Sparkled Beauty

A blast from the past today with a mani from the "vault", courtesy of my old camera. I am still struggling getting lighting with new camera options to work :(

This is Sally Hansen Triple Shine in Sparkling Water. Totally not a new shade, but this particular polish line (and bottle shape) does not get enough spot light, so I am giving it one today.

Yes, that bulky cap in the Triple Shine line does come off revealing a smaller easy-to-hold handle, and the brush is flat and wider (like with the Complete Salon line).

Need I say more about the colour? Aqua green with blue shimmers/ flecks, which come to life with a flash, more subtle under natural lighting.

I was also glad to see Sparkling Water opaque on its own after 2 coats, no base needed. Wear is decent, over 2 days on me.

The line also has some fun glitter shades. If you have this shade or others, pull them out to play. They deserve some love :) I noticed a while ago that a few shades were on clearance, not sure if the line is going away or not. No new shades have been released either.

With the way things go, this mani will soon be very appropriate for a "Throwback Thursday" post, as both of these colours are disappearing from the shelf, being replaced by the new version of themselves.

Now I think Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Pacific Blue is popular enough to create an upset crowd around its colour change. My camera didn't capture the purple tone in Pacific Blue, so it looks more blue than IRL.

Mellow Yellow suffers the same "death" but doesn't get a huge following. I am telling you now, grab a bottle before they are gone forever, they are both fabulous colours.

First Walmart I went in to investigate, the new Pacific Blue (now a navy blue with added shimmers), new Mellow Yellow (now a mustard yellow) and Mint Sorbet (still the same pale mint) were part of the display of Sally Hansen Passport to Rio (LE) collection together with the 8 glitters.

At the second Walmart, both versions of Pacific Blue were on the regular shelf together. No sign of the new Mellow Yellow though.

I would assume the new versions will move in the regular display soon. Rumour also mentioned Coral Reef being changed but I didn't see the new shade in store yet.

I can't do a comparison swatch for you as I am not a fan of the new versions, so please enjoy the originals here.

Pacific Blue is a perfect one coater - excuse the bald spots which are my fault in dealing with a narrow brush late at night.

Mellow Yellow takes 2 coats, since it is not opaque and smooth enough after the first coat. Still a very lovely cheerful yellow.

I haven't checked other stores so I can't confirm the fate of Pacific Blue and Mellow Yellow there. At least, all Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear shades are on multi buy right now at Walmart for 2/$4 (reg. $2.49 each).

NOTD with a newly released shade today, yay! :)

There was a bunch of Sally Hansen Insta Dri  came out in the US back in November but just made it to Canada this Spring - Walmart and Shoppers so far.

I was only interested in one shade, Grape Shifter, a multi-coloured glitter :) Because of the clear base, Grape Shifter still looks sheer after two coats on its own (on middle finger).

Not a big guess here, but it shows up a lot better on top of a dark base :)

Glowing in the bottle (and on my nails) are the micro silver and blue glitters, small purple/ pink glitters and silver holographic hex glitters in a clear base! Pheww, what a mix!

This might not sound very exciting to you, but I love a blue and purple glitter combination. Adding holographic hexes to that, not mentioning the wide brush, and we have a winner in my book :)

It has been a long time since I got an Insta-Dri, I am glad it is a good one!

If you are wondering, the base I used for this mani was LA Girl Addict in Intoxicate, a burgundy/ dark plum with gold (and sometimes coral) shimmers, opaque in one coat.

The whole Addict line from LA Girl is just awesome with beautiful shimmers and nontraditional combinations of shimmers and base colours. I love to dig them out when I need a base for other glitters.

A popular topic next: Weather lol. It has been really messy and confusing here. Wet snow frozen over night gave me hell with shoveling/ salting the driveway. And when I finally could clear it up a bit, I woke up the next morning seeing new snow has already covered it again. And last night was a mix of snow and freezing rain. Oh the fun we have when mother nature can't decide what she really wants :)

Another run of Layla Bubbly Effect in Meringue Pie, since it has been a while :) This time, the base is the gorgeous Sally Hansen Salon Complete in Gilded Lily.

