Category Archives: Quick Look

Zoya Petals Collection Swatches

Zoya Petals Collection Swatches

Did any of my fellow Canadians enjoy the mild, spring-like weather yesterday that went up to the double digits? It was lovely being able to wear a light jacket and feel the breeze make my hair dance. No shivering. No gloves. No scarf.

Things on the blog are warming up, too, with the latest nail arrival!

Put the ‘petal’ to the metal, and spring for a new nail polish from the Zoya Petals Collection! (If you want the colour story and official press release, click the above link for all the details.)

Today, I’ve got a fun Quick Look post with Zoya Petals Collection swatches and bottle shots!

The formulas on these were okay – a bit watery and streaky on the first coat. With a second or third coat, you can get great coverage. While it’s not the best formula that I’ve experienced from Zoya, it’s also not unmanageable.

My suggestion is to apply thin coats. Even if it looks very sheer and streaky with one coat, don’t be tempted to slap it on thick.

One of the polishes, Zoya Leia, is sparkly and sheer yet buildable. I see it mainly as a topper because to get it to completely cover your nail line, you’ll need four or more coats. (In the swatch you’ll see in a larger image later in this post, I used three coats.) It’s my personal preference to solely use this polish as a topper. (Check out my swatch of it layered over black, and you’ll see how magical it is!)

All of the polishes have sparkle in them. Leia, Aster, Azalea, and Zahara have the most noticeable sparkle. The kind in Laurel and Tulip is so subtle, it pretty much appears like a creme to the naked eye, unless you inspect your nails very closely or, I guess, look at it in the sunlight.

My favourite, as expected, is Aster, the periwinkle! Leia would be my second pick.

I’ll be doing detailed reviews on some after I wear them as full manicures and photograph them in different lighting (as usual). Keep your eyes peeled like a banana for those.

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blinc Mascara Amplified, Eyebrow Mousse, Eye Shadow Primer & Eyeliner Pencil Quick Look

blinc eye cosmetics makeup

I ate my blinc mascara! 

(Hehe, don’t worry – it was a designer cookie created by Hello Baked. I haven’t gone completely bonkers. Just a little bit…)

Are you a beauty enthusiast? If so, blink once. Love eye-makeup products? If so, then ‘blinc’ twice!

Designed to enhance your beauty and play up the windows to your soul, blinc eye makeup promises to offer long-lasting wear, yet ease of removal. Create beautiful eye looks in a ‘blinc!’

You’ve probably seen blinc cosmetics praised in many major beauty publications including print magazines like Allure, Marie Claire, and Oprah.

Founded in 1999 by Lewis Farsedakis, blinc has continuously ranked as one of America’s fastest-growing private companies on the Inc. 5000 list. Its headquarters are in Florida, and the brand focuses solely on innovating eye products. (They created the world’s first tube-forming mascara and eyebrow mousse.)

blinc cosmetics has a fresh take on eye makeup. Instead of allowing you to make a mutually exclusive choice between long-lasting wear or easy removal, their products offer the best of both worlds!

You can find blinc cosmetics at blincinc.com, Sephora stores, and Sephora.com.

These four products in the blinc Discovery Collection landed at Swatch And Learn headquarters recently:

  • blinc Mascara Amplified (Black)
  • blinc Eyebrow Mousse (Light Brunette)
  • blinc Eye Shadow Primer (Light Tone)
  • blinc Eyeliner Pencil (Black)

After I test-drive all of them substantially, I’ll prepare an in-depth review. In the meantime, I want to share this post that contains a quick look at each product, swatches (at the very bottom of the page), and more information.

blinc Mascara Eyeshadow Primer

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I Met Shaun Pulfrey, the Tangle Teezer Inventor (Plus Info on NEW Brushes!)

Shaun Pulfrey Tangle Teezer

Recently, I was invited to attend an exclusive event unveiling the new Tangle Teezer Blow-Styling Hairbrush and Tangle Teezer Thick & Curly Detangling Hairbrush, which will be available at Sephora!

That in itself was exciting, but what put the cherry on top of my drool-inducing sundae was that Shaun Pulfrey, the man who invented the Tangle Teezer, was at the event! (When I received the invitation, I had to read that part several times to make sure that my myopic eyes weren’t deceiving me.)

Not only did I get to see Shaun Pulfrey, but I had the pleasure of watching him do a live demonstration showing the Tangle Teezer Blow-Styling Hairbrush in action. He also gave more detailed information about the entire Tangle Teezer line. Then, after the presentation, I swooped over to speak with him, snagged a photo op, and thanked him for inventing the brush that changed my hair life!

It’s not often that I get to shake the hand of a person who touched my life in some way, so this was a big deal to me, and I’m grateful for the opportunity.

I’m really happy to tell you that Shaun Pulfrey is a genuinely nice guy!

Sometimes when people achieve success or fame, it goes to their head, and they become snobbish, but that wasn’t the case with Shaun. My impression of him throughout the night is that he truly puts his passion and heart into his company and hair innovations. He radiated energy, and his animated spirit was infectious.

His mission, although not stated implicitly, seems to be that he wants to make hairstyling easier, faster, and more respectful of the hair’s condition. This is what I pieced together.

