NailPolishCanada review -China Glaze 'For Audrey'

REVIEW DAY!!!!

The lovely James at Nail Polish Canada has sent me a couple polishes to review.  The polish of the day is China Glaze 'For Audrey'.  I actually already had a bottle of this. That alone says how awesome it is ;)

If you have not checked out nailpolishcanada.com I highly suggest you do. They have a very wide variety of polish and nail art.  The first time I came across the website I was actually Googling other Canadian nail polish bloggers. I'm so happy I found them.  I'm a sucker for Canadian businesses.  When I can purchase within my own country that's a big bonus.  The customer service is amazing as well. They are so quick to get back to you with any questions or concerns. Nothing drives me more crazy than having to wait days and days for someone to get back to you.   It's no wonder their slogan is 'Your Friendly Neighbourhood Polish People'.

If you do not already have a bottle of China Glaze 'For Audrey' I suggest you get on it.  It's one of those must have polishes.  Only two coats required! The application is amazing
After swatching the polish(see below) I decided to give ring finger a little kick.  I used my dotter(also purchased at NailPolishCanada) to create a fun little design. Hope you like!

Below swatch is more true to colour

Photo true to colour

Make sure to check back next Monday for another review from.....

'Your Friendly Neighbourhood Polish People'

Dotted Chevrons

Happy Hump day everyone!  It's all down hill from here!

Today I have some more dots for you.  I'm loving doing the itty bitty dots lately.  It's very relaxing for me so I  hope you don't get tired of seeing them.  My only opportunity lately is to take pictures on the weekend. To think the days are only going to get shorter from here is kind of scary.  I keep on forgetting to bring my camera to work for lunch time photos so a lot of mani's have gone unseen.  

This time I decided to make a chevron type design with my baby dots.  The full nail is in Revlon's 'Impulsive'...I believe.  Not quite sure about the dots.  I just pulled out some randoms

Dreaming of Mango Dots

Happy Friday World! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh  Even though it was a short work week I'm so happy its almost over.

I have a little dotticure for you today.  I think I'm most impressed with the photo quality and sunlit nails.  My new-to-me camera did a wonderful job.  I'm still trying to get use to it and all the functions. I haven't been able to take a picture this nice since.  I'm blaming it on the cloudy sky. 

I used two coats of Revlon's 'Dreamer' over the entire nail.  For the dots I used Revlon's 'Mad about Mango' and FingerPaint's black.  I like how striking black looks on lighter colours.

Impulsive Minty Sorbet

Happy Friday everyone! It's Thanksgiving long weekend her in Canada. Woop Woop!

I'm so happy to be back at work.... and blogging :oP  I had a ton of paperwork on my desk but it basically only took me the hour and a half I've been here so far.  I wonder when they'll notice.

On to the nails.  I've been neglecting my dots.  I love doing dots so much but am scared I'll overkill them on here.  They make me happy though so I'm going to continue.

For the base I used Sally Hansen X-Treme wear in 'Minty Sorbet.'  The dots are in 'Black Out'  and I believe China Glaze 'Spontaneous'.  No promises though.  I can't really recall what brand the purple was but China Glaze seems right.  I then used a matte top coat. This made all the difference. I love the look of the pale green mattified ;o)

Hope you enjoy!

Mango Flowers

Happy hump day everyone!  It's always so nice to know that I'm half way done the work week. I'm actually at home though.  Sick again!!!!

I did this a couple nights ago. No nails for me yesterday or today. I usually kind of like the smell of nail polish which is super weird. Right now it just makes me what to up chuck :oP

For this look I used two coats of Revlon's 'Mad about Mango' over the entire nail.  The black stripes are made with my trusty striping tape. I then used a dotter to create the flowers and dots.

I had a fun time messing around with this one.

Ricki's 'Keepin It Real'

This is my second post for the day. Not just because I'm bored at work but mostly because my polka dot pictures bit the big one :oP

I've actually had these on my computer for awhile now.  Surprising that I haven't posted them because I quite like them.  I picked up this polish when i was buying new pants at Ricki's.  I'm pretty sure Ricki's is a Canadian company but correct me if I'm wrong.  I love the store because they cater to all sizes of women.

This polish is called 'Keeping it Real' and it says Ricki's on the bottle. They also sell some Colour Club there that is in the exact same shape of bottle. I'm going to take a wild guess and bet Colour Club is the manufacturer.   For the black lines I used striping tape.  I added some black dots with my dotter then another on top with 'Keeping it Real'

Hope you like!!!

