NOTW: Essie Parka Perfect with As Gold as it Gets

Hello!

I have this nice pairing to share with you this week.  I really like this look.  So far, I've only worn Parka Perfect with something over it.  However, I do think it looks very nice.

I like the type of blue that Parka Perfect is.  It's like an greyish blue. On the Essie website, it is described as an alpine grey. 

I also like how As Gold as it Gets just adds a nice layer to this.  I've topped this with a few polishes and I've always loved the effect.

Have a good week!

Clean Up! - Current Nail Polish Collection

Hello!

Today I have to share with you my current nail polish collection. Here it is:

Woah! I know! That's all!!!  40! I still have another bag of polish but I've placed it up for sale.

Clean Up! Nail Polish - All that I once owned

Hello!

Welcome to my nail polish clean up post. I guess you can tell by my make up collection clean out posts that a nail polish clean up post might come soon.  So here it is! I started selling my gently used nail polish last year.  I've met some nice ladies were who interested in buying my collection or they were interested in owning a salon and wanted my polish. I didn't make any money off my polish and I might have sold it at like 20%, but I wanted them to find a good home and it's always nice to receive money for it. Especially if it was barely used.

I don't know how many polishes I owned but I know I've sold a lot. For the first few sales, I sold 150 polishes two times, so that would have been about 300 polishes.  Then afterwards, it decreased and I was selling maybe 10 here and there.  There was a time where my mini plastic drawer was over flowing with nail polish bottles and I had a Sephora bag full of polishes.  I also separated all my polishes in terms of colour family so I could find it easier.  When I sold 300 polishes to someone, I gave her two bags of those Sephora big shopping bags.  I thought that was pretty intense.  

I didn't really take an accurate picture of my collection, so these are just pictures I took randomly here and there.  I'll take a current collection for another post.  I still have polishes I'm trying to sell, so wish me the best of luck!

Essie Polishes. I love Essie. I didn't realize that. I think I owned even more than I photographed here at one point.  Here, I was only trying to sort it to make a rainbow picture.  Anyway, Essie is now available everywhere and it goes on sale a lot.  Also, I bought some at the L'Oreal warehouse sale, so I owned a lot.  I have sold a lot of Essie and I still own a lot.  For the Essie polishes that I do like, I like that it is opaque and classy looking.  There are some that require more coats and that does annoy me a bit because I don't always want to paint 3 coats of polish in order to be opaque.  I also feel like it looks like I layered a bunch of polish on my nails, and my fingers actually feel heavier (maybe that's just psychological but I think so).

NOTW: Essie Cashmere Bathrobe

Hi there!

It's the last week of October!  

Last week I didn't end up doing a manicure, so I had nothing to share. This week, I wanted to do a grey and I picked this one.  It was between this or Master Plan.

Anyways, I just wanted to share this quick picture, I used two coats. What I love about Cashmere Bathrobe is that it's opaque in two coats and there is fine shimmer.  I haven't worn this in a long time.

I took this picture while it was kind of drizzling and I picked up a leaf.  I could have picked a prettier leaf but I quite liked this one.

Have a great week!

NOTW: OPI Louvre me Louvre me not

Hello!!

We're in mid-October now.  Time really has passed by quickly. We even had some light snow falling in Toronto. The type that melts when it touches anything.

Anyway, I wanted to share what I wore as my manicure last week.  I wore OPI's Louvre me Louvre me not. During my nail polish clean up, I was deciding whether to keep this or place it up for sale. I hadn't own this polish that long even though it is part of an older collection.  I decided to keep it in the end and I really like the colour.

I used 2 coats of polish. I think I should have done 3 coats.  Also, I painted my nails at night, so I didn't notice the patches of colour near the cuticle area.  What I really like about this colour is that there is a blue flash over the purple.

I bought this at Trade Secrets long ago.  I think it is a hard find because it's part of 2008 France collection.

NOTW: butter London Two Fingered Salute

Hello!

I hope everyone is enjoying their day and had a wonderful weekend.

