Category Archives: Product Reviews

Pretty Serious Swatch And Learn Swatches & Pictures

Pretty Serious Swatch And Learn Swatches & PicturesI can hardly contain my excitement, but now I no longer have to! 😉 It’s time to spill the beans on this project that has been in progress since around early 2013! Yup, it’s been a long time coming!

I’m so proud to showcase the world premiere of Pretty Serious Swatch And Learn, the colour that I designed! 😀 *Squeals*

(EDIT: It’s part of the Pretty Serious Stop! Collaborate and Listen! Collection launching Tuesday July 15 at 7 pm EDT. If you’re in Australia, where the company is, it’ll be Wednesday July 16 at 9 am AEST.)

In collaboration with the talented Karen (aka Kaz) of the Australian-based company, Pretty Serious Cosmetics, my nailphile dreams came true for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! (Many thanks to her for all the hard work she put in and for her patience.)

We communicated back and forth, and Kaz listened to the visions of a colour that would represent my dream nail polish. She mixed and mixed, created variations, sent it to the lab, and then showed me photos of the results. From there, I gave my feedback, the colour was tweaked, and we landed on what makes my heart race!

Pretty Serious Swatch And Learn is part of a blogger collection comprised of other shades that will launch later this week for sale all over the world! (Stay tuned when I share the official press release.)

Swatch And Learn by Pretty Serious has a strong green base and is very sparkly when you first see it straight-on, but throughout the day when you look at your manicure at different angles, you’ll see golden, blue, and purplish pink nuances. I’d like to think of these as fun surprises for the wearer, which I always enjoy.

For this reason, it was tricky to photograph. Haha, you should’ve seen some of the angles I had to photograph it – it was like I was a nail-polish-loving contortionist! 😉

In today’s blog post, I’ll show you TONS of swatches and bottle photos in various lighting and in different angles, so that you get a glimpse into why I love it so much. It is more magical in person, and I hope that you’ll also enjoy wearing it. (If you purchase it and photograph your manicure or pedicure of it, please feel free to tag me on social media, so I can check it out!)

Normally, I post swatches and detailed reviews of nail polishes, but, seeing as I designed the colour, I think any review would be way too biased. (I’ll leave the reviews for the other amazing bloggers out there. I’m so excited to hear what bloggers and non-bloggers think of my shade!)

I must take this opportunity to say a huge THANK YOU to all my loyal blog readers! I had you all in mind when I designed this, and I have something really special planned very soon later this month when I celebrate my 4-year blogiversary. (You won’t want to miss it – lots of giveaways – hint hint!)

Without amazing readers like you, my blog would be like a one-sided megaphone. You are the reason why I am encouraged to continue, and you never cease to put a smile on my face with your sweet comments and thoughtfulness. Your support hasn’t gone unappreciated, so I’m dedicating Pretty Serious Swatch And Learn to all of you!

There’s a quote I read some time ago: It’s not how you got to the top that counts. It’s who you brought with you.

While I haven’t made it to the top, on my journey to continually improve myself and the blog, my proudest achievement is being able to bring you all along with me for the ride.

Thanks for keeping me company during my journey thus far!

Edit: Until Friday August 15, 2014 at 11:59 pm EDT, enter my worldwide giveaway to win 1 of 4 autographed bottles of Pretty Serious Swatch And Learn!

Edit 2: Scroll to the bottom of this post to see reviews and swatches of Pretty Serious Swatch And Learn by other bloggers!

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OPI Angel with a Leadfoot Swatches & Review

OPI Angel with a Leadfoot Swatches & ReviewWhenever I come across a white nail polish, I’m always curious to find out if it’ll be a Holy Grail one-coater.

So when I got my paws on OPI Angel with a Leadfoot from the Ford Mustang Collection you may remember me doing a Quick Look post on, I had to try it and let you all know my results.

Although I rarely wear white nail polish as a full manicure like I did this time, it’s a staple in any nailphile’s collection.

