NAILS | Taping Manicure with Nicole by OPI Coca Cola Collection – In Grape Demand and The Look is Orange

What do you do when you have a bunch of brightly coloured polishes? Why, you find a way to combine them of course! I am a huge Coca Cola fan even though I know I shouldn’t be drinking it as much as I do, but there are certain meals that just taste better with Coke! My favourite Persian meal of Kubideh Kabob doesn’t taste good with anything else! When OPI first released a Coca Cola collaboration last year, I was over the moon and was not expecting a Nicole by OPI release of the same theme anytime soon. Yet, here we are with a similar slew of colours, but if you missed out on last year these ones might still be lurking around in certain locations (I hope!). Today’s nail art is a criss-cross manicure created with striping tape and the nail polish shades: In Grape Demand* and The Look is Orange*. Both polishes applied beautifully like most NOPI polishes and once nails are completely dry, add your shiny top coat!

I love wearing manicures like this with business attire. I feel professional, but with a bit of an edge!

MAKEUP LOOK | Burberry Complete Eye Palette in No.12 “Nude Blush” Review & Swatches

Sigh…Burberry. I feel I almost have to whisper it to capture its reverence. The Burberry colour collection is a fairly new one to me as I am more familiar with this brand for its watches and iconic trenchcoats. Oftentimes with fashion houses that create makeup lines, there is a disconnect between the two, but you won’t find that here with the Burberry Beauty Spring Collection. The Burberry story is evident from the packaging all the way down to the textures and colour palettes. What I love about the Burberry colour collection is how “at home” I feel as every palette and shade is classic and iconic. Eyeshadow palettes have become a new obsession of mine and when I had the opportunity to choose a Complete Eye Palette during the Burberry boutique opening in Richmond Centre in March, I knew I wanted something dramatic, but classic. The No.12 Nude Blush Complete Eye Palette*($64.00 CDN) is a quartet of four richly pigmented shades that have been customized with a luminizing base highlighter, two medium shades for shape and one for lining.   

NAILS | Mary Kay Paradise Calling “Swirl” Nail Art with Lagoon and Exotic Orchid Nail Lacquer

I have been sporting my version of nubbins for what feels like almost a year as they were initially breaking from stress back in July. They have had a hard time recovering with my right hand still suffering break after break. You would never know since I have managed to keep nail posts going each week! I have been waiting a few weeks to finally break out some awesome cyclone vinyls from TwinkledT that required a bit of nail length for the pattern to work. While the cyclones would work with an array of colours, I was also anxious to finally wear the new Mary Kay Paradise Calling ($10.00 CDN) polishes. The colours just scream tropical paradise!

I started with two coats of “Exotic Orchid”* and used a fast drying top coat. Exotic Orchid on its own was just so beautiful that I almost left it alone. Opaque in two coats and with a lovely formulation!

 
Then I placed the decal on top of my now COMPLETELY dry nail and although it took some trial and error, I eventually managed to get some cyclones on my nails! For my “cyclone” top layer, I used two coats of the dark green “Lagoon”* and peeled off the decal RIGHT AWAY. That’s the secret to decals and taping manis – take the tape off immediately! Don’t let it dry!

Mary Kay Paradise Calling polishes are available through your Mary Kay consultant or at marykay.ca

MAKEUP LOOK | Elizabeth Arden Sunkissed Pearls Cream Eye Shadow Stylo in Bronze Pearl, Freshwater Pearl and Blue Pearl Review & Swatches

I feel like there are a lot of Spring collections that are totally wearable for summer with the Elizabeth Arden Sunkissed Pearls Color Collection being no exception. The collection consists of a Sunkissed Pearls Bronzer and Highlighter ($48.00 CDN), a Lip Gloss Trio ($28.00 CDN) and a trio of Cream Eye Shadow Stylos* ($26.00 CDN/each) inspired by the mysterious colour tones of the sea and a little bit of shimmery iridescence.

I have a thing for eye shadows in stick form as they make my mornings MUCH faster so when I saw this collection, I immediately gravitated to the eye shadows. I mean, I know I must have literally a thousand bronze shadows, but these were just too awesome to walk away from! With jojoba oil and aloe allowing for a comfortable formula, these two ingredients also soothe and soften the eye area for easy application.

MAKEUP | Mary Kay Paradise Calling Collection Whipped Eye Color in Tiki Hut and Seafoam Review with Swatches

The Paradise Calling Collection from Mary Kay feels so much more like a summer collection to me than one for spring with product names like “Tiki Hut” and “Tropical Mandarin”. There were a few things in the collection that really caught my eye, but the Whipped Eye Colors in Tiki Hut* ($18.00 CDN) and Seafoam* caught my attention because I just wanted to touch them because they look just as tempting as fresh snow in their little pots! Promising to be lightweight and easily blendable, these cream shadows can be as sheer or as opaque as you would like.