This shade was from the Sally Hansen (LE) Fashion Week (Prabal Gurung) collection, released in the US Fall 2012. I found it in a random display at Superstore one time and couldn't get pass how pretty it was, a foiled old gold with crazy gold flecks.

I used 2 coats of Gilded Lily here and one thin coat of Meringue Pie.

The more I try Layla Bubbly Effects, the more I found that they resemble the look of the saran wrap technique. So it is the lazy and less messy option for those who want to experiment nail art.

With Meringue Pie being white, it would be more intense on top of darker colours like black or dark red. But I really like how it turned out on top of this intense warm gold too.

The only thing with Bubble Effects is you can't tell what effect you are going to get until you put them on. I tried to be consistent, but as you can see here, Meringue Pie appeared more spotted on my pinky, compared to the other fingers.

Don't Gilded Lily and Meringue Pie together look edible, like cinnamon buns with crazy amount of icing? lol

It is raining like crazy today. I am nervous for Squirt's first day of school tomorrow. She's all excited to see her friends, but me, it doesn't get better no matter how many years she has been in school. She tried on the "first day outfit" last night and I wanted to cry. She looked so mature as a fifth grader, but I didn't want her to. Why do they have to grow so fast?

Well, other than that, we had a nice relaxing long weekend. The blueberry picking trip didn't happen because of car problem, but we happily stayed in. How did your weekend go?

I haven't done a haul for a while, tried to slow down a little in obtaining new pretties. It is not as easy as it sounds, considering Spring launches are everywhere.

I gave in at Shoppers this weekend for the lip products I wanted. Even though they still cost more there with a sale, they are on bonus points and I got $10 gift card with the weekend promo.

I got Maybelline Colour Whisper lipsticks in Oh La Lilac and Cherry on Top, CAD8.99 (compared to CAD7.99 reg. at Walmart), x15 points till February 14. My Shoppers hasn't got the whole range in yet, I might come back for an exchange when they do.

Also bought two L'Oreal Colour Caresse Wet Shine stains in Berry Persistent and Infinite Fuchsia, CAD11.69 each (CAD10.46 reg. at Walmart), also x15 points. The display was still pretty full, so I assume that it was just put out a few days ago.

I'm glad Shoppers now have stocks on these products, as some of you guys told me you didn't have a Walmart nearby. The $10 gift card promo was over, but there's a new printable coupon for 8,000 points with $50 purchase this Wednesday.

I found the Essence Cherry Blossom Girl collection (supposedly 2012 Fall collection in Europe, lol), its tiny display was almost empty already.

I grabbed:
- Shimmering body powder in 01 Hello Glitty, CAD3.99
- Blush in 01 Asian Sensation, CAD2.99
- Lipstick pencil in 01 Cherry Cherry Girl, CAD2.49.

Essence's special collections are always LE, with limited amount of products on display, so basically you snooze, you lose!

There is nothing extra special about this particular collection, except for the cute packaging and reasonable price range. Quality isn't bad either. Enough to sell me :)

Found this full display of Sally Hansen Lustre Shine collection, CAD8.49 each. They finally arrive in Canada, all 8 shades, 4 bottles each!

I remember how much of a craze the promo pic of this collection caused way back when, but then swatches did not wow me much. I didn't get any, but if you are a fan and have been waiting for it, get to the store now.

The bottle shape of this collection is kinda interesting/ weird, the bottles didn't even line up well on the display. Very different from the regular Sally Hansen designs.

I also went to Sally in the weekend to use my $5 I got from renewing my card last month.

Caught the surprised extra 50% clearance item sale (ended Sunday already), so I saved extra on a 1 1/2" curling iron and a single bottle of Color Club Ho-Ho-Holly on the far left. Clearance selections weren't great, sadly.

