NAILS | Dior Fall Limited Edition Charm Swatch #CBBxManiMonday

Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate! I am working today and a full day at that because we have a brand visit, but I am trying to keep cool about the whole thing even though this month is going to be ridiculously busy for me at work and then by the time it's done, it will basically be November which means the holidays. In retail. So yeah, like I said, just trying not to feel too overwhelmed!

 

Purchased by me

This is the second nail polish from the Dior Fall collection and matches their clover green theme for the season. The shade "Charm" is a shimmery, metallic yellow-based green that under natural lighting is deeper in tone, but in direct reminds me of the black-eyed cats!

NAILS | Limited Edition Dior #628 Lucky Swatch #CBBxManiMonday

I honestly do not know what is happening to my nails, but they were constantly breaking in Montreal and then started looking super dry. I have a feeling living in AC conditions contributed to both my sore throat and my dry nails that week and I am still recovering - on both fronts!

Purchased by me

NAILS | Going neon with Essie Throw in the Towel #CBBxManiMonday

Press sample

I have been so exhausted the last few days as I have not been sleeping well with the heat wave so my husband and I decided to have a solid sleep-in until 9am yesterday. I think everyone must have been tired because even the cats didn't even wake me up for food until then! I also start vacation this Wednesday on July 1st for one week because it's ma birthdayyyyy and I cannot wait to both have some time off at home and celebrate! I have three days booked with husband and friends and then I want to spend the rest of my time cleaning the apartment, which has been sorely neglected for the last month and a half while I have been busy with working in two locations during the week.

NAILS | Dioriviera Summer 2026 #CBBxManiMonday

Purchased by me

Oh my goodness, I am so late with posting ANY nails! ManiMondays used to be the one thing I felt I could make time for because I always had my nail painted, but then my nails started breaking big time a few months ago and the inspiration for nail art has been lacking as well. I feel like I have sort of done everything, but at the same time there is nothing wrong with old favourites, right? Everyone loves a bit of nostalgia? 

NAILS | Cozy Fall Argyle Sweater Nail Art #CBBxManiMonday

Press samples

I am super proud of myself for painting my nails every single week this month! It has been a long time since I have been consistent and it has felt really good! This week's manicure is inspired by a manicure on the cutepolish YouTube channel from 2023 that I thought was very cute and went well with my current nail shape - Argyle Sweater Nails!

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!