Author Archives: Mary S.

OPI She’s a Bad Muffuletta! Swatches & Review

OPI She's a Bad Muffuletta Swatches Review

OPI She’s a Bad Muffuletta! from the New Orleans Collection is a sassy creme, and as you’ll see later in this post, it sometimes pulls red and other times pink on me. It made me check my nails out in different lighting often because I was curious which way it would lean.

While OPI She’s a Bad Muffuletta! has a name that suggests it wants to be bad to the bone, I think it’s a very easy-going and wearable shade for virtually any occasion. A big ole softie! 😉 It’s bright, but at the same time, it’s also nothing wild and crazy.

In other news…

Today, I’m participating in the #KeepInstagramChronological campaign, and I urge you to also join the cause and take a stand. (Search the hashtag on Twitter or Facebook. There’s also a petition you can sign, which, at the time of me writing this, already has 142,963 supporters.)

It’s simple. To participate, don’t use Instagram on Friday March 18, 2016.

Why? Recently, Instagram unveiled their strategy that they plan to roll out sometime soon. It will change the order of your feed and what shows up based on an algorithm that decides for you what you’re more interested in seeing. Yeah, it’s similar to what Facebook did, and there was a huge backlash because of it.

From what I understand, Instagram plans to tweak the feed so that instead of seeing what’s being posted in the chronological sequence, you’ll see the more popular posts with higher “Likes” and views.  What does this mean? More exposure for the “Big Guys” and less exposure for the “Little Guys.”

The beauty of social media is its ability to communicate news as it happens. Live. But messing with the order manipulates that.

Instagram claims that all the posts will still show up, but just the order will be different. I still think that will have negative repercussions for the Little Guy who doesn’t have a huge following and counts on exposure and an equal playing field to gain traction.

Not everyone is going to sift through dozens of Instagram photos. Most will scroll through a few, and since the first few will be the more popular posts, the rest will be ignored.

Maybe Instagram could have a toggle feature in the app, so that people could choose which viewing mode they want to use.

Forcing the algorithm on us seems like a step towards turning Instagram into another advertising platform where small businesses and accounts will be cornered into having to pay for exposure in order to compete with the corporate giants. I don’t like that, and since I use my social media for personal reasons and as a hobby, I would never pay to boost my exposure or to increase the number of people who follow me.

I strongly believe that everyone matters, not just the popular people and brands, which is why I’m participating. Also, I prefer organic engagement instead of artificial engagement.

If you don’t want to turn on notifications for people you follow on Instagram, start “Liking” more of their photos and/or videos now so they will show up in your feed later when Instagram rolls out their plan. If you don’t, it’s possible that you may have to really hunt to see those posts in the near future.

Hopefully, through the power of the people banding together and not using Instagram for one day, we can show them that the algorithm is just a popularity contest. Maybe they’ll rethink the strategy and listen. Time will tell.

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St. Patrick’s Day Collaboration

St. Patrick's Day Collaboration

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, and may today bring you all the luck of the Irish! Hope you finally catch that sneaky leprechaun!

Today’s St. Patrick’s Day Collaboration is a very special post because I teamed up two fellow beauty enthusiasts who I have the great honour of calling friends: the lovely Jessica (@JustBlendItOut on Instagram) and Rob (@NailPolishDude23 on Instagram).

Be sure to follow them and check them both out today, as they’ll share with you closer looks at their mesmerizing creations.

Jessica does lots of enchanting and wonderfully blended eye looks that never cease to inspire me with her creative combinations and obvious beauty.

Rob paints his fingernails and toenails, and his courage to stay true to himself and experiment with colour speaks volumes of his authentic character.

In this post, I’ll share a closer look at the St. Patrick’s Day nail art I did featuring mainly Zoya nails polishes:

  • Zoya Jace (light green creme)
  • Zoya Logan (green glitter)
  • Zoya PixieDust Solange (gold glitter)

I also used OPI Never Have Too Mani Friends (a black from the Hello Kitty Collection).

While not perfect, I was really happy with how the St. Patrick’s Day nail art turned out because, if you know me, you know that: 1) I’m nuts about green, and 2) I believe that happiness is more important than perfection.

Saint Patrick's Day Nail Art

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Nail and Makeup Inspiration from Toronto Fashion Week 2016 (Day 1)

Toronto Fashion Week 2016 Mikhael Kale Essie 6

Rita Remark, Essie’s Lead Nail Artist

In yesterday’s post, I shared with you my Toronto Fashion Week 2016 (Day 1) experience and photos that I captured during the event.

Today, I’m sharing some Nail and Makeup Inspiration from Toronto Fashion Week 2016 (Day 1) from the Mikhael Kale show.

The models wore Essie After School Boy Blazer and Essie Stylenomics on their nails and Maybelline New York makeup.

You’ll find the details on how to recreate the looks, along with some model shots to give you a better idea overall.