I took advantage of the promotion of free China Glaze with purchase of Seche Vite top coat (CAD9 with Sally card now). My choice was Flip Flop Fantasy (in the middle), nothing fancy. I didn't get it when it first came out, have wanted it for a while.

Found Seche Collage Overlay (on the left) in a small display near the top coat, CAD7.99 with card (reg. price). It was so pretty in the bottle, I couldn't resist.

Grabbed some Hemp body moisturizers (18oz/ 530ml) that were on special 2 for CAD15 (I can't remember the retail price of these).

Since the original moisturizer that got some rave reviews, Hemp has come out with many new scents. I picked Argan Oil (to defy aging and leave skin beautifully soft and bright, according to the label) and Chocolate Cherries (with hydrating Hemp Seed Oil, to leave skin silky soft).

Bonus points for the pump and plastic seal on the nozzle - no spillage, no contamination.

I made it over $35 to earn a 30% off to use on February 23, now the question is what to get then :) The promotion is still on till the end of the month, if you still want to go for it.

I have no idea where time went lately. Every morning I woke up, I kept asking myself what day it was and whether I had to go to work. Crazy stage of my life, I think.

This is an over-due post, as I got these items way back at Christmas. They were CP'ed for me by the bf at US drugstores. Every time they had a good sale, I asked him to get a few things. And he ended up putting them in a gift box for me at Christmas, didn't want me to pay him back :)

First batch, from Ulta sale:
- NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils in Rocky Mountain Green, Electric Blue and Gold. I was looking for the 4 new ones that came out last summer, but the store didn't have Purple Velvet and Pure Gold.
- Physician's Formula Custom Eye Enhancing Gel CreamLiner for Green Eyes. There is quite a mark-up for this item in Canada, I didn't want to buy it here.
- LA Splash nail polish, from L-R: Sparkling Rose, Sparkling Jellyfish, Golden Seahorse, Pretty Jellyfish and Terra Beach.

LA Splash has recently arrived at Lawtons, but the nail polish are CAD4.99 here (I think), so US sale still beats it.

Can't remember which store exactly this is from, but it gotta be a BOGO or BOGO 1/2 sale.
- Milani Liquif' Eye Metallic Eyeliner pencil in Silver. One of the best sellers from Milani, so I gotta get one.
- Milani Lip Flash gloss pencils in Hot Flash and Photo Flash. Lots of raves for these as well, review is coming.
- Milani Gems nail polish. This shade was certainly the most wanted, but I kinda regret I didn't ask for other shades from this collection too, as they are all fabulous. I wore Gems for New Years Eve, feeling all bling-y :)

More nail polish:
- Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Purple Fiesta and Concrete
- Sally Hansen Complete Salon in Problem Child and Sequin Scandal.

These aren't new or anything, but they were 50% off :) My Melmer drawer for Sally Hansen is overflowing, just because it has so many lines, and keeps coming out with new shades. Xtreme Wear and Complete Salon are the most popular among all Sally Hansen in my stash.

- Revlon Super Lustrous lip gloss in Coral Reef. I finally got a hold of this shade (for cheap), as it was a LE colour in Canada up until recently when it was released with a new collection.
- Wet n Wild Mega Last lipstick in Red Velvet and Wine Room. Heard quite a lot about these lipsticks, and they were BOGO. What not to love?
- L'Oreal HIP shadow pigment in Intrepid. Can't remember exactly now but I think this was the only item I got at CVS 75% off sale. It is the most beautiful duochrome shade among the HIP pigments, IMO.

As I tried to put the stuff away after Christmas, I went into quite a withdrawal, seeing how much makeup I have. Have been "enforcing" a low buy on myself since. My defense is I got them on sale, but still I need to downsize, right?

