Author Archives: Mary S.

OPI Go with the Lava Flow Swatches & Review

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OPI Go with the Lava Flow Swatches & ReviewPick-up line to snag a nailphile: “Is it hot in here, or are you wearing OPI Go with the Lava Flow?”

Okay, so maybe not. (Then again, I’ve never heard any pick-up lines that hooked me. Have you?)

What does impress me is OPI Go with the Lava Flow, which is from the Hawaii Collection that officially drops on February 4th!

Striking while the iron’s hot, this nail polish breathes so much life, it’s like a dragon throwing flames in an enchanted forest!

P.S. Did you ever have a lava lamp? When I was in elementary school, I really wanted one, but money was always tight in my family, so it wasn’t exactly a priority purchase. Hehe! Now that I’m an adult, I still haven’t bought one. I rarely see them, but when I do, I stare at them for longer than is probably socially acceptable. 😉

P.P.S. I haven’t forgotten about those of you who requested that I do comparison swatches for a few shades in this collection! (I need to set aside some time this coming weekend for it.)

P.P.P.S. This is just a friendly reminder that my worldwide giveaway for the China Glaze Road Trip Travel Sized mini set with 6 polishes ends tomorrow (Friday January 23 at 11:59 pm EST)! Hurry to get your entry in while you still can!

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Essie Spun in Luxe Swatches & Review

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Essie Spun in Luxe Swatches & ReviewEssie Spun in Luxe from the Cashmere Matte Collection that just came out this month is so dark, it could almost pass as squid ink. However, there are blue nuances that keep it from looking jet black.

To the naked eye, on my nails it looked pretty close to black and the only way I was able to tell that it wasn’t black was when I put my hands next to something that was.

Also, there’s subtle, fine blue shimmer throughout. That combined with the satin-like, semi-matte finish made this polish unique in my collection.

Although you could wear a ridge-filling base coat to keep the look smooth, I wore this without any base coat because I wanted to see how noticeable nail ridges would poke through.

(In case you didn’t know, I have some ridges, and while I could obviously buff them out, I choose to leave them alone because, unless I’m wearing a high-shine chrome that accentuates them by leaps and bounds, ridges don’t normally bother me anymore. There was a time when I felt insecure about them, but I’m glad I’ve gotten over it. I’m not on a mission to create the ultimate ‘perfect’ manicures. I’m on a mission to create manicures that make me happy. Mission: Accomplished!)

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OPI Aloha from OPI Swatches & Review

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OPI Aloha from OPI Swatches & ReviewOPI Aloha from OPI from the Hawaii Collection out soon (February 4th, to be exact) is the polish that stole my heart as I stood there in disbelief with a puddle of drool!

When I first saw the bottle, it didn’t do anything for me. I just thought it was an okay shade, and pushed it aside to look at the others in the OPI Hawaii Collection.

But, since I’m determined to wear every shade in the collection as full manicures and also review as many as I can on the blog (hopefully all), I decided to give this one a go.

Whoa – I wan’t expecting how gorgeous this polish would be! It surprised me so much how hard I fell in love with it, and now it’s one of my top picks from the collection!

If you’re into statement colours, you must try this because it’s a bright orange-red-leaning coral that absolutely pops on your nails like fireworks across a blackened sky! (It was enough to distract me from my seriously dry hands. The harsh winter weather has been taking a real toll on the skin on my hands, especially since I’m washing my hands a lot.)

OPI Aloha from OPI is a colour that’s fun to wear and that has a tropical-vacation feel. So even if you can’t afford to hit up your dream destination island, at least this colour brings the vacation to you!

P.S. Have you entered my latest worldwide giveaway? You could win the China Glaze Road Trip Travel Sized mini set with 6 cute polishes! It ends January 23rd, so hurry to get your entry in before it’s too late!

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Gigi Hadid Is the New Face of Maybelline New York (Plus Q&A!)

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Gigi-Hadid-MaybellineYou know that I’m a nail and beauty junkie, but my interest goes beyond just cosmetics.

