Holo Taco ‘I Need Space’ Collection – Swatches & Review

Recently, I had just been looking at all of the Holo Taco polishes scattered around my desk and drawers, and thinking about collections I still needed to swatch and post about and I was just feeling overwhelmed. I felt the need for organization, so as a true lover and connoisseur of lists, I recently combined those with another love of mine – distracting myself from my work. I sat down, and I went through and listed out all of the Holo Taco collections in release order, while both noting collections I already owned, already swatched, and already blogged about.

And whew, that final category was woefully small (and so was the 2nd column). I’ll admit, Holo Taco (as well as Mooncat, which has gotten the same treatment), as a more “boutique” indie brand has gotten pushed to the back of my nail polish queues, behind the traditional seasonal releases of the mainstream brands. I absolutely love collecting both brands, as they’re both consistently releasing interesting collections, but then those poor shades just wait on my desk, crying out to be loved. Well it’s time to REMEDY THAT.

So I’m determined to get through my Holo Taco (and Mooncat) stash and get them swatched up and blogged throughout the next few months, catching up on both old and new releases. (Maybe we’ll say like 6 months, let’s be realistic here). I’m ready to feel that high of checking things off my lists, and to build up more of a resource and guide on these brands and their many, many releases. I have (most of) them already, and it’s time I show it. Oh darn, more posts for you, I know you’re truly torn up.

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So ALRIGHT let’s start this journey with one of their most recent releases, and the newest collection I have in my stash (for now – though I am telling myself I’m not allowed to buy even newer releases until I get through some backlog, even if that Ice Cream collection is truly calling to me).

Anyways, this is the ‘I Need Space’ set, and as you can tell from the name, it has quite the fun galactic theme. We have 5 shades here all with some fun finishes and formulas. We have flakes, we have shimmer, we have holographic sparkle, and interesting color choices – what more could you need? After all, it’s space-themed, so I’m intrigued already.

These are as always, available from the Holo Taco website. Now enough with the talking, let’s finally see some polishes in ACTION.

Essie Blushin’ and Crushin’ Spring 2024 Collection – Swatches & Review

Have I mentioned that it’s still cold here in Chicago enough times yet? We had snow this week. SNOW. In APRIL. I think I’m allowed to keep mentioning that I want spring until it actually stays here for more than a week, okay.

As always, we’ll just soften our weather woes with nail polish. We can always pretend it’s spring with warm glowy spring tones on our fingers. And you know the best way to truly avoid the cold is to not go outside at all and just paint our nails. Modern solutions, and all that.

So let’s stay in the warmth and talk about some new nail polish!

This is the Essie ‘Blushin’ & Crushin’ collection, and it’s their newest seasonal release for Spring 2024. We have 3 creams, and then we have 3 gorgeous squishy shimmer shades. This is just a fun little color palette that really hits every sort of spring mood one could have throughout the season.

These shades are available on the Beyond Polish website where code: “GingerlyPolished” will get you 10% off individual items. It is affiliated which means I’ll get a small commission for each order, but as always no pressure to use it!

Alright, all of that starting information is out of the way, let’s get on into the swatches!

China Glaze ‘Love & Kisses’ Valentine’s Day 2024 Collection – Swatches & Review

LOVE is in the AIR. Even at the end of March, because after all love is year-round and it doesn’t end after February 14th OKAY. Yes, I know this is coming out at the end of March. It’s because of things I’ve mentioned in other recent posts aka needing a little break to restart blogging motivation and then getting sick and then getting our sweet boy, Huey, our new dog. It was just a whole lotta things that knocked out my blogging schedule and productivity. But we’re HERE, we’re ready for Q2 and we’re going to surpass all of our quotas.

Now let’s continue catching up with our pal, China Glaze! They seem to be a mainstream brand that’s always giving us extra collections outside of their 4 regular seasonal releases. They continually release for both Valentine’s Day and Halloween, and you know, we love that. With those specific collections, they’re usually willing to try out something new and a little different, and I always want to support that.

