Studying in Stilettos

Rant: Julep Maven

2012-08-20T06:38:00.001-07:00

As some people may have noticed, I haven't posted about the August Maven Box, and I'm disappointed to tell you that this is the only time that I will: I skipped it. And again, I skipped the September box just minutes ago. The concept of the Julep Maven Boxes, for those who don't know, is that you sign up on the Julep website, answer some questions to get matched with a style profile and then every month, for only $19.99, you get a box with 2 or 3 nail polishes and some other beauty products in it. The nail polishes are of decent quality and retail for $14 a bottle and, if you read my June and July reviews, you can get a more in depth review of them.

My problem right now is.... colour selection. I just, hate the colours they pick. Nothing is original and they have repeats some months. Example, in my last box, I got stuck with "Kate", a plain white polish. Now, what kind of a nailie would I be if I didn't have at least one white polish already in my collection? But I definitely wouldn't spend money on another. And white cremes showed up again this month in a few of the boxes... even a black creme. Super basic. Everyone has at least one white and one black polish already in their collection. Don't get me wrong, a couple of the Julep colours really stood out, but they never come in the same box! Gah, if only I could pick and choose, I'd be a much happier camper. I haven't cancelled my subscription yet because I keep holding out hope that one month will blow me away.. we'll see.

Anyway, I'll be a little on hiatus for a week or so because I happen to be travelling to Ireland tomorrow! Very exciting. And yes, my toes are painted emerald green, thought it would be fitting.

Mondrian- Inspired Nail Art

2012-08-19T08:02:00.001-07:00

Some more easy-peasy geometric nail art inspired by Mondrian's famous painting. After applying my Revlong Calcium Gel Nail Hardener, I painted my thumbs and ring fingers in China Glaze "White on White" and I painted every other finger with 2 coats of O.P.I "Vodka & Caviar". I blocked out some simple lines using a black striper and filled in select boxes with "Vodka & Caviar" (red), Essie "Mesmerized" (blue), and Sally Hansen "Lightening" (yellow). I put a small dab of each colour in their respective places and used a dotting tool to pull it to the corners. One coat of Seche Vite and voila!

Geometric Nail Art

2012-08-15T17:12:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone! I've been dying to swatch "Every Month is Oktoberfest" for all of y'all - it's one of the most anticipated colours of the entire collection. but alas, I haven't had the desire to wear dark vampy colours on my last week of my summer job. It just didn't quite fit. Today, I'm sporting A few coats of "If You Moust, You Moust" (which I swatched before) and a cool geometric pattern on my ring finger, done simply with a black striper and a dotting tool.I'm hoping to use the technique to develop some funky nail art inspired by Mondrian (appropriate for Art History, non?). Enjoy!

Nail of the Day: Deutsch You Want Me Baby?

2012-08-12T06:31:00.001-07:00

My favourite from the entire OPI Germany collection! A spicy, pumpkin orange with red and gold microglitter. This polish literally glows. It looks like theres a fire burning behind it or something, the effect is spectacular. I\ve never been a huge fan of orange polish but this one, at least I think, is special. It's not a stark orange, it's not "bright" or tacky halloween orange. It's a rich, fall orange. Like fire and leaves and pumpkin pie. Fall is my favourite season and this captures all of it in one bottle (appropriately, I am drinking Pumpkin Chai tea as I type this). ULTRA BONUS: it's a one coater. Only one coat to nail perfection!! The only reason I would put on two is because it looks so amazing when you're painting it on. I sat there gaping at it with every stroke. It's just so... pretty. Perfect fall polish. Like actually, perfect.

None of my pictures can even get close to capturing the beautfiul effect of the shimmer... It's something you have to see in person, but trust me, it glows!

Nail of the Day: Suzi & the 7 Dusseldorfs

2012-08-10T19:26:00.000-07:00

You have no idea how excited I am to start sharing all of OPI's new Germany polishes. First up is the glowing royal purple "Suzi & the 7 Dusseldorfs". It's brighter and more beautiful on the nail than in the bottle - and it's stunning in the bottle! I had this on all day and I caught myself staring at my fingers constantly. They're so rich yet colourful and vibrant but subtle in a way. It is a red-toned purple with red microshimmer throughout and, though I tend to be drawn to cooler toned colours, I love this colour on my ultra pale skin! It does seem regal.

