NAILS | Cirque Colors Flower Power (Thermal) #CBBxManiMonday

Purchased by me

I had to work on this holiday Monday so I only just painted my nails about an hour ago, BUT I was determined to have a timely #CBBxManiMonday post for once! I had some grand plans for full on nail art, but I have been pretty upset all day because of what happened to Evelyn (my 21 year old car). We have to park on the street and when I went out this morning to go to work, I saw that someone had hit her and taken out my driver's side mirror in the process! Now, I've got to deal with getting her fixed up even though we have also been wanting to get a new car as well. I think the mirror will be cheap enough to replace as it's not like I can suddenly get a new car this week, but it's just such a bummer because of the unexpected expense AND because I feel so badly for my baby!

NAILS | Inspired by Pacifica Beauty Scalp Love #CBBxManiMonday

Press samples marked with *

I was looking for inspiration for this week's #CBBxManiMonday when I suddenly looked at the Pacifica Beauty Scalp Love serum I have been using like crazy and realized just how PRETTY the bottle was! It was also incredibly convenient that it matched our theme of "Green" for the month!

NAILS | Teal French #CBBxManiMonday

 

One press sample

Today marks the first time in almost a month that I have painted my nails! They kept breaking and then I was on vacation and decided to give them a bit of a break. Honestly, I also just haven't felt like anything beauty. I have been quite bummed, like many Canadians, about what is happening with the US and unlike the first time he was elected, this time feels worse. No one is standing up for what's right and the actual thought of Canada being annexed could actually happen if our economy slowly starts to shrink. It's all very depressing and my ultimate Dystopian nightmare would be if this actually led to war between the US and Canada! Like, how crazy would that be in the 21st century?! This means that right now, we are literally in the history books as the trade war has already started (unprovoked). 

NAILS | Glow-in-the-Dark Ghosts #CBBxManiMonday

Press samples and self purchased

FINALLY! A true Halloween manicure from me! Nail art has been getting tougher and tougher for me to sit down and do over the years, but I keep reminding myself that once I sit down and get it done, I'm always so happy with the results and though I have done ghost nails in the past, I really like how these turned out!

NAILS | Cirque Colors "Firecracker" Swatch (Magentic) Charity Polish

 

Purchased by me

I have been really exhausted for the last three weeks and just as I predicted last month, I had a ton of energy to blog and organize my life and then things just got tiring. I take naps on my days off at 12pm and one day I think I had three naps and still felt like my legs were weights. I have been grateful for the extra excursions for press events, but even with working some shorter weeks thanks to using the last of my vacation days, I have found myself really struggling to wake up in the mornings. I have been going to bed around 12:30am which I guess is still on the late side, so maybe I will have to be extra diligent about getting ready for bed earlier. This past week was a little busy as I was getting ready to attend the Fete Chinoise gala on Saturday and had to find a dress and shoes last minute as I was not planning on going, but then found a colleague to attend with me. This week is INVENTORY and I have talked about this "event" multiple times a year since I have started blogging and it is never fun and always exhausting. It has gotten progressively easier to handle as we do not have as much staff or stock as before, but the feeling of nausea never goes away after a 12-14 hour day.

NAILS | Cirque Colors La Vie En Rose Swatch (Thermal) #MidWeekMani

 

Purchased by me

This is my 22nd blog post this month and marks the first time since July 2022 that I have blogged over 20x/month! No, my posts aren't all that long or filled with complex reviews, but I think those are only good once in awhile and not at all the time as I would prefer to have this be a relaxed place. When I didn't have my day job back in April 2020, I wrote A LOT and in great detail since I had the time to test and write down every observation I had about whatever product I was testing, but if I am working I can barely keep the days straight in my head! I am proud of myself for coming back to this level of posting though as much of my lack of blogging came from my grief over losing Hugo. I admit that I live in constant fear that something will happen to Harper or Buster out of the blue so I make sure I shower them with love and attention whenever I can so that if something were to happen, I will know that I spent as much time with them as possible. With Hugo, I feel like I didn't spend enough time with him, but maybe that is just the grief talking. Since losing Hugo, I have tried to cherish every moment I have with my furballs.

