September 14, 2013

Hi guys! I know it's been two months since I last posted. At least I have some excuses:

1. I have gone back to work and it's exhausting keeping up with a full time job, taking care of baby, cooking, cleaning, maintaining regular workout,... you get my point.

2. I just wasn't feeling "it" for the last little while. Blogspehere looks very commercialized to me these days; very different from when I started back in 2008. I find that all the jazz and light has turned me off a bit on commenting a lot of blogs I used to read and blogging myself.

That being said, I missed blogging and through the years BeautySpot has become such a big part of my life that I thought I should at least attempt to make one post per week. I'm so grateful for those of you guys who still commented/messaged even when during my absence. Interacting with you guys really is my favourite part of blogging.

HAIR Anyway, this wasn't just an apologetic post. I posted some pictures of my new "fall" hair on Instagram a couple of weeks ago but thought I share them here too. I got them dyed over the Labour Day long weekend to a dark red shade with a purple base. My mom is my hair stylist as usual and once again she nailed it! I had SO missed my dark hair. I meant the highlight was an ok change but I will always be a dark haired girl at heart.



Plus, this hair goes much better with my signature makeup style of dark/red lips.



Now I know everyone and their mother is showing their excitement about fall, but unlike many places here in Ottawa Canada the weather is actually fall-like. We are down to a high of 14C most days and I'm thrilled. I've never been a beach babe and am down with the return of crisp and cool air.

NAILS to celebrate the return of dark shades, I got myself a new nailpolish from Essie's fall collection. I do own quite a few polishes and even though I purge often, my collection is still spilling over :/ So I'm quite picky about what I buy. It has to be absolutely unique and I think Essie's Vested Interest is:



It's a dust green shade and on me, I see blue undertones. If you have cool undertones you will likeley see the same on you. Either way this is a great fall shade and should look good on about every single skintone. The formula on this is ah-mazing! Seriously Essie has been so consistent for me the past few years formula-wise. I'me never disappointed. This was pretty much a one coater but I did a second thin coat because old habits die hard:



Hope you guys enjoyed this random post. I gotta go get Sofia now who's been singing to herself in her crib. Will have some makeup post coming your way next week!

June 27, 2013

Hi guys! I'm very minimal with makeup these days but still love me at least a few beauty products per day :D Thought I share my early summer favourites with you guys:

Lip Products



My favourite category!! Summer is the only season where I actually wear lipgloss. I love Nars Babe as it's a gorgeous pigmented warm red gloss and is not sticky. Another rediscovery is my ancient MAC Sock Hop (LE - Heatherette, 2008) which is a beautiful light coral cream. When it comes to lipsticks, I also go for warmer and creamier. Guerlain Rose Bengal Rouge Automatique is a warm rose that applies with some shimmer but is not gritty. Chanel Antigone Rouge Coco Shine is a lightly pigmented strawberry red and MUFE #37 Rouge Artist is a loud pink coral that will definitely make your lips stand out.

Swatches:

Left to right: Guerlain Rose Bengal, Chanel Antigone, MUFE #37, MAC Sock Hop,  Nars Babe

Eye Products



I'm currently a fan of one product only eye makeup and hence gravitate towards cream shadows and bright eyeliners. L'Oreal Permanent Khaki Colour Infalliable is a shimmery olive green that is great as a lid colour blended up. Maybelline Barely Branded Color Tattoo (light golden beige) is an awesome all over colour and eye brightener. Chanel Illusoire Illusion d'Ombre is a tres chic sparkling mauve, love this one smoked out with a dark matte purple for the night. Shiseido H4 cream shadow (DC'd) is a unique blend of warm pink with green flash that looks wet when applied to the eyes. MUFE #22 aqua cream pot is the most gorgeous emerald green that I love applying on as a liner, base for green shadow or for the sparkling Lise Watier Golden Green Eye Glitter. I tend to apply Gosh Blue Lagoon Velvet Touch eyeliner on my lower lashline to elevate a neutral look.


Swatches:

Left to right: LW Golden Gree, Gosh Blue Lagoon, Chanel Illusoire, MUFE #22, L'Oreal Permanent Khaki, Maybelline Barely Branded, Shiseido H4

Face Products



I'm super low maintenance with face products in the warmer months. Lately been loving my Lancome Teint Miracle foundation (I use shade 4C - Buff) as it's light and natural on. I also apply MUFE Full Cover concealer ins shade #6 under my eyes and on scars and go a bit overload with Nars Laguna bronzer (another rediscovery in my stash). I need to bronze a lot these days as I did a spray tan on my body and now my face and body don't match, lol!


