NAILS | Get Beautifully Strong Nails with Vitry Nail Repair Care

Can you tell I care a lot about my nails? We all have our beauty obsessions and mine is definitely skin and nails. Up until 2011, I never had long nails. They were constant nubbins and I really had to develop a routine of self-care to keep them long and healthy for nail art. One thing I have been struggling with for the past 2 years is splitting and breakage especially on my right hand as it is the dominant one. In these drier winter months, the nails on my left hand (my beautiful photo hand) have also started to fall prey to being easily broken and I have been rotating base coats and treatments to find the best solution and I have had some (so far) promising results with Vitry's Nail Repair Care* ($26.00 CDN). 

NAILS | Cozy Mittens Winter Nail Art

You might say that I am "mitten smitten" right now because I adore how cutely this manicure turned out! I was all prepared with winter nail vinyls from Whats Up Nails back in October and NOW look at me. December 27th and I am only using my second set now. For SHAME!  

NAILS | Saying Hello to Fall with Picture Polish's Forest #ManiMonday

Every month I look forward to seeing the new blogger collaborations with Aussie brand Picture Polish because they almost always have glitter and 99% of the time a little bit of holo. The shades are usually more on the adventurous side and aren't really about what's trending according to Allure and Pantone. There are a couple of really cool shades for September, but the one that jumped out to me the most was the shade Forest created in collaboration with nailgrammer Lacquertech! 

NAILS | Drippy, Trippy Neons #ManiMonday

I love summer brights, but I don't often wear neons because some can be fairly high maintenance when it comes to making them look good. I don't believe in wearing a white base to enhance a neon's intensity and a neon formula can be tricky with many applying unevenly. I didn't think I'd be wearing a neon this summer until the Cirque Colors Vice Collection*. Cirque is one of those indie polish brands that I treat like gold in my collection. Companies like Cirque inspire the mainstream brands and when Nail Polish Canada started carrying their polishes, my wallet breathed a sigh of relief that I no longer would have to worry about the 30% US exchange on my credit card!

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 | Holographic Drip Marble

I figured it was time to try something new and the "Drip Marble" technique has been on my nail art bucket list for a couple of months now so because it takes a bit of time, I decided to try my hand at it over the long weekend. Since I find water marbling so incredibly messy and time consuming, I'm always looking for ways to get the look without as much work. This technique involves dripping nail polish on to a plastic lid or something that you can pick up and rotate and manually, swirling the colours around and into each other. This technique gives a more random marbling pattern, but still comes out quite pretty. There are a number of videos on how to do the Drip Marble technique so pick your favourite!

NAILS | A England Symphony in Blue and Silver...and Cats

The summer A England Collection is HERE! I know there are a number of companies that do holographic polishes now, but there is always something incredibly classy about the way A England does it and no, it's not because I'm saying it in my head with a British accent! I find that the collections are never repetitive and though holos make up a large number of their releases, there have been cremes, glitters and duochromes as well. The collections are always smaller which I appreciate because how many times have you seen a nail polish release with 8-12 "new" shades. There are only so many ways to do a nude or red so nothing ever really feels new except for the combination of colours. Never the case with A England!

This summer's A Sargent's Vision Collection is named after the American painter John Singer Sargent who specialized in the Edwardian era. I will be working my way through the collection of four polishes over the next week or two, but for today we will start with the first polish that caught my eye - Symphony in Blue and Silver* ($15.50 CDN) which is a powder blue holo with shimmers of green and silver.

NAILS | Holographic Icicles with A-England Angel Grace #ManiMonday

I had hoped it would have been even just a little sunny this weekend for me to photograph A-England's Angel Grace*, but alas the day I had some time was probably one of the rainiest most dreary days I had seen in awhile so as much as I hate flash, t'is the only way to see the rainbow of a scattered holographic polish!

NAILS | A-England Shall Be My Queen Swatch and Tiny Bit of Nail Art #ManiMonday

I love a good holo polish and when I first started my journey through the rabbit hole of nail polish, getting my hands on A-England polishes was a dream come true. I purchased my very FIRST A-England polish from Nail Polish Canada back in 2012 (Tristam) and to this day, this brand has some of my favourite holos. I only wish I had better lights and/or sunshine in Vancouver to showcase how pretty Shall Be My Queen* is! 

NAILS | Picture Polish Spring Swatch #ManiMonday

I am in love. Picture Polish NEVER ceases to amaze when it comes to their nail polish shades and at this point, I don't buy a lot of nail polish anymore. It takes a truly unique shade to get me to buy and Spring by Picture Polish was one of them!

NAILS | Picture Polish Cabaret by u_nona #ManiMonday

I am on a Picture Polish kick right now because there hasn't been a single shade I haven't been in love with. Formulas are always bang on and the glitter and holo polishes never disappoint! Today I have another blogger collaboration polish (sigh, this would be my dream!) with Cabaret* ($16.99 CDN) by Russian Instagrammer Nastya aka u_nona! Cabaret is dark burgundy scattered holo polish with tiny hex glitter inspired by never letting life become boring or ordinary.

