China Glaze Ruby Pumps

China Glaze Ruby Pumps. Bright red microglitter in a candy red jelly base. A perfect shade for the holiday season! Opaque in three coats, this polish dries a little gritty so remember to apply a thick layer of top coat to even out the glitter. :)

This beauty has been left untried in my helmer for years, but as one of the most popular red nail polishes of all time, Ruby Pumps certainly does not disappoint! It's absolutely gorgeous and my photos do not do this polish justice. You really need to have it on your nails to appreciate how beautiful it truly is!  

P.S. Remember to enter my snowflake nail decals giveaway if you have not already! The contest is open to all international readers and ends on December 13th! :)

'Tis the Season!

I 'm a big fan of the red cups at Starbucks, it makes me feel extremely festive and full of holiday spirit while getting my much needed daily doses of caffeine haha! To me, there is nothing that signifies the arrival of the holidays more than seeing people sipping from these beautifully designed cups. However, I have always been hesitant about ordering their holiday drinks because I worry they may be too sweet or sugary; but this year I finally decided to give them a try after you ladies recommended them in this post. After multiple taste tests these past weeks, I can conclude my favourite is definitely the Peppermint Mocha, the cool mint chocolatey taste reminds me a lot of After Eight hehe. :)

This is the first holiday nail art design that I have created for this year. All the nails except for the accent finger features diagonal stripes painted with gold and white polish, which I find a lot more unique and interesting than the usual holiday colour combination of red and white. 

Here are the steps to create the design on the accent nail:

1. After applying base coat, paint your nail with a gold nail polish. I used a franken I created with OPI Glitzerland and Designer...De Better because I wasn't able to locate a warm golden polish in my stash.

2. Next, paint a diagonal section on the upper portion of your nail using white polish. I used Essie Marshmallow for this design.

3. Line the edge where the two colours meet with silver nail art tape.

4. Glue on your favourite rhinestones and nail decals and finish the design with a thick layer of top coat to protect your mani. 

I hope you like this design ladies and I'd love to know what your favourite holiday drink is at Starbucks! 

Glitter Gal Marine Blue 3D Holo + Snowflake Nail Decals Giveaway

Glitter Gal Marine Blue 3D Holo. Smooth and pigmented formula. Full coverage in two coats. It's been a while since I've worn a holographic polish and oh my, I almost forgot how fascinating they look under the sun! I also own a few other dark blue holos like OPI DS Glamour, DS Fantasy, and China Glaze 2Nite and I absolutely love them to pieces because there just aren't that many holos out there let alone in pretty dark blue. 

A close-up of the holographic goodness. 

This is the first nail polish that I have tried from Glitter Gal, a cosmetic company based in Australia, and I can say I'm quite impressed with the quality of this product. They make a wide selection of holos in all sorts of colours, so that's also another plus! :) 

It has always been hard to purchase polish products from other countries but thanks to Katie over at Harlow & Co., we Canadians can now have access to these exclusive international brands. They also carry other labels such as models own, Ozotic, piCture polish, and Scotch Naturals. This product was sent to me for review but I can totally see myself purchasing lots of polish from them in the future! :)

Snowflake Nail Decals Giveaway

As a beauty blogger, I always avoid posting manicures with nail art decals because they may not be widely available to everyone. So instead I tend to feature designs that you can create using only nail polish or materials that you can easily get a hold of. But today I'm proud to say that I can share these lovely snowflake nail decals with one of my lucky readers! I don't know about you but I LOVE giveaways hehe! :)

This giveaway has ended, thank you so much for participating everyone! 

I've always had a thing for snowflakes cause they're just so pretty and delicate! I recently purchased a whole bunch of snowflake-shaped cookie cutters and I can't wait to use them for my Christmas baking this year hehe.

Thanks for stopping by everyone and have a wonderful weekend! :)

Rilakkuma Nail Art Tutorial

Here is the long-awaited tutorial for my Rilakkuma nails! I was browsing my older entries yesterday and realized I never got around to posting this! :)

Here are the simple steps that you can follow to recreate the design:

1. Paint your nails with a base colour of your choice. I used OPI Gargantuan Green Grape for my accent nail and Nicole by OPI My Lifesaver layered with Make U Smile (both from the Justin Bieber collection) for the rest of my fingers

2. With a light brown nail polish, paint a semi-circle at the tip of your nail. Next, paint two smaller semi-circles as the ears using the same colour. 

3. With a yellow nail polish, paint the contrast colour on the outer sides of the ears. Note that the shape of these are more elongated than the ears so try painting half-ovals instead.

4. With a white nail polish, paint a small semi-circle at the tip of your nail.

5. Lastly, using a dotting tool and dark brown or black nail polish, paint on the eyes and nose. 

For this design, I used from right to left: OPI Gargantuan Green Grape, OPI San Tan-tonio, OPI The "It" Color, OPI Suzi Loves Cowboys, OPI Alpine Snow, Nicole By OPI My Lifesaver, and Nicole By OPI Make U Smile.

