Author: GingerlyPolished

Affordable nail polish + makeup blogger

Salon Perfect x Wonka Collection – Swatches & Review

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And just like that, it’s been 2 months since I’ve posted on this blog. WHOOPS. (And even before that, I was posting, some might say, sporadically through 2023). I did very much NOT plan on a break like this, but it’s happened. Okay, yes, so, I’ve been posting more than ever on my Instagram, and working to get so much backlogged polish swatched – and in that, something else had to give and it was the blog.

But don’t worry, I’ve missed writing and posting, and the blog definitely is not going anywhere. I want to truly get onto a more regular schedule of posting here – maybe not quite the speed of my Instagram swatching – but more timely for sure. I want it to be even more of a resource, and a place where you can expect to find thoughts about the latest collections. The blog’s always been there in the background, and I want to give it even more love this year. I’m DETERMINED. (And yes I have been blogging for like 8 years now, I should probably have had this down by now. But I’m constantly learning and changing my style. My time allowance and lifestyle and budget have all changed, and so has my blog throughout the years. We still gotta adjust.)

I won’t go on and on about any specific goals or schedules or plans – as I haven’t fully gotten them down yet, and that’s just setting oneself up for failure. I’m sure it’ll shift and change as I figure out the best plan of attack. We’ll get there, we’ll find a groove here, I just know it. I have big ideas, and I can’t wait for them to come to life. Thanks as always for sticking around, even through the quiet times.

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So alright, let’s start posting again already.

As you can tell by the title of this post, we’re looking at Salon Perfect’s release in collaboration with the newest Wonka movie. And YES, this is very much late. But it’s part of a whole swath of content I have, with swatches and photos that are already edited and just waiting, and I don’t want to throw any of them away – even if it’s harder to find the polishes now. I mean, who knows, you might still see them pop up in a destash somewhere. It’s still content, we gotta start catching up somewhere.

So yes, Salon Perfect sent these over in the most gorgeous PR box I’ve ever seen – and it just made me feel so grateful for any and all PR I receive! (But I promise I’ll still be honest – you would be able to see in any live swatch if I ever struggled with a formula). This collection features 8 nail polish shades, all inspired by the movie itself, with so much shimmer and sparkle and richness.

Also released in this collection, there were 8 new sets of press-on nails, as well as 4 sheets of nail stickers. I have quite a few of their press-on sets at this point, and I do really love them! They’re a nice thicker quality, and they hold up so well – so they’re perfect to pop on for a weekend when I want a little something fancier. I do also love that most of their sets come with 30 nails in them, in quite a range of sizes, so I’ve been able to really find my perfect nail sizes. I received 4 different designs in my little package – and then I went on and purchased another design – a testament to how much I love their press-ons. Just wanted to give a little spiel of “don’t sleep on Salon Perfect’s press ons”, okay thank you.

Again, I know it’s been a while since they’ve been released – but you can often new Salon Perfect limited edition releases at Walmart as well as on Walmart’s website. You’re also often able to purchase direct from Salon Perfect’s website as well.

And now that I’m done rambling, we’re looking at swatches now.

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OPI ‘Terribly Nice’ Winter 2023 Collection + 2 Exclusive Glitters – Swatch & Review

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We’ve truly hit that point in December where my brain is just elevator music. There is nothing happening up there, and I have no motivations – hence this post coming out later than I planned (and all posts on the blog really). This is just true laying down time, there are no thoughts, head is empty. But every so often, there are signs of brain waves, and I must ride them for as long as I can. We must work through as much of the stack of blog posts just WAITING while the motivation is kicking.

So let’s FINALLY get this review up, shall we?

I’m always so excited for a new nail polish season, because it means revealing a new OPI seasonal release. OPI will always have a special place in my heart – and my blog as the brand regularly pulls in the highest views. They’ve had some absolutely stunning releases throughout the years, so I always look forward to what they’re coming out with next.

And our newest release we’re looking at today is the ‘Terribly Nice’ collection for Winter 2023. (Terribly nice is how I hope others describe me really). This is the classic 12 piece collection, and then as they tend to do for their holiday releases, we have 2 additional glitter shades. So that’s right, FOURTEEN polishes to look at today! This is a set of so much shimmer and sparkle and glitter – and 2 creams. There’s some classic metallics and shimmers, as well as a unique little finish, look at OPI experimenting over here! A little something for everyone here.

As always, my favorite place to purchase new OPI shades is polishpick.com. They still have the best prices and incredibly fast shipping. Beyond Polish also has the set, and if you’re shopping on their website you can use code GINGERLYPOLISHED for 10% off individual items (it is an affiliate code so I would get a lil commission, thank you to everyone who supports but no pressure to use it at all!)

ALRIGHT, you’ve been waiting long enough. Now let’s dive on into the swatches already!

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ILNP ‘Fright Night’ Halloween 2023 Collection – Swatches & Review

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Yes, I’m posting a Halloween collection on November 1st, but I make the rules and I say HALLOWEEN CONTINUES. We’re not stopping until every spooky shade has been given its time. And who am I to ever limit what colors you can wear by season – Halloween polishes are for any time of the year.

