OPI Do You Have this Color in Stock-holm?

Today I have a review of OPI Do You Have this Color in Stock-holm? 

This is the mini that I got from the Nordic set I bought a while ago. The polish I was looking forward to was My dogsled is a hybrid, but after painting this colour, I am in love with this!  

NOTD: Essie Vested Interest and OPI Glitzerland

Hello!

A quick Nail of the Day.  I have a company party and I wanted to do something fun with my nails. Normal workdays, I do not put too much effort with my nail look because of time and I'm not that skilled in doing it.  

Originally I wanted to wear gold on my nails but then I changed my mind so I added Essie's Vested Interest as the tips. 

I am pretty happy with how it turned out.

Have a fun day!

CND Vinylux System: Tinted Love

Hello!

Today I have a review on my experience with the CND Vinylux system. This is a very image intense post.  Though the images kind of shift because there are some day and night photos, just to show the effects of the polish.

I hope you find it informative if you are trying to decide if you want to buy something from this.  

NOTW: Essie Vested Interest and Summit of Style

It has snowed in Toronto!  Since I'm trying to get a consistent picture for my NOTW, I had to take my fingers outside while it was cold.  The picture is a little shaky because it was cold.  I really tried my best to have a clean and clear shot.  I think it ended up a little blurry.  I did this over two days too.  Anyway, my NOTW is Essie's Vested Interest and Summit of Style.  I haven't done a review on either of these polishes yet.  I really liked how it was this grey green with copper glitter.  I received compliments.

Have a wonderful week!  If you're in an area that is cold, I hope you are bundling up :)

IMATS Toronto 2014!

Hi Everyone!

My coworker bought IMATS tickets originally for her and her cousin to go but her cousin backed out so I went!  

I had a great time.  I did some shopping but I think what I enjoyed the most was seeing all the products and people doing demonstrations on models.

I sat in a few sessions.  I was there from 9am-1:45pm.  The session I sat in and I really enjoyed was Eve Pearl's session on quoting the correct rates (even though I'm not a make up artist, I really enjoyed that).  

My coworker bought our tickets in July. So I paid roughly $35 after tax.  

Here are my pictures after the jump:

OPI: Louvre me, Louvre me not

Hello!

Today I have an older polish. I looked it up and it came out in 2008 as part of the France Fall collection.  At the time I was not into salon nail polish, so I bought this sometime after.

NOTW: Essie Lady Like

Introducing Nail of the Week. 

I've been thinking about doing this, so maybe I'll give it a try?

I'm wearing Essie's Lady Like this week.  I forgot how lovely this colour is.  It's a nice darker pink and perfect for fall. It was so easy to apply with two smooth coats.  I seriously forgot how much I love this polish. 

Have a wonderful week!

Illamasqua: Faithful

Hello, today I have one of my most recent polishes to share with you.  I shared in a post a few weeks ago that I bought some Illamasqua polishes at The Bay during the clear out sale.  

I couldn't wait to wear Faithful, so here it is!

OPI: My Dogsled is a hybrid

Hi there!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.  I will be reviewing OPI's My Dogsled is a hybrid from the Nordic collection.  

I have to apologize in advance since my pictures were taken early in the morning before the sunrise.  With fall here and before daylight savings, the days start later and end earlier.  Basically when I wake up at 6:45am, it's dark outside.  By the time I arrive home, it's dark outside.  

I painted my nails on Sunday night since I didn't have time during the day and so I end up with pictures with my desk lamp and not naturally lighting.  Sorry about that.  

More after the jump!

Illamasqua: Mini Haul and sale

Hello!

I wanted to show a small haul I bought from The Bay in the Illamasqua counter.  I found out last month that Illamasqua was leaving North America.  I guess this wasn't new news but it was news to me.  More funny is how I found out. I was actually looking up their new colour Melange, and noticed that it was on sale at The Bay.  

