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Shimmer Polish

Shimmer Polish Cleo

February 9, 2014
Glitter, Holos, Nailpolish, Obsessed, OPI, Shimmer Polish
2 Comments

Following up on yesterday’s introduction to Shimmer Polish Bella (named after my pretty dobe girl), I immediately wore Cleo, a purple jelly that was calling to me to try and lift up my spirits a little.

Cleo is a beautiful purple jelly base with purple, blue and a ton of iridescent glitters which give it a bit of an opalescent, mermaid-scale reflection. Cleo is absolutely beautiful even in the bottle.

I decided to layer it over one of my favourite OPI purples, Vant to Bite My Neck? from the Euro Centrale collection. I used only one coat of each, if you can believe, and finished it off with two coats of top coat (as these glitters can sometimes be top coat eaters). I thought I had a lot of favourite Shimmers but how can I not add this to the list?

Shimmer_Cleo

Look at the different colours in this macro:

Shimmer_Cleo_macro

Do you love Cleo as much as I do?

Get your very own Shimmer Polish here on her Etsy shop! Follow Shimmer Polish on Facebook to participate in their contests and see more gorgeous photos and new creations, and follow her on Instagram and Twitter.

~xo

(Product provided for consideration and review. All opinions are my own.)

Shimmer Polish Bella

February 8, 2014
Dior Vernis, Glitter, Nailpolish, Obsessed, Shimmer Polish
10 Comments

As some of you who follow my social media streams may know, I’ve been a little quiet lately… unfortunately I lost my father a few days ago. The only positive in his passing is that he did not suffer long; he was diagnosed with a very aggressive and advanced cancer that would have destroyed his insides. It is a rotten disease that needs a cure; a cure that must, in our advanced society, surely be forthcoming. I also want to thank you for the many wishes and condolences you have sent our way…

 

Moving on to happier things, I wanted to introduce you to the beautiful Bella from Shimmer Polish! I recently reached out to Cindy to create a custom Shimmer… something vampy but different from her other vamps that I love. She came up with this beauty, a black jelly base with tons of burgundy glitter, hints of silver, and reflections of gold and red in sunlight. I asked Cindy to name it after my beautiful Doberman-mix Bella.

Bella’s black jelly base is quite sheer, so I layered it over the gorgeous crelly Dior Vernis Nuit 1947 to maintain the jelly qualities I so love. I used only one coat of the Dior, and added two thin coats of Shimmer Polish Bella, topped with two coats of top coat:

Shimmer_Bella

Look at this beautiful macro (click to see full size pic):

Shimmer_Bella_Macro

What do you think of my gorgeous Bella?

Get your very own Shimmer Polish here. Follow Shimmer Polish on Facebook to participate in their contests and see more gorgeous photos and new creations, and follow her on Instagram and Twitter.

~xo

2013 Favourites! Part 1

December 31, 2013
Colors by Llarowe, Dior Vernis, Essie, Glitter, Jelly, Matte, Nail Art, Nailpolish, Neon, Nicole by OPI, nubar, Obsessed, OPI, Ozotic, piCture pOlish, Shimmer Polish, Zoya
7 Comments

Hello all and Happy New Year to those of you that have already welcomed 2014!! For the rest of us, I can’t believe another year has come to an end, bringing me to almost two full years of blogging and obsessing over nail polish, makeup, and other beauty products. (That is a lot of obsession!) It was also a year that brought me my own polish shade – more on that below.

To wrap up the year, I thought I would bring you some of my favourites from 2013. (Polishes in part 1, some of the other favourites will be in part 2 as this will be a picture-heavy post.)

How can I have a “favourites” list and not include my go-to nude/white alternative, OPI’s My Vampire is Buff? MVIB has quickly become a cult favourite, at least in the nail polish community, as many of us not only wear this beautiful bisque shade alone, but love to use it for nail art.

OPI_Euro_MyVampireIsBuffbse

And speaking of nail art, this was the year I ventured into the somewhat terrifying “nail art” territory, and found that I can actually nail (sorry, couldn’t resist) some cute looks!  Though hard to narrow down, my Top Ten Faves include MVIB and Essie The Girls are Out…

Essie_TheGirlsGradient3

MVIB with Zoya’s Josie….

