Author Archives: Mary S.

April Showers Bring May Flowers

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Bouquet of Tulips

This rainy evening, I came home to a thoughtful surprise! 🙂

With a charming assortment of imPRESS nails and gorgeous tulips in a myriad of cheerful hues, it’s most certainly a bouquet of beauty!

The imPRESS Press-on Manicure allows you to achieve the look of gel nails in a single step. In mere minutes (and without having to wait for polish to dry), it’s a great solution for those who are always busy and on-the-go.

The patented dual-layer SuperHold adhesive technology ensures solid manicure mileage, even through frequent hand washing. You won’t have to worry about fake nails flying across the dinner table like the escargot that Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman struggled to get out of the shell! 😉

imPRESS nails retail for $9.99 CAD at Walmart, London Drugs, and Jean Coutu.

Tulips and Nails by imPRESS

Doesn’t this scream spring?

These tulips are from Tonic Blooms, a Toronto flower-delivery service.

(You can use the coupon code “KABLOOM” on their website to get 10% off one order. This is not an affiliate code. I don’t get any commission or benefit from sharing this, but I thought I’d let you know, in case you want to brighten up someone else’s day.)

Tulips and imPRESS Nails

The bow is a Kate Spade head scarf!

I love the gold detailing and the sophisticated-yet-playful print.

Years ago, I used to wear head scarves on a near-daily basis. It’s been a while since I’ve worn one, and this will quench the dry spell.

There’s a significant amount of denim used to wrap around the tulips. I’m planning on sewing a makeup bag with it.

Kate Spade Scarf

Kate Spade Head Scarf

A huge thank you to imPRESS and ROI Relations for bringing a huge smile to my face and for reminding me to stop and smell the flowers, no matter how busy I am! 😉

Disclosure: This post contains press samples provided by PR.

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When Your Nails Match Your Yummy Gelato

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CND Creative Play Amuse-Mint Playland Collection Fiasco Gelato

If you haven’t tried Fiasco Lavender Vanilla Bean Small Batch Gelato, you’re missing out!

I’ve oinked my way through several flavours by Fiasco Gelato, and they’re all so delicious, you could easily finish the entire jar in a single sitting.

On my nails, I’m wearing CND Creative Play Amuse-Mint from the Playland Collection.

(On the weekend, I swatched all the colours in the collection, and as soon as I have a chance to carefully put together a blog post, I’ll share photos with you! Thanks for your patience.)

Disclosure: This post contains a press sample provided by PR.

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Zoya Charming Collection Swatches & Review

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Zoya Charming Collection Swatches

As polite as a curtsy in a 1900s ballroom and as captivating as a graceful ballerina’s fouetté, in comes the Zoya Charming Collection for Spring 2017!

Surprisingly, although I’m a green lover, the purples (Abby, Tina and Millie) stole the show for me.

  • Abby is a great transition hue because the whisper-soft lavender is white-based and wintry, yet has enough saturation to keep the Easter bunny hopping.
  • Tina is a medium purple private dancer on your nails with a youthful spirit that’s simply the best when you need a pick-me-up. (Bonus points for those who saw what I did there.)
  • Millie is the showgirl in Vegas with an extravagant sequin mini dress accented with oversized feathers! In every lighting condition, this shimmery plum catches the light and takes centre stage without hesitation.
  • Amira is reminiscent of the scales on a mermaid’s tail that shimmer softly yet with gusto as the sun kisses them with summer dreams.
  • Lacey is a muted sage that twinkles like it’s full of little stars amidst a nail-polish sky. (Even if you’re not as big of a fan of green as I am, this could be your gateway green. Hehe!)
  • Jordan is a bubblegum pink that has a princess personality. If it was a person, it would wear a seven-layer tulle ballgown with satin corset to the prom.

Let’s talk about the formula. It’s not always just about the colour. Substance versus beauty. Even though I’m willing to put in more effort for a tricky formula if the colour is a showstopper, the less effort I need to exert, the better.

I’m happy to report that the formula for all of these shades is great! They are easy to work with, and you can build up opacity quickly.

In all of my swatches, I used two coats of colour and no top coat. (For these quick collection swatches, I don’t use a top coat, so you can see the finish of the polish by itself. For future in-depth reviews on individual colours, I always wear a top coat, unless it’s a textured polish that’s designed to be worn solo, of course.)

I applied a thin first coat and then a generous second coat. The cremes are solid at this point. For the shimmers, you could apply a third coat if you want to intensify the colour, but I was very happy with the second coat.

See the rest of this post for a closer look at each swatch, as well as bottle shots and the official press release (to give you details about the colour story).

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L’Oréal Colour Riche Le Vernis à l’Huile Jardin des Roses

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L'Oreal Jardin des Roses

They didn’t promise you a rose garden, but here’s one anyway. 🙂

It’s L’Oréal Colour Riche Le Vernis à l’Huile Jardin des Roses!