The Bay is discounting the make up to 50% off and I took this opportunity to get some nail polish.  It was $8.50 each. The selection varies from online and in-store.

My Haul: DWS, Creator and Faithful

So each polish was $8.50, eyeshadow single was $10, lipsticks were $12, and eyeshadow palettes were $22. The thing about going to the store is people can open the packages.  Before it was 50% off, the polishes were sold for $12.50. I bought DWS at the time. Although it was inside the drawer, I didn't get a new bottle. When I opened it, there was some polish crusted but I didn't really want to go back to The Bay.  Now The Bay has taken away the counter and it is off to the side.  People are able to open all the packages. So I would say that if you're going to the store, be careful of what you're getting.  I checked Creator and Faithful before buying it.

I'll do my review posts later, but I don't know when.  I'm really excited for Faithful though.  The only comment I have to make is, it seems that Illamasqua has glued their tops and their brushes together.  Before I could take the cap off very easily.  What I liked about that is that I can close the brush part off tightly and then place the cap back on.  With the cap glued on, it seems that I can't really twist the cap all the way to close it and then the cap goes really weird, like it's going to explode off.  

EDIT: I put a lot more strength on it, and I was able to get the caps off, but it was not easy.  Weird. Also when I have it closed tightly with the brush cap area, I use the cap loosely to twist it, so I don't hurt myself with the ridges.

Facet's cap off

Anyway, I just wanted to share this in case anyone out there in Canada who wanted to try Illamasqua products and might not know that they were leaving (though I feel maybe I'm one of the last ones to know).  In store there were more selection in terms of polish that are not listed online.  Faithful is not online anymore but there were a few in store.   I just want to say that Raindrops and Facet were not among the polishes available in store or online. Some of the cream blushes in store look nice but also seems like the product was separating a bit or at least there were some moisture droplets on the cream blush. Online there is more selection on eyeshadow quad. 

For me, Illamasqua was always a struggle to buy. I remember going to New York City to pick up Bacterium (which I have since sold, not because of the formula or colour but the old brush).  Then I ordered Raindrops and Pink raindrops on their website and paid a lot for shipping.  There's also the problem of nail polish being considered a hazardous product being shipped out from the UK.  So I was happy it was at the Sephora and The Bay within travelling distance to me.  I am a fan of their nail polishes and I own three blushes which I like. 

Everything was bought by me and I hope you enjoyed reading my little haul and my thoughts.

Have a good weekend!

Nail Art: Bundle Monster BM-410

Hello!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I've had turkey this weekend and it was so good.  It's always nice to spend time with family and have a Monday off. 

I have a quick and simple nail art to share.  It's only simple because I didn't actually do any drawing myself.  I don't really like doing more complicated ones because sometimes I end up removing it, it that means I just spent a long time and it was a waste.  This look, I spent a while but that's only because I encountered some complications.

I used Bundle Monster plate BM-410, the middle left stamp.  I've been wanting to use this and I'm happy with the result.  Then I tried to use my Matte Finish from butter London.  I had it for a while but never used it.

butter London's Matte Finish. I rarely use this and this was part of a surprise box I bought.  

Konad black polish for stamping.

Finish look.  I want to note that my ring finger was painted with Essie's Good to go top coat.  On my right hand, I tried to paint the matte top coat over it and it just smudged like crazy.  It did a little with the Essie top coat as well but not as bad.  This still looks acceptable.  The best result I had with top coat over stamping is Seche Vite. 

Finish look.  While the matte nails do look nice, I went back and painted it all with Essie's Good to Go.  I'm just not a matte type of person and my ring finger looked so shiny, so I decided that all nails will be shiny. After painting it with the shiny top coat, I feel so much better.

My main colour is Essie's Master Plan, which in some angles looks taupe like.  I don't know if it's because I added the Matte top coat.

L'Oreal Haul - Fall Sale

I wanted to share a short post of what I got at the L'Oreal Warehouse sale.  I was able to receive a ticket for the fall time.  This is my haul.

