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OPI's latest collection is inspired by Switzerland. This collection is full of a lot of great colors, many of which I wanted to take home with me. But, in the interest of being less of a hoarder thrifty, I picked my three favorites: Glitzerland, Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous, and William Tell Me About OPI.
Glitzerland is a sparkly champagne gold. You can see the different colors of shimmer. So sparkly!! Be warned, though, in direct sunlight, you will momentarily blind yourself if you stare right at your nails...I may or may not have first-hand knowledge of that.
Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous is a sparkly charcoal. Like Glitzerland, you can see the light and dark shimmers. The inner magpie in me is drooling over how sparkly! (That pink reflection...that's my shirt!)
William Tell Me About OPI is a deep, dark raisin-y eggplant. Very fall and vampy. I love these blackened colors for fall. Brings out my inner goth.
If I had to pick a fourth, I'd have gotten Ski Teal We Drop, which is a gorgeous dark teal cream.
While these colors are pretty, I think there may be some dupes in my stash (or at least from a couple other fall collections). Keep checking back as I will be doing comparison swatches for this collection to see if I can save you guys some dough!
The OPI Swiss Collection is available now at beauty retailers for $8.50 each.
I've been super excited to try out the "Moon Manicure", eclipse version, ever since its debut at Ruffian's Fall 2010 NYFW Show.
(Source: style.com)
I know I technically didn't have to wait until fall to do this mani, but I love the dark nails with the metallic, and that doesn't exactly read "summer" to me. I know it's not yet fall...but I'm antsy and it's close enough. My first attempt didn't pan out so well because I used nail guides...big mistake. It left my manicure all lumpy and the lines weren't really straight. This time, I freehanded it, and I think my results were much better. Check out my mani after the jump!
I'm always on the lookout for the best mascara. I want it all - curl, length, volume, with no smudging or flaking. Who doesn't?! I'm not opposed to playing guinea pig and buying various mascaras to try out, but if I can test for free, why not?
Recently, one of Sephora's weekly deals was an offer for a free sample of the new Hourglass Film Noir Full Spectrum Mascara. And, that offer *luckily* coincided with an order I *needed* to make...that's my story and I'm stickin' to it! Hourglass Film Noir Full Spectrum has an hourglass-shaped brush that gives volume, length, lift and separation. Plus the formula has an "intense concentration of ProVitamin B5" for a "reflective, jet-black sheen for dramatic impact".
Sounds promising. Does it deliver? Keep reading to find out!
I haven't seen a ton reviews or swatches of OPI's line of polishes for Sephora, like there are for China Glaze, the regular OPI line, etc. Frankly, I think the colors OPI does for Sephora are wayyyyy better than those in its own regular line. I'll gladly pay the full $9 pricetag for these polishes, whereas I'm loathe to do so for OPI. I find that there are a lot of unique colors in the Sephora line, and the formula is pretty much the same as the regular OPI, minus the pro-wide brush...which is fine by me since I have little fingers and nails. Go figure, I'm five-nine, but with the hands of someone six inches shorter. That must be why I never became a concert pianist. Or, maybe because I couldn't sit still to practice for hours on end. We'll just blame it on the hands and move on...
I only picked up four out of the nine (I think) polishes in this collection: Just a Little Dangerous, Rock His World, Dating the Drummer, and Studs & Stilettos.
Swatches after the jump!
It occurred to me that I haven't posted what is arguably one of the tastiest pizzas from the Twi-tini Party I hosted a couple of months ago. Mr. swatchcat loooooves this pizza. And who wouldn't? It has chicken, barbecue sauce, cheese...yep, that covers all the food groups except chocolate!
