NAILS | A Little Late with My LAST Pink #ManiMonday!

So I'm a little late in posting my nails for Monday on the blog, BUT they did make it to Instagram so that still counts, right? I will keep this short and sweet, but although this mani didn't turn out quite like I wanted, the colours were still super cute and fun and I wanted to share! This is actually a taping manicure, but the top coat I used was a bit too liquidy so it made the lines bleed around my studs totally destroying that crispness I had worked so hard to achieve. Note for next time: use a thicker gel-like top coat!

MAKEUP | Limited Edition Crayola for Clinique Chubby Stick Review with Swatches

As a kid, I remember how satisfying it was to open up a fresh box of Crayola crayons and see their perfectly pointed wax tips lined up for what would eventually be hours of colouring fun (except for that one year when my baby sister who was 2 at the time broke all of them for FUN). Oddly enough, my Crayola collection has grown again with the advent of adult colouring books so seeing the Crayola for Clinique collaboration was both an ode to my childhood and to my love of makeup. Best combination EVER.

Clinique has been absolutely KILLING it with their colour cosmetics for the last couple of years and I know I can't be the only one who has fistfuls of Chubby Sticks whether it'd be for the eyes or lips! Many of you are probably familiar with the Chubby Stick Colour Balm formulation with its blend of mango and shea butter that give a moisturizing hint of colour to the lips and now there are 8 additional limited edition shades that are Crayola approved!

NAILS | Keeping up with Pink with Unt - Onscreen Chemistry!

I forgot how short February was and realized that I only have time for this and maybe one more pink manicure! Ahhh! Where has the time gone? I've had a bit of a hectic week with a stomach bug at the beginning of this week and taking it really easy with food for fear of tossing my cookies on public transit. SO EMBARRASSING.

Anyway, two years ago I was one of the winners of the Nailpolis 1,000,000 Facebook Fans contest and won a gift certificate to shop at Live Love Polish! One of the polishes I picked up was this pink cream glittery beauty from the "Kate Party" collection called Onscreen Chemistry!

NAILS | Abstract Needle Marble Hearts #ManiMonday

I am back with another gel polish manicure as I found myself having a girls night in while the hubby was off D&Ding with some of his colleagues. I have been doing mainly pink manicures this month as I prefer pink polish to red mainly because of nail bed staining, but thankfully with gel polish staining is NOT an issue! I was tempted just to do a swatch, but I love needle marbling with gel polish so I attempted some hearts as well that ended up looking rather abstract. This whole thing took about 7 minutes from first coat to final cure so not bad at all! 

SKINCARE | Deciem Hylamide High Efficiency Face Cleaner Review

It's about time I talk about Deciem again! Skincare reviews are both my favourite and most hated posts as even something as basic as a cleanser needs a bit more research than a coloured cosmetic product like a lipstick or eyeshadow. There is also something about what you apply to your skin that gives us all cause to have a look at the ingredients. We know that in the short time that Canadian company Deciem has been in our lives, they have changed, evolved and reinvented the way we look at the skincare industry and ingredients. They are doing things that no other company has done and I believe will continue to surprise us with pricing that is crazy (The Ordinary!) and uncommon ingredients. 

MAKEUP | Marcelle Rouge Xpression Velvet Gel Lipsticks - The Karine Vanasse Collection

I am far more familar with Marcelle from the skincare standpoint with my most enthusiastic review going back to 2012 when Marcelle was one of the first North American companies to debut a BB cream (review). I still use all of their BB, CC and DD creams on days when I just need some light coverage, but never went beyond skin when it came to Marcelle makeup. This is one of those times when if it weren't for a press package, I would never have discovered something new and AWESOME. Say hello to the Rouge Xpression Velvet Gel Lipsticks in five wearable shades!  

NAILS | Valentine's Day Botched Heart French Manicure

This is an example of a manicure that I knew I should have done another way, but was too stubborn to realize it until it was too late so here are my blurry hearts! I know that one of the easiest ways to make a heart is to use a dotting tool, but I actually find it much harder than just drawing a "V" with a paintbrush. I feel the dotting tool doesn't give as much control and instead gives rise to potential shapeless, doughy blobs. Can you tell I'm angry about this? Anyway, my husband gave me a thumbs up to post these so here they are! Happy Valentine's Day!

BATH & BODY | Lush Valentine's Day Collection!

Lush is back this year with some old favourites and brand new additions to their Valentine's Day collection! I love that Lush has some great ads celebrating all inclusive love and that when it comes to acceptance, Lush is always one of the first to be proactive about it so yay Lush!

NAILS | OPI On Pinks and Needles #ManiMonday

I have been having a fantastic time digging through my nearly 2000 bottles of polish to find the best of the pinks and reds for the CBB Valentine's theme this month! This has also made me realize that I need to do a SERIOUS clean out of my polishes. I have a problem with breaking apart collections because I just love how cohesive they look as a group. It's like seeing just four out of five Spice Girls. Geri - I will always miss you!