I didn't end up buying so much even though this may be the last time since these tickets come very rare to me.

Anyway, here is the pricing:
Maybelline Clean Express  $5.50
Ombrelle Sun screen  $5.00
Maybelling Master Highlight blush  $3.75
Each Essie was $4.75.  It was buy 5 get 1 free, so I got 6.

I was looking for some darker shades for fall.

Essie colours I got:
Mind Your Mittens
East Hampton Cottage
Warm and Toasty Turtleneck
Fashion Playground (my backup)

Total spent was $43.00

Favourite Fall Colours 2014

Hello!

I wanted to put together a post of nail colours I am looking forward to wearing the most.  Some of these might be repeats from last year but honestly, if that's what I'm feeling, that's what I'm feeling.

A photo my mom took at Algonquin Park.

1. Essie's Cashmere Bathrobe 

I really liked this last year, and I can't wait to wear it this year!

2. Butter London's Bumster

This is such a strange yellow-mustartd but it's pretty.  I think it's very appropriate for fall

3. Essie's Master Plan

I've been really into the idea of wearing grey's lately.  Maybe that's why this is the second grey I am most looking forward to wearing.  Summer has been about bright colours, so it's nice to tone it back down.

I also can't wait to wear some dark blues.  It seems like I'm into the colder colours for fall but these are just colours I can't wait to wear.  There are also the colours I loved last year, which I still can't wait to wear.

If you have any favourite colours for fall, let me know in the comments! Thanks and talk to you next time!

OPI: Every Month is Oktoberfest

Hi! Fall is here!

I just returned back from a trip to Cancun.  One of my Junior High school friends got married there.  While it was nice to be in the sun, I'm pretty glad to be back in Toronto. I mean it's cold, but I really want to put my sweaters on and wear fall colours.  I had bright colours on at the beach, but I yearned for fall colours! I'll probably be saying something different when winter comes.

I don't go to the beach often but I love the amazing colours.

Anyway, here's the main reason for my post.  I wearing OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest

More after the jump!

Dior: Waterlily

Hi Everyone,

A quick nail picture. I'll be heading to Mexico for a week for a friend's wedding.  I have decided that since the colour theme is lime green that I'll be wearing Dior's Waterlily.  It's a limited edition colour that came out in 2012 that has a scent. 

Honestly I didn't buy this when it was available in store even though I really wanted it.  I ended up buying it off of eBay.  It's funny because at the time, when I bought it off of eBay, I told myself that I would wear this colour everyday for the rest of that Spring 2012.  

This is the first time I wore it as a full manicure.  The colour is pretty and the application was pretty easy. 

I guess I'm writing this because while the colour is pretty, I just wonder if it was worth all the trouble getting this colour.  That's all.  Just wanted to share this quick one.

Sorry it's no longer available, and I'm featuring this on my blog.

Nail Design: Rescue Beauty Lounge Plie and Essie's Set in Stones and A Cut Above

Hello there!

I have a quick post about a nail design I wore to a friend's wedding.  It's very simple.  It's not a real design but it's more fancy than me just painting my nails.

a-England: Saint George

Hello!

I kick off September, I decided to go a little darker with my polish.  Today I have a-England's Saint George.

I was wondering what to paint on my nails, and I wanted to do a stamping.  The stamping didn't end up happening.  I avoided Saint George before because it's such a dark green and I wasn't sure how crazy the holographic would go on my nails. My thought after the jump!

OPI: Nordic Mini set

September is here!

I have a quick post to share. I bought the OPI Nordic Fall 2014 mini set.  I'm not really into mini sets normally because I like the full bottle.  Also it seems like I rarely reach for the mini set.  However, I like all the colours in this mini set, so I have decided to buy it.

Essie: Muchi Muchi

Hello Everyone!

