Day 31–Recreate Your Favourite Challenge!

This was a no brainer for me, one of my favourite challenges would have to be GLITTER! I also realized after reading ChrissyAi’s blog that I I have not had a chance to wear any Halloween polish because of the challenge and seeing as today is Halloween, I was not about to let the opportunity slip by! So, here is China Glaze – Glitter Goblin! I have two coats on and I really have to say that this polish looks better in person. Whether it was outside or inside, I could not get the camera to translate how sparkly this polish is! There are bits of silver holographic glitter in this as well which is what sets this Halloween glitter apart from all the others. This is not my favourite China Glaze glitter as we have all seen and fallen in love with “It’s Alive” which applies and looks like a Halloween dream.

It is on this note that I say thank you to everyone for following along with the 31 Day Challenge! It has been two months and we are now at the end! It’ll be awhile before I do this again, but this challenge has really pushed me to try new things and push my nail art abilities. Now, let’s just get back to regular swatches for awhile shall we?

Be sure to check out the other fabulous ladies who are also taking on the 31 Day Nail Challenge!

Naomi @ Bellezza

Traci @ drinkcitra

Beauty Box Swap Time!

For those of you that haven’t heard of this concept yet, I have recently gotten into beauty swaps with other beauty lovers from all around the world! Think of it like pen pals when we were kids, but much more exciting although it creates more of a dent in the wallet! My first swap was with Nadine over at Bunny & Spice and this one that I have for you today is from Tarah from the good ol’ USA! When it comes to fantastic makeup prices, the US is like beauty heaven! Just check out all the goodies!

Bath and Bodyworks Liplicious Lip Gloss in Bing Cherry

Bath and Bodyworks Liplicious Lip Gloss in Cherry Cola

Old Navy Lip Luster in Very Berry

L.A. Colors Lipgloss Duo in Sensual

Yes to Carrots Color Balm in Peachy Keen and Lip Butter in Pomegranate (I love this line of products and didn’t know they had lip balms!!)

Cosmogirl Lipgloss (I love the bling!)

Calvin Klein Splendid Strength Nail Fortifier

Simply Sweet Nail Polish in Neon Yellow and Green

Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Nail Color in Blushing Bride (How appropriate as I’m getting married!)

Cosmogirl – Zebra nail file and nail stickers

Cosmogirl  Eyeliner in black, brown and navy blue. They each come with smudge sticks on the other end.

Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eyeliner Pencil in Pure White and Jet Black

L.A. Colors Jumbo Eye Pencil in Seashells and Sunglasses (not pictured Tropical Bliss, it was hidden!)

Milani Infinite Liquid Eye Liner in Everlast

L.A. Colors Mineral Eye Shadow in Gemstone

Maybelline Expertwear Eye Shadow in Charcoal Smokes

Wet n Wild Blush in Heather Silk

L.A. Colors Shimmering Loose Eye Shadow in Black Pearl

Palladio Baked Eye Shadow Trio in Seashell

Cosmogirl Chunky Spike Bracelet

Mickey Mouse Tin with Cotton Swaps (OMG, sooo cute!)

Owl Hand Sanitizer Holder

Givenchy Perfume Sample

Stride Gum (Mmmmm!)

Nivea Creme (Love as well!)

I have to say, beauty swaps are just as exciting as beauty boxes, but maybe even more so because someone else is taking the time to put together a box that suits you with products from possibly a foreign place. I have participated in two swaps and I have three more in the next month from the US (Tarah again!), Israel and the UK. I just love this idea even though you have to be careful not to get caught up with too many swaps because it can get pretty pricey once shipping is included! There is an element of trust in beauty swaps as occasionally there are some bad seeds that say they will send you something, but end up disappearing once you have sent a swap to them…that’s not the norm though and this is a good reason why you should set your swaps at fairly low budgets if you do not know the swap history of someone. At least you won’t be out too much money if it does happen! All in all, I’ve been having a great time shopping for the other girls and letting them know about what beauty products I have been loving.