To get the opacity in my photo, I used two generous coats.

The formula was smooth, easy to apply, and very shiny. Pictured above is what the nail polish looks like without a glossy top coat.

I love the the bottle design – so elegant and luxurious. It looks much more expensive than a drugstore polish.

Wishing you all a Happy Monday and a great start to a fresh new week!

Disclosure: This post contains a press sample provided by PR.

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I Attended The Body Shop Almond Milk & Honey Launch Dinner Tonight

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The Body Shop Almond Milk and Honey Collection

Tonight, thanks to the generosity of The Body Shop and PR, I was treated to a delicious vegan dinner at Planta in Yorkville! As if that wasn’t enough, I also left with a big bag full of amazing The Body Shop Almond Milk and Honey skincare.

This new The Body Shop Almond Milk and Honey collection is specially designed for those with sensitive skin. Its scent is so yummy, it smells edible, even though it’s not. (My all-time favourite scent from The Body Shop is Wild Argan Oil, but this is tied for first place.)

During dinner, Dr. Christine Choi Kim, the Global Dermatologist for The Body Shop came from Los Angeles to give us a presentation.

To put the cherry on the top, the founders of Greenhouse Juice Co., Emma Knight and Hana James spoke about how to nourish your skin from the inside out.

We all got to flip through and preview their debut cookbook called The Greenhouse Cookbook: Plant-Based Eating and DIY Juicing, which has lots of healthy recipes from dinners and desserts to smoothies and appetizers.

(I was eyeing the chia pudding recipe, as I’m on a chia seed kick lately.)

PR informed us, to my delight, that we’d all be getting a copy of the book when it’s officially released in April! 🙂 (This is perfect timing because I am in desperate need of some food inspiration. I used to cook new dishes and experiment all the time. I stopped for a few years, but I want to get back into it.)

While I didn’t photograph every dish that arrived at our table (I was busy stuffing my face…), here’s one that I managed to capture before devouring.

Planta Toronto Vegan Restaurant Dessert

Above is the dessert that’s made with toasted almond cream, dragon fruit, and a field of green “pearls.” It was like nothing I had ever eaten before, and I assure you that it was nothing short of heavenly!

I almost didn’t want to eat it because it looked like a work of art, but, well, my oink-ish instincts kicked in, and the rest is tummy history.

(It’s cute how the cubes look like little dice.)

Some other things on the menu tonight were cauliflower tots with truffled parmesan, rice rolls with mango, basil coriander, and Thai dressing, and coconut ceviche with avocado, toasted nori, and citrus soya.

There were also these incredible “crab” cakes made with hearts of palm, spinach, coconut milk, and warm spices. Aside from the dessert, this was the other standout dish.

Again, a huge thank you to The Body Shop, the fantastic PR team, and Planta for making tonight’s dinner a wonderful experience all around! 🙂

What’s your favourite item from The Body Shop? What’s the most delicious vegan dish you’ve ever eaten? Are there any specific products from this new The Body Shop skincare line that you’d like me to do an in-dept review on? Let me know, and I’ll see what I can do!

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Orly Fresh: A Trendy Taste of Pantone’s 2017 Colour of the Year, Greenery

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Orly Fresh

As a lover of green nail polish, it should come as no surprise that I am ecstatic about Pantone’s 2017 Colour of the Year, Greenery!

To celebrate the trend, I decided to pull out Orly Fresh, which is one of my (many) favourite green nail polishes. (Not that I ever need a reason to wear green, of course.) 😉

In Pantone’s own words, here’s why they chose Greenery (Pantone 15-0343) as the ‘it colour’ for this year:

A refreshing and revitalizing shade, Greenery is symbolic of new beginnings.

Greenery is a fresh and zesty yellow-green shade that evokes the first days of spring when nature’s greens revive, restore and renew. Illustrative of flourishing foliage and the lushness of the great outdoors, the fortifying attributes of Greenery signals consumers to take a deep breath, oxygenate and reinvigorate.

Greenery is nature’s neutral. The more submerged people are in modern life, the greater their innate craving to immerse themselves in the physical beauty and inherent unity of the natural world. This shift is reflected by the proliferation of all things expressive of Greenery in daily lives through urban planning, architecture, lifestyle and design choices globally. A constant on the periphery, Greenery is now being pulled to the forefront – it is an omnipresent hue around the world.

A life-affirming shade, Greenery is also emblematic of the pursuit of personal passions and vitality.

What is the PANTONE Color of the Year?

A symbolic color selection; a color snapshot of what we see taking place in our global culture that serves as an expression of a mood and an attitude.

What are some Pantone-Greenery-esque nail polishes that you’ve been sporting? Do you follow nail trends, or do you prefer to swim against the stream? (I do a bit of both.)

Disclosure: I purchased this nail polish.

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