I have a NOTW to share with you.  I wore this last week.  Which is butter London's Two Fingered Salute.  I think this is a limited edition shade. I bought mine from Holt Renfew, and I found it randomly. I rarely go into Holt Renfew, and I don't usually look at nail polish but I happened to do just that on that day and came home with this.  This polish is also my first post for my blog. 

I tried very hard to be able to capture the chopper bits but it was really hard on my iPhone. According to my coworker, it looks more like for the sea. Then I pointed out the chopper flakes, which she didn't notice.  I think it's a very nice touch and it makes it feel more antique.  If Essie were to ever come up with a Luxeffects with chopper flakes, I would totally buy it.

Have a good week!

Clean Up! Part 6 - Everyday make up

Hello! Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!!!

This is the last of my clean up series.  

The make up I am currently really enjoying for September and early October.

From left to right of my picture below.

1. Urban Decay Walk of Shame

2. Diamond Dog (this is so sparkly)

2. Shu Uemura me beige 825 (metallic gold sand)

4. p light beige 822 (pearl cream beige)

5. Mac Simpsons in Sideshow You

6. Benefit Hervana blush

7. Tarte Bronzer in Park Ave Princess

8. Dior highlighter in Pink Lace. You can't tell it's there but it is.

9. (Bottom of my arm) Nars Cheyenne - The discontinued eyeshadow.

Another look

Lipsticks

Left Urban Decay in Fiend.

Right Bite Beauty in Braised Maple. Smells like Maple too. Love it!

Thank you for sticking to the very end.  I realized that a lot of things I bought were really between 2010-2012.  I do feel kind of hypocritical for keeping some items and not others that are that old (like the Dior lace while throwing other things like my cream items).  

I should note that I use different make up for different seasons. So I would put away things that I feel are more for spring.  There are things that are my every season items like the eyeshadows. I wonder if that's strange?  Before I put it away, I do wipe the top layer and spray it with alcohol. I'm not sure if that really disinfects anything but it gives me peace of mind.  Also, besides the eyebrow pencil, I have never seen my make up have mold or become discoloured. There is a Dior lipstick that smells funny that I got rid of, but I think maybe because Dior lipsticks have a perfume smell.  

During this process of blogging my make up and taking pictures, I realized why the beauty bloggers and Youtube beauty gurus do not typically show items that they have already started using, because it doesn't look as nice. Also with powdered items, it just gets everywhere in the palette. 

I am currently on a no buy October for skin care and cosmetics. I didn't think I really bought that much, but I have to say that it's been very hard.  It's only October 12 right now.  It's also Canadian Thanksgiving, so there are a lot of deals out there.  I will eventually do a post on my nail polish clean out. 

Thank you!

Clean Up! Part 5 - Current make up collection blush and lips

Continuation of my clean out.

I was going to make one big post but it became too long, so I broke out the eyes and face foundation) make up.  This is my cheek and lipsticks.

Thanks for joining me!

Clean Up! Part 4 - Current make up collection eye and face

Hello!

Today I have my current make up collection after the clean out.  This is really for myself, so that I can look back on my post.

I'm trying very hard to not buy any make up in October.  This is just the beginning of October and I'm already shopping around, so this is going to be a challenge for me.  Maybe I am a compulsive buyer, but at least I acknowledge it (??).

Anyway, here we go!

Clean Up! Part 3 - Gym make up

Hello!

Thank you for joining me in my make up clean up series.

This part is things I take to the gym. I'm going to try to make it quick.

Clean Up! Part 2: Getting rid of old items

Hello!

Thank you for joining me in my part 2 of my make up clean out.  Besides make up clean out, I've cleaned out a lot of other things. Such as old text books that I kept but didn't end up using, and clothes that I no longer wear.  The clothes are probably like 10 years old. I always thought there would be a special occasion or I'll end up wearing that piece the next year but never did.  The thing is with clothes, you buy it, and I guess you leave it there thinking maybe one day you'll wear it and sometimes you do or sometimes you don't.  There have been pieces of clothing that I bought last year and I am wearing this year.  There are some that make the cut (I guess that's the only way I can put it).

NOTW: butter London La Moss

Hi!

I have a quick picture to share with you today. I wore this last week.

I used the butter London base and top coat, and painted with La Moss.  It's a nice ox blood colour.  I bought this when I was redeeming my points from nailpolishcanada and I selected this. 