Note: OPI San Tan-tonio, OPI Suzi Loves Cowboys, Nicole by OPI My Lifesaver and Nicole by OPI Make U Smile were sent to me for review.

Chanel Paradoxal

Chanel Paradoxal 509. Dark purple taupe with secret pink and blue shimmer. Paradoxal is from the Les Contrastes de Chanel fall 2010 collection and it has since been added to their permanent line.

This beauty is a dream to apply, the formula is very smooth and easy to work with. I was able to get flawless coverage in two thin coats. I love how Paradoxal is so mysterious, not only is the purple taupe base an unique colour on its own but the secret shimmer adds depth and dimension to the polish.

What's special about Paradoxal is the fact that it takes on a different colour depending on the angle or lighting that you're in. Sometimes you'll see a dark purple, other times you'll see a grungey taupe. I especially like it in the sun because the lovely shimmah glistens beautifully under the bright light. :)

P.S. I've always wanted to get piercings but I can't because of medical complications but thank goodness for clip-ons! Surprise surprise! You can barely tell it's not a real earring no? ;)

Featured on Sofeminine.co.uk

Hi ladies! Hope you're all having a wonderful Monday morning! I received a lovely email from Sofeminine.co.uk last week telling me that I was featured on their site as one of the best blogs for nail art designs. Even though I haven't been working on much nail art lately, there are a million designs that I want to try out! I'll start painting away and posting how-to tutorials as soon as I get a chance to so please stay tuned! :)

In the meantime, you can check out my past nail art designs and tutorials here and here. 

Thank you so much to the ladies at Sofeminine.co.uk for recommending I Love Nail Polish! :) 

Soulstice Skittles

Hello ladies, today I have some lovely polishes from Soulstice Spa to share with you. Soulstice Spa makes 100% vegan and cruelty-free nail polishes. They are also 3-free meaning they do not contain the toxic chemicals toluene, formaldehyde and dibutyl phthalate in their formulas. 

Monterey. A beautiful cornflower blue. The application was excellent and you can achieve bottle colour in two thin coats. Monterey has an almost jelly-like consistency and dries to a very glossy finish. I really like this shade because it's not like your typical blue nail polish, it has a dusty quality to it which makes it stand out from the rest. 

Kona. Baby blue creme. The formula on this is a little on the thicker side; however, it is quite pigmented and you only need one coat for full coverage. 

Provence. A lovely lavender creme. I can never get enough of this shade as you can see from my lilac comparison post a while back. :) I also love the name of this polish! I visited Provence a few years ago and had an amazing time there. The entire region is very pretty and the food is simply to die for. Whenever I come across the word Provence, I would be instantly reminded of the beautiful and fragrant lavender fields, so I find the name of this polish very suiting for the lovely shade. The formula on this is very similar to Monterey with a jelly-like finish and it's opaque in two coats as well. 

This is the first time that I've tried nail polishes from Soulstice Spa. Overall, I'm quite impressed with the quality and easy application on the three colours that I swatched. I mean, what's not to love about 100% vegan and cruelty-free nail polish right! :)

I would like to thank Nail Polish Canada for sending these to me for review. They carry many popular brands and have the latest collections from this season so please check their site out when you have time. :)

My favourite drink at Starbucks is the iced caramel macchiato. What's yours? 

Jelly Sandwich Manicure

Jelly Sandwich

I decided to attempt a jelly sandwich manicure over the weekend! A jelly sandwich manicure, also known as a candy manicure, is a layering technique which you apply a base colour, a glitter and then lastly a jelly polish on top. I used OPI Gettin' Miss Piggy With It! HL C14. from their new holiday Muppets collection and also OPI Big Hair...Big Nails NL T21 from their Texas. I omitted the base layer because I wanted a more transparent effect. This is a great mani to wear for the upcoming winter holidays if you want to be festive. I bet we're going to start seeing Christmas decorations put up in stores now that Halloween is over, so why not start coming up with Christmas manis as well? ;)

What are your favourite polish combinations to use for jelly sandwich manicures?

Note: OPI Gettin' Miss Piggy With It! and OPI Big Hair...Big Nails were sent to me for review. 

Incorporating lifestyle photography into beauty blogging

Hello everyone! So you may have noticed that the photos on this blog have recently changed in composition and appearance (particularly the swatches of Chanel Khaki Vert and Essie Power Clutch). The reason is because I have decided to revamp my work and incorporate lifestyle photography into beauty blogging. For those of you who do not know what lifestyle photography is, it's a style of photography which aims to re-create real-life situations in a controlled environment. The results are candid and realistic photographs which are characterized by bright, airy lighting as opposed to studio shots. 

