Category Archives: Blog News

Blog News: I Had Dinner with Suzi Weiss-Fischmann of OPI (Plus Surprise Giveaway!)

Suzi-Weiss-Fischmann-OPI-Nicole-by-OPI-Mary-Swatch-And-Learn Use for BlogThis is definitely the biggest blog news I’ve ever posted on here, hands down (paws down, claws down, feathers down, flippers down, man down, and Richard-Adams-Watership-Down…You get the idea)!

I’ll always remember Sunday October 14th, 2012 as the day when I met Suzi Weiss-Fischmann (the Executive Vice President and Artistic Director) of OPI and Nicole by OPI and had dinner with her at the Ciao Wine Bar in Yorkville! (Harris Shepard of the PR firm by the same name also accompanied her.)

If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you already heard me gushing about it (perhaps to the point of making your eyes roll), but things like this don’t happen everyday, so I’ll keep squealing and squealing until I’m turned into delicious bacon. (Poor piggy…)

It literally was one of my dreams come true, and it was a dream that I never thought would ever happen.

I have to thank Langton Communications for inviting me to the exclusive event. Suzi flew in especially for this occasion, which was a huge honour in and of itself.

I have great memories that I’ll hold onto until the day I die. (Although I almost died when she walked into the room. Before she even introduced herself, I had a total fan-girl moment and said, “Hiiiiii, Suzzzzziiiii!” louder than I expected because I was so excited.)

My account in this blog post is based purely on my memory. Unfortunately, I didn’t think to bring a notebook and pen like many of the smart bloggers who attended.

P.S. Keep reading and find out how you can win an autographed bottle of OPI Movin’ Out by Suzi!

Edit (November 1, 2012): I’ve contacted the lucky winner – Congratulations, Melissa V! She replied to my e-mail to claim her prize, so this giveaway is officially closed. Thank you all for participating! Also, please note that I’ll be replying to all the comments left, but it’ll take me some time. 🙂

Edit (March 24, 2013): I recently got the opportunity to attend another exclusive event and meet Suzi Weiss-Fischmann a 2nd time! Click here to read my detailed blog post on it!

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Blog News: My Neon Skull Nails Featured on beautylish

I have some cool news to share: My wonderful reader, Frances (aka Frosso) from Lacquer Me Silly, told me yesterday that we were featured on beautylish!

They chose to highlight her whimsical Tim Burton MoMa-inspired manicure and my neon skull nails.

(Click here if you want to see my traditional black-and-white-skull nail-art tutorial for it. You can check out the original beautylish article here or by clicking on the below screenshot.)

beautylish SwatchAndLearn Neon Skull Nails Nail Art

There are also lots of interesting designs from other talented ladies. It’s very inspiring to see their self-expression! 🙂 I highly recommend you check it out and join beautylish if you haven’t already – it’s free and fun.

Whenever I receive amazing news like this, it always reminds me to thank you for being so supportive. I really value my blog readers, whether you’ve been with me since the very beginning or have just found Swatch And Learn today.

I’m proud to be part of the nail-polish community – we’re a strong and creative group! I feel like we’ve learned so much from each other, and it makes me smile just thinking about how a similar interest (haha, or obsession!) like nail polish can bring people all over the world together.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog despite your busy schedule! I know that we’re all really busy, life gets stressful, and sometimes we feel like we can’t even breathe. So the fact that you’ve spent any time on here is a big deal to me – it hasn’t gone unnoticed.

On another note…

What are you up to this weekend? I’m going to be up to something really cool! Although I won’t spoil it by saying what it is yet, I can tell you that it made me scream for joy on the inside and squeal like a happy Wilbur the pig on the outside! *Pinches self to make sure it’s not a dream* But, don’t worry, I won’t be a tease for long. 😉 I’ll definitely be blogging about it (probably next week). Keep your eyes peeled like a banana…(I also hope to start the Milani giveaway soon. It’ll be open to everyone!)

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Blog News: My Nails & Review Featured on Zoya’s Blog

Yesterday I found out something pretty cool! Zoya featured me on their official blog and even directly quoted my review about their lovely polish, Daul! 🙂 What a lovely surprise!

If you’d like to see my Zoya Daul swatches and review, click the link. If you want to see the article on Zoya’s blog, click here or on the below screenshot.

Swatch And Learn Featured on Zoya Nail Polish BlogZoya-Blog-Swatch-And-Learn

The article is a bit fuzzy at that size, so I included a larger version of it:

Swatch And Learn Featured on Zoya Official Nail Polish Blog

Edit: Haha, only now did I realize a typo in the first sentence, so I edited my original Daul review. Oopsie!

