OPI Suzi Needs a Loch-smith: Blogstravaganza Fall 2019

We’re only at post #4 in my series on the OPI Scotland collection, but… it’s here, it’s finally here, my beloved burnt orange! I think it is a real testament to my willpower that I did not wear this one first. Because there are so many purples in the collection, I tried to come up with an order that did not have me wearing two in a row and this lovely, burnt pumpkin got pushed back a little in the lineup. I actually had worn it before this post, I lied, wore it for the skittle mani I did in September. Did you really expect my willpower to truly be that good? Please. This gorgeous, fall-in-a-bottle orange has a name that I feel like OPI came up with and just stuck it with whatever color they did not already have an idea for. Why is Suzi Needs a Loch-smith orange, shouldn’t it be blue or something more lake-y? No ginger jokes for the orange polish? It’s Scotland for crying out loud. They definitely could have done better in the name department. But in the formula department… mmm, it does not get better than this, friends!

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Morgan Taylor Rocketman: My Picks Swatch & Review

“And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time…” until I review another Morgan Taylor collection. Seriously, it’s been about two years since I last reviewed anything from them! Apparently I have a penchant for their film-inspired collections, because last time around I reviewed their Beauty and the Beast collection inspired by the live action film and this time the collection is inspired by the recent Elton John biopic (which I have not seen yet). This is a fun, bright collection for summer. I nabbed the teal, purple, and, the unique standout of the collection for me, the glitter! I found my bottles at Sally Beauty months ago, but I think they’re still around (probably online more than in-store) if you see anything you like today. Let’s take a look, shall we?

For all of today’s swatches, I used Ünt Ready for Takeoff base coat and Seche Vite as my top coat where noted.

Morgan Taylor Just Me & My Piano, 2 coats plus top coat

First up we have this vibrant purple (Morgan Taylor just describes it as a “purple cream” – very helpful). It naturally dries to a satiny matte finish like a lot of neon-type shades do. I would not call this one a true neon, but it is definitely headed in that direction.

Spring has Sprung: China Glaze Hydrangea Dangea

China Glaze Hydrangea Dangea, 3 coats plus Seche Vite

Me and this polish got off on the wrong foot. I am the kind of person that likes to use thin coats, but not all polishes work like that. Polishes are like people; you need to get to know them first so you can see what makes them tick. When you’ve got such a gorgeous baby blue with a dash of periwinkle and a speckle of shimmer, I think there’s a lot of incentive there to make this relationship work. This is a blog post more about my own failure than about a bad polish; I wore it at three streaky coats and was surprised, after watching swatch videos where people were easily getting it perfect in two or three coats (their three coats look better than mine). This was going to be a lighthearted, typical Ashley post about a new spring polish, but instead is a story of how not to use China Glaze’s Hydrangea Dangea. Take warning from me, kids.

New at Target: tenoverten nail color

I cannot speak for all Targets, but my local Target has spruced up their nail section! A couple months ago, I was browsing and saw they now carry a selection of Ella + Mila, more shades of Piggy Paint, and a new Defy & Inspire line called Vita Fit. The new additions that jumped out at me the most, however, were the tenoverten polishes with their simple and elegant square bottles with a clean label. These are polishes I would love to see sitting on my non-existent vanity! I thought they were a bit spendy at $12 a piece, but I was drawn to some of the earthier colors and had never heard a single thing about this brand, so I decided to take a chance! I ended up with the shades cliff, liberty, and austin (yes, everything is lower case on the bottle, I’m not trying to be annoying). After doing some research, I learned that tenoverten was started by a salon in NYC and that you should definitely buy the polishes from Target because they retail for $18 on their website! The polishes are 8-free, intended to “promote stronger, healthier nails,” and are all named after streets in NYC. Cute! The color selection is not the most unique, but even I managed to find some shades that I probably don’t have exact dupes for. Probably.

Fall Favorites: OPI Alpaca My Bags

Hello friends, we are going to try out this every two weeks schedule because, for the time being, I am just not finding the time to swatch! That is a good thing, though, because it means I’m out doing other stuff and generally enjoying life (well, at least enjoying not being at a desk for 8 hours). I hope all my US friends had a delicious Thanksgiving and that you all survived Black Friday. This will be my last fall post of the year because now that Thanksgiving is over it is officially Christmas time – WOO HOO!!!!! Christmas is the second most wonderful time of the year; the first is fall because it leads me to wear colors like this one. OPI’s Alpaca My Bags was the one polish that I needed to have from the Peru collection. It is moody and saturated and clean and cool. I love it lots.

Essie Color of the Month September 2018

For once, I actually wore an Essie color of the month and I am just barely able to share it with you all in time. Happy last day of September! Usually Essie’s COTM picks do not excite me but I do love that they usually reach back into their archives, which can inspire you to pull out a polish you have not worn for awhile. For September, they chose Exposed, which came out last year around… spring? Although I love greyed out colors, I did not purchase any of them at the time. Kind of a weird time of year for a collection featuring several darker neutrals. However, fall is the perfect time for shades like Exposed, so I grabbed a bottle at Fred Meyer during a beauty savings event they had going on (spend $15, get $5 off). Exposed is described as a “mossy green with a slight white overcast.” Hmmm, okay, I think I would call it a muddy olive that has more of a khaki tone than other olives. It also has a greyed out feeling, yet still looks very green. I absolutely adored this color and enjoyed wearing it, even if the formula left a little to be desired.

Essie Leathers Collection: Swatch & Review

This is so super late, but instead of making excuses I want to get into the polish because I freakin’ love these. And, luckily for me, I was at Kohl’s a week ago and they still had some of these sets in stock so I’m not entirely late to the game! Back in December I had some Kohl’s cash to burn so I picked up the lovely little Essie Leathers Collection set. It is rare that I like an entire collection, but damn it if I don’t love all of these! The formulas are beautiful and the colors are quite lovely. I am already hoping there will be a part 2 set in the future because Essie NAILED IT! These are inspired by Rebecca Minkoff’s most popular (according to her, anyway) bag colors and all dry naturally to a satin matte finish, just like the sheen of leather. Let’s dive into the goodness!

Fall Favorites: Essie Dressed to the Nineties

Essie Dressed to the Nineties, 2 coats plus NYC Shine in a Minute Grand Central Station

This will be my last fall post of the year *waterfall of tears*. Except… I’m not really THAT sad because Christmas is my favorite holiday. Now that US Thanksgiving is over I am in full Christmas mode! Christmas music playing 24/7? Check! Every surface of my living space covered in festive penguins? Checkity check. The most cheerful, happy, warm feeling I am going to ever have this winter? CHECK!!! I’m now going to take a moment to reflect and look back fondly upon fall 2017 (which we are still technically in… the winter solstice isn’t until the 21st of December). This year gave us some awesome new nail polish releases like Essie Dressed to the Nineties. Essie’s fall collection had some interesting shades; I picked up As If! and Girly Grunge too, but I opted to wear Nineties because it is so interesting. It is a deep purple (but NOT black) with a dusting of turquoise, greenish shimmer and I enjoyed having it on my digits.