Category: orly

Orly ‘Metropolis’ Winter 2020 Collection – Swatches & Review

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To be transparent I’m currently writing in January 2021 as I continue my little blog post catch up (I always adjust the dates to when I first posted them on Instagram, so they’re in “order” and don’t overwhelm the beginning of the page!) It’s currently snowing, after snowing the entire night before, and so it’s a perfect day to be all cozy indoors and do some blogging! And we’re finally having some winter weather so what better time to catch up on some winter collections, eh? I do enjoy winter a lot for these cozy winter days, watching the snow fall.

So let’s look at this next one from Orly!

This is the Orly Metropolis collection and it’s their release for Winter 2020! We have 3 cream and metallic shades, and then 3 more glittery shades. I received this as part of my Color Pass! I mention it every post, but in case someone new is reading, the Color Pass is where you pay up front and then over the course of the year you receive 4 boxes with new Orly collections as well as extra goodies. It’s great if you’re like me and already planning on buying all of the shades – but of course, there are places to buy the shades individually. And that’s my spiel, always feel free to ask any other questions about the Color Pass!

We have some beautiful shades here so let’s get right into the swatches!

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Orly Desert Muse Fall 2020 Collection – Swatches & Review

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Wow. It’s certainly been QUITE a while since I’ve posted here. I don’t know what it was, but apparently I just needed a break. I needed to just not post and write here – even though I love doing it and nail polish in general. I was still posting on my Instagram, but in this medium, it was just a brief pause. (For reference I’m finishing this on September 19th, but adjusting dates to line up to when the swatches were posted on Instagram, and to space them out a touch in the blog timeline).

I know in the end I’m the only one who ultimately decides for this blog. When I write, how much I write, if and when I ever truly step away from it forever. (Though that won’t be for quite a while, I can already tell, so no worries there). But I did miss it, and I did feel guilty just not posting at all. Who knows if anyone even noticed except me! But if you did, here I am again, and I’m glad to be posting again.

There will be a bunch of reviews posted within the next weeks, as I catch up on a backlog. So you might get a smattering of random summer posts as I continue to post up the new fall reviews. It’ll be just like the weather outside here in Chicago! 60 degrees one day, back up to 80 the next. It’s not only fall weather here, and won’t be on this blog as well, at least for the next couple of weeks. But thank you for reading, and thank you for always sticking around, whether to the end of a little break, or the end of my novel paragraphs.

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We’re starting with the collection that officially kicked off fall reviews over here on the blog and Instagram! This is the Orly Fall 2020 collection, called Desert Muse. It features 6 rich cream shades.

As always, I received as part of my Orly Color Pass. Color Pass is where you pay up front once, and then throughout the year you are automatically shipped 4 Orly collections in each season. And there are always fun extras in each box as well – you’ll see one from this box in action down below.

Color Pass is absolutely great if you’re like me and already planning on purchasing all 4 Orly collections right off the bat, or would like to try out a lot of their polishes for a year. BUT if you’re just looking for individual polishes, you can find them on the Orly website, as well as transdesign.com.

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There’s already been so much waiting, let’s get into the swatches!

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Orly Retrowave Summer 2020 – Review & Swatches

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Alright, I admit I’ve been a bit absent. This is the longest I’ve gone without publishing a post in quite a while! Like I haven’t posted a single post yet in June, and that just feels weird to me! So let’s talk about it.

Everyone is well aware what is going on in the US right now, and I mentioned it a bit in my very last post about the Essie Summer collection so long ago. I will say that I definitely felt weird just normally posting away, and I didn’t want to feel like I was taking any attention away from the Black Lives Matter movement, or just brushing it off. It’s been some time of just learning how to integrate it into my daily normal life and posting, as that’s what it’s all about – an actual longterm change of thought and actions. And it’s been thinking about how I can integrate it into this blog going forward as well!

Even just googling and trying to find swatches on deeper skin tones for this post and specific, it was so hard to find! There were ZERO blog posts (alright maybe the blogging medium is dying out, but it’s what I post on, so of course I gotta point it out). All of the top blog posts that popped up immediately about this collection were on light skin tones. I found ONE YouTube video. And luckily was able to find a few accounts on Instagram. But it was sad to see firsthand just how underrepresented it was. If you’re a deeper skin tone looking for swatches for actual reference, there’s BARELY any resources out there. I know I’m speaking to the choir here, as this is an issues that people of color have been dealing with FOREVER. And Orly doesn’t do swatches on their website, so where are you supposed to find those photos? So many people use swatches to truly see what a color is like before they buy, and it’s a shame that they’re so limited. I’m recognizing my own privilege all these years that I could ALWAYS find swatches on people with my own skin color, even before I started blogging. I’m only one White person here, but nothing will change if we don’t keep bringing it up, and trying to change it for the better. It’s all things that I, and others, should have been bringing up so long ago, and I’m sorry it took me this long to say anything about it. It can sometimes feel like “I’m just one small little nail blog, what I can do”. But I can’t keep thinking like that, like even speaking to just one other reader about it helps.

