NOTD: snow falling on sparkling asphalt

 One of the most beautiful things about winter is the way the snow sparkles through the sun, and the black pavement shimmers so bright.

I tried to capture snow falling onto sparkling asphalt in my mani for the holiday nail art challenge on nail polish Canada.

 To get this effect I layered a lot of polishes! Then I added on some 3-D nail stickers, to make it look more like snow.

Polishes used left to right: MAC everything that glitters, SH silver lining, Nails inc sprinkles sugar house lane, covergirl snowflake, random white from Halloween, SH hidden treasure.

What do you think? If you like it, please find and vote for me here tomorrow.

NOTD: playing with flakies and duo chrome polishes

I did this NOTD a while ago, and it is one of my favorites ever.
I was bored, and I decided to try layering a few different polishes, to achieve a really cool finish.
I used a duo chrome base, added flakies and then added a sheer multi chrome glitter on top.

Here is what I used:

- 2 coats Rimmel night before (deep violet blue with slight gold/pink duo chrome)
- 1 coat Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure (rainbow flakies)
- 1 coat Nicole OPI count on me (iridescent pink/gold/blue/purple multi chrome)

The result:

check out the gold/green flakies in this light:

The Nicole polish brought out the red and blue flakes in Hidden Treasure:

This combo was awesome to look at. I had it on for at least a week.
I got lots of compliments too.

I plan to play around more with layering polishes, especially flakies. They take on a whole new look when you put a sheer polish over them.

What do you think? Any ideas for layering?

NOTD: crazy zebra mani using sally hansen lickety-split lime

I was daydreaming about how well purple and lime green go together the other day.. then I had a creative surge of energy and the crazy zebra design was born.

I didn't have a lime nailpolish in my stash (gasp!) so the hunt was on for a decent one.
It had to be a fast dry to use with KONAD, so my options were slightly limited.
I really wanted to get Revlon's new scented top speed super bright chartreuse color but it was all gone :(


I settled for SH insta-dry in lickety-split lime and it turned out alright. I don't think I would ever use it on it's own for a full mani. Maybe a pedi?
Also, I wanted to mention that SH Insta-dry polish works great for KONAD stamping!

The purple color is sally Hansen hard as nails Violette (super old color!) and I used KONAD image plate M57 for the zebra pattern.

Do you have any ideas for a crazy creative manicure? share!

Clarins Cotton Flower face palette photos and swatches

Clarins cotton flower palette was released for spring 2010. I found this little beauty recently at Winners, which is a Canadian partner of TJ Maxx. They often get Clarins items in, lot's of limited edition products and even some of the permanent line. It's a great way to try out Clarins without spending a fortune.
The palette is so pretty to look at, adorned with white shimmery cotton flowers. The powder itself is flesh toned, with very fine shimmer. Mixed together they create a very natural looking beige highlight. It almost blends in with my skin, but it's got a very slight peachy tone to it.

Swatches :

Here I am wearing it on my cheekbone, even though I put a lot on it is still a very minimal 'glow' effect.

This is a great option for more mature ladies that just want a touch of luminescence. Personally I like a little more shimmer in my highlighters.
It also works alright an all over face powder, but on my skin it looked a bit too warm. I love face powders with a little shimmer in them. I can't find any good ones now that my favorite sally hansen corn silk illuminating powder (HG for 4 years!) has been discontinued :/

Do you like illuminating powders? What is your favorite kind?

NOTD: ombre mani using color club front row diva

I've often wondered how to do a nice gradient nail, and discovered most do it using a sponge. I got inspired by a photo recently, and thought I'd take a go at an ombre mani!
This was my very first attempt to gradient colors.
I first did 3 coats of color club front row diva, which is a pale greyed pearl with a little bit of sheen. I then used a wedge sponge and added on 2 coats of Essence surf break, which is a medium grey cream. I concentrated the color at the tips, and dabbed it down lightly to the middle of my nails.
Then I took a Sally Hansen Xtreme wear glitter (sorry I forgot the name!) and did 3 coats, again concentrating at the tips and dabbing it downwards.
I liked the effect but I know it's nowhere near perfect.

left to right: color club front row diva, essence surf break and sally hansen Xtreme wear glitter


This was really fun to do and I think I'll try again when I have more time to make a nice smooth color degrade.

NOTD: Sally Hansen HD DVD (with stars)

I've had a really rough week! Minor surgery Monday and a migraine since Tuesday, I'm not feeling so hot. I needed a little pick me up, and what better way to do that than with some glitter and stars?

Enjoy the glittery star spam :)

This is my first Sally Hansen high definition nail polish, and it's really pretty but also extremely sheer. I used 3 coats and you can still see my natural nails under.

I like the deeper blue/purple flash DVD gives off in certain light, you can sort of see it here:

For the stars I used konad special polish in white, and a fake konad plate m08:

Image from Ebay.

I hope everyone is having a better week than me!

Trash Review: Sally Hansen Carmindy Natural Beauty Your Skin Makeup

My trash reviews are written when I completely finish up a product and throw it away.

The lastest beauty product I've completley used up: Sally Hansen inspired by Carmindy your skin makeup in Ecru Beige. This foundation is unlike anything I've used before. It actually looks like your skin when it's on, the texture is just amazing.

Ecru Beige is possibly the most wearable color. It's completely neutral without any strange undertones. I think it would suit most fair complexions well.

Dot of Ecru Beige on NC10 skin:

Blended in, it looks like I have more healthy looking even toned skin

Left: No makeup Right: With your skin makeup

I use my hands to apply this, since it is quite emollient. Once it's blended, my skin looks really natural and glows.
It's oil based yet it stays on really really well. It adheres to the skin better than any foundation I've used, while still managing to look natural.
Your skin makeup is oil based, which could be a problem for some with acne prone skin.
My skin is dry but clog-prone and this surprisingly didn't cause any breakouts or clogged pores for me.

Ingredients list:

Water (Aqua), Cyclopentasiloane, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Ethylhenyl Palmitate, Pentylene Glycol, Trimethysilosilicate, Butylene Glycol, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Glyceryl Ethylhexanoate/Stearate/Adipate/ Ethylhexyglycerin, Methicone, Disodium EDTA, PPG-15 Stearyl Ether, Polysorbate 80, Retinyl Palmitate, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Zea Mays (Corn) Oil, Xylitol, Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Fruit Extract, Olea Europaea (Olive) Leaf Edtract, Carica Papaya (Papaya) Fruit Extract, Quercus Suber Bark Extract,
may Contain: Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Zinc Oxide.

I absolutely love this foundation, it's one of my favorites. Sadly, this is not sold at drug stores in Canada, but I managed to find it at my local Dollarama for $2. They are all sold out now and I hope they get more in. Check it out Canadian girls!
In the US this foundation is sold at CVS and Rite Aid.

Repurchase? Most definitely

Price: $13 USD

Rating: 5/5