Category Archives: Swatches

08 Jul

CND Pink Bikini with Glittery Tips

Hello ladies!

I’m sorry that it’s been so quiet around here this past month. Between being out of town for a while, finishing up the school year with the kids, needing a break afterwards, taking care of other responsibilities, and enjoying motherhood and life in general, it’s been hard to find the motivation to sit and blog. I have been doing my nails, though, so I have some things to share with you soon.

I’ve got a short and sweet post for you tonight. I started with CND Pink Bikini. I’ve told you before how I love the formula of the Vinylux polishes. This one gave me some issues at first. I think it was because there was some dried polish at the neck of the bottle. I cleaned up the neck and then it worked out well enough. So pretty and fun to wear! The weather has been so gloomy and rainy here in Cebu and a pop of color is just what I needed!

CND Vinylux Pink Bikini Swatch

I sponged some Ocean Green (Sinful Colors) on the tips of my nails. I grabbed Ocean Green while I was in Texas last year and I really love it paired with this pink. It is iridescent and so pretty.

Pink Bikini by CND with Glittery tips

I’ve always loved glittery tips and it really is one of the easiest ways to spice up a mani. All you need is a makeup sponge and some glittery polish. Just put some glitter on a bit of the makeup sponge and start dabbing. You can’t really go wrong.

These sparkly nails are my entry for Day 7 – Glittery! of the OMD3 Challenge hosted  by Brijit from Brijits Digits, Jacqui from Craftynail, Jemma from Eeeek! Nail Polish!, and Lindsay from Nail That Accent!. Check out the other pretty glittery nail art below

I hope you are having a great week and that you make someone smile today!

Hugs,
Rach

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23 May

Girlstuff Bloggers’ Elite Summer Collection Swatches & Review

Hello loves!

I’m back with a fun summer collection to share with you. This summer heat has really been getting me down lately, but there is nothing like some bright and cheery colors on my nails for a great pick me up! Girlstuff Forever recently released their Bloggers’ Elite Summer Collection—a four-color collection each named after a popular Philippine beauty blog. Y’all know I love Girlstuff polishes, so when I got these in the mail I was super excited! Thanks again, Girlstuff!

Let’s get right to it shall we? All of these photos were taken in my light-box. Each of these has a great, quick-drying formula. If you’d like to check out the blogs each polish is named after, just follow the link in each section below.

Topaz Horizon

Girlstuff Topaz Horizon Swatch

Topaz Horizon is a perfect pastel yellow creme with just a touch of green. I was surprised at how much I loved this one since I don’t typically like yellow polish for my nails. But this one is very pretty! This is two coats on most nails. I had to put a third coat on a couple of nails.

AskMeWhats

Girlstuff AskMeWhats Swatch

AskMeWhats is a pinkish purple (or is it purplish pink) creme. This girly color is definitely the most work-safe color of the bunch. Two coats are all that is needed for full opacity.

Struttingonsunshine

Girlstuff Strutting on Sunshine Swatch

Struttingonsunshine is a very bright robin’s egg blue creme. This is a stand out color and very fun to wear! This one was opaque in two coats.

Go Jackie Go

Girlstuff Go Jackie Go Swatch

I’ve saved my personal favorite for last. Go Jackie Go is a green chartreuse creme which is very flattering on my skin tone. I usually go for dark greens because I can’t pull off lighter greens. But this one is lovely! GJG took 2 coats for opacity, and I was sad when it was time to take it off. Even my sister, The Bookworm, borrowed this one to wear when she saw it.

bloggerselite

Photo Credit: Girlstuff Forever Facebook Page

Overall, I love this collection! These 4 new shades have the great quick-dry and self-leveling formula I have come to expect from Girlstuff. I believe, between Topaz Horizon, AskMeWhats, Struttingonsunshine, and Go Jackie Go, there is something for everyone with this quartet of colors.

These sell for Php120 at Girlstuff kiosks. You can also check out their website and contact them about having polishes shipped to you. You can also check them out on Facebook and follow them on Instagram @girlstufforever.

What do you think of this collection? Which is your favorite? I’ll be sharing some nail art using them very soon. I hope you have had a great week and that your weekend is full of smiles, laughs and pretty colors!

Hugs,
Rach

20 Apr

Chic Pastel Collection Skittles


Hello lovely ladies!

I wanted to pop in and show you not one but TWO skittle manis I’ve done using the Chic Pastel Collection by Chic Centre. My husband purchased these for me for part of his Valentine’s Day nail polish bouquet. ♥

Each of these shades is a lovely creamy pastel that doesn’t go on streaky at all. I would even describe them as crellies because they were a bit jelly-like but still pretty opaque. The only one that I found needed 3 coats was Daisy Wazy (yellow). The collection consists of these 5 shades:
Sweet Pea – Purple
Hula Hoop – Green
Daisy Wazy – Yellow
Baby Doll – Pink
Marionette – Blue (on thumb not pictured)

Chic Pastel Collection Skittles

I loved these and the fact that the colors fit together perfectly for a look that just screams romance and spring time! I added one coat of L.A. Girl 3D Silver because…well because WHY NOT? Amiright?

Chic Pastel Collection with holo

I sported these with my gorgeous, pastel, vintage dress that I bought from Best Finds Thrift Shop.  (They get a shout out because I am such a happy customer.)

Chic Pastels and my dress

I also want to show you the skittles that I did for the Shutterbug. We added some gorgeous stamping using my awesome MJ XXVIII stamping plate from My Online Shop.

