Author Archives: Mary S.

Shiseido Benefiance WrinkleResist24 Night Cream Review & Pictures

Shiseido Benefiance WrinkleResist24 Night Cream ReviewI used to wear moisturizers from the drugstore, but it wasn’t until I splurged on Shiseido skincare a couple of years ago that I really felt like I had hit that sweet spot with my skin.

Sure, the much-higher price tag is still hard for me to swallow, but if there’s something that you shouldn’t skimp on, it’s your skin, your body’s largest organ. So I feel that it’s worth every single penny.

(If you shell out for makeup, stuff you put on top, you had better make sure the canvas it’s sitting on is a good foundation.)

Through the couple of years that I’ve dived into Shiseido skincare, I’ve found my favourite when my skin feels dry, like it did during the seemingly endless winter we had this year: the Shiseido Benefiance WrinkleResist24 Night Cream!

It’s more for mature, dry skin, but even though I’m in my 30s, I really enjoyed it. Plus I’m a late-bloomer when it comes to using anti-aging skincare. Pretty much all my friends started using age-defying skincare in their early 20s. Better late than never!

Although nail polish is more fun for me to review, I knew I had to share a review on this because I recently just finished an entire tub of it, and I repurchased it during the Sephora VIB Rouge sale this month.

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Zoya Hudson Swatches & Review

Zoya Hudson Swatches & ReviewZoya Hudson from the Awaken Collection that I shared a Quick Look post on is great for putting a little bit of spring onto your fingertips.

It’s a soft purple that makes me think of Easter, and the silver brings to mind little droplets of rain that you see on the windowpane, as you gaze outside on a spring evening.

(I really love doing that! The sound of rain is so relaxing, haha, unless you have to go to the washroom!) 😛

This shade is just the manicure I needed to brighten my spirits because 2014 has been challenging so far on several personal levels.

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Quick Look: Bundle Monster Water Decals & Metal 3D Nail Art Decorations

Bundle Monster Nail Art SuppliesIt’s been a little while since I did a Quick Look post, but there’s so much to share! Today, I’m showing you Bundle Monster Water Decals and Metal 3D Nail Art Decorations!

With my schedule becoming busier than ever, it can be challenging to set time aside for nail art as much as I would like. However, when I looked at the Bundle Monster website, I saw the perfect solution – water decals! (They’re like the temporary tattoos that you used when you were a kid.) FAST!

Bundle Monster was very generous and sent me the water decals of my choice to play around with. (I’ll be publishing another post featuring an in-depth review on them and photos of me wearing the nail decals, but I wanted to take this opportunity first to give you a quick look at how they come packaged and what all the designs look like.

Additionally, in this post, I’ll show you some awesome metal 3D nail decorations that they also sent me to try. I’ve never worn anything like them before, and they allowed me to pick 2 sets that interested me the most! (I’m looking forward to wearing these. I’ve already been thinking of a manicure to wear these with for a Lady-Gaga-esque vibe!)

Please let me know in the comments if there’s a particular water decal design I’ve shown that you’d like me to design a manicure around, and I’ll do my best to give a go!

P.S. I’d like to remind you that you have on Saturday April 12 at 11:59 pm EDT to enter my worldwide giveaway for your chance to win the Bundle Monster nail-stamping plate set of your choice! Hurry to get your entry in, and learn how you can actually get several entries!

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Blog News: My Fishtail Braid Nail Art Tutorial on PromCanada.com

Fishtail Braid Nail Art TutorialIn a previous post, I told you about how I was 1 of 2 handpicked bloggers asked to share nail art tutorials that would be featured on the Prom Canada website for every other month.

Well, February was my first one showing a leopard design. Now that it’s April, I have a new nail tutorial up that just went live yesterday – it shows Fishtail Braid Nail Art mixed with textured accents!

This time, I shared a technique that I’ve long loved because it doesn’t require too many colours or special tools to complete the look – you can use the brushes right from the bottles.

I find myself turning to it time and time again, plus it’s so easy to customize that the same design looks very different, depending on what colours you use.

