Christmas Nail Art looks

This year I did a few different nail art designs for Christmas, so I thought I’d wait until after Christmas to post them all in one post.

First, I did candy cane nails, which were pretty simple, as long as you can keep a steady hand, and the final product ends up looking pretty fantastic. Here’s mine:

Above: natural light. | Below: with flash.

I apologize for all the little lines in the polish here, but it was taking forever to dry, and I hadn’t realise that the polish wasn’t set yet before I went to bed, so it ended up looking a little messy, but you get the general idea.

Also, I just wanted to point out how I did the red, even though I don’t think it shows up very well in the pictures. I wanted a glittery look without having to put glitter over top of everything, and without a red glitter polish, I painted my nails with holographic glitter polish followed by my red OPI. I was really pleased to find out that the glittery shone through in the final product.

Next, I attempted snowflake nails. After googling images of different people’s takes on snowflake nail art, I was a little confused about which one was best, so my nails ended up being a conglomerate of differing ideas. I think they turned out alright, though, with potential of being even cuter when attempted by someone more artistic than me:

Above: left hand. There’s glitter on my pointer to cover up the fact that I smudged that snowflake a bit. | Below: right hand. Since I’m right handed, the snowflakes on my right hand are a little shaky, but I still think I managed quite well.

Sorry about the pre-clean up pictures, apparently they are the only ones I took of this look.

Finally, for the week of Christmas itself, I didn’t so much do nail art, as simple covering my nails in glitter. I used an old green glitter I had kicking around as the base, as I was originally planning on doing Christmas light nails, but then layered on a silver and black chunky glitter, and also a holographic glitter. Here’s how they looked:

Above: the in-focus shot. I hope you like the improved quality. As I mentioned in my Present Haul post, I got a new, 14 megapixel camera for Christmas, so my photos are going to start being a lot better. | Below: I love including out of focus shots of holographic glitter, so you can really see the rainbow effect!

The result was very cute (in my opinion) but a little heavy, since there were so many layers of polish (base coat, two coats of green, one coat of each glitter, and a top coat). As such, this polish chipped and peeled very easily, and I ended up repainting about half the nails at least once by the end of Christmas Day.

Finally, as a bonus, I did some “snow nails” on my little sister. Try to ignore the chips and random blue polish she touched up some of the chips with… she’s terrible for leaving nail polish alone. I really like the effect though, it turned out almost exactly how I hoped. This was a coat of flat white polish, a coat of white pearl polish, and then a layer of holographic glitter:

What did you do to your nails for Christmas?

Christmas Present Haul!

I hope you love reading and watching haul posts as much as I do! I’ve been having a lot of fun checking out the Christmas present hauls of the fantastic bloggers I follow, so I thought I’d share mine with you!

Let’s start with everything I got from my immediate family, shall we?:

Some of the smaller presents I got include:

• Bailey’s and Kahlua filled chocolates
• chocolate covered peanuts
• polish remover and cotton pads
• Ferrero Rocher’s
• a box of Jolly Ranchers
• Colgate toothpaste and a toothbrush
• a bulldog Christmas ornament
• a framed bulldog picture (I really love bulldogs!)
• a mug with a little red sweater which came with earl grey tea and a little tea bag plate
• a small box of Russell Stover chocolates
• a deodorant
• a 4GB sd card
• orange tictacs
• lindors
• a marshmallow Santa
• Extra gum in peppermint
• an apple scented body wash
• some mint chocolates
• candy canes
• a coffee crisp bar
• rhinestone bra straps
• and two Wet’n’Wild polishes: Blazed (orangey-coral) and Caribbean Frost (teal).

Not pictured are the new black socks I got, since I have dogs, and black plus dog-hair covered floor doesn’t work.

I also got a new, 14 Megapixel camera! By the way, my phone is what is sitting in my camera’s case in this picture, since I was taking the picture with my new camera. (If you’re having a hard time seeing things in the picture, just click to see it, or any other picture, in full size) She’s a Kodak Easy Share camera, in a shimmer purple, and I’ve named her Georgia (I name all of my electronics…). For a look at her, take a look at my next picture:

You can also see my simple makeup for Christmas, my glittery nails, and my penguin earrings… (if you squint a bit)

I also got some awesome presents from my friends, my boyfriend, and also my boyfriend’s parents. From my friends I got:

Season One of Secret Diary of a Call Girl

I actually watched this after finishing all of Doctor Who and Torchwood, when I was starving for more. I absolutely loved it and breezed through all three seasons in no time. Billie Piper is fantastic! The funny thing is, a while  back someone tried to introduce me to this show, and I thought it was a little weird. It is weird, and borderline pornographic at times, but its also funny, witty, and dramatic. Its also far less awkward to fall in love with this show on your own than watching with other people. Now I’m considering getting the other two seasons, just to complete the set.