Photo Feb 22, 9 33 55 PM

The stamping is in white, so it is subtle (especially over the yellow), but it is oh so pretty!

What do you think about this collection? I usually shy away from yellows and greens, but I can pull off a pastel yellow and pastel green. I love these colors! Oh and here’s a shot of the bouquet my husband made for me on Valentine’s Day.

Valentine's 2015 Nail Polish Bouquet

Have a great week! I hope that you get some coffee and some chocolate to help you cope with the fact that it is Monday. Ugh! Keep smiling anyway!

Hugs,
Rach

04 Apr

Caronia Shades of Summer – Swatches and Review

Greetings fellow polish lovers!

I’ve got a lovely summer collection of polishes to share with you today. Caronia sent me their new Shades of Summer Collection which consists of six fun shades and includes something for everyone. I’m just going to get right into the swatches and tell you what I thought. All these photos were taken in my light-box.

Summer Fling

Caronia Summer Fling Swatch

Summer Fling is a very pretty pinkish-plum creme. Its formula was just right, and I almost got away with using just one coat. I went ahead and used two to ensure no bald spots—because I’m OC like that. This shade is a fun color to sport during the summer without being too loud and crazy.

Rainbow Tan

Caronia Rainbow Tan Swatch

Rainbow Tan is a work-safe tan/beige frosted polish. It has me a bit confused with the choice of name as this isn’t rainbow-y at all. It is tan though, so we’ll just go with that. The formula on this one was thinner than the rest and is the only one that needed 3 coats for full coverage. Frosted polishes tend to show streaky brush strokes and this one does just that, as you can see. If you are into more muted shades and don’t mind frosted polishes then I’m sure you will love Rainbow Tan. It just wasn’t my cup of tea.

Sun Kissed

Caronia Sun Kissed Swatch

Sun Kissed is a vibrant orange creme that screams summer! It was an easy two-coater, and I’m surprised how much I ended up liking it despite it giving me lobster hands (making my skin look pinker than normal). This one is not for the faint of heart. Ha!

Sweet Surprise

Caronia Sweet Surprise Swatch

Sweet Surprise is right! This is a fun, bright yellow creme. It has a shimmer in the bottle that can’t be seen on the nails. But that’s not a problem for me. Application was fine with two coats to full coverage. I love this shade for summer. So bright and happy!

On-the-Go

Caronia On-the-Go Swatch

On-the-Go is a fabulous teal green creme that is almost perfect in just one coat! When I first used On-the-Go a while back, it really did have me “on-the-go”. I went to several stores looking for a bottle for my sister and a couple of back-ups for myself. I love, love, LOVE this polish! I don’t like many green polishes, but I do love this cool dark teal.

First Crush

Caronia First Crush Swatch

First Crush is a very pretty, lilac purple creme. Who doesn’t love a pretty purple polish amiright? (Have I mentioned that purple is my favorite color to wear on my nails?) The formula on this one was just fine needing only 2 coats for full coverage. This one if perfect for all you girly girls out there!

Promotional image for Caronia Shades of Summer

This collection has sophisticated, work-safe shades, bold pops of color, and cooler hues, too. There is something for everyone, I’m sure! These polishes have been reformulated and are 3-Free and dry fairly quickly. They are sold individually in 8ml bottles for (SRP) Php31 ($0.69) each at local department stores and grocery stores. The durability of this polish for the price is well worth it. It’s definitely a great budget buy. You can follow Caronia on Facebook and Instagram to keep up with them and their products.

I hope you enjoyed this review and that you found my input helpful. Let me know in the comments which shade is your favorite. Keep your eye out for some nail art featuring these babies.

Have a great weekend and don’t forget to make someone smile!
Hugs,
Rach

10 Feb

Barbie’s Ultimate Valentine’s Date Night Nails (Featuring Girlstuff I Love You)

Hey ladies!

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and, while I’m not a sucker for the commercial side of the holiday, I do enjoy seeing the heart decorations, and I like to make my hubby a little something sweet to eat and maybe an extra nice dinner at home. He has hinted at a fun surprise in the works for me this year so I’m excited about that. I know there IS polish involved, so I am sure I’ll be pleased.

Do you like the title of this post? What I’m sharing with you tonight has to be the girliest of all the girly manicures my digits have ever sported! I can totally see Barbie showing these off at a Valentine’s date night with Ken. I have received a ton of compliments on these nails. They are very fun to wear.

Girlstuff I Love You

I started with two coats of Girlstuff Pink Lemonade, which is a hot pink creme from their Summer 2014 collection. It is a vibrant, eye catching color on its own. I added one coat of I ♥ U from their Confetti Collection. This is a perfect glitter topper for Valentine’s Day or any time you want something sweet and girly. The hearts took a bit of work to fish out, but it wasn’t difficult and the payoff with the rest of the glitter mix was great with just one coat. The hearts are small enough that they don’t stick out awkwardly on my very curved nails. I always hate it when I put glitter shapes on my nails and they stick out oddly and tempt me to pick them off my nails. One coat of Girlstuff Fast Dry Top Coat (more on this amazing new product later) and I was good to go. I have been sporting these for 5 days now and they still look fabulous. I love when polish wears well despite my daily chores and such.

Here is my swatch of Girl Stuff Pink Lemonade on its own. So pretty!

Girlstuff Pink Lemonade Swatch

Girlstuff is a cruelty free brand, and their polishes are all 5 free and safe for little ones and pregnant women as well. Check out their Website or find them on Facebook to find out how to get your own.

I hope you have a great week and that you get to make someone smile today. You are fabulous!

Hugs,
Rach

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