I love learning more about the people behind a brand and those who represent it because they add the human perspective that can help you better relate to a company.

But, if the people leading the company aren’t good, that can leave a sour note and take away from whatever they’re marketing.

Yesterday, I received some interesting news in my inbox – information about Maybelline’s newest spokesperson, Gigi Hadid! (Pictured left)

I never knew much about 19-year-old Gigi Hadid before, so I Googled her and ended up finding lots of bikini photos. Haha! But after doing some Wikipedia research and also reading the official press release (included in this post), I realized that there’s more to her than just her good looks.

She began modelling for Guess Baby and was discovered by Paul Marciano when she was only 2 years old! When she got older, she also modelled for Guess and then began strutting on the catwalk of several big designers including Marc Jacobs, Chanel, and Jean Paul Gaultier. She also won the First Annual Fashion Los Angeles Awards’ Model of the Year for 2015.

Although her major career achievements show that she’s hard-working and savvy at seizing opportunities, what I found more interesting was that she’s currently studying criminal psychology. Also, back in high school, she was a competitive horseback rider and the captain of her varsity volleyball team.

Later in this post, I also share an interview with Gigi Hadid. She dishes her thoughts on fashion, beauty, Maybelline, and more!

In particular, I loved her answer about what Maybelline’s tagline, “Born with it” means to her because I also believe that everyone is beautiful. More specifically, I believe that everyone’s soul is beautiful. Physical attributes are just things that fade over time, but the soul is eternal and radiates from each person.

With insecurities picking away at us like pigeons on sidewalk crumbs, even the most confident people can find it challenging to appreciate their unique beauty and get suckered into thinking that there’s only a singular definition of ‘beautiful’.

On this blog, I constantly harp about my life philosophy of “happiness over perfection”. Not only am I reminding you, but also reminding myself that if we make the effort to see the positive in ourselves and others instead of ‘what it should be’ or ‘how to be perfect all the time’, we might begin living life in a carefree way that speaks to our soul.

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How to Get 3 Free Zoya Nail Polishes & 3 Free Mystery Shades

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Remember all the times when I blogged about Zoya and said how I wished that they’d ship to Canada because then I would go nuts? Well, call me a pecan, baby, because I’m dethroning Mr. Macadamia! 😉

If you follow me on social media, you already know what I’m going to say because I jumped on the latest Zoya offer like a kangaroo on a Pogo Stick. (Yeah, that’s a lot of jumping, ain’t it?)

For Zoya’s latest promotion only, they’re extending it not just to Americans (as usual), but also us Canadians! (When I first saw the offer, I had to read it a few times just to make sure I wasn’t in some kind of nail-polish dream.)

Zoya Ships to Canada

Until 11:59 pm EST today (January 14), get any 3 Zoya shades plus 3 mystery colours free when you use coupon code NYNH at checkout on Zoya’s website. (Valid in Canada and the US. Sorry international nailphiles. One day, I hope they’ll also include you.)

When you add 3 colours to your cart, you’ll only have to pay the shipping and processing fee. But, I highly recommend that you buy more – at least $25 USD more. (Hehe! I’m not just saying that because I’m a nail junkie.)

I purchased 6 colours (Yara, Muse, Chita, Ali, Shawn, and Dree), and got free shipping. All I had to pay was the international processing fee, which came to $8.76 USD. My total for the order of 3 polishes, 3 free polishes, and 3 free mystery mini polishes came to $36.76 USD.

The 3 free mystery colours have never been available for retail sale and won’t be available for individual sale. The shades will be available exclusively in mini (0.25 oz) sizes as part of this mystery gift only! (If you’re a serious Zoya nail-polish collector, I know that your rabbit ears are up right now.)

Head over to Zoya’s website to read all the details.

I hope that Zoya will open up more promotions to Canadians and that it won’t just be a one-time thing. It would be so much fun to take advantage of the awesome sales they have.

