NAILS | Dior #999 #CBBxManiMonday

Purchased by me

Forgive the lack of posts again, but I had a very long weekend with Inventory at work and I pretty much crashed around 4pm for a 2 hour nap and then just wanted to diamond paint and do Pixyls all night long. Thankfully, I have today off so I was able to head out and run some errands at London Drugs as well as pick up a press package from UPS. I have not had the urge to sit down and do my nails just yet (I still have not decided on my design for today) so I am cheating a little with sharing this swatch of Dior 999, but for a red, white and pink theme this month I think 999 takes the cake in terms of iconic shades in the luxury beauty space!

MAKEUP | Dior Holiday Golden Ball 2024 Collection

Purchased by me and it was QUITE the splurge!

As some of you know especially from my Instagram, back in April while I was stress leave, I decided to dedicate my beauty budget for the remainder of 2024 to one brand and that brand was Dior! I was scrolling through Instagram and started seeing some their new releases, events and GWPs and it made me go back into my old Dior press samples and reminisce. In doing so, I realized that I had been neglecting a VERY good brand with quality formulations and of course, FANTASTIC packaging. Over the years, I have been tiring of Sephora and their lack of client service so I have been buying all of my Dior products almost exclusively from the Dior counter at Holt Renfrew. I like that I am buying from a Canadian department store and giving commission to a real person. I have also been rewarded with facials every month, invitations to exclusive events with Dior as well as GWPs that are way better than what I have ever received at Sephora. Suffice it to say, I am going to be continuing to shop with Holt Renfrew! 

NAILS | Dior Soir de Bal with Snowflakes #CBBxManiMonday

Decals are press samples

This is THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER for so many reasons, but the main one being that for the last two years, myself and others in the store have been terrorized by a very difficult employee. The most difficult and unprofessional employee I have ever come across in my 20 years at work and as of last Thursday, this employee is retired and most importantly gone. 

NAILS | Sally Hansen x Reese's Peanut Butter Time Swatch #CBBxManiMonday

Purchased by me

My nails are in AWFUL shape right now and this is the last backup photo I have of me wearing any nail polish so I am hoping that by next week I will have some semblance of a manicure to share with you! They are currently too short to even shape after going through multiple breaks due to the very dry weather so even after missing last week's ManiMonday, they are still in recovery mode. 

NAILS | Essie Expressie Misfit Right In Swatch #MidWeekMani

Purchased by me

I got home from work so late today. We had a very late client and we stayed two hours past closing which is something I haven't done in a long time, but it was for a good reason so no one was mad - just tired and wanting to go home. My stomach also wasn't feeling very good today so it was a crackers, rice, banana and tea day.

NAILS | Dior Blue Star Swatch #CBBxManiMonday

Purchased by me

Today is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S! Though it is a holiday here in BC and work is operating on holiday hours, I will be working a completely normal day from 9-6pm as we have a brand visit and Loss Prevention audit happening. They were scheduled by different countries/provinces that were not aware of Truth and Reconciliation Day hence what would normally have been a very chill day is now going to be a super packed "ON" day for me and the other manager!  

NAILS | Dior Triomphe Swatch #CBBxManiMonday

Purchased by me

My nails have yet to grow back for the design that I have been wanting to do, but luckily I managed to photograph this brand new polish from the Dior Fall 2024 Plan de Paris Collection! There are four polishes in total and I loved the shades enough to pick them ALL up so you will see them here in due time!

NAILS | China Pattern-Inspired #CBBxManiMonday

Press samples

August is going by WAY too quickly for me as I am not quite ready to think about Back to School season (even though I haven't been a student for over 10 years!). It's amazing how Back to School will forever stick with you long into your adult years. One thing I have been seeing A LOT of this summer is the blue floral print on white on dresses and bags and thought I would try it out on my nails!

NAILS | OPI Brown to Earth Swatch

 

Happy weekend! I am writing this live which almost NEVER happens because it is Saturday and in the world of retail, I so rarely get this day off as it is often the busiest. This will be a bit brief as I sadly only have this one photo of OPI Brown to Earth, which the most perfect shade of dark chocolate. I bring this out quite often during the Fall months as it is such a cozy brown that works with a lot of Fall designs.

This weekend I am feeling a little bummed out with some things going on at work that are beyond my control, but will affect myself and the team in the end. I am in this mental state of re-evaluation which does not feel good, but I have some options to proceed with which might make me feel better. I am just feeling horrifically undervalued at this point and I realize that I have to do what is best for me even if it means other people aren't happy. If I have learned anything this year is that the only people who watch out for me are myself and my husband. It will be an interesting year and while I feel I have the mental capacity to handle it, I just know that it will be unpleasant. I am just hoping to clear my head this weekend and be somewhat productive in other areas of my life in the hopes of feeling better for the upcoming future.

Have a good weekend everyone and I will see you all later!

NAILS | Dior Riviera Swatch #MidWeekMani

Press sample

I feel like I am still recovering from last week. I feel a bit more energized today, but this week has been a bit busy with family visiting (so good to see them after so long though!) and continually playing that game of catch up at work. Also, it's the end of July. We are HALFWAY through summer? How did THAT happen? Was I on vacation a whole month ago? Where has the time gone, seriously?!

