Nail of the day: Victoria by Nails Inc!

Let me present to you one of my favorite polish EVER. Pretty much. Well, it's hard to decide in reality, but this one is very high on the list.

Nails Inc. Victoria is a vampy chocolate red. I just love the color. It's vampy without being too dark, and it's classy without being too red. I love the look of it on shorter nails. I can see myself re-wearing this shade over and over. I believe I only have one other similar shade and it is out on loan to my friend. So, Victoria, I believe we are going to be friends.

I must say, Nails Inc. keeps impressing me. I don't know if it's just me, but Nails Inc. has the best long-wearing formula in my opinion. After a week's worth of sporting Victoria, I only had minimal tip wear, and almost no chips. That never happens to me considering I'm a compulsive cuticle picker. I wish my local Sephora carried a better variety of shades though.

Movie of the week: Son of Rambow. Seriously, this is the best movie I've seen in a long time. I don't know what it is about twisted coming-of-age movies, but they always get to me and pull at my heartstrings. Little Miss Sunshine, Pan's Labyrinth and Moonrise Kingdom are among my favorites. Son of Rambow follows the story of Will, a young boy member of the Plymouth Brethren movement, who sees a movie for the first time: Rambo. Having never been allowed to watch TV and living a very sheltered life, the experience wakens his imagination. Will and his friend decide to make a movie to enter the Screen Test Youth Film Competition. This story is amazingly heartfelt and true to life. Bonus: Ed Westwick is in the movie.

My Very First Knockwurst - OPI's Germany Collection

Anyone else as excited as me about the OPI Germany collection? I very much restrained myself picking out colors because I only got two color and wanted every single one from the collection.

My first pick is My Very First Knockwurst (my second being Every Month is Oktoberfest). It's a gorgeous nude/pink. It applied flawlessly in two coats!

I though it was a great option for a neutral pink - most of the time, I find these types of polishes too pink. Plus, it was quite long wearing lasting a good three days without chips or tip wear! 

Sneak peek at what's coming on the blog! My Vika Alex is settled and full! As you can see, it's comfortably nesting between two dressers.

Movie of the week: Hugo. Hugo is a gorgeous film about a young boy who lives alone in a Paris train station. The cinematography of this film is absolutely and completely breathtaking. If you're watching the movie, take a moment to observe how busy the background is, and how imaginative the set design is. Oh and it's a Martin Scorsese movie and well, whatever he does is genius. Except maybe for Shutter Island, which I didn't love. But yes, Hugo is a must see. DO IT.

Hope you're all having a good week! Pay day is today and I might have done some damage, courtesy of miss Chelsea of chelsea wears! Enabler alert!!

Cheap taupe nails alert! Essence's Walk of Fame swatches and review!

I picked up Essence's nail polish in Walk of Fame for a whopping $1.49 a few months ago. Essence has been putting out quite modern colors for excellent price and value. And how exciting that Canada gets them too!

Walk of Fame was a bit thick in its formula and dried very fast, so application wasn't the smoothest I've ever used. However the wear time was quite good, and the color was very flattering on my skintone. It does dry darker than the color appears in the bottle, but that didn't bother me too much. It seems to be in the same family as OPI's You Don't Know Jacques, but I don't own it to compare. My ring finger was accented with glitter from Sally Hansen's Gem Crush polish in Big Money.

I've purchased great nail polishes lately and can't wait to share them with you!

Movie of the week: JCVD. I've been looking into classic action movies lately (partly in preparation for The Expendables) and JCVD was king of the black beast in the middle of this endeavor. It basically tells of the story of Jean-Claude Van Damme (as himself), a washed up action hero, who is caught in a situation which expects him to act like the action hero he so often depicts. Of course, Mr. JCVD is not the characters people expect him to be from his films, and has a hard time handling the situation. This movie was a heartfelt look at how cruel the Hollywood scene can be. It was truly a great movie, even if you don't have any attachment to Jean-Claude Van Damme as an action hero like my boyfriend does. Also, I want to marry Jean-Claude Van Damme. He has seriously given me a lot to think about with this movie.

Massive haul from Toronto!

As I mentioned before, I recently traveled to Toronto, where Sephoras and MAC's are abundant, and brands I have normally no access to flourish. In essence, best makeup shopping ever. I was therefore, some might argue, conservative in my purchases.