I have to say that I really like this.  I used two coats, and it's pretty opaque!  I have a dark red with Essie but that takes 4 coats for coverage. This was so easy in 2 coats and dried pretty quickly. From my picture below, you can tell I tried to clean up near my cuticle area and it looks like it stains. I was worried when I removed the polish that there'd be some staining. When I removed it, it did bleed around because the polish is so strong, but I didn't experience staining where it was completely through my nails. So, I'm very happy with this polish. It retails for $18. I'm not sure if it's worth the price because I did get a bit of a discount due to points redemption.

Thank you for stopping by!  Have a great week :D

Clean Up Part 1: Getting rid of old make up

Hello!

For a few weeks now, I've been doing a lot of cleaning. With the change of season, I just decided it was time to evaluate what I had and I should get rid of.  

I know I have hoarded a lot of make up.  I also know what my issues are.

1. My main buying times are usually during the spring because that is my most busy time at work. So, to de-stress, I like looking at colours and buying make up

2. I love colours. Even though I don't wear a lot of these colours, I love colours and this has been my problem since I was a child. I bought a lot of pencil crayons (coloured pencils), crayons, coloured pens, etc.

3. I love testing out new things

I'm essentially sharing a before and after. Basically, I realized that my blog helps me review the make up I own/once owned. So this is my before, but there are some additions I didn't photograph yet...

IMATS Toronto 2015 - Going as a make up enthusiast

Hello there!

I wanted to share with you my IMATS Toronto 2015 experience.

My friend and I decided we wanted to go again this year since we had a fun time last year.  I want to apologize in advance if my descriptions are difficult to follow since it did feel kind of hectic sometimes.

NOTW: Essie Master Plan nail look

Hello everyone!

It's mid-week, but I wanted to share my look for this week.  I'm pretty happy with it.  I shared my favourite simple nail art for last year. Which is just painting half my nail with glitter.  I really like this look because it just seems so fancy to me.  Usually I use a pink base but this time I used a grey base.

My base colour: Essie's Master Plan. 

Glitter: Essie Set in Stones and Summit of Style.

I really love how it turned out.  The glitter isn't uniformed, there are some nails with more than others and some of my nails have more of a glitter trail because my brush accidentally touched the nail.  After a top coat though, I really like the effect. Some nails have a line of glitter and some don't.  I like that.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful week!

Blushes! Looking forward to Fall!

Hello!

It's almost autumn!!  

Autumn is my favourite season. I think I always looked forward to fall because the leaves change to different colours, and (when I was younger) it was the start of school.  I graduated from school a long time ago, but the feeling of it is still there.  Also, it's time to get my cozy sweaters out again and time to enjoy hot beverages.  The only thing about autumn is, it's followed by winter.  I do like winter, but sometimes it is tough.  

I have some blush swatches to share because I am so excited about autumn colours. These are all my "fall/autumn" shades. I categorize my make up in terms of seasons. I don't know if that's weird or not, but when I put them away for the season, I do make sure that I disinfect it and keep it while.

I took these pictures sometime in August because I was so excited for Fall.  However, I should say that I ended up returning the Urban Decay Rapture and Clinique Cola Pop.  Both are beautiful colours, but I didn't like how it looked on my cheeks. 

These are darker in shades, and it reminded me how cheeks would be when coming from the cold. It's going to be very hard for me to describe the colours. 

1.NYX Spice - very nice pink. I bought this on sale. I haven't worn this on my face but the price was alright.  It seems pretty nice.  I should test this out and update this post at a later date.  Since I can't really comment on it.  This is the only drug store brand I have in this post too, I just realized. 

2. Tarte Dazzled - Described as a soft rose. This has some pink sparkle/glitter in it.  I think it's pretty. 

3. Clinique  Fig Pop - I really like this. I bought this earlier this year during the VIB sale in April. Just because somehow I was very into the fig shade. I'm so happy with this colour and the application. 

4. Clinique Coloa Pop - As I mentioned, I returned this. The pigmentation is wonderful and it is very pretty.  However, it wasn't the look I was going for.  So I did end up returning it.

