China Glaze: Refresh Mint

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This is the first color I brought from China Glaze’s Up & Away collection.

I remember that day quite well... I went to Sally’s and brought this color along with Orly’s Lemonade & Cotton Candy. Clearly I was a moron for not picking up Snowcone instead of Cotton Candy. Wtf was I thinking!?

Anyways back to Refresh Mint. This color is very cute; it’s very stark and obvious. I’m actually on the search for an equivalent in a blue. Revlon’s Minted looks pretty similar to this color if you girls were wondering. (I can try to compare later.)

I did 2 coats in this color. I didn’t have any application problems, although after some time I think this polish thickens up easily.

-vee

How I Keep Track of my Polishes

Cue Cards:

Just sharing a quick post before the weekend. I figured this might be a helpful way of keeping track of all the nail polish we own. I was considering those nail wheels before but then I realized it's going to take up too much space, and the cost of those wheels will just add up if I need to swatch every color. So this is my cost effective way of keeping track.

What I do is grab a couple of cue cards, then some scotch tape. I measure the scotch tape so that I can add two columns where I will be swatching my nail polish. (Without the tape the polish will sink into the paper) It's very easy to do! However, I do not write the brand of the polish on my cards since some of the polish names are long lol. I just rely on my excellent memory. LOL!

Does anyone else use this method of have another method of keeping track of their polishes?

-vee

Zebra Tips

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Just a quick post, so before I removed my polish I decided to try out some zebra tips. I wasn't too crazy about it on me but it looked pretty cute on Julieg713 youtube channel.

You can watch Julieg713's tutorial here.

Hopefully some one will like this design LOL.

-vee

Borghese: Raspberry Sorbetto

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So I’ve seen this brand for a while now at Shoppers. But I always wondered why they charged 13 dollars for a drug store brand... that costs more than OPI/Essie/China Glaze. :S (plus 13% tax for me)

So anyways, one day my mom and I were in Montreal and we decided to get a few polishes. I end up getting Sally Hansen’s Midnight in NY and my mom got this color over here. I believe it was on sale for 6.99 or 7.99, I can’t remember.

In these pictures I used 3 coats, I could have stopped at 2 but this polish took long to completely dry so when I looked back it had some minor dents. The color itself is pretty, nothing unique or exciting. Also, I find the brush strange to work with... it was a tad shorter than most my brushes, and stiffer; Nothing too hard to work with.

Overall, I don't think the price is right for this brand. It's a drug store brand; if they positioned their brand as a luxury item, then it might be a different story. Because when you market an item in such a way, customers expect to pay drugstore prices. I don’t have a problem paying any amount for polish as long as I think the product is worth it. i.e. 30 dollars for a bottle of Chanel, lol. Does anyone feel the same way?

-vee

Deborah Lippmann: PYT

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I remember when I saw swatches of this on Scrangie and e-polishblog I was crazy about this color. It’s a cool pinky coral. So I brought this MONTHS ago, and I decided to give it a go since my toes are still pink and I don’t want to change it just yet.

I’m quite disappointed. I’ve read that this is opaque in 3 coats but for me it took 6 coats, yes, you heard me, SIX coats!. And the color itself... is not very unique. It looks like something OPI would have in their soft shade collection. AND IT TAKES FOREVERRR TO DRY. ARGH.

I can’t believe I paid 22 dollars for this. I mean I knew it would be on the sheer side like (3-4 coats) but 6 coats is unacceptable. Since this polish is 22 dollars, next time I wear this I’ll put on my mannequin hands before doing so. >=(

-vee

Quick Note for Canadian Girls!

Thought I should share! This weekend at Murale, they are offering secret gift cards valued anywhere from $10 - 25 for purchases valued at $50CAD before taxes. Offer valid August 16 - 22, 2010 only.

I thought this was pretty great because I wanted to buy this Yves Saint Laurent eyeshadow palette today. Usually it costs $72 dollars before tax and lucky for me I got $15 off my purchase. I was one happy sport :). It was so exciting! They had this big vase with a bunch of cards and you just shove your hand right in and pick yourself a lucky card! haha.

If you girls like, I can show you how I usually put my face together one day. I'm actually very good with make-up. LOL!

