Revlon ColorStay in Pale Cashmere

I normally stay within my comfort zone when buying nail polishes - either OPI, Essie or China Glaze. I think that those are some of the most affordable nail polishes that truly deliver quality. However, having said that, I was reading one of my favourite beauty bloggers, Amarixe, and she was raving about Revlon's ColorStay in Pale Cashmere. After seeing the colour on her nails, I was sold.

Pale Cashmere is a very light, creamy, pale pink colour. It took me three coats to get my nails to my desired opacity. The formulation itself is good. I would say that it's easier for me to put Essie on (when it comes to streaking), but the finish is amazing. It almost looks like shellac because of the thickness it provides on my nail and glossiness of the finish.

With a top coat of Essie's Good to Go, I had absolutely no chips. I decided to change it up after a week in a half, and they still looked perfectly manicured :)  I have a feeling this colour will be on a steady rotation for the coming months. I love that it provides my nails a look of sophistication without having to try too hard. 

You can find Revlon ColourStay at any drugstore, and they range in prices depending on where you shop. I think at most places, they're about $8 - which in my opinion is a little pricey, BUT the beauty of drugstores are their weekly sales! Look out for a sale, because I've seen them for as little as $4-5.

Hope you love this colour as much as I do! You won't be able to stop looking at your hands after, I promise! :)

Essie Good to Go!

For many years, I was known to have the worst manicures (I`m sure all my girlfriends can attest to that). They were almost always chipped and completely grown out before I made the effort to do something about it.

Why? Because applying a fresh manicure was a painfully long process - specifically, waiting for my nails to dry. Because I was always scared to ruin my nails, I felt like my evenings were extremely unproductive, as I would sit and do nothing to avoid smudging them. In order to save some time, I would always do my nails right before bed, and sleep uncomfortably on my back with my hands on a pillow so that they could dry overnight. When I woke up, I was usually disappointed because somehow my bed sheets would imprint on my nails. It was very hard to justify spending all that time and effort for ruined nails at the end of the day. I have to admit, I am very guilty of putting on heavy coats of nail polish to make them opaque and smooth.

About a year ago, I found a great product that had good reviews online. I decided that I had nothing to lose, and bought my very first bottle. It is a must-have now and my nails have never gotten so much attention (from me)! I cannot live without my Essie Good to Go rapid dry top coat.

You can get this top coat from any store that sells Essie nail polish. I got my first bottle online from Flat Iron Experts. Depending on where you go and what sales you find, they range from $8-12 dollars for a 15 ml bottle. 

The name says it all! After 2 heavy coats of nail polish, I generously put a layer on and it feels dry to the touch within the first few minutes. In 10-15 minutes, I feel confident that my nails are set and I am good to go! Not only is this nail polish rapid drying, it is seriously chip-resistant, tough, and leaves a high gloss shine. I really can go well over a week, usually 2 weeks (if I let my nail polish stay on for that long) before it starts to chip.

While blogging, I've realized something about myself - time is truly important. The more I save of it, the better. The more a product saves me time, the more I seem to love it. I love my Essie Good to Go... partially because my girlfriends can no longer make fun of my poor groomed nails :p, but mostly because I don't dread doing them anymore! I actually get excited - who would've thought? :)

Accent Nails



Nail Polish: MAC's Frost Glam Clan's
& Sephora's Only Gold for Me

I first mentioned accent nails in my Welcome blog. I didn't go into any detail, other than the fact that my cousin had sparkly thumbs. So what are they exactly? The idea of accent nails is to accentuate two or three nails with a different colour or application from the rest of your manicure. 

I first saw this on my best friend when she came back from Hong Kong. She told me it was very popular in Asia, I figured it would only be a matter of time before we started seeing it here... and we have!

Experiment with colours and express your mood! You can be subtle as you like with complimentry colours or be bold with contrasting colours. The best part? There are no rules! Decorate your accent nails with whatever you like - glitter seems to be very popular. 

After you pick your colours and application, you have to choose which nails to accentuate. It really comes down to personal preference. My cousin, as mentioned earlier, likes accenting her thumbs. In the beginning, I didn't like symmetry at all... Currently? I do (focusing on my ring fingers)... Tomorrow? Who knows! This is why accent nails are one of my most favourite things... because no matter who's doing it, it never stops you from changing it up and making it your own.

Welcome!

I've decided to start this blog from the encouragement of a very special friend! You know who you are, so hopefully with your continued support, I will continue updating this on a regular basis.

In the last year, I've become a bit obsessed with make-up. I've been trying a lot of stuff, and found things that I really love. Although I think the majority of my favourite things will be beauty products related, I don't think I experiment it enough to have a complete blog dedicated to that. You will probably find a whole bunch of miscellaneous stuff in here as well. 

I hope you, and whoever reads this will find it useful. So... without rambling on, I will begin with one of my current favourite things: 

American Apparel Nail Polish

While having lunch with my cousin, I couldn't help but notice her nails. She had a perfect shade of gray, with very sparkly accent thumbs  (I will get into accent nails in another post). When I complimented her on her nails, she told me about the group deal she bought from Team Buy - 5 nail polishes for $15 at American Apparel.

I have to admit, I can bit a bit of a brand snob when it comes to nail polish. I usually only purchase colours from Essie, OPI, and Borghese. However at $3 a bottle, it was a deal that was too good to pass up... and I'm so glad I didn't!

With over 50 colours to choose from - you can imagine... I was standing at the counter for quite some time! Their collection is made up of: Classic, Glitter, Neon, and Metallic colours, and all are DBP, toluene, and formaldehyde-free. Finally after some debate, I choose (from left to right in the picture): Echo Park, Constellation, Downtown L.A., Neon Violet, and Silver Jazz. 

When I got home, I couldn't wait to try out the colours, so I painted each new colour on top of my existing nail polish. As you can see in the picture, with just one coat, the colours are extremely opaque. It didn't streak, and went on so easily! I was especially impressed with the Neon colour. I can't wait to wear it next!

Now that the deal from Team Buy has expired, the nail polishes are back to $9.00 a bottle. Although they aren't cheap, I really do recommend them - especially if you're looking for a funky, vibrant colour. 

To check out their colour selection, click the link below: 
http://store.americanapparel.ca/accessories-aa-nails.html