Category Archives: Nail Polish Swatches & Reviews

Reader Requested Nail Art Tutorial: Violet Beauregarde Nails

Violet Beauregard Nails Nail Art Tutorial & PhotosOne of my readers, Annika, e-mailed me her ideas for a Violet Beauregarde nail design and asked if I could do a nail tutorial based on the character from the original 1971 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory character.

Since I haven’t done freehand nail art in some time, I thought I’d give it a go.

You’ll remember that Violet was the one who chewed the same piece of gum for a long time. And when at the factory, she can’t resist trying the new chewing gum that Willy Wonka has come up with that includes flavours such as appetizers, main courses, and even desserts!

Haha, she grows bigger and bigger, turning blue/violet as the seconds pass! Finally, the Oompa Loompas have to take her to the Juicing Room to squeeze it all out.

Here is my version of Violet Beauregarde Nails.

Instead of making the buckle sideways on the red belt, I wanted to give it a twist, so I painted them very similar to the buckles in the Santa Nails I did before on here.

If you want to take a completely literal and accurate approach, paint the red belt and buckles horizontally.

In this post, I’ll show you more photos of this quick design as well as step-by-step instructions with photos for how to recreate it.

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Reader Request: Minty Green Nail-Polish Comparison Swatches & Photos

Mint Green Nail Polish Swatches & Comparison PhotosRecently when I reviewed Topshop Gone Fishing, one of my readers (Alex), asked if I could do a Minty Green Nail-Polish Comparison post with specific hues.

Since I was also curious about how different or similar the shades were (as well as a couple of others), I was happy to oblige. Hope that you’ll find this mint green nail-polish comparison helpful!

The nail polishes I compared were Topshop Gone Fishing, Duri Summer Rain, China Glaze Re-Fresh Mint, Essie Mint Candy Apple, OPI Gargantuan Green Grape, and China Glaze For Audrey. (I’ve reviewed some of those polishes in-depth in separate posts. Find links later in this post.)

If you would like me to do more comparison posts like this in the future, please let me know specifically which polishes you’re interested in seeing.

I can’t promise that I’ll fulfill all reader requests. It depends on if I already have the polishes and if I have time. (I work very hard on my blog after my full-time job and on the weekends, so time can be really tight, especially when I squeeze blogging inbetween my social life and freelance-work schedules.)

That being said, I will pick a few requests to do! I have a pack of blank nail wheels that I haven’t been using much. It’s time to put them to work! *Cracks whip* 😉

P.S. You may remember that I’ve said before how I don’t swatch nail polish on my nails. It’s not my style. I wear full manicures and then take photos while I’m wearing them. This is how I really enjoy polish. I only use the term ‘swatch’ because it’s the familiar lingo. Well, the only time I’m comfortable with actual swatching is on nail wheels for comparison posts like this or to show you layering experiments. I hope that you’ll understand my reasoning. I love polish, and if I ever start swatching on my own nails, it may kill my enthusiasm. I don’t want that to happen!)

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China Glaze Graffiti Glitter Swatches & Review (Layered Over Topshop Gone Fishing)

China Glaze Graffiti Glitter Swatches & ReviewAlthough Topshop Gone Fishing was a lovely polish on its own, I felt the itch to layer China Glaze Graffiti Glitter (from the Glitz Bitz ‘n Pieces Collection) on top.

China Glaze Graffiti Glitter is emerald green and black, so I thought this would show a good example of how you can do a tone-on-tone look, as opposed to the high-contrast look I did earlier with yellow polish and Mosaic Madness.

Since you know I looooove green nail polish, I was thrilled with the outcome of this manicure. (I can never get enough green. I could meet a Little Green Man and still want him to wear a green shirt. Yup – insatiable greeeeen fiend here, reporting for duty!)

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Topshop Gone Fishing Swatches & Review

Topshop Gone Fishing Swatches & ReviewAre you ready for spring? I sure am! (Sorry, Old Man Winter, but I think you should go on a vacation…really far away…y’know, just until the end of the year.)

