Manidays: Lacey Lilac

Hey guys!

Sorry about skipping last Maniday, it was supposed to be last week but let's just say something didn't go right.. so I'm here right now with my post!! Again, to keep it in the season I tried out this really cute lilac colour by Sally Hansen.

These Hard as Nails Xtremewear polishes by Sally Hasen are amazing quality and very afforable. I bought this colour in Lacey Lilac for $5 at my local Shopper's Drug Mart. The colour pay off is great in one coat but I used two coats just for added opacity and longevity. 

I also decided to add some daisies as an accent on the ring finger, inspired by a photo Promise Phan (dope2111 on Youtube) uploaded on her Instagram. I used a bobby pin to create the dots for the flowers. The colour comes out a little darker than what is in the bottle but I find this colour very beautiful and a very soft purple colour that goes great in the spring time.

These polishes come in an amazing range of colours at an afforable price! They come in pastels, glitters, chromes and vibrant colours as well, which I will be definitely checking out in future Manidays posts. If there are any colours from this line you think I should try, please leave let me know below! :)

Until next time,

audrey x

Spring Fling!

Hello my lovely readers!

I have received my first ipsy bag and I have to say I'm impressed with what I got! The theme for the May Bag is Spring Fling. So, here are my first impressions with what I got :)

So these are all the items I received in the bag. I don't know about you but I tried to put all the boxed stuff back in.. and I could not fit everything in it. Ahahaha

The first thing I got in this bag was a Pacifica Coconut Crushed Pearl Bronzing Body Butter. This product smells amazing, I love the smell of coconut! So, I'm pleased with this product. I can't wait to use this on my pasty white legs. This is a great size product to try out at 2 fl. oz (or 58 ml).

I also got a Mirabella lipstick in Daydream. It's a gorgeous mauvey raspberry sheer colour with slight shimmer. When I swatched it to the back of my hand it's very sheer but can be built up to amazing colour pay off. There's about 3g of product which is a great amount to try out.

I got my first Zoya nail polish in the colour Jacqueline which is a nice light beige, cream colour. I was upset I didn't get a fun pink or blue that also came in other bags but I'll be sure to do a Manidays post on this polish with the formula and opacity. This product comes with 0.5 fl. oz (or 15 ml) to try out.

I also got a small little Yaby concealer refill in the colour Buff. At first I thought it was a cream eyeshadow but it doesn't come with a magnetic palette to place so I find it to be slightly inconvenient so I might just try to use it all up. The colour is too light for me but it's the perfect colour to use as a subtle skin highlight so I'll be using it for that. It doesn't say how much comes in it but there is a good amount of usage out of the small little pan.

I got a Juice Beauty lipgloss made with all organic ingredients in the colour Champagne. This products smells amazing like citrus and oranges. It smells like those orange jellies covered in sugar.. if you know what I'm taking about.. ahahah. A nice sheer colour to add on top of a nude lipstick to give it some sparkle and shine! This is a sample size with 14 fl. oz (4 ml), great size sample if I do say so myself.

I don't know if it's just because this is my first bag or I got lucky but I got a sixth item which I'm excited to try out. It's the Nu-Me Finishing Serum. I really want the Macadamia Healing Oil because I've used it before and LOVED it. But I'm excited to try this product out it comes with 33 fl. oz/10ml. It's a very thick serum so I think this will last you quite a while!

I also did some swatches for you guys. So starting from the left: Yaby concealer in buff (as you can see it's very light on my hand), Juice Beauty reflecting lipgloss in Champagne and lastly Mirabella lipstick in Daydream.

I also got a $110 off code to any hot tools from Numestlye.com. I'll have to check that out and see if there is anything I want. I'm very impressed with these products, hopefully next month will be just as great! Look out for these products, they might just be in my May favourites! Who knows...

Until next time,

audrey x

Manidays: Muchi, Muchi

Welcome back to another Manidays post. This week with spring/summer coming up I'm busting out the pastel colours with this gorgeous milky pink colour by Essie called Muchi, Muchi.

Although the colour is amazing, this formula isn't the best. I applied 3 coats of nail polish to get the opacity I liked. I find it to be very streaky and hard to work with. But, I cannot deny that the colour is gorgeous and I am a sucker for pink polishes.

I thought it would be fun to add a statement nail with white polka dots to give it a girly and fun feel. Any white polish will do. I do my polka dots by applying one in the middle then four on each side, kind of like an x, then added it in the gaps of the x shape where I felt it needed to be dotted.

Overall this colour is super cute and fun but I'm not really sold on this streaky formula like some Essie polishes tend to have.

Let me know what you think I should do next, love to hear your suggestions!

Until next time,

audrey x

April Favourites 2013

Another month has flown by and as April comes to an end, I am here with my monthly beauty favourites! I'm just getting back into the routine of things with trying out products and what not but I'm really starting to enjoy the things I love again. So, here are my April Faves!!

Firstly, I have been loving my Smith's Rose Salve in Moka Rose. I am not really a big fan of the scent of the original formula but I've been loving this chocolately-mocha smelling one. It does have a funky scent to it at first but after applying the products you can't smell it at all. I love to use this at night to condition my lips and when I wake up they're soft and smooth. I have a slight obsession with lip products so don't be surprised that I'll have a few favourites every month.

Since we're talking about lips I've been loving the Urban Decay Super-Saturated High Gloss Lip Colour in Naked. It's a pinky brown nude colour which I have always been drawn too with my yellow complexion. I am a sucker for all things in jumbo crayon/pencil format so I immediately fell in love with this product. The only downside to this product is that it's not one of those twist up pencils, it has to be sharpened. But, I love Urban Decay products if you're willingly to splurge a little more money on great quality products.

