Monday, May 30, 2011

Polish spamsalot.

Here are a few polishes I have been enjoying!

This is Revlon's Kiss Me Coral. And it was FOUR coats. Wtf?! Four coats Revlon, why? Needless to say, as the pictures speak for themselves, it is a gorgeous polish. However, nobody should work that hard for a polish to look decent. I wonder if the runny formula is why the duochrome is so pretty though. Glad I found this one on sale!


Joe Fresh in Grape is a beautiful dark plummy creme. It's very nice but not my favorite for the season. I just like Joe Fresh polishes because the pretty much have every color imaginable and they are incredibly cheap.


Best for last: Borghese Mochaccino. I love love love this polish. It's a stunning greige with tiny purple micro shimmer. You might be able to see it if you click on the pictures. I can tell that this will be a polish I'll go back to time and time again.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Elusive polishes advice

There are two times I can remember having missed out on some polishes and still remember those two times very clearly. Mostly because I've spent the last year kicking myself for not picking them up.

Once, I had a Borghese polish called Purple Confetti in hand. Twas on sale. There I was, in Shoppers Drug Mart, walking around, la de da, with an amazing polish in hand, on sale. Then, inexplicably, I put it back where it went and walked out. Ugh, I'm seriously kicking myself on that one. Especially since it's navy counterpart was also on sale. And I could both have them right now.

The other time was when I spotted some Nubar glitter polishes at Winners. We don't get Nubar where I live. I had the purple glitter in hand, then put it back, telling myself that I didn't really need it, and besides, purple isn't really my color. So stupid. We never got any Nubars back unfortunately. And now I'm Nubar-less.

So, I've sort of decided that picking up a polish depends on three things:
1. Is it going to be there in a few weeks? If so, you don't really need it because it's always gonna be on the shelf and nobody cares about polish here so it won't be sold out. If it isn't going to be there, is it on sale? If not, pick it up anyway.
2. Do I have anything that looks like this in my collection?
3. Do I even really like this color. Even if I'm kicking myself about the Nubar, glitter isn't really my thing. Purple even less.

Here's a polish I had in hand once and put back. I picked it up yesterday thinking it MIGHT sell out because it was the last one on the shelf at Wal-Mart.


Oh yes, it's Wet & Wild's Grey's Anatomy. I'm very happy I picked it up.


At first I was like "why is it called Grey's Anatomy?" because it's obviously green with a purple duochrome.

As you can see in the next picture though, at first glance, it is kind of grey.


See with the green in the next picture?


And see with the lilac in the next? Yeah, sorry about the picture diarrhea, but it's very very hard to capture this polish.


Weird eh? I quite like it though. It's very different and I hear it's also a dupe for Deborah Lippmann's Wicked Games. 

So the lesson here today: pick up those elusive polishes and run to the cash register. Or slip them subtly in your purse. Kidding. But really, this one is definitely worth getting if you happen to see it in your area.

Billie agrees. Meorrwwww.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

What else can you need but this?

I luuuurve black eyeliner. It's my basic, go to, daily makeup item to complete a look. Sometimes I'll go for brown if I want a softer look, but usually, I will go with black.


When the Packed to Go kit of black eyeliners from MAC came out, I knew I needed it. I have been wanting to try Feline Power Kohl liner for the longest time and figured it made sense to buy it with this kit!

Weirdly enough, the liners are all different for being the same color. See for yourself in the swatches:

Left to right: Engraved Powerpoint Liner, Feline Kohl Power Liner, Penultimate Liner in Black


Feline actually shocked me when I put it on. It is really as black as people say it is. And it stays on in my experience (some reviews say it doesn't). What I'm not absolutely sure I love about it is that it's quite soft. Not too soft, but softer than what I'm used to. I'm still quite a fan and will be using this a lot for nighttime looks especially.

Engraved is less black than Feline but still a good black color. It's doesn't pull on green or blue as some do. I find it doesn't last as long on the waterline as Feline but I think that perhaps it's because the liner isn't as crumbly as Feline.