These EOS lip balms, however, are must-haves. As I was frustrated not being able to find them around here, there was a promo where you technically could get them for free in the US. The bf found Lemon Drop (SPF15) and Summer Fruit for me.

Very recently, I saw the Honeysuckle (green) ones at my Shoppers, sold for CAD5.99 though. Only if you are still looking for them.

Hope everyone is doing well. Today is the second day with freezing temperature we have here. We are talking -30 degrees (for those in the US, it's -22 Fahrenheit). And we are right next to the ocean, so the wind is just killing my face, on top of that. Now that is Canadian winter for you :)

So I heard certain parts of Ontario have been mostly buried in snow. Here we had rain yesterday, at times it switched to snow which was confusing :) They say we have about a third of the amount of snow we got at this time of year last year. Interesting!

Ok, back to the NOTD, lol. It doesn't happen very often that I feature a nail polish colour twice on this blog. There must be a reason :)

I posted a Ruffian NOTD with Sally Hansen Grape Going before, mentioning that at 3 coats, the purple was a bit overwhelming the blue sheen. So I bring it back today.

This time, I did 2 coats with Grape Going, and it is a perfect balance between the 2 colours. The blue shines through and the purple looks like an iridescent jelly, creates some depth to the mani. I really like it.

I wore Grape Going by itself on Friday, decided to add some bling on top for the weekend. And Claire's Chunky Gold came to mind.

If you don't have this colour, it is very pretty with both fine and large gold glitters nicely dispersed in the clear base. I didn't have to fish for the chunky pieces, which is a plus.

I hope you can see both kinds of glitters in this shot. The fine glitters show up more like gold shimmers, making a good background for the chunkies. And it's still clear enough to let Grape Going shine through, just mutes the blue sheen a bit.

Normally I wouldn't pair purple and gold, but this mani turns out ok, right? I wore it for a good 3 days until Sunday night. The wear was pretty good to last me that long. Hope you like this look. I'll get to an Ozotic this weekend, so come back for that. Stay safe and warm where you are!

Have you been browsing around your drugstores lately? Tune in to see what I found recently at mine :) Good stuff, I promise.

I found this lovely display at one of the Shoppers I went. Click the pic to enlarge :) Can you tell what the line is?

Yep, the Sally Hansen Natural Beauty, inspired by Carmindy, has officially arrived at Shoppers :)

As far as I can see, we have quite a good selection of their products.

- First shelf: Your Skin makeup foundation, Airbrush Spray makeup and Luminizing Face primer.
- Second shelf: Luminous Matte Pressed powder, Translucent Loose powder, Natural Highlighter.
- Third shelf: Sun Glow Powder bronzer, Powder/ Cream blush
- Fourth shelf: Eyeliner, Gloss
- Last shelf: Eyeshadow and Mascara.

I was in a hurry, didn't note down the price. According to Carmindy on twitter, she is showcasing the line on The Shopping Channel as well. More access for us Canadians.

Also found the 3-piece Holiday nail polish sets from Joe Fresh, retail CAD10 each.

There are 3 colour combinations to choose from.
- Left set: Midas, Imperial and Dupioni. This is probably the set I would get, as I kinda like all 3 shades.
- Middle set: Onyx, Steel and Beet - Steel and Onyx are quite similar, except one has pretty shimmer. Beet is a cream burgundy.
- Right set: Cherry, Sweet Tart and Wine. A little too much red to my liking, but if you are a fan of the colour(s), this is not a bad set for the holiday.

Joe Fresh nail polish are 3 for $10 anyway, so the sets aren't a saving, and you also don't have a choice of what colours to get in a set. I assume these colours are LEs though, as I didn't see them before from the regular line. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Another item that caught my eyes was the Joe Fresh 5-pc Acrylic Brush set, retails CAD19.

By the look of it, the set includes:
- Blush brush (reg. CAD10)
- Concealer brush (reg. CAD4)
- Large eyeshadow brush (reg. CAD5)
- Crease brush (reg. CAD4), and
- Eyeliner brush (reg. CAD4).

