Category Archives: Tutorials & Tips

Nail Art Tutorial: Easter Egg Nails

Easter Egg Nails Nail Art Tutorial & Pictures Well, lookie here. Mr. Tom Thumb decided to make an appearance. “What better occasion than for the unveiling of Easter Egg Nails?” He told me.

(Don’t tell him, but he’s kind of a hot head, thinking that he’s better than the other fingers just because he’s bigger. And he keeps talking about how without him, humans wouldn’t be able to brag about having opposable thumbs…or play an octave on the piano with one hand. *Pfft*)

Today I’m going to show you how this Easter nail design is very easy to do. I’ll walk you through it step-by-step with written instructions as well as photos so you can see the process and not just the end result.

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Smorgasbord Sundays: From Mary’s Desk – How to Plan & Execute a Blog Giveaway (Part 3)

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How to Plan a Giveaway for a Blog SwatchAndLearn It has been a while since my previous installment of From Mary’s Desk, so I thought that it was fine time for this Smorgasbord Sundays post.

Today’s topic is How to Plan and Execute a Blog Giveaway.

I think that this might be especially helpful to those who are new to blogging and have been considering running a giveaway.

Some things I’ll go into more detail about are why a giveaway could be a good idea for your blog, how to choose what to offer, sponsored giveaways, online giveaway tools, how long you should run your giveaway, etc.

No, I’m not an expert on blog giveaways, but I have run a few in the past on Swatch And Learn, and along the way, I’ve learned a thing or two.

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Nail Art Tutorial: Pot of Gold Nails

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Pot of Gold Nails Nail Art Tutorial & Swatches A couple of days ago, I brought you a shamrock nail-art design I came up with. Today, I have Pot of Gold Nails!

This is a very quick look that you can whip up in no time.

But, if you have some extra time to spend, consider adding a rainbow that leads to the gold. You could also put a metallic dollar-sign on the pot.

Hope that you like this easy design. It was pretty fun wearing this on my fingertips. But I was on the lookout for any leprechauns that would come to claim their treasure. 😉

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Nail Art Tutorial: Valentine’s Day Nails

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Valentine's Day Nails Nail Art Tutorial & Pictures Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!

I love Valentine’s Day because it serves as a reminder to appreciate the people we’re so lucky and blessed to have in our lives whether you’re happily married or single.

Will you all be my nail Valentine? 😉

It seems like it’s been a long time since I’ve done a nail-art tutorial, and I couldn’t let February 14 roll by without doing something!

So, here are some quick little Valentine’s Day Nails. If you turn your head to the right (or look at my other photos in this post), you’ll see that they have fluffy, white clouds that have lightning and that are raining down a slew of hearts.

My inspiration for this was the cheesy (but fun!) song, It’s Raining Men! Instead of men, though, I thought I’d paint hearts.

This is a very easy manicure that you can whip up in a pinch. Hope that some of you will try it sometime, even if you don’t today. 🙂

I wish you all love and happiness! Thank you for being the best blog readers in the world – it brings tears to my eyes at how loyal you are!

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Nail Art Tutorial: Tuxedo Nails

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Tuxedo Nails Nail Art Tutorial & Pictures Did you watch the Golden Globe Awards? I only got a chance to catch some of the red-carpet arrivals and then I was on the road.

I was excited when Ryan Seacrest pointed out Zooey Deschanel’s nails, which looked like adorable tuxedos!

It reminded me that for a while now, I’ve been wanting to do a nail art tutorial for how to do easy Tuxedo Nails.

Here’s a different version than hers, but it’ll still get your fingers on the Best Dressed List. 😉

You’ll notice that I also opted not to use white, which is traditional for this look.

Hope you’ll also play around with all sorts of untraditional colours. (Consider ditching the black bow tie for something bright and whimsical instead!)

In this post, you’ll also notice that I’ve been playing around with image sizes. Please let me know in the comments if you prefer fewer, but much-larger photos or many, but smaller photos. Also, please let me know if these larger photos make the post much slower to load than my usual posts. I appreciate your feedback! Continue reading →

Smorgasbord Sundays: From Mary’s Desk – Pictures & Swatches (Part 2)

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Swatch And Learn From Marys Desk Part 2 Smorgasbord Sundays Welcome to the second installment of From Mary’s Desk, a series focusing on issues that bloggers face on a daily basis. (See Part 1 here.)

Even if you’re not a blogger, I urge you to read this because it’ll give you a little peek backstage.

This time, I tackle the pressure of taking pictures.

Although I’m not a professional photographer and I haven’t taken any photography lessons, I’ll share basic tips and tricks that I’ve learned since the beginning of Swatch And Learn.

I hope that veteran bloggers will chime in and share their experiences when they first started out so that this may provide comfort and reassurance to new bloggers. And, I hope that new bloggers will say what they’ve been struggling with to help others realize that they’re not alone.

The underlying theme of the From Mary’s Desk series is that learning is a two-way street. And on that street, there’s a streetcar named Desire. And in that streetcar is Marlon Brando. And…wait a minute, stop distracting me! 😉

Warning: This blog post is text heavy! Continue reading →

The Best of 2011: Nail Polish, Nail Art, Makeup, Skincare & Fragrance

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Swatch And Learn The Best of 2011 It’s been quite a year, hasn’t it?

I’ve tried all sorts of new beauty products including nail polishes. And I’ve had tons of fun coming up with nail-art designs!

Now that it’s the last day in 2011, it’s time to reflect upon the year.

I’d like to share with you my Best of 2011 list! I still have a ton of favourites from last year, so these picks are strictly new ones that I’ve blogged about in 2011.

You’ll see it broken down into the following categories: nail polish (duh), nail art (double duh), fragrance, makeup, and skincare. All lists are in no particular order. (It was difficult enough to whittle down my picks for the nail polishes!)

Feel free to click on the links – they’ll take you to the blog post with the swatches, reviews, and tutorial (where appropriate).

Now I’m so curious about what you think!

Is there a lacquer that you feel I sorely missed including? Have you found your Holy Grail facial cleanser? What nail-art design have you worn in 2011 that you would consider wearing again in 2012?

Please weigh in with your picks! We’re all different, but our love for beauty products brings us together. 🙂 Continue reading →