tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18229440783512071452024-03-13T04:37:31.057-07:00Lively LacquerMarisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164913719427911676noreply@blogger.comBlogger199125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822944078351207145.post-60918482337394396992014-08-23T09:00:00.000-07:002014-08-23T09:00:00.929-07:00China Glaze All Aboard Collection for Fall 2014 - My PicksHi everyone!<br />
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For the majority of this year (and part of last year) I haven't been too impressed by the collections being put out by the mainstream brands. I hardly bought any new polishes from these brands (OPI, China Glaze, etc), and I was starting to wonder if my love of nail polish was diminishing. I'm also not really a Fall person - I really like bright colors, so Summer brights are usually what I gravitate towards.<br />
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With that little bit of background, I walked into my nail supply store to see if they had any of the new Fall collections. While most of the promo pictures I've seen online haven't really interested me, I decided to check them out in person before deciding against them. Lucky that I did! I ended up buying 6 shades from the China Glaze All Aboard collection, and 4 from OPI's Nordic collection (These will be up on the blog soon!).<br />
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The shades I purchased from the All Aboard collection are as follows (in the same order as shown in the photo below left to right): Lug Your Designer Baggage, Mind the Gap, Conduct Yourself, Nice Caboose!, Choo-Choo Choose You, and All Aboard.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Lets get onto the pictures, shall we?<br />
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<b>Lug Your Designer Baggage</b> is a gorgeous milk chocolate brown with gold shimmer and a smattering of white glass flecks. The shimmer and glass flecks aren't lost in the polish and give this polish a beautiful speckled look. The formula on this polish was good. I used 2 coats for opacity.<br />
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<b>Mind the Gap</b> is a dusty light brown filled with gold shimmer that can turn greenish at certain angles. While I like the shimmer in this polish, I'm not sure if I'm really digging the base color. Formula wise, I found this polish a bit on the sheer side - I had to use 4 coats for opacity, and because this polish has a bit of a jelly-like consistency, I'd recommend waiting for each layer to dry before applying the next.<br />
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<b>Conduct Yourself</b> is a vampy, wine red with subtle pinky-purpley micro shimmer. Not going to lie, I was hoping the shimmer would be a bit more apparent on the nail. You can kind of see it in the photos above, but it isn't really noticeable on the nail at all in indoor lighting. Formula wise it was great, I used 2 coats.<br />
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<b>Nice Caboose!</b> is a pretty somewhat dusty burgundy (if you would call wine red burgundy, this is more purple leaning). Nice Caboose has the same shimmer as Conduct Yourself (pinky-purpley microshimmer), but the shimmer is a bit more obvious on the nail. Formula wise it was good, I used 3 thin coats.<br />
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<b>All Aboard</b> is a dusty lavender. It's not really what I would call unique - I probably have something in my collection that would be a dupe or close to one (time to dig out for a comparison?). Formula wise it was good, I used 3 coats.<br />
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<b>Choo-Choo Choose You</b>: In my opinion, this is the star of the collection. Duochrome shimmer that shifts from red-y gold to gold to green suspended in a dusty grey mauve. If I was limited to only one polish from this collection, it would be this one! The formula was good (better than Mind the Gap) with 2-3 coats.<br />
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Well, that's all of them. What do you think? Do any of these stand out to you? Are there any colors that I didn't get that you are interested in?<br />
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Thank you so much for reading!<br />
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MarisaMarisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164913719427911676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822944078351207145.post-58918412454688386912014-08-09T00:00:00.000-07:002014-08-09T00:00:02.343-07:00Mini Giveaway!Hi everyone!<br />
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No nail polish today, but I do have something equally exciting for you all! Lively Lacquer has recently gotten to over 100 likes on Facebook (I never thought that would actually happen!), so I put together a small giveaway for everyone interested! If you haven't heard of it yet, Nail Polish Canada's GIANT nail polish giveaway is still running - you can enter both on Nail Polish Canada's website <a href="http://www.nailpolishcanada.com/categories/the-great-polish-giveaway-of-2014.html">here</a> <b>and</b> on the Widget at the bottom of <a href="http://livelylacquer.blogspot.ca/2014/08/nail-polish-canadas-great-polish.html">my post about the giveaway</a>.<br />
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The prize is a $25 CAD gift certificate to <a href="http://www.nailpolishcanada.com/">Nail Polish Canada</a> (purchased by me). There are two ways of entering the giveaway - you can "Like" Lively Lacquer on Facebook and/or follow me (@livelylacquer) on Twitter - it's all on the Rafflecopter widget below!<br />
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The giveaway runs from August 9th at 12:00AM to August 16th at 12:00AM, and is open to residents of Canada and the United States only.<br />
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Thank you for all of your support during my few years of blogging (however sporadically ;-) ).<br />
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Good luck! :)<br />
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Marisa<br />
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<a id="rc-0c9ecee41" class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0c9ecee41/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//widget.rafflecopter.com/load.js"></script>Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164913719427911676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822944078351207145.post-91996629616010621752014-08-01T13:19:00.002-07:002014-08-06T15:21:05.415-07:00Nail Polish Canada's Great Polish Giveaway of 2014!Hello everyone!<br />
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This is HUGE! I know many of you would love to win nail polish, and here is a great opportunity to win some! Nail Polish Canada is my one of my hands down favourite places to shop for nail polish, and not only do I find their shipping fast and the people are amazingly nice - I always look forward to my order arriving because I always find a lollipop in my order, and it feels just like Christmas!<br />
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Anyway, keeping the rambling to a minimum... ;)<br />
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Here is the official blurb from NPC on the giveaway!<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>We’ve partnered with Cirque Colors, NCLA & Picture Polish to host the biggest giveaway ever.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>One winner will take home up to 200 nail polish from over 10 different brands! The prize starts at zero, then bloggers can each pick a favourite shade to be added to the prize. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">You can enter on their giveaway page and see all of the polish shades up for grabs <a href="http://www.nailpolishcanada.com/categories/the-great-polish-giveaway-of-2014.html">here</a>, and you can also additionally enter on all of the participating blogs (including here! on the Rafflecopter widget below!).<i> </i></span><br />
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<img alt="" class="__mce_add_custom__" src="http://www.nailpolishcanada.ca/Giveaway.jpg" height="150" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="350" /><br />
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I chose to add Zoya Dillon to the giveaway prize!<br />
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I thought I had swatches of this polish, but it turns out on all of the occasions that I have worn it I neglected to take pictures. I was trying to dig out the bottle to swatch it for this post but I've also managed to misplace it! My polish collecting hasn't been as organized lately (my melmer is overflowing and I'm in desperate need of another one) and all of my newer polishes have been spread out throughout my house. So while I feel like I haven't made many purchases lately, I have a feeling I probably have enough polish lying around to fill another entire melmer (yikes!).<br />
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Of course, I ended up (just now actually) ordering a replacement bottle of Dillion from NPC. Of course I did. It's easier to order another bottle (I really like the color too!) than to tear my house apart looking for the old one, no? ;)<br />
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So, when the new bottle arrives, I'll be updating this post with swatches of this gorgeous polish!<br />
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<b>Edit</b>: My new bottle of Dillon has arrived and I've posted some quick swatches below! I didn't realize it before, but this polish matches my favourite pair of Toms!<br />
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Here is the Rafflecopter widget for the giveaway! Feel free to enter if you would like to, and good luck! I can already tell you that I'll be supremely envious of the person who wins all of that polish!<br />
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This giveaway is open to residents of the <b>United States and Canada only</b>, and ends on <b>August 15th, 2014. </b><br />
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Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164913719427911676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822944078351207145.post-89142750188064096832014-07-08T12:43:00.001-07:002014-07-09T13:25:57.960-07:00Review: Duri Rejuvacote Nail Treatment<span style="font-size: x-small;">***Disclaimer: The product featured in this post was sent to me for review purposes. All opinions expressed in this post are my own.</span><br />
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Hi everyone!<br />
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Sorry for the lack of posts recently, but for the last two weeks I've been taking Duri's Rejuvacote for a spin on my nails, and while nail polish can be worn at the same time as the treatment, I opted to use only the Rejuvacote so I could watch the progression on my whole nail.<br />
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From the back of the box:<br />
<i>Rejuvacote the nail doctor will heal and cure your split, cracked and acrylic eaten nails. In a matter of weeks you will enjoy the look and feel of strong, vital, natural nails. </i><br />
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<i>Directions: Begin with clean dry nails. Apply one coat of Rejuvacote as base coat. Apply nail color is desired. Apply Rejuvacote as top coat, daily. After 7 days, remove with polish remover. As your nails improve, apply every other day or as needed. </i><br />
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I was keen to try this treatment when I first received it in the post. I had recently returned from a short trip to Paris (my first trip overseas! It was beautiful!) during which I forgot to bring my handcare supplies with me (they're in a separate little bag from my other self-care products). Of course, the trip only being 4 days long and pretty short, I thought I could get away without moisturizing. A little note to myself in the future - don't ever do that again. When I got back, my nails were in TERRIBLE shape. I've never had this kind of damage over such a short period, but I think it was probably due to a bunch of factors like not moisturizing, the weather there (it was hot-ish and dry, and really windy), and not being hydrated enough.<br />
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Ready to see some horrible nails? This is when I started the Rejuvacote treatment (and got back into my usual handcare routine - hence the dry, sad, cuticles. If you're wondering what my handcare routine is, I use shea butter, lotions, and a mix of oils (argan, jojoba) on my cuticles daily and before I sleep). I'd like to mention as well that my nails felt really dry and brittle. Brittle to a point where tapping my nails on a desk or hard surface made this weird vibrating feeling in my fingers that kind of hurt.<br />