At first, the formula scared me. It was so streaky, I was left with bald patches and it seemed watery. What happened to the beautful polish I had swatched last night!? But the second coat fixed everything. Perfect, flawless finish. Thank goodness, I thought my heart was about to be broken. I love this colour, and I'm not a huge purple-polish-person. OPI really outdid themselves on this collection.

OPI Germany Haul (Love in a Bottle)

2012-08-08T19:55:00.000-07:00

The day has finally arrived! OPI's Fall Collection "Germany" was released today and WOW. They're really hitting home runs with their country collections this year. "Holland" was a stunner, and now this. Sure, I may be a little biased (fall is my favourite season for everything) but OPI did throw in some surprising choices this year. A mix of dark, shimmering vampy colours paired with softer, unusual cremes. For a full list, read my post about the release a month back or so. I was surprised to note that I would personally sport every single colour in this collection - yes, even the strange green one. If some generous being were to gift them all to me, not a single one would be left behind. Unfortunately, the bank is not a generous being and so I only (at this point) grabbed three. "Suzi and the 7 Dusseldorfs" - a bright, shimmery purple, "Deutsch You Want Me Baby?" - the most magnificent, pumpkin spice orange (my favourite!), and "Every Month is Oktoberfest" - a rich, dark, vampy purple with red glitter, are all now part of my collection and even after only swatching them on my nail wheels, I am head over heels in love. The formulas - perfect ("Every Month is Oktoberfest" is even a one-coater!), the colours - fabulous and uber-pigmented. My heart - soaring. I must must must have more from this collection. Swatches to come!

Disclaimer: "Danke Shiny Red" - a stunning ruby red was also on my top "must-have" list, once you see it, you won't be able to resist. I, however, have way too many reds that are similar to it for it to make itself a priority on my "to-buy" list. Maybe one day... Sigh.

Nail of the Day: Lilacism

2012-08-07T19:19:00.001-07:00

An Essie classic! "Lilacism" is one of Essie's most famous polishes and it's part of their permanent line (so it's very easy to get your hands on it - which you should!). I bought this as a replacement for my mini-bottle of "To Buy or Not to Buy" (swatched earlier) even though they are not dupes. "Lilacism" is a creamy lilac colour that leans more grey/blue than "To Buy or Not to Buy" which leans more pink. I actually think I prefer "Lilacism" which is saying a lot because I adore "To Buy or Not to Buy"! The formula was defintely one of the best from Essie that I've tried. It only took two coats and doesn't look streaky or chalky - an excellent feat for a white-based polish! I am definitely impressed with this one. Very lovely.

Nail of the Day: No Spain, No Gain

2012-08-06T19:38:00.001-07:00

Today I'm showing you my all time favourite nail polish - OPI's "No Spain, No Gain" from their Espana Collection. This was one of the very first OPI polishes I ever owned and it came as a mini in the Espana Mini Collection (it also came with "Pink Flamenco", "Suzi Skiis in the Pyrenees" and OPI's Top Coat). I never thought much of it, it never looked that pretty in the mini-bottle but last year I wore it again and fell in love. It's a rich berry colour, not pink, not purple, not red. It's a creme finish and ultra flattering year-round. When I finished off the mini bottle, I went on a mad search for a full-size bottle of the same colour - with very, very disappointing results. It's been discontinued. I ended up ordering a full-size bottle of it on eBay for twice as much as it normally would've cost but I am happy to have it back in my collection. It's almost a one-coater and the formula lives up to OPI's reputation. Stunning. (Disclaimer: it's darker and slightly more purple in real-life)

Nails of the Day: Mezmerised & Choco-Latte

2012-08-01T19:40:00.001-07:00

Two colours today! Pedicure and manicure. I was originally just going to do a mani in Essie's "Mezmerised" but it seemed a bit too.. out there for work. Bright toes and nude nails it is then! "Mezmerised" is a bright cobalt blue creme that goes on opaque (practically a one-coater) but it dries a bit darker than in the bottle. It also looks very bright in the sunlight but is much much darker indoors. Great formula on this one and is a wonderful blue that I didn't know I was missing.