I left with the following items: LUSH goodies, including Bubble Bars for the family, a Stepping Stone foot scrub (it smells heavenly!), a You've Been Mangoed bath melt, and an Avobath Bath Bomb. I also went Dior crazy with the Croisette Quint palette and the Diorskin Nude Tan in 002. MAC was also pretty good as I exchanged my Back 2 MAC empties for the Girl About Town lipstick. I also purchased a 139 brush, repurchased some Brush Cleanser and MAC's Honesty eyeshadow. The SA's didn't give me a good experience at both store I visit so I was a bit disappointed by that. At Sephora, I purchased two Nails Inc. shades having been quite impressed by The Thames - I got Porchester Square and Sugar House Lane. I also got a L'Occitane Lavender hand cream, which I am absolutely in love with, and Make Up For Ever's Waterproof Eyebrow Corrector in 03. I can already tell that this is going to be a staple, and a review will be up soon. I also finally purchased Estee Lauder's Crystal Baby! I stopped at so many Sears and The Bay trying to find it and it's mine now!

OMG! I forgot to say I got something extra special at Ikea - a Vika Alex!! I'll be putting up a new makeup organization post soon. I must say, I am so so happy with this purchase.

You can now look forward to reviews on all these products!

Movie of the week (a day late): The New World, a film by Terrence Malick, is a visually stunning film loosely based on the life of Pocahontas and features Colin Farrell, Q'orianka Kilcher and Christian Bale. For those of you who live and die by the Disney version of the story, I'm afraid you will not like this much. Its slow pace, stunning depiction of nature, and the use of voice over, all classic Malick techniques, gives the film a very relaxed tone. You should not watch this if you have somewhere to be, do not like slow paced films, or get irritated at loose story lines. But if you can give this movie a chance, the cinematography makes it absolutely worth while. And the acting! I'm a massive fan of Malick films, especially of Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line.

Caudalie Eau de Beauté and the big hype question

I'm sure you want to know if this is worth the hype. Made famous by Victoria Beckham herself, this elixir has surfaced on almost every major blog with extremely favorable reviews. I find it hard sometimes to not fall into the "hype" trap - how can so many people actually think a product is THAT good? Hype makes me question whether a product is that worth it or if people want to simply follow the trend. But sometimes, I give in, just to see for myself if they are right or not.

I have to say, I honestly agree with most of the reviews out there. The Caudalie Eau de Beaute is very refreshing when spritzed on the skin, and has a very pleasant herbal pepperminty scent I love. But I wouldn't recommend it to you if it just stopped there. I actually very much like this product because in my month or so of regularly using it, I have found my skin to have less and less breakouts. I'm not sure if it is because I'm using it as a toner most of the time, but my skin has been almost spotless for the month. My skin is quite temperamental so it's hard to say if the Caudalie Eau de Beaute has much to do with anything, but I think it might just have helped my skin stay clear. After going on vacation and only using once during that week, I found myself have a few whiteheads coming to the surface. I'd say this is suitable for all skin types. I have oily skin and this product seems to moisturize, refresh but not leave my skin oily at all. I even tried it on the boy who just said it didn't do anything, but that's because, well, he's a boy. Oh, the things I put him through.

If you're into skin care at all, I'd say this is definitely something to try. I have to say I wasn't quite sold on it in the first couple of weeks I've used this Eau de Beaute, but the consistent use of it really changed my mind. I haven't been using it over makeup (it's not a setting spray, but some bloggers have been using it as a makeup refresher) so I can't comment on that, but as a toner, this really is excellent.

Movie of the week (a day late, my apologies): The boy and I caught a showing of The Queen of Versailles on vacation and absolutely loved it. The documentary follows a billionaire family (The Seigels, owners of Westgate Resorts), trying to make it through harsh economic times  - except they are still rich as can be, and they aren't able to help by cutting their ludicrous spending habits, and letting go the construction of their 90,000 square foot Versaille-looking dream home. This is seriously a must see.

Nuxe Reve de Miel Lip Balm review and Movie of the week!

This balm has made a few blogging rounds on my Blogger feed, and being the curious person that I am, and the fact that it was available at my local Shoppers Drug Mart, I had to give it a go. I was particularily interested because I've always had problem with dry lips. My lips are often so chapped that the corners of my mouth are sore, and I'll sometimes get cracks in the middle of my bottom lip. Not fun. Enter Nuxe's Rêve de Miel balm. It has been my little "treat" in the past few months. While it does have a surprising almost solid texture, the heat of my finger and lips lets the product sink in and leaves a sort of matte finish to my lips. This makes it a great base as it doesn't interfere with the finish of the lipstick you are using. But, that's the not the best thing about this balm - it is truly the best balm for chapped lips I have every tried.