Mmmm, gaze upon the deliciousness:
1 Refrigerated Pizza Crust (thin-style)
1 lb. Chicken Breasts
1 c. Barbecue Sauce (super looove the Target Archer Farms Kansas City-Style)
1/2 Sweet Vidalia Onion (for caramelizing)
1 tbsp. Chopped Garlic (fresh or jarred, either works)
6 oz. Baby Spinach
8 oz. Shredded Mozzarella
4 tbsp. Canola Oil
Salt
Prepare refrigerated crust as instructed. Cube the chicken breasts into approximately 1/2" cubes, and in a skillet, sauté with 2 tbsp. Canola Oil and the chopped garlic, until thoroughly cooked. Set aside in a small dish. Cut the onion so that they are in 1/2 rings, and cut the larger pieces in to smaller strips, if desired. In the same skillet as the chicken was prepared, heat the oil over high heat, and when the oil begins to ripple, add the onions and stir. Add a pinch of salt and continue to stir the onions. It's okay if they stick to the bottom, just scrape them up and keep stirring until the onions reach the darkness and texture desired. I prefer mine a deep golden brown and on the softer side.
Now that the toppings are prepared, spread the barbecue sauce over the pizza crust, then top with the cubed chicken, caramelized onions, baby spinach (make sure it's washed!), and finally the shredded mozzarella. Bake for approximately 8 minutes, then coax the pizza off the baking sheet directly onto the rack, and finish baking until the crust is a golden brown, and the cheese is melted and starting to brown. Total baking time should be between 12 and 14 minutes. Let it cool for 5 minutes, slice and enjoy!
If you are averse to veggies, this pizza is just as tasty sans onions and spinach. But I like adding them veggies just to keep it on the healthy side.
With all the polish companies putting out their own palettes of must-have fall colors (most of which are limited edition), I thought I'd dig through my stash and come up with some polish picks of my own. All of the polishes featured are readily available and ones you might already own! They also range from spendy boutique brands to cheapie drugstore finds.
I put the polishes together in mani/pedi combos that I thought would be great together, but of course my vision doesn't have to be yours. I also plan to feature my Seasonal Selections for each season as a way to rediscover the hidden gems within my own collection and to inspire you to do the same! Without further ado, the inaugural edition of swatchcat's Seasonal Selections - Fall 2010.
See my pairings after the jump!
Mr. swatchcat and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary on Saturday. We went to a wedding on Saturday for a friend of mine from graduate school, so we celebrated on Friday night, instead. We went a little nostalgic, celebrating by getting some food from the restaurant that catered our reception - pizza, lasagna and breadsticks!! Yummmm!!
This post is just a little late, but I wanted to get a picture of my flowers all opened up! Whenever Mr. swatchcat gets me flowers, the kitties are always a little curious. Fortunately, they're pretty good, and the novelty wears off quickly. :)
swatchcat C ignoring the flowers.
swatchcat C caught "admiring" the flowers.
Pretty flowers all opened up!
I soooo lucked in to nabbing this on Sephora. I did a refresh, and there it was, so I instantly purchased it. I checked back once I received the in-stock notification e-mail, and sure enough, it was gone already. For a palette that is permanent, this sucker sure is hard to come by.
Now on to the details. This palette is a steal at $44 for 12 nearly full-size eye shadows, plus a double-ended liner, PLUS a mini Primer Potion (not pictured). It is freaking huuuuge!! See how big it is compared to my Sephora Beauty Insiders Card (it's the same size as a standard credit card).
Never before has an Urban Decay palette been so appealing to me. Most of their palettes have teeny-tiny shadows in über-bright colors. I love my brights, but I already have enough to start my own clown-army. Neutrals are one color-category I never tire of. The shadows are housed in a slim, brown velvet case emblazoned with "NAKED" on the front. It's so...seductive, at least as much as an eye shadow palette can be. Although anything that screams "NAKED" is hardly a wallflower, and demands instant attention, including this palette.
More of my incessant natter, pictures and swatches after the jump!
swatchcat D is really sacked out...or maybe he's stuck that way.
Paw over the face is swatchcat C's "Do Not Disturb" sign.
Posting cat pictures is easy. I think I'll make it a weekly occurrence.
swatchcat D napping with his mouse.
Bathtime for swatchcat C, followed by naptime.
Happy Sunday! :)
