Category Archives: Nail Polish Swatches & Reviews

Misa Queens of Summer Collection Swatches

Crown vivid colour with the Misa Queens of Summer Collection that has a pop of colour to make the mercury rise!

Be a queen for a day…or more! 😉

From a sweet peach to a bubblegum pink, the Misa Queens of Summer Collection has brilliant shades that spell summery vacation!

As expected, the Misa formula was wonderful to paint with, and I used only two coats of colour for all the quick swatches. The nail polishes were pigmented and smooth, and as you can see, they are glossy on their own. (However, to maximize your manicure mileage, it’s always a good idea to wear a base coat and a top coat.)

This collection is available to purchase from the Misa Cosmetics website and Trade Secrets. (If you order from the Misa website, you can get free shipping on orders over $30 USD when shipping to Canada or the United States.)

Check out the Misa Queens of Summer Collection press release that I published earlier for the details on this collection, and view the rest of this post for collection swatches and bottle shots.

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Misa Pastel Me All About It Collection Swatches

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Misa Pastel Me All About It Collection Swatches

The Misa Pastel Me All About It Collection for Spring 2016 contains a slew of soft shades to make your nails whisper oh-so-sweetly. But, as you can see from my collage above, there’s one colour that can’t help stealing the limelight!

Typically, pale hues tend to be streaky, but I was incredibly impressed with the formula of all of these because even the lightest shade was extraordinarily pigmented and streak-free!

I applied a thin first coat, and I was surprised how well it covered right off the bat. Then, I added a second coat out of habit.

The Misa Pastel Me About It Collection gets a solid A+ on the beauty report card because they all apply like a dream with minimal effort needed.

Their formula is forgiving, as it remains wet enough, so you can run your brush over the same area several times to ensure that you get even coverage and achieve your best manicure!

Tiger Lily (coral) and Fairy Dust (periwinkle) are my two favourites because I enjoyed the contrast against my skin.

This collection is already available to purchase from the Misa Cosmetics website and Trade Secrets. (If you order from the Misa website, take advantage of their offer for free shipping on Canadian and US orders over $30 USD!)

See the rest of this post for my swatches of all six colours, as well as bottle shots.

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CND Craft Culture Collection Swatches

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CND Craft Culture Collection Swatches

A few days ago, I shared with you my CND Craft Culture Collection preview event recap and the press release.

Today, I’m excited to show you swatches of the CND Craft Culture Collection, which officially launches in July at Trade Secrets, Chatters, and CND.com/find-salon.

There are eight CND Vinylux shades in total, and those are the ones you’ll see. (For nail enthusiasts who enjoy stretching the manicure mileage even further, note that there are six corresponding CND Shellac nail polishes. Only Brass Button and Fern Flannel are exclusive to the Vinylux line.)

The formula on the CND Craft Culture Collection Vinylux nail polishes were wonderful, as I only needed two coats of each to get full coverage.

I was particularly impressed with the opacity of Blue Denim (blue) and Brick Knit (red/orange creme). The coverage was incredible, even with one very thin coat!

A special mention also goes out to Hand Fired (shimmery red/orange) and Fern Flannel (shimmery teal) because they come to life on the nails.

The darkest colour in the bunch, Oxblood, was watery compared to the others, but it wasn’t difficult to apply. Just make sure that you don’t overload your brush, and you’re golden.

CND Craft Culture Collection

As usual, when it comes to quick collection swatches, I did not wear a base or top coat, so you can see what the finish is like on its own.

Of course, when you’re wearing a nail polish as a regular manicure, make sure that you always wear a base coat and use a trusty top coat to maximize the wear time and appearance.

CND makes a special top coat to be used with the Vinylux polishes: the Weekly Top Coat. It is designed to improve the durability with the exposure of natural light over time. (If you don’t have this top coat, it’s not a deal breaker. I’ve used my regular top coat with Vinylux nail polishes in the past, and it has worked fine, too.)

The nail technician from the CND Craft Culture Collection preview event reshaped my nails into almonds, and here’s a closer look at the ripped-jeans nail art she created using CND Shellac nail polishes, Cream Puff and Denim Patch, as well as two CND Additives pigments.

CND Craft Culture Nail Art

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Pretty Serious Pastel Pet Names Collection Swatches

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Pretty Serious Pastel Pet Names Collection Swatches

When the Pretty Serious Pastel Pet Names Collection landed in my mailbox a couple of days ago, it was akin to the tiny umbrella you get with a tropical cocktail – it doesn’t get more summery than that!

These pastels are bright and just a tiptoe away from sneaking into neon territory. But don’t walk gingerly. Run over to the Pretty Serious website because, as they have been very popular shades, a couple of the colours have already sold out. (I think I read on their Facebook page that they’ll have more stock at the end of June, though, so don’t sweat it if you missed the first batch.)