Obviously, I am just one person swatching, one pale white person. I can’t offer swatches on different skin tones at all. And in the end, this is my own personal blog, so it’s going to be my own content. BUT, I can still direct you to people and creators and accounts who can do that! So something I’m committing to in all of my future posts is making sure to link to others who are swatching on different skin tones, especially Black creators with deeper skin tones than mine. Polish is so universal, and can be worn by anyone, so it’s time I show that any way I can! I definitely make sure to google and search for more swatches, but if there are other creators you love as well, please let me know in the comments! It’s the least I can do during this time, and I want to make a commitment to supporting more Black creators in this space – something I should have been doing a long time ago. It’s about being better.

So be sure to scroll to the end of this post to see full links to those other creators!

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Orly Feel the Beat Spring 2020 – Swatches & Review

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Hellllo from my apartment! I’ve been put on official “work from home indefinitely” status. Don’t worry, I’m fine, it’s all prevention down here and I’m grateful to be in a career that allows me to work remotely! Now we’re here for a distraction, so let’s talk about nails! This time at home will also mean less time commuting and more time for polish, so I’m hoping to get so many swatches out for you during this time!

Let’s continue right on with spring collections! And we’re looking at Orly’s, one of my favorite underrated brands.

I got this collection through my Color Pass subscription. As I’ve mentioned a million times, Color Pass is a subscription where you pay a 1 time fee up front and then you’re sent all 4 Orly collections throughout the year automatically. And you also get extra goodies in each box. It’s perfect if you’re already planning on buying the collections like me, but if you’re just looking for individual shades, they’re also up on head2toebeauty.com for a discount.

Spring2020Box

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Orly ‘Birds of Prey’ Trio

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Listen, I was recently on a binge of polish buying where I just wanted to buy everything, and all of these new polishes were releasing that just caught my eye. You would think that’s what is going on all the time, but I promise sometimes I do hold back. But it was during this binge that I saw this little trio of polishes, and listen, they GOT ME. I have no excuses. My hand slipped, I added to cart, I ordered.

And I’m not sorry. “It’s for the blog”. It’s what I tell myself all the time, okay. But I know you guys love it, and I won’t ever stop, and trying new nail polish will forever be my love.

This is a trio of shades that were released in collaboration with the Harley Quinn ‘Birds of Prey’ movie, releasing tomorrow, February 7! I’m definitely interested in seeing the movie (I can only hope they do Harley Quinn justice after the mess that was Suicide Squad), so this piqued my interest as well! I also loved that based on the names, these seem to be newly released shades specifically for this movie, and not just permanent shades packaged up into a different set.

It’s only available on the Orly website, and it seems that you can only buy all 3 in the trio – not individually. It retails for $28 for 3 full size shades (for reference, all Orly shades retail for $9.50 each for 0.6ml).

It comes in this cute little box set, and there’s just something inside of me that wants to keep it for display. I told you I was a monster here. But it has Birds of Prey on the top, with Harley Quinn, as well as pattern going around the sides. Overall it was just really cute!

BOP-Box

Let’s get into the shades and swatches!

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Orly Arctic Frost Winter 2019 Collection

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This review was fully intentioned to go up this past Sunday. But then I picked up a lovely chest cold for the whole weekend. And then my train going back home for Thanksgiving was delayed for THREE HOURS. These are all just excuses and ranting to say that I had a schedule and THEN SOMETIMES THINGS HAPPENS AND YOUR SCHEDULE IS BLOWN OUT OF THE WATER. But it’s here NOW.

Let’s just talk about the polish shall we? We’re continuing right on with the Holiday posts. Today we’re looking at the Orly Winter 2019 collection. This is the Arctic Frost collection, and features 6 shades, full of glitter and shimmer and sparkle.

But now here we go!