Nail Products



I'm traditional so in the summer I go nuts over brights and neons. I've also been loving a full on white manicure using OPI Alpine Snow, so elegant and goes with everything. My current fave neons are Zoya Lola (gorgeous bright pink) and China Glaze I'm with the Lifeguard (super neon green, great on toes). I also enjoy the bright orange red that is Essie Meet me at the Sunset.

What are your current favourite beauty products?

April 16, 2013

I'm not really the best at nail design. In fact I think I kinda suck at it. But every once in a while I feel like trying my hands at it again. I did a neon and neutral polka dot mani this past weekend that turned out ok. Here's a picture:



And this is what I used:

Essie Haute as Hello, Essie Sand Tropez, OPI top coat and a dotting tool from Sally's.

I first applied 2 medium layers of Essie Haute as Hello and waited for it to dry. Then used the dotting tool to do the polka dots with Essie Sand Tropez. If you want them to look symmetric and even, first do three vertical dots in the middle of the nail bed and then two dots on each side. I also found it was easier to put a drop of my dotting shade on a plastic surface and then dip the dotting tool. I finished with a coat of OPI top coat. It's rare for me to do topcoat as I change my polish every day. But when I spend the extra effort and do some design, I keep my mani for a bit longer ;)



I think I will do this again next time with more contrasting colours. This one here is more subtle and I wanted it this way as I was afraid it won't come out great.

What are some freehand nail designs you like to do on yourself? Feel free to share links to your nail posts on this :)

April 10, 2013

Hi lovelies! We're almost halfway through April and it's still friggin' cold here in Ottawa. I'm really itching to bust out my spring outfits but can't do just yet! At least I delighted myself in purchasing a few soft nail polishes and started painting my nails in happy colours already!

Here's my four pretties from left to right: Essie Bikini so Teeny, Essie Madison Ave-hue, China Glaze Keep Calm Paint on and China Glaze Mimosa's Before Mani's:



Essie Maddison Ave-hue was the first one I tried. This is a beautiful barbie pink with subtle shimmer. I thought for sure I would have a dupe for this but none could be found. The formula on this was amazing!



Essie Bikini So Teeny was released last year but I believe it's permanent to the Essie range now. It's a very light blue almost leaning periwinkle with subtle silver shimmer. The formula was good but I had some bubbling on the nail as you can see:



China Glaze Keep Calm, Paint on is a soft aqua shade. I have a few shades similar to this but no dead on dupe. Essie Mint Candy Apple is more pastel, China Glaze for Audrey is more blue. Application was a breeze and drying time quicker than most China Glaze polishes I own:



China Glaze Mimosa's Before Mani's is a gorgeous shade of peachy coral. It has enough pink to it to prevent giving me lobster hands though. Those of you guys with pink/red undertones probably know what I mean. This one is a lighter, more spring-y version of ChG Pink Plumeria:



I absolutely love all four polishes. If I had to pick a fvourite though, it would be Madison Ave-hue...which is strange as one would think pinks are common enough not to be my top choice.

Have you purchased any new spring nail polishes? What are some of your favourite seasonal nail polishes?

November 28, 2012

Hi guys! This is a very simple look but I quite like the lips so I thought I post it. I mixed a few lip colours to get the desired effect in the end as the full on brown wasn't doing it for me.

On my eyes I'm wearing MUFE Aqua Cream pot in #20 (blue) and layered it with a blue glitter liner from Lise Watier. My cheeks are contoured with Chanel Notorious powder and topped with MAC Pink Cult blush.

The lips are a combination of MAC Seeds of Desire Mattene (LE - deep reddened brown), MAC Blue Brown pigment and MAC Cult of Cherry l/g (LE - red).



