Category Archives: Nail Polish Swatches & Reviews

FingerPaints Art Dealer Teal-er Review & Swatches

Image of FingerPaints Art Dealer Teal-er ** 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. **

Don’t you just hate it when you’re wrong about a polish that you thought you’d love? You get all excited about bringing a new color home. Put it on and realize that it doesn’t have that wowness that would knock you over. And then you think you could’ve used that money to get another color.

That’s how I feel about FingerPaints Art Dealer Teal-er. It’s nice and lovely but definitely nothing special. In the bottle, the color looks like an opalescent soft teal. For some reason, I thought of a paradise island… with its clear blue-green water that has a softened glare because the sun is shining so brightly.

I’m glad I got this during a Buy 2 Get 1 Free FP sale at Sally Beauty Supply. It makes me feel better that I didn’t pay full price for it. Let me tell you why! Continue reading →

Nail Art: Alien Cow Nails

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Cow Nails Nail Art Swatches Hello! I’d like to introduce you to Mr. Moo!

Let’s all say, “How are you, Mr. Moo?” 😛

I don’t really drink milk except with my cereal, but I love eating cheese and ice cream…just not together.

So, my way of saying thank you to all the cows out there for producing milk was through Alien Cow Nail Art!

In university, one of my classmates was obsessed with cows to the point where she always had to buy any clothing that had cartoon cows on them! And she was so proud that every single pair of socks she owned featured cow prints!

I like cows, but apparently not nearly as much as she did!

Do you like cows? Are you lactose-intolerant? Do you sometimes feel the urge to say “Moo!” to strangers?

Edit: Apparently they’re supposed to be giraffe heads, but they totally remind me more of cow heads because of the shape.

Hehe, so I changed this to “Alien Cow Nails” since they look like cows with antennae! :p

If you decide to replicate this, you may want to remove the horns to be more accurate! Or…you can just have fun like I did! 😀

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L.A. Girl Purge Review & Swatches

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Image of L.A. Girl Purge ** 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’m just going to get into it. L.A. Girl Purge rocks! The glitter is in a green that reminds me of Christmas. And for some reason, green always makes me think of aliens. (It might be because of The X-Files.) And since I layered this over black, it’s also reminiscent of The Matrix. So when I look at this, I think Christmas Aliens in The Matrix. (I may have inhaled too much nail polish. I hope there’s no permanent damage.)

Unfortunately, my flash pictures didn’t turn out very well. But you can definitely see how much Purge rocks in the natural and artifical light pictures! You actually get that cool contrasting green-on-black effect whether you’re indoors or out. It’s kind of mesmerizing – these nails actually got me through an hour of cardio at the gym the other day because I was staring at them so much that time just flew by! Continue reading →

KleanColor Chunky Holo Bluebell Swatches & Review

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KleanColor Chunky Holo Bluebell Swatches & Review In my Haul of Shame post, you’ll remember that I bragged about snatching up the entire KleanColor Chunky Holo Collection.

I showed you bottle pictures and swatched them all by themselves, but also over black polish.

Now it’s time to give an individual thorough review on KleanColor Chunky Holo Bluebell 235.

Since this holographic glitter polish is supposed to be used as a top coat rather than solo, I layered it over China Glaze Midnight Mission (a rich fine-glittery deep blue).

If you have any doubts surrounding whether or not to get KleanColor Bluebell, let me help you decide: Get it! 😛 Seriously, it’s a beauty! Continue reading →

Nail Art: Hong Kong Flag Nails & Tutorial

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Image of Hong Kong Flag 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. **

So a couple of days ago, I did a nail design for the Canadian flag. My patriotic love doesn’t end at Canada. I was born in Hong Kong where I studied until grade 2 before my family moved to Canada to avoid 1997. We didn’t know what would happen when Hong Kong was returned to China, so we upped and crossed the ocean with everything we owned. I think moving to another country is the change that has affected me the most in my life. It was hard because the cultures and practices are so different. But since I was young, I was able to adapt more easily than the rest of my family.

I miss Hong Kong, but the one thing I don’t miss is the heat there. I’m sorry to all the summer lovers out there – but I can’t stand the heat (so I got out of the kitchen). The sweat, the stickiness, the stench, the sun in your eyes, the dehydration, the feeling tired, the… you get the idea. It doesn’t help that my car’s A/C died and is spewing hot air. BTW, does anyone else ever wish that you could change your car’s color like you change your nail polish? So many times I’ve wondered what my car would look like with a certain polish on.

WOW. I digress. Sorry! Here is my design for Hong Kong Flag nails. It also looks like a cool floral design, doesn’t it? I really like it (not to pat myself on the back or anything :))!
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Nail Art Tutorial: Panda Nails

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Panda Nails Nail Art Tutorial Bear Nail Art Tutorial By now pretty much everyone has seen the cute YouTube clip of a baby panda sneezing. Awww!

And most people should know that the panda is an endangered species. If not for conservation efforts, this beautiful creature might cease to exist.

To help raise wildlife awareness, I decided to create Panda Nails this time. Hope you like it.

Surprisingly, this nail art doesn’t involve a lot of tools. In fact, I used the regular nail-polish brush for all of it except for the eyes and paws – used a dotting tool for that.

It also only uses 3 colors – black, white, and green, so hopefully you’ll find it easier to replicate than, say, The Grapes of Wrath Nails that I did earlier.

Let me know what you think and if there are any other animals you’d like to see me try to paint. I’m not a good artist, but I’m always willing to try. Effort is worth a lot.

P.S. I just thought that you could try doing this in primary colors and they’d look like gummy bears!

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Nail Art: Canadian Flag Nails & Tutorial

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Image of Canadian Flag 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. **

Boo. My second attempt at nail art kind of failed. Sad face. They don’t really even look like the Canadian flag! Hahah. Even though I don’t really want to post it, I have to because Swatch And Learn is proudly Canadian. And since I did an American flag one, I have to represent north side of the border. I had a blast with the American flag one, especially when I inspired a co-worker to do a tape manicure design, too! That’s always encouraging.

I also had fun with my Canadian Flag nails. I got to work with Sally Beauty Sprinkles – I used the heart shape because I <3 Canada. Tee hee. I’m still working on my taping technique because there was, again, some bleeding. If anyone has any advice for me, I would love to hear it. I’m just starting out and want to get better!

~Whisper~ I like my American Flag nails (design wise) better because it’s cuter and more intricate. But shhhh. Don’t tell our Canadian readers. ~End whisper~ Continue reading →