A Ravenclaw House Crest Necklace

I believe this was from Etsy. Its absolutely gorgeous, I’m so in love with it. Ravenclaw is so my house (I don’t care what Pottermore says).

I also think I got a set of Doctor Who themed nail polishes from this seller I found on Etsy one time, since some of my friend’s aren't very good liars, but when everyone was doing their gift-giving, they hadn’t arrived yet, so I’ve yet to find out.

My boyfriend always gets me absolutely wonderful presents, and this year was no exception. He got me:

David’s Starter Kit

I’ve wanted this little set basically ever since the David’s Tea opened up in my mall, since I’ve fallen completely in love with them and their products! As you can see from the box above, there’s five teas inside, along with a thing of filters (which are great for when you’re out and it’s hard to use a tea ball), and a cute little spoon for measuring the tea.

I’ve already drank the chocolate rocket a few times, and I’ve tried them all at least one. I’m not sure which is my favourite, but probably not the green tea and fruit one, as that’s just not my preference. I also love that the Forever Nuts one turns pink when you brew it, so much fun!

A big Bulldog Pillow Pet

Last year, David, my boyfriend, got me a little brown dog pillow pet, but this year he must have shopped earlier, because he got me this awesome, full-sized bulldog one! I love these things! They’re so soft and cuddle-able! This one’s name is Commodore Franklin of the Sloppy Joe (his ship, of course). I’m really, obviously, very cool for naming my possessions… right?

And finally, an Adipose Stress Toy

I’ve wanted one of these things for a very long time. Even before I knew they existed, right after I finished the Doctor Who episode in which these adorable little aliens made of fat originate. I absolutely love him, but probably never would have bought one on my own, since they are $20 on thinkgeek.com, plus the crazy shipping fees to Canada, so I’m so glad it was bought for me! I’ve named him Joe, if you’re wondering.

The boots he bought me on Boxing Day were also technically a Christmas present as well:

I don’t go to normal stores on Boxing Day, as I can’t stand the crowds, and nothing’s worth it, but the brilliant gothy stores in Downtown Vancouver are never super-busy, not even Boxing Day, even though they have some really great sales. My favourites are Millennium on Granville Street (above Robson, walking away from Granville Skytrain Station, if you’re in Vancouver and want to search it out), and New World and Deadly Couture, which are around the corner from each other near Gastown, right at Cambie and West Cordova. Millennium is a little more commercialized, with corsets, goth and steampunk dresses and shoes, as well as Celtic jewellery, Wiccan, mythology, and tarot books, swords, D&D stuff, and some random super hero and star wars merchandise. Deadly Couture and New World are more hardcore, and smaller, mainly specializing in real corsets, goth subculture Lolita, and fetish wear, but don’t be scared to check them out if you’re, everyone is super friendly!

Anyways, I’ve wanted some easy to walk in platform boots for a while, so my boyfriend bought me these ones, 25% off, so they were only about $75 plus tax.

And then there are the presents that David’s parents got for me, which I wasn’t expecting, but apparently it makes sense to everyone else. They got me:

Ferrero Rochers

In a massive box! There’s two layers, which means there are 48 chocolates in this box!

And, NARS Blush in Orgasm

I’d actually put this product on the wishlist that I gave my parents, but they didn’t get it for me, which, at the time, was really disappointing, as I had really wanted to try it out. However, David showed my wishlist on this blog to his parents, and I’m glad my own parents didn’t get it for me, or else I’d have two! (Though it’s a really lovely colour, and I’m sure I could have used two of the same, haha!)

I really love the packaging on this product! I apologize for the multitude of pictures!

I was a little scared of the shimmer when I was first looking at this blush, but considering how many people love it, I thought I had to give it a go. I’ve never been much of a blush wearer, as I’m prone to very flushed cheeks, so I really love the sheer, buildable colour on this product. I’d say this is a great stepping stone for others like me who want to give blush another try, but are scared of makeup turning their faces bright red!

Beware of Super Orgasm though, which is like this one, but has some MASSIVE glitter in it. I’m not sure how many people can pull off that much shimmer on their cheeks, but I’m sure I couldn’t.

So, what awesome Christmas presents did you get? Anything you’ve been dying for? I’d love to hear about it!

False Lashes, my first successful attempt!

I was so excited when I went to put on my new false lashes from my haul post from a little while ago the other night and they actually worked first time!!

You may have already seen my pictures on r/MakeupAddiction if you’re a redditor, but either way, I thought I’d share the pictures of my success with my readers:

I’m in love!

How long did it take you before you managed to put on a pair of falsies properly? Were you as super excited as I was?