You can see the matte texture of the balm in this picture.

This balm is truly moisturizing. I found it was best used before bed and gave me healthy, plump lips when I woke up. I like that because it has a matte finish, it doesn't slip around and migrate around your lips, or face, when you're sleeping. The texture takes a bit of getting used to, but the result are absolutely worth it. It does not have an abrasive smell - it smells lightly of oranges and honey. You also do not need a lot of product. When you use too much of it, it leaves a grainy finish on your lips. The best way to apply this balm is to apply a small amount and make sure that it is well rubbed into your lips.

While this product is not cheap ($17!) it is worth its while in my opinion, especially if you have chronically dry lips and have problems with your average Blistex or Vaseline. I absolutely see myself repurchasing this product again, although it might take a while given that you only need a tiny amount per usage.

Have you tried this lip balm? Do you swear by one balm and one balm only?

Movie of the week: First off, my apologies for skipping last week's movie of the week. I am not the most organized person and it totally slipped my mind. Instead, I shall suggest the weirdest, saddest, most true to life movie I can think of, Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia. This movie made me cry - I never ever cry. This movie made me re-think of people I know, people I knew and how this world is a big blog of weird people. Bascially, the movie follows various characters, who are loosely connected to each other, go through difficult events in their lives. NOT à la Crash if that's what you're thinking, because that movie sucked. It's hard to explain without giving anything away, but what I like best of this movie is that it doesn't explain much, but lets the viewer interpret how they feel of the events happening in front of them. Nothing is spelled out (I'm lookin' at you Chris Nolan). Plus, Tom Cruise is AMAZING, and the soundtrack is full of Aimee Mann music. Win. I think that after In Bruges, this is probably my favorite film. So if you're looking for something different and challenging, this is a great start!

Hope you're having a great week so far! Mine is the busiest of the summer but will soon pay of with vacation!

Shiseido Perfect Rouge in Sweet Pea (RD304) - Review and something new

Shiseido was never a brand I was particularity attracted to. From afar, AKA on the other side of my computer screen, the packaging seemed mediocre, the colors kind of typical and the color coding difficult to understand. But when I saw Shiseido's Perfect Rouge in Sweet Pea on Temptalia, the unique shade of the lipstick was enough for love at first sight. I needed that lipstick stat!

First of all, contrary to what I thought it would be, the packaging is AMAZING. It's sturdy, heavy in the metal sort of way, simple and classy looking. It was better than what I expected by far. Plus, it's very compact and easy to stash in your makeup bag.

Warning: lipstick tube vanity pictures ahead.

The lipstick's formula is amazing. Smooth, not waxy in the least bit, but pigmented. For a lipstick that's so creamy and dark in shade, I was expecting some streaking problems with the application but I didn't have any. Sweet Pea is a warm rosy/red shade with an inkling of shimmer. Even with its warm undertones, I found it flattering on my cool skin tone and thought the shade quite unique! I couldn't find anything similar to it in my collection.

Bare lips

With Sweet Pea

Swatched on my hand.

I tested the wear time by wearing this on my lips to the beach (which may not have been my best idea) and it wore quite well for the hour I was there baking in the sun (with sunscreen of course). I'd estimate the wear time to be about 4 hours until it fades to a light stain.

Overall, I'm completely satisfied with this purchase. The color is unique, wears well, and is very moisturizing. I didn't find the need to slather my lips in balm after Sweet Pea wore off. I'm definitely on the lookout for a couple more shades of the Perfect Rouge formula. Shiseido, I'm so sorry I doubted you!

On a totally different tangent, I was hoping to start a movie of the week blurb at the end of my Wednesday posts. The boy and I are ardent movie goers/watchers and I was thinking perhaps my suggestions might be fun to hear. Of course, if you're not interested, just skip over this bit but we watch a bit of everything, so there's going to be something to everyone's taste... hopefully!

Movie of the week: Attack the Block. I watched this with the boy and his best friend (who suggested the film) and was expecting nothing major since I had heard nothing of it, but it was amazing! A charming and scary little movie about some teenage London thugs trying to fight off some aliens attacking their "block" aka apartment complex. It was well made, hilarious, interesting, refreshing and weird all at the same time. A really good palette cleanser if you will! I highly recommend it if you want to try something new!