Author Archives: Mary S.

OPI & Coca-Cola Celebrate 100 Years of the Coca-Cola Bottle with the Icons of Happiness Collection

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OPI Coca-Cola Collection 2015It’s been a century since the iconic Coca-Cola bottle was designed, and to mark this milestone, they’re teaming up again for a nail-polish collaboration.

The OPI Coca-Cola Collection 2015 (Icons of Happiness) launches this month.

Many of the colours may look familiar, and that’s because they’re relaunching six shades from the OPI Coca-Cola Collection 2014. These reprobates are: You’re So Vain-illa, Coca-Cola Red, My Signature Is “DC”, Sorry I’m Fizzy Today, Get Cherried Away, and A Grape Affair. (I reviewed and swatched some of those, so click on the links to see the in-depth individual posts on the 2014 versions.)

The two other shades are brand new, and they’re the ones I’m most excited about: Visions of Georgia Green and Centennial Silver!

Visions of Georgia Green is right up my alley, since I’m a green fiend, and Centennial Silver looks interesting because there’s a touch of gold mixed into the silver.

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OPI Make Light of the Situation Swatches & Review (Layered Over Zoya Jace)

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OPI Make Light of the Situation Swatches & ReviewOPI Make Light of the Situation from the SoftShades 2015 Collection is an iridescent glitter topper that layers over any colour to give it that ‘Ice Capades’ effect.

At the time, my existing manicure was Zoya Jace, so I experimented by putting one layer on top to see how it would transform the finish.

I like how it lights up a manicure and adds a touch of Snowflake Princess to your nails.

It would look very cute over pinks and icy over blues. And whites would look that much more snow-like. But I’d be curious how it plays with taupes, browns, greys, and oranges.

P.S. The name of the polish appeals to me because it’s part of my life philosophy. No matter how much you struggle with bad apples and no matter how many people you encounter who suffer from the Tall Poppy Syndrome who try to bring you down to their low, bitter level, you have to always find a way to rise above it and to ‘make light of the situation’, whether it’s staying positive or finding the humour in it all. Humour is a great coping mechanism, but it can also help you to thrive!

P.P.S. Anderson Cooper appears in this post!

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OPI Nail Envy Strength in Color Collection

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OPI Nail Envy Strength in Color CollectionIf you’ve followed my blog for some time, you know that my Holy Grail base coat isn’t actually a base coat at all! It’s OPI Nail Envy!

Well, OPI has infused colour into the nail treatment for a two-in-one product!

So far, they’ve released four different shades.

Three of them are classic, popular shades: Bubble Bath, Hawaiian Orchid, and Samoan Sand. Then, they’ve offered a new colour that’s exclusive to the Nail Envy formula: Pink to Envy.

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Zoya Jace Swatches & Review

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Zoya Jace Swatches & ReviewZoya Jace from the Island Fun Collection is a tropical green, so you know that I was eager to give it a whirl.

(If fingers could do a twirl like I tend to do whenever I try on A-line skirts, this nailphile’s digits would be doing it.) 😉

Although I love letting my nails slide down the rainbow, there’s something about greens that puts me at peace. (Perhaps I was a frog or a leprechaun in a previous life. Well, my ethnic background includes some Irish, so maybe I’m onto something with that leprechaun comment.)

I feel that Zoya Jace is a calm green, but it’s not too muted or too bright. Baby Bear would come home and find Goldilocks painting her nails with this green nail polish. Just right!

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Essie Silk Watercolor Collection Swatches, Bottle Shots & Press Release

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Essie Silk Watercolor CollectionIn July, the Essie Silk Watercolor Collection comes out, and it features a clean white intended to be used as a base and eight buildable, translucent colours that can be layered to create an original nail masterpiece!

This post contains a closer look at all the colours with bottle shots and swatches.

I included swatches with the white base and without the white base. Plus you’ll see how  the lacquers intensify with two coats.

For further information and the colour story behind the Essie Silk Watercolor Collection, you can read the official press release that contains all the details.

Since PR was kind enough to not only send me this collection (and in a cute gift bag), but also the press booklet, I snapped photos of the booklet and bag, so that we can share the experience together. (It’s more fun this way!)

While flipping through the Essie Silk Watercolor Collection press booklet, I saw some playful nail-art looks plus a step-by-step tutorial for one, so I took photos of them in case you’d like to try your hand at them. (I may try the Ombre Nouveau nail art because I’m a fan of wearing rainbows on my nails! If I end up doing it, I’ll be sure to share my manicure with you on here and/or on my social media.)

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Pretty Serious Iktsuarpok Swatches & Review

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Pretty Serious Iktsuarpok Swatches & ReviewDesigned by Hannah of Polly Polish, Pretty Serious Iktusarpok is the last in the second trio of the Stop! Collaborate, And Listen Collection that I’ve reviewed on here. (But it’s certainly not least!)

It takes a lot for a grey nail polish to stand out to me because I don’t explore that colour territory as much as some others.

You know that my penchant for greens and bold shades tends to take over. However, I’m not afraid of venturing out of my comfort zone. Oftentimes that’s when magic happens.

Pretty Serious Iktsuarpok is definitely out of my comfort zone, but I like it because unlike many greys, this one seems to flatter my skin tone. Also, the glass-fleck flakes add that ‘something extra’ that breathe life into the polish.

Iktsuarpok is a word I just learned because of this nail polish! Iktsuarpok describes that feeling you get when you anticipate to see if someone is coming, and you keep looking outside.

As someone who is passionate about language and the written word, adding to my vocabulary made my day!

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Pretty Serious Kashmir Swatches & Review

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Pretty Serious Kashmir Swatches & ReviewPretty Serious Kashmir from the second trio of nail-polish blogger collaboration shades in the Stop! Collaborate, And Listen Collection is sexy stuff!

It was designed by Christine of Serenity Nails, and clearly, she has an eye for colour.

Although the warm weather is making me gravitate toward bright polishes and summery shades, I enjoy wearing any colour, no matter what season it is.

Pretty Serious Kashmir is a real looker, and if you’re interested in a vampy shade with that Va-Va-Voom Factor, this baby should visit you.

It’s sultry and dark, yet not so vampy that it looks like a near black.

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