5. Illamasqua Sleek - This is a cream blush that ends up like a powder. The effect is pretty cool.  I've had this for years, and I should probably throw it away since it is a cream product, but I still have it.  I do like the colour. It is described as a dusty coral. It's not available on the Illamasqua website but there are other colours similar to this. I had ordered this online. 

6. Urban Decay Rapture - I returned this as well.  I think it just looked very dull on my face. So I didn't really like it.  It is a pretty colour though. 

7. Tarte Blushing Bride - Though this is a darker shade, I thought this is very pretty.  There is some shimmer/glitter to it but I like it. 

I hope you have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by!

NOTW: Essie Truth or Flare

Hi!

Last week, I decided I wanted to wear blue and use my stamp that I bought in early August because it was on sale. I painted my nails with Essie Truth or Flare and then used Garden Variety for stamping.  Garden Variety wasn't really that great in terms of a thick stamp coat (I know it's not meant for stamping but Essie's turn out really nicely for stamping), but I actually liked how this turned out.  It's pretty subtle that I have stamping there.

I don't wear Truth or Flare often, but I really like the finish to this. It's kind of jelly like.  

Hope you all had a wonderful week!

NOTW: Rescue Beauty Lounge: Plié

Hi Everyone!

Autumn is almost here!  Autumn is my favourite season.  I know there are only four seasons, but my favourite is Autumn followed by Spring.  As a kid, I prefer Winter over Summer.  I'm a Winter baby, so, that's how I felt.  So, I guess my ranking is Autumn, Spring, Winter, and then Summer.  

Anyway, I've been wearing bright summer colours and I couldn't wait to wear something more subtle.  So I decided to wear Rescue Beauty Lounge's Plié.  I have worn this before in other looks but never by itself.  It's very pretty.  I never did a full review on this, but since it's no longer in production, I won't really go into it.  I just wanted to show what I wore for the week.  It's a bit lighter than Lady Like by Essie (but Lady Like is available, and cheaper). 

I hope you had a great week!

NOTW: For the past few weeks

Hello!

It's been such a long time.  I didn't even realize.

Early July, I went to San Francisco on a business trip and then I got sick.  After that, I just got lazy.  I think I'll just summarize what I wore because I want to share this information.

Picture of the Golden Gate Bridge taken from the Alcatraz ferry

OPI - Panda-monium Pink 

Which I think is a really nice colour for my skin tone.  I also really love this colour.  Since this is discontinued, or it's hard for me to find, I rarely wear this.  

OPI - Eurso Euro

I was kind of tired of the bright colours and wanted something darker.  This was perfect.  I really love this colour after all this time.  

Essie Turquoise and Caicos

This turned out really patchy. This is also three coats of polish as well.  It's a pretty finish, but I got dents in it since it took a lot longer to dry.  I also didn't have the patience that day because I needed to get other things done and the drying time just took so long.  Very lovely colour though.

Essie Madison Ave-hue

I love this colour. I haven't worn it in a while due to my large collection but I still love the application and look of this.  Very pretty. So happy that this is in the permanent line now (or I see it in the permanent display)

That's all from me.  Thank you so much for stopping by!

Make up I'm currently really enjoying

Hello!

Happy Canada Day!!

Today, I'm doing something a little different.  I haven't shared any make up stuff for a while.  The main reason is, I enjoy make up and nail polish but it's not part of my job. Also, my pictures aren't exactly HD quality.  So I don't really like to share that too much in case it ruins the brand's image lol. 

 

Recently I've done a massive clean up of my personal make up and nail polish collection.  I did a clean up post once but this time I didn't.  I kind of just ended up throwing it away without thinking.  I also sold some stuff too.  

I just wanted to share what I'm currently really liking.  Just for fun. Or because I wanted to talk about it.

NOTW: OPI Dim Sum Plum

Hi everyone!

I'm wearing OPI Dim Sum Plum for this week.  I've been wanting to wear this for a while but each time, I changed my mind just to something else I was feeling for that week.

Since the Essie Spring collection came out, I really wanted the name sake of the collection but it reminds me so much of Dim Sum Plum.  Maybe DSP is a little lighter but, it was similar enough that I didn't think I should get another colour that was similar.  I know I could do a comparison for myself, but naw.