Support from my amazing readers and from companies that I believe in really make my day. I’m so thankful and extremely flattered! 🙂

P.S. Yesterday I posted press releases, and today is ‘blog news’ day. Tomorrow I’ll try really hard to get up a review about a limited-edition nail polish that I bought very recently. 😉

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Blog News: I Was Mentioned in a Sephora YouTube Video About Illamasqua Nail Polish

Hope that you’re having a fantastic Wednesday so far! Guess what? I’m about to freak out! 😉 I have something pretty cool to share!

One of my loyal readers, Olivia Frescura, told me yesterday that Sephora mentioned me in their YouTube video about the Illamasqua Rubber Brights Collection! (Edit: I later learned that this video was produced by the amazing Illamasqua team themselves for Sephora’s use. :D)

I’m so excited about this – it was a pleasant surprise! 🙂 They included me in their section about Illamasqua Nurture (the green polish in the new collection).

(You’ll remember that I reviewed and swatched it not too long ago. You can see my blog post on Illamasqua Nurture here.)

Swatch And Learn Mentioned in Sephora Illamasqua YouTube Video

Swatch And Learn in Sephora Illamasqua YouTube Video

What blew my mind was that they also featured quotes from Harpers Bazaar US, Scrangie, and a few other bloggers. It was a real honour to be in such incredible company!

In the video, they not only show the Illamasqua nail polishes, but they also show you a quick and easy nail tutorial. You can view the YouTube video here or by clicking on the screenshot above! (And if you want to see where they mention me, it’s at 0:51.)

I want to take this time to say a huge thank you to all of my wonderful readers for supporting me every step of the way. It means so much, and I’m looking forward to blogging for as long as I can. 🙂

What do you think of the nail art they did? Would you try it? Have you purchased any of the Illamasqua Rubber Brights polishes?

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Blog News: Swatch And Learn Is Now on Instagram

Swatch And Learn on InstagramHey everyone!

Smile for the camera! 🙂 This is a quick second post for today just to let you know that I’m now on Instagram.

Feel free to follow me. You can find me under my username “@swatchandlearn”, or just click on the above link to go directly to my profile.

I’ve already shared a few photos, and whenever inspiration strikes (hehe or boredom!), I’ll be posting photos there of random things. Some will be beauty-related and others won’t be.

Since I got my first iPhone, Instagram was one of the first apps I got, and so far, I’m having quite a lot of fun with it.

Hope to see you there! 🙂

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Giveaway: Canadians, Enter to Win the Entire OPI Germany Collection!

Update (August 1): Congratulations go out to Jan! You’ve won the giveaway! Please check your e-mail and claim your prize within 48 hours. (I sent the e-mail at 12:17 am Eastern.)

Thanks to everyone for participating, and stay tuned! You know that I’ll be organizing another giveaway for you. 🙂

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As you know, I had been planning this OPI Germany Collection giveaway for quite some time.

I teamed up with OPI PR and chose July 25 well in advance (because today marks Swatch And Learn’s 2-year blogiversary)!

Win the OPI Germany Collection SwatchAndLearn

So…here it is! The huge giveaway that I’ve hinted at on many social-media platforms leading up to today!

Canadians, enter to win the entire 12-bottle OPI Germany Collection!

Please read the post for information on how to enter.

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Win a Lifetime of Shellac in the NailPolishCanada Giveaway! (Plus Press Release)

Win a Lifetime of Shellac in the NailPolishCanada Giveaway!

NailPolishCanada Win Shellac for Life Giveaway

Usually I don’t blog about non-Swatch And Learn giveaways, but NailPolishCanada asked me so nicely, the prize is insane, and the press release they sent me is hilarious (go read it further along in this post), so I obliged.

Grand Prize ($1266 Value!):

  • 33 bottles of CND Shellac
  • 36 Watt UV Lamp
  • 5 Topcoats
  • 5 Basecoats
  • Scrub Fresh

Who Can Enter: Canadian & United States residents

When NailPolishCanada Will Pick the Winner: August 7

Come check out the humourous press release they sent me, and get more details about how you can enter!

Have you tried any Shellac polishes? If so, what are you favourite colours? And if not, which shades are you most curious about trying?

P.S. This is the 2nd post for today. Don’t forget to check out the first post of the day – it’s the details of Zoya’s new fall collection. 🙂

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