Friday Favourites Round 6

 Supa Nails Zulu Pop - I am digging this tribal-look manicure trend. I admire the skill it takes to make all those thin lines! This is a look that I absolutely want to try out myself :)  

Keep Calm and Pain Nails' Feather Mani - wow, I think these are real feathers! I'm assuming you layer a base colour, top coat, feather, and a final top coat to seal it in... I want to try this!

Canadian Nail Fanatic's Flower Mani - I linked CNF the last time that she used this stamp. I will probably basically love any time that she uses this plate. LOL. Although I'm not a fan of the new OPI shade Lily I Love You, I like how it is used in this mani to give the navy creme a galaxy feel. Beautiful.  

Dizzy Nails' Wallis Crackified - Lauren put Tarnished Gold Crackle from China Glaze over London Butter Wallis to create this look. I am more into subtle contrasts when it comes to crackle polishes, so naturally I love this :)

Haute Laacquer's Murder Scene Mani - wooww, this girl has SKILL with a brush!!! I love crime scene thriller TV shows... Dexter, CSI, Criminal Minds, the list goes on. I studied Forensic Science in my undergrad, too... Naturally, I love these nails. :)

Emerald Sparkled Vintage Roses - This is the nicest flower manicure that I've seen in a long time! The roses are crisp and big, and the colour choice is great too :) love it!

piCture pOlish Blogfest - Twinkle

Hello readers! Almost two months ago I was selected to participate in Blogfest, put on by piCture pOlish. They are an Australian nail polish company with their own line of colourful shades, plus they sell the must-have Ozotic polishes. They sell world-wide from their website, http://www.picturepolish.com.au/ They offer wonderful customer service and high-quality product. Please check them out if you haven't already!

Blogfest is an event organized by piCture pOlish in which 60 nail polish bloggers from around the world have been each sent a different PP shade to review. Today (July 25) you just might be bombarded by lots and lots of shade reviews, and now you know why! I was sent Twinkle, a light pink-periwinkle purple with a hint of shimmer.  

I used 2 coats for full coverage. No streaks, very opaque and very nice with a slight hint of shimmer. 

I did not use a top coat for these photos. It's difficult to see the shimmer, but its there! The polish has some pinkish-purple specks of shimmer that reflect nicely in the sun. 

My mom's hydrangeas are in full bloom and made an excellent backdrop for this photo shoot... Twinkle is more pink than blue, and I felt that it blended in with my tanned skintone... When I'm paler in the winter this will be my go-to shade!

 Don't mind me, I went a bit photo-happy. 

 Lastly, I took this picture to show you how Twinkle compares to two other popular purples, China Glaze Light as Air and OPI Planks a Lot. this photo shows that Twinkle is much more pink than the other shades. I don't have a dupe in my collection!

Thanks for reading!

Hayley

NOTD: Don't Get Catty

This is my second try at Sally Hansen Salon Effects, Don't Get Catty from the designer collection (ooh laa laa - lol) I like using these! I cut my nails short so that one strip would cover two nails... This way I only had to open one of the two packages and this set will last for another application! yay!

  Don't Get Catty is HOT PINK. The leopard spots reminded me of this phalaenopsis orchid. I feel like I've mentioned this in each of my last posts, but this is definitely a summer manicure! I'm getting a nice tan, and anything that makes my colour pop makes me feel good :) 

Hayley

NOTD: Layering It's My Year

Here is a quick NOTD - China Glaze Grape Pop with one coat of OPI It's My Year layered on top. 

I love this look, although it wasn't summery enough for me! I'm taking it off and putting on some Flip Flop Fantasy or one of my new American Apparel neons... I can't go wrong with that!

NOTD: Glitter Bomb!

Here is a manicure I gave myself for Polish-aholics Anonymous's Monday Nail Art Challenge... Glitter Bomb! I started out with 2 coats of white polish, then 2 of OPI's Sparkle-icious and some DL Happy Birthday on the tips. It's not full-on glitter coverage, but SO much easier to remove!

Thanks for reading!

Hayley

Top Ten Award

 A few eons ago, I was tagged by Amy from Gotham Polish for the Top Ten Award... Amy wrote a sweet little something something about my blog, thanks to her for that ;)

I couldn't choose only 10 of my favourite beauty products to write about, so here are my top 12 list! I use most of these items every day, and I don't know what I would do without them!