Today's manicure is short and sweet because I have one more planned for Valentine's Day! I have had to slow down on the nail posts mainly because it has been so dry here in Vancouver that my nails have been breaking. They are short (for me) and because I like a larger canvas/surface area for nail art, I have been slowly growing them out over the last week and a half.

BATH & BODY | Valentine's Date Night Out with Avon's Little Red Dress and So Very Sofia Collections

It's that time of year where being single on Valentine's Day seems to be the worst thing in the world, but honestly, it's just a day of LOVE. Whether it's about showing others or yourself some love, that is the overall message I take from Valentine's Day so whether you are single or in a couple, it's all good! Even though I have been with my husband for just over 11 years now, I still enjoy looking and smelling extra feminine and girly on this day though my husband says I look pretty no matter the day (GOOD ANSWER). This year I am enlisting some help from Avon to get me into the Valentine's Day spirit!

MAKEUP LOOK | Embracing the Green(ery) with Urban Decay and Lit Cosmetics

I had mentioned in my previous blog post that having green and blue hair is proving to be a bit of challenge. Blue is fine, but green is tough. I will be doing a full progress post on my last Aveda visit as I KNEW the colour I had fresh from the salon would fade. JT had mentioned that too much green would end up looking muddy once the colour started to fade. He was right of course so now I'm struggling to figure out what to do in terms of makeup and even CLOTHING until I change up my hair colour again in the next few months. For now, my hair will be an hommage to the Pantone colour of the year - Greenery! 

MAKEUP LOOK | Mary Kay Limited Edition Pure Dimensions Eye Palettes in Maui Gardens, Paris Starlight and Moroccan Dunes

You can totally tell by my hair colour that I have been taking my own sweet time with posting these makeup looks! Granted, I plan on going through a few more hair colours before I hit blonde again! My hair is pretty green/blue right now and it is surprisingly hard to maintain. I think I liked my hair in these photos more because it was a little easier to match with things. Right now, I find myself clashing with my own clothing!

While I was purple and blue, I was totally digging the the more dramatic eyeshadow shades and while there are indeed three Mary Kay Pure Dimensions Eyeshadow Palettes ($46.00 CDN each), I was most drawn to one (even though I now secretly love them all!). If you haven't had the opportunity to try Mary Kay eyeshadows, they truly are a surprise because the quality rivals a number of big brands. I don't know what I was expecting the first time I tried Mary Kay eyeshadows 10 years ago, but even back then I was not expecting the quality I experienced!  

NAILS | Just a Couple 'O Hearts for Valentine's Day #ManiMonday

Hearts. As cheesy and commercial as Valentine's Day is, I cannot get enough of the hearts and the fact that everything is pink and red! I love pink so much that I have to stay consciously aware of HOW MUCH I actually have in my life so that it doesn't start to look incredibly tacky. At least with nail polish, it can be a total pink party and it's A-OK!

In continuing with my love for Duri nail polish, today's heart manicure features polishes from the three collections that jumped out at me the most: From Russia with Love, Revel in Luxury and Sweet Affair. This manicure is similar to a cloud manicure in its execution only with fewer "poofs" or bumps.

NAILS | Pretty & Polished "I Do!" Swatch

This month the CBB is all about pink, red and white for Valentine's Day so for the entire month of February I am ONLY going to wear those three colours on my nails. Totally doable, right? It will finally give me the opportunity to get through the numerous shades of untried pinks I have accumulated over the years! Can I have an aaaaa-men?!

Today's swatch is from one of the very first indie polish brands I started using and even had a custom thermal polish made for my wedding along with mini bottles of polish for all of my female guests! Needless to say, Pretty & Polished was a big part of my wedding day and "I Do!" was one of the polishes I gave to my guests! This is a white-based cream polish filled with fine matte pink and medium sized shiny hex glitter. I did my best to get the glitter hearts, but even with glitter fishing they remained highly elusive. All of these photos are three thin coats with top coat.

MAKEUP | Guerlain Lingerie de Peau Fluide Foundation (New Formula) with Before and After

I find shopping for foundation just as complicated as shopping for jeans. You've got to try a few on before making a decision because like jeans are a staple for most outfits, foundation is just that for the face. I started wearing foundation in 2011 which is incredibly late in life, but it was only because I was scared to go shopping. Now that I know roughly where my skin sits on the colour shade scale, I'm not quite as fearful of trying something new. Fast forward to now and I literally have 30+ foundations and rotate around 5-6 on any given month, but one quality that is a must-have for me is weightlessness. I do not want to FEEL foundation on my skin. I mean, who does?

I wish I had discovered luxury makeup brands years ago because I love being on board for a brand's journey. Guerlain is one of those "old house" brands that have so much history that I often feel like I am completely out of my element when it comes to talking about their products, but I need to start somewhere right? I think I now understand why ANYTHING Meteorites gets people excited so it's time to tackle Lingerie de Peau ($69.00 CDN). This is a light and skin-like foundation whose formula was recently revamped last year. Unfortunately, I have no means of comparison as I have never tried the old formulation, but this new one is just DREAMY!