I also did blue nails that day with Essie's Butler Please, the most gorgeous medium blue ever! I loved the application, drying time and of course the colour. However, this started chipping on me after a day which is rare for Essie polishes. For that reason it's not really an "A" product but I still enjoyed it:



And just because I loved her outfit that day, here's a picture of Sofia. I must say she ended up puking and drooling all over this one and had to change her a few minutes after this pic was taken:

October 3, 2012

Hello pretties! These photos have been sitting on my Photobucket and I had totally forgotten to post this manicure. I went sheer and neutral for once on my nails and wore Essie Vanity Fairest. However, I was bored of it after a day and this is what I did with it:



Glitter tips are a great way to revamp a day old manicure for me (and for most, perhaps a week old manicure). It's more interesting than just adding a shimmery top coat, which is by the way what I used to do. I used the following polishes:


Left to right - Essie Pure Pearlfection, Essie Vanity Fairest, Zoya Charla (LE), OPI Absolutely Alice (LE)

Start with your old manicure (mine was a sheer beige), add the teal shimmery shade on a sponge and dab on of your nails. Then paint the very tips with your glittery polish of your choice in the same colour family. I tied it all together by adding a fine shimmery topcoat.

Et Voila!

What's your favourite way to renew a manicure? Or do you just take it off and do another shade? 

August 15, 2012

Hi loves! Less than two weeks to baby and I'm definitely spending the time on errands I know will be more difficult to do first few weeks with baby here. I just made a huge amount of my favourite marianara sauce to freeze and use for pasta, lasagna and pizza later :D

Besides running last minute errands, I'm getting some blogging done. Playing with my hair, nails and makeup, of course! I have a simple nail design and a summer hair updo to show you today.

I love having my face out of my face in the summer and always been a big fan of braiding. This is what I did for lunch with the girls yesterday:



All you need to do is Dutch braid the front of the hair from one side (I start on the left to the right) down till you hit your ear and then join the rest of the hair and do a normal braid to have all of the hair combined in one singled braid. Once you're done, pin the braid up and if you like add an accessory. Mine is a peach flower pin from Forever 21 (cost like $1.99CAD):



It's not as neat at the back but it was quick and simple. I do a variation of the same look a few times a week actually. Next time I'll have a once over before I ask hubby to take picture of my hair ;)

Hope you guys enjoyed this post. How do you wear your hair in the summer? What are some of you favourite simple nail designs?

August 13, 2012

Hey guys! I go for a quick walk in the mall near me pretty much every day as it is still too hot for me to walk outside. But I need to get some kind of exercise and walking seems to be it. On my last trip the the mall on Thursday, I stopped by Trade Secret and picked up a couple of nail polishes from the upcoming fall collections. Fall is my favourite season hands down! I love the cool breeze and shorter days, dark nails, vampy makeup, velvet, suede and leather clothing and the earthy fall leaves. I have always been a little vamp in heart, lol!

Here's what I picked up from left to right: Zoya Daul (fall 2012), Essie Sand Tropez (perm), OPI (Every Month is Oktoberfest)



OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest - is an amazingly glowy red purple shade. It's so dark and delicious I cannot get enough.



It was the first polish out of the three that I wore, so here it is on my nails. There's a bit of top wear from having this on for 4 days with no top coat:



Essie Sand Tropez - is a nice beige cream. Most of the nudes in my stash have pink, gray or peach undertone so I thought I try something fully "beige". Nudes are my fave nail polish colours after the vamps so I'm excited about this one too:



Zoya Daul - OMG this is so beautiful in the bottle; can't wait to try it on my nails. It's a violet shade with a tone of gold shimmer. I thought the entire Zoya Diva collection was gorgeous but I picked what I thought was the most unique the most "me":

What are some of your favourite fall nail polishes? Have you purchased any new polishes from the recent collections?

March 28, 2012

October 10, 2011

June 29, 2011

June 10, 2011

March 27, 2011

Happy Sunday everyone! Here's another edition of my top 5 nail polishes. This one focuses on "traditional" colours; red and pink. It may sound boring to you but in my opinion red and pink are the best shades for nail polish. They look good on everyone and you can wear them all year long. Here's a list of my faves:

1. Top 5 Red Nail polishes - sultry reds will forever have a place in my heart. Just like red lipstick, I tend to accumulate a lot of red nail polishes. I never have enough as in my opinion red goes with everything!


Essie Laquered Up - bright tomato red, I looove this for spring!
Essie Fishnet Stockings - This is a deeper sexy red, just like the name suggests. There's a swatch of this shade here.
OPI Dutch Tulip - Pinky red, very pretty and reminds me of Chanel Cambon Rouge Coco. You can see my NOTD here.
OPI Malaga Wine - My all time fave nail polish, this is my third bottle of this blood red shade.
Color Club Fast Woman - this burgundy red is hands down the sexiest red shade in my stash. Perfect for the fall/winter season.