1. Cover Girl Fresh Complexion concealer - I've been using this for years as a foundation to conceal dark spots (hellooo under eye circles) and minor imperfections. It is not heavy and allows my skin to breath. 


2. The Balm Hot Mama shadow/blush - I wear this as a blush. I get a perfect summery golden-pink glow year round. I've recommended this to many people!


3. Bourjois Paris eyeshadow #16 Nude - It's called Nude, but goes on like a nude/gold shimmer. It really brightens up my eyes without making it look like I'm wearing too much makeup. 


4. Lush Rehab shampoo - Papaya, pineapple, kiwi, mango, peppermint and rosemary smell amazing in this shampoo for dry/damaged hair. I use it about once a week, although I don't think it's the best suited to my hair-type. OH WELL!


5. Lush Daddy-O shampoo - This is ideal for blondes, I use it regularly to brighten up my colour. The chamomile also makes my hair smell amazing. I don't mind splurging on Lush shampoo!


6. Lush Eau Roma Water toner - This has been a lifesaver during the hot muggy summer that has plagued Toronto (I love the heat, but the moisture is so sticky and ugh!) I store this in the fridge and spritz it over my face and arms for an instant cool-off.


7. Lush Lemony Flitter cuticle butter - THE BEST cuticle care I've encountered. I slather it on and leave it for a few minutes, and it already starts to absorb into my skin on it's own. After massaging the extra into my hands, like with all Lush products, I smell amazing!


8. Lush Ultrabalm body balm - A year ago, this would have been replaced with Vaseline. I prefer Ultrabalm now! I use it as a nighttime lip moisturizer, to sooth my red ring around my nose when I'm sick, and on my inner thighs to prevent chaffing when I wear a skirt (tmi? lol) It works for all of these uses AMAZINGLY, and there are about a million other uses too. It's less sticky than Vaseline, absorbs better, and is vegan friendly. I'm not vegan, I could actually go for a steak right now, but still a good cause to support. LOL


9. Aquonlina Pink Sugar perfume - For when I want to smell like cotton candy. I love the roller ball application. Thanks, Sephora!


10. L'Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black mascara - My favourite mascara by far. This is another product I've been using for years. Old Faithful. I can layer it to get tonnes of volume. It doesn't flake. It's perfect. 


11. Cover Girl Exact Eyelights brightening liner in Vivid Ruby - I only started using this last year to rim my upper and lower waterlines. The colour really makes my hazel-y green eyes POP and the consistency slides on easily.

12. Lush Lust perfume - For when I want to smell more sophisticated and/or mature. It is a strong jasmine floral scent that takes to my skin beautifully.  

NOTD: Bahamas Sunset

Here is something I came up with last week for Polish-aholics Anonymous Monday nail art challenge, which was a sponge or gradient manicure. I layered CG Lemon Fizz, an Orange OPI that I don't know the name of, and ORLY Flirty to come up with the gradient, and free-handed the palm tree. I love the result!

I also did the same design on my friend Heather's nails, but used blues and silver glitter for a cooler nighttime scene. Poor quality photo, but you get the idea!

 Thanks for reading!


Hayley

NOTD: Inspired Nails

This manicure was inspired by some nail art I came across on Make my Day, a nail art blog from Argentina. Take a look through this site, the designs are beautiful. I forced myself to take my time and do a neat job with my nail art brush, and I am SO pleased with the results! To the right is the inspirational photo -->


And here is my take on it...

Here is a photo to prove that I did both hands! This is the first time I even attempted something so intricate on all nails. 

 As you can guess, I used a lot of polishes to complete this look. I painted each nail with two coats of white. After it dried, I used my nail art brush (striper brush?) to fill in a half-moon near the base of my nail with one colour, left a stripe of white and then filled in the tip of my nail (basically an extended french tip). Finally, I made a Black "W" on each nail and added some dots. Fini! The polishes I used, from l-r are: China Glaze Liquid Leather, China Glaze Re-Fresh Mint, SOPI Arm Candy, Essie Turquoise & Caicos, OPI Rumple's Wiggin', OPI Fiercely Fiona, Essie Splash of Grenadine, Essie Barbuda Banana, OPI What's With the Cattitude, Orange OPI (I don't know the name!) mixes with white, and Sally Hansen White Tip 

 Here's a photo of one of my Mom's plumeria plants in bloom! The flowers smell amazing :)

Thanks for reading!
Hayley

Friday Favourites Round 5

Also Known As' Turquoise and Silver Shatter manicure - I stared at this picture for *too* long trying to figure it out, before finally reading the text (and noticing that the bottle is a crackle... duh) and realizing that the finger designs alternate! Hah! I can be  little slow, let me be. lol. I think this is very cool and I can't wait to try it out!