NAILS | Cirque Colors Mood Ring #CBBxManiMonday

Purchased by me

I am going to be cheating a bit with today's post as it is more of a swatch than anything, but I couldn't mess with the fact that this is the first time I have featured a MAGNETIC polish on the blog! Magnetic or "cat-eye" polishes aren't anything new, but this is the first time I have seen them in such vibrant colours! The nicest ones I have seen are from my favourite indie brand Cirque Colors, a brand I have featured on Cosmetic Proof many times over! 

NAILS | Velvet Hearts with Cirque Colors "Chemistry" #CBBxManiMonday

Purchased by me

I use the month of February to get the heart manicures out of my system because I actually REALLY enjoy them! I also picked up a bunch of magnetic polishes from Cirque Colors as I have now fallen for the velvet nail trend! I was never into magnetic polish before as the cat eye or chatoyancy look never appealed to me, but then I saw an IG video of Cirque Colors "Chemistry" in action and I was so enamoured with how velvety the nails looked! 

NAILS | Care Bear Nail Art #MidWeekMani

Some press samples

I feel like what is selling right now are reboots of ANYTHING from the 80s and 90s. Basically I am being sold my childhood when it comes to TV, LEGO and fashion and I am not hating it! It's like as I approach 40, my life is coming full circle. One of the things I have seen a resurgence of is TV shows like "Care Bears". Who remembers the Care Bear stare?! This was one of my favourite shows when I first came to Canada in 1988 and I have fond memories of plunking myself right in front of our TV and watching it all the time! 

NAILS | Happy Valentine's Day! #CBBxManiMonday

How convenient that Valentine's Day falls on a CBBxManiMonday! Today is the last official day of my vacation which I am both sad and relieved about as I realized that being super out of it for two days after having my Booster put me on a path of..."unproductivity". I was pretty much the most efficient in my first 3 days and then kind of lost it though my husband often says that I should just find a way to relax instead of running around taking photos and forcing myself to play with makeup. He kind of has a point, but I feel like the guilt would kill me if I didn't do SOME blog planning. I did do a relatively big clean out and gave away about 4 bags of makeup and skincare, but there will always be much to do! 

Cirque Colors purchased by me

NAILS | Cirque Colors Cool Blast Swatch #CBBxManiMonday

Ah, I totally wanted to do some nail art, but I started feeling a bit gross on Sunday night with a headache and just feeling meh so I took it easy and decided to paint my nails this very much "very Peri" nail colour while crying to more episodes of Queer Eye!

Purchased by me

NAILS | Polar Bears and Snowflakes #CBBxManiMonday

Firstly, I think because of the number of things I have had to do over the last few days it feels like it's ManiThursday! I had some car issues this past Friday where my alternator and battery died while I was on a major bridge in the middle of morning rush hour traffic! It was very scary as all my lights on the dashboard just shut off and I could no longer accelerate! I managed to use basically pure gravity to coast to the first emergency pullover area and I was lucky that no one rear-ended me as my signal indicator wasn't working nor were my hazard lights. It was also pretty cold at -1 degrees Celsius and where I was stopped, there wasn't transit or an easily walkable place to catch a cab, but thank goodness for Uber and the willingness of the drivers to pick you up from anywhere! My car is still getting repaired and at $1000 for the repair, I am glad that most of my Christmas shopping is done!

Purchased by me

NAILS | Cirque Colors One Night Stand Swatch and Weekly Chat

I feel like not a lot has happened this week as it has felt fairly chill on the work and personal life front. I mentioned that I have been trying to watch more movies and read more which I have been plugging away at. Like the rest of the planet, I started watching Squid Game on Netflix and had to take a bit of a break after Episode 6. Honestly, I am only watching it because it's trending. This is not really my kind of series as I walk away from each episode feeling a little depressed and frankly stressed! I have been watching the episodes at work while I work on Lego and don't know if I want to pick it up again because I always feel like I am on the edge of my seat every episode! I am so close to finishing though and it would just be nice to check it off my to do list as I plan on doing Squid Game nails next week! 

Press sample

NAILS | Cirque Colors Game Over and Weekly Catch Up

Well, hello there! I think I will use these nail swatch posts as a guise to do more of a journal entry where I talk all about the "hot goss" in my life. Riiiight, as if there is much adventure going on in my life right now! I am still one of those people who isn't going out much though I did recently venture out to a friend's place to hang out for the day and she was the first person I had visited outside of my work bubble since the start of the pandemic! I'm not normally a social person so the pandemic has definitely fed into my natural desire to be alone and lemme tell ya, I have been eating it up! I have always found my day job socially quite draining so having all of my free time to decompress the last 18 months has truly felt so good. I still get tired, but I am nowhere near the level of mental exhaustion I used to be at. I also have a new outlook on blogging, Instagram and PR which has calmed me down when it comes to always posting, always blogging, always trying to get product and running around like a madwoman trying to do it all!  