"Choco-Latte" is part of the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Collection. I think I mentioned in a previous post, I adore the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Collection. The formula is fantastic and the colours go on true to the bottle. The only downside is the large brush. Large brush + tiny fingers = messy manicure. "Choco-Latte" is a rosy-nude creme, very much the colour of a mocha or chocolate milk. Delicious! I'm not much of a nude fan and this colour isn't great for my skin tone but it's nice and soft. I think it would look nicer on people with more red undertones in their skin.

(Sorry about the super messy polish, didn't clean up before taking a picture)

Nail of the Day: Bikini So Teeny

2012-07-30T19:23:00.001-07:00

Sorry for being on hiatus for a couple of days, I was visiting family in Boston. While I was there, my aunt, knowing what a nailie I am, gave me a couple of polishes that she had accidentally doubled up on. I now have in my posession two new blue Essie polishes! (Why are all my blue polishes Essie and why are all my Essie polishes blue?) She gave me "Mezmerised" and "Bikini So Teeny". Today, I'm showing "Bikini So Teeny", a light periwinkle blue polish from Essie's Summer 2012 Collection. The colour is creamy and vibrant but still white-based. In the bottle, it definitely has some purple undertones and light silver duochrome but on the nail, it's just a creamy, flattering blue. A very lovely colour. It is similar but not an exact dupe for "Dreamer" by Revlon. Like a lot of my other Essie nail polishes, I can still see some balding and streaking even after two coats. How unfortunate. An overall nice polish.

Nail of the Day: Shivon

2012-07-25T16:05:00.000-07:00

AHHHHHHHHHHH! A Siobhan nail polish! (Ok, technically "Shivon", but it's pronounced the same). I cannot express how happy I am that I found a nail polish that is not only a) named Siobhan but b) is absolutely beautiful as well. "Shivon" is a Zoya polish, from their "Flourish" Collection a while back. I know that it's not a new polish, but seeing as it shared my name, I had to have it. Zoya doesn't sell in stores in Canada, for those that didn't know so it is the only Zoya I've ever tried and I ordered it on eBay.

From my experience with this one polish, Zoya has a fantastic formula! Zoya is known for their 5-Free, Healthy formula. It went on smoothly, almost a one-coater. Shivon is a stunning red-purple with gold/bronze metallic in it. The colour shifts whenever your hands move and depending on the light it seems more purple or more bronzey-red. I can't describe how beautiful it looks. I am very impressed and can understand why Zoya is so popular.

Nail of the Day: Y'all Come Back Ya Hear?

2012-07-23T16:10:00.001-07:00

What a silly name... Today I have a polish from OPI's Texas Collection - "Y'all Come Back Ya Hear?". Can you guess what colour it is from the name?! No, you can't. Silly, silly name. "Y'all Come Back Ya Hear?" is a bright orange polish and is categorized as a "sorbet" colour (which most nailies know as a "jelly"). This means that it's much more sheer than a creme but dries to a much shinier, almost candy-like finish. I found this polish on the discontinued and on-sale rack at Trade Secrets (which is where I buy all my OPIs, if anyone was wondering) and I didn't know much about it when I grabbed it. I was very impulsive and lacking an orange in my collection so I bought it without reading up on it at all which, unfortunately, led to a very disappointed me. I thought I was buying a bright, vibrant orange creme, perfect for halloween manicures and the like. Now, don't get me wrong, the colour is beautiful! The perfect orange. I'm just not, and have never been, a fan of the jelly finish. It does dry to a nice shiny finish, no need for a top coat. I just hate to see the whites of my nails, especially after 3 or 4 coats. If you like jellies, you'll adore this bright summery polish but if you're like me, don't get it. The polish does apply nicely, all squishy and shiny and delicious looking. On short nails I think this would be gorgeous.

