Tag Archives: Sally Hansen

The Best of 2012

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The Best of 2012Another year is coming to a close! Are you ready to see what 2013 brings?

What you probably didn’t know is that in 2012, I faced a lot of stressful issues in my personal life that caused me great emotional pain.

Blogging and interacting with you helped me push through it instead of giving up.

If you’ve been following Swatch And Learn for even a little while, I hope it’s evident that blogging and interacting with readers bring me a lot of happiness. Yes, it is hard work and very challenging to keep up, but I’m not the type of person who’s afraid of pulling up my sleeves to get things done.

Thank you for listening to what I think and for valuing my opinion, post after post and tweet after tweet. That is a big compliment!

Most of all, thank you, dear readers, for being encouraging and kind as well as for cracking the much-needed joke.

You remind me that genuinely good people are still out there. I needed that reminder, and you gave it to me in spades!

So, while in this post I list the best of 2012 in terms of nail polish, nail art, etc., I want you to know that Swatch And Learn readers are really the best of 2012!

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My Top 5 Favourite Greens

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My Top 5 Favourite GreensFor a while, I’ve been wanting to share My Top 5 Favourite Greens with you all. And, during the past year, quite a few of you have asked me to do so. I’m finally getting around to it! :D

As you know, green nail polish is my weakness. It’s my comfort colour. It’s what I can’t seem to get sick of wearing. It’s love, but also lust. ;)

It was really tough to whittle it down and to just pick 5, but I did it. (Haha, watch, right after I publish this, I’m going to have a moment where I go, “Ahhh! I forgot to include [insert the name of a green polish here]!”

Come see what made the cut.

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Sally Hansen Project Runway Swatches & Review

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Sally Hansen Project Runway Swatches & ReviewSally Hansen Project Runway used to be the Polish That Got Away!

I first laid lustful eyes on the coveted colour when I was shopping at the grocery store with my boyfriend.

I asked him what he thought of this green polish. He replied, “It’s okay. But don’t you have so many colours like that already?”

“Forget about shoes – women can never have too many nail polishes!” I said in my head.

But he was right. I had soooo many polishes. Did I really need yet another green nail polish?

With much hesitation, I put the orphan back, and I had to avoid looking into its sad-yet-hopeful eyes.

When I came home, I stumbled upon a blog post about that exact shade and how hard it was to find. So the next day, I went back to rescue the poor polish, but…it was gone! My precccioouussss!

Since that incident, I had been looking for it every time I went to the grocery store and every time I went to any drugstore. Then, mannnny months later, I casually perused a random clearance bin at a salon.

Looking back at me was a rectangular Sally Hansen Salon bottle. Could it be? No, it couldn’t! Yes! We were reunited, and nothing could ever split us apart!

I squealed, cradled it, and made a mad dash to the cashier before anything could distract me. So, you see, sometimes you can find what you’re looking for when you least expect it!

If there’s a colour you missed out on, keep the faith. You never know where it could turn up! Continue reading →

Sally Hansen Pumpkin Spice Swatches & Review (Layered Over OPI Espresso Your Style!)

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Sally Hansen Pumpkin Spice Swatches & Review smallerCall me a Chupa Chup because I’m always a sucker for polishes that bring to mind fond autumnal memories.

There’s something fresh about the way the air smells that makes me giddy. Or, who knows, maybe that’s just the result of my neighbour finally deciding to vacuum his carpets. ;)

On a serious note in B flat minor, I sometimes crave a rich fall lacquer nearly as much as a fresh slice of pumpkin pie. (Note: I said nearly, so don’t you dare swipe my dessert!)

Sally Hansen Pumpkin Spice satisfied my craving. And I think seconds are in order. Please, sir, I want s’more!

I decided to layer it instead over OPI Espresso Your Style!, which is a decadent shimmery brown that makes a subtle difference. I really enjoyed this combination.
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Nail Art Tutorial: Loch Ness Monster Nails

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Loch Ness Monster Nails Nail Art Tutorial & SwatchesDoing Cookie Monster nail art made me think about what other kind of monsters I liked and that would be easy to translate onto my small nail canvas.

I looked under my bed. (Just the typical monsters there.)

I checked my closet. (Nope, just a bunch of skeletons. They’ll come in handy for Hallowe’en.)

Then I decided to take inspiration from the water, since I love swimming and am also a Pisces. A few cover stories of the National Enquirer that I’ve glanced at while in the checkout aisle may have also influenced me.

Today I bring you Loch Ness Monster Nails! Now you can say that you’ve seen it swimming in the water on a sunny day!

Since I’m a Canadian, taking French class in school is mandatory up until grade 9.

In the 8th grade, I remember loving the class because we got to read all sorts of absurd books. None were serious. Literally every story we read was surrounding Sasquatch, the Loch Ness Monster, or aliens. Yeah! And now imagine reading all those stories in a foreign language. How could it not be fun? Haha!

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Nail Art: Canadian Flag Nails & Tutorial

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Image of Canadian Flag Nails** This post was written by Fiona. She no longer blogs for Swatch And Learn. However, Mary still continues to blog and will be happy to reply to your comment. **

Boo. My second attempt at nail art kind of failed. Sad face. They don’t really even look like the Canadian flag! Hahah. Even though I don’t really want to post it, I have to because Swatch And Learn is proudly Canadian. And since I did an American flag one, I have to represent north side of the border. I had a blast with the American flag one, especially when I inspired a co-worker to do a tape manicure design, too! That’s always encouraging.

I also had fun with my Canadian Flag nails. I got to work with Sally Beauty Sprinkles – I used the heart shape because I <3 Canada. Tee hee. I’m still working on my taping technique because there was, again, some bleeding.  If anyone has any advice for me, I would love to hear it. I’m just starting out and want to get better!

~Whisper~ I like my American Flag nails (design wise) better because it’s cuter and more intricate. But shhhh. Don’t tell our Canadian readers. ~End whisper~ Continue reading →

Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure Swatches & Review (Layered over China Glaze For Audrey)

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Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure SwatchesEver have a lemming – a polish you’ve wanted so badly since you heard about it that you stalk all the stores you can think of in hopes of finding it?

Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure was the Where’s Waldo for me.

And I never found him, despite checking all the Shoppers Drug Marts, Loblaws, Rexalls, and drugstores near me for about a year. Hidden Treasure, indeed!

It was hard for this nail addict to accept that I’d never get my hands on this puppy. But then a wonder of wonders, a miracle of miracles happened. (Good time to use a Fiddler on the Roof reference.)

Mellinail from Nail-Anon surprised me out of the blue with Hidden Treasure in a RAOK (Random Act of Kindness)!

Through the bubble wrap, I saw the flakies sparkling. My heart literally started to beat faster. No, it couldn’t be, I thought.

But after tearing open the wrapping, I squealed with delight. I rarely squeal, but I did when I saw this. (And I was walking on a busy street with lots of people. Think I scared some of them with my loud, random noise.)

A huge thank you to Mellinail for this wonderful surprise and gorgeous polish! Also, I really appreciate how you’ve been so supportive and kind. Continue reading →