Author Archives: Mary S.

CND Creative Play Celebration Collection Swatches & Review

CND Creative Play Celebration Collection Swatches

Nails just wanna have fun with the eight festive polishes in the CND Creative Play Celebration Collection!

With an assortment of dazzling glitters, smooth-as-silk cremes, and more, this is the collection you’ll want to break out for a night on the town, sitting by the fireside on Christmas Eve, and ringing in the New Year in style.

The cremes (Naughty or Vice and Happy Holly Day) apply like a sugarplum-fairy dream and are pigmented. No painting hiccups. I used two coats for each.

The playful glitters (ExtravaglintStellarbration, and Turquoise Tidings) are excellent for layering one coat over another colour. They’re great for sprucing up an old manicure and giving it some seasonal sizzle.

Turquoise Tidings is the only one from the glitter bunch that you could also wear solo. With three coats, it covered well and had a mystical mermaid glimmer that photos can’t do justice. (See it in person for the Wow Factor!)

The other two glitters are sparse, so they’re best used as toppers. (Also, in Stellarbration, there’s some star confetti. It can be a bit tricky to fish them out and place them with a brush, so you may want to use a thin, precise tool like a toothpick.)

The yellow, Foiled Again, is much more golden and flashy than it appears in my swatch. It’s certainly a blingy polish that catches the light. The pigmentation on this was great, as I only needed two coats to fully cover my nails.

Revelry Red is a traditional Santa red that’s ideal for the holidays, but instead of being flat, it gets extra festive with small glitter and microshimmer. Instead of being blingy, this one subtly twinkles.

RSVPlum has an icy appearance, and I recommend carefully painting this on straight because the brushstrokes, while subtle, are still noticeable up close.

Check out the rest of this post to see a closer look at my swatches of all eight colours and to see the press release for the colour story!

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Zoya Naturel 3 Collection

Zoya Naturel 3 Collection Pictures

Third time’s a charm! 

The Zoya Naturel 3 Collection, which includes six new neutral shades and three lipsticks, is set to release on December 15th.

This is Zoya’s third instalment of beautiful, creamy neutrals that are meant to complement a wide variety of skin tones.

For a professional and polished appearance, you can’t go wrong with a neutral nail, and the Zoya Naturel 3 Collection colours make great ‘nail-palate cleansers’ in between when you wear the sparkly, saturated, and vibrant shades.

Seeing how Zoya nail polishes are named after women (and some have unisex names), I was wondering when they would come out with a nail polish named Mary. Hehe, and they finally have for this collection! 🙂 (Does Zoya have a nail polish named after you? If so, have you worn it?)

Although I was hoping for a green nail polish (hehe, you know my undying love for green manicures), they came out with something that I didn’t expect – a raisin, which is a shade that I haven’t experimented with much. That will be interesting to see in person! (Judging by the promotional images, it seems that the brown has a touch of raspberry warmth, so it may not be a straight-up chocolate.)

See the rest of this post for more information and pictures of this collection!

Edit (December 19, 2016): Click here to see my Zoya Naturel 3 Collection Swatches & Review!

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CND New Wave Collection Swatches & Review

CND New Wave Collection Swatches Review

Bob your head, and tap your nails to the colourful tune of the CND New Wave Collection for Spring 2017, which officially launches in January!

Shake off the cold weather with a look at six bold hues that will have you feeling nostalgic over Cyndi Lauper, teased hair, denim jackets, and friendship bracelets! It’s no wonder because the CND New Wave Collection drew inspiration from the electric 1980s.

This collection puts a huge smile on my face! Being a big fan of saturated shades, I was inspired to put together the above collage to showcase the spectrum. (Who else was a kid growing up in the 1980s? Ah, yes, it was a decade of great memories, music, and funny fashion!) 🙂

In today’s blog post, I share with you swatches of all six shades in the CND Vinylux formula: Video Violet, Pink Leggings, Blue Eyeshadow, Jelly Bracelet, Banana Clips, and Ecstacy. (They’re also available in the CND Shellac formula.)

The CND Vinylux New Wave Collection colours applied easily and smoothly. The cremes (Pink Leggings, Blue Eyeshadow, Banana Clips, and Video Violet) were especially pigmented, and I only needed two coats to achieve full opacity. (Even though yellow nail polishes are notorious for being streaky and hard to work with, Banana Clips was an exception. It was very pigmented, and I didn’t see any streaks. Great yellow!)

The two shimmers in the collection (Ecstacy and Jelly Bracelet) covered well with two coats, but I found that three coats brought out the best in them.

My swatches of the CND Vinylux shades are shown without a top coat. You can see how shiny they are on their own.

All the CND Vinylux nail polishes are intended to be used in conjunction with the CND Vinylux Weekly Top Coat, however, in my experience, I’ve found that using your favourite shiny top coat can work well, too.

On November 22nd, I had the pleasure of attending a PR event where I was treated to a professional CND Shellac manicure at the TIPS Nail Bar in Greektown. I chose the colour Blue Eyeshadow, and if you follow me on social media like Instagram, you already saw a few photos of it!

Later in this post, you’ll also see some photos that I took in the nail salon, and The Good Press juices that matched three of the CND New Wave Collection nail polishes. Additionally, I’ve included the official press release, promotional images, and nail-art ideas, if you want some colourful and creative inspiration!

CND Shellac Blue Eyeshadow (from the New Wave Collection)

CND Shellac Blue Eyeshadow

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Kitlife Planner 2017 & CND New Wave Collection for Spring 2017

Kitlife Planner 2017 CND New Wave Collection

I’m planning great things for next year with my cute Kitlife Planner (Festival Edition) and favourite Staedtler Fineliners!