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<b>Note</b>: I've summarized my thoughts at the bottom in a nice little list - I realized that my ramblings can be a bit confusing (at least to me), so a summary would be useful. Also, It helps me remember some things I wanted to comment about that I don't remember while I'm rambling. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9ntptbQtvys/U7w8y2yxFtI/AAAAAAAACB4/2PT3y9P4HTw/s1600/Duri1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9ntptbQtvys/U7w8y2yxFtI/AAAAAAAACB4/2PT3y9P4HTw/s1600/Duri1.jpg" height="400" width="363" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Day 1) Eek! Thank goodness for the strategically placed watermark! ;)</td></tr>
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I started the treatment by applying one coat of Rejuvacote. I have a picture of this too, although it doesn't look much different from the one above.<br />
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The splits are still there - the base layer of Rejuvacote reflects more light than my bare nail and so the splits don't jump out at you as much as before.<br />
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I continued applying Rejuvacote daily for the next week. After a week I removed the Rejuvacote from my nails and started again, only applying every other day, as directed on the bottle. I didn't feel like there had been any major changes after a week, so I neglected to take any photos (shame on me, I know). Today is the 2 week mark though, and I have pictures! I gotta admit, I'm really surprised with the growth and general difference there is visible on my nails.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U_lOOOOL-U0/U7w8zOm2B7I/AAAAAAAACCs/pZRX1jK8rcQ/s1600/Duri3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U_lOOOOL-U0/U7w8zOm2B7I/AAAAAAAACCs/pZRX1jK8rcQ/s1600/Duri3.jpg" height="400" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day 14</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZdpxwA4pEJ8/U7w8z3EkY2I/AAAAAAAACCk/MvZZmFOlCf4/s1600/Duri4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZdpxwA4pEJ8/U7w8z3EkY2I/AAAAAAAACCk/MvZZmFOlCf4/s1600/Duri4.jpg" height="400" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day 14</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cLWQ6q9QIvo/U7w80c79orI/AAAAAAAACCg/9r1BrYj6Bf4/s1600/Duri6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cLWQ6q9QIvo/U7w80c79orI/AAAAAAAACCg/9r1BrYj6Bf4/s1600/Duri6.jpg" height="400" width="363" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day 14</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CBLKaaulqaI/U7w80O-Q9ZI/AAAAAAAACCY/KyHMXSYDbxc/s1600/Duri5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CBLKaaulqaI/U7w80O-Q9ZI/AAAAAAAACCY/KyHMXSYDbxc/s1600/Duri5.jpg" height="400" width="363" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day 14</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ko6qLCAwpgg/U7w80kvuDdI/AAAAAAAACCo/NOY4O3-5JZY/s1600/Duri7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ko6qLCAwpgg/U7w80kvuDdI/AAAAAAAACCo/NOY4O3-5JZY/s1600/Duri7.jpg" height="400" width="363" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day 14</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Just a few updates: The splits on my nails are still there (although the one on my middle finger isn't as noticeable anymore), but haven't spread at all. My nails don't feel as brittle anymore (on their own, after the Rejuvacote is removed). They still don't feel as strong as I would like them to, but I notice that they are a bit stronger. Also, the growth! I didn't notice how much my nail had grown, but comparing the photos I must say I am surprised. I usually can't grow my nails out very long because they feel like they'll snap after a little bit, but the Rejuvacote treatment makes my nails feel strong, like I could actually maybe growth them out into stilettos without tearing a nail first.<br />
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<b>Summary:</b><br />
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<b>Product</b>: Duri Rejuvacote<br />
<b>Ingredients</b>: ethyl acetate, n-butyl acetate, nytrocellulose,
formaldehyde resin, isopropyl alcohol, camphor, calcium pantothenate,
gelatin, hydrolyzed keratin protein, formaldehyde , vitamin a, vitamin
e.<br />
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<b>Pros</b>: <br />
- The layers of Rejuvacote on the nail make it feel strong and less likely to break.<br />
- After the Rejuvacote is removed, my nails feel stronger (on their own).<br />
- May help with nail growth. At the very least, I feel like I can achieve lengths that I didn't think I reach before.<br />
- Stopped existing splits from spreading.<br />
- Glossy, and can be used as a top coat and a base coat. Since I like the strengthening feeling on my nails, I would definitely use it as a base coat and top coat.<br />
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<b>Cons</b>:<br />
- Not quick drying.<br />
- Has a tendency to chip rather easily (like the next day). It doesn't matter as much since you reapply it, but I'm not sure if it'll still chip as easily as a top coat (that can be more problematic).<br />
- The smell is strong. I've gotten used to the smell of nail polish over the years, but this one is something else. Make sure to apply in a well ventilated area! <br />
- Not "3 free" or "5 free" for that matter. Contains formaldehyde and formaldehyde resin as strengtheners.<br />
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I'm curious to test Rejuvacote further. I've heard on the grapevine that not everyone has had great results (I've very happy with how my nails have progressed), so I may pass Rejuvacote on to my sister (who has really weak nails that split, chip, tear, you name it - all the time regardless of how well she cares for her nails). I feel like she'd be the ultimate test. I'll make sure she documents how it goes for her!<br />
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What do y'all think? Have any of you tried out Rejuvacote? What kind of results did you get? I'm curious to see how it has worked across many different people, since nail conditions vary from person to person.<br />
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Thank you for reading! I'm hoping to have a huge holo-tastic post up for you sometime in the future (I need to swatch my most recent Colors by Llarowe haul!).<br />
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Have a great week everyone!<br />
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Duri Rejuvacote can be purchased from several online retailers, including <a href="http://www.nailpolishcanada.com/">Nail Polish Canada</a>.<br />
<br />
Marisa<br />
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*** Products in this post were sent for review. All opinions expressed are my own. Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164913719427911676noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822944078351207145.post-56225670190930189342014-06-13T12:31:00.002-07:002014-06-13T12:31:29.109-07:00Colors by Llarowe - Dirty DianaHi everyone! Long time no post!<br />
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Truth is, I've been in a nail polish rut over the last little bit. My last few swatching sessions haven't been going so great - I keep seeing little things I dislike in my photos and as a consequence I never want to post them and just say I'll reswatch them at a later date. Also, none of the big brands' summer collections have really been tugging at me. I've still been buying polish, just not splurging all at once on collections like I used to. I'm kind of excited about the Orly summer collection though (except that one with bar glitter).<br />
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Anyhow, on a different note... Today's post is from my last swatching session, and I deem it to be the most "postable" quality out of them all. Someday, I will get around to reswatching everything else. One of the things I didn't like was that my ring finger nail had this habit of flattening at the free edge and looking kinda like a duck lips on my finger. No bueno. I've changed my nail shape to a more rounded and natural shape, which (so far) I haven't been having duck issues with.<br />
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I probably wouldn't be posting this at all if I had the time to redo the photos, but I'm leaving on a short trip (few days) to Paris tomorrow, and I wanted an excuse to share the news. I'm hoping to have time to look out for nail polish while I'm there!<br />
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Anyway, without further rambling, here is Colors by Llarowe Dirty Diana!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IfAVZe5tlPA/U5tQfro3UuI/AAAAAAAACBQ/u9G2GNezW4M/s1600/DirtyDiana1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IfAVZe5tlPA/U5tQfro3UuI/AAAAAAAACBQ/u9G2GNezW4M/s1600/DirtyDiana1.jpg" height="400" width="363" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dirty Diana - Outdoors, Full Sun</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7MDlzO-G-SM/U5tQfqrRZgI/AAAAAAAACBU/w9j5N3KZjYY/s1600/DirtyDiana3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7MDlzO-G-SM/U5tQfqrRZgI/AAAAAAAACBU/w9j5N3KZjYY/s1600/DirtyDiana3.jpg" height="400" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dirty Diana - Outdoors, Full Sun</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VtAajdmpPvo/U5tQfikMftI/AAAAAAAACBY/RB21NddNvko/s1600/DirtyDiana4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VtAajdmpPvo/U5tQfikMftI/AAAAAAAACBY/RB21NddNvko/s1600/DirtyDiana4.jpg" height="400" width="363" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dirty Diana - Indoors, Artificial Lighting</td></tr>
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I love this polish! I really need to remind myself to get more CbL holos. That might just bring my mojo back! Great formula, beautiful rainbows in the sun and strong lighting.<br />
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What do you think? Do you own any CbLs? Any recommendations for new ones I should add to my shopping list? So far I have Smooth Criminal, Mojito, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Dirty Diana.<br />
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As always, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you all have a great weekend!<br />
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MarisaMarisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164913719427911676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822944078351207145.post-28877054608384858382014-04-18T15:52:00.000-07:002014-04-18T15:52:15.824-07:00Colors By Llarowe - MojitoHi everyone, I hope you're all having a great Easter weekend!<br />
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Sorry for not posting more recently... I bought all of the Picture Polish Limited Edition polishes and had them swatched, but none of the pictures really turned out well and I wasn't really in the mood to swatch them again. I'll redo them, but it might take me a while.<br />
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The great thing is that all of my exams are done! Huzzah! I couldn't resist ordering Borealis (another LE Picture Polish shade) from Harlow & Co when I just happened to be browsing during a restock, so I ended up purchasing my first Colors By Llarowe polishes at the same time. I know that CbL is a pretty wanted brand at the moment, but I'd never had the desire to enter the crazy restock madness that always seems to accompany it. Luckily, there were a few shades that were still on the Harlow & Co website that appealed to me. We've had rain for most of the week, and I was away and unable to open my package, but today when the sun came out I finally decided to do some swatching.<br />
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I am SO GLAD I bought there polishes (I ended up getting Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Dirty Diana, Smooth Criminal and Mojito). Of course I reached for Mojito first!<br />
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Almost done raving now, just a short description of the polish and I'll let you have a look!<br />
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Mojito is a beautiful light spearmint-y green with a slightly subtle linear holo. But slightly subtle I mean not as holo as the Color Club Halo Hues and maybe as holo as the China Glaze Hologlam ones (or maybe more, I haven't really compared). I actually really like subtle holos, so I love this one to bits. Actually, I think this is one of my favourite green holos ever.<br />
