Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Turks and Caicos

... It's where I'd like to be right now. Sure the weather has been great lately but I really just need to get away from it all. I need a vacation! Don't we all!


Although the certainty of a tropical vacation any time soon is unclear, I have the most gorgeous shade of turquoise on my nails now to remind me of the clear blue sea. Essie's Turquoise and Caicos is a turquoise polish that has this jelly-like finish to it, although it is not a jelly lol. I only needed two moderate coats to reach opacity but added a very thin third to even everything out.


It's so shiny and perfect, I love it! I added Seche Vite for some extra shine. I feel like I haven't worn a nice bright turquoise in a while now, I'm glad I chose it.


Also, not sure if you noticed but I trimmed my nails. I was making too many typos while at work and on my laptop so they had to be shortened. I like this length :)

Friday, May 25, 2012

XL Plate Stamping Time!

This was my first time doing a full mani with my XL stamping plate from Cheeky, I used plate E. I almost didn't order this one but am so glad that I did! I used the design I've loved the most from this plate, it reminds me of a pineapple!


I stamped using my standard black stamping polish (Old school Sally Hansen 10 Day No Chip in Blueberry) these images stamp so crisp and easy, I love it! I also made use of the mirror image for my right hand. The designs are also large enough for my full thumb!


I finished the whole look off with white dots I made with a dotting tool in the center of the flowers.


The images are really great on this plate, I got comments from people asking if I had hand drawn the images because they looked so fluid and flowy.


I did get a few streaks with the application of top coat, I will have to use a thicker top coat next time. I had actually just thinned it out so that was probably the issue. FYI, I used NYC, quick dry top coat.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Mint Mojito - I'm Ready For Summer!

Today I have one of my new Nabi polishes, but unfortunately the name sticker at the bottom is missing! I looked around the net and think this is called Light Green... Super original, I know!


It's such a perfect shade for summer, I wanna call it "Mint Mojito Green With a Sllice of Lemon", or something like that lol.The lemon is for the yellow undertones :)


I made the bad decision of trying to apply this on a hot afternoon in the sun. Application was hard! The heat made the polish thick and gooey, I would not recommend doing this! I ran in to my cool house to finish polishing my nails and it was smooth sailing. I added a very thin second coat after the first to even everything out.

This is not your average "mint green" it is so close to being a neon, I want to call it a pastel neon! If that even makes any sense.


For my fist try at Nabi polishes I am pretty impressed. I like the formula, but can't comment on dry time as I applied Seche Vite on top. So far the wear is great too. I've been wearing it since Saturday and I just have some very minor tip wear where I usually wrap the tips, not on the actual nail.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Haulin'

Woohoo! Don't you just love long weekends? Not only do you get an extra day but the next week of work is short :)  I meant to post this yesterday but was enjoying my weekend too much lol. During the weekend I did some hauling, read on to see what I got.

To start off I have Sally Hansen nail polish strips. These were reduced at my Superstore location. They had these bins with random beauty products all reduced to $2.95! Score! I picked up Groove and Glitz Blitz.


Next I picked up some long time lemmings of mind that I owner for around to purchase, Essie Lapis of Luxury and Turquoise and Caicos. Swatches are below the bottle shots.



 On this trip out I also spotted the Limited Edition Wet n Wild quick dry glitters (Sparks and Stripes) and picked up Explosion After Dark. This collection surprised me, usually I can't find these in Canada!



Lastly I found some Nabi polishes. I have heard about these from the States but never seem them in Canada before. They are a good size and I picked these up for $2 each! I got Baby Orange, Light Green and Ocean Blue magnetic! I think I'm going to have to go and pick some more up! The quality is pretty good on these polishes and they have some really nice colours. Again swatches are below the bottle shots.




I'm heading to the States this weekend, I hope to score some good deals! Any tips or places you think I should stop by?

Friday, May 18, 2012

Colour Blocking

Happy, Happy Friday!! Plus it's the long weekend! WOOOT! Believe it or not this mani was half inspired by a child! A couple weeks back I saw this little girl with polish on her nails. It was adorable, she had the tiniest little fingernails with a baby pink and mint green on alternating fingers! She picked out the colours and everything, super cute right? The most adorable thing is that she matched the colours to the dress she was wearing that day. I regret not getting a photo!