Enamel Girl's Midnight Mani - These are nail stickers from Sally's! Wow! How awesome does this look?! I want to try them out, even though it looks like there is a bumpy texture that would drive me nuts... it's so dazzling!

Getcha Nails Did's Love, Beverly Hills xx - I'm not totally crazy about this Essie colour, but I LOVE this photo! Haha, something about Dr. Pepper... yum! The colours match perfectly!

Chit Cat Nails' Katy Perry inspired mani - Katy is awesome for inspiration, and I love this look that Marta created based on one of Katy's outfits! Something about the one thick line on each nail adds an extra oomph - well done!

Emily's Bananarama Nails - How FUN is this? The cute bananas remind me of Andy Warhol's art, but are apparently based on another manicurist's nail art (whose link I cannot access right now)

Eat. Sleep. Polish's Braille Nails - I love the colour combos that Victoria came up with for each nail, and the dotting is well-done considering she just got her first dotting tools! Victoria is a relatively new blogger too - be sure to check out her blog!

Another Bottle of Polish's Fingerpaints Water Marble - You have to click on this link and check out all 10 fingernails... I love the floral-looking petals that were created using the water marble technique! I am impressed, this is gorgeous :)

Through the Wormhole's Modrian Manicure - As an art history geek, I love this nail art! I like that it is in blues instead of Modrian's typical primary trio... this is Lex's personalized touch and I am digging it!

Wow Wow Nails' Green Delicious - this is a very cute twist on a french manicure mixed with some foodie nail art! The apples are actually Konad stamps, believe it or not. I think this was made by Nina at Wow Wow... I met her a few months ago when I visited the shop in Toronto... she was very nice and helpful. Also of note - I got both of my China Glaze OMG polishes from Wow Wow Nails! It's hit or miss whether or not they have them in, but the shop is good enough for me to keep visiting and checking :)  

NOTD: Terracotta

Since I didn't get around to those posts I promised for the end of last week (oops!), here is a quick NOTD - Orly's Terracotta.

Terracotta is a great bright summer shade that looks awesome with a tan! I got it at Sally's, and I am quite certain that this polish is a part of the regular Orly collection, so it can be picked up any time. These photos were snapped last month - my nails look MUCH different right now! I squared them off for the first time ever. Although I am still getting used to this shape, I am quite happy with it and will maintain it for a while. You will have to see them for yourself in my next post!


I am also happy to announce the winner of my 100 Follower Giveaway.... Congrats to Nicole from Nails on the Go by Nicole for being picked! 200 followers entered, and there were 410 entries... Nicole is one lucky girl! Thank-you for entering everyone, and please look forward to a 500 follower giveaway coming up soon :)



Hayley 

Update!

 I haven't posted in over a week! the last day of school was on Thursday, and I was equally as excited as my students... The next day I took a road trip to Montreal with three of my girlfriends to celebrate the Canada Day long weekend! I ate delicious food (Poutine! Crepes! Bagels! Smoked meat!), shopped till I dropped, practiced my French, and, oh yeah, SAW WILL AND KATE! I waited outside a building they were in for 3 hours, and in the end they drove by and I saw Kate's beautiful smile as she waved at us in the crowd :D I was stoked! 

  Go to Schwartz's deli for the BEST Montreal smoked meat sandwich! I overheard a customer ask "is the placemat the menu?" to which the server replied "smoked meat IS the menu". Yes!

 Me!

 Mon ami et moi!

 J'aime <3

 

 Oui Oui!!

I love Will and Kate too :)

I have started taking a summer course in Visual Arts, so my days are still busy now... I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN ABOUT MY GIVEAWAY! As soon as I sort out the entries, I will pick and post a winner! Thank-you for being patient, and WOW! Thank-you for all of your support! I have surpassed the number of followers I ever thought I would get - I am so flattered and amazed! I do not post as often as some other bloggers, so I hope you don't mind that about my blog. I will have a NOTD up by the end of the week - plus my giveaway winner :) 


-Hayley