By the way, Shaun’s story is one that inspires me because he believed in himself and his invention, even when others initially didn’t.

I read an article about how he approached Dragons’ Den and asked them to invest in his brush. They turned him away, but he continued to pursue his dream, and now not only is he successful, but he has created a unique solution to a very real problem. (Check out this article, if you want all the details and if you want to be inspired.)

Tangle Teezer Blow-Styling Hairbrush

Keep reading the rest of my detailed post. I include the many things that I learned during the Tangle Teezer event, photos of the cute displays, and more information about the latest Tangle Teezer Blow-Styling Hairbrush!

P.S. In case you missed it, I’m having a Canadian giveaway until March 11th. Enter for your chance to win the entire Essie Spring 2016 Collection!

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OPI New Orleans Collection Swatches

OPI New Orleans Collection Swatches

During the past couple of days here, there has been a cold-weather warning in effect, but at least my nails got an early taste of spring and summer with the OPI New Orleans Collection! (To see the OPI New Orleans Collection press release that I posted earlier, which contains the official colour story, click on the above link.)

Feast your eyes on a rainbow buffet composed of hues in a wide range from a posh periwinkle and  vibrant violet to a captivating coral and beautiful blue.

My initial impression is that, for the most part, the formula on these is good and needed 2-3 coats to achieve full opacity.

The ones that took my breath away with the finished result were Got Myself into a Jam-balaya, I’m Sooo Swamped!, She’s a Bad Muffuletta!, Show Us Your Tips!, and Rich Girls & Po-Boys.

In this post, you can see bottle shots, which are really fun to look at. I love seeing them side-by-side, and I hope you do, too!

Also included are larger images of each swatch for a quick overview of the collection. However, to get an in-depth look at them, stay tuned for my detailed one-colour-per-post reviews that showcase several swatch photos in different lighting conditions and my thoughts on the formula. (I won’t be reviewing all of the colours in-depth, but I’ll do a few for the ones I wear as full manicures.)

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Quick Look: OPI New Orleans Collection

OPI New Orleans Collection

This is a quick second post today because I wanted to share something with you!

If you follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, or Snapchat (username: swatchandlearn), you already know that something colourful just arrived at Swatch And Learn headquarters: the OPI New Orleans Collection for Spring/Summer 2016!

It’s just in time for Valentine’s Day! 

After pulling out my heart-shaped egg ring from the kitchen drawer, I snapped this little photo. Of course I put the green nail polish inside my heart. That’s where it belongs. 😉

Swatches and reviews of these colours are coming. Stay tuned!

OPI New Orleans Collection Spring Summer 2016

Hehe, it looks like the nail polishes are ‘sacrificing’ the green nail polish!

There are 12 shades in the OPI New Orleans Collection:

All of the OPI New Orleans Collection nail polishes were provided to me by PR, and they came in a collectible box.

New Orleans OPI Collection

OPI New Orleans Spring Summer 2016 Collection

OPI New Orleans Collection 2016

P.S. I’m almost done doing in-depth, separate reviews and swatches of every single colour in the OPI Hello Kitty Collection. (The blue is the only one remaining, and it’ll be up on the blog next week.) As usual, you can find links to all the colours I’ve reviewed in the main collection page (linked above) and also in the ‘Key Notes’ section of each review on a Hello Kitty colour.

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Essie Resort 2016 Collection Swatches

Essie Resort 2016 Collection Swatches

From the bustling markets filled with savoury spices, beautiful silks, and artisan jewelry, the Essie Resort 2016 Collection officially launching on March 29th, 2016 takes inspiration from India!

The Essie Resort 2016 Collection features four happy colours from a silky sari pink and meditative mint lime to an energetic Goa blue and spicy marigold apricot.

Travel to an exotic destination with the stroke of your nail-polish brush!

In this post, I’ve included quick swatches of all the colours in the Essie Resort 2016 Collection, as well as bottle shots. Additionally, to give you more insight, I’ve included the colour story via the official press release and the editor’s note from Rebecca Minkoff, Essie’s Global Colour Designer.

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CND Vinylux Flirtation Collection Swatches

CND Vinylux Flirtation Collection Swatches

Beautiful manicures are as easy as a wink with the CND Vinylux Flirtation Collection!

With a come-hither finger and a suave  sashay, circle your calendar because the CND Vinylux Flirtation Collection launches worldwide in March 2016!

Wear your heart on your sleeve and your nails!

There are eight bat-your-eyelashes colours ranging from demure diva and princess pink to bold blue and you-need-it yellow.

Some of the colours are also available in the CND Shellac formulation. (You can find the details near the bottom of the page in the section where I included the official press release.)

In this post, there are quick swatches (without a top coat) of all eight CND Vinylux Flirtation Collection hues, as well as bottle shots to whet your appetite.

Overall, I found the formulation to be good. Date Night, Aqua-intance, Skin Tease, Be Demure, and Honey Darlin’ covered well with two medium coats. (The others really needed the third coat to even out streaks.)

I particularly enjoyed the cremes in this collection, especially Date Night, Aqua-intance, and Honey Darlin’.

When I wear some of these as full manicures, I’ll publish a separate post with my usual in-depth reviews that include multiple swatches in natural and artificial lighting, so you can get a better idea of what to expect.

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