While crazy nail-polish shades intimidate some people, bubblegum pink lacquers usually have that effect on me.

In the past, I avoided pinks because some made my hands look dirty. But, as I’m opening up to trying new shades, I’ve discovered a bunch that are flattering.

And, much like red nail polish, pinks such as OPI Chic from Ears to Tail are novelties to me because I don’t wear them as much as other colours.

This soft and sweet shade is from the OPI Couture de Minnie Collection that some have spotted on the market already, even though the official release is in June.

The name of this polish made me think of tails. What tail would I have if I had one? As much as I love cats, I’d have to say that I’d want to have a bunny tail. It’s cute, compact, and soft! Plus if I had a cat tail, I’d probably trip over it or try to catch it and make myself dizzy – haha! What kind of tail would you have?

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This week, I’ll be reviewing each shade in the OPI Couture de Minnie Collection. Perhaps this will entice you to enter my giveaway for the entire collection, Canadians?

Today I’m reviewing the shade I was most excited to try in the collection – OPI Magazine Cover Mouse!

It has the Liquid-Sand finish that you know I’ve been digging more than a shovel in a deep sandbox!

(When I wore this, I imagined that I was Minnie Mouse on the cover of Makin’ Cheddar Magazine. Yeah, everyday I’m hustlin’, Rick Ross! Haha!) 😉

Even though I’m excited about this, there’s something I’m even more excited about.

Guess what? In this post, my mom’s hands and nails make a first-time appearance on Swatch And Learn. 🙂 You’ll see the photos near the bottom of this post.

For Mother’s Day, when I went to visit my mom, I painted her nails and my own with OPI Magazine Cover Mouse so we’d match. I thought it would be fun, especially since my mother hardly ever pampers herself, let alone wears nail polish. It was a little treat, and something fun we could share together.

Although she doesn’t like nail polish, from time to time, she softens and likes me to paint her nails. (We’re talking once a year, to give you an idea!) And I often have to invest a lot of time trying to convince her to let me give her a manicure!

My mom is retired now, but when she worked full-time, she had a very stressful corporate job, and she worked long hours. Often, she’d come home late, yet she always mustered up the energy to whip up a delicious dinner from scratch when my brother and I still lived at home.

She is the hardest working person I know, and she is a true inspiration to me. There’s not a single lazy bone in her body! Haha, oftentimes I have to remind her to take a break and relax, so she doesn’t overdo it.

It was the first time she had ever worn a textured polish like this, and she was quite intrigued. Haha, but she still prefers the traditional smooth and glossy finish over texture. And, I had to redo her manicure because she literally dented nearly half of her nails within an hour of me painting them. 😉 She isn’t used to sitting still and not being busy doing things.

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Like a lot of other nailphiles, I was really excited to see what OPI Peace & Love & OPI looked like on the nail.

It’s from the OPI San Francisco Collection that’s coming out on August 7.

It’s an interesting duochrome (although at times I thought I saw a third colour, which would make this a multichrome).

I wish that the sun came out when I was wearing this manicure, but Mr. Sun was shy, so I only have natural-light and flash photos to share with you.

I tried really hard to capture the duochrome by posing at weird angles. Hopefully you’ll be able to see the colour shift okay.

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Last week, Monday to Friday, I showcased 5 OPI San Francisco nail polishes, which will go on sale August 7th. Well, the train isn’t stopping – chooo chooooooo! 😉 I’ll continue to show you the rest of the shades in upcoming posts.

Since some people expressed interest in seeing the reds, and one reader actually met her fiance at the Golden Gate Bridge (How romantic!), I decided to push my review of OPI First Date at the Golden Gate up my list of blogging priorities.

OPI First Date at the Golden Gate is a beautiful, classic red that’s slightly muted. You can’t go wrong with this staple shade.

And even though red isn’t my favourite colour to wear on my tips, I must say that from time to time, I crave it like something fierce. In a strange way, red nail polish is like a ‘novelty’ to me since I don’t wear it often. So when I do wear it, it feels really special.

I recommend checking out this red creme because the formula is absolute perfection! The parts you see where I accidentally got some on my cuticles was entirely my own fault. (And, yes, I wore my manicure like that. The little imperfections didn’t detract from the joy of wearing it.)

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Are you a blue nail-polish fan? Then you may boogie with this blue Liquid Sand from the OPI San Francisco Collection that drops in August.

All this week, I’ve reviewed polishes from this collection. There will be more to come – hopefully I’ll be able to review every single colour prior to August. I hope it’ll help you with your wishlist (whether it’s adding to it or scratching off some).

Today, I have OPI Wharf! Wharf! Wharf! Hehe, the name cracks me up because even though it’s supposed to be a reference to the Fishermans Wharf in San Francisco, it makes me think of Worf from Star Trek! Hehe, and then I get a good laugh thinking about Cling-Ons wearing nail polish! (Yes, I have an over-active imagination.)

On a side note, I’ve been to San Francisco once. Right after graduating from university, my parents and I went to California. We spent the most time in Los Angeles, but we also went to San Francisco. While in San Fran, we went to the Fishermans Wharf. It was quite lovely!

Looking back now, it was the last trip that I took with both of my parents, so I hold the memory dear to my heart.

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