NAILS | Heartbeat Nails #CBBxManiMonday

Some press samples (marked with *)

I still haven't gotten my groove back. I am still feeling so tired and even though our Inventory went well, I feel like I am still playing catch up on work and life. I did get an hour of quiet time at work when it was quiet to actually enjoy some online Chaumet training which was actually pretty interesting! I love reading about the features and benefits of new products so I often have to tell myself to do this type of reading ONLY at work and not at home! 

NAILS | Red and White Hearts #CBBxManiMonday

Press samples

I just really wanted to have red nails that worked for both Lunar New Year AND Valentine's Day and stumbled upon this juicy red in Gossip Mag from Canadian brand Trust Fund Beauty! This is the old packaging from eons ago, but I am so happy that TFB is still around as I started working with them more than 10 years ago when they were first getting started and then I sort of lost track of the brand. This polish still applied like a total dream though and could almost have been a one coater! I added some hearts using a dotting tool (I wasn't the neatest...) and then I was done! I have actually received a number of compliments on this manicure especially for the shade of red!

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 | Hello Hearts! #CBBxManiMonday

Purchased by me 

Happy Valentine's Day! We don't really celebrate this very commercial holiday, but I won't lie that I do love cheesy hearts and the colours red and pink! I also find eating heart-shaped chocolate very satisfying, but I always buy it on sale after Valentine's Day because we know it will be 50% off on February 15th! 

NAILS | Heart Gardens #CBBxManiMonday

Press samples

 

This month, the ladies and I decided to do the theme of "Allyship" again in honour of Pride and Indigenous History month. While a lot of the manicures I end up creating are not the easiest to discuss, I hope that the art I create resonates with someone as I often find the research and creation of these designs both educational and emotional. 

NAILS | Abstract Love featuring OPI Nature Strong

While I may not necessarily celebrate Valentine's Day, I sure do love a good pink manicure and after doing one round of Valentine's Day nail art, I had to have more! I've always loved the abstract manicures with lines and dots so I wanted to try to create this with solely OPI Nature Strong polishes just to see how a vegan polish measured up to the "regular guys" in terms of ease of use in nail art and as a full base nail colour. As you can see, the polishes did not disappoint!

PR samples

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 | Jar of Hearts #CBBxManiMonday

Last year, I went a bit rogue and almost ignored Valentine's Day completely in favour of the Lunar New Year and Asian products. This year will still focus on #LunarFebruary, but Valentine's Day will not be left behind as I do have a handful of stories for this month that were of interest to me and hopefully will be to you as well! For this month, the girls and I decided to keep our ManiMonday theme simple and embrace the pink and red of both Valentine's Day and the Lunar New Year. I was very hesitant to say goodbye to the gorgeous green Zoya manicure I received at Lily & Roo last week so I decided to add some pink on top and squeak out a few more days of wear out of my manicure.

*PR sample

NAILS | Inspired by Design.Me Dry Shampoo Packaging #CBBxManiMonday

I had already been planning this manicure in my head after trying out the new Design.Me Quickie Me Dry Shampoo Spray (you bet I've got a review coming!) and loving the colours and matte finish of the packaging when our little CBB ManiMonday family decided that today's theme would be "Inspired By"! I will admit that whenever I feel uninspired for a design, I look to the packaging of MANY of my beauty products!

PR samples

NAILS | Inspired by JGoldcrown's "Bleeding Hearts"

When I reviewed the Sephora x JGoldcrown Bleeding Hearts Brush Set, I looked at the multi-coloured hearts on the brush handles and knew they would make perfect nail art!