I found that Cutie Patootie (purple) and Doodle Bug (blue) were more pigmented than the others, and I only needed to use two thin coats for great coverage. The rest required three thin coats to get a streak-free finish.

To get even coverage, I recommend using thin coats, as some colours are milky. Also, allow each coat to dry a little before applying the next layer. This will help minimize or eliminate streaking.

All of them are cremes, so you won’t be scrubbing your paws raw to remove them.

I love the colour palette for this collection. The shades complement each other flawlessly, which makes them versatile for wearing as a skittle manicure or incorporated into nail art.

As usual, Pretty Serious nail polishes don’t contain Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin, Toluene, or DBP. They are also vegan and cruelty-free.

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Essie Gel Couture Collection & Launch Event Recap

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Essie Gel Couture Collection Swatch And Learn

Officially launching on June 14th, the Essie Gel Couture line boasts 42 new colours with a luxurious bottle design with a twist – literally! It mimics the swirl of a perfectly tailored gown.

The wand is also twisted to help the polish collect onto the brush for superior results, and the bristles are much wider than those of a regular Essie brush. Additionally, the bristles have a tapered cut, which helps makes application a breeze. (You can cover your whole nail in a single swipe, if you want.)

The formula is designed to help manicures last for up to 14 days with a gel-like shine, and you don’t need a UV or LED lamp to use Essie Gel Couture nail polishes, as they are applied like regular lacquers.

The base coat is built into the colours, which is convenient and time-saving. After painting on the colour of your choice, you just need to apply a shiny top coat to seal everything in. (They have released a new top coat specifically for this line.)

Back in May 2016, I attended an exclusive reveal of the Essie Gel Couture line, which was held in Toronto.

The luxurious treatment began even before I arrived, as I was encouraged to arrive with Uber, complementary of PR!

There were drinks and appetizers offered by friendly servers. Also, the setup displaying the new nail polishes and the ‘atelier to after party’ theme was everywhere you looked.

Rita Remark (Essie’s Global Lead Educator) introduced Essie Gel Couture during a short presentation, there were opportunities to get your nails painted by nail technicians, and you could win the paintings that the talented Margaret Lipsey worked on live! (She is the woman behind PIstache and Rose.) More on all this later in the post!

Keep reading to see more photos that I snapped during the event. Also, I show you close-up bottle shots of some of the colours, as well as the official press release for further details.

Edit: I’ve updated the bottom of this post to include images of all 42 shades in the Essie Gel Couture Collection, which is broken up into four sections: Atelier, First Look, Runway Show, and After Party.

Essie GelCouture Collection 2016 Essie Gel Couture Collection 2016

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Smith & Cult Nail Polish Swatches Part 2

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Smith & Cult Nail Polish Swatches

Following suit of the post I previously published in May containing a whopping 17 swatches of Smith & Cult nail polishes, here’s the sequel: Smith & Cult Nail Polish Swatches Part 2!

This post features nine shades that I’ve shown on social media, along with the captions I wrote, which were inspired by the colours.

Since not all my swatches wind up on the blog, if you don’t want to miss a single swatch, be sure to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, and/or Google+!

I’m a big (and relatively new) fan of Smith & Cult nail polishes. They’re billed as a luxury nail polish with a bottle that certainly lives up to its claim. It’s heavy and large, with a unique cap with an asymmetrical design. Even from bottle to bottle, the cap is a little different.

I am so in love with the bottle design that I chose to display some of my Smith & Cult nail polishes on the shelf, so that I could admire them more often! (Since posting the below photo on my social media, I have a second row of polishes. The collection is growing quickly!) 😉

Smith & Cult Nail Polishes Shelf

Although the cap is large, it can easily be removed, as it’s only a cover for the smaller, normal-sized handle that makes painting your nails easy. The brush wand is very short, but I found that it gave me greater control when painting.

In general, Smith & Cult nail polishes have a great formula, and there are a wide variety of colours to choose from. Most tend to be opaque, but I’ve run into a few with sheer formulas. All were easy to paint with and glided onto the nails smoothly.

Smith & Cult nail polishes can be purchased from the official Smith & Cult website, Bergdorfs, Neiman Marcus, Bluemercury, C.O. Bigelow, Space NK, NET-A-PORTER, and Selfridges.

If you’re in Canada like me, there are a number of spas and salons that carry the brand. To see the long list, check out the “Where to Buy” section located in the “Key Notes”, which can be found in my in-depth Smith & Cult She Said Yeah review. (In that review, you can also see photos of the brush and what it looks like when you remove the cap, in case you’re curious.)

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