Anyway, so I finally wore it and it's exactly what I wanted.  I mean it might not be exactly the same shade but it's the darker plum colour that I wanted.  So, I'm pretty happy.  Also, I really liked the OPI Hong Kong collection polishes.

This shot was taken outside. Inside it's a little darker.

NOTW: Essie Petal Pushers and As Gold As It Gets

Hi everyone!

Since A Crewed Interest didn't really work out for me, I decided to paint something that I knew would work out well.  I went back to Petal Pushers.  This time I added the Luxeffects As Gold As It Gets.  It seriously makes Petal Pushers look a lot different from my other NOTW.  Also, I feel like it gives it a delicate antique look, which I am quite enjoying.

I didn't realize I somehow scrapped my pointer finger.  Sorry about that, for the photo.  

I really like the effect though.  

Bottle shot

Essie: A Crewed Interest

Hi!!

Today I have a polish to share with you that came out a few years ago.  I bought A Crewed Interest when it first came out in 2012, I believe.  

Essie: Garden Variety

Hi there!

I feel like it's been a while since I wrote a review. Today I am doing this on my current nail of the week, which is Essie Garden Variety.  

I know the collection has been out for a few months now and I bought this a few months ago as well but I'm still very excited to wear this colour.

I don't know how much use I will get out of this colour since it's not really an office appropriate colour, but luckily for me, my boss loves to paint her nails and do gel manicures. So I feel like I can get away with it. Another reason I'm excited to wear this is because I've been wearing a lot neutral colours (that I didn't really end up documenting), so I'm excited to wear a cool tone colour.

NOTW: Essie East Hampton Cottage and OPI Pirouette my Whistle

Hello!

It's been such a long time.  I have a fun nail art to share today.  I bought two Bundle Monster nail stamping plates from the 2015 Buffet Style set.  I only bought two plates because the other ones in that collection did not interest me.

I used the following items:

Essie East Hampton Cottage - 3 coats. I found this to be pretty watery and I had to be kind of careful.  It was runny and a little streaky

OPI - Pirouette my Whistle on my ring finger

Then I used the BM-706 on the left side. 

I found that my stamping isn't very consistent but it wasn't bad.  It kinda of smudged after I painted my topcoat.  So that was a little sad.

I used the butter London base and top coat, and I realize the top coat isn't very good for stamp images. Then I used the Essie Good to Go, which is a little better.  The best results I've ever had was the Seche Vite.

Other than that, I still really like this look.  My right hand has the stamping on different fingers.  I really like this plate especially that image.  I would definitely reuse that.

NOTW: Essie Blossom Dandy

Hello!

This past week, I wore Essie's Blossom Dandy. It's a pretty light blue.  I wore this without a top coat because originally I was either going to do a design or I wanted to add another layer.  Anyway, this is two coats of Blossom Dandy.  It lasted me with minor chips for 6 days (Sunday - Friday).  

It's for the spring collection but it's a pretty summery colour.

I do wish I kind of evened it out a bit more. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the colour.

NOTW: Essie Petal Pushers

I think I just wore this a few weeks ago when I took pictures for my review.  Anyway, I couldn't wait to repaint my nails with this colour.  This rarely happens.  Right now this is my favourite season colour(s).  I usually do a round up of things I like for spring but I guess this would be the one.

It was raining when I took this picture but I actually think it makes it look really pretty. Also it lasted pretty well, with minor chips at the end of the week.

Have a good week everyone!

Essie: Spring 2015 Greens Comparisons

Hi there!

I bought some new polishes for Spring.  Mainly, three Essie polishes that were part of the Spring 2015 collection.  Nothing else has caught my eye.  

Here are some comparisons based on what I have.  All are three thick coats just to show the colour for the comparison purposes.

L: Naughty Nautical R: Garden Variety

L: Naughty Nautical R: Garden Variety

L: Naughty Nautical R: Garden Variety

Comments: Naughty Nautical has shimmer and is more green.  Garden Variety has more blue in it.