Releasing in the first quarter of the year and with my little intro above, I’m sure you can guess that today we’re looking at a Valentine’s Day release. This is the ‘Love & Kisses’ collection and it’s a 6 shade set just oozing with love. We have 5 cream and shimmer shades, and then 1 topper. They’ve released quite a few Valentine’s collections now, so for this set they gave us some “nontraditional” colors – outside of those classic pinks and reds. Yes they’re still in the red and pink family, but they’re DIFFERENT, I tell you.

These shades are available from Beyond Polish – Code: GINGERLYPOLISHED will get you 10% off individual items. It is affiliated so I would get a small commission, but no pressure to use it! They’re also available from polishpick.com.

Alright, let’s see what all this love is about and dive on into the swatches.

Orly ‘Aqua Aura’ Spring 2024 Collection – Swatches & Review

PR SAMPLE

Well hello there! Listen, if you’ve been reading any of my other posts that are finally popping up recently, you’ll have seen that my posting schedule was knocked a touch out of orbit after my fiancé and I adopted a dog. His name is Huey and we already love him lots, but of course, we had to adjust a routine a touch. He has been settling in and truly relaxing, so now I’m getting back into posting again, and ACTUALLY catching up on my post backlog. Okay yes, you’ve already heard me say I’m catching up far too many times, so let’s ACTUALLY continue doing that.

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Even though the weather is failing to catch up, we’re fully surrounded by spring collections over here in the nail world. In fact, we’re BEHIND on the spring posting (see the Huey mention above). Sure, to me it feels like a new season isn’t truly kicked off until I swatch the latest OPI release, but right behind that is the arrival of Orly’s newest pink box. So let’s officially kick off the spring season.

So yes, duh, we’re looking at Orly’s newest collection for Spring 2024. It’s called ‘Aqua Aura’ and it’s got a soft, almost whimsical color palette that Orly says is “inspired by gentle waters”. There are soft shimmery blues and pinks, like softly flowing water, as well as coppers and whites, to cover the warmth of the sun on the waves. We have 1 creme finish, and then 5 shimmers, all here to evoke the soothing elements of flowing water.

These are of course available from the Orly website – both individually, as well as in a little bundle option in a Color Pass box. Now it’s time for the swatches!

OPI ‘OPI Your Way’ Spring 2024 Collection – Swatches & Review

OKAY HI. Remember how I said we were getting back into a groove of more regular posting on this blog? WELL. First I got sick, with a nice lovely little head cold, where it was important for me to just lay around and do nothing.

And then way more exciting: my fiancé and I got a dog!

We’ve been throwing around the idea of getting a dog together for a while, and this boy came up on a rescue’s website and he just sounded so perfect, and then boom next day we had him. We knew he would go fast so we were there, practically banging down the door at the minute the adoption center opened. His name is Huey, he’s 1.5 years old, he’s a beautiful brindle mix, and we love him so much. So he was planned in the way of us wanting a dog in general, very much unplanned in that we had to immediately take him with us to PetSmart and get food and essentials on our way home.

Of course, since then it’s been about settling him in and getting him into a good routine. And we’re truly starting to get there – he’s truly so sweet, and he’ll just sit on the bed watching me or snoozing as I swatch. So he’ll be the best little nail boy. Yes I was fully knocked off my own schedule for a few weeks, but we’re coming BACK.

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Okay yes, enough about the most perfect boy, let’s talk about some POLISH. Anytime we enter into a new season of nail polish, it doesn’t feel truly kicked off until I swatch and post about the newest OPI collection. This post overall is a little later than I hoped (see explanation of sweet boy above) but BETTER LATE THAN NEVER, IT’S OFFICIALLY TIME FOR SPRING. You know, we’re still having 30 degree days here in Chicago so winter is desperately trying to cling on anyways.

Alright, Spring 2024. We have the ‘OPI Your Way’ collection. It’s a traditional 12 bottle release, with 7 more opaque creme polishes and 5 more sheer shimmery shades. With ‘OPI Your Way’, the whole idea of this collection is about layering the shades to create new and unique nail looks. It’s something different, and I loved all of the options and combinations you could explore.

These are available from polishpick.com as well as from Beyond Polish (you can use code GINGERLYPOLISHED for 10% off individual items – it is an affiliate link so I would earn a small commission, so no pressure to use it!)

Let’s dive on into the swatches!