December Glymm Box Review

I hope everyone’s holidays have been—and continue to be—awesome! Mine’s been going pretty well, and I have tons of things to update you on in the next little while, but I thought I would start with my December Glymm box before the month ends.
As you may know (or maybe not), a lot of people’s Glymm boxes went out and arrived a lot later than usual, and I was glad to get mine the day before Christmas Eve! However, while I wasn’t terribly disappointed, this box wasn’t as great as I had been hoping for. Maybe this is just because I was hoping Glymm would throw in or do something super special for the holidays. (They did add a little something, but look for that later in this post.)
Anyways, this month’s box looked the same as every month, and came in the same pink packing box as last month. Inside was the usual tissue, crinkled paper, beauty boutique advertisement, and a product listing card. One difference this month was that there was no note on the flip side of the product card, which is a little disappointing, as I thought the notes were a cute touch. Definitely not a deal breaker, though.

As always, there was a tiny jar of jelly bellies in the box. This month’s were red and white, which I’m pretty sure are cherry and coconut (I’m eating them as I type…):



Next, there was this Caudalie Vinoperfect Enzymatic Peel Mask. The full size is $40 for 40ml of product, which means this 3ml sample size is worth about $3.

I have not yet tried this out, but I’m pretty sure there’s only about one, maybe two, uses in this sample size.
Next, there was the Ahava Mineral Hand Cream. The full size, 3.4oz (or 100ml) is worth $20, so this 20ml sample size is worth about $4.

I’ve used this cream a couple of times since receiving it in my box, but I’m worried that the scent, which I happen to really like, might contain rose. This wouldn’t be a problem except that my mom is allergic to roses, so I make sure never to use it if I’m going to be with her. I find that the formula, though, is really nice, it’s not greasy or super heavy, and is quite hydrating. I also really like the size of this sample, as its a great size for tossing in your bag.
The next sample was the Sula Beauty Natural Lip Gloss. This is a full size product at .5 fl oz, and is worth $8. I received this gloss in the colour Come Find Me.

Although I’m not always big on super bright lip glosses, I do prefer glosses that have some hint of colour to them, so in that way, I was disappointed with the sample that Glymm selected for me, which is a nude colour, which almost takes away colour from my lips. Apart from that, though, this gloss is pretty nice. I find its slightly sweet and not too sticky, though I don’t think it smells very good.
The final product that I received was the Yves Saint Laurent La Parisienne eau de parfum. The full size product is 3oz, and retails for $85, which means that this .25oz sample is worth about $7.
Not only do I think that the packaging on this is really cute, but I actually really love the delicate fragrance. Before I had subscribed to Glymm or tried Luxe Box, I thought there weren’t any expensive perfumes that I actually liked, but after several fantastic perfume samples in different boxes, I’ve definitely changed my mind. If someone got me a full sized bottle of this perfume (or of Chloe, which I got in my one and only Luxe Box), I would be really pleased.
In a couple videos, I heard that there was some problem this month where not everyone who received this fragrance got this size sample, and ended up with one of those little bottles you can get at any beauty counter. While that is really disappointing for those people, I’m glad I didn’t experience this and it doesn’t affect my opinion of Glymm at all.
Finally, and this is by far my favourite thing in this month’s box, Glymm sent out a $10 gift card for their beauty boutique! I’ve been saving up the points I earned from surveys and from my best friend subscribing, and I’m at almost 200 points, so with this card, and my 200 points, I’m planning to try out some Butter London products! (Luckily, the card is good until the end of January, so I’ll have time to get the points from the surveys for the January box before I have to use this $10.)

Also, I probably mentioned in my first post about Glymm that each referral gets you 50 points towards purchases in the beauty boutique, but I have been neglecting to give my beautiful readers my referral link in case any of you want to sign up, and generously want to give me 50 points. So here’s my referral link: www.glymm.com/share/youwerefantastic95
And once again, thanks for reading! Check back later for more of the posts that have been piling up in my to do list, such as my Christmas themed nail art designs and my Christmas present haul!

Christmas Wishlist

Since Christmas is getting close, I thought it would be fun to share with you a few of the things I’m hoping to get as presents this Christmas.

1. Nars blush in Orgasm:
2. The Starter Kit or almost anything from DAVIDsTEA:
3. Polish remover and cotton pads (why buy them myself, if I can get someone else to get them for me!):
   
4. “Perfect” and/or “Impulse” by Ellen Hopkins:
   
5. Lindor / Pot of Gold / Turtles / Ferrero Rochers:
   
6. An Adipose stress toy:

I’m sure there’s lots more I’d love to get, but this is some of the stuff I’m really hoping for. What are you expecting/hoping to get for Christmas this year?