Top 5 Pink Nail Polishes - The first nail polish my mom ever gave me was a light seashell pink when I was 5. That's how long I've actually been painting my nails! I love the simplicity of pink from light mod pinks to bright pop of strawberry pink.


OPI Mod About You - this is an unusual but HOT shade of pink, very light but opaque pink.
OPI Strawberry Martguerita - My go-to pink all summer long, awesome formula too! Check out my NOTD here.
China Glaze Strawberry Fields - This medium pink infused with golden shimmer in a glass finish just makes me happy. My fave China Glaze nail polish of all time!
Color Club Ultra Violet - this is more of a violet pink with blue reflects; very unique and very petty. I'm wearing Ultra Violet here.
Zoya Bijou - This is a warmer pink and looks awesome on toes. Another one of those shades that just make you happy. See my NOTD here.

What are some of your favourite nail polishes in these two colour categories?

March 21, 2011

Hey lovelies, hope you all had a fabulous weekend. I've decided to show you my top 5 nail polishes in various colour categories starting today. I was inspired to do this when I was going through my nail polish stash yesterday. I didn't even count the polishes, just reorganized them for the season. I remember the last time I counted them was 2 years ago and I had 90 bottles :/ and obviousely many more have been added since, I think the number is closer to 150 now. I just loooove nail polishes though; I change my nail colour everyday to reflect my mood. I can go without makeup but naked nails means naked me, lol!

For the first installment of favourite polishes, I have chosen my top 5 vamp, nude and gray/taupe polishes. All shades are described from left to right (in the picture).

1. Top 5 Vampy Polishes - vampy shades are by far my favourite colour of nail polish and hence fall is my fave nail polish season. I consider anything dark vamp, lol! So this category is multi-coloured, but all with a somber mood.


OPI Yes I Can Can - my all time most worn dark nail polish. There's no dark burgundy like this cream finish perfection.
Zoya Casey - The most gorgeous super dark burgundy brown. Looks gorge with my skintone.
Essie Sexy Divide - this is the dark purple perfection. Slight shimmer and smooth application; I have an NOTD here.
Chanel Paradoxal - this is more of a trendy gray purple. Very unique and always a conversation starter. You can see my NOTD here.
Orly Galaxy Girl - Another non-traditional vamp. This is a dark red brown with blue reflects, as seen in this post. Gotta love Orly's nail innovation.

2. Top 5 Nude/Natural Polishes - the nude and neutral shades are forever classy. I prefer the more unique ones that have a hint of taupe, gray than the band-aid look.


OPI Time-less is more - this is actually a pale white, not a chalkboard shade. The name perfectly describes the colour. Click here to see my swatch.
American Apparel California Topper - This is a gorgeous gray toned nude. Lovely in all seasons.
$OPI - Going Nude, eh? This is similar to the APP but warmer and lighter.
OPI Tickle My France-y - My all time most worn nude, what an elegant and ladylike shade.
Orly Country Club Khaki - lovely lovely light taupe nude. Excellent application.

3. Top 5 Gray/Taupe Polishes - this types of shades has been trendy since OPI released You Don't Know Jacques with their France Collection back in 2008.


Color Club Jewel of a Girl - My go-to light gray. Since I own a lot of gray clothing, this gets used a lot.
Color Club Snakeskin - a warmer and deeper gray, bordering taupe.
OPI You Don't Know Jacques - you probably all own this, if not you should! Def an OPI classic by now.
China Glaze Ingrid - I adore this dark taupe because of the tiny gold flecks. Looks amazing when the sun hits it. See here for swatch.
MAC Earthy Harmony - the perfect "conservative" colour that is still trendy. Click here for my swatch.

Hope you guys enjoyed this post. I will post the rest of the colours in sequence this week and the next. What are some of your fave polishes in colour categores listed?

July 19, 2010

Essie's summer collection sold out at my Trade Secret within a day so I never got to see any of it when it first came out. I found the collection at a different Trade Secret last Friday and grabbed the last bottle of Haute as Hello. This is a gorgeous pinky coral polish that to me is almost neon in finish. The fiery coral shade almost reminds me of Chanel Genial Rouge Allure lipstick which I adore. The formula is on the runny side though and you will require 3 coats to get an opaque finish.

I've been admiring Haute as Hello on my nails all day, lol! Here's a swatch for you guys:



Do you own Haute as Hello? What do you think of it?