Would any of you ever consider participating in a beauty box swap?

Day 30–Inspired by a Tutorial or Spiderweb Fishnets

I was not ready to give up on Halloween-themed nails just yet since I haven’t really had a chance to do any this month because of the challenge, so I have chosen yet another cutepolish tutorial and even though it didn’t turn out quite like how I had envisioned, I still think it looks pretty snazzy. I started off by sponging on three layers of Zoya – Arizona, followed by a gorgeous holographic glitter called Nubar – Star Sparkle. I then did the rest of this design with black acrylic paint.

As for those of you who were sweet enough to ask about the guy who hit my parked car, he hasn’t accepted any responsibility…even though I literally had grocery bags in my hand, was walking through the parking lot and wasn’t even in the car when it happened! Another woman actually had to help me flag him down! He’s denying it! I hope karma gets him good! Sigh, just another thing to deal with…

Be sure to check out the other fabulous ladies who are also taking on the 31 Day Nail Challenge!

Naomi @ Bellezza

Traci @ drinkcitra

Monday Blues Blog Hop

Welcome to the sixth round of the Monday Blues Blog Hop hosted by myself, Traci from Drinkcitra and Christa from ChrissyAi. This week, please give a warm welcome to our two wonderful co-hosts for the week, Jessica from My Life, My Loves & Me and Alexis from Alexis Leigh! This week is Halloween so this Monday might not be quite so dreary as the others! Thank you to all of you who joined us for last week’s blog hop and Happy Monday!     

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Join us every Monday and take those blues away! If you are interested in becoming a co-host for the The Monday Blues Blog Hop feel free to email us at mondaybluesbloghop(at)gmail(dot)com

It’s Time for Sample Sundays!

I am procrastinating making an insurance claim for my car until Monday morning  by sharing with you a routine that I have been doing since May of this year. Every other Sunday, I take the time to go through my samples and pick out a few that I want to try out for the next two weeks. It’s actually such a fun process because it feels so much like shopping! Seeing all of those lovely beauty samples together gets me so giddy! This little ritual is also how I produce a lot of my empties. It’s almost like Project 10 Pan, but for samples and with a higher product turnover which makes it MUCH more interesting. So, what’s on the Sample Sunday menu today?

1. MaskerAide Hydrating Sheet Mask (1 mask)

2. Befine Single Serve Warming Clay Mask (14g)

3. Nesura Pore Deep Charcoal Strip for Nose Care (1 strip)

4. Etude House Black Charcoal Chin Pack (1 strip)

5. Biore Nose Strip (1 strip)

6. Nume Hydro Punch Shampoo (20mL)

7. Nume Hydro Punch Conditioner (20mL)

8. Aveda Invati Exfoliating Shampoo (10mL)

9. Aveda Invati Thickening Conditioner (10mL)

10. Vitamine & Sea Perfect Skin Solution

12. Lancome High Resolution Triple Action Anti-Wrinkly Cream (15g)

13. Dior Capture Totale Multi-Perfection Concentrated Serum (1.5mL)

14. B. Kamins Maple Body Lotion (12mL)

15. B.Kamins Lip Balm (4mL)

16. Lift & Firm Rejeuvenating Day Cream (5mL)

17. Lift &Firm Deep Remodeling Night Cream (5mL)

18. Vasanti BrightenUp! Enzyme Face Rejeuvenator (12g)

19. CK Shock Eau de Toilette Spray (1.2mL)

Wish me luck!

Day 29–Inspired by the Supernatural

I know, this is a really late post, but I was super bummed out earlier today when someone hit my parked car as I was walking towards it and then tried to drive off!The damage was pretty bad and I have been hanging out with friends to forget about dealing with this until the morning…anyway, I just saw another adorable cutepolish tutorial for Jack Skellington and I knew this was what I had to try for today’s challenge!

