June 2, 2016 – Queen of Nails 83

Hey y’all!! I’m so excited to share that I received my first Press Samples since being a blogger!!! YAY!!! So with out further adieu, let’s get this party started…

I was first introduced to this brand via IG where a good friend tagged me in a post that the brand was looking for swatchers. I reached out expressing my interest and the rest is history. Today’s swatches come from a ‘new to me’ indie line, OOO Nail Lacquer and behind this brand stands Symantha Onyechi. Let me tell you what I know so far. “All OOO Lacquers are vegan and free of DBP, Toulene, Camphor, Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin and TPHP. OOO Polish is an African inspired polish line of custom, handmade colors. Each lacquer is carefully handmade and uniquely named after several Yoruba Orishas and include a description about each Orisha to give a sense of history or personality to each color.”

I was sent 2 of the 9 polishes, Oyá and Shangó from the Orisha Collection and Shine Like a Queen, the brands Top Coat. Both polishes and the top coat along much more are all currently available online. To find out more about Symantha and OOO Nail Lacquer, visit the online store and stay tuned to for my interview with Symantha. Until then, let’s jump right into the swatches!

Press Sample

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(Note – both swatches are done using no base and 1 coat of Shine Like a Queen Top Coat provided by OOO Nail Lacquer.)

Up first we have Oyá, a gorgeous coppery red-orange shimmer polish. This formula was a little streaky on the first coat but self leveled and shown here in 2 even coats. Drying took no time at all and dried completely in 4 mins with a beautiful shiny finish.

Up next we have Shangó, a beautiful orange-gold polish with red undertones. Again, the formula was the same as Oyá and dried completely in 4 minutes with 2 coats.

While these polishes do look very much alike, they stand up to the challenge of being beautifully gorgeous all on their own. Did I mention….I love this formula! Its consistency is great and is very easy to work with.

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So that concludes my swatch and review of these 2 polishes and the top coat. I hope you enjoyed hanging out with me.

Well that’s all for now!

Stay Polished,
Queen of Nails 83

June 2, 2016January 1, 2017 by queenofnails83

As I had mentioned in my previous blog, I have had the pleasure of working with some wonderful indie makers including Vioree Brandon from Divine Nail Lacquer, Meke Titi from Domani Color Artisan Nail Glaze, Symantha Onyechi from OOO Nail Lacquer, Chelsea McDonnel from Pretty and Polished and Sacha Junique from Jior Coutour. One thing these women have in common besides beautiful polish is they are great examples that women can do anything we put our minds too. These ladies show that we are capable, creative, intelligent, powerful, and independent, I could go on and on but I’m sure you get the picture. Even through their trials and tribulations I’m sure these women endure in their business, I’m also sure it’s also very rewarding.

In this blog, I celebrate these women for reasons I stated above and because these are the women took a chance on little ole me. In this big sea of talented manicurists both professional and hobbyists alike, they allowed me the awesome opportunity to swatch their polishes. If you’re not familiar with what that is or what it means, let me break it down for you. Polish swatches are just like paint swatches you find in the store. When you’re ready to paint your living room or bathroom, you visit Home Depot, head to the paint section and find a vast array of paint swatches in a multitude of colors, shades, finishes and brands. After spending what seems like an eternity, you decide on the Log Cabin by Behr in a semi-gloss finish. Why? Because the swatch you looked at perfectly captured that color you wanted for your accent wall. The swatch is important because without it you could have gone home only to find you hated the color and it just wasn’t what you wanted. It’s the exact same concept with polish. Polish makers look for someone that can capture the polishes color/finish with clear pictures and good lighting that will be appealing to customers and hopefully lead to a sale. Makers use these photo swatches all over social media and their company websites as a marketing tool. It’s our ‘job’ as the swatcher to provide just that and it is a big responsibility. It’s a responsibility I don’t take lightly and I am truly honored, humbled and grateful for the opportunity they have afforded me.

Since working with these companies and the ladies behind the polish, I have built relationships and they have given me all the more push and drive to pursue my own dreams.

In future blogs, I will have my interview with these women about their brands, so stay tuned…

Well that’s all for now!