Sparkled Beauty

Judge by the name of this post, you can tell I'm getting into Halloween spirit? It is Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, and I was by myself at home prepping this post. Gotta find motivation somewhere.

This nail polish totally deserves a post with lots of pics. Consider yourself warned.

This is Del Sol Trick-or-Treat, originally released last Halloween, limited edition. I was happy to grab it on clearance off Del Sol website last year, as the Del Sol store here did not have it. Happy to report that it's back this year, on their site and at Lawtons around here - with its own special display.

This is how Trick-or-Treat looks indoor, taken the night I painted it on, with flash. A cool orange with multiple-coloured fine glitters.

A blurry pic to show the glitters - I saw orange, green and gold, really pretty in the bottle. On the nails, it's more subtle, but still visible. This was taken near the window, no flash. Wish I could take a pic of this orange in the sun, I bet it would look awesome.

The colour is quite sheer, I used 4 coats but didn't mind it as I love it a lot. Another thing I like, maybe irrelevant to some of you, that the bottle has some spider web prints on it. Appropriate for the occasion.

Ready for the fun part?

This is right after I stepped out the door but was still in the shade. The colour started to change already, loved it. It happened fast though, I was snapping happy right on the grass near the entrance. Didn't want to miss the excitement.

Now I had a dirty orange, almost grey on my nails. The glitters were still there but not visible in the shade, like I mentioned before. I only saw this shade for a very short time, but wouldn't mind having it in a bottle for later :)

I tried quite a few Del Sol colours before but haven't been fascinated this much with the shades I see during the colour change.

Close up on the colour in the shade. This shows you the colour change the best. Note that the colour in this pic is darker than in the pic above, naturally, as the pics were taken a few seconds apart.

Look at the bottle, one side of it still looked orange but the other was already quite dark. And I wasn't even in the sun yet. Amazing, isn't it? Some readers did tell me that their Del Sol didn't change in the sun. I'm glad this one did, even though I haven't used it since I bought it last year.

It might still be early to tell you this (keep reading if it is), but you need this shade :)

This is 5 seconds after the first hit of the sunlight on the nails (and bottle), we have a sheer dusty purple.

Again, I love how the bottle shows the almost holographic glitters so well.

As there will be more pictures, I'll just let them do most of the talking.

About 10 seconds after, the purple got darker, like a franken when you keep adding black to the original orange.

Feels like I got a bargain, paid for one bottle and got many colours packed in it and taking turns to show up :)

10 more seconds, a vampy purple we had.

You can see the glitters on my nails quite well in this pic. Feel free to enlarge the pic for full view.

If you'll be in and out of the sun a lot during the course of the day like I did, the colour change goes crazy, mostly you'll see between the orange and this shade.

And THIS is Trick-or-Treat in full swing when you stay in the sun long enough. It is almost black, still with the beautiful glitters shining through.

It was just pure luck that I had a sunny day to picture Trick-or-Treat. We had a really cold front two days in a row, with the temperature dropping to -2 (28 Fahrenheit) windchill. I was getting ready for winter, but then it jumped to 25 (77 Fahrenheit) just like that. I'm not complaining.

Hope my Canadian readers have a great Thanksgiving. Squirt was having a sleepover, so I was all by myself. Miss my family.

It has been rainy 2 days in a row now :( I guess we couldn't have too much sunshine. It wouldn't be Halifax without the rain and fog, right?

On the occassion of Del Sol nail polish being 50% off at Lawtons (has been for a few weeks actually, I'm wondering if they are clearing it out), I'm posting this NOTD up as soon as I could. Hope it's helpful for those who plan a purchase or swap :)

This is Del Sol Island Fever, one of the rare shades that is not pink or red (or would change into pink or red in the sun) from Del Sol, the main reason why I got it. It looks pretty in the bottle, right?

Well, let's see how it performs.

This is a night shot, i.e. no where near the sun. I didn't call it a shade shot, because the colour starts changing even in the shade, as long as the sun is shining :)

Frost and sheer nightmare! I know some of you might like sheer nail polish, but I'm lazy, so I don't. This is 4 coats, still with VNL. I do like a colour, a pretty green with strong gold sheen, only if it is not a frost finish. I was very close to mattifying it right after I finished the 4th coat, but didn't want to jeopardize the colour change. So I waited till the next morning to take another pic.