I wish I could coax Old Man Winter to go away as easily as I can convince my mom’s cat, Pingu, to come galloping to my side. (Literally, I just say, “Cuddles!” in a girly high-pitched voice. It. Works. Every. Time. That smart cat can never get enough attention…hehe! And he’s so cute, so I always want to spoil him.)

Lately I’ve been gravitating toward spring-like polishes. (Hey, if Old Man Winter won’t listen, maybe I can sway Mother Nature with beauty products, right? It’s worth a shot.)

Today I’m very excited to bring you a review on Topshop Gone Fishing!

Topshop nail polish is a new-to-me brand, and I’m shocked that I haven’t heard more people raving about it.

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Nail Art Tutorial: Football Nails

Football Nails Nail Art Tutorial & PicturesWow, last night’s Super Bowl game was crazy intense just like Beyonce’s Half Time performance! (And it was really cool to see Destiny’s Child reunite!)

With the lights going out in the second half and the close scores in the final minutes, I was on the edge of my seat!

Touch dowwwnnnn! (Sorry, I just had to say that somewhere in this post!)

This was the first Super Bowl that I ever watched the majority of, and boy did I pick a good one! This was really exciting, even for someone like me who doesn’t follow football.

On game day, I was sporting these Football Nails! I rushed to whip them up, and they’re so simple, anyone can recreate them. Plus you only need 3 different colours. It’s a great look for someone who doesn’t have patience to do more a more complicated nail design.

So…the Baltimore Ravens won! I’m neither a fan of the Ravens or the San Francisco 49ers, so I knew I’d be happy for whoever won. But I know that a lot of people were really disappointed because the 49ers were the favourites. (In a way, though, I’m a little glad that the Ravens won just because the 49ers won more Super Bowls. It’s nice when the underdog wins.)

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Smorgasbord Sundays & Nail Art: The Super Bowl & San Francisco 49ers Nails

Super Bowl San Francisco 49ers Nails Nail ArtHappy Sunday, everyone!

Okay, so normally my Smorgasbord Sundays blog posts are not beauty-related. However, because the Super Bowl is today and I did San Francisco 49ers Nails, I thought it was more timely to show you my manicure today instead of Monday.

(Hope you won’t mind seeing more nail polish than expected!) 😉

Also, if you’re not a fan of the San Francisco 49ers, you may want to check out the skittle nail art I did yesterday with the Baltimore Ravens team colours!

I haven’t ‘picked sides’ as to which team I want to win the Super Bowl.

I don’t follow the sport, but there’s so much excitement surrounding the Super Bowl every year that even this non-football fan wants to experience that. Sooo…I’ll be watching the game (and the commercials)! Oh yeah, and the dip with chips I plan to stuff my face with will also make the game more interesting. 😉

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Nail Art: Super Bowl Baltimore Ravens Nails

Super Bowl Nails Nail Art Baltimore Ravens Will you be watching the Super Bowl on Sunday?

Despite not following football or being a huge fan of it, I’ll still catch the Super Bowl. Why? It’s such a glorified sports moment, and there’s an undeniable excitement surrounding it.

Are you rooting for the Baltimore Ravens or the San Francisco 49ers?

I’ll be happy for whichever team wins since I’m not enough of a fan of either to lean one way or the other.

However, I thought it would be fun to whip up a simple skittle manicure for some Super Bowl Baltimore Ravens Nails! The Baltimore Ravens’ team colours are right up my alley.

In this look, I used Deborah Lippmann Fade to Black, Topshop Glimmer (gold), and Topshop Late Show (purple).

If you want to create Baltimore Ravens nail art with a twist, you may want to add white to the mix in the form of dots. I think that would be a fun addition to this plain manicure.

Edit: For the San Francisco 49ers fans out there, I did a nail-art look with their team colours, too. Click here to see my San Francisco 49ers nail art.

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