I've owned the Penultimate liner before and loved it. It's perfect for a quick cat eye because you don't have to pull out a brush for your gel liner. And I personally find it easier to manoeuver than a liner brush. To each their own though of course, but I highly suggest this if you travel a lot. It's quick, and effective and stays on all day. The one huge disadvantage is that it dries up pretty quickly. My old one lasted a bit more than a year and I didn't use it very often. Make sure you put that cap on tightly!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Music Hall Curtain Call

Gasp.

Indeed, gasp. This is really pretty. Really really pretty. Look at the duochrome! It's OPI's Music Hall Curtain Call. I don't know what collection it's from but it's stunning. I randomly found it at a drug store. It was hidden behind a row of Brisbane Bronze. I'm lucky to have found it!



The formula was excellent. It only required two coats and dried very quickly. My boyfriend said he didn't know if it was red or orange - that comment kind of made me happy. I love when polish walks that fine line with or without duochrome.

Just loooooook:

On the other hand, my cuticles have been an absolute wreck since I've decided to change polish every day. I can moisturize my hands all day, nothing seems to help. And I hate the greasy hands feeling. Yuck + heeeelp!

Billie had a poop accident today. Had to clean it off her bum during lunch hour. Twasn't too appetizing.

Billie picture of the day:


I don't think she "gets" fire. The picture kind of speaks for itself though.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Pegasus and Apple.

I bought the following polish on kind of a whim. I just felt like doing something different. As soon as I opened the bottle, I realized this would be a 4 coater. And it was. But honestly, I feel like it's worth it. Look at the beautiful soft shimmer!


I'm not familiar with the brand at all but it seems like it wears well. For you Canucks out there, I got this at Lawtons Drug Mart. The color is called Pegasus.


Here's a quick picture of Joe Fresh Apple, a bright happy red jelly. My cuticles are a mess in the picture because I had just gotten out of the shower - sorry.


More nail swatches on the way. And I got a special MAC package as well which will be shortly up for review.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Hue Rang?

Yes another polish, sorry. My bad really - I've just been obsessed. Who knows anyway, maybe you're enjoying it!

This is Hue Rang by Finger Paints. I'm quite enjoying their polishes lately. They have a great formula (in the ones I've tried), dry fast and have a good range of colors.

It's really not my type of color but I actually kind of like it. It's a soft mauve color. This is two coats with Seche Vite topcoat.



I also just wanted to show off the beautiful ring my boyfriend surprised me with. I had mentioned by text, while he was at work, that I saw a really nice ring at a store at the mall. The boy then called the store, forced them to put the ring on hold (they would only hold it for 30 minutes for me) and then rushed to pick it up after work, all without telling me. Then he whipped it out to my surprise when he came over. What a sweetheart.



I love wide-band silver rings. And this one is so comfy!

Monday, May 16, 2011

I'm on a nail polish kick, clearly.

This is a beautiful color. Stunning. Too bad I totally smudged a finger after I took this picture. Had to take it all off. What's nice about it is that it leans towards the greener side of teal which I find is quite hard to find in a nail polish. Well, except for Jade is the New Black by OPI. But for some reason, I never picked it up because it looked dull in the bottle. The featured polish definitely does not. 

It's called Go Van Gogh! by Finger Paints. They always seem to have some kind of art related names for their polishes.




I'm on a polish kick but I promise I'll be reviewing some makeup items in the future, including foundation, eyeshadows and lip glosses. I'm always receptive to any suggestions as well!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Playa Del Platinum

I wore this polish for most of the week and got lots of compliments on it. It stayed on really well too with a coat of Seche Vite.



I don't love love nudes. But I love them most of the time. This one is quite nice because it's more grey than anything else. I find that makes it more unique. I do like the fact that it's a classy color that would look great with a little black dress on formal occasion. It does, however, give me lobster hands. Oh well, too bad, I'll wear it again anyway. Take that cuticles!!