MAKEUP | Guerlain Les Tendres Meteorites Perles de Blush Angelic Radiance Review & Swatches

I feel like Spring disappears so quickly in the world of beauty as collections are planned so far in advance that even I start thinking one season ahead. II briefly touched on a few items in Guerlain’s Les Tendres Spring Collection in a post from February (here) and thought I’d feature a few products that caught my attention or were review requests from readers. From the moment you open the box, you can instantly smell that characteristic floral Guerlain scent radiating from the Meteorites Perles de Blush Angelic Radiance*($58.00 CDN/0.45oz). As you can see from the cherubic angel on the packaging, this blush is all about giving you irresistibly angelic-looking cheeks.

SKINCARE | SEPHORA “Cleaning Me Softly” Facial Cleansing Brush & Detox It Out Charcoal Swabs

God, I love skincare. I love the creams, potions and concoctions that companies come up with and inventive ways with which to make our skin THAT MUCH BETTER. I happily use a Clarisonic, but how would a manual facial brush compare? And at just $13 for the SEPHORA Collection Cleaning Me Softly Facial Cleansing Brush* why not give it a go? This brush comes in either pink or black and is a gentle deep-cleansing brush for both the face and neck. I do tend to forget about my neck and hope that my neck doesn’t hit the age of 50 before my face does.

MAKEUP LOOK | “Strawberry Chocolate”-Inspired with Guerlain Écrin 1 Couleur Long Lasting Eyeshadow Silky Powder in Pink Pong Review & Swatches

When it comes to playing with makeup, I love going with “wild” colours because they are so much more fun to look at in photos and on camera. Sometimes when I have a neutral colour, I think that I will just bore you all with my “mundane, everyday look”, but the other day I realized that I ALWAYS wear neutrals when I’m working or out for lunch with girls (unless everyone is a beauty blogger, then you can bring out whatever colours you’re “testing” for the week and everyone will understand).

Just released a few days ago, Guerlain Écrin 1 Couleur Long Lasting Eyeshadow Silky Powder ($36.00 CDN) is best described as a “soft and sensorial” powder that glides easily over the eyelid for a beautifully even film of colour. I received a lab sample of the colour Pink Pong* and didn’t think I could make this shade work since metallic finishes never seem to work for me, but I started thinking about dessert, then fruit which led to this…

MAKEUP REVIEW | Guerlain Meteorites Baby Glow SPF 25 PA++ Swatches in #2 Light and #3 Medium

I am brand new to the concept of Guerlain’s Meteorites. I have never had the long illustrious love affair that many beauty lovers have had with it and I am currently surrounded by much literature about what it all means, but from what I gather, it all started in 1987 when Guerlain came up with a loose powder in the form of multi-coloured pearls that made skin appear luminous without looking overdone. This concept gave rise to primers, powders, blushes and now a sheer foundation infused with the same “meteorific” glow. Meteorites Baby Glow* ($60.00 CDN/30mL) is a “light-revealing sheer makeup anti-fatigue effect glow” that acts as a luminous veil on the skin while evening out and unifying the skin’s complexion. I love that there is SPF ready to go in this formulation and I am grateful that my skin isn’t one to react to SPF as I know a number of friends who are quite sensitive to it.

NAIL ART | Psychedelic Spring Flowers with Wet n Wild Wildshine Nail Polishes

We are officially in the throes of Spring here in Vancouver and although I still feel the urge to wear a fuzzy sweater, I can now forego the winter coat and pair off an outfit with ballet flats instead of boots. After my recent discovery of Wet n Wild Wildshine polishes (here), I thought it might be appropriate to pay them a proper tribute and use them as many as I could in one manicure. Flowers are pretty much the gateway drug into nail art for the season. From here, it’s Easter, cherry blossoms, watercolour and of course MORE FLOWERS!

I started off with 2 coats of Putting on Airs*, an opaque baby blue, and then created flowers randomly on my nails using a dotting tool and the shades Tickled Pink* and Who Is Ultraviolet?* While the polish is still fairly wet, center some gold nail art studs for your flower centers or pistils, for you plant biologists. I used two different sizes of studs since the small ones looked silly with the larger flowers. Then, topcoat your design!

Edit: If you plan on applying the smaller nail art studs close to the edge of your nails, be careful when eating…or you might  inadvertently ingest one…ahem…as was the case yesterday for me.

NAIL ART | OPI *Hawaii Collection* – This Color’s Making Waves Review and Swatches

Spring and summer are my FAVOURITE seasons for nail polish colours because who doesn’t love brights and colours that we shy away from all winter long? I generally will wear any nail polish any time because I don’t believe in seasons for nail polish, but when it comes to new releases brights are reserved for this very season! “Making a splash” is the new Hawaii Collection from OPI with 12 new shades that will be perfect on both nails and toes! Today I am wearing This Color’s Making Waves* which is a deep shimmery teal with tiny copper-coloured bits of shimmer throughout.