If anyone is interested, these were my Halloween nails from last year!

Be sure to check out the other fabulous ladies who are also taking on the 31 Day Nail Challenge!

Naomi @ Bellezza

Traci @ drinkcitra

Day 28–Inspired by a Flag

Like Naomi, I am running out of ideas and steam as well! I didn’t really have a lot of time for today’s design so I decided to use the flag of Switzerland as my inspiration. My reason? It was my fiancé's suggestion! Instead of using a regular creme red, I decided to use a holo red called Prize by Nubar and then I painted on the white cross with acrylic paint. There is actually a coat of Glitter Gal – Light as a Feather, a white holo polish on top of the white, but you can barely see it :( This isn’t my proudest moment in terms of nail art, but it’ll do for today! At least I have a red holo on my nails which makes me happy!

No flash

Flash

Be sure to check out the other fabulous ladies who are also taking on the 31 Day Nail Challenge!

Naomi @ Bellezza

Traci @ drinkcitra

Day 27–Inspired by Artwork

I know it’s probably the next day for some of you, but now that I’m back at work after a two week vacation, the last couple of posts might be a little bit later. It’s still Day 27 here on the West Coast! I was a little stumped for ideas on this one as I’m not very artistically-inclined. I can manage basic shapes and lines, but when it comes to shading and faces, I cannot draw if my life depended on it. I was always the girl with perfectly drawn maps and chemical structures, but never anything else! What you are about to witness is my feeble attempt at some trees. I couldn’t get the faces to show up very well…

I started off with two coats of Venique – Wingtip White and sponged on a grey gradient of Barielle – U-Concrete-Me. I then did one coat of the infamous China Glaze – Fairy Dust and drew on the branches with black acrylic paint. I felt like my nails looked depressing once I was finished drawing so I dotted on some red berries in Zoya – America to give the whole manicure some “pep”.

Be sure to check out the other fabulous ladies who are also taking on the 31 Day Nail Challenge!

Naomi @ Bellezza

Traci @ drinkcitra

Monday Blues Blog Hop!

Welcome to the fifth edition of the Monday Blues Blog Hop hosted by myself, Traci from Drinkcitra and Christa from ChrissyAi. I would also like to welcome our two wonderful co-hosts for the week, Rachel and Denysia! Thank you to all of you who joined us for last week’s blog hop! You guys have all made it a true success and we welcome everyone who joins us this week! Happy Monday!     

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Join us every Monday and take those blues away! If you are interested in becoming a co-host for the The Monday Blues Blog Hop feel free to email us at mondaybluesbloghop(at)gmail(dot)com

Day 26–Inspired by a Pattern or Honeycomb Nails!

I have always been inspired by patterns in nature and bees and their honeycomb are nothing short of one of the more amazing patterns we can witness! I started off with a two coats of Sally Hansen XTremeWear – Mellow Yellow and then sponged on a gradient of Julep – Parker. To further mimic the feel of a golden honeycomb, I added one coat of China Glaze – 5 Golden Rings. I then hand drew the honeycomb structures with black acrylic paint. I WISH I’d had a stamp for honeycomb, but I did not so this is the result of intense concentration!

Be sure to check out the other fabulous ladies who are also taking on the 31 Day Nail Challenge!

Naomi @ Bellezza

Traci @ drinkcitra

Shoppers Drug Mart Fall Beauty Bonus!

I actually didn’t plan on getting the Fall Beauty Bonus, but then I got involved in beauty box swaps and realized that this bonus plus the 20x events happening this week was the perfect time to get items for my international swaps! If any of you get involved with swapping, it reminds me of having pen pals as a kid, but much more awesome! I won’t show what I got for my swaps, just what I purchased for myself, but to qualify for the Fall Beauty Bonus, I needed to spend $125 on cosmetics and I did it with $128 worth of product. I cut it pretty close! Let’s see what I got!