Cost wise, this set is good for your money, as you basically get the 2 small brushes for free. I didn't compare the size of these to the individual brushes Joe Fresh has, but I don't think they are minis/ travel size either.

I kinda wish they include the foundation brush, but it would probably jack up the price of the set too much, a hard selling point for it. Can't say I tried their brushes before, can't comment on the quality.

And look, Superstore, for some miracle reason, all of a sudden stocks Wet n Wild LE collection. This is the latest Vixen's Mittens, sells for CAD2.99 a bottle.

I didn't expect Canada would have it that fast, but here we are :)

A warning though, these bottles are very tiny (6.5ml, if I remember correctly). The colours are nice though, very glittery/ shiny, some are quite unique.

Have you seen them around yet?

I have been in a crazy hunt for Annabelle's Hype and Insomnia collections. For some reason, my regular Shoppers (and some others) did not have them, period.

Now look what I found at Superstore: the Insomnia collection, lol.

It's unpredictable what Superstore would have on their shelves, LE or not, so it's kinda exciting not knowing what to expect (well, sometimes) :)

I had a fun time browsing the displays. Would have played around a bit more if I didn't have to go upstairs for the gym - it was Zumba time, couldn't miss it :)

One more interesting find of the week: Wet n Wild Beauty bags, CAD10.

This is the Canadian version of the Wet n Wild train cases that the Americans have been lusting after. No train case here, just a clear plastic bag, lol.

I took pictures of both sides of the bag to show you the shades. All bags are the same, i.e. there is only 1 choice of colour combo.

The front features a Beauty Simplicity Look, with:
- Color Icon Eyeshadow Trio Sweet as Candy
- Color Icon Blusher Pearlescent Pink
- Mega Last nail colour in Sugar Coat
- Mega Last lip colour in Think Pink
- Mega Length mascara in Very Black.

The back goes for a Hollywood Glam Look:
- Color Icon Eyeshadow Trio Don't Steal My Thunder
- Color Icon Blusher Heather Silk
- Mega Last nail colour in Caught Red-Handed
- Mega Last lip colour in Stoplight Red
- Mega Plump mascara in Very Black.

Note that all products in the bag are not full size. They are all a bit smaller than the regular products on the shelf.

This is a good way to try out a bunch of Wet n Wild products at a good price. They are good for travel too. I just wish we had a train case for them. What do you think about the bag?

Have a great day, everyone! Do tell me what you found at your stores, I'd love to hear.

This would be 2 Sally Hansen NOTDs in a row, but I can't help it. After seeing how awesome Purple Gala is, I was itching to try Mystic Lilac.

By the look of it, it is a great colour for work as a muted lilac colour, with a hint of green shimmer. Really pretty. If Purple Gala is a great bold shade for the weekend, then Mystic Lilac would rock the workplace, lol. Don't think I own anything like it.

In short, if you happen to come across the display, and if you are not into shimmery shades, at least grab this one. You won't regret, I promise.

Close up shots to show the green shimmer:









The pic on the left is more true to colour. The one on the right was a trick my camera played sometimes when the flash didn't really work, but it's kinda neat in its own way. If Sally Hansen comes out with a colour like in this pic, I'd buy it too lol. And the 2 shades could be sisters :)

Hope everyone has a good day. I miss the sun so bad, why can't fall come with a bit of warm sun light too?

Fresh NOTD for the weekend, and it's Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Purple Gala.

If you remember, I picked this one up last weekend from a brand new display of Sally Hansen at Shoppers. It surprised me though that lots of US drugstores have not had this collection out and we already got it here in Canada.

Anyway, I am so in love with this deep purple shimmery shade. It feels like a jelly during application, which is nice. And this is only 2 coats.

If you are not familiar with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear brush, it is quite long with long handle, and is the regular type (not wide), but application is easy peasy.

