NAILS | Mermaid Scales #CBBxManiMonday

 

Press samples

I am very excited to share today's mani with you because it is the first time I get to try BKIND's nail polishes! BKIND is a Quebec-based, woman-owned, vegan and plant-based beauty brand and in today's economy and trade war sitch, I am all about supporting Canadian brands! While I will have a separate post for BKIND's hair products and skincare, the nail polishes were the first products I literally GRABBED!

NAILS | Fall Leaves Gradient #CBBxManiMonday

Some press samples featured

I wore my first sweater dress last week and I knew Fall was officially here! It was rainy, windy, but kind of muggy. Typical Vancouver weather that is often surprising for people who move out here. Sure, the temperature is mild, but the constant wetness really gets to people! I have gotten used to it, but I don't necessarily enjoy it as it makes mornings REALLY hard to get up for. I have enjoyed delving into the Fall nail polishes that have come out and this is probably the one beauty area that I have consistently blogged about while all other beauty products have fallen to the wayside. Cosmetic Proof did begin as a nail polish blog so I guess it makes sense that at its core, if I only have time and energy to do one thing it would be nails! This year, there have been a number of collections that have caught my eye and I have been trying my best to wear them ALL for you!

NAILS | Beachy Daisies #CBBxManiMonday

 

Press samples

Happy Victoria Day to those who have it! Work is actually closed for today which does not happen a lot so I have had a real weekend off as we are closed on Sundays as well! I have plans to resume my beauty and house clean up today as well donating some old clothes to Big Brother. I have really been wanting to refresh my spring/summer wardrobe which means I need to make some space! I gained about 10lbs during 2020 that I have not been able to shed (granted, I haven't been exercising so...) and a lot of the clothes I thought I would be able to fit into are now just a no-go. In addition to changes in my wardrobe, I have also made changes to my nail shape! This is now my second manicure with ballerina coffin style nails and I am kind of loving it! I feel like a different person! 

NAILS | Purple Holo Taping Gradient #CBBxManiMonday

It's the first set of nails for 2022! I was seriously at a loss for what to do even though our theme is "Purple and Blue" as an hommage to this year's Pantone colour of the year "Very Peri" which is kind of a purply-blue. These are two of my most favourite shades to wear so I think I was just lacking in inspiration for what to do, but then I saw this super pretty HOLO gradient from @hannahroxit and I knew I'd found my muse!

Some press samples

NAILS | Inspired by Kerastase Serum Cicanuit #CBBxManiMonday

I had mentioned before that I was having a hard time finding inspiration for nail art which means I am looking EVERYWHERE for it now and I have been amazed at how pretty beauty product packaging is! I even looked at my Nespresso pod the other day and thought "Wow, this would make an incredible piece of nail art!" Today's package inspo comes from the bottle of Kerastase hair serum that I received in my November L'Oreal Luxe Box! When I saw the bottle, I instantly saw this gradient on my nails and I even think I may have done it for a past manicure! 

Press samples provided

NAILS | Going in Circles #CBBxManiMonday

The first #CBBxManiMonday of 2021 and the three of us were having some trouble coming up with a theme and after a bit of discussion, we realized that we were all wanting to go through some untrieds and things we hadn't had a chance to get to in 2020 so in a way our "no theme" is more like "doing things we didn't get to do last year" which is fine by me! I am still enjoying my holiday themed nail polishes, but done with holiday designs so this worked out perfectly! Also, am I the only who despises this first week back? What I hate about it is that OTHER people feel the need to get things done and put that pressure on us when really the only thing has changed is them not us! Everything that people put off last month now suddenly becomes of utmost importance come January because of whatever resolutions people have set out to accomplish. February is ok too! Or heck even Spring!


PR samples

NAILS | Inspired by a Leaf #CBBxManiMonday

I know, I know. This is practically the opposite of vampy Fall shades, but I saw this manicure from LoveVarnish.com inspired by the shades of Fall and had to try it for myself! I hadn't done taping in awhile and I loved the texture the taping added to the glitter gradient. I didn't have the exact colours, so I think this came out "happier" than intended, but I am still very happy with it!

 Purchased by me

NAILS | Holo Mermaid #CBBxManiMonday

We are more than halfway through the Holo Taco Rainbow Collection and I have been WAITING for this green! I love greens, blues and purples so the last couple of shades will be shades I look forward to trying, but the green is pretty amazing too! This is Green Taffy and in the bottle, I was expecting something like Nubar Reclaim and it is verrrrry similar. I think Green Taffy is a touch brighter and maybe a bit more multidimensional on the holo, but these two polishes are very much in the same family for me. While I obviously HAD to take photo of Green Taffy in its holo glory, I still needed some nail art for our "Summer Lingo" #CBBxManiMonday theme and what goes well with green? Mermaids of course!

Some polishes PR gifted

NAILS | Neon Gradient #CBBxManiMonday

Sorry, I am a little late with this one, but I have been trying to get a bunch of things done on my "Sunday" off which have included renewing my Driver's License, getting special cat food from the vet, locating some Japanese Curry mix (the Glico kind because that's the BEST kind) and then baking my muffins and doing meal prep for the week. Then I got caught up in this whole Susan Yara/Naturium business (so sad Susan, so sad) and then it was time for a nap!

 PR gifted

NAILS | Inspired by a Lipstick #CBBxManiMonday

While I was working on my "Lipsticks that Look Like Crap on Me" post, I noticed that one of the lipstick tubes from the Sephora x Pantone Collection had a really pretty gradient on it. Actually, there are SO MANY makeup products with inspiration for nail art that I was even thinking of doing a series #InspiredByPackaging! I have been trying to get up to two nail posts a week, but even in this time of quarantine, I don't really want to do my nails more than once a week! I don't even paint both hands anymore because why bother? The packaging on the lipstick also gave me a chance to try the brand new Sally Hansen Pure collection which are their new 100% vegan, plant-based, 16-free polishes!