Purchased by me

NAILS | Cirque Colors Electric Daisy Swatch and Life Chat

As I write this, it is Sept.1st and I know I am not alone when I say that for some reason, this year's arrival of Sept.1st feels so much faster and more surreal than last year! Last year, we were still trying to adjust to life in a pandemic and with work, I was just trying to keep an open mind about an ever-changing environment. This year, we have vaccines, the introduction of vaccine passports, continued mask-wearing which means I have a a good idea of what life is going to be like until 2022. Maybe the summer seems to have gone by more quickly because it all started with a weeklong incredibly uncomfortable heatwave (without an A/C) and then only after that did I realize comfortable summer temperatures should be enjoyed to their fullest! 

Purchased by me

NAILS | Inspired by the Clarins Frozen Summer Eyeshadow Palette #CBBxManiMonday

While some may look to nature for inspiration, beauty packaging holds so much potential for nail art inspiration and has been incredibly fun to create and when I saw the new Clarins Frozen collection, I picked up this eyeshadow palette, looked at it and knew it had to somehow end up on my nails. For the first time in awhile, I did my nails ahead of time mainly because I got my second vaccine shot on Sunday morning and I wanted to be prepared "in case I went down"! While I could be fine, I also could be very much NOT fine! I have today off as well and I am prepared to hunker down and sit in front of Netfllix should my condition go South!

 

Polishes purchased by me. Clarins Eyeshadow Palette is a PR sample.

NAILS | Waves of Blue #CBBxManiMonday

I have had the song "Waves of Blue" by Canadian artists Majid Jordan on repeat for the last week and when I was rounding summer coloured polishes to feature, seeing this trio of shades together made me think of the song I played for 30 minutes straight the other day in the car! I have been having the most chill two days off, reading my book and most importantly, enjoying the summer sunshine. My husband and I made turkey enchiladas last night and then went for an evening walk around the neighbourhood which we try to do a few times a week for some exercise. He goes for runs, but I am not the best when it comes to working out. I know what it takes to commit to exercising and I readily admit that I am not willing to put in the commitment even though I know it will improve my life substantially. Thankfully I eat well, but the exercise factor is definitely the one thing I KNOW I need to do, but don't feel motivated enough to do. Judge me all you want, I know I am a flawed individual!

Some polishes are PR samples

NAILS | Neon Geodes #CBBxManiMonday

Well, I survived my first week back at work after a vacation and truth be told, it was actually very quiet so I didn't feel like I was drowning the first few days. I managed to get all caught up and even get ahead a bit for this week over the weekend so I am in good shape! I have really been enjoying this summer, trying to read outside on my days off and go for walks. Even doing laundry and letting it air dry outside in the sun feels like summer to me and I love it. Doing bright summer manicures also makes me feel so happy so I will do my best to keep you all entertained with pretty nails and positive vibes!

Some PR samples featured

NAILS | It's Easy Being Neon Green #CBBxManiMonday

This month's #CBBxManiMonday theme is "neons, brights and whatever else you can think of that reminds you of summer". Even though the days of a two month summer vacations are far behind me, I still have a more laidback attitude when the sun is out and the temperature is warm enough to live in little rompers and shorts. While I have never believed that nail polish colours have specific seasons of wear, there is something satisfying about wearing a good neon shade in the throes of summer!

Cirque Colors nail polish is a press sample

NAILS | In Honour of Indigenous People #CBBxManiMonday

This week's #CBBxManiMonday is a bit delayed on account of the extreme heatwave the Pacific Northwest is having and is an emotionally heavy set of nails. As this is our last week of "Allyship" themed nails, I wanted to pay my respects to the children lost in Canada's residential school system. With the recent discovery last week announced by the Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan of 751 unmarked graves at the former Marieval Indian Residential School, this year's Canada Day should be one of listening and acknowledgement of Canada's far from perfect past AND its continuous mistreatment of Indigenous people. Canada Day also happens to be my birthday so I will still be celebrating that, but there will be no Canada Day nails or anything like that happening in this space. This year is especially heavy and we should all feel ok with that.

 

Some polishes provided by PR