Category Archives: Nail Polish Swatches & Reviews

China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy Swatches & Review

China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy Swatches & Review There are probably a lot of people who feel ho-hum about neon polishes because they’re everywhere and there aren’t too many unique shades.

But…my love for them hasn’t died down even slightly. Neon nail polish is one of my go-to colors when I’m not sure what to wear. Every time I look down, my eyes burn. What’s not to love? Haha!

Today I present to you China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy, which is part of the Poolside Collection that I absolutely adore.

This coral-pink lacquer is so neon that it looks like it glows in even dim light! And because of that, it freaks my camera out, but I did try to capture its essence the best that I could. Hope I did it justice… Continue reading →

L.A. Girl Rock Star Punk Review & Swatches

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Image of L.A. Girl Rock Star Punk ** This post was written by Fiona. She no longer blogs for Swatch And Learn. However, Mary still continues to blog and will be happy to reply to your comment. **

A few months ago, I did a Cherry Culture haul post where I revealed my Santa Claus sack-sized loot. L.A. Girl Rock Star Punk was the polish from that haul that I was the most excited about. In the bottle, it looks like a blue and purple duochrome. Blue and purple? My fave colors! How could I not be overwhelmed with joy when I finally got a bottle of it in my hands.

I kind of set myself up for disappointment on this one. The color is pretty. I would describe it as a midnight blue with stars, but the duochrome-y effect is very subtle. It’s a blue dominate color that I would otherwise love. But I was expecting the purple to be more apparent! I took lots and lots of pictures to capture the purple, but it’s really hard. Continue reading →

Nfu Oh 51 Swatches & Review

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Nfu Oh 51 Nfu Oh Flakie Nail Polish I never thought I’d ever get my hands on Nfu Oh 51, a multichrome flakie polish that every nail-polish connoisseur ought to own.

It was out of stock for the longest time, and then a few months back, the inventory was replenished!

Oh happy day!

My favorite nail-polish enabler, Matty, ordered it for me a while back to help me save a bit on shipping and then brought it up when he visited. 🙂 Thanks!

Unfortunately my camera couldn’t pick up its awesomeness. With direct sunlight, the multichromatic nature wasn’t as evident. It’s extremely obvious in person.

As usual, I took pictures in different lighting, but they didn’t turn out too well.

I’ve included lots of large bottle pictures, too, because I think actually the beauty of the polish showed up more in those.

Are you a fan of flakie polishes? What’s your favorite Nfu Oh polish? Don’t you just love the bottle design? Continue reading →

e.l.f. Essentials Red Velvet Review & Swatches

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Image of e.l.f. Essentials Red Velvet ** This post was written by Fiona. She no longer blogs for Swatch And Learn. However, Mary still continues to blog and will be happy to reply to your comment. **

I would like to congratulate elf Cosmetics for turning 7! I love this brand: most of their stuff is awesome, and it all costs so little. Plus, they always have discounts (even up to 70% off), and their customer service is great. This is my honest opinion – Swatch And Learn is not affiliated with elf Cosmetics. Have you tried their stuff?

I would like to congratulate elf Cosmetics on a second thing: They finally got the name of a nail polish correctly! 😛 I have quite a few elf colors, and I keep buying more because they provide such value for $1. The thing that peeves me to no end is that their color names are so misleading. But not e.l.f. Essentials Red Velvet. When I look at this color, I actually do see the inside of a red velvet cake. I can see it layered in between cream-cheese frosting. (I did not eat it; don’t worry.) Continue reading →

Nail Art Tutorial: Octopus Nails

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Octopus Nail Art Tutorial & Swatches My previous nail art post featured alien cow nails! Today, I bring you another funky manicure – Octopus Nails!

The quirkier the manicure, the happier I am, apparently. 🙂

Do you stick to classic manicures, or do weird nails like these excite you, too?

Want to know what inspired this manicure? True story: an octopus actually predicted the soccer World Cup champions!

His name’s Paul the Octopus, and if you want to read about this incredible sea creature who should’ve been named Zoltar instead, keep reading. I’ll provide a link at the bottom of this post.

Continue reading →

Nail Art: Red & Silver Swoop Nails & Tutorial

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Image of Red & Silver Swoop Nails ** This post was written by Fiona. She no longer blogs for Swatch And Learn. However, Mary still continues to blog and will be happy to reply to your comment. **

OK. I don’t even know what a swoop looks like. But I’m calling this design that because that’s the first word that came into my head. So… let’s go with it. 😛 I think my head was thinking of the Nike swoosh, but it’s not exactly that, so it came up with swoop. If you can think of a better adjective for the pointy arrow thinga-ma-jig in the middle of the nail, please let me know. LOL

I got elf Red Velvet recently and wanted to test it out, but I was in no mood for an all-red mani. So I decided to throw silver into the mix because I love this awesome neutral color that has some bling to it. Then I thought: “What the heck? Let’s throw some oddly shaped tape on the nail, too, before painting.” Hence, the Red & Silver Swoop Nails. Is it stunning? No. Lol. But it’s a simple look that’s good as a fast and easy mani that’s not boring. Continue reading →

Zoya Adina Swatches & Review

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Zoya Adina Swatches & Review Green and purple are my two favorite colors to wear on my nails. Sometimes, I can’t choose between the two.

This is where duochrome and multichrome polishes come in. They don’t force you to pick sides – you get to enjoy the best of both worlds as the colors dance on your nails with a slight shift of the lighting. Absolute love!

Today I bring you Zoya Adina, which is a beautiful multichrome featuring purple, green, and a hint of pink. Continue reading →