I love pampering myself with face masks at least two or three times a week so I had to try a couple of yummy-sounding ones from the Balea line. These Balea sachets are 3 for $5 and I can usually I can get around three uses out of each one.

Day 25–Inspired by Fashion or the Dress I’m Wearing Tonight!

Today’s design is straightforward and not too complicated and is inspired by an emerald green dress that I just bought from Modcloth. I just fell in love with the colour and it’s short bouncy skirt! It was also in my size which is always hard to find so I snapped it up when it went on sale a few weeks ago. I’m going to have to remember to iron it though…

I started off with two coats of Revlon – Wicked Star (awesome polish!) and then dotted on some white flowers with China Glaze – Snow and Sally Hansen XTremeWear – Mellow Yellow.

October 2012 Topbox

This month’s Topbox was probably the first for a lot of people who had signed up for the infamous waitlist months ago, but I have to say that this month’s was probably the first that I was not too thrilled with which I hate saying! There was a good selection of brands in this month’s box and there was actually a product that I was about to buy online, but the arrival of this month’s Topbox stopped me just in time!

Day 24–Inspired by a Book

These nails are a little nerdy and no I was not inspired by a neurobiology textbook! I thought about being cheeky and reposting my “Life of Pi'” nails, but I didn’t want to be the only one laughing ;-) The book that my nails were inspired by is called “Still Alice” by Lisa Genova which is about a university professor who suffers from early onset Alzheimer’s disease. It is told from her point of view so it makes for a bit of a heartbreaking and insightful read. You don’t have to be a scientist to enjoy the book so read it if you ever get a chance!

Four of my nails show the main part of the neuron and my thumb shows the rest of the axon with the myelin in blue acrylic paint. I started off with two coats of OPI – Black Onyx, then painted the cell body with purple acrylic paint. The nucleus was dotted on with Sally Hansen XTremeWear – Mellow Yellow. After I was finished, I felt like my nails still looked “empty” so I added China Glaze – Fairy Dust on top of the black.

Be sure to check out the other fabulous ladies who are also taking on the 31 Day Nail Challenge!

Naomi @ Bellezza

Traci @ drinkcitra

Quickie Winners Sinnage

Just a few amazingly great buys that I’ve picked up over the last couple of weeks that I could not say no to! Believe me, I’ve been trying so very hard to resist Winners and only get things that I can somewhat justify, so these are the results of my efforts!

Vera Wang-Princess Night

When this first came out last year, I believe, I decided I would wait for a Shopper’s Event to reward myself, but when I saw this full size for $29.99, patience went right out the door! I love “Princess” and this is very similar in scent, but reminds me a bit more of winter.

OPI RapiDry Spray and Bliss Blood Orange and White Pepper Body Butter

After seeing some good reviews on OPI’s RapiDry Spray, when I saw a bottle of this at Winners for $12.99, I figured it was the right time to give this a try. I also decided to get a second bottle of this Bliss moisturizer ($16.99) that I cannot live without! This is one of my all-time favourite scents and I tend to stock up whenever I see them on sale at Winners because Bliss products are ridiculously expensive at Sephora.

Nature Blossoms Ahava Set

I saw this nestled in a corner and couldn’t believe my luck! Like a lot of you, I fell in love with the Ahava scent when we received our first Ahava products in the inaugural February Glossybox or December Glymm Box. As you can see, the gift set came with a hand and foot cream, bath salts and some gel-lined moisture gloves for either the hands or feet! From what I have seen, Ahava products can only be purchased online so when I saw this full size set for $24.99, it was an immediate no-brainer. I think I carried the pouch around like a little baby until I made it to the cash register. You’d do it too right? I’m not the only one?

Have a great Tuesday everyone!

Julep American Beauty October 2012 Maven Box

Oooh my, it’s Julep Maven time and I haven’t had one of these to post about since the July box so it actually feels kind of nice to open one of these again. This month I switched my choice from Classic with a Twist to American Beauty because I thought the orange crackle was a unique enough polish to own for the Halloween season. I’m not normally a crackle girl, but a shimmery orange crackle? I’ll make an exception!