The first picture is in full flash, and this one is with indirect flash, to show you different angles of the colour.

But it doesn't matter from what angle you look at it, you'll love it. Period. If you find the display, at least try this one out. Shoppers has them on sale this week for CAD2.99. I haven't seen the display at Walmart yet.

I can't say the same about the whole collection though. Some nail blogs have had swatches up, so make sure you check before buying. I was glad I only picked up 2 bottles.

One last pic (sorry I took like 30 pictures of it), blurred out to show you how Purple Gala shines. The name suits it, doesn't it? At least my nails are happy this weekend :)

What do you have on your nails for the weekend? And what are you up to? Squirt is going to a sleepover tonight, so I have some real quiet time to myself. Now I have no idea what to do with myself lol.

One nice thing is that we have been quite lucky with the weather in the last few days. On Thursday, I looked up on the Weather Network and Halifax was 23 degrees, warmer than Toronto and Montreal. That doesn't happen very often. Fall is just around the corner, are you ready for it?

My untried pile is getting bigger and bigger but right now I am wearing my nails bare with just a coat of nail strengthener, because of a bad split nail on my "photo" hand. Felt like giving the nails a break.

This is a NOTD I wore before the break: Sally Hansen Pure Joy. It is a subtle enough colour for work, but I don't love it. Nothing set it apart from many pink shades out there. That was why sometimes I found safe-for-work shades boring, lol.

The birthday is approaching, so I was going to think about a colour to wear that day. Can't really decide. Plus, the bf is leaving next Monday, I don't really feel like celebrating anymore. Right now, I am trying to help him pack, so both of us could be a little less stressed over the whole thing.

It has been pretty quiet on the blog lately. I didn't see many comments, start wondering if you guys didn't like the topics I covered. Or maybe I should post a little less often, so there's a breathing space between posts. What do you think?

Oh, and if you haven't entered the Summer giveaway for some Annabelle goodies, please do. Cheers!

Long time no post a NOTD :)

Today's colour is one from the Sally Hansen Insta-Dri line - Blush Rush. I'm always drawn to this shade when I look through the shelf, as it is a cute pink with a slight peach tint to it. I even picked up another bottle of it a few months back, just to realize I already had it, lol.

In this pic with flash, it appears a little pinker than IRL, but still is lovely.

I don't normally wear lots of pink, as I somehow think it doesn't do much for my skin tone. I think I got it for my sister but she wouldn't mind if I swatch it.

Here is what it looks like without flash, in daylight. Summer-y enough? :) Don't like the nail length right now, but what can you do?

I enjoy the brush of the Insta-Dri line, it's wide and firm enough to have a good controlled application. I normally have to do only 2 swipes to cover the whole nail, save some time there.

The bottle shape is unique, but kinda give it an unstable stand. When I swipe the brush on the bottle neck to get rid of extra polish before applying it, the bottle is a little shaky. I am scared I'd tip it over and spill the polish. And when I rearranged my polish to the new melmers, the shape just stuck out a bit more out of the norm. Not an issue per se, but worth noting.

Hope things are going well with you guys. And if they are not, keep positive thoughts. I can't say I am in the best state of mind lately, but life goes on where we are ready for it or not. Hugs!

If you are one who was disappointed that Sally Hansen Natural Beauty (inspired by Carmindy) is not available in Canada, head on over to Dollarma now as there is a treasure to be found.

Words on twitter was that Dollarama has a load of Sally Hansen Natural Beauty stuff for CAD2 a piece. I have no idea how they landed there, but I'm not complaining. Stocks vary among stores, as always, so I went check it out for myself.

This is what I found at the first store I went to, the one in the mall closest to me:
- Olay Regenerist Eye Makeup Remover + Anti-wrinkle Treatment (50ml, CAD1), reg. more than CAD10 full size (200ml) - you do the math :)
- Olay Regenerist Night Recovery Cream (14ml, CAD1)
These are perfect for travelling, and who can say no to Olay Regenerist at that price?

- Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Sheerest Cream Blush in Ginger and Sunrise (CAD2 each).

Yes, I found them, but there wasn't much selection at all. I wanted more, as I have been wanting to buy products from this line forever and this is like an opportunity of a life time.

At the second Dollarama, I hit the jackpot. There were a lot more shades of blushes, and there were foundations too. I dived right in, lol

- First row: Sheerest Cream Blushes in Sunrise and Ginger. I want backups of these 2, as they are the most beautiful shades.

- Second row: Sheerest Cream Blush in Sunset and Natural Powder Blush in Fawn.
There were a few more shades of the powder blushes but mostly are too dark for me.

- Your Skin Makeup Foundation in Tawny Beige and Warm Beige. No testers, so I picked them just by the look, hoping one of them would match my skin tone. The lighter shades seemed to be a little too light, but according to the website, these 2 shades are for medium to deep skin tone. I guess time will tell once I do swatches.

Carmindy is in the process of talking to a few drugstore chains here to bring her line cross the border, so we have hope :) In the mean time, get yourself some taste of the line first from Dollarama :) Do come back and tell me what you find at your store, deal?

On personal note, I had a great time at the beach on Saturday. Love sinking my feet in the silky white sand and sitting under the sun to read my book (plus contanst glancing at Squirt playing sand castle near the water). Sunday wasn't that warm and sunny, we went to the Greek fest for some lamb plates, lol. How was your weekend?

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.

Last weekend was totally fun for shopping. I managed to restrain myself despite the good sales.

From Superstore's tax-free event, I got:
- Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Blue Streak (CAD2.94). Certain shades of Insta-Dri were on clearance, don't know why.
- Joe Butter, Mint and Ink polish (3 for CAD10). They are very tiny, as expected. Stocks weren't that great, and I couldn't find Peacock. That Mint bottle was the last one on the shelf too.
- L'Oreal Color of Hope polish (on clearance for CAD1.27).

We are up for a 2% increase in tax pretty soon, so tax-free days would be greatly appreciated. Love Superstore!

Lawtons has BOGO deals starting Saturday, so I got a few things. The stuff rung in 50% off, so I didn't have to buy 2 items to get the deal.

- Physicians Formula Organic Wear mascara in Ultra Black Organics (CAD7.89). The packaging was cute, and it was a bonus pack (2 for 1), so it was cheap.
- Sinful Colors Rich in Heart and Daddy's Girl polish (CAD1.99 each). Lawtons only has the regular shades, no LE collections, so I'm still missing out on new shades.
- Milani Totally Cool and Pink Out Loud polish CAD2.49 each). Totally Cool is probably the most popular shade from Milani regular line, I couldn't miss it. Pink Out Loud is supposed to be a dupe of China Glaze Strawberry Field, so I was curious.
- Milani Lip Mixer in Lip Party and Lip Fuse (CAD3.49 a piece).
- Milani Perfect Red Lipstick (CAD2.99).

I did well, didn't I? Didn't break the bank on this haul :-) I'm saving up for the LA trip, we'll see how that goes, lol.

Happy St. Patty's Day, everyone. I don't really celebrate it, but I'm pulling a green NOTD anyway. It's fun and suits the occasion, and that's all that matters.

This is Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Jumpin' Jade, a gorgeous deep green that I forgot I had. And believe it or not, this is ONE coat. I'm so amazed at how opaque it is and didn't want to add another layer, as I love it just like this.

No need to say much about the brush, as you all know by now that Insta-Dri line has wide brushes with tapered head which make application so much easier. I should wear more Insta-Dri :-)

Are you sporting a green nail polish or eyeshadow today? Hope to hear how you guys enjoy the day. I'm taking a day off so we can go to loonie matinee with Squirt. I think we'll do 2 movies back to back, and then mini golf - glow in the dark fun.