September is just around the corner.  I hate to say this, but summer went by so quickly.  In Toronto, it has been a very cool summer.  Some days felt like spring or early fall.  Last year, we had a very hot summer, so I guess mother nature is just telling us to enjoy the fact that there's no snow! :)

Today I have a review for Essie's Muchi Muchi. I bought this way back in April during Shopper Drug Mart's BOGO offer.  I only wore Muchi Muchi this past week.  

OPI: Skull & Glossbones

Hello!

Today I have a post for an older polish. This is OPI Skull & Glossbones from Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides from 2011.  I bought the mini set and sometimes I use the pink and purple but I never wore the grey colours.  Stranger Tides seems like a shade that is grey but with a hint of green.   I think they look pretty, but I never wore either colour before.

The packaging is kind of bent but I rarely used this...

Comparisons: Base and Top Coats Part 2

Hello!

Today I have a comparison to share.  I originally did one last October for the base and top coats I had owned.  Since then, I have finished/stopped using and bought new ones.  

The reason I have so many different base and top coats is because I'm trying to find an alternative to Seche Vite.  I really like Seche Vite but I don't really like the smell and how it kind of thickens midway through the bottle.  I don't really care for Seche Base that much but I do use them together.  

I just want to say first that below is just my opinion based on how the use has turned out for me.  I realize that even for base and top coats there are different batches or depending on how old it is.  Another factor is also how each one of us protects our hands/fingers.  So, what might not work for me, might work for you and vice versa.

OPI: OPI...Eurso Euro and I Reached My Gold!

Hello! 

Today I have a glitter polish to show.  

I bought OPI I Reached My Gold! on sale. It was during a sidewalk sale at Trade Secrets, so this was like $6.  When Oz The Great and Powerful collection came out, I really wanted When Monkeys Fly but because of the "taco" shape glitter, I didn't and bought the other two glitters instead.  I have since sold my two glitters but I still wanted to try this one.  Since it was on sale, I thought why not?

butter LONDON: Scrubbers

I bought this during a Sephora haul in April.  This was before I knew OPI was also coming out with their own travel removers.

I'm not sure about you, but when I go on vacation I try to make my polish last.  Usually it's ok and chips mid-vacation.  This is different when I go to a resort.  Something about being at a resort (sunscreen, sand and water) makes my polish go weird.  So I noticed with nail polish is that it seems to dissolve from muscle relaxing cream or sunscreen.  The muscle one sometimes makes it start to dissolve and sunscreen makes it less shiny for me.  So it looks worn down.  This can be said with sand as well.  

Anyway, when I went to Cuba and the Dominican Republic, I carried with me a small bottle of polish remover.  This is pretty inconvenient because it is prone to leak.  Enter these travel packs.  So I avoided using the scrubber since I'm not on vacation, but I was curious how big it was.

Here are some pictures:

The Box contains 10.

Essie: Van D'Go

Hello!

Today I have Essie's Van D'Go to share.  

Before I start my post, I just wanted to say that lately I've been going through my polish collection and I've sold a lot of it.  Maybe more than half of it.  I've been buying OPI/Essie polishes starting from 2008 and during my stressful busy seasons is when I usually buy a lot.  I noticed that I didn't wear a lot of it.  I've disposed it in the hazardous waste depot and I've sold some for a discount.  So my collection isn't as long and this might affect future posts.  

I opened up an instagram account but I haven't posted a lot on it.  If you would like to follow me, my name is just my blog name which is BLUETIPSWATCHES.  I'm trying to put effort in posting, so there might not be anything on it. 

Anyway back to the post.  I bought Van D'Go a long time ago but I haven't worn it for quite some time and I remember liking it. 

Essie: Got Engaged

Hello!

Today I have a light pink to share.  Got Engaged is part of Essie's 2014 Wedding collection.  This is the only polish I bought from the collection.  My coworker was telling me how excited she was for this collection and I took a look at it more closely and it is a very pretty, delicate, sparkly, soft pink.  So, I bought it too.

butter LONDON: Bumster

Hi everyone!

