Author Archives: Mary S.

Quick Look: Gwen Stefani by OPI Collection Pictures & Swatches

Gwen Stefani by OPI Collection Swatches & PicturesStop the presses! Hold the polish!

Hehe, yesterday, I came home from work to these 6 shades from the Gwen Stefani by OPI Collection, so I was fast on the draw to put together this Quick Look post.

Many nailphiles are also fans of Gwen Stefani, so there’s lots of anticipation surrounding this collection that will hit stores in January 2014.

Since this is only a Quick Look post, that means I’ll show you bottle shots and swatches.

Later on, when I wear each one as a full manicure, I’ll publish separate in-depth reviews with more swatches in more lighting conditions, so you’ll get a better idea of their personalities.

If you’re interested in reading the official Gwen Stefani by OPI Collection press release and seeing the promo pictures, click on that link.

For now, here’s a little something to whet your appetite! 😉 Enjoy!

Note: The polishes that will be in stores will have special shrinkbands around the handles. Mine don’t have them because they were provided to me by PR.

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CND Vinylux Married to the Mauve Swatches & Review

CND Vinylux Married to the Mauve Swatches & ReviewYou may remember that a while ago, I wore a CND Vinylux nail polish and blogged about my experience using it in conjunction with the matching Weekly Top Coat.

This time, thanks to Trade Secrets, I was able to try CND Vinylux Married to the Mauve!

It’s a creme polish with a dusty, greyish mauve hue that I really think is sophisticated, but still interesting and fun.

Now, CND recommends that you skip the base coat because it’s built into the coloured polish and use the CND Vinylux Weekly Top Coat, but this time, I decided to see what would happen if I rebelled! 😉 Hehe, yes, that’s right, I wore my usual base coat and my favourite shiny, fast-drying top coat. Check out the rest of my post to learn the results!

Note: My camera captured CND Vinylux Married to the Mauve as more of a dark purple. In real life it’s lighter and has more noticeable grey tones mixed in with the mauve.

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OPI All I Want for Christmas (Is OPI) Swatches & Review

OPI All I Want for Christmas (Is OPI) Swatches & ReviewI’m the type of person who can listen to Christmas music any time of year because it’s so cheerful, and whenever you’re in a bad mood, you just play a festive tune, and it’s like magic.

There are so many great songs that are like instant cheer, and Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You is certainly one of them. It just has that happy, feel-good vibe to it. That coupled with Mariah Carey’s outstanding singing voice is a perfect match!

This brings me to today’s post – a Christmas nail polish that you can wear any time of year to give you that holiday cheer. It’s OPI All I Want for Christmas (Is OPI) from the OPI Mariah Carey Holiday Collection!

My one piece of advice is that if you’re wearing a fast-drying top coat like I did with this polish, you may need to do some clean-up because it could shrink a little and leave behind raggedy edges.

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China Glaze Mingle with Kringle Swatches & Review

China Glaze Mingle with Kringle Swatches & ReviewChina Glaze Mingle with Kringle is a blingtastic gold that I am absolutely crazy about! (It’s from the China Glaze Happy HoliGlaze Collection.)

There aren’t too many golds in my nail-polish collection, but the ones I have, I love!

Thanks to NailPolishCanada, I got to try this incredibly festive shade that I have been wearing for a full 7 days as of the time I’m preparing this blog post!

(That doesn’t usually happen because I’m the type of nailphile who typically changes my nail colour often. So, I hope it speaks volumes as to just how much I adore China Glaze Mingle with Kringle!)

My cuticles are a little stained from a red nail polish that I wore earlier. After a day of washing my hands, it went away, haha, but I just couldn’t wait that long to snap photos of this nail polish.

In real life, the red cuticles weren’t so obvious as when they’re blown up on the blog. And really, the gorgeous gold put such a huge smile on my face, I hardly noticed the stained cuticles when I wore it, so that’s all that matters to me!

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Gwen Stefani by OPI Collection Press Release & Promo Pictures

OPI Gwen Stefani by OPI CollectionGwen Stefani gets my attention because she expresses her individuality freely, whether it’s through her statement-making red lips, bright pink hair (back in the day), or quirky fashion sense.

Naturally, when I caught wind of a collaboration between Gwen Stefani and OPI, I anxiously anticipated what colours and finishes would be included in the collection.

Yesterday, I received the Gwen Stefani by OPI Collection press release and some promo pictures, so I had to share them with you!

You’ll notice that there are 6 nail-polish images, yet there are 7 shades in the collection. This is because (as PR informed me), Push and Shove isn’t yet available. When it is, if I can get an image, I will update this post.

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Blog News: My Prom Manicure Is Featured on PromCanada.com

SwatchAndlearn Prom Nail Art on Prom Canada smallerRemember not long ago, I participated in a nail-art challenge to create a prom-inspired manicure for a new magazine called Prom Canada? (I came up with this manicure incorporating freehand and nail-stamping designs.)

Well, they’ve launched a new website (PromCanada.com), and they published an article featuring my nail art as well as Dee Thompsons’ (the contest winner’s) and other voters’ favourites!

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China Glaze Just Be-Claws Swatches & Review

China Glaze Just Be-Claws Swatches & ReviewChina Glaze Just Be-Claws is another stunning shade from the Happy HoliGlaze Collection. (They’re really on a roll for this Christmas collection!)

If you liked the way OPI Underneath the Mistletoe looked, I think you’ll probably also adore China Glaze Just Be-Claws.

While they’re very different polishes (and you can certainly justify owning both), what makes them like cousins instead of sisters is how the glitter looks so sparkly, as though you’re gazing upon treasures at the bottom of the ocean.

This jewel-toned red is very luxurious, and I really loved wearing it!

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