What’s this?! Extra Halloween goodies? Nom nom nom…

I truly enjoyed this month’s Maven box even though the surprise was really in the candy corn and two colours of glitter :) The candy corn was especially exciting for me seeing as how I didn’t discover it until my early 20s! I had heard of it, but let’s face it, candy corn isn’t something Asian parents buy for their kids! Hopefully I’ll be able to sport these colours soon, but with this nail challenge, swatches are definitely falling to the wayside! I truly loved all the colours in this month’s Maven boxes, but I’m trying to be careful about not getting duplicate colours in my nail polish collection which is getting harder and harder to do (340 now…)!

Thinking of becoming a Maven? Feel free to use my referral link or sign up the regular Joe way!

Day 23-Inspired by a Movie

After feeling somewhat uninspired for today’s manicure as well as exhausted from going to a wedding fair yesterday (with tons of wedding swag!), I left it up to my fiancé to choose a movie and he went with “Life of Pi”. My tiger stripes aren’t done in the traditional style, but I sort of like ‘em!

I started off with three coats of Zoya – Arizona, one coat of China Glaze – 5 Golden Rings and then painted on the stripes, pi sign and French tip with black acrylic paint.

Be sure to check out the other fabulous ladies who are also taking on the 31 Day Nail Challenge!

Naomi @ Bellezza

Traci @ drinkcitra

The Monday Blues Blog Hop!

Welcome to the fourth Monday Blues Blog Hop hosted by myself, Traci from Drinkcitra and Christa from ChrissyAi. I would also like to welcome our two wonderful co-hosts for the week, Nik and Raych! Thank you to all of you who joined us for last week’s blog hop! You guys all made it a true success and we welcome everyone who joins us this week! Happy Monday!   

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Join us every Monday and take those blues away! If you are interested in becoming a co-host for the The Monday Blues Blog Hop feel free to email us at mondaybluesbloghop(at)gmail(dot)com

Day 22–Inspired by a Song

I know that I may have taken what should be a very emotional song and taken it a little too literally, but Skyscraper by Demi Lovato has been running through my head for days now! I apologize for the lack of natural light as it’s very dark and rainy today. I used this cutepolish tutorial and just added a few extra things. I started off with two coats of Forever 21 Love and Beauty – Blue and sponged on China Glaze – Gothic Lolita. I then used one coat of China Glaze – Fairy Dust for stars in the night sky and painted the skyscrapers using OPI – Black Onyx. Finally, I dotted on the lights with Sally Hansen XTremewear – Mellow Yellow.

With flash

 

Be sure to check out the other fabulous ladies who are also taking on the 31 Day Nail Challenge!

Naomi @ Bellezza

Traci @ drinkcitra

September 2012 Beauty Box 5!

I was so excited for my next BB5 because my first one was so unexpectedly awesome! With so many beauty boxes out there it takes a lot to get me excited so I when September’s box finally arrived, I pretty much tore into it like a carnivorous dinosaur. I may have even growled, who knows? So, let’s see what I received shall we?

Sittin’ Pretty with my Born Pretty Order!

I have had a shopping cart filled with things at Born Pretty for awhile and finally decided to just take the plunge and order a few things that I honestly felt I “needed” in my life! I have ordered stamping plates from Born Pretty before, but I actually haven’t used them yet, so that’s why I’ve never talked about them until now. I had a very positive experience with Born Pretty the first time I ordered, especially since they forgot an item in my order and then sent it right away! With free worldwide shipping and customer service like that, I knew I’d be ordering from them again!

I have already put those nail art brushes to good use for my Breast Cancer manicure and I cannot wait to use the studs and dried flowers! I even got some new, crazy sharp tweezers to pick up rhinestones with! I know a lot of you have ordered from Born Pretty so I know I’m not alone in my excitement!