NAILS | Bright Circles #CBBxManiMonday

Press samples

The only reason there is a timely CBBxManiMonday post today is because I am OFF. I know that I will want to die when I have to work the next 5 days in a row which I am not used to, but I hope that I will survive the week with grace. No matter how much I say to myself that I won't get tired, I'm pretty much dead by Day 4 and it's hard to find the energy to do anything outside of going to work. I honestly don't know how anyone has the energy to go out and see people or do anything extracurricular after work because I am always a zombie. I also have a summer charity gala this week so that will be a bit of a zap on my introverted social reserves, but I think it will be fun.

NAILS | I've Got Stars In My Eyes #CBBxManiMonday

Sally Hansen nail polish is a press sample

I do not think I have done real nail art in awhile and I thought I would get to it this weekend, but with our Vancouver heatwave and us not getting AC yet, the thought of sitting and painting my nails while my bum sticks to my chair was just unthinkable this weekend. I also felt completely braindead in terms of inspiration, but I feel like it might be time to redo some old designs with different colours as summer brights are my favourite theme. I haven't done a beach theme in awhile, so maybe it's time I do that?

NAILS | Biosculpture Dust at Dusk Swatch #MidWeekMani

Press samples

Sigh, my staycation is over and what a beautiful week off it was! Beautiful weather and lots of Bridgerton! Having never seen the show before, I have watched seasons 1, 2, Queen Charlotte and now I am two episodes away from finishing season 3! It has been an amazing rollercoaster of emotions and drama and I want to rewatch everything once it's all over since I went through it so quickly! I thought I could not watch a new couple after Daphne and Simon, but Kanthony are my favourite!

NAILS | Trust Fund Beauty Gossip Mag Swatch #CBBxManiMonday

Press sample

Ok ok, so my excuse for posting my nails late this week is because it was ma birthday this weekend! I turned 41 yesterday and had a great time doing it! I feel a lot better about 41 than 40. 40 felt a little uncomfortable and I was scared, but this time around there was nothing but just looking forward to having the time to celebrate even though I was on my own on my actual birthday. It actually felt nice to have a birthday that was purely on my own terms. I could get up whenever, leave the house whenever, take a nap, have dinner whenever. It was great!

NAILS | Morgan Taylor Got Some Altitude Swatch

Press sample

It's my birthday week and what have I decided to do? Well, in two days I have now watched season 1 of Bridgerton as I had yet to jump on the bandwagon and I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT! Daphne and Simon's journey had me crying every episode right up until the end! I have also been taking some time to paint my nails some very bright summer colours and Morgan Taylor has once again wowed me when it comes to colour payoff and formula!

NAILS | Sally Hansen Up to Snuff Swatch #MidWeekMani

Purchased by me

This week started off with my working on Victoria Day which was a bit of weird day as we weren't busy until about the last hour and ended up having to stay late, but such is what happens often on holidays. I think people just get a bit of a later start to their day (I call it a "vampire start") which I understand. On Tuesday, I was invited to a lovely press lunch with Pixi Beauty but I had to leave after 1.5 hours as I was on a lunch break which always makes me feel a bit antsy as I constantly look at my watch out of guilt. We are a bit short-staffed right now due to vacations so I felt some pressure to head back to work ASAP. Nonetheless, I still had a good time meeting some new people as I'm now a "moldy oldy" when it comes to the beauty scene as I am usually a solid 10 years older than most attendees. 

NAILS | Hermes Bleu Electrique #CBBxManiMonday

Purchased by me

Today was Victoria Day, but I was working and oddly enough it was dead quiet until an hour before closing when it got kind of crazy. I did about 4 hours of continuous talking which was fun, but I was so parched by the end of it! I'm super sleepy so I'll keep this short, but I picked up this new Hermes polish for summer and once again had to sneak some summer stuff into our CBBxManiMonday "Spring" theme...I know I'm totally just jumping the gun for summer!

NAILS | Cadillacquer Leilani Swatch (Thermal) #MidWeekMani

Purchased by me

It has been a few weeks since I have done one of these catch-up posts so how is everyone? After taking two weeks off to give my brain some time to recuperate from work, I dove back into my day job without skipping a beat. I would like to think that I am one of those people who still knows how to function when I go back to work after time off because from what I have seen with staff, someone people take two weeks off and then need another two weeks to remember how to perform basic skills. I also came back a little more fiery and less afraid of speaking my mind, but the main thing my therapist and I decided to focus on was starting my day with client-based activities as those tend to make me feel more productive and generally happier about my job! I haven't felt tightness in my chest for the last week which is something I have not experienced in months at work so I feel like we have definitely made some progress! 

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 | Neon Peach Fuzz #CBBxManiMonday

Some press samples 

I am running out of Peach Fuzz options. There are some ideas online that I have seen ranging from literal peaches to sponging on orange in the middle of a bare nail which I think looks like your nail is bleeding underneath depending on how intense of an orange you use. I got a bit desperate and looked to glitter polishes as my saviour and lo and behold, I did find one! The now gone, Rainbow Honey has saved me once more! I took this company for granted and just thought they would be around forever, but honestly so many of my favourite nail brands have disappeared over the years which has taught me to "never subscribe to anything that charges my credit card automatically" and to "assume my order might take a really long time to show up". All of these things have happened before!