Sparkled Beauty

It is sunny out today, wish I were at home swatching some fun stuff for you guys, but I'm not unfortunately. So I'm doing a fun tag to entertain you instead.

I was tagged by Comme3Pommes from It's a Girl Thing. You have no idea how exciting it is to find local blogger buddies, so thank you! The topic is close to my heart too, so I'm gladly to do the tag.

1. How many polishes do you have?
I did not dare to count, nuh uh. Let's just say my 3 melmers are full, the fourth one is waiting to be built. Nail polish sets, treatment, nail art supplies, backups/ extras are stored in separate plastic containers. This is before my vacation haul and collective haul, plus a few previous purchases that haven't been put away because I ran out of space, duh.

2. What is your favorite brand of nail polish?
China Glaze for their constant great releases, for now. Have lots of lemmings for indie brands and frankens made by talented ladies out there, so will be more than just one favorite brand, and it might change over time too.

3. Do you like crackle polish or do you hate it?
Liked it when it first came out, now I want something extra special - like the holo glitter crackles that China Glaze is coming out with this spring.

4. What is the brand of your first nail polish?
The moment I discovered nail polish blogs, my stash grew from 0 to 50 overnight (well, that's an exaggeration, but almost true), so I can't even remember the first polish I bought. It might be China Glaze though.

5. If you're going to have a nail polish line, what are you gonna name it?
The idea of something new and different is hard enough, not mentioning the name. Looks like brands are offering everything under the sun that we can possibly ask for. I'm gonna leave it to the genius experts out there to do their magic, and just hand over my wallet to them.

I do wish someone will come out with fabulous base and top coats that prevent all the staining and chipping and all that, so I only have to change my nail colour when I get bored with it. Oh, and a crazy linear holo top coat that can bring every single nail polish to life (and beyond).

6. What nail polish color does not compliment you?
Might not be the shades' fault, just my comprehension of them, but "mannequin hands" kind of colours make my hands look worst than they are.

7. What nail polish color compliments you?
Shades that have lots of blue undertone (not the blue colour itself, mind you), I assume. They make my skin tone look too yellow.

8. Name 2 of you nail art best-friend?
Don't really have one. I admire all the bloggers who master their nail art - watermarbling, freehanding, stamping, etc.

9. What was the best nail polish gift you have ever received?
Any nail polish is a great gift for me lol.

10. The original question was to make a speech about thanking the blogger who gave you this tag. I kinda did at the beginning of the post, so I'm gonna make up my own here: Why do you love nail polish so much? And don't you think you have enough?
Nail polish is a magical thing, you can have so many colours with different finishes, price points, brands, origins. It is a never-ending journey to discover new things in the nail polish world. And along the way, you make friends, have endless conversations about a particular shade or hunt for it like a crazy woman. It boosts my confidence, relax my senses, calm my mind - like yoga :)

I have more than enough, if nail polish is simply to add colours to my nails. But because it's a magical thing like I just mentioned above, I do not have enough of it!

Tags are a rare thing on this blog, but I thought this is a fun one to do. Feel free to do it on yours and let me know so I can go read.

I was tagged by the lovely Ms Naz, my future partner in crime for IMATS LA :-) Thanks, hun.

Three names I go by:
1. A.
2. Halifax
3. Sparkled Beauty (so much for my life on the internet).

Three jobs I have had:
1. Underwriter
2. Analyst
Don't have the 3rd one (yet).

Three places I have lived:
1. Home where I was born
2. Canada
Also don't have the 3rd one.

Three favourite drinks:
1. Iced tea
2. Sugarcane juice (fresh, not the canned kind)
3. Bubble tea.

Three places I have been:
1. Rome, Italy
2. Beijing, China
3. Tokyo, Japan.

Three places I would like to visit:
1. Different places in the US (as I haven't been anywhere at all)
2. Egypt (always think this country is so mysteriosly fun)
3. Australia (where my "twin sister" lives) lol.

