Win Shellac for Life ($1266 value) - nailpolishcanada.com to Change Your Life

Grand Prize (Value $1266): 33 Bottles of CND Shellac + 36 Watt UV Lamp + 5 Topcoat + 5 Basecoat + Scrub Fresh.

How much Shellac do I need to last 25 years?

1300 (weeks in 25 years) / 2 (weeks application lasts) / 20 (applications per bottle) = 33 bottles of Shellac color

“To be fair, it’s actually only a 25 year supply, so we can only hope the winner dies early to keep me an honest woman”

Nikki Smith, VP of Glitter, Nail Polish Canada.

Click here to enter!

All you have to do is tell Nail Polish Canada how CND Shellac will change your life!

The prize will go to whomever can show that their life will be most impacted by winning Shellac for life.

Be it better, or worse.

Open to Canadian and United States residents only.

See full rules on entry page.

The winner will be selected on August 7, 2012

What is CND Shellac?

CND Shellac is a cross between nail polish and gel which is cured under a UV lamp and lasts up to 14 days without chipping. Shellac is applied like regular nail polish and then cured using a UV lamp. 

Why is it amazing?

Chipped nails are an important issue that affect lives in many ways. “We’ve invented substantial research and the reason women slap or bite in a catfight is fear of chipping their nails. Hopefully, together, we can build a world where a woman can throw a punch at the bitch who kissed her boyfriend without worrying about chips."

Shellac lasts much longer than your regular manicure; up to 14 days without chipping or peeling. Dry time is instant, making the application process fast and ensuring your polish doesn’t smudge.

Goodluck!

The Valley by American Apparel

First time trying American Apparel Nail polish! I got this color + 4 other for $3 a bottle when Groupon(?) was hosting "The 7 Days of American Apparel" sale back in December (2011) where one item specific item would be discounted. I figured I should jump on this since it was a good deal.

The Valley

Thoughts?

I like this nail polish! Consistency isn't runny and the color is very opaque upon first application. I'm actually using one coat in my photos. Could stand to use a second coat but this is for show.

Tips are done with shimmery polish I bought from Daiso! I just brushed it on the ends and spread the sparkles a bit. nothing fancy :P I think this will look way better with darker polish.

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark

Ackkk I made such a noob mistake.. I bought this way back in December (so I guess this is a technically not so recent purchase) but was waiting for my nails to grow out so I just discovered my mistakes now. I was planning to do a modified French Manicure with a matte colored black/purple base and shiny tips after seeing it on another blogger's page. Of course I would NOT know that there are two versions of the same polish; an actual matte version of color and your regular shiny version. And yep, you guessed it, I bought the shiny version :(

Anywhos, I still like this color despite the fact that it's not what I wanted. This is OPI Lincoln Park After Dark. It's a very deep colored purple that almost shows up as black. I like that it's not your run of the mill plain black and something a little bit different. 

After one coat the polish is very opaque but with close inspection you'll see that it's a tiny bit streaky or that some parts are a bit lighter. Two coats was perfect.

Kinda messy! Also added some nail stickers that I got off eBay.

Sorry about the lack of outfit posts. I was going to upload one for this post and Thursday but I must've accidentally deleted them off my phone.

Instead I present this:

Poutine Pizza!

Me and the boyfriend are fatties, especially around the hours of midnight to 1:00AM. Yes we finished that in one sitting and I eat the same amount he does hehe.

Demi By Julep On My Injured Toe

Before I show the polish here's my outfit the of the day:

The weather was surprisingly nice today so I dressed more springy... Although by 4:30 it was super cold and I wished I wore some thicker clothes. I had a jacket on but that was also thin.

