Category Archives: Product Reviews

INGLOT 988 Swatches & Review

INGLOT 988 Swatches Review

INGLOT 988 is a Comfort Nail Polish to me that’s akin to a piping hot bowl of chilli on a day when the weather outside is frightful.

It wasn’t always this way, but green speaks to my soul. Although I can appreciate a diverse spectrum of shades, green is the colour that I find to be the most soothing and ‘natural.’ It’s the colour that I feel represents me the best, and it’s rare that a green doesn’t make my heart sing like a Disney princess whose bed is made by sweet little birds. (Pfft! Who needs a Prince Charming?) 😉

How has your New Year been so far? Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? Are you sticking to them?

I rarely make New Year’s resolutions anymore. Instead, I set goals for myself frequently throughout the year, and that works best for me because I like having numerous achievements to strive for on a regular basis instead of once a year.

Now it’s time for a tangent, cosine, or sine. 😉

Something that’s unrelated, but that I wanted to mention is that the other day, I was doing random searches on YouTube. Ever do that? You end up researching one thing, but then you fall down the rabbit hole and wind up somewhere completely unexpected.

I started off listening to old songs that brought back happy memories – 2Pac Thugz Mansion (the acoustic version), Fight Test by The Flaming Lips, Fabolous’ You Be Killin’ Em, and T.I.’s Whatever You Like.

Then, after a long string of searches, it was the Six Degrees of YouTube Separation. I ended up listening to a man speaking about his experience in a maximum-security prison!

While listening to this man, I was inspired because he totally turned his life and attitude around. After spending years in prison and being stripped of his freedom, he was finally released, and he chose to lead a life that wasn’t down a criminal path.

Despite the temptations and his friends who were released and repeated the same old mistakes, this guy had the courage to resist. He created his own happy story, and he took full responsibility for all the crimes he committed in the past. He even tried to help other convicts change their ways, and he put himself in danger by doing so.

Stories like his make me think that there really are angels on earth.

People like him inspire me the most. It’s not those who have it all who impress me. The people who have lost it all and have learned what the real riches are set the biggest example for me. It’s people like him whose stories I’d want to help write into a book. The world needs to hear them and come back down to earth.

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Maybelline Master Precise Skinny Gel Liner Pencil (Defining Black) Review

Maybelline Master Precise Skinny Gel Liner Pencil Black

One of the newest gel liners to hit the drugstore is the Maybelline Master Precise Skinny Gel Liner Pencil, shown here in the Defining Black shade.

With its 1.8mm micro tip and automatic-pencil construction, it promises to be always sharp and to deliver a smooth gel intensity to help you define the windows to your soul.

I’ve been playing around with the Maybelline Master Precise Skinny eyeliner since late December (ahead of the January launch in Canada), thanks to PR. (I also have the other shades that it comes in: Sharp Brown and Defining Charcoal, but I decided to do the in-depth review on Defining Black, since black is what I wear most often.)

See the rest of this post for additional photos, as well as my detailed observations on this new drugstore eyeliner.

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Zoya Lake Swatches & Review

Zoya Lake Swatches Review

Like an icicle hanging from the shingles of a rooftop, Zoya Lake from the Whispers Collection paints a wintry scene.

Zoya Lake is a demure blue, and it’s proof that you don’t need to do a cannonball to make a splash!

Despite its cool demeanour, you’ll warm up to it quickly because it has a soft and gentle personality. (You’ll welcome it readily because it contrasts with the sparkly nail polish that you may have sported during the holidays.)

It’s an innocent blue that fits into winter as much as it would for spring, making it a great transitional shade. (Of course, I encourage you to wear whatever colour you love. Who says that you must follow seasonal trends?)

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Zoya April Swatches & Review

Zoya April Swatches Swatch

No, you haven’t stumbled upon the wrong blog. It’s Swatch And Learn. Hehe, but you probably just aren’t used to seeing such a soft shade on my nails too often, as I tend to reach for dramatic colours.

However, with all the pomp and circumstance surrounding the holiday season, I’ve been starting to crave something more demure for my nails. It’s a palate cleanser.

It was great timing when the Zoya Whispers Collection came my way in December.

The first nail polish from it that I chose to wear was Zoya April, and it was exactly the simple and pure shade that I wanted to start 2016 off fresh with.

What’s interesting about it is how it’s almost like a chameleon. Yes, it’s a standard creme, and no, it’s no multi-dimensional, but when I photographed it in artificial light and natural light (as per my usual routine), Zoya April revealed a different personality, as you will see further in this post.

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OPI Give Me Space Swatches & Review

OPI Give Me Space Swatches & Review

Nail polish and I are BFFs. So when a lacquer told me the other day that it wanted to spend some time apart and see what it was like to be on someone else’s nails, needless to say, I felt a little hurt.

But, since I’m not one to restrain the freedom of another, I let OPI Give Me Space from the Starlight Collection wander off and explore new territory. This was not before I prepared it a hearty breakfast and packed it an extra sweater (in case it got chilly) and a new bottle of top coat (in case the journey was long).

A few days later, to my great joy, I looked up and saw it skipping happily towards me! It came back, kissed my nails, and told me that there’s no place like Helmer home!

After hugging it long and hard, I promised it a special feature on the blog, so here is my detailed review of OPI Give Me Space! 😉

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4 Free Zoya Nail Polishes (January 6-13, 2016)

Zoya Nail Polish

If you’re a big fan of Zoya nail polish like I am, then take advantage of this new 2016 promotion to Get Any 4 Zoya Nail Polishes FREE when you use the coupon code “4YOU” on the Zoya website starting tomorrow, January 6 until January 13 at 11:59 pm EST!

It’s valid for Canadian and Continental United States orders only, and it excludes pre-packed items, the Naked Manicure, Zoya Treatments, and the Whispers Collection shades.

Although the polishes are free, you still have to pay shipping, but it’s a good deal, as the shipping fee is $15 USD. International processing fees apply for orders outside of the United States, but when I ordered from them a while ago, I remember those fees being minimal.

This post features just a few of the many beautiful Zoya nail polishes in my collection.

If you’d like to read detailed reviews on specific Zoya nail-polish shades and see more swatches, click the above link.

P.S. In-depth reviews and swatches of some shades from the Zoya Whispers Collection are coming to the blog soon, so stay tuned!

Zoya NailPolish

Zoya Nail Polishes

Disclosure: There are no affiliate links in this blog post. I am sharing this coupon code in case you would like to enjoy this wonderful promotion. I do not receive any commission or monetary benefits by promoting this. Some of the Zoya nail polishes in the above pictures were provided to me by PR, and some were purchased by me.

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KBShimmer Blue Topaz Swatches & Review

KBShimmer Blue Topaz Swatches & Review

For my first manicure of 2016, I decided to share with you the nail polish I wore to ring in the New Year: KBShimmer Blue Topaz from the Birthstone Collection! (I ended up wearing it for a few days straight.)

KBShimmer Blue Topaz represents the December birthstone, and that’s partially why I chose it as my New Year’s Eve manicure. The other reason was that I associate blue with “New Year.” Also, the saying ‘something old, something new, and something blue’ popped into my mind.

In the bottle, KBShimmer Blue Topaz is magnificent, and I was curious to see how it would translate onto the nails. Thankfully, I wasn’t disappointed! It’s so glitzy on the nails – a true celebratory polish!

In person, it dazzles like the Stars on Ice show, but it posed quite the challenge to photograph because it’s very reflective. This is one of those polishes that looks a hundred times even more brilliant in person!

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