Merry Christmas Chromosome Nails!

I didn’t think I could mix genetics with Christmas, but after racking my brain for ideas, I came up with a rather interesting design! Here are my chromosome nails accented with Christmas coloured genetic loci! To explain the diagram a bit better, the centromere is where the sister chromatids meet in the center to form a chromosome. To put it simply, the banding patterns on the chromatids represent genes that can code for genetic traits. My fiancé wanted me to be as accurate in my explanation as possible, this is a beauty blog not a genetics textbook! If you would like to know more, I have some good book recommendations!

On a Bit of a Lucky Streak?

You guys are probably going to hate me, but believe me, I was completely floored when I won Funny Face Beauty’s Elizabeth Arden Giveaway! November was such a learning/tough/stressful month for me that I just took winning another giveaway as a sign from the universe that things would work out eventually. On to the goodies shall we?

Sample Sundays–Third Edition

This segment of Sample Sundays is coming to you a little bit late because as I suspected, I was a quite optimistic in the last edition of Sample Sundays and it took more than two weeks to get through even half of what I had chosen! Let’s see what’s on the sample menu this week!

Christmas Trees and Gradients with the Hungry Asian

First off, I have asked Santa for a better camera that is able to capture glitter and not freak out when it sees it! I am bummed that I can show you all what I see in real life, but I hope you get the idea! Julep – Catherine had such a holiday feel to it that there was no way I was going to let it go un-glittered!

I brought out Hungry Asian – On a Budget (such an appropriate polish name for the holidays!) and decided to create a Christmas tree on my ring finger by taping and then a glitter gradient on all of my other nails. On a Budget is a chunky green glitter with large pieces of gold hex glitter that make me think of gold coins sitting in wads of green cash! I can honestly say I do not own a polish like this and at this point, that’s saying a lot!

You can find Hungry Asian polishes in Kae’s Etsy shop. She also has a new Winter collection out so add it to your list of sites to stop at while online shopping! Have a great day everyone!

Review–Smashbox Be Legendary Lipstick in Posy Pink

I don’t know why I haven’t tried a Smashbox product until now when it has been around since I was a teenager! There have been some iconic products produced by this company (sold to Estee Lauder in 2010) the most notable being the Photo Finish Foundation Primer that I’ve been hearing about for the last 10 years!

In my November Luvs, I raved about the Smashbox Be Legendary Lipstick in “Posy Pink” as one of my new favourite lipsticks after a makeover event at Shoppers Drug Mart and decided that this lipstick actually deserved a review. I don’t do reviews very often and have made a blood blog vow to do more in the new year. I kid, there was no blood involved, but I really do promise to do more in 2013!

Just one swipe and you’ll see this is the stuff beauty legends are made of. From modern mattes to hydrating creams, our ultra-luxe formula glides on for show-stopping, saturated colour every time.

Swatch It Up: Julep - Catherine

Many of you are familiar with the Julep Maven program and those wonderful rectangular bottles of nail polish offered in every monthly box. I am also fortunate to be a part of the Julep VIP program and was given the opportunity to review a few polishes that fit my “Classic with a Twist” style profile. I will admit that oftentimes, I do not get the “Classic with a Twist” Maven box because I usually already have the colours which must mean that I truly am “Classic with a Twist”!

I have said before that I don’t really care if I wear a nail polish colour that doesn’t necessarily match the season, but there definitely are colours that better match a Fall scarf or sweater and put you in the mood for a specific time of year. Red is one of those colours that always seems appropriate year-round and Catherine is exactly that. Catherine is a red creme and is a bit more berry-toned in real-life. Even though it’s still technically Fall, this is very much a holiday colour as well! I can totally see myself wearing this colour at Christmas parties. I am wearing two coats plus OTD in the picture below, although I probably could have gotten away with one as the opacity of Catherine is incredible! 

Now, I have a bit of awesome news if any of you are wanting to purchase from Julep or if you’ve missed out on any of the Christmas promotions that have been going on for the last 12 days. On any purchase $20 or more, receive 20% off when using the code VIP20 at check out!

Thinking of becoming a Maven? Feel free to use my referral link or sign up the regular way!