Simple Pleasures Swatches & Thank You!

To start, I owe you all a huge ... THANK YOU! ... for helping me reach 200+ followers (203 to be exact). I'm so thankful for each and every reader, I get so excited by every comment, email and new follower I receive - it's like Christmas for me! Never hesitate to ask any questions or make a suggestion, I would love to hear from you. :)

In my last post I asked if you would rather see the second Revlon 3-pack polish kit or my Simple Pleasures kit from my Haul last week. A lovely follower and blogger, thenailaholic, requested the Simple Pleasures pack and so that is what I have prepared for you today. (There was a lot of swatching this afternoon!)

The polishes included in the pack; un-named. They are swatched from L-R.

ACK, bare nails! This is two coats of the glitter polish. Clear base with small
silver glitter, 2 coats. (I would use this as a layering glitter polish.)

Beautiful orange/cantelope creme - 2 coats.
The VNL that you see in these photo's was not visible IRL.

I tried adjusting the colour for this polish however I couldn't get it spot on.
It is more of a cherry red (creme) than what it is showing here, 2 coats.

This photographed perfect - lovely medium pink creme, 2 coats.

This reminds me of Color Club Pucci-licious which I wore the other day.
This photographed more blue and brighter than it really is,
it is more of a muted medium true purple creme, 2 coats.

Slightly less bright than this photo, but perfect otherwise. I will try to get a
nice daylight shot of this and post it as an update. My favourite from this
pack. Medium cobalt creme, 2 coats.

This polish reminds me of L.A Colors Atomic. I'll have to do a comparison soon.
Medium teal creme, 2 coats.

I have to admit, I didn't have high expectations for these Simple Pleasures polishes, but I have to say I was blown away. I applied 2 coats for each of these polishes with no top coat to showcase the finish. The VNL was not visible IRL (macro shows everything...). They all dried quite shiny with the 2 coats, I was impressed. One thing I will say is that they have a very strange smell, not quite toxic but ... strange. Not sure how to describe it. Maybe, plastic-esque? Haha. Application was a dream.

Application: 10 - Perfect

Colour Range: 9 - Everyone will find something they like, but nothing highly unique.

Finish: 10 - Nice and shiny!

= 29/30

For $5.99 I will definitely pick up another Simple Pleasures kit if I ever find one at Winners again. If you have seen this pack and passed it by, I would recommend trying to find it, especially if you are trying to grow your collection on a budget.

I loved the blue shade so much that it is now my mani! Which is your favourite colour from the Simple Pleasures pack?

Thanks for reading!

Haul

Good afternoon! A big thank you to my followers for helping me get to 150 (152 to be exact). I appreciate each and every one of you! :)

I don't have a new manicure to show you today but I did do some shopping this morning and decided I could show you that instead. I went to Winners and Sally Beauty Supply. Here are my goodies.

Winners:
Simple Pleasures Nail Polish Assortment - 7 nail polishes for $5.99
Essie 'Coat Azure' $6.99

Sally Beauty Supply:
Orly 'Glitz' $4.99 (sale)
Orly 'Royal Navy' $4.99 (sale)

Sorry for the short post but I wanted to post something - I'm trying to post every day. I've been getting better. :) Let me know, have you seen the Simple Pleasures kits at your local Winners or Ross? Do you like "haul" posts?

Thanks for reading.

Polka Dotting Fun

I'm back! It's been almost a month since I posted, I can't believe I have slacked so much. Shame on me. I haven't been twiddling my thumbs though, I have been creating lots of new looks and have the photos to prove it! (Haha.) Below is one that I created with the idea of spring/Easter in mind.

I started off with a base coat and then chose 6-7 of my favourite colours and dotted them on my nails. I finished with a rainbow glitter polish and then a top coat.


If you have one, you can use a dotting tool for the polka dots or you can straighten out a bobby pin and use the tip. One other idea is to use a sewing pin, the kind that look like they have a bead/pearl on the end. For extra grip, I find it easier to push the pin into an eraser so you have something better to hold on. (You can find these at the Dollarama, I saw them last week. Hehe.)


