NAILS | Purple Matte and Holo #CBBxManiMonday

Today was my first time driving my car in a long time! I drove it back from work on Christmas Eve and then Vancouver had its snowfall and subzero temperatures. Without winter tires, I didn't feel comfortable driving in the snow and ice and I honestly thought it would all go away and melt a few days later as it normally does in Vancouver. Two weeks later, it was still snowing and while I have no issues with taking public transit, what DOES bother me is that I currently pay $354/month for my parking downtown which means that every day I don't park there is costing me money! So, last week when it looked like I could finally get out of my street parking spot that was never shovelled, I made it to my parking and LEFT the car there until today since my parking is paid for 24/7 and is super secure (I guess that's why I pay the big bucks!). My boss had given me some good advice in telling me that once I made it to the parking, I could just leave my car there and never have to dig it out of the snow again! Now, we are about to enter torrential "atmospheric river" weather so at least it's semi-driveable weather unless it floods...

I'll make this quick as it is late, but in keeping with this month's purple and blue theme, I wanted to use multiple shades of purple so I settled on mattifying OPI Infinite Shine in Do You Lilac It? with a matte top coat and using some striping tape to get those zigzags along with the using the slightly holo OPI My Colour Wheel is Spinning from the Holiday 2021 collection. I feel like My Colour Wheel is Spinning looks just like OPI DS Extravagance don't you?

Happy Monday everyone and be sure to check out Renee and Trysh's blogs for their Purple/Blue Manicures this week!

NAILS | Mattify Me with Flakie #CBBxManiMonday

I slept like a zombie last night so forgive me if this post is a bit short! I had waking dreams non-stop and I kept thinking it was time to get up even though I had the day off so by the time my alarm went off at 8am, I was in no mood to get anything done. I have been mildly productive today in terms of getting some groceries and small house clean up done. I also took some time to call he customer service line for a really old Mutual Fund account that my parents had set up for me while I was in high school as I had obviously forgotten the password. Now, I'm looking forward to an afternoon nap which I see as SUCH a luxury so I will take full advantage of it when I can!

Press samples 

NAILS | In the Purples with OPI Muse of Milan

I was really loving my leaf-inspired taping manicure from last week and wanted to try taping again and the perfect opportunity arose when I came across two shades from the new OPI Muse of Milan collection that I wanted to feature together. I love all purples especially glittery purples and when I first started seeing swatches of the duochrome glitter "Leonardo's Model Color", I knew out of all the shades, THIS was the one I would purchase!

 PR gifted

NAILS | Inspired by a Leaf #CBBxManiMonday

I know, I know. This is practically the opposite of vampy Fall shades, but I saw this manicure from LoveVarnish.com inspired by the shades of Fall and had to try it for myself! I hadn't done taping in awhile and I loved the texture the taping added to the glitter gradient. I didn't have the exact colours, so I think this came out "happier" than intended, but I am still very happy with it!

 Purchased by me

NAILS | Coral with a Touch of Grey #ManiMonday

I will keep this brief as I seem to be struggling with jet lag here in Montreal and though I have been enjoying going out and catching up with family, I have been feeling a bit nauseated and just gross at night for whatever reason. I am hoping I start feeling better soon because I am only here for the week and I feel like there is still a lot to do!

This month's CBB theme is "grey" and I was so fixated on green for St.Patrick's Day that I never even gave grey a chance. I have always loved the combination of grey and any bright colour so I thought maybe coral would be a nice little segue into Spring!

NAILS | Green, Green and More Green! #ManiMonday

Two weeks ago, CND Canada had their seasonal event to launch their latest summer collection - Rhythm and Heat to get us thinking about sun, sand and the tropics. It's set to snow yet again in Vancouver so thoughts of warm weather might seem like cruel torture, but my favourite nail polish shades have always been the ones for summer. Neons, brights and holos are my soul and this collection has got me all hot and bothered!

NAILS | Formula X #ColorCurators Huda Beauty Edition #ManiMonday

This was actually supposed to be for the CBB November Challenge, but by the time I got this ready, I would have only gotten a chance to wear it for one day before having to do my nails again for Mani Monday. Nail polish should be enjoyed (not in the My Strange Addictions Way) and though I do my nails a lot compared to most, three times a week is where I draw the line.

This year has been an amazing year for collaborations and the Formula X #ColorCurators collections have been an incredible example of how powerful social media has become. Bloggers and Youtubers are the faces of these collaborations instead of your typical movie stars. I have loved most of the Formula X collections, but this Huda Beauty edition has totally gotten me. Every shade had me swooning!

NAILS | "Linear Love" with Trust Fund Beauty #ManiMonday

In a galaxy far far away, I was introduced to a then relatively unknown brand called Trust Fund Beauty in 2014 at a blogger lunch and have reviewed a couple of TFB polishes in the past (here) with the holos being some of my favourites. Fast forward to just two years later and this Montreal-based vegan brand has exploded and expanded to include even lipsticks in their product line up! TFB has always had a sense of humor and fashion savvy vibe to their polishes so I wanted to do a chic, slick manicure that captured that brand essence! 

NAILS | Spring Colourblocking with Dior #ManiMonday

I seem to have rediscovered my love of striping tape and colourblocking over the last couple of manicures so when nail lacquers from Dior's Spring collection showed up in my mailbox, I knew that I just had to create manicure out of both shades! I rarely wear just one shade on its own, but I found Bleuette* ($31.00 CDN) and Lilac* so pretty that I didn't want to complicate things too much.

BEAUTY PANEL | Red Carpet “Naked” Nail Art for Everyday

Incredibly enough, this year’s red carpet manicures weren’t wild or crazy. In fact, they were sophisticated, classic and NAKED. The naked nail look was achieved with polish shades ranging from nude to lilac to barely-there pink. Oddly enough, when it comes to MY everyday life, wearing a classic manicure is not enough so I ended up adding my own red carpet flair to an otherwise basic, yet VERY trendy award season mani! You know I CANNOT leave a plain polish alone!

  

Find out how to create this mani on the Beauty Panel today!

NAIL ART | Gettin’ Squiggly with Mary Kay at Play Hail to the Nails Mini Nail Lacquer Trio

I had briefly talked about the Mary Kay at Play Hail to the Nails Trio*(18.00 CDN) over the holidays as the perfect little stocking stuffer for the nail polish lover in your family and now I get to show it to you in action!

Rimmel London Rita Ora Collection | White Hot Love with Swatches and Gradient Nail Art

Today I have another nail polish (last review) from the Rimmel London x Rita Ora Collection along with a new taping gradient technique that I have been wanting to try out!

Lise Watier | Eden Tropical Coral Paradise Nail Lacquer and Geometric Nail Art

I love summer nail polish colours. Every colour is so unforgivingly intense and bright and I feel like even if you’re in a bad mood, having brights on your nails is the perfect antidote to the blues. Right out of Lise Watier’s Eden Tropical Collection, Coral Paradise Nail Lacquer is the prime example of a happy, bright polish with its peach creaminess. To add a little bit of flair to Coral Paradise, I added some striping tape and individually painted the sections with black and gold polish. I peeled off the tape and got this tribal-looking manicure!