Author Archives: Mary S.

OPI DS Tourmaline Swatches & Review

OPI DS Tourmaline Swatches & Review Okay, so last week was crazy busy, as you probably guessed, judging from how I posted less often than I usually do.

I was preparing to paint the accent wall in my living room! (If you follow me on social media, you know that on Saturday, I painted it green – haha, no shock there, right? It was in Behr Premium Plus Ultra paint in PPU10-7 Lima Green, in case you were wondering. And, although I tried taking photos of it to show you, unfortunately, my smartphone made it look like a completely different colour. I may try with my DSLR later. I’m soooo happy with the shade. It looks even better than the paint chip.)

But, now onto today’s review! 😉

I wore OPI DS Tourmaline for over 5 days straight. (When I was Instagramming, I thought it was 5 days, but apparently it was closer to a week that I wore it!) Even more impressive because it wore for a long time, even though I didn’t wear a base or top coat. (The press release says that you can wear it with or without a base coat. Since I love textured polishes, I tried it without any nail treatments.)

OPI DS Tourmaline is 1 of 2 new shades in the Designer Series line, and it features the Polished Quartz finish, which is very sparkly and has a textured finished.

I found it very challenging to photograph this polish, especially because on the days when I had time to snap photos before heading to work in the morning, the sky was overcast. (As you may know, I haven’t yet invested in studio lighting, so I rely on Mother Nature and my DSLR camera.)

Let me tell you – OPI DS Tourmaline is an incredible nail polish that no photos can do justice! There’s way more sparkle and loads more colours crammed into this bottle than I could capture. Also, the pink is lighter than the magenta you see in my photos. (I posted a couple of photos of it on Instagram, so you can compare how my smartphone’s camera captured the shade.)

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Essie Take It Outside Swatches & Review

Essie Take It Outside Swatches & ReviewEssie Take It Outside is part of the Fall 2014 Collection, which I showed you the press release of recently.

I don’t usually wear softer shades like this, but I do enjoy switching things up. Life is too short to not enjoy expressing yourself with colour, and I love to sport everything and anything! 🙂

This is a very sophisticated and easy-to-wear shade that I feel many will love because it’s appropriate to wear in even conservative offices, yet it’s not boring because the taupe seems to have just a tinge of purple. (I think that’s what gives it some slight edginess!)

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OPI Orange You Fantastic! Swatches & Review (Mattified)

OPI Orange You Fantastic Swatches & ReviewAlthough OPI Orange You Fantastic! is from the Coca-Cola Collection that came out a while ago, and I sported this manicure over a month ago, it totally has an autumnal vibe. So, I thought it was appropriate to show you this glittertastic nail polish in September!

With pieces of red, orange, and yellow glitter, it’s like the beautiful leaves that change colour, and you can bring them with you everywhere you go! How fun is that? 🙂

Normally I’d slick on a shiny top coat, but this time, I felt the need to mattify it with the OPI Matte Top Coat. (I really liked the finished result because it looks almost like frosted glitter.)

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Quick Look: Bundle Monster Sun Kissed Collection

Bundle Monster Sun Kissed Collection Review & PicturesGuess what just arrived in my mailbox when I got home from work last night? The brand new Bundle Monster Sun Kissed Collection, which I shared the press release about on here recently.

So I picked up my camera and got snappin’ because I’m sure that a lot of fellow nailphiles would love to see the cool designs on the 10 stainless-steel nail-stamping plates!

In this post, you’ll see each Bundle Monster plate in detail, as well as some commentary on each plate.

Stay tuned for a future post when I share my swatches of the manicures I come up with!

(Side Note: You may have noticed that this week, there have been fewer blog posts than usual. Things are always hectic on my end, but this week was particularly crazzzyyy town. I hope to get back into my usual 5-per-week posting schedule. I’ll do my best!) 🙂

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Zoya Ultra PixieDust Collection Press Release

Zoya Ultra PixieDust CollectionHave you heard? The Zoya Ultra PixieDust Collection for Fall 2014 is available to be pre-ordered!

This small (but mighty) collection features three sparkly shades in the fine-sugar texture, which is the Zoya PixieDust finish that many nailphiles (myself included) have fallen for.

They call this “Ultra PixieDust” because not only does it have fine micro glitter, but also larger hexagonal glitter for a cool effect!

In wine, plum, and red, these shades are saturated, and I feel like their rich hues would flatter most skin tones.

Which one is calling out your name? I think all three are gorgeous, but if I absolutely had to pick just one, it would be Zoya Noir, the vampy plum!

As with all Zoya PixieDust nail polishes, you don’t have to wear a base or top coat, which means you’ll finish painting your manicure in a snap!

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Giveaway: Win the 6-Piece China Glaze Stoked to Be Soaked Set! (Canada & US)

Edit: Congratulations, Lawren! You’ve won my China Glaze Stoked to Be Soaked Set nail-polish giveaway! Please reply to my e-mail within 48 hours to claim your prize. Thank you to everyone for participating! Stay tuned because I’ll be having more fun nail-polish giveaways soon! 🙂

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I’ve been hinting for a while that there was going to be a nail-polish giveaway really soon, and guess what? Today is the day! 🙂 Surprise!

Although fall is quickly approaching, it doesn’t mean that we can’t still enjoy bright colours on our nails, right?

This is like summer’s last hurrah! From now until Friday September 19 at 11:59 pm EDT, Canadian and United States residents can enter my giveaway for a chance to win the entire 6-piece China Glaze Stoked to Be Soaked Set!

China Glaze Stoked to Be Soaked Set Giveaway

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Essie Fall 2014 Collection Press Release

Essie Fall 2014 CollectionAlthough the Essie Fall 2014 Collection came out in August, I still want to share the press release because it contains information about each colour that some readers may find useful.

Also, in this press release, I’ve included a little note from Essie Weingarten (the Founder and Global Creative Director of Essie), as well a photo of her.

It’s always exciting to see the face behind the brand and to know the creative process behind a project. It breathes more meaning and helps you to appreciate the finished result that much more.

Plus PR sent me a photo of a cool linear ombre nail-art design created using colours from the Essie Fall 2014 Collection, so I’ve included that (and the instructions for how to replicate it) as well!

Which are your top picks from this collection, and have you already got your hands on some of these? If so, which ones?

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