I used to use the Erin Condren Life Planners, but decided to switch it up because the Kitlife Planner has a full page for each weekday, which allows me to write more and still have space to decorate, if I want to. (Also, Kitlife shipped the planner super fast to Canada. We’re talking just a few days!)

Until December 4, on the Kitlife Planner website, you can enjoy 15% off everything with the coupon code “CYBERSAVINGS15”.

Also, I’m loving the CND New Wave Collection for Spring 2017, which includes colours that are inspired by the electric 80s. It launches in January 2017.

Not long ago, I attended a PR event and was cordially treated to a professional CND Shellac manicure in Blue Eyeshadow from this collection at the TIPS Nail Bar in Greektown.

I wore it for about 10 days straight, and it was still going strong. However, I finally removed it, so that I could swatch the collection of 6 Vinylux shades.

Swatches are coming soon, so stay tuned! 🙂 Edit (December 5): Swatches of the CND New Wave Collection are now up!

Are you also a planner? What are your favourite planner supplies? Have you ever tried bullet journaling? (That’s something I want to get into.)

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Cyber Monday Deals: Tarte Grav3yardgirl Swamp Queen Palette & Lip Paints

Cyber Monday deals are no doubt flooding your inbox, but just in case you missed it, there are goodies to be snatched up on the Tarte Cosmetics website.

For today only, Tarte Cosmetics has:

  • Deals starting from as low as $5
  • 25% off everything else with the coupon code “MONDAY”

Also, if you’re a fan of Bunny Meyer aka YouTube sensation, Grav3yardgirl, you’ll be excited to know that her two limited-edition Tarteist Lip Paints and Swamp Queen Eye & Cheek Palette are on sale.

  • Tarte Tarteist Lip Paint: $15 CAD (Shades: Texas Toast & Swamp Family)
  • Tarte Swamp Queen Eye & Cheek Palette: $30 CAD

There’s free shipping, if you spend $75+ CAD.

Back in June and July, I did in-depth reviews on two products from the Bunny x Tarte collaboration: the Texas Toast Lip Paint and the Swamp Queen Palette.

Click on the links or the below images to see each review that includes swatches, photos, and my honest opinions.

Tarte Grav3yardgirl Tarteist Lip Paint in Texas Toast Review & Swatches

Tarte Tarteist Grav3yardgirl Texas Toast Lip Paint

 

Tarte Grav3yardgirl Swamp Queen Eye & Cheek Palette Review & Swatches

Tarte Grav3yardgirl Swamp Queen Palette

Did you do any Cyber Monday shopping? Will you be snatching up anything during Tarte’s Cyber Monday sale? Are you on a No Buy?

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Michael Wekerle from Dragons’ Den

Michael Wekerle Dragons' Den

This isn’t beauty-related like my usual posts are, but I still wanted to share this because it made me so happy!

Who can transform an ordinary TTC subway commute into an extraordinary one? Michael Wekerle!

Friendly, spirited, and always a sharp dresser, Michael Wekerle totally made my day yesterday when I was taking public transit in Toronto!

You may know him from the TV show on CBC called Dragons’ Den. It’s a show that I enjoy watching because it encourages everyone to be creative, think outside the trapezoid, and follow unconventional dreams and ambitions.

Visions can become a reality, if we work hard, are driven by passion, and are humble enough to never stop learning.

Hearing the pitches on the show by entrepreneurs and being entertained by the Dragons inspire me!

THANK YOU SO MUCH, MICHAEL, for putting a huge smile on my face and for calling me “the next Dragonette” when we met! 😀

Sometimes, even the smallest words of encouragement from another is enough to raise a person’s spirit. Let’s continue to pay it forward!

Here are some more poses from our impromptu TTC subway ‘photo shoot’! 😉

Dragons' Den Michael Wekerle

Michael Wekerle from Dragons' Den

Hope that you all are having a wonderful day today! 🙂 Wishing you love and light!

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Zoya Black Friday 2016 Deal

Zoya Black Friday 2016 Deal

If you follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or Google+, you may have seen that yesterday, I gave you the heads up on a mind-blowing Zoya Black Friday Deal!

Since not everyone is addicted to social media like I am, I decided to share it on the blog today. 😉

This Friday November 25th only (until 11:59 pm Eastern), enjoy 70% off your Zoya.com order when you use the coupon code “YAY”!

If there are some shades on your holiday wish list that you’ve been itching to get your hands on, this is the ideal opportunity to snatch them up and round out a collection. Plus the holiday season is right around the corner, and Zoya nail polishes make excellent stocking stuffers!

Need some colour inspiration?

Check out my Zoya nail polish reviews and Zoya lipstick reviews!

Also, in case you’re interested and missed it, I swatched their newest winter/holiday 2016 collection recently.

Click the link or the below image to see my Zoya Enchanted Collection Swatches & Review!

Zoya Waverly Swatch Zoya Enchanted Collection Swatches

Zoya Waverly from the Enchanted Collection

The Zoya Black Friday deal is valid only for Consumer Accounts in the USA.

Although I’m Canadian and have fellow Canadian readers, I’m still sharing this because I also have many American readers who’d love to take advantage of this awesome promotion! Fingers crossed that next year, Zoya will include Canadians!

EDIT (November 23, 2016): Zoya decided that they’ll be extending the Black Friday deal to Canadian Consumers, too! YESSSSS! (Standard Canadian shipping and international fees apply.)

Will you be doing any Black Friday shopping this year? What are some Zoya shades that are on your wish list? Are you excited about the new PixieDust polishes in the Zoya Enchanted Collection?

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