Zoya_Josie-gradient

…can’t leave out the Euro Centrale dotticure I tried (I love the entire Euro Centrale collection!)…

OPI_EuroCen_dott4Matte

…a cute jelly sandwich using Nicole by OPI and OPI’s Funny Bunny that even Nicole by OPI loved!  (you must know I simply adore jelly sandwiches!)…

NOPI_ConfettiFun_OPI_FunnyBunny

…another NOPI, two actually, together for an alternative French mani (also seen here on this Must Follow Canadian Nail Bloggers article!)…

Nicole_by_OPI_Totally_Stillcombo

…some snow nail art with Zoya’s PixieDust Sunshine…

NPC_Snow_NailArt2

…a glitter gradient (my easy go-to nail art) using piCture pOlish’s Blogger over OPI’s Eurso Euro…

picturepolish_Blogger1

…my first foray into leopard spots using the stunning Zoya Cashmeres & Satins collections…

Zoya_Cashmeres_Satins_Leopard

…my entry into the NOPI and Prom Canada Prom Nail Art challenge…

NicolebyOPI_Prom_art1

…and last but not least, my spring gradient using Dior’s brand new Dior Vernis Bouquet!

Dior_Vernis S14 BouquetGradient2

This was really hard to narrow down, as I have really LOVED many polish shades this year, but here are nine more of my favourite shades this year, including the amazing Selena from Nicole by OPI…

NOPI_Selena

…these looks are actually two polishes: Ozotic Beam 907 over Nubar’s Jaded, both spectacular alone and even more together…

Ozotic_Beam907b

…the gorgeous Rare Bear from Colors by Llarowe, a brand launched only this year but hugely successful…

Colors_RareBearShd

…as well as Smooth Criminal from CbL...

…OPI’s Neon mini-set was spectacular, especially Pink Outside the Box!! (still hoping for a full-size, OPI) 😉 ….

OPI_Neon_PinkOutsidetheBox

…a bright but wearable, gorgeous orange from Zoya, Thandie…

Zoya_Stunning_Thandie1

…the incredible Pink of Hearts duo from OPI (for an amazing cause – Breast Cancer Awareness!)…

OPI_PoHrts_MorethanaGlimmer2

…Dior’s entry into magnetic polishes, Dior Vernis Mystic Magnetics was a glamorous take on magnetics (see some of my other Dior Vernis favourites here and here)….

Dior_VernisMagnetic2

…and OPI’s Ski Slope Sweetie, a huge LOVE for me…

OPI_MC_SkiSlopeSweetie

…and my favourite polish, as well as a huge accomplishment for me as a blogger, my very own piCture pOlish collaboration shade, Bewitch!! (Thanks to the amazing girls at piCture pOlish!)

picturepolish_bewitch_collage

Thanks for reading my second Favourites list! Hope you enjoyed this, and look for part 2, which will include some non-polish favourites!

Happy New Year!!!

happy new year 2014source

Shimmer Polish Gerry (and a beauty named Elaine!)

September 2, 2013
A-England, Nail Art, Nailpolish, Obsessed, Shimmer Polish
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Happy Labour Day Monday!

Today I have a gorgeous, glittery mani for you, and I hope you love it as much as I did. I think I wore this for a week, never tiring of it and always catching myself staring at its sparkly beauty… It truly is gorgeous. I was in the mood for purple when I created this look. 🙂

The base for my glitter gradient was the stunning A England Elaine, a regal purple creme with an insane shine. I’ve used Elaine before (and worn it many times!) and I knew it would be perfect. I used two coats but Elaine can be almost a one-coater:

AEnglandElaineIs that not a perfect, slightly dusty purple?

In order to retain some of the beauty of Elaine, I decided to apply a gradient of Shimmer Polish Gerry, a sparkly mix of violet and blue glitter with some red, black and silver glitters dispersed throughout. If you know Shimmer Polish (and if you don’t, what are you waiting for! See some of my posts here), you know that Shimmer creates some sparkly ultra-fine glittery gems.

Look at how beautiful this purple glitter gradient turned out:

ShimmerPolishGerry_ElaineI love the above pic in the shade – makes Elaine look so vampy while Gerry looks like it’s floating on the nail surface. (Where’s my polish remover… I think I know what mani to do next!)

Here it is in the sun:

ShimmerPolishGerry_Elaine2

And a macro shot (because I love macros so much):

ShimmerPolishGerry_Elainemacro

Get your very own Shimmer Polish here. Be sure to like Shimmer on Facebook to participate in their contests and see more gorgeous photos and new creations!

I usually purchase A England from Nail Polish Canada or from their US stockist Llarowe (but please check out A England’s site to see their other stockists as well).

So what did you think of my regal purple mani?

~xo

(Some product provided for consideration and review. All opinions are my own.)