China Glaze x Wonka Winter 2023 Collection – Swatches & Review

Hello, hi, me again! Once again she ended up on an extended break with a lack of posting, and this time I swear we have an excuse, and that excuse’s name is Huey. We got a dog! I’ll talk about him more in my OPI Spring 2024 collection post. But we’re getting him settled in and on a good routine, and I’m slowly getting back to mine. I do always miss posting.

So with that, let’s continue with the 2023 catch up!

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Alright, I’ll admit, I’m a sucker for a fun collaboration, especially when it leads to a mainstream brand trying and experimenting with different colors and finishes. Or at least some sort of cute matching bottles. So when the new Wonka movie released, and it was a whimsical colorful and fantastical time, of course companies were ready to jump onto that inspiration.

Along those lines, BEHOLD, we have this collection. Today we’re looking at the China Glaze release for Winter 2023, and it features 6 shades all inspired by the movie, the origin story of Wonka, a character we all know well. Of course we have the essential chocolate brown and gold, but we also have some new unexpected colors, just as the Wonka movie introduces us to new characters.

These shades are available from polishpick.com – which is still my favorite place to buy discounted China Glaze polishes. They’re also available on Beyond Polish – if you shop there, you can use my code GINGERLYPOLISHED for 10% off individual items. It is affiliated, which means I get a small percentage back if you use it, so no pressure at all!

Alright you’ve been waiting patiently long enough, let’s get on into the swatches!

Zoya ‘Magical’ Winter 2023 Collection – Swatch & Review

(You know how it works, you have big plans for working through a blog’s backlog, and then you get a lovely little sinus infection, and just want to lay around. Such is life.)

Alright! Let’s continue one with catching up on winter collections. Sure, it was 70 degrees today, but tomorrow is supposed to drop to TWELVE degrees, so clearly Chicago isn’t out of Winter yet either. It’s like it just WANTS to match my blog posting habits as I also swing between different nail seasons here.

And okay, while it is full spring on my Instagram, we can’t go out of order here on the blog (not like I can fully adjust the date it was published to make it in order). It’s just the PRINCIPLE. I have to finish up a brand’s winter release before posting their newest spring one. You get it. It makes sense to me, okay.

So yes, winter first! This is Zoya’s release for Winter 2023. Zoya switches between 12 and 6 bottle collections, and this one gives us just 6 shades. Easy for me to swatch. This collection is called ‘Magical’ and you know, it DOES feel magical. We have some cremes, some more shimmery shades and some glittery moments.

Of course these are available on the Zoya website – and I do love that they’ve started offering both full sized bottles as well as “petite sizes” – which are half the size and of course, discounted. So if you have a large collection like me, and know you won’t be using a full bottle, the petite bottles could be a great option.

Now let’s get on into the swatches!

Orly ‘Twas the Night’ Winter 2023 Collection – Swatches & Review

PR SAMPLE

oh HEY there! You’re probably (not) wondering where I went and why I’m only now posting a winter collection in February. If you didn’t read my last post, here’s a quick summary: I’ve been swatching more than ever on Instagram, and also there was no motivation, so the blog got shifted to the back burner. But now I’m here, I’m back, I’m posting, and determined to make this blog even more consistent and better than ever this year! Okay grand!

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Alright, spring collections are in full swing over on my Instagram – and don’t worry they’re coming here too, but we gotta catch up on some backlog, and keep it all in order and get these winter collection reviews up first. I already have the content, and these shades are still available, we’re not just throwing a post away and forgetting about them. I’ve mentioned I do want this blog to be a resource to look back on, maybe even years from now, to just peruse past releases.

So let’s talk about Orly! Orly’s release for Winter 2023 was their ‘Twas the Night’ collection. It of course features 6 colors. Orly has this cute little tagline for them: “Ready to give the holiday season a spin? This magical collection is where it will begin.” and I think it’s so accurate, because this really does have you covered with some classic holiday shades. It just feels like the holidays (or whenever you want to wear these shades, we’re not stopped by seasons). It’s cozy, it’s a little magical, it’s perfect. These are of course available on the Orly website.

Now let’s dive on into the swatches!

Salon Perfect x Wonka Collection – Swatches & Review

PR SAMPLE

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.

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

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!