As always, I got this collection as part of my Orly Color pass. I’ve talked about Color Pass in every Orly collection review, but a quick rundown again: you pay once an upfront discounted fee ($119) and then throughout the year you receive 4 boxes, one for each season, containing a collection and various other goodies. As I’ve said before, it’s fantastic if you’re already planning on purchasing all of the shades like I am – otherwise the individual shades are always available for purchase on 8ty8beauty.com (that is the website I found them for the cheapest price!).

Now for the Winter 2019 box! It comes with the Arctic Frost collection, an Orly Dry brush, the Orly French Manicure White Tip Guides, and a perfume sampler set from Skylar.

ColorPassWinter19

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Orly ‘Dreamscape’ Fall 2019 Collection

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PURCHASED

I’m currently on ‘vacation’! I’m home to my parents house for my cousin’s wedding this weekend, and I have a lovely 3 days of just doing nothing before and after the wedding planned ahead of me. I think I’m more excited to have time to just sit down and catch up on blog posts than anything. I know right, a pretty exciting vacation. But sometimes the best ones are where you can just disconnect and catch up on life! Vacation is about relaxing, right?

And of course, I’m catching up and working through a constant stack of polish and makeup that’s on my desk. We’re slowly making our way through fall collections, and there’s only a few more to look at after this! Then we’ll get Halloween collections, which I also love so much.

But getting ahead of myself, let’s talk about today’s review! We’re looking at the Orly Dreamscape collection for Fall 2019! I’ve had this box sitting on my desk for a little bit, just waiting for me to open up the goodness inside.

As always, it’s a 6 piece collection. It features soft neutrals and moody cool-tones that I think will be perfect for the cooler weather. Let’s get into it already!

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Orly Euphoria Collection – Comparisons

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Original Review Post: Orly Euphoria Summer 2019 Collection

Another comparison post! I’m hoping to try to get these up on Saturdays for collections that have been swatched throughout the week. I’m not totally committing that yet, but it’s been working out so far! Comparison Swatch Saturdays! If there’s multiple posts during the week (if I can keep my schedule up) I’ll try to get multiple posts up throughout the day. All planning right now, so we’ll see how it works out!

Today’s post is talking about the new Orly Euphoria collection! I compared the 4 cream shades – I knew I wouldn’t have any dupes for the toppers. Let’s get right into it!

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Orly Euphoria Summer 2019 Collection

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PURCHASED

Good God, it is HOT today. My sweet little Midwestern self can’t handle this heat. It’s 95 here today (with a heat index of 104), and I’m melting. You can bet I parked my happy lil butt right in front of the AC when I got home, electricity bills be damned! I was naive and thought the 70s we enjoyed for the past couple of days was here to stay, I just forgot the 90s we had the week before ever happened. Call me weak, but I live in a place that had a Polar Vortex this year. So yes, I’m going to comment on the heat as it continues on like a normal summer.

So it’s fitting that there’s a polish called ‘Muy Caliente’ in this collection we’re talking about today. HEYOOOOO.

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I picked this collection up as part of their Color Pass program! I’ve talked about this in my other Orly posts, but a little refresher: it’s where you pay $119 up front, and then you get the 4 Orly collections for the year shipped to you as they release. You also get little fun extras in each box!

I’ve told many people, it’s definitely worth it if you’re planning on picking up all of these collections like I do. It can be a big cost up front, but it’s done and over with, and then you’re set for the rest of the year. You can start it at any time – however, you’ll only get the summer box if you sign up before July 14th! (Most likely, you would have to wait until the fall collection releases, and get the 4 collections starting then if you sign up after).

However, if you want to buy individual shades and aren’t looking for full collections, of course, this wouldn’t be your best value. I’ve found the best prices on transdesign.com for individual Orly shades!

Now, let’s talk about this box!

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Orly ‘Radical Optimism’ Spring 2019 Collection Swatches

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We’re continuing on with spring reviews! (As it continues snowing here as well). My apartment was being shown all weekend, so I definitely got less swatching than I wanted done. But of course, posts will still be coming, don’t you worry about that. For now, shall we talk about this polish?

Today I have the Orly Spring collection! This is called the ‘Radical Optimism’ collection, and came in the Orly Color Pass.

Funny story, this box actually came to me free! I got a delivery notification for it, and was confused as I hadn’t renewed my Color Pass yet (but was fully planning to later). I hadn’t gotten charged for it, so I emailed customer service to see what happened. And turns out they had sent it to me accidentally! They told me to go ahead and keep it – super quick response and lovely customer service. It was just a lovely surprise for me. I had fully planned on renewing and getting this box myself, so I wasn’t mad!

Spring19-ColorPass

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