Three people who text me regularly: I don't text, and the bf refuses to own a cellphone.

Three TV shows I watch:
1. Lost
2. CSI NY/ Miami
3. Ghost Whisperer.

Three favorite old TV shows:
1. SATC
2. Family Feud
3. SYTYCD (it's not that old, is it?)

Three favorite dishes:
1. Pho
2. Sushi
3. Banh mi.

Three makeup/beauty products I cannot live without:
1. Concealer
2. Eyeshadows
3. Acne spot treatment (lol).

Three things I’m looking forward to:
1. Family reunion every 2 years (the next one is probably in 2011)
2. IMATS LA and IMATS Toronto
3. Summer!!!

Sorry I'm gonna be a bad link in this chain, but I'm not going to tag anyone :-) Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!

Photo credit: anhsfoodblog.com (made and photographed by my talented twin sister).

Rasilla, a fellow Canadian blogger, from in a nutshell... tagged me. Thank you so much! If you haven't already, check out her blog for fun stuff in Toronto, makeup, food and all the jazz.

I actually enjoy reading tags at blogs, as I could learn a bit more about bloggers with things they don't normally talk about. So here go my 11 happy things.

1. Family
Squirt and the bf are here with me, but the rest of my family is far away. My sister was just engaged, and I couldn't be there. I miss home! My family have been very supportive in whatever I do and always makes me so happy.

2. Makeup
It is hard to describe how much joy makeup brings to my life. It is not just about colours (though colours are important), makeup is a self-esteem boost, a life long motivator, and an exciting self-expresson. My makeup skill is no where near perfect, but I have fun doing it.

3. Summer dresses and shoes
I found a flower dress at Winners and was very happy when I tried it on. Nothing fancy, just a simple summer dress, but it fit me like it was made for me, and I looked happy in it. The summer here is very short, and the dress might not be worn as often as it wants to be, but I believe it will be happy to be with me :-) And the feeling is mutual.
Also the red polka dotted shoes I got from Sears brought sunshine to my feet, lol. They weren't really my regular style, but it's fun to change things up a little.

4. Quiet ME time
At night, after Squirt goes to bed, I am happy to be by myself for some quiet time. Either working on the laptop, watching tv or cleaning up around the house, the time is for me to use as I wish.

5. Relaxation music
I don't listen to noisy music anymore (except when we are in the car with the radio on). I always need some nice soft music on when I go to bed, knowing I wouldn't be awake to get to the third song. Background music takes my mind off things (most of the time), calms me down and cheers me up at the same time.

6. The sun
Warm weather excites me, as I love to be outside with fresh air. My body always feels cold, so seeing the sun is like seeing hope :-) As long as I have some SPF, I love to be out and about when the sun is out. Or sometimes, just sit in the balcony seeing things covered by the warm golden sunlight is enough to make me happy.

7. Shopping
No explanation needed here, but if you do need to know, watch "Confession of a Shopaholic".

8. Yoga
I do love aerobic activities, but somehow the slow motion, deep relaxing nature of yoga really gets me. I normally come out of a yoga class feeling refreshed, even after a long day at work. It always surprises me how a calm workout could do so much for my mind and body. And the music helps too (see #5 above).

9. The colour yellow
It might be yellow is a warm colour (see, I want warmth again), but its brightness cheers me up instantly. In fact, part of my name has a "hidden meaning" of yellow in it. So, what not to love?

10. Icanhascheezburger
I love to open up their email every morning for a few laughs. The animal cuteness and especially the captions are pure joy. The pictures could basically alter your bad mood and make it all better.

11. Good friends
Most of my friends from school have moved away or gone back to their countries after we graduated. And it is so hard to make new friends. Through this blog, I am so happy to know many of you, even when we haven't met. One day, maybe, one day.

As I love to see what make you happy, I am going to pass on the tag to:
- MizzJ at Being High Maintenance, Not Bitchy
- Recessionista at Nouveau Cheap
- Arezu at Chica De Belleza, and
- Julienne at Little Miss Julienne