Nail of the Day: Ruby Pumps

2012-07-20T16:47:00.002-07:00

A classic! China Glaze's "Ruby Pumps" is one of those polishes that I just had to buy because I was almost embarassed that I didn't have it. What kind of nail polish addict doesn't have one of the most famous red polishes?! Well, I understand why it's so popular. It is absolutely spectacular! A pink-toned red, jam packed with microglitter and "glass flecks". So sparkly when you look at it, but somehow it manages not to be tacky. I can wear it to work without people looking at me like "whoa, check out the hooker nails" but they're still distracting when I'm typing haha. The formula was so perfect it was almost... luxurious. When the brush touched the nail, it basically appleid itself. It flowed outwards in the richest red, I was so mezmerized by how stunning it was that I almost forgot what I was doing. It's also the only China Glaze polish that hasn't given me problems with chipping. Incredible, absolutely incredible.

The only downside, it won't photograph right! I just took almsot 30 shots of my nails and none of them do it justice.. I found this picture on polishloveaffair, it is not my own. (we are in no way affiliated). Beautiful.

Nail of the Day: Ole Caliente!

2012-07-17T05:39:00.001-07:00

I have one of my favourite summer polishes on today, Essie's "Ole Caliente", which was actually released as part of their Spring Collection earlier this year. I ended up getting the mini-sampler of the Spring Collection and got the mini size of this polish along with "Navigate Her", "To Buy or Not To Buy", and "Tour de Finance". This colour is BRIGHT. If you could somehow make red a neon, this would be how it would look. It's not a true red, much more of a coral. In the bottle it leans towards pink but it leans much more towards orange on my nails. I absolutely adore how bright and energetic this colour it but at the same time, it has enough red in it to stop it from looking like a traffic light. The formula on this was perfect when I first got it, almost a one-coater. It's starting to thicken up quite a bit now though and I'm wondering if that's due to the mini bottle because I'm having trouble with the other ones from this set now too... Highly unfortunate. It's still a fantastic polish and I would probably grab this in a full size if I can find it.

Nail of the Day: Leopard Nail Art

2012-07-14T06:17:00.001-07:00

Using the beautiful gold base I had on from swatching "Gilty Pleasure" yesterday, I decided to spice things up for a girls night out tonight, and what's better than leopard print?! Now, anyone who actually knows me knows that I usually only decorate my ring finger and/or my thumb. Nail art on all my fingers is too tedious and too messy looking, I find. Sometimes, I break this rule though, and that's usually for some themed nail art or a themed party etc.

Today, I have leopard print on my ring fingers and thumbs and it is so easy to recreate. I have Essie's All-in-One Base on with two coats of Sally Hansen's "Gilty Pleasure". Then, using a dotting tool, take a basic black (I'm using my Witchcraft Nail Art Black, I love the consistency)and make random organic shapes. I use a leopard print bag as a reference but you could always just google an image of it. Then, take a brown or a bronze and place a dot of it in the centre of your black shapes (I used "Artist's Inspiration" by Finger Paints). Slick on a top coat and voila! Beautiful, sassy nails. (Disclaimer: I took these pictures before putting on a coat of Seche Vite, the topcoat really smoothes them out and makes them look almost like expensive nail decals).

Nail of the Day: Gilty Pleasure

2012-07-13T13:37:00.001-07:00

The NOTD today is one of my alltime favourite polishes, "Gilty Pleasure" from the Complete Salon Manicure line from Sally Hansen. It's a metallic gold but it's a cool gold, more green than orange. I find it way more flattering than my other gold polishes, almost like a shiny neutral gold on my skintone. I absolutely adore this colour, it's definitely one of my most used nail polishes. The application is perfect on this one - like all others from the Complete Salon Manicure line (it's a fantastic, affordable line). It's almost a one coater, is thick enough to be used in nail art but not too thick, it levels out perfectly but doesn't flood my cuticles. I can't rave about this one enough. The PERFECT gold.

Nail of the Day: Butterfly Nail Art

2012-07-10T18:52:00.002-07:00

Here's a quick nail art I did today! I wanted to use my new Julep "Chelsea" but I wasn't all for wearing glitter polish to the office so I used it as an accent nail here! I tend to only do nail art on my ring finger and/or my thumb. I just feel very ... cluttered when all my nails are wacky. Here, I used Essie All-in-One Base, with 2 coats of Essie's "To Buy or Not to Buy". Then, using a dotting tool, I applied Julep's "Chelsea" to the wings, finished off with my Witchcraft Nail Art Stripers in black and white. (I accidentlaly smudged the bottom wing, I was so anxious to photograph them... silly me!). I also slicked on a coat of Seche Vite to seal it in (and to smooth out the chunky glitter feel). Please note, the right side of the butterfly DOES finish.. my finger is just on an awkward angle here.