Much better in the sun, isn't it? Still sheer, but I adore this shade, wish I could see it on my nails often enough. This was Monday, a beautiful sunny (but a little chilly) day. Then it rained yesterday, and the colour stayed frosty green the whole time of course. So sad, I want the blue back!

Was going to experiment with the matte top coat, but it started to chip last night, so I changed my mani lol. Fail all around huh?

All in all, I would probably wear Island Fever again in the summer when sunshine is of a better chance. Will probably use a base colour to help the sheerness, then try the matte look too. For rainy days, this shade is a no no, so check the weather forecast before painting your nails with it lol.

I'm back to Monday's regular post topic: Hauls :) It was a good week of deals.

First up is Del Sol nail polish. If you don't know the brand already, they make products that change colours in the sun. I have been a fan of their nail polish, as they are really fun to wear (and watch they change colours right in front of your eyes).

Del Sol nail polish is sold at their retail store here for CAD10 each, buy 3 get 1 free - work out to be CAD7.50 each if you buy 4. Lawtons also sells them for CAD9.99, not great usually ...

Unless there is a sale :) This week Lawtons has them on BOGO. CAD4.99 a bottle is a steal, right?

From L-R: Del Sol Island Fever, Diva, Surfer Girl, Sassy and Day Dreamer.

The bottle shot didn't do a good job in showing the colours, they are prettier IRL. The last 3 bottles might look similar in the pic but they have different sheens, hard to capture.

The colour dots on the cap indicate the colours the polish would change into if they are in the sun.

Island Fever - lime green will change to teal green
Diva - mauvy pink to fuchsia pink
Surfer Girl - baby pink to orangy yellow - the only shade of yellow Del Sol has
Sassy - pale pink with gold sheen to baby pink
Day Dreamer - pale pink with fuchsia sheen to dark purple.

Also at Lawtons, Rimmel is being cleared out for 50% off. I'm not sure the brand is being replaced or it was just a revamp of the display.

I only get 2 things, trying to be good.
- Rimmel Match Perfection 2-in-1 Concealer & Highlighter, CAD3.75
- Rimmel Lash Accelerator mascara, CD3.99.

Vichy Dermablend Skin Concealer is also on clearance for half price (CAD12.25) at one of the Lawtons, not all. I'm not sure why. I heard the concealer is even better at concealing than the Corrective foundation, so gotta give it a try.

Sally has lots of Buy 2 get 1 free promos this month, including all brands of nail polish. Too bad the new collections in store weren't that interesting, so I didn't buy any.

Instead, I bought some stuff for my hair. Heard good things about argan oil but don't think I can fork out $$$ for the real stuff. These are from the One 'n Only brand: Argan Oil Moisture Repair shampoo and conditioner (350ml, CAD11.99 each).

This brand is part of the Buy 2 get 1 free promo, which was why I decided to try it now instead of later :)

For the free item, I got the Argan Oil treatment (100ml, reg. CAD11.99). It supposedly provides instant shine, smoothness, frizz control and colour protection.

I also found another brand for argan oil there: Proclaim. The whole line was on sale for CAD6.99 each. I wanted to make a comparison between the brands, so I got the Proclaim Natural 7 Oil. It's in a spray bottle, 237ml, could be used for hair, scalp, body or cuticles - multi purposes.

The staff at Sally couldn't recommend one brand over the other, so she told me to try both and I could return/ exchange if I don't like them. Guess that's what I'll do.

And lastly, my redemption haul at Shoppers yesterday. I wasn't planning to redeem this week as sales weren't that great, but "accidentally" found some good deals in store, so I did.

Neostrata is 30% off for the week. There were some value packs that are fortunately part of the sale as well (this doesn't happen very often). Double saving, plus redemption mean you don't have to spend $ out of your pocket. How can you turn that down?

On the left is the 2-for-1 Night Repair cream with 6% Glycolic acid (50ml each), reg. CAD33 a piece, I paid $23 for two.