Next favourite I've been loving is this Benefit's Watt's Up highlighting stick. It is a gorgeous champagne colour that reflects the light beautifully when applied. I have the mini sample size from my birthday gift from Sephora. I like to apply this to the tops of my cheeks, down the bridge of my nose, between my brows, Cupid's bow and just a bit on my chin and blended out with my fingers.

Another product I have been loving this month is my Crabtree and Evelyn hand therapy lotion in the Pomegranate, Argan and Grapeseed scent. These hand creams are amazing and leave my hands feeling moisturized with a fresh, fruity scent. I love that it comes in the unique metal packaging. I have to give thanks to my friend, Janelle a.k.a Ellemarkz for giving me this for my birthday!

My next favourites are probably my favourite purchases of the month but they are the Real Techniques brushes by Samantha Chapman. I have been long awaiting their arrival to Canada and thank goodness they have arrived! Thank you Wal-Mart. I love the quality of these brushes, they're really nice and dense but also really soft. The Buffing brush is amazing to use when applying liquid foundation and the Deluxe Crease brush is great at blurring concealer under the eyes and on any blemishes! I suggest these brushes for beginners in make up. You get all the essentials in the kit at a reasonable price for amazing quality brushes.

On the top of brushes, I purchased an Ecotools Bronzer Brush and I love this as well! I've had my eye on this brush for quite a while. I love the big fluffy shape of it to apply my powder mostly. The brush is really sturdy with a very thick handle. Amaaaaazing!

Next favourite is the Katy Perry lashes by Eyelure in Oh, Honey! They are beautiful, full, wispy and natural looking lashes. The band is very thin which make applying it look very natural and not fake like some eyelash bands can come off looking, especially when they are super thick! I love to apply this with Duo Dark Tone glue.

Lastly, the last favourite is a hair product that I've been using for a couple of months and I've actually seen amazing results. It's the Pantene Overnight Miracle Repair Serum. This is a weird product because it's not really a serum but it's almost like a thick gel lotion you run through your hair from the mid-shaft to the ends. It leaves no residue on your hair or on your pillow! I wake up and my hair feels smooth and easier to comb through. How I apply this product is by splitting my hair in the middle and apply 2 pumps of product on each side and then braid it (I always braid my hair to prevent tangling). I wake up and brush through my hair and style it however I want. My hair feels nourished and strong after a month and a half of using it.

So that is all for the month of April! Another month of 2013 down. I can't wait for May and the warmer weather to come through and my first bag from Ipsy to come in the mail. I'll blog soon once I get it!

Until then,

audrey x

Manidays: Knackered + Positive Energy

Nicole by OPI Positive Energy ($7 at Walmart) and Butter London Knackered ($17 at the Bay)

Hi guys. Here's another review and a combination I've recently discovered. Today's post features Butter London's Knackered and Nicole by OPI's Positive Energy. Everyone must have a staple silver in their nail polish collection. I remember back when crackle nail polish was an amazing discovery I loved the combo of silver and the black crackle. But recently, there are so many new and different top coats that help enhance your nail colour and that's where I came up with this combo.

Knackered  is a very sheer colour but in the bottle you can see it is a duo chrome colour with hints of blue, grey and sometimes purple with silver shimmer and sparkles. In the bottle it is really beautiful but when applied it is way too sheer. It would take maybe 10 coats to get the colour in the bottle.

I decided to add a base coat that would compliment the colour of this sheer nail polish without taking away all the beauty of this colour. I decided to add a coat of Nicole by OPI's Positive Energy. Metallics are wonderful polishes because they are so pigmented sometimes you only need one coat.

So, to get this nail colour I added the silver as a base coat and added 2 coats of Knackered when completely dried. The colour came out great, on the nail you were able to see all the different colours because the silver compliments all the elements of the nail polish.

This a great nail polish but overpriced at $17 at the Bay for 4 fl. oz or 11ml (but I had a gift card and felt like splurging). Hopefully I can find a dupe with a better opacity but until then this will do.

Let me know in the comments below if you like this polish and your thoughts. What should I do next? I was thinking of posting some of my nail art photos with step by step tutorials.

Until then,
audrey x

Just a quick note

I have after a lot of contemplation and being waitlisted, I have subscribed to the ipsy.com MyGlam bag! Woohoo for new products to sample every month. I will be doing open box reviews with pictures every time I receive a bag! Just wanted to let you guys know! I got a lot of new things this month, so I'm excited. Hope you guys are too!

Until next time,
Audrey x

Manidays: Mint Candy Apple

Hey readers!

This is my first post on a segment called "Manidays" which is basically every other Monday I post pictures and reviews on different nail polishes. I have really short nails so I use my sister's nails for the photo swatches and I wear them myself to let you know staying power and basically the "wear and tear".

Since spring is just around the corner, I thought I would do Essie's very famous Mint Candy Apple. In my opinion, it is a perfect shade of mint. Not too much on the green side and not too much on the blue side. Just right. The formula for this polish is really nice and creamy. It's also really easy to apply.

In this picture above I used two coats of mint candy apple with Revlon's Top Coat (as well as on my nails). The staying power is great and the colour comes out true to the bottle with just two coats! Overall, this is an amazing nail polish for the Spring/Summer season I suggest you go out and try this if you love mint! Let me tell you, I don't know why it's so hard to find in the drugstores I go to but once I saw it, I snatched it up and it was the last one!

Well that's all for my first post of Manidays, check back for another nail polish review with swatches! Comment below if there are any colours or brands of nail polish you think I should try. 

Until next time..
Audrey x