Off topic story

I'm going to go off topic first.  I typically go to the gym and work out.  I do about one hour to one hour and fifteen minutes.  Usually this includes some cardio and some machine weights and stretching.  At work, my boss suggested that we took a class.  So I agreed to go because I was wondering what these classes were about.  I've gone to maybe two before (one cycling one and another called Body Attack).  So we went to Body Combat, which is like punching the air.  I'm going to be totally honest.  It was a rough first five minutes.  I thought I was going to fall to the ground.  My boss and another coworker are a lot older than me, so I decided that I can't give up.  If these ladies were keeping up, I have to too.  Though, there were different levels of effort and besides the age, I wasn't going to compare anything else.  We didn't stretch, so I went back to the gym after to do a bit of cardio and stretched (though I know it was pointless because you have to stretch right after the intense workout to actually benefit from stretching).  Anyway, the next day I was sore.  My calves, and bum muscles were sore.  On Saturday, I went to another class called Body Attack.  It was mostly leg work, but I have to say my arms are in pain (especially my triceps).  That one was more doable than Combat.  Well until the thirty minute point. Then it was really difficult.  After Body Attack, I had to do some house chores that involved scrubbing.  I just wanted to say that I'm in all kinds of self inflicted pain right now.  

Review

Now for my post.  As I mentioned before, I was clearing my nail polish collection.  I came across butter London's Bumster.  I've noticed that the butter London's I own are a hit or a miss.  The ones that are a hit, last for a very long time and have a beautiful shade.  The miss ones are the ones that chip after one day.  So, I wasn't sure how I felt about Bumster. When I bought it, it was during my need to own every single shade of colour and I barely own any yellows.  I decided to keep it anyway because it was unique and it's pretty.

Cover Girl: Skylight

Hello!  Today I have Cover Girl's Skylight to share.  Sometimes I buy Maybelline, Cover Girl or Revlon polishes, but I don't necessarily post it up on my blog.  I'm not sure why.  I realize if I'm going to decrease my polish collection, the drug store ones are first to go.  I'm not sure why but that's how it is.  

I bought Cover Girl's Skylight at Shoppers Drug Mart during a sale.  Which was $5.99.  I think I've seen it cheaper at Wal-Mart? Yet, it caught my eye at SDM, so that's where I bought it.  It's like the perfect skyblue, which is my favourite shade of blue.  I have a lot that are too bright, or a little to the powdery side, but this one seem to be just perfect!  

OPI Blush Hour

Today I have a pretty glitter to show you.  I'm not going to go into detail about my base colours though.  

Essie: Coconuts & Cocktails

Hi there!

Today I have Essie's Coconuts & Cocktails to share.  This is from the 2014 Resort Collection.  First I want to apologize for my paint job. I was painting my nails late at night and I thought I made some mistakes so I used a cotton bud to clean up around the cuticles and ended up taking off some polish.

Essie: Truth or Flare

A few weeks ago I picked up Truth or Flare from the Essie Spring 2014 collection.  Originally in the Hide & Go Chic collection, I was only interested in Fashion Playground.  Then I saw an instagram of Hide & Go Chic with Truth or Flare as the French tip. At first I wasn't going to pick this up but since Shoppers was having a special BOGO deal, I decided that if they had this shade, I would pick it up.  Luckily for me, they did.

Deborah Lippmann: La Vie en Rose

Hi Everyone,

This is going to be a quick post since I'm not sure if this shade is available anymore.  It's Deborah Lippmann La Vie en Rose, which is a Limited Edition shade and during the Sephora sale, it was mostly gone.  When I was returning something, I happened to find the last bottle of this.

I don't own a lot of Deborah Lippmann products.  Actually I own three to be exact.  This would be my fourth shade. 

Random Haul back in April

Hi there!