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Okay, done raving. Here are a bunch of photos I hope will make up for all of the jabbering! :) <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0ah-9RGTsEo/U1GrR0tiiJI/AAAAAAAAB_8/leLq87O_cgY/s1600/Mojito1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0ah-9RGTsEo/U1GrR0tiiJI/AAAAAAAAB_8/leLq87O_cgY/s1600/Mojito1.jpg" height="400" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Artificial Light</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o6lYbt9Rwh8/U1GrSKDXOJI/AAAAAAAACAI/ySnoPW5L3tk/s1600/Mojito2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o6lYbt9Rwh8/U1GrSKDXOJI/AAAAAAAACAI/ySnoPW5L3tk/s1600/Mojito2.jpg" height="400" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunlight</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_K1H8dldhAs/U1GrSM0R0mI/AAAAAAAACAA/EtEgQPN46_A/s1600/Mojito3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_K1H8dldhAs/U1GrSM0R0mI/AAAAAAAACAA/EtEgQPN46_A/s1600/Mojito3.jpg" height="400" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunlight</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I4uHlNVj6cM/U1GrS5NmEvI/AAAAAAAACAg/_2NfjPcA3S0/s1600/Mojito4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I4uHlNVj6cM/U1GrS5NmEvI/AAAAAAAACAg/_2NfjPcA3S0/s1600/Mojito4.jpg" height="400" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunlight</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JiH7ujaIT0g/U1GrTPzdqlI/AAAAAAAACAY/NJ7gd9zrOYU/s1600/Mojito5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JiH7ujaIT0g/U1GrTPzdqlI/AAAAAAAACAY/NJ7gd9zrOYU/s1600/Mojito5.jpg" height="400" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunlight</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vFWgipalhy4/U1GrTXyz6hI/AAAAAAAACAU/Q4lPojCvF3I/s1600/Mojito6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vFWgipalhy4/U1GrTXyz6hI/AAAAAAAACAU/Q4lPojCvF3I/s1600/Mojito6.jpg" height="400" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunlight</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GdGJ3sRS7y0/U1GrUCY-4BI/AAAAAAAACAs/ildL37YH3_4/s1600/Mojito7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GdGJ3sRS7y0/U1GrUCY-4BI/AAAAAAAACAs/ildL37YH3_4/s1600/Mojito7.jpg" height="400" width="363" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Artificial Light</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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What do y'all think? Gosh, I am such a sucker for greens.<br />
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As always, thank you so much for reading! I hope I'll be able to get my game on and reswatch those Picture Polish shades soon!<br />
<br />
Marisa<br />
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<br />Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164913719427911676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822944078351207145.post-15679146333722860042014-01-27T09:30:00.000-08:002014-01-27T09:30:41.747-08:00NOTD: Sparitual Imagination over Peace, Love, and OPIHi everyone!<br />
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I hope you're all having a great January so far! Today I have a recent NOTD to share with y'all. When I first saw Sparitual Imagination I thought it was duochrome goodness in a bottle. I was hoping it would be opaque, but it was more like duochrome glitter suspended in a clear base. I decided to laŷer it over OPI's Peace, Love, and OPI for a sparkly, duochromey manicure.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x9p7Z10jzzc/UuaWXfYJugI/AAAAAAAAB-8/m7THOdLd9zE/s1600/Imagination2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x9p7Z10jzzc/UuaWXfYJugI/AAAAAAAAB-8/m7THOdLd9zE/s1600/Imagination2.jpg" height="400" width="362" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jaQpbC-ACzQ/UuaWXZAtD-I/AAAAAAAAB-4/uIxJ1jY78lw/s1600/Imagination3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jaQpbC-ACzQ/UuaWXZAtD-I/AAAAAAAAB-4/uIxJ1jY78lw/s1600/Imagination3.jpg" height="400" width="363" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ht_4PRsF8DI/UuaWYVzL_3I/AAAAAAAAB_E/4bWkSPHsVtc/s1600/Imagination1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ht_4PRsF8DI/UuaWYVzL_3I/AAAAAAAAB_E/4bWkSPHsVtc/s1600/Imagination1.jpg" height="400" width="362" /></a></div>
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My pictures definitely don't do this one justice! It's much more sparkly and duochromey in person.<br />
That's all for today!Thank y'all for reading, and I hope you have a great week!<br />
<br />
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- MarisaMarisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164913719427911676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822944078351207145.post-88655757256518583682014-01-16T09:00:00.000-08:002014-01-16T09:33:17.606-08:00China Glaze Sea Goddess Collection for Spring 2014Hellllloo everyone! I'm back!<br />
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Sorry about the unplanned hiatus! I'll have much more time to blog now (and do my nails for that matter). For the last few months my nails were an absolute mess. It'll take me a while to get them back into shape, so please excuse my gross cuticles and dry hands in the next few posts. Actually, I'm looking for a new lotion that's heavy duty but also good for everyday use that doesn't have an overwhelming smell and absorbs fast... so if you have any recommendations feel free to leave them in the comments! My hands thank you in advance!</div>
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Anyway, on to the polish! I went to my polish supply store for the first time in a few months last weekend to see if they had any new, interesting collections. Although I've been on a break from the nail polish world (I think I purchased a record low number of polishes in the past 8 months), I've been keeping tabs on the upcoming releases just in case there were any that I absolutely HAD to have. I came across the China Glaze Sea Goddess collection which I haven't actually heard of yet... I had to google the collection name to figure out if it was actually a recent collection. Of course, my hoarder instinct kicked in and I purchased all 6 polishes even though they didn't have a swatch wheel and I had the idea that they were textured polishes (which I'm not completely sold over). </div>
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This'll be a fairly long post so I'll put it under a cut. <strike>Unfortunately I forgot to make a collage thingy so there isn't any pretty picture before the cut (I tried to make it just now, but it's hard on a tablet without a stylus..</strike>.)<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--WWGAsP5M7o/UtgXztTCPoI/AAAAAAAAB-k/tOjL8M_6pAM/s1600/collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--WWGAsP5M7o/UtgXztTCPoI/AAAAAAAAB-k/tOjL8M_6pAM/s1600/collage.jpg" height="256" width="400" /></a></div>
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First up we have <b>Sand Dolla Holla</b>.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LYFaxD-8-RE/UteOxqlyk9I/AAAAAAAAB80/GrxG3-v38tU/s1600/SandDollaMakeYouHolla2.jpg" height="400" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="363" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sand Dolla Make You Holla</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--GFsy4wZM_k/UteOxn2ukCI/AAAAAAAAB8w/eaZDw29OPvg/s1600/SandDollaMakeYouHolla.jpg" height="400" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="362" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sand Dolla Make You Holla with topcoat</td></tr>
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<b>Sand Dolla Make You Holla: </b>Okay, first things first. I really don't like the name of this polish. I don't really have a reason for this other than I think it's silly and it annoys the crap out of me /endrant. Other than the stupid name, this polish is actually pretty cute. It's a pinkish off white creme-jelly with small rainbow glitter suspended in it. Like the rest of the polishes in this collection, it's textured - however it seems to be less textured than the rest of the polishes. I don't mind too much about the less textured feeling. This polish reminds me of vanilla frosting with rainbow sprinkles. Mmm.<br />
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<img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_h4-Bt7N5SM/UteOx-C3vLI/AAAAAAAAB84/-JLDKdImWJA/s1600/SeahorsinAround1.jpg" height="400" width="362" /></div>
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<b>Seahorsin' Around</b>: A pretty teal-blue textured polish with green-gold glass fleck glitter (not really shown in my photos I'm afraid). I love how China Glaze does glass fleck polishes, and I wish they would do more. I wouldn't actually mind if they stopped doing whole collections based on a fad finish (unless it's holographic of course). Too many textured polishes and I get tired of them. To end my aside, I really like this polish. I like the green-gold flecks. If they made this polish without the texture I'd probably love it to an irrational extent - it makes me think of the sun sparkling over the sea (and reminds me that I want to take a vacation soon!).<br />
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<b>Shell We Dance?</b>: A light raspberry pink texture polish. The glitter in this polish is interesting, it's a mix of small glitters and some bigger slightly darker colored glitter that sparkles. I didn't think I'd like this polish that much (looked kinda meh in the bottle), but I'm actually pleasantly surprised.<br />
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<b>Tail Me Something</b>: A lavender texture polish. This one is a bit boring to me - it strikes me as a bit one-dimensional. I think this has purple and silver glitter in it, or just really sparkly purple glitter that looks silver to me. I can't tell. I tried staring this polish for extended periods of time trying to figure out what kinds of glitter were in there but in the end the sparkliness just gave me a headache. Polish: 1 Me: 0.<br />
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<b>Teal the Tide Turns</b>: I actually thought this one would be my favourite from the whole collection. Surprisingly it isn't, but I still like it! It definitely is one f the more interesting polishes in this set - it's a milky jade green base with small, brighter green glitter. I'm not really dying over the texture finish, and I think that if this were a normal polish with that glitter and speckled look I would totally, utterly, fall in love with it. I know that you can put topcoat over it to give it a glossy look, but you need a relatively thick topcoat (or a lot of coats of topcoat) and I'm the impatient type. Maybe one day I'll give it a shot.<br />
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<b>Wish on a Starfish</b>: Hands down my favourite polish in this collection. This is a light baby pink with gold glass fleck glitter. I LOVE this polish. it reminds me of a lighter version of Strawberry Fields Forever (which I also love), but the texture makes it unique and gorgeous. I'm actually surprised at how much I love this polish. It could be even better if it wasn't textured, but I'm actually okay with the textured finish. The texture and the gold flecks give this polish dimension.<br />
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Overall, I liked this collection more than I anticipated I would. Most of the texture polishes work (Wish on a Starfish is amazing I tell you), but for me, Tail Me Something was a bit boring and I could have probably passed on that one. Formula-wise these were fairly consistent - on average I used 3 medium-thin coats for each polish. I'm not particularly fond of applying textured polishes because you really have to use thin coats and wait in between each layer to make sure it dried properly. I had to reapply Teal the Tide Turns a bunch of times (very frustrating) because with thick coats it can take forever to dry and it may not have the total sandy look that it's supposed to have. To make some sort of conclusion, I liked this collection more than I thought I would and I would definitely recommend checking out Wish on a Starfish if you like pink textures.<br />
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That's all for today! I can't wait to see what else the nail polish companies have in store for 2014!<br />
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Thank you so much for staying around and supporting me even though my posting was fairly spotty last year!<br />
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Marisa</div>
Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164913719427911676noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822944078351207145.post-74400193211940644222013-11-24T09:00:00.000-08:002013-11-24T09:00:01.957-08:00China Glaze Dash of Dazzle Christmas 2013 Set - Swatches and Review<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Disclaimer: The products featured in this post were sent to me from the lovely people from <a href="http://nailpolishcanada.com/">Nail Polish Canada</a> for review.
