NAILS | Finding Dory and Nemo #CBBxManiMonday

Happy Monday everyone! It is my half weekend today which means catching up with both blog and house things that never seem to end. Between the hours my husband and I work, the apartment is always a cross between clean and crazy as by the time we get home, we have zero energy to clean (I can't imagine being a parent!) and on our days off you want to do things you enjoy instead of clean. I once read that your place should always be a 10 minute clean away from company and though I tried so hard to keep to that, for the last 3 years, it has been near impossible.

Today's nails are titled as such because this manicure didn't work out as planned. The CBB theme we had going was "Sea Creatures" and though I had a few ideas in mind, I finally settled on Nemo and Dory. I loved both Finding Nemo and Finding Dory so nails in their honor seemed like a fun activity.

Some PR samples featured

NAILS | Happy Anniversary to the Original Amino Acid Molecular Nails! #ManiMonday

Five years ago, I decided to try something that I had never seen before on nails - molecules. I planned for months what to do and finally decided on this. This was when I first started doing nail art and didn't know a lot of what I know now so I thought that on this anniversary, I'd clean up my cuticles, spruce up the colours and give you a non-blurry photo!

These nails have actually been copied a few times as well as mislabeled as "Feynmen Nails" which they are not! This idea gave much inspiration to a lot of the science nails I do and it was all done to show that just because you are a girl does not mean you can't love beauty AND be intelligent. When I was in school doing cell biology and later on computer science, being a girl was one thing, but being a girl that liked doing her nails or makeup? Obviously, that meant you spent more time on your looks than in your books! It also wasn't just men that treated me differently, but WOMEN too. It's like the ones that didn't wear makeup (which is fine!) thought I wasn't a hard worker and would coast on projects. Thankfully, I found some great people who were more progressive as well as a great boss in bioinformatics who loved genetics as much as handmade Italian shoes! So, here's to science, more money in science and women who can do it all!

NAILS | Halloween Stitches French Manicure

I am appalled at myself for starting my Halloween manicure so late in the month! I adore Halloween, but this year I am finding it hard to come up with ideas for nail art that I have not done. I could always re-do the very first set of Halloween nails I EVER painted in my life (here)? I look at them and I am grateful for the progress I have made in 5 years! I am starting off Halloween with some elegant stitches nails reminiscent of Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas. I decided to do multi-coloured tips because I get so sick of orange and black so it's nice to mix it up a little.

NAILS | BCD Nail Art Challenge Week 16 Fox Nail Art #ManiMonday

Today's Mani Monday falls on a holiday here in BC and for once I am home and enjoying the day off! I'll probably be blogging, but it'll be nice to sleep in a little. The girls and I have been falling behind when it comes to the BCD Nail Art Challenge, but if we can all get it done this year, I think we can say challenge achieved! I could never do the 31 Day Nail Challenges just because I take a long time creating certain designs and to see them have to disappear after just one day seems so sad!

This week's challenge is "Fox" and lemme tell ya, foxes are hard to draw! My fox's tail still came out looking like a baseball bat, but oh well (inspo for this mani here).  

I started off with two coats of Ceramic Glaze - Pure* and then handpainted my fox and paws with CND Vinylux - Brick Knit*. The white details were done with acrylic paint and the black eyes and nose with Essence - Black is Back*. I added some top coat and then I was done!

For those having a long weekend, enjoy the extra day!

Check out Naomi (@bellezzabee) and Traci's (@drinkcitra) creations for this week and stay tuned for 16 more weeks of #BCDNails! Tag us if you feel like joining in!

Click here to see the rest of my BCD Nail Art!

NAILS | Ceramic Glaze Impulsive Swatch

I am keeping it real simple today with a swatch of Ceramic Glaze Impulsive from the Botanical Oasis collection. This polish reminds me so much of China Glaze Flying Dragon that I am going to have to dig it up from my stash to do a side by side comparison! 

NAILS| The Turquoise Stone Blobbicure #ManiMonday

I have been loving the look of textures and creating more "organic" manicures lately and one technique that I have been wanting to try is the infamous "blobbicure"! A blobbicure is quite literally nail art that has been created using blobs of polish (see video by Simply Nailogical). I wanted to create a turquoise stone-like effect so I used some of the shades from the Ceramic Glaze Botanical Oasis collection which worked out perfectly to give this mani the look I was going for!

NAILS | BCD NAIL ART CHALLENGE WEEK 13 - Dry Water Marble with the Ceramic Glaze Botanical Oasis Collection

I'm sorry everyone, but I have been so tired for what feels like two weeks now. Work has been quite busy and I honestly have felt too tired to even eat dinner this past week. Thank goodness I have a husband who believes in cooking, but oh my gosh has this week been exhausting. Week 13 of the BCD Nails Challenge should have been up a month ago, but I think all of three of us have fallen behind at this point, but I love seeing what Naomi and Traci come up with as well as some additional participants who have been joining us on Instagram!

Let me just start my saying that this is my first attempt at the dry water marble technique, which is "dry" due to the absence of water. I find the traditional water marble very messy and time-consuming so after seeing enough videos, I wanted to take the plunge and try this dry water marble manicure myself!

NAILS | BCD NAIL ART CHALLENGE WEEK 11 - The Blue Skittlette #BCDNAILS

This week's BCD Nail Art Challenge was a bit of a well, challenge for me as skittle nails are not my forte. Skittle essentially refers to the having a different nail design on each nail, but with a unifying colour scheme or theme. I am SO NOT GOOD AT THIS, but seeing as how the new OPI Alice Through the Looking Glass collection was out, I thought I'd try to cook something up with a few of the new shades!

NAILS | BCD NAIL ART CHALLENGE WEEK 10 - Literal Money on Ma Nails! #BCDNAILS

Two weeks behind, but back at it with the BCD Nail Art Challenge! The theme for Week 10 was "Money"and though I was convinced I had this in the bag before I left for Toronto last week, the original design I had in mind is going to require a bit more time so I will have to save it for later. I hadn't meant to take the theme quite so literally, but I can honestly say that gluing coins to my nails had never occurred to me until this challenge!

ACI Beauty Event Spring/Summer 2014 Preview (Picture Heavy!)

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the Spring/Summer preview for Stila, Cargo Cosmetics, Ceramic Glaze, Seche, Anna Sui and Ardell Lashes held at the beautiful Rosewood Hotel Georgia. This hotel is serious stuff guys and is one of the most luxurious places to stay in Vancouver. The event showcased some amazing products and really got me excited to share them all with you!