This is a really simple look for spring and/or Easter. If I were to do this again I would probably do it on my toes and use a solid background color. Maybe pearl white or black? I did an assorted colours for my polka dots but feel free to change the colors of your dots as well.


Next post: My Nail Tools. (My dotting tool included.)


Comment & let me know: would you try polka dots?


Thanks for reading!

Review: L.A. Colors Nail Polish

This update is all about a new nail polish brand that I’ve found that I’m really enjoying. L.A. Colors. If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to grow your nail polish collection this brand is a great option. I have recently (since Saturday) purchased quite a few different shades from this line. I am impressed with the quality of the product, especially since the regular retail price of each polish is only $1.99. To sweeten the deal, this week L.A. Colors has a 25% off promotion on this brand, therefore I paid $1.49 for each.

There are many different finishes such as glossy, duo-chrome, neon, glitter, and metallic. Below you will see the ones I purchased. I have at least one of each type however some finishes didn’t photograph well. I will put the name of each and it’s finish in the photo label. (If you’d like to see one photographed on its own, comment below!)

Also, there are two different collections by this brand, ‘Nail Lacquer’ and ‘Color Craze’. The first (Nail Lacquer) is what I believe to be their permanent collection. The second (Color Craze) I’m not 100% positive about; however, I have seen both collections together for the past few months. (The Color Craze collection names their polishes with the theme of ‘electricity, very cute.)

To shorten this list L.A. Colors will be “LA”; Nail Lacquer will be “NL”; Color Craze will be “CC”.

Back, Left to Right

LA, CC in ‘Voltage’ NP401 (Clear) - LA, CC in ‘Energy Source’ NP402 (Glossy White) - LA, NL in ‘Metallic Silver’ NP284 (Opaque* Metallic Glitter Silver) - LA, NL in ‘Black Velvet’ NP136 (Glossy Black) - LA, NL in Metallic Purple NP 287 (Opaque Metallic Glitter Purple) - LA, NL in ‘Rainbow Glitter’ NP 263 (Translucent Multi-Colour Micro Glitter)

Middle, Left to Right

LA, NL in 'Cotton Candy' NP238 (Duo-Chrome Light Pink/Blue*) - LA, CC in 'Electric Charge' NP405 (Glossy Pink) - LA, CC in 'Electrified' NP408 (Opaque Metallic Glitter Pink) - LA, NL in 'Shocker' NP355 (Purple Fuchsia/Blue) - LA, CC in 'Phenomena' NP423 (Glossy Purple/Fuchsia)

Front, Left to Right

LA, CC in 'Static Electricity' NP421 (Glossy Medium Blue) - LA, NL in 'Metallic Blue' NP288 (Opaque Metallic Glitter Blue) - LA, CC in 'Atomic' NP420 (Glossy Green Teal) - LA, CC in 'Force' NP410 (Metallic Bronze Gold) - LA, CC in 'Shock' NP419 (Glossy Neon Orange) - LA, CC in 'Wave Length' NP413 (Metallic Yellow Gold)

* Opaque means that is applies without being see-through. The metallic glitter purple, silver and blue are not regular glitters, they are full-coverage polishes on their own.

* Duo-Chrome is a finish that is two colours: the base colour and the reflective second shade that is reminiscent of a pearl finish. Absolutely GORGEOUS. Photo's below.

Duo-Chrome Light Pink/Blue 'Cotton Candy'

Duo-Chrome Purple Fuchsia/Blue 'Shocker'

As of today I have used the glossy pink 'Electric Charge', glossy black 'Black Velvet' and clear 'Voltage'. They come out very pigmented and wear well. I always use a base coat and a top coat with mine and have not noticed any chipping so far. (I use 'Voltage' as my top coat.) I will update in a few days time to comment if there are any changes.

UPDATE - It wore well, however on the fourth day my polish peeled back on one of my nails. Other than that, there was only very minimal tip wear and it was still quite glossy.

Thanks for reading. :)