Any opinions presented in this post are my own, and are not affected by any outside party.</span><br />
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Holy guacamole! A new post!<br />
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Sorry I've been away, I've gotten a new hobby it seems... work! It has been positively hectic at work since my last post. I'm not going to go into details since it'd be a long and confusing ramble (moreso than usual), so we'll skip that little bit and get straight into the good stuff, shall we?<br />
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I also apologize in advance if this post seems a bit disjointed at times... I have the 50th anniversary special of Doctor Who playing in the background (for the second time) and it may distract me at some point...<br />
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Today's featured polishes were sent to me from the lovely people at <a href="http://www.nailpolishcanada.com/">Nail Polish Canada</a>! I'm not paid to say this or anything like that, but I'd like to mention that Nail Polish Canada is one of my primary resources for purchasing polish. I think they have different shipping centres in Canada, but my parcels primarily get sent to me from within Vancouver, so they usually the day after they're processed. They're really lovely people - the boxes are stuffed to the brim with packing peanuts and the occasional sweet treat. I can only imagine how magical it would be with all of that beautiful nail polish in one place.. *wipes up drool*. Okay, okay, I'll stop gushing now and get on to the polish!<br />
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I now present to you the three piece <b>Dash of Dazzle</b> set from the China Glaze Holiday 2013 collection! Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the polishes together in the boxed set as it got a bit smashed up when I accidentally dropped the parcel after finding it on my doorstep! D'oh!<br />
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The <b>Dash of Dazzle</b> set consists of three polishes: <b>So Blue without You</b>, <b>Mingle with Kringle</b>, and <b>Bells will be Blinging</b>.<br />
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First up: <b>Mingle with Kringle</b><br />
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<b>Mingle with Kringle</b> is a gold foil. It is so much better in person than my photo can show. the foil particles are actually two toned (that is, not all the same colour), and that really gives this polish depth. It also shines like mad - almost reflective! I've been loving the gold foils that have been released this past year - they give a metallic look without the streakiness that the "mirror" metallics give (that seems like such a long time ago now!). Formula wise, this polish was a tad on the thick side, but the application was still good and I didn't have any major issues with it. I used 2 medium coats for complete coverage.<br />
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<b>Bells with be Blinging</b> is a pretty glitter mix that includes small blue glitters, silver hex glitter, and silver bar glitter. You know that I'd not really fond of bar glitter (and actually most glitter polishes), but I find that it actually works pretty well in this polish. The glitter isn't too dense, and isn't hard to apply at all. I have one coat of <b>Bells will be Blinging </b>in the photo above over Color Club Evolution (from the Kaleidoscope collection). It's a nice subtle bling, which suits my style.<br />
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And finally, last but not least: <b>Blue without You</b>.<br />
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*Swoon* Be still my heart! <b>Blue without You</b> is a GORGEOUS blue foil-y metallic polish. It's so.. glowy and bright and beautiful. It's a sky blue with a tiny hint of teal in it, and did I mention that it's gorgeous? It looks a bit streaky in my photos, but you can't really see that in person at all. It glows! It's beautiful! I love it! Formula was great too! It's not as thick as <b>Mingle with Kringle</b>, so I used 2 thin coats (I prefer thin over medium coats - I have better control that way). My ONLY complaint is that it stained my nails after I swatched this with no base coat. The next time I wear this (the very near future), I'm going to make sure to use a liberal amount of base coat to try to prevent the staining from happening again. This polish is too pretty to not wear again! This is definitely in my "Best of 2013" list!<br />
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And there you have it! What do you think? I must confess, when I first saw this in store, I passed by all of the colours thinking that they weren't anything special, but I sure am glad to have the opportunity to change my mind! I can't believe I passed on <b>Blue without You</b>!<br />
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That's all for today, but I'm hoping to be able to post more frequently from now on (I can't make any promises since I'm still working full time before I go back to school in January). I have a MASSIVE Rescue Beauty Lounge order that'll be making its way to me sometime in the near future... I know I usually avoid buying RBLs because I feel that they're a tad expensive, but I just HAD to take advantage of their 50% sale and ended up getting a bunch of the polishes I've wanted for a while now. Hopefully that'll be my last order until next time they have this sale (I can't justify buying their polishes at normal price!).<br />
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Annnnnnnyway! As always, thank you for reading! and I hope you all have a FANTASTIC (fantastic in all caps!) week!<br />
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The polishes in this post can be purchased online at <a href="http://nailpolishcanada.com/">Nail Polish Canada</a>, along with several other polishes and brands. At the moment NPC is offering free shipping to Canadians with no minimum purchase, which is, I'd like to remark, perfect for the holidays!<br />
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MarisaMarisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164913719427911676noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822944078351207145.post-74838394520511098752013-09-03T09:00:00.000-07:002013-09-03T09:00:02.049-07:00Picture Polish - Freya's CatsHi everyone!<br />
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Today I have a polish that jumped all the way up to the top of my top 10-20 of 2013 as soon as I took it out of the bubble wrap! Onto the photos!<br />
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<b>Freya's Cats</b> is one of the latest releases from Picture Polish in their blogger collaboration collection. It's the same finish as Cosmos (<a href="http://livelylacquer.blogspot.ca/2013/03/picture-polish-cosmos.html">my swatch here</a>) with the scattered, sparkling holographic flake-glitter-bits, but a different shade of blue. This shade of blue happens to be my favourite! Where I would describe Cosmos as a night sky blue-black, Freya's Cats is a saturated, indigo-blue (TARDIS blue, to all of my fellow Whovians). Formula-wise, Freya's Cats is fantastic - I used two coats for the swatches above. In my photos it looks a bit like you can see my nail line, but I can't actually see it in person.<br />
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I really adore this colour. My favourite shade of blue is pretty much vibrant, saturated primary blue (with a hint of indigo) like this polish, which just happens to be similar to the colour of the TARDIS. On a semi-related note, one of my dream nail polishes at the moment is inspired by a scene in an episode of Doctor Who. Maybe one day I'll manage to franken it, but for now it's my top secret brainchild.<br />
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Anyhow, enough rambling for one day! Thank you all so much for reading, and I hope you all have a wonderful week!<br />
<br /><span style="font-size: large;">Marisa</span>Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164913719427911676noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822944078351207145.post-12597695712807048192013-08-31T15:39:00.001-07:002013-08-31T15:39:15.488-07:00Nail Polish Canada needs your help!<i>Hi everyone! </i><br />
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<i>I just have a quick shout out on behalf of Nail Polish Canada today. I'm not being compensated for posting this at all, but I would definitely like to support NPC because 1) This is an AMAZING opportunity and 2) I frequently buy polish from them online since their prices are reasonable and they usually offer free shipping to Canadians for a really reasonable minimum purchase or even for no fee at all! Combine this with the fact that I usually get my purchase in 1-2 days since I live in Vancouver! </i><br />
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<i>Anyhow, onto the announcement. I'll be back again soon (later this week hopefully!) with more swatches of polish!</i><br />
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<b><span>For immediate release:</span></b><br />
<br />
<span></span><br />
<span>Nail Polish Canada (almost) the best e-tailer in Canada</span><br />
<br />
<span></span><br />
<span>NailPolishCanada.com is close to being named the best e-commerce company in Canada as part of Canada Post’s E-Commerce</span><span> </span><span>Awards and needs your help.</span><br />
<span></span><br />
<span>NailPolishCanada.com
was selected as a finalist for best e-tailers in Canada by a panel of
judges including executives at Facebook and Google (</span><span>So yes Dad, nail polish is a “thing”!)</span><span>. </span><br />
<span></span><br />
<span>As for who will be crowned the Consumer Champion it now comes down to a vote</span><br />
<span></span><br />
<span>“It’s
been thrilling to work with so many great customers and bloggers over
the past few years. So thank-you all for building NailPolishCanada.com
into a company worthy of such an honor. Sam even teared up a little bit
as he wrote this sentence pretending to be me.” - Nikki, VP Glitter. </span><br />
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<span></span><br />
<span>To encourage everybody to show their support and vote, NailPolishCanada.com is offering up to $2000 in prizes!</span><br />
<br />
<span></span><br />
<b><span>How it works</span></b><br />
<span></span><br />
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<span>Vote for NPC</span><br />
<span></span><br />
<span>You can vote every day. Voting runs from August 28th to September 20th 12:00</span><span>PM.</span><br />
<span>You must record your vote to enter & win at </span><span><a href="http://www.nailpolishcanada.com/vote/" target="_blank">Nail Polish Canada’s vote page here</a></span><span>.</span><br />
<span><br />Voting & prizes are open to Canadian and U.S. residents.</span><br />
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<span>Daily Draw</span><br />
<span>There is a daily thank-you draw for everybody who voted that day for awesome prizes!</span><br />
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<span><b>Bonus</b>: If Nail Polish Canada Wins the Vote</span><br />
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<span>This is the kicker, if NailPolishCanada.com wins Consumer Champion then we’re having a huge giveaway with two winners!</span><br />
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<span>Grand Prize #1: </span><span>24 bottles of Enchanted Nail Polish</span><br />
<span>Grand Prize #2: $1000 shopping spree at Nail Polish Canada</span><br />
<span></span><br />
<span>Both prizes are awarded separately and every day you voted for us as Consumer Champion is one entry to win. </span><br />
<br />
<span></span><br />
<span>Prizes are only open to Canadian and U.S. residents. See </span><span><a href="http://www.nailpolishcanada.com/vote" target="_blank">http://www.nailpolishcanada.<wbr></wbr>com/vote</a></span><span> for full details. </span><br />
<span></span><br />
<span>For further info please contact <a href="mailto:joy@nailpolishcanada.com" target="_blank">joy@nailpolishcanada.com</a></span><br />
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<span><i>Wow! I would LOVE to win a $1000 shopping spree at Nail Polish Canada. I can just imagine what I'd buy... :D</i></span><br />
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<span><i>Thank you all for reading! I'll see you again sometime this week! :)</i></span><br />
<br />
<span><i>Marisa </i> </span></div>
Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164913719427911676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822944078351207145.post-30928331221570462222013-08-26T09:00:00.000-07:002013-08-26T09:00:08.930-07:00OPI San Francisco Mini Set Swatches<span style="font-size: x-small;">Disclaimer: The products featured in this post were given to me as a gift from Sisi of<a href="http://color4nails.com/"> Color4Nails</a>. I am under no obligation to promote her polish store and do not gain anything from doing so. Any opinions presented in this post are my own.</span><br />
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Hi Everyone!<br />