A dud and a delight.

Here's the dud.




It's China Glaze's Unplugged, which, to be fair, might be nice on some people. I hated it on me. It was so horrid, I had to take it off right away. I'm not a huge fan of brown in general (I think because I have brown hair, I find it's enough brown for one person) so this polish was yuckyuck for me. I though it would be lighter bronze color - you can sort of see it's lighter in the bottle. But eh, you win some and you lose some. At least it's on me blog!

Now this one is a winner. It's called Warm he-art-ed and it's by a new brand to me, Finger Paints. I love this polish. It's conservative but still interesting.




As you can maybe see in the last picture, it's got a nice gold-greenish-orangeish shimmer running through it - whilst still being taupe. I'll be wearing that one again for sure.

You'll be happy to know that I picked up cuticle balm (from Burt's Bees no less, for $1.79!) and the cuticle situation should be improving. At least I hope so since nothing else seems to be working at the moment. And I will try my best not to pick at them too, I swear. Sort of.

No interesting Billie pictures to date. My sister did get a kitten and I'll try to bring my camera next time. She is such a little sweetheart.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

New Favorite Polish: Essie's Jumpin Junkanoo

I'm feeling ill so this will be a quick one.

Amazing polish, will definitely rewear, dries to a beautiful, slightly shimmery, jelly finish.



Peace out yalls. Will post more polishes soon!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Clinique Gel Liner in True Black

First off, let me just say that I do not like to write reviews, without testing it out first, and pretty thoroughly at that. This is one of those products.
My first try with it was pretty exceptional. It stayed on really really well, all day, without a smudge. I thought maybe I was having an extra dry day (I have an oily skin type, and my lids apply to this as well). I have worn this product at least 10 times to date and it has performed wonderfully.


I have really oily eyelids. To the point that with a base, AND a paint pot, I still get creasing after 8 hours (depending on the shadow - for some reason MAC's Club does it every time). Because of this, eyeliners slide all over the place. And what's yuckier that creating a beautiful cat eye with a gel liner and having a print of it on your eyelid by the end of the day? It's worst than flaky mascara.


So when I say that this stays on, I mean it. I have uncovered my embarrassing oily eyelid tale and proven this to you. Granted, I haven't tried this in the water, or extreme heat temperature, but the swatches below speak for themselves.

This is the liner applied on my hand. As you can see, it has a gel like, fluid consistency that makes it easy to apply in one motion. It definitely doesn't tug on the lid.


Here's the liner after about a minute of rubbing with my finger. It. Does. Not. Move.

It did fade tiny bit, but that's pretty good for a vigorous minute of rubbing. However, in my experience, it does come off easily with a eye makeup remover.


So, if you're a fan of the cat eye, or gel liner in general, please run and grab this. It's well priced (below $20 in Canada I believe), and according to the Pixiwoo girls, it doesn't dry out as fast as all their other gel liners.

Here's Billie playing with the gel liner while I was trying to take some wicked shots. My skills need to improve. What's a better to do that than by blogging!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

China Glaze For Audrey

I wore this polish for about an hour because I didn't think it would be an appropriate color for my first day at my new job. New job!!!!

I'm quite excited about it. I hope it's just better than the last one.



This is a great color for spring. It's really soft and pretty. No problems with the application or the brush! Love it. Will wear it again this summer for sure.

Happy mother's day to my Mom! You're the best mom! Don't know how you raised 4 kids so beautifully!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

I'm in love with a polish

Yes, I am in love with a polish. A beautiful vampy sexy nail polish by Orly called Naughty. This is my first try with this brand actually and I'm smitten. It is a gorgeous deep deep red - so deep that I originally though it was brown. It dries (quickly!) to a glossy finish and it completely opaque in two coats.



Just look at the shine!


My only small little complaint about this polish is the tiny brush. I'm not used to them but it honestly didn't give me much problems because the formula was excellent. Still though, I'd like to test that brush out with another Orly color see if it's decent.