Out of all the big nail-polish companies out there, Zoya does the most promotional marketing with sales, so that might be dangerous for my wallet, but I’m willing to take the risk. 😉

P.S. If you need help choosing some Zoya nail-polish shades, check out all the ones I’ve blogged about here. (Check out the second, third, fourth, and more pages for in-depth reviews and swatches of more Zoya nail polishes.)

Have you or will you take advantage of this Zoya promotion? What do you think the mystery shades will look like? Where do you usually buy your Zoya nail polishes?

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OPI Damone Roberts 1968 Swatches & Review

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OPI Damone Roberts 1968 Swatches & ReviewOPI Damone Roberts 1968 is a soft green that is darker and more saturated than OPI That’s Hula-rious!, which is from the Hawaii Collection. (It’s also more pigmented and not streaky like the latter.)

The polish is officially available on the Damone Roberts website. (You can’t buy it from Trade Secrets or Nail Polish Canada, the two major sources for OPI nail polishes.)

Although the Damone Roberts website ships some things to Canada, OPI Damone Roberts 1968 sadly isn’t one of them. (My heart sank when I put it into cart and then tried to complete the checkout.)

If not for my friend, Rob aka Nail Polish Dude, I would’ve had a very difficult time jumping through many hoops of fire to get my hands on this baby! When he found out about my disappointment that they don’t ship this polish to Canada, he came to the rescue like a lacquered cape crusader!

A HUGE thank you goes out to him for making this green fiend’s dream come true! (Follow Rob on Twitter, Instagram, and Google+!)

In 2009, OPI Damone Roberts 1968 first hit the market as a limited-edition shade. (That was about a year after I got into collecting nail polish more seriously.) Then, in 2014, they brought it back, but it’s for a limited time, so don’t hesitate to scoop it up, if you can!

The shade of green matches the walls in Damone Roberts’ Beverly Hills salon. Green walls? Hehe, that totally sounds like my kind of salon! 🙂 (I rolled up my sleeves and painted an accent wall in the living room green in September last year, remember? It was Behr Premium Plus Ultra in Lima Green PPU10-7. It looks way better in person than even the official digital colour representations I’ve seen.)

Damone Roberts is known as the “Eyebrow King”, according to what I’ve read generally on the internet and in this article on The Daily Beast. He’s worked on many A-list celebrities in Hollywood.)

In this post, see why it certainly lives up to the hype!

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Worldwide Giveaway: Win the China Glaze Road Trip Travel Sized Mini Set

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Edit (Saturday January 24, 2015 at 7:00 pm EST): Congratulations, Sandra! You’ve won my giveaway! Please check your e-mail. To claim your prize, reply to my e-mail within 48 hours. Thanks to everyone for participating. I have more giveaways scheduled soon, so stay tuned for more fun.)

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Surprise Worldwide Giveaway!

Mini nail polishes are so cute and collectible. I love how they allow you to try out several different colours without committing to a full-size bottle of each. And, if you have small feet like I do, you know that mini lacquers have the ideal brush to paint your little toenails with!

When I came across the new China Glaze Road Trip Travel Sized Mini Set, I purchased a set for myself and one for you, so we can be nail twins! 😉

China Glaze Road Trip Travel Sized Mini Set Worldwide Giveaway

The China Glaze Road Trip Collection is the latest, and this Travel Sized mini set includes 6 of the 12 colours. All of them are spring-themed, but you can definitely wear them whenever you want.

Especially because the winter can be so dreary, I wanted something to brighten your day, and what better way than with some fun-coloured lacquer?

This is a little token of my appreciation to amazing readers like you who make my blogging experience so rewarding and enjoyable. Thank you so much for supporting me over the years and visiting the blog! 🙂

To enter my China Glaze Road Trip Travel Sized Mini Set Worldwide Giveaway, please carefully read all the details in this blog post because there are specific things you must do for your entry to qualify.

The giveaway starts now and ends Friday January 23, 2015 at 11:59 pm EST, so hurry to get your entry in!

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