Shimmer Polish Sarah

August 12, 2013
China Glaze, Nailpolish, Shimmer Polish
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Today I have for you another beautiful Shimmer Polish, Sarah! Shimmer Polishes are insane glitter bombs, composed mostly of tiny glitters (shimmers), packed in either clear, tinted or jelly bases. I have yet to find a Shimmer Polish that I have not liked! Cindy, its creator, has so many polishes that I’ve now lost count!

Sarah is a tropical green and blue glitter polish in a clear base, with accent pieces of purple strewn in. I decided to layer it over China Glaze’s Keepin’ It Teal, a greeny turquoise jelly.

I used a generous coat of Sarah over Keepin’ it Teal. Look at how sparkly Sarah is in the sun:

Shimmer_Sarah

In the shade:

Shimmer_Sarah_shd

And a gorgeous macro to show off the beauty of Sarah:

Shimmer_Sarah_macro

Get your very own Shimmer Polish here. Be sure to like Shimmer Polish on Facebook to participate in their contests and see more gorgeous photos!

And see more of my Shimmer Polish posts here!

What’s your favourite Shimmer?

~xo

(Product provided for consideration and review. All opinions are my own.)

Extend Your Manicure

July 21, 2013
Beauty, Colors by Llarowe, Jelly, Nailpolish, Obsessed, Shimmer Polish, Tips
2 Comments

Friends often ask me how my manicure lasts so long, and do I actually cook/clean/wash dishes? (For the record, yes, yes, yes! I actually love cooking.)

So how DO you make your manicure last longer?

Well… there are those all-important first steps: have clean, dry nails before starting your mani (even wiping quickly with a cotton pad soaked in alcohol can help polish adhere longer by removing nail oils), use a good quality base coat under your polish, allow a few minutes to dry between coats and apply 2 coats of polish… finish off with a top coat – I love a quick-dry top coat such as FNUG’s IGEL or China Glaze’s Fast Forward top coats. Wrap the free tip of your nail as you apply top coat (swipe it over the free edge).

So you have done all of the above. Now what?

Even the most careful among us will experience some tip wear after a few days. If you are not ready to let go of your mani, which was the case for me when I was wearing the beautiful Colors by Llarowe Cherry Bomb (see it here), you can extend your mani for a few more days!

How? Simply apply a gradient of your favourite glitter, preferably with a tinted base, over your tips!

How to apply a gradient?

“Dry-brush” the first coat of glitter: wipe the brush of the glitter polish inside the bottle, so you are left with more glitter, less base, and apply this over the tips. Let dry a few minutes.
Apply another coat of glitter polish over your tips, this time applying the glitter polish normally.
Let dry, apply top coat, and voila!

Here is the beautiful Shimmer Polish Karina, a perfect glitter to complement Cherry Bomb, applied as a gradient over my tips:

Colors_CherryBomb_ShimmerKarina2 Colors_CherryBomb_ShimmerKarina1

The best part? This barely takes a quarter of the time of a full manicure!

 

What do you think? Would you try this over a few-days-old mani?

~xo

Shimmer Polish Lorene

July 6, 2013
Jelly, Nailpolish, Obsessed, Shimmer Polish
6 Comments

Happy weekend!

I’m in a bit of a shimmery mood so today I have another gorgeous Shimmer Polish for you: Lorene! This one is described as a “Raspberry Mix” – a perfect description for this berry-coloured polish. The base is a deep berry colour, filled with tons of multi-hued glitter. The primary glitter colours that stand out are turquoise, magenta and lilac, accented with gold hexes. Like most Shimmers, the jelly base is great for layering, but I really wanted to wear Lorene on its own.

Here are 3 coats of Lorene with a coat of Gelous and a coat of top coat:

Shimmer_Lorene

 

 

 

Look at this gorgeous macro shot of Lorene (click on the pic to see more glittery detail!):

Shimmer_LoreneMacro

 

Get your very own Shimmer Polish here. Be sure to like them on Facebook to participate in their contests and see more gorgeous photos!

Do you own any Shimmers?

~xo

 

 

 

(Some product provided for consideration and review. All opinions are my own.)

Shimmer Polish Taylor

July 5, 2013
Jelly, Nailpolish, Obsessed, Shimmer Polish
1 Comment

Happy Friday!!