I loved the colour combo and thought that I could take the idea and make it my own, although this is nothing new. The weather has been great and summery so I am finally ready to bust out some summer colours.
My boyfriend however kept referring to them as Easter nails lol.
I chose Sinful Colors Beautiful Girl which I purcahsed apart of the Adventure Island collection (although I'm pretty sure it was a re-promote from another collection), and $OPI IM Beauty. Beautiful Girl is a bright summer pink creme that is not a neon, but still nice and bright. IM Beauty is a thin creme yellow, no too much else to describe this colour lol I feel like it complimented Beautiful Girl perfectly. I had considered using china Glaze's Lemon Fizz but thoughtit would be to pastel/light.


Beautiful Girl needed some thinner to apply evenly. Two regular coats plus one thinner coat on top was all I needed. IM Beauty was a little bit of a problem child, but also needed two regular coats and one final thin coat to look decent. Not too bad for a yellow. I used IM Beauty on the left ring finger and thumb and right pointer and pinky! I wanted to mix it up a bit. I like the idea of alternating every finger or having an accent nail, but  I felt that this was more fun :)


One final coat of Seche Vite sealed and evened everything up nicely. I was actually surprised how nicely this came out as I was rushing so I could go to bed after lol No dents or sheet marks when I woke up so sumer happy :)

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Can Anybody Find Me...

I've found Zom-body to Love!! ... That is all lol


I had been lemming this around Halloween but could not find the full single bottle anywhere! I only found the double packs with black shatter or the Halloween minis. So happy to find this, but under weird circumstances, see the bottom?


Not for retail sale, huh. I picked this up at Trade Secrets and they had a bunch. The price sticker was marked as overstock and I got it for half price so I shouldn't complain, still sketchy though.

Also it glows!! ... sorry, too lazy to set up the camera for a glow photo lol

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Nail Polish Canada - Sale and Coupon Code!

I thought I'd share this deal I got in my inbox with you today, Nail Polish Canada is offering a coupon code for an additional 15% off of their already reduced deals section on their site. they carry a great variety and many brands of polishes, the list seems to be ever expanding! I do find their regular prices to be a little higher than what I am used to paying but with the additional discount it is a little easier on the wallet.



Take an extra 15% off our Hot Deals section (already up to 40% off). 
Use coupon code: HOTMAY 
Ends Sunday May 20th. 

See anything inparticular you like?

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

New Shoes and High Hopes!

Hello! I have been enjoying the summer-like weather the last week and it has just put me in full out summer mode. I want to go shopping for new clothes and I'm taking some new risks with my outfits, I just love dressing for summer!

Along the way I found some super cute shoes that I had to have. I don't think I have owned anything like these before, both in the colour and style. I just had to match them to my pedi! Now i hadn't painted my toenails since February, and then it was only because I was wearing peep toes for an event. My feet are in dire need of a REAL pedicure. Ever since I started working out regularly in January they have not been in the best shape. I did the most half-assed pedi ever, mostly just trimmed the nails and polished. I just wanted to match the toes to the shoes as I wore them for mothers day, and it's not like anyone is going to put their face up to your feet, right? From far away they looked nice and that's what  I was going for :)

The polish I chose was China Glaze's High Hopes. You don't get a direct look at the full pedi because I'm not to crazy about my feet and I know there are some people out there that don't like feet either so I kept the photos tasteful ;) Shown is two coats.




I'm in love with these shoes and they were the perfect kick off to my summer shopping :) do you match your toes to your wardrobe?

Monday, May 14, 2012

Mani Refresh Fail Turned in to a Win!

So I decided I wanted to do some nail art with my current mani at the time, China Glaze's Gothic Lolita. I had this idea in my head of sponging a slightly darker colour on the tips to create a gradient and then stamp a lace design on the tips with Gothic Lolita so it looked like a stencil pattern of some sort.

For whatever reason I went in a different direction lol I still did the gradient, I used OPI's Pamploma Purple, but unhappy with it decided to stamp a tribal pattern in blue over the full nail to blend it together, for this I used Red Angel plate RA-105... Hardcore fail!



I hated it and wanted to start clean! But It was already late and I didn't want to have to take everything off and wait for everything to dry. What to do...


I had Color Club's The Great Divide sitting on my desk just waiting to be used, I usually put new polishes that I am excited abuot there so I don't forget about them. One coat of that and I was super happy :) Unfortunately my photos do not do it justice, it looks so much better in real life.

soft focus shimmer shot!