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*Gasp* - another post! So soon... it's a miracle! Well, I found some time to sit down and write a post (who am I kidding? I'm supposed to be wading my way through academic papers right now). I figure you've all seen polishes from this collection about a million times by now, but I'll just swing some of my own quick swatches for you. I recently received the OPI San Francisco Mini set in the mail as a gift from Sisi at Color4Nails (I gave her permission to use some of my swatch pictures on her Facebook page and she wanted to send me a gift, which was very sweet of her). Thanks to her, I was able to try some polishes that I probably wouldn't have purchased on my own (I wasn't too impressed by the promo images of the collection).<br />
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Anyhow, I won't bore you too much with my rambling! Onto the polish!<br />
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<b>In the Cable Car-pool Lane</b>: A fairly standard dark plum/burgundy. Not an extremely exciting colour for me - I probably wouldn't be able to convince myself to buy this polish if I had seen it on a shelf somewhere since I'd probably have something very close to this in the 600+ bottles of polish that I own. It does have a very nice jelly-esque squishiness to it though. I used 3 coats.<br />
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<b>First Date at the Golden Gate</b>: A kind of reddy-burnt orange shade. Like In the Cable Car-pool Lane, it has the squishy look of a jelly with the more opaque formula of a creme. I used 3 coats for this swatch.<br />
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<b>Peace, Love, and OPI: </b>Silvery sage-blue-purple duochrome that reminds me of the northern lights. Undoubtedly one of the most buzzed about polishes from the San Fran collection. Initially I had only planned to pick up this polish from the collection, and I'm not too disappointed. I knew from prior swatches that it was going to be frosty, but the duochrome is actually really strong in this polish and kind of makes up for it. Streaks aside, I was pleasantly surprised that the formula isn't too thin - I used 3 thin coats for my swatch here.<br />
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<b>Muir, Muir on the Wall: </b>The dark horse in the collection for me. I would have completely passed this one over if it weren't for this mini set. When I swatched this polish I pretty much fell in love with it then and there, and ran out to buy a full size bottle. I can't even describe this one, but the important thing is that it has this beautiful red-coppery slightly duochrome shimmer that is absolutely gorgeous. I love it.<br />
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So, what do y'all think? I'm glad I got to try Muir, Muir on the Wall, since I probably wouldn't have known about how awesome it is if I didn't! It's seriously one of those colors I pass by on the shelf/counter and don't look at more closely. Thank you Sisi for your generosity!<br />
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As always, thank you for reading! I hope you all have a great week!<br />
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Marisa Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164913719427911676noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822944078351207145.post-11514884329161341182013-08-20T09:00:00.000-07:002013-08-20T09:00:02.665-07:00My picks from the China Glaze Autumn Nights CollectionsHi everyone, long time no see!<br />
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Sorry I've been away so long - the usual combination of work and family drama have been added stress lately. I didn't realize how long I've been on the periphery of the nail polish world until I went to my supply store the other day... I didn't realize until then that I hadn't checked out the store since the end of April!<br />
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I managed to hold off the polish hoarder in me enough to spend a reasonable amount of polish. I avoided buying the whole collection and limited myself to only a few shades, which I managed to swatch (instead of leaving them on my swatching desk for later). Anyhow, enough of my chittering! Onto the polish! Please click read more after the cut to see my swatches of these polishes! <br />
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Left to right: Tongue & Chic, Queen B, Red-y & Willing, Rendezvous with You, Strike up a Cosmo, Goldie but Goodie, and Gossip over Gimlets. <br />
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<b>Queen B</b>: The first thing I want to mention is that this picture isn't really colour accurate. On my monitor, it looks much brighter than it is in person. I'd describe it as a dusty/muted/faded indigo. A very nice fall shade. The formula was very nice - I have had mostly good experiences with China Glaze cremes. Also, the only creme I purchased out of this collection.<br />
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<b>Tongue & Chic</b>: Teal-blue (or turquoise?) shimmer (I'd say it's borderline frost). My photos make this polish look very frosty, but I don't find it as noticeable when the polish is 100% dry. It's a very pretty jewel toned shade. Formula is very nice too (if you ignore the slight frost) - I did two coats out of habit but one could have done the trick also. I like.</div>
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<b>Red-y & Willing</b>: another pretty jewel-tone. It has the same kind of heavy shimmer finish as Tongue & Chic, which give it this very pretty glow-y look. I was a bit hesitant about picking this polish up, but I'm glad I did now. It's a great colour for fall. I can imagine reclining by the fire (if I had a real fireplace) drinking hot cocoa wearing this polish on my tips. As with Tongue & Chic, I don't really notice the frosty-esque finish when the polish is dry. I think the lamp I use accentuates the frost. Formula is similar to Tongue & Chic.</div>
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<b>Gossip over Gimlets</b>: What exactly is a gimlet? I could be completely wrong, but this polish reminded me of one of the silver polishes China Glaze put out for one of their past Holiday collections. I didn't purchase it, so I don't own the polish in question - so I may be completely wrong. Gossip over Gimlets is a silver foil polish with a mix of gold particles throughout the polish. It's really hard for me to make out the gold flecks in along with the silver, but I feel like it does give the polish a bit more... oomph? depth? character? Ah, well. You know what I mean. The formula on these foils is very nice. I used 3 thin coats.<br />
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<b>Goldie but Goodie</b>: One of my favourites in this collection. It's such a pretty copper-tinged gold foil. It's very nice a reflective. I don't have a polish this shade in my collection mostly because I tend to shy away from golds. OPI's Goldeneye is one of my favourite gold polishes ever, but the number of coats for opacity can be a bit of a turn off, especially if I'm in a bit of a rush. Goldie but Goodie is a nice alternative - 2 coats was good enough for me.<br />
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<b>Strike up a Cosmo</b>: Another polish I wasn't sure about. A rose-y pink foil. A very pretty polish, but I'm not sure how often I'd wear it since I'm not really a huge pink fan. I mostly purchased this polish because I really loved the foil finish. It kind of reminds me of a foil polish I have from Zoya though... I'll have to dig through my collection to compare the two. Formula was good.</div>
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<b>Rendezvous with You: </b>Ah, quite possibly my favourite polish out of this set. The formula was very nice - one coat would have done the trick (but I did two out of habit). It is such a beautiful polish. It's like a blackened amethyst shade, but the foil/heavy shimmer in the polish makes it glow. I love it.<br />
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So, what do you think? I'll admit that I bought most of these polishes because I loved the foil finish, but the shimmers I bought didn't disappoint either. There was another blackened sapphire blue polish in the same vein as Tongue & Chic that I was considering buying, but I stopped myself because I was worried I'd have a dupe of it somewhere in my collection. I may go back and buy it one day, but for now I'm pretty content with what I have. <br />
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Thank you so much for your support of my blog! It means the world to me!<br />
<br />Thank you thank you thank you thank you!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Marisa</span>Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164913719427911676noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822944078351207145.post-89235278604233266752013-06-20T09:00:00.000-07:002013-06-20T09:00:01.787-07:00Picture Polish Sea Jewel and WhimsyHi everyone! Long time no see!<br />
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Today I have some amazing polishes to show y'all! As you may have noticed, my posts have become a bit less frequent since I'm working full time and usually end up staying a few hours extra each day too.<br />
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Anyway, onto the polish!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture Polish Whimsy (with Neverland Nail Blog) and Sea Jewel (with Wacky Laki)</td></tr>
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These two polishes are from a group of three that were released Monday as the newest additions to the Picture Polish Blogger collaboration line. I was lucky enough that <a href="http://www.nailpolishcanada.com/">Nail Polish Canada</a> actually had these in stock Monday night, and my parcel was delivered Wednesday afternoon (with lollipops!). The only collaboration polish from this release that I didn't purchase was Frosting. It is a cute glitter combination, but I wasn't sure I'd wear it very often (I don't actually find myself reaching for chunky glitter very often. Isn't this strange? At least it lets me save money that would otherwise be spent on indies!).<br />
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Out of the two polishes I ordered, I was the most excited about Whimsy, a bright light blue with gold shimmer. I got Sea Jewel (a teal-y green loaded with silver glitter) on a whim - I liked the base colour but was unsure about the glitter in the polish itself. After seeing (and wearing!) these polishes in person, I'm super glad I got both! <br />
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Now, enough rambling and the pictures!<br />
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<b>Sea Jewel</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Created with Wacky Laki</span><b><br /></b></div>
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*Swoon* My pictures don't do this polish justice. The formula on this polish is good - I used 3 coats to achieve opacity. I was skeptical about the glitter at first - in the bottle the polish can look a bit 'flat' (kind of like a lot of non-shiny glitter in a base) - but after I put it on it was stunning! Light really just bounces off the glitter in the polish, and the size of the silver glitter in the polish itself allows for each glitter particle to reflect the light back to your eye, creating an effect reminiscent of the glimmer of sunlight on waves in the ocean. I'll stop rambling now, but my final word on this polish is that it is so gosh darn pretty. Love it!<br />
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<b>Whimsy</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Created with Neverland Nail Blog</span> </div>
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Isn't she a beauty? The formula on this polish is good too. I used 3 coats for opacity. I'd definitely give this polish a minute or two between coats to avoid any streaking (which is possible if you're a bit heavy handed on the application like me). Just to warn you again, my photos don't do this polish justice. I was a bit worried at first that the gold shimmer would be either really subtle or elusive (by elusive I'm thinking about a polish like Meep-Meep-Meep from the OPI Muppet collection a while back that had the prettiest glitters in it that all happened to sink down and disappear into the polish when it was dry). I'm happy to report that the glitter in this polish are neither elusive or subtle. This polish is gorgeous. Easily makes my top 10 list of most amazing polishes ever. Another bonus: the gold fleck/shimmer/glitter in this polish is also duochrome. If you look at your nails from different angles, gold will be the primary colour, but at increasingly extreme angles the shimmer/glitter will turn a subtle teal-y green.<br />
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So, what do y'all think? I'm very happy with these polishes. I'm sure Sea Jewel and Whimsy will make it to my top 10-20 list of polishes from 2013 at the end of the year, and I'm certain they've both found their way onto my top 10-20 list of all time favourite polishes. This polishes can be purchased directly from <a href="https://www.picturepolish.com.au/">Picture Polish</a>, or from their distributors such as <a href="http://www.harlowandco.org/">Harlow & Co</a> and <a href="http://www.nailpolishcanada.com/">Nail Polish Canada</a> in Canada, and <a href="http://shop.llarowe.com/">Llarowe</a> in the United States.<br />
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Thanks for reading! I hope you all have a great weekend! :D<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Marisa</span> Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164913719427911676noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822944078351207145.post-26973875824076614282013-06-03T09:00:00.000-07:002013-06-03T09:00:02.824-07:00China Glaze Bump & GrindHi everyone! Happy June!<br />