Murale is located in the following cities: Ottawa, Montréal, Calgary, Toronto, Edmonton, and Vancouver. Check here to find store locator.

If any of you girls went this weekend, do comment below! Tell me what you brought, and did anyone get the $25 dollars off? :D

Hope this was informative!
-vee

Dice Nails

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Materials:


Steps:
1. Choose a base color for your nails, red or black would work best
2. Let polish fully dry
3. Create an outline of where you want your dots to be (You can use a toothpick dipped in white polish or use a nail art pen and gently dot the areas)
4. Once you are happy with the placement of the dots, slowly draw them in with your nail art pen, or use a medium/large dotter tool
5. Apply top coat too smoothen out everything

For this design I decided to start off with number 2 on my thumbs just because I like how it fills out my thumb better than 1 dot would. As I mentioned before I think red or black would look best for this design and I think it would be even better if you try to choose a jelly version of the colors. This design is very quicky simple to do. Have fun!



-vee

A Beautiful Life: Hot Rod

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So I recently had the chance to try out ABL's non-toxic nail lacquer. They sell for $12USD on their website and at Urban Outfitters as a web exclusive.

Note to us Canadian girls: They do ship to Canada by international priority mail for $14, and it'll take 5-10 business days.

This polish is a bright candy red with tiny little glass flecks. From far it looks more like a jelly. As for the application, I had no trouble at all - dried relatively quick and I did happy 3 coats.

What's differentiates these polishes with other polishs on the market is that they are soy-based (as well as their polish remover - review coming soon). I also noticed that it doesn't have a strong fume to it either. Apparently it's suppose to have a mild scent of grapefruit. What ever the smell is supposed to be, I love how it doesn't smell! haha, yeah I'm not sure if you girls know but my sister and I both paint our nails with a mask on to minimize the inhalation of fumes.

Other colors!

I love how Go Go looks... I'm a sucker for anything that looks peachy/cantalope.


I have high hopes for this black polish, I'm hoping for it to come out as a black jelly like my China Glaze Liquid leather except with 2 coats (not 4 or 5 like ChG...ahem..)

*These were sent for review
-vee

GIVE-A-WAY!

Here it is! Our first Giveaway on our blog! This is to show our appreciation for all our followers :) The prizes are as follows:

Starter Kit provided by OC Nail Art

The C kit Contains:

-Image Plate m2 & m3
-3 mini special polish in red, white, and blue
-Clear Stamper and Scraper

Mood Jewelry provided by Claire's










From Milan and Vanaily: Mr. Cafe con leche

*Open Internationally*

How to enter:
+ You must be a follower via Google Friend Connect (We will check)
+ Leave a comment below with your email address so we can contact you
+ Enter before September 17^th, 2010
+ If you would like, tell us what else you would like to see on our blog!

Extra entries (Up to 5 extra entries):
+ Blog/Youtube/Twitter about this giveaway (one entry for each)
+ Add us to your blogroll :)
+ Follow me on twitter

Note:

*Please list which extra methods you have chosen along with the link, or user name if applicable.

Thanks & Good Luck!!

-Milan and VanailyY

Claire's: Excited/Bored

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Oh this is so cool! I love this.

I love how it changes colors! Usually it looks like a pale peachy pink fading into a salmon color. Usually if I’m hot most of the nail just looks pink, and as my body become more room temperature the tips has this gradient look to it.

I think these mood polishes are best if you have longer nails so you can really see the gradient. I had no application troubles, I used 3 coats and each coat dried up very quickly. I would suggest using a top coat, in these pictures I topped it with some Revlon top coat and I feel like...it doesn’t....shine? LOL

Overall, this is pretty great but I have to admit I like the color best when it's been under cold water just because it's darker :)

*This was sent for review

-vee

LOL!! Another funny find.

Just something funny I came across on my news feed when I signed on to my facebook today. haha, hope you girls enjoy. :p
-vee

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics: Wasabi

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I liked this color for a while now, and I was lucky enough to get this sent to me. It’s such a weird funky color, reminds me of OPI’s Who the Shrek are you? Except I believe this color is more vibrant and yellow? Who knows, I really like it. Although this color doesn’t look like any wasabi I’ve eaten... LOL

I went for 3 coats in these pictures, the color is extremely pigmented but I had a slight bald spot so I used the 3rd coat to even everything out.