With that note in mind, I’ve already waited long enough to discuss these shades. Let’s dive in already.

This is the ILNP ‘Fright Night’ collection, and as you can guess by the color palette and name, we’re looking at yet another Halloween collection – thank you for blessing us indie brands, we are in your debt. This features 6 what I would personally call “classic” Halloween shades – they just feel like classic scary movies to me somehow – with the squishy blood reds, and bright navy blues, oranges and greens. There’s so much shimmer and sparkle here, it’s just adding that air of supernatural magic to them. Am I truly romanticizing nail polish? Yes, but that’s my favorite thing to do, and what else would you expect from a nail polish blog.

These 6 shades are available from the ILNP website – their collections always stick around for a while, so need to worry about this one disappearing before you’re ready. But let’s get on into the swatches already!

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China Glaze ‘Serpentine’ Halloween 2023 Collection -Swatches & Review

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Each and every year, as the weather gets cooler and the days get shorter, we slowly head into my favorite season, fall and then after that, spooky season. That mystical, magical time of October, and most importantly Halloween. And every single year I sit patiently just waiting for China Glaze’s newest Halloween release.

We aren’t blessed with Halloween collections by many mainstream brands (except for a brief Essie exploration, who remembers the Blue Moon set), but China Glaze has always held up their place as the mainstream Queens of Halloween, always giving us 6 new shades without fail. These collections are usually something a little different and experimental – I mean just look at previous release Don’t Let the Dead Bite. They get a little weird, it’s always a little bold and I’m always here for it.

And this year is no different! Today we’re looking at the 2023 Halloween release, and for this season we’re inspired by our favorite ancient icon, Medusa. Who doesn’t love her and her powers of turning men into stone, I see no negatives. And that gives us ‘Serpentine’, a set of 6 sparkly and shimmery shades, all inspired by our slithering goddess. There’s a lot of deeper shimmers here, with a sort of grungy feel to them all.

As always, I bought these from my favorite, polishpick.com. They’re also available from Beyond Polish as well! (On that site, you can use my code GINGERLYPOLISHED for 10% off individual items – that’s an affiliate code so I will earn a small little amount on each purchase, as always no pressure to use it!)

Now let’s get on into these beautiful swatches already!

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Sally Hansen Insta-Dri x Sesame Street Collection – Swatches & Review

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Miss Sally Hansen will NOT be stopped, and she’s just been on a release kick lately. And I’ve gotten it into my little brain to review as many of them as I can, so now there are just various Miracle Gel and Insta-Dri bottle covering my desk. Works out for you, because there are a lot of reviews and posts on the way, so you’ll be able to peruse digitally first before deciding whether or not to grab one of these on your next Walgreens run. (They’re just always so tempting sitting in their cute little displays).

This current release we’re looking at is the collaboration with everyone’s favorite learning program, Sesame Street. There’s a lot of colors happening throughout those characters, so they’re perfect to give us a nice little fun color palette. I always get excited when Sally Hansen is releasing a new IP collaboration, as they often really commit to the theme and give us some interesting and unique finishes. (I’ll be thinking about that Crayola Glam Rock collection forever, as well as the Jelly Belly ones). So with cute characters promised, I was in.

These are from the Insta-Dri line, so they’re the 2nd tier of bottles in their lineup, both in size and price – but one that can vary wildly depending on the retailer. I’ve seen these at Target and Walgreens, and other drugstores for about $6, and they’re also available on Amazon for $9 each. There’s even this cute little set, as well as some duos from Ulta for a nice little bundle deal. They’re scattered all over, and I’m sure there are still some displays inside various stores.

There are 10 polishes total – I will say I am missing just one shade from my post. It’s called ‘Perfect Blendship’ – for Bert & Ernie – and it’s a clear base topper filled with blue, red and yellow bar glitters. But otherwise we’ll be looking at the 9 other shades – 4 creams, 2 shimmers, 2 more jelly-bar glitter shades and 1 topper.

So let’s get on into these swatches!

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Essie Fall 2023 Collection – Swatches & Review

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If you haven’t heard me say 16 times already in every post, fall is my absolute favorite season of all – it’s all my Midwestern upbringing. I love the cooler temperatures (even if it does lead to freezing winter), the changing leaves, the pumpkin everything, just the vibes. And I especially love all of the colors, both in clothing and in beauty – the olives, the mustards, and the burnt oranges, and then on the other side, with the deep and vampy shades. Now in the nail world, Orly has us covered with the mustard, the green, and the pumpkin orange in their fall release – and now Essie is here to help us all with our bold and dark sides.

For that new seasonal release from Essie, we have 6 cream shades, with 5 in deeper, vampier (read that correctly, not vampire) colors, and then 1 lighter neutral. This might be a boring set to some with all creams, but I’ll always take a rich and pigmented cream any day. I know I love the Essie formula, so as long as it was up to their normal standards, I had high hopes for this set.

These are available from BeyondPolish.com (affiliate link) and if you use the code GINGERLYPOLISHED you can get 10% off individual polishes. It is affiliated which means I get a little percentage from any sales – as always no pressure to use that code, but of course I appreciate any of y’all who have!