My idea behind this was because a lot of the times, you tend to notice someone else's (or your own) manicure through your everyday activities. Whether they're holding onto a cup of their much needed morning coffee or texting madly on their smart phones, you may catch a glimpse of what they're wearing on their nails and think to yourself, "Oh my gosh, that's such a pretty colour!" And then an instant lemming is created and you find yourself hunting that polish down as soon as you get a chance to. I would like to try and capture that special moment as I find this approach more unique, natural-looking and not as deliberate. I hope you ladies will like it too! :)

Essie Power Clutch

Essie Power Clutch 885. Smokey grey creme with green undertones. Well-pigmented, full coverage in two coats. 

Power Clutch is from Essie's Brand New Bag collection released for Fall 2011. Don't you just love the name of the collection? Makes me want to splurge for a new bag right now hehe :)

This is another great colour to wear for Fall, it's the only polish I picked up from the collection because I find it truly unique and I didn't have anything like it in my stash. However, I still stood at Superstore for a good five minutes debating whether I should get it when I have a gazillion untrieds waiting for me at home haha. I couldn't bring myself to put it back down on the shelves so here it is! Thank goodness for the $2.00 off coupon so I don't feel as bad!

Did you pick up any goodies from the Brand New Bag collection? And while we're at it, I'd love to know what your favourite bag is! :)

Chanel Khaki Vert

Chanel Khaki Vert 247. Dusty green creme. Applies smooth like butter. Perfectly opaque in two thin coats.  

Khaki Vert was released last year in the Les Khaki de Chanel collection along with Khaki Brun, an olive brown creme, and Khaki Rose, a medium taupe. I was extremely lucky to be able purchase this because it was the very last bottle left in the boutique. :)

I love wearing dusty shades in the Fall and this colour is simply perfect for the kind of weather now. 

What are your favourite nail polish shades to wear in this time of the year?

I Heart Instagram!

My absolute favourite iPhone app. Find me at ilovenailpolish321 for more pictures! :)

P.S. Are you a big fan of Instagram too?

OPI Siberian Nights and Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure

OPI Siberian Nights NL R52. Dark, vampy purple. Three coats. This polish is from the OPI Russian collection released in Fall 2007 and is now a part of their permanent line. Siberian Nights dries to an incredibly glossy finish as you can see in the pictures. I purposely did not apply top coat to show you how gorgeous it is on its own. :)

This polish is very special to me because it was the colour I chose for my first manicure at a nail salon. Note: this was back in the day when I only wore neutrals and sheer pinks so it was quite a breakthrough for me haha, but I'm very glad I picked it because I absolutely adore it to pieces. I just love how mysterious it looks on the nails! The polish appears almost black under most lights; however, the dark vampy purple shows up beautifully in the sun.

I finished off my mani with two coats of Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure, a gorgeous flakie polish that looks amazing layered on top of any colour. :)

The Ketchup and Ovaltine Leopard Mani

Thank you so much for all the sweet messages everyone! I feel incredibly loved and I'm very grateful to have such amazing readers like you. *blushes* I definitely missed blogging lots and I'm very glad to be back! :)

I love leopard print! I'd have to say it's my favourite pattern after polka dots hehe! Then again, this is only the second leopard print design that I've done after the blue French tips. =p

Leopard print is one of the hottest trends this fall and I can't wait to wear it on my nails! 

For this design, I used OPI MonSooner or Later NL I45, OPI Suzi Loves Cowboys NL T12, OPI San Tan-tonio NL T13, and MAC Mercenary.

Leopard print may look overwhelming to create but it's actually way easier to paint than it seems. 

Here's how to recreate the design at home:

1. Paint your nail with a light sandy brown.

2. With a striping brush and dark brown nail polish, paint some spots on the nail. I like to paint these in the shape of "brackets" so you can fill the centre with another colour for a more contrasting effect.

3. Paint the centre of the spot with a metallic gold nail polish. 

Credit goes to my sister and bro-in-law for the name of this mani, they like associating my polish colours with food haha. Just imagine adding ketchup to your ovaltine, how gross is that? Lol! *Edit* I totally agree with you Ashley! This would be an awful combination in reality. ;)

I hope you like this design. Have a fantastic weekend everyone! :)

Note: OPI Suzi Loves Cowboys, OPI San Tan-tonio and the heart-shaped rhinestore were sent to me for review.

Deborah Lippmann Glitter in the Air

I'm going to secretly return to the nail polish world and pretend that I never ever left. :)

Deborah Lippmann Glitter in the Air. Baby pink and blue sparkles dispersed in light blue jelly. Four coats. 

I was out shopping the other day and can't help to notice this cute glittery polish from Deborah Lippmann. I love the combination of the pink and blue glitter!  Although the polish is quite sheer and needs four coats for bottle colour, you can use it as a glitter top coat and layer it over white or other polishes. This nail polish is not quite like the other dense glitter bombs from Deborah Lippmann (eg. Happy Birthday, Across the Universe) but the subtle sweetness of it makes it extra special.

Nail Up May 2011

I picked up the latest issue of Nail UP! while shopping the other day! Here are a few scans from the magazine. After flipping through it, I have concluded that floral patterns are going to be the trend again this season. How can you not love cute girly designs like these eh? :)

Please click to enlarge the pictures.