(Scroll down for contact information & blog statistics.)
About Swatch And Learn
Swatch And Learn is a Canadian beauty blog featuring original content, honest reviews, nail-polish swatches, nail art, tutorials, and more, brought to you by Mary!
It began out of a long-time passion for testing out beauty products and letting the imagination run wild with creativity.
From July 25, 2010 to August 7, 2011
I alternated blogging days with Fiona to ensure that Swatch And Learn would have new content posted daily. (Click here to see all of Fiona’s blog posts. You can also click here to see all of my blog posts.)
From August 8, 2011 to Present
I continue to ensure new, daily content and carry the flaming torch solo while making bold changes to the blog. I plan to continue taking Swatch And Learn to the next level.
While working on the blog solo, I completely changed the look and feel of the site, introduced a new weekly feature called Smorgasbord Sundays, and joined many social-media platforms including Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, beautylish, Bloglovin’, etc. (Before Swatch And Learn was just on Twitter.)
During the time I’ve been able to stretch my creative legs, I’ve been featured prominently in many respected sources including Stylelist, Bon Appetit, About.com, beautylish, Zoya’s official blog, Trend Hunter, Sephora’s YouTube channel, other people’s blogs, etc. I’ve also been mentioned in tweets by companies including OPI, China Glaze, Trade Secrets, Zoya, beautylish, Cake Beauty, Illamasqua, etc. To see some of the places I’ve been featured, check out the Blog News section.
It was also during my time running the blog solo that I developed strong relationships with PR firms and various companies to help promote products and brands in an honest fashion. I’ve also taken the initiative to reach out to companies and collaborate with them for various giveaways on my blog.
On October 14, 2012, I had the honour of having dinner with Suzi Weiss-Fischmann (the Executive VP and Artistic Director of OPI)! I was invited to attend this exclusive and intimate event all thanks to Langton Communications, one of the PR firms I have built a solid relationship with.
Then, on March 18, 2013, I had the pleasure of attending an OPI exclusive product launch, again with Suzi Weiss-Fischmann! You can read my detailed post chronicling the event here.
I hope that my readers will come to see Swatch And Learn as a fun place to share opinions with fellow beauty lovers (or addicts as we like to poke fun at ourselves…hehe!).
Building a hospitable community that’s open to discussion and respectful of different opinions is important to me.
So, come stay a while. Let me share my experience with you about those overly hyped products, those inexpensive wonders, those Leave-Only-Lint-in-My-Pockets brands, and those Holy Grail items I’ve come across.
And always feel free to leave a comment. I reply to every single one because I want you to know that your voice is important and that you are heard and appreciated!
Ways to Contact Mary
- E-mail: SwatchAndLearn@gmail.com
- Facebook: Swatch And Learn
- Twitter: @SwatchAndLearn
- Google+: Mary
- Pinterest: Mary
- (NEW!) Instagram: @SwatchAndLearn
- Beautylish: Mary
- Klout: Mary
- (NEW!) Ravelry: MarySAL (You have to be a member to access Ravelry.com)
Quick Swatch And Learn Statistics (July 25, 2010 – March 19, 2013):
- Total Pageviews: 2,423,367
- Unique Pageviews: 2,069,955
- Total Visits: 1,239,094
- Top 10 Countries Visitors Come From:
- United States
- Canada
- United Kingdom
- Australia
- France
- Singapore
- Germany
- Brazil
- Philippines
- Russia
Map of Visitor Demographics
Map overlay showing visitorship from July 25, 2010 to March 19, 2013
About Mary
In the first grade, I entered the colourful world of makeup with my mom’s bottle of nail polish. Since then, my passion for trying new beauty products has only grown…of course now I don’t have to raid other people’s stash!
Blogging is a fun hobby of mine that I do in my spare time when I’m not working at my full-time job or socializing with friends.
I’m known by my family, friends, and co-workers for being a nail-polish connoisseur – heck, I’ve even organized bulk orders for them. Despite not being a nail technician, I have a collection that boasts of 600+ bottles and counting – I still haven’t lost interest! The more unusual a colour, the faster it makes my heart race.
When you read any of my posts, I hope you see my passion for writing, my love for testing beauty products, and my integrity to always provide honest reviews with zero sugar coating.
Pull up a chair at the Swatch And Learn table, and you’re sure to find an ace up my sleeve. I play my cards right with a full house of informed commentary peppered with a sense of humour. I’m looking forward to sharing my opinions and hearing what you think, too.
Let’s get to know each other better! 
Check Out Swatch And Learn on Your Mobile Phone!
(P.S. The cute cartoon graphic of the girl hugging the bottle of nail polish was created by Vivian Yu. At the time, she was an animation student, but now she works full-time. She created it exclusively for me as a surprise gift!)
