Christmas Light nails! (My Third, and final, NailPolishCanada contest entry!)

Hello again! As the title says, this mani is my entry into the final week of NailPolishCanada.com’s Christmas Nail Art competition, and, once again, I’m hoping you guys love it and go vote for me! I’d love it so much! Here’s the link:

http://www.nailpolishcanada.com/holiday-nail-art-challenge-week-3-decorate-the-tree/

The theme for the week is decorate the tree, so what better than Christmas lights!?

Here’s my mani:

In this close up, you can see the shimmery white base a lot better (even though you can also see my mistakes a lot clearer, too!):

And here’s a look at my kinda messy right hand… because I’m right handed, so give me a break! I did pretty good with my left hand! =P

Polishes used:

Base = two coats of Sephora by OPI’s A-ha! Moment and one coat of Collection 2000’s Sparkle Top Coat
Black wire = LA Color Black Striper
Red lights = OPI Keys to my Karma
Green lights = Revlon Posh
Yellow Lights = OPI Did It On ‘Em
Blue Lights = Fascino #26

And, of course, my Seche Vite topcoat, which I’m running out of my second bottle of! Luckily, I have another unopened one waiting to take its place! =)

So, thanks for reading, and please please vote for me in the competition! It would mean a lot!

<3

November 2012 Favourites!

Welcome to December!

Alright, so it’s been November for about a week now, but that’s alright. I just wanted to let you know about my favourite beauty and non beauty products this month. I only have a couple, but hopefully you still enjoy these types of posts, I know I do. So here were my favourites this past month:

1. Holographic polish:
   
   
        Specifically my holographic topcoat, which I’ve been loving layering over other polishes and making my nails just so so shiny! I’m in love, I want all the holos!
   
2. Miss Jessie’s Baby Buttercreme:
   
   
        This was from my last ever Glymm bag, and I’ve been loving it. It smells super-sweet, so it’s not for everyone, but I love vanilla, and I can’t imagine not wanting to smell like a cupcake or vanilla pudding. This is basically a leave-in conditioning treatment, and though it feel sticky on your hands when you rub it in, it absorbs into my hair really well and makes it nice and soft. Since I’m working on growing my hair out long again now, this seems like it will be helpful for keeping my hair strong and healthy.
    
3. Chloe Eau de Parfum spray:
   
   
         I've probably mentioned this before, but I've sort of rekindled my love for this scent recently. I prefer lighter scents (my favourite is the original Paris Hilton perfume) for the warmer months, and the Chloe is just too heavy for the heat, but now that it's cooler, I find that this scent is just so warm and comforting to me, which is a little weird, just because it's so floral, and I'm not generally a lover of floral scents

Non-Cosmetic Favourites:

1. Flow Free
   This game is so much fun! I downloaded it after watching one of Blair Fowler’s vlogs (juicystar07 on YouTube), because it looked interesting. It has a bunch of levels and you have to connect the coloured dots without crossing other colour paths and you have to fill all the empty space so it looks like the picture above. I’ve been so addicted to it lately. This is a free game available both on Android and Iphone, so you should try it out if you need a new game for your phone =P
   
2. Clutches:
   
   
   
   I only have the one, which is this simple, cute little wristlet clutch from Ardene, which was probably either 2 for $10 or 2 for $20, which I split with Brit, my best friend a while back. I bought this to stop myself from spending something like $50 on a Guess wristlet, since I already have a Guess wallet, and there was a wristlet there I had my eye on.
   
   This one has three pockets, one with slots for cards, and room for money and coupons, and maybe more cards that don’t fit in the slot, another the same size on the opposite side to fit small stuff like lipstick or whatever. I currently have pills, a pen, and a lip balm in there. The third inside pocket is just a very thin spot where I like to keep my bus pass for easy access. And also an outside pocket which I use for change.
   
   I’ve just been liking the option lately to give my shoulder a break from a big heavy bag, and I honestly don’t usually need all the things I lug around, though I do still love my big Kinies bag (which I think I mentioned in my first ever favourites post). I worry that this one’s handle will snap one day, because it feels a little cheap and flimsy, but hopefully it will hold up a while yet!

And that’s all! What stuff did you love last month, or what are you loving right now! Thanks for reading! <3

October and November Empties

Hello again! Sorry it’s been so long since my last post, but I’m back today with an empties post for you! I said I would only be doing these every few months, but in the last two I’ve used up 9 products!

