April 24, 2013
Hi guys! Leave it to Chanel to release at least one amazing nail polish per year to lure me back into their camp. Just after I sworn off buying Chanel products in Canada (we pay waaaaay too much for them here), I pass by their counter yesterday and see the summer 2013 collection.
I was immediately drawn to Azure nail polish:
Azure is a gorgeous metallic teal and is a limited edition shade released by Chanel Gods this summer. My Chanel counter at the Bay just got these in yesterday so if you like the shade, hurry and pick it up now before it's gone. I mean look at this!!!! And today is cloudy so I couldn't capture its true beauty:
I applied two thin coats and unlike other metallic shades I've tried in the past, this one doesn't leave any brush strokes behind; huge plus in my opinion. The colour itself reminds me a bit of OPI Teal the Cows Come Home but more complex due to its glow.
I only own 7 Chanel nail polishes but they all 7 have great formula. Azure is no exception; the brush is the perfect width and the formula doesn't bubble. It's splurge worthy ($27CAD) in my book :D
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?
January 4, 2012
I saw a display of Nicole for OPI Modern Family collection at my local Shoppers and decided to grab a couple of shades. I must add that they were pretty much out of most shades and it's not like I "need" any more nail polishes. But the ones I did pick were too cute and hard to resist:
I bought Back in my Gloria Days and Haley Good Lookin'. The Gloria polish is a nice glowing purple with pink shimmer and the Haley shade is a densely packed warm pink glitter. There are also some larger glitter bits in there. You can use this as a top coat or do three coats with no base like I did here:
My experience with Nicole brand is very limited but these two had great formula. The polish flowed easily and applied evenly. I actually managed to keep the same mani for 3 full days which is rare for me :)
Have you purchased any of the Modern Family polishes? What are some of your fave Nicole shades?
December 14, 2012
Hi beauties! My sleep continues to be erratic and with that my blogging schedule. I'm now functioning on 3 hours per night on average. We're going to Toronto for the weekend in an hour or so but thought I make a quick post while my baby is napping :D
Here's a compilation of my Instagram pics from the past week...
Wearing my beloved Chanel Dragon Rouge Allure Laque for a Christmas card photoshoot:
Sofia's footprint at 3-months old. We turned it into a Christmas ornament.
A dark smokey brown eyes worn to lunch with a coworker:
Nails of the day - Chanel Paradoxal (LE - Fall 2009) topped with Zoya Electral (LE-holiday 2012)
Hope you all have a great weekend!
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:
November 2, 2012
Hi guys! I thought of doing a couple of new series for my blog to spice things up a bit around here. The first one will be a compilation of pictures from Instagram and will be posted each Friday. I'm pretty active on Instagram and post at least once daily so I thought it would be nice to share some of those photos here as well.
I have a few more weekly and bi-weekly series planned for the blog and can't wait to share them with you guys! But first, this is a summary of my week on Instagram.
Today's look with bold lips a la MAC Night Violet Mattene (LE). Wore this to Sofia's weekly appointment at the Ontario Early Years Centre:
Sofia's outfit of the day when I took her to the office for the first time to show her off. Everything is from the Children's Place:
On my nails most of this week - Nars New York Dolls from the Andy Warhol collection:
Outfit of the day from Wednesday - leopard print top from Jacobs, red pencil skirt from Mexx:
Look of the day from Tuesday - Subtle bronze smokey eyes using UD Naked palette and burgundy lips with Chanel Rouge Noir RC:
Sofia listening to daddy talk this past Sunday at brunch:
Outfit of the day from brunch - same leopard print top, jeggings from Zara, Aldo sage canvas booties and Danier beige leather jacket:
Hope you enjoyed this post. Have a great weekend everyone!
October 8, 2012
Hey guys! I know everyone and their mothers were excited about MAC Marilyn Monroe collection, but I was counting the days to see Nars Warhol collection and stalking my local Sephora. Well, I mean I was going in once a week as it's kinda hard to get out that much with a 6 week old baby!
After reading reviews of the collection online, I decided I only wanted a couple of the nail polishes and snagged them up yesterday. My small haul consisted of Back Room (black) and New York Dolls (purple).
The nail polishes come in a silver box as opposed to Nars' usual black ones and are signed with Andy's name. The bottle themselves don't have special packaging though:
My experience with Nars nail polishes, unlike the rest of their products, is very limited and the only polish I own from them is Jungle Red. The first shade I chose to wear was Back Room. I found the formula very easy to work with; not too thin or too thick. The shade was opaque and shiny in one coat. It's rare for a nail polish to look this amazing with only one coat so I'm quite impressed! I think Back Room will be my new HG black (my old one was Misa I Will Survive).
Here's a quick swatch for you, pre-cleanup as I was trying to take pics before sunset:
I use black polishes quite frequently so this was definitely a great investment for me. I cannot wait to try on New York Dolls now! Will post swatches when I do :)
Oh and it seemed that I had enough points to redeem them for this lipgloss set. I'm not a gloss person but we shall see how these will perform:
Have you guys bought anything from Nars Andy Warhol? What are some of your favourite Nars polishes?
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?
September 25, 2012
Hi loves! I am loving my nails today. I'm sporting Zoya Daul from their fall 2012 collection and it's every bit as gorgeous on the nails as it is in the bottle:
Daul is a shimmering medium purple with multicoloured sparkles. I love how it looks under the sunlight. The only issue is that it's a bit sheer. Though not too sheer to put me off. I was still able to get opaque colour after two coats. Here are some more pictures, different lighting:
What is on your nails today?
September 13, 2012
Hi guys! I was told once I have a baby, I would have no time for my nails. As a nailpolish addict who changes her nail polish every single day, I find this statement to be partially untrue. I still change my nail polish, but now it's more like every 3 days. I definitely am not the time to totally forget my beauty routines, even with a 3-week old at home :)
OPI Jade is the New Black was released a couple of years ago and I believe it's part of OPI's permanent collection now. Let's just say that I've had this nail polish that long and this is only the second time I wear it :/ This is why I'm on no-buy and using what I have. Just like my makeup drawers, my nail polish boxes are overflowing!!
Jade is the New Black is a gorgeous forest green with creamy finish. I'm actually not a fan of green anything but this is dark enough to read more sophisticated and I'm cool with that. Application is a breeze and as always I love OPI's wide brush for my long nails. You can pretty much get away with one coat but I did two out of habit:
What are you wearing on your nails today?
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":
