Category Archives: Quick Look

Essie Spring 2016 Collection Swatches

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Essie Spring 2016 Collection Swatches

Officially launching on February 16, 2016, the Essie Spring 2016 Collection is full of beautiful colours that may take your mind off Old Man Winter!

In today’s post, you’ll find my quick-and-dirty swatches (i.e. no base or top coat) of all six colours and snapshots of the bottles.

I used two coats of each colour, and I was impressed with the pigmentation on every single one of these. Yes, even the palest shade was fully opaque!

The formula on all of these is smooth and easy to glide onto your nails. It’s one of Essie’s better creme formulas.

Stay tuned because I plan to wear some of the colours in the Essie Spring 2016 Collection as full manicures. After I do, you can expect to see my usual in-depth reviews with multiple swatch photos of each colour in different lighting conditions.

(Those are my favourite types of posts to prepare because I enjoy showing you all the nuances of a polish, how it wears, if it stains, etc. But I realize that many of you enjoy seeing the full collection in a snapshot, so this post is especially for those who have requested it.)

Now it’s time to whet your nail-polish appetite! 😉

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Loris Azzaro Couture Spring/Summer 2016 Collection & Maybelline New York in Paris

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Azzaro Couture Spring Summer 2016 Fashion Show Maybelline New York

The Loris Azzaro Couture Spring/Summer 2016 Collection was unveiled at the Paris Couture Fashion Show a few days ago.

Bridging the sensitive with the strong, Loris Azzaro’s collection incorporated a flow of soft, deconstructed floral prints and bold geometric designs for a kaleidoscopic effect.

To complement the fashion-forward designs, Gato, Maybelline New York‘s makeup artist based in Spain created looks on the models that captured soft, feminine charm with a futuristic edge via silver eyeliner.

Loris Azzaro Couture SS16 Paris Couture Fashion Week Maybelline 4

Get the look with these Maybelline makeup products that Gato used on the models:

  • Dream Velvet Foundation – make the complexion look its best
  • Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer – brighten eyes, reduce shadows & conceal blemishes
  • Master Contour – sculpt the facial contours
  • Master Blush in Pink Amber (available in Europe only) – create a flush below the apples of the cheeks
  • The Blushed Nudes Palette – Pinkish-bronze shade (bottom left in the palette) on the eyes
  • Eye Studio Color Tattoo 24Hr Cream Gel Shadow in Silver Strike – thickly line eyes
  • Lash Sensational Luscious Mascara – two coats on lashes
  • Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer – polish brows lightly
  • Baby Lips in Quenched – prime lips
  • Color Sensational in Born With It – create soft flush on lips

Check out the rest of this post for photos of the inspirational Loris Azzaro designs on the runway, as well as some beauty shots to give you a taste of spring!

All images used in this blog post were provided to me by PR. Credit for images: Maybelline New York for all photos. (I put together the collage image at the top of the post.)

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Zoya Whispers Collection Preview

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Zoya Whispers Collection

Psst! *Lures you with a come-hither index finger*

While New Year’s Eve festivities are just a day away, you probably have the glitz on your nails. But when the confetti falls to the ground and 2016 greets us, you may want to shift pace and opt for softer shades that are great palate cleansers for your nails.

In today’s Zoya Whispers Collection preview, I’ll share with you bottle shots and swatches of all six sweeter-than-molasses hues:

Now that I’ve seen these in person, I’m still drawn to Ireland (green) and Lake (blue) the most. Combined, I could visualize how they’d create an Earth Day nail design a la Baby Einstein! Cute!

If you’re interested in reading the official Zoya Whispers Collection press release and seeing the promotional images, click the above link that’ll take you to the post I published just a few days ago with more information.

P.S. On the Zoya website, use the coupon code “PSST” to get the entire Zoya Whispers Collection for just $33 USD (regularly $54 USD) with free shipping until January 3, 2016 at 11:59 pm EST! The deal is valid in Canada and the continental United States. (Note: I don’t get any commission or benefits from sharing that coupon code. I’m sharing it in case some of you are interested in starting off the New Year with some new polish at a discounted price.)

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Essie Retro Revival Collection (Includes Starry Starry Night)

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Essie Retro Revival Collection 2016

You’ll have the best (manicured) hand at the casino when you have the Essie Retro Revival Collection! Get the royal flush when it hits stores across Canada on January 5th, 2016.

Stop bluffing, and don’t hide that ace up your sleeve. Play your cards right by painting your nails with what I consider to be the ace of spades in the Essie Retro Revival Collection – the sparkly blue, Starry Starry Night. It’s one of the six shades that Essie is relaunching to celebrate their 35th anniversary!

These are the six shades that will be re-released:

  • Starry Starry Night
  • Life of the Party
  • Bikini with a Martini
  • Sequin Sash
  • Birthday Suit
  • Cabana Boy

I can’t keep a poker face because I’m most excited about wearing Essie Starry Starry Night. It’s a colour that’s been on my nailphile wish list for several years. And although I’ve seen it for sale on eBay, I was never going to pay hundreds of dollars for any nail polish. [The most expensive polish I’ve ever purchased was Clarins 230 (also known as “Unicorn Pee” to nail junkies) back in 2011.]

PR really outdid themselves because the beautiful box, goodies, and all six nail polishes put a huge smile on my face! So much thought and care went into the package.

Aside from the nail polishes, they included a full-sized, Essie-branded deck of playing cards with an adorable nail-polish design. Also, there were white poker chips to tie the whole celebrate-your-birthday-in-Las-Vegas-style together.