Hi, I just cannot remember where and when I found your blog. Maybe when I looked for swatch pictures of OPI German Collection?! Anyway, I have found you now and I will continue visiting your blog. I really like it. Now this is set as a favourite!
By the way – where are you from?
All the best,
Maria
Hey Maria!
I’m glad that you found me – thanks for being a new follower!
Hope that you’ll leave me more comments in the future. I just love interacting with readers.
I’m from Canada!
Omg you are?!
Hey Amanda!
Yes! I’m a proud Canadian!
Hey there! Great blog
Do you have a preferred Canadian store or website you buy your polish?
Hey Louise!
I like buying polish from small local beauty-supply stores, but for the bigger stores that are well known, I like to shop at Trade Secrets and Sally Beauty Supply.
However, years ago when I used to order polishes online all the time, I would turn to etailers like Trans Design, but they were in the U.S. You really have to order a lot to make the shipping worthwhile.
Hi Mary!
WOW, what a beautiful site you have! I too am a beauty follower, and found you searching for OPI swatches. I’m also a new blogger, and hope to feel confident to share my site with others soon. Thank you for the wonderful content! {{Would love to chat personally about blogging in general if you have time:-)}}
Question for you … do you feel there’s a superior nail polish brand? I’ve always thought it was OPI, and continue to grow my collection of shades. But I recently bought “Aphrodite’s Pink Nightie”, and it’s the 1st time I’ve been disappointed in OPI! This just does not wear well on me, and chips within a day. Are there different formulations of this polish that would cause that vs. other OPI’s I’ve liked, “Pinking of You” for example, that seems to wear really well? Appreciate your advice!
Hey Tess!
Thank you so much!
I’m glad that you like it and that we share the same interests. It’s fun to be able to learn from each other, isn’t it?
How are you liking the blogging experience so far? Hope that you’re having a blast. When you do feel comfortable sharing, please do send me a link. I’d love to see what you’ve been up to.
Of course I have time to converse with you. I may not always be able to reply right away, but I make it a point to reply to all the comments left on my blog to show readers that their voices are heard.
To answer your question, no, I don’t think that there is one superior nail brand. After having tried numerous over several years, I’ve realized that price doesn’t necessarily correlate with quality. Instead, I go for colour. If I love the colour and the formula wears well, that’s all that matters. Some of my cheaper polishes wear just as well as more expensive ones.
However, my favourite brands (I have many) off the top of my head are OPI, China Glaze, Nubar, Zoya, and Essie. But there are so many other brands I adore, too, like Cult Nails.
Hmm…did you use the same base and top coats with Aphrodite’s Pink Nightie? Sometimes it can be the combination that causes your polish to wear poorly. Other times, it’s the actual formula. Not all OPI polishes have the same formula, so some will wear better than others.
Hello:) I’m very very new to polishing my own nails. I never thought I was capable of doing so myself but I am and have been told they look “professionally” done which makes me so proud of myself but I must say it wouldn’t have happened without the swatches and tutorials/blogs I’ve come across and I’m so very happy I came across yours!!!!! I’m coming up on 3 months of doing my own nails and I’m probably older than you, lol!! In in my 30s
. I’m looking forward to seeing how I progress over the next year! Thanks!!!!! 
Hey Clariza!
I’m proud of you for attempting it even.
That’s the first step. After that, you realize that you CAN do it, and then it makes you want to try to do even more designs.
Aww…thank you for the sweet comment. You probably would’ve happened even if you didn’t find my blog. There are soooo many talented beauty bloggers out there. You would’ve stumbled upon one of them sooner or later.
Don’t let my immature face fool you! We are actually close in age.
Hi Mary!
I hope you are having a wonderful late Sunday/early Monday! I just stopped mainly to say that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your blog and all the hard work you’ve put into it. It truly shows in each and every post you do. Keep up the GREAT work doll!
Angela
Hey Angela!
Aww…that is incredibly sweet of you. Your encouraging words means so much to me because I can tell that it’s heartfelt.
Thank you! It’s readers like yourself that make blogging so rewarding.
Hey
Just wanted to say yours was one of the first blogs I properly followed and is what gave me the inspiration to start my own blog!
It’s just a little thing just now, and I’m not exactly talented but I wanted to become a bigger part of the nail polish blogging community, especially to represent the UK side of things, and I enjoy sharing the things I love about polish and nail art that most of my friends don’t appreciate!
I’d love it if you’d have a nosy at my blog – it’s not much but I’m building it up!
bathelennails.blogspot.co.uk
Hey Bathelen!
That’s really sweet of you. I’m honoured that you think so highly of me and my blog. And I’m excited to see that you started your own blog!
I took a look around, and I love the nail designs – left a couple of comments.
Keep up the amazing work!
You should try putting a shiny topcoat on liquid sand nail polish.
Hey Grace!
Sometimes I try putting a shiny top coat on the Liquid Sands on a nail wheel. But on my own nails, I really love the gritty texture.