I applied one final coat of Seche Vite and I was done! I love this crackle polish, the base is a deep teal green with gold flecks and shimmer. I wish I had a regular polish in this same colour! It really pops on the purple base.


What do you do to change your nail fails in to something you love?

Friday, May 11, 2012

Best Of Bundle Monster - Part 2

Happy Friday! The end is near, so you better get your Bundle Monster nail art votes in before public voting is closed after Sunday May 13th!

 To give you guys some inspiration of fun nail art ideas with stamping I have found some other Bundle Monster manis that I have done over the last year. Hope you enjoy!

Don't forget to check out the Bundle Monster nail art contest today tomorrow and Sunday to vote for your favorites :) A big thanks to those who have already voted for my nails. Remember, you are able to vote once a day until May 13.







Thursday, May 10, 2012

Gothic Lolita!

Finally, some bright spring colours! And the only color that I picked up out of all the spring collections this year. I must say though, I liked it more in the swatches online than I did on my actual nails. I do however like the colour, it has grown on me.


China Glazes Gothic Lolita is an interesting colour in the bottle, bright purple with a blue/red super fine shimmer. On the nail I see mostly a deep and bright lavender. There is a lot more magenta coming out of this shade too. This is a very unique colour in my colection and I have never seen anything quite like it.


I applied one coat to all my nails and that's all I needed! The consistency of the polish was thick but the overall formula was good. It wasn't goopy or bubbly and it dried pretty quickly! The photos below were taken with the camera flash, you can see the blue shimmer a little better, although the base colour is not as accurate. You can click the photos for a  closer look!


I already have some ideas for nail art so I might have to refresh this mani in a day or two ;)


Don't forget to check out the Bundle Monster nail art contest this week and vote for your favorites :) A big thanks to those who have already voted for my nails. Remember, you are able to vote once a day until May 13.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Birthday Haul... For My Sister!

Yesterday was my sisters birthday and she had requested nail polish! My time to shine ;) Below is the polish portion of the gift that I got her.

I got these all from Sally's. The first mini Sally Girls were some random neons I found at the cash. I can never find the names on these so I don't know what try are called. A bright neon pink and bright neon orange.

The other four are mostly from the latest Finger Paints summer collection, with the exception of Choco-Mint which was from their spring collection. My sister loves Tiffany blues so now she can own one and stop asking to borrow my bottle of For Audry!



From left to right The Finger Paints are Choco-Mint, Flip Flop Fuschia, Sexy Sundress and Beach Bound.

Don't forget to check out the Bundle Monster nail art contest this week and vote for your favorites :) A big thanks to those who have already voted for my nails. Remember, you are able to vote once a day until May 13.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Best of the Bundle Monster Manis This Year

With the Bundle Monster contest going on this week I figured I should showcase some of the ways I have used my plates within the last year.

Well...that, plus I have been sick for a week now and have not painted my nails at all. Still wearing Flash Black... not to perfect anymore lol. I'm a actually gonna try and switch it up tonight so don't fear, new content is on the way! In the mean time enjoy a recap of Bundle Monster nail art from this past year.







And don't forget to check out the contest and vote for your favorites :) A big thanks to those who have already voted for my nails. Remember, you are able to vote once a day until May 13.

Monday, May 7, 2012

Holo-Houndstooth + A Contest!

Hello out there! Today I have a mani refresh with my Layla Flash Black. I love this polish so much I have been wearing it for over a week now! The wear has been great, just some rip wear here and there.

Before stamping I cleaned up the wear my applying the tiniest bit of polish to the tips and stamped over it using Bundle Monster plate BM-19 and Wet n' Wild Ebony Hates Chris. Lots of photos to follow..

camera flash

camera flash

So not to dull the holo polish below I did not apply a top coat over this, I didn't want to dull the holo effect. I find that if you seal the stamp by brushing some cuticle oil on top it can actually last pretty long on it's own before getting any type of wear. Due to the length of my nails and small size of the original Bundle Monster nail art plates I had to double stamp most of my nails, but didn't have any problems lining up the pattern.

lamp light

lamp light

I love this so much :) .... So soooooo much that I entreated it in to Bundle Monsters latest art contest! I'd love to have your support by voting for my design if you like it. I'm pretty sure like last year you can vote for multiple entries once per day. Voting starts today HERE and goes until May 13th.

natural lighting - outside

natural lighting - outside overcast

The winners will receive the newest batch of plates from Bundle Monster! So exciting! Good luck to all who entered and thanks if you voted for me :)