Tank || American Eagle

Blouse || Ellen Tracy

Jeggings || American Eagle

Scarf || Everything All We Ever Wanted

I changed my toe nail polish finally! My toe nail polish always seems to last a long time and I blogged the last time I painted them which was back in December. Upon removing the polish I noticed there was discoloration on my big toe. At first I thought it might be stained from having polish on for so long but it actually seems to be a bruise or blood under the nail, I don't know :( I probably got it from wearing crappy heels clubbing a few times this winter break. Ugh. Lesson learned: don't buy heels from Forever 21 even if they're cheap and disposable.

Gross! Sorry this was in the middle of removing polish.

I wanted to cover up the ugly bruise so I used my Julep nail polish which was featured in my last post.

Demi by Julep

One coat - the color is supposed to be a burgundy shade. It reminded me of blood when I was applying it because the polish was really liquidity.

Makeupkismet commented that when she tried Julep it chipped really fast leaving her disappointed. So far my nails haven't chipped but it could be because the polish is on my toes and not finger nails. My nails experience way more abuse than my toe nails. We'll see how long these last!

More Mail - Julep Maven!

I ordered an introductory box from Julep Maven back in December and it finally arrived! Julep Maven is similar to other monthly subscription services like Glymm Box and Birch Box where you get a few beauty products every month. Because Julep released a promo code this introductory box was only a penny! They made you take a quiz on what nail colors you would wear for certain occasions and the quiz determined that my nail color theme was most suited to "American Beauty." 

Everything arrived in a little red box and this bag was inside. Cute bow.

Sorry boyfriend in the background playing Modern Warfare :P

So what's inside?

1. Julep Nail Color in Demi - an elegant burgundy color (8mL)

2. Julep Nail Color in Jennifer - beautiful, sheer polish with just a hint of pink (8mL)

3. Pot of gold glitter

4. Julep "Facial for Hands" Glycolic Hand Scrub (89mL) + a 2mL sample

5. Age Defying Hand Brightener sample (2mL)

I think this is an amazing sample box for a penny! I haven't tried the polishes yet since I still have Warm & Fozzie on but I can't wait to try them. The hand scrub lotion is also really generous to offer. I'm not sure if this is/what the full size is but either way this is nice. I have dry and rough hands due to eczema that comes and goes so I hope this stuff works. I'll make a new post when I try these out.. sadly it might not be for a little while. My next polish in line to try out is OPI Lincoln Park After Dark! I bought it back in early December so it needs to be used first :)

I'm not sure if I'll stay subscribed to Julep. It's $20 a month and with that comes a few polishes + products. I'm not really a nail polish junky so I think I'm better off subscribing to a service that offers other beauty products. Julep's service seems great overall though as you can also skip months without fees/being charged, send your box to a girlfriend, or just cancel by giving them a call.

OUTFIT OF THE DAY

Top || ? - Bought on eBay from a seller in Hong Kong

Bustier Underneath || Talula Babaton

Faux Leather Leggings || American Eagle Outfitters 77 Kids

Warm & Fozzie

So what's Warm and Fozzie? 

This!

OPI Warm & Fozzie

I quickly went to the beauty section at Winners in Metrotown today and discovered that they have a few shades from the OPI Muppets Collection which features polishes that are all glittery. They were $7.99 a bottle. From what I remember they only had Warm & Fozzie, Meep-Meep-Meep, Fresh Frog of Bel Air, Divine Swine, and Gettin' Miss Piggy with It. I kind of want to go back and buy the Miss Piggy shade which is a red-pink shade. I chose Warm & Fozzie since I'll probably wear it the most. 

The bad? The bottles are kind of scuffed. You can see it on the top left portion of the bottle pictures above but here's another picture: 

Swatches:

One coat, two coats, three coats

Sorry, pictures are a bit blurry since I used my phone. As you can tell the first coat is really sheer and a bit streaky. I'm waiting for my finger nails to grow longer at the moment and with one coat the tips were very visible. Second and third coats aren't photographed well here, but even after the second coat my nail tips were still a bit visible. After the third coat, all is well and the polish is finally opaque! 

Thoughts?