Now let’s get on into these gorgeous shades!

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ILNP ‘Under the Sea’ Collection – Swatches & Review

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I’ve been slowly falling more and more with ILNP with their past few collections, and just what I DON’T need – they’ve become another brand on my auto-buy list. Their 6 piece collections have had such fun color stories, and have really been capturing each of the themes they choose. (And not me discovering all of their past collections are still available on their website, and just building an enormous cart).

And this next set is no different! This is the ‘Under the Sea’ collection from ILNP, and as soon as I saw these shades, I just needed the whole collection. (Yes of course I’m being dramatic, no one needs nail polish). As you can guess, we have the traditional 6 shade release, with shades all inspired by the sea, the water, and the magic that might be lurking underneath the surface. There are blues and greens, as well as some unexpected shades in red, purple and a perfect sandy shade.

These 6 shades all have a more jelly-like formula just filled with shimmers and glitters and flakies, all perfect for sitting by the shimmery water under the sun. They are available on the ILNP website – all of their collections stick around on their website, so it’ll be waiting for you whenever you’re looking to purchase.

Let’s get on into the swatches!

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China Glaze ‘Deserted’ Fall 2023 Collection – Swatches & Review

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MORE FALL. MORE FALL. MORE FALL.

I love fall collections, maybe most of all the seasonal releases (I’m sure you haven’t been able to tell at all). They’re just always vampy and cozy and bold and rich. There’s just a whole vibe around fall that I’m wild about. (It’s also probably just the fact that I can walk down the street without sweating finally).

So with that intro of absolute adoration, let’s dive on into another mainstream fall release.

As you can see from the title, we’re looking at China Glaze’s release. This is the ‘Deserted’ collection, and when describing this set, China Glaze says to “dance from dusk til dawn under the desert sunset with 6 desert-toned metallic and shimmer hues”. And I think the collection truly fits that theming and vibe! You can just feel the desert sunset here, from the beiges of the sand, the reds and oranges of the sunset itself, and the blues and purples of deepening sky.

As they say in the description, all 6 shades are in a metallic or shimmery finish, matching OPI’s recent Zodiac release as well. (Don’t worry, cream lovers, Orly’s and Essie’s fall releases have you covered).

I purchased these from polishpick.com! I’ve purchased from them so many times, I can vouch for super quick shipping each and every time! We love PolishPick here on this blog.

Now let’s get on into the swatches!

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OPI ‘Big Zodiac Energy’ Fall 2023 Collection – Swatches & Review

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HAPPY FALL Y’ALL. I always love a new season of nail polishes, and I have to say Fall is always my favorite for any sort of beauty. It’s always vampy, and bold and rich and I just love the shades, the oranges, the greens. And August-Septmber always kicks off the fall season in the nail world – even if the outside weather is not quite matching. (It’s supposed to get back up into the 80s here in Chicago and I NOT happy with it).

Weather aside, of course, I always love to dive into the newest seasonal releases with OPI’s collection.

This year for Fall 2023, OPI’s release is the ‘Big Zodiac Energy’ collection. It’s the traditional 12 bottle release, and as you might guess, they’re inspired by the 12 zodiac signs. Astrology is very popular, and whether or not you fully believe in it, we’re just here for fun and sparkly nail polishes. In the past I have loved any sort of collection that uses it for inspiration – they’ve usually always included rich jewel colors and sparkles and shimmer, and I’m glad to say this OPI set was no different! If you’re not a glitter lover, this set won’t be for you. We don’t have any creams in this set, it’s all shimmery goodness.

I purchased these from polishpick.com as I always do. They are also available from beyondpolish.com (and you can use my code GINGERLYPOLISHED for 10% off any individual items there. It is affiliated, so I do get a small commission, but as always no pressure to use it!).

Enough talk, let’s jump right into the swatches already!

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Orly ‘Plot Twist’ Fall 2023 Collection – Swatches & Review

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The weather has absolutely been SWINGIN’ here in Chicago and it truly cannot make up its mind. We had some little peeks of gorgeous fall weather for a week or so, and I was thriving in those 60s and low 70s. HOWEVER. Now we once again have some rampant 85 degree weather days on the horizon, THEY JUST WON’T LET GO, and I’m going to need it to stop.

But if you’re like me, and not letting that residual hot weather stop you from wearing all of the pumpkin orange and cozying up in a chair with a good mystery paperback, this release is for you.

That’s right, as you can tell by the title, we’re looking at Orly’s newest seasonal set for Fall 2023. It’s the ‘Plot Twist’ collection, but the color palette is anything but. We have 5 creams and then 1 deep shimmer, and all of these colors are going to feel familiar. They feel cozy, they feel comfortable, like an oversized sweater or the above mentioned well-read mystery book. Maybe there’s not actual twist here in colors, but we’ll act surprised anyways.

If you’re intrigued, these polishes are available as always on the Orly website as well as on Beyond Polish (though some of the shades there are sold out there).

Now let’s get on into the swatches!

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