Today I have another gorgeous Shimmer Polish for you, an absolutely loaded-with-glitter indie brand that has perfected the art of multichromatic glitter bombs. If you have never tried a Shimmer… well, just wait and see…

Taylor is a deep red jelly loaded with tiny shimmers in green, purple and red. Much like some of my favourite vampy Shimmers (see Mary, Karina, Marilyn), Taylor’s gorgeous wine-coloured jelly base allows the glitters to be suspended, seemingly in mid-air (mid-polish?), creating a jelly-sandwich-in-a-bottle! J’ADORE Taylor!!!!!!

Enough chat… look at this amazing polish, 3 beautiful coats with a coat of Gelous to smooth the glitter, and a final coat of China Glaze Fast Forward top coat:

Shimmer_Taylor

 

I love the contrast of red and purple glitters in this wine-coloured base, colours you normally wouldn’t think to put together. And like most jelly glitters, you can wear Taylor alone or over a base colour, like a black.

Look at this macro of Taylor… sigh…

Shimmer_TaylorMacro

And another, slightly lighter macro for you to drool over:

Shimmer_TaylorMacrolt

 

You can find Shimmer Polish here. Be sure to like them on Facebook to participate in their contests and see more gorgeous photos!

So do you love it nearly as much as me?

~xo

 

 

 

(Some product provided for consideration and review. All opinions are my own.)

 

Shimmer Polish Mary!

March 26, 2013
Jelly, Nailpolish, Obsessed, Shimmer Polish, Zoya
7 Comments

Hey guys! Today I bring you one of my favourite types of manis… another jelly sandwich!

Some of the prettiest fine glitter polishes are created by indie brand Shimmer Polish. You have seen a lot of them on my blog (have a look)!  Cindy, its creator, has countless variations of these gorgeous, complex shimmer-blend polishes, mixing both expected and surprising colours together for beautiful effect.  One such polish is Mary, described as being mainly red, silver and black glitter in a soft-red tinted base, though there are some holographic glitters as well as other shades. I told you they were complex blends! Mary is incredibly glittery; sparkle-and-wink-at-you-while-you’re-driving kind of glitter! And you know how I feel about all things jelly!! This jelly base is so squishy that it looks like a luscious berry.

I decided to pair it with one of my favourite jelly polishes, Paloma from Zoya’s Gloss Collection (see it here as well!). And the result was jaw-droppingly glittery, squishy, juicy!!

Here are two coats of Mary over two coats of Paloma, topped with a finishing coat of Paloma for the jelly sandwich:

Shimmer_Mary_Zoya_jellyLook at that crazy shine!!! And click the pic to see the tiny holographic sparkles lighting up at the tips of my nails.

One more pic:

Shimmer_Mary_ZoyaPaloma

This was one of those manicures I did not want to remove – I wore it for about a week before I finally had to part with it… but looking at these pictures makes me want to reapply it!

You can find Shimmer Polish here. Be sure to like them on Facebook to participate in their contests and see the latest offers!

So what do you think? Do you love it nearly as much as me? 🙂

~xo

 

 

 

(Some product provided for consideration and review. All opinions are my own.)

Nicole by OPI Selena & Shimmer!

March 3, 2013
Nailpolish, Nicole by OPI, Shimmer Polish
7 Comments

Happy Sunday!

One of my recent favourite collaboration colours is the one I am bringing you today – the namesake polish from the Nicole by OPI Selena Gomez collection: Selena!

Nicole by OPI’s Selena is perfection. I personally adore peach polishes… I am always looking for a spectacular summery peach shade, whether in a blush or a lipstick or a polish, and Selena does not disappoint. While I think this should have been released a few months later as it really is a gorgeous summery collection, I could not wait to wear Selena, winter or not!  Selena is a beautiful peach that actually leans very pink once on the nail, and it has a gorgeous hidden shimmer that I’ve tried to capture in my photos for you.

Here are two coats of Selena:

NOPI_Selena

If you click on the picture and enlarge it, you will see the very pretty and delicate hidden shimmer of Selena. I will be wearing this polish a LOT this summer! It was a gorgeous formula, just thick enough and applied flawlessly.

Now for a mani that simply blew me away, have a look at Selena, blinged out:

NOPI_Selena_Shimmer_Airriann

That is the beautiful Selena topped with a gradient of Shimmer Polish Airriann, a mostly pale pink glitter with multi-colour pieces strewn in it – a gorgeous combination!

I was so head over heels with this combination that I wore it for nearly a week!

Here is a rare sunlight shot of the same mani (and I can’t wait for more sunlight as we head for spring!):

NOPI_Selena_Shimmer_Airriann2

I hope you loved this as much as I did!!

~xo

 

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