My thoughts:

Vitamine & Sea Perfect Skin Solution (face oil):
I got this as a sample in a Glymm bag, and was super sceptical about smearing any kind of oil all over my face. After trying it out though, this stuff is amazing! It goes on oily, as one would expect from something entirely made of oils, but I put this on at night after washing my face, and by the morning, it had completely absorbed and had done wonderful things for my skin! It smooths, it shrinks zits and blemishes, and it super-hydrates! I also didn’t use this more than once a week, and since you use so little, even the tiny vial we got as a sample (about the size of a free perfume sample) lasted me about 4 uses. Also, if you’re hesitant because you have oily skin, you should know that oils don’t necessarily make skin oily, and some of the ones in this mixture help to combat oily skin! I think the idea is that your skin doesn’t need to produce more oils if you are using one to moisturize.
Would I repurchase? Possibly; though it is $68 for 45ml… so it’s quite pricey. Still, that’s probably more than more than 80 applications so I’d probably consider it if I had the money.
LA Fresh Waterproof Makeup Remover:
These are great, way better than the LA Fresh non-acetone polish removing pads. They smell great, make your skin feel nice, and get off all your makeup.
Would I repurchase? Probably not. I think a regular remover is much cheaper than a pack of one-use remover sheets.
Truly Cosmetic Pads:
I honestly don’t think I need to tell you much about these. They’re cotton pads that I used for toner and nail polish remover, and they were cheap. I had no problems with them separating, which is really my only complaint with any cotton pads. However, you probably can’t get more unless Truly is sold somewhere that isn’t a Zellers, or unless your Zellers hasn’t closed yet.
Would I repurchase? Definitely, but Zellers is closed now, so I’ve had to find something else. Currently using ones from Dollarama, so we’ll see how they hold up.

Secret Va-Va Vanilla Anti-Perspirant:
I mentioned another of these in my last Empties. Why? Cuz I usually have two on the go: one in my room and one in my gym bag. This is just a great, cheap deodorant in my opinion, and it smells like vanilla!
Would I repurchase? Already have.
Bath & Body Works Wildberry Hibiscus sanitizer:
I think this is one of the 10 for a penny sanitizers I got probably end of last year, if you recall that post (if you’ve been reading that long!). My friend and I got $10 coupons handed to us for B&BW one day at the mall, and there were no rules, so we used them to get a bunch of sanitizers, which I think were 5 for $5. So awesome. This one smelled so good. Like juice or candy or something!
Would I repurchase? Definitely, if I ever run out of the ones I have already! I probably still have at least 10 more!
The Body Shop travel-size Satsuma Shower Gel:
This stuff is most certainly my favourite shower gel, and it has been for a long time. I love the strong, simple orange scent; it’s so refreshing! This is just one of the mini’s that I got for Christmas, but I do have a large one waiting as well! I'll probably also keep this bottle and refill it so I don’t have to lug the full-size bottle in my gym bag!
Would I repurchase? Definitely, once the ones I have are done. Though I would like to clean out my shower gel stash first, which is pretty large to tell the truth…

Evolvh UltraShine Shampoo and Conditioner:
I got these as samples in a Glymm box, and thought I was going to like them. I definitely didn’t, after finishing them! Ugh. These are supposed to be moisturizing, as you can see from the bottles’ claims. However, I found that the shampoo completely stripped my hair of any moisture, and the conditioner barely helped to restore any of the damage the shampoo did. It took me a long time to finally use these up because I didn’t like to use the terrible shampoo more than once a week.
Would I repurchase? Never. Not even if these were the same price as an Herbal Essences or Aussie or something. I’ve overall come to the conclusion that, for shampoos, I prefer drugstore by far!
Joico K-Pak Revitaluxe:
This was another Glymm sample. This one I really loved! It smells great and it’s super moisturizing, even if you don’t leave it in for the full recommended 5 minutes.
Would I repurchase? Maybe. This is another expensive product, though, like the Vitamine and Sea oil, plus it’s more work than a leave-in treatment like argan oil or the Buttercreme product from my last Glymm bag, and I’m lazy. So probably not, but I wouldn’t say no if someone handed me a new bottle!
And that’s everything I’ve used up since my last Empties post. What products have you completely used up recently? Have you used any of the products I’ve finished? Let me know your thoughts!
Thanks for reading!

Christmas Present Nails (My NailPolishCanada week 2 contest entry design!)

For some reason my nail art brushes have vanished, so these aren’t what I originally planned for the to be. I wanted to line them with silver and draw a bow on each one, but I opted for a black striper after almost destroying two nails trying to draw lines with my silver and a dotting tool.

But anyways… Here’s a look at my entry into week two of NailPolishCanada’s nail art contest. This week’s theme is “Gifts,” and you can see the entries and vote (for me?) here. And here’s how I did mine:

I used so many polishes I won’t list them here, but if there is one you want to know about, just ask, I’ll remember.

Also, I would be so thankful, once again if you would vote for me this week. Just click here to go vote! Thanks to everyone who voted last week and to anyone who votes again for me this week!

Stay tuned for my October/November empties post in a couple of days!

<3

Contest Link: Essie Holiday Collection Giveaway

Niki at Hello Miss Niki is holding an awesome giveaway for the entire Essie holiday collection, along with a bottle of Seche Vite and other manicure tools and products. Her pretty blog is awesome, so definitely go enter the contest and check out her blog!

The contest is open until Saturday, December 15, so hurry over and make sure to enter to win this great prize!

http://www.hellomissniki.com/2012/11/essie-holiday-giveaway.html

Thanks for reading!