Yogaga your a Burgandy Flirt(sorry I don't have a title)

Good Morning Everyone!  ;o)

Today I have something a little fun for you. I enjoyed doing this one because I got to use the dotter!!!

I'm really getting into fall colours now.  As far as nail polish I think you can wear any colour in any season. The nail polish companies seem to stick with seasonal colours though.

For the base I used Essie's 'Yogaga'.  I love this colour but unfortunately it looks like it was a limited edition. I can't find it anywhere now.  The burgundy colour is Rimmel's 'Burgandy Flirt'. 

You will notice for awhile that I'm not showing my thumb.  It's in pretty rough shape right now.  I caught it on something so had to cut it very very extremely short!

L'Oreal Jet Set to Paris

I'm getting low on my vault photos.  My parents gave me their extra camera last night but the quality of the macro shots are very poor.  I have my eye on the Bloggie Sport but for now my mom is going to lend me her camera.  Hopefully that one will work ;oP

I picked up three L'oreal shades a couple weeks ago. I have to say that I'm loving them.  I have another mani in my vault with all three colours together but I'll leave that to another day.

The blue on my nails is L'Oreal's 'Jet Set to Paris'. I'm loving this polish.  Everything about it was working for me. :o)  I can't for the life of me remember what colour the beige is. Maybe its another one of the L'Oreal's I bought or maybe its Essie Yogaga.  It's a mystery! When I vault pictures I should really write down all the colours I use. 

'This n' That' nails

Howdy Folks!

Today I have a manicure that I like to call 'This n' That'.  Why you ask??? Well because I don't know the proper name for it.   I don't even know if I want to know ;o)  I think 'This n' That'  is pretty fine and dandy. 

I really like just messing around on my nails and trying different things.  This manicure gave me the option to have a little fun with it and do each nail different. 
I once again used Sally Hansen Salon Effects that I picked up cheap at the CNE for my base.  They are all older colours but I'm still a fan!  This colour is 'Teal With It'. 
The beige colour is Revlon's 'Elegant'.  I'm all over the beige and taupe fall colours right now.   Although I would not wear it on it's own it's great with other colours. I can't think of one colour it wouldn't compliment other than pale yellow or orange. (my opinion :P)  It looks absolutely fabulous with bright colours.
The black is just the cheapo nail polish I picked up from Urban outfitters.  Any fine black lines in there are with the handy dandy striping tape.

What do you guys think of my 'This n' That' nails????

Don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY CHALLENGE!

First flower mani post. eeks!

Here it is!  My very first post of a flower mani. I find them so intimidating because they never turn out as planned. I’m in awe with other bloggers flower art. Especially the queen of flowers Maria at Maria's Nail Art.   I find it hard enough doing them with the dotter let alone free hand.

 For this look I used two coats of Essie’s ‘YOGAGA’.  I wouldn’t usually pick up a colour like this but often find that I want one when I’m actually doing my nails.  For the flowers I used Revlon’s ‘Dreamer’ and a polish from Urban Outfitters’(sorry the name  peeled off).

Any suggestions for some good free hand flower tutorials?  I often see people using acrylic paint for nail art.  I’m considering trying it out but not 100% sure yet.  Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed uses them and her designs always look amazing. Does anyone else use paint?

French tip/Dotticure/Sleepy girl

Today's nails are a post nap manicure.  I was still kind of groggy so I just went with it.  Generally these are the most fun. I don't like having an idea in my head then creating it.  Those ones I always tend to be so critical of.  Although this is not my favourite I just went with the flow and did what came to my head

For the full nail I used Quo by Orly in 'Green Meadow'.  I've really been a fan of the Quo nail polish but lately it has not been cooperating with me.  It was a mess until I put the top coat on.  I think adding some nail polish thinner may help.  Does anyone else use thinner? I'm just wondering if it works or if it ruins the polish.

The tips are in Sally Hansen's Xtreme Wear 'Coral Reef'.  I didn't use tape for this as I knew I would be hiding the messy edge with something else.  What is that something else you ask??? DOTS!  For the dots across the the tip I used Revlon's 'Impulsive'.  It still looked really messy and blah at that point so I added the final vertical line of dots in Sally Hansen's Xtreme wear in 'Lacey Lialac'. It was amazing how much it changed the look.  It created a much more clean even manicure.