Why? In addition to using it as a base to brighten up other polishes, it also is very useful for nail art. And, if you franken your own colours, you know that adding white can help to create the ideal pastel.

So…how did it fare in terms of opacity? Follow the White Rabbit! *Hop hop hop*

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OPI 50 Years of Style Swatches & Review

OPI 50 Years of Style Swatches & ReviewSome gold polishes can be tricky for me to wear because the undertone is more of a champagne than a yellowish gold.

Unfortunately, such was the case with OPI 50 Years of Style from the Ford Mustang Collection.

It’s a decadent colour – there’s no doubting that, but the shade looks ‘off’ against my skin tone.

If you have a lighter or a richer skin tone than I do, I think it would look way more flattering.

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OPI Coca-Cola Red Swatches & Review

OPI Coca-Cola Red Swatches & ReviewOPI Coca-Cola Red from the Coca-Cola Collection is a softer red that exactly matches the can of pop.

I don’t wear reds as often as other colours, but when I do, I dig it. It’s a classic!

Since this is a more muted red, I feel like it’s very versatile and lots of people will be able to wear this. It’s so easy to pull off, compared to bolder reds that may intimidate some.

(Hehe, I’m never intimidated by bold shades, so that doesn’t apply to me, and I’m very fortunate to be working in an office that allows me to wear all different shades and even nail art, if I want.)

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OPI What’s a Little Rain Forest? Swatches & Review

OPI What's a Little Rain Forest Swatches & ReviewIf you’ve been following my OPI nail-polish reviews, you’ll notice this post is the odd one out because it’s not from the latest collections.

As I sat down to work on a post last night, I saw a draft that I included photos in, but never got around to writing about – it slipped through the cracks!

Even though OPI What’s a Little Rain Forest? from the Beach Sandies mini pack (Brazil Collection) may be harder to track down, I still thought that a review might be useful.

Sometimes we tuck away polishes in our Helmers and forget about them until we stumble across a blog that showcases it. I know that happens to me a lot. And I enjoy busting out my older polishes now and then.

(Haha, try to focus on the nail polish. I know my cuticles were stained. I must’ve been wearing a coral before this. Even though I share photos of my nails with the world, I don’t mind showing you swatches that are less than perfect. This is real, and I don’t pretend to have flawless manicures. What matters to me is that a manicure makes me happy, and this one certainly put a smile on my face!)

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OPI Wipe-Off! Acetone-Free Lacquer Remover Wipes Review & Pictures

OPI Wipe-Off Wipes ReviewYou may remember the press release I posted in June about the new OPI Wipe-Off! Acetone-Free Lacquer Remover Wipes that launched just this month.

I was really excited to give them a go because, during times when I’m travelling, it’s really convenient to not have to lug around liquid nail-polish remover and just have neat, compact wipes.

The OPI Wipe-Off! wipes are a great idea because they’re mess-free and easy to take with you anywhere.

My concern was their claim that just a single wipe was enough to remove lacquer from all 10 nails. I put that to the test, and I was curious to do so because when I remove polish with my favourite nail-polish remover from Sally Beauty Supply, I have to use several cotton balls to get the job done.

So how did one wipe fare? There’s only one way to find out! 😉

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OPI Today I Accomplished Zero Swatches & Review

OPI Today I Accomplished Zero Swatches & ReviewFirst of all, I’d like to wish my fellow Canadians a HAPPY CANADA DAY! 🙂 I hope that you’re enjoying the day, and with some luck, maybe the weather will be okay, so we can see fireworks!

Today I have for you an in-depth look at OPI Today I Accomplished Zero from the Coca-Cola Collection that I did a Quick Look post on.

While I’m not crazy about the name because it just sounds so lazy, I am a huge fan of the polish.

It’s edgy, and although it looks like it’s more suitable for winter, it doesn’t matter to me. I wear any shade whenever I want, even if it’s not “seasonally appropriate”.

Most times, I like to match my nails with my mood or use a lacquer as colour therapy.

Are you the same way? Or do you stick to “seasonally appropriate” shades?

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