This is a strange post because I actually purchased this stuff at the end of April but now I'm blogging about it later.  I procrastinated.  However, I guess because I took the picture and I wanted to share this before, I should still write a post about it.  Normally, I don't do hauling posts unless I made a significant online purchase (like my Rescue Beauty Lounge or Sephora hauls) or warehouse sales.  This is different.

So this is some of the stuff I bought:

Clinique Cheek Pop in Ginger Pop.

I bought this after the sale and I guess because I heard a lot of beauty gurus talk about how much they like this that I decided to give it a try.  I am surprised I didn't go for Peach Pop but I wanted something a bit different.  To be honest, Clinique was one of the first make up brands I started out with but I found later on that whenever I received eye shadow samples or mascara, it wasn't really my thing.  I even bought a face colour powder but ended up not really liking it.  So I wasn't sure if I would like this because my opinion of Clinique is a bit not on the hate but not on the like side.  

I tried this and I really like it.  Besides the cute packaging, the colour is pretty pigmented and it adds a nice colour to my face.  The colour was what I was looking for, so I'm quite happy with my purchase.  I don't know if I'll buy the entire line but I'm very happy with this.  

I use my e.l.f. Studio Makeup Powder Brush to apply this and it does a nice job or at least I'm happy with it.  Depending on how sleepy I am, I can give it 1-3 swirls.  The 3 swirls days are clearly when I'm so sleepy and swirling has become distracting or something I'm doing unconsciously. 

Random swatch. I just used my finger.

Nail Polish Haul

With my Sephora purchase of my Clinique Cheek Pop, I bought Formula X Infatuated.  After I bought it online, I went to Sephora to try it on my finger and I changed my mind. So I actually returned it.  It's still in my photo so I'm going to leave it.

Essie: Fashion Playground. You can tell this post should have been done earlier since I have already reviewed and declared this as my summer favourite.  I still really like it.  So happy I bought it.

Essie Got Engaged.  I haven't worn it yet but it's a pink with fine white shimmer. I guess that's how I like my Essie polish.

This haul I am kind of proud of.  So back in April, Shoppers Drug Mart had a BOGO coupon from 5pm to 8pm.  This rarely happens at Shoppers.  I think this is the second time.  So I got Cocktails & Coconuts, Muchi Muchi, Truth or Flare and Hide & Go Chic.  I guess I should have picked a new collection item instead of Muchi Muchi but I couldn't find another colour I liked.  I was originally only going to get the blue shades but then I found Cocktails & Coconuts, so I couldn't resist. Shoppers usually retails Essie's for C$11.99, so I basically got the new shades for $5.99 before tax. While I guess I didn't really need the colours I'm glad I got them for the price I did.  Fashion Playground was available in the store but I had already ordered it online, so I didn't pick it up or I would have.  The bridal collection wasn't out yet either.

Anyway, this is my mini haul and even though I didn't really explain anything, thank you for reading!

OPI: You Pink Too Much

Today I have OPI's You Pink Too Much which was part of the Spotlight on Glitter collection.  Lately I've been into buying glitters.  I wear them more often than before but I usually do an accent only.  

Thoughts

The base is clear and there are mini holographic circle glitter and then there are bigger circle pink glitter.  It's very pretty.  From what I saw online, this is similar to another glitter of another name as part of the Mariah Carey collection but I didn't get that one.  

It's really hard to describe a glitter since it's really a top coat, or it is for me.  I could wear it on it's own but I can only think about how difficult it'll be to remove, so I think I won't do that.

Breakdown
Basecoat: Seche Base
Colour layer: Essie Bikini so Teeny (2 coats each polish) and OPI You Pink Too Much (1 coat)
Topcoat:  Seche Vite

My photos are at night sorry!

With a clearer flash of how the colour is like

I bought You Pink Too Much at Trade Secrets.  It retails for C$9.99 for 15mL or 0.5 Fl. Oz.