In this post, I’ll share with you detailed step-by-step instructions with photos, so you can recreate this easy look. You’ll need some patience, but once you’re finished painting, it’s well worth it!

You know how much I love doing the fishtail braid – I shared this technique on Swatch And Learn here, here, and here.

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Neons by OPI & Put a Coat On! Press Release & Promo Pictures

Neons by OPI & OPI Put a Coat On 2014The spring weather seems to be slowly but surely creeping up on us, and I’m all for it! (Warm weather, I welcome you with a cup of iced tea!)

So maybe a little colour therapy will let the remnants of Old Man Winter’s chilly weather leave in peace.

The Neons by OPI Collection contains 6 vivid shades that’ll be available in full-size bottles and in a cute mini set starting this May!

Additionally, they’ll be releasing the OPI Put a Coat On!, which is a white base coat designed to up the Wow Factor of a neon nail polish.

I whipped together a photo showing all the new shades so you can better determine which ones will be ‘jumping into your shopping cart’. 😉

I could never get tired of neons, so I’m very much looking forward to trying the shades and the OPI Put a Coat On! base coat. And, as usual, I’ll share my in-depth review and swatches of the ones I wear as full manicures!

P.S. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that the reason why I missed writing and scheduling a blog post for Tuesday was because I got all worked up watching the exciting head-to-head NCAA National Championship game on Monday night. I was so tired afterwards, I literally went to bed to “take a short nap”, but I ended up falling asleep and waking up with barely enough time to get ready for work! (Did any of you watch the game?)

Edit: I’m having a worldwide giveaway for the entire full-size OPI Neon Collection and the new white base coat, OPI Put a Coat On! Enter until May 31 at 11:59 pm EDT for your chance to win big!

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OPI Muppets World Tour Swatches & Review (Layered Over OPI Int’l Crime Caper)

OPI Muppets World Tour Swatches & ReviewOPI Muppets World Tour is from the Muppets Most Wanted Collection, and it gives your fingers plenty of bling!

Here, I’ve worn it over OPI Int’l Crime Caper, which is also from the same collection. I thought that it stayed in the colour family, but would add an ‘icy’ quality to the overall look.

How would you wear OPI Muppets World Tour?

What I found very interesting about OPI Muppets World Tour is that there are white, silver, blue, and pink pieces of glitter, which give it a cool, speckled appearance while still being very blingtastic!

I was able to photograph this polish in natural light, sunlight, and with my camera’s flash, so you can really see all the beauty it has to offer!

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Blog News: Hello & My Blog Readers Are The Best!

Happy Friday, everyone!

We’ve made it to the end of the week, and I hope that you’re doing well!

It’s going to be a rainy day where I am, but as long as the temperature slowly but surely moves upwards, I’m a happy camper. The cold weather is overstaying its welcome!

Last night, I didn’t get a chance to prepare a full in-depth review, due to a very demanding schedule after work. But, I also didn’t want to leave Friday post-less because my readers are always on my mind.

So, I would still like to take this opportunity to:

  1. Say, “Hello!” and also “How are you?” 🙂 I’m very grateful for each and every single one of you, whether you’ve been with me since Day One or you’ve found your way here just an hour ago.
  2. Ask, “Have you seen any good movies lately that you’d recommend?” I know that I’ll be seeing Maleficent when it hits theatres in May, but I’d like to watch something this month. Any suggestions?
  3. Remind you to enter my worldwide giveaway to win your choice of Bundle Monster nail-stamping plate set until April 12 at 11:59 pm EDT. (Click the link to read all the important details and to find out how to enter.)

Have a fantastic day, whatever you have planned, and make the most of this weekend!

As for myself, I’ll have a very busy weekend with non-blogging stuff and visiting my mom, but I plan to squeeze in enough time to reply to some comments and tweets, as well as to get a head start on preparing posts for next week.

As usual, stay tuned for my next post starting Monday.

P.S. My blog readers are the best! 🙂

Sincerely,
Mary

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