Stay tuned because the first colour from this collection that I plan to wear is Essie Starry Starry Night. Of course I’ll also do a full review with lots of swatches on here.

In the meantime, see the rest of this post for additional photos of each of the nail polishes, quick swatches, and a closer look at the thoughtful extras!

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Laboratoire Dr Renaud Skincare

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Laboratoire Dr Renaud Skincare

A few days ago, I asked readers via a Twitter poll to let me know what kind of beauty reviews they were most interested in. It didn’t come as any surprise that the vast majority (86%) voted for nail-polish reviews! 😉 However, 7% said skincare, and 7% said makeup.

Since most of my reviews tend to focus on nail products, I thought that today, I’d switch it up a bit and focus on high-quality Laboratoire Dr Renaud Skincare!

You won’t find these skincare products at the drugstore. Laboratoire Dr Renaud skincare is available exclusively at more than 1,000 aesthetician salons and spas across Canada.

I’m a big believer in not skimping on good skincare because it’s the foundation for any beauty routine. When PR introduced me to Laboratoire Dr Renaud skincare, I was intrigued because I’ve never tried anything from this brand. Also, I haven’t experimented with some of these types of products before, such as peel pads and loose powder with SPF 50!

In addition to the products I photographed above, they also sent me their new anti-fatigue tissue mask and eye-contour patches (not shown in the above photograph, but presented later in this post).

Here are some interesting facts about Laboratoire Dr Renaud that I learned:

  • The company was founded in France in 1947 by Dr. Louis Raymond Renaud (the first dermatologist to undertake skincare product research)
  • In 1963, it became a Canadian company based in Montreal
  • They research, develop, and manufacture all of their products in their Montreal facility
  • Their products are not tested on animals
  • Their products are free of parabens, synthetic colourants, fragrance, and mineral oil
  • Isabelle Villeneuve, the Director of Research and Development and Global Strategic Projects, has been with the company for 20 years. She heads their research team that consists of all women – it’s very rare in the field. (Scroll to the bottom of this blog post for the Q and A with her.)
  • Laboratoire Dr Renaud’s philosophy is to combine the best of nature and science. They have a huge range of products to address every skin concern for every age, and the brand has professional treatments.

In the rest of this post, I share with you some quick photos of a few skincare items, as well as more information on each product.

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OPI Starlight Collection Swatches, Bottle Shots & Surprises

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OPI Starlight Collection

In exactly 3.865 seconds, this nail-polish addict tore open the OPI-branded cardboard box that arrived in the mail!

The package included not only the entire 18 nail polishes in the OPI Starlight Collection for Holiday 2015, but also some exciting and quite unexpected goodies! (Hint: Swarovski jewelry and something to appeal to my sweet tooth.)

Although I pulled a Tazmanian Devil when ripping open the box out of sheer enthusiasm, I made sure to photograph the contents, so that we can share the fun experience together!

You may have already seen or purchased some of these shades, but for those who are still on the fence or who are trying to whittle down the choices, I’m hoping that you’ll find my photos (and nailphile comments) to be helpful and/or entertaining.

Today’s post features individual bottle shots, so you can see each colour better, as well as swatches to give you a good idea of the saturation and finish. Additionally, I show you the beautiful collector’s box that they came in.

Get comfy, grab your bag of popcorn, and enjoy the show!

Let’s open up this oyster, and admire the pearl!

Side note: I feel bad for oysters who are bred solely to create pearls. They are purposely irritated, however, it’s inspiring how they make the best of the situation and turn the grain of sand into a treasure to behold. We can extract a deep life philosophy here of oysters teaching humans how to deal with problems.

It makes me think about when I sometimes get an annoying grain of sand in my shoe. Imagine if I left it there instead of dumping it out. Maybe after many years, it would turn into a pearl. Haha, I’m just being silly! (Don’t worry, the nail-polish fumes haven’t gone to my head. Well…at least I don’t think so.)

(Note: No oysters were harmed in the creation of this blog post. The only thing that may suffer is a nailphile’s wallet. Hehe!)

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Q & A with Cris Urena, the New Face of Maybelline New York

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Cris Urena

This month, Dominican-American fashion model, Cris Urena was named the new face of Maybelline New York.

You probably recognize her, as she appeared in several publications including Elle, CR Fashion Book, Muse, W Magazine, and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue (as one of their 2014 rookies). Additionally, she has appeared in advertising campaigns for Victoria’s Secret, Gap, Ralph Lauren, and Topshop, while walking the runways for DKNY, Phillip Lim, and Rag & Bone.

She grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts and moved to the United States when she was in elementary school.

As a teenager in high school, Cris Urena volunteered at local nursing homes and hospitals. This is where she developed her passion for nursing, and it’s what motivated her to study that in school.

Although she was enrolled in nursing school and aspired to become a nurse, her path was about to change.

One of her friends sent Cris’ pictures to a modelling agency. The New York City agency contacted her, and Cris decided to pursue a career in modelling and relocated to New York City in 2011.

See the rest of this post for an insightful Q & A with Cris Urena, which shows you her personality and her style!

My favourite response that she gave during the interview was when she described what makes a woman beautiful: “A woman is beautiful when she is confident with herself and shows her happiness from within.”

Also, I’ve included the official press release about her being the new face of Maybelline.

All the information and photos in this post were provided to me by Maybelline Canada‘s PR.

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