BOGO Nail Polish at Shoppers Drug Mart

BOGO BABY! Who wouldn't love it?!

Earlier this week I received an email coupon from Shoppers Drug Mart. It was buy one polish get the second free. It was only on from 6pm to 9pm.  The cashier said I was the first one to use it(of course). Naturally I printed out three of them.  I only used 2 so it made me feel a little better.  I thought instead of just doing a regular swatch  I’d add a little fun to it.

The first two colours are Quo By Orly.  For the base colour I used ‘Lilac Dust’.  In the pictures it looks a little more pink then it actually is.  I couldn’t find the right lighting to capture the shade as it was dark out by the time I did it.  The polka dots are in ‘Blue Skies’.  I can’t resist these baby blue colours that are always coming out.  I’m no huge fan of blue in everyday life but when it comes to nail polish I’m a sucker

On a side note I was wondering if it is okay to do the middle finger as the accent? We all know what the middle finger can stand for...

The second BOGO set are both Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure.   The green is ‘Grass Slipper’ and the purple pink is ‘ Cherry, Cherry, Bang, Bang!’  Both have really weird names....I love them anyways ;o)

Bubble Gum Bubbles Nails

Hello kids! ;)

Today I have an 'off the top of my head' manicure for you.  After I was done it kind of reminded me of bubble gum.  Who doesn't love bubble gum, right?!

I used five different nail polishes for this look.  The base is in Orly's 'Decades of Dysfunction'.  I started off making the largest dots in Quo 'Tease'.  This helped to make the path I created from the first nail to the last. I tried to make it as though the dots were flowing through to each nail.  After the large dots I used smaller dots to follow the trail and fill in spaces. I find going from largest to smallest gives it the best look.   For the smaller dots I used Nicole's 'Stolen Kisses', Essence 'Ultimate Pink' and Essie's 'Watermelon'. 

I'm impressed with it I think.  I love using the dotter.  Not just because it's easy but I love the look.

Diagonal strips and my first bottle of China Glaze!!

Good morning all! Hope all my fellow Canadians had a nice long weekend.   Today I have something a little different from my usual nail art. I actually really ended up liking it.  It took some patience but I think it was worth it.

I used my very first China Glaze nail polish ever! Yes I am in the big leagues now.  I figured it was about time that I catch up to the rest of you :o)

I applied two coats of China Glaze nail polish in ‘Spontaneous’.  I’m not sure if I’m a huge fan yet. I figured because everyone uses China Glaze that it would be really great.  Maybe it is but I just built it up to much.  I tend to do that a lot.

I created the strip using manicure tape.  I waited to do this about an hour or two after I applied my base colour. It was so humid that it was taking forever to dry.   I used Revlon’s ‘Plum Night’.  I think I bought this polish over two years ago so I figured I should start using it up!  For the small dots I used Avon’s ‘Starry Sky’ polish.  This was a little more difficult trying to keep them the same size.  I used a very small dotter for this.  I wanted to give it a pearl necklace type look across.

What do you guys think? Is it a pass?

Green Baby!

Well hello fellow bloggers!
It's been an insane week and I have barely had a chance to do anything. Long story short I hurt my neck so badly I couldn't swallow with out it going into spasm, had to move to a new house(while it was like this) and to top it all off with a cherry my dad had a heart attack.  The emotional and physical exhaustion I had was insane.  Everything and everyone is good now thank goodness

So on to the nails. I did this fun little look this morning before continuing to unpack.  I had the idea in my head but was not quite sure how it would turn out.  I love how the dots can create such cool designs.


Take a look below to see how it was done...

I started by painting my nails two different greens.  The lighter of the two is Sally Hansen's Xtreme Wear in 'Green with Envy'.  The second is Essie's 'Mojito madness'  You don't need a perfectly straight line for this because you will be adding the dots.

Next I used the dotter to create the dots on the opposite side of the line.

I used the exact same method up a little further on my nails using Revlon's 'Posh'. To top it all off I added Essie's 'Good to Go' top coat. 