Julep Maven: July Bombshell Box

2012-07-09T16:44:00.001-07:00

My July Julep Maven box arrived this morning - I switched the Bombshell instead of my usual Classic-with-a-Twist this month because the colours had more draw to me. I find that's my problem nowadays, I have so many nail polishes that nothing seems original to me... Sigh. This month, Julep Maven boxes contained the usual 2 nail colours and the beauty product was a lipgloss to match one of the polishes. As a bonus, they threw in an extra nail polish to celebrate Canada Day/the 4th of July - "O Canada" for Canadian Mavens, and "America, the Beautiful" for those Mavens in the USA. My Bombshell box contained "Kate" - a pearly white, Chelsea- a purple based multi-glitter, and Zinna - a creamy mulberry lipgloss. I also received "O Canada" - small multi-glitter and large red hex-glitter in a clear base.

If the box didn't come with the bonus "O Canada" polish, I probably would've skipped this month but it seemed like a good deal so I went with the Bombshell box - mainly because I wanted "Chelsea". I wasn't excited at all about "Kate" and after swatching it on my collection swatches... I'm still not excited about it. It was thick and goopy white. Boring. "Chelsea" appealed to me because I lack purples and glitters in my collection and it is both. Unfortunately, it's more of a glitter topcoat and requires A LOT of coats. Same with "O Canada" - I wish I had that last month for fun Canada Day manicures. Oh well, I think it'll work well during the holidays as well. Zinna, the lipgloss is amaaazing though. I was pleasantly surprised by that. Full swatches to come!

Zinna (Lipgloss)

Chelsea

Kate

Nail of the Day: Jade is the New Black

2012-07-07T19:52:00.001-07:00

I know this colour is not a new one but it's new to my collection. "Jade is the New Black" was released in OPI's Hong Kong collection and is one of the seemingly few green polishes OPI has designed. This colour was said to be the new "it" colour when it was released and apparently was, it was nowhere to be found! I recently happened upon a store that had one left, placed back on the shelves in the wrong spot. Must have been my lucky day! I must say, I can see why this polish was so popular - I absolutely love it!

"Jade is the New Black" is a blue-based green creme that's not quite bright enough to be a bright, but too pigmented to be vampy. The perfect balance which makes it wearable anytime of the year. I find that the blue-base to the green is what makes this shade so appealing to me. I find that too many of the greens are too lime-y or yellow based and they don't flatter my skintone at all. I was a bit afraid of the formula on this one, it was a bit patchy and thick on the first application but it looks perfect after the second coat, smooth and ultra glossy (like, abnormally glossy). If you can find this nail polish, buy it!

Nail of the Day: Fiji

2012-07-05T18:39:00.001-07:00

Today I bring to you one of the more controversial colours in my collection (for the other controversial colour of mine, read "You Callin' Me a Lyre?"). I present Essie's "Fiji". This colour is a beautiful, creamy baby pink. The colour is very white-based but there's enough colour to it that it's obvious that it's pink - clean and sophisticated. I adore the colour, Essie really does have the best colours. Now here's the controversial part... the formula. I have never had a worse experience with a nail polish. It's streaky, chalky, chips easily, and takes 3 or 4 coats just to level out all the brushstrokes. The only plus is that it's one of the very few opaque baby pinks I've found. If you have the patience and the care, it looks beautiful, but if not... well, the formula is gross and you can tell. Why don't all Essie polishes have the same formula? That confuses me quite a bit. Well, here are some pictures - decide for yourselves whether or not it's worth it for you!

Nail of the Day: Jamaican Out

2012-06-27T18:31:00.000-07:00

Today's nail of the day is the beautiful, tropical peach-coral shimmer of China Glaze's Jamaican Out! The colour of this nail polish caught my eye right away in the store (I buy all my China Glaze at Sally's Beauty Supply) but I love it that much more on my nails. It's a hard colour to describe... probably because it can't decide what colour it wants to be! At first glance it's an orange toned coral, add in some shimmering gold, and then a hint of pink in the sunlight. It's exceptionally flattering (even on my pale skin!) and I feel like I should be sitting on a beach, sipping a pina colada, while wearing this nail polish. If you could only have one colour for this summer, I would recommend this one.

