, it’s not a musical, and it’s a dark and twisted sequel that features Fairuza Balk as Dorothy Gale. Yup, the same actor who starred in The Craft! Haha, polar-opposite roles, and she was incredible in both!)

My favourite character from Return to Oz was Princess Mombi. (This was my favourite scene from the movie.) She was one of the villains, and she chopped off the heads of young maidens, and brought them to life with The Powder of Life. All the heads, she collected in a gallery, and she would switch out her own head for others. I always thought that was cool and creepy when I was a kid, and I was never into horror films. It was just that character that I found really unique, and back then, I read a LOT of books, so finding a unique character was a feat!)

Continue reading →

Share

Zoya Focus Collection & Zoya Flair Collection Swatches & Bottle Shots

10 Replies

Zoya Focus & Flair Collection 2015 FallYesterday, 12 nail polishes followed me home and then jumped into my mailbox a few seconds before I checked it. (Funny how that happens sometimes, right?)

While I was opening up the package with the gorgeous Fall 2015 Zoya Focus Collection (cremes) and Zoya Flair Collection (metallics), I caught myself humming.

It totally made me laugh because I had a boyfriend who once told me that he noticed that whenever I open up nail mail, I always hum. When I open up bills and junk mail, I’m silent like a lamb. Never realized it until he pointed it out.

For the Zoya Focus Collection and the Zoya Flair Collection, the gorgeousness deserves much more than mere humming. It’s the type of collection that compels you to make some noise! (Where’s a gong when you need one?)

As I pulled each nail polish out of the box and welcomed them all to their new, loving home, my eyes were wide like a lemur, and I was standing up at attention like a meerkat!

I snapped lots of photos and quick swatches of all the shades to share with you. Enjoy! 🙂

As usual, when I wear some as full manicures, I’ll do separate, in-depth reviews with swatches.

P.S. If you want to view the official Zoya Focus & Flair Collections press release, I posted it not too long ago. Click on the above link for the colour story and more information about the collection.

Continue reading →

Share

Essie Color Binge Swatches & Review

7 Replies

Essie Color Binge Swatches & ReviewThe first colour I decided to dip my fingers into from the Fall 2015 Collection available starting on August 25th was Essie Color Binge!

Orange is a colour that I tend to neglect like a bad nail-polish mother. *Hangs head in shame*

I’ve been this way since I was a kid. Never loved orange juice. Don’t like C Plus pop. Not usually drawn to fragrances with a strong tangerine note. One look into my closet reveals just a handful of orange clothing.

Maybe the only exception is that I love redheads and any hair colour that has an orange tinge to it. (I can attribute it to one of my fictitious role models growing up – Anne Shirley…or “Carrots”!)

When I was 18 or 19, I got my hair professionally dyed a firetruck red! (My facial expression resembled the emoji face with the horizontal line for the mouth when I went back home, and my dad asked, “Is it fall already?” when he opened the door. Point taken.)

Even before that, I had tried to obtain what I considered to be the ideal shade of red – a cherry red. Many times, it was flattering, haha, but that firetruck red? I think even Ronald McDonald wouldn’t approve…not that I look up to creepy fast-food clowns with terrible fashion sense for approval. 😉

When October rolls around with pumpkins and Hallowe’en begins winking at me from around the corner, that’s almost the only time I begin craving orange like something fierce. Well, also in the summer, I sometimes enjoy a vibrant orange that’s like a burst of citrus for your nails.

So, long story short, Essie Color Binge was happy that I finally chose it first instead of last. (When I turned my back, I swear I heard it mutter, “Pfft! It’s about time! What does it take to get some appreciation around here?”) 

Shh! Don’t tell Essie Color Binge, but I think the only reason I really love the colour is because it has quite a bit of red running throughout. It’s not an orange purist!

Continue reading →

Share

My Thoughts on the Sephora Epic Rewards (aka Sephora Epic Fail) Yesterday

30 Replies
Sephora Epic Fail Epic Rewards

Yesterday, most Sephora customers (myself included) felt like Chris Bosh.

If you’re reading this, chances are that you’re a beauty enthusiast like me and you spend a good chunk of change at Sephora (also known as a makeup paradise).

But with the Sephora Epic Rewards fiasco yesterday, many have been referring to it as a Sephora Epic Fail!

Is Sephora now a paradise lost?

Today, I share with you my honest, raw opinion about how everything unfolded.

Although it’s a departure from my usual nail-polish and beauty-product reviews, I feel that the topic is worth discussing because: 1) This is a beauty blog, 2) Some of my readers were probably affected, and 3) I was one of the people who tried to score the Sephora Epic Rewards and didn’t.

This post isn’t a rant. It contains constructive criticism and my viewpoint as a customer, the marketing missteps I think Sephora made, and how the company should see it as a lesson to be learned, so they can avoid making the same mistakes again and avoid a similar hailstorm of complaints.

Although I feel like I’m in the minority here, despite them being under attack from all angles, I still support Sephora and hope that they’ll find their footing again.

For the record, I’m very disappointed in what went down yesterday. They dropped the ball.

Readers, get comfy, and start painting your nails because this post is very text-heavy!

Also, if you were affected by the Sephora Epic Rewards event yesterday, how did you feel about it? Even if you didn’t participate, but heard about it, I’m curious to see which way the pendulum swings for you.

P.S. I added the caption to the image of Chris Bosh, which is from my video clip I posted over a year ago on Instagram. I think it expresses how a lot of Sephora customers feel.

Continue reading →

Share

a-england The Blessed Damozel Swatches & Review

10 Replies

A-England The Blessed Damozel Swatches & Reviewa-england The Blessed Damozel is a fierce royal purple that hails from the Heavenly Quotes Collection.

This is one of the deep shades that I like to sport when I’m in the mood for assertive nails that exclaim with a trumpet flourish, “I’m here, and I’m ready to lead a nail-polish army to victory!”

I’ve set my expectations for a-england nail polishes extraordinarily high because every single bottle I own has a flawless formula and incredible colour payoff. (I have yet to wear one that didn’t impress me with its high quality and consistency!)

One look at this photo should explain why I love this polish, but, as usual, I’ve included tons of swatches in different lighting in this post to give you a better feel for its charismatic personality.

Continue reading →

Share