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Today I have another interesting textured polish to show y'all. Textured polishes have been growing on me lately, although I still can't wear them for extended periods of time without going crazy. Bump and Grind is one of my favourite polishes from the CG textured collection. This collection features a textured finish that reminds me of stucco on houses.<br />
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What do you think? Have the idea of textured polishes growing on you too? I actually think I may buy some of the Zoya pixie dust polishes now too...<br />
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Hope you all have a fantastic week!<br />
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MarisaMarisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164913719427911676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822944078351207145.post-31936469425355625022013-05-16T09:00:00.000-07:002013-05-16T09:00:10.075-07:00OPI Honey RyderHi everyone!<br />
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A quickie post for today, I'm going through a bunch of the photos I haven't posted yet as my nails are undergoing a major TLC session. Having to wear gloves and working with my hands everyday is really taking a took on my nails! Hopefully I'll be able to get them back into shape soon!<br />
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For the time being, here's a great polish that I wasn't too sure about at first. I really like it now though!<br />
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Very pretty. I think this one would look great with some top coat too! When my nails are back in shape again I'll definitely be trying that! The only problem I had was that after I wore this for a few days I started to get tired of the rough gritty texture this polish has. I'm most likely going to end up alternating textured polishes with normal ones. I have a slight texture phobia (it's the subject of my only re-occuring nightmare), so I think I'll avoid wearing similar liquid sand and textured polishes for extended periods of time.<br />
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That's all for today. Sorry for the incoherent post! Today was the first day I've gotten off work on time (instead of working an extra unpaid hour or two), but my brain feels like mush. Hopefully It'll just keep getting better, and I can start mustering more energy after work... a little bit at a time!<br />
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Thank you so much for reading! I hope you all have a great Thursday! :D<br />
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MarisaMarisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164913719427911676noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822944078351207145.post-37582730187466041592013-05-08T09:00:00.000-07:002013-05-08T09:00:01.439-07:00Pure Ice - French KissHi everyone!<br />
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Sorry I haven't posted as much as I said I was going to in the previous post. I started working on my own last week and it has been really crazy. Pretty much every weekday since last Monday I've been working 9am to 6-7pm. I'm hoping that eventually I'll get adjusted to working and be able to get things done faster.<br />
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Besides all of the havoc work has done on my social life (I pretty much only have time to eat, shower and sleep when I get home), my nails have definitely suffered. I haven't had much time or energy to take care of them, and constantly wearing gloves (I work in a research laboratory) is pretty harsh on my hands. I did my nails one day and after a day of work I had huge chips pretty much everywhere. I'm definitely gulty of not doing my nails as frequently as I wish I could.<br />
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Anyhow, away from the rambling... today's polish is a pretty shade of cobalt blue that is pretty close to a huge lemming of mine (RBL's IKB:2012; according to online comparisons).<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-24HIxwool7E/UYnmZKxO2UI/AAAAAAAAB1c/4faJKCrYWrw/s1600/Pure+Ice+French+Kiss+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="362" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-24HIxwool7E/UYnmZKxO2UI/AAAAAAAAB1c/4faJKCrYWrw/s400/Pure+Ice+French+Kiss+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TIGx-u0Ekp0/UYnm1G8RHBI/AAAAAAAAB1k/4NtcsggQdUo/s1600/Pure+Ice+French+Kiss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TIGx-u0Ekp0/UYnm1G8RHBI/AAAAAAAAB1k/4NtcsggQdUo/s400/Pure+Ice+French+Kiss.jpg" width="362" /></a></div>
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Pictured above is 2 coats of Pure Ice's French Kiss polish, with Cult Nails' Wicked Fast top coat.<br />
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This is a really pretty polish. I love cobalt blues, so does this really surprise you? The formula was good, I used two medium coats (although I would say that this was almost a one coater). I've heard on the grapevine that the RBL has a really crappy formula, so while it is said that French Kiss isn't exactly a dupe for the RBL, I think it's definitely good enough for me. Price wise, the Pure Ice is definitely better (at $1.98 a bottle, compared to $20/bottle RBL) and the RBL is discontinued anyway.<br />
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Definitely satisfies my lemming, although I don't know if this will stop me from buying other cobalt blue shades (I'm currently eying one from Barielle).<br />
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That's all for today! Thank you so much for reading!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Marisa</span>Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164913719427911676noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822944078351207145.post-67933904096245797412013-04-23T09:00:00.000-07:002013-04-23T09:00:07.698-07:00Color Club: Eternal BeautyHi everyone, I'm back!<br />
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Sorry for not posting in a while, I've been really busy and stressed out about all of the final projects and exams I've had over the past few weeks! My last exam was Sunday, so now I'm freeeeee.<br />
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I can't wait to show you all of the new polish I've purchased, starting with today!<br />
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Talk about starting off with a bang! Today I'm featuring a spectacular holographic polish by Color Club. This is Eternal Beauty, and it most definitely is a beauty!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FQ_n956k9DY/UXYDFQkWTxI/AAAAAAAAB1A/6tcegoSNf5o/s1600/Eternal+Beauty+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FQ_n956k9DY/UXYDFQkWTxI/AAAAAAAAB1A/6tcegoSNf5o/s400/Eternal+Beauty+1.jpg" width="362" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ulc1Bpv1ltQ/UXYDFfFg_bI/AAAAAAAAB1E/95JsVypHcwY/s1600/Eternal+Beauty+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ulc1Bpv1ltQ/UXYDFfFg_bI/AAAAAAAAB1E/95JsVypHcwY/s400/Eternal+Beauty+2.jpg" width="362" /></a></div>
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Isn't it fabulous? Eternal Beauty is a blue-violet linear holographic polish. The holo in this polish is amazing! I really hope Color Club makes more holographic polishes like the Halo Hues. I'm particularly lemming more vibrant holographic shades like this one.<br />
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I can't really explain how much I love this polish. I didn't have any problems with application at all, and the holographic effect and colour is to die for.<br />
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I'll stop going on like a whiny record about this polish now. I can't wait to show you all of the other polishes that I've accumulated during my hiatus!<br />
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As always, thank you so much for reading!<br />
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Marisa Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164913719427911676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822944078351207145.post-49291883629411945522013-03-27T09:00:00.000-07:002013-03-27T09:00:02.816-07:00China Glaze Hologlam Collection Part 2Hi everyone!<br />
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I know, I know... I said I was going to post this soon after the first part of this collection, but mother nature has been annoying (as I mentioned in a previous post) and of course it was a beautiful day right after I posted said post. I managed to get all of the polishes swatched, but then of course my computer decides to be all stupid and not connect to the wireless. Long story short, I've gotten it fixed and I'm back! (EDIT: I started writing this a few days ago actually, and I thought my laptop was fixed at the time. It broke again when I was about halfway into this post).<br />
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So, here are the last 6 polishes! 5 of these 6 swatches were done in the aforementioned beautiful day and one was done when I swatched the last batch of holos. You can tell which one this was since all of the recent swatches don't include my index finger (I had an accident with that one and a bit of the corner came off). For some of these polishes I have more than 2 photos, so this is going to be another long one beyond the cut!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KUs_-fhTMcg/UUvi87duXaI/AAAAAAAAByY/LlXI6Jq_GKI/s1600/Don%2527t+be+a+Luna-tic+-+SF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KUs_-fhTMcg/UUvi87duXaI/AAAAAAAAByY/LlXI6Jq_GKI/s400/Don%2527t+be+a+Luna-tic+-+SF.jpg" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't be a Luna-tic - Artificial lighting</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GYcWvwz8hyA/UUvi6DJe-UI/AAAAAAAAByM/_Jmvjs9vdWg/s1600/Don%2527t+Be+a+Luna-tic+-+SL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GYcWvwz8hyA/UUvi6DJe-UI/AAAAAAAAByM/_Jmvjs9vdWg/s400/Don%2527t+Be+a+Luna-tic+-+SL.jpg" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't be a Luna-tic - Direct sunlight</td></tr>
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<b>Don't be a Luna-tic</b>: I honestly don't really know how to describe this one. It's like a really light, cool silver-y teal. My stunning inability to describe this colour aside, I think it's pretty. It reminds me of breath mints, actually. Those really cool ones that make your tongue tingle/sting if you leave them in one place for too long.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K7tHoMpMyXQ/UUvi_Bsn5UI/AAAAAAAAByk/qJ0VrDz8csg/s400/Get+Outta+my+Space2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="363" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Get Outta my Space - Artificial lighting</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UogrumgYzns/UUvi8_TOIMI/AAAAAAAAByc/mpXdd1UjV5U/s1600/Get+Outta+my+Space1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UogrumgYzns/UUvi8_TOIMI/AAAAAAAAByc/mpXdd1UjV5U/s400/Get+Outta+my+Space1.jpg" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Get Outta my Space - Direct sunlight</td></tr>
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<b>Get Outta my Space</b>: This is a delicate, pale pastel purple. Depending on the lighting I guess you could say it leans towards the pink side. I'd say this one probably isn't 100% unique in the holo world, but considering I don't actually own many holos, it's a first for me. I am planning on getting Eternal Beauty (the Color Club 2013 holo), so I can do a comparison at some later date. (Edit: Eternal Beauty leans much more towards the blue side of purple).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bQvsCcJSH-M/UUvjCkealjI/AAAAAAAABys/GPGoNHOHAFA/s400/Not+in+this+Galaxy2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="363" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not in the Galaxy - Artificial lighting</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G8CiaftfYtI/UUvjLjkBHUI/AAAAAAAABy0/yOyw2y5pqUY/s1600/Not+in+this+Galaxy1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G8CiaftfYtI/UUvjLjkBHUI/AAAAAAAABy0/yOyw2y5pqUY/s400/Not+in+this+Galaxy1.jpg" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not in this Galaxy - Direct sunlight</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_on10YUNaAo/UUvjQEAqhFI/AAAAAAAABzI/5bXR3NBo0xY/s1600/Not+in+this+Galaxy3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_on10YUNaAo/UUvjQEAqhFI/AAAAAAAABzI/5bXR3NBo0xY/s400/Not+in+this+Galaxy3.jpg" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not in this Galaxy - Direct sunlight</td></tr>