It's very bronzy. I like the sparkly-ness. I'm not sure how in love with color I am. I think I was swayed by the glitter, my new obsession. From what I've read online, other bloggers will agree that using any of these shades requires at least 3 coats for full coverage and effect.I think I want to go back and buy the Miss Piggy tomorrow since I'll be at Metrotown again. Boyfriend will not approve haha. 

As part of my promise, some more stuff is slowing rolling in! What came today? My Sigma F80 Kabuki Brush!

It came with the little red bag and a care instruction card!

I'm excited to try this out. I apply my foundation using my hands and this brush is supposed to your makeup application "flawless" so I hope I see a good change. After reading a number of reviews from other bloggers I have high hopes!

The brush is $16 + shipping which works out to be pretty cheap (~$3) and if you Google there are usually 10% off codes :) 

Last of all here's my outfit of the day:

As I mentioned in my last post, I decided to keep the TOMS, so here they are. I pretty much paired it with a similar outfit as I did when I was trying them on.

Not really sure why I took my shoes off in the second picture lol. I was intending to show the lace detailing on my tank.

Top || American Eagle Outfitters

Blazer || Staring At Stars

Circle Scarf || Everything All We Ever Wanted

Leggings || Charlotte Russe

Shoes || TOMS

Stepping Into the 21st Century

I finally took the plunge and got a data plan (plus a new phone)! I've been living data-less and without an updated phone for a really long time so I'm glad I finally upgraded. Yes, I am technology dependent :P

I was using the original iPhone 2G and upgraded to the 4GS. Not a huge change, but the little things in the OS are nice! I can finally use Instagram hehe! I really like how some blogs do a "This Week in Instragram" post so hopefully my blog will be filled with more pictures from now on :). I'm going to give my old phone to my mom since she's still using an old flip phone. She's very noob at using phones so the 2G will be a bit of a change for her, but it suits her basic phone needs. I managed to get the last 4GS in stock at the Lougheed Mall Rogers which was also nice. The customer service there was really helpful and friendly, but I don't live in Burnaby/Coquitlam so I probably won't be going back there very often. 

Here's what I wore to the mall:

Jeggings || American Eagle

Button up || Forever 21

Bustier Tank || Talula

Circle Scarf || American Apparel

I dressed really casually today and didn't feel like looking more polished. I'm coming down with a cold and dressing as comfortably as possible. I think my lack of sleep last week is finally catching up to me. I hope I get over this cold soon so I can enjoy my break! I should mention that this outfit + getting the phone was from yesterday, I was just too tired to post. Here's to getting better!

Using Sally Hansen X-treme Wear in Mint Sorbet

My first Instagram picture haha. I painted my toes the day before yesterday when my cold first started appearing. Perfect relaxor. 

DIY French Manicure

Excuse my ugly fingers, I have eczema.


I gave myself a French manicure last Thursday in preparation for clubbing.  My nails are a little bit chipped on the end from working but overall they're holding up pretty well considering my job screams "you can't have nice nails ANDDD work here." I did the white tips free hand (takes some practice!) and added glitter at the base of the tips. The glitter polish was a bit annoying to apply so that a good amount of glitter was on every single nail. Also I didn't do a nice arch that followed the white tip as you can see. I just used the regular brush that comes with the polish, no special tools involved. After this I applied stick on nail art on my ring fingers and thumbs. Too much bling looks tacky with the glitter. I'm not wearing a top coat (ghetto me, I don't have one lol) and am using clear nail polish on top.


Products Used: (in order)
1. Nail Art Enamel in #10 White (Daiso, $2)
2. Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Strobe Light (Well.ca (also available at places like London Drugs, Shoppers Drug Mart, Superstore, etc.) $3)
3. Nail Art Stickers (Ebay, $3 for 30 sheets of different designs)
4. Sally Hansen Hard as Nails w/ Nylon in Nude (Walmart, $2)