On the right is the Oil Free Day time Smoothing lotion SPF15 (level 3, with 10% Glycolic Acid), reg. CAD38, with free bonus Oil Free Smoothing lotion (level 3). I paid CAD26.60 for the pack. There are level 1 (5% Glycolic Acid) and level 2 (8% Glycolic Acid) as well, same price point.

I was looking for face masks that really do the job. I ran out of those Asian branded ones my friend gave me, my face doesn't like to be ignored.

Neostrata has 2 kinds of masks. On the left is the Smoothing Cleansing mask (50gr, reg. CAD23) with 10% Glycolic acid and white clay to unclog pores, remove dead skin cells and deep cleanses.

On the right is the Moisture Rescue Sheet mask (8's, reg. CAD40) with 0.15% of pure Hyaluronic acid to provide long lasting hydration and restores softer skin. The label is printed on the side, not on the front, so I took a pic with an angle to show you lol.

Have to admit that these prices aren't the best for my wallet but I got them on sale, and traded my points for them, so I can't complain. But if I get addicted with this brand, I'm in trouble lol.

If you get some good stuff in the weekend, stop by and tell me.

This is what I wore on the nails last weekend - My very first... Skittles mani.

The bright shades are Claire's fine glitter polish, from index to pinky: Jen Jen, Meg Peg, Yel and Julius.

These colours have the exact same finish but not the same opacity. Jen Jen took 4 coats and was still sheer. Others took 3 coats, Julius might only need 2 coats even. It's a neon bright orange but showed up like a reddish coral in the pic.

But the star of this mani is Del Sol Ruby Slippers on the thumbs. If you haven't heard about Del Sol nail polish, they change colour in the sun. This picture was taken at night, so Ruby Slippers is a silver glitter polish in clear base.

A close up on the thumb on the left, nothing exciting really, but check it out on the right under the direct sunlight.

Now the true Ruby Slippers came out as a glittery red polish. It was totally changed on my nail already but still in the process of changing in the bottle, which is quite cool.

I am all geeky about polishes like this, kept checking my thumbs whenever I was in the sun. The colour switch was almost instant, very fun to watch.

We were running around like crazy in the weekend, so this was the only pic in the sun that I took of my nails, sorry :) I have heard that Ruby Slippers is one among the shades that show the change dramatically, so I might get to the other colour from Del Sol that I own to see whether the quality is the same.

I kinda dig the idea of a skittles mani, just a quick way to wear multiple colours on the nails all at once, lol. Might feel a little childish at times, but I liked it. Have a great one, and don't forget to enter my Summer Birthday giveaway. Cheers!

I'm back home from Toronto and back on the blog too. Sorry for not posting during the last 4 days. I was without internet at the hotel room, and then was out and about most of the weekend. But I have some fun things to post today :-)

As you might have known, Rexall Pharma Plus is having 50% off sale on all nail polish and nail treatments starting last Saturday, I certainly couldn't miss it. The items in the pic were accumulated from a few different Rexall's during my "treasure hunt" with some lovely friends.

First row, from L-R: Del Sol Ruby Slipper (from a small display of about 5-6 shades, wish they had more, CAD5.49 after discount), Sally Hansen Complete Salon in Commander in Chic, Gray by Gray, Fairy Teal, Purple Pulse (CAD3.99) and Del Sol Pretty in Pink.

Second row: Revlon Grape Icy, Peach Smoothie (Scent of Summer collection) and No Shrinking Violet (CAD2.75 each), Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro in Steel Grey and Marine Blue (CAD2.49).

These are basic popular shades from each brand, I always wanted to get them but couldn't bring myself to pay full price. Half price? I could do, lol. There wasn't any great deal on makeup, so I didn't get any.

My free time in Toronto wasn't all about shopping though. I was very lucky to meet up with a few Toronto bloggers, and my best friend from uni. We talked, we ate (Indian, Korean, Vietnamese food, sushi, dim sum, omg), we drank (bubble tea, milkshakes, Frappucino, martinis, etc.) and we talked some more. We even had a haircut together, lol. Time seemed to pass by too quickly when I was with them. Love you, my dear friends!

And look what they gifted me, out of kindness. I was so touched, didn't know what to say except thanking them.