The only problem I faced with this was my common problem with China Glaze, chipping. The polish would not stay on my nails (and I used a base coat) and they didn't even last a full day - especially because I type a lot now that I'm an architecture intern!! More on that later. But yea, the formula was not adhesive at all. Also, HUGE WARNING: this polish stains. My toenails are now yellowy-orange thanks to this polish.

A New Home for my Collection

2012-06-25T18:08:00.003-07:00

My wonderful father, an engineer and hobbyist/carpenter, built me a new shelf for my apartment after I was complaining about having nowhere to store my polishes. Look what he came up with! It's 7 shelves (one more than in the picture) because I anticipate adding quite a few more (I have 3 Julep polishes coming in the mail and I know that I will not be able to resist the new Germany collection from OPI!). It has one inch plexiglass slats on the front so that the bottles won't fall out but I can still check out all my lovely colours! :) I'm so excited if you can't tell. I used to keep them all higglety-pigglety in a box which is really bad for them, I know, I know. I currently have them ordered somewhat by colour and I'll probably keep it that way, at least for a while. How do you guys store your polishes?

Nail of the Day: Rusty

2012-06-22T18:06:00.001-07:00

Nails of the Day are back! I finally completed my work on the berry farm and have proceeded to give my hands a much, much needed manicure. I can't believe I've let myself walk around in public with the gruesome stubs where my beautiful nails used to be...I was forced to cut them all down and I still grieve for the length that I had previously attained. Over the weekend, I was back in Montreal and while at the drugstore I saw a sale on Gosh Cosmetics. Now, I love Gosh. Their products are hyper-pigmented and my go-to for anything bright. If you ever need a coloured eyeliner - get Gosh. Gorgeous colours that stay on for hours. But I had never purchased any of their nail laquers. I guess I always figured that, if I was going to spend $10 on a polish, I wanted Essie or OPI.

I picked up "Rusty" - a red-toned bronze shimmer for only $1.75! Yes!!! $1.75. Cheapest nail polish I've ever bought. I actually really like the polish. It applied evenly and was opaque in two coats. The finish is nice, though the colour is not original in my collection. Bronze polishes are really growing on me though - they're pretty and rich but not too in-your-face. It's a bit more red-toned than most of the bronzes I prefer (I look better in gold-toned browns). For $1.75 though, I could not have wished for anything better! I am very pleased with this purchase and, if money allows, will probably purchase more Gosh polishes in the future. Although, I am saving up for a haul of the new OPI Germany colours...

OPI Fall 2012 Release: Germany

2012-06-20T12:05:00.002-07:00

AHH!! This much excitement must only mean one thing, OPI has released a preview of their upcoming Fall collection, available August 8th. They continue on their famous country-themed collection with the release of "Germany". The collection has a few offbeat shades and a combination of pale cremes and vampy microglitters. Until I see swatches, I can't be sure which of these I will be adding to my collection but I'm sure there will be a few. What do you all think!? (The picture is a colour chart I found on nailingthis.com, not my own).

Strawberry Fields Forever

2012-06-13T17:18:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone! Sorry that I've been a tad MIA for the last few days, I happen to have gotten a job for the week - picking berries at the local farm near my place. I know, who would've thought that a beauty obsessed girl from the city would be working in the field for 8 hours a day? Not me. No that I dislike the job, it's hard but rewarding, but the damage it's done to my nails is heartbreaking :(. Not only are my whites and cuticles permanently stained red and there is dirt so far under my nails that no amount of scrubbing will ever get them clean, but they're dried out and flaking from all the water and dirt that they've been exposed to, my hands are sunburned and peeling, and I've been forced to cut all my nails down in order to do my work efficiently. It's a nail junkie's worst nightmare! I promise to have more swatches out soon, sometime next week when I've finished my work and have given my hands some serious TLC. The strawberry fields are quite inspiring though... some fruity or country themed nail art to come, perhaps?