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<b>Not in this Galaxy</b>: This is a slightly salmon-y rose-y pink. It kind of reminds me of those 'typical' holo colors (see the Nfu-Oh holos), but I -think- this is a bit more saturated in colour. I actually like the more subtle holo effect (compared to other more in your face holos)... I was a bit disappointed at first, but I like them more now. For one thing, I wore this to a job interview (it dried really fast, yay!) and it wasn't so out of your mind blingy that it was distracting (what I consider not work appropriate), but if you actually did look at it, you could see the rainbows. Not really sure if that makes sense, but remember that I like subtle things sometimes and this should make sense.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3fclnV07Tys/UUvi03myylI/AAAAAAAABx0/uECim7PUsCY/s1600/Astro+Hot1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3fclnV07Tys/UUvi03myylI/AAAAAAAABx0/uECim7PUsCY/s400/Astro+Hot1.jpg" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Astro-hot - Artificial lighting</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cKqLQb6y2Ao/UUvi3R4umgI/AAAAAAAAByE/AYrr9SDI_Lk/s1600/Astro+Hot3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cKqLQb6y2Ao/UUvi3R4umgI/AAAAAAAAByE/AYrr9SDI_Lk/s400/Astro+Hot3.jpg" width="363" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Astro-hot - Direct sunlight</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L-XPTIOgqUc/UUvi1dMpkYI/AAAAAAAABx8/cBN9qV1639U/s1600/Astro+Hot4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L-XPTIOgqUc/UUvi1dMpkYI/AAAAAAAABx8/cBN9qV1639U/s400/Astro+Hot4.jpg" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Astro-hot - Direct sunlight</td></tr>
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<b>Astro-Hot</b>: In the picture with the artificial lighting, this polish looks very similar to Get Outta my Space, but in reality it's much more pink based. My photos are actually pretty colour inaccurate... it definitely looks a bit more blue toned. Then again, I'm comparing my photo to my nail wheel swatch in lighting that makes everything look really yellow. I'd describe this one as a medium pink leaning magenta. Pretty. Currently wondering how this polish would compare to some of the other holos out there. Again, due to my holo deprived stash, I like this one. I think the only holos I can stop myself from buying are the silver ones.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SNMnoPx4ATM/UUvjYqOEdpI/AAAAAAAABz0/a9vVE7pWk9M/s1600/Sci-fly+By2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SNMnoPx4ATM/UUvjYqOEdpI/AAAAAAAABz0/a9vVE7pWk9M/s400/Sci-fly+By2.jpg" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sci-fly By - Artificial lighting</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wc-Gh7E0-gA/UUvjYgCDIAI/AAAAAAAABzw/5ofOTnDZDG4/s1600/Sci-fly+By1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wc-Gh7E0-gA/UUvjYgCDIAI/AAAAAAAABzw/5ofOTnDZDG4/s400/Sci-fly+By1.jpg" width="363" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sci-fly By - Direct Sunlight</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N7zgZW3tl50/UUvjZaNzKKI/AAAAAAAABz8/IZVYF8K8y_k/s1600/Sci-fly+By3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N7zgZW3tl50/UUvjZaNzKKI/AAAAAAAABz8/IZVYF8K8y_k/s400/Sci-fly+By3.jpg" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sci-fly By - Direct Sunlight</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rDNIEgcTdMQ/UUvja3nraJI/AAAAAAAAB0E/792-ZFLgbsA/s1600/Sci-fly+By4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rDNIEgcTdMQ/UUvja3nraJI/AAAAAAAAB0E/792-ZFLgbsA/s400/Sci-fly+By4.jpg" width="363" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sci-fly By - Direct Sunlight</td></tr>
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<b>Sci-fly By</b>: I think this shade is one of the usual holo colours out there (light sky blue). This is one does seem to be a bit more on the vibrant side though. The next sunny day I get (where I don't have any work to do), I'll be comparing this polish to some of the other light blue holos I have in my stash (that I can find). If I recall correctly, this polish reminds me of one of the Color Club Halo Hues. (Edit: I just got my Halo Hues, and the holo is SO MUCH STRONGER.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MGoxwH_-lfc/UVJjKhby87I/AAAAAAAAB0w/WF0uTF91F10/s1600/OMG+a+UFO5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MGoxwH_-lfc/UVJjKhby87I/AAAAAAAAB0w/WF0uTF91F10/s400/OMG+a+UFO5.jpg" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OMG A UFO - Artificial lighting</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a1tNC89iSLw/UVJjHwQnnPI/AAAAAAAAB0c/-E7EvKmtabU/s1600/OMG+a+UFO1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a1tNC89iSLw/UVJjHwQnnPI/AAAAAAAAB0c/-E7EvKmtabU/s400/OMG+a+UFO1.jpg" width="363" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OMG A UFO - Direct sunlight</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a41oDB90wQU/UVJjF9rXMfI/AAAAAAAAB0U/h-7J-h24A4g/s1600/OMG+a+UFO2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a41oDB90wQU/UVJjF9rXMfI/AAAAAAAAB0U/h-7J-h24A4g/s400/OMG+a+UFO2.jpg" width="363" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OMG A UFO - Direct sunlight</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1E5AUSpbuu0/UVJjIXbeQpI/AAAAAAAAB0k/xKnQW4hVb0o/s1600/OMG+a+UFO3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1E5AUSpbuu0/UVJjIXbeQpI/AAAAAAAAB0k/xKnQW4hVb0o/s400/OMG+a+UFO3.jpg" width="363" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OMG A UFO - Direct sunlight</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6khLblIbEms/UVJjJb8OGXI/AAAAAAAAB0s/5Dk-izQW8tg/s1600/OMG+a+UFO4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6khLblIbEms/UVJjJb8OGXI/AAAAAAAAB0s/5Dk-izQW8tg/s400/OMG+a+UFO4.jpg" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OMG A UFO - Direct sunlight</td></tr>
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<b>OMG a UFO</b>: I think this shade is by far one of the most unique colours in this collection. It's like a murky swampy green. I don't really have much to say about this polish aside from the fact that I love it!<br />
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Overall, the formula of these polishes was good (great even). I didn't really have any problems with balding with these polishes (I think it happened once, but it wasn't really horrible like applying the Nfu-oh holos with no aqua base. I do like the subdued holo look (I'm a fan of both blingy holo and this kind of subdued holo - not like Color Club's Wild at Heart... that one just makes me sad).<br />
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I pretty much JUST got the Color Club Halo Hues in the mail, and the holo is AMAZING. It's fantastic. If you love holographic polishes, the Halo Hues are just for you. I'm even considering getting the rest of the Halo Hues polishes that I haven't ordered and a back up of Eternal Beauty.<br />
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But back to the Hologlams... my favourite out of all 12 are When Stars Collide, Strap on your Moon Boots and OMG A UFO (swatches of the first two <a href="http://livelylacquer.blogspot.ca/2013/03/china-glaze-hologlam-collection-part-1.html">here</a>). Who am I kidding? It's purple, blue and green. So typical of me! :P<br />
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Anyhow, I won't bore you with rambling any longer! Hope you all have a great Wednesday, and thank you so much for reading!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Marisa</span><br />
Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164913719427911676noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822944078351207145.post-16067609783642861882013-03-17T09:00:00.000-07:002013-03-17T09:00:03.089-07:00Picture Polish CosmosHi everyone!<br />
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I know I haven't posted the last 6 China Glaze Hologlams yet, but mother nature hasn't been very kind to me. It has been raining pretty much non-stop all week long with absolutely no sun. I'll swatch the rest of the polishes as soon as the sun comes out, I promise!<br />
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Anyhow, moving on... the polish I'm posting about today is gorgeous! I definitely should have gotten this polish when it first came out, because it would have made my top 10 (or was it 20 that I did... I can't remember) of 2012. I'm probably going to have two lists for this year... an overall favourite polish list and the top ## of the polishes released in 2013. More on that when the time comes!<br />
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I love this polish so much. It reminds me of camping out in the wilderness away from civilization and staring at the millions of stars that you can only see in a really dark place. The glitter in this polish has a kind of coarse holographic feel to it, which makes it interesting in direct sunlight too. To be honest, I prefer the night sky look this polish has indoors and in indirect light more than the scattered holo. I haven't seen Essie's Starry Starry Night in person before, but this polish totally quashes my lemming for it. Oh, by the way, the formula is great too. Applies like butter. It's amazing.<br />
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Hmm, what do y'all think? I know there are a bunch of other polishes out there that have this same finish, but I don't know how much I'd like them compared to this polish. This one actually sends me back to memory lane thinking about some of the camping trips I had with my family and I think that's the reason I really love this polish (and it's pretty!).<br />
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That's all for today everyone! Thank you for reading! :D<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Marisa</span>Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164913719427911676noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822944078351207145.post-34336752702059850672013-03-16T23:26:00.000-07:002013-03-17T10:16:01.974-07:00Psst. Hi everyone!<br />
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I'm sure you've all heard about the impending retirement of Google reader. There's a really cool app-ish thing called Bloglovin out there that also lets you keep up to date with all of your favourite blogs. I pretty much just started using this, but it seems pretty handy so far.<br />
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This post is also a bit of a shameless plug for my blog... Okay, not really shameless, because I am a bit ashamed of myself for doing this... but if you're on Bloglovin, feel free to<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/2713882"> follow my blog</a>! If you do (or already do) I give you a virtual hug or high-five, if that's what you prefer. I'd also give you all cookies, but my virtual baking skills need some work (see Exhibit A, below).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Exhibit A: A virtual cookie. Made by yours truly. Those are supposed to be chocolate chips, by the way.</td></tr>
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So, if you would like to, feel free to follow Lively Lacquer on Bloglovin!<br />
<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/2713882/?claim=9bnmhed52db">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a><br />
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Thank you for reading this post even though it doesn't feature nail polish! I promise you there's a post tomorrow (not the rest of the CG holos - sorry, there has been absolutely NO sun here for the past week!). In the meantime, here are some cute pictures of Sophie (my cat) and Yuki (my dog).<br />
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Thank you for reading! We'll be back to our (ir)regular posting starting tomorrow!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Marisa</span>Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164913719427911676noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822944078351207145.post-41764616765763125982013-03-09T09:00:00.000-08:002013-03-09T09:00:05.254-08:00China Glaze Hologlam Collection Part 1Hi everyone!<br />
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OH MY GOD, HOLOGRAPHIC POLISHES. I wasn't actually planning on purchasing the entire Hologlam collection initially. When these went on sale online, I was flabbergasted to see that they were $12.50 a bottle on Nail Polish Canada. That combined with the word on the e-street that these weren't as amazing as the OMG holos... well, you can see what I was thinking. I decided I would get maybe 2 shades max, but I decided to check out my local beauty supply (Secret Nail for those in the lower mainland) and I found these for $5.50 each! Long story short, I was all like, OMG NEED ALL NOW and ended up getting the lot of them. I actually got them for $5.50 each and a 15% discount on top - the only downside to this is that to purchase at these prices you need to get a membership, which is $10 and lasts for a year and is renewable. If you buy as much polish as I do from this place, it's really worth it.<br />
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Anyway, babbling aside, here are first 6 polishes (that I managed to swatch before my camera died) from this collection! <br />
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First up:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ciNUwWIjd3c/UTqV15XE6DI/AAAAAAAABt8/gMyYy__hIDk/s1600/Cosmic+Dust+-+AF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ciNUwWIjd3c/UTqV15XE6DI/AAAAAAAABt8/gMyYy__hIDk/s400/Cosmic+Dust+-+AF.jpg" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cosmic Dust - Artificial Lighting</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cosmic Dust - Direct sunlight</td></tr>
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<b>Cosmic Dust</b>: This is your standard silver holo. The holo isn't as strong as Nfu-Oh 61 or Gosh holographic, but I still think it's a nice subtle effect. In the shade it looks like a silver chrome polish.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gPdMxcOx73M/UTqXmgu3WSI/AAAAAAAABuM/g2hTXRG41SU/s1600/Galactic+Gray+-+AF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gPdMxcOx73M/UTqXmgu3WSI/AAAAAAAABuM/g2hTXRG41SU/s400/Galactic+Gray+-+AF.jpg" width="363" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Galactic Gray - Artificial lighting</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Galactic Gray - Direct sunlight</td></tr>