First row: Etude House Mini Heel Pedicure 02, Borghese Rome Scarlet C, NYC Frightful Fingers in Phant-asmic and OPI Jade is the New Black.

Second row: Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Admiral Blue and Emerald Green, Sally Hansen No Chip in Endless Claret, Sally Hansen Star Opal in Crystal Opal and a pink Sally Hansen Nail Prisms.

I am over the moon with this stash, as I either never own anything like it (expect lots of "My very first..." posts soon), or they are hard to find/ discontinued shades. I feel so blessed.

Toronto is a great place to hang out, with great company from you, ladies, plus good selections of food and entertainment, and public transportation makes it a little easier to get around. I had a lot of fun and hope to be back in November for IMATS. Can't wait to see you all again.

Don't know whether you guys remember, in one of my Weekend finds posts back in June, I mentioned Del Sol, the store that sells lots of fun stuff that changes colour in the sun. I am only interested in their colour-changing nail polishes. They are in the medium price range (CAD10/ bottle - wish they were cheaper!), and come with quite a wide range of shades. Imagine you wear a light/nude shade on your nails while in the office/ indoor and it changes to a fun bright shade as soon as you step outside under the sunlight. How fun is that? This is what Electrik looks like in the sun. Indoor, it's a light baby blue shade.

Back in May, Del Sol website had 50% sale on nail polishes with minimum $50 purchase (USD10/ bottle, this is the only case I see a par between CAD and USD). I was really tempted to get some bottles, but found out the deal didn't apply in stores. According to Del Sol's Customer Service, the stores are privately owned, so they don't correlate sales with the website. Bummer! And with online shopping, besides shipping cost (which I don't know how much), there will be GST/HST, plus $10 brokerage fee!!! That didn't even make sense, so I passed up the sale, obviously.

So, if you live in the States and are interested in trying out a few Del Sol bottles, keep an eye on the sale. 50% off will be the best, but that deal doesn't come around very often. Right now, they have the same sale as the store here: buy 3 nail polishes get 1 free, until August 5. For Canadians, check out the store locator on the website to see whether there is a store near you. We could also hope one day the stores will decide to put on a better sale than "Buy 3 get 1 free". Maybe Boxing Day, lol...

To see the polishes in action, check out Scrangie's Del Sol polish swatches of Heartbreaker, Ruby Slippers, Secret Crush and Rock Star.

Note: I am not commissioned by Del Sol, just so you know. Let me know if you have any of these cool polishes or are going to get any :-)

Photo credit: Delsol.com

Saturday, it was rainy and grey for most of the morning, so I didn't go to the gym. Squirt had a Spring Fair event at her school, so we went for a bit. While in downtown, I dropped by Del Sol to see whether they had any promotion on the nail polish. For some of you who haven't heard of Del Sol, it's a really neat store that sells clothing, sunglasses, nail polishes and lots of other stuff that all change color in the sun. As it gets warmer and the sun stays out more, their products would sell a lot faster. The colour-changing nail polish is of course the main point of interest to me. They are $10 each but normally on sale as "buy 3 get 1 free". Right now until June 11, the website has 50% off everything for orders of $50 or more, no code needed. As the website doesn't ship to Canada, I was hoping the store would offer the same deal, so I can finally got some of these cool bottles (as honestly, CAD10/bottle isn't really in my price range). Based on the swatches posted by Scrangie and Lacquer Laine, I could easily see myself grabbing more than 5 bottles - Ruby Slipper, Rock Star, Surfer Girl, Electrick, Sassy, etc. Unfortunately, the lady at the store told me they can't offer the same sale, as they are only a seasonal store and can't keep up with sales on the website. So that was a bummer. I'll see whether I can ask my sister's friend in the States to get some, and pay for shipping.

The one Lawton I went to had the Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri polish on for CAD3, but most of the popular shades were gone. I only got Pronto Purple and Blush Rush, plus Lightening that I got from Walmart for CAD4, which made my little collection of Insta-Dri. I tried another Lawton in the mall but didn't even see the shelf for this line, so I don't know whether it was just a one-store thing, or I was too late to find out about this deal. I will update if I could find more of these from other Lawtons that I can get to.