 

To finish off the look, I applied some gold studs from Born Pretty with tweezers and positioned them in a little triangle at the base of my nail to give this manicure some extra pizzazz.

Who is excited for the weekend?! I will be working, but it’s still the WEEKEND!

MAKEUP LOOK | Lise Watier Limited Edition Expression Eyeshadow Palette Review & Swatches

Nothing makes me happier than playing with a fresh new set of eyeshadow shades. Seeing all the shades lined up like a little colour army brings me nothing but utter joy. Every Lise Watier collection has something that I cannot get enough of and when it comes to the Spring 2015 Expression Collection, it is the Expression Eyeshadow Palette*($42 CDN) featuring five bright shades ranging from matte to shimmery to iridescent. This collection is all about being your own inner artist and unleashing that hidden creativity. I don’t consider myself to be an overly creative person thanks to my Grade 8 art teacher never giving me more than a C+, but palettes like this make me forget about that 13 year old girl that believed she could do no better.

       

EVENT | Estee Lauder Spring/Summer 2015 Preview at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia

About a week and a half ago, the lovely folks at Overcat Communications invited beauty bloggers and media alike to relish in the newest Estee Lauder beauty releases for the Spring and Summer season. Taking place at my FAVOURITE hotel in Vancouver, the Rosewood Hotel Georgia, the format was slightly different in that in addition to the tour of products, there was a theme: “3 Minute Beauty”. We were all given step by step tutorials for three looks that we were assured would only take three minutes to do: Perfect Brows, Skyhigh Cheekbones and the Simple Smoky Eye. All of these being very important for that girl on the go!  

Courreges Estee Lauder is a brand new mod-inspired makeup collection with colours intended to “float” on the face. With its capsule-like packaging and Jetson family-worthy shades, this is a collaboration you need to check out at Sephora. There is a liquid white eyeliner that is to DIE FOR. 

MAKEUP | Clarins Instant Light Lip Comfort Oil in Honey and Raspberry Review with Swatches

I am a huge Clarins Instant Light Lip Perfector fan with 4 shades making it into my makeup collection as I found them to be one of my favourite MLBB products. Clarins recently released two brand new lip products to the Instant Light line up: Instant Light Lip Comfort Oil ($23.00 CDN) in the scent Honey* and in Raspberry* (limited edition). When I first caught a glimpse of these during the Fall preview, both had me drooling just based on how good they smelled! Especially raspberry! Mmmm, so scrumptious! Made with a blend of hazelnut, jojoba and sunflower seed/raspberry seed oils, these comfort oils promise to leave lips feeling nourished and looking shiny.

 

MAKEUP | SEPHORA Collection Look Color in the Eye Brush Capsule Review

The Sephora house collection used to be something I didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to since there are SO MANY other brands to look at in every Sephora store. It’s incredibly overwhelming and only once I started being in the Sephora environment more did I realize how many incredibly cool gadgets and gizmos the Sephora Collection had. Rose gold has yet to be a passing trend so for the Spring season, Sephora has released a number of new items including the uber cute travel-sized Look Color in the Eye Brush Capsule*($28.00 CDN). This has both spring appropriate candy pastel coloured brush handles and comes with a rose gold-coloured case and ferrules.

MAKEUP LOOK | Clarins Spring 2015 Collection Limited Edition Garden Escape 6 Colour Eye Palette Review & Swatches

When I got the opportunity to preview Clarins’ Spring 2015 Colour Collection last November, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect in terms of colours. When I think of Clarins, I think of wearable colour. My first coloured eyeshadow was a purple one from Clarins and even though it looked just shocking in the pan, it came out safe enough for the office. The new limited edition Garden Escape Palette*($44.00 CDN) is the perfect example of “wearable colour” with six fresh Spring shades ranging from pearly white and pink hues to spring greens and a neutral taupe.  

MAKEUP LOOK | Getting Ready for Spring with Guerlain’s Les Tendres Spring 2015 Collection Review

I feel like I only seem to keep track of the seasons not by solstice, but by makeup collection. In December, I was blessed (yes, I use that term on purpose because it almost felt heaven-sent) with a good Samaritan who received my Guerlain package in error and took the trouble to look up my blog and email me to let me know she had it. It was probably the best Christmas present I had ever gotten!

When it comes to luxury colour cosmetics, Guerlain is like Mecca for me. I’ll make the journey to splurge once a year and worship from afar for the other 364 days. Released last month, Guerlain’s Spring Les Tendres 2015 Collection is all about radiance and having that naturally glowing complexion. There are some definite star products that I cannot help but highlight in the coming posts, but here is a somewhat first impression post of the products I used to create this glowing Spring look!