Grace Lee Toronto Fashion Week 2016 Mikhael Kale

Grace Lee, Maybelline’s Lead Makeup Artist

All images in this post are courtesy of Essie and Maybelline.

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Toronto Fashion Week 2016 & Chatting with Rita Remark (Essie’s Global Lead Educator)

Toronto Fashion Week 2016 Rita Remark Essie

Yesterday evening, I had the pleasure of attending the Toronto Fashion Week 2016, which was held at David Pecaut Square in Toronto.

If you follow me on social media, you already know that and got to see a few photos that I snapped with my phone during the event.

This post contains those photos, since not everyone uses social media, as well as many additional photos. I hope they give you a taste of what it was like to be backstage at a runway show!

Also, I got to chat with Rita Remark, Essie’s Global Lead Educator. This will be the third time that I’ve had this honour, and each time, I leave inspired by how hard-working, humble, and successful she is!

Rita is one of those people who, I believe, will always stay grounded with her heart in the right place, no matter how far her career takes her.

Later in this post, I share with you some of the questions I asked and her answers.

P.S. When looking more closely at the photo of Rita and me, I laughed. The way the light is shining on my glasses makes me look like I have painted a “W” across my face! (Oh the first-world problems of those with bad eyesight!)

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OPI Infinite Shine Spring 2016 Collection

OPI Infinite Shine Spring 2016 Collection

With an April launch that’s not far away, the OPI Infinite Shine Spring 2016 Collection waves to Old Man Winter with a handful of new nail polishes!

My little nail-polish-loving heart was bursting with happiness when I found out that OPI will be putting out another green. The name is punny, which I love: Olive for Green!

Reach for the Sky also caught my attention, and the name immediately made me think of Woody from Toy Story. (Sigh – love that trilogy. All the movies make you feel warm and fuzzy.)

Sunrise to Sunset looks like a great orange that’ll easily transition from spring to summer.

Those are my top three picks based on the information I have without seeing the bottles in person yet. Which are yours?

Edit: I did swatches of the entire OPI Infinite Shine Spring 2016 Collection here! Check it out, and then come back later for when I do in-depth reviews on individual colours.

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OPI SoftShades 2016 Collection

OPI SoftShades 2016 Collection

Officially launching in April, the OPI SoftShades 2016 Collection includes six pastels that will put an Easter Bunny hop in a nail-polish enthusiast’s step!

My heart fluttered when I saw the pale green (This Cost Me a Mint), and the sunny yellow (One Chic Chick) is right up my alley.

These polishes spell spring to me, and I love how, this year, OPI decided to go with opaque shades instead of sheers.

All of the OPI SoftShades 2016 Collection colours would combine brilliantly together, so those nail enthusiasts among us who love to do dotticures or more complicated designs will appreciate the cohesive theme.

Edit (March 24, 2016): Click here to see my swatches of the entire OPI SoftShades 2016 Collection!

P.S. In case you missed it, I’m having a Canadian giveaway for the entire Essie Spring 2016 Collection! Hurry to get your entry in because it ends March 11, 2016 at 11:59 pm EST!

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Zoya Petals Collection Swatches

Zoya Petals Collection Swatches

Did any of my fellow Canadians enjoy the mild, spring-like weather yesterday that went up to the double digits? It was lovely being able to wear a light jacket and feel the breeze make my hair dance. No shivering. No gloves. No scarf.

Things on the blog are warming up, too, with the latest nail arrival!

Put the ‘petal’ to the metal, and spring for a new nail polish from the Zoya Petals Collection! (If you want the colour story and official press release, click the above link for all the details.)

Today, I’ve got a fun Quick Look post with Zoya Petals Collection swatches and bottle shots!

The formulas on these were okay – a bit watery and streaky on the first coat. With a second or third coat, you can get great coverage. While it’s not the best formula that I’ve experienced from Zoya, it’s also not unmanageable.

My suggestion is to apply thin coats. Even if it looks very sheer and streaky with one coat, don’t be tempted to slap it on thick.

One of the polishes, Zoya Leia, is sparkly and sheer yet buildable. I see it mainly as a topper because to get it to completely cover your nail line, you’ll need four or more coats. (In the swatch you’ll see in a larger image later in this post, I used three coats.) It’s my personal preference to solely use this polish as a topper. (Check out my swatch of it layered over black, and you’ll see how magical it is!)

All of the polishes have sparkle in them. Leia, Aster, Azalea, and Zahara have the most noticeable sparkle. The kind in Laurel and Tulip is so subtle, it pretty much appears like a creme to the naked eye, unless you inspect your nails very closely or, I guess, look at it in the sunlight.

My favourite, as expected, is Aster, the periwinkle! Leia would be my second pick.

I’ll be doing detailed reviews on some after I wear them as full manicures and photograph them in different lighting (as usual). Keep your eyes peeled like a banana for those.

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