NAILS | Picture Polish – Big Bang by La NPA Mouton Swatch

I will warn you that this post right here is just straight up porn. Nail porn, that is! Some polish colours are just too pretty to mess with and such is the case with Picture Polish – Big Bang* by fabulous French nail blogger La NPA Mouton. This is a complex colour which makes the name “Big Bang” make a whole lotta sense when you see how much is going on! In what I can only describe as a grape holographic purple with multi-coloured shards of glitter, this polish is opaque in 2 coats. I had no issues getting the glitter out of the bottle and it glittered beautifully under the light as most holo polishes do.

*Start the nail porn*

NAILS | Picture Polish Wanderlust by Naildecor with Geometric Nail Art

A few weeks ago, I swatched the first of four Picture Polish blogger collaboration (see Bordeaux) nail polishes I received for review and because they are so awesome, they will each get their own posts! Next up, is Wanderlust* ($16.00 CDN) by nail art blogger/Youtuber Naildecor which is described as a "candy pink scattered holo with blue glass flecks". This is sits smoothly on the nails and is easily opaque in 2 coats. Isn't this stunning?! I have been on a hot pink kick and the holo aspect of this polish has put me into overdrive! I mean, GAH! It's so beautiful! 

 I then added some geometric flair with a small brush and black acrylic paint and finished with a super shiny top coat! Also, still getting used to my rounded nails...I had to change the shape to play violin again (yes, I joined orchestra!). It's a new shape to get used to after having square nails for so long!

Get Wanderlust and other Picture Polish shades at Nail Polish Canada! 

NAILS | New Bloggers Collaborations from Picture Polish! First Up is Bordeaux by Nil Nails!

I have a feeling only nail polish lovers will be aware of this, but while Picture Polish has some of the BEST polish shades and formulations out there, one of the most exciting collections they have are the blogger collaborations! Partnering with well-known nail bloggers from all over the world, Picture Polish has released some incredibly unique and STUNNING shades! Over the next month, I will be sharing some new shades just released this past September at Nail Polish Canada!

Some polishes are too pretty to tamper with nail art and the absolutely mouth-watering (yes, nail polish can do that!) Bordeaux by Nil Nails*($16.00 CDN) is just that for me. A juicy two coat deep wine polish with holographic glitter, this polish is truly a beauty, but really comes alive = in sunlight, elevator light (yes, I checked) and though I don’t use it much, direct flash. I just love seeing those holographic particles come to life!



 

Which Picture Polish blogger collaboration would you love to wear? And remember, free Canadian shipping over $25 at www.nailpolishcanada.com!

HAIR | The Wet Brush Pro Detangle Professional vs. The Original Tangle Teezer

I seem to be all about hair as of late, but sunny weather seems to be about letting your hair down and showing off smooth golden, beachy waves. The first thing about beautiful hair though is to brush it! I brush my hair once after a shower, again when I wake up and when I am curling it with a flat iron. Coloured hair tends to be more dry so I have found that tangles are more rampant and the last thing I want to do while my hair is wet is snap it. I have been putting two detangling brushes to the test to see which fared better at turning hair from a potential rat’s nest to Jennifer Aniston-worthy (or close enough!).

Trind | Red Shimmer Nail Lacquer with Bow Water Decals

Today I have another Trind nail lacquer to share with you in the form of a super shiny red called Red Shimmer ($13.00). The moment I applied Red Shimmer I knew that I had found the perfect festive red for Christmas. It has a beautiful shine and is wonderfully opaque in two easy coats. The colour literally glows when it’s on your nails!

Swatch It Up | Rainbow Honey - Sweet Talk

Rainbow Honey’s Sweet Talk ($11.50 CDN) was released last year as a Valentine’s polish and I am so glad that it is here to stay because it is pretty awesome. This polish is a white jelly with pastel-coloured glitter – my favourite being the pops of bright red! The formula was again wonderful as with most Rainbow Honey polishes and required three coats for a comfortable opacity.

I finished off my manicure with another Rainbow Honey scented top coat, this time in Magic Cake which smells just like doughnuts! So good and so shiny!

Have a good week everyone and happy Monday!

Rainbow Honey polishes can be purchased at Rainbow Honey and Nail Polish Canada.

PR sample sent to me for review.

St.Paddy’s Day Swatch It Up | Rainbow Honey-Trifolium

It’s still St.Patrick’s Day for three more hours on the West Coast so I’m still allowed to post my St.Paddy’s Day mani! I placed an order for Rainbow Honey’s Trifolium ($10 USD) in the hopes of wearing this polish for the occasion and my package made it just in time. Trifolium actually looks much darker in person, but outside it looked almost bright green.

Swatch It Up | Rainbow Honey–Magic Cake

It’s Friday and that means some fun nails for the weekend! The weather is just gorgeous today in Vancouver so I wanted to wear Spring-happy nails which made me think of Rainbow Honey – Magic Cake. Magic Cake is a fun, neon bright glitter with all sorts of matte neon glitter shapes sitting a clear, slightly shimmery base. I’ve seen Magic Cake layered over black a few times so I thought I’d layer it over some brighter colours.

The gorgeous pink is Rainbow Honey-Apple Kid, the glittery lavender is Rainbow Honey – Tessie and the bright mint green is Rainbow Honey – Mint Flavor.

Swatch It Up | Emily de Molly–Bo Peep

Coming all the way from Australia is my very first Emily de Molly polish in Bo Peep! I am wearing this polish in the hopes that Spring will come soon! I have been coveting Emily De Molly polishes since their arrival on Etsy, but alas there was no shipping available to Canada until…Nail Polish Canada started carrying them!