We went to the mall as La Senza (recently bought by Victoria's Secret) had semi-annual sale on. I was hoping the Victoria's Secret's lines were on sale too but they weren't - still 5 for CAD20 for lip gloss and 2 for CAD20 for the Secret Garden body products. The only good thing was my bf bought a pair of Clarks' shoes for CAD70 from Sears, worth the trip.

I got 2 things at Winners. I didn't plan to drop by, but my bf was browsing around Future Shop and Winners was just next door, so I wandered around - and found some fun stuff.
First, a collection of 7 small bottles of Shower Gels from Simply Treasures - Tulip, Jasmin, Hyacinth, Peony, Rose, Daisy and Lilac, on sale for CAD5.50. Just thought it would be a nice bridesmaid gift that my sister could give to her friends. She's getting married in November and I'm flying home for that, so excited.
I also bought a Popelle palette that was on clearance for CAD5 and all colours were in tact. Winners once in a while has some Pop Beauty's items but they are normally tested by different "customers" and look really crappy. It was just pure luck that I found one that was as good as new. I also saw some new Elf's eye sets (neutral and plump shades which included 4 shadows, a shadow brush and a few pencil liners, mascara, etc. for CAD9 but I didn't like the shades, so I skipped those. It was just interesting to see Elf at Winners, at least we now have access to a few products without paying high shipping cost.

Sunday, it was suprisingly sunny and warm. Squirt and I brought out our skirts and short sleeved Ts, plus our flat shoes as well. We spent 2 hours walking along the waterfront, taking pictures with the boats and grabed some "world's best icecream" at Cows - as they claimed the title themselves. It was so much fun, except for the long line at Cows. We grabbes some KFC to the park near our house so Squirt could play a bit more at the playground.

Before heading home, we went to Shoppers. Saw a few great finds there today.
Some Sally Hansen's nail treatments were on sale for CAD5 (regular price around CAD8-9) and there were little stickers on the packages for $2 off, so they ended up being only $3 each. I got 4, as I was going to give the base and top coat to my sister, to pair up with some nail polish I sent her before. The nail hardener and whitener were for me, as I found my nails have been quite weak lately (peeled off very easily) and turned a bit yellow. Hope this stuff works. Also in the picture was Vaseline Cocoa butter deep conditioning body lotion and hand & nail conditioning lotion, on sale for CAD2 each.

Yes to Carot was a brand full of curiosity to me, as it just came to Shoppers not long time ago. Some of the products were on sale for CAD8, so I got the Night moisturizing cream to try out.
I got myself enough day moisturizers with SPF, so I have been looking for night moisturizers lately. I am using Olay Definity foam moisturizer and quite liked it - non creasy, aborbs real quick and keeps my face nice and soft. Maybe I'll try YTC next, when I finish the foam.
I found Rimmel's U-Rock eyeshadows (the swirl edition, exclusively to Shoppers) on sale for CAD6 (regular price was about CAD9-11). 800 Pavement had white, purple and dark grey, and 500 Go Green had yellow, green and chocolate. Very pretty. I also got HIP Flamboyant for CAD5. I have almost all the shades that the stores have in Canada, but I skipped this shade before probably because of the bright purple. I like yellow but wasn't sure I could pull off bright purple. It was on sale today, and CAD5 was as low as the HIP duos could ever be around here, so I wouldn't want to miss it.

Another sale alert at Shoppers.
The Costa Blu body line was on sale for CAD.99. Yep, 99 scents, folks, from regular price of about CAD8. The sale was on Shoppers' flyer but wasn't posted on the shelf, so you might easily miss it. There was a limit of 4 per person (from the 5th item, the price would be CAD3), so I grabbed 2 sets of 3x100ml body wash. They were (1) Honey, lemon and sweet almond, (2) Rosemary, fennel and olive, (3) Bergamot, Orange and grapeseed. All sound pretty good as some of the ingredients listed are well known of their ability to help the skin stay moisturized and soft. These could make great gifts when I see my friends back home. I got the body lotions of (1) and (2) only, due to the limit of 4 but probably will come back to get the (3) scent, just to complete the collection. These are awesome deals, considering how much they cost before sale.

That was it for this week. Thanks for stopping by.