The lighter blues

L to R: Fashion Playground, Turquoise & Caicos, Blossom Dandy, Mint Candy Apple

L to R: Fashion Playground, Turquoise & Caicos, Blossom Dandy, Mint Candy Apple

L to R: Fashion Playground, Turquoise & Caicos, Blossom Dandy, Mint Candy Apple

Comments: Blossom Dandy isn't the same as what I have.  I also noticed that since Blossom Dandy is newer, the application is different compared to Mint Candy Apple.  

NOTW: Baby Pink and Blue with glitter

Hi there!

This is the look I wore last week.  I wish I could come up with a better name.  This feels very spring or Easter or baby shower colours to me.  

Anyway, I wore Essie's muchi, muchi and blossom dandy with Sonnetarium Lenten Rose.  

After I wore this combination, I wasn't sure how I felt about it but I didn't want to remove it.  By the end of the week though, I was ready to remove this.  The glitter is really pretty though. I do like the colours individually.

Beauty Secrets Acetone Nail Polish Remover

I bought Beauty Secrets Acetone Nail Polish sometime in November.  My OPI nail polish remover was running low, so I wanted to give this a try. I've heard a lot of good things about this from Youtubers who swear by it.  I was at Sally's Beauty Supply one day (and this rarely happens because it's not that accessible to where I live), so I bought it.

I laid the bottle down because my room is a mess.  The colour of the remover is pink.

The smell is fruity.  It's not an offensive smell.  The smell fades really quickly. When I use it on a cotton ball, it removes polish pretty easily. So I have no complaints there.  It is acetone, so I have noticed that my nails are a bit more dry? If that makes sense.  When I used nail polish removers from Sally Hansen or Quo, I noticed that my nails would bump up.  I basically wear nail polish every week.  When I used the OPI, that did not happen as often.  

Another thing I notice is when I dip a brush into the solution to try to move errors near the cuticle, it hardens my brush and it doesn't remove anything.  Also when I dip the brush that has taken my errors away back into the remover, it doesn't remove it. It actually hardens it. [Side note: I have since repurchase a smaller bottle of the OPI nail polish remover, and I dipped the same brushes in and the polish was removed.  I was also able to clean around the cuticle, so this wasn't the brush problem.] The OPI worked beautifully when I was doing this.  That would be my biggest complaint about this remover. 

This bottle was about $7.49, if I remember correctly.  It was on sale and a big bottle.  I wouldn't say this is my favourite remover though.

Essie Petal Pushers

Hi Everyone!

It's been such a long time since I updated my blog.  I've been so busy with work, it seems like it's been forever.  Basically I have been in my busy season since early February.  Hopefully once my busy season is over, I'll be able to update more often.  I only got a few new polishes for spring.  All three are from the Essie Spring Collection.  

Two of my pointer finger nails have also cracked, probably because of the typing or just my mistreatment.  I changed nail polish removers, and I seriously am not liking my current one.  My nails are having more bumps than when I was using the OPI remover.

Anyway, today I want to do a quick review of a new polish from Essie, Petal Pushers, from the 2015 Spring Collection.  Which seems to be inspired by flowers.  When I first saw the promotional pictures, I knew I had to get this.  I also ended up getting Garden Variety and Blossom Dandy.  I couldn't wait to try Petal Pushers, so I painted my nails with this one first.

NOTW: OPI You're Such a BudaPest and Essie Penny Talk

Hello!

It's still so cold in Toronto right now.  Today was daylight savings day, so I lost an hour.  It is a busy time of year for work, so this less 1hr business is really rough.

Anyway, I wanted to share what I wore for my nails last week.  I didn't realize how spring this look was until after I was done.  I really like it.  The spring look was a welcome change from the cold/snow outside.

I used three coats of OPI You're Such a BudaPest.  I really love this colour but I definitely need 3 coats and I have to be careful when I apply the topcoat because somehow I always take off a bit from the cuticle when I'm applying the topcoat.  I even waited for the polish to dry because I know this happens.  It didn't chip on the 6th day of wear, so I'm overall very happy about it.

Then I added a stamp from BM-205 with the butterfly to my middle and ring finger with Essie Penny Talk.  

I used the image on the top left.