Nail polishes were PR gifted by London Drugs

NAILS | Celebrating the First Day of Fall with a "Grey"- dient #CBBxManiMonday

OMGGGG. I love how I went from feeling totally on the ball with life and blogging while on vacation and now I am so zapped of energy that I feel like I never took two glorious weeks off to begin with! Oddly enough, I was tired of cleaning my beauty space for 5-6 hours a day so I was actually quite excited to head back into work and by Day 2 I was pretty much done. Not to say, I don't enjoy the challenges of my job and honestly I feel like I can stretch my brain in a different way there than in this blogging space. With that being said, I will be honest here in that I had prepared this manicure well in advance as I wasn't sure how coming back to work would hit me. The next thing I need to be honest about is that I only remember ONE colour I used because I didn't write anything down...

PR samples featured

NAILS | The Pink Gradient #CBBxManiMonday

The new OPI Tokyo Collection arrived and I ran into any nail polish lover's issue of wanting to wear ALL of the shades at once and I have learned that the BEST solution for this is to do a gradient because then you can choose at least three of your favourite colours and just sponge them all together like one big, happy family! We are sticking with our theme of pinks and reds this month and while this gradient is more pink/mauve (I dunno, I just don't enjoy wearing straight-up red polish) I adore each of the colours on their own and I have a feeling I will be wearing this again this month and beyond!

PR samples

NAILS | One Last Attempt at Fall #CBBxManiMonday

I never really got to do a Fall Leaves manicure mainly because I thought I could manage a ManiMonday while I was away on vacation in September and as it turns out, vacation-Jayne is pretty lazy and does NOT feel like doing her nails! By the time I got back to Vancouver, it was already October and time for Halloween manicures so the fall season definitely got neglected. 

PR samples

NAILS | Reliving my Childhood with Lisa Frank #ManiMonday

I am pretty sure that my penchant for leopard print started in the 90s with Lisa Frank. She also happens to be a REAL person and still spearheads the company now continuing to make rainbow school supplies and lunchboxes for elementary school kids. Today's ManiMonday is a tribute to all of my Lisa Frank paraphernalia from the 90s and has made me realize that I still love leopard print now as much as I did then! It's a hard pattern to wear without looking cheap, so I tend to keep the print to accessories, underwear and of course my nails!

NAILS | A Neon Gradient Means "HELLO SUMMER"! #ManiMonday

My weekend started yesterday and man was it a hot one! I am fine with a hot day, but add in humidity and I'm like "NO". I know that I shave said there are no specific seasons for nail polish shades, but I feel like neons are really a summer thing. It's something about how they look against a tan and just glow in sunshine!

NAILS | Celebrate #Canada150 with Whats Up Nails! (Free Nail Vinyls to the First 10 Readers!)

Can you believe Canada is turning 150 years old this July 1st? Canada is actually such a young country and I am proud to call it my home. The day Canada turns 150, I will be turning 34 so even though I was born in Malaysia I feel like it truly was destiny for my family to find Vancouver and call it home almost 29 years ago. I also became an official Canadian citizen on July 1st, 1992 so this day holds a ton of importance for me which is why I was delighted to partner up with Nail Polish Canada and Whats Up Nails for today's collaboration!

NAILS | It Makes Me Happy When My Nails Match My Watch #ManiMonday

One thing I love about doing Mani Mondays is that there is nothing like waking up Monday morning and seeing my freshly painted nails. Whether it is something as simple as a swatch or crazy detailed like plant cell, it honestly makes me feel better knowing that I have fresh, new nails!

When I received the Swept Away Ombre Watch in Red* ($24.99 CDN), I immediately wanted to do a gradient with some new Avon polishes I had received and then of course, wear the watch! This medium-sized watch with a minimalist leather strap, comes in three other colours, all of which are perfect for spring and summer so definitely have a look! 

NAILS | Hello Spring Gradient! #ManiMonday

It is SO CLOSE to Spring officially making its way into our lives and yet most of Canada is still freezing. Vancouver has had snow in March and then the other day my windshield wiper broke off in the rain as it had been frozen before. Thankfully it was on the passenger side, but the blade flew off while I was on the highway and into the car beside me. I was so embarrassed!

Nothing signals the beginning of Spring like new colour cosmetics and Mary Kay Light, Reinvented collection is one of real beauty consisting of new spring-inspired lip oils, eyeshadow palettes and of course nail polishes! 

NAILS | Purple Gradient Glitter with Duri Cosmetics #ManiMonday

I promise the cheesy holiday nail art will start soon enough, but here is my seque into it with this simple glittery gradient to start off the second week of December! I have officially not missed a single Mani Monday for one whole year now and I guess that is something to celebrate since it's probably the ONE single thing I feel I have been able to commit to. While this year has had its ups and downs, I am happy with how 2016 is wrapping up as I am feeling fairly content with work (now that some difficult people have moved on), but I miss this blog. I miss this space and I hope I am able to find more time to spend in it next year because I love to blog and talk makeup!

We are starting off the week with a couple of polishes from the Sweet Affair Collection from Duri Cosmetics! 

NAILS | Halloween Haunted House #ManiMonday

I literally did these an hour before writing this post because I had to go "nail naked" for the Vancouver Chickadvisor Showcase yesterday afternoon as we were testing out nail polishes! If you haven't attended this event before, it is open to the public though Chickadvisor was gracious enough to send me a media pass. This is the most estrogen-filled afternoon you will ever have and by the time it's all over, you feel like you are on some sort of adrenaline rush from all of that product speed-dating!