Yea I love this color; I’m excited to try Dangerous and Blackboard! I think that OCC has a nice range of unique colors. Once I get through the majority of my polishes I think I'll go for Grandma and Inky! :D

*This was sent for review
-vee

Nail Art Ideas!

Materials Used (From L-R):
1. China Glaze: Refresh Mint, Claire's: White Nail Art Pen
2. OPI: No Room for the Blues, Icing's Gold fine tipped brush
3. China Glaze: Dorothy Who?, Claire's: White Nail Art Pen
4. Icing's Gargoyle, Claire's White Nail Art Pen, Icing's Black fine tipped brush, Icing's Purple fine tipped brush, Top coat
5. Sally Hansen: Midnight in NY, Claire's: White Nail Art Pen, Icing's Gargoyle, Top coat
6. OPI: Girls just want to play, Claire's: White Nail Art Pen
7. Sula Paint and Peel: Kelly, China Glaze: White on White, Icing's Black fine tipped brush

Ever since I had my hands on a couple of Icing`s fine tipped brushes and the Claire`s Nail Art pen free handing my nail art has been a lot easier. So I found some time during the week to fiddle around with some of the fake nails that came in the Claire's Nail Art kit. Since I don't wear fake nails, I didn't want them to go to waste so I found the perfect opportunity to try out design ideas I had in my mind. haha!

I must say, it came out exactly how I wanted it too. :D This is so fun to do, feels like I`m painting art. I`m not sure if you girls know, but sometimes when I`m in the mood I like to sit and paint (watercolor, arylic, oil). But of course I`ve been lazy and I don`t really have much time to clear my whole desk and set everything up. Not to mention the clean up! Oh my back hurts already thinking about it. hahaha.

So when I have time between swatching I`m hoping to re-create them on to my nails as a full mani :) Ideally I will have most of them done before I go back to school, by then I'll be eating my text book.

-vee

Icing: Gargoyle

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...and BAM! With Top Coat:

This texture along with this color is quite interesting, it really does remind me of a gargoyle statue. Well... the only gargoyle I can picture is the ones from the Hunchback of Notre Dame. haha.

This is one coat in these pictures! It's crazy opaque. Although if you didn't apply it carefully then you might want to go ahead with the 2nd coat to cover any streaks there may be.

*This was sent for review

-vee

Nicole by OPI: Gossip Girl Collection

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I love this name. Haha! It’s so stuck up, I love it.

Now this color is my 2nd favourite. It has a blacken blue base, topped with a duo chrome subtle shimmer that sparkles blue/green. (More so blue than green.)

It is a two coater for this colour. But when you have longer nails like mine sometimes the extra coat helps because the excess of your nails doesn’t look fully opaque if you hold your hands up to the light.

I can definitely picture myself wearing this again when fall hits!

Nicole...Spotted!:
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This color is quite strange actually... it’s like a jelly green with golden specks. It’s really out of my comfort zone. I don’t think it does anything for me...

This polish is a bit on the thicker side but that’s probably because of all the glitter. It dries relatively quickly however. Note that this color is on the sheer side, I went with four coats and still had a slight VNL.

Scandel...Secrets & Sparkle:
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Now, this one runs on the sheer side as well and took 3 coats. When I saw this I thought it would be only chunks of glitter but it also has small pearl-like shimmer to it which is kind of cool.

I think 4 coats would probably look better.

Party in the Penthouse:
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YESSS! I saved the best for last! This is my favorite by far! This is a metallic blue, it really reminds me of this blue gel pen I had YEARSSS ago. I used 3 coats here. It’s very pretty. Lol, it's rare that I find a frost pretty.

Errr, so pretty. Oh how I love blues! C'mon girls party in my penthouse! (LOL I wish)

***

Overall, I really like Too Rich for You & Party in the Penthouse. Both very pretty, and both had smooth application. As for Nicole...Spotted! & Scandel...Secrets & Sparkle both of them are not “me” at all. But I am curious for those of you who are into glittery polishes how do you feel about those two?

*These were sent for review
-vee