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<b>Galactic Gray</b>: This is a really pretty gunmetal grey holo. The holo is subtle under natural and some artificial lighting, but in the sunlight it's really gorgeous. It's not overly bling-y like some cool holos, but it's there. This like a grey with a slight red tint (it reminds me of what I think OPI's My Private Jet would look like, with a bit less holo perhaps).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hLfST2LLzJE/UTrmvf_oNGI/AAAAAAAABu8/s0bX6pQ4R_8/s1600/Infra+Red+-+AF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hLfST2LLzJE/UTrmvf_oNGI/AAAAAAAABu8/s0bX6pQ4R_8/s400/Infra+Red+-+AF.jpg" width="363" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Infra Red - Artificial lighting</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Infra Red - Direct sunlight</td></tr>
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<b>Infra Red</b>: This one is a bit more red-magenta than pure red. My picture is a little bit inaccurate, it looks a bit more purple than red (so keep that in mind). That being said, I'm not complaining! The colour on this one is really vibrant, but the holo is a bit more subtle than in others (it's still there in full sun though). One of my favourites from this collection!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yTBWOOvlZkw/UTroKUJpEsI/AAAAAAAABvQ/C833JeK2IvY/s1600/Take+a+Trek+-+AF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yTBWOOvlZkw/UTroKUJpEsI/AAAAAAAABvQ/C833JeK2IvY/s400/Take+a+Trek+-+AF.jpg" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Take a Trek - Artificial lighting</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f4-rrBsdyUk/UTroMJm10rI/AAAAAAAABvY/yHKflqzAEq4/s1600/Take+a+Trek+-+SL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f4-rrBsdyUk/UTroMJm10rI/AAAAAAAABvY/yHKflqzAEq4/s400/Take+a+Trek+-+SL.jpg" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Take a Trek - Direct sunlight</td></tr>
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<b>Take a Trek</b>: Another one of my favourites from this collection! This is a denim blue holo. It doesn't really look like it in the picture, but when I look at the bottle it looks like it has just a tint of green to it. It's a darker based holo, which is a bit more unusual. The holo is a bit more apparent in person (on the nail) in direct sun than my picture shows.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oqwEj-nd35U/UTrqkT1CieI/AAAAAAAABvs/LnGPC5cj0No/s1600/Strap+on+your+Moonboots+-+AF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oqwEj-nd35U/UTrqkT1CieI/AAAAAAAABvs/LnGPC5cj0No/s400/Strap+on+your+Moonboots+-+AF.jpg" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Strap on your Moonboots - Artificial lighting</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EPSVDV_xRgw/UTrqlW6OsJI/AAAAAAAABv0/nkqO10o6YbU/s1600/Strap+on+your+Moonboots+-+SL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EPSVDV_xRgw/UTrqlW6OsJI/AAAAAAAABv0/nkqO10o6YbU/s400/Strap+on+your+Moonboots+-+SL.jpg" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Strap on your Moonboots - Direct sunlight</td></tr>
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<b>Strap on your Moonboots</b>: Whenever I say this name out loud, I think of the "Get on your boots" song by U2. I think this one is my top favourite from this collection! It's a gorgeous dark navy blue - like indigo dyed jeans. My picture doesn't do this one much justice, the holo is a bit stronger in person.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0TuQUADK5vI/UTrrU_hQ0oI/AAAAAAAABv8/vTvS8TbQ_w8/s1600/When+Stars+Collide+-+AF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0TuQUADK5vI/UTrrU_hQ0oI/AAAAAAAABv8/vTvS8TbQ_w8/s400/When+Stars+Collide+-+AF.jpg" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When Stars Collide - Artificial lighting</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RY1M5771YcQ/UTrrU57VZ2I/AAAAAAAABwA/KLemw_0IBCY/s1600/When+Stars+Collide+-+SL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RY1M5771YcQ/UTrrU57VZ2I/AAAAAAAABwA/KLemw_0IBCY/s400/When+Stars+Collide+-+SL.jpg" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When Stars Collide - Direct Sunlight</td></tr>
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<b>When Stars Collide:</b> When I was planning on buying only two of this collection at the full price, I picked out this polish and Get on your Moonboots. I thought I'd really like this one looking at swatches online, and I do. I love it actually. It's at #2. This is a eggplant-y purple holo. The holo in this polish really nice. Pictures are worth 1000 words, right? Yeah.<br />
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<b>Overall</b>:<br />
<br />The formula on these polishes was nice. They all had a nice consistency. The darker polishes were opaque in 2 coats, but the lighter polishes (making up most of the next set of swatches) required about 3 coats for opacity. I didn't have any trouble with balding or streaking, although the polishes dry a bit 'flat' and can show ridges (really obvious in the swatches of Cosmic Dust). My pictures of these polishes don't really show off the holo really well - it's just a tad stronger in person.<br />
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The bottles show off the colour really well, but they don't show the holo at all, so the best way to look at how holo the polishes are in person would be to look at a nail wheel swatch.<br />
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Like a lot of people, I was REALLY hoping that these would be as holographic as the OMG collection. It's a bit of a let down that the rainbows are more subtle, but I think that these are good in their own way too. If I had to pick only a few out of this collection, I'd choose the darker more vibrant colours (When Stars Collide, Strap on your Moonboots, etc). I'd probably pass on Cosmic Dust since it isn't really that unique (and there are more amazing silver holos out there).<br />
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Hmm, I think that's all I wanted to say for now. If I remember anything really important I'll edit this post and/or mention it in the next set of swatches (happening whenever I get my charger back from my sister!).<br />
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Thanks for reading! What do y'all think about this collection? Are you going to pick up any of these polishes?<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Marisa </span>Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164913719427911676noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822944078351207145.post-4535788002822316742013-03-01T15:35:00.002-08:002013-03-01T15:35:55.120-08:00Cult Nails AfterglowHi Everyone! I'm alive! Sorry for being away for so long, I've been really swamped these past few weeks with midterms, interviews, presentations... you know, school stuff. I lot of unexpected things happened too that really had me planning every day down to the minute.<br />
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I don't have any more interviews scheduled (kind-of thank goodness!), so I'm going to take this time to schedule some posts. I actually have a lot of really cool polishes that I've been dying to wear but haven't been able to because I haven't had time to change nail polish plus with all of the job interviews I've been just wearing OPI's Steady as She Rose pretty much non-stop. It's a great colour, don't get me wrong... but I've really been missing those brights!<br />
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Anyhow, I'll quit yammering about how crazy my life has been and get on to today's polish. I don't know why, but I left this polish in my untried for so long that it's now out of stock on the Cult Nails website. If I remember correctly, this collection was limited edition, so I don't know if this polish will come back into stock again. I certainly hope so, for the sake of everyone who hasn't gotten a bottle (and me, maybe for a back up!). It's fabulous. Crazy fabulous. I love it.<br />
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Just look at those pink sparkles. I dare you to click on the image and look at it full size. Amaaazing. I don't normally gravitate towards this colour (bronze isn't really my thing) but those pink sparkles make this polish unlike any other bronze-y polish I've seen before. I love this pink and bronze combination a lot. If I recall correctly, this polish was a bit on the sheer side - I think I used 3-4 thin coats. Worth every single one. This is right up there with Feeling Froggy as one of my all time favourite Cult Nails polishes ever.<br />
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What do y'all think?<br />
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Thank you so much for reading!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Marisa</span> Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164913719427911676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822944078351207145.post-34416371077941789662013-02-14T09:00:00.000-08:002013-02-14T09:00:08.683-08:00Pastel HeartsHi everyone, Happy Valentine's Day!<br />
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I just have a quick post today since I have a bunch of midterms coming up and I really need to get around to studying for them instead of procrastinating! :P<br />
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If you follow me on Instagram (my username is livelylacquer), you'd know I'm kind of cheating out on a v-day manicure. I actually did this mani a few weeks ago. I actually had a great idea for a heart manicure in my brain, but when I tried to actually do it... well, it didn't turn out so well. I might try it again in the future, when I feel more patient.<br />
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Anyway, on to the manicure! For this look I used all of the colours found in the China Glaze Avant Garden Pastel Petals set (see my swatches <a href="http://livelylacquer.blogspot.ca/2013/01/china-glaze-avant-garden-collection_27.html#more">here</a>) and a quick pastel yellow mix using a drop of Cult Nails' Feel me up and OPI's My Boyfriend Scales Walls.<br />
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Base: China Glaze Dandy Lyin' Around<br />
Hearts: CG Fade into Hue, Keep Calm Paint On, Life is Rosy, Tart-y for the Party, Pink-ie Promise and a pastel yellow.<br />
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I freehanded the hearts in random places on the nail with a nail art brush and then sealed it all up with a coat of Cult Nails' Wicked Fast topcoat. <br />
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I'm fairly happy with how it turned out! I kind of wish that the hearts were a bit more even, but then again it is my art skills that we're talking about haha. What do you think? Do y'all have any cool plans for Valentine's Day? I have a hot date with my lecture notes LOL.<br />
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Thank you all for reading! Hope y'all enjoy the rest of your week! <3<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Marisa</span>Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164913719427911676noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822944078351207145.post-64070920113367218942013-01-31T09:00:00.000-08:002013-01-31T09:27:46.308-08:00A NOTD: Rainbow Gradient-y Stamp-icure!Hi everyone, Happy Thursday!<br />
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Today I have a NOTD that I did a little while ago to show y'all. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen this one, but here are some more pictures!<br />
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Sorry from the backwards stamping on the middle finger - I must have turned the stamper around accidentally before stamping it onto my nail.<br />
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For my gradient I used:<br />
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Red: Cult Nails Evil Queen<br />
Orange: Zoya Arizona<br />
Yellow: Cult Nails Feel me up<br />
Green: Essie Mojito Madness (I feel like a mojito now, yum)<br />
Blue: Nails Inc Baker Street<br />
Purple: Cult Nails Vicious<br />
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I used 2 coats of OPI's My Boyfriend Scales Walls as the base, and then sponged the gradient on. I didn't have any cosmetic sponges (it's on my shopping list), so I used a different kind of sponge that had perforations that were a bit larger (don't worry, not one of those yellow dish washing sponges with the scotch brite sides lolol).<br />
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I stamped overtop the gradient with BM plate bm-322 and Cult Nails Nevermore.<br />
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I had actually originally wanted to stamp the gradient over the white, but it didn't work out so well (will try again in the future!)<br />
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Anyhow, that's all for today! Thank you so much for reading, and I hope y'all have a great (polish-filled) weekend!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Marisa</span>Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16164913719427911676noreply@blogger.com2