I will definitely play with this method again. It was a lot of fun. What do you guys think?(if you don't like it lie to me, I had a VERY ROUGH WEEK ;o))

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Nails

Good morning all!  So we’ve moved in to our new place but it’s been a crazy past two days.  My nails are in pretty rough shape.  Moving boxes and furniture does not help them out at all.  I thought I would post two different nails styles I tried out on the weekend.   Both of them are purely with Sally Hansen’s Xtreme Wear nail polish. I really like this polish when it comes to nail art.  All of them were purchased at Well.ca

The first one I did is a little crazy. I’m really trying to figure out the whole flower thing but it’s not working out to well for me :o( Once again I used the dotter for these.  I applied two coats of 'Blue Me Away'to the entire nail.  Then I added the pedals in 'Mellow yellow'  .They did not look to impressive so I added another small dot inside with 'Red Carpet' followed my another of 'Mellow Yellow'.  I can’t for the life of me remember what I used as the centre of the flower but it was Sally Hansen.  It needed a little more jazz so I added the dots in ‘White On’.  I now realize I should not of but I added a sparkle coat of 'Disco Ball'.  I’ve attempted using this polish a couple times and I hate it.  Makes my nails look cakey and almost like there is sugar on them.  I don’t see any sparkle on it at all.  I’m contemplating just throwing it out.

What do you guys think of the nails? A little crazy but it was good practice

For the next manicure I decided to go dotter crazy.

For the full nail I used 'Coral Reef'.  The large blue dots are in 'Blue Me Away' and the small yellow are 'Mellow Yellow' 

I hope  to sit down and play with my nails tonight but we still have soooo much unpacking to do.  Wish me luck!

Striping tape? No striping tape?...you be the judge!

Second post for the day. 

I did this design last night. It was one of those ones that you don’t know what you are going to do  so you just start making dots!  I actually had a lot of fun with it.  I used Nicole’s ‘Baby Blue’ for the base. It’s weird because originally I didn’t like this polish but I keep going back to it.  I’m really attracted to light blues recently. I’m trying to do nails in other colours than blue but I can’t help it. 

I started by making dots across the corner of my nail with Quo’s Steel Heart leaving spaces in between. I then went back and filled them in with more dots in the original  Baby Blue that I used for the full nail. 

I took pictures as usual but decided it needed a little more. I added black striping tape along the edge of the design.  What do you guys think? Striping tape or no striping tape?

WITH STRIPING TAPE

WITHOUT STRIPING TAPE

Dotticure!

I really love this manicure.  The pictures don’t do it justice.  It was rainy and clouded over yesterday so these were the best pictures I could get. (I really need to make that light box)

 I was so excited to play with my new dotters I got in from Nail Polish Canada.  Now I have ten different sizes of dotters!!! It was like Christmas morning! 

I started off with two coats of Orly’s ‘Decades of Dysfunction’.  I’m really liking this polish as a blank canvas when doing nail art.  It’s very subtle and work appropriate.  For the dots I worked my way down from largest to smallest making sure not pass the middle of my finger nails both at tip and cuticle.  As I applied I tried to keep it in a half moon shape. 

What do you guys think? I know I’m pretty proud of myself :o)

Nail Polish used for dots.

Revlon provence

Nicole 'Fanatical Fuchsia'

Essie 'Bahama Mama'

Urban Outfitter's 'Bandeau'

Just playing around......manicure :P

Today’s post is something I did on the weekend. I was just playing around and came up with it.  Although not my favourite I really liked the look and will definitely try something like it again.

It was very simple. For the full nail I applied three coats of Revlon nail polish in ‘Provence’.  I find it very sheer so that’s what I required three coats.  With my dotting tool I created the lines alternating between Essie’s ‘Bahama Mama’ and Nicole’s ‘Baby Blue’.   I made sure to overlap each new line just a little over the previous to give it that cloud effect.  I’m saying cloud because that’s the only word I could come up with. There must be a name for this look. Anybody know? Maybe ruffles???

Mellow Monday

Nothing too fancy today.  Just wanted to go with something subtle with an itty bitty bit of colour.
I started with two coats of Orly's 'Decades of Dysfunction'. (Which by the way is my first Orly polish ever!)
The dots I made with Sally Hansen's Xtreme Wear in 'The Real Teal'

Short post eh?! 
I feel really guilty that its so short so I decided to throw in my swatches I did with Gosh's Matte Top Coat.  I found this last week at Shopper's Drug Mart and just had to buy it.  I wasn't sure if I would ever use it again but now I know I will!!!

BEFORE

AFTER

The index and middle finger only took one coat but  the ring and pinkie took 3.  I guess it just depends on the type of polish it is put over. 

What do you guys think? I'll probably try doing something a little fun with it soon!