My very first... Ruffian manicure.

With as many nail blogs as I subscribe to, it's not a surprise that a NOTD - Ruffian style is in order. I just wanted to see whether I could do it :-) And weekend would be perfect time to experiment.

I stayed up late Friday night to clean up the place, and obviously I needed a new manicure Saturday morning, something fun and adventurous.

I picked China Glaze Millenium for the base colour. Thought silver would be more interesting than gold and in the same cool colour theme. I still suck with foil finish, it's very easy to screw up a mani with foils.

The main colour is the gorgeous Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Grape Going. It is a pretty purple with blue sheen/ duochrome, depending on which angle you look at it.

I should have stopped at 2 coats of Grape Going, when it was a nice balance between purple and blue showing up on my nails. I found that at 3 coats, the purple was a bit too dark and overwhelmed the blue a bit. Plus, total of 4 coats on the nails might be a bit too thick.

I still need practice with making the perfect reverse moons. I was lucky as the wide brush of Insta-Dri did help tremendously with that already. It's not too bad for my first time, is it? :-)

It was almost 1 month since the day I sprained my ankle. so I thought I could have a little break from the brace. I went without it on my day around town, and I paid the price. The shoes weren't as comfortable as I thought, and I started to limp a little bit. So yeah, I will have to stick with the brace for a little while longer :-(

Also note to the ladies that commented on my Calypso Minerals disaster and the First update posts, I will be posting an update soon. Stay tuned.

My very first... Sally Hansen Salon "Project Runway" collection - Canada exclusive.

I got a few bottles from this collection a while back but didn't get around to swatching them.

I originally didn't think I'd like Burnt Sienna as much as the rest of the collection, but I actually do. It looks a little darker IRL, just what I need at the moment. I wanted something dark and toned down. Application is smooth and easy, though the brush is a little small. Took 3 coats for the bottle colour.

I did paint my toe nails with China Glaze Ruby Pumps, so I took care of the "wearing red for new year" business. Maybe Ruby Pumps could help me with some good luck this Tiger year :-)

I managed to get to work with my left leg and a tiny support of my right leg. I fell bad being off work for too long. I might have to persuade myself to see my doctor. Hope things are all well with you guys.

I was on a mission trying to hunt down Annabelle fall shadow colours, so I went to 2 more Shoppers. Didn't find what I came for, but found something unexpected - discounted nail polishes :-)

First Shoppers, these polishes were on clearance for CAD3.99 each. There were quite a few in the bin, assorted brands, I tried my best to restrain myself and got 6 :-)

First row, from L-R: Nicole by OPI It's Up to You, It's Gold Outside and Let's Get Star-ted.

Second row: Borghese Magnifico Magenta and Gusto Gold Dust (from Holiday collection) and Sally Hansen Salon Mulberry.

These brands normally sell in the CAD8-10 range, so this was a steal. I tried to find swatches to justify my purchase but couldn't, except for Let's Get Star-ted and Gusto Gold Dust. The brands aren't very popular I guess. Please let me know if you have these colours and how you like them.

Second Shoppers (not on the same day, mind you, lol), these polishes were on sale too.

First row: Nicole by OPI Winter Glitterland and Faux Fir (from Holiday collection), CAD4 each.

Second row: Gosh Black Passion and Blue Monday (yes, it's a backup), CAD3 each.

Back at the beginning of the year, I saw Gosh polishes for CAD6, thought it was reduced price and hauled (obviously). Now they cost half of that, lol. Somehow I never saw Holographic though, it's like the most pretty shade from Gosh.

I'm so happy to have these new babies in my polish stash. New brands, new shades, sale, good combination :-)

The bf and I are invited to the Lunar New Year potluck party at a friend's tonight (so I will have to